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[ "Mickey Thompson", "Indy years", "What was his first race on the Indy Circuit?", "In 1962 Thompson entered three John Crosthwaite designed cars in the Indianapolis 500." ]
C_4f7b8d89e29b402da38481fd6ce54d4e_0
How did he do?
2
How did Mickey Thompson do in his first race on the Indy Circuit?
Mickey Thompson
In 1962 Thompson entered three John Crosthwaite designed cars in the Indianapolis 500. Unusually, they used a stock V8 Buick engine and it was in the rear unlike the front engined, race tuned, Offenhauser powered cars used by most competitors. It was the first stock engine to be raced at Indy since 1946. Thompson's crew, led by Fritz Voigt, were young, smart and hard working. Working 12-14 hour days, the car was designed and built in 120 days. For the race, the engine (enlarged to 4.2 litre capacity, the maximum allowed by the regulations for "stock block" engines) had to be detuned because they were concerned it would not last the distance. Despite being more than 70 bhp down on the other cars, Dan Gurney qualified eighth and was in ninth place until a leaking oil seal seized the gearbox and ended his race on lap 94. He was placed 20th out of 33. The team won the Mechanical Achievement Award for original design, construction and accomplishment. Thompson's promotion skills pleased the sponsors with the publicity generated that year. For the 1963 Indianapolis 500 Crosthwaite designed the innovative Harvey Aluminium Special "roller skate car" with the then pioneering smaller profile (12 inch diameter) and wide racing tires (front 7 inches and rear 9 inches wide) and wheels. Thompson took five cars to Indianapolis. Two of the previous year's design with Chevrolet V8 engines and three roller skate cars. One of the new cars, the Harvey Titanium Special, featured a lightweight titanium chassis. Al Miller II raced one of the modified 1962 cars to ninth place despite only qualifying in 31st position. Duane Carter qualified one of the roller skate cars 15th but was only placed 23rd after an engine failure on the 100th lap. The small tire sizes and low car weights caused complaints amongst the old hands and owners, so for future races, cars were restricted to minimum tire sizes and minimum car weights. 1962 Formula One World Champion Graham Hill tested one of the roller skate cars at Indianapolis in 1963, but refused to race it citing its poor handling. In 1963 Thompson traveled to England where, along with Dante Duce, he demonstrated his Ford-powered top fuel Harvey Aluminum Special dragster at the Brighton Speed Trials. It was then displayed at the Racing Car Show in London in January 1964. Thompson brought three modified 12-inch tire cars to the 1964 Indianapolis 500, but new rules required him to use 15-inch tires. The Allstate sponsored team used Allstate tires and Ford engines. The chassis had to be altered to accommodate the larger Ford engines. Two of them qualified for the race. The car No.84 began the month with Masten Gregory as the driver but Eddie Johnson in car No.84 qualified 24th and finished 26th. Dave MacDonald in car No.83 qualified 14th and died in a fiery crash on the second lap. CANNOTANSWER
Unusually, they used a stock V8 Buick engine and it was in the rear unlike the front engined, race tuned, Offenhauser powered cars used by most competitors. It
Michael Lee "Mickey" Thompson (December 7, 1928March 16, 1988) was an American auto racing builder and promoter. A hot rodder since his youth, Thompson increasingly pursued land speed records in his late 20s and early 30s. He achieved international fame in 1960, when he became the first American to break the 400-mph barrier, driving his Challenger 1 to a one-way top speed of 406.60 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats and surpassing John Cobb's one-way world record mark of 402 mph. Thompson then turned to racing, winning many track and dragster championships. In the 1960s, he also entered cars at the Indianapolis 500. Later, he formed off-road racing sanctioning bodies SCORE International and Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG). In 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were gunned down at their home in Bradbury, California. The crime remained unsolved until 2007, when a former business partner was convicted of having orchestrated the murders. Early life On December 7, 1928 Thompson was born in Alhambra, California. Thompson's father was Captain Marion L. Thompson, a former police officer with Alhambra Police Department. Thompson's sister is Collene Thompson Campbell. Career In his early 20s, he worked as a pressman for the Los Angeles Times while pursuing a lifelong love of hot rodding. He later became involved in the new sport of drag racing. Tireless and innovative, he found success as a championship driver and instinctive automotive technician. Over the course of his career, Thompson set more speed and endurance records than any other man in automotive history. He is credited with designing and building the first slingshot dragster, in 1954, moving the seat behind the rear axle to improve traction when existing racing tires proved unable to handle the output of increasingly powerful custom engines. This car, the Panorama City Special, debuted at the first NHRA U.S. Nationals at the Great Bend Municipal Airport in Great Bend, Kansas, in 1955. The car ultimately ran a best speed of . A change so momentous would not happen again until Don Garlits introduced the rear-engined digger in 1971. Thompson also was noted for being the first manager of Lions Drag Strip in Wilmington, California, in 1955. Thompson collaborated with Fritz Voight on a 1958 twin-engined dragster. This car achieved a best speed of . It provided lessons later applied to Challenger I. Determined to set a new land speed record, Thompson achieved fame when he drove his four-engined Challenger 1 at better than in 1960 at the Bonneville Salt Flats, becoming the first American to break that barrier. Indy years 1962 In 1962, Thompson entered three John Crosthwaite-designed cars in the Indianapolis 500. Unusually, they used a stock V8 Buick engine, and it was in the rear unlike the front-engined, race-tuned, Offenhauser-powered cars used by most competitors. It was the first stock engine to be raced at Indy since 1946. Thompson's crew, led by Fritz Voigt, was young, smart, and hard working. Working 12- to 14-hour days, the car was designed and built in 120 days. For the race, the engine (enlarged to 4.2-L capacity, the maximum allowed by the regulations for "stock block" engines) had to be detuned because they were concerned it would not last the distance. Despite being more than 70 bhp down on the other cars, Dan Gurney qualified eighth and was in ninth place until a leaking oil seal seized the gearbox and ended his race on lap 94. He was placed 20th out of 33. The team won the Mechanical Achievement Award for original design, construction, and accomplishment. 1963 Thompson's promotional skills pleased the sponsors with the publicity generated that year. For the 1963 Indianapolis 500, Crosthwaite designed the innovative Harvey Aluminium Special "roller skate car" with the then-pioneering diameter wheels with smaller-profile racing tires, wide at the front and rear. Thompson took five cars to Indianapolis - two of the previous year's design with Chevrolet V8 engines and three roller skate cars. One of the new cars, the Harvey Titanium Special, featured a lightweight titanium chassis. Al Miller raced one of the modified 1962 cars to ninth place despite only qualifying in 31st position. Duane Carter qualified one of the roller skate cars 15th, but was only placed 23rd after an engine failure on the 100th lap. The small tire sizes and low car weights caused complaints among the old hands and owners, so for future races, cars were restricted to minimum tire sizes and minimum car weights. Formula One World Champion Graham Hill tested one of the roller skate cars at Indianapolis in 1963, but refused to race it, citing its poor handling. The recent ruling required 15-in wheels, but the chassis was designed around smaller wheels. Thompson commented: "The car wouldn't handle", adding, "There was too much body roll due to the high center of gravity." In 1963, Thompson traveled to England, where along with Dante Duce, he demonstrated his Ford-powered top fuel Harvey Aluminum Special dragster at the Brighton Speed Trials. It was then displayed at the Racing Car Show in London in January 1964. 1964 Thompson brought three modified 12-inch-tired cars to the 1964 Indianapolis 500, but new rules required him to use 15-in tires. The Allstate sponsored team used Allstate tires and Ford engines. The chassis had to be altered to accommodate the larger Ford engines. Two of them qualified for the race. The car No. 84 began the month with Masten Gregory as the driver, but Eddie Johnson in car No. 84 qualified 24th and finished 26th. Dave MacDonald in car No. 83 qualified 14th and died in a fiery crash on the second lap. 1965–1968 Thompson went back to Indy in 1965, but failed to qualify in an attempt with a front-engined roadster. He skipped 1966, but tried again in 1967 and 1968, again failing to qualify either year. The 1967 attempt used a unique all-wheel drive rear-engined design that steered both front and rear wheels, but Gary Congdon was unable to qualify any of the three cars. Post Indy In 1965, Thompson published Challenger: Mickey Thompson's own story of his life of Speed. In 1968 Danny Ongais and he took three Ford Mustang Mach 1 to the Bonneville salt flats for a feature in Hot Rod magazine, in the process setting 295 speed and endurance records over a series of 500-mile and 24-hour courses. Together with John Buttera and Pat Foster, developed a Ford Mustang Mach 1 Funny Car with a dragster-like chassis. Driven by Ongais, the car won the 1969 NHRA Spring Nationals at Dallas and the NHRA U.S. Nationals. In his long career, Thompson raced vehicles from stock cars to off-road, and engineered numerous competition engines. He went into the performance aftermarket business in the early 1960s and then, in 1963, he created "Mickey Thompson Performance Tires" that developed special tires for racing including for Indianapolis 500 competitors. Thompson founded SCORE International in 1973, a sanctioning body to oversee off-road racing across North America. With his wife Trudy he formed the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG), which ran an indoor motocross and off-road vehicle racing show and competition that brought the sport from the back-country to major metropolitan stadiums and arenas. Personal life Thompson's wife was Trudy Thompson. On March 16, 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were murdered in Bradbury, California. Murder On March 16, 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were killed by two hooded gunmen outside their home in Bradbury, California, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. On the morning of the murder, a pair of unknown assailants waited outside the Thompson home for the couple to leave for the day. Mickey opened the garage door for his wife to pull out in her vehicle, and as he headed for his own car, the gunmen attacked. He was shot and wounded, then dragged out into the driveway while one of the attackers went after Trudy as she backed out. Killing her, the gunman then came back up the driveway, where the other gunman was watching over Mickey and shot him fatally in the head. The attackers then made their escape on the bicycles they had ridden to the Thompson residence. Expensive jewelry and a large amount of cash were found on the Thompsons' bodies, eliminating robbery as a likely motive. An intense police investigation initially failed to uncover either the identity of the mystery gunmen, or a motive for the crime. Police were interested in Thompson's former business partner Michael Frank Goodwin who repeatedly refused to pay a more than $768,000 settlement he owed Thompson. Goodwin and his wife bought $275,000 worth of gold coins two months before the Thompsons were murdered and wired $400,000 to banks on the island Grand Turk and Caicos. Goodwin and his wife then left the country five months after the murder on their yacht and did not return for more than two years. The case remained unsolved until 2001, when Goodwin was charged in Orange County, California with the murders. Before a trial could be completed, it was ended on jurisdictional grounds by the California District Court of Appeal. On June 8, 2004, Goodwin was formally charged with the murders in Pasadena, in Los Angeles County. In October 2006, a Pasadena Superior Court judge ordered Goodwin to stand trial. During the trial, a long series of witnesses reported hearing Goodwin threaten to kill the Thompsons. “I’m going to kill that son of a bitch. I’m going to kill that motherfucker. I’m going to take out Mickey. I’m too smart to get caught. I’ll have him wasted. He’ll never see a nickel. I’ll kill him first. Mickey doesn’t know who he is fucking with. He is fucking dead.” Although the prosecution did not establish a direct connection between the murderers and Goodwin, the circumstantial evidence was sufficient to convict him. On January 4, 2007, a jury found Goodwin guilty of two counts of murder in the death of Thompson and his wife. Goodwin was sentenced to two consecutive life-without-parole terms. A subsequent motion for a new trial was denied. In the 2015 California 2nd District Court of Appeal ruling, although no direct evidence connected Goodwin to the case, the array of circumstantial evidence was found to be "overwhelming". The two men who murdered the Thompsons have not been located. TV coverage, and its fictionalization through the television program CSI, were cited by the defense team during the murder trial as having created a "folklore" around the case, preventing a fair trial. Thompson, his wife, and his pets are interred in the Rose Hills Memorial Park, in Whittier, California. In popular culture CBS's To Tell The Truth. Appeared as a contestant in March 1962 NBC's Unsolved Mysteries Investigation Discovery's Murder Book. CBS television program 48 Hours Mystery April 28, 2007 CSI episode "Early Rollout" (2004) was based on this murder case. Awards Thompson was inducted posthumously to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America 1990 Inducted to International Motorsports Hall of Fame. Thompson was ranked No. 11 on the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951–2000 Thompson was inducted posthumously to the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007, and the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2009. See also Semon Knudsen Stadium Super Trucks, a racing series inspired by Thompson's stadium off-road racing Danny Thompson, Thompson's son, also a race car driver References External links News release on documentary of the murder (dead link) Trial Commentary M/T Tires Official Page Michael Goodwin profile on America's Most Wanted Murder On the Last Turn LA Weekly October 18, 2006 Lions the Greatest Drag Strip Part One at nhramuseum.org Additional sources Taylor, Thom. "Beauty Beyond the Twilight Zone" in Hot Rod, April 2017, pp. 30–43. 1928 births 1988 deaths Bonneville 300 MPH Club members Brighton Speed Trials people Deaths by firearm in California Dragster drivers International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees Land speed record people Male murder victims Off-road racing drivers Off-road racing Sportspeople from Alhambra, California People murdered in California Racing drivers from California World Sportscar Championship drivers People from Bradbury, California Burials at Rose Hills Memorial Park
false
[ "The Migraine Disability Assessment Test (MIDAS) is a test used by doctors to determine how severely migraines affect a patient's life. Patients are asked questions about the frequency and duration of their headaches, as well as how often these headaches limited their ability to participate in activities at work, at school, or at home.\n\nThe test was evaluated by the professional journal Neurology in 2001; it was found to be both reliable and valid.\n\nQuestions\nThe MIDAS contains the following questions:\n\n On how many days in the last 3 months did you miss work or school because of your headaches?\n How many days in the last 3 months was your productivity at work or school reduced by half or more because of your headaches? (Do not include days you counted in question 1 where you missed work or school.)\n On how many days in the last 3 months did you not do household work because of your headaches?\n How many days in the last three months was your productivity in household work reduced by half of more because of your headaches? (Do not include days you counted in question 3 where you did not do household work.)\n On how many days in the last 3 months did you miss family, social or leisure activities because of your headaches?\n\nThe patient's score consists of the total of these five questions. Additionally, there is a section for patients to share with their doctors:\n\nWhat your Physician will need to know about your headache:\n\nA. On how many days in the last 3 months did you have a headache?\n(If a headache lasted more than 1 day, count each day.)\t\n\nB. On a scale of 0 - 10, on average how painful were these headaches? \n(where 0 = no pain at all and 10 = pain as bad as it can be.)\n\nScoring\nOnce scored, the test gives the patient an idea of how debilitating his/her migraines are based on this scale:\n\n0 to 5, MIDAS Grade I, Little or no disability \n\n6 to 10, MIDAS Grade II, Mild disability\n\n11 to 20, MIDAS Grade III, Moderate disability\n\n21+, MIDAS Grade IV, Severe disability\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nMigraine Treatment\n\nMigraine", "\"How Do I Breathe\" is a song recorded by American singer Mario. It is the first single from his third studio album Go. The single was released on May 15, 2007. It was produced by Norwegian production team Stargate. On the issue date of July 7, 2007, the single debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 91. \"How Do I Breathe\" also debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 30 on download sales alone, the day before the physical release of the song. It also became Mario's last charting single in the UK. The song also peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The official remix of the song features Fabolous and the second official remix features Cassidy. A rare third one features both artists and switches between beats. The song was co-written by Mario.\n\nWriting and recording\nMario met Stargate, the producers from Norway. They met when Mario was overseas touring, and they talked about producing. They were up-and-coming at the time. Mario frequently heard their music on the radio and would later say he thought, \"Wow, I really like their music. These guys are classic.\" Mario and Stargate made two songs, which they collaborated on with Ne-Yo, but they did not make the cut. Then they did two more songs, which Mario co-wrote, one of which was \"How Do I Breathe\". Mario said: \"The truth is that I felt like the track already had a story to tell; but that there had to be a certain flow over the record. I had to show some vulnerability, and that is what the record is about. It's about being vulnerable and knowing that you lost something that so essential to your life. I'd say it's about 75% true to life, and the rest is just creative writing.\"\n\nCritical reception\nMark Edward Nero of About.com says \"The track isn't particularly groundbreaking, but it has a simple charm, in a sort of Ne-Yo meets Toni Braxton kind of way\".\n\nAaron Fields of KSTW.com stated: \"First single off the album, yet didn't have the success like \"Let me love you\" did. I remember thinking he was definitely back when I heard this song. I'm not sure why this song didn't get more attention as it is one of the better songs done by him, nevertheless I probably would have picked this for the first single as well. I still bump this one in the car.\"\n\nMusic video\nThe video was directed by Melina and premiered on BET's Access Granted on May 23, 2007. One scene where Mario is dressed in a white t-shirt while singing in smoke, is similar to the scene in Kanye West's video \"Touch the Sky\". After its premiere, \"How Do I Breathe\" received heavy airplay on BET's music video countdown show 106 & Park. It also appeared at number 87 on BET's Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2007 countdown.\n\nVariations of \"How Do I Breathe\"\nAfter the song was released, there were two different variations that were available. The official version provided by Sony BMG, which was included within the official music video, has different lyrics than the one obtained via a peer-to-peer file sharing network. The specific difference in the lyrics is seen within the bridge of the song near the end.\n\nIn the official version, the bridge's lyrics are as follows:\"Ooh, I should've brought my love home, girl.And baby, I ain't perfect you know.The grind has got a tight hold.Girl, come back to me ... Cause girl you made it hard to breathe...When you're not with me...\"\nIn the other version obtained via a file sharing network, the bridge's lyrics are:\"Ooh, I can't get over you, no.Baby I don't wanna let go.Girl, you need to come home.Back to me ... Cause girl you made it hard to breathe...When you're not with me...\"\n\nThe other version obtained over a file sharing network also features a shout out to former NFL running back Shaun Alexander by an untold DJ near the end of the track.\n\nIn other media\nOn July 16, 2008, Kourtni Lind and Matt Dorame from the US television reality program and dance competition So You Think You Can Dance danced to \"How Do I Breathe\" as the part of the competition.\n\nTrack listing\nUK CD:\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (radio edit)\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (Full Phat remix featuring Rhymefest)\n\nPromo CD:\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (radio edit)\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (instrumental)\n\nHow Do I Breathe, Pt. 2:\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (radio edit)\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (Full Phat Remix featuring Rhymefest)\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (Allister Whitehead Remix)\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (video)\n\nCD single\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (radio edit) – 3:38\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (instrumental) – 3:38\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (call out hook) – 0:10\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n2006 songs\n2007 singles\nMario (American singer) songs\nJ Records singles\nMusic videos directed by Melina Matsoukas\nSong recordings produced by Stargate (record producers)\nSongs written by Tor Erik Hermansen\nSongs written by Mikkel Storleer Eriksen" ]
[ "Mickey Thompson", "Indy years", "What was his first race on the Indy Circuit?", "In 1962 Thompson entered three John Crosthwaite designed cars in the Indianapolis 500.", "How did he do?", "Unusually, they used a stock V8 Buick engine and it was in the rear unlike the front engined, race tuned, Offenhauser powered cars used by most competitors. It" ]
C_4f7b8d89e29b402da38481fd6ce54d4e_0
How did the change in design affect the performance?
3
How did the engine change affect Mickey Thompson's performance in his first Indy Circuit race??
Mickey Thompson
In 1962 Thompson entered three John Crosthwaite designed cars in the Indianapolis 500. Unusually, they used a stock V8 Buick engine and it was in the rear unlike the front engined, race tuned, Offenhauser powered cars used by most competitors. It was the first stock engine to be raced at Indy since 1946. Thompson's crew, led by Fritz Voigt, were young, smart and hard working. Working 12-14 hour days, the car was designed and built in 120 days. For the race, the engine (enlarged to 4.2 litre capacity, the maximum allowed by the regulations for "stock block" engines) had to be detuned because they were concerned it would not last the distance. Despite being more than 70 bhp down on the other cars, Dan Gurney qualified eighth and was in ninth place until a leaking oil seal seized the gearbox and ended his race on lap 94. He was placed 20th out of 33. The team won the Mechanical Achievement Award for original design, construction and accomplishment. Thompson's promotion skills pleased the sponsors with the publicity generated that year. For the 1963 Indianapolis 500 Crosthwaite designed the innovative Harvey Aluminium Special "roller skate car" with the then pioneering smaller profile (12 inch diameter) and wide racing tires (front 7 inches and rear 9 inches wide) and wheels. Thompson took five cars to Indianapolis. Two of the previous year's design with Chevrolet V8 engines and three roller skate cars. One of the new cars, the Harvey Titanium Special, featured a lightweight titanium chassis. Al Miller II raced one of the modified 1962 cars to ninth place despite only qualifying in 31st position. Duane Carter qualified one of the roller skate cars 15th but was only placed 23rd after an engine failure on the 100th lap. The small tire sizes and low car weights caused complaints amongst the old hands and owners, so for future races, cars were restricted to minimum tire sizes and minimum car weights. 1962 Formula One World Champion Graham Hill tested one of the roller skate cars at Indianapolis in 1963, but refused to race it citing its poor handling. In 1963 Thompson traveled to England where, along with Dante Duce, he demonstrated his Ford-powered top fuel Harvey Aluminum Special dragster at the Brighton Speed Trials. It was then displayed at the Racing Car Show in London in January 1964. Thompson brought three modified 12-inch tire cars to the 1964 Indianapolis 500, but new rules required him to use 15-inch tires. The Allstate sponsored team used Allstate tires and Ford engines. The chassis had to be altered to accommodate the larger Ford engines. Two of them qualified for the race. The car No.84 began the month with Masten Gregory as the driver but Eddie Johnson in car No.84 qualified 24th and finished 26th. Dave MacDonald in car No.83 qualified 14th and died in a fiery crash on the second lap. CANNOTANSWER
Thompson's crew, led by Fritz Voigt, were young, smart and hard working. Working 12-14 hour days, the car was designed and built in 120 days.
Michael Lee "Mickey" Thompson (December 7, 1928March 16, 1988) was an American auto racing builder and promoter. A hot rodder since his youth, Thompson increasingly pursued land speed records in his late 20s and early 30s. He achieved international fame in 1960, when he became the first American to break the 400-mph barrier, driving his Challenger 1 to a one-way top speed of 406.60 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats and surpassing John Cobb's one-way world record mark of 402 mph. Thompson then turned to racing, winning many track and dragster championships. In the 1960s, he also entered cars at the Indianapolis 500. Later, he formed off-road racing sanctioning bodies SCORE International and Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG). In 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were gunned down at their home in Bradbury, California. The crime remained unsolved until 2007, when a former business partner was convicted of having orchestrated the murders. Early life On December 7, 1928 Thompson was born in Alhambra, California. Thompson's father was Captain Marion L. Thompson, a former police officer with Alhambra Police Department. Thompson's sister is Collene Thompson Campbell. Career In his early 20s, he worked as a pressman for the Los Angeles Times while pursuing a lifelong love of hot rodding. He later became involved in the new sport of drag racing. Tireless and innovative, he found success as a championship driver and instinctive automotive technician. Over the course of his career, Thompson set more speed and endurance records than any other man in automotive history. He is credited with designing and building the first slingshot dragster, in 1954, moving the seat behind the rear axle to improve traction when existing racing tires proved unable to handle the output of increasingly powerful custom engines. This car, the Panorama City Special, debuted at the first NHRA U.S. Nationals at the Great Bend Municipal Airport in Great Bend, Kansas, in 1955. The car ultimately ran a best speed of . A change so momentous would not happen again until Don Garlits introduced the rear-engined digger in 1971. Thompson also was noted for being the first manager of Lions Drag Strip in Wilmington, California, in 1955. Thompson collaborated with Fritz Voight on a 1958 twin-engined dragster. This car achieved a best speed of . It provided lessons later applied to Challenger I. Determined to set a new land speed record, Thompson achieved fame when he drove his four-engined Challenger 1 at better than in 1960 at the Bonneville Salt Flats, becoming the first American to break that barrier. Indy years 1962 In 1962, Thompson entered three John Crosthwaite-designed cars in the Indianapolis 500. Unusually, they used a stock V8 Buick engine, and it was in the rear unlike the front-engined, race-tuned, Offenhauser-powered cars used by most competitors. It was the first stock engine to be raced at Indy since 1946. Thompson's crew, led by Fritz Voigt, was young, smart, and hard working. Working 12- to 14-hour days, the car was designed and built in 120 days. For the race, the engine (enlarged to 4.2-L capacity, the maximum allowed by the regulations for "stock block" engines) had to be detuned because they were concerned it would not last the distance. Despite being more than 70 bhp down on the other cars, Dan Gurney qualified eighth and was in ninth place until a leaking oil seal seized the gearbox and ended his race on lap 94. He was placed 20th out of 33. The team won the Mechanical Achievement Award for original design, construction, and accomplishment. 1963 Thompson's promotional skills pleased the sponsors with the publicity generated that year. For the 1963 Indianapolis 500, Crosthwaite designed the innovative Harvey Aluminium Special "roller skate car" with the then-pioneering diameter wheels with smaller-profile racing tires, wide at the front and rear. Thompson took five cars to Indianapolis - two of the previous year's design with Chevrolet V8 engines and three roller skate cars. One of the new cars, the Harvey Titanium Special, featured a lightweight titanium chassis. Al Miller raced one of the modified 1962 cars to ninth place despite only qualifying in 31st position. Duane Carter qualified one of the roller skate cars 15th, but was only placed 23rd after an engine failure on the 100th lap. The small tire sizes and low car weights caused complaints among the old hands and owners, so for future races, cars were restricted to minimum tire sizes and minimum car weights. Formula One World Champion Graham Hill tested one of the roller skate cars at Indianapolis in 1963, but refused to race it, citing its poor handling. The recent ruling required 15-in wheels, but the chassis was designed around smaller wheels. Thompson commented: "The car wouldn't handle", adding, "There was too much body roll due to the high center of gravity." In 1963, Thompson traveled to England, where along with Dante Duce, he demonstrated his Ford-powered top fuel Harvey Aluminum Special dragster at the Brighton Speed Trials. It was then displayed at the Racing Car Show in London in January 1964. 1964 Thompson brought three modified 12-inch-tired cars to the 1964 Indianapolis 500, but new rules required him to use 15-in tires. The Allstate sponsored team used Allstate tires and Ford engines. The chassis had to be altered to accommodate the larger Ford engines. Two of them qualified for the race. The car No. 84 began the month with Masten Gregory as the driver, but Eddie Johnson in car No. 84 qualified 24th and finished 26th. Dave MacDonald in car No. 83 qualified 14th and died in a fiery crash on the second lap. 1965–1968 Thompson went back to Indy in 1965, but failed to qualify in an attempt with a front-engined roadster. He skipped 1966, but tried again in 1967 and 1968, again failing to qualify either year. The 1967 attempt used a unique all-wheel drive rear-engined design that steered both front and rear wheels, but Gary Congdon was unable to qualify any of the three cars. Post Indy In 1965, Thompson published Challenger: Mickey Thompson's own story of his life of Speed. In 1968 Danny Ongais and he took three Ford Mustang Mach 1 to the Bonneville salt flats for a feature in Hot Rod magazine, in the process setting 295 speed and endurance records over a series of 500-mile and 24-hour courses. Together with John Buttera and Pat Foster, developed a Ford Mustang Mach 1 Funny Car with a dragster-like chassis. Driven by Ongais, the car won the 1969 NHRA Spring Nationals at Dallas and the NHRA U.S. Nationals. In his long career, Thompson raced vehicles from stock cars to off-road, and engineered numerous competition engines. He went into the performance aftermarket business in the early 1960s and then, in 1963, he created "Mickey Thompson Performance Tires" that developed special tires for racing including for Indianapolis 500 competitors. Thompson founded SCORE International in 1973, a sanctioning body to oversee off-road racing across North America. With his wife Trudy he formed the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG), which ran an indoor motocross and off-road vehicle racing show and competition that brought the sport from the back-country to major metropolitan stadiums and arenas. Personal life Thompson's wife was Trudy Thompson. On March 16, 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were murdered in Bradbury, California. Murder On March 16, 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were killed by two hooded gunmen outside their home in Bradbury, California, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. On the morning of the murder, a pair of unknown assailants waited outside the Thompson home for the couple to leave for the day. Mickey opened the garage door for his wife to pull out in her vehicle, and as he headed for his own car, the gunmen attacked. He was shot and wounded, then dragged out into the driveway while one of the attackers went after Trudy as she backed out. Killing her, the gunman then came back up the driveway, where the other gunman was watching over Mickey and shot him fatally in the head. The attackers then made their escape on the bicycles they had ridden to the Thompson residence. Expensive jewelry and a large amount of cash were found on the Thompsons' bodies, eliminating robbery as a likely motive. An intense police investigation initially failed to uncover either the identity of the mystery gunmen, or a motive for the crime. Police were interested in Thompson's former business partner Michael Frank Goodwin who repeatedly refused to pay a more than $768,000 settlement he owed Thompson. Goodwin and his wife bought $275,000 worth of gold coins two months before the Thompsons were murdered and wired $400,000 to banks on the island Grand Turk and Caicos. Goodwin and his wife then left the country five months after the murder on their yacht and did not return for more than two years. The case remained unsolved until 2001, when Goodwin was charged in Orange County, California with the murders. Before a trial could be completed, it was ended on jurisdictional grounds by the California District Court of Appeal. On June 8, 2004, Goodwin was formally charged with the murders in Pasadena, in Los Angeles County. In October 2006, a Pasadena Superior Court judge ordered Goodwin to stand trial. During the trial, a long series of witnesses reported hearing Goodwin threaten to kill the Thompsons. “I’m going to kill that son of a bitch. I’m going to kill that motherfucker. I’m going to take out Mickey. I’m too smart to get caught. I’ll have him wasted. He’ll never see a nickel. I’ll kill him first. Mickey doesn’t know who he is fucking with. He is fucking dead.” Although the prosecution did not establish a direct connection between the murderers and Goodwin, the circumstantial evidence was sufficient to convict him. On January 4, 2007, a jury found Goodwin guilty of two counts of murder in the death of Thompson and his wife. Goodwin was sentenced to two consecutive life-without-parole terms. A subsequent motion for a new trial was denied. In the 2015 California 2nd District Court of Appeal ruling, although no direct evidence connected Goodwin to the case, the array of circumstantial evidence was found to be "overwhelming". The two men who murdered the Thompsons have not been located. TV coverage, and its fictionalization through the television program CSI, were cited by the defense team during the murder trial as having created a "folklore" around the case, preventing a fair trial. Thompson, his wife, and his pets are interred in the Rose Hills Memorial Park, in Whittier, California. In popular culture CBS's To Tell The Truth. Appeared as a contestant in March 1962 NBC's Unsolved Mysteries Investigation Discovery's Murder Book. CBS television program 48 Hours Mystery April 28, 2007 CSI episode "Early Rollout" (2004) was based on this murder case. Awards Thompson was inducted posthumously to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America 1990 Inducted to International Motorsports Hall of Fame. Thompson was ranked No. 11 on the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951–2000 Thompson was inducted posthumously to the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007, and the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2009. See also Semon Knudsen Stadium Super Trucks, a racing series inspired by Thompson's stadium off-road racing Danny Thompson, Thompson's son, also a race car driver References External links News release on documentary of the murder (dead link) Trial Commentary M/T Tires Official Page Michael Goodwin profile on America's Most Wanted Murder On the Last Turn LA Weekly October 18, 2006 Lions the Greatest Drag Strip Part One at nhramuseum.org Additional sources Taylor, Thom. "Beauty Beyond the Twilight Zone" in Hot Rod, April 2017, pp. 30–43. 1928 births 1988 deaths Bonneville 300 MPH Club members Brighton Speed Trials people Deaths by firearm in California Dragster drivers International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees Land speed record people Male murder victims Off-road racing drivers Off-road racing Sportspeople from Alhambra, California People murdered in California Racing drivers from California World Sportscar Championship drivers People from Bradbury, California Burials at Rose Hills Memorial Park
false
[ "The fourth season of HGTV Design Star premiered on July 19, 2009. The series was filmed in Los Angeles, California for the first time. Vern Yip returned as a judge, and was joined by newcomers Genevieve Gorder and Candice Olson. Clive Pearse returned as host, and this was his final season hosting the show. A major change this season was that the judges decided the winner, instead of having a public vote. The winner was Antonio Ballatore, whose show The Antonio Treatment debuted in March 2010.\n\nDesigners\n\nGuest Designers:\n\n1 Age at the time of the show's filming\n2 Dan Vickery did audition for Design Star Season 3 but was not picked to compete\n\nContestant progress\n\n (WINNER) The designer won the competition.\n (RUNNER-UP) The designer received second place.\n (WIN) The designer was selected as the winner of the episode's Elimination Challenge.\n (HIGH) The designer was selected as one of the top entries in the Elimination Challenge, but did not win.\n (IN) The designer was not selected as either top entry or bottom entry in the Elimination Challenge, and advanced to the next challenge.\n (LOW) The designer was selected as one of the bottom entries in the Elimination Challenge, but was not deemed the worst of the designers who advanced in that particular week.\n (LOW) The designer was selected as one of the bottom two entries in the Elimination Challenge, and was deemed the worst of the designers who advanced in that particular week.\n (OUT) The designer was eliminated from the competition.\n (OUT) The designer was eliminated from the competition before the judges deliberated.\n\n1 In a Design Star first, Tashica was eliminated before the judges' deliberation. This was due to her underwhelming performance in the competition, constant excuses, and lack of ability to have her design ideas expressed in a team situation. It reached the ultimatum in the fourth episode, and Vern Yip questioned why he and the other two judges kept bringing her back week after week. While she continued giving more excuses, he and the judges quickly decided to eliminate her. As the elimination in the episode was a double elimination, this change did not affect anything else, and Jany was eliminated normally.\nThe first season the winner never was in bottom 3 or 2\n\n2009 American television seasons", "In biostatistics, spectrum bias refers to the phenomenon that the performance of a diagnostic test may vary in different clinical settings because each setting has a different mix of patients. Because the performance may be dependent on the mix of patients, performance at one clinic may not be predictive of performance at another clinic. These differences are interpreted as a kind of bias. Mathematically, the spectrum bias is a sampling bias and not a traditional statistical bias; this has led some authors to refer to the phenomenon as spectrum effects, whilst others maintain it is a bias if the true performance of the test differs from that which is 'expected'. Usually the performance of a diagnostic test is measured in terms of its sensitivity and specificity and it is changes in these that are considered when referring to spectrum bias. However, other performance measures such as the likelihood ratios may also be affected by spectrum bias.\n\nGenerally spectrum bias is considered to have three causes. The first is due to a change in the case-mix of those patients with the target disorder (disease) and this affects the sensitivity. The second is due to a change in the case-mix of those without the target disorder (disease-free) and this affects the specificity. The third is due to a change in the prevalence, and this affects both the sensitivity and specificity. This final cause is not widely appreciated, but there is mounting empirical evidence as well as theoretical arguments which suggest that it does indeed affect a test's performance.\n\nExamples where the sensitivity and specificity change between different sub-groups of patients may be found with the carcinoembryonic antigen test and urinary dipstick tests.\n\nDiagnostic test performances reported by some studies may be artificially overestimated if it is a case-control design where a healthy population ('fittest of the fit') is compared with a population with advanced disease ('sickest of the sick'); that is two extreme populations are compared, rather than typical healthy and diseased populations.\n\nIf properly analyzed, recognition of heterogeneity of subgroups can lead to insights about the test's performance in varying populations.\n\nSee also\n Simpson's paradox\n Biased sample\n Reporting bias\n Reference class problem\n\nReferences\n\nBiostatistics\nBias\nDesign of experiments\nMedical statistics" ]
[ "Mickey Thompson", "Indy years", "What was his first race on the Indy Circuit?", "In 1962 Thompson entered three John Crosthwaite designed cars in the Indianapolis 500.", "How did he do?", "Unusually, they used a stock V8 Buick engine and it was in the rear unlike the front engined, race tuned, Offenhauser powered cars used by most competitors. It", "How did the change in design affect the performance?", "Thompson's crew, led by Fritz Voigt, were young, smart and hard working. Working 12-14 hour days, the car was designed and built in 120 days." ]
C_4f7b8d89e29b402da38481fd6ce54d4e_0
Did the car place in the Race?
4
Did Mickey Thompson's car place in his first Indy Circuit race?
Mickey Thompson
In 1962 Thompson entered three John Crosthwaite designed cars in the Indianapolis 500. Unusually, they used a stock V8 Buick engine and it was in the rear unlike the front engined, race tuned, Offenhauser powered cars used by most competitors. It was the first stock engine to be raced at Indy since 1946. Thompson's crew, led by Fritz Voigt, were young, smart and hard working. Working 12-14 hour days, the car was designed and built in 120 days. For the race, the engine (enlarged to 4.2 litre capacity, the maximum allowed by the regulations for "stock block" engines) had to be detuned because they were concerned it would not last the distance. Despite being more than 70 bhp down on the other cars, Dan Gurney qualified eighth and was in ninth place until a leaking oil seal seized the gearbox and ended his race on lap 94. He was placed 20th out of 33. The team won the Mechanical Achievement Award for original design, construction and accomplishment. Thompson's promotion skills pleased the sponsors with the publicity generated that year. For the 1963 Indianapolis 500 Crosthwaite designed the innovative Harvey Aluminium Special "roller skate car" with the then pioneering smaller profile (12 inch diameter) and wide racing tires (front 7 inches and rear 9 inches wide) and wheels. Thompson took five cars to Indianapolis. Two of the previous year's design with Chevrolet V8 engines and three roller skate cars. One of the new cars, the Harvey Titanium Special, featured a lightweight titanium chassis. Al Miller II raced one of the modified 1962 cars to ninth place despite only qualifying in 31st position. Duane Carter qualified one of the roller skate cars 15th but was only placed 23rd after an engine failure on the 100th lap. The small tire sizes and low car weights caused complaints amongst the old hands and owners, so for future races, cars were restricted to minimum tire sizes and minimum car weights. 1962 Formula One World Champion Graham Hill tested one of the roller skate cars at Indianapolis in 1963, but refused to race it citing its poor handling. In 1963 Thompson traveled to England where, along with Dante Duce, he demonstrated his Ford-powered top fuel Harvey Aluminum Special dragster at the Brighton Speed Trials. It was then displayed at the Racing Car Show in London in January 1964. Thompson brought three modified 12-inch tire cars to the 1964 Indianapolis 500, but new rules required him to use 15-inch tires. The Allstate sponsored team used Allstate tires and Ford engines. The chassis had to be altered to accommodate the larger Ford engines. Two of them qualified for the race. The car No.84 began the month with Masten Gregory as the driver but Eddie Johnson in car No.84 qualified 24th and finished 26th. Dave MacDonald in car No.83 qualified 14th and died in a fiery crash on the second lap. CANNOTANSWER
qualified eighth and was in ninth place until a leaking oil seal seized the gearbox and ended his race on lap 94. He was placed 20th out of 33.
Michael Lee "Mickey" Thompson (December 7, 1928March 16, 1988) was an American auto racing builder and promoter. A hot rodder since his youth, Thompson increasingly pursued land speed records in his late 20s and early 30s. He achieved international fame in 1960, when he became the first American to break the 400-mph barrier, driving his Challenger 1 to a one-way top speed of 406.60 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats and surpassing John Cobb's one-way world record mark of 402 mph. Thompson then turned to racing, winning many track and dragster championships. In the 1960s, he also entered cars at the Indianapolis 500. Later, he formed off-road racing sanctioning bodies SCORE International and Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG). In 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were gunned down at their home in Bradbury, California. The crime remained unsolved until 2007, when a former business partner was convicted of having orchestrated the murders. Early life On December 7, 1928 Thompson was born in Alhambra, California. Thompson's father was Captain Marion L. Thompson, a former police officer with Alhambra Police Department. Thompson's sister is Collene Thompson Campbell. Career In his early 20s, he worked as a pressman for the Los Angeles Times while pursuing a lifelong love of hot rodding. He later became involved in the new sport of drag racing. Tireless and innovative, he found success as a championship driver and instinctive automotive technician. Over the course of his career, Thompson set more speed and endurance records than any other man in automotive history. He is credited with designing and building the first slingshot dragster, in 1954, moving the seat behind the rear axle to improve traction when existing racing tires proved unable to handle the output of increasingly powerful custom engines. This car, the Panorama City Special, debuted at the first NHRA U.S. Nationals at the Great Bend Municipal Airport in Great Bend, Kansas, in 1955. The car ultimately ran a best speed of . A change so momentous would not happen again until Don Garlits introduced the rear-engined digger in 1971. Thompson also was noted for being the first manager of Lions Drag Strip in Wilmington, California, in 1955. Thompson collaborated with Fritz Voight on a 1958 twin-engined dragster. This car achieved a best speed of . It provided lessons later applied to Challenger I. Determined to set a new land speed record, Thompson achieved fame when he drove his four-engined Challenger 1 at better than in 1960 at the Bonneville Salt Flats, becoming the first American to break that barrier. Indy years 1962 In 1962, Thompson entered three John Crosthwaite-designed cars in the Indianapolis 500. Unusually, they used a stock V8 Buick engine, and it was in the rear unlike the front-engined, race-tuned, Offenhauser-powered cars used by most competitors. It was the first stock engine to be raced at Indy since 1946. Thompson's crew, led by Fritz Voigt, was young, smart, and hard working. Working 12- to 14-hour days, the car was designed and built in 120 days. For the race, the engine (enlarged to 4.2-L capacity, the maximum allowed by the regulations for "stock block" engines) had to be detuned because they were concerned it would not last the distance. Despite being more than 70 bhp down on the other cars, Dan Gurney qualified eighth and was in ninth place until a leaking oil seal seized the gearbox and ended his race on lap 94. He was placed 20th out of 33. The team won the Mechanical Achievement Award for original design, construction, and accomplishment. 1963 Thompson's promotional skills pleased the sponsors with the publicity generated that year. For the 1963 Indianapolis 500, Crosthwaite designed the innovative Harvey Aluminium Special "roller skate car" with the then-pioneering diameter wheels with smaller-profile racing tires, wide at the front and rear. Thompson took five cars to Indianapolis - two of the previous year's design with Chevrolet V8 engines and three roller skate cars. One of the new cars, the Harvey Titanium Special, featured a lightweight titanium chassis. Al Miller raced one of the modified 1962 cars to ninth place despite only qualifying in 31st position. Duane Carter qualified one of the roller skate cars 15th, but was only placed 23rd after an engine failure on the 100th lap. The small tire sizes and low car weights caused complaints among the old hands and owners, so for future races, cars were restricted to minimum tire sizes and minimum car weights. Formula One World Champion Graham Hill tested one of the roller skate cars at Indianapolis in 1963, but refused to race it, citing its poor handling. The recent ruling required 15-in wheels, but the chassis was designed around smaller wheels. Thompson commented: "The car wouldn't handle", adding, "There was too much body roll due to the high center of gravity." In 1963, Thompson traveled to England, where along with Dante Duce, he demonstrated his Ford-powered top fuel Harvey Aluminum Special dragster at the Brighton Speed Trials. It was then displayed at the Racing Car Show in London in January 1964. 1964 Thompson brought three modified 12-inch-tired cars to the 1964 Indianapolis 500, but new rules required him to use 15-in tires. The Allstate sponsored team used Allstate tires and Ford engines. The chassis had to be altered to accommodate the larger Ford engines. Two of them qualified for the race. The car No. 84 began the month with Masten Gregory as the driver, but Eddie Johnson in car No. 84 qualified 24th and finished 26th. Dave MacDonald in car No. 83 qualified 14th and died in a fiery crash on the second lap. 1965–1968 Thompson went back to Indy in 1965, but failed to qualify in an attempt with a front-engined roadster. He skipped 1966, but tried again in 1967 and 1968, again failing to qualify either year. The 1967 attempt used a unique all-wheel drive rear-engined design that steered both front and rear wheels, but Gary Congdon was unable to qualify any of the three cars. Post Indy In 1965, Thompson published Challenger: Mickey Thompson's own story of his life of Speed. In 1968 Danny Ongais and he took three Ford Mustang Mach 1 to the Bonneville salt flats for a feature in Hot Rod magazine, in the process setting 295 speed and endurance records over a series of 500-mile and 24-hour courses. Together with John Buttera and Pat Foster, developed a Ford Mustang Mach 1 Funny Car with a dragster-like chassis. Driven by Ongais, the car won the 1969 NHRA Spring Nationals at Dallas and the NHRA U.S. Nationals. In his long career, Thompson raced vehicles from stock cars to off-road, and engineered numerous competition engines. He went into the performance aftermarket business in the early 1960s and then, in 1963, he created "Mickey Thompson Performance Tires" that developed special tires for racing including for Indianapolis 500 competitors. Thompson founded SCORE International in 1973, a sanctioning body to oversee off-road racing across North America. With his wife Trudy he formed the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG), which ran an indoor motocross and off-road vehicle racing show and competition that brought the sport from the back-country to major metropolitan stadiums and arenas. Personal life Thompson's wife was Trudy Thompson. On March 16, 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were murdered in Bradbury, California. Murder On March 16, 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were killed by two hooded gunmen outside their home in Bradbury, California, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. On the morning of the murder, a pair of unknown assailants waited outside the Thompson home for the couple to leave for the day. Mickey opened the garage door for his wife to pull out in her vehicle, and as he headed for his own car, the gunmen attacked. He was shot and wounded, then dragged out into the driveway while one of the attackers went after Trudy as she backed out. Killing her, the gunman then came back up the driveway, where the other gunman was watching over Mickey and shot him fatally in the head. The attackers then made their escape on the bicycles they had ridden to the Thompson residence. Expensive jewelry and a large amount of cash were found on the Thompsons' bodies, eliminating robbery as a likely motive. An intense police investigation initially failed to uncover either the identity of the mystery gunmen, or a motive for the crime. Police were interested in Thompson's former business partner Michael Frank Goodwin who repeatedly refused to pay a more than $768,000 settlement he owed Thompson. Goodwin and his wife bought $275,000 worth of gold coins two months before the Thompsons were murdered and wired $400,000 to banks on the island Grand Turk and Caicos. Goodwin and his wife then left the country five months after the murder on their yacht and did not return for more than two years. The case remained unsolved until 2001, when Goodwin was charged in Orange County, California with the murders. Before a trial could be completed, it was ended on jurisdictional grounds by the California District Court of Appeal. On June 8, 2004, Goodwin was formally charged with the murders in Pasadena, in Los Angeles County. In October 2006, a Pasadena Superior Court judge ordered Goodwin to stand trial. During the trial, a long series of witnesses reported hearing Goodwin threaten to kill the Thompsons. “I’m going to kill that son of a bitch. I’m going to kill that motherfucker. I’m going to take out Mickey. I’m too smart to get caught. I’ll have him wasted. He’ll never see a nickel. I’ll kill him first. Mickey doesn’t know who he is fucking with. He is fucking dead.” Although the prosecution did not establish a direct connection between the murderers and Goodwin, the circumstantial evidence was sufficient to convict him. On January 4, 2007, a jury found Goodwin guilty of two counts of murder in the death of Thompson and his wife. Goodwin was sentenced to two consecutive life-without-parole terms. A subsequent motion for a new trial was denied. In the 2015 California 2nd District Court of Appeal ruling, although no direct evidence connected Goodwin to the case, the array of circumstantial evidence was found to be "overwhelming". The two men who murdered the Thompsons have not been located. TV coverage, and its fictionalization through the television program CSI, were cited by the defense team during the murder trial as having created a "folklore" around the case, preventing a fair trial. Thompson, his wife, and his pets are interred in the Rose Hills Memorial Park, in Whittier, California. In popular culture CBS's To Tell The Truth. Appeared as a contestant in March 1962 NBC's Unsolved Mysteries Investigation Discovery's Murder Book. CBS television program 48 Hours Mystery April 28, 2007 CSI episode "Early Rollout" (2004) was based on this murder case. Awards Thompson was inducted posthumously to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America 1990 Inducted to International Motorsports Hall of Fame. Thompson was ranked No. 11 on the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951–2000 Thompson was inducted posthumously to the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007, and the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2009. See also Semon Knudsen Stadium Super Trucks, a racing series inspired by Thompson's stadium off-road racing Danny Thompson, Thompson's son, also a race car driver References External links News release on documentary of the murder (dead link) Trial Commentary M/T Tires Official Page Michael Goodwin profile on America's Most Wanted Murder On the Last Turn LA Weekly October 18, 2006 Lions the Greatest Drag Strip Part One at nhramuseum.org Additional sources Taylor, Thom. "Beauty Beyond the Twilight Zone" in Hot Rod, April 2017, pp. 30–43. 1928 births 1988 deaths Bonneville 300 MPH Club members Brighton Speed Trials people Deaths by firearm in California Dragster drivers International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees Land speed record people Male murder victims Off-road racing drivers Off-road racing Sportspeople from Alhambra, California People murdered in California Racing drivers from California World Sportscar Championship drivers People from Bradbury, California Burials at Rose Hills Memorial Park
true
[ "The 2010 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge was the sixth round of the 2010 American Le Mans Series season. It took place at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on August 7, 2010. The Muscle Milk Team Cytosport Porsche did not start the race after Greg Pickett destroyed the car during testing on the Thursday before the race.\n\nQualifying\n\nQualifying result\nPole position winners in each class are marked in bold.\n\nRace\n\nRace result\nClass winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of their class winner's distance are marked as Not Classified (NC).\n\nReferences\n\nSports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio\nMid-Ohio\n2010 in sports in Ohio", "The Spyker Squadron was the factory racing team from Dutch sportscar manufacturer Spyker Cars. The team raced in various endurance championships and non-championship races from 2002 to 2010. Daily operations were managed by Peter van Erp, the later Spyker Cars COO.\n\nHistory\n\nSpyker C8 Double-12R\n\nReiter Engineering developed the Spyker C8 Double-12R to compete in the 2002 24 Hours of Le Mans GT class. The team debuted the car at the 2002 12 Hours of Sebring with Derek Hill, Peter Kox and Hans Hugenholtz. The team retired after four hours due to accident damage. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans the team retired over halfway through the race. A valve problem in the BMW engine caused the retirement.\n\nThe C8 Double-12R was again raced in 2003. Engine trouble again hampered their 12 Hours of Sebring effort. The team retired just past the half way mark. Sponsored by telecom provider Orange S.A. the team presented drivers Tom Coronel, Hans Hugenholtz and Norman Simon. Gearbox trouble prevented a strong finish, the team finished the race but was not classified as it was to far behind. The team also entered the lone race of the 2003 Le Mans Series, the 1000km of Le Mans. Norman Simon, joined by Belgian Patrick van der Schoote, finished the race in 25th place overall.\n\nSpyker C8 Spyder GT2-R\nIn 2004 the team focused on developing a new variant on the C8, the C8 Spyder GT2-R. The car debuted at the 2005 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Audi powered car failed to finish the race due to an engine fire almost seven hours into the race. The team returned at the 1000km of Nürburgring, the fourth round of the 2005 Le Mans Series season. Drivers Jeroen Bleekemolen and Donny Crevels finished eighteenth overall, second in the GT2 class. The team finished in the same lap as the class winning Porsche 996 GT3. Near the end of the year the team made its debut in the FIA GT Championship. Racing at Zhuhai and Dubai the team scored two top five class finishes. At Dubai the team finished third in class.\n\nFor 2006 the Spyder was fitted with a roof. The team entered the full 2006 Le Mans Series. The team's best result was a sixteenth place overall, third in class, at the 1000km of Jarama. Both Spykers entered the 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans, but both did not finish. In the 2006 Spa 24 Hours the team fought for a fourth place in class most of the race, before having to settle for tenth.\n\nThe team scaled down to a single car for the 2007 season. In the Le Mans Series, drivers Mike Hezemans and Peter Dumbreck scored a third place in class finish at the 1000km of Silverstone. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans the team did not finish the race. An engine problem seven hours into the race stopped the car at Tetre Rouge.\n\nIn 2008 the car won its final race, the 1000 kilometrų lenktynės with Jonas Gelžinis, Ralf Kelleners, Peter Dumbreck and Alexey Vasilyev.\n\nSpyker C8 Laviolette GT2-R\n\nIntroducing the C8 Laviolette GT2-R in 2008 the team did not finish the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Three fourth-place finishes in the 2008 Le Mans Series placed the team third in the constructors championship. Despite the main company moving to Coventry, the racing team remained in Zeewolde. The team repeated its performance feat in 2009. The team even scored to second in class finishes at the 1000km of Nürburgring and the 1000km of Silverstone. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans the team finished the race. Drivers Tom Coronel, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Jaroslav Janiš finished the Snoras sponsored car in fifth place in class. Snoras became a major stakeholder in the Spyker Cars company.\n\nIn 2010 the team again entered the Le Mans Series as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The team again finished the prestigious sports car race, as the last classified car. The team finished in 27th place, 117 laps behind the overall winning car.\n\nSpyker C8 Aileron GTE\nIn 2011 the team took a sabbatical to develop the C8 Aileron to race in 2012. But as the major shareholder Snoras filed for bankruptcy and a deal with its owner Vladimir Antonov fell through, the team folded.\n\n24 Hours of Le Mans results\n\nGallery\n\nReferences\n\nDutch auto racing teams\nFIA GT Championship teams\n24 Hours of Le Mans teams\nEuropean Le Mans Series teams" ]
[ "Mickey Thompson", "Indy years", "What was his first race on the Indy Circuit?", "In 1962 Thompson entered three John Crosthwaite designed cars in the Indianapolis 500.", "How did he do?", "Unusually, they used a stock V8 Buick engine and it was in the rear unlike the front engined, race tuned, Offenhauser powered cars used by most competitors. It", "How did the change in design affect the performance?", "Thompson's crew, led by Fritz Voigt, were young, smart and hard working. Working 12-14 hour days, the car was designed and built in 120 days.", "Did the car place in the Race?", "qualified eighth and was in ninth place until a leaking oil seal seized the gearbox and ended his race on lap 94. He was placed 20th out of 33." ]
C_4f7b8d89e29b402da38481fd6ce54d4e_0
What year was this race?
5
What year was Mickey Thompson's first Indy Circuit race?
Mickey Thompson
In 1962 Thompson entered three John Crosthwaite designed cars in the Indianapolis 500. Unusually, they used a stock V8 Buick engine and it was in the rear unlike the front engined, race tuned, Offenhauser powered cars used by most competitors. It was the first stock engine to be raced at Indy since 1946. Thompson's crew, led by Fritz Voigt, were young, smart and hard working. Working 12-14 hour days, the car was designed and built in 120 days. For the race, the engine (enlarged to 4.2 litre capacity, the maximum allowed by the regulations for "stock block" engines) had to be detuned because they were concerned it would not last the distance. Despite being more than 70 bhp down on the other cars, Dan Gurney qualified eighth and was in ninth place until a leaking oil seal seized the gearbox and ended his race on lap 94. He was placed 20th out of 33. The team won the Mechanical Achievement Award for original design, construction and accomplishment. Thompson's promotion skills pleased the sponsors with the publicity generated that year. For the 1963 Indianapolis 500 Crosthwaite designed the innovative Harvey Aluminium Special "roller skate car" with the then pioneering smaller profile (12 inch diameter) and wide racing tires (front 7 inches and rear 9 inches wide) and wheels. Thompson took five cars to Indianapolis. Two of the previous year's design with Chevrolet V8 engines and three roller skate cars. One of the new cars, the Harvey Titanium Special, featured a lightweight titanium chassis. Al Miller II raced one of the modified 1962 cars to ninth place despite only qualifying in 31st position. Duane Carter qualified one of the roller skate cars 15th but was only placed 23rd after an engine failure on the 100th lap. The small tire sizes and low car weights caused complaints amongst the old hands and owners, so for future races, cars were restricted to minimum tire sizes and minimum car weights. 1962 Formula One World Champion Graham Hill tested one of the roller skate cars at Indianapolis in 1963, but refused to race it citing its poor handling. In 1963 Thompson traveled to England where, along with Dante Duce, he demonstrated his Ford-powered top fuel Harvey Aluminum Special dragster at the Brighton Speed Trials. It was then displayed at the Racing Car Show in London in January 1964. Thompson brought three modified 12-inch tire cars to the 1964 Indianapolis 500, but new rules required him to use 15-inch tires. The Allstate sponsored team used Allstate tires and Ford engines. The chassis had to be altered to accommodate the larger Ford engines. Two of them qualified for the race. The car No.84 began the month with Masten Gregory as the driver but Eddie Johnson in car No.84 qualified 24th and finished 26th. Dave MacDonald in car No.83 qualified 14th and died in a fiery crash on the second lap. CANNOTANSWER
CANNOTANSWER
Michael Lee "Mickey" Thompson (December 7, 1928March 16, 1988) was an American auto racing builder and promoter. A hot rodder since his youth, Thompson increasingly pursued land speed records in his late 20s and early 30s. He achieved international fame in 1960, when he became the first American to break the 400-mph barrier, driving his Challenger 1 to a one-way top speed of 406.60 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats and surpassing John Cobb's one-way world record mark of 402 mph. Thompson then turned to racing, winning many track and dragster championships. In the 1960s, he also entered cars at the Indianapolis 500. Later, he formed off-road racing sanctioning bodies SCORE International and Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG). In 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were gunned down at their home in Bradbury, California. The crime remained unsolved until 2007, when a former business partner was convicted of having orchestrated the murders. Early life On December 7, 1928 Thompson was born in Alhambra, California. Thompson's father was Captain Marion L. Thompson, a former police officer with Alhambra Police Department. Thompson's sister is Collene Thompson Campbell. Career In his early 20s, he worked as a pressman for the Los Angeles Times while pursuing a lifelong love of hot rodding. He later became involved in the new sport of drag racing. Tireless and innovative, he found success as a championship driver and instinctive automotive technician. Over the course of his career, Thompson set more speed and endurance records than any other man in automotive history. He is credited with designing and building the first slingshot dragster, in 1954, moving the seat behind the rear axle to improve traction when existing racing tires proved unable to handle the output of increasingly powerful custom engines. This car, the Panorama City Special, debuted at the first NHRA U.S. Nationals at the Great Bend Municipal Airport in Great Bend, Kansas, in 1955. The car ultimately ran a best speed of . A change so momentous would not happen again until Don Garlits introduced the rear-engined digger in 1971. Thompson also was noted for being the first manager of Lions Drag Strip in Wilmington, California, in 1955. Thompson collaborated with Fritz Voight on a 1958 twin-engined dragster. This car achieved a best speed of . It provided lessons later applied to Challenger I. Determined to set a new land speed record, Thompson achieved fame when he drove his four-engined Challenger 1 at better than in 1960 at the Bonneville Salt Flats, becoming the first American to break that barrier. Indy years 1962 In 1962, Thompson entered three John Crosthwaite-designed cars in the Indianapolis 500. Unusually, they used a stock V8 Buick engine, and it was in the rear unlike the front-engined, race-tuned, Offenhauser-powered cars used by most competitors. It was the first stock engine to be raced at Indy since 1946. Thompson's crew, led by Fritz Voigt, was young, smart, and hard working. Working 12- to 14-hour days, the car was designed and built in 120 days. For the race, the engine (enlarged to 4.2-L capacity, the maximum allowed by the regulations for "stock block" engines) had to be detuned because they were concerned it would not last the distance. Despite being more than 70 bhp down on the other cars, Dan Gurney qualified eighth and was in ninth place until a leaking oil seal seized the gearbox and ended his race on lap 94. He was placed 20th out of 33. The team won the Mechanical Achievement Award for original design, construction, and accomplishment. 1963 Thompson's promotional skills pleased the sponsors with the publicity generated that year. For the 1963 Indianapolis 500, Crosthwaite designed the innovative Harvey Aluminium Special "roller skate car" with the then-pioneering diameter wheels with smaller-profile racing tires, wide at the front and rear. Thompson took five cars to Indianapolis - two of the previous year's design with Chevrolet V8 engines and three roller skate cars. One of the new cars, the Harvey Titanium Special, featured a lightweight titanium chassis. Al Miller raced one of the modified 1962 cars to ninth place despite only qualifying in 31st position. Duane Carter qualified one of the roller skate cars 15th, but was only placed 23rd after an engine failure on the 100th lap. The small tire sizes and low car weights caused complaints among the old hands and owners, so for future races, cars were restricted to minimum tire sizes and minimum car weights. Formula One World Champion Graham Hill tested one of the roller skate cars at Indianapolis in 1963, but refused to race it, citing its poor handling. The recent ruling required 15-in wheels, but the chassis was designed around smaller wheels. Thompson commented: "The car wouldn't handle", adding, "There was too much body roll due to the high center of gravity." In 1963, Thompson traveled to England, where along with Dante Duce, he demonstrated his Ford-powered top fuel Harvey Aluminum Special dragster at the Brighton Speed Trials. It was then displayed at the Racing Car Show in London in January 1964. 1964 Thompson brought three modified 12-inch-tired cars to the 1964 Indianapolis 500, but new rules required him to use 15-in tires. The Allstate sponsored team used Allstate tires and Ford engines. The chassis had to be altered to accommodate the larger Ford engines. Two of them qualified for the race. The car No. 84 began the month with Masten Gregory as the driver, but Eddie Johnson in car No. 84 qualified 24th and finished 26th. Dave MacDonald in car No. 83 qualified 14th and died in a fiery crash on the second lap. 1965–1968 Thompson went back to Indy in 1965, but failed to qualify in an attempt with a front-engined roadster. He skipped 1966, but tried again in 1967 and 1968, again failing to qualify either year. The 1967 attempt used a unique all-wheel drive rear-engined design that steered both front and rear wheels, but Gary Congdon was unable to qualify any of the three cars. Post Indy In 1965, Thompson published Challenger: Mickey Thompson's own story of his life of Speed. In 1968 Danny Ongais and he took three Ford Mustang Mach 1 to the Bonneville salt flats for a feature in Hot Rod magazine, in the process setting 295 speed and endurance records over a series of 500-mile and 24-hour courses. Together with John Buttera and Pat Foster, developed a Ford Mustang Mach 1 Funny Car with a dragster-like chassis. Driven by Ongais, the car won the 1969 NHRA Spring Nationals at Dallas and the NHRA U.S. Nationals. In his long career, Thompson raced vehicles from stock cars to off-road, and engineered numerous competition engines. He went into the performance aftermarket business in the early 1960s and then, in 1963, he created "Mickey Thompson Performance Tires" that developed special tires for racing including for Indianapolis 500 competitors. Thompson founded SCORE International in 1973, a sanctioning body to oversee off-road racing across North America. With his wife Trudy he formed the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG), which ran an indoor motocross and off-road vehicle racing show and competition that brought the sport from the back-country to major metropolitan stadiums and arenas. Personal life Thompson's wife was Trudy Thompson. On March 16, 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were murdered in Bradbury, California. Murder On March 16, 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were killed by two hooded gunmen outside their home in Bradbury, California, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. On the morning of the murder, a pair of unknown assailants waited outside the Thompson home for the couple to leave for the day. Mickey opened the garage door for his wife to pull out in her vehicle, and as he headed for his own car, the gunmen attacked. He was shot and wounded, then dragged out into the driveway while one of the attackers went after Trudy as she backed out. Killing her, the gunman then came back up the driveway, where the other gunman was watching over Mickey and shot him fatally in the head. The attackers then made their escape on the bicycles they had ridden to the Thompson residence. Expensive jewelry and a large amount of cash were found on the Thompsons' bodies, eliminating robbery as a likely motive. An intense police investigation initially failed to uncover either the identity of the mystery gunmen, or a motive for the crime. Police were interested in Thompson's former business partner Michael Frank Goodwin who repeatedly refused to pay a more than $768,000 settlement he owed Thompson. Goodwin and his wife bought $275,000 worth of gold coins two months before the Thompsons were murdered and wired $400,000 to banks on the island Grand Turk and Caicos. Goodwin and his wife then left the country five months after the murder on their yacht and did not return for more than two years. The case remained unsolved until 2001, when Goodwin was charged in Orange County, California with the murders. Before a trial could be completed, it was ended on jurisdictional grounds by the California District Court of Appeal. On June 8, 2004, Goodwin was formally charged with the murders in Pasadena, in Los Angeles County. In October 2006, a Pasadena Superior Court judge ordered Goodwin to stand trial. During the trial, a long series of witnesses reported hearing Goodwin threaten to kill the Thompsons. “I’m going to kill that son of a bitch. I’m going to kill that motherfucker. I’m going to take out Mickey. I’m too smart to get caught. I’ll have him wasted. He’ll never see a nickel. I’ll kill him first. Mickey doesn’t know who he is fucking with. He is fucking dead.” Although the prosecution did not establish a direct connection between the murderers and Goodwin, the circumstantial evidence was sufficient to convict him. On January 4, 2007, a jury found Goodwin guilty of two counts of murder in the death of Thompson and his wife. Goodwin was sentenced to two consecutive life-without-parole terms. A subsequent motion for a new trial was denied. In the 2015 California 2nd District Court of Appeal ruling, although no direct evidence connected Goodwin to the case, the array of circumstantial evidence was found to be "overwhelming". The two men who murdered the Thompsons have not been located. TV coverage, and its fictionalization through the television program CSI, were cited by the defense team during the murder trial as having created a "folklore" around the case, preventing a fair trial. Thompson, his wife, and his pets are interred in the Rose Hills Memorial Park, in Whittier, California. In popular culture CBS's To Tell The Truth. Appeared as a contestant in March 1962 NBC's Unsolved Mysteries Investigation Discovery's Murder Book. CBS television program 48 Hours Mystery April 28, 2007 CSI episode "Early Rollout" (2004) was based on this murder case. Awards Thompson was inducted posthumously to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America 1990 Inducted to International Motorsports Hall of Fame. Thompson was ranked No. 11 on the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951–2000 Thompson was inducted posthumously to the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007, and the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2009. See also Semon Knudsen Stadium Super Trucks, a racing series inspired by Thompson's stadium off-road racing Danny Thompson, Thompson's son, also a race car driver References External links News release on documentary of the murder (dead link) Trial Commentary M/T Tires Official Page Michael Goodwin profile on America's Most Wanted Murder On the Last Turn LA Weekly October 18, 2006 Lions the Greatest Drag Strip Part One at nhramuseum.org Additional sources Taylor, Thom. "Beauty Beyond the Twilight Zone" in Hot Rod, April 2017, pp. 30–43. 1928 births 1988 deaths Bonneville 300 MPH Club members Brighton Speed Trials people Deaths by firearm in California Dragster drivers International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees Land speed record people Male murder victims Off-road racing drivers Off-road racing Sportspeople from Alhambra, California People murdered in California Racing drivers from California World Sportscar Championship drivers People from Bradbury, California Burials at Rose Hills Memorial Park
false
[ "The What A Summer Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in January at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland. The race is open to fillies and mares four years old and up and is run at six furlongs on the dirt.\n\nAn ungraded stakes race, it offers a purse of $100,000. The race was restricted to Maryland-breds between 1978 and 1992. It was run for fillies and mares from age three and up from 1978 through 1985 and was run under handicap conditions during that same time. The race was restricted to two-year-olds from 1985 to 1992.\n\nThe race was named in honor of What A Summer, a gray mare by What Luck. She was an Eclipse Award winner and was named American Champion Sprint Horse in 1977. She was bred in Maryland by Milton Polinger. What A Summer was a foal in 1973 and won 18 of 31 starts in her career. She won the de facto second leg of the filly Triple Crown, the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes, won the Fall Highweight Handicap twice (carrying 134 pounds each time), the Silver Spoon Handicap twice, the Maskette Handicap and four other stakes. In addition to her 18 wins, she placed nine times with earnings of $479,161. That record of 27 first or second finishes in 31 starts at 87% is among the best in history.\n\nWhat A Summer was trained by Bud Delp while racing for Polinger. She was bought by Diana Firestone following Polinger's death in 1976. Mrs. Firestone turned the mare over to trainer LeRoy Jolley. She was named Maryland-bred horse of the year in 1977 and twice was named champion older mare. What A Summer was retired in 1878 and as a broodmare produced several graded stakes winners.\n\nA venue of 1994 race was Gulfstream Park.\n\nRecords \n\nSpeed record: \n 6 furlongs – 1:09.20 – Xtra Heat (2003) \n 7 furlongs – 1:23.60 – Sea Siren (1983)\n\nMost wins by an horse:\n 2 – Silmaril (2006 & 2007)\n 2 – Sweet on Smokey (2016 & 2017)\n\nMost wins by an owner:\n 3 – Stephen E. Quick (1982, 2007 & 2008)\n\nMost wins by a jockey:\n 2 – five different jockeys share this record with 2 wins each\n\nMost wins by a trainer:\n 3 – Christopher W. Grove (2007, 2008 & 2010)\n\nWinners of the What A Summer Stakes since 1978\n\nSee also \n\n What A Summer Stakes top three finishers\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Laurel Park website\n\n1978 establishments in Maryland\nLaurel Park Racecourse\nHorse races in Maryland\nRecurring sporting events established in 1978", "What A Summer (foal in 1973) was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse who defeated both male and female competitors. She was bred in Maryland by Milton Polinger. She was a gray out of the mare Summer Classic who was sired by Summer Tan. Her sire was What Luck, a multiple stakes winning son of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Bold Ruler. What A Summer is probably best remembered for her win in the Grade II $65,000 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes over stakes winners Dearly Precious and Artfully on May 14, 1976.\n\nTwo-year-old season \n\nWhat A Summer was trained very early in her career by Hall of Fame conditioner Bud Delp while racing for her breeder, Milton Polinger. She was bought by Mrs. Bertram Firestone following Polinger's death in the early fall of 1976. That death delayed her the first start of her career until late in the year. Mrs. Firestone turned the mare over to trainer LeRoy Jolley. What A Summer did not start racing until near the end of her two-year-old season, when she broke her maiden at Philadelphia Park. Near the end of the year, she won an allowance race. She ended the year with two wins in four starts.\n\nThree-year-old season \nIn January, What A Summer placed second in her first stakes race, the $25,000 Heirloom Stakes at the old Liberty Bell Race Track in Philadelphia. Two months later, she won her second allowance race over winners and convinced her connections that she was ready to step up in class and take on stakes winners in the Grade II $65,000 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes. In that race, she withstood a fast closing challenge down the stretch to hold off a late charge by 4:5 favorite Dearly Precious in a final time of 1:42.40 for the mile and one sixteenth on the dirt track at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. Her jockey, Chris McCarron, was credited with a solid ride by conserving energy with moderate fractions in the middle portion of the race. Stakes winner Artfully held on for third in the field of ten three-year-old fillies. In December 1976, What A Summer won the $50,000 Anne Arundel Stakes at Laurel Park Racecourse, beating Turn the Guns and Avum in 1:38.20 for the mile under McCarron.\n\nFour-year-old season \n\nIn 1977, What A Summer won the $75,000 Fall Highweight Handicap twice, carrying the high weight of 134 pounds under jockey Jacinto Vásquez. The Fall Highweight is run in November of each year at Aqueduct Racetrack. In the 1977 race, she finished in a time of 1:09.4 and she broke the stakes record for six furlongs. That year, she also won the $40,000 Silver Spoon Handicap, the $50,000 Maskette Handicap and the $35,000 Distaff Handicap. She placed second in the grade one Beldame Stakes at Belmont Park and showed in both the $40,000 Grey Flight Handicap and the $25,000 Regret Stakes.\n\nFive-year-old season \n\nIn 1978 as a five-year-old, What A Summer repeated two of her victories from the year before in both the Fall Highweight Handicap, under Hall of Fame jockey Ángel Cordero Jr., and the $40,000 Silver Spoon Handicap. She also won the $40,000 First Flight Handicap. She placed second in the grade two Vosburgh Stakes, the grade three Vagrancy Handicap, the Sport Page Handicap, the Suwanee River Handicap and the Egret Handicap.\n\nHonors \n\nWhat A Summer was named Maryland-bred horse of the year in 1977 and twice was named champion older mare for the state of Maryland in both 1977 and 1978. She was retired in 1978 and as a broodmare she produced several graded stakes winners. After her retirement, Laurel Park Racecourse named a race in honor, the What A Summer Stakes. She was an Eclipse Award winner and was named American Champion Sprint Horse in 1977.\n\nWhat A Summer ended her career with a record of 18 wins out of 31 starts in her career. Her most memorable race was perhaps her dominating performance in the de facto second leg of the filly Triple Crown, the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes. In addition to her 18 wins, she placed nine times with earnings of $479,161. That record of 27 first or second finishes in 31 starts at 87% is among the best in history.\n\nReferences\n What A Summer's pedigree and partial racing stats\n\n1973 racehorse births\nRacehorses bred in Maryland\nRacehorses trained in the United States\nEclipse Award winners\nThoroughbred family 17-b" ]
[ "Mickey Thompson", "Indy years", "What was his first race on the Indy Circuit?", "In 1962 Thompson entered three John Crosthwaite designed cars in the Indianapolis 500.", "How did he do?", "Unusually, they used a stock V8 Buick engine and it was in the rear unlike the front engined, race tuned, Offenhauser powered cars used by most competitors. It", "How did the change in design affect the performance?", "Thompson's crew, led by Fritz Voigt, were young, smart and hard working. Working 12-14 hour days, the car was designed and built in 120 days.", "Did the car place in the Race?", "qualified eighth and was in ninth place until a leaking oil seal seized the gearbox and ended his race on lap 94. He was placed 20th out of 33.", "What year was this race?", "I don't know." ]
C_4f7b8d89e29b402da38481fd6ce54d4e_0
Did he win any awards?
6
Did Mickey Thompson win any awards in his first Indy Circuit race?
Mickey Thompson
In 1962 Thompson entered three John Crosthwaite designed cars in the Indianapolis 500. Unusually, they used a stock V8 Buick engine and it was in the rear unlike the front engined, race tuned, Offenhauser powered cars used by most competitors. It was the first stock engine to be raced at Indy since 1946. Thompson's crew, led by Fritz Voigt, were young, smart and hard working. Working 12-14 hour days, the car was designed and built in 120 days. For the race, the engine (enlarged to 4.2 litre capacity, the maximum allowed by the regulations for "stock block" engines) had to be detuned because they were concerned it would not last the distance. Despite being more than 70 bhp down on the other cars, Dan Gurney qualified eighth and was in ninth place until a leaking oil seal seized the gearbox and ended his race on lap 94. He was placed 20th out of 33. The team won the Mechanical Achievement Award for original design, construction and accomplishment. Thompson's promotion skills pleased the sponsors with the publicity generated that year. For the 1963 Indianapolis 500 Crosthwaite designed the innovative Harvey Aluminium Special "roller skate car" with the then pioneering smaller profile (12 inch diameter) and wide racing tires (front 7 inches and rear 9 inches wide) and wheels. Thompson took five cars to Indianapolis. Two of the previous year's design with Chevrolet V8 engines and three roller skate cars. One of the new cars, the Harvey Titanium Special, featured a lightweight titanium chassis. Al Miller II raced one of the modified 1962 cars to ninth place despite only qualifying in 31st position. Duane Carter qualified one of the roller skate cars 15th but was only placed 23rd after an engine failure on the 100th lap. The small tire sizes and low car weights caused complaints amongst the old hands and owners, so for future races, cars were restricted to minimum tire sizes and minimum car weights. 1962 Formula One World Champion Graham Hill tested one of the roller skate cars at Indianapolis in 1963, but refused to race it citing its poor handling. In 1963 Thompson traveled to England where, along with Dante Duce, he demonstrated his Ford-powered top fuel Harvey Aluminum Special dragster at the Brighton Speed Trials. It was then displayed at the Racing Car Show in London in January 1964. Thompson brought three modified 12-inch tire cars to the 1964 Indianapolis 500, but new rules required him to use 15-inch tires. The Allstate sponsored team used Allstate tires and Ford engines. The chassis had to be altered to accommodate the larger Ford engines. Two of them qualified for the race. The car No.84 began the month with Masten Gregory as the driver but Eddie Johnson in car No.84 qualified 24th and finished 26th. Dave MacDonald in car No.83 qualified 14th and died in a fiery crash on the second lap. CANNOTANSWER
CANNOTANSWER
Michael Lee "Mickey" Thompson (December 7, 1928March 16, 1988) was an American auto racing builder and promoter. A hot rodder since his youth, Thompson increasingly pursued land speed records in his late 20s and early 30s. He achieved international fame in 1960, when he became the first American to break the 400-mph barrier, driving his Challenger 1 to a one-way top speed of 406.60 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats and surpassing John Cobb's one-way world record mark of 402 mph. Thompson then turned to racing, winning many track and dragster championships. In the 1960s, he also entered cars at the Indianapolis 500. Later, he formed off-road racing sanctioning bodies SCORE International and Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG). In 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were gunned down at their home in Bradbury, California. The crime remained unsolved until 2007, when a former business partner was convicted of having orchestrated the murders. Early life On December 7, 1928 Thompson was born in Alhambra, California. Thompson's father was Captain Marion L. Thompson, a former police officer with Alhambra Police Department. Thompson's sister is Collene Thompson Campbell. Career In his early 20s, he worked as a pressman for the Los Angeles Times while pursuing a lifelong love of hot rodding. He later became involved in the new sport of drag racing. Tireless and innovative, he found success as a championship driver and instinctive automotive technician. Over the course of his career, Thompson set more speed and endurance records than any other man in automotive history. He is credited with designing and building the first slingshot dragster, in 1954, moving the seat behind the rear axle to improve traction when existing racing tires proved unable to handle the output of increasingly powerful custom engines. This car, the Panorama City Special, debuted at the first NHRA U.S. Nationals at the Great Bend Municipal Airport in Great Bend, Kansas, in 1955. The car ultimately ran a best speed of . A change so momentous would not happen again until Don Garlits introduced the rear-engined digger in 1971. Thompson also was noted for being the first manager of Lions Drag Strip in Wilmington, California, in 1955. Thompson collaborated with Fritz Voight on a 1958 twin-engined dragster. This car achieved a best speed of . It provided lessons later applied to Challenger I. Determined to set a new land speed record, Thompson achieved fame when he drove his four-engined Challenger 1 at better than in 1960 at the Bonneville Salt Flats, becoming the first American to break that barrier. Indy years 1962 In 1962, Thompson entered three John Crosthwaite-designed cars in the Indianapolis 500. Unusually, they used a stock V8 Buick engine, and it was in the rear unlike the front-engined, race-tuned, Offenhauser-powered cars used by most competitors. It was the first stock engine to be raced at Indy since 1946. Thompson's crew, led by Fritz Voigt, was young, smart, and hard working. Working 12- to 14-hour days, the car was designed and built in 120 days. For the race, the engine (enlarged to 4.2-L capacity, the maximum allowed by the regulations for "stock block" engines) had to be detuned because they were concerned it would not last the distance. Despite being more than 70 bhp down on the other cars, Dan Gurney qualified eighth and was in ninth place until a leaking oil seal seized the gearbox and ended his race on lap 94. He was placed 20th out of 33. The team won the Mechanical Achievement Award for original design, construction, and accomplishment. 1963 Thompson's promotional skills pleased the sponsors with the publicity generated that year. For the 1963 Indianapolis 500, Crosthwaite designed the innovative Harvey Aluminium Special "roller skate car" with the then-pioneering diameter wheels with smaller-profile racing tires, wide at the front and rear. Thompson took five cars to Indianapolis - two of the previous year's design with Chevrolet V8 engines and three roller skate cars. One of the new cars, the Harvey Titanium Special, featured a lightweight titanium chassis. Al Miller raced one of the modified 1962 cars to ninth place despite only qualifying in 31st position. Duane Carter qualified one of the roller skate cars 15th, but was only placed 23rd after an engine failure on the 100th lap. The small tire sizes and low car weights caused complaints among the old hands and owners, so for future races, cars were restricted to minimum tire sizes and minimum car weights. Formula One World Champion Graham Hill tested one of the roller skate cars at Indianapolis in 1963, but refused to race it, citing its poor handling. The recent ruling required 15-in wheels, but the chassis was designed around smaller wheels. Thompson commented: "The car wouldn't handle", adding, "There was too much body roll due to the high center of gravity." In 1963, Thompson traveled to England, where along with Dante Duce, he demonstrated his Ford-powered top fuel Harvey Aluminum Special dragster at the Brighton Speed Trials. It was then displayed at the Racing Car Show in London in January 1964. 1964 Thompson brought three modified 12-inch-tired cars to the 1964 Indianapolis 500, but new rules required him to use 15-in tires. The Allstate sponsored team used Allstate tires and Ford engines. The chassis had to be altered to accommodate the larger Ford engines. Two of them qualified for the race. The car No. 84 began the month with Masten Gregory as the driver, but Eddie Johnson in car No. 84 qualified 24th and finished 26th. Dave MacDonald in car No. 83 qualified 14th and died in a fiery crash on the second lap. 1965–1968 Thompson went back to Indy in 1965, but failed to qualify in an attempt with a front-engined roadster. He skipped 1966, but tried again in 1967 and 1968, again failing to qualify either year. The 1967 attempt used a unique all-wheel drive rear-engined design that steered both front and rear wheels, but Gary Congdon was unable to qualify any of the three cars. Post Indy In 1965, Thompson published Challenger: Mickey Thompson's own story of his life of Speed. In 1968 Danny Ongais and he took three Ford Mustang Mach 1 to the Bonneville salt flats for a feature in Hot Rod magazine, in the process setting 295 speed and endurance records over a series of 500-mile and 24-hour courses. Together with John Buttera and Pat Foster, developed a Ford Mustang Mach 1 Funny Car with a dragster-like chassis. Driven by Ongais, the car won the 1969 NHRA Spring Nationals at Dallas and the NHRA U.S. Nationals. In his long career, Thompson raced vehicles from stock cars to off-road, and engineered numerous competition engines. He went into the performance aftermarket business in the early 1960s and then, in 1963, he created "Mickey Thompson Performance Tires" that developed special tires for racing including for Indianapolis 500 competitors. Thompson founded SCORE International in 1973, a sanctioning body to oversee off-road racing across North America. With his wife Trudy he formed the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG), which ran an indoor motocross and off-road vehicle racing show and competition that brought the sport from the back-country to major metropolitan stadiums and arenas. Personal life Thompson's wife was Trudy Thompson. On March 16, 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were murdered in Bradbury, California. Murder On March 16, 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were killed by two hooded gunmen outside their home in Bradbury, California, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. On the morning of the murder, a pair of unknown assailants waited outside the Thompson home for the couple to leave for the day. Mickey opened the garage door for his wife to pull out in her vehicle, and as he headed for his own car, the gunmen attacked. He was shot and wounded, then dragged out into the driveway while one of the attackers went after Trudy as she backed out. Killing her, the gunman then came back up the driveway, where the other gunman was watching over Mickey and shot him fatally in the head. The attackers then made their escape on the bicycles they had ridden to the Thompson residence. Expensive jewelry and a large amount of cash were found on the Thompsons' bodies, eliminating robbery as a likely motive. An intense police investigation initially failed to uncover either the identity of the mystery gunmen, or a motive for the crime. Police were interested in Thompson's former business partner Michael Frank Goodwin who repeatedly refused to pay a more than $768,000 settlement he owed Thompson. Goodwin and his wife bought $275,000 worth of gold coins two months before the Thompsons were murdered and wired $400,000 to banks on the island Grand Turk and Caicos. Goodwin and his wife then left the country five months after the murder on their yacht and did not return for more than two years. The case remained unsolved until 2001, when Goodwin was charged in Orange County, California with the murders. Before a trial could be completed, it was ended on jurisdictional grounds by the California District Court of Appeal. On June 8, 2004, Goodwin was formally charged with the murders in Pasadena, in Los Angeles County. In October 2006, a Pasadena Superior Court judge ordered Goodwin to stand trial. During the trial, a long series of witnesses reported hearing Goodwin threaten to kill the Thompsons. “I’m going to kill that son of a bitch. I’m going to kill that motherfucker. I’m going to take out Mickey. I’m too smart to get caught. I’ll have him wasted. He’ll never see a nickel. I’ll kill him first. Mickey doesn’t know who he is fucking with. He is fucking dead.” Although the prosecution did not establish a direct connection between the murderers and Goodwin, the circumstantial evidence was sufficient to convict him. On January 4, 2007, a jury found Goodwin guilty of two counts of murder in the death of Thompson and his wife. Goodwin was sentenced to two consecutive life-without-parole terms. A subsequent motion for a new trial was denied. In the 2015 California 2nd District Court of Appeal ruling, although no direct evidence connected Goodwin to the case, the array of circumstantial evidence was found to be "overwhelming". The two men who murdered the Thompsons have not been located. TV coverage, and its fictionalization through the television program CSI, were cited by the defense team during the murder trial as having created a "folklore" around the case, preventing a fair trial. Thompson, his wife, and his pets are interred in the Rose Hills Memorial Park, in Whittier, California. In popular culture CBS's To Tell The Truth. Appeared as a contestant in March 1962 NBC's Unsolved Mysteries Investigation Discovery's Murder Book. CBS television program 48 Hours Mystery April 28, 2007 CSI episode "Early Rollout" (2004) was based on this murder case. Awards Thompson was inducted posthumously to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America 1990 Inducted to International Motorsports Hall of Fame. Thompson was ranked No. 11 on the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951–2000 Thompson was inducted posthumously to the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007, and the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2009. See also Semon Knudsen Stadium Super Trucks, a racing series inspired by Thompson's stadium off-road racing Danny Thompson, Thompson's son, also a race car driver References External links News release on documentary of the murder (dead link) Trial Commentary M/T Tires Official Page Michael Goodwin profile on America's Most Wanted Murder On the Last Turn LA Weekly October 18, 2006 Lions the Greatest Drag Strip Part One at nhramuseum.org Additional sources Taylor, Thom. "Beauty Beyond the Twilight Zone" in Hot Rod, April 2017, pp. 30–43. 1928 births 1988 deaths Bonneville 300 MPH Club members Brighton Speed Trials people Deaths by firearm in California Dragster drivers International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees Land speed record people Male murder victims Off-road racing drivers Off-road racing Sportspeople from Alhambra, California People murdered in California Racing drivers from California World Sportscar Championship drivers People from Bradbury, California Burials at Rose Hills Memorial Park
false
[ "Le Cousin is a 1997 French film directed by Alain Corneau.\n\nPlot \nThe film deals with the relationship of the police and an informant in the drug scene.\n\nAwards and nominations\nLe Cousin was nominated for 5 César Awards but did not win in any category.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n1997 films\n1997 crime films\nFilms about drugs\nFilms directed by Alain Corneau\nFrench crime films\nFrench films\nFrench-language films", "The 23rd Fangoria Chainsaw Awards is an award ceremony presented for horror films that were released in 2020. The nominees were announced on January 20, 2021. The film The Invisible Man won five of its five nominations, including Best Wide Release, as well as the write-in poll of Best Kill. Color Out Of Space and Possessor each took two awards. His House did not win any of its seven nominations. The ceremony was exclusively livestreamed for the first time on the SHUDDER horror streaming service.\n\nWinners and nominees\n\nReferences\n\nFangoria Chainsaw Awards" ]
[ "Mickey Thompson", "Indy years", "What was his first race on the Indy Circuit?", "In 1962 Thompson entered three John Crosthwaite designed cars in the Indianapolis 500.", "How did he do?", "Unusually, they used a stock V8 Buick engine and it was in the rear unlike the front engined, race tuned, Offenhauser powered cars used by most competitors. It", "How did the change in design affect the performance?", "Thompson's crew, led by Fritz Voigt, were young, smart and hard working. Working 12-14 hour days, the car was designed and built in 120 days.", "Did the car place in the Race?", "qualified eighth and was in ninth place until a leaking oil seal seized the gearbox and ended his race on lap 94. He was placed 20th out of 33.", "What year was this race?", "I don't know.", "Did he win any awards?", "I don't know." ]
C_4f7b8d89e29b402da38481fd6ce54d4e_0
Where did he race next?
7
Where did Mickey Thompson race next after his first Indy Circuit race?
Mickey Thompson
In 1962 Thompson entered three John Crosthwaite designed cars in the Indianapolis 500. Unusually, they used a stock V8 Buick engine and it was in the rear unlike the front engined, race tuned, Offenhauser powered cars used by most competitors. It was the first stock engine to be raced at Indy since 1946. Thompson's crew, led by Fritz Voigt, were young, smart and hard working. Working 12-14 hour days, the car was designed and built in 120 days. For the race, the engine (enlarged to 4.2 litre capacity, the maximum allowed by the regulations for "stock block" engines) had to be detuned because they were concerned it would not last the distance. Despite being more than 70 bhp down on the other cars, Dan Gurney qualified eighth and was in ninth place until a leaking oil seal seized the gearbox and ended his race on lap 94. He was placed 20th out of 33. The team won the Mechanical Achievement Award for original design, construction and accomplishment. Thompson's promotion skills pleased the sponsors with the publicity generated that year. For the 1963 Indianapolis 500 Crosthwaite designed the innovative Harvey Aluminium Special "roller skate car" with the then pioneering smaller profile (12 inch diameter) and wide racing tires (front 7 inches and rear 9 inches wide) and wheels. Thompson took five cars to Indianapolis. Two of the previous year's design with Chevrolet V8 engines and three roller skate cars. One of the new cars, the Harvey Titanium Special, featured a lightweight titanium chassis. Al Miller II raced one of the modified 1962 cars to ninth place despite only qualifying in 31st position. Duane Carter qualified one of the roller skate cars 15th but was only placed 23rd after an engine failure on the 100th lap. The small tire sizes and low car weights caused complaints amongst the old hands and owners, so for future races, cars were restricted to minimum tire sizes and minimum car weights. 1962 Formula One World Champion Graham Hill tested one of the roller skate cars at Indianapolis in 1963, but refused to race it citing its poor handling. In 1963 Thompson traveled to England where, along with Dante Duce, he demonstrated his Ford-powered top fuel Harvey Aluminum Special dragster at the Brighton Speed Trials. It was then displayed at the Racing Car Show in London in January 1964. Thompson brought three modified 12-inch tire cars to the 1964 Indianapolis 500, but new rules required him to use 15-inch tires. The Allstate sponsored team used Allstate tires and Ford engines. The chassis had to be altered to accommodate the larger Ford engines. Two of them qualified for the race. The car No.84 began the month with Masten Gregory as the driver but Eddie Johnson in car No.84 qualified 24th and finished 26th. Dave MacDonald in car No.83 qualified 14th and died in a fiery crash on the second lap. CANNOTANSWER
For the 1963 Indianapolis 500 Crosthwaite designed the innovative Harvey Aluminium Special "roller skate car" with the then pioneering smaller profile
Michael Lee "Mickey" Thompson (December 7, 1928March 16, 1988) was an American auto racing builder and promoter. A hot rodder since his youth, Thompson increasingly pursued land speed records in his late 20s and early 30s. He achieved international fame in 1960, when he became the first American to break the 400-mph barrier, driving his Challenger 1 to a one-way top speed of 406.60 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats and surpassing John Cobb's one-way world record mark of 402 mph. Thompson then turned to racing, winning many track and dragster championships. In the 1960s, he also entered cars at the Indianapolis 500. Later, he formed off-road racing sanctioning bodies SCORE International and Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG). In 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were gunned down at their home in Bradbury, California. The crime remained unsolved until 2007, when a former business partner was convicted of having orchestrated the murders. Early life On December 7, 1928 Thompson was born in Alhambra, California. Thompson's father was Captain Marion L. Thompson, a former police officer with Alhambra Police Department. Thompson's sister is Collene Thompson Campbell. Career In his early 20s, he worked as a pressman for the Los Angeles Times while pursuing a lifelong love of hot rodding. He later became involved in the new sport of drag racing. Tireless and innovative, he found success as a championship driver and instinctive automotive technician. Over the course of his career, Thompson set more speed and endurance records than any other man in automotive history. He is credited with designing and building the first slingshot dragster, in 1954, moving the seat behind the rear axle to improve traction when existing racing tires proved unable to handle the output of increasingly powerful custom engines. This car, the Panorama City Special, debuted at the first NHRA U.S. Nationals at the Great Bend Municipal Airport in Great Bend, Kansas, in 1955. The car ultimately ran a best speed of . A change so momentous would not happen again until Don Garlits introduced the rear-engined digger in 1971. Thompson also was noted for being the first manager of Lions Drag Strip in Wilmington, California, in 1955. Thompson collaborated with Fritz Voight on a 1958 twin-engined dragster. This car achieved a best speed of . It provided lessons later applied to Challenger I. Determined to set a new land speed record, Thompson achieved fame when he drove his four-engined Challenger 1 at better than in 1960 at the Bonneville Salt Flats, becoming the first American to break that barrier. Indy years 1962 In 1962, Thompson entered three John Crosthwaite-designed cars in the Indianapolis 500. Unusually, they used a stock V8 Buick engine, and it was in the rear unlike the front-engined, race-tuned, Offenhauser-powered cars used by most competitors. It was the first stock engine to be raced at Indy since 1946. Thompson's crew, led by Fritz Voigt, was young, smart, and hard working. Working 12- to 14-hour days, the car was designed and built in 120 days. For the race, the engine (enlarged to 4.2-L capacity, the maximum allowed by the regulations for "stock block" engines) had to be detuned because they were concerned it would not last the distance. Despite being more than 70 bhp down on the other cars, Dan Gurney qualified eighth and was in ninth place until a leaking oil seal seized the gearbox and ended his race on lap 94. He was placed 20th out of 33. The team won the Mechanical Achievement Award for original design, construction, and accomplishment. 1963 Thompson's promotional skills pleased the sponsors with the publicity generated that year. For the 1963 Indianapolis 500, Crosthwaite designed the innovative Harvey Aluminium Special "roller skate car" with the then-pioneering diameter wheels with smaller-profile racing tires, wide at the front and rear. Thompson took five cars to Indianapolis - two of the previous year's design with Chevrolet V8 engines and three roller skate cars. One of the new cars, the Harvey Titanium Special, featured a lightweight titanium chassis. Al Miller raced one of the modified 1962 cars to ninth place despite only qualifying in 31st position. Duane Carter qualified one of the roller skate cars 15th, but was only placed 23rd after an engine failure on the 100th lap. The small tire sizes and low car weights caused complaints among the old hands and owners, so for future races, cars were restricted to minimum tire sizes and minimum car weights. Formula One World Champion Graham Hill tested one of the roller skate cars at Indianapolis in 1963, but refused to race it, citing its poor handling. The recent ruling required 15-in wheels, but the chassis was designed around smaller wheels. Thompson commented: "The car wouldn't handle", adding, "There was too much body roll due to the high center of gravity." In 1963, Thompson traveled to England, where along with Dante Duce, he demonstrated his Ford-powered top fuel Harvey Aluminum Special dragster at the Brighton Speed Trials. It was then displayed at the Racing Car Show in London in January 1964. 1964 Thompson brought three modified 12-inch-tired cars to the 1964 Indianapolis 500, but new rules required him to use 15-in tires. The Allstate sponsored team used Allstate tires and Ford engines. The chassis had to be altered to accommodate the larger Ford engines. Two of them qualified for the race. The car No. 84 began the month with Masten Gregory as the driver, but Eddie Johnson in car No. 84 qualified 24th and finished 26th. Dave MacDonald in car No. 83 qualified 14th and died in a fiery crash on the second lap. 1965–1968 Thompson went back to Indy in 1965, but failed to qualify in an attempt with a front-engined roadster. He skipped 1966, but tried again in 1967 and 1968, again failing to qualify either year. The 1967 attempt used a unique all-wheel drive rear-engined design that steered both front and rear wheels, but Gary Congdon was unable to qualify any of the three cars. Post Indy In 1965, Thompson published Challenger: Mickey Thompson's own story of his life of Speed. In 1968 Danny Ongais and he took three Ford Mustang Mach 1 to the Bonneville salt flats for a feature in Hot Rod magazine, in the process setting 295 speed and endurance records over a series of 500-mile and 24-hour courses. Together with John Buttera and Pat Foster, developed a Ford Mustang Mach 1 Funny Car with a dragster-like chassis. Driven by Ongais, the car won the 1969 NHRA Spring Nationals at Dallas and the NHRA U.S. Nationals. In his long career, Thompson raced vehicles from stock cars to off-road, and engineered numerous competition engines. He went into the performance aftermarket business in the early 1960s and then, in 1963, he created "Mickey Thompson Performance Tires" that developed special tires for racing including for Indianapolis 500 competitors. Thompson founded SCORE International in 1973, a sanctioning body to oversee off-road racing across North America. With his wife Trudy he formed the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG), which ran an indoor motocross and off-road vehicle racing show and competition that brought the sport from the back-country to major metropolitan stadiums and arenas. Personal life Thompson's wife was Trudy Thompson. On March 16, 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were murdered in Bradbury, California. Murder On March 16, 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were killed by two hooded gunmen outside their home in Bradbury, California, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. On the morning of the murder, a pair of unknown assailants waited outside the Thompson home for the couple to leave for the day. Mickey opened the garage door for his wife to pull out in her vehicle, and as he headed for his own car, the gunmen attacked. He was shot and wounded, then dragged out into the driveway while one of the attackers went after Trudy as she backed out. Killing her, the gunman then came back up the driveway, where the other gunman was watching over Mickey and shot him fatally in the head. The attackers then made their escape on the bicycles they had ridden to the Thompson residence. Expensive jewelry and a large amount of cash were found on the Thompsons' bodies, eliminating robbery as a likely motive. An intense police investigation initially failed to uncover either the identity of the mystery gunmen, or a motive for the crime. Police were interested in Thompson's former business partner Michael Frank Goodwin who repeatedly refused to pay a more than $768,000 settlement he owed Thompson. Goodwin and his wife bought $275,000 worth of gold coins two months before the Thompsons were murdered and wired $400,000 to banks on the island Grand Turk and Caicos. Goodwin and his wife then left the country five months after the murder on their yacht and did not return for more than two years. The case remained unsolved until 2001, when Goodwin was charged in Orange County, California with the murders. Before a trial could be completed, it was ended on jurisdictional grounds by the California District Court of Appeal. On June 8, 2004, Goodwin was formally charged with the murders in Pasadena, in Los Angeles County. In October 2006, a Pasadena Superior Court judge ordered Goodwin to stand trial. During the trial, a long series of witnesses reported hearing Goodwin threaten to kill the Thompsons. “I’m going to kill that son of a bitch. I’m going to kill that motherfucker. I’m going to take out Mickey. I’m too smart to get caught. I’ll have him wasted. He’ll never see a nickel. I’ll kill him first. Mickey doesn’t know who he is fucking with. He is fucking dead.” Although the prosecution did not establish a direct connection between the murderers and Goodwin, the circumstantial evidence was sufficient to convict him. On January 4, 2007, a jury found Goodwin guilty of two counts of murder in the death of Thompson and his wife. Goodwin was sentenced to two consecutive life-without-parole terms. A subsequent motion for a new trial was denied. In the 2015 California 2nd District Court of Appeal ruling, although no direct evidence connected Goodwin to the case, the array of circumstantial evidence was found to be "overwhelming". The two men who murdered the Thompsons have not been located. TV coverage, and its fictionalization through the television program CSI, were cited by the defense team during the murder trial as having created a "folklore" around the case, preventing a fair trial. Thompson, his wife, and his pets are interred in the Rose Hills Memorial Park, in Whittier, California. In popular culture CBS's To Tell The Truth. Appeared as a contestant in March 1962 NBC's Unsolved Mysteries Investigation Discovery's Murder Book. CBS television program 48 Hours Mystery April 28, 2007 CSI episode "Early Rollout" (2004) was based on this murder case. Awards Thompson was inducted posthumously to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America 1990 Inducted to International Motorsports Hall of Fame. Thompson was ranked No. 11 on the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951–2000 Thompson was inducted posthumously to the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007, and the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2009. See also Semon Knudsen Stadium Super Trucks, a racing series inspired by Thompson's stadium off-road racing Danny Thompson, Thompson's son, also a race car driver References External links News release on documentary of the murder (dead link) Trial Commentary M/T Tires Official Page Michael Goodwin profile on America's Most Wanted Murder On the Last Turn LA Weekly October 18, 2006 Lions the Greatest Drag Strip Part One at nhramuseum.org Additional sources Taylor, Thom. "Beauty Beyond the Twilight Zone" in Hot Rod, April 2017, pp. 30–43. 1928 births 1988 deaths Bonneville 300 MPH Club members Brighton Speed Trials people Deaths by firearm in California Dragster drivers International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees Land speed record people Male murder victims Off-road racing drivers Off-road racing Sportspeople from Alhambra, California People murdered in California Racing drivers from California World Sportscar Championship drivers People from Bradbury, California Burials at Rose Hills Memorial Park
false
[ "Gift Box (foaled March 23rd, 2013) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse and the winner of the 2019 Santa Anita Handicap .\n\nCareer\n\nGift Box's first race was on August 22nd, 2015 at Saratoga, where he came in third. He picked up his next win in his second race at Belmont Park on October 3rd, 2015. \n\nHe came in 3rd place in his first graded race, at the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes on November 28th, 2015. He then picked up another win at Belmont on May 26th, 2015.\n\nHis next win did not come until March 24th, 2018, when he won at the Aqueduct. He turned his career around when he won the Grade-2 San Antonio Handicap on December 26th, 2018. This was his first victory in a graded race.\n\nHis next race was on April 6th, 2019. He competed in his second Grade-1 race, this time at the Santa Anita Handicap, where he was victorious.\n\nHe came in 2nd at the May 27th, 2019 Gold Cup at Santa Anita Stakes and then came in 4th at the June 15th, 2019 Stephen Foster Handicap. However, he competed in one last race in 2019 - the December 28th, 2019 San Antonio Handicap, where he won the race for the second time.\n\nPedigree\n\nReferences\n\n2013 racehorse births", "Suzuka Mambo (April 28, 2001 – February 20, 2015) was a Thoroughbred racehorse and grade I stakes winner. He was sired by Sunday Silence, and out of the Kingmambo daughter Spring Mambo.\n\nBackground\nSuzuka Mambo was foaled on April 28, 2001, at Japan's Grand Stud. He was sired by 1989 Kentucky Derby winner Sunday Silence, and out of Spring Mambo, a daughter of Kingmambo; he was a dark bay stallion with a white blaze, white stockings on his right front and left rear legs, and a partial coronet marking on his left foreleg.\n\nRacing career\n\n2003: 2 year old season\nSuzuka Mambo debuted in Sapporo on August 17, 2003, finishing fourth, but he won his next race on August 31. He ran ninth in his next attempt, the G III Sapporo Nisai Stakes, but then won the Hagi Stakes at Kyoto Racecourse on November 1. His last race of his two-year season was the GI Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes where he finished 13th in a field of 16 horses.\n\n2004: 3 year old season\nIn 2004, Suzuka Mambo ran eight races with widely varying outcomes. His first race of the year was the Keisei Cup in January, where he finished 4th. He then ran second at the Wakaba Stakes in March, with a time of 2:00.2. But in April he took a step back, finishing 17th of 18 horses in the Satsuki Sho, also known as the \"Japanese 2000 Guineas.\" Suzuka Mambo was not yet eligible for the Tokyo Yushin (Japanese Derby) due to insufficient winning prize money, so his connections chose the G II Kyoto Shimbun HA for his next run, where he finished second and thus was able to get into the derby. In Tokyo for the May 30 race, he was not popular, ranking 15th, but finished a respectable fifth out of 18 horses. After a break of three months, Suzuka Mambo's next race was the G III Asahi Challenge Cup at Hanshin Racecourse on September 11, 2004, where he was the favorite and won his only race of the year. The race was and his time was 2:00.1. However, in his next effort, the Kikuka Sho (or \"Japanese St. Leger\") on October 24, he finished sixth. Suzuka Mambo went on to close out his year with the G III Naruo Kinen. Although he was the favorite, he finished second.\n\n2005 and 2006: 4 and 5 year old season\nIn 2005 as a mature 4 year old, Suzuka Mambo ran five times, four of them Grade I races, again with widely varying results. His first race was the Osaka-Hamburg Cup on April 9, 2005 at , where he finished third. As a result, Suzuka Mambo was only ranked 13th for his next start, the Grade I Spring Tenno Sho (Emperor Cup), held at Kyoto and contested at . However, in that race, he got a good trip on the course and won. He did not race again until the autumn Tenno Sho on October 30, where he finished last of 18 horses. He tried again in the GI Japan Cup on November 27, where he finished 9th of 18 horses. His next attempt was the December 25 Arima Kinen (The Grand Prix) wh/ere he finished 10th out of 16. In 2006, Suzuka Mambo, at 5 years old, began the season on April 2 at the G II Sankei Osaka Hai (Osaka Cup). In this race, he finished third. It seemed that his career was back on an upswing, but after the race Suzuka Mambo developed a serious ligament tear in his left hind leg that ended his racing career.\n\nStud career\nSuzuka Mambo was retired to the Arrow Stud in Hokkaido, where he began his stud career at age seven. Between 2008 and 2014, he sired a total of 400 foals, of whom 305 started in at least one race, and 202 were winners. These included Grade I winners Meisho Mambo, winner of the 2013 Yushun Himba and Sambista (JPN), winner of the 2015 Champions Cup.\n\nSuzuka Mambo remained at Arrow Stud until his death from heart failure on February 20, 2015. He was buried at Sakuramaiba park.\n\nPedigree\n\nReferences \n\nRacehorses bred in Japan\nRacehorses trained in Japan\nThoroughbred family 7\n2001 racehorse births\n2015 racehorse deaths" ]
[ "Mickey Thompson", "Indy years", "What was his first race on the Indy Circuit?", "In 1962 Thompson entered three John Crosthwaite designed cars in the Indianapolis 500.", "How did he do?", "Unusually, they used a stock V8 Buick engine and it was in the rear unlike the front engined, race tuned, Offenhauser powered cars used by most competitors. It", "How did the change in design affect the performance?", "Thompson's crew, led by Fritz Voigt, were young, smart and hard working. Working 12-14 hour days, the car was designed and built in 120 days.", "Did the car place in the Race?", "qualified eighth and was in ninth place until a leaking oil seal seized the gearbox and ended his race on lap 94. He was placed 20th out of 33.", "What year was this race?", "I don't know.", "Did he win any awards?", "I don't know.", "Where did he race next?", "For the 1963 Indianapolis 500 Crosthwaite designed the innovative Harvey Aluminium Special \"roller skate car\" with the then pioneering smaller profile" ]
C_4f7b8d89e29b402da38481fd6ce54d4e_0
How did the car do?
8
How did Mickey Thompson's car do in the 1963 Indianapolis 500 Crosthwaite?
Mickey Thompson
In 1962 Thompson entered three John Crosthwaite designed cars in the Indianapolis 500. Unusually, they used a stock V8 Buick engine and it was in the rear unlike the front engined, race tuned, Offenhauser powered cars used by most competitors. It was the first stock engine to be raced at Indy since 1946. Thompson's crew, led by Fritz Voigt, were young, smart and hard working. Working 12-14 hour days, the car was designed and built in 120 days. For the race, the engine (enlarged to 4.2 litre capacity, the maximum allowed by the regulations for "stock block" engines) had to be detuned because they were concerned it would not last the distance. Despite being more than 70 bhp down on the other cars, Dan Gurney qualified eighth and was in ninth place until a leaking oil seal seized the gearbox and ended his race on lap 94. He was placed 20th out of 33. The team won the Mechanical Achievement Award for original design, construction and accomplishment. Thompson's promotion skills pleased the sponsors with the publicity generated that year. For the 1963 Indianapolis 500 Crosthwaite designed the innovative Harvey Aluminium Special "roller skate car" with the then pioneering smaller profile (12 inch diameter) and wide racing tires (front 7 inches and rear 9 inches wide) and wheels. Thompson took five cars to Indianapolis. Two of the previous year's design with Chevrolet V8 engines and three roller skate cars. One of the new cars, the Harvey Titanium Special, featured a lightweight titanium chassis. Al Miller II raced one of the modified 1962 cars to ninth place despite only qualifying in 31st position. Duane Carter qualified one of the roller skate cars 15th but was only placed 23rd after an engine failure on the 100th lap. The small tire sizes and low car weights caused complaints amongst the old hands and owners, so for future races, cars were restricted to minimum tire sizes and minimum car weights. 1962 Formula One World Champion Graham Hill tested one of the roller skate cars at Indianapolis in 1963, but refused to race it citing its poor handling. In 1963 Thompson traveled to England where, along with Dante Duce, he demonstrated his Ford-powered top fuel Harvey Aluminum Special dragster at the Brighton Speed Trials. It was then displayed at the Racing Car Show in London in January 1964. Thompson brought three modified 12-inch tire cars to the 1964 Indianapolis 500, but new rules required him to use 15-inch tires. The Allstate sponsored team used Allstate tires and Ford engines. The chassis had to be altered to accommodate the larger Ford engines. Two of them qualified for the race. The car No.84 began the month with Masten Gregory as the driver but Eddie Johnson in car No.84 qualified 24th and finished 26th. Dave MacDonald in car No.83 qualified 14th and died in a fiery crash on the second lap. CANNOTANSWER
Al Miller II raced one of the modified 1962 cars to ninth place despite only qualifying in 31st position.
Michael Lee "Mickey" Thompson (December 7, 1928March 16, 1988) was an American auto racing builder and promoter. A hot rodder since his youth, Thompson increasingly pursued land speed records in his late 20s and early 30s. He achieved international fame in 1960, when he became the first American to break the 400-mph barrier, driving his Challenger 1 to a one-way top speed of 406.60 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats and surpassing John Cobb's one-way world record mark of 402 mph. Thompson then turned to racing, winning many track and dragster championships. In the 1960s, he also entered cars at the Indianapolis 500. Later, he formed off-road racing sanctioning bodies SCORE International and Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG). In 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were gunned down at their home in Bradbury, California. The crime remained unsolved until 2007, when a former business partner was convicted of having orchestrated the murders. Early life On December 7, 1928 Thompson was born in Alhambra, California. Thompson's father was Captain Marion L. Thompson, a former police officer with Alhambra Police Department. Thompson's sister is Collene Thompson Campbell. Career In his early 20s, he worked as a pressman for the Los Angeles Times while pursuing a lifelong love of hot rodding. He later became involved in the new sport of drag racing. Tireless and innovative, he found success as a championship driver and instinctive automotive technician. Over the course of his career, Thompson set more speed and endurance records than any other man in automotive history. He is credited with designing and building the first slingshot dragster, in 1954, moving the seat behind the rear axle to improve traction when existing racing tires proved unable to handle the output of increasingly powerful custom engines. This car, the Panorama City Special, debuted at the first NHRA U.S. Nationals at the Great Bend Municipal Airport in Great Bend, Kansas, in 1955. The car ultimately ran a best speed of . A change so momentous would not happen again until Don Garlits introduced the rear-engined digger in 1971. Thompson also was noted for being the first manager of Lions Drag Strip in Wilmington, California, in 1955. Thompson collaborated with Fritz Voight on a 1958 twin-engined dragster. This car achieved a best speed of . It provided lessons later applied to Challenger I. Determined to set a new land speed record, Thompson achieved fame when he drove his four-engined Challenger 1 at better than in 1960 at the Bonneville Salt Flats, becoming the first American to break that barrier. Indy years 1962 In 1962, Thompson entered three John Crosthwaite-designed cars in the Indianapolis 500. Unusually, they used a stock V8 Buick engine, and it was in the rear unlike the front-engined, race-tuned, Offenhauser-powered cars used by most competitors. It was the first stock engine to be raced at Indy since 1946. Thompson's crew, led by Fritz Voigt, was young, smart, and hard working. Working 12- to 14-hour days, the car was designed and built in 120 days. For the race, the engine (enlarged to 4.2-L capacity, the maximum allowed by the regulations for "stock block" engines) had to be detuned because they were concerned it would not last the distance. Despite being more than 70 bhp down on the other cars, Dan Gurney qualified eighth and was in ninth place until a leaking oil seal seized the gearbox and ended his race on lap 94. He was placed 20th out of 33. The team won the Mechanical Achievement Award for original design, construction, and accomplishment. 1963 Thompson's promotional skills pleased the sponsors with the publicity generated that year. For the 1963 Indianapolis 500, Crosthwaite designed the innovative Harvey Aluminium Special "roller skate car" with the then-pioneering diameter wheels with smaller-profile racing tires, wide at the front and rear. Thompson took five cars to Indianapolis - two of the previous year's design with Chevrolet V8 engines and three roller skate cars. One of the new cars, the Harvey Titanium Special, featured a lightweight titanium chassis. Al Miller raced one of the modified 1962 cars to ninth place despite only qualifying in 31st position. Duane Carter qualified one of the roller skate cars 15th, but was only placed 23rd after an engine failure on the 100th lap. The small tire sizes and low car weights caused complaints among the old hands and owners, so for future races, cars were restricted to minimum tire sizes and minimum car weights. Formula One World Champion Graham Hill tested one of the roller skate cars at Indianapolis in 1963, but refused to race it, citing its poor handling. The recent ruling required 15-in wheels, but the chassis was designed around smaller wheels. Thompson commented: "The car wouldn't handle", adding, "There was too much body roll due to the high center of gravity." In 1963, Thompson traveled to England, where along with Dante Duce, he demonstrated his Ford-powered top fuel Harvey Aluminum Special dragster at the Brighton Speed Trials. It was then displayed at the Racing Car Show in London in January 1964. 1964 Thompson brought three modified 12-inch-tired cars to the 1964 Indianapolis 500, but new rules required him to use 15-in tires. The Allstate sponsored team used Allstate tires and Ford engines. The chassis had to be altered to accommodate the larger Ford engines. Two of them qualified for the race. The car No. 84 began the month with Masten Gregory as the driver, but Eddie Johnson in car No. 84 qualified 24th and finished 26th. Dave MacDonald in car No. 83 qualified 14th and died in a fiery crash on the second lap. 1965–1968 Thompson went back to Indy in 1965, but failed to qualify in an attempt with a front-engined roadster. He skipped 1966, but tried again in 1967 and 1968, again failing to qualify either year. The 1967 attempt used a unique all-wheel drive rear-engined design that steered both front and rear wheels, but Gary Congdon was unable to qualify any of the three cars. Post Indy In 1965, Thompson published Challenger: Mickey Thompson's own story of his life of Speed. In 1968 Danny Ongais and he took three Ford Mustang Mach 1 to the Bonneville salt flats for a feature in Hot Rod magazine, in the process setting 295 speed and endurance records over a series of 500-mile and 24-hour courses. Together with John Buttera and Pat Foster, developed a Ford Mustang Mach 1 Funny Car with a dragster-like chassis. Driven by Ongais, the car won the 1969 NHRA Spring Nationals at Dallas and the NHRA U.S. Nationals. In his long career, Thompson raced vehicles from stock cars to off-road, and engineered numerous competition engines. He went into the performance aftermarket business in the early 1960s and then, in 1963, he created "Mickey Thompson Performance Tires" that developed special tires for racing including for Indianapolis 500 competitors. Thompson founded SCORE International in 1973, a sanctioning body to oversee off-road racing across North America. With his wife Trudy he formed the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG), which ran an indoor motocross and off-road vehicle racing show and competition that brought the sport from the back-country to major metropolitan stadiums and arenas. Personal life Thompson's wife was Trudy Thompson. On March 16, 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were murdered in Bradbury, California. Murder On March 16, 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were killed by two hooded gunmen outside their home in Bradbury, California, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. On the morning of the murder, a pair of unknown assailants waited outside the Thompson home for the couple to leave for the day. Mickey opened the garage door for his wife to pull out in her vehicle, and as he headed for his own car, the gunmen attacked. He was shot and wounded, then dragged out into the driveway while one of the attackers went after Trudy as she backed out. Killing her, the gunman then came back up the driveway, where the other gunman was watching over Mickey and shot him fatally in the head. The attackers then made their escape on the bicycles they had ridden to the Thompson residence. Expensive jewelry and a large amount of cash were found on the Thompsons' bodies, eliminating robbery as a likely motive. An intense police investigation initially failed to uncover either the identity of the mystery gunmen, or a motive for the crime. Police were interested in Thompson's former business partner Michael Frank Goodwin who repeatedly refused to pay a more than $768,000 settlement he owed Thompson. Goodwin and his wife bought $275,000 worth of gold coins two months before the Thompsons were murdered and wired $400,000 to banks on the island Grand Turk and Caicos. Goodwin and his wife then left the country five months after the murder on their yacht and did not return for more than two years. The case remained unsolved until 2001, when Goodwin was charged in Orange County, California with the murders. Before a trial could be completed, it was ended on jurisdictional grounds by the California District Court of Appeal. On June 8, 2004, Goodwin was formally charged with the murders in Pasadena, in Los Angeles County. In October 2006, a Pasadena Superior Court judge ordered Goodwin to stand trial. During the trial, a long series of witnesses reported hearing Goodwin threaten to kill the Thompsons. “I’m going to kill that son of a bitch. I’m going to kill that motherfucker. I’m going to take out Mickey. I’m too smart to get caught. I’ll have him wasted. He’ll never see a nickel. I’ll kill him first. Mickey doesn’t know who he is fucking with. He is fucking dead.” Although the prosecution did not establish a direct connection between the murderers and Goodwin, the circumstantial evidence was sufficient to convict him. On January 4, 2007, a jury found Goodwin guilty of two counts of murder in the death of Thompson and his wife. Goodwin was sentenced to two consecutive life-without-parole terms. A subsequent motion for a new trial was denied. In the 2015 California 2nd District Court of Appeal ruling, although no direct evidence connected Goodwin to the case, the array of circumstantial evidence was found to be "overwhelming". The two men who murdered the Thompsons have not been located. TV coverage, and its fictionalization through the television program CSI, were cited by the defense team during the murder trial as having created a "folklore" around the case, preventing a fair trial. Thompson, his wife, and his pets are interred in the Rose Hills Memorial Park, in Whittier, California. In popular culture CBS's To Tell The Truth. Appeared as a contestant in March 1962 NBC's Unsolved Mysteries Investigation Discovery's Murder Book. CBS television program 48 Hours Mystery April 28, 2007 CSI episode "Early Rollout" (2004) was based on this murder case. Awards Thompson was inducted posthumously to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America 1990 Inducted to International Motorsports Hall of Fame. Thompson was ranked No. 11 on the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951–2000 Thompson was inducted posthumously to the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007, and the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2009. See also Semon Knudsen Stadium Super Trucks, a racing series inspired by Thompson's stadium off-road racing Danny Thompson, Thompson's son, also a race car driver References External links News release on documentary of the murder (dead link) Trial Commentary M/T Tires Official Page Michael Goodwin profile on America's Most Wanted Murder On the Last Turn LA Weekly October 18, 2006 Lions the Greatest Drag Strip Part One at nhramuseum.org Additional sources Taylor, Thom. "Beauty Beyond the Twilight Zone" in Hot Rod, April 2017, pp. 30–43. 1928 births 1988 deaths Bonneville 300 MPH Club members Brighton Speed Trials people Deaths by firearm in California Dragster drivers International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees Land speed record people Male murder victims Off-road racing drivers Off-road racing Sportspeople from Alhambra, California People murdered in California Racing drivers from California World Sportscar Championship drivers People from Bradbury, California Burials at Rose Hills Memorial Park
false
[ "\"How Do I Breathe\" is a song recorded by American singer Mario. It is the first single from his third studio album Go. The single was released on May 15, 2007. It was produced by Norwegian production team Stargate. On the issue date of July 7, 2007, the single debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 91. \"How Do I Breathe\" also debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 30 on download sales alone, the day before the physical release of the song. It also became Mario's last charting single in the UK. The song also peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The official remix of the song features Fabolous and the second official remix features Cassidy. A rare third one features both artists and switches between beats. The song was co-written by Mario.\n\nWriting and recording\nMario met Stargate, the producers from Norway. They met when Mario was overseas touring, and they talked about producing. They were up-and-coming at the time. Mario frequently heard their music on the radio and would later say he thought, \"Wow, I really like their music. These guys are classic.\" Mario and Stargate made two songs, which they collaborated on with Ne-Yo, but they did not make the cut. Then they did two more songs, which Mario co-wrote, one of which was \"How Do I Breathe\". Mario said: \"The truth is that I felt like the track already had a story to tell; but that there had to be a certain flow over the record. I had to show some vulnerability, and that is what the record is about. It's about being vulnerable and knowing that you lost something that so essential to your life. I'd say it's about 75% true to life, and the rest is just creative writing.\"\n\nCritical reception\nMark Edward Nero of About.com says \"The track isn't particularly groundbreaking, but it has a simple charm, in a sort of Ne-Yo meets Toni Braxton kind of way\".\n\nAaron Fields of KSTW.com stated: \"First single off the album, yet didn't have the success like \"Let me love you\" did. I remember thinking he was definitely back when I heard this song. I'm not sure why this song didn't get more attention as it is one of the better songs done by him, nevertheless I probably would have picked this for the first single as well. I still bump this one in the car.\"\n\nMusic video\nThe video was directed by Melina and premiered on BET's Access Granted on May 23, 2007. One scene where Mario is dressed in a white t-shirt while singing in smoke, is similar to the scene in Kanye West's video \"Touch the Sky\". After its premiere, \"How Do I Breathe\" received heavy airplay on BET's music video countdown show 106 & Park. It also appeared at number 87 on BET's Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2007 countdown.\n\nVariations of \"How Do I Breathe\"\nAfter the song was released, there were two different variations that were available. The official version provided by Sony BMG, which was included within the official music video, has different lyrics than the one obtained via a peer-to-peer file sharing network. The specific difference in the lyrics is seen within the bridge of the song near the end.\n\nIn the official version, the bridge's lyrics are as follows:\"Ooh, I should've brought my love home, girl.And baby, I ain't perfect you know.The grind has got a tight hold.Girl, come back to me ... Cause girl you made it hard to breathe...When you're not with me...\"\nIn the other version obtained via a file sharing network, the bridge's lyrics are:\"Ooh, I can't get over you, no.Baby I don't wanna let go.Girl, you need to come home.Back to me ... Cause girl you made it hard to breathe...When you're not with me...\"\n\nThe other version obtained over a file sharing network also features a shout out to former NFL running back Shaun Alexander by an untold DJ near the end of the track.\n\nIn other media\nOn July 16, 2008, Kourtni Lind and Matt Dorame from the US television reality program and dance competition So You Think You Can Dance danced to \"How Do I Breathe\" as the part of the competition.\n\nTrack listing\nUK CD:\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (radio edit)\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (Full Phat remix featuring Rhymefest)\n\nPromo CD:\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (radio edit)\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (instrumental)\n\nHow Do I Breathe, Pt. 2:\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (radio edit)\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (Full Phat Remix featuring Rhymefest)\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (Allister Whitehead Remix)\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (video)\n\nCD single\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (radio edit) – 3:38\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (instrumental) – 3:38\n \"How Do I Breathe\" (call out hook) – 0:10\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n2006 songs\n2007 singles\nMario (American singer) songs\nJ Records singles\nMusic videos directed by Melina Matsoukas\nSong recordings produced by Stargate (record producers)\nSongs written by Tor Erik Hermansen\nSongs written by Mikkel Storleer Eriksen", "Johnston's Motor Car is an Irish rebel song written by Willie Gillespie based on the commandeering in Ulster of a motor car belonging to Henry Maturin Johnston (1851-1932) by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).\n\nHistory\nThe song is based on a real event in April 1921. An Irish Republican Army unit needed transport to a town over fifty miles away, but had no car to carry them. They decided to call out Henry M. Johnston, a doctor based in Stranorlar, and then ambush him and his car at a bridge and commandeer the car for the IRA. Johnston was sent a telegraph asking him to attend to a Mrs Boyle. On his way there, he found the Reelin Bridge in Glenfin barricaded by the IRA, who forced him to give them his car. In 2019, retired Ballybofey businessman Cathal McHugh claimed to have found what he believes to be the remnants of the vehicle under a turf stack in County Donegal.\n\nComposition\nWilliam Gillespie, a poet from Ballybofey, wrote the song shortly after the event. The song was very popular in Ireland in the 1920s before being rediscovered and covered by bands including The Dubliners and Flying Column, although the more modern versions have slightly different lyrics; Johnston is often replaced with Johnson as well, as in the Clancy Brothers version.\n\nOriginal Lyrics\nDown by Brockagh Corner one morning I did stray,\nWhen I met another rebel bold, who this to me did say:\nI've orders from the Captain to assemble at Drumbar\nBut how are we to reach Dungloe without a Motor Car?\n\nO Barney dear, be of good cheer and I'll tell you what we'll do.\nThe Black and Tans have plenty guns altho' we have but few.\nWe'll wire down to Stranorlar before we walk so far,\nAnd we'll give the boys a jolly ride on Johnston's Motor Car.\n\nWhen Johnston got the wire then he soon pulled on his shoes.\nHe says this case is urgent, there's little time to lose.\nHe wore a fancy caster hat and on his breast a star.\nYou could hear the din going through Glenfin of Johnston's Motor Car.\n\nWhen he came to the Reelin Bridge, he met some rebels there.\nHe knew the game was up with him, and at them he did stare.\nHe said I've got a permit for travelling out so far\nYou can keep your English permit, but we want your motor car.\n\nWhat will my loyal comrades say when I get to Drumboe.\nTo say my car was commandeered by rebels from Dungloe.\nWe'll give you a receipt for her, its signed by Captain Maher,\nAnd when Ireland's free, then we will see to Johnston's Motor Car.\n\nThey put the car in motion, they filled it to the brim.\nWith guns and bayonets shining, while Johnston he did grin.\nWhen Barney waved a Sinn Féin flag, she shot off like a star\nAnd they gave three cheers for freedom and for Johnston's Motor Car.\n\nWhen the loyal crew they heard the news, it grieved their hearts full sore.\nThey swore they'd have reprisals before they would give o'er.\nIn vain they searched through Glenties, the Rosses and Kilcar,\nWhile the I.R.A. their flags displayed on Johnston's Motor Car.\n\nPopular Lyrics\n'Twas down by Brannigan's Corner, one morning I did stray\nI met a fellow rebel, and to me he did say\n\"We've orders from the captain to assemble at Drumbar\nBut how are we to get there, without a motor car?\"\n\n\"Oh, Barney dear, be of good cheer, I'll tell you what we'll do\nThe Specials they are plentiful and the IRA are few\nWe'll send a wire to Johnston to meet us at Stranorlar\nAnd we'll give the boys a bloody good ride in Johnston's Motor Car.\n\nWhen Doctor Johnston heard the news he soon put on his shoes\nHe says this is an urgent case, there is no time to lose\nHe then put on his castor hat and on his breast a star\nYou could hear the din all through Glenfin of Johnston's motor car.\n\nBut when he got to the railway bridge, some rebels he saw there\nOld Johnston knew the game was up, for at him they did stare\nHe said \"I have a permit, to travel near and far\"\n\"To hell with your English permit, we want your motor car.\"\n\n\"What will my loyal brethren think, when they hear the news\nMy car it has been commandeered, by the rebels at Dunluce?\"\n\"We'll give you a receipt for it, all signed by Captain Barr\nAnd when Ireland gets her freedom, you'll get your motor car.\"\n\nWell we put that car in motion and filled it to the brim\nWith guns and bayonets shining which made old Johnston grim\nAnd Barney hoisted a Sinn Féin flag, and it fluttered like a star\nAnd we gave three cheers for the IRA and Johnston's Motor Car.\n\nRecordings\n The Clancy Brothers, In Person at Carnegie Hall (1963)\n Dominic Behan, Easter Week and after (1965) \n The Dubliners, Plain and Simple (1973)\n The Flying Column, Four Green Fields (1972)\n Renaud, Molly Malone – Balade irlandaise (2009) - A French translation\n\nReferences \n\nIrish songs\nThe Dubliners songs\nYear of song missing" ]
[ "Mickey Thompson", "Indy years", "What was his first race on the Indy Circuit?", "In 1962 Thompson entered three John Crosthwaite designed cars in the Indianapolis 500.", "How did he do?", "Unusually, they used a stock V8 Buick engine and it was in the rear unlike the front engined, race tuned, Offenhauser powered cars used by most competitors. It", "How did the change in design affect the performance?", "Thompson's crew, led by Fritz Voigt, were young, smart and hard working. Working 12-14 hour days, the car was designed and built in 120 days.", "Did the car place in the Race?", "qualified eighth and was in ninth place until a leaking oil seal seized the gearbox and ended his race on lap 94. He was placed 20th out of 33.", "What year was this race?", "I don't know.", "Did he win any awards?", "I don't know.", "Where did he race next?", "For the 1963 Indianapolis 500 Crosthwaite designed the innovative Harvey Aluminium Special \"roller skate car\" with the then pioneering smaller profile", "How did the car do?", "Al Miller II raced one of the modified 1962 cars to ninth place despite only qualifying in 31st position." ]
C_4f7b8d89e29b402da38481fd6ce54d4e_0
Did the car have any issues?
9
Did Mickey Thompson's car have any issues in the 1963 Indianapolis 500 Crosthwaite??
Mickey Thompson
In 1962 Thompson entered three John Crosthwaite designed cars in the Indianapolis 500. Unusually, they used a stock V8 Buick engine and it was in the rear unlike the front engined, race tuned, Offenhauser powered cars used by most competitors. It was the first stock engine to be raced at Indy since 1946. Thompson's crew, led by Fritz Voigt, were young, smart and hard working. Working 12-14 hour days, the car was designed and built in 120 days. For the race, the engine (enlarged to 4.2 litre capacity, the maximum allowed by the regulations for "stock block" engines) had to be detuned because they were concerned it would not last the distance. Despite being more than 70 bhp down on the other cars, Dan Gurney qualified eighth and was in ninth place until a leaking oil seal seized the gearbox and ended his race on lap 94. He was placed 20th out of 33. The team won the Mechanical Achievement Award for original design, construction and accomplishment. Thompson's promotion skills pleased the sponsors with the publicity generated that year. For the 1963 Indianapolis 500 Crosthwaite designed the innovative Harvey Aluminium Special "roller skate car" with the then pioneering smaller profile (12 inch diameter) and wide racing tires (front 7 inches and rear 9 inches wide) and wheels. Thompson took five cars to Indianapolis. Two of the previous year's design with Chevrolet V8 engines and three roller skate cars. One of the new cars, the Harvey Titanium Special, featured a lightweight titanium chassis. Al Miller II raced one of the modified 1962 cars to ninth place despite only qualifying in 31st position. Duane Carter qualified one of the roller skate cars 15th but was only placed 23rd after an engine failure on the 100th lap. The small tire sizes and low car weights caused complaints amongst the old hands and owners, so for future races, cars were restricted to minimum tire sizes and minimum car weights. 1962 Formula One World Champion Graham Hill tested one of the roller skate cars at Indianapolis in 1963, but refused to race it citing its poor handling. In 1963 Thompson traveled to England where, along with Dante Duce, he demonstrated his Ford-powered top fuel Harvey Aluminum Special dragster at the Brighton Speed Trials. It was then displayed at the Racing Car Show in London in January 1964. Thompson brought three modified 12-inch tire cars to the 1964 Indianapolis 500, but new rules required him to use 15-inch tires. The Allstate sponsored team used Allstate tires and Ford engines. The chassis had to be altered to accommodate the larger Ford engines. Two of them qualified for the race. The car No.84 began the month with Masten Gregory as the driver but Eddie Johnson in car No.84 qualified 24th and finished 26th. Dave MacDonald in car No.83 qualified 14th and died in a fiery crash on the second lap. CANNOTANSWER
The small tire sizes and low car weights caused complaints amongst the old hands and owners, so for future races,
Michael Lee "Mickey" Thompson (December 7, 1928March 16, 1988) was an American auto racing builder and promoter. A hot rodder since his youth, Thompson increasingly pursued land speed records in his late 20s and early 30s. He achieved international fame in 1960, when he became the first American to break the 400-mph barrier, driving his Challenger 1 to a one-way top speed of 406.60 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats and surpassing John Cobb's one-way world record mark of 402 mph. Thompson then turned to racing, winning many track and dragster championships. In the 1960s, he also entered cars at the Indianapolis 500. Later, he formed off-road racing sanctioning bodies SCORE International and Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG). In 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were gunned down at their home in Bradbury, California. The crime remained unsolved until 2007, when a former business partner was convicted of having orchestrated the murders. Early life On December 7, 1928 Thompson was born in Alhambra, California. Thompson's father was Captain Marion L. Thompson, a former police officer with Alhambra Police Department. Thompson's sister is Collene Thompson Campbell. Career In his early 20s, he worked as a pressman for the Los Angeles Times while pursuing a lifelong love of hot rodding. He later became involved in the new sport of drag racing. Tireless and innovative, he found success as a championship driver and instinctive automotive technician. Over the course of his career, Thompson set more speed and endurance records than any other man in automotive history. He is credited with designing and building the first slingshot dragster, in 1954, moving the seat behind the rear axle to improve traction when existing racing tires proved unable to handle the output of increasingly powerful custom engines. This car, the Panorama City Special, debuted at the first NHRA U.S. Nationals at the Great Bend Municipal Airport in Great Bend, Kansas, in 1955. The car ultimately ran a best speed of . A change so momentous would not happen again until Don Garlits introduced the rear-engined digger in 1971. Thompson also was noted for being the first manager of Lions Drag Strip in Wilmington, California, in 1955. Thompson collaborated with Fritz Voight on a 1958 twin-engined dragster. This car achieved a best speed of . It provided lessons later applied to Challenger I. Determined to set a new land speed record, Thompson achieved fame when he drove his four-engined Challenger 1 at better than in 1960 at the Bonneville Salt Flats, becoming the first American to break that barrier. Indy years 1962 In 1962, Thompson entered three John Crosthwaite-designed cars in the Indianapolis 500. Unusually, they used a stock V8 Buick engine, and it was in the rear unlike the front-engined, race-tuned, Offenhauser-powered cars used by most competitors. It was the first stock engine to be raced at Indy since 1946. Thompson's crew, led by Fritz Voigt, was young, smart, and hard working. Working 12- to 14-hour days, the car was designed and built in 120 days. For the race, the engine (enlarged to 4.2-L capacity, the maximum allowed by the regulations for "stock block" engines) had to be detuned because they were concerned it would not last the distance. Despite being more than 70 bhp down on the other cars, Dan Gurney qualified eighth and was in ninth place until a leaking oil seal seized the gearbox and ended his race on lap 94. He was placed 20th out of 33. The team won the Mechanical Achievement Award for original design, construction, and accomplishment. 1963 Thompson's promotional skills pleased the sponsors with the publicity generated that year. For the 1963 Indianapolis 500, Crosthwaite designed the innovative Harvey Aluminium Special "roller skate car" with the then-pioneering diameter wheels with smaller-profile racing tires, wide at the front and rear. Thompson took five cars to Indianapolis - two of the previous year's design with Chevrolet V8 engines and three roller skate cars. One of the new cars, the Harvey Titanium Special, featured a lightweight titanium chassis. Al Miller raced one of the modified 1962 cars to ninth place despite only qualifying in 31st position. Duane Carter qualified one of the roller skate cars 15th, but was only placed 23rd after an engine failure on the 100th lap. The small tire sizes and low car weights caused complaints among the old hands and owners, so for future races, cars were restricted to minimum tire sizes and minimum car weights. Formula One World Champion Graham Hill tested one of the roller skate cars at Indianapolis in 1963, but refused to race it, citing its poor handling. The recent ruling required 15-in wheels, but the chassis was designed around smaller wheels. Thompson commented: "The car wouldn't handle", adding, "There was too much body roll due to the high center of gravity." In 1963, Thompson traveled to England, where along with Dante Duce, he demonstrated his Ford-powered top fuel Harvey Aluminum Special dragster at the Brighton Speed Trials. It was then displayed at the Racing Car Show in London in January 1964. 1964 Thompson brought three modified 12-inch-tired cars to the 1964 Indianapolis 500, but new rules required him to use 15-in tires. The Allstate sponsored team used Allstate tires and Ford engines. The chassis had to be altered to accommodate the larger Ford engines. Two of them qualified for the race. The car No. 84 began the month with Masten Gregory as the driver, but Eddie Johnson in car No. 84 qualified 24th and finished 26th. Dave MacDonald in car No. 83 qualified 14th and died in a fiery crash on the second lap. 1965–1968 Thompson went back to Indy in 1965, but failed to qualify in an attempt with a front-engined roadster. He skipped 1966, but tried again in 1967 and 1968, again failing to qualify either year. The 1967 attempt used a unique all-wheel drive rear-engined design that steered both front and rear wheels, but Gary Congdon was unable to qualify any of the three cars. Post Indy In 1965, Thompson published Challenger: Mickey Thompson's own story of his life of Speed. In 1968 Danny Ongais and he took three Ford Mustang Mach 1 to the Bonneville salt flats for a feature in Hot Rod magazine, in the process setting 295 speed and endurance records over a series of 500-mile and 24-hour courses. Together with John Buttera and Pat Foster, developed a Ford Mustang Mach 1 Funny Car with a dragster-like chassis. Driven by Ongais, the car won the 1969 NHRA Spring Nationals at Dallas and the NHRA U.S. Nationals. In his long career, Thompson raced vehicles from stock cars to off-road, and engineered numerous competition engines. He went into the performance aftermarket business in the early 1960s and then, in 1963, he created "Mickey Thompson Performance Tires" that developed special tires for racing including for Indianapolis 500 competitors. Thompson founded SCORE International in 1973, a sanctioning body to oversee off-road racing across North America. With his wife Trudy he formed the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG), which ran an indoor motocross and off-road vehicle racing show and competition that brought the sport from the back-country to major metropolitan stadiums and arenas. Personal life Thompson's wife was Trudy Thompson. On March 16, 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were murdered in Bradbury, California. Murder On March 16, 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were killed by two hooded gunmen outside their home in Bradbury, California, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. On the morning of the murder, a pair of unknown assailants waited outside the Thompson home for the couple to leave for the day. Mickey opened the garage door for his wife to pull out in her vehicle, and as he headed for his own car, the gunmen attacked. He was shot and wounded, then dragged out into the driveway while one of the attackers went after Trudy as she backed out. Killing her, the gunman then came back up the driveway, where the other gunman was watching over Mickey and shot him fatally in the head. The attackers then made their escape on the bicycles they had ridden to the Thompson residence. Expensive jewelry and a large amount of cash were found on the Thompsons' bodies, eliminating robbery as a likely motive. An intense police investigation initially failed to uncover either the identity of the mystery gunmen, or a motive for the crime. Police were interested in Thompson's former business partner Michael Frank Goodwin who repeatedly refused to pay a more than $768,000 settlement he owed Thompson. Goodwin and his wife bought $275,000 worth of gold coins two months before the Thompsons were murdered and wired $400,000 to banks on the island Grand Turk and Caicos. Goodwin and his wife then left the country five months after the murder on their yacht and did not return for more than two years. The case remained unsolved until 2001, when Goodwin was charged in Orange County, California with the murders. Before a trial could be completed, it was ended on jurisdictional grounds by the California District Court of Appeal. On June 8, 2004, Goodwin was formally charged with the murders in Pasadena, in Los Angeles County. In October 2006, a Pasadena Superior Court judge ordered Goodwin to stand trial. During the trial, a long series of witnesses reported hearing Goodwin threaten to kill the Thompsons. “I’m going to kill that son of a bitch. I’m going to kill that motherfucker. I’m going to take out Mickey. I’m too smart to get caught. I’ll have him wasted. He’ll never see a nickel. I’ll kill him first. Mickey doesn’t know who he is fucking with. He is fucking dead.” Although the prosecution did not establish a direct connection between the murderers and Goodwin, the circumstantial evidence was sufficient to convict him. On January 4, 2007, a jury found Goodwin guilty of two counts of murder in the death of Thompson and his wife. Goodwin was sentenced to two consecutive life-without-parole terms. A subsequent motion for a new trial was denied. In the 2015 California 2nd District Court of Appeal ruling, although no direct evidence connected Goodwin to the case, the array of circumstantial evidence was found to be "overwhelming". The two men who murdered the Thompsons have not been located. TV coverage, and its fictionalization through the television program CSI, were cited by the defense team during the murder trial as having created a "folklore" around the case, preventing a fair trial. Thompson, his wife, and his pets are interred in the Rose Hills Memorial Park, in Whittier, California. In popular culture CBS's To Tell The Truth. Appeared as a contestant in March 1962 NBC's Unsolved Mysteries Investigation Discovery's Murder Book. CBS television program 48 Hours Mystery April 28, 2007 CSI episode "Early Rollout" (2004) was based on this murder case. Awards Thompson was inducted posthumously to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America 1990 Inducted to International Motorsports Hall of Fame. Thompson was ranked No. 11 on the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951–2000 Thompson was inducted posthumously to the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007, and the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2009. See also Semon Knudsen Stadium Super Trucks, a racing series inspired by Thompson's stadium off-road racing Danny Thompson, Thompson's son, also a race car driver References External links News release on documentary of the murder (dead link) Trial Commentary M/T Tires Official Page Michael Goodwin profile on America's Most Wanted Murder On the Last Turn LA Weekly October 18, 2006 Lions the Greatest Drag Strip Part One at nhramuseum.org Additional sources Taylor, Thom. "Beauty Beyond the Twilight Zone" in Hot Rod, April 2017, pp. 30–43. 1928 births 1988 deaths Bonneville 300 MPH Club members Brighton Speed Trials people Deaths by firearm in California Dragster drivers International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees Land speed record people Male murder victims Off-road racing drivers Off-road racing Sportspeople from Alhambra, California People murdered in California Racing drivers from California World Sportscar Championship drivers People from Bradbury, California Burials at Rose Hills Memorial Park
false
[ "The Škoda Fabia WRC is a World Rally Car built for the Škoda Motorsport by Škoda Auto in the World Rally Championship. It is based upon the Škoda Fabia road car, and was debuted at the 2003 Rally Deutschland. The R5 version was launched in 2015.\n\nCompetition history\n\nThe car was introduced at the 2003 Rally Deutschland, replacing the Octavia WRC. However, the car did not score any point in the season, which led the season to a development year. The car won twelve stages in its fifty-seven contested WRC events, but failed to achieve any podium.\n\nGallery\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\nFabia WRC\nAll-wheel-drive vehicles\nCars of the Czech Republic\nWorld Rally Cars", "The ADESS-03 is a Le Mans Prototype LMP3 built to ACO Le Mans Prototype LMP3 regulations. It was designed and built by ADESS AG. The car had its competition debut at the 2015 4 Hours of Fuji. The car also serves as a base for the GreenGT LMPH2G Hydrogen powered Le Mans Prototype.\n\nDevelopment \nIn 2013, the ACO announced a new category of Le Mans Prototypes, known as LMP3, which would replace the previous Le Mans Prototype Challenge (LMPC) class in 2015. Initially, the car was meant to be made by LAS Motorsport, a joint venture between Sebastien Loeb Racing, ADESS AG, as well as SORA Racing. Under the initial agreement, Sebastien Loeb Racing would be in charge of development and assembly, while ADESS AG would be in charge of the design and homologation of the car, and SORA Racing handling production. However, when the car was launched on 9 June 2015, it was known instead as the ADESS-03, with no branding on the car from Sebastien Loeb Racing, SORA Racing, or LAS Motorsport. The car was had its first shakedown test performed at the Hockenheimring, on 16 September 2015 with customer AAI Motorsports. The car has been known to have reliability issues stemming from its driveshaft angles, as well as issues with its gull-wing style doors.\n\nGreenGT LMP2HG \n\nThe ADESS-03 Served as a base for the GreenGT LMP2HG, which was developed by GreenGT which in 2013 attempted to field a Garage 56 effort at Le Mans with a hydrogen-powered prototype, then known as the GreenGT H2, but did not ultimately participate in the race. The car is powered by a 650bhp hydrogen fuel-cell power plant, with power output capable of being increased by up to 335bhp through an energy-retrieval system.\n\nDuring the weekend of the 2018 4 Hours of Spa Francorchamps, the car was demonstrated by former Le Mans winner Yannick Dalmas, while GreenGT also did demonstrations of refuelling in the pitlane. The car's hydrogen is contained in sealed tanks at 700-bar pressure. It was later announced that the car would participate in the pre-race proceedings at the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans, with the car set to run a demonstration lap of the full Circuit de la Sarthe.\n\nCompetition history\n\n2015-2016 Asian Le Mans Series \nThe car had its debut in the 2015 4 Hours of Fuji, the inaugural round of the 2015-2016 Asian Le Mans Series, where the 2 cars campaigned by Team AAI retired. For the 2nd round of the series at Sepang, the #89 car finished 2nd in the LMP3 class, before the #88 ended the season for team AAI with a pole at the 4th Round at Sepang, but failed to finish the race.\n\n2016-2017 Asian Le Mans Series \nFor the 2016-2017 Asian Le Mans Series, Team AAI scaled down its involvement in the LMP3 class, with the team only participating in the last round of the series at Sepang, with a single car entry. The #93 car retired from the race.\n\n2018 Michelin Encore \nAtlantic Racing Team ran one car in the end of season Michelin Encore. The single car finished 15th of the 20 cars on the grid.\n\nReferences \n\n\n\nLe Mans Prototypes" ]
[ "Mickey Thompson", "Indy years", "What was his first race on the Indy Circuit?", "In 1962 Thompson entered three John Crosthwaite designed cars in the Indianapolis 500.", "How did he do?", "Unusually, they used a stock V8 Buick engine and it was in the rear unlike the front engined, race tuned, Offenhauser powered cars used by most competitors. It", "How did the change in design affect the performance?", "Thompson's crew, led by Fritz Voigt, were young, smart and hard working. Working 12-14 hour days, the car was designed and built in 120 days.", "Did the car place in the Race?", "qualified eighth and was in ninth place until a leaking oil seal seized the gearbox and ended his race on lap 94. He was placed 20th out of 33.", "What year was this race?", "I don't know.", "Did he win any awards?", "I don't know.", "Where did he race next?", "For the 1963 Indianapolis 500 Crosthwaite designed the innovative Harvey Aluminium Special \"roller skate car\" with the then pioneering smaller profile", "How did the car do?", "Al Miller II raced one of the modified 1962 cars to ninth place despite only qualifying in 31st position.", "Did the car have any issues?", "The small tire sizes and low car weights caused complaints amongst the old hands and owners, so for future races," ]
C_4f7b8d89e29b402da38481fd6ce54d4e_0
How did they address the complaints?
10
How did Mickey Thompson address car issue complaints in the 1963 Indianapolis 500 Crosthwaite?
Mickey Thompson
In 1962 Thompson entered three John Crosthwaite designed cars in the Indianapolis 500. Unusually, they used a stock V8 Buick engine and it was in the rear unlike the front engined, race tuned, Offenhauser powered cars used by most competitors. It was the first stock engine to be raced at Indy since 1946. Thompson's crew, led by Fritz Voigt, were young, smart and hard working. Working 12-14 hour days, the car was designed and built in 120 days. For the race, the engine (enlarged to 4.2 litre capacity, the maximum allowed by the regulations for "stock block" engines) had to be detuned because they were concerned it would not last the distance. Despite being more than 70 bhp down on the other cars, Dan Gurney qualified eighth and was in ninth place until a leaking oil seal seized the gearbox and ended his race on lap 94. He was placed 20th out of 33. The team won the Mechanical Achievement Award for original design, construction and accomplishment. Thompson's promotion skills pleased the sponsors with the publicity generated that year. For the 1963 Indianapolis 500 Crosthwaite designed the innovative Harvey Aluminium Special "roller skate car" with the then pioneering smaller profile (12 inch diameter) and wide racing tires (front 7 inches and rear 9 inches wide) and wheels. Thompson took five cars to Indianapolis. Two of the previous year's design with Chevrolet V8 engines and three roller skate cars. One of the new cars, the Harvey Titanium Special, featured a lightweight titanium chassis. Al Miller II raced one of the modified 1962 cars to ninth place despite only qualifying in 31st position. Duane Carter qualified one of the roller skate cars 15th but was only placed 23rd after an engine failure on the 100th lap. The small tire sizes and low car weights caused complaints amongst the old hands and owners, so for future races, cars were restricted to minimum tire sizes and minimum car weights. 1962 Formula One World Champion Graham Hill tested one of the roller skate cars at Indianapolis in 1963, but refused to race it citing its poor handling. In 1963 Thompson traveled to England where, along with Dante Duce, he demonstrated his Ford-powered top fuel Harvey Aluminum Special dragster at the Brighton Speed Trials. It was then displayed at the Racing Car Show in London in January 1964. Thompson brought three modified 12-inch tire cars to the 1964 Indianapolis 500, but new rules required him to use 15-inch tires. The Allstate sponsored team used Allstate tires and Ford engines. The chassis had to be altered to accommodate the larger Ford engines. Two of them qualified for the race. The car No.84 began the month with Masten Gregory as the driver but Eddie Johnson in car No.84 qualified 24th and finished 26th. Dave MacDonald in car No.83 qualified 14th and died in a fiery crash on the second lap. CANNOTANSWER
so for future races, cars were restricted to minimum tire sizes and minimum car weights.
Michael Lee "Mickey" Thompson (December 7, 1928March 16, 1988) was an American auto racing builder and promoter. A hot rodder since his youth, Thompson increasingly pursued land speed records in his late 20s and early 30s. He achieved international fame in 1960, when he became the first American to break the 400-mph barrier, driving his Challenger 1 to a one-way top speed of 406.60 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats and surpassing John Cobb's one-way world record mark of 402 mph. Thompson then turned to racing, winning many track and dragster championships. In the 1960s, he also entered cars at the Indianapolis 500. Later, he formed off-road racing sanctioning bodies SCORE International and Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG). In 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were gunned down at their home in Bradbury, California. The crime remained unsolved until 2007, when a former business partner was convicted of having orchestrated the murders. Early life On December 7, 1928 Thompson was born in Alhambra, California. Thompson's father was Captain Marion L. Thompson, a former police officer with Alhambra Police Department. Thompson's sister is Collene Thompson Campbell. Career In his early 20s, he worked as a pressman for the Los Angeles Times while pursuing a lifelong love of hot rodding. He later became involved in the new sport of drag racing. Tireless and innovative, he found success as a championship driver and instinctive automotive technician. Over the course of his career, Thompson set more speed and endurance records than any other man in automotive history. He is credited with designing and building the first slingshot dragster, in 1954, moving the seat behind the rear axle to improve traction when existing racing tires proved unable to handle the output of increasingly powerful custom engines. This car, the Panorama City Special, debuted at the first NHRA U.S. Nationals at the Great Bend Municipal Airport in Great Bend, Kansas, in 1955. The car ultimately ran a best speed of . A change so momentous would not happen again until Don Garlits introduced the rear-engined digger in 1971. Thompson also was noted for being the first manager of Lions Drag Strip in Wilmington, California, in 1955. Thompson collaborated with Fritz Voight on a 1958 twin-engined dragster. This car achieved a best speed of . It provided lessons later applied to Challenger I. Determined to set a new land speed record, Thompson achieved fame when he drove his four-engined Challenger 1 at better than in 1960 at the Bonneville Salt Flats, becoming the first American to break that barrier. Indy years 1962 In 1962, Thompson entered three John Crosthwaite-designed cars in the Indianapolis 500. Unusually, they used a stock V8 Buick engine, and it was in the rear unlike the front-engined, race-tuned, Offenhauser-powered cars used by most competitors. It was the first stock engine to be raced at Indy since 1946. Thompson's crew, led by Fritz Voigt, was young, smart, and hard working. Working 12- to 14-hour days, the car was designed and built in 120 days. For the race, the engine (enlarged to 4.2-L capacity, the maximum allowed by the regulations for "stock block" engines) had to be detuned because they were concerned it would not last the distance. Despite being more than 70 bhp down on the other cars, Dan Gurney qualified eighth and was in ninth place until a leaking oil seal seized the gearbox and ended his race on lap 94. He was placed 20th out of 33. The team won the Mechanical Achievement Award for original design, construction, and accomplishment. 1963 Thompson's promotional skills pleased the sponsors with the publicity generated that year. For the 1963 Indianapolis 500, Crosthwaite designed the innovative Harvey Aluminium Special "roller skate car" with the then-pioneering diameter wheels with smaller-profile racing tires, wide at the front and rear. Thompson took five cars to Indianapolis - two of the previous year's design with Chevrolet V8 engines and three roller skate cars. One of the new cars, the Harvey Titanium Special, featured a lightweight titanium chassis. Al Miller raced one of the modified 1962 cars to ninth place despite only qualifying in 31st position. Duane Carter qualified one of the roller skate cars 15th, but was only placed 23rd after an engine failure on the 100th lap. The small tire sizes and low car weights caused complaints among the old hands and owners, so for future races, cars were restricted to minimum tire sizes and minimum car weights. Formula One World Champion Graham Hill tested one of the roller skate cars at Indianapolis in 1963, but refused to race it, citing its poor handling. The recent ruling required 15-in wheels, but the chassis was designed around smaller wheels. Thompson commented: "The car wouldn't handle", adding, "There was too much body roll due to the high center of gravity." In 1963, Thompson traveled to England, where along with Dante Duce, he demonstrated his Ford-powered top fuel Harvey Aluminum Special dragster at the Brighton Speed Trials. It was then displayed at the Racing Car Show in London in January 1964. 1964 Thompson brought three modified 12-inch-tired cars to the 1964 Indianapolis 500, but new rules required him to use 15-in tires. The Allstate sponsored team used Allstate tires and Ford engines. The chassis had to be altered to accommodate the larger Ford engines. Two of them qualified for the race. The car No. 84 began the month with Masten Gregory as the driver, but Eddie Johnson in car No. 84 qualified 24th and finished 26th. Dave MacDonald in car No. 83 qualified 14th and died in a fiery crash on the second lap. 1965–1968 Thompson went back to Indy in 1965, but failed to qualify in an attempt with a front-engined roadster. He skipped 1966, but tried again in 1967 and 1968, again failing to qualify either year. The 1967 attempt used a unique all-wheel drive rear-engined design that steered both front and rear wheels, but Gary Congdon was unable to qualify any of the three cars. Post Indy In 1965, Thompson published Challenger: Mickey Thompson's own story of his life of Speed. In 1968 Danny Ongais and he took three Ford Mustang Mach 1 to the Bonneville salt flats for a feature in Hot Rod magazine, in the process setting 295 speed and endurance records over a series of 500-mile and 24-hour courses. Together with John Buttera and Pat Foster, developed a Ford Mustang Mach 1 Funny Car with a dragster-like chassis. Driven by Ongais, the car won the 1969 NHRA Spring Nationals at Dallas and the NHRA U.S. Nationals. In his long career, Thompson raced vehicles from stock cars to off-road, and engineered numerous competition engines. He went into the performance aftermarket business in the early 1960s and then, in 1963, he created "Mickey Thompson Performance Tires" that developed special tires for racing including for Indianapolis 500 competitors. Thompson founded SCORE International in 1973, a sanctioning body to oversee off-road racing across North America. With his wife Trudy he formed the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG), which ran an indoor motocross and off-road vehicle racing show and competition that brought the sport from the back-country to major metropolitan stadiums and arenas. Personal life Thompson's wife was Trudy Thompson. On March 16, 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were murdered in Bradbury, California. Murder On March 16, 1988, Thompson and his wife Trudy were killed by two hooded gunmen outside their home in Bradbury, California, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. On the morning of the murder, a pair of unknown assailants waited outside the Thompson home for the couple to leave for the day. Mickey opened the garage door for his wife to pull out in her vehicle, and as he headed for his own car, the gunmen attacked. He was shot and wounded, then dragged out into the driveway while one of the attackers went after Trudy as she backed out. Killing her, the gunman then came back up the driveway, where the other gunman was watching over Mickey and shot him fatally in the head. The attackers then made their escape on the bicycles they had ridden to the Thompson residence. Expensive jewelry and a large amount of cash were found on the Thompsons' bodies, eliminating robbery as a likely motive. An intense police investigation initially failed to uncover either the identity of the mystery gunmen, or a motive for the crime. Police were interested in Thompson's former business partner Michael Frank Goodwin who repeatedly refused to pay a more than $768,000 settlement he owed Thompson. Goodwin and his wife bought $275,000 worth of gold coins two months before the Thompsons were murdered and wired $400,000 to banks on the island Grand Turk and Caicos. Goodwin and his wife then left the country five months after the murder on their yacht and did not return for more than two years. The case remained unsolved until 2001, when Goodwin was charged in Orange County, California with the murders. Before a trial could be completed, it was ended on jurisdictional grounds by the California District Court of Appeal. On June 8, 2004, Goodwin was formally charged with the murders in Pasadena, in Los Angeles County. In October 2006, a Pasadena Superior Court judge ordered Goodwin to stand trial. During the trial, a long series of witnesses reported hearing Goodwin threaten to kill the Thompsons. “I’m going to kill that son of a bitch. I’m going to kill that motherfucker. I’m going to take out Mickey. I’m too smart to get caught. I’ll have him wasted. He’ll never see a nickel. I’ll kill him first. Mickey doesn’t know who he is fucking with. He is fucking dead.” Although the prosecution did not establish a direct connection between the murderers and Goodwin, the circumstantial evidence was sufficient to convict him. On January 4, 2007, a jury found Goodwin guilty of two counts of murder in the death of Thompson and his wife. Goodwin was sentenced to two consecutive life-without-parole terms. A subsequent motion for a new trial was denied. In the 2015 California 2nd District Court of Appeal ruling, although no direct evidence connected Goodwin to the case, the array of circumstantial evidence was found to be "overwhelming". The two men who murdered the Thompsons have not been located. TV coverage, and its fictionalization through the television program CSI, were cited by the defense team during the murder trial as having created a "folklore" around the case, preventing a fair trial. Thompson, his wife, and his pets are interred in the Rose Hills Memorial Park, in Whittier, California. In popular culture CBS's To Tell The Truth. Appeared as a contestant in March 1962 NBC's Unsolved Mysteries Investigation Discovery's Murder Book. CBS television program 48 Hours Mystery April 28, 2007 CSI episode "Early Rollout" (2004) was based on this murder case. Awards Thompson was inducted posthumously to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America 1990 Inducted to International Motorsports Hall of Fame. Thompson was ranked No. 11 on the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951–2000 Thompson was inducted posthumously to the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007, and the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2009. See also Semon Knudsen Stadium Super Trucks, a racing series inspired by Thompson's stadium off-road racing Danny Thompson, Thompson's son, also a race car driver References External links News release on documentary of the murder (dead link) Trial Commentary M/T Tires Official Page Michael Goodwin profile on America's Most Wanted Murder On the Last Turn LA Weekly October 18, 2006 Lions the Greatest Drag Strip Part One at nhramuseum.org Additional sources Taylor, Thom. "Beauty Beyond the Twilight Zone" in Hot Rod, April 2017, pp. 30–43. 1928 births 1988 deaths Bonneville 300 MPH Club members Brighton Speed Trials people Deaths by firearm in California Dragster drivers International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees Land speed record people Male murder victims Off-road racing drivers Off-road racing Sportspeople from Alhambra, California People murdered in California Racing drivers from California World Sportscar Championship drivers People from Bradbury, California Burials at Rose Hills Memorial Park
true
[ "A \"how's my driving\" sign (or \"how is my driving\" or similar) is a decal posted or painted on a back of a fleet vehicle or other vehicle operated by an employee driver. The decal usually has a phone number or website address and other identifying information so that the public can call and report on the behavior of the vehicle's driver. Depending on the company, the phone number or website is monitored by the vehicle's owner or by a third-party company.\n\nSimilar programs have also been implemented for vehicles driven by teenagers in hopes of improving the safety of teenage drivers and with drunk drivers. Use of \"How's My Driving\" regimes for systems other than traffic have been discussed, also in relation to eBay and Wikipedia.\n\nThe purpose of the decal is to increase traffic safety, as those who know they are driving a vehicle with a decal would want to drive more safely to not draw complaints.\n\nFrequency of complaints\nAbout 10% of vehicles bearing this decal become the target of complaints.\n\nThe most common complaints fielded are tailgating, improper lane changes, speeding, and running red lights, though it has been found that many bored motorists who have cell phones will call in petty complaints. A small percentage of calls are to compliment drivers.\n\nEffects\n\nStudies have found that vehicles displaying the decal are involved in 22% fewer accidents and result in a 52% reduction in accident-related costs.\n\nSome insurance companies offer discounts to fleets that display the decal.\n\nOther countries are starting to experiment with similar programs, such as Germany.\n\nEffects of complaints\nWhen a complaint is made, the receptionist who fields the complaint will generally ask for basic information regarding the vehicle and incident, such as the vehicle's description (e.g. a white van), the location of the incident, and the weather of the day.\n\nTruck companies use the reports to spot problem drivers.\n\nComplaints received by motorists may or may not affect the employment status of the operator of the vehicle. In the worst cases, complaints may result in a reprimand against the operator and possibly termination.\n\nReferences\n\nRoad safety\nTraffic signs", "The Judicial Complaints Reviewer is a Scottish official who is responsible for reviewing the handling of complaints against the judiciary of Scotland by the Judicial Office for Scotland. The post was established in 2011 as a result of the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008. The Reviewer is appointed by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, with the approval of the Lord President of the Court of Session. The Reviewer's services are open to those who have complained about the conduct of a member of the judiciary, and also to members of the judiciary who have been the subject of a complaint.\n\nThe first Judicial Complaints Reviewer was Moi Ali, 2011-2014 and the second was Gillian Thompson; who was appointed on 1 September 2014. The third reviewer takes up the role on 1 September 2017.\n\nRemit and jurisdiction\nComplaints about the conduct, both within and outwith the courts of Scotland, of judicial officer holders in Scotland are made to the Lord President through the Judicial Office for Scotland. However, the Judicial Office does not consider complaints about judicial decisions which are dealt with through appeals.\n\nThe office of the Judicial Complaints Reviewer was established by Section 30 of the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008 The Reviewer's role is to review how complaints regarding members of the judiciary have been handled by the Judicial Office for Scotland in accordance with the complaint rules laid down by the Lord President. As of May 2017, complaints should be handled in line with Complaints About the Judiciary (Scotland) Rules 2017. She cannot change the outcome of the investigation, overturn a decision, or initiate redress. However, where she finds a fault in the process she passes a referral to the Lord President who then makes decision.\n\nJudicial Complaints Reviewer\n\nMoi Ali became the first ever JCR on 1 September 2011. She established the office and pushed for greater powers, claiming that the role was \"window-dressing\" and the judicial watchdog had no teeth. She did not seek reappointment after the end of her three-year term, as she was dissatisfied with the powers of the role. Gillian Thompson became the second Judicial Complaints Reviewer on 1 September 2014, and she too did not serve a second term of office.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n2011 establishments in Scotland\n2011 in British law\nComplaints organizations\nGovernment agencies established in 2011\nJudiciary of Scotland\nOmbudsmen in Scotland\nJudicial misconduct" ]
[ "Jacqueline Fernandez", "2009-2013: Debut and breakthrough" ]
C_315a72ed09284397a027f03df3228888_1
What is most memorable about Jacqueline Fernandez's career?
1
What is most memorable about Jacqueline Fernandez's career?
Jacqueline Fernandez
In 2009, Fernandez traveled to India for a modeling assignment. She studied acting under the mentorship of theatre director Barry John, and successfully auditioned for Sujoy Ghosh's fantasy film Aladin (2009) her acting debut. She played the love interest of Riteish Deshmukh's character, a role based on the character of Princess Jasmine. and Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN felt that she was: "easy on the eyes and appears confident but has precious little to do". Although the film was a critical and commercial failure, she won the IIFA Award for Star Debut of the Year - Female. In 2010, Fernandez appeared opposite Deshmukh in the science fiction romantic comedy Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai. She was cast as a girl from Venus, who lands on Earth in search of love. The film, along with Fernandez's performance, received poor reviews; Rediff.com's Sukanya Verma noted: "She gamely makes a fool of herself whilst aping the actions of movie stars, ranging from Sridevi's Naagin dance, Mithun Chakravarthy's Disco Dancer moves, to Big B's violent headshake in Hum. Her Tara could be a keeper if only Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai wasn't so intent on turning her into a love-struck Barbie." Critic Anupama Chopra also criticized Fernandez, calling her "a pin-prick on a balloon". Later that year, she made a special appearance in the song "Dhanno" for Sajid Khan's comedy Housefull. Mahesh Bhatt's thriller Murder 2 was Fernandez's first commercial success and marked a turning point in her career. She took on the role of Priya, a lonely model who is in a confused relationship with Arjun Bhagwat (played by Emraan Hashmi). Fernandez was praised for her performance, and for the boldness and sex appeal she displayed in the film. Gaurav Malini of The Times of India stated that she was "tastefully tempting" but noted that her romance with Hashmi was "literally half-baked". The following year, Fernandez appeared in the ensemble comedy Housefull 2 alongside Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, and Asin. It became one of the top grossing productions of India that year and earned Rs1.86 billion (US$28 million) worldwide. Fernandez received mostly negative reviews for her performance. While Gaurav Malini praised her for her looks, NDTV called her a "blathering bimbo" who "find[s] no pleasure in [her role]". Despite the negative reviews, Fernandez received a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 14th IIFA Awards for her performance. Fernandez's first release of 2013 was Race 2, an ensemble action thriller (alongside Saif Ali Khan, John Abraham and Deepika Padukone), described as the "cinematic equivalent of a trashy novel" by critic Rajeev Masand. She played Omisha, a femme fatale, a role which required her learn fencing and some acrobatics. The film emerged as a commercial success, with the domestic gross of more than Rs1 billion (US$15 million). In a particularly scathing review, Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV wrote that both Fernandez and Padukone "strut around like wound-up automatons that are all decked-up but have nowhere to go." Also that year, Fernandez appeared in an item number, titled, "Jaadu Ki Jhappi", for Prabhu Deva's romantic comedy Ramaiya Vasta Vaiya. CANNOTANSWER
Mahesh Bhatt's thriller Murder 2 was Fernandez's first commercial success and marked a turning point in her career.
Jacqueline Fernandez (born 11 August 1985) is a Sri Lankan actress, model and the winner of the Miss Universe Sri Lanka pageant of 2006 who predominantly works in Hindi films. In 2009, she debuted with Aladin and since then has established a career in the Hindi film industry. Fernandez was born and raised in Bahrain to a multiracial Eurasian family of Sri Lankan, Canadian, and Malaysian descent. After graduating in mass communication from the University of Sydney and working as a television reporter in Sri Lanka, she joined the modeling industry. She was crowned Miss Universe Sri Lanka in 2006, and represented her country at Miss Universe 2006. While on a modelling assignment in India in 2009, Fernandez successfully auditioned for Sujoy Ghosh's fantasy drama Aladin, which marked her acting debut. Fernandez had her breakthrough role with the psychological thriller Murder 2 (2011), her first commercial success. This was followed by glamorous roles in the commercially successful ensemble-comedy Housefull 2 (2012) and the action thriller Race 2 (2013), which garnered her an IIFA Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination. Fernandez went on to star in the top-grossing action film Kick (2014) and the comedies Housefull 3 (2016) and Judwaa 2 (2017). Alongside her screen acting career, Fernandez has worked as a judge in the ninth season of the dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa (2016–2017), is a popular celebrity endorser for various brands and products, has participated in stage shows, and is active in humanitarian work. Early life and modeling career Jacqueline Fernandez was born on 11 August 1985, in Manama, Bahrain, and was raised in a multi-ethnic family. Her father, Elroy Fernandez, is a Sri Lankan Burgher, and her mother, Kim, is of Malaysian and Canadian descent. Her maternal grandfather is Canadian. Her father, who was a musician in Sri Lanka, moved to Bahrain in the 1980s to escape civil unrest between the Sinhalese and Tamils and subsequently met her mother, who was an air hostess. She is the youngest of four children with one elder sister and two elder brothers. After receiving her early education in Bahrain at Sacred Heart School, she studied mass communication at the University of Sydney in Australia. After graduating she did a couple of television shows in Sri Lanka. She also attended the Berlitz school of languages, where she learned Spanish and improved her French and Arabic. According to Fernandez, she had aspired to become an actress at a young age and fantasized about becoming a Hollywood movie star. She received some training at the John School of Acting. Although, she was a television reporter, she accepted offers in the modeling industry, which came as a result of her pageant success. In 2006, she was crowned the winner of the Miss Universe Sri Lanka pageant and represented Sri Lanka at the world Miss Universe 2006 pageant held in Los Angeles. In a 2015 interview, Fernandez described the modeling industry as "a good training ground" and said: "It is a medium that is about shedding your inhibitions, knowing your body, confidence". In 2006, she appeared in a music video for the song "O Sathi" by music duo Bathiya and Santhush and young female singer Umaria Sinhawansa. Acting career 2009–2013: Debut and breakthrough In 2009, Fernandez traveled to India for a modeling assignment. She successfully auditioned for Sujoy Ghosh's fantasy film Aladin (2009) her acting debut. She played the love interest of Riteish Deshmukh's character, a role based on the character of Princess Jasmine. and Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN felt that she was: "easy on the eyes and appears confident but has precious little to do". Although the film was a critical and commercial failure, she won the IIFA Award for Star Debut of the Year – Female. In 2010, Fernandez appeared opposite Deshmukh in the science fiction romantic comedy Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai. She was cast as a girl from Venus, who lands on Earth in search of love. The film, along with Fernandez's performance, received poor reviews; Rediff.com's Sukanya Verma noted: "She gamely makes a fool of herself whilst aping the actions of movie stars, ranging from Sridevi's Naagin dance, Mithun Chakravarthy's Disco Dancer moves, to Big B's violent headshake in Hum. Her Tara could be a keeper if only Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai wasn't so intent on turning her into a love-struck Barbie." Critic Anupama Chopra also criticized Fernandez, calling her "a pin-prick on a balloon". Later that year, she made a special appearance in the song "Dhanno" for Sajid Khan's comedy Housefull. Mahesh Bhatt's thriller Murder 2 was Fernandez's first commercial success and marked a turning point in her career. She took on the role of Priya, a lonely model who is in a confused relationship with Arjun Bhagwat (played by Emraan Hashmi). Fernandez was praised for her performance, and for the boldness and sex appeal she displayed in the film. Gaurav Malini of The Times of India stated that she was "tastefully tempting" but noted that her romance with Hashmi was "literally half-baked". The following year, Fernandez appeared in the ensemble comedy Housefull 2 alongside Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, and Asin. It became one of the top grossing productions of India that year and earned worldwide. Fernandez received mostly negative reviews for her performance. While Gaurav Malini praised her for her looks, NDTV called her a "blathering bimbo" who "find[s] no pleasure in [her role]". Despite the negative reviews, Fernandez received a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 14th IIFA Awards for her performance. Fernandez's first release of 2013 was Race 2, an ensemble action thriller (alongside Saif Ali Khan, John Abraham and Deepika Padukone), described as the "cinematic equivalent of a trashy novel" by critic Rajeev Masand. She played Omisha, a femme fatale, a role which required her learn fencing and some acrobatics. The film emerged as a commercial success, with the worldwide gross of more than and a net domestically of over . In a particularly scathing review, Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV wrote that both Fernandez and Padukone "strut around like wound-up automatons that are all decked-up but have nowhere to go." Also that year, Fernandez appeared in an item number, titled, "Jaadu Ki Jhappi", for Prabhu Deva's romantic comedy Ramaiya Vasta Vaiya. 2014–present: Commercial success In 2014, Fernandez appeared in Sajid Nadiadwala's directorial debut—the action film Kick, a remake of a 2009 Telugu film of same name. She starred opposite Salman Khan, playing Shaina, a psychiatrist. She retained her real voice for the first time in Kick. While Sneha May Francis commented that she is: "incredibly dazzling, and moves like a magic", Raja Sen of Rediff.com was more critical of her dialogue delivery, calling it "unfortunate." The film received mixed reviews from critics, but with worldwide revenue of over , it became the fourth highest-grossing Bollywood film. The film established Fernandez as one of the most popular Bollywood actresses. In 2015, Fernandez featured in Vicky Singh's Roy, a romantic thriller, which critic Sarita A. Tanwar described as a "boring, exhausting and pretentious" film. Fernandez played dual roles, Ayesha Aamir, a filmmaker in a relationship with another filmmaker (played by Arjun Rampal) and Tia Desai, a girl in love with a thief (played by Ranbir Kapoor). While India TV called it "her best act till date", critic Rajeev Masand felt that she "appears miscast in a part that required greater range." Roy failed to meet its box-office expectations, and was a commercial failure. Later that year, she appeared in a guest appearance for the comedy-satire Bangistan. Karan Malhotra's action drama Brothers was Fernandez's next release. Co-starring alongside Akshay Kumar and Sidharth Malhotra, Fernandez played Jenny, a fearless mother struggling for her child, a role which she described as "challenging", "intense", and "difficult". The role marked a departure from the glamorous characters that she had a reputation for portraying. Dhriti Sharma of Zee News called her character "soft, timid and promising", and praised her for: "convincingly pull[ing] off a pleasing character of a street fighter's wife". Film critic Subhash K. Jha noted that she: "...in a limited role gives her finest emotive shot", while critic Raja Sen remarked: "[she] plays Kumar's long-sobbing wife who gets so deliriously happy on seeing a text message that it may well have contained news about a Kick sequel." Later that year, she starred in the horror thriller Definition of Fear, which marked her Hollywood debut. Fernandez began 2016 with a role in Housefull 3 which is the third installment to the Housefull Series's. The ensemble comedy film paired her with Akshay Kumar as her love interest. The critic for Firstpost was disappointed with the picture and criticized Fernandez for her inclination towards a film, where she is treated as nothing more than a "visual attraction". Nevertheless, the film was a commercial success, grossing worldwide. Her next film—the action adventure Dishoom—also grossed worldwide at the box-office. Later that year, she served as a judge to the ninth season of the dance show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. In 2017, Fernandez appeared in Chandran Rutnam's English-Sri Lankan crime-thriller According to Mathew. The film was her maiden cinematic appearance in Sri Lankan cinema as well. The film was released in Sri Lanka on 7 April 2017 in CEL Theatres with the title Anuragini. Her next film was the action-comedy A Gentleman, with Siddharth Malhotra from the director duo Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K.. The film was poorly received by critics and was a box-office flop. Later that year, she appeared in David Dhawan's comedy film Judwaa 2, opposite Varun Dhawan and Taapsee Pannu. It was a sequel to the 1997 comedy film Judwaa. The film proved to be a box-office success earning worldwide. In 2018, she starred alongside Salman Khan in Race 3, the third addition to the Race Franchise. Race 3 was a box office success earning more than worldwide despite mixed reviews. Fernandez is filming Tarun Mansukhani's next, Drive opposite Sushant Singh Rajput. She is set to star in the Netflix original film, Mrs. Serial Killer, directed by Shirish Kunder. She is also set to feature with Akshay Kumar for the fourth time in a gangster drama Bachchan Pandey. Personal life and other work Fernandez shares a close bond with her family, and admits that she misses being around them. She says: "I miss them so much everyday. You don't realise when you live away from home how difficult life can be [...] At the same time, staying away from them has taught me to be more responsible. It has taught me so many things about myself, about priorities and time management." In 2008, Fernandez started dating Bahraini prince Hassan bin Rashid Al Khalifa, whom she met at a mutual friend's party; they separated in 2011. While filming Housefull 2 in 2011, Fernandez began a romantic relationship with director Sajid Khan. The relationship attracted media coverage in India and there was speculation of an impending wedding. However, the relationship ended in May 2013. Fernandez has supported charitable organisations and a number of causes. For advocating the welfare of animals, Fernandez was named "Woman Of The Year" by PETA (India) in 2014. Fernandez has participated in several concert tours and televised award ceremonies. In 2013, she performed at the Temptations Reloaded in Auckland, Perth, and Sydney alongside Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, and Madhuri Dixit. She also performed at the live talent show "Got Talent World Stage Live" with Khan, Priyanka Chopra and Varun Dhawan the following year. In July 2014, Fernandez opened a restaurant in Colombo, Kaema Sutra, in collaboration with chef Dharshan Munidasa, which specialises in contemporary Sri Lankan cuisine. In July 2018, Fernandez co-founded her activewear clothing line-up, Just F. In the media In 2008 and 2011, Fernandez featured in the UK magazine Eastern Eye "World's Sexiest Asian Women" list, ranking twelfth. She was ranked third on The Times of India listing of the "Most Desirable Woman" in 2013 and 2014, after being ranked eighth, seventh and fourteenth, respectively, in the preceding three years. In 2013, Rediff.com placed her on their list of "Bollywood's Best Dressed Actresses". The following year, she held the sixty second position in the Indian edition of the Forbes Celebrity 100, a list based on the income and popularity of India's celebrities. In early 2013, Fernandez became the ambassador for HTC One, which she endorses in India. She was the face of Indian Bridal Fashion Week—IBFW of 2013. Later that year, she became the spokesperson for Gareth Pugh's designed Forevermark Diamonds in Mumbai, and was at the inaugural opening of the Forever 21 store in Mumbai. That year, she also launched Gillette Shaving System with Arbaaz Khan and Aditya Roy Kapur. While analysing Fernandez's career, India TV noted: "Slowly and steadily Jacqueline Fernandez is climbing up the ladder of success [...] Jacqueline is comfortably grasping every aspect of the work, which an actress is required to do and is accordingly giving results." On the contrary, Charu Thakur of India Today criticized her acting skills, but remarked that: "[she has] managed to find her feet in Bollywood now by banking on glamorous roles". In 2017, Fernandez invested in Rakyan Beverages' Raw Pressery. The company claim that with this investment, Fernandez became India's first celebrity to part-finance a consumer products firm. Money laundering case Since December 2021, Fernandez is subjected to an investigation into a money laundering case involving $200 million. The investigation is being carried out by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) who questioned Fernandez for 10 hours in relation to the case on 9 December 2021. On 22 December, ED rejected Fernandez’s request to downgrade the Lookout Circular (LOC) which was issued against her in the case which blocks her to travel outside India. Fernandez was removed from the upcoming movie The Ghost which will star Nagarjuna. It is speculated that the eviction from the movie happened due to the money laundering case. Filmography Films All films are in Hindi unless otherwise noted. Television Music videos Awards and nominations Fernandez has won numerous awards mainly for her works in Housefull 2, its sequel Housefull 3, Murder 2, and Race 3. References Further reading External links 1985 births Living people People from Manama Actresses in Hindi cinema Miss Universe 2006 contestants Sri Lankan beauty pageant winners Indian film actresses Sri Lankan film actresses Bahraini film actresses Sri Lankan female models Burgher models Bahraini female models Bahraini people of Sri Lankan descent Bahraini people of Malaysian descent Sri Lankan people of Malaysian descent Sri Lankan people of Canadian descent Sri Lankan people of Dutch descent Sri Lankan Malays Sri Lankan Roman Catholics University of Sydney alumni
true
[ "\"Mud Mud Ke\" () is a Hindi song written by Tony Kakkar and sung by Tony Kakkar and Neha Kakkar. The video of the song is directed by Mihir Gulati and the music is produced by Anshul Garg and Tony Kakkar under Desi Music Factory. This song features Michele Morrone and Jacqueline Fernandez in the music video.\n\nCast\n Michele Morrone\n Jacqueline Fernandez\n Tony Kakkar\n\nMusic video\nThe music video titled \"Mud Mud Ke\" was released by Desi Music Factory on YouTube. The music video marks the debut of an Italian actor Michele Morrone in the Indian Music Industry alongside Jacqueline Fernandez was shot in Dubai.\n\nThe song depicts Morrone as an Gangster doing Business deal and fighting with rival.\n\nReception \nIt received more than 2 million views on YouTube trending at #4 within 12 hours of the official release.\n\nPersonnel \n\n Song : \"Mud Mud Ke\"\n Starring : Michele Morrone and Jacqueline Fernandez\n Singer : Tony Kakkar and Neha Kakkar\n Lyricist and Composer : Tony Kakkar\n Music Director : Tony Kakkar \n Mixing and Mastering : Naweed @whitfieldmastering, London\n Video Director : Mihir Gulati\n DOP : Manish Shunty\n Editor : Hitesh Chandwani (Frogalised Productions)\n Assistant Director : Rishabh Dang and Hitesh Chandwani\n Producers : Anshul Garg and Tony Kakkar\n Choreographer : Shakti Mohan\n Online Promotion: Underdog Digital\n Label : Desi Music Factory \n Supporting Production : Metro Talkies & Third Eye Films, Dubai\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Mud Mud ke on YouTube\n\nHindi-language songs\n2022 songs", "Ek Do Teen is a Hindi song from the film Baaghi 2. The song was a remake of the original Ek Do Teen from the film Tezaab which was sung by Alka Yagnik and Amit Kumar. The song features Jacqueline Fernandez and Tiger Shroff and is voiced by Shreya Ghoshal. Ghoshal had also recreated a version of the same song with DJ Aqeel for the Ameesha Patel starrer Desi Magic. The movie was released on 30 March 2018.\n\nDevelopment\nThe song was recorded, mixed and mastered by Eric Pillai - Future Sound Of Bombay in Mumbai. The song is arranged and programmed by Prasad Sashte.\n\nMusic video\n\nShreya Ghoshal version\n\nFilming \nThe song was choreographed by Ganesh Acharya, who was a background dancer in the older version of the song released in 1988. According to Jacqueline, she had grown up listening to \"Ek Do Teen\" and it was a dream come true moment for her to perform on the recreated song in Baaghi 2. Jacqueline added that she felt blessed to have got the opportunity to pay a tribute to Madhuri.\n\nSynopsis \nThis is a song from Baaghi 2 bollywood movie.\n\nRelease\nA teaser of the song was released on 16 March 2018. The official song was released on the T-Series's YouTube page on 19 March 2018. The full music album was released on 20 March 2018 by T-Series.\n\nReception\nThe song received mixed reviews from various critics and fans. However the director said that they were ready for the criticism stating, \"From the moment we zeroed down on the song Ek Do Teen, we were ready for the criticism.\" Writing for NDTV, Nilanjana Basu said, \"Can't, just can't stop watching over and over Jacqueline Fernandez's latke jhatke in the new version of Ek Do Teen for Baaghi 2. The song is the perfect remedy for our Monday morning blues and with Jacqueline Fernandez dancing like that, now, we know what setting the stage on fire actually is!\" She also added, \"Ek Do Teen has all the ingredients of what is referred to as a dance number - Jacqueline in flashy outfits, a catchy remixed tune that runs along the song, superwoman dance moves and the humour element.\"\n\nChart performance\nThe song debuted on Mirchi Music Top 20 countdown on 31 March 2018. It stayed on the chart for 8 weeks till 1 June 2018.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n iTunes\n Google Play\n Online streaming at Saavn\n Online streaming at Gaana\n Online streaming at YouTube\n\nHindi songs\nHindi film songs\nShreya Ghoshal songs\nAlka Yagnik songs\n2018 songs\nPop-folk songs\nSongs with lyrics by Javed Akhtar" ]
[ "Jacqueline Fernandez", "2009-2013: Debut and breakthrough", "What is most memorable about Jacqueline Fernandez's career?", "Mahesh Bhatt's thriller Murder 2 was Fernandez's first commercial success and marked a turning point in her career." ]
C_315a72ed09284397a027f03df3228888_1
Is there any thing interesting about Jacqueline Fernandez's career?
2
Is there any thing interesting about Jacqueline Fernandez's career?
Jacqueline Fernandez
In 2009, Fernandez traveled to India for a modeling assignment. She studied acting under the mentorship of theatre director Barry John, and successfully auditioned for Sujoy Ghosh's fantasy film Aladin (2009) her acting debut. She played the love interest of Riteish Deshmukh's character, a role based on the character of Princess Jasmine. and Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN felt that she was: "easy on the eyes and appears confident but has precious little to do". Although the film was a critical and commercial failure, she won the IIFA Award for Star Debut of the Year - Female. In 2010, Fernandez appeared opposite Deshmukh in the science fiction romantic comedy Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai. She was cast as a girl from Venus, who lands on Earth in search of love. The film, along with Fernandez's performance, received poor reviews; Rediff.com's Sukanya Verma noted: "She gamely makes a fool of herself whilst aping the actions of movie stars, ranging from Sridevi's Naagin dance, Mithun Chakravarthy's Disco Dancer moves, to Big B's violent headshake in Hum. Her Tara could be a keeper if only Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai wasn't so intent on turning her into a love-struck Barbie." Critic Anupama Chopra also criticized Fernandez, calling her "a pin-prick on a balloon". Later that year, she made a special appearance in the song "Dhanno" for Sajid Khan's comedy Housefull. Mahesh Bhatt's thriller Murder 2 was Fernandez's first commercial success and marked a turning point in her career. She took on the role of Priya, a lonely model who is in a confused relationship with Arjun Bhagwat (played by Emraan Hashmi). Fernandez was praised for her performance, and for the boldness and sex appeal she displayed in the film. Gaurav Malini of The Times of India stated that she was "tastefully tempting" but noted that her romance with Hashmi was "literally half-baked". The following year, Fernandez appeared in the ensemble comedy Housefull 2 alongside Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, and Asin. It became one of the top grossing productions of India that year and earned Rs1.86 billion (US$28 million) worldwide. Fernandez received mostly negative reviews for her performance. While Gaurav Malini praised her for her looks, NDTV called her a "blathering bimbo" who "find[s] no pleasure in [her role]". Despite the negative reviews, Fernandez received a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 14th IIFA Awards for her performance. Fernandez's first release of 2013 was Race 2, an ensemble action thriller (alongside Saif Ali Khan, John Abraham and Deepika Padukone), described as the "cinematic equivalent of a trashy novel" by critic Rajeev Masand. She played Omisha, a femme fatale, a role which required her learn fencing and some acrobatics. The film emerged as a commercial success, with the domestic gross of more than Rs1 billion (US$15 million). In a particularly scathing review, Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV wrote that both Fernandez and Padukone "strut around like wound-up automatons that are all decked-up but have nowhere to go." Also that year, Fernandez appeared in an item number, titled, "Jaadu Ki Jhappi", for Prabhu Deva's romantic comedy Ramaiya Vasta Vaiya. CANNOTANSWER
]". Despite the negative reviews, Fernandez received a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 14th IIFA Awards for her performance.
Jacqueline Fernandez (born 11 August 1985) is a Sri Lankan actress, model and the winner of the Miss Universe Sri Lanka pageant of 2006 who predominantly works in Hindi films. In 2009, she debuted with Aladin and since then has established a career in the Hindi film industry. Fernandez was born and raised in Bahrain to a multiracial Eurasian family of Sri Lankan, Canadian, and Malaysian descent. After graduating in mass communication from the University of Sydney and working as a television reporter in Sri Lanka, she joined the modeling industry. She was crowned Miss Universe Sri Lanka in 2006, and represented her country at Miss Universe 2006. While on a modelling assignment in India in 2009, Fernandez successfully auditioned for Sujoy Ghosh's fantasy drama Aladin, which marked her acting debut. Fernandez had her breakthrough role with the psychological thriller Murder 2 (2011), her first commercial success. This was followed by glamorous roles in the commercially successful ensemble-comedy Housefull 2 (2012) and the action thriller Race 2 (2013), which garnered her an IIFA Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination. Fernandez went on to star in the top-grossing action film Kick (2014) and the comedies Housefull 3 (2016) and Judwaa 2 (2017). Alongside her screen acting career, Fernandez has worked as a judge in the ninth season of the dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa (2016–2017), is a popular celebrity endorser for various brands and products, has participated in stage shows, and is active in humanitarian work. Early life and modeling career Jacqueline Fernandez was born on 11 August 1985, in Manama, Bahrain, and was raised in a multi-ethnic family. Her father, Elroy Fernandez, is a Sri Lankan Burgher, and her mother, Kim, is of Malaysian and Canadian descent. Her maternal grandfather is Canadian. Her father, who was a musician in Sri Lanka, moved to Bahrain in the 1980s to escape civil unrest between the Sinhalese and Tamils and subsequently met her mother, who was an air hostess. She is the youngest of four children with one elder sister and two elder brothers. After receiving her early education in Bahrain at Sacred Heart School, she studied mass communication at the University of Sydney in Australia. After graduating she did a couple of television shows in Sri Lanka. She also attended the Berlitz school of languages, where she learned Spanish and improved her French and Arabic. According to Fernandez, she had aspired to become an actress at a young age and fantasized about becoming a Hollywood movie star. She received some training at the John School of Acting. Although, she was a television reporter, she accepted offers in the modeling industry, which came as a result of her pageant success. In 2006, she was crowned the winner of the Miss Universe Sri Lanka pageant and represented Sri Lanka at the world Miss Universe 2006 pageant held in Los Angeles. In a 2015 interview, Fernandez described the modeling industry as "a good training ground" and said: "It is a medium that is about shedding your inhibitions, knowing your body, confidence". In 2006, she appeared in a music video for the song "O Sathi" by music duo Bathiya and Santhush and young female singer Umaria Sinhawansa. Acting career 2009–2013: Debut and breakthrough In 2009, Fernandez traveled to India for a modeling assignment. She successfully auditioned for Sujoy Ghosh's fantasy film Aladin (2009) her acting debut. She played the love interest of Riteish Deshmukh's character, a role based on the character of Princess Jasmine. and Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN felt that she was: "easy on the eyes and appears confident but has precious little to do". Although the film was a critical and commercial failure, she won the IIFA Award for Star Debut of the Year – Female. In 2010, Fernandez appeared opposite Deshmukh in the science fiction romantic comedy Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai. She was cast as a girl from Venus, who lands on Earth in search of love. The film, along with Fernandez's performance, received poor reviews; Rediff.com's Sukanya Verma noted: "She gamely makes a fool of herself whilst aping the actions of movie stars, ranging from Sridevi's Naagin dance, Mithun Chakravarthy's Disco Dancer moves, to Big B's violent headshake in Hum. Her Tara could be a keeper if only Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai wasn't so intent on turning her into a love-struck Barbie." Critic Anupama Chopra also criticized Fernandez, calling her "a pin-prick on a balloon". Later that year, she made a special appearance in the song "Dhanno" for Sajid Khan's comedy Housefull. Mahesh Bhatt's thriller Murder 2 was Fernandez's first commercial success and marked a turning point in her career. She took on the role of Priya, a lonely model who is in a confused relationship with Arjun Bhagwat (played by Emraan Hashmi). Fernandez was praised for her performance, and for the boldness and sex appeal she displayed in the film. Gaurav Malini of The Times of India stated that she was "tastefully tempting" but noted that her romance with Hashmi was "literally half-baked". The following year, Fernandez appeared in the ensemble comedy Housefull 2 alongside Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, and Asin. It became one of the top grossing productions of India that year and earned worldwide. Fernandez received mostly negative reviews for her performance. While Gaurav Malini praised her for her looks, NDTV called her a "blathering bimbo" who "find[s] no pleasure in [her role]". Despite the negative reviews, Fernandez received a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 14th IIFA Awards for her performance. Fernandez's first release of 2013 was Race 2, an ensemble action thriller (alongside Saif Ali Khan, John Abraham and Deepika Padukone), described as the "cinematic equivalent of a trashy novel" by critic Rajeev Masand. She played Omisha, a femme fatale, a role which required her learn fencing and some acrobatics. The film emerged as a commercial success, with the worldwide gross of more than and a net domestically of over . In a particularly scathing review, Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV wrote that both Fernandez and Padukone "strut around like wound-up automatons that are all decked-up but have nowhere to go." Also that year, Fernandez appeared in an item number, titled, "Jaadu Ki Jhappi", for Prabhu Deva's romantic comedy Ramaiya Vasta Vaiya. 2014–present: Commercial success In 2014, Fernandez appeared in Sajid Nadiadwala's directorial debut—the action film Kick, a remake of a 2009 Telugu film of same name. She starred opposite Salman Khan, playing Shaina, a psychiatrist. She retained her real voice for the first time in Kick. While Sneha May Francis commented that she is: "incredibly dazzling, and moves like a magic", Raja Sen of Rediff.com was more critical of her dialogue delivery, calling it "unfortunate." The film received mixed reviews from critics, but with worldwide revenue of over , it became the fourth highest-grossing Bollywood film. The film established Fernandez as one of the most popular Bollywood actresses. In 2015, Fernandez featured in Vicky Singh's Roy, a romantic thriller, which critic Sarita A. Tanwar described as a "boring, exhausting and pretentious" film. Fernandez played dual roles, Ayesha Aamir, a filmmaker in a relationship with another filmmaker (played by Arjun Rampal) and Tia Desai, a girl in love with a thief (played by Ranbir Kapoor). While India TV called it "her best act till date", critic Rajeev Masand felt that she "appears miscast in a part that required greater range." Roy failed to meet its box-office expectations, and was a commercial failure. Later that year, she appeared in a guest appearance for the comedy-satire Bangistan. Karan Malhotra's action drama Brothers was Fernandez's next release. Co-starring alongside Akshay Kumar and Sidharth Malhotra, Fernandez played Jenny, a fearless mother struggling for her child, a role which she described as "challenging", "intense", and "difficult". The role marked a departure from the glamorous characters that she had a reputation for portraying. Dhriti Sharma of Zee News called her character "soft, timid and promising", and praised her for: "convincingly pull[ing] off a pleasing character of a street fighter's wife". Film critic Subhash K. Jha noted that she: "...in a limited role gives her finest emotive shot", while critic Raja Sen remarked: "[she] plays Kumar's long-sobbing wife who gets so deliriously happy on seeing a text message that it may well have contained news about a Kick sequel." Later that year, she starred in the horror thriller Definition of Fear, which marked her Hollywood debut. Fernandez began 2016 with a role in Housefull 3 which is the third installment to the Housefull Series's. The ensemble comedy film paired her with Akshay Kumar as her love interest. The critic for Firstpost was disappointed with the picture and criticized Fernandez for her inclination towards a film, where she is treated as nothing more than a "visual attraction". Nevertheless, the film was a commercial success, grossing worldwide. Her next film—the action adventure Dishoom—also grossed worldwide at the box-office. Later that year, she served as a judge to the ninth season of the dance show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. In 2017, Fernandez appeared in Chandran Rutnam's English-Sri Lankan crime-thriller According to Mathew. The film was her maiden cinematic appearance in Sri Lankan cinema as well. The film was released in Sri Lanka on 7 April 2017 in CEL Theatres with the title Anuragini. Her next film was the action-comedy A Gentleman, with Siddharth Malhotra from the director duo Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K.. The film was poorly received by critics and was a box-office flop. Later that year, she appeared in David Dhawan's comedy film Judwaa 2, opposite Varun Dhawan and Taapsee Pannu. It was a sequel to the 1997 comedy film Judwaa. The film proved to be a box-office success earning worldwide. In 2018, she starred alongside Salman Khan in Race 3, the third addition to the Race Franchise. Race 3 was a box office success earning more than worldwide despite mixed reviews. Fernandez is filming Tarun Mansukhani's next, Drive opposite Sushant Singh Rajput. She is set to star in the Netflix original film, Mrs. Serial Killer, directed by Shirish Kunder. She is also set to feature with Akshay Kumar for the fourth time in a gangster drama Bachchan Pandey. Personal life and other work Fernandez shares a close bond with her family, and admits that she misses being around them. She says: "I miss them so much everyday. You don't realise when you live away from home how difficult life can be [...] At the same time, staying away from them has taught me to be more responsible. It has taught me so many things about myself, about priorities and time management." In 2008, Fernandez started dating Bahraini prince Hassan bin Rashid Al Khalifa, whom she met at a mutual friend's party; they separated in 2011. While filming Housefull 2 in 2011, Fernandez began a romantic relationship with director Sajid Khan. The relationship attracted media coverage in India and there was speculation of an impending wedding. However, the relationship ended in May 2013. Fernandez has supported charitable organisations and a number of causes. For advocating the welfare of animals, Fernandez was named "Woman Of The Year" by PETA (India) in 2014. Fernandez has participated in several concert tours and televised award ceremonies. In 2013, she performed at the Temptations Reloaded in Auckland, Perth, and Sydney alongside Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, and Madhuri Dixit. She also performed at the live talent show "Got Talent World Stage Live" with Khan, Priyanka Chopra and Varun Dhawan the following year. In July 2014, Fernandez opened a restaurant in Colombo, Kaema Sutra, in collaboration with chef Dharshan Munidasa, which specialises in contemporary Sri Lankan cuisine. In July 2018, Fernandez co-founded her activewear clothing line-up, Just F. In the media In 2008 and 2011, Fernandez featured in the UK magazine Eastern Eye "World's Sexiest Asian Women" list, ranking twelfth. She was ranked third on The Times of India listing of the "Most Desirable Woman" in 2013 and 2014, after being ranked eighth, seventh and fourteenth, respectively, in the preceding three years. In 2013, Rediff.com placed her on their list of "Bollywood's Best Dressed Actresses". The following year, she held the sixty second position in the Indian edition of the Forbes Celebrity 100, a list based on the income and popularity of India's celebrities. In early 2013, Fernandez became the ambassador for HTC One, which she endorses in India. She was the face of Indian Bridal Fashion Week—IBFW of 2013. Later that year, she became the spokesperson for Gareth Pugh's designed Forevermark Diamonds in Mumbai, and was at the inaugural opening of the Forever 21 store in Mumbai. That year, she also launched Gillette Shaving System with Arbaaz Khan and Aditya Roy Kapur. While analysing Fernandez's career, India TV noted: "Slowly and steadily Jacqueline Fernandez is climbing up the ladder of success [...] Jacqueline is comfortably grasping every aspect of the work, which an actress is required to do and is accordingly giving results." On the contrary, Charu Thakur of India Today criticized her acting skills, but remarked that: "[she has] managed to find her feet in Bollywood now by banking on glamorous roles". In 2017, Fernandez invested in Rakyan Beverages' Raw Pressery. The company claim that with this investment, Fernandez became India's first celebrity to part-finance a consumer products firm. Money laundering case Since December 2021, Fernandez is subjected to an investigation into a money laundering case involving $200 million. The investigation is being carried out by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) who questioned Fernandez for 10 hours in relation to the case on 9 December 2021. On 22 December, ED rejected Fernandez’s request to downgrade the Lookout Circular (LOC) which was issued against her in the case which blocks her to travel outside India. Fernandez was removed from the upcoming movie The Ghost which will star Nagarjuna. It is speculated that the eviction from the movie happened due to the money laundering case. Filmography Films All films are in Hindi unless otherwise noted. Television Music videos Awards and nominations Fernandez has won numerous awards mainly for her works in Housefull 2, its sequel Housefull 3, Murder 2, and Race 3. References Further reading External links 1985 births Living people People from Manama Actresses in Hindi cinema Miss Universe 2006 contestants Sri Lankan beauty pageant winners Indian film actresses Sri Lankan film actresses Bahraini film actresses Sri Lankan female models Burgher models Bahraini female models Bahraini people of Sri Lankan descent Bahraini people of Malaysian descent Sri Lankan people of Malaysian descent Sri Lankan people of Canadian descent Sri Lankan people of Dutch descent Sri Lankan Malays Sri Lankan Roman Catholics University of Sydney alumni
false
[ "\"Mud Mud Ke\" () is a Hindi song written by Tony Kakkar and sung by Tony Kakkar and Neha Kakkar. The video of the song is directed by Mihir Gulati and the music is produced by Anshul Garg and Tony Kakkar under Desi Music Factory. This song features Michele Morrone and Jacqueline Fernandez in the music video.\n\nCast\n Michele Morrone\n Jacqueline Fernandez\n Tony Kakkar\n\nMusic video\nThe music video titled \"Mud Mud Ke\" was released by Desi Music Factory on YouTube. The music video marks the debut of an Italian actor Michele Morrone in the Indian Music Industry alongside Jacqueline Fernandez was shot in Dubai.\n\nThe song depicts Morrone as an Gangster doing Business deal and fighting with rival.\n\nReception \nIt received more than 2 million views on YouTube trending at #4 within 12 hours of the official release.\n\nPersonnel \n\n Song : \"Mud Mud Ke\"\n Starring : Michele Morrone and Jacqueline Fernandez\n Singer : Tony Kakkar and Neha Kakkar\n Lyricist and Composer : Tony Kakkar\n Music Director : Tony Kakkar \n Mixing and Mastering : Naweed @whitfieldmastering, London\n Video Director : Mihir Gulati\n DOP : Manish Shunty\n Editor : Hitesh Chandwani (Frogalised Productions)\n Assistant Director : Rishabh Dang and Hitesh Chandwani\n Producers : Anshul Garg and Tony Kakkar\n Choreographer : Shakti Mohan\n Online Promotion: Underdog Digital\n Label : Desi Music Factory \n Supporting Production : Metro Talkies & Third Eye Films, Dubai\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Mud Mud ke on YouTube\n\nHindi-language songs\n2022 songs", "Bill Fernandez is a user-interface architect and innovator who was Apple Computer's first full time employee when they incorporated in 1977 and was issued badge number 4. He is the son of Jeryy Fernandez and Bambi Fernandez (both Stanford University graduates). He is credited with introducing fellow Homestead High School student Steve Jobs to his friend (and Homestead alumn) Steve Wozniak and developing schematics for the Apple II so the computer could be mass produced.\n\nCareer at Apple \nFernandez worked on the Cream Soda Computer with Steve Wozniak in 1971, the first computer designed by Wozniak and built using spare parts from Wozniak's job. He would later join Apple and work on both the Apple I and Apple II personal computers, and in the 1980s was a member of the Apple Macintosh development team. He contributed to several user interface aspects of the classic Mac OS, QuickTime and HyperCard and owns a user interface patent granted in 1994. He was laid off from Apple in 1993.\n\nPopular Culture \n\n Fernandez appeared in the 2011 documentary about Apple, One Last Thing.\n Fernandez is portrayed by the actor Victor Rasuk in the 2013 film Jobs.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nApple's First Employee: The Remarkable Odyssey of Bill Fernandez by Jason Hiner\n\nFernandez Bill n°4\nLiving people\nAmerican computer businesspeople\n21st-century American engineers\nApple II family\nYear of birth missing (living people)" ]
[ "Jacqueline Fernandez", "2009-2013: Debut and breakthrough", "What is most memorable about Jacqueline Fernandez's career?", "Mahesh Bhatt's thriller Murder 2 was Fernandez's first commercial success and marked a turning point in her career.", "Is there any thing interesting about Jacqueline Fernandez's career?", "]\". Despite the negative reviews, Fernandez received a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 14th IIFA Awards for her performance." ]
C_315a72ed09284397a027f03df3228888_1
What makes Jacqueline Fernandez unique?
3
What makes Jacqueline Fernandez unique?
Jacqueline Fernandez
In 2009, Fernandez traveled to India for a modeling assignment. She studied acting under the mentorship of theatre director Barry John, and successfully auditioned for Sujoy Ghosh's fantasy film Aladin (2009) her acting debut. She played the love interest of Riteish Deshmukh's character, a role based on the character of Princess Jasmine. and Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN felt that she was: "easy on the eyes and appears confident but has precious little to do". Although the film was a critical and commercial failure, she won the IIFA Award for Star Debut of the Year - Female. In 2010, Fernandez appeared opposite Deshmukh in the science fiction romantic comedy Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai. She was cast as a girl from Venus, who lands on Earth in search of love. The film, along with Fernandez's performance, received poor reviews; Rediff.com's Sukanya Verma noted: "She gamely makes a fool of herself whilst aping the actions of movie stars, ranging from Sridevi's Naagin dance, Mithun Chakravarthy's Disco Dancer moves, to Big B's violent headshake in Hum. Her Tara could be a keeper if only Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai wasn't so intent on turning her into a love-struck Barbie." Critic Anupama Chopra also criticized Fernandez, calling her "a pin-prick on a balloon". Later that year, she made a special appearance in the song "Dhanno" for Sajid Khan's comedy Housefull. Mahesh Bhatt's thriller Murder 2 was Fernandez's first commercial success and marked a turning point in her career. She took on the role of Priya, a lonely model who is in a confused relationship with Arjun Bhagwat (played by Emraan Hashmi). Fernandez was praised for her performance, and for the boldness and sex appeal she displayed in the film. Gaurav Malini of The Times of India stated that she was "tastefully tempting" but noted that her romance with Hashmi was "literally half-baked". The following year, Fernandez appeared in the ensemble comedy Housefull 2 alongside Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, and Asin. It became one of the top grossing productions of India that year and earned Rs1.86 billion (US$28 million) worldwide. Fernandez received mostly negative reviews for her performance. While Gaurav Malini praised her for her looks, NDTV called her a "blathering bimbo" who "find[s] no pleasure in [her role]". Despite the negative reviews, Fernandez received a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 14th IIFA Awards for her performance. Fernandez's first release of 2013 was Race 2, an ensemble action thriller (alongside Saif Ali Khan, John Abraham and Deepika Padukone), described as the "cinematic equivalent of a trashy novel" by critic Rajeev Masand. She played Omisha, a femme fatale, a role which required her learn fencing and some acrobatics. The film emerged as a commercial success, with the domestic gross of more than Rs1 billion (US$15 million). In a particularly scathing review, Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV wrote that both Fernandez and Padukone "strut around like wound-up automatons that are all decked-up but have nowhere to go." Also that year, Fernandez appeared in an item number, titled, "Jaadu Ki Jhappi", for Prabhu Deva's romantic comedy Ramaiya Vasta Vaiya. CANNOTANSWER
While Gaurav Malini praised her for her looks, NDTV called her a "blathering bimbo" who "find[s] no pleasure in [her role]".
Jacqueline Fernandez (born 11 August 1985) is a Sri Lankan actress, model and the winner of the Miss Universe Sri Lanka pageant of 2006 who predominantly works in Hindi films. In 2009, she debuted with Aladin and since then has established a career in the Hindi film industry. Fernandez was born and raised in Bahrain to a multiracial Eurasian family of Sri Lankan, Canadian, and Malaysian descent. After graduating in mass communication from the University of Sydney and working as a television reporter in Sri Lanka, she joined the modeling industry. She was crowned Miss Universe Sri Lanka in 2006, and represented her country at Miss Universe 2006. While on a modelling assignment in India in 2009, Fernandez successfully auditioned for Sujoy Ghosh's fantasy drama Aladin, which marked her acting debut. Fernandez had her breakthrough role with the psychological thriller Murder 2 (2011), her first commercial success. This was followed by glamorous roles in the commercially successful ensemble-comedy Housefull 2 (2012) and the action thriller Race 2 (2013), which garnered her an IIFA Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination. Fernandez went on to star in the top-grossing action film Kick (2014) and the comedies Housefull 3 (2016) and Judwaa 2 (2017). Alongside her screen acting career, Fernandez has worked as a judge in the ninth season of the dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa (2016–2017), is a popular celebrity endorser for various brands and products, has participated in stage shows, and is active in humanitarian work. Early life and modeling career Jacqueline Fernandez was born on 11 August 1985, in Manama, Bahrain, and was raised in a multi-ethnic family. Her father, Elroy Fernandez, is a Sri Lankan Burgher, and her mother, Kim, is of Malaysian and Canadian descent. Her maternal grandfather is Canadian. Her father, who was a musician in Sri Lanka, moved to Bahrain in the 1980s to escape civil unrest between the Sinhalese and Tamils and subsequently met her mother, who was an air hostess. She is the youngest of four children with one elder sister and two elder brothers. After receiving her early education in Bahrain at Sacred Heart School, she studied mass communication at the University of Sydney in Australia. After graduating she did a couple of television shows in Sri Lanka. She also attended the Berlitz school of languages, where she learned Spanish and improved her French and Arabic. According to Fernandez, she had aspired to become an actress at a young age and fantasized about becoming a Hollywood movie star. She received some training at the John School of Acting. Although, she was a television reporter, she accepted offers in the modeling industry, which came as a result of her pageant success. In 2006, she was crowned the winner of the Miss Universe Sri Lanka pageant and represented Sri Lanka at the world Miss Universe 2006 pageant held in Los Angeles. In a 2015 interview, Fernandez described the modeling industry as "a good training ground" and said: "It is a medium that is about shedding your inhibitions, knowing your body, confidence". In 2006, she appeared in a music video for the song "O Sathi" by music duo Bathiya and Santhush and young female singer Umaria Sinhawansa. Acting career 2009–2013: Debut and breakthrough In 2009, Fernandez traveled to India for a modeling assignment. She successfully auditioned for Sujoy Ghosh's fantasy film Aladin (2009) her acting debut. She played the love interest of Riteish Deshmukh's character, a role based on the character of Princess Jasmine. and Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN felt that she was: "easy on the eyes and appears confident but has precious little to do". Although the film was a critical and commercial failure, she won the IIFA Award for Star Debut of the Year – Female. In 2010, Fernandez appeared opposite Deshmukh in the science fiction romantic comedy Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai. She was cast as a girl from Venus, who lands on Earth in search of love. The film, along with Fernandez's performance, received poor reviews; Rediff.com's Sukanya Verma noted: "She gamely makes a fool of herself whilst aping the actions of movie stars, ranging from Sridevi's Naagin dance, Mithun Chakravarthy's Disco Dancer moves, to Big B's violent headshake in Hum. Her Tara could be a keeper if only Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai wasn't so intent on turning her into a love-struck Barbie." Critic Anupama Chopra also criticized Fernandez, calling her "a pin-prick on a balloon". Later that year, she made a special appearance in the song "Dhanno" for Sajid Khan's comedy Housefull. Mahesh Bhatt's thriller Murder 2 was Fernandez's first commercial success and marked a turning point in her career. She took on the role of Priya, a lonely model who is in a confused relationship with Arjun Bhagwat (played by Emraan Hashmi). Fernandez was praised for her performance, and for the boldness and sex appeal she displayed in the film. Gaurav Malini of The Times of India stated that she was "tastefully tempting" but noted that her romance with Hashmi was "literally half-baked". The following year, Fernandez appeared in the ensemble comedy Housefull 2 alongside Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, and Asin. It became one of the top grossing productions of India that year and earned worldwide. Fernandez received mostly negative reviews for her performance. While Gaurav Malini praised her for her looks, NDTV called her a "blathering bimbo" who "find[s] no pleasure in [her role]". Despite the negative reviews, Fernandez received a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 14th IIFA Awards for her performance. Fernandez's first release of 2013 was Race 2, an ensemble action thriller (alongside Saif Ali Khan, John Abraham and Deepika Padukone), described as the "cinematic equivalent of a trashy novel" by critic Rajeev Masand. She played Omisha, a femme fatale, a role which required her learn fencing and some acrobatics. The film emerged as a commercial success, with the worldwide gross of more than and a net domestically of over . In a particularly scathing review, Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV wrote that both Fernandez and Padukone "strut around like wound-up automatons that are all decked-up but have nowhere to go." Also that year, Fernandez appeared in an item number, titled, "Jaadu Ki Jhappi", for Prabhu Deva's romantic comedy Ramaiya Vasta Vaiya. 2014–present: Commercial success In 2014, Fernandez appeared in Sajid Nadiadwala's directorial debut—the action film Kick, a remake of a 2009 Telugu film of same name. She starred opposite Salman Khan, playing Shaina, a psychiatrist. She retained her real voice for the first time in Kick. While Sneha May Francis commented that she is: "incredibly dazzling, and moves like a magic", Raja Sen of Rediff.com was more critical of her dialogue delivery, calling it "unfortunate." The film received mixed reviews from critics, but with worldwide revenue of over , it became the fourth highest-grossing Bollywood film. The film established Fernandez as one of the most popular Bollywood actresses. In 2015, Fernandez featured in Vicky Singh's Roy, a romantic thriller, which critic Sarita A. Tanwar described as a "boring, exhausting and pretentious" film. Fernandez played dual roles, Ayesha Aamir, a filmmaker in a relationship with another filmmaker (played by Arjun Rampal) and Tia Desai, a girl in love with a thief (played by Ranbir Kapoor). While India TV called it "her best act till date", critic Rajeev Masand felt that she "appears miscast in a part that required greater range." Roy failed to meet its box-office expectations, and was a commercial failure. Later that year, she appeared in a guest appearance for the comedy-satire Bangistan. Karan Malhotra's action drama Brothers was Fernandez's next release. Co-starring alongside Akshay Kumar and Sidharth Malhotra, Fernandez played Jenny, a fearless mother struggling for her child, a role which she described as "challenging", "intense", and "difficult". The role marked a departure from the glamorous characters that she had a reputation for portraying. Dhriti Sharma of Zee News called her character "soft, timid and promising", and praised her for: "convincingly pull[ing] off a pleasing character of a street fighter's wife". Film critic Subhash K. Jha noted that she: "...in a limited role gives her finest emotive shot", while critic Raja Sen remarked: "[she] plays Kumar's long-sobbing wife who gets so deliriously happy on seeing a text message that it may well have contained news about a Kick sequel." Later that year, she starred in the horror thriller Definition of Fear, which marked her Hollywood debut. Fernandez began 2016 with a role in Housefull 3 which is the third installment to the Housefull Series's. The ensemble comedy film paired her with Akshay Kumar as her love interest. The critic for Firstpost was disappointed with the picture and criticized Fernandez for her inclination towards a film, where she is treated as nothing more than a "visual attraction". Nevertheless, the film was a commercial success, grossing worldwide. Her next film—the action adventure Dishoom—also grossed worldwide at the box-office. Later that year, she served as a judge to the ninth season of the dance show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. In 2017, Fernandez appeared in Chandran Rutnam's English-Sri Lankan crime-thriller According to Mathew. The film was her maiden cinematic appearance in Sri Lankan cinema as well. The film was released in Sri Lanka on 7 April 2017 in CEL Theatres with the title Anuragini. Her next film was the action-comedy A Gentleman, with Siddharth Malhotra from the director duo Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K.. The film was poorly received by critics and was a box-office flop. Later that year, she appeared in David Dhawan's comedy film Judwaa 2, opposite Varun Dhawan and Taapsee Pannu. It was a sequel to the 1997 comedy film Judwaa. The film proved to be a box-office success earning worldwide. In 2018, she starred alongside Salman Khan in Race 3, the third addition to the Race Franchise. Race 3 was a box office success earning more than worldwide despite mixed reviews. Fernandez is filming Tarun Mansukhani's next, Drive opposite Sushant Singh Rajput. She is set to star in the Netflix original film, Mrs. Serial Killer, directed by Shirish Kunder. She is also set to feature with Akshay Kumar for the fourth time in a gangster drama Bachchan Pandey. Personal life and other work Fernandez shares a close bond with her family, and admits that she misses being around them. She says: "I miss them so much everyday. You don't realise when you live away from home how difficult life can be [...] At the same time, staying away from them has taught me to be more responsible. It has taught me so many things about myself, about priorities and time management." In 2008, Fernandez started dating Bahraini prince Hassan bin Rashid Al Khalifa, whom she met at a mutual friend's party; they separated in 2011. While filming Housefull 2 in 2011, Fernandez began a romantic relationship with director Sajid Khan. The relationship attracted media coverage in India and there was speculation of an impending wedding. However, the relationship ended in May 2013. Fernandez has supported charitable organisations and a number of causes. For advocating the welfare of animals, Fernandez was named "Woman Of The Year" by PETA (India) in 2014. Fernandez has participated in several concert tours and televised award ceremonies. In 2013, she performed at the Temptations Reloaded in Auckland, Perth, and Sydney alongside Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, and Madhuri Dixit. She also performed at the live talent show "Got Talent World Stage Live" with Khan, Priyanka Chopra and Varun Dhawan the following year. In July 2014, Fernandez opened a restaurant in Colombo, Kaema Sutra, in collaboration with chef Dharshan Munidasa, which specialises in contemporary Sri Lankan cuisine. In July 2018, Fernandez co-founded her activewear clothing line-up, Just F. In the media In 2008 and 2011, Fernandez featured in the UK magazine Eastern Eye "World's Sexiest Asian Women" list, ranking twelfth. She was ranked third on The Times of India listing of the "Most Desirable Woman" in 2013 and 2014, after being ranked eighth, seventh and fourteenth, respectively, in the preceding three years. In 2013, Rediff.com placed her on their list of "Bollywood's Best Dressed Actresses". The following year, she held the sixty second position in the Indian edition of the Forbes Celebrity 100, a list based on the income and popularity of India's celebrities. In early 2013, Fernandez became the ambassador for HTC One, which she endorses in India. She was the face of Indian Bridal Fashion Week—IBFW of 2013. Later that year, she became the spokesperson for Gareth Pugh's designed Forevermark Diamonds in Mumbai, and was at the inaugural opening of the Forever 21 store in Mumbai. That year, she also launched Gillette Shaving System with Arbaaz Khan and Aditya Roy Kapur. While analysing Fernandez's career, India TV noted: "Slowly and steadily Jacqueline Fernandez is climbing up the ladder of success [...] Jacqueline is comfortably grasping every aspect of the work, which an actress is required to do and is accordingly giving results." On the contrary, Charu Thakur of India Today criticized her acting skills, but remarked that: "[she has] managed to find her feet in Bollywood now by banking on glamorous roles". In 2017, Fernandez invested in Rakyan Beverages' Raw Pressery. The company claim that with this investment, Fernandez became India's first celebrity to part-finance a consumer products firm. Money laundering case Since December 2021, Fernandez is subjected to an investigation into a money laundering case involving $200 million. The investigation is being carried out by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) who questioned Fernandez for 10 hours in relation to the case on 9 December 2021. On 22 December, ED rejected Fernandez’s request to downgrade the Lookout Circular (LOC) which was issued against her in the case which blocks her to travel outside India. Fernandez was removed from the upcoming movie The Ghost which will star Nagarjuna. It is speculated that the eviction from the movie happened due to the money laundering case. Filmography Films All films are in Hindi unless otherwise noted. Television Music videos Awards and nominations Fernandez has won numerous awards mainly for her works in Housefull 2, its sequel Housefull 3, Murder 2, and Race 3. References Further reading External links 1985 births Living people People from Manama Actresses in Hindi cinema Miss Universe 2006 contestants Sri Lankan beauty pageant winners Indian film actresses Sri Lankan film actresses Bahraini film actresses Sri Lankan female models Burgher models Bahraini female models Bahraini people of Sri Lankan descent Bahraini people of Malaysian descent Sri Lankan people of Malaysian descent Sri Lankan people of Canadian descent Sri Lankan people of Dutch descent Sri Lankan Malays Sri Lankan Roman Catholics University of Sydney alumni
true
[ "\"Mud Mud Ke\" () is a Hindi song written by Tony Kakkar and sung by Tony Kakkar and Neha Kakkar. The video of the song is directed by Mihir Gulati and the music is produced by Anshul Garg and Tony Kakkar under Desi Music Factory. This song features Michele Morrone and Jacqueline Fernandez in the music video.\n\nCast\n Michele Morrone\n Jacqueline Fernandez\n Tony Kakkar\n\nMusic video\nThe music video titled \"Mud Mud Ke\" was released by Desi Music Factory on YouTube. The music video marks the debut of an Italian actor Michele Morrone in the Indian Music Industry alongside Jacqueline Fernandez was shot in Dubai.\n\nThe song depicts Morrone as an Gangster doing Business deal and fighting with rival.\n\nReception \nIt received more than 2 million views on YouTube trending at #4 within 12 hours of the official release.\n\nPersonnel \n\n Song : \"Mud Mud Ke\"\n Starring : Michele Morrone and Jacqueline Fernandez\n Singer : Tony Kakkar and Neha Kakkar\n Lyricist and Composer : Tony Kakkar\n Music Director : Tony Kakkar \n Mixing and Mastering : Naweed @whitfieldmastering, London\n Video Director : Mihir Gulati\n DOP : Manish Shunty\n Editor : Hitesh Chandwani (Frogalised Productions)\n Assistant Director : Rishabh Dang and Hitesh Chandwani\n Producers : Anshul Garg and Tony Kakkar\n Choreographer : Shakti Mohan\n Online Promotion: Underdog Digital\n Label : Desi Music Factory \n Supporting Production : Metro Talkies & Third Eye Films, Dubai\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Mud Mud ke on YouTube\n\nHindi-language songs\n2022 songs", "Ram Setu is an upcoming Indian Hindi-language film directed by Abhishek Sharma. The film stars Akshay Kumar, Jacqueline Fernandez and Nushrratt Bharuccha. The film is scheduled to theatrically release on Diwali 2022.\n\nPremise \nIt is the story of an archaeologist, who has set out to check out whether the Ram Setu bridge is a myth or a reality.\n\nCast \n Akshay Kumar \n Jacqueline Fernandez\n Nushrratt Bharuccha \n Satyadev Kancharana\n\nProduction\n\nDevelopment \nThe film is being co-produced by Cape of Good Films, Abundantia Entertainment, Lyca Productions and Amazon Prime Video. This makes it the first Prime Video Bollywood production in India. Aruna Bhatia, Akshay Kumar's mother, was one of the producers. She died in September 2021. Chandraprakash Dwivedi is a creative producer.\n\nFilming \nThe official announcement of the film was made on 14 November 2020 and principal photography began on 30 March 2021. The shooting of the film was temporarily halted because on 4 April 2021, Akshay Kumar tested COVID-19 positive. In October 2021 the crew completed shooting in Ooty. By 5 December 2021, shooting in Diu was complete. On 31 January 2022, filming was wrapped up.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n \n\nUpcoming Indian films\nIndian films\nUpcoming films\nFilm productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic" ]
[ "Jacqueline Fernandez", "2009-2013: Debut and breakthrough", "What is most memorable about Jacqueline Fernandez's career?", "Mahesh Bhatt's thriller Murder 2 was Fernandez's first commercial success and marked a turning point in her career.", "Is there any thing interesting about Jacqueline Fernandez's career?", "]\". Despite the negative reviews, Fernandez received a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 14th IIFA Awards for her performance.", "What makes Jacqueline Fernandez unique?", "While Gaurav Malini praised her for her looks, NDTV called her a \"blathering bimbo\" who \"find[s] no pleasure in [her role]\"." ]
C_315a72ed09284397a027f03df3228888_1
What year is most memorable for Fernandez?
4
What year is most memorable for Jacqueline Fernandez?
Jacqueline Fernandez
In 2009, Fernandez traveled to India for a modeling assignment. She studied acting under the mentorship of theatre director Barry John, and successfully auditioned for Sujoy Ghosh's fantasy film Aladin (2009) her acting debut. She played the love interest of Riteish Deshmukh's character, a role based on the character of Princess Jasmine. and Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN felt that she was: "easy on the eyes and appears confident but has precious little to do". Although the film was a critical and commercial failure, she won the IIFA Award for Star Debut of the Year - Female. In 2010, Fernandez appeared opposite Deshmukh in the science fiction romantic comedy Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai. She was cast as a girl from Venus, who lands on Earth in search of love. The film, along with Fernandez's performance, received poor reviews; Rediff.com's Sukanya Verma noted: "She gamely makes a fool of herself whilst aping the actions of movie stars, ranging from Sridevi's Naagin dance, Mithun Chakravarthy's Disco Dancer moves, to Big B's violent headshake in Hum. Her Tara could be a keeper if only Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai wasn't so intent on turning her into a love-struck Barbie." Critic Anupama Chopra also criticized Fernandez, calling her "a pin-prick on a balloon". Later that year, she made a special appearance in the song "Dhanno" for Sajid Khan's comedy Housefull. Mahesh Bhatt's thriller Murder 2 was Fernandez's first commercial success and marked a turning point in her career. She took on the role of Priya, a lonely model who is in a confused relationship with Arjun Bhagwat (played by Emraan Hashmi). Fernandez was praised for her performance, and for the boldness and sex appeal she displayed in the film. Gaurav Malini of The Times of India stated that she was "tastefully tempting" but noted that her romance with Hashmi was "literally half-baked". The following year, Fernandez appeared in the ensemble comedy Housefull 2 alongside Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, and Asin. It became one of the top grossing productions of India that year and earned Rs1.86 billion (US$28 million) worldwide. Fernandez received mostly negative reviews for her performance. While Gaurav Malini praised her for her looks, NDTV called her a "blathering bimbo" who "find[s] no pleasure in [her role]". Despite the negative reviews, Fernandez received a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 14th IIFA Awards for her performance. Fernandez's first release of 2013 was Race 2, an ensemble action thriller (alongside Saif Ali Khan, John Abraham and Deepika Padukone), described as the "cinematic equivalent of a trashy novel" by critic Rajeev Masand. She played Omisha, a femme fatale, a role which required her learn fencing and some acrobatics. The film emerged as a commercial success, with the domestic gross of more than Rs1 billion (US$15 million). In a particularly scathing review, Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV wrote that both Fernandez and Padukone "strut around like wound-up automatons that are all decked-up but have nowhere to go." Also that year, Fernandez appeared in an item number, titled, "Jaadu Ki Jhappi", for Prabhu Deva's romantic comedy Ramaiya Vasta Vaiya. CANNOTANSWER
2013
Jacqueline Fernandez (born 11 August 1985) is a Sri Lankan actress, model and the winner of the Miss Universe Sri Lanka pageant of 2006 who predominantly works in Hindi films. In 2009, she debuted with Aladin and since then has established a career in the Hindi film industry. Fernandez was born and raised in Bahrain to a multiracial Eurasian family of Sri Lankan, Canadian, and Malaysian descent. After graduating in mass communication from the University of Sydney and working as a television reporter in Sri Lanka, she joined the modeling industry. She was crowned Miss Universe Sri Lanka in 2006, and represented her country at Miss Universe 2006. While on a modelling assignment in India in 2009, Fernandez successfully auditioned for Sujoy Ghosh's fantasy drama Aladin, which marked her acting debut. Fernandez had her breakthrough role with the psychological thriller Murder 2 (2011), her first commercial success. This was followed by glamorous roles in the commercially successful ensemble-comedy Housefull 2 (2012) and the action thriller Race 2 (2013), which garnered her an IIFA Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination. Fernandez went on to star in the top-grossing action film Kick (2014) and the comedies Housefull 3 (2016) and Judwaa 2 (2017). Alongside her screen acting career, Fernandez has worked as a judge in the ninth season of the dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa (2016–2017), is a popular celebrity endorser for various brands and products, has participated in stage shows, and is active in humanitarian work. Early life and modeling career Jacqueline Fernandez was born on 11 August 1985, in Manama, Bahrain, and was raised in a multi-ethnic family. Her father, Elroy Fernandez, is a Sri Lankan Burgher, and her mother, Kim, is of Malaysian and Canadian descent. Her maternal grandfather is Canadian. Her father, who was a musician in Sri Lanka, moved to Bahrain in the 1980s to escape civil unrest between the Sinhalese and Tamils and subsequently met her mother, who was an air hostess. She is the youngest of four children with one elder sister and two elder brothers. After receiving her early education in Bahrain at Sacred Heart School, she studied mass communication at the University of Sydney in Australia. After graduating she did a couple of television shows in Sri Lanka. She also attended the Berlitz school of languages, where she learned Spanish and improved her French and Arabic. According to Fernandez, she had aspired to become an actress at a young age and fantasized about becoming a Hollywood movie star. She received some training at the John School of Acting. Although, she was a television reporter, she accepted offers in the modeling industry, which came as a result of her pageant success. In 2006, she was crowned the winner of the Miss Universe Sri Lanka pageant and represented Sri Lanka at the world Miss Universe 2006 pageant held in Los Angeles. In a 2015 interview, Fernandez described the modeling industry as "a good training ground" and said: "It is a medium that is about shedding your inhibitions, knowing your body, confidence". In 2006, she appeared in a music video for the song "O Sathi" by music duo Bathiya and Santhush and young female singer Umaria Sinhawansa. Acting career 2009–2013: Debut and breakthrough In 2009, Fernandez traveled to India for a modeling assignment. She successfully auditioned for Sujoy Ghosh's fantasy film Aladin (2009) her acting debut. She played the love interest of Riteish Deshmukh's character, a role based on the character of Princess Jasmine. and Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN felt that she was: "easy on the eyes and appears confident but has precious little to do". Although the film was a critical and commercial failure, she won the IIFA Award for Star Debut of the Year – Female. In 2010, Fernandez appeared opposite Deshmukh in the science fiction romantic comedy Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai. She was cast as a girl from Venus, who lands on Earth in search of love. The film, along with Fernandez's performance, received poor reviews; Rediff.com's Sukanya Verma noted: "She gamely makes a fool of herself whilst aping the actions of movie stars, ranging from Sridevi's Naagin dance, Mithun Chakravarthy's Disco Dancer moves, to Big B's violent headshake in Hum. Her Tara could be a keeper if only Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai wasn't so intent on turning her into a love-struck Barbie." Critic Anupama Chopra also criticized Fernandez, calling her "a pin-prick on a balloon". Later that year, she made a special appearance in the song "Dhanno" for Sajid Khan's comedy Housefull. Mahesh Bhatt's thriller Murder 2 was Fernandez's first commercial success and marked a turning point in her career. She took on the role of Priya, a lonely model who is in a confused relationship with Arjun Bhagwat (played by Emraan Hashmi). Fernandez was praised for her performance, and for the boldness and sex appeal she displayed in the film. Gaurav Malini of The Times of India stated that she was "tastefully tempting" but noted that her romance with Hashmi was "literally half-baked". The following year, Fernandez appeared in the ensemble comedy Housefull 2 alongside Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, and Asin. It became one of the top grossing productions of India that year and earned worldwide. Fernandez received mostly negative reviews for her performance. While Gaurav Malini praised her for her looks, NDTV called her a "blathering bimbo" who "find[s] no pleasure in [her role]". Despite the negative reviews, Fernandez received a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 14th IIFA Awards for her performance. Fernandez's first release of 2013 was Race 2, an ensemble action thriller (alongside Saif Ali Khan, John Abraham and Deepika Padukone), described as the "cinematic equivalent of a trashy novel" by critic Rajeev Masand. She played Omisha, a femme fatale, a role which required her learn fencing and some acrobatics. The film emerged as a commercial success, with the worldwide gross of more than and a net domestically of over . In a particularly scathing review, Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV wrote that both Fernandez and Padukone "strut around like wound-up automatons that are all decked-up but have nowhere to go." Also that year, Fernandez appeared in an item number, titled, "Jaadu Ki Jhappi", for Prabhu Deva's romantic comedy Ramaiya Vasta Vaiya. 2014–present: Commercial success In 2014, Fernandez appeared in Sajid Nadiadwala's directorial debut—the action film Kick, a remake of a 2009 Telugu film of same name. She starred opposite Salman Khan, playing Shaina, a psychiatrist. She retained her real voice for the first time in Kick. While Sneha May Francis commented that she is: "incredibly dazzling, and moves like a magic", Raja Sen of Rediff.com was more critical of her dialogue delivery, calling it "unfortunate." The film received mixed reviews from critics, but with worldwide revenue of over , it became the fourth highest-grossing Bollywood film. The film established Fernandez as one of the most popular Bollywood actresses. In 2015, Fernandez featured in Vicky Singh's Roy, a romantic thriller, which critic Sarita A. Tanwar described as a "boring, exhausting and pretentious" film. Fernandez played dual roles, Ayesha Aamir, a filmmaker in a relationship with another filmmaker (played by Arjun Rampal) and Tia Desai, a girl in love with a thief (played by Ranbir Kapoor). While India TV called it "her best act till date", critic Rajeev Masand felt that she "appears miscast in a part that required greater range." Roy failed to meet its box-office expectations, and was a commercial failure. Later that year, she appeared in a guest appearance for the comedy-satire Bangistan. Karan Malhotra's action drama Brothers was Fernandez's next release. Co-starring alongside Akshay Kumar and Sidharth Malhotra, Fernandez played Jenny, a fearless mother struggling for her child, a role which she described as "challenging", "intense", and "difficult". The role marked a departure from the glamorous characters that she had a reputation for portraying. Dhriti Sharma of Zee News called her character "soft, timid and promising", and praised her for: "convincingly pull[ing] off a pleasing character of a street fighter's wife". Film critic Subhash K. Jha noted that she: "...in a limited role gives her finest emotive shot", while critic Raja Sen remarked: "[she] plays Kumar's long-sobbing wife who gets so deliriously happy on seeing a text message that it may well have contained news about a Kick sequel." Later that year, she starred in the horror thriller Definition of Fear, which marked her Hollywood debut. Fernandez began 2016 with a role in Housefull 3 which is the third installment to the Housefull Series's. The ensemble comedy film paired her with Akshay Kumar as her love interest. The critic for Firstpost was disappointed with the picture and criticized Fernandez for her inclination towards a film, where she is treated as nothing more than a "visual attraction". Nevertheless, the film was a commercial success, grossing worldwide. Her next film—the action adventure Dishoom—also grossed worldwide at the box-office. Later that year, she served as a judge to the ninth season of the dance show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. In 2017, Fernandez appeared in Chandran Rutnam's English-Sri Lankan crime-thriller According to Mathew. The film was her maiden cinematic appearance in Sri Lankan cinema as well. The film was released in Sri Lanka on 7 April 2017 in CEL Theatres with the title Anuragini. Her next film was the action-comedy A Gentleman, with Siddharth Malhotra from the director duo Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K.. The film was poorly received by critics and was a box-office flop. Later that year, she appeared in David Dhawan's comedy film Judwaa 2, opposite Varun Dhawan and Taapsee Pannu. It was a sequel to the 1997 comedy film Judwaa. The film proved to be a box-office success earning worldwide. In 2018, she starred alongside Salman Khan in Race 3, the third addition to the Race Franchise. Race 3 was a box office success earning more than worldwide despite mixed reviews. Fernandez is filming Tarun Mansukhani's next, Drive opposite Sushant Singh Rajput. She is set to star in the Netflix original film, Mrs. Serial Killer, directed by Shirish Kunder. She is also set to feature with Akshay Kumar for the fourth time in a gangster drama Bachchan Pandey. Personal life and other work Fernandez shares a close bond with her family, and admits that she misses being around them. She says: "I miss them so much everyday. You don't realise when you live away from home how difficult life can be [...] At the same time, staying away from them has taught me to be more responsible. It has taught me so many things about myself, about priorities and time management." In 2008, Fernandez started dating Bahraini prince Hassan bin Rashid Al Khalifa, whom she met at a mutual friend's party; they separated in 2011. While filming Housefull 2 in 2011, Fernandez began a romantic relationship with director Sajid Khan. The relationship attracted media coverage in India and there was speculation of an impending wedding. However, the relationship ended in May 2013. Fernandez has supported charitable organisations and a number of causes. For advocating the welfare of animals, Fernandez was named "Woman Of The Year" by PETA (India) in 2014. Fernandez has participated in several concert tours and televised award ceremonies. In 2013, she performed at the Temptations Reloaded in Auckland, Perth, and Sydney alongside Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, and Madhuri Dixit. She also performed at the live talent show "Got Talent World Stage Live" with Khan, Priyanka Chopra and Varun Dhawan the following year. In July 2014, Fernandez opened a restaurant in Colombo, Kaema Sutra, in collaboration with chef Dharshan Munidasa, which specialises in contemporary Sri Lankan cuisine. In July 2018, Fernandez co-founded her activewear clothing line-up, Just F. In the media In 2008 and 2011, Fernandez featured in the UK magazine Eastern Eye "World's Sexiest Asian Women" list, ranking twelfth. She was ranked third on The Times of India listing of the "Most Desirable Woman" in 2013 and 2014, after being ranked eighth, seventh and fourteenth, respectively, in the preceding three years. In 2013, Rediff.com placed her on their list of "Bollywood's Best Dressed Actresses". The following year, she held the sixty second position in the Indian edition of the Forbes Celebrity 100, a list based on the income and popularity of India's celebrities. In early 2013, Fernandez became the ambassador for HTC One, which she endorses in India. She was the face of Indian Bridal Fashion Week—IBFW of 2013. Later that year, she became the spokesperson for Gareth Pugh's designed Forevermark Diamonds in Mumbai, and was at the inaugural opening of the Forever 21 store in Mumbai. That year, she also launched Gillette Shaving System with Arbaaz Khan and Aditya Roy Kapur. While analysing Fernandez's career, India TV noted: "Slowly and steadily Jacqueline Fernandez is climbing up the ladder of success [...] Jacqueline is comfortably grasping every aspect of the work, which an actress is required to do and is accordingly giving results." On the contrary, Charu Thakur of India Today criticized her acting skills, but remarked that: "[she has] managed to find her feet in Bollywood now by banking on glamorous roles". In 2017, Fernandez invested in Rakyan Beverages' Raw Pressery. The company claim that with this investment, Fernandez became India's first celebrity to part-finance a consumer products firm. Money laundering case Since December 2021, Fernandez is subjected to an investigation into a money laundering case involving $200 million. The investigation is being carried out by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) who questioned Fernandez for 10 hours in relation to the case on 9 December 2021. On 22 December, ED rejected Fernandez’s request to downgrade the Lookout Circular (LOC) which was issued against her in the case which blocks her to travel outside India. Fernandez was removed from the upcoming movie The Ghost which will star Nagarjuna. It is speculated that the eviction from the movie happened due to the money laundering case. Filmography Films All films are in Hindi unless otherwise noted. Television Music videos Awards and nominations Fernandez has won numerous awards mainly for her works in Housefull 2, its sequel Housefull 3, Murder 2, and Race 3. References Further reading External links 1985 births Living people People from Manama Actresses in Hindi cinema Miss Universe 2006 contestants Sri Lankan beauty pageant winners Indian film actresses Sri Lankan film actresses Bahraini film actresses Sri Lankan female models Burgher models Bahraini female models Bahraini people of Sri Lankan descent Bahraini people of Malaysian descent Sri Lankan people of Malaysian descent Sri Lankan people of Canadian descent Sri Lankan people of Dutch descent Sri Lankan Malays Sri Lankan Roman Catholics University of Sydney alumni
true
[ "Franc Fernández (born Francisco Fernández) is an Argentine artist and fashion designer based in Los Angeles. His most well-known work is the meat dress of Lady Gaga.\n\nEarly life and education\nFernández was born in Argentina and lived there until moving to the outskirts of Los Angeles at age eight. During high school he attended ArtCenter College of Design, but dropped out. He also attended architecture and art school, but dropped out of both. He also apprenticed for a milliner in London. Says Fernandez, \"For the most part I’m self-trained. I’m not very good in institutions. I can sort of weed out what I like/dislike, need/not need.\"\n\nCareer\nFernandez started experimenting with clothing in high school, combining shirts and sweaters and stitching their labels on the outside. It was his hats that garnered him attention, and he began to receive requests from stylists for custom pieces. Once he was contacted by Nicola Formichetti, his career began to take off.\n \nFernandez has worked with many contemporary musical artists, including Lady Gaga, Sam Sparro, Scissor Sisters and Beyoncé Knowles. He did the styling for Scissor Sisters' UK arena tour. He also directed the music video for Sam Sparro's \"Pink Cloud\", using influence from technology and the internet to produce a video best viewed on an iPhone, mimicking the device's scrolling and swiping motions.\n\nIn 2015, Fernandez collaborated with Chicago-based rapper Vic Mensa on Mensa's outfit for the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards. The t-shirt and jacket displayed a picture of Black Panther Movement member Assata Shakur, as well as statements about police brutality in the United States on the pants and jacket sleeves. This piece is among several that Fernandez and Mensa had collaborated on together including trousers that stated five names of black-women who died in prison in July 2015.\n\nHis work for Mensa at the VMA's marked the 5-year anniversary of his meat dress for Lady Gaga. He states “I’m interested in pop culture if it’s questioning or upsetting people or creating a problem for people to handle,” said Franc of working with Gaga and Vic. “I think that’s really important. I feel like there’s a lack of that.”\n\nWork with Lady Gaga\nFernandez has worked with Lady Gaga on several projects, including the design of the \"diamond crown\" outfit for her \"Bad Romance\" music video and the outfits she has worn to awards shows and on tour.\n\nIn 2010 he was approached by Gaga's stylist Nicola Formichetti about creating a dress made of cuts of raw beef for the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. Fernandez agreed, and went to his local butcher and asked what the best cut of meat would be for such a project, and the butcher told him flank steak. Fernandez purchased 40 pounds. He and a collaborative assistant made up the design as they went along, seeing which cuts would best fit which areas, as \"there is not much plan you can do with such an organic material.\" The dress took two days to complete, and Gaga had to be stitched into it backstage.\n\nThe reaction to the dress was mixed, earning ire from animal rights groups such as PETA, and attempts to analyze it from various media outlets. Fernandez stated \"I wasn't surprised at the response. I think everyone involved knew the response that the meat dress was going to get. I think what I was more surprised and excited by was how much the internet and technology played a part in that. I got tons of hate-mail, love-mail, and \"meat dress\" was a top Twitter topic for three days straight.\" Fernandez was pleased with the reception of the dress, saying \"I feel like I have a voice now as an artist and as a designer,\" and that it gave him a larger audience.\n\nReferences\n\nArgentine artists\nArgentine fashion designers\nLiving people\nYear of birth missing (living people)", "Rodolfo Valentino Padilla Fernandez, (March 3, 1952 – June 7, 2008) better known as Rudy Fernandez or Daboy was a multi-awarded Filipino actor, and producer. He came to prominence as an action star in the Philippine cinema during the 1980s up to the early 1990s.\n\nEarly life and career\nFernandez was born at 8:36 PM on March 3, 1952 at Mary Johnston Hospital in Tondo, Manila. He is the eldest son of the late film director Gregorio Fernandez and actress Pilar Padilla (daughter of José Padilla Sr.). Both his parents were from Lubao, Pampanga, which he considered his hometown. He made his film debut at the age of three, appearing in Luksang Tagumpay (1956), which was directed by his father. He also appeared in another film of his father's, Emily (1960).\n\nFernandez started his active film career while a student at the University of Santo Tomas, when he was signed to a contract by Sampaguita Pictures in 1970. He was first featured by Sampaguita Pictures in For Your Mama (1970), then paired with Connie Angeles in Sweet Matutina (1970). Fernandez spent the next few years in teenage parts until he made his breakthrough as an action star with Bitayin si Baby Ama (1976). His viability as an action star was further enhanced with the box-office success of Ang Leon, ang Tigre at ang Alamid (1979).\n\nBeginning with ..Baby Ama, a biopic of a well-known Filipino criminal, Fernandez specialized in portraying true-to-life characters. One of his notable action films is Markang Bungo (Skull Mark), a film based on a true story, where he portrayed the well-known Baguio police officer Bobby Ortega, was released in 1992. From this film came a signature line of Fernandez's, \"Walang personalan, trabaho lang\" (\"Strictly business, nothing personal\"), which has since been cited as among the most memorable quotes in Philippine cinema by QTV's Ang Pinaka television program. Iligpit si Bobby Ortega, Markang Bungo 2 (Execute Bobby Ortega, Skull Mark 2) is a sequel that was released in 1995. Aside for portraying a real police officer, he was cast in the lead roles for the biopics of Filipino politicians Alfredo Lim, Vincent Crisologo, and Ping Lacson. In the film Lagalag: The Eddie Fernandez Story, he starred as Eddie Fernandez, a Filipino actor during the 1970s and the father of Pops Fernandez.\n\nWith the decline of production of Filipino action films during the 2000s, Fernandez turned to television roles. In the short-lived GMA Network sitcom Da Boy, en Da Girl, he starred opposite Rosanna Roces. He also played as a supporting role in other TV series in GMA like Twin Hearts and Atlantika. He was also the host of the docu-drama Kasangga.\n\nAwards\nFernandez has won two FAMAS Best Actor awards for the action films Batuigas...Pasukuin si Waway (Batuigas...Make Waway to Surrender) (1984) and Operation: Get Victor Corpuz, The Rebel Soldier (1988). In addition to these wins, FAMAS has also nominated Rudy Fernandez an additional 13 times from 1976 to 1998. He also won two FAP Best Actor awards for Batuigas... and for Birador (1998).\n\nIn 2007, FAMAS awarded him the Fernando Poe, Jr. Memorial Award. The next year, the Philippine Movie Press Club (PMPC) bestowed the 2008 Ulirang Artista Lifetime Achievement Award to Rudy Fernandez, at the 24th PMPC Star Awards for Movies. He was also the recipient of the Film Academy of the Philippines FPJ Lifetime Achievement Award.\n\nPersonal life\nFernandez hometown is Lubao, Pampanga. He came from famous Padilla showbiz clan in his maternal side. Robin, BB Gandanghari, and Rommel Padilla are his cousins and Zsa Zsa Padilla is a niece. He has one son, Mark Anthony Fernandez, with former partner Alma Moreno and two sons, Raphael Fernandez and Renz Fernandez with Lorna Tolentino, his wife. His grandson Grae (son of Mark Anthony Fernandez) also joined the showbiz industry.\n\nHe was survived by his wife, sons, and cousins; consequently, as he is the Padilla brothers' cousin, his grandson, Grae Fernandez, is the nephew of teen king Daniel Padilla.\n\nPolitics\nDuring the 2001 elections, Fernandez ran for mayor of Quezon City under the banner of the Puwersa ng Masa. Although he garnered most of the votes in District 2 where the voters were composed mostly of indigent citizens, he lost in the remaining three districts and was defeated by then-House Speaker Sonny Belmonte of the People Power Coalition.\n\nIllness and death\nIn 2007, it was revealed by Lorna Tolentino on Startalk that her husband had been diagnosed with periampullary cancer. Fernandez underwent treatment in Tokyo, Japan. After a healing Mass on May 10, 2008 by several friends at the Christ the King Church, Quezon City, he was rushed to a San Juan hospital for back pains. The Sun Star reported that Fernandez was actually suffering from pancreatic cancer, instead.\n\nFernandez celebrated his 25th wedding anniversary with Lorna Tolentino on June 1, 2008. He suffered a seizure three days later on June 4, but refused to be taken back to the Cardinal Santos Memorial Center in San Juan.\n\nFernandez died from periampullary cancer at his home in Quezon City on the morning of June 7, 2008.\n His remains were brought to The Heritage Park in Taguig City, and his interment took place on June 12, 2008 at 3 p.m. for his burial.\n\nFilmography\n\nMovies\n\nTelevision\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n1952 births\n2008 deaths\n20th-century comedians\n20th-century Filipino male actors\n21st-century Filipino male actors\nBurials at The Heritage Park\nDeaths from cancer in the Philippines\nDeaths from pancreatic cancer\nRudy\nFilipino actor-politicians\nFilipino male child actors\nFilipino male comedians\nFilipino male film actors\nFilipino male television actors\nFilipino people of Chinese descent\nFilipino people of Spanish descent\nFilipino Roman Catholics\nFilipino television personalities\nKapampangan people\nMale actors from Manila\nPadilla family\nPeople from Tondo, Manila\nPeople from Pampanga\nUniversity of Santo Tomas alumni" ]
[ "Jacqueline Fernandez", "2009-2013: Debut and breakthrough", "What is most memorable about Jacqueline Fernandez's career?", "Mahesh Bhatt's thriller Murder 2 was Fernandez's first commercial success and marked a turning point in her career.", "Is there any thing interesting about Jacqueline Fernandez's career?", "]\". Despite the negative reviews, Fernandez received a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 14th IIFA Awards for her performance.", "What makes Jacqueline Fernandez unique?", "While Gaurav Malini praised her for her looks, NDTV called her a \"blathering bimbo\" who \"find[s] no pleasure in [her role]\".", "What year is most memorable for Fernandez?", "2013" ]
C_315a72ed09284397a027f03df3228888_1
When did Fernandez have her breakthrough?
5
When did Jacqueline Fernandez have her breakthrough?
Jacqueline Fernandez
In 2009, Fernandez traveled to India for a modeling assignment. She studied acting under the mentorship of theatre director Barry John, and successfully auditioned for Sujoy Ghosh's fantasy film Aladin (2009) her acting debut. She played the love interest of Riteish Deshmukh's character, a role based on the character of Princess Jasmine. and Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN felt that she was: "easy on the eyes and appears confident but has precious little to do". Although the film was a critical and commercial failure, she won the IIFA Award for Star Debut of the Year - Female. In 2010, Fernandez appeared opposite Deshmukh in the science fiction romantic comedy Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai. She was cast as a girl from Venus, who lands on Earth in search of love. The film, along with Fernandez's performance, received poor reviews; Rediff.com's Sukanya Verma noted: "She gamely makes a fool of herself whilst aping the actions of movie stars, ranging from Sridevi's Naagin dance, Mithun Chakravarthy's Disco Dancer moves, to Big B's violent headshake in Hum. Her Tara could be a keeper if only Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai wasn't so intent on turning her into a love-struck Barbie." Critic Anupama Chopra also criticized Fernandez, calling her "a pin-prick on a balloon". Later that year, she made a special appearance in the song "Dhanno" for Sajid Khan's comedy Housefull. Mahesh Bhatt's thriller Murder 2 was Fernandez's first commercial success and marked a turning point in her career. She took on the role of Priya, a lonely model who is in a confused relationship with Arjun Bhagwat (played by Emraan Hashmi). Fernandez was praised for her performance, and for the boldness and sex appeal she displayed in the film. Gaurav Malini of The Times of India stated that she was "tastefully tempting" but noted that her romance with Hashmi was "literally half-baked". The following year, Fernandez appeared in the ensemble comedy Housefull 2 alongside Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, and Asin. It became one of the top grossing productions of India that year and earned Rs1.86 billion (US$28 million) worldwide. Fernandez received mostly negative reviews for her performance. While Gaurav Malini praised her for her looks, NDTV called her a "blathering bimbo" who "find[s] no pleasure in [her role]". Despite the negative reviews, Fernandez received a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 14th IIFA Awards for her performance. Fernandez's first release of 2013 was Race 2, an ensemble action thriller (alongside Saif Ali Khan, John Abraham and Deepika Padukone), described as the "cinematic equivalent of a trashy novel" by critic Rajeev Masand. She played Omisha, a femme fatale, a role which required her learn fencing and some acrobatics. The film emerged as a commercial success, with the domestic gross of more than Rs1 billion (US$15 million). In a particularly scathing review, Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV wrote that both Fernandez and Padukone "strut around like wound-up automatons that are all decked-up but have nowhere to go." Also that year, Fernandez appeared in an item number, titled, "Jaadu Ki Jhappi", for Prabhu Deva's romantic comedy Ramaiya Vasta Vaiya. CANNOTANSWER
Mahesh Bhatt's thriller Murder 2 was Fernandez's first commercial success and marked a turning point in her career.
Jacqueline Fernandez (born 11 August 1985) is a Sri Lankan actress, model and the winner of the Miss Universe Sri Lanka pageant of 2006 who predominantly works in Hindi films. In 2009, she debuted with Aladin and since then has established a career in the Hindi film industry. Fernandez was born and raised in Bahrain to a multiracial Eurasian family of Sri Lankan, Canadian, and Malaysian descent. After graduating in mass communication from the University of Sydney and working as a television reporter in Sri Lanka, she joined the modeling industry. She was crowned Miss Universe Sri Lanka in 2006, and represented her country at Miss Universe 2006. While on a modelling assignment in India in 2009, Fernandez successfully auditioned for Sujoy Ghosh's fantasy drama Aladin, which marked her acting debut. Fernandez had her breakthrough role with the psychological thriller Murder 2 (2011), her first commercial success. This was followed by glamorous roles in the commercially successful ensemble-comedy Housefull 2 (2012) and the action thriller Race 2 (2013), which garnered her an IIFA Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination. Fernandez went on to star in the top-grossing action film Kick (2014) and the comedies Housefull 3 (2016) and Judwaa 2 (2017). Alongside her screen acting career, Fernandez has worked as a judge in the ninth season of the dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa (2016–2017), is a popular celebrity endorser for various brands and products, has participated in stage shows, and is active in humanitarian work. Early life and modeling career Jacqueline Fernandez was born on 11 August 1985, in Manama, Bahrain, and was raised in a multi-ethnic family. Her father, Elroy Fernandez, is a Sri Lankan Burgher, and her mother, Kim, is of Malaysian and Canadian descent. Her maternal grandfather is Canadian. Her father, who was a musician in Sri Lanka, moved to Bahrain in the 1980s to escape civil unrest between the Sinhalese and Tamils and subsequently met her mother, who was an air hostess. She is the youngest of four children with one elder sister and two elder brothers. After receiving her early education in Bahrain at Sacred Heart School, she studied mass communication at the University of Sydney in Australia. After graduating she did a couple of television shows in Sri Lanka. She also attended the Berlitz school of languages, where she learned Spanish and improved her French and Arabic. According to Fernandez, she had aspired to become an actress at a young age and fantasized about becoming a Hollywood movie star. She received some training at the John School of Acting. Although, she was a television reporter, she accepted offers in the modeling industry, which came as a result of her pageant success. In 2006, she was crowned the winner of the Miss Universe Sri Lanka pageant and represented Sri Lanka at the world Miss Universe 2006 pageant held in Los Angeles. In a 2015 interview, Fernandez described the modeling industry as "a good training ground" and said: "It is a medium that is about shedding your inhibitions, knowing your body, confidence". In 2006, she appeared in a music video for the song "O Sathi" by music duo Bathiya and Santhush and young female singer Umaria Sinhawansa. Acting career 2009–2013: Debut and breakthrough In 2009, Fernandez traveled to India for a modeling assignment. She successfully auditioned for Sujoy Ghosh's fantasy film Aladin (2009) her acting debut. She played the love interest of Riteish Deshmukh's character, a role based on the character of Princess Jasmine. and Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN felt that she was: "easy on the eyes and appears confident but has precious little to do". Although the film was a critical and commercial failure, she won the IIFA Award for Star Debut of the Year – Female. In 2010, Fernandez appeared opposite Deshmukh in the science fiction romantic comedy Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai. She was cast as a girl from Venus, who lands on Earth in search of love. The film, along with Fernandez's performance, received poor reviews; Rediff.com's Sukanya Verma noted: "She gamely makes a fool of herself whilst aping the actions of movie stars, ranging from Sridevi's Naagin dance, Mithun Chakravarthy's Disco Dancer moves, to Big B's violent headshake in Hum. Her Tara could be a keeper if only Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai wasn't so intent on turning her into a love-struck Barbie." Critic Anupama Chopra also criticized Fernandez, calling her "a pin-prick on a balloon". Later that year, she made a special appearance in the song "Dhanno" for Sajid Khan's comedy Housefull. Mahesh Bhatt's thriller Murder 2 was Fernandez's first commercial success and marked a turning point in her career. She took on the role of Priya, a lonely model who is in a confused relationship with Arjun Bhagwat (played by Emraan Hashmi). Fernandez was praised for her performance, and for the boldness and sex appeal she displayed in the film. Gaurav Malini of The Times of India stated that she was "tastefully tempting" but noted that her romance with Hashmi was "literally half-baked". The following year, Fernandez appeared in the ensemble comedy Housefull 2 alongside Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, and Asin. It became one of the top grossing productions of India that year and earned worldwide. Fernandez received mostly negative reviews for her performance. While Gaurav Malini praised her for her looks, NDTV called her a "blathering bimbo" who "find[s] no pleasure in [her role]". Despite the negative reviews, Fernandez received a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 14th IIFA Awards for her performance. Fernandez's first release of 2013 was Race 2, an ensemble action thriller (alongside Saif Ali Khan, John Abraham and Deepika Padukone), described as the "cinematic equivalent of a trashy novel" by critic Rajeev Masand. She played Omisha, a femme fatale, a role which required her learn fencing and some acrobatics. The film emerged as a commercial success, with the worldwide gross of more than and a net domestically of over . In a particularly scathing review, Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV wrote that both Fernandez and Padukone "strut around like wound-up automatons that are all decked-up but have nowhere to go." Also that year, Fernandez appeared in an item number, titled, "Jaadu Ki Jhappi", for Prabhu Deva's romantic comedy Ramaiya Vasta Vaiya. 2014–present: Commercial success In 2014, Fernandez appeared in Sajid Nadiadwala's directorial debut—the action film Kick, a remake of a 2009 Telugu film of same name. She starred opposite Salman Khan, playing Shaina, a psychiatrist. She retained her real voice for the first time in Kick. While Sneha May Francis commented that she is: "incredibly dazzling, and moves like a magic", Raja Sen of Rediff.com was more critical of her dialogue delivery, calling it "unfortunate." The film received mixed reviews from critics, but with worldwide revenue of over , it became the fourth highest-grossing Bollywood film. The film established Fernandez as one of the most popular Bollywood actresses. In 2015, Fernandez featured in Vicky Singh's Roy, a romantic thriller, which critic Sarita A. Tanwar described as a "boring, exhausting and pretentious" film. Fernandez played dual roles, Ayesha Aamir, a filmmaker in a relationship with another filmmaker (played by Arjun Rampal) and Tia Desai, a girl in love with a thief (played by Ranbir Kapoor). While India TV called it "her best act till date", critic Rajeev Masand felt that she "appears miscast in a part that required greater range." Roy failed to meet its box-office expectations, and was a commercial failure. Later that year, she appeared in a guest appearance for the comedy-satire Bangistan. Karan Malhotra's action drama Brothers was Fernandez's next release. Co-starring alongside Akshay Kumar and Sidharth Malhotra, Fernandez played Jenny, a fearless mother struggling for her child, a role which she described as "challenging", "intense", and "difficult". The role marked a departure from the glamorous characters that she had a reputation for portraying. Dhriti Sharma of Zee News called her character "soft, timid and promising", and praised her for: "convincingly pull[ing] off a pleasing character of a street fighter's wife". Film critic Subhash K. Jha noted that she: "...in a limited role gives her finest emotive shot", while critic Raja Sen remarked: "[she] plays Kumar's long-sobbing wife who gets so deliriously happy on seeing a text message that it may well have contained news about a Kick sequel." Later that year, she starred in the horror thriller Definition of Fear, which marked her Hollywood debut. Fernandez began 2016 with a role in Housefull 3 which is the third installment to the Housefull Series's. The ensemble comedy film paired her with Akshay Kumar as her love interest. The critic for Firstpost was disappointed with the picture and criticized Fernandez for her inclination towards a film, where she is treated as nothing more than a "visual attraction". Nevertheless, the film was a commercial success, grossing worldwide. Her next film—the action adventure Dishoom—also grossed worldwide at the box-office. Later that year, she served as a judge to the ninth season of the dance show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. In 2017, Fernandez appeared in Chandran Rutnam's English-Sri Lankan crime-thriller According to Mathew. The film was her maiden cinematic appearance in Sri Lankan cinema as well. The film was released in Sri Lanka on 7 April 2017 in CEL Theatres with the title Anuragini. Her next film was the action-comedy A Gentleman, with Siddharth Malhotra from the director duo Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K.. The film was poorly received by critics and was a box-office flop. Later that year, she appeared in David Dhawan's comedy film Judwaa 2, opposite Varun Dhawan and Taapsee Pannu. It was a sequel to the 1997 comedy film Judwaa. The film proved to be a box-office success earning worldwide. In 2018, she starred alongside Salman Khan in Race 3, the third addition to the Race Franchise. Race 3 was a box office success earning more than worldwide despite mixed reviews. Fernandez is filming Tarun Mansukhani's next, Drive opposite Sushant Singh Rajput. She is set to star in the Netflix original film, Mrs. Serial Killer, directed by Shirish Kunder. She is also set to feature with Akshay Kumar for the fourth time in a gangster drama Bachchan Pandey. Personal life and other work Fernandez shares a close bond with her family, and admits that she misses being around them. She says: "I miss them so much everyday. You don't realise when you live away from home how difficult life can be [...] At the same time, staying away from them has taught me to be more responsible. It has taught me so many things about myself, about priorities and time management." In 2008, Fernandez started dating Bahraini prince Hassan bin Rashid Al Khalifa, whom she met at a mutual friend's party; they separated in 2011. While filming Housefull 2 in 2011, Fernandez began a romantic relationship with director Sajid Khan. The relationship attracted media coverage in India and there was speculation of an impending wedding. However, the relationship ended in May 2013. Fernandez has supported charitable organisations and a number of causes. For advocating the welfare of animals, Fernandez was named "Woman Of The Year" by PETA (India) in 2014. Fernandez has participated in several concert tours and televised award ceremonies. In 2013, she performed at the Temptations Reloaded in Auckland, Perth, and Sydney alongside Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, and Madhuri Dixit. She also performed at the live talent show "Got Talent World Stage Live" with Khan, Priyanka Chopra and Varun Dhawan the following year. In July 2014, Fernandez opened a restaurant in Colombo, Kaema Sutra, in collaboration with chef Dharshan Munidasa, which specialises in contemporary Sri Lankan cuisine. In July 2018, Fernandez co-founded her activewear clothing line-up, Just F. In the media In 2008 and 2011, Fernandez featured in the UK magazine Eastern Eye "World's Sexiest Asian Women" list, ranking twelfth. She was ranked third on The Times of India listing of the "Most Desirable Woman" in 2013 and 2014, after being ranked eighth, seventh and fourteenth, respectively, in the preceding three years. In 2013, Rediff.com placed her on their list of "Bollywood's Best Dressed Actresses". The following year, she held the sixty second position in the Indian edition of the Forbes Celebrity 100, a list based on the income and popularity of India's celebrities. In early 2013, Fernandez became the ambassador for HTC One, which she endorses in India. She was the face of Indian Bridal Fashion Week—IBFW of 2013. Later that year, she became the spokesperson for Gareth Pugh's designed Forevermark Diamonds in Mumbai, and was at the inaugural opening of the Forever 21 store in Mumbai. That year, she also launched Gillette Shaving System with Arbaaz Khan and Aditya Roy Kapur. While analysing Fernandez's career, India TV noted: "Slowly and steadily Jacqueline Fernandez is climbing up the ladder of success [...] Jacqueline is comfortably grasping every aspect of the work, which an actress is required to do and is accordingly giving results." On the contrary, Charu Thakur of India Today criticized her acting skills, but remarked that: "[she has] managed to find her feet in Bollywood now by banking on glamorous roles". In 2017, Fernandez invested in Rakyan Beverages' Raw Pressery. The company claim that with this investment, Fernandez became India's first celebrity to part-finance a consumer products firm. Money laundering case Since December 2021, Fernandez is subjected to an investigation into a money laundering case involving $200 million. The investigation is being carried out by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) who questioned Fernandez for 10 hours in relation to the case on 9 December 2021. On 22 December, ED rejected Fernandez’s request to downgrade the Lookout Circular (LOC) which was issued against her in the case which blocks her to travel outside India. Fernandez was removed from the upcoming movie The Ghost which will star Nagarjuna. It is speculated that the eviction from the movie happened due to the money laundering case. Filmography Films All films are in Hindi unless otherwise noted. Television Music videos Awards and nominations Fernandez has won numerous awards mainly for her works in Housefull 2, its sequel Housefull 3, Murder 2, and Race 3. References Further reading External links 1985 births Living people People from Manama Actresses in Hindi cinema Miss Universe 2006 contestants Sri Lankan beauty pageant winners Indian film actresses Sri Lankan film actresses Bahraini film actresses Sri Lankan female models Burgher models Bahraini female models Bahraini people of Sri Lankan descent Bahraini people of Malaysian descent Sri Lankan people of Malaysian descent Sri Lankan people of Canadian descent Sri Lankan people of Dutch descent Sri Lankan Malays Sri Lankan Roman Catholics University of Sydney alumni
true
[ "Maria Cielito \"Pops\" Lukban Fernandez (born December 12, 1966) is a Filipina singer, entertainer, entrepreneur, TV host and actress.\n\nBiography\nMaria Cielito \"Pops\" Lukban Fernandez was born on December 12, 1966, in Lucban, Quezon, to the late action star Eddie Fernandez and Dulce Lukban.\n\nFernandez began her music career at age 16 when she signed a contract with OctoArts Records (now PolyEast Records) in 1981. In 1982, Fernandez released her first album and co-hosted the Philippine television series The Penthouse Live! with Martin Nievera. She became a popular celebrity in the Philippines. She has appeared on the covers of several Philippine magazines.\n\nIn 1995, Fernandez joined the cast of another television program, ASAP together with her former husband Martin Nievera, along with Dayanara Torres and Ariel Rivera.\n\nFernandez was awarded the Best Female Musical Variety Show Host at the Philippine KBP Golden Dove Awards in 1999. She has also toured the United States, Japan, Hong Kong, Guam, and Italy promoting her music to Philippine audiences. She also released her album Shindig Live in 2001.\n\nIn 1998, Fernandez appeared in the TV drama, Nagmamahal Pa Rin Sa Iyo with Albert Martinez and Gary Estrada a mini TV series and the title of her hit album.\n\nFrom 1999 to 2006, Fernandez went back to acting this time without her husband Martin Nievera in 1999 she did the film, Linlang with Richard Gomez and Joyce Jimenez which earned her much respected praise. In 2001, she started in another Maryo J. de los Reyes thriller and political film, Gusto Ko Nang Lumigaya in which the singer-actress shed some skin for the role starring Albert Martinez, Diether Ocampo and Bojo Molina and also Anton Bernardo under Viva Films in 2002 she did her first Star Cinema Movie Videoke King with Robin Padilla and in 2006 started in the superhero movie Zsa Zsa Zaturnah under Regal Entertainment.\n\nIn June 2007, Fernandez co-hosted a Philippine show with Kuh Ledesma in Las Vegas. She was preparing for her December concert at the Araneta Coliseum marking her 25th anniversary in the Philippine entertainment industry.\n\nIn 2008, she performed with other Philippine singers such as Regine Velasquez, Kuh Ledesma and Zsa Zsa Padilla at the Araneta Coliseum called Divas 4 Divas.\n\nDuring her divorce in 1999, she ventured into doing movies such as Linlang starring Richard Gomez and Joyce Jimenez about a wronged wife out for revenge after learning of her husband's infidelity. The movie was directed by multi-awarded director, Maryo J. de los Reyes, which won her the Box Office Queen Award. In 2000, she did another movie under Reyes' direction in the suspense/thriller, Gusto Ko Nang Lumigaya. These two movies showed her acting prowess and boosted her acting career.\n\n2009–present\n\nIn 2009, Fernandez performed in the US leg of her The Divas 4 Divas Tour together with Regine Velasquez, Kuh Ledesma and Zsa Zsa Padilla. She released a new album under MCA Universal entitled Hope, which is a collection of cover versions including a new version of her 1983 song \"Little Star\".\n\nAfter appearing in I Love Betty La Fea, Fernandez became a judge in GMA Network's Are You the Next Big Star?, a singing contest/reality show. She also did a major concert with ex-husband Martin Nievera, entitled Missing You held at the Araneta Coliseum.\n\nIn 2010, Fernandez and Nievera reunited once again for a Valentine's Day concert entitled One More Time held at the SMX Convention Center. Aside from that, Fernandez was also a special guest in Sharon Cuneta's 'Up Close' U.S. concert. In 2011, she and Ogie Alcasid staged a back to back 2011 Valentine concert, 'I Valentine U' at Crowne Plaza Hotel. On June 14, she held a fabulous, fashion/style one-night concert, 'Pops in Fashion' at the Newport Performing Arts Theatre. In July, Fernandez and Ai-Ai delas Alas paired up for the 'Unstoppable' concert at the Grand Theatre in Reno, Nevada. In August, she also guested in Erik Santos' 'Power Ikons' concert at the Music Museum.\n\nIn 2012, Fernandez was an in-demand artist abroad along with Martin Nievera and friend, Ai-Ai delas Alas. They staged in Three's the Company, a musical love triangle in California on April 20. Fernandez and Nievera also did a series of shows, 'Twogether' in Toronto and Calgary on May 4 and 6. They also released an all duet covers album entitled No More Words. Back in the Philippines, Fernandez along with Jim Paredes hosted the one-night all-star OPM icons concert 'ICONS at MOA' on June 16. She was also invited to perform in Yokohama, Japan for the Philippine Barrio Fiesta in September. In the same month, she also hosted the PMPC Star Awards for Music and was given a special award, Natatanging Alagad ng Musika along with some OPM veterans. She also signed up to a contract with Viva Entertainment Group in November. In December, along with Lani Misalucha, she was given an honor of Walk of Fame by Kuya Germs in Eastwood City. Aside from singing and performing, Fernandez is also a businesswoman who created Cheapipay, a one-stop-shop online store.\n\nIn 2019, she is one of the 50 panelists around the world to participate in a new American reality talent show The World's Best by CBS. She is the first Filipina to be featured as a judge in an American reality talent show, She was not a judge. Bryan Boy who is a Filipino was a judge for ANTM USA. \n In 2020, Fernandez became the guest judge in The Clash season 3 while Misalucha did not return due to health reasons.\n\nDiscography\n\nAlbums\n1982: Pops (Canary Records)\n1983: Pops Fernandez in Love (Canary Records)\n1984: Heading for the Top (Canary Records)\n1986: The Best of Pops Fernandez (OctoArts International)\n1989: Awesome (Sunshine Records)\n1991: Change (Sunshine Records)\n1994: Pops (Dyna Music)\n1996: Colours (Star Music)\n1999: Nagmamahal Pa Rin Sa 'Yo (Star Music)\n1999: Moments (Viva Records)\n2001: Shindig Live (Viva Records)\n2001: The Story of Pops Fernandez (EMI Philippines, Inc.)\n2002: The Way I Feel Inside (Viva Records)\n2004: When Words Are Not Enough (Viva Records)\n2006: Silver (Viva Records)\n2006: Don't Say Goodbye (re-release) (Vicor Music Corporation)\n2009: Hope (MCA Music)\n2012: No More Words (collaboration with Martin Nievera) (PolyEast Records)\n\nCollaborations\n\"Bakit Ngayon Ka Lang\" with Freestyle (live)\n\"I Say a Little Prayer\" with Janno Gibbs\n\"Points of View\" with Joey Albert\n\"Nanliligaw Naliligaw\" with Mulatto\n\"It's You\" with Kris Lawrence\n\"Come What May\" with BLISS\n\"Kumusta Ka\" with Robin Padilla\n\"Always & Forever\" with Martin Nievera\n\"Goodbye\" with Martin Nievera\n\"Goodbye Girl\" with Martin Nievera\n\"High on Love\" with Martin Nievera\n\"One Heart\" with Martin Nievera\n\"Pagdating Ng Panahon\" with Martin Nievera\n\"Nandito Ako\" with Martin Nievera\n\"Forevermore\" with Martin Nievera\n\"Hands To Heaven\" with Martin Nievera\n\"Smile\" with Martin Nievera\n\"Umagang Kay Ganda\" with Martin Nievera\n\"Reunited\" with Martin Nievera\n\"You've Got a Friend\" with Dr. Manny Calayan\n\"Friends\" with Robin Nievera \n\"You'll Be in My Heart\" with Robin Nievera\n\"Cruisin\" with Keempee de Leon (live)\n\"Give Me Five\" with Tito, Vic and Joey\n\nCompilation appearances\n\nFilmography\n\nFilm\nLove Ko 'To (1980)\nPag-ibig Pa (1982)\nJust Say You Love Me (1982)\nPaano Ba ang Magmahal (1984)\nGive Me Five (1984)\nBilanggo...Prisons No. 10069 (1985)\nPayaso (1986)\nAlways and Forever (1986)\nSi Mister at Si Misis (1986)\nShoot That Ball (1987)\nStupid Cupid (1988)\nSa Puso Ko Hahalik Ang Mundo (1988)\nTwinkle, Twinkle Magic Star (1988)\nMagic to Love (1989)\nKung Maibabalik Ko Lang (1989)\nTamis ng Unang Halik (1989)\nLinlang (1999)\nGusto Ko Nang Lumigaya (2000)\nVideoke King (2002)\nZsazsa Zaturnnah Ze Moveeh (2006)\n\nTelevision\n\nAwards\n\nSee also\nRico J. Puno\nKuh Ledesma\nGeorge Canseco\nMartin Nievera\nGary Valenciano\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nPops Fernandez World's Best Talent Recap Interview\nPops Fernandez on FHM.com.ph\nPhilippine Post: Pops Fernandez\nPops Fernandez at Pinoycentral.com\n\ngmanews.tv/video, Pops Fernandez (in Filipino)\n\n1966 births\nLiving people\nActresses from Metro Manila\nFilipino child actresses\nFilipino child singers\nFilipino dance musicians\nFilipino film actresses\nFilipino television actresses\nFilipino television personalities\nFilipino women pop singers\nMCA Music Inc. (Philippines) artists\nPeople from Quezon\nPeople from Quezon City\nSingers from Metro Manila\nStar Magic\nViva Artists Agency\nViva Records (Philippines) artists", "Raymond Martinez Fernandez (December 17, 1914 – March 8, 1951) and Martha Jule Beck (May 6, 1920 – March 8, 1951) were an American serial killer couple. They were convicted of one murder, are known to have committed two more, and were suspected of having killed up to 20 victims during a spree between 1947 and 1949. \n\nAfter their arrest and trial for serial murder in 1949, they became known as \"The Lonely Hearts Killers\" for meeting their unsuspecting victims through lonely hearts ads. A number of films and television shows are based on this case.\n\nBefore the murders\n\nRaymond Fernandez\nRaymond Martinez Fernandez was born on December 17, 1914 in Hawaii to Spanish parents. Shortly thereafter, they moved to Bridgeport, Connecticut. As a teenager, he went to work on his uncle’s farm in Spain, married a local woman in Spain, named Encarnación Robles, at the age of 20, and had four children, all of whom he abandoned later in life.\n\nAfter serving in Spain's Merchant Marine and then British Intelligence during World War II, Fernandez decided to seek work. Shortly after boarding a ship bound for the United States, a steel hatch fell on him, fracturing his skull and injuring his frontal lobe. The damage caused by this injury may well have affected his social and sexual behavior. Upon his release from a hospital, Fernandez stole some clothing and was subsequently imprisoned for a year, during which time his cellmate converted him to a belief in voodoo and black magic. He later claimed black magic gave him irresistible power and charm over women.\n\nMartha Beck\nMartha Beck was born Martha Jule Seabrook on May 6, 1920 in Milton, Florida. Allegedly due to a glandular problem (then a common explanation for obesity), she was overweight and underwent puberty prematurely. At her trial, she claimed to have been raped by her brother. She went on to claim that, when she had told her mother what happened, her mother had beaten her, claiming that Martha was responsible. As a teen, Beck ran away from home to join a traveling circus. In 1978 writer Truman Capote said that he had also joined her for a short time when he was 10.\n\nAfter Martha finished school, she studied nursing but had trouble finding a job due to her weight. She initially became an undertaker's assistant and prepared female bodies for burial. She then quit that job and moved to California, where she worked in an Army hospital as a nurse. While living in California as a hospital nurse, she eventually became pregnant. She tried to convince the father to marry her, but he refused. Single and pregnant, she returned to Florida.\n\nMartha told people the father was a serviceman she had married, later claiming he had been killed in the Pacific Campaign. The town mourned her loss, and the story was published in the local newspaper. Shortly after her daughter was born, she became pregnant again by a Pensacola bus driver named Alfred Beck. They married quickly and divorced six months thereafter, and she gave birth to a son.\n\nUnemployed and the single mother of two young children, Beck escaped into a fantasy world, buying romance magazines and novels, and watching romantic movies. In 1946, she found employment at the Pensacola Hospital for Children. She placed a lonely hearts ad in 1947, which Raymond Fernandez answered.\n\nMurders\nFernandez visited Beck and stayed for a short time; she told everyone they were to be married. He returned to New York City while she made preparations in Milton, Florida, where she lived. When she was abruptly fired from her job, she packed up and arrived on his doorstep in New York. Fernandez enjoyed the way she catered to his every whim, and when he learned she had left her children for him, he thought it was a sign of an unconditional love. He confessed his criminal enterprises to Beck, who quickly sent her children to the Salvation Army in order to assist Fernandez without hindrances. \n\nShe posed as Fernandez's sister, giving him an air of respectability. Their victims, feeling more secure knowing there was another woman in the house, often agreed to stay with the pair. Beck also convinced some victims that she lived alone and that her \"brother\" was only a guest. Beck was extremely jealous and went to great lengths to make sure Fernandez and his \"intended\" never consummated their relationship. When he did have sex with a woman, Beck subjected both to her violent temper.\n\nIn 1949, the pair committed the three murders for which they later were convicted. Janet Fay, 66, became engaged to Fernandez and went to stay at his Long Island apartment. When Beck caught her in bed with Fernandez, she brutally attacked Fay's head with a hammer in a murderous rage. Fernandez then strangled Fay. Fay's family became suspicious when she disappeared, and Fernandez and Beck fled.\n\nBeck and Fernandez traveled to Byron Center Road in Wyoming Township, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids, where they met and stayed with Delphine Downing, a 28-year-old widow with a two-year-old daughter. On February 28, Downing became agitated, and Fernandez gave her sleeping pills to calm her. The daughter witnessed Downing's resulting stupor and began to cry, which enraged Beck. Panicked, Beck choked the child but didn't kill her. Fernandez thought Downing would become suspicious if she saw her bruised daughter, so he shot the unconscious woman. The couple then stayed for several days in Downing's house. Again enraged by the daughter's crying, Beck drowned her in a basin of water. They buried the bodies in the basement, but suspicious neighbors reported the Downings' disappearances, leading the police to arrive at the door on March 1, 1949 and arrest Beck and Fernandez.\n\nTrial and executions\nFernandez quickly confessed. The pair vehemently denied committing 17 murders that were attributed to them, and Fernandez tried to retract his confession, saying he made it only to protect Beck.\n\nTheir trial was sensationalized, with lurid tales of sexual perversity. Newspaper reporters described Beck's appearance with derision, and she wrote protesting letters to the editors. Fernandez and Beck were convicted of Janet Fay's murder—the only one for which they were tried—and sentenced to death. They were executed on March 8, 1951.\n\nIn media \n\"Lonely Hearts Killers\", a 1960 episode of the American TV show Deadline, released on DVD in 2019\nThe Honeymoon Killers, 1970 American cult classic about the same events\nDeep Crimson, 1996 Mexican film about the same events\nLonely Hearts, 2006 American film about the same events\nAlleluia, 2014 Belgian-French film inspired by the same events\n A 2006 episode of the tv series Cold Case was called \"Lonely Hearts\", featuring a pair of killers named Martha Puck and Ramon Delgado.\n\nSee also\nLonely hearts scam\nList of serial killers in the United States\nList of serial killers by number of victims\n\nReferences\n\nSources\nLane, Brian and Gregg, Wilfred [1992]. The Encyclopedia Of Serial Killers. Berkley Books.\nFuchs, Christian [1996] (2002). Bad Blood. Creation Books.\n\nExternal links\nhttps://web.archive.org/web/20150209235409/http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/partners/fernandez/1.html at Crime Library (archived 2013)\n Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez at Frances Farmers Revenge\n\n20th-century executions by New York (state)\n20th-century executions of American people\nAmerican murderers of children\nAmerican people convicted of murder\nAmerican people of Spanish descent\nCriminal duos\nCriminals from New York City\nExecuted American serial killers\nPeople convicted of murder by New York (state)\nPeople executed by New York (state) by electric chair\nViolence against women in the United States\nExecuted people from New York (state)\nInmates of Sing Sing\n1951 deaths\nWomen sentenced to death\nAmerican female serial killers\nMale serial killers\nPeople executed for murder" ]
[ "Merchandise Mart", "Expansions and renovations" ]
C_34fff391fa464f15b26174eb4bee0fe7_1
When did the renovations take place
1
When did the renovations for Merchandise Mart take place?
Merchandise Mart
The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s. The Indian chiefs were removed and replaced with concrete plates in 1961, of minimal note to onlookers as skyscrapers did not rise on the north side of the river as predicted. Some of the carvings were later found in a suburban backyard and auctioned in 2014. In 1962, an entrance canopy was constructed over the south for vehicle use. In 1977, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the Chicago Apparel Center, located on the west side of Orleans Street, which increased the Merchandise Mart's total floor space to 6,200,000 square feet (580,000 m2). Making use of plazas, esplanades and overlooks employed the waterfront location for pedestrian pleasure. In 1988, Helmut Jahn designed an enclosed pedestrian walking bridge over Orleans Street connecting the Mart and the Apparel Center. After a 10-year, $100 million modernization in the late 1980s that included public utility upgrades, Beyer Blinder Belle's commission in 1989 was to create additional perimeter entrances and restore the display windows, main entrance and lobby. On the south facade, the drive-through canopy was removed and two smaller doorways aside the main entrance were added. Display windows, painted over during the earlier modernization campaign, were restored with clear glass to showcase merchant's wares. New main and corner entrances were added to the rear facade, and the loading dock that occupied the north portion of the first floor of the river level was removed in order to use the bottom deck of North Bank Drive. Improvements to the lobby included restoration of the original glass curtain wall over the entrance, shop fronts and reception desk using terrazzo floors and wall sconces influenced by the original design. The project was completed in 1991. In November 2007, the building received LEED for Existing Buildings Silver recognition. CANNOTANSWER
The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s.
The Merchandise Mart (or the Merch Mart, or the Mart) is a commercial building located in downtown Chicago, Illinois. When it was opened in 1930, it was the largest building in the world, with of floor space. The Art Deco structure is located at the junction of the Chicago River's branches. The building is a leading retailing and wholesale destination, hosting 20,000 visitors and tenants per day in the late 2000s. Built by Marshall Field & Co. and later owned for over half a century by the Kennedy family, the Mart centralized Chicago's wholesale goods business by consolidating architectural and interior design vendors and trades under a single roof. It has since become home to several other enterprises, including the Shops at the Mart, the Chicago campus of the Illinois Institute of Art, Motorola Mobility, and the Chicago tech startup center 1871. It was sold in January 1998 to Vornado Realty Trust. The Merchandise Mart is so large that it had its own ZIP Code (60654) until 2008, when the Postal Service assigned the ZIP Code to part of the surrounding area. In 2010, the building opened its Design Center showrooms to the public. History Construction and context In 1926, a westward extension of double-deck Wacker Drive increased development on the south riverbank. In 1927, Marshall Field & Co. announced its plans to build on the north bank opposite Wacker Drive. The site, bordered by Orleans Street, Wells Street, Kinzie Street and the Chicago River, was formerly a Native American trading post and the site of Chicago and North Western Railway's former Wells Street Station, abandoned in 1911 in favor of the Chicago and North Western Passenger Terminal. With the railroad's air rights, the site was large enough to accommodate "the largest building in the world". Removing the train yard supported the Chicago Plan Commission's desire to develop and beautify the riverfront. James Simpson, president of Marshall Field & Co. from 1923 to 1930 and chairman of the Chicago Plan Commission from 1926 to 1935, turned the first shovels of dirt at groundbreaking on August 16, 1928, along with architect Ernest Graham. General contractor John W. Griffiths & Sons brought building construction into the machine age through the use of techniques "ordinarily used in the construction of big dams." Concrete arriving by boat was lifted by compressed air to bins above the ground, with gravel and sand delivered by railroad cars to conveyor belts and transfer elevators. Giant mixers provided wet concrete to skip hoists in vertical towers that were extended as the building rose. Continuously employing 2,500 men and as many as 5,700 men altogether, the construction project lasted a year and a half into the early months of the Great Depression. With a foundation footprint of nearly two square city blocks, the building required 29 million bricks, of plumbing, of wiring, nearly of concrete, of stone, and 4,000 windows. Bethlehem Steel fabricated much of the 60,000 tons of steel. An estimated of corridors and over 30 elevators were included in the construction. The total cost of construction was estimated to be $26 million. Ownership The Merchandise Mart opened on May 5, 1930, just east of Chicago's original trading post, Wolf Point. The building realized Marshall Field’s dream of a single wholesale center for the entire nation and consolidated 13 different warehouses. It was purchased in 1945 or 1946, depending on the source, by the Kennedy family through Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc., and managed by Sargent Shriver. Kennedy's purchase price was reported to be either $12.5 or $13 million, and it is said that his initial capital was $1 million, though records say his original mortgage was $12.5 million, this was roughly half of what it had cost to construct the complex twenty years earlier. The building's sale was brokered by a good friend of Marshall Field and Joseph Kennedy, E. Stanley Klein. Klein at that time was a partner of Field and together they started Fieldcrest Mills. Klein maintained that Kennedy's bargain price was predicated on an oral agreement between Field and Kennedy that after the sale the building would be donated to the University of Chicago and that Kennedy would take the tax deduction, although as an oral agreement no documentary evidence of this exists. The building revenues became a principal source of Kennedy family wealth, including being a source of political campaign funding. The Kennedy family sold the complex center property to Vornado Realty Trust in 1998 as part of a larger $625 million ($ million in current dollars) transaction, When it was sold, the Merchandise Mart was also the Kennedy's family's last remaining operating business. That year, MMPI was acquired by Vornado for $450 million cash and a $100 million-plus stake in Vornado. As of early 2007, the building was valued at $917 million. Expansions and renovations The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s. The Indian chiefs were removed and replaced with concrete plates in 1961, of minimal note to onlookers as skyscrapers did not rise on the north side of the river as predicted. Some of the carvings were later found in a suburban backyard and auctioned in 2014. In 1962, an entrance canopy was constructed over the south for vehicle use. In 1977, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the Chicago Apparel Center, located on the west side of Orleans Street, which increased the Merchandise Mart’s total floor space to . Making use of plazas, esplanades and overlooks employed the waterfront location for pedestrian pleasure. In 1988, Helmut Jahn designed an enclosed pedestrian walking bridge over Orleans Street connecting the Mart and the Apparel Center. After a 10-year, $100 million modernization in the late 1980s that included public utility upgrades, Beyer Blinder Belle's commission in 1989 was to create additional perimeter entrances and restore the display windows, main entrance and lobby. On the south facade, the drive-through canopy was removed and two smaller doorways aside the main entrance were added. Display windows, painted over during the earlier modernization campaign, were restored with clear glass to showcase merchant's wares. New main and corner entrances were added to the rear facade, and the loading dock that occupied the north portion of the first floor of the river level was removed in order to use the bottom deck of North Bank Drive. Improvements to the lobby included restoration of the original glass curtain wall over the entrance, shop fronts and reception desk using terrazzo floors and wall sconces influenced by the original design. The project was completed in 1991. In November 2007, the building received LEED for Existing Buildings Silver recognition. Building The Merchandise Mart was designed by the Chicago architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White to be a "city within a city". Second only to Holabird & Root in Chicago art deco architecture, the firm had a long-standing relationship with the Field family. Started in 1928, completed in 1931, and built in the same art deco style as the Chicago Board of Trade Building, its cost was reported as both $32 million and $38 million. The building was the largest in the world in terms of floorspace, but was surpassed by the Pentagon in 1943, and now stands forty-fourth on the list of largest buildings in the world. Once the largest commercial space in the world, New Century Global Center in China is now recognized by Guinness World Records as holding the record. Architecture Designer Alfred Shaw integrated art deco stylings with influences from three building types—the warehouse, the department store and the skyscraper. A warehouse block stands as the 18-story bulk of the building. Ribbon piers define the windows, and the building's chamfered corners, minimal setbacks, and corner pavilions disguise the edges of the mass and visually reduce bulk. The south corner pavilions are of greater height than the north corner pavilions. The building is open at the pedestrian level with bronzed framed display windows, typical of a department store, on the south, west and east boundaries. The 25-story central tower ascends with a peak in the form of a skyscraper, and rests in the southern half of the building. Deeply recessed portals occur between raised panels, and are adorned with medallions featuring the interlocked initials of the Merchandise Mart. The same logo occurs throughout the building. Fifty-six American Indian chiefs circled the tower's crown, a reference to the site's history and Chicago's early trade activities. Three and a half feet wide by seven feet tall, the terra cotta figures were barely visible from the street, meant to be viewed from the upper floors of the skyscrapers planned to rise along the riverbank. The lobby of The Merchandise Mart is defined by eight square marble piers, with storefronts in side aisles framed in embossed bronze trim. The green and orange terrazzo floor was conceived as a carpet: a pattern of squares and stripes bordered by overscaled chevrons inlaid with The Mart's initials. The chevron theme is continued in the column sconces lighting an ornamented cornice overhead. Referred to as "business boulevards", two wide long corridors with terrazzo floors in the upper levels featured six and one-half miles of display windows. Building regulations specified identical entrances along corridors but tenants could personalize the individual floor space. Excepting the corridors, elevator halls, and exhibition space on the fourth floor, the of each upper floor was "raw space" with concrete floors. Artwork Jules Guerin's frieze of 17 murals is the primary feature of the lobby and graphically illustrate commerce throughout the world, including the countries of origin for items sold in the building. The murals depict the industries and products, the primary mode of transportation and the architecture of 14 countries. Drawing on years as a stage set designer, Guerin executed the murals in red with gold leaf using techniques producing distinct image layers in successive planes. In a panel representing Italy, Venetian glassware appears in the foreground with fishing boats moored on the Grand Canal and the facade of the Palazzo Ducale rises above the towers of the Piazza San Marco. "To immortalize outstanding American merchants", Joseph Kennedy in 1953 commissioned eight bronze busts, four times life size, which would come to be known as the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame: retail magnates Frank Winfield Woolworth, Marshall Field and Aaron Montgomery Ward Julius Rosenwald and Robert Elkington Wood of Sears, Roebuck and Company fame advertiser John Wanamaker, merchandiser Edward Albert Filene, and A&P grocery chain founder George Huntington Hartford. All of the busts rest on white pedestals lining the Chicago River and face north toward the gold front door of the building. "Art on theMART" "Art on theMART" is a digital art display begun in 2018. It provides a 2.5 acre "canvas" (2 football fields) for digital artwork projected on the Chicago River facing facade of the Merchandise Mart. The project is intended to be the largest digital art projection in the world and is scheduled to occur over thirty years with annual showings initially between March and December. In 2019 it was expanded from five nights a week to every night. Displays begin 15 minutes after sunset and loop for two hours. Obscura Digital studio initially installed 34 projection cameras to allow the rotating roster of artists to display their work. Surroundings Dominating the skyline in the south end of the Near North Side, the Mart lies just south of the gallery district on the southern terminus of Franklin Street. Eateries and nightclubs abound on Hubbard Street one block to the north. The Kinzie Chophouse, popular with politicians and celebrities, stands on the northwest corner of Wells and Kinzie, across from the Merchandise Mart. The Chicago Varnish Company Building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and now housing Harry Caray's restaurant, is located east on Kinzie Street. Across the street to the east is 325 N. Wells Street, home to The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and DIRTT Environmental Solutions. The Mart is not rectangular in shape, having been constructed after the bascule bridges over the Chicago River were completed. The control house for the double decked Wells Street Bridge stands between the lower level and the southeast corner of the building. The Franklin Street Bridge stands at the southwest corner of the building, at the junction of Orleans Street and Franklin Street. The building slants at the same angle as Franklin Street, from southeast to northwest along Orleans Street. Exterior lighting A heritage of lighting the structure finds the central and corner towers, along with the columns between each window on the setbacks, bathed nightly in an upwardly focused white light. Tradition dictates annual changes to green in mid-March for St. Patrick's Day and orange during the fall months around Halloween and Thanksgiving. Prominent events have found the behemoth lit in pink for Cancer Awareness Month. To note the 2006 Chicago Bears season, highlighted by reaching Super Bowl XLI, the building was lit with team colors, orange floodlights for the setbacks and blue floodlights for the towers. Red and green lights are used during the Christmas season. During the Art Chicago 2008 the American artist Jenny Holzer illuminated the facade of the building with a poem by the Polish winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature Wisława Szymborska. In 2018, a large projection screen began displaying images and videos across the structure's riverfront side. Nighttime lighting on the Mart typically matches the colors of antenna lighting on the Sears Tower and John Hancock Center, as well as the colors used on the top floors of the Aon Center. Green building practices Under Chris Kennedy's leadership of the Mart, it was the largest building in the world to be awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification in 2007 from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The Mart has long been implementing sustainable practices. The Mart Center began operating a thermal storage facility in 1986, capable of building of ice per night, cooling 71 buildings in the surrounding neighborhood, and saving $200,000 in electricity costs in the first year. In 1990, the Mart Center began using Green Seal-approved green cleaning products and the next year implemented a recycling program, which today includes all forms of paper products, glass, light bulbs, batteries, aluminum and construction materials. In 1996, the Mart Center became one of the first major property owners in downtown Chicago to enter into an agreement with the district cooling system now known as Thermal Chicago, thus contributing to the national effort to reduce the discharge of ozone-damaging CFCs. In 2006, MMPI joined Clean Air Counts, a voluntary initiative to reduce smog forming pollutants and energy consumption in the Chicago area. Part of the campaign strategies included utilizing only low VOC cleaning products, paints and building materials, as well as energy efficient lighting and alternative workplace transportation options. To date, the Mart Center has reduced pollution by , the largest reduction by a commercial building. That same year, the Mart Center recycling program saved over 13,000 trees and recycled nearly 11 million pounds of waste, while water conservation efforts saved of water. More than eight percent of the estimated 10,000 people working at the Mart walk, bike or take public transportation; to encourage greener methods of transportation, the Mart expanded bicycle storage capacity to more than 200. In 2009, MMPI converted all stationery to a one hundred percent post-consumer recycled product. The Mart has nine LEED-certified showrooms, with five others on their way to LEED certification. Uses Commerce Wholesale showrooms occupy 50% of the usable floor space, and the Sultan of Brunei once spent $1.6 million at the Mart to furnish his entire palace, claiming the location was the only place where the task could be completed in one week. Select showrooms are open only to wholesalers, with others accessible to the general public. Unlike stores with traditional shelf and rack displays, entire usable rooms are created, providing consumers an opportunity to compare form and function between applications and manufacturers. A portion of the stores offer items for purchase singly or as a collection, while others offer design services, preservation, renovation, or installation. In addition to being a resource for architects and decorators, the Mart also has featured award-winning designs as selected by the American Institute of Architects. Catering to suppliers, on-site firms specialize in providing professional services for market research projects. In 1931, Marshall Field and Company lost $5 million, followed by $8 million in 1932. The wholesale division was greatly reduced and Field's reduced its space in the Mart from four floors to one and half. The Mart continued to display the latest trends in home furnishings within the showrooms and trade shows. The company recovered late in the decade, but did not return to all previously occupied space. In 1942, L. L. Skaggs formed a partnership with three other men and named the partnership the Owners Service Company, hence Osco. The headquarters moved from Waterloo, Iowa, to the Merchandise Mart. A retail shopping area, named The Shops at the Mart, opened in 1991 and includes apparel shops, beauty services, bookstores and newsstands, financial services, telecommunication services, travel services, specialty food and wine stores, photo services, a dry cleaner, shoe shine stand, and a food court. A U.S. Post Office is located on the first floor and a FedEx location is on the second floor. The Apparel Center houses the 521-room Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza River North hotel, the offices of the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago campus of the Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago, as well as the Chicago office of the Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency. GoHealth occupies on the 5th floor of Merchandise Mart, the Potbelly Sandwich Works' corporate offices are located in the tower. Motorola Mobility moved its headquarters to the Merchandise Mart in 2014. Trade fairs Since 1969, the Merchandise Mart has been home to the annual National Exposition of Contract Furnishings, known as NeoCon. With over 1,000 exhibitors of contract and commercial furnishings, and 50,000 attendees, it is the largest trade show of its kind in North America. Since 2006 the Merchandise Mart has played host to the Art Chicago international art fair. Mass media Radio Before the location even opened, NBC announced plans to build studios in the Mart. When opened on October 20, 1930, the nineteenth floor location covered and supported a variety of live broadcasts including those requiring orchestras. WENR and WMAQ broadcast from the location. Expanded in 1935, with office space in the previously unoccupied tower, the additional provided room for an organ chamber, two echo rooms, and a total of 11 studios. A staff of more than 300 produced up to 1,700 programs each month, including Amos 'n' Andy. Hugh Downs contributed to the Burr Tillstrom children's show Kukla, Fran and Ollie from the NBC studios after the network picked up the program from WBKB. The Captain Midnight radio program was broadcast from the Mart from 1942 until 1945. WMAQ and WMAQ-TV moved to the NBC Tower in 1989 (even though the radio station had been sold to Westinghouse Broadcasting two years earlier). (Today, the former NBC space is being utilized by Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy as a learning site for film and broadcast productions.) WMAQ's former sister FM station, WKQX, stayed at the Merchandise Mart; renamed WIQI, as of May 2012 it still occupies space on the west side of the second floor, along with co-owned WLUP. WKQX moved to a new facility at NBC Tower in the summer of 2016. Television On January 7, 1949, NBC station WNBQ commercially debuted its television broadcast schedule on channel 5, with a minimum of two hours of programming per day. April 15, 1956, is remembered as "C-Day" at WMAQ-TV, and was described by Broadcasting-Telecasting magazine as "a daring breakthrough the black-and-white curtain." With Mayor Richard J. Daley looking on, NBC President David Sarnoff operated the controls as Channel 5 became the world's first all-color TV station as "Wide, Wide World" was broadcast to 110 NBC-TV affiliated stations across the country. The color conversion project cost more than $1.25 million with advertising costing $175,000. On "C-Day", three skywriting planes flew over the city, trailing streams of red, green and blue smoke. WMAQ-TV first installed color equipment in late 1953, with the Tournament of Roses Parade of 1954 as the first major broadcast. Introduced in March 1955, the first local color program was John Ott's "How Does Your Garden Grow?", featuring the use of time-lapse color film. Although WMAQ-TV has since moved to NBC Tower about a mile away, and for the most part the 19th floor of the Mart has been turned into office space, one former tenant (Bankers Life and Trust Company) maintained a remnant of the original studios as their video and multimedia department. The former WMAQ space is currently being redeveloped by Flashpoint Academy as a full modern soundstage facility as well as a screening room, backlot, and classroom space over the 19th and 20th floors. Local regional sports network Comcast SportsNet Chicago has their control room, and broadcasts their live studio programming from the Apparel Center expansion; the studios had been home to previous RSNs FSN Chicago and SportsChannel Chicago. Chicago 'L' Built in under four months and opened on December 5, 1930, the Merchandise Mart elevated train station served the Main Line of the North Side Division. The station is now noted for being one of two commercial locations to have its own station on the Chicago Transit Authority's (CTA) 'L' system. The station is now served by the Brown and Purple Lines. The station complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; the turnstiles are located within the building on the second floor, while the platforms are connected to the east side of the building. The northbound platform is accessed by an overhead bridge or elevator. It was rebuilt in 1988, prior to the Wells Street Bridge reconstruction in 1989. The Merchandise Mart housed the CTA's headquarters on the 7th floor from 1947 to 2004. Cultural involvement Owing to the expanding postwar economy and family, the owners began offering tours in 1948. Architecture and design interest groups continue to offer scheduled tours. The Mart hosts the annual Art Chicago activities. Chicago Marathon routes have taken runners past the structure, typically on Wells Street. In popular culture The 1948 film Call Northside 777, was made in Illinois and the Mart is seen from newspaper offices on Wacker Drive. The lobby appeared in the movie The Hudsucker Proxy as the interior of the Hudsucker Company headquarters. In 1956, the eight-minute short subject film The Merchandise Mart used the Mart's name and covered in detail the building's interior and operations. When his late-night NBC talk show was performed in Chicago during the first week of May 1989, David Letterman called the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame "the Pez Hall of Fame" because the combination of busts atop the tall vertical pedestals resembled the candy's dispensers. In the 1993 film The Fugitive, U.S. Marshals pinpoint the location of Dr. Richard Kimble when they hear a CTA train conductor announce, "Next stop, Merchandise Mart" in the background of a recorded phone call. The Mart was depicted as the Candor headquarters in the 2012 novel Insurgent by Veronica Roth. See also Art Deco Chicago architecture Fulton House, Chicago Interior Design List of largest buildings in the world New York Merchandise Mart References Further reading Chappell, Sally A. Kitt, Architecture and Planning of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White, 1912–1936:Transforming Tradition, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1992 Roth, Veronica, Insurgent, HarperCollins, New York, NY 2012 External links archive at the Chicago Tribune Video Merchandise Mart Properties Tenant Profiles The Merchandise Mart Buyers Guide 1930 establishments in Illinois Art Deco architecture in Illinois Buildings and structures completed in 1930 Kennedy family Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design basic silver certified buildings Skyscrapers in Chicago Wholesale markets
true
[ "The John B. Schuerholz Baseball Complex is a baseball venue located in Towson, Maryland, United States. It is used by the Towson University Tigers baseball team. It has a capacity of 500 spectators and opened in 2001. The playing surface of the field is natural grass.\n\nOn April 29, 2001, the baseball facility at Towson University was named John B. Schuerholz Park. The stadium is named in honor of John Schuerholz, a 1962 Towson alumnus and former member of the baseball program. His contributions to Towson University allowed the renovations to take place. He is currently the President of the Atlanta Braves.\n\nThe renovations to the facility included permanent seating, a press box, and a concessions area.\n\nSee also\n List of NCAA Division I baseball venues\n\nReferences\n\nCollege baseball venues in the United States\nBaseball venues in Maryland\nTowson Tigers sports venues\nTowson Tigers baseball\nSports venues in the Baltimore metropolitan area", "Homer Bryce Stadium, located in Nacogdoches, Texas, is the home of Stephen F. Austin State University's Lumberjack football and Ladyjack and Lumberjack track and field events. The stadium includes a walking and running track open to the public. After renovations to take place over the summer of 2021 the track will be closed to the public. Recent renovations to the area include a sports medicine and academic center addition to the field house that houses the new athletic training program and the installation of a new artificial turf surface provided by a donation from a former Lumberjack football letterman. A state of the art video board with replay screen was completed in September 2016, home to largest video board in the South land Conference.\n\nHistory\nOpened in 1973 as Lumberjack Stadium, the stadium seats 14,575 fans. Using the hill surrounding the playing field ups the capacity to nearly 25,000. Record attendance at the stadium was set on October 28, 1995 when 23,617 fans witnessed a game against the McNeese State Cowboys. Homer Bryce Stadium is also home to many premier high school football playoff matchups and track meets.\n\nIn 1986, the stadium was renamed Homer Bryce Stadium in honor of SFA benefactor Homer Bryce.\n\nRenovations\nThe stadium underwent renovations in 2003 with the addition of five luxury suites and the Touchdown Club located in the remodeled press box. Total capacity is 130 including the 90 seats in the Touchdown Club. Prior to the start of the 2013 season, SFA replaced the surface at Homer Bryce Stadium. During the summer, a Hellas Matrix® Turf surface was installed.\n\nFollowing the 2015 season the scoreboards at both ends were demolished to make way for a new video scoreboard from Daktronics. The new board would be the largest in the Southland Conference and third largest in FCS Football behind only South Dakota State and Northern Iowa.\n\nSee also\n List of NCAA Division I FCS football stadiums\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nHomer Bryce Stadium – Stephen F. Austin Official Athletic Site\n\nCollege football venues\nStephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football\nAmerican football venues in Texas" ]
[ "Merchandise Mart", "Expansions and renovations", "When did the renovations take place", "The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s." ]
C_34fff391fa464f15b26174eb4bee0fe7_1
What did the renovations entail?
2
What did the renovations for Merchandise Mart entail?
Merchandise Mart
The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s. The Indian chiefs were removed and replaced with concrete plates in 1961, of minimal note to onlookers as skyscrapers did not rise on the north side of the river as predicted. Some of the carvings were later found in a suburban backyard and auctioned in 2014. In 1962, an entrance canopy was constructed over the south for vehicle use. In 1977, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the Chicago Apparel Center, located on the west side of Orleans Street, which increased the Merchandise Mart's total floor space to 6,200,000 square feet (580,000 m2). Making use of plazas, esplanades and overlooks employed the waterfront location for pedestrian pleasure. In 1988, Helmut Jahn designed an enclosed pedestrian walking bridge over Orleans Street connecting the Mart and the Apparel Center. After a 10-year, $100 million modernization in the late 1980s that included public utility upgrades, Beyer Blinder Belle's commission in 1989 was to create additional perimeter entrances and restore the display windows, main entrance and lobby. On the south facade, the drive-through canopy was removed and two smaller doorways aside the main entrance were added. Display windows, painted over during the earlier modernization campaign, were restored with clear glass to showcase merchant's wares. New main and corner entrances were added to the rear facade, and the loading dock that occupied the north portion of the first floor of the river level was removed in order to use the bottom deck of North Bank Drive. Improvements to the lobby included restoration of the original glass curtain wall over the entrance, shop fronts and reception desk using terrazzo floors and wall sconces influenced by the original design. The project was completed in 1991. In November 2007, the building received LEED for Existing Buildings Silver recognition. CANNOTANSWER
The Indian chiefs were removed and replaced with concrete plates in 1961,
The Merchandise Mart (or the Merch Mart, or the Mart) is a commercial building located in downtown Chicago, Illinois. When it was opened in 1930, it was the largest building in the world, with of floor space. The Art Deco structure is located at the junction of the Chicago River's branches. The building is a leading retailing and wholesale destination, hosting 20,000 visitors and tenants per day in the late 2000s. Built by Marshall Field & Co. and later owned for over half a century by the Kennedy family, the Mart centralized Chicago's wholesale goods business by consolidating architectural and interior design vendors and trades under a single roof. It has since become home to several other enterprises, including the Shops at the Mart, the Chicago campus of the Illinois Institute of Art, Motorola Mobility, and the Chicago tech startup center 1871. It was sold in January 1998 to Vornado Realty Trust. The Merchandise Mart is so large that it had its own ZIP Code (60654) until 2008, when the Postal Service assigned the ZIP Code to part of the surrounding area. In 2010, the building opened its Design Center showrooms to the public. History Construction and context In 1926, a westward extension of double-deck Wacker Drive increased development on the south riverbank. In 1927, Marshall Field & Co. announced its plans to build on the north bank opposite Wacker Drive. The site, bordered by Orleans Street, Wells Street, Kinzie Street and the Chicago River, was formerly a Native American trading post and the site of Chicago and North Western Railway's former Wells Street Station, abandoned in 1911 in favor of the Chicago and North Western Passenger Terminal. With the railroad's air rights, the site was large enough to accommodate "the largest building in the world". Removing the train yard supported the Chicago Plan Commission's desire to develop and beautify the riverfront. James Simpson, president of Marshall Field & Co. from 1923 to 1930 and chairman of the Chicago Plan Commission from 1926 to 1935, turned the first shovels of dirt at groundbreaking on August 16, 1928, along with architect Ernest Graham. General contractor John W. Griffiths & Sons brought building construction into the machine age through the use of techniques "ordinarily used in the construction of big dams." Concrete arriving by boat was lifted by compressed air to bins above the ground, with gravel and sand delivered by railroad cars to conveyor belts and transfer elevators. Giant mixers provided wet concrete to skip hoists in vertical towers that were extended as the building rose. Continuously employing 2,500 men and as many as 5,700 men altogether, the construction project lasted a year and a half into the early months of the Great Depression. With a foundation footprint of nearly two square city blocks, the building required 29 million bricks, of plumbing, of wiring, nearly of concrete, of stone, and 4,000 windows. Bethlehem Steel fabricated much of the 60,000 tons of steel. An estimated of corridors and over 30 elevators were included in the construction. The total cost of construction was estimated to be $26 million. Ownership The Merchandise Mart opened on May 5, 1930, just east of Chicago's original trading post, Wolf Point. The building realized Marshall Field’s dream of a single wholesale center for the entire nation and consolidated 13 different warehouses. It was purchased in 1945 or 1946, depending on the source, by the Kennedy family through Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc., and managed by Sargent Shriver. Kennedy's purchase price was reported to be either $12.5 or $13 million, and it is said that his initial capital was $1 million, though records say his original mortgage was $12.5 million, this was roughly half of what it had cost to construct the complex twenty years earlier. The building's sale was brokered by a good friend of Marshall Field and Joseph Kennedy, E. Stanley Klein. Klein at that time was a partner of Field and together they started Fieldcrest Mills. Klein maintained that Kennedy's bargain price was predicated on an oral agreement between Field and Kennedy that after the sale the building would be donated to the University of Chicago and that Kennedy would take the tax deduction, although as an oral agreement no documentary evidence of this exists. The building revenues became a principal source of Kennedy family wealth, including being a source of political campaign funding. The Kennedy family sold the complex center property to Vornado Realty Trust in 1998 as part of a larger $625 million ($ million in current dollars) transaction, When it was sold, the Merchandise Mart was also the Kennedy's family's last remaining operating business. That year, MMPI was acquired by Vornado for $450 million cash and a $100 million-plus stake in Vornado. As of early 2007, the building was valued at $917 million. Expansions and renovations The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s. The Indian chiefs were removed and replaced with concrete plates in 1961, of minimal note to onlookers as skyscrapers did not rise on the north side of the river as predicted. Some of the carvings were later found in a suburban backyard and auctioned in 2014. In 1962, an entrance canopy was constructed over the south for vehicle use. In 1977, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the Chicago Apparel Center, located on the west side of Orleans Street, which increased the Merchandise Mart’s total floor space to . Making use of plazas, esplanades and overlooks employed the waterfront location for pedestrian pleasure. In 1988, Helmut Jahn designed an enclosed pedestrian walking bridge over Orleans Street connecting the Mart and the Apparel Center. After a 10-year, $100 million modernization in the late 1980s that included public utility upgrades, Beyer Blinder Belle's commission in 1989 was to create additional perimeter entrances and restore the display windows, main entrance and lobby. On the south facade, the drive-through canopy was removed and two smaller doorways aside the main entrance were added. Display windows, painted over during the earlier modernization campaign, were restored with clear glass to showcase merchant's wares. New main and corner entrances were added to the rear facade, and the loading dock that occupied the north portion of the first floor of the river level was removed in order to use the bottom deck of North Bank Drive. Improvements to the lobby included restoration of the original glass curtain wall over the entrance, shop fronts and reception desk using terrazzo floors and wall sconces influenced by the original design. The project was completed in 1991. In November 2007, the building received LEED for Existing Buildings Silver recognition. Building The Merchandise Mart was designed by the Chicago architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White to be a "city within a city". Second only to Holabird & Root in Chicago art deco architecture, the firm had a long-standing relationship with the Field family. Started in 1928, completed in 1931, and built in the same art deco style as the Chicago Board of Trade Building, its cost was reported as both $32 million and $38 million. The building was the largest in the world in terms of floorspace, but was surpassed by the Pentagon in 1943, and now stands forty-fourth on the list of largest buildings in the world. Once the largest commercial space in the world, New Century Global Center in China is now recognized by Guinness World Records as holding the record. Architecture Designer Alfred Shaw integrated art deco stylings with influences from three building types—the warehouse, the department store and the skyscraper. A warehouse block stands as the 18-story bulk of the building. Ribbon piers define the windows, and the building's chamfered corners, minimal setbacks, and corner pavilions disguise the edges of the mass and visually reduce bulk. The south corner pavilions are of greater height than the north corner pavilions. The building is open at the pedestrian level with bronzed framed display windows, typical of a department store, on the south, west and east boundaries. The 25-story central tower ascends with a peak in the form of a skyscraper, and rests in the southern half of the building. Deeply recessed portals occur between raised panels, and are adorned with medallions featuring the interlocked initials of the Merchandise Mart. The same logo occurs throughout the building. Fifty-six American Indian chiefs circled the tower's crown, a reference to the site's history and Chicago's early trade activities. Three and a half feet wide by seven feet tall, the terra cotta figures were barely visible from the street, meant to be viewed from the upper floors of the skyscrapers planned to rise along the riverbank. The lobby of The Merchandise Mart is defined by eight square marble piers, with storefronts in side aisles framed in embossed bronze trim. The green and orange terrazzo floor was conceived as a carpet: a pattern of squares and stripes bordered by overscaled chevrons inlaid with The Mart's initials. The chevron theme is continued in the column sconces lighting an ornamented cornice overhead. Referred to as "business boulevards", two wide long corridors with terrazzo floors in the upper levels featured six and one-half miles of display windows. Building regulations specified identical entrances along corridors but tenants could personalize the individual floor space. Excepting the corridors, elevator halls, and exhibition space on the fourth floor, the of each upper floor was "raw space" with concrete floors. Artwork Jules Guerin's frieze of 17 murals is the primary feature of the lobby and graphically illustrate commerce throughout the world, including the countries of origin for items sold in the building. The murals depict the industries and products, the primary mode of transportation and the architecture of 14 countries. Drawing on years as a stage set designer, Guerin executed the murals in red with gold leaf using techniques producing distinct image layers in successive planes. In a panel representing Italy, Venetian glassware appears in the foreground with fishing boats moored on the Grand Canal and the facade of the Palazzo Ducale rises above the towers of the Piazza San Marco. "To immortalize outstanding American merchants", Joseph Kennedy in 1953 commissioned eight bronze busts, four times life size, which would come to be known as the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame: retail magnates Frank Winfield Woolworth, Marshall Field and Aaron Montgomery Ward Julius Rosenwald and Robert Elkington Wood of Sears, Roebuck and Company fame advertiser John Wanamaker, merchandiser Edward Albert Filene, and A&P grocery chain founder George Huntington Hartford. All of the busts rest on white pedestals lining the Chicago River and face north toward the gold front door of the building. "Art on theMART" "Art on theMART" is a digital art display begun in 2018. It provides a 2.5 acre "canvas" (2 football fields) for digital artwork projected on the Chicago River facing facade of the Merchandise Mart. The project is intended to be the largest digital art projection in the world and is scheduled to occur over thirty years with annual showings initially between March and December. In 2019 it was expanded from five nights a week to every night. Displays begin 15 minutes after sunset and loop for two hours. Obscura Digital studio initially installed 34 projection cameras to allow the rotating roster of artists to display their work. Surroundings Dominating the skyline in the south end of the Near North Side, the Mart lies just south of the gallery district on the southern terminus of Franklin Street. Eateries and nightclubs abound on Hubbard Street one block to the north. The Kinzie Chophouse, popular with politicians and celebrities, stands on the northwest corner of Wells and Kinzie, across from the Merchandise Mart. The Chicago Varnish Company Building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and now housing Harry Caray's restaurant, is located east on Kinzie Street. Across the street to the east is 325 N. Wells Street, home to The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and DIRTT Environmental Solutions. The Mart is not rectangular in shape, having been constructed after the bascule bridges over the Chicago River were completed. The control house for the double decked Wells Street Bridge stands between the lower level and the southeast corner of the building. The Franklin Street Bridge stands at the southwest corner of the building, at the junction of Orleans Street and Franklin Street. The building slants at the same angle as Franklin Street, from southeast to northwest along Orleans Street. Exterior lighting A heritage of lighting the structure finds the central and corner towers, along with the columns between each window on the setbacks, bathed nightly in an upwardly focused white light. Tradition dictates annual changes to green in mid-March for St. Patrick's Day and orange during the fall months around Halloween and Thanksgiving. Prominent events have found the behemoth lit in pink for Cancer Awareness Month. To note the 2006 Chicago Bears season, highlighted by reaching Super Bowl XLI, the building was lit with team colors, orange floodlights for the setbacks and blue floodlights for the towers. Red and green lights are used during the Christmas season. During the Art Chicago 2008 the American artist Jenny Holzer illuminated the facade of the building with a poem by the Polish winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature Wisława Szymborska. In 2018, a large projection screen began displaying images and videos across the structure's riverfront side. Nighttime lighting on the Mart typically matches the colors of antenna lighting on the Sears Tower and John Hancock Center, as well as the colors used on the top floors of the Aon Center. Green building practices Under Chris Kennedy's leadership of the Mart, it was the largest building in the world to be awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification in 2007 from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The Mart has long been implementing sustainable practices. The Mart Center began operating a thermal storage facility in 1986, capable of building of ice per night, cooling 71 buildings in the surrounding neighborhood, and saving $200,000 in electricity costs in the first year. In 1990, the Mart Center began using Green Seal-approved green cleaning products and the next year implemented a recycling program, which today includes all forms of paper products, glass, light bulbs, batteries, aluminum and construction materials. In 1996, the Mart Center became one of the first major property owners in downtown Chicago to enter into an agreement with the district cooling system now known as Thermal Chicago, thus contributing to the national effort to reduce the discharge of ozone-damaging CFCs. In 2006, MMPI joined Clean Air Counts, a voluntary initiative to reduce smog forming pollutants and energy consumption in the Chicago area. Part of the campaign strategies included utilizing only low VOC cleaning products, paints and building materials, as well as energy efficient lighting and alternative workplace transportation options. To date, the Mart Center has reduced pollution by , the largest reduction by a commercial building. That same year, the Mart Center recycling program saved over 13,000 trees and recycled nearly 11 million pounds of waste, while water conservation efforts saved of water. More than eight percent of the estimated 10,000 people working at the Mart walk, bike or take public transportation; to encourage greener methods of transportation, the Mart expanded bicycle storage capacity to more than 200. In 2009, MMPI converted all stationery to a one hundred percent post-consumer recycled product. The Mart has nine LEED-certified showrooms, with five others on their way to LEED certification. Uses Commerce Wholesale showrooms occupy 50% of the usable floor space, and the Sultan of Brunei once spent $1.6 million at the Mart to furnish his entire palace, claiming the location was the only place where the task could be completed in one week. Select showrooms are open only to wholesalers, with others accessible to the general public. Unlike stores with traditional shelf and rack displays, entire usable rooms are created, providing consumers an opportunity to compare form and function between applications and manufacturers. A portion of the stores offer items for purchase singly or as a collection, while others offer design services, preservation, renovation, or installation. In addition to being a resource for architects and decorators, the Mart also has featured award-winning designs as selected by the American Institute of Architects. Catering to suppliers, on-site firms specialize in providing professional services for market research projects. In 1931, Marshall Field and Company lost $5 million, followed by $8 million in 1932. The wholesale division was greatly reduced and Field's reduced its space in the Mart from four floors to one and half. The Mart continued to display the latest trends in home furnishings within the showrooms and trade shows. The company recovered late in the decade, but did not return to all previously occupied space. In 1942, L. L. Skaggs formed a partnership with three other men and named the partnership the Owners Service Company, hence Osco. The headquarters moved from Waterloo, Iowa, to the Merchandise Mart. A retail shopping area, named The Shops at the Mart, opened in 1991 and includes apparel shops, beauty services, bookstores and newsstands, financial services, telecommunication services, travel services, specialty food and wine stores, photo services, a dry cleaner, shoe shine stand, and a food court. A U.S. Post Office is located on the first floor and a FedEx location is on the second floor. The Apparel Center houses the 521-room Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza River North hotel, the offices of the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago campus of the Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago, as well as the Chicago office of the Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency. GoHealth occupies on the 5th floor of Merchandise Mart, the Potbelly Sandwich Works' corporate offices are located in the tower. Motorola Mobility moved its headquarters to the Merchandise Mart in 2014. Trade fairs Since 1969, the Merchandise Mart has been home to the annual National Exposition of Contract Furnishings, known as NeoCon. With over 1,000 exhibitors of contract and commercial furnishings, and 50,000 attendees, it is the largest trade show of its kind in North America. Since 2006 the Merchandise Mart has played host to the Art Chicago international art fair. Mass media Radio Before the location even opened, NBC announced plans to build studios in the Mart. When opened on October 20, 1930, the nineteenth floor location covered and supported a variety of live broadcasts including those requiring orchestras. WENR and WMAQ broadcast from the location. Expanded in 1935, with office space in the previously unoccupied tower, the additional provided room for an organ chamber, two echo rooms, and a total of 11 studios. A staff of more than 300 produced up to 1,700 programs each month, including Amos 'n' Andy. Hugh Downs contributed to the Burr Tillstrom children's show Kukla, Fran and Ollie from the NBC studios after the network picked up the program from WBKB. The Captain Midnight radio program was broadcast from the Mart from 1942 until 1945. WMAQ and WMAQ-TV moved to the NBC Tower in 1989 (even though the radio station had been sold to Westinghouse Broadcasting two years earlier). (Today, the former NBC space is being utilized by Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy as a learning site for film and broadcast productions.) WMAQ's former sister FM station, WKQX, stayed at the Merchandise Mart; renamed WIQI, as of May 2012 it still occupies space on the west side of the second floor, along with co-owned WLUP. WKQX moved to a new facility at NBC Tower in the summer of 2016. Television On January 7, 1949, NBC station WNBQ commercially debuted its television broadcast schedule on channel 5, with a minimum of two hours of programming per day. April 15, 1956, is remembered as "C-Day" at WMAQ-TV, and was described by Broadcasting-Telecasting magazine as "a daring breakthrough the black-and-white curtain." With Mayor Richard J. Daley looking on, NBC President David Sarnoff operated the controls as Channel 5 became the world's first all-color TV station as "Wide, Wide World" was broadcast to 110 NBC-TV affiliated stations across the country. The color conversion project cost more than $1.25 million with advertising costing $175,000. On "C-Day", three skywriting planes flew over the city, trailing streams of red, green and blue smoke. WMAQ-TV first installed color equipment in late 1953, with the Tournament of Roses Parade of 1954 as the first major broadcast. Introduced in March 1955, the first local color program was John Ott's "How Does Your Garden Grow?", featuring the use of time-lapse color film. Although WMAQ-TV has since moved to NBC Tower about a mile away, and for the most part the 19th floor of the Mart has been turned into office space, one former tenant (Bankers Life and Trust Company) maintained a remnant of the original studios as their video and multimedia department. The former WMAQ space is currently being redeveloped by Flashpoint Academy as a full modern soundstage facility as well as a screening room, backlot, and classroom space over the 19th and 20th floors. Local regional sports network Comcast SportsNet Chicago has their control room, and broadcasts their live studio programming from the Apparel Center expansion; the studios had been home to previous RSNs FSN Chicago and SportsChannel Chicago. Chicago 'L' Built in under four months and opened on December 5, 1930, the Merchandise Mart elevated train station served the Main Line of the North Side Division. The station is now noted for being one of two commercial locations to have its own station on the Chicago Transit Authority's (CTA) 'L' system. The station is now served by the Brown and Purple Lines. The station complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; the turnstiles are located within the building on the second floor, while the platforms are connected to the east side of the building. The northbound platform is accessed by an overhead bridge or elevator. It was rebuilt in 1988, prior to the Wells Street Bridge reconstruction in 1989. The Merchandise Mart housed the CTA's headquarters on the 7th floor from 1947 to 2004. Cultural involvement Owing to the expanding postwar economy and family, the owners began offering tours in 1948. Architecture and design interest groups continue to offer scheduled tours. The Mart hosts the annual Art Chicago activities. Chicago Marathon routes have taken runners past the structure, typically on Wells Street. In popular culture The 1948 film Call Northside 777, was made in Illinois and the Mart is seen from newspaper offices on Wacker Drive. The lobby appeared in the movie The Hudsucker Proxy as the interior of the Hudsucker Company headquarters. In 1956, the eight-minute short subject film The Merchandise Mart used the Mart's name and covered in detail the building's interior and operations. When his late-night NBC talk show was performed in Chicago during the first week of May 1989, David Letterman called the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame "the Pez Hall of Fame" because the combination of busts atop the tall vertical pedestals resembled the candy's dispensers. In the 1993 film The Fugitive, U.S. Marshals pinpoint the location of Dr. Richard Kimble when they hear a CTA train conductor announce, "Next stop, Merchandise Mart" in the background of a recorded phone call. The Mart was depicted as the Candor headquarters in the 2012 novel Insurgent by Veronica Roth. See also Art Deco Chicago architecture Fulton House, Chicago Interior Design List of largest buildings in the world New York Merchandise Mart References Further reading Chappell, Sally A. Kitt, Architecture and Planning of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White, 1912–1936:Transforming Tradition, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1992 Roth, Veronica, Insurgent, HarperCollins, New York, NY 2012 External links archive at the Chicago Tribune Video Merchandise Mart Properties Tenant Profiles The Merchandise Mart Buyers Guide 1930 establishments in Illinois Art Deco architecture in Illinois Buildings and structures completed in 1930 Kennedy family Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design basic silver certified buildings Skyscrapers in Chicago Wholesale markets
true
[ "Entail Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used in the United Kingdom for legislation relating to entails.\n\nList\nThe Entail (Scotland) Act 1914 (4 & 5 Geo 5 c 43)\n\nThe Entail Acts is the collective title of the following Acts:\nThe Entail Act 1685 (c 26) [12mo ed: c 22]\nThe Tenures Abolition Act 1746 (20 Geo 2 c 50 ss 14, 15, 16, 17)\nThe Sales to Crown Act 1746 (20 Geo 2 c 51 ss 2, 3)\nThe Entail Improvement Act 1770 (10 Geo 3 c 51)\nThe Entail Provisions Act 1824 (5 Geo 4 c 87)\nThe Entail Powers Act 1836 (6 & 7 Will 4 c 42)\nThe Entail Sites Act 1840 (3 & 4 Vict c 48)\nThe Entail Amendment Act 1848 (11 & 12 Vict c 36)\nThe Entail Amendment Act 1853 (16 & 17 Vict c 94)\nThe Entail Cottages Act 1860 (23 & 24 Vict c 95)\nThe Entail Amendment Act 1868 (31 & 32 Vict c 84)\nThe Entail Amendment Act 1875 (38 & 39 Vict c 61)\nThe Entail Amendment Act 1878 (41 & 42 Vict c 28)\nThe Roads and Bridges (Scotland) Act 1878 (41 & 42 Vict c 51 s 70)\nThe Roads Amendment Act 1880 (43 Vict c 7)\nThe Entail (Scotland) Act 1882 (45 & 46 Vict c 53)\n\nSee also\nList of short titles\n\nReferences\n\nLists of legislation by short title and collective title", "The Entail Act 1685 (c 26) [12mo ed: c 22] was an Act of the Parliament of Scotland. It was one of the Entail Acts.\n\nThis Act was disapplied by section 2 of the Entail (Scotland) Act 1914.\n\nThe whole Act was repealed by sections 76(2) of, and Part I of Schedule 13 to, the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 on 28 November 2004. See also sections 58, 62 and 75.\n\nReferences\nHalsbury's Statutes,\n\nExternal links\nThe Entail Act 1685, as amended, from Legislation.gov.uk.\n\nActs of the Parliament of Scotland\n1680s in Scotland\n1685 in law" ]
[ "Merchandise Mart", "Expansions and renovations", "When did the renovations take place", "The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s.", "What did the renovations entail?", "The Indian chiefs were removed and replaced with concrete plates in 1961," ]
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How much did it cost?
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How much did the renovations for Merchandise Mart cost?
Merchandise Mart
The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s. The Indian chiefs were removed and replaced with concrete plates in 1961, of minimal note to onlookers as skyscrapers did not rise on the north side of the river as predicted. Some of the carvings were later found in a suburban backyard and auctioned in 2014. In 1962, an entrance canopy was constructed over the south for vehicle use. In 1977, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the Chicago Apparel Center, located on the west side of Orleans Street, which increased the Merchandise Mart's total floor space to 6,200,000 square feet (580,000 m2). Making use of plazas, esplanades and overlooks employed the waterfront location for pedestrian pleasure. In 1988, Helmut Jahn designed an enclosed pedestrian walking bridge over Orleans Street connecting the Mart and the Apparel Center. After a 10-year, $100 million modernization in the late 1980s that included public utility upgrades, Beyer Blinder Belle's commission in 1989 was to create additional perimeter entrances and restore the display windows, main entrance and lobby. On the south facade, the drive-through canopy was removed and two smaller doorways aside the main entrance were added. Display windows, painted over during the earlier modernization campaign, were restored with clear glass to showcase merchant's wares. New main and corner entrances were added to the rear facade, and the loading dock that occupied the north portion of the first floor of the river level was removed in order to use the bottom deck of North Bank Drive. Improvements to the lobby included restoration of the original glass curtain wall over the entrance, shop fronts and reception desk using terrazzo floors and wall sconces influenced by the original design. The project was completed in 1991. In November 2007, the building received LEED for Existing Buildings Silver recognition. CANNOTANSWER
After a 10-year, $100 million modernization in the late 1980s
The Merchandise Mart (or the Merch Mart, or the Mart) is a commercial building located in downtown Chicago, Illinois. When it was opened in 1930, it was the largest building in the world, with of floor space. The Art Deco structure is located at the junction of the Chicago River's branches. The building is a leading retailing and wholesale destination, hosting 20,000 visitors and tenants per day in the late 2000s. Built by Marshall Field & Co. and later owned for over half a century by the Kennedy family, the Mart centralized Chicago's wholesale goods business by consolidating architectural and interior design vendors and trades under a single roof. It has since become home to several other enterprises, including the Shops at the Mart, the Chicago campus of the Illinois Institute of Art, Motorola Mobility, and the Chicago tech startup center 1871. It was sold in January 1998 to Vornado Realty Trust. The Merchandise Mart is so large that it had its own ZIP Code (60654) until 2008, when the Postal Service assigned the ZIP Code to part of the surrounding area. In 2010, the building opened its Design Center showrooms to the public. History Construction and context In 1926, a westward extension of double-deck Wacker Drive increased development on the south riverbank. In 1927, Marshall Field & Co. announced its plans to build on the north bank opposite Wacker Drive. The site, bordered by Orleans Street, Wells Street, Kinzie Street and the Chicago River, was formerly a Native American trading post and the site of Chicago and North Western Railway's former Wells Street Station, abandoned in 1911 in favor of the Chicago and North Western Passenger Terminal. With the railroad's air rights, the site was large enough to accommodate "the largest building in the world". Removing the train yard supported the Chicago Plan Commission's desire to develop and beautify the riverfront. James Simpson, president of Marshall Field & Co. from 1923 to 1930 and chairman of the Chicago Plan Commission from 1926 to 1935, turned the first shovels of dirt at groundbreaking on August 16, 1928, along with architect Ernest Graham. General contractor John W. Griffiths & Sons brought building construction into the machine age through the use of techniques "ordinarily used in the construction of big dams." Concrete arriving by boat was lifted by compressed air to bins above the ground, with gravel and sand delivered by railroad cars to conveyor belts and transfer elevators. Giant mixers provided wet concrete to skip hoists in vertical towers that were extended as the building rose. Continuously employing 2,500 men and as many as 5,700 men altogether, the construction project lasted a year and a half into the early months of the Great Depression. With a foundation footprint of nearly two square city blocks, the building required 29 million bricks, of plumbing, of wiring, nearly of concrete, of stone, and 4,000 windows. Bethlehem Steel fabricated much of the 60,000 tons of steel. An estimated of corridors and over 30 elevators were included in the construction. The total cost of construction was estimated to be $26 million. Ownership The Merchandise Mart opened on May 5, 1930, just east of Chicago's original trading post, Wolf Point. The building realized Marshall Field’s dream of a single wholesale center for the entire nation and consolidated 13 different warehouses. It was purchased in 1945 or 1946, depending on the source, by the Kennedy family through Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc., and managed by Sargent Shriver. Kennedy's purchase price was reported to be either $12.5 or $13 million, and it is said that his initial capital was $1 million, though records say his original mortgage was $12.5 million, this was roughly half of what it had cost to construct the complex twenty years earlier. The building's sale was brokered by a good friend of Marshall Field and Joseph Kennedy, E. Stanley Klein. Klein at that time was a partner of Field and together they started Fieldcrest Mills. Klein maintained that Kennedy's bargain price was predicated on an oral agreement between Field and Kennedy that after the sale the building would be donated to the University of Chicago and that Kennedy would take the tax deduction, although as an oral agreement no documentary evidence of this exists. The building revenues became a principal source of Kennedy family wealth, including being a source of political campaign funding. The Kennedy family sold the complex center property to Vornado Realty Trust in 1998 as part of a larger $625 million ($ million in current dollars) transaction, When it was sold, the Merchandise Mart was also the Kennedy's family's last remaining operating business. That year, MMPI was acquired by Vornado for $450 million cash and a $100 million-plus stake in Vornado. As of early 2007, the building was valued at $917 million. Expansions and renovations The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s. The Indian chiefs were removed and replaced with concrete plates in 1961, of minimal note to onlookers as skyscrapers did not rise on the north side of the river as predicted. Some of the carvings were later found in a suburban backyard and auctioned in 2014. In 1962, an entrance canopy was constructed over the south for vehicle use. In 1977, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the Chicago Apparel Center, located on the west side of Orleans Street, which increased the Merchandise Mart’s total floor space to . Making use of plazas, esplanades and overlooks employed the waterfront location for pedestrian pleasure. In 1988, Helmut Jahn designed an enclosed pedestrian walking bridge over Orleans Street connecting the Mart and the Apparel Center. After a 10-year, $100 million modernization in the late 1980s that included public utility upgrades, Beyer Blinder Belle's commission in 1989 was to create additional perimeter entrances and restore the display windows, main entrance and lobby. On the south facade, the drive-through canopy was removed and two smaller doorways aside the main entrance were added. Display windows, painted over during the earlier modernization campaign, were restored with clear glass to showcase merchant's wares. New main and corner entrances were added to the rear facade, and the loading dock that occupied the north portion of the first floor of the river level was removed in order to use the bottom deck of North Bank Drive. Improvements to the lobby included restoration of the original glass curtain wall over the entrance, shop fronts and reception desk using terrazzo floors and wall sconces influenced by the original design. The project was completed in 1991. In November 2007, the building received LEED for Existing Buildings Silver recognition. Building The Merchandise Mart was designed by the Chicago architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White to be a "city within a city". Second only to Holabird & Root in Chicago art deco architecture, the firm had a long-standing relationship with the Field family. Started in 1928, completed in 1931, and built in the same art deco style as the Chicago Board of Trade Building, its cost was reported as both $32 million and $38 million. The building was the largest in the world in terms of floorspace, but was surpassed by the Pentagon in 1943, and now stands forty-fourth on the list of largest buildings in the world. Once the largest commercial space in the world, New Century Global Center in China is now recognized by Guinness World Records as holding the record. Architecture Designer Alfred Shaw integrated art deco stylings with influences from three building types—the warehouse, the department store and the skyscraper. A warehouse block stands as the 18-story bulk of the building. Ribbon piers define the windows, and the building's chamfered corners, minimal setbacks, and corner pavilions disguise the edges of the mass and visually reduce bulk. The south corner pavilions are of greater height than the north corner pavilions. The building is open at the pedestrian level with bronzed framed display windows, typical of a department store, on the south, west and east boundaries. The 25-story central tower ascends with a peak in the form of a skyscraper, and rests in the southern half of the building. Deeply recessed portals occur between raised panels, and are adorned with medallions featuring the interlocked initials of the Merchandise Mart. The same logo occurs throughout the building. Fifty-six American Indian chiefs circled the tower's crown, a reference to the site's history and Chicago's early trade activities. Three and a half feet wide by seven feet tall, the terra cotta figures were barely visible from the street, meant to be viewed from the upper floors of the skyscrapers planned to rise along the riverbank. The lobby of The Merchandise Mart is defined by eight square marble piers, with storefronts in side aisles framed in embossed bronze trim. The green and orange terrazzo floor was conceived as a carpet: a pattern of squares and stripes bordered by overscaled chevrons inlaid with The Mart's initials. The chevron theme is continued in the column sconces lighting an ornamented cornice overhead. Referred to as "business boulevards", two wide long corridors with terrazzo floors in the upper levels featured six and one-half miles of display windows. Building regulations specified identical entrances along corridors but tenants could personalize the individual floor space. Excepting the corridors, elevator halls, and exhibition space on the fourth floor, the of each upper floor was "raw space" with concrete floors. Artwork Jules Guerin's frieze of 17 murals is the primary feature of the lobby and graphically illustrate commerce throughout the world, including the countries of origin for items sold in the building. The murals depict the industries and products, the primary mode of transportation and the architecture of 14 countries. Drawing on years as a stage set designer, Guerin executed the murals in red with gold leaf using techniques producing distinct image layers in successive planes. In a panel representing Italy, Venetian glassware appears in the foreground with fishing boats moored on the Grand Canal and the facade of the Palazzo Ducale rises above the towers of the Piazza San Marco. "To immortalize outstanding American merchants", Joseph Kennedy in 1953 commissioned eight bronze busts, four times life size, which would come to be known as the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame: retail magnates Frank Winfield Woolworth, Marshall Field and Aaron Montgomery Ward Julius Rosenwald and Robert Elkington Wood of Sears, Roebuck and Company fame advertiser John Wanamaker, merchandiser Edward Albert Filene, and A&P grocery chain founder George Huntington Hartford. All of the busts rest on white pedestals lining the Chicago River and face north toward the gold front door of the building. "Art on theMART" "Art on theMART" is a digital art display begun in 2018. It provides a 2.5 acre "canvas" (2 football fields) for digital artwork projected on the Chicago River facing facade of the Merchandise Mart. The project is intended to be the largest digital art projection in the world and is scheduled to occur over thirty years with annual showings initially between March and December. In 2019 it was expanded from five nights a week to every night. Displays begin 15 minutes after sunset and loop for two hours. Obscura Digital studio initially installed 34 projection cameras to allow the rotating roster of artists to display their work. Surroundings Dominating the skyline in the south end of the Near North Side, the Mart lies just south of the gallery district on the southern terminus of Franklin Street. Eateries and nightclubs abound on Hubbard Street one block to the north. The Kinzie Chophouse, popular with politicians and celebrities, stands on the northwest corner of Wells and Kinzie, across from the Merchandise Mart. The Chicago Varnish Company Building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and now housing Harry Caray's restaurant, is located east on Kinzie Street. Across the street to the east is 325 N. Wells Street, home to The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and DIRTT Environmental Solutions. The Mart is not rectangular in shape, having been constructed after the bascule bridges over the Chicago River were completed. The control house for the double decked Wells Street Bridge stands between the lower level and the southeast corner of the building. The Franklin Street Bridge stands at the southwest corner of the building, at the junction of Orleans Street and Franklin Street. The building slants at the same angle as Franklin Street, from southeast to northwest along Orleans Street. Exterior lighting A heritage of lighting the structure finds the central and corner towers, along with the columns between each window on the setbacks, bathed nightly in an upwardly focused white light. Tradition dictates annual changes to green in mid-March for St. Patrick's Day and orange during the fall months around Halloween and Thanksgiving. Prominent events have found the behemoth lit in pink for Cancer Awareness Month. To note the 2006 Chicago Bears season, highlighted by reaching Super Bowl XLI, the building was lit with team colors, orange floodlights for the setbacks and blue floodlights for the towers. Red and green lights are used during the Christmas season. During the Art Chicago 2008 the American artist Jenny Holzer illuminated the facade of the building with a poem by the Polish winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature Wisława Szymborska. In 2018, a large projection screen began displaying images and videos across the structure's riverfront side. Nighttime lighting on the Mart typically matches the colors of antenna lighting on the Sears Tower and John Hancock Center, as well as the colors used on the top floors of the Aon Center. Green building practices Under Chris Kennedy's leadership of the Mart, it was the largest building in the world to be awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification in 2007 from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The Mart has long been implementing sustainable practices. The Mart Center began operating a thermal storage facility in 1986, capable of building of ice per night, cooling 71 buildings in the surrounding neighborhood, and saving $200,000 in electricity costs in the first year. In 1990, the Mart Center began using Green Seal-approved green cleaning products and the next year implemented a recycling program, which today includes all forms of paper products, glass, light bulbs, batteries, aluminum and construction materials. In 1996, the Mart Center became one of the first major property owners in downtown Chicago to enter into an agreement with the district cooling system now known as Thermal Chicago, thus contributing to the national effort to reduce the discharge of ozone-damaging CFCs. In 2006, MMPI joined Clean Air Counts, a voluntary initiative to reduce smog forming pollutants and energy consumption in the Chicago area. Part of the campaign strategies included utilizing only low VOC cleaning products, paints and building materials, as well as energy efficient lighting and alternative workplace transportation options. To date, the Mart Center has reduced pollution by , the largest reduction by a commercial building. That same year, the Mart Center recycling program saved over 13,000 trees and recycled nearly 11 million pounds of waste, while water conservation efforts saved of water. More than eight percent of the estimated 10,000 people working at the Mart walk, bike or take public transportation; to encourage greener methods of transportation, the Mart expanded bicycle storage capacity to more than 200. In 2009, MMPI converted all stationery to a one hundred percent post-consumer recycled product. The Mart has nine LEED-certified showrooms, with five others on their way to LEED certification. Uses Commerce Wholesale showrooms occupy 50% of the usable floor space, and the Sultan of Brunei once spent $1.6 million at the Mart to furnish his entire palace, claiming the location was the only place where the task could be completed in one week. Select showrooms are open only to wholesalers, with others accessible to the general public. Unlike stores with traditional shelf and rack displays, entire usable rooms are created, providing consumers an opportunity to compare form and function between applications and manufacturers. A portion of the stores offer items for purchase singly or as a collection, while others offer design services, preservation, renovation, or installation. In addition to being a resource for architects and decorators, the Mart also has featured award-winning designs as selected by the American Institute of Architects. Catering to suppliers, on-site firms specialize in providing professional services for market research projects. In 1931, Marshall Field and Company lost $5 million, followed by $8 million in 1932. The wholesale division was greatly reduced and Field's reduced its space in the Mart from four floors to one and half. The Mart continued to display the latest trends in home furnishings within the showrooms and trade shows. The company recovered late in the decade, but did not return to all previously occupied space. In 1942, L. L. Skaggs formed a partnership with three other men and named the partnership the Owners Service Company, hence Osco. The headquarters moved from Waterloo, Iowa, to the Merchandise Mart. A retail shopping area, named The Shops at the Mart, opened in 1991 and includes apparel shops, beauty services, bookstores and newsstands, financial services, telecommunication services, travel services, specialty food and wine stores, photo services, a dry cleaner, shoe shine stand, and a food court. A U.S. Post Office is located on the first floor and a FedEx location is on the second floor. The Apparel Center houses the 521-room Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza River North hotel, the offices of the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago campus of the Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago, as well as the Chicago office of the Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency. GoHealth occupies on the 5th floor of Merchandise Mart, the Potbelly Sandwich Works' corporate offices are located in the tower. Motorola Mobility moved its headquarters to the Merchandise Mart in 2014. Trade fairs Since 1969, the Merchandise Mart has been home to the annual National Exposition of Contract Furnishings, known as NeoCon. With over 1,000 exhibitors of contract and commercial furnishings, and 50,000 attendees, it is the largest trade show of its kind in North America. Since 2006 the Merchandise Mart has played host to the Art Chicago international art fair. Mass media Radio Before the location even opened, NBC announced plans to build studios in the Mart. When opened on October 20, 1930, the nineteenth floor location covered and supported a variety of live broadcasts including those requiring orchestras. WENR and WMAQ broadcast from the location. Expanded in 1935, with office space in the previously unoccupied tower, the additional provided room for an organ chamber, two echo rooms, and a total of 11 studios. A staff of more than 300 produced up to 1,700 programs each month, including Amos 'n' Andy. Hugh Downs contributed to the Burr Tillstrom children's show Kukla, Fran and Ollie from the NBC studios after the network picked up the program from WBKB. The Captain Midnight radio program was broadcast from the Mart from 1942 until 1945. WMAQ and WMAQ-TV moved to the NBC Tower in 1989 (even though the radio station had been sold to Westinghouse Broadcasting two years earlier). (Today, the former NBC space is being utilized by Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy as a learning site for film and broadcast productions.) WMAQ's former sister FM station, WKQX, stayed at the Merchandise Mart; renamed WIQI, as of May 2012 it still occupies space on the west side of the second floor, along with co-owned WLUP. WKQX moved to a new facility at NBC Tower in the summer of 2016. Television On January 7, 1949, NBC station WNBQ commercially debuted its television broadcast schedule on channel 5, with a minimum of two hours of programming per day. April 15, 1956, is remembered as "C-Day" at WMAQ-TV, and was described by Broadcasting-Telecasting magazine as "a daring breakthrough the black-and-white curtain." With Mayor Richard J. Daley looking on, NBC President David Sarnoff operated the controls as Channel 5 became the world's first all-color TV station as "Wide, Wide World" was broadcast to 110 NBC-TV affiliated stations across the country. The color conversion project cost more than $1.25 million with advertising costing $175,000. On "C-Day", three skywriting planes flew over the city, trailing streams of red, green and blue smoke. WMAQ-TV first installed color equipment in late 1953, with the Tournament of Roses Parade of 1954 as the first major broadcast. Introduced in March 1955, the first local color program was John Ott's "How Does Your Garden Grow?", featuring the use of time-lapse color film. Although WMAQ-TV has since moved to NBC Tower about a mile away, and for the most part the 19th floor of the Mart has been turned into office space, one former tenant (Bankers Life and Trust Company) maintained a remnant of the original studios as their video and multimedia department. The former WMAQ space is currently being redeveloped by Flashpoint Academy as a full modern soundstage facility as well as a screening room, backlot, and classroom space over the 19th and 20th floors. Local regional sports network Comcast SportsNet Chicago has their control room, and broadcasts their live studio programming from the Apparel Center expansion; the studios had been home to previous RSNs FSN Chicago and SportsChannel Chicago. Chicago 'L' Built in under four months and opened on December 5, 1930, the Merchandise Mart elevated train station served the Main Line of the North Side Division. The station is now noted for being one of two commercial locations to have its own station on the Chicago Transit Authority's (CTA) 'L' system. The station is now served by the Brown and Purple Lines. The station complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; the turnstiles are located within the building on the second floor, while the platforms are connected to the east side of the building. The northbound platform is accessed by an overhead bridge or elevator. It was rebuilt in 1988, prior to the Wells Street Bridge reconstruction in 1989. The Merchandise Mart housed the CTA's headquarters on the 7th floor from 1947 to 2004. Cultural involvement Owing to the expanding postwar economy and family, the owners began offering tours in 1948. Architecture and design interest groups continue to offer scheduled tours. The Mart hosts the annual Art Chicago activities. Chicago Marathon routes have taken runners past the structure, typically on Wells Street. In popular culture The 1948 film Call Northside 777, was made in Illinois and the Mart is seen from newspaper offices on Wacker Drive. The lobby appeared in the movie The Hudsucker Proxy as the interior of the Hudsucker Company headquarters. In 1956, the eight-minute short subject film The Merchandise Mart used the Mart's name and covered in detail the building's interior and operations. When his late-night NBC talk show was performed in Chicago during the first week of May 1989, David Letterman called the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame "the Pez Hall of Fame" because the combination of busts atop the tall vertical pedestals resembled the candy's dispensers. In the 1993 film The Fugitive, U.S. Marshals pinpoint the location of Dr. Richard Kimble when they hear a CTA train conductor announce, "Next stop, Merchandise Mart" in the background of a recorded phone call. The Mart was depicted as the Candor headquarters in the 2012 novel Insurgent by Veronica Roth. See also Art Deco Chicago architecture Fulton House, Chicago Interior Design List of largest buildings in the world New York Merchandise Mart References Further reading Chappell, Sally A. Kitt, Architecture and Planning of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White, 1912–1936:Transforming Tradition, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1992 Roth, Veronica, Insurgent, HarperCollins, New York, NY 2012 External links archive at the Chicago Tribune Video Merchandise Mart Properties Tenant Profiles The Merchandise Mart Buyers Guide 1930 establishments in Illinois Art Deco architecture in Illinois Buildings and structures completed in 1930 Kennedy family Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design basic silver certified buildings Skyscrapers in Chicago Wholesale markets
true
[ "\"How Much Is the Fish?\" is a hardcore/euro-dance song by German group Scooter. It was released in June 1998 as the lead single from their fifth studio album No Time to Chill. It is the first song to feature Axel Coon. It was made for the France '98 FIFA World Cup.\n\nTrack listing\nCD Single\n\"How Much Is the Fish?\" (3:45)\n\"How Much Is the Fish? [Extendedfish]\" (5:23)\n\"How Much Is the Fish? [Clubfish]\" (6:11)\n\"Sputnik\" (3:06)\n\n12-inch single\n\"How Much Is the Fish [Clubfish]\" (6:11)\n\"How Much Is the Fish [Extendedfish]\" (5:23)\n\nSamples\n\"How Much Is the Fish?\" samples the song \"Zeven Dagen Lang\" (Seven days long) by the Dutch band Bots. The melody originates from the traditional Breton song Son ar Chistr played on Alan Stivell's 1970 album Reflets. The title is derived from lyrics in the song \"Buffalo\" by Anglo-Irish indie group Stump, taken from the 1986 mini-album Quirk Out. The background music sample comes from the album version of the song Paradoxx from the German band 666.\n\nBackground\nIn May 2016, in response to increased popularity from a mention on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Scooter answered the question about \"How much is the fish?\" on their Facebook page, revealing that \"the fish\" was actually the one they bought for their studio aquarium, and it cost 3.80 DM (1.94 €).\n\nChart performance\n\nYear-end charts\n\nCertifications\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nScooter Official site\nScooter singer finally reveals how much the fish cost\nScooter quotes\n\nScooter (band) songs\n1998 singles\nSongs written by Rick J. Jordan\nSongs written by H.P. Baxxter\n1998 songs\nTechno songs\nSongs written by Jens Thele", "Flotation cost is the total cost incurred by a company in offering its securities to the public. They arise from expenses such as underwriting fees, legal fees and registration fees. Firms are well advised to consider the magnitude of these fees as they also impact how much capital they can raise from an initial public offering. The more is the flotation cost the less viable is the source.\n\nReferences \n\nAccounting" ]
[ "Merchandise Mart", "Expansions and renovations", "When did the renovations take place", "The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s.", "What did the renovations entail?", "The Indian chiefs were removed and replaced with concrete plates in 1961,", "How much did it cost?", "After a 10-year, $100 million modernization in the late 1980s" ]
C_34fff391fa464f15b26174eb4bee0fe7_1
Have there been any other recent renovations?
4
Besides the renovations in the 50's, have there been any other renovations to Merchandise Mart?
Merchandise Mart
The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s. The Indian chiefs were removed and replaced with concrete plates in 1961, of minimal note to onlookers as skyscrapers did not rise on the north side of the river as predicted. Some of the carvings were later found in a suburban backyard and auctioned in 2014. In 1962, an entrance canopy was constructed over the south for vehicle use. In 1977, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the Chicago Apparel Center, located on the west side of Orleans Street, which increased the Merchandise Mart's total floor space to 6,200,000 square feet (580,000 m2). Making use of plazas, esplanades and overlooks employed the waterfront location for pedestrian pleasure. In 1988, Helmut Jahn designed an enclosed pedestrian walking bridge over Orleans Street connecting the Mart and the Apparel Center. After a 10-year, $100 million modernization in the late 1980s that included public utility upgrades, Beyer Blinder Belle's commission in 1989 was to create additional perimeter entrances and restore the display windows, main entrance and lobby. On the south facade, the drive-through canopy was removed and two smaller doorways aside the main entrance were added. Display windows, painted over during the earlier modernization campaign, were restored with clear glass to showcase merchant's wares. New main and corner entrances were added to the rear facade, and the loading dock that occupied the north portion of the first floor of the river level was removed in order to use the bottom deck of North Bank Drive. Improvements to the lobby included restoration of the original glass curtain wall over the entrance, shop fronts and reception desk using terrazzo floors and wall sconces influenced by the original design. The project was completed in 1991. In November 2007, the building received LEED for Existing Buildings Silver recognition. CANNOTANSWER
The project was completed in 1991.
The Merchandise Mart (or the Merch Mart, or the Mart) is a commercial building located in downtown Chicago, Illinois. When it was opened in 1930, it was the largest building in the world, with of floor space. The Art Deco structure is located at the junction of the Chicago River's branches. The building is a leading retailing and wholesale destination, hosting 20,000 visitors and tenants per day in the late 2000s. Built by Marshall Field & Co. and later owned for over half a century by the Kennedy family, the Mart centralized Chicago's wholesale goods business by consolidating architectural and interior design vendors and trades under a single roof. It has since become home to several other enterprises, including the Shops at the Mart, the Chicago campus of the Illinois Institute of Art, Motorola Mobility, and the Chicago tech startup center 1871. It was sold in January 1998 to Vornado Realty Trust. The Merchandise Mart is so large that it had its own ZIP Code (60654) until 2008, when the Postal Service assigned the ZIP Code to part of the surrounding area. In 2010, the building opened its Design Center showrooms to the public. History Construction and context In 1926, a westward extension of double-deck Wacker Drive increased development on the south riverbank. In 1927, Marshall Field & Co. announced its plans to build on the north bank opposite Wacker Drive. The site, bordered by Orleans Street, Wells Street, Kinzie Street and the Chicago River, was formerly a Native American trading post and the site of Chicago and North Western Railway's former Wells Street Station, abandoned in 1911 in favor of the Chicago and North Western Passenger Terminal. With the railroad's air rights, the site was large enough to accommodate "the largest building in the world". Removing the train yard supported the Chicago Plan Commission's desire to develop and beautify the riverfront. James Simpson, president of Marshall Field & Co. from 1923 to 1930 and chairman of the Chicago Plan Commission from 1926 to 1935, turned the first shovels of dirt at groundbreaking on August 16, 1928, along with architect Ernest Graham. General contractor John W. Griffiths & Sons brought building construction into the machine age through the use of techniques "ordinarily used in the construction of big dams." Concrete arriving by boat was lifted by compressed air to bins above the ground, with gravel and sand delivered by railroad cars to conveyor belts and transfer elevators. Giant mixers provided wet concrete to skip hoists in vertical towers that were extended as the building rose. Continuously employing 2,500 men and as many as 5,700 men altogether, the construction project lasted a year and a half into the early months of the Great Depression. With a foundation footprint of nearly two square city blocks, the building required 29 million bricks, of plumbing, of wiring, nearly of concrete, of stone, and 4,000 windows. Bethlehem Steel fabricated much of the 60,000 tons of steel. An estimated of corridors and over 30 elevators were included in the construction. The total cost of construction was estimated to be $26 million. Ownership The Merchandise Mart opened on May 5, 1930, just east of Chicago's original trading post, Wolf Point. The building realized Marshall Field’s dream of a single wholesale center for the entire nation and consolidated 13 different warehouses. It was purchased in 1945 or 1946, depending on the source, by the Kennedy family through Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc., and managed by Sargent Shriver. Kennedy's purchase price was reported to be either $12.5 or $13 million, and it is said that his initial capital was $1 million, though records say his original mortgage was $12.5 million, this was roughly half of what it had cost to construct the complex twenty years earlier. The building's sale was brokered by a good friend of Marshall Field and Joseph Kennedy, E. Stanley Klein. Klein at that time was a partner of Field and together they started Fieldcrest Mills. Klein maintained that Kennedy's bargain price was predicated on an oral agreement between Field and Kennedy that after the sale the building would be donated to the University of Chicago and that Kennedy would take the tax deduction, although as an oral agreement no documentary evidence of this exists. The building revenues became a principal source of Kennedy family wealth, including being a source of political campaign funding. The Kennedy family sold the complex center property to Vornado Realty Trust in 1998 as part of a larger $625 million ($ million in current dollars) transaction, When it was sold, the Merchandise Mart was also the Kennedy's family's last remaining operating business. That year, MMPI was acquired by Vornado for $450 million cash and a $100 million-plus stake in Vornado. As of early 2007, the building was valued at $917 million. Expansions and renovations The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s. The Indian chiefs were removed and replaced with concrete plates in 1961, of minimal note to onlookers as skyscrapers did not rise on the north side of the river as predicted. Some of the carvings were later found in a suburban backyard and auctioned in 2014. In 1962, an entrance canopy was constructed over the south for vehicle use. In 1977, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the Chicago Apparel Center, located on the west side of Orleans Street, which increased the Merchandise Mart’s total floor space to . Making use of plazas, esplanades and overlooks employed the waterfront location for pedestrian pleasure. In 1988, Helmut Jahn designed an enclosed pedestrian walking bridge over Orleans Street connecting the Mart and the Apparel Center. After a 10-year, $100 million modernization in the late 1980s that included public utility upgrades, Beyer Blinder Belle's commission in 1989 was to create additional perimeter entrances and restore the display windows, main entrance and lobby. On the south facade, the drive-through canopy was removed and two smaller doorways aside the main entrance were added. Display windows, painted over during the earlier modernization campaign, were restored with clear glass to showcase merchant's wares. New main and corner entrances were added to the rear facade, and the loading dock that occupied the north portion of the first floor of the river level was removed in order to use the bottom deck of North Bank Drive. Improvements to the lobby included restoration of the original glass curtain wall over the entrance, shop fronts and reception desk using terrazzo floors and wall sconces influenced by the original design. The project was completed in 1991. In November 2007, the building received LEED for Existing Buildings Silver recognition. Building The Merchandise Mart was designed by the Chicago architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White to be a "city within a city". Second only to Holabird & Root in Chicago art deco architecture, the firm had a long-standing relationship with the Field family. Started in 1928, completed in 1931, and built in the same art deco style as the Chicago Board of Trade Building, its cost was reported as both $32 million and $38 million. The building was the largest in the world in terms of floorspace, but was surpassed by the Pentagon in 1943, and now stands forty-fourth on the list of largest buildings in the world. Once the largest commercial space in the world, New Century Global Center in China is now recognized by Guinness World Records as holding the record. Architecture Designer Alfred Shaw integrated art deco stylings with influences from three building types—the warehouse, the department store and the skyscraper. A warehouse block stands as the 18-story bulk of the building. Ribbon piers define the windows, and the building's chamfered corners, minimal setbacks, and corner pavilions disguise the edges of the mass and visually reduce bulk. The south corner pavilions are of greater height than the north corner pavilions. The building is open at the pedestrian level with bronzed framed display windows, typical of a department store, on the south, west and east boundaries. The 25-story central tower ascends with a peak in the form of a skyscraper, and rests in the southern half of the building. Deeply recessed portals occur between raised panels, and are adorned with medallions featuring the interlocked initials of the Merchandise Mart. The same logo occurs throughout the building. Fifty-six American Indian chiefs circled the tower's crown, a reference to the site's history and Chicago's early trade activities. Three and a half feet wide by seven feet tall, the terra cotta figures were barely visible from the street, meant to be viewed from the upper floors of the skyscrapers planned to rise along the riverbank. The lobby of The Merchandise Mart is defined by eight square marble piers, with storefronts in side aisles framed in embossed bronze trim. The green and orange terrazzo floor was conceived as a carpet: a pattern of squares and stripes bordered by overscaled chevrons inlaid with The Mart's initials. The chevron theme is continued in the column sconces lighting an ornamented cornice overhead. Referred to as "business boulevards", two wide long corridors with terrazzo floors in the upper levels featured six and one-half miles of display windows. Building regulations specified identical entrances along corridors but tenants could personalize the individual floor space. Excepting the corridors, elevator halls, and exhibition space on the fourth floor, the of each upper floor was "raw space" with concrete floors. Artwork Jules Guerin's frieze of 17 murals is the primary feature of the lobby and graphically illustrate commerce throughout the world, including the countries of origin for items sold in the building. The murals depict the industries and products, the primary mode of transportation and the architecture of 14 countries. Drawing on years as a stage set designer, Guerin executed the murals in red with gold leaf using techniques producing distinct image layers in successive planes. In a panel representing Italy, Venetian glassware appears in the foreground with fishing boats moored on the Grand Canal and the facade of the Palazzo Ducale rises above the towers of the Piazza San Marco. "To immortalize outstanding American merchants", Joseph Kennedy in 1953 commissioned eight bronze busts, four times life size, which would come to be known as the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame: retail magnates Frank Winfield Woolworth, Marshall Field and Aaron Montgomery Ward Julius Rosenwald and Robert Elkington Wood of Sears, Roebuck and Company fame advertiser John Wanamaker, merchandiser Edward Albert Filene, and A&P grocery chain founder George Huntington Hartford. All of the busts rest on white pedestals lining the Chicago River and face north toward the gold front door of the building. "Art on theMART" "Art on theMART" is a digital art display begun in 2018. It provides a 2.5 acre "canvas" (2 football fields) for digital artwork projected on the Chicago River facing facade of the Merchandise Mart. The project is intended to be the largest digital art projection in the world and is scheduled to occur over thirty years with annual showings initially between March and December. In 2019 it was expanded from five nights a week to every night. Displays begin 15 minutes after sunset and loop for two hours. Obscura Digital studio initially installed 34 projection cameras to allow the rotating roster of artists to display their work. Surroundings Dominating the skyline in the south end of the Near North Side, the Mart lies just south of the gallery district on the southern terminus of Franklin Street. Eateries and nightclubs abound on Hubbard Street one block to the north. The Kinzie Chophouse, popular with politicians and celebrities, stands on the northwest corner of Wells and Kinzie, across from the Merchandise Mart. The Chicago Varnish Company Building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and now housing Harry Caray's restaurant, is located east on Kinzie Street. Across the street to the east is 325 N. Wells Street, home to The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and DIRTT Environmental Solutions. The Mart is not rectangular in shape, having been constructed after the bascule bridges over the Chicago River were completed. The control house for the double decked Wells Street Bridge stands between the lower level and the southeast corner of the building. The Franklin Street Bridge stands at the southwest corner of the building, at the junction of Orleans Street and Franklin Street. The building slants at the same angle as Franklin Street, from southeast to northwest along Orleans Street. Exterior lighting A heritage of lighting the structure finds the central and corner towers, along with the columns between each window on the setbacks, bathed nightly in an upwardly focused white light. Tradition dictates annual changes to green in mid-March for St. Patrick's Day and orange during the fall months around Halloween and Thanksgiving. Prominent events have found the behemoth lit in pink for Cancer Awareness Month. To note the 2006 Chicago Bears season, highlighted by reaching Super Bowl XLI, the building was lit with team colors, orange floodlights for the setbacks and blue floodlights for the towers. Red and green lights are used during the Christmas season. During the Art Chicago 2008 the American artist Jenny Holzer illuminated the facade of the building with a poem by the Polish winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature Wisława Szymborska. In 2018, a large projection screen began displaying images and videos across the structure's riverfront side. Nighttime lighting on the Mart typically matches the colors of antenna lighting on the Sears Tower and John Hancock Center, as well as the colors used on the top floors of the Aon Center. Green building practices Under Chris Kennedy's leadership of the Mart, it was the largest building in the world to be awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification in 2007 from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The Mart has long been implementing sustainable practices. The Mart Center began operating a thermal storage facility in 1986, capable of building of ice per night, cooling 71 buildings in the surrounding neighborhood, and saving $200,000 in electricity costs in the first year. In 1990, the Mart Center began using Green Seal-approved green cleaning products and the next year implemented a recycling program, which today includes all forms of paper products, glass, light bulbs, batteries, aluminum and construction materials. In 1996, the Mart Center became one of the first major property owners in downtown Chicago to enter into an agreement with the district cooling system now known as Thermal Chicago, thus contributing to the national effort to reduce the discharge of ozone-damaging CFCs. In 2006, MMPI joined Clean Air Counts, a voluntary initiative to reduce smog forming pollutants and energy consumption in the Chicago area. Part of the campaign strategies included utilizing only low VOC cleaning products, paints and building materials, as well as energy efficient lighting and alternative workplace transportation options. To date, the Mart Center has reduced pollution by , the largest reduction by a commercial building. That same year, the Mart Center recycling program saved over 13,000 trees and recycled nearly 11 million pounds of waste, while water conservation efforts saved of water. More than eight percent of the estimated 10,000 people working at the Mart walk, bike or take public transportation; to encourage greener methods of transportation, the Mart expanded bicycle storage capacity to more than 200. In 2009, MMPI converted all stationery to a one hundred percent post-consumer recycled product. The Mart has nine LEED-certified showrooms, with five others on their way to LEED certification. Uses Commerce Wholesale showrooms occupy 50% of the usable floor space, and the Sultan of Brunei once spent $1.6 million at the Mart to furnish his entire palace, claiming the location was the only place where the task could be completed in one week. Select showrooms are open only to wholesalers, with others accessible to the general public. Unlike stores with traditional shelf and rack displays, entire usable rooms are created, providing consumers an opportunity to compare form and function between applications and manufacturers. A portion of the stores offer items for purchase singly or as a collection, while others offer design services, preservation, renovation, or installation. In addition to being a resource for architects and decorators, the Mart also has featured award-winning designs as selected by the American Institute of Architects. Catering to suppliers, on-site firms specialize in providing professional services for market research projects. In 1931, Marshall Field and Company lost $5 million, followed by $8 million in 1932. The wholesale division was greatly reduced and Field's reduced its space in the Mart from four floors to one and half. The Mart continued to display the latest trends in home furnishings within the showrooms and trade shows. The company recovered late in the decade, but did not return to all previously occupied space. In 1942, L. L. Skaggs formed a partnership with three other men and named the partnership the Owners Service Company, hence Osco. The headquarters moved from Waterloo, Iowa, to the Merchandise Mart. A retail shopping area, named The Shops at the Mart, opened in 1991 and includes apparel shops, beauty services, bookstores and newsstands, financial services, telecommunication services, travel services, specialty food and wine stores, photo services, a dry cleaner, shoe shine stand, and a food court. A U.S. Post Office is located on the first floor and a FedEx location is on the second floor. The Apparel Center houses the 521-room Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza River North hotel, the offices of the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago campus of the Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago, as well as the Chicago office of the Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency. GoHealth occupies on the 5th floor of Merchandise Mart, the Potbelly Sandwich Works' corporate offices are located in the tower. Motorola Mobility moved its headquarters to the Merchandise Mart in 2014. Trade fairs Since 1969, the Merchandise Mart has been home to the annual National Exposition of Contract Furnishings, known as NeoCon. With over 1,000 exhibitors of contract and commercial furnishings, and 50,000 attendees, it is the largest trade show of its kind in North America. Since 2006 the Merchandise Mart has played host to the Art Chicago international art fair. Mass media Radio Before the location even opened, NBC announced plans to build studios in the Mart. When opened on October 20, 1930, the nineteenth floor location covered and supported a variety of live broadcasts including those requiring orchestras. WENR and WMAQ broadcast from the location. Expanded in 1935, with office space in the previously unoccupied tower, the additional provided room for an organ chamber, two echo rooms, and a total of 11 studios. A staff of more than 300 produced up to 1,700 programs each month, including Amos 'n' Andy. Hugh Downs contributed to the Burr Tillstrom children's show Kukla, Fran and Ollie from the NBC studios after the network picked up the program from WBKB. The Captain Midnight radio program was broadcast from the Mart from 1942 until 1945. WMAQ and WMAQ-TV moved to the NBC Tower in 1989 (even though the radio station had been sold to Westinghouse Broadcasting two years earlier). (Today, the former NBC space is being utilized by Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy as a learning site for film and broadcast productions.) WMAQ's former sister FM station, WKQX, stayed at the Merchandise Mart; renamed WIQI, as of May 2012 it still occupies space on the west side of the second floor, along with co-owned WLUP. WKQX moved to a new facility at NBC Tower in the summer of 2016. Television On January 7, 1949, NBC station WNBQ commercially debuted its television broadcast schedule on channel 5, with a minimum of two hours of programming per day. April 15, 1956, is remembered as "C-Day" at WMAQ-TV, and was described by Broadcasting-Telecasting magazine as "a daring breakthrough the black-and-white curtain." With Mayor Richard J. Daley looking on, NBC President David Sarnoff operated the controls as Channel 5 became the world's first all-color TV station as "Wide, Wide World" was broadcast to 110 NBC-TV affiliated stations across the country. The color conversion project cost more than $1.25 million with advertising costing $175,000. On "C-Day", three skywriting planes flew over the city, trailing streams of red, green and blue smoke. WMAQ-TV first installed color equipment in late 1953, with the Tournament of Roses Parade of 1954 as the first major broadcast. Introduced in March 1955, the first local color program was John Ott's "How Does Your Garden Grow?", featuring the use of time-lapse color film. Although WMAQ-TV has since moved to NBC Tower about a mile away, and for the most part the 19th floor of the Mart has been turned into office space, one former tenant (Bankers Life and Trust Company) maintained a remnant of the original studios as their video and multimedia department. The former WMAQ space is currently being redeveloped by Flashpoint Academy as a full modern soundstage facility as well as a screening room, backlot, and classroom space over the 19th and 20th floors. Local regional sports network Comcast SportsNet Chicago has their control room, and broadcasts their live studio programming from the Apparel Center expansion; the studios had been home to previous RSNs FSN Chicago and SportsChannel Chicago. Chicago 'L' Built in under four months and opened on December 5, 1930, the Merchandise Mart elevated train station served the Main Line of the North Side Division. The station is now noted for being one of two commercial locations to have its own station on the Chicago Transit Authority's (CTA) 'L' system. The station is now served by the Brown and Purple Lines. The station complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; the turnstiles are located within the building on the second floor, while the platforms are connected to the east side of the building. The northbound platform is accessed by an overhead bridge or elevator. It was rebuilt in 1988, prior to the Wells Street Bridge reconstruction in 1989. The Merchandise Mart housed the CTA's headquarters on the 7th floor from 1947 to 2004. Cultural involvement Owing to the expanding postwar economy and family, the owners began offering tours in 1948. Architecture and design interest groups continue to offer scheduled tours. The Mart hosts the annual Art Chicago activities. Chicago Marathon routes have taken runners past the structure, typically on Wells Street. In popular culture The 1948 film Call Northside 777, was made in Illinois and the Mart is seen from newspaper offices on Wacker Drive. The lobby appeared in the movie The Hudsucker Proxy as the interior of the Hudsucker Company headquarters. In 1956, the eight-minute short subject film The Merchandise Mart used the Mart's name and covered in detail the building's interior and operations. When his late-night NBC talk show was performed in Chicago during the first week of May 1989, David Letterman called the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame "the Pez Hall of Fame" because the combination of busts atop the tall vertical pedestals resembled the candy's dispensers. In the 1993 film The Fugitive, U.S. Marshals pinpoint the location of Dr. Richard Kimble when they hear a CTA train conductor announce, "Next stop, Merchandise Mart" in the background of a recorded phone call. The Mart was depicted as the Candor headquarters in the 2012 novel Insurgent by Veronica Roth. See also Art Deco Chicago architecture Fulton House, Chicago Interior Design List of largest buildings in the world New York Merchandise Mart References Further reading Chappell, Sally A. Kitt, Architecture and Planning of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White, 1912–1936:Transforming Tradition, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1992 Roth, Veronica, Insurgent, HarperCollins, New York, NY 2012 External links archive at the Chicago Tribune Video Merchandise Mart Properties Tenant Profiles The Merchandise Mart Buyers Guide 1930 establishments in Illinois Art Deco architecture in Illinois Buildings and structures completed in 1930 Kennedy family Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design basic silver certified buildings Skyscrapers in Chicago Wholesale markets
true
[ "Unidad Deportiva Acapulco (English:Acapulco Sports Complex) is a sports complex composed of a 13,000-seat soccer and track and field stadium and a baseball stadium which can seat thousands. The soccer/track stadium, which originally seated 8,600, is currently home to the Águilas UAGro soccer team of the Mexican Tercera División, which began play in 2009. The baseball stadium is currently used for amateur and semi-pro baseball, and skateboarding.\n\nThe complex had been in poor condition for several years but has received major renovations in recent years. The grass fields were replaced in 2009 with artificial turf. Additionally, the bathrooms, locker rooms and offices have been refurbished, and a new roof was installed on the soccer/track stadium's main grandstand. The cost of the renovations was $2.5 million pesos. The complex was completed in 1975.\n\nThe complex also includes an Olympic-sized swimming pool and basketball courts.\n\nOther events that have been held at the complex have been track meets, concerts, lucha libre, and boxing. Should Acapulco receive a Mexican Baseball League expansion team, the baseball stadium could either be expanded or rebuilt to seat over 10,000. And should los Guerreros be promoted to the Liga de Ascenso the soccer/track stadium could be expanded to seat as many as 19,000, and should the team be promoted to the Primera Division de Mexico, additional construction could push the soccer/track stadium's capacity to as high as twice its current capacity.\n\nReferences\n\nBaseball venues in Mexico\nFootball venues in Mexico\nAcapulco\nSports venues in Guerrero", "Ponzio's is a family style diner, bar, and bakery located in Cherry Hill, New Jersey at the former Ellisburg Circle. Ponzio's opened in 1964 and is a popular eatery in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, hosting families, power brokers, and celebrities. It is considered an iconic location and is known as Cherry Hill's oldest restaurant.\n\nThe diner went through many different owners over the years and has remained a family business ever since it opened. In 1979, the diner made some major renovations. In 1984, the bar room was built. Recent changes of the bar were made in 2005, where plasma televisions were added, along with other renovations.\n\nPonzio's uses the slogan \"Not Your Typical Diner\" and is said to have employed over 10,000 people.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nDiners in the United States\nRestaurants in New Jersey\nCherry Hill, New Jersey\nBuildings and structures in Camden County, New Jersey\nRestaurants established in 1964\nCommercial buildings completed in 1964\n1964 establishments in New Jersey" ]
[ "Merchandise Mart", "Expansions and renovations", "When did the renovations take place", "The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s.", "What did the renovations entail?", "The Indian chiefs were removed and replaced with concrete plates in 1961,", "How much did it cost?", "After a 10-year, $100 million modernization in the late 1980s", "Have there been any other recent renovations?", "The project was completed in 1991." ]
C_34fff391fa464f15b26174eb4bee0fe7_1
What kind of expansions have they done?
5
What kind of expansions have been done to Merchandise Mart?
Merchandise Mart
The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s. The Indian chiefs were removed and replaced with concrete plates in 1961, of minimal note to onlookers as skyscrapers did not rise on the north side of the river as predicted. Some of the carvings were later found in a suburban backyard and auctioned in 2014. In 1962, an entrance canopy was constructed over the south for vehicle use. In 1977, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the Chicago Apparel Center, located on the west side of Orleans Street, which increased the Merchandise Mart's total floor space to 6,200,000 square feet (580,000 m2). Making use of plazas, esplanades and overlooks employed the waterfront location for pedestrian pleasure. In 1988, Helmut Jahn designed an enclosed pedestrian walking bridge over Orleans Street connecting the Mart and the Apparel Center. After a 10-year, $100 million modernization in the late 1980s that included public utility upgrades, Beyer Blinder Belle's commission in 1989 was to create additional perimeter entrances and restore the display windows, main entrance and lobby. On the south facade, the drive-through canopy was removed and two smaller doorways aside the main entrance were added. Display windows, painted over during the earlier modernization campaign, were restored with clear glass to showcase merchant's wares. New main and corner entrances were added to the rear facade, and the loading dock that occupied the north portion of the first floor of the river level was removed in order to use the bottom deck of North Bank Drive. Improvements to the lobby included restoration of the original glass curtain wall over the entrance, shop fronts and reception desk using terrazzo floors and wall sconces influenced by the original design. The project was completed in 1991. In November 2007, the building received LEED for Existing Buildings Silver recognition. CANNOTANSWER
In 1977, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the Chicago Apparel Center, located on the west side of Orleans Street, which increased
The Merchandise Mart (or the Merch Mart, or the Mart) is a commercial building located in downtown Chicago, Illinois. When it was opened in 1930, it was the largest building in the world, with of floor space. The Art Deco structure is located at the junction of the Chicago River's branches. The building is a leading retailing and wholesale destination, hosting 20,000 visitors and tenants per day in the late 2000s. Built by Marshall Field & Co. and later owned for over half a century by the Kennedy family, the Mart centralized Chicago's wholesale goods business by consolidating architectural and interior design vendors and trades under a single roof. It has since become home to several other enterprises, including the Shops at the Mart, the Chicago campus of the Illinois Institute of Art, Motorola Mobility, and the Chicago tech startup center 1871. It was sold in January 1998 to Vornado Realty Trust. The Merchandise Mart is so large that it had its own ZIP Code (60654) until 2008, when the Postal Service assigned the ZIP Code to part of the surrounding area. In 2010, the building opened its Design Center showrooms to the public. History Construction and context In 1926, a westward extension of double-deck Wacker Drive increased development on the south riverbank. In 1927, Marshall Field & Co. announced its plans to build on the north bank opposite Wacker Drive. The site, bordered by Orleans Street, Wells Street, Kinzie Street and the Chicago River, was formerly a Native American trading post and the site of Chicago and North Western Railway's former Wells Street Station, abandoned in 1911 in favor of the Chicago and North Western Passenger Terminal. With the railroad's air rights, the site was large enough to accommodate "the largest building in the world". Removing the train yard supported the Chicago Plan Commission's desire to develop and beautify the riverfront. James Simpson, president of Marshall Field & Co. from 1923 to 1930 and chairman of the Chicago Plan Commission from 1926 to 1935, turned the first shovels of dirt at groundbreaking on August 16, 1928, along with architect Ernest Graham. General contractor John W. Griffiths & Sons brought building construction into the machine age through the use of techniques "ordinarily used in the construction of big dams." Concrete arriving by boat was lifted by compressed air to bins above the ground, with gravel and sand delivered by railroad cars to conveyor belts and transfer elevators. Giant mixers provided wet concrete to skip hoists in vertical towers that were extended as the building rose. Continuously employing 2,500 men and as many as 5,700 men altogether, the construction project lasted a year and a half into the early months of the Great Depression. With a foundation footprint of nearly two square city blocks, the building required 29 million bricks, of plumbing, of wiring, nearly of concrete, of stone, and 4,000 windows. Bethlehem Steel fabricated much of the 60,000 tons of steel. An estimated of corridors and over 30 elevators were included in the construction. The total cost of construction was estimated to be $26 million. Ownership The Merchandise Mart opened on May 5, 1930, just east of Chicago's original trading post, Wolf Point. The building realized Marshall Field’s dream of a single wholesale center for the entire nation and consolidated 13 different warehouses. It was purchased in 1945 or 1946, depending on the source, by the Kennedy family through Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc., and managed by Sargent Shriver. Kennedy's purchase price was reported to be either $12.5 or $13 million, and it is said that his initial capital was $1 million, though records say his original mortgage was $12.5 million, this was roughly half of what it had cost to construct the complex twenty years earlier. The building's sale was brokered by a good friend of Marshall Field and Joseph Kennedy, E. Stanley Klein. Klein at that time was a partner of Field and together they started Fieldcrest Mills. Klein maintained that Kennedy's bargain price was predicated on an oral agreement between Field and Kennedy that after the sale the building would be donated to the University of Chicago and that Kennedy would take the tax deduction, although as an oral agreement no documentary evidence of this exists. The building revenues became a principal source of Kennedy family wealth, including being a source of political campaign funding. The Kennedy family sold the complex center property to Vornado Realty Trust in 1998 as part of a larger $625 million ($ million in current dollars) transaction, When it was sold, the Merchandise Mart was also the Kennedy's family's last remaining operating business. That year, MMPI was acquired by Vornado for $450 million cash and a $100 million-plus stake in Vornado. As of early 2007, the building was valued at $917 million. Expansions and renovations The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s. The Indian chiefs were removed and replaced with concrete plates in 1961, of minimal note to onlookers as skyscrapers did not rise on the north side of the river as predicted. Some of the carvings were later found in a suburban backyard and auctioned in 2014. In 1962, an entrance canopy was constructed over the south for vehicle use. In 1977, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the Chicago Apparel Center, located on the west side of Orleans Street, which increased the Merchandise Mart’s total floor space to . Making use of plazas, esplanades and overlooks employed the waterfront location for pedestrian pleasure. In 1988, Helmut Jahn designed an enclosed pedestrian walking bridge over Orleans Street connecting the Mart and the Apparel Center. After a 10-year, $100 million modernization in the late 1980s that included public utility upgrades, Beyer Blinder Belle's commission in 1989 was to create additional perimeter entrances and restore the display windows, main entrance and lobby. On the south facade, the drive-through canopy was removed and two smaller doorways aside the main entrance were added. Display windows, painted over during the earlier modernization campaign, were restored with clear glass to showcase merchant's wares. New main and corner entrances were added to the rear facade, and the loading dock that occupied the north portion of the first floor of the river level was removed in order to use the bottom deck of North Bank Drive. Improvements to the lobby included restoration of the original glass curtain wall over the entrance, shop fronts and reception desk using terrazzo floors and wall sconces influenced by the original design. The project was completed in 1991. In November 2007, the building received LEED for Existing Buildings Silver recognition. Building The Merchandise Mart was designed by the Chicago architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White to be a "city within a city". Second only to Holabird & Root in Chicago art deco architecture, the firm had a long-standing relationship with the Field family. Started in 1928, completed in 1931, and built in the same art deco style as the Chicago Board of Trade Building, its cost was reported as both $32 million and $38 million. The building was the largest in the world in terms of floorspace, but was surpassed by the Pentagon in 1943, and now stands forty-fourth on the list of largest buildings in the world. Once the largest commercial space in the world, New Century Global Center in China is now recognized by Guinness World Records as holding the record. Architecture Designer Alfred Shaw integrated art deco stylings with influences from three building types—the warehouse, the department store and the skyscraper. A warehouse block stands as the 18-story bulk of the building. Ribbon piers define the windows, and the building's chamfered corners, minimal setbacks, and corner pavilions disguise the edges of the mass and visually reduce bulk. The south corner pavilions are of greater height than the north corner pavilions. The building is open at the pedestrian level with bronzed framed display windows, typical of a department store, on the south, west and east boundaries. The 25-story central tower ascends with a peak in the form of a skyscraper, and rests in the southern half of the building. Deeply recessed portals occur between raised panels, and are adorned with medallions featuring the interlocked initials of the Merchandise Mart. The same logo occurs throughout the building. Fifty-six American Indian chiefs circled the tower's crown, a reference to the site's history and Chicago's early trade activities. Three and a half feet wide by seven feet tall, the terra cotta figures were barely visible from the street, meant to be viewed from the upper floors of the skyscrapers planned to rise along the riverbank. The lobby of The Merchandise Mart is defined by eight square marble piers, with storefronts in side aisles framed in embossed bronze trim. The green and orange terrazzo floor was conceived as a carpet: a pattern of squares and stripes bordered by overscaled chevrons inlaid with The Mart's initials. The chevron theme is continued in the column sconces lighting an ornamented cornice overhead. Referred to as "business boulevards", two wide long corridors with terrazzo floors in the upper levels featured six and one-half miles of display windows. Building regulations specified identical entrances along corridors but tenants could personalize the individual floor space. Excepting the corridors, elevator halls, and exhibition space on the fourth floor, the of each upper floor was "raw space" with concrete floors. Artwork Jules Guerin's frieze of 17 murals is the primary feature of the lobby and graphically illustrate commerce throughout the world, including the countries of origin for items sold in the building. The murals depict the industries and products, the primary mode of transportation and the architecture of 14 countries. Drawing on years as a stage set designer, Guerin executed the murals in red with gold leaf using techniques producing distinct image layers in successive planes. In a panel representing Italy, Venetian glassware appears in the foreground with fishing boats moored on the Grand Canal and the facade of the Palazzo Ducale rises above the towers of the Piazza San Marco. "To immortalize outstanding American merchants", Joseph Kennedy in 1953 commissioned eight bronze busts, four times life size, which would come to be known as the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame: retail magnates Frank Winfield Woolworth, Marshall Field and Aaron Montgomery Ward Julius Rosenwald and Robert Elkington Wood of Sears, Roebuck and Company fame advertiser John Wanamaker, merchandiser Edward Albert Filene, and A&P grocery chain founder George Huntington Hartford. All of the busts rest on white pedestals lining the Chicago River and face north toward the gold front door of the building. "Art on theMART" "Art on theMART" is a digital art display begun in 2018. It provides a 2.5 acre "canvas" (2 football fields) for digital artwork projected on the Chicago River facing facade of the Merchandise Mart. The project is intended to be the largest digital art projection in the world and is scheduled to occur over thirty years with annual showings initially between March and December. In 2019 it was expanded from five nights a week to every night. Displays begin 15 minutes after sunset and loop for two hours. Obscura Digital studio initially installed 34 projection cameras to allow the rotating roster of artists to display their work. Surroundings Dominating the skyline in the south end of the Near North Side, the Mart lies just south of the gallery district on the southern terminus of Franklin Street. Eateries and nightclubs abound on Hubbard Street one block to the north. The Kinzie Chophouse, popular with politicians and celebrities, stands on the northwest corner of Wells and Kinzie, across from the Merchandise Mart. The Chicago Varnish Company Building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and now housing Harry Caray's restaurant, is located east on Kinzie Street. Across the street to the east is 325 N. Wells Street, home to The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and DIRTT Environmental Solutions. The Mart is not rectangular in shape, having been constructed after the bascule bridges over the Chicago River were completed. The control house for the double decked Wells Street Bridge stands between the lower level and the southeast corner of the building. The Franklin Street Bridge stands at the southwest corner of the building, at the junction of Orleans Street and Franklin Street. The building slants at the same angle as Franklin Street, from southeast to northwest along Orleans Street. Exterior lighting A heritage of lighting the structure finds the central and corner towers, along with the columns between each window on the setbacks, bathed nightly in an upwardly focused white light. Tradition dictates annual changes to green in mid-March for St. Patrick's Day and orange during the fall months around Halloween and Thanksgiving. Prominent events have found the behemoth lit in pink for Cancer Awareness Month. To note the 2006 Chicago Bears season, highlighted by reaching Super Bowl XLI, the building was lit with team colors, orange floodlights for the setbacks and blue floodlights for the towers. Red and green lights are used during the Christmas season. During the Art Chicago 2008 the American artist Jenny Holzer illuminated the facade of the building with a poem by the Polish winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature Wisława Szymborska. In 2018, a large projection screen began displaying images and videos across the structure's riverfront side. Nighttime lighting on the Mart typically matches the colors of antenna lighting on the Sears Tower and John Hancock Center, as well as the colors used on the top floors of the Aon Center. Green building practices Under Chris Kennedy's leadership of the Mart, it was the largest building in the world to be awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification in 2007 from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The Mart has long been implementing sustainable practices. The Mart Center began operating a thermal storage facility in 1986, capable of building of ice per night, cooling 71 buildings in the surrounding neighborhood, and saving $200,000 in electricity costs in the first year. In 1990, the Mart Center began using Green Seal-approved green cleaning products and the next year implemented a recycling program, which today includes all forms of paper products, glass, light bulbs, batteries, aluminum and construction materials. In 1996, the Mart Center became one of the first major property owners in downtown Chicago to enter into an agreement with the district cooling system now known as Thermal Chicago, thus contributing to the national effort to reduce the discharge of ozone-damaging CFCs. In 2006, MMPI joined Clean Air Counts, a voluntary initiative to reduce smog forming pollutants and energy consumption in the Chicago area. Part of the campaign strategies included utilizing only low VOC cleaning products, paints and building materials, as well as energy efficient lighting and alternative workplace transportation options. To date, the Mart Center has reduced pollution by , the largest reduction by a commercial building. That same year, the Mart Center recycling program saved over 13,000 trees and recycled nearly 11 million pounds of waste, while water conservation efforts saved of water. More than eight percent of the estimated 10,000 people working at the Mart walk, bike or take public transportation; to encourage greener methods of transportation, the Mart expanded bicycle storage capacity to more than 200. In 2009, MMPI converted all stationery to a one hundred percent post-consumer recycled product. The Mart has nine LEED-certified showrooms, with five others on their way to LEED certification. Uses Commerce Wholesale showrooms occupy 50% of the usable floor space, and the Sultan of Brunei once spent $1.6 million at the Mart to furnish his entire palace, claiming the location was the only place where the task could be completed in one week. Select showrooms are open only to wholesalers, with others accessible to the general public. Unlike stores with traditional shelf and rack displays, entire usable rooms are created, providing consumers an opportunity to compare form and function between applications and manufacturers. A portion of the stores offer items for purchase singly or as a collection, while others offer design services, preservation, renovation, or installation. In addition to being a resource for architects and decorators, the Mart also has featured award-winning designs as selected by the American Institute of Architects. Catering to suppliers, on-site firms specialize in providing professional services for market research projects. In 1931, Marshall Field and Company lost $5 million, followed by $8 million in 1932. The wholesale division was greatly reduced and Field's reduced its space in the Mart from four floors to one and half. The Mart continued to display the latest trends in home furnishings within the showrooms and trade shows. The company recovered late in the decade, but did not return to all previously occupied space. In 1942, L. L. Skaggs formed a partnership with three other men and named the partnership the Owners Service Company, hence Osco. The headquarters moved from Waterloo, Iowa, to the Merchandise Mart. A retail shopping area, named The Shops at the Mart, opened in 1991 and includes apparel shops, beauty services, bookstores and newsstands, financial services, telecommunication services, travel services, specialty food and wine stores, photo services, a dry cleaner, shoe shine stand, and a food court. A U.S. Post Office is located on the first floor and a FedEx location is on the second floor. The Apparel Center houses the 521-room Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza River North hotel, the offices of the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago campus of the Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago, as well as the Chicago office of the Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency. GoHealth occupies on the 5th floor of Merchandise Mart, the Potbelly Sandwich Works' corporate offices are located in the tower. Motorola Mobility moved its headquarters to the Merchandise Mart in 2014. Trade fairs Since 1969, the Merchandise Mart has been home to the annual National Exposition of Contract Furnishings, known as NeoCon. With over 1,000 exhibitors of contract and commercial furnishings, and 50,000 attendees, it is the largest trade show of its kind in North America. Since 2006 the Merchandise Mart has played host to the Art Chicago international art fair. Mass media Radio Before the location even opened, NBC announced plans to build studios in the Mart. When opened on October 20, 1930, the nineteenth floor location covered and supported a variety of live broadcasts including those requiring orchestras. WENR and WMAQ broadcast from the location. Expanded in 1935, with office space in the previously unoccupied tower, the additional provided room for an organ chamber, two echo rooms, and a total of 11 studios. A staff of more than 300 produced up to 1,700 programs each month, including Amos 'n' Andy. Hugh Downs contributed to the Burr Tillstrom children's show Kukla, Fran and Ollie from the NBC studios after the network picked up the program from WBKB. The Captain Midnight radio program was broadcast from the Mart from 1942 until 1945. WMAQ and WMAQ-TV moved to the NBC Tower in 1989 (even though the radio station had been sold to Westinghouse Broadcasting two years earlier). (Today, the former NBC space is being utilized by Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy as a learning site for film and broadcast productions.) WMAQ's former sister FM station, WKQX, stayed at the Merchandise Mart; renamed WIQI, as of May 2012 it still occupies space on the west side of the second floor, along with co-owned WLUP. WKQX moved to a new facility at NBC Tower in the summer of 2016. Television On January 7, 1949, NBC station WNBQ commercially debuted its television broadcast schedule on channel 5, with a minimum of two hours of programming per day. April 15, 1956, is remembered as "C-Day" at WMAQ-TV, and was described by Broadcasting-Telecasting magazine as "a daring breakthrough the black-and-white curtain." With Mayor Richard J. Daley looking on, NBC President David Sarnoff operated the controls as Channel 5 became the world's first all-color TV station as "Wide, Wide World" was broadcast to 110 NBC-TV affiliated stations across the country. The color conversion project cost more than $1.25 million with advertising costing $175,000. On "C-Day", three skywriting planes flew over the city, trailing streams of red, green and blue smoke. WMAQ-TV first installed color equipment in late 1953, with the Tournament of Roses Parade of 1954 as the first major broadcast. Introduced in March 1955, the first local color program was John Ott's "How Does Your Garden Grow?", featuring the use of time-lapse color film. Although WMAQ-TV has since moved to NBC Tower about a mile away, and for the most part the 19th floor of the Mart has been turned into office space, one former tenant (Bankers Life and Trust Company) maintained a remnant of the original studios as their video and multimedia department. The former WMAQ space is currently being redeveloped by Flashpoint Academy as a full modern soundstage facility as well as a screening room, backlot, and classroom space over the 19th and 20th floors. Local regional sports network Comcast SportsNet Chicago has their control room, and broadcasts their live studio programming from the Apparel Center expansion; the studios had been home to previous RSNs FSN Chicago and SportsChannel Chicago. Chicago 'L' Built in under four months and opened on December 5, 1930, the Merchandise Mart elevated train station served the Main Line of the North Side Division. The station is now noted for being one of two commercial locations to have its own station on the Chicago Transit Authority's (CTA) 'L' system. The station is now served by the Brown and Purple Lines. The station complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; the turnstiles are located within the building on the second floor, while the platforms are connected to the east side of the building. The northbound platform is accessed by an overhead bridge or elevator. It was rebuilt in 1988, prior to the Wells Street Bridge reconstruction in 1989. The Merchandise Mart housed the CTA's headquarters on the 7th floor from 1947 to 2004. Cultural involvement Owing to the expanding postwar economy and family, the owners began offering tours in 1948. Architecture and design interest groups continue to offer scheduled tours. The Mart hosts the annual Art Chicago activities. Chicago Marathon routes have taken runners past the structure, typically on Wells Street. In popular culture The 1948 film Call Northside 777, was made in Illinois and the Mart is seen from newspaper offices on Wacker Drive. The lobby appeared in the movie The Hudsucker Proxy as the interior of the Hudsucker Company headquarters. In 1956, the eight-minute short subject film The Merchandise Mart used the Mart's name and covered in detail the building's interior and operations. When his late-night NBC talk show was performed in Chicago during the first week of May 1989, David Letterman called the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame "the Pez Hall of Fame" because the combination of busts atop the tall vertical pedestals resembled the candy's dispensers. In the 1993 film The Fugitive, U.S. Marshals pinpoint the location of Dr. Richard Kimble when they hear a CTA train conductor announce, "Next stop, Merchandise Mart" in the background of a recorded phone call. The Mart was depicted as the Candor headquarters in the 2012 novel Insurgent by Veronica Roth. See also Art Deco Chicago architecture Fulton House, Chicago Interior Design List of largest buildings in the world New York Merchandise Mart References Further reading Chappell, Sally A. Kitt, Architecture and Planning of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White, 1912–1936:Transforming Tradition, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1992 Roth, Veronica, Insurgent, HarperCollins, New York, NY 2012 External links archive at the Chicago Tribune Video Merchandise Mart Properties Tenant Profiles The Merchandise Mart Buyers Guide 1930 establishments in Illinois Art Deco architecture in Illinois Buildings and structures completed in 1930 Kennedy family Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design basic silver certified buildings Skyscrapers in Chicago Wholesale markets
true
[ "In mathematics, especially in combinatorics, Stirling numbers of the first kind arise in the study of permutations. In particular, the Stirling numbers of the first kind count permutations according to their number of cycles (counting fixed points as cycles of length one).\n\n(The Stirling numbers of the first and second kind can be understood as inverses of one another when viewed as triangular matrices. This article is devoted to specifics of Stirling numbers of the first kind. Identities linking the two kinds appear in the article on Stirling numbers in general.)\n\nDefinitions\nThe original definition of Stirling numbers of the first kind was algebraic: they are the coefficients s(n, k) in the expansion of the falling factorial\n\ninto powers of the variable x:\n\nFor example, , leading to the values , , and .\n\nSubsequently, it was discovered that the absolute values |s(n, k)| of these numbers are equal to the number of permutations of certain kinds. These absolute values, which are known as unsigned Stirling numbers of the first kind, are often denoted or . They may be defined directly to be the number of permutations of n elements with k disjoint cycles. For example, of the permutations of three elements, there is one permutation with three cycles (the identity permutation, given in one-line notation by or in cycle notation by ), three permutations with two cycles (, , and ) and two permutations with one cycle ( and ). Thus, , and . These can be seen to agree with the previous calculation of for .\nIt was observed by Alfréd Rényi that the unsigned Stirling number also count the number \nof permutations of size n with k left-to-right maxima.\n\nThe unsigned Stirling numbers may also be defined algebraically, as the coefficients of the rising factorial:\n.\n\nThe notations used on this page for Stirling numbers are not universal, and may conflict with notations in other sources. (The square bracket notation is also common notation for the Gaussian coefficients.)\n\nFurther example\n\nThe image at right shows that : the symmetric group on 4 objects has 3 permutations of the form\n\n (having 2 orbits, each of size 2),\n\nand 8 permutations of the form\n\n (having 1 orbit of size 3 and 1 orbit of size 1).\n\nSigns\nThe signs of the (signed) Stirling numbers of the first kind are predictable and depend on the parity of . In particular,\n\nRecurrence relation\nThe unsigned Stirling numbers of the first kind can be calculated by the recurrence relation\n\n \n\nfor , with the initial conditions\n\nfor n > 0.\n\nIt follows immediately that the (signed) Stirling numbers of the first kind satisfy the recurrence\n\n .\n\nTable of values\n\nBelow is a triangular array of unsigned values for the Stirling numbers of the first kind, similar in form to Pascal's triangle. These values are easy to generate using the recurrence relation in the previous section.\n\nProperties\n\nSimple identities\nNote that although\n\nwe have if n > 0\n\nand\n\n if k > 0, or more generally if k > n.\n\nAlso\n\nand\n\nSimilar relationships involving the Stirling numbers hold for the Bernoulli polynomials. Many relations for the Stirling numbers shadow similar relations on the binomial coefficients. The study of these 'shadow relationships' is termed umbral calculus and culminates in the theory of Sheffer sequences. Generalizations of the Stirling numbers of both kinds to arbitrary complex-valued inputs may be extended through the relations of these triangles to the Stirling convolution polynomials.\n\nNote that all the combinatorial proofs above use either binomials or multinomials of .\n\nTherefore if is prime, then:\n\n for .\n\nOther relations\n\nExpansions for fixed k\n\nSince the Stirling numbers are the coefficients of a polynomial with roots 0, 1, ..., , one has by Vieta's formulas that\n\nIn other words, the Stirling numbers of the first kind are given by elementary symmetric polynomials evaluated at 0, 1, ..., . In this form, the simple identities given above take the form\n\nand so on.\n\nOne may produce alternative forms for the Stirling numbers of the first kind with a similar approach preceded by some algebraic manipulation: since\n\nit follows from Newton's formulas that one can expand the Stirling numbers of the first kind in terms of generalized harmonic numbers. This yields identities like\n\nwhere Hn is the harmonic number and Hn(m) is the generalized harmonic number\n\nThese relations can be generalized to give\n\nwhere w(n, m) is defined recursively in terms of the generalized harmonic numbers by\n \n(Here δ is the Kronecker delta function and is the Pochhammer symbol.)\n\nFor fixed these weighted harmonic number expansions are generated by the generating function\n\nwhere the notation means extraction of the coefficient of from the following formal power series (see the non-exponential Bell polynomials and section 3 of ).\n\nMore generally, sums related to these weighted harmonic number expansions of the Stirling numbers of the first kind can be defined through generalized zeta series transforms of generating functions.\n\nOne can also \"invert\" the relations for these Stirling numbers given in terms of the -order harmonic numbers to write the integer-order generalized harmonic numbers in terms of weighted sums of terms involving the Stirling numbers of the first kind. For example, when the second-order and third-order harmonic numbers are given by\n\nMore generally, one can invert the Bell polynomial generating function for the Stirling numbers expanded in terms of the -order harmonic numbers to obtain that for integers\n\nFactorial-related sums\n\nFor all positive integer m and n, one has\n\nwhere is the rising factorial. This formula is a dual of Spivey's result for the Bell numbers.\n\nOther related formulas involving the falling factorials, Stirling numbers of the first kind, and in some cases Stirling numbers of the second kind include the following:\n\nInversion relations and the Stirling transform\n\nFor any pair of sequences, and , related by a finite sum Stirling number formula given by\n\nfor all integers , we have a corresponding inversion formula for given by\n\nThese inversion relations between the two sequences translate into functional equations between the sequence exponential generating functions given by the Stirling (generating function) transform as\n\nand\n\nThe differential operators and are related by the following formulas for all integers :\n\nAnother pair of \"inversion\" relations involving the Stirling numbers relate the forward differences and the ordinary derivatives of a function, , which is analytic for all by the formulas\n\nCongruences\n\nThe following congruence identity may be proved via a generating function-based approach:\n\nMore recent results providing Jacobi-type J-fractions that generate the single factorial function and generalized factorial-related products lead to other new congruence results for the Stirling numbers of the first kind.\nFor example, working modulo we can prove that\n\nand working modulo we can similarly prove that\n\nMore generally, for fixed integers if we define the ordered roots\n\nthen we may expand congruences for these Stirling numbers defined as the coefficients\n\nin the following form where the functions, , denote fixed \npolynomials of degree in for each , , and :\n\nSection 6.2 of the reference cited above provides more explicit expansions related to these congruences for the -order harmonic numbers and for the generalized factorial products, . In the previous examples, the notation denotes Iverson's convention.\n\nGenerating functions\nA variety of identities may be derived by manipulating the generating function:\n\nUsing the equality\n\nit follows that\n\n(This identity is valid for formal power series, and the sum converges in the complex plane for |z| < 1.) Other identities arise by exchanging the order of summation, taking derivatives, making substitutions for z or u, etc. For example, we may derive:\n\nand\n\nor\n\nand\n\nwhere and are the Riemann zeta function and the Hurwitz zeta function respectively, and even evaluate this integral\n\nwhere is the gamma function. There also exist more complicated expressions for the zeta-functions involving the Stirling numbers. One, for example, has\n\nThis series generalizes Hasse's series for the Hurwitz zeta-function (we obtain Hasse's series by setting k=1).\n\nAsymptotics\n\nThe next estimate given in terms of the Euler gamma constant applies:\n\nFor fixed we have the following estimate as :\n\nWe can also apply the saddle point asymptotic methods from Temme's article to obtain other estimates for the Stirling numbers of the first kind. These estimates are more involved and complicated to state. Nonetheless, we provide an example. \nIn particular, we define the log gamma function, , whose higher-order derivatives are given in terms of polygamma functions as\n\nwhere we consider the (unique) saddle point of the function to be the solution of when . Then for and the constants\n\nwe have the following asymptotic estimate as :\n\nFinite sums\nSince permutations are partitioned by number of cycles, one has\n\nThe identity\n\ncan be proved by the techniques on the page\nStirling numbers and exponential generating functions.\n\nThe table in section 6.1 of Concrete Mathematics provides a plethora of generalized forms of finite sums involving the Stirling numbers. Several particular finite sums relevant to this article include\n\nOther finite sum identities involving the signed Stirling numbers of the first kind found, for example, in the NIST Handbook of Mathematical Functions (Section 26.8) include the following sums:\n\nAdditionally, if we define the second-order Eulerian numbers by the triangular recurrence relation \n\nwe arrive at the following identity related to the form of the Stirling convolution polynomials which can be employed to generalize both Stirling number triangles to arbitrary real, or complex-valued, values of the input :\n\nParticular expansions of the previous identity lead to the following identities expanding the Stirling numbers of the first kind for the first few small values of :\n\nSoftware tools for working with finite sums involving Stirling numbers and Eulerian numbers are provided by the RISC Stirling.m package utilities in Mathematica. Other software packages for guessing formulas for sequences (and polynomial sequence sums) involving Stirling numbers and other special triangles is available for both Mathematica and Sage here and here, respectively.\n\nFurthermore, infinite series involving the finite sums with the Stirling numbers often lead to the special functions. For example\n\nor\n\nand\n\nor even\n\nwhere γm are the Stieltjes constants and δm,0 represents the Kronecker delta function.\n\nExplicit formula\nThe Stirling number s(n,n-p) can be found from the formula\n\nwhere The sum is a sum over all partitions of p.\n\nAnother exact nested sum expansion for these Stirling numbers is computed by elementary symmetric polynomials corresponding to the coefficients in of a product of the form . In particular, we see that\n\nNewton's identities combined with the above expansions may be used to give an alternate proof of the weighted expansions involving the generalized harmonic numbers already noted above.\n\nAnother explicit formula for reciprocal powers of n is given by the following identity for integers :\n\nNotice that this last identity immediately implies relations between the polylogarithm functions, the Stirling number exponential generating functions given above, and the Stirling-number-based power series for the generalized Nielsen polylogarithm functions.\n\nRelations to natural logarithm function \nThe nth derivative of the μth power of the natural logarithm involves the signed Stirling numbers of the first kind:\n\nwhere is the falling factorial, and is the signed Stirling number.\n\nIt can be proved by using mathematical induction.\n\nGeneralizations\n\nThere are many notions of generalized Stirling numbers that may be defined (depending on application) in a number of differing combinatorial contexts. In so much as the Stirling numbers of the first kind correspond to the coefficients of the distinct polynomial expansions of the single factorial function, , we may extend this notion to define triangular recurrence relations for more general classes of products.\n\nIn particular, for any fixed arithmetic function and symbolic parameters , related generalized factorial products of the form\n\nmay be studied from the point of view of the classes of generalized Stirling numbers of the first kind defined by the following coefficients of the powers of in the expansions of and then by the next corresponding triangular recurrence relation:\n\nThese coefficients satisfy a number of analogous properties to those for the Stirling numbers of the first kind as well as recurrence relations and functional equations related to the f-harmonic numbers, .\n\nOne special case of these bracketed coefficients corresponding to allows us to expand the multiple factorial, or multifactorial functions as polynomials in (see generalizations of the double factorial).\n\nThe Stirling numbers of both kinds, the binomial coefficients, and the first and second-order Eulerian numbers are all defined by special cases of a triangular super-recurrence of the form\n\nfor integers and where whenever or . In this sense, the form of the Stirling numbers of the first kind may also be generalized by this parameterized super-recurrence for fixed scalars (not all zero).\n\nSee also\n Stirling polynomials\n Stirling numbers\n Stirling numbers of the second kind\n Random permutation statistics\n\nReferences\n\n The Art of Computer Programming\n Concrete Mathematics\n \n .\n \n\nPermutations\nFactorial and binomial topics\nTriangles of numbers\nOperations on numbers\n\npl:Liczby Stirlinga#Liczby Stirlinga I rodzaju", "\"What Have You Done\" is the first single from Dutch symphonic metal and rock band Within Temptation's fourth studio album The Heart of Everything (2007). The song features guest vocals from Life of Agony's lead singer Mina Caputo and it was released as the album's first single in early 2007 (see 2007 in music). It became their first charting single in Canada and in the United States. A new edit and version of the song was released in the US through iTunes on 26 June 2007.\n\nMusic video\nThere are two music videos for \"What Have You Done\".\n\nIn the first video, Sharon den Adel is a spy. Mina Caputo is an FBI agent who has been assigned the task of capturing den Adel. They were formerly lovers, but an unconfirmed issue rose between them, causing them to separate. Caputo searches the world for Adel before finally locating her singing with the band in a bar in Thailand; however, he is thrown out by the bouncer and is refused re-entry. Den Adel stands behind the bouncer, grinning suspiciously. She makes her way through a jungle in the next scene, with Caputo following her. After reaching a cliff with no escape, den Adel faces Caputo and whispers \"I love you.\" She turns and jumps off the cliff. Although Caputo is under the impression that den Adel did not survive the fall, at the end she is lying on rocks, smiling.\n\nIn the alternative video, den Adel seems to be leaving an abusive partner. Her partner is left behind in a house, and trashes it, smashing mirrors and vases. This video has a more sinister and dark atmosphere present. This video also contains footage of Caputo, although not together with any member of Within Temptation.\n\nThe first video was quickly replaced by this version. The band stated that they wanted to replace the video because the \"band shots were too dark and the 'jungle' part didn't look very convincing.\"\nOnly the second version was released on DVD with the special edition of The Heart of Everything and with Black Symphony. A new edit of this version was also used to promote the single in the United States.\n\nLive versions\n\n\"What Have You Done\" (feat. Mina Caputo) was also released as a live version on the band's Black Symphony release. Roadrunner Records USA/Australia used this version to promote Black Symphony before its release. This recording with the Metropole Orchestra in Ahoy, Rotterdam, 2008 was one of the two only live performances of the song in which Mina Caputo sang along live (the other one being at the Dauwpop festival in 2007). In other performances, the band plays a video of Mina Caputo singing on screen and encourages the audience to sing the parts.\n\nIn acoustic performances of this song, as found on the \"Frozen\" maxi-single and the special edition of The Heart of Everything, Caputo's vocals are absent and Sharon den Adel sings Caputo's parts as well. On the live album An Acoustic Night at the Theatre, \"What Have You Done\" appears as a duet with Caputo once again, although Caputo's vocals were not recorded live.\n\n\"What Have You Done\" in other media\nThis song is available as a downloadable song in the games Guitar Hero World Tour, Guitar Hero 5, and Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. In 2008, Dutch TV program Koefnoen made a parody on this song titled \"What Am I Doing Here\".\n\nFormats and track listings\nThese are the formats and track listings of major single releases of \"What Have You Done\".\n\nEuropean CD promotional single\n\"What Have You Done\" (European radio version) a.k.a. (single version) (3:59)\n\"What Have You Done\" (rock mix) (3:52)\n\nCanadian and European CD single\n\"What Have You Done\" (European radio version) a.k.a. (single version) (3:59)\n\"What Have You Done\" (album version) (5:16)\n\nEuropean maxi CD single\n\"What Have You Done\" (European radio version) a.k.a. (single version) (3:59)\n\"What Have You Done\" (album version) (5:16)\n\"Blue Eyes\" (non-album track) (5:26)\n\"Aquarius\" (Live at Java-eiland, Amsterdam) (4:46)\n\"Caged\" (Live at Java-eiland, Amsterdam) (5:44)\n\nUS promotional single number one\n\"What Have You Done\" (US edit) (3:24)\n\nUS promotional single number two\n\"What Have You Done\" (US pop mix) (4:00)\n\nUS iTunes EP (digital exclusive)\n\"What Have You Done\" (US edit) (3:24)\n\"What Have You Done\" (album version) (5:16)\n\"What Have You Done\" (acoustic live) (4:33)\n\"What Have You Done\" (video)\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nReferences\n\n2007 singles\nWithin Temptation songs\nSongs written by Sharon den Adel\nSongs written by Robert Westerholt\n2007 songs\nRoadrunner Records singles" ]
[ "Merchandise Mart", "Expansions and renovations", "When did the renovations take place", "The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s.", "What did the renovations entail?", "The Indian chiefs were removed and replaced with concrete plates in 1961,", "How much did it cost?", "After a 10-year, $100 million modernization in the late 1980s", "Have there been any other recent renovations?", "The project was completed in 1991.", "What kind of expansions have they done?", "In 1977, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the Chicago Apparel Center, located on the west side of Orleans Street, which increased" ]
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Are there any interesting aspects of this article?
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Are there any interesting aspects of the Merchandise Mart expansions and renovations?
Merchandise Mart
The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s. The Indian chiefs were removed and replaced with concrete plates in 1961, of minimal note to onlookers as skyscrapers did not rise on the north side of the river as predicted. Some of the carvings were later found in a suburban backyard and auctioned in 2014. In 1962, an entrance canopy was constructed over the south for vehicle use. In 1977, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the Chicago Apparel Center, located on the west side of Orleans Street, which increased the Merchandise Mart's total floor space to 6,200,000 square feet (580,000 m2). Making use of plazas, esplanades and overlooks employed the waterfront location for pedestrian pleasure. In 1988, Helmut Jahn designed an enclosed pedestrian walking bridge over Orleans Street connecting the Mart and the Apparel Center. After a 10-year, $100 million modernization in the late 1980s that included public utility upgrades, Beyer Blinder Belle's commission in 1989 was to create additional perimeter entrances and restore the display windows, main entrance and lobby. On the south facade, the drive-through canopy was removed and two smaller doorways aside the main entrance were added. Display windows, painted over during the earlier modernization campaign, were restored with clear glass to showcase merchant's wares. New main and corner entrances were added to the rear facade, and the loading dock that occupied the north portion of the first floor of the river level was removed in order to use the bottom deck of North Bank Drive. Improvements to the lobby included restoration of the original glass curtain wall over the entrance, shop fronts and reception desk using terrazzo floors and wall sconces influenced by the original design. The project was completed in 1991. In November 2007, the building received LEED for Existing Buildings Silver recognition. CANNOTANSWER
Some of the carvings were later found in a suburban backyard and auctioned in 2014.
The Merchandise Mart (or the Merch Mart, or the Mart) is a commercial building located in downtown Chicago, Illinois. When it was opened in 1930, it was the largest building in the world, with of floor space. The Art Deco structure is located at the junction of the Chicago River's branches. The building is a leading retailing and wholesale destination, hosting 20,000 visitors and tenants per day in the late 2000s. Built by Marshall Field & Co. and later owned for over half a century by the Kennedy family, the Mart centralized Chicago's wholesale goods business by consolidating architectural and interior design vendors and trades under a single roof. It has since become home to several other enterprises, including the Shops at the Mart, the Chicago campus of the Illinois Institute of Art, Motorola Mobility, and the Chicago tech startup center 1871. It was sold in January 1998 to Vornado Realty Trust. The Merchandise Mart is so large that it had its own ZIP Code (60654) until 2008, when the Postal Service assigned the ZIP Code to part of the surrounding area. In 2010, the building opened its Design Center showrooms to the public. History Construction and context In 1926, a westward extension of double-deck Wacker Drive increased development on the south riverbank. In 1927, Marshall Field & Co. announced its plans to build on the north bank opposite Wacker Drive. The site, bordered by Orleans Street, Wells Street, Kinzie Street and the Chicago River, was formerly a Native American trading post and the site of Chicago and North Western Railway's former Wells Street Station, abandoned in 1911 in favor of the Chicago and North Western Passenger Terminal. With the railroad's air rights, the site was large enough to accommodate "the largest building in the world". Removing the train yard supported the Chicago Plan Commission's desire to develop and beautify the riverfront. James Simpson, president of Marshall Field & Co. from 1923 to 1930 and chairman of the Chicago Plan Commission from 1926 to 1935, turned the first shovels of dirt at groundbreaking on August 16, 1928, along with architect Ernest Graham. General contractor John W. Griffiths & Sons brought building construction into the machine age through the use of techniques "ordinarily used in the construction of big dams." Concrete arriving by boat was lifted by compressed air to bins above the ground, with gravel and sand delivered by railroad cars to conveyor belts and transfer elevators. Giant mixers provided wet concrete to skip hoists in vertical towers that were extended as the building rose. Continuously employing 2,500 men and as many as 5,700 men altogether, the construction project lasted a year and a half into the early months of the Great Depression. With a foundation footprint of nearly two square city blocks, the building required 29 million bricks, of plumbing, of wiring, nearly of concrete, of stone, and 4,000 windows. Bethlehem Steel fabricated much of the 60,000 tons of steel. An estimated of corridors and over 30 elevators were included in the construction. The total cost of construction was estimated to be $26 million. Ownership The Merchandise Mart opened on May 5, 1930, just east of Chicago's original trading post, Wolf Point. The building realized Marshall Field’s dream of a single wholesale center for the entire nation and consolidated 13 different warehouses. It was purchased in 1945 or 1946, depending on the source, by the Kennedy family through Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc., and managed by Sargent Shriver. Kennedy's purchase price was reported to be either $12.5 or $13 million, and it is said that his initial capital was $1 million, though records say his original mortgage was $12.5 million, this was roughly half of what it had cost to construct the complex twenty years earlier. The building's sale was brokered by a good friend of Marshall Field and Joseph Kennedy, E. Stanley Klein. Klein at that time was a partner of Field and together they started Fieldcrest Mills. Klein maintained that Kennedy's bargain price was predicated on an oral agreement between Field and Kennedy that after the sale the building would be donated to the University of Chicago and that Kennedy would take the tax deduction, although as an oral agreement no documentary evidence of this exists. The building revenues became a principal source of Kennedy family wealth, including being a source of political campaign funding. The Kennedy family sold the complex center property to Vornado Realty Trust in 1998 as part of a larger $625 million ($ million in current dollars) transaction, When it was sold, the Merchandise Mart was also the Kennedy's family's last remaining operating business. That year, MMPI was acquired by Vornado for $450 million cash and a $100 million-plus stake in Vornado. As of early 2007, the building was valued at $917 million. Expansions and renovations The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s. The Indian chiefs were removed and replaced with concrete plates in 1961, of minimal note to onlookers as skyscrapers did not rise on the north side of the river as predicted. Some of the carvings were later found in a suburban backyard and auctioned in 2014. In 1962, an entrance canopy was constructed over the south for vehicle use. In 1977, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the Chicago Apparel Center, located on the west side of Orleans Street, which increased the Merchandise Mart’s total floor space to . Making use of plazas, esplanades and overlooks employed the waterfront location for pedestrian pleasure. In 1988, Helmut Jahn designed an enclosed pedestrian walking bridge over Orleans Street connecting the Mart and the Apparel Center. After a 10-year, $100 million modernization in the late 1980s that included public utility upgrades, Beyer Blinder Belle's commission in 1989 was to create additional perimeter entrances and restore the display windows, main entrance and lobby. On the south facade, the drive-through canopy was removed and two smaller doorways aside the main entrance were added. Display windows, painted over during the earlier modernization campaign, were restored with clear glass to showcase merchant's wares. New main and corner entrances were added to the rear facade, and the loading dock that occupied the north portion of the first floor of the river level was removed in order to use the bottom deck of North Bank Drive. Improvements to the lobby included restoration of the original glass curtain wall over the entrance, shop fronts and reception desk using terrazzo floors and wall sconces influenced by the original design. The project was completed in 1991. In November 2007, the building received LEED for Existing Buildings Silver recognition. Building The Merchandise Mart was designed by the Chicago architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White to be a "city within a city". Second only to Holabird & Root in Chicago art deco architecture, the firm had a long-standing relationship with the Field family. Started in 1928, completed in 1931, and built in the same art deco style as the Chicago Board of Trade Building, its cost was reported as both $32 million and $38 million. The building was the largest in the world in terms of floorspace, but was surpassed by the Pentagon in 1943, and now stands forty-fourth on the list of largest buildings in the world. Once the largest commercial space in the world, New Century Global Center in China is now recognized by Guinness World Records as holding the record. Architecture Designer Alfred Shaw integrated art deco stylings with influences from three building types—the warehouse, the department store and the skyscraper. A warehouse block stands as the 18-story bulk of the building. Ribbon piers define the windows, and the building's chamfered corners, minimal setbacks, and corner pavilions disguise the edges of the mass and visually reduce bulk. The south corner pavilions are of greater height than the north corner pavilions. The building is open at the pedestrian level with bronzed framed display windows, typical of a department store, on the south, west and east boundaries. The 25-story central tower ascends with a peak in the form of a skyscraper, and rests in the southern half of the building. Deeply recessed portals occur between raised panels, and are adorned with medallions featuring the interlocked initials of the Merchandise Mart. The same logo occurs throughout the building. Fifty-six American Indian chiefs circled the tower's crown, a reference to the site's history and Chicago's early trade activities. Three and a half feet wide by seven feet tall, the terra cotta figures were barely visible from the street, meant to be viewed from the upper floors of the skyscrapers planned to rise along the riverbank. The lobby of The Merchandise Mart is defined by eight square marble piers, with storefronts in side aisles framed in embossed bronze trim. The green and orange terrazzo floor was conceived as a carpet: a pattern of squares and stripes bordered by overscaled chevrons inlaid with The Mart's initials. The chevron theme is continued in the column sconces lighting an ornamented cornice overhead. Referred to as "business boulevards", two wide long corridors with terrazzo floors in the upper levels featured six and one-half miles of display windows. Building regulations specified identical entrances along corridors but tenants could personalize the individual floor space. Excepting the corridors, elevator halls, and exhibition space on the fourth floor, the of each upper floor was "raw space" with concrete floors. Artwork Jules Guerin's frieze of 17 murals is the primary feature of the lobby and graphically illustrate commerce throughout the world, including the countries of origin for items sold in the building. The murals depict the industries and products, the primary mode of transportation and the architecture of 14 countries. Drawing on years as a stage set designer, Guerin executed the murals in red with gold leaf using techniques producing distinct image layers in successive planes. In a panel representing Italy, Venetian glassware appears in the foreground with fishing boats moored on the Grand Canal and the facade of the Palazzo Ducale rises above the towers of the Piazza San Marco. "To immortalize outstanding American merchants", Joseph Kennedy in 1953 commissioned eight bronze busts, four times life size, which would come to be known as the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame: retail magnates Frank Winfield Woolworth, Marshall Field and Aaron Montgomery Ward Julius Rosenwald and Robert Elkington Wood of Sears, Roebuck and Company fame advertiser John Wanamaker, merchandiser Edward Albert Filene, and A&P grocery chain founder George Huntington Hartford. All of the busts rest on white pedestals lining the Chicago River and face north toward the gold front door of the building. "Art on theMART" "Art on theMART" is a digital art display begun in 2018. It provides a 2.5 acre "canvas" (2 football fields) for digital artwork projected on the Chicago River facing facade of the Merchandise Mart. The project is intended to be the largest digital art projection in the world and is scheduled to occur over thirty years with annual showings initially between March and December. In 2019 it was expanded from five nights a week to every night. Displays begin 15 minutes after sunset and loop for two hours. Obscura Digital studio initially installed 34 projection cameras to allow the rotating roster of artists to display their work. Surroundings Dominating the skyline in the south end of the Near North Side, the Mart lies just south of the gallery district on the southern terminus of Franklin Street. Eateries and nightclubs abound on Hubbard Street one block to the north. The Kinzie Chophouse, popular with politicians and celebrities, stands on the northwest corner of Wells and Kinzie, across from the Merchandise Mart. The Chicago Varnish Company Building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and now housing Harry Caray's restaurant, is located east on Kinzie Street. Across the street to the east is 325 N. Wells Street, home to The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and DIRTT Environmental Solutions. The Mart is not rectangular in shape, having been constructed after the bascule bridges over the Chicago River were completed. The control house for the double decked Wells Street Bridge stands between the lower level and the southeast corner of the building. The Franklin Street Bridge stands at the southwest corner of the building, at the junction of Orleans Street and Franklin Street. The building slants at the same angle as Franklin Street, from southeast to northwest along Orleans Street. Exterior lighting A heritage of lighting the structure finds the central and corner towers, along with the columns between each window on the setbacks, bathed nightly in an upwardly focused white light. Tradition dictates annual changes to green in mid-March for St. Patrick's Day and orange during the fall months around Halloween and Thanksgiving. Prominent events have found the behemoth lit in pink for Cancer Awareness Month. To note the 2006 Chicago Bears season, highlighted by reaching Super Bowl XLI, the building was lit with team colors, orange floodlights for the setbacks and blue floodlights for the towers. Red and green lights are used during the Christmas season. During the Art Chicago 2008 the American artist Jenny Holzer illuminated the facade of the building with a poem by the Polish winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature Wisława Szymborska. In 2018, a large projection screen began displaying images and videos across the structure's riverfront side. Nighttime lighting on the Mart typically matches the colors of antenna lighting on the Sears Tower and John Hancock Center, as well as the colors used on the top floors of the Aon Center. Green building practices Under Chris Kennedy's leadership of the Mart, it was the largest building in the world to be awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification in 2007 from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The Mart has long been implementing sustainable practices. The Mart Center began operating a thermal storage facility in 1986, capable of building of ice per night, cooling 71 buildings in the surrounding neighborhood, and saving $200,000 in electricity costs in the first year. In 1990, the Mart Center began using Green Seal-approved green cleaning products and the next year implemented a recycling program, which today includes all forms of paper products, glass, light bulbs, batteries, aluminum and construction materials. In 1996, the Mart Center became one of the first major property owners in downtown Chicago to enter into an agreement with the district cooling system now known as Thermal Chicago, thus contributing to the national effort to reduce the discharge of ozone-damaging CFCs. In 2006, MMPI joined Clean Air Counts, a voluntary initiative to reduce smog forming pollutants and energy consumption in the Chicago area. Part of the campaign strategies included utilizing only low VOC cleaning products, paints and building materials, as well as energy efficient lighting and alternative workplace transportation options. To date, the Mart Center has reduced pollution by , the largest reduction by a commercial building. That same year, the Mart Center recycling program saved over 13,000 trees and recycled nearly 11 million pounds of waste, while water conservation efforts saved of water. More than eight percent of the estimated 10,000 people working at the Mart walk, bike or take public transportation; to encourage greener methods of transportation, the Mart expanded bicycle storage capacity to more than 200. In 2009, MMPI converted all stationery to a one hundred percent post-consumer recycled product. The Mart has nine LEED-certified showrooms, with five others on their way to LEED certification. Uses Commerce Wholesale showrooms occupy 50% of the usable floor space, and the Sultan of Brunei once spent $1.6 million at the Mart to furnish his entire palace, claiming the location was the only place where the task could be completed in one week. Select showrooms are open only to wholesalers, with others accessible to the general public. Unlike stores with traditional shelf and rack displays, entire usable rooms are created, providing consumers an opportunity to compare form and function between applications and manufacturers. A portion of the stores offer items for purchase singly or as a collection, while others offer design services, preservation, renovation, or installation. In addition to being a resource for architects and decorators, the Mart also has featured award-winning designs as selected by the American Institute of Architects. Catering to suppliers, on-site firms specialize in providing professional services for market research projects. In 1931, Marshall Field and Company lost $5 million, followed by $8 million in 1932. The wholesale division was greatly reduced and Field's reduced its space in the Mart from four floors to one and half. The Mart continued to display the latest trends in home furnishings within the showrooms and trade shows. The company recovered late in the decade, but did not return to all previously occupied space. In 1942, L. L. Skaggs formed a partnership with three other men and named the partnership the Owners Service Company, hence Osco. The headquarters moved from Waterloo, Iowa, to the Merchandise Mart. A retail shopping area, named The Shops at the Mart, opened in 1991 and includes apparel shops, beauty services, bookstores and newsstands, financial services, telecommunication services, travel services, specialty food and wine stores, photo services, a dry cleaner, shoe shine stand, and a food court. A U.S. Post Office is located on the first floor and a FedEx location is on the second floor. The Apparel Center houses the 521-room Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza River North hotel, the offices of the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago campus of the Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago, as well as the Chicago office of the Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency. GoHealth occupies on the 5th floor of Merchandise Mart, the Potbelly Sandwich Works' corporate offices are located in the tower. Motorola Mobility moved its headquarters to the Merchandise Mart in 2014. Trade fairs Since 1969, the Merchandise Mart has been home to the annual National Exposition of Contract Furnishings, known as NeoCon. With over 1,000 exhibitors of contract and commercial furnishings, and 50,000 attendees, it is the largest trade show of its kind in North America. Since 2006 the Merchandise Mart has played host to the Art Chicago international art fair. Mass media Radio Before the location even opened, NBC announced plans to build studios in the Mart. When opened on October 20, 1930, the nineteenth floor location covered and supported a variety of live broadcasts including those requiring orchestras. WENR and WMAQ broadcast from the location. Expanded in 1935, with office space in the previously unoccupied tower, the additional provided room for an organ chamber, two echo rooms, and a total of 11 studios. A staff of more than 300 produced up to 1,700 programs each month, including Amos 'n' Andy. Hugh Downs contributed to the Burr Tillstrom children's show Kukla, Fran and Ollie from the NBC studios after the network picked up the program from WBKB. The Captain Midnight radio program was broadcast from the Mart from 1942 until 1945. WMAQ and WMAQ-TV moved to the NBC Tower in 1989 (even though the radio station had been sold to Westinghouse Broadcasting two years earlier). (Today, the former NBC space is being utilized by Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy as a learning site for film and broadcast productions.) WMAQ's former sister FM station, WKQX, stayed at the Merchandise Mart; renamed WIQI, as of May 2012 it still occupies space on the west side of the second floor, along with co-owned WLUP. WKQX moved to a new facility at NBC Tower in the summer of 2016. Television On January 7, 1949, NBC station WNBQ commercially debuted its television broadcast schedule on channel 5, with a minimum of two hours of programming per day. April 15, 1956, is remembered as "C-Day" at WMAQ-TV, and was described by Broadcasting-Telecasting magazine as "a daring breakthrough the black-and-white curtain." With Mayor Richard J. Daley looking on, NBC President David Sarnoff operated the controls as Channel 5 became the world's first all-color TV station as "Wide, Wide World" was broadcast to 110 NBC-TV affiliated stations across the country. The color conversion project cost more than $1.25 million with advertising costing $175,000. On "C-Day", three skywriting planes flew over the city, trailing streams of red, green and blue smoke. WMAQ-TV first installed color equipment in late 1953, with the Tournament of Roses Parade of 1954 as the first major broadcast. Introduced in March 1955, the first local color program was John Ott's "How Does Your Garden Grow?", featuring the use of time-lapse color film. Although WMAQ-TV has since moved to NBC Tower about a mile away, and for the most part the 19th floor of the Mart has been turned into office space, one former tenant (Bankers Life and Trust Company) maintained a remnant of the original studios as their video and multimedia department. The former WMAQ space is currently being redeveloped by Flashpoint Academy as a full modern soundstage facility as well as a screening room, backlot, and classroom space over the 19th and 20th floors. Local regional sports network Comcast SportsNet Chicago has their control room, and broadcasts their live studio programming from the Apparel Center expansion; the studios had been home to previous RSNs FSN Chicago and SportsChannel Chicago. Chicago 'L' Built in under four months and opened on December 5, 1930, the Merchandise Mart elevated train station served the Main Line of the North Side Division. The station is now noted for being one of two commercial locations to have its own station on the Chicago Transit Authority's (CTA) 'L' system. The station is now served by the Brown and Purple Lines. The station complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; the turnstiles are located within the building on the second floor, while the platforms are connected to the east side of the building. The northbound platform is accessed by an overhead bridge or elevator. It was rebuilt in 1988, prior to the Wells Street Bridge reconstruction in 1989. The Merchandise Mart housed the CTA's headquarters on the 7th floor from 1947 to 2004. Cultural involvement Owing to the expanding postwar economy and family, the owners began offering tours in 1948. Architecture and design interest groups continue to offer scheduled tours. The Mart hosts the annual Art Chicago activities. Chicago Marathon routes have taken runners past the structure, typically on Wells Street. In popular culture The 1948 film Call Northside 777, was made in Illinois and the Mart is seen from newspaper offices on Wacker Drive. The lobby appeared in the movie The Hudsucker Proxy as the interior of the Hudsucker Company headquarters. In 1956, the eight-minute short subject film The Merchandise Mart used the Mart's name and covered in detail the building's interior and operations. When his late-night NBC talk show was performed in Chicago during the first week of May 1989, David Letterman called the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame "the Pez Hall of Fame" because the combination of busts atop the tall vertical pedestals resembled the candy's dispensers. In the 1993 film The Fugitive, U.S. Marshals pinpoint the location of Dr. Richard Kimble when they hear a CTA train conductor announce, "Next stop, Merchandise Mart" in the background of a recorded phone call. The Mart was depicted as the Candor headquarters in the 2012 novel Insurgent by Veronica Roth. See also Art Deco Chicago architecture Fulton House, Chicago Interior Design List of largest buildings in the world New York Merchandise Mart References Further reading Chappell, Sally A. Kitt, Architecture and Planning of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White, 1912–1936:Transforming Tradition, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1992 Roth, Veronica, Insurgent, HarperCollins, New York, NY 2012 External links archive at the Chicago Tribune Video Merchandise Mart Properties Tenant Profiles The Merchandise Mart Buyers Guide 1930 establishments in Illinois Art Deco architecture in Illinois Buildings and structures completed in 1930 Kennedy family Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design basic silver certified buildings Skyscrapers in Chicago Wholesale markets
true
[ "Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region", "Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts" ]
[ "Merchandise Mart", "Expansions and renovations", "When did the renovations take place", "The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s.", "What did the renovations entail?", "The Indian chiefs were removed and replaced with concrete plates in 1961,", "How much did it cost?", "After a 10-year, $100 million modernization in the late 1980s", "Have there been any other recent renovations?", "The project was completed in 1991.", "What kind of expansions have they done?", "In 1977, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the Chicago Apparel Center, located on the west side of Orleans Street, which increased", "Are there any interesting aspects of this article?", "Some of the carvings were later found in a suburban backyard and auctioned in 2014." ]
C_34fff391fa464f15b26174eb4bee0fe7_1
Who pays for all of these expensive renovations?
7
Who paid for all of the expensive renovations to Merchandise Mart?
Merchandise Mart
The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s. The Indian chiefs were removed and replaced with concrete plates in 1961, of minimal note to onlookers as skyscrapers did not rise on the north side of the river as predicted. Some of the carvings were later found in a suburban backyard and auctioned in 2014. In 1962, an entrance canopy was constructed over the south for vehicle use. In 1977, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the Chicago Apparel Center, located on the west side of Orleans Street, which increased the Merchandise Mart's total floor space to 6,200,000 square feet (580,000 m2). Making use of plazas, esplanades and overlooks employed the waterfront location for pedestrian pleasure. In 1988, Helmut Jahn designed an enclosed pedestrian walking bridge over Orleans Street connecting the Mart and the Apparel Center. After a 10-year, $100 million modernization in the late 1980s that included public utility upgrades, Beyer Blinder Belle's commission in 1989 was to create additional perimeter entrances and restore the display windows, main entrance and lobby. On the south facade, the drive-through canopy was removed and two smaller doorways aside the main entrance were added. Display windows, painted over during the earlier modernization campaign, were restored with clear glass to showcase merchant's wares. New main and corner entrances were added to the rear facade, and the loading dock that occupied the north portion of the first floor of the river level was removed in order to use the bottom deck of North Bank Drive. Improvements to the lobby included restoration of the original glass curtain wall over the entrance, shop fronts and reception desk using terrazzo floors and wall sconces influenced by the original design. The project was completed in 1991. In November 2007, the building received LEED for Existing Buildings Silver recognition. CANNOTANSWER
CANNOTANSWER
The Merchandise Mart (or the Merch Mart, or the Mart) is a commercial building located in downtown Chicago, Illinois. When it was opened in 1930, it was the largest building in the world, with of floor space. The Art Deco structure is located at the junction of the Chicago River's branches. The building is a leading retailing and wholesale destination, hosting 20,000 visitors and tenants per day in the late 2000s. Built by Marshall Field & Co. and later owned for over half a century by the Kennedy family, the Mart centralized Chicago's wholesale goods business by consolidating architectural and interior design vendors and trades under a single roof. It has since become home to several other enterprises, including the Shops at the Mart, the Chicago campus of the Illinois Institute of Art, Motorola Mobility, and the Chicago tech startup center 1871. It was sold in January 1998 to Vornado Realty Trust. The Merchandise Mart is so large that it had its own ZIP Code (60654) until 2008, when the Postal Service assigned the ZIP Code to part of the surrounding area. In 2010, the building opened its Design Center showrooms to the public. History Construction and context In 1926, a westward extension of double-deck Wacker Drive increased development on the south riverbank. In 1927, Marshall Field & Co. announced its plans to build on the north bank opposite Wacker Drive. The site, bordered by Orleans Street, Wells Street, Kinzie Street and the Chicago River, was formerly a Native American trading post and the site of Chicago and North Western Railway's former Wells Street Station, abandoned in 1911 in favor of the Chicago and North Western Passenger Terminal. With the railroad's air rights, the site was large enough to accommodate "the largest building in the world". Removing the train yard supported the Chicago Plan Commission's desire to develop and beautify the riverfront. James Simpson, president of Marshall Field & Co. from 1923 to 1930 and chairman of the Chicago Plan Commission from 1926 to 1935, turned the first shovels of dirt at groundbreaking on August 16, 1928, along with architect Ernest Graham. General contractor John W. Griffiths & Sons brought building construction into the machine age through the use of techniques "ordinarily used in the construction of big dams." Concrete arriving by boat was lifted by compressed air to bins above the ground, with gravel and sand delivered by railroad cars to conveyor belts and transfer elevators. Giant mixers provided wet concrete to skip hoists in vertical towers that were extended as the building rose. Continuously employing 2,500 men and as many as 5,700 men altogether, the construction project lasted a year and a half into the early months of the Great Depression. With a foundation footprint of nearly two square city blocks, the building required 29 million bricks, of plumbing, of wiring, nearly of concrete, of stone, and 4,000 windows. Bethlehem Steel fabricated much of the 60,000 tons of steel. An estimated of corridors and over 30 elevators were included in the construction. The total cost of construction was estimated to be $26 million. Ownership The Merchandise Mart opened on May 5, 1930, just east of Chicago's original trading post, Wolf Point. The building realized Marshall Field’s dream of a single wholesale center for the entire nation and consolidated 13 different warehouses. It was purchased in 1945 or 1946, depending on the source, by the Kennedy family through Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc., and managed by Sargent Shriver. Kennedy's purchase price was reported to be either $12.5 or $13 million, and it is said that his initial capital was $1 million, though records say his original mortgage was $12.5 million, this was roughly half of what it had cost to construct the complex twenty years earlier. The building's sale was brokered by a good friend of Marshall Field and Joseph Kennedy, E. Stanley Klein. Klein at that time was a partner of Field and together they started Fieldcrest Mills. Klein maintained that Kennedy's bargain price was predicated on an oral agreement between Field and Kennedy that after the sale the building would be donated to the University of Chicago and that Kennedy would take the tax deduction, although as an oral agreement no documentary evidence of this exists. The building revenues became a principal source of Kennedy family wealth, including being a source of political campaign funding. The Kennedy family sold the complex center property to Vornado Realty Trust in 1998 as part of a larger $625 million ($ million in current dollars) transaction, When it was sold, the Merchandise Mart was also the Kennedy's family's last remaining operating business. That year, MMPI was acquired by Vornado for $450 million cash and a $100 million-plus stake in Vornado. As of early 2007, the building was valued at $917 million. Expansions and renovations The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s. The Indian chiefs were removed and replaced with concrete plates in 1961, of minimal note to onlookers as skyscrapers did not rise on the north side of the river as predicted. Some of the carvings were later found in a suburban backyard and auctioned in 2014. In 1962, an entrance canopy was constructed over the south for vehicle use. In 1977, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the Chicago Apparel Center, located on the west side of Orleans Street, which increased the Merchandise Mart’s total floor space to . Making use of plazas, esplanades and overlooks employed the waterfront location for pedestrian pleasure. In 1988, Helmut Jahn designed an enclosed pedestrian walking bridge over Orleans Street connecting the Mart and the Apparel Center. After a 10-year, $100 million modernization in the late 1980s that included public utility upgrades, Beyer Blinder Belle's commission in 1989 was to create additional perimeter entrances and restore the display windows, main entrance and lobby. On the south facade, the drive-through canopy was removed and two smaller doorways aside the main entrance were added. Display windows, painted over during the earlier modernization campaign, were restored with clear glass to showcase merchant's wares. New main and corner entrances were added to the rear facade, and the loading dock that occupied the north portion of the first floor of the river level was removed in order to use the bottom deck of North Bank Drive. Improvements to the lobby included restoration of the original glass curtain wall over the entrance, shop fronts and reception desk using terrazzo floors and wall sconces influenced by the original design. The project was completed in 1991. In November 2007, the building received LEED for Existing Buildings Silver recognition. Building The Merchandise Mart was designed by the Chicago architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White to be a "city within a city". Second only to Holabird & Root in Chicago art deco architecture, the firm had a long-standing relationship with the Field family. Started in 1928, completed in 1931, and built in the same art deco style as the Chicago Board of Trade Building, its cost was reported as both $32 million and $38 million. The building was the largest in the world in terms of floorspace, but was surpassed by the Pentagon in 1943, and now stands forty-fourth on the list of largest buildings in the world. Once the largest commercial space in the world, New Century Global Center in China is now recognized by Guinness World Records as holding the record. Architecture Designer Alfred Shaw integrated art deco stylings with influences from three building types—the warehouse, the department store and the skyscraper. A warehouse block stands as the 18-story bulk of the building. Ribbon piers define the windows, and the building's chamfered corners, minimal setbacks, and corner pavilions disguise the edges of the mass and visually reduce bulk. The south corner pavilions are of greater height than the north corner pavilions. The building is open at the pedestrian level with bronzed framed display windows, typical of a department store, on the south, west and east boundaries. The 25-story central tower ascends with a peak in the form of a skyscraper, and rests in the southern half of the building. Deeply recessed portals occur between raised panels, and are adorned with medallions featuring the interlocked initials of the Merchandise Mart. The same logo occurs throughout the building. Fifty-six American Indian chiefs circled the tower's crown, a reference to the site's history and Chicago's early trade activities. Three and a half feet wide by seven feet tall, the terra cotta figures were barely visible from the street, meant to be viewed from the upper floors of the skyscrapers planned to rise along the riverbank. The lobby of The Merchandise Mart is defined by eight square marble piers, with storefronts in side aisles framed in embossed bronze trim. The green and orange terrazzo floor was conceived as a carpet: a pattern of squares and stripes bordered by overscaled chevrons inlaid with The Mart's initials. The chevron theme is continued in the column sconces lighting an ornamented cornice overhead. Referred to as "business boulevards", two wide long corridors with terrazzo floors in the upper levels featured six and one-half miles of display windows. Building regulations specified identical entrances along corridors but tenants could personalize the individual floor space. Excepting the corridors, elevator halls, and exhibition space on the fourth floor, the of each upper floor was "raw space" with concrete floors. Artwork Jules Guerin's frieze of 17 murals is the primary feature of the lobby and graphically illustrate commerce throughout the world, including the countries of origin for items sold in the building. The murals depict the industries and products, the primary mode of transportation and the architecture of 14 countries. Drawing on years as a stage set designer, Guerin executed the murals in red with gold leaf using techniques producing distinct image layers in successive planes. In a panel representing Italy, Venetian glassware appears in the foreground with fishing boats moored on the Grand Canal and the facade of the Palazzo Ducale rises above the towers of the Piazza San Marco. "To immortalize outstanding American merchants", Joseph Kennedy in 1953 commissioned eight bronze busts, four times life size, which would come to be known as the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame: retail magnates Frank Winfield Woolworth, Marshall Field and Aaron Montgomery Ward Julius Rosenwald and Robert Elkington Wood of Sears, Roebuck and Company fame advertiser John Wanamaker, merchandiser Edward Albert Filene, and A&P grocery chain founder George Huntington Hartford. All of the busts rest on white pedestals lining the Chicago River and face north toward the gold front door of the building. "Art on theMART" "Art on theMART" is a digital art display begun in 2018. It provides a 2.5 acre "canvas" (2 football fields) for digital artwork projected on the Chicago River facing facade of the Merchandise Mart. The project is intended to be the largest digital art projection in the world and is scheduled to occur over thirty years with annual showings initially between March and December. In 2019 it was expanded from five nights a week to every night. Displays begin 15 minutes after sunset and loop for two hours. Obscura Digital studio initially installed 34 projection cameras to allow the rotating roster of artists to display their work. Surroundings Dominating the skyline in the south end of the Near North Side, the Mart lies just south of the gallery district on the southern terminus of Franklin Street. Eateries and nightclubs abound on Hubbard Street one block to the north. The Kinzie Chophouse, popular with politicians and celebrities, stands on the northwest corner of Wells and Kinzie, across from the Merchandise Mart. The Chicago Varnish Company Building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and now housing Harry Caray's restaurant, is located east on Kinzie Street. Across the street to the east is 325 N. Wells Street, home to The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and DIRTT Environmental Solutions. The Mart is not rectangular in shape, having been constructed after the bascule bridges over the Chicago River were completed. The control house for the double decked Wells Street Bridge stands between the lower level and the southeast corner of the building. The Franklin Street Bridge stands at the southwest corner of the building, at the junction of Orleans Street and Franklin Street. The building slants at the same angle as Franklin Street, from southeast to northwest along Orleans Street. Exterior lighting A heritage of lighting the structure finds the central and corner towers, along with the columns between each window on the setbacks, bathed nightly in an upwardly focused white light. Tradition dictates annual changes to green in mid-March for St. Patrick's Day and orange during the fall months around Halloween and Thanksgiving. Prominent events have found the behemoth lit in pink for Cancer Awareness Month. To note the 2006 Chicago Bears season, highlighted by reaching Super Bowl XLI, the building was lit with team colors, orange floodlights for the setbacks and blue floodlights for the towers. Red and green lights are used during the Christmas season. During the Art Chicago 2008 the American artist Jenny Holzer illuminated the facade of the building with a poem by the Polish winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature Wisława Szymborska. In 2018, a large projection screen began displaying images and videos across the structure's riverfront side. Nighttime lighting on the Mart typically matches the colors of antenna lighting on the Sears Tower and John Hancock Center, as well as the colors used on the top floors of the Aon Center. Green building practices Under Chris Kennedy's leadership of the Mart, it was the largest building in the world to be awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification in 2007 from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The Mart has long been implementing sustainable practices. The Mart Center began operating a thermal storage facility in 1986, capable of building of ice per night, cooling 71 buildings in the surrounding neighborhood, and saving $200,000 in electricity costs in the first year. In 1990, the Mart Center began using Green Seal-approved green cleaning products and the next year implemented a recycling program, which today includes all forms of paper products, glass, light bulbs, batteries, aluminum and construction materials. In 1996, the Mart Center became one of the first major property owners in downtown Chicago to enter into an agreement with the district cooling system now known as Thermal Chicago, thus contributing to the national effort to reduce the discharge of ozone-damaging CFCs. In 2006, MMPI joined Clean Air Counts, a voluntary initiative to reduce smog forming pollutants and energy consumption in the Chicago area. Part of the campaign strategies included utilizing only low VOC cleaning products, paints and building materials, as well as energy efficient lighting and alternative workplace transportation options. To date, the Mart Center has reduced pollution by , the largest reduction by a commercial building. That same year, the Mart Center recycling program saved over 13,000 trees and recycled nearly 11 million pounds of waste, while water conservation efforts saved of water. More than eight percent of the estimated 10,000 people working at the Mart walk, bike or take public transportation; to encourage greener methods of transportation, the Mart expanded bicycle storage capacity to more than 200. In 2009, MMPI converted all stationery to a one hundred percent post-consumer recycled product. The Mart has nine LEED-certified showrooms, with five others on their way to LEED certification. Uses Commerce Wholesale showrooms occupy 50% of the usable floor space, and the Sultan of Brunei once spent $1.6 million at the Mart to furnish his entire palace, claiming the location was the only place where the task could be completed in one week. Select showrooms are open only to wholesalers, with others accessible to the general public. Unlike stores with traditional shelf and rack displays, entire usable rooms are created, providing consumers an opportunity to compare form and function between applications and manufacturers. A portion of the stores offer items for purchase singly or as a collection, while others offer design services, preservation, renovation, or installation. In addition to being a resource for architects and decorators, the Mart also has featured award-winning designs as selected by the American Institute of Architects. Catering to suppliers, on-site firms specialize in providing professional services for market research projects. In 1931, Marshall Field and Company lost $5 million, followed by $8 million in 1932. The wholesale division was greatly reduced and Field's reduced its space in the Mart from four floors to one and half. The Mart continued to display the latest trends in home furnishings within the showrooms and trade shows. The company recovered late in the decade, but did not return to all previously occupied space. In 1942, L. L. Skaggs formed a partnership with three other men and named the partnership the Owners Service Company, hence Osco. The headquarters moved from Waterloo, Iowa, to the Merchandise Mart. A retail shopping area, named The Shops at the Mart, opened in 1991 and includes apparel shops, beauty services, bookstores and newsstands, financial services, telecommunication services, travel services, specialty food and wine stores, photo services, a dry cleaner, shoe shine stand, and a food court. A U.S. Post Office is located on the first floor and a FedEx location is on the second floor. The Apparel Center houses the 521-room Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza River North hotel, the offices of the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago campus of the Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago, as well as the Chicago office of the Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency. GoHealth occupies on the 5th floor of Merchandise Mart, the Potbelly Sandwich Works' corporate offices are located in the tower. Motorola Mobility moved its headquarters to the Merchandise Mart in 2014. Trade fairs Since 1969, the Merchandise Mart has been home to the annual National Exposition of Contract Furnishings, known as NeoCon. With over 1,000 exhibitors of contract and commercial furnishings, and 50,000 attendees, it is the largest trade show of its kind in North America. Since 2006 the Merchandise Mart has played host to the Art Chicago international art fair. Mass media Radio Before the location even opened, NBC announced plans to build studios in the Mart. When opened on October 20, 1930, the nineteenth floor location covered and supported a variety of live broadcasts including those requiring orchestras. WENR and WMAQ broadcast from the location. Expanded in 1935, with office space in the previously unoccupied tower, the additional provided room for an organ chamber, two echo rooms, and a total of 11 studios. A staff of more than 300 produced up to 1,700 programs each month, including Amos 'n' Andy. Hugh Downs contributed to the Burr Tillstrom children's show Kukla, Fran and Ollie from the NBC studios after the network picked up the program from WBKB. The Captain Midnight radio program was broadcast from the Mart from 1942 until 1945. WMAQ and WMAQ-TV moved to the NBC Tower in 1989 (even though the radio station had been sold to Westinghouse Broadcasting two years earlier). (Today, the former NBC space is being utilized by Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy as a learning site for film and broadcast productions.) WMAQ's former sister FM station, WKQX, stayed at the Merchandise Mart; renamed WIQI, as of May 2012 it still occupies space on the west side of the second floor, along with co-owned WLUP. WKQX moved to a new facility at NBC Tower in the summer of 2016. Television On January 7, 1949, NBC station WNBQ commercially debuted its television broadcast schedule on channel 5, with a minimum of two hours of programming per day. April 15, 1956, is remembered as "C-Day" at WMAQ-TV, and was described by Broadcasting-Telecasting magazine as "a daring breakthrough the black-and-white curtain." With Mayor Richard J. Daley looking on, NBC President David Sarnoff operated the controls as Channel 5 became the world's first all-color TV station as "Wide, Wide World" was broadcast to 110 NBC-TV affiliated stations across the country. The color conversion project cost more than $1.25 million with advertising costing $175,000. On "C-Day", three skywriting planes flew over the city, trailing streams of red, green and blue smoke. WMAQ-TV first installed color equipment in late 1953, with the Tournament of Roses Parade of 1954 as the first major broadcast. Introduced in March 1955, the first local color program was John Ott's "How Does Your Garden Grow?", featuring the use of time-lapse color film. Although WMAQ-TV has since moved to NBC Tower about a mile away, and for the most part the 19th floor of the Mart has been turned into office space, one former tenant (Bankers Life and Trust Company) maintained a remnant of the original studios as their video and multimedia department. The former WMAQ space is currently being redeveloped by Flashpoint Academy as a full modern soundstage facility as well as a screening room, backlot, and classroom space over the 19th and 20th floors. Local regional sports network Comcast SportsNet Chicago has their control room, and broadcasts their live studio programming from the Apparel Center expansion; the studios had been home to previous RSNs FSN Chicago and SportsChannel Chicago. Chicago 'L' Built in under four months and opened on December 5, 1930, the Merchandise Mart elevated train station served the Main Line of the North Side Division. The station is now noted for being one of two commercial locations to have its own station on the Chicago Transit Authority's (CTA) 'L' system. The station is now served by the Brown and Purple Lines. The station complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; the turnstiles are located within the building on the second floor, while the platforms are connected to the east side of the building. The northbound platform is accessed by an overhead bridge or elevator. It was rebuilt in 1988, prior to the Wells Street Bridge reconstruction in 1989. The Merchandise Mart housed the CTA's headquarters on the 7th floor from 1947 to 2004. Cultural involvement Owing to the expanding postwar economy and family, the owners began offering tours in 1948. Architecture and design interest groups continue to offer scheduled tours. The Mart hosts the annual Art Chicago activities. Chicago Marathon routes have taken runners past the structure, typically on Wells Street. In popular culture The 1948 film Call Northside 777, was made in Illinois and the Mart is seen from newspaper offices on Wacker Drive. The lobby appeared in the movie The Hudsucker Proxy as the interior of the Hudsucker Company headquarters. In 1956, the eight-minute short subject film The Merchandise Mart used the Mart's name and covered in detail the building's interior and operations. When his late-night NBC talk show was performed in Chicago during the first week of May 1989, David Letterman called the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame "the Pez Hall of Fame" because the combination of busts atop the tall vertical pedestals resembled the candy's dispensers. In the 1993 film The Fugitive, U.S. Marshals pinpoint the location of Dr. Richard Kimble when they hear a CTA train conductor announce, "Next stop, Merchandise Mart" in the background of a recorded phone call. The Mart was depicted as the Candor headquarters in the 2012 novel Insurgent by Veronica Roth. See also Art Deco Chicago architecture Fulton House, Chicago Interior Design List of largest buildings in the world New York Merchandise Mart References Further reading Chappell, Sally A. Kitt, Architecture and Planning of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White, 1912–1936:Transforming Tradition, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1992 Roth, Veronica, Insurgent, HarperCollins, New York, NY 2012 External links archive at the Chicago Tribune Video Merchandise Mart Properties Tenant Profiles The Merchandise Mart Buyers Guide 1930 establishments in Illinois Art Deco architecture in Illinois Buildings and structures completed in 1930 Kennedy family Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design basic silver certified buildings Skyscrapers in Chicago Wholesale markets
false
[ "Vin de pays (, \"country wine\") was a French wine classification that was above the vin de table classification, but below the appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) classification and below the former vin délimité de qualité supérieure classification. The vin de pays classification was replaced by the EU indication Indication Géographique Protégée in 2009.\n\nLegislation on the Vin de pays terminology was created in 1973 and passed in 1979, allowing producers to distinguish wines that were made using grape varieties or procedures other than those required by the AOC rules, without having to use the simple and commercially non-viable table wine classification. Unlike table wines, which are only indicated as being from France, Vin de pays carries a geographic designation of origin, the producers have to submit the wine for analysis and tasting, and the wines have to be made from certain varieties or blends. Regulations regarding varieties and labelling practices were typically more lenient than the regulations for AOC wines.\n\nTaxonomy \nThere were three tiers of Vin de Pays: regional, departmental and local.\n\nThere were seven regional Vins de Pays, which cover large areas of France. The most voluminous contributor to this category of wines was Vin de Pays d'Oc, from the Languedoc-Roussillon area in Mediterranean France. The second largest volume of Vin de Pays wines was produced as Vin de Pays de la Loire, a designation that applies to wines from the whole Loire Valley and Chablis. The others were: (south-west), Vin de Pays de Méditerranée (south-east, Provence and Corsica) and Vin de Pays des Comtés Rhodaniens (Rhone valley). Vin de Pays Terres du Midi, approved in mid-2018 for certain blended wines produced in Languedoc and Roussillon. Two further regional Vin de Pays designations, Vin de Pays de l'Atlantique (Bordeaux and Charentes (Cognac)) and Vin de Pays Vignobles de France (all of wine-making France) were approved by French authorities in 2007, but (together with Vin de Pays de Gaules for the Beaujolais region) remain disputed and as of July 2009, they remained unpublished in the Official Journal of the European Union due to actions taken by other French wine producers. The Vin de Pays Vignobles de France has now been replaced by a table wine designation Vin de France, launched in August 2009.\n\nEach regional Vin de Pays was divided into several departmental Vins de Pays, of which there were about 50. The names were derived from the French departments in question and the limits exactly the same as the department's borders. For example, Vin de Pays du Gard was one of the Vins de Pays produced within Vins de Pays d'Oc using grapes from the Gard department and the Vin de Pays de Charente-maritime was produced in the Cognac area. Approximately one third of the French departments don't produce Vin de Pays, some like Côte d'Or in Burgundy and Gironde in Bordeaux because their wine production was entirely in the higher AOC tier, and others because their climate was not suited to wine production at all, like the Bretagne, Normandy and Nord-Pas de Calais regions.\n\nThe local, or zone-defined Vins de pays were numerous, and may have taken their name from some historical or geographical phenomenon, such as Vin de Pays des Marches de Bretagne or Vin de Pays des Coteaux de l'Ardeche, or even a more locally specific variant. The boundaries of a zone may reflect a consistent terroir, rather than an administrative convenience, and could potentially in the long run achieve the status of an AOC.\n\nProduction rules \n\nThe conditions to respect to be allowed to use the classification Vin de pays were the following:\n\n The yield must be less than 90 hectoliters per hectare for white wines, and less than 85 hl for red and rosé wines.\n Only wine producers with a total yield of less than 100 hl/ha can qualify.\n The minimum alcoholic strength depends on the region and was 10% in Le Midi, 9.5% in South-west France area and the Centre East area, and 9% for the Loire Valley and the East area.\n The allowed amounts of sulfur dioxide allowed in the wines were 125 mg/l for red wines and 150 mg/l for white and rosé wines. For wines with sugar content of at least 5 g/l, the quantity of sulfur dioxide was slightly higher: 150 mg/l for red wines and 175 mg/l for white and rosé wines.\n The acidity in terms of pH values was also regulated, with some Vin de Pays areas having stricter rules than others.\n The wines were required to be kept and produced separately from other wines (e.g. production for table wines) and were subject to quality monitoring by an official regional committee.\n\nEconomic effects \n\nIn terms of volume, Vins de Pays d'Oc and Vin de Pays du Val de Loire (previously known as Vins de Pays du Jardin de France) were responsible for the majority of French exports.\n\nOriginally, Vin de Pays designation was commonly viewed as inferior to an AOC Appellation, often being ascribed to thin and simple wines. However, since the late 1980s, an increase in demand for varietal wines has led some French producers and cooperatives to produce more Vin de Pays, especially Vin de Pays d'Oc, to make varietal wines with some form of designation, while turning away from the highly restrictive AOC classification which often requires very specific blends of grape varieties.\n\nThis can be seen as a response to the increasing sales success of varietal New World wines from Australia, New Zealand, the United States, South Africa and Chile. As well as varietal wines (such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot), Vin de Pays was used to produce non-traditional blends which do not meet the requirements of AOC or VDQS regulations. Some of these wines are considered much better, and command higher prices, than AOC or VDQS wines from the same region, or even the same winemakers.\n\nSee also\nIndicazione Geografica Tipica of Italy\nVino de la Tierra of Spain\nVinho Regional of Portugal\nGerman wine classification Landwein of Germany\n\nReferences\n\nFrench wine\nWine classification", "In game theory, the unscrupulous diner's dilemma (or just diner's dilemma) is an n-player prisoner's dilemma. The situation imagined is that several people go out to eat, and before ordering, they agree to split the cost equally between them. Each diner must now choose whether to order the costly or cheap dish. It is presupposed that the costlier dish is better than the cheaper, but not by enough to warrant paying the difference when eating alone. Each diner reasons that, by ordering the costlier dish, the extra cost to their own bill will be small, and thus the better dinner is worth the money. However, all diners having reasoned thus, they each end up paying for the costlier dish, which by assumption, is worse than had they each ordered the cheaper.\n\nFormal definition and equilibrium analysis\nLet a represent the joy of eating the expensive meal, b the joy of eating the cheap meal, k is the cost of the expensive meal, l the cost of the cheap meal, and n the number of players. From the description above we have the following ordering . Also, in order to make the game sufficiently similar to the Prisoner's dilemma we presume that one would prefer to order the expensive meal given others will help defray the cost, \n\nConsider an arbitrary set of strategies by a player's opponent. Let the total cost of the other players' meals be x. The cost of ordering the cheap meal is and the cost of ordering the expensive meal is . So the utilities for each meal are for the expensive meal and for the cheaper meal. By assumption, the utility of ordering the expensive meal is higher. Remember that the choice of opponents' strategies was arbitrary and that the situation is symmetric. This proves that the expensive meal is strictly dominant and thus the unique Nash equilibrium.\n\nIf everyone orders the expensive meal all of the diners pay k and the utility of every player is . On the other hand, if all the individuals had ordered the cheap meal, the utility of every player would have been . Since by assumption , everyone would be better off. This demonstrates the similarity between the diner's dilemma and the prisoner's dilemma. Like the prisoner's dilemma, everyone is worse off by playing the unique equilibrium than they would have been if they collectively pursued another strategy.\n\nExperimental evidence\nGneezy, Haruvy, and Yafe (2004) tested these results in a field experiment. Groups of six diners faced different billing arrangements. In one arrangement the diners pay individually, in the second they split the bill evenly between themselves and in the third the meal is paid entirely by the experimenter. As predicted, the consumption is the smallest when the payment is individually made, the largest when the meal is free and in-between for the even split. In a fourth arrangement, each participant pays only one sixth of their individual meal and the experimenter pay the rest, to account for possible unselfishness and social considerations. There was no difference between the amount consumed by these groups and those splitting the total cost of the meal equally. As the private cost of increased consumption is the same for both treatments but splitting the cost imposes a burden on other group members, this indicates that participants did not take the welfare of others into account when making their choices. This contrasts to a large number of laboratory experiments where subjects face analytically similar choices but the context is more abstract.\n\nSee also \nTragedy of the commons\nFree rider problem\nAbilene paradox\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \nIf You're Paying, I'll Have Top Sirloin by Russell Roberts\n\nNon-cooperative games\nDilemmas" ]
[ "Merchandise Mart", "Expansions and renovations", "When did the renovations take place", "The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s.", "What did the renovations entail?", "The Indian chiefs were removed and replaced with concrete plates in 1961,", "How much did it cost?", "After a 10-year, $100 million modernization in the late 1980s", "Have there been any other recent renovations?", "The project was completed in 1991.", "What kind of expansions have they done?", "In 1977, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the Chicago Apparel Center, located on the west side of Orleans Street, which increased", "Are there any interesting aspects of this article?", "Some of the carvings were later found in a suburban backyard and auctioned in 2014.", "Who pays for all of these expensive renovations?", "I don't know." ]
C_34fff391fa464f15b26174eb4bee0fe7_1
Who owns the building/
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Who owns Merchandise Mart?
Merchandise Mart
The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s. The Indian chiefs were removed and replaced with concrete plates in 1961, of minimal note to onlookers as skyscrapers did not rise on the north side of the river as predicted. Some of the carvings were later found in a suburban backyard and auctioned in 2014. In 1962, an entrance canopy was constructed over the south for vehicle use. In 1977, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the Chicago Apparel Center, located on the west side of Orleans Street, which increased the Merchandise Mart's total floor space to 6,200,000 square feet (580,000 m2). Making use of plazas, esplanades and overlooks employed the waterfront location for pedestrian pleasure. In 1988, Helmut Jahn designed an enclosed pedestrian walking bridge over Orleans Street connecting the Mart and the Apparel Center. After a 10-year, $100 million modernization in the late 1980s that included public utility upgrades, Beyer Blinder Belle's commission in 1989 was to create additional perimeter entrances and restore the display windows, main entrance and lobby. On the south facade, the drive-through canopy was removed and two smaller doorways aside the main entrance were added. Display windows, painted over during the earlier modernization campaign, were restored with clear glass to showcase merchant's wares. New main and corner entrances were added to the rear facade, and the loading dock that occupied the north portion of the first floor of the river level was removed in order to use the bottom deck of North Bank Drive. Improvements to the lobby included restoration of the original glass curtain wall over the entrance, shop fronts and reception desk using terrazzo floors and wall sconces influenced by the original design. The project was completed in 1991. In November 2007, the building received LEED for Existing Buildings Silver recognition. CANNOTANSWER
CANNOTANSWER
The Merchandise Mart (or the Merch Mart, or the Mart) is a commercial building located in downtown Chicago, Illinois. When it was opened in 1930, it was the largest building in the world, with of floor space. The Art Deco structure is located at the junction of the Chicago River's branches. The building is a leading retailing and wholesale destination, hosting 20,000 visitors and tenants per day in the late 2000s. Built by Marshall Field & Co. and later owned for over half a century by the Kennedy family, the Mart centralized Chicago's wholesale goods business by consolidating architectural and interior design vendors and trades under a single roof. It has since become home to several other enterprises, including the Shops at the Mart, the Chicago campus of the Illinois Institute of Art, Motorola Mobility, and the Chicago tech startup center 1871. It was sold in January 1998 to Vornado Realty Trust. The Merchandise Mart is so large that it had its own ZIP Code (60654) until 2008, when the Postal Service assigned the ZIP Code to part of the surrounding area. In 2010, the building opened its Design Center showrooms to the public. History Construction and context In 1926, a westward extension of double-deck Wacker Drive increased development on the south riverbank. In 1927, Marshall Field & Co. announced its plans to build on the north bank opposite Wacker Drive. The site, bordered by Orleans Street, Wells Street, Kinzie Street and the Chicago River, was formerly a Native American trading post and the site of Chicago and North Western Railway's former Wells Street Station, abandoned in 1911 in favor of the Chicago and North Western Passenger Terminal. With the railroad's air rights, the site was large enough to accommodate "the largest building in the world". Removing the train yard supported the Chicago Plan Commission's desire to develop and beautify the riverfront. James Simpson, president of Marshall Field & Co. from 1923 to 1930 and chairman of the Chicago Plan Commission from 1926 to 1935, turned the first shovels of dirt at groundbreaking on August 16, 1928, along with architect Ernest Graham. General contractor John W. Griffiths & Sons brought building construction into the machine age through the use of techniques "ordinarily used in the construction of big dams." Concrete arriving by boat was lifted by compressed air to bins above the ground, with gravel and sand delivered by railroad cars to conveyor belts and transfer elevators. Giant mixers provided wet concrete to skip hoists in vertical towers that were extended as the building rose. Continuously employing 2,500 men and as many as 5,700 men altogether, the construction project lasted a year and a half into the early months of the Great Depression. With a foundation footprint of nearly two square city blocks, the building required 29 million bricks, of plumbing, of wiring, nearly of concrete, of stone, and 4,000 windows. Bethlehem Steel fabricated much of the 60,000 tons of steel. An estimated of corridors and over 30 elevators were included in the construction. The total cost of construction was estimated to be $26 million. Ownership The Merchandise Mart opened on May 5, 1930, just east of Chicago's original trading post, Wolf Point. The building realized Marshall Field’s dream of a single wholesale center for the entire nation and consolidated 13 different warehouses. It was purchased in 1945 or 1946, depending on the source, by the Kennedy family through Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc., and managed by Sargent Shriver. Kennedy's purchase price was reported to be either $12.5 or $13 million, and it is said that his initial capital was $1 million, though records say his original mortgage was $12.5 million, this was roughly half of what it had cost to construct the complex twenty years earlier. The building's sale was brokered by a good friend of Marshall Field and Joseph Kennedy, E. Stanley Klein. Klein at that time was a partner of Field and together they started Fieldcrest Mills. Klein maintained that Kennedy's bargain price was predicated on an oral agreement between Field and Kennedy that after the sale the building would be donated to the University of Chicago and that Kennedy would take the tax deduction, although as an oral agreement no documentary evidence of this exists. The building revenues became a principal source of Kennedy family wealth, including being a source of political campaign funding. The Kennedy family sold the complex center property to Vornado Realty Trust in 1998 as part of a larger $625 million ($ million in current dollars) transaction, When it was sold, the Merchandise Mart was also the Kennedy's family's last remaining operating business. That year, MMPI was acquired by Vornado for $450 million cash and a $100 million-plus stake in Vornado. As of early 2007, the building was valued at $917 million. Expansions and renovations The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s. The Indian chiefs were removed and replaced with concrete plates in 1961, of minimal note to onlookers as skyscrapers did not rise on the north side of the river as predicted. Some of the carvings were later found in a suburban backyard and auctioned in 2014. In 1962, an entrance canopy was constructed over the south for vehicle use. In 1977, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the Chicago Apparel Center, located on the west side of Orleans Street, which increased the Merchandise Mart’s total floor space to . Making use of plazas, esplanades and overlooks employed the waterfront location for pedestrian pleasure. In 1988, Helmut Jahn designed an enclosed pedestrian walking bridge over Orleans Street connecting the Mart and the Apparel Center. After a 10-year, $100 million modernization in the late 1980s that included public utility upgrades, Beyer Blinder Belle's commission in 1989 was to create additional perimeter entrances and restore the display windows, main entrance and lobby. On the south facade, the drive-through canopy was removed and two smaller doorways aside the main entrance were added. Display windows, painted over during the earlier modernization campaign, were restored with clear glass to showcase merchant's wares. New main and corner entrances were added to the rear facade, and the loading dock that occupied the north portion of the first floor of the river level was removed in order to use the bottom deck of North Bank Drive. Improvements to the lobby included restoration of the original glass curtain wall over the entrance, shop fronts and reception desk using terrazzo floors and wall sconces influenced by the original design. The project was completed in 1991. In November 2007, the building received LEED for Existing Buildings Silver recognition. Building The Merchandise Mart was designed by the Chicago architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White to be a "city within a city". Second only to Holabird & Root in Chicago art deco architecture, the firm had a long-standing relationship with the Field family. Started in 1928, completed in 1931, and built in the same art deco style as the Chicago Board of Trade Building, its cost was reported as both $32 million and $38 million. The building was the largest in the world in terms of floorspace, but was surpassed by the Pentagon in 1943, and now stands forty-fourth on the list of largest buildings in the world. Once the largest commercial space in the world, New Century Global Center in China is now recognized by Guinness World Records as holding the record. Architecture Designer Alfred Shaw integrated art deco stylings with influences from three building types—the warehouse, the department store and the skyscraper. A warehouse block stands as the 18-story bulk of the building. Ribbon piers define the windows, and the building's chamfered corners, minimal setbacks, and corner pavilions disguise the edges of the mass and visually reduce bulk. The south corner pavilions are of greater height than the north corner pavilions. The building is open at the pedestrian level with bronzed framed display windows, typical of a department store, on the south, west and east boundaries. The 25-story central tower ascends with a peak in the form of a skyscraper, and rests in the southern half of the building. Deeply recessed portals occur between raised panels, and are adorned with medallions featuring the interlocked initials of the Merchandise Mart. The same logo occurs throughout the building. Fifty-six American Indian chiefs circled the tower's crown, a reference to the site's history and Chicago's early trade activities. Three and a half feet wide by seven feet tall, the terra cotta figures were barely visible from the street, meant to be viewed from the upper floors of the skyscrapers planned to rise along the riverbank. The lobby of The Merchandise Mart is defined by eight square marble piers, with storefronts in side aisles framed in embossed bronze trim. The green and orange terrazzo floor was conceived as a carpet: a pattern of squares and stripes bordered by overscaled chevrons inlaid with The Mart's initials. The chevron theme is continued in the column sconces lighting an ornamented cornice overhead. Referred to as "business boulevards", two wide long corridors with terrazzo floors in the upper levels featured six and one-half miles of display windows. Building regulations specified identical entrances along corridors but tenants could personalize the individual floor space. Excepting the corridors, elevator halls, and exhibition space on the fourth floor, the of each upper floor was "raw space" with concrete floors. Artwork Jules Guerin's frieze of 17 murals is the primary feature of the lobby and graphically illustrate commerce throughout the world, including the countries of origin for items sold in the building. The murals depict the industries and products, the primary mode of transportation and the architecture of 14 countries. Drawing on years as a stage set designer, Guerin executed the murals in red with gold leaf using techniques producing distinct image layers in successive planes. In a panel representing Italy, Venetian glassware appears in the foreground with fishing boats moored on the Grand Canal and the facade of the Palazzo Ducale rises above the towers of the Piazza San Marco. "To immortalize outstanding American merchants", Joseph Kennedy in 1953 commissioned eight bronze busts, four times life size, which would come to be known as the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame: retail magnates Frank Winfield Woolworth, Marshall Field and Aaron Montgomery Ward Julius Rosenwald and Robert Elkington Wood of Sears, Roebuck and Company fame advertiser John Wanamaker, merchandiser Edward Albert Filene, and A&P grocery chain founder George Huntington Hartford. All of the busts rest on white pedestals lining the Chicago River and face north toward the gold front door of the building. "Art on theMART" "Art on theMART" is a digital art display begun in 2018. It provides a 2.5 acre "canvas" (2 football fields) for digital artwork projected on the Chicago River facing facade of the Merchandise Mart. The project is intended to be the largest digital art projection in the world and is scheduled to occur over thirty years with annual showings initially between March and December. In 2019 it was expanded from five nights a week to every night. Displays begin 15 minutes after sunset and loop for two hours. Obscura Digital studio initially installed 34 projection cameras to allow the rotating roster of artists to display their work. Surroundings Dominating the skyline in the south end of the Near North Side, the Mart lies just south of the gallery district on the southern terminus of Franklin Street. Eateries and nightclubs abound on Hubbard Street one block to the north. The Kinzie Chophouse, popular with politicians and celebrities, stands on the northwest corner of Wells and Kinzie, across from the Merchandise Mart. The Chicago Varnish Company Building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and now housing Harry Caray's restaurant, is located east on Kinzie Street. Across the street to the east is 325 N. Wells Street, home to The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and DIRTT Environmental Solutions. The Mart is not rectangular in shape, having been constructed after the bascule bridges over the Chicago River were completed. The control house for the double decked Wells Street Bridge stands between the lower level and the southeast corner of the building. The Franklin Street Bridge stands at the southwest corner of the building, at the junction of Orleans Street and Franklin Street. The building slants at the same angle as Franklin Street, from southeast to northwest along Orleans Street. Exterior lighting A heritage of lighting the structure finds the central and corner towers, along with the columns between each window on the setbacks, bathed nightly in an upwardly focused white light. Tradition dictates annual changes to green in mid-March for St. Patrick's Day and orange during the fall months around Halloween and Thanksgiving. Prominent events have found the behemoth lit in pink for Cancer Awareness Month. To note the 2006 Chicago Bears season, highlighted by reaching Super Bowl XLI, the building was lit with team colors, orange floodlights for the setbacks and blue floodlights for the towers. Red and green lights are used during the Christmas season. During the Art Chicago 2008 the American artist Jenny Holzer illuminated the facade of the building with a poem by the Polish winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature Wisława Szymborska. In 2018, a large projection screen began displaying images and videos across the structure's riverfront side. Nighttime lighting on the Mart typically matches the colors of antenna lighting on the Sears Tower and John Hancock Center, as well as the colors used on the top floors of the Aon Center. Green building practices Under Chris Kennedy's leadership of the Mart, it was the largest building in the world to be awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification in 2007 from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The Mart has long been implementing sustainable practices. The Mart Center began operating a thermal storage facility in 1986, capable of building of ice per night, cooling 71 buildings in the surrounding neighborhood, and saving $200,000 in electricity costs in the first year. In 1990, the Mart Center began using Green Seal-approved green cleaning products and the next year implemented a recycling program, which today includes all forms of paper products, glass, light bulbs, batteries, aluminum and construction materials. In 1996, the Mart Center became one of the first major property owners in downtown Chicago to enter into an agreement with the district cooling system now known as Thermal Chicago, thus contributing to the national effort to reduce the discharge of ozone-damaging CFCs. In 2006, MMPI joined Clean Air Counts, a voluntary initiative to reduce smog forming pollutants and energy consumption in the Chicago area. Part of the campaign strategies included utilizing only low VOC cleaning products, paints and building materials, as well as energy efficient lighting and alternative workplace transportation options. To date, the Mart Center has reduced pollution by , the largest reduction by a commercial building. That same year, the Mart Center recycling program saved over 13,000 trees and recycled nearly 11 million pounds of waste, while water conservation efforts saved of water. More than eight percent of the estimated 10,000 people working at the Mart walk, bike or take public transportation; to encourage greener methods of transportation, the Mart expanded bicycle storage capacity to more than 200. In 2009, MMPI converted all stationery to a one hundred percent post-consumer recycled product. The Mart has nine LEED-certified showrooms, with five others on their way to LEED certification. Uses Commerce Wholesale showrooms occupy 50% of the usable floor space, and the Sultan of Brunei once spent $1.6 million at the Mart to furnish his entire palace, claiming the location was the only place where the task could be completed in one week. Select showrooms are open only to wholesalers, with others accessible to the general public. Unlike stores with traditional shelf and rack displays, entire usable rooms are created, providing consumers an opportunity to compare form and function between applications and manufacturers. A portion of the stores offer items for purchase singly or as a collection, while others offer design services, preservation, renovation, or installation. In addition to being a resource for architects and decorators, the Mart also has featured award-winning designs as selected by the American Institute of Architects. Catering to suppliers, on-site firms specialize in providing professional services for market research projects. In 1931, Marshall Field and Company lost $5 million, followed by $8 million in 1932. The wholesale division was greatly reduced and Field's reduced its space in the Mart from four floors to one and half. The Mart continued to display the latest trends in home furnishings within the showrooms and trade shows. The company recovered late in the decade, but did not return to all previously occupied space. In 1942, L. L. Skaggs formed a partnership with three other men and named the partnership the Owners Service Company, hence Osco. The headquarters moved from Waterloo, Iowa, to the Merchandise Mart. A retail shopping area, named The Shops at the Mart, opened in 1991 and includes apparel shops, beauty services, bookstores and newsstands, financial services, telecommunication services, travel services, specialty food and wine stores, photo services, a dry cleaner, shoe shine stand, and a food court. A U.S. Post Office is located on the first floor and a FedEx location is on the second floor. The Apparel Center houses the 521-room Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza River North hotel, the offices of the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago campus of the Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago, as well as the Chicago office of the Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency. GoHealth occupies on the 5th floor of Merchandise Mart, the Potbelly Sandwich Works' corporate offices are located in the tower. Motorola Mobility moved its headquarters to the Merchandise Mart in 2014. Trade fairs Since 1969, the Merchandise Mart has been home to the annual National Exposition of Contract Furnishings, known as NeoCon. With over 1,000 exhibitors of contract and commercial furnishings, and 50,000 attendees, it is the largest trade show of its kind in North America. Since 2006 the Merchandise Mart has played host to the Art Chicago international art fair. Mass media Radio Before the location even opened, NBC announced plans to build studios in the Mart. When opened on October 20, 1930, the nineteenth floor location covered and supported a variety of live broadcasts including those requiring orchestras. WENR and WMAQ broadcast from the location. Expanded in 1935, with office space in the previously unoccupied tower, the additional provided room for an organ chamber, two echo rooms, and a total of 11 studios. A staff of more than 300 produced up to 1,700 programs each month, including Amos 'n' Andy. Hugh Downs contributed to the Burr Tillstrom children's show Kukla, Fran and Ollie from the NBC studios after the network picked up the program from WBKB. The Captain Midnight radio program was broadcast from the Mart from 1942 until 1945. WMAQ and WMAQ-TV moved to the NBC Tower in 1989 (even though the radio station had been sold to Westinghouse Broadcasting two years earlier). (Today, the former NBC space is being utilized by Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy as a learning site for film and broadcast productions.) WMAQ's former sister FM station, WKQX, stayed at the Merchandise Mart; renamed WIQI, as of May 2012 it still occupies space on the west side of the second floor, along with co-owned WLUP. WKQX moved to a new facility at NBC Tower in the summer of 2016. Television On January 7, 1949, NBC station WNBQ commercially debuted its television broadcast schedule on channel 5, with a minimum of two hours of programming per day. April 15, 1956, is remembered as "C-Day" at WMAQ-TV, and was described by Broadcasting-Telecasting magazine as "a daring breakthrough the black-and-white curtain." With Mayor Richard J. Daley looking on, NBC President David Sarnoff operated the controls as Channel 5 became the world's first all-color TV station as "Wide, Wide World" was broadcast to 110 NBC-TV affiliated stations across the country. The color conversion project cost more than $1.25 million with advertising costing $175,000. On "C-Day", three skywriting planes flew over the city, trailing streams of red, green and blue smoke. WMAQ-TV first installed color equipment in late 1953, with the Tournament of Roses Parade of 1954 as the first major broadcast. Introduced in March 1955, the first local color program was John Ott's "How Does Your Garden Grow?", featuring the use of time-lapse color film. Although WMAQ-TV has since moved to NBC Tower about a mile away, and for the most part the 19th floor of the Mart has been turned into office space, one former tenant (Bankers Life and Trust Company) maintained a remnant of the original studios as their video and multimedia department. The former WMAQ space is currently being redeveloped by Flashpoint Academy as a full modern soundstage facility as well as a screening room, backlot, and classroom space over the 19th and 20th floors. Local regional sports network Comcast SportsNet Chicago has their control room, and broadcasts their live studio programming from the Apparel Center expansion; the studios had been home to previous RSNs FSN Chicago and SportsChannel Chicago. Chicago 'L' Built in under four months and opened on December 5, 1930, the Merchandise Mart elevated train station served the Main Line of the North Side Division. The station is now noted for being one of two commercial locations to have its own station on the Chicago Transit Authority's (CTA) 'L' system. The station is now served by the Brown and Purple Lines. The station complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; the turnstiles are located within the building on the second floor, while the platforms are connected to the east side of the building. The northbound platform is accessed by an overhead bridge or elevator. It was rebuilt in 1988, prior to the Wells Street Bridge reconstruction in 1989. The Merchandise Mart housed the CTA's headquarters on the 7th floor from 1947 to 2004. Cultural involvement Owing to the expanding postwar economy and family, the owners began offering tours in 1948. Architecture and design interest groups continue to offer scheduled tours. The Mart hosts the annual Art Chicago activities. Chicago Marathon routes have taken runners past the structure, typically on Wells Street. In popular culture The 1948 film Call Northside 777, was made in Illinois and the Mart is seen from newspaper offices on Wacker Drive. The lobby appeared in the movie The Hudsucker Proxy as the interior of the Hudsucker Company headquarters. In 1956, the eight-minute short subject film The Merchandise Mart used the Mart's name and covered in detail the building's interior and operations. When his late-night NBC talk show was performed in Chicago during the first week of May 1989, David Letterman called the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame "the Pez Hall of Fame" because the combination of busts atop the tall vertical pedestals resembled the candy's dispensers. In the 1993 film The Fugitive, U.S. Marshals pinpoint the location of Dr. Richard Kimble when they hear a CTA train conductor announce, "Next stop, Merchandise Mart" in the background of a recorded phone call. The Mart was depicted as the Candor headquarters in the 2012 novel Insurgent by Veronica Roth. See also Art Deco Chicago architecture Fulton House, Chicago Interior Design List of largest buildings in the world New York Merchandise Mart References Further reading Chappell, Sally A. Kitt, Architecture and Planning of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White, 1912–1936:Transforming Tradition, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1992 Roth, Veronica, Insurgent, HarperCollins, New York, NY 2012 External links archive at the Chicago Tribune Video Merchandise Mart Properties Tenant Profiles The Merchandise Mart Buyers Guide 1930 establishments in Illinois Art Deco architecture in Illinois Buildings and structures completed in 1930 Kennedy family Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design basic silver certified buildings Skyscrapers in Chicago Wholesale markets
false
[ "The Shepshed Building Society was a UK building society, which had its head office in Shepshed, Leicestershire. It merged with the larger Nottingham Building Society on 1 July 2013. The three former Shepshed branches rebranded under Nottingham's name.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nShepshed Building Society\nBuilding Societies Association\nKPMG Building Societies Database 2008\nMoneysupermarket.com list of \"Who Owns Who?\" 2010.\n\nShepshed\nFormer building societies of the United Kingdom\nBanks established in 1879\nOrganizations established in 1879\nBanks disestablished in 2013\nCompanies based in Leicestershire\n1879 establishments in England", "Arabesque is a Romanian company based in Galați, which distributes building materials and operates hardware stores. The network comprises 7 Mathaus DIY stores and 22 Arabesque warehouses in Romania. It also operates 6 warehouses in Republic of Moldova, Bulgaria and Ukraine.\nThe company was founded in 1994 and is owned by Romanian businessman Cezar Rapotan who also owns shares of the manufacturer of steel structures Sibel FIERCTC and of the energy solutions company Chorus Marketing and Distribution.\n\nThe first warehouse outside Romania was opened in 2005, in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, as Arabesque Construct.\n\nIn July 2006, Arabesque has acquired the Budmax network, the third largest player in the building materials business-to-business market in Ukraine. In 2020 Arabesque still operates only 3 of the 10 warehouses that still operate under the Budmax brand in Ukraine.\n\nArabesque also owns in Bulgaria a Budmax warehouse in Sofia since 2006 and in Burgas since 2007.\n\nReferences\n\nRetail companies established in 1994\nHardware stores\nRetail companies of Romania" ]
[ "Merchandise Mart", "Expansions and renovations", "When did the renovations take place", "The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s.", "What did the renovations entail?", "The Indian chiefs were removed and replaced with concrete plates in 1961,", "How much did it cost?", "After a 10-year, $100 million modernization in the late 1980s", "Have there been any other recent renovations?", "The project was completed in 1991.", "What kind of expansions have they done?", "In 1977, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the Chicago Apparel Center, located on the west side of Orleans Street, which increased", "Are there any interesting aspects of this article?", "Some of the carvings were later found in a suburban backyard and auctioned in 2014.", "Who pays for all of these expensive renovations?", "I don't know.", "Who owns the building/", "I don't know." ]
C_34fff391fa464f15b26174eb4bee0fe7_1
How long did the renovations take?
9
How long did the renovations to Merchandise Mart take?
Merchandise Mart
The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s. The Indian chiefs were removed and replaced with concrete plates in 1961, of minimal note to onlookers as skyscrapers did not rise on the north side of the river as predicted. Some of the carvings were later found in a suburban backyard and auctioned in 2014. In 1962, an entrance canopy was constructed over the south for vehicle use. In 1977, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the Chicago Apparel Center, located on the west side of Orleans Street, which increased the Merchandise Mart's total floor space to 6,200,000 square feet (580,000 m2). Making use of plazas, esplanades and overlooks employed the waterfront location for pedestrian pleasure. In 1988, Helmut Jahn designed an enclosed pedestrian walking bridge over Orleans Street connecting the Mart and the Apparel Center. After a 10-year, $100 million modernization in the late 1980s that included public utility upgrades, Beyer Blinder Belle's commission in 1989 was to create additional perimeter entrances and restore the display windows, main entrance and lobby. On the south facade, the drive-through canopy was removed and two smaller doorways aside the main entrance were added. Display windows, painted over during the earlier modernization campaign, were restored with clear glass to showcase merchant's wares. New main and corner entrances were added to the rear facade, and the loading dock that occupied the north portion of the first floor of the river level was removed in order to use the bottom deck of North Bank Drive. Improvements to the lobby included restoration of the original glass curtain wall over the entrance, shop fronts and reception desk using terrazzo floors and wall sconces influenced by the original design. The project was completed in 1991. In November 2007, the building received LEED for Existing Buildings Silver recognition. CANNOTANSWER
After a 10-year, $100 million modernization
The Merchandise Mart (or the Merch Mart, or the Mart) is a commercial building located in downtown Chicago, Illinois. When it was opened in 1930, it was the largest building in the world, with of floor space. The Art Deco structure is located at the junction of the Chicago River's branches. The building is a leading retailing and wholesale destination, hosting 20,000 visitors and tenants per day in the late 2000s. Built by Marshall Field & Co. and later owned for over half a century by the Kennedy family, the Mart centralized Chicago's wholesale goods business by consolidating architectural and interior design vendors and trades under a single roof. It has since become home to several other enterprises, including the Shops at the Mart, the Chicago campus of the Illinois Institute of Art, Motorola Mobility, and the Chicago tech startup center 1871. It was sold in January 1998 to Vornado Realty Trust. The Merchandise Mart is so large that it had its own ZIP Code (60654) until 2008, when the Postal Service assigned the ZIP Code to part of the surrounding area. In 2010, the building opened its Design Center showrooms to the public. History Construction and context In 1926, a westward extension of double-deck Wacker Drive increased development on the south riverbank. In 1927, Marshall Field & Co. announced its plans to build on the north bank opposite Wacker Drive. The site, bordered by Orleans Street, Wells Street, Kinzie Street and the Chicago River, was formerly a Native American trading post and the site of Chicago and North Western Railway's former Wells Street Station, abandoned in 1911 in favor of the Chicago and North Western Passenger Terminal. With the railroad's air rights, the site was large enough to accommodate "the largest building in the world". Removing the train yard supported the Chicago Plan Commission's desire to develop and beautify the riverfront. James Simpson, president of Marshall Field & Co. from 1923 to 1930 and chairman of the Chicago Plan Commission from 1926 to 1935, turned the first shovels of dirt at groundbreaking on August 16, 1928, along with architect Ernest Graham. General contractor John W. Griffiths & Sons brought building construction into the machine age through the use of techniques "ordinarily used in the construction of big dams." Concrete arriving by boat was lifted by compressed air to bins above the ground, with gravel and sand delivered by railroad cars to conveyor belts and transfer elevators. Giant mixers provided wet concrete to skip hoists in vertical towers that were extended as the building rose. Continuously employing 2,500 men and as many as 5,700 men altogether, the construction project lasted a year and a half into the early months of the Great Depression. With a foundation footprint of nearly two square city blocks, the building required 29 million bricks, of plumbing, of wiring, nearly of concrete, of stone, and 4,000 windows. Bethlehem Steel fabricated much of the 60,000 tons of steel. An estimated of corridors and over 30 elevators were included in the construction. The total cost of construction was estimated to be $26 million. Ownership The Merchandise Mart opened on May 5, 1930, just east of Chicago's original trading post, Wolf Point. The building realized Marshall Field’s dream of a single wholesale center for the entire nation and consolidated 13 different warehouses. It was purchased in 1945 or 1946, depending on the source, by the Kennedy family through Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc., and managed by Sargent Shriver. Kennedy's purchase price was reported to be either $12.5 or $13 million, and it is said that his initial capital was $1 million, though records say his original mortgage was $12.5 million, this was roughly half of what it had cost to construct the complex twenty years earlier. The building's sale was brokered by a good friend of Marshall Field and Joseph Kennedy, E. Stanley Klein. Klein at that time was a partner of Field and together they started Fieldcrest Mills. Klein maintained that Kennedy's bargain price was predicated on an oral agreement between Field and Kennedy that after the sale the building would be donated to the University of Chicago and that Kennedy would take the tax deduction, although as an oral agreement no documentary evidence of this exists. The building revenues became a principal source of Kennedy family wealth, including being a source of political campaign funding. The Kennedy family sold the complex center property to Vornado Realty Trust in 1998 as part of a larger $625 million ($ million in current dollars) transaction, When it was sold, the Merchandise Mart was also the Kennedy's family's last remaining operating business. That year, MMPI was acquired by Vornado for $450 million cash and a $100 million-plus stake in Vornado. As of early 2007, the building was valued at $917 million. Expansions and renovations The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s. The Indian chiefs were removed and replaced with concrete plates in 1961, of minimal note to onlookers as skyscrapers did not rise on the north side of the river as predicted. Some of the carvings were later found in a suburban backyard and auctioned in 2014. In 1962, an entrance canopy was constructed over the south for vehicle use. In 1977, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the Chicago Apparel Center, located on the west side of Orleans Street, which increased the Merchandise Mart’s total floor space to . Making use of plazas, esplanades and overlooks employed the waterfront location for pedestrian pleasure. In 1988, Helmut Jahn designed an enclosed pedestrian walking bridge over Orleans Street connecting the Mart and the Apparel Center. After a 10-year, $100 million modernization in the late 1980s that included public utility upgrades, Beyer Blinder Belle's commission in 1989 was to create additional perimeter entrances and restore the display windows, main entrance and lobby. On the south facade, the drive-through canopy was removed and two smaller doorways aside the main entrance were added. Display windows, painted over during the earlier modernization campaign, were restored with clear glass to showcase merchant's wares. New main and corner entrances were added to the rear facade, and the loading dock that occupied the north portion of the first floor of the river level was removed in order to use the bottom deck of North Bank Drive. Improvements to the lobby included restoration of the original glass curtain wall over the entrance, shop fronts and reception desk using terrazzo floors and wall sconces influenced by the original design. The project was completed in 1991. In November 2007, the building received LEED for Existing Buildings Silver recognition. Building The Merchandise Mart was designed by the Chicago architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White to be a "city within a city". Second only to Holabird & Root in Chicago art deco architecture, the firm had a long-standing relationship with the Field family. Started in 1928, completed in 1931, and built in the same art deco style as the Chicago Board of Trade Building, its cost was reported as both $32 million and $38 million. The building was the largest in the world in terms of floorspace, but was surpassed by the Pentagon in 1943, and now stands forty-fourth on the list of largest buildings in the world. Once the largest commercial space in the world, New Century Global Center in China is now recognized by Guinness World Records as holding the record. Architecture Designer Alfred Shaw integrated art deco stylings with influences from three building types—the warehouse, the department store and the skyscraper. A warehouse block stands as the 18-story bulk of the building. Ribbon piers define the windows, and the building's chamfered corners, minimal setbacks, and corner pavilions disguise the edges of the mass and visually reduce bulk. The south corner pavilions are of greater height than the north corner pavilions. The building is open at the pedestrian level with bronzed framed display windows, typical of a department store, on the south, west and east boundaries. The 25-story central tower ascends with a peak in the form of a skyscraper, and rests in the southern half of the building. Deeply recessed portals occur between raised panels, and are adorned with medallions featuring the interlocked initials of the Merchandise Mart. The same logo occurs throughout the building. Fifty-six American Indian chiefs circled the tower's crown, a reference to the site's history and Chicago's early trade activities. Three and a half feet wide by seven feet tall, the terra cotta figures were barely visible from the street, meant to be viewed from the upper floors of the skyscrapers planned to rise along the riverbank. The lobby of The Merchandise Mart is defined by eight square marble piers, with storefronts in side aisles framed in embossed bronze trim. The green and orange terrazzo floor was conceived as a carpet: a pattern of squares and stripes bordered by overscaled chevrons inlaid with The Mart's initials. The chevron theme is continued in the column sconces lighting an ornamented cornice overhead. Referred to as "business boulevards", two wide long corridors with terrazzo floors in the upper levels featured six and one-half miles of display windows. Building regulations specified identical entrances along corridors but tenants could personalize the individual floor space. Excepting the corridors, elevator halls, and exhibition space on the fourth floor, the of each upper floor was "raw space" with concrete floors. Artwork Jules Guerin's frieze of 17 murals is the primary feature of the lobby and graphically illustrate commerce throughout the world, including the countries of origin for items sold in the building. The murals depict the industries and products, the primary mode of transportation and the architecture of 14 countries. Drawing on years as a stage set designer, Guerin executed the murals in red with gold leaf using techniques producing distinct image layers in successive planes. In a panel representing Italy, Venetian glassware appears in the foreground with fishing boats moored on the Grand Canal and the facade of the Palazzo Ducale rises above the towers of the Piazza San Marco. "To immortalize outstanding American merchants", Joseph Kennedy in 1953 commissioned eight bronze busts, four times life size, which would come to be known as the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame: retail magnates Frank Winfield Woolworth, Marshall Field and Aaron Montgomery Ward Julius Rosenwald and Robert Elkington Wood of Sears, Roebuck and Company fame advertiser John Wanamaker, merchandiser Edward Albert Filene, and A&P grocery chain founder George Huntington Hartford. All of the busts rest on white pedestals lining the Chicago River and face north toward the gold front door of the building. "Art on theMART" "Art on theMART" is a digital art display begun in 2018. It provides a 2.5 acre "canvas" (2 football fields) for digital artwork projected on the Chicago River facing facade of the Merchandise Mart. The project is intended to be the largest digital art projection in the world and is scheduled to occur over thirty years with annual showings initially between March and December. In 2019 it was expanded from five nights a week to every night. Displays begin 15 minutes after sunset and loop for two hours. Obscura Digital studio initially installed 34 projection cameras to allow the rotating roster of artists to display their work. Surroundings Dominating the skyline in the south end of the Near North Side, the Mart lies just south of the gallery district on the southern terminus of Franklin Street. Eateries and nightclubs abound on Hubbard Street one block to the north. The Kinzie Chophouse, popular with politicians and celebrities, stands on the northwest corner of Wells and Kinzie, across from the Merchandise Mart. The Chicago Varnish Company Building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and now housing Harry Caray's restaurant, is located east on Kinzie Street. Across the street to the east is 325 N. Wells Street, home to The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and DIRTT Environmental Solutions. The Mart is not rectangular in shape, having been constructed after the bascule bridges over the Chicago River were completed. The control house for the double decked Wells Street Bridge stands between the lower level and the southeast corner of the building. The Franklin Street Bridge stands at the southwest corner of the building, at the junction of Orleans Street and Franklin Street. The building slants at the same angle as Franklin Street, from southeast to northwest along Orleans Street. Exterior lighting A heritage of lighting the structure finds the central and corner towers, along with the columns between each window on the setbacks, bathed nightly in an upwardly focused white light. Tradition dictates annual changes to green in mid-March for St. Patrick's Day and orange during the fall months around Halloween and Thanksgiving. Prominent events have found the behemoth lit in pink for Cancer Awareness Month. To note the 2006 Chicago Bears season, highlighted by reaching Super Bowl XLI, the building was lit with team colors, orange floodlights for the setbacks and blue floodlights for the towers. Red and green lights are used during the Christmas season. During the Art Chicago 2008 the American artist Jenny Holzer illuminated the facade of the building with a poem by the Polish winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature Wisława Szymborska. In 2018, a large projection screen began displaying images and videos across the structure's riverfront side. Nighttime lighting on the Mart typically matches the colors of antenna lighting on the Sears Tower and John Hancock Center, as well as the colors used on the top floors of the Aon Center. Green building practices Under Chris Kennedy's leadership of the Mart, it was the largest building in the world to be awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification in 2007 from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The Mart has long been implementing sustainable practices. The Mart Center began operating a thermal storage facility in 1986, capable of building of ice per night, cooling 71 buildings in the surrounding neighborhood, and saving $200,000 in electricity costs in the first year. In 1990, the Mart Center began using Green Seal-approved green cleaning products and the next year implemented a recycling program, which today includes all forms of paper products, glass, light bulbs, batteries, aluminum and construction materials. In 1996, the Mart Center became one of the first major property owners in downtown Chicago to enter into an agreement with the district cooling system now known as Thermal Chicago, thus contributing to the national effort to reduce the discharge of ozone-damaging CFCs. In 2006, MMPI joined Clean Air Counts, a voluntary initiative to reduce smog forming pollutants and energy consumption in the Chicago area. Part of the campaign strategies included utilizing only low VOC cleaning products, paints and building materials, as well as energy efficient lighting and alternative workplace transportation options. To date, the Mart Center has reduced pollution by , the largest reduction by a commercial building. That same year, the Mart Center recycling program saved over 13,000 trees and recycled nearly 11 million pounds of waste, while water conservation efforts saved of water. More than eight percent of the estimated 10,000 people working at the Mart walk, bike or take public transportation; to encourage greener methods of transportation, the Mart expanded bicycle storage capacity to more than 200. In 2009, MMPI converted all stationery to a one hundred percent post-consumer recycled product. The Mart has nine LEED-certified showrooms, with five others on their way to LEED certification. Uses Commerce Wholesale showrooms occupy 50% of the usable floor space, and the Sultan of Brunei once spent $1.6 million at the Mart to furnish his entire palace, claiming the location was the only place where the task could be completed in one week. Select showrooms are open only to wholesalers, with others accessible to the general public. Unlike stores with traditional shelf and rack displays, entire usable rooms are created, providing consumers an opportunity to compare form and function between applications and manufacturers. A portion of the stores offer items for purchase singly or as a collection, while others offer design services, preservation, renovation, or installation. In addition to being a resource for architects and decorators, the Mart also has featured award-winning designs as selected by the American Institute of Architects. Catering to suppliers, on-site firms specialize in providing professional services for market research projects. In 1931, Marshall Field and Company lost $5 million, followed by $8 million in 1932. The wholesale division was greatly reduced and Field's reduced its space in the Mart from four floors to one and half. The Mart continued to display the latest trends in home furnishings within the showrooms and trade shows. The company recovered late in the decade, but did not return to all previously occupied space. In 1942, L. L. Skaggs formed a partnership with three other men and named the partnership the Owners Service Company, hence Osco. The headquarters moved from Waterloo, Iowa, to the Merchandise Mart. A retail shopping area, named The Shops at the Mart, opened in 1991 and includes apparel shops, beauty services, bookstores and newsstands, financial services, telecommunication services, travel services, specialty food and wine stores, photo services, a dry cleaner, shoe shine stand, and a food court. A U.S. Post Office is located on the first floor and a FedEx location is on the second floor. The Apparel Center houses the 521-room Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza River North hotel, the offices of the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago campus of the Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago, as well as the Chicago office of the Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency. GoHealth occupies on the 5th floor of Merchandise Mart, the Potbelly Sandwich Works' corporate offices are located in the tower. Motorola Mobility moved its headquarters to the Merchandise Mart in 2014. Trade fairs Since 1969, the Merchandise Mart has been home to the annual National Exposition of Contract Furnishings, known as NeoCon. With over 1,000 exhibitors of contract and commercial furnishings, and 50,000 attendees, it is the largest trade show of its kind in North America. Since 2006 the Merchandise Mart has played host to the Art Chicago international art fair. Mass media Radio Before the location even opened, NBC announced plans to build studios in the Mart. When opened on October 20, 1930, the nineteenth floor location covered and supported a variety of live broadcasts including those requiring orchestras. WENR and WMAQ broadcast from the location. Expanded in 1935, with office space in the previously unoccupied tower, the additional provided room for an organ chamber, two echo rooms, and a total of 11 studios. A staff of more than 300 produced up to 1,700 programs each month, including Amos 'n' Andy. Hugh Downs contributed to the Burr Tillstrom children's show Kukla, Fran and Ollie from the NBC studios after the network picked up the program from WBKB. The Captain Midnight radio program was broadcast from the Mart from 1942 until 1945. WMAQ and WMAQ-TV moved to the NBC Tower in 1989 (even though the radio station had been sold to Westinghouse Broadcasting two years earlier). (Today, the former NBC space is being utilized by Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy as a learning site for film and broadcast productions.) WMAQ's former sister FM station, WKQX, stayed at the Merchandise Mart; renamed WIQI, as of May 2012 it still occupies space on the west side of the second floor, along with co-owned WLUP. WKQX moved to a new facility at NBC Tower in the summer of 2016. Television On January 7, 1949, NBC station WNBQ commercially debuted its television broadcast schedule on channel 5, with a minimum of two hours of programming per day. April 15, 1956, is remembered as "C-Day" at WMAQ-TV, and was described by Broadcasting-Telecasting magazine as "a daring breakthrough the black-and-white curtain." With Mayor Richard J. Daley looking on, NBC President David Sarnoff operated the controls as Channel 5 became the world's first all-color TV station as "Wide, Wide World" was broadcast to 110 NBC-TV affiliated stations across the country. The color conversion project cost more than $1.25 million with advertising costing $175,000. On "C-Day", three skywriting planes flew over the city, trailing streams of red, green and blue smoke. WMAQ-TV first installed color equipment in late 1953, with the Tournament of Roses Parade of 1954 as the first major broadcast. Introduced in March 1955, the first local color program was John Ott's "How Does Your Garden Grow?", featuring the use of time-lapse color film. Although WMAQ-TV has since moved to NBC Tower about a mile away, and for the most part the 19th floor of the Mart has been turned into office space, one former tenant (Bankers Life and Trust Company) maintained a remnant of the original studios as their video and multimedia department. The former WMAQ space is currently being redeveloped by Flashpoint Academy as a full modern soundstage facility as well as a screening room, backlot, and classroom space over the 19th and 20th floors. Local regional sports network Comcast SportsNet Chicago has their control room, and broadcasts their live studio programming from the Apparel Center expansion; the studios had been home to previous RSNs FSN Chicago and SportsChannel Chicago. Chicago 'L' Built in under four months and opened on December 5, 1930, the Merchandise Mart elevated train station served the Main Line of the North Side Division. The station is now noted for being one of two commercial locations to have its own station on the Chicago Transit Authority's (CTA) 'L' system. The station is now served by the Brown and Purple Lines. The station complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; the turnstiles are located within the building on the second floor, while the platforms are connected to the east side of the building. The northbound platform is accessed by an overhead bridge or elevator. It was rebuilt in 1988, prior to the Wells Street Bridge reconstruction in 1989. The Merchandise Mart housed the CTA's headquarters on the 7th floor from 1947 to 2004. Cultural involvement Owing to the expanding postwar economy and family, the owners began offering tours in 1948. Architecture and design interest groups continue to offer scheduled tours. The Mart hosts the annual Art Chicago activities. Chicago Marathon routes have taken runners past the structure, typically on Wells Street. In popular culture The 1948 film Call Northside 777, was made in Illinois and the Mart is seen from newspaper offices on Wacker Drive. The lobby appeared in the movie The Hudsucker Proxy as the interior of the Hudsucker Company headquarters. In 1956, the eight-minute short subject film The Merchandise Mart used the Mart's name and covered in detail the building's interior and operations. When his late-night NBC talk show was performed in Chicago during the first week of May 1989, David Letterman called the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame "the Pez Hall of Fame" because the combination of busts atop the tall vertical pedestals resembled the candy's dispensers. In the 1993 film The Fugitive, U.S. Marshals pinpoint the location of Dr. Richard Kimble when they hear a CTA train conductor announce, "Next stop, Merchandise Mart" in the background of a recorded phone call. The Mart was depicted as the Candor headquarters in the 2012 novel Insurgent by Veronica Roth. See also Art Deco Chicago architecture Fulton House, Chicago Interior Design List of largest buildings in the world New York Merchandise Mart References Further reading Chappell, Sally A. Kitt, Architecture and Planning of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White, 1912–1936:Transforming Tradition, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1992 Roth, Veronica, Insurgent, HarperCollins, New York, NY 2012 External links archive at the Chicago Tribune Video Merchandise Mart Properties Tenant Profiles The Merchandise Mart Buyers Guide 1930 establishments in Illinois Art Deco architecture in Illinois Buildings and structures completed in 1930 Kennedy family Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design basic silver certified buildings Skyscrapers in Chicago Wholesale markets
true
[ "\"How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?\" is a single by British pop rock group the Beautiful South from their sixth album, Quench (1998). It was written by Paul Heaton and Dave Rotheray. The lyrics, which take the form of a conversation between two reconciling lovers, are noted for a reference to the TARDIS from Doctor Who. According to the book Last Orders at the Liars Bar: the Official Story of the Beautiful South, \"How Long's a Tear Take To Dry?\" was originally to be called \"She Bangs the Buns\" due to its chord structure reminiscent of Manchester's the Stone Roses. The song reached number 12 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the band's twelfth and final top-twenty hit.\n\nSingle release\n\"How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?\" reached number 12 in the UK Singles Chart in March 1999. Although not released on vinyl, it was given a dual-CD release in the UK. B-sides included a remix of \"How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?\" as well as acoustic versions of three other songs: \"Perfect 10\", \"Big Coin\", and \"Rotterdam\". On 18 March 1999, the band performed \"How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?\" live on the BBC music programme Top of the Pops.\n\nMusic video\nThe music video, available on The Beautiful South's compilation DVD Munch, is a humorous account of The Beautiful South on a world tour in order to pay for drinks at the local bar. The band is portrayed by cartoon versions of themselves, in a style reminiscent of 1960s-era Hanna-Barbera cartoons, and Scooby-Doo in particular. In the commentary track on the Munch DVD, Paul Heaton explains that the video was actually produced by Hanna-Barbera.\n\nTrack listings\n\nUK CD1\n \"How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?\"\n \"How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?\" (remix)\n \"Perfect 10\" (acoustic)\n\nUK CD2\n \"How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?\"\n \"Big Coin\" (acoustic)\n \"Rotterdam\" (acoustic)\n\nUK cassette single\n \"How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?\"\n \"How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?\" (remix)\n\nEuropean CD single\n \"How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?\" (radio edit)\n \"How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?\" (remix)\n \"Perfect 10\" (acoustic)\n \"Rotterdam\" (acoustic)\n\nGerman CD single\n \"How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?\"\n \"Dumb\"\n \"I Sold My Heart to the Junkman\"\n \"Suck Harder\"\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\n Pattenden, Mike - Last Orders at the Liars Bar: the Official Story of the Beautiful South ()\n\n1999 singles\n1998 songs\nThe Beautiful South songs\nGo! Discs singles\nHanna-Barbera\nMercury Records singles\nSongs written by David Rotheray\nSongs written by Paul Heaton", "Quench is the Beautiful South's sixth original album, released in the UK on 12 October 1998. Including the compilation Carry On Up The Charts, it was the band's third album in a row to reach the top of the charts.\n\nThe cover depicts a boxer by Scottish painter Peter Howson. Commissioned for the album, the original painting can be seen in the Ferens Art Gallery, Hull. After the band cropped the image and used it in merchandise and promotional material, Howson took legal action against the band, receiving around £30,000 in damages. Whilst the first two singles from the album also have artwork by Howson, \"How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?\" and \"The Table\" do not.\n\nSingles \n\"Perfect 10\" - released August 1998, UK Singles Chart pos.- #2,\n\"Dumb\" - released November 1998, UK Singles Chart pos.- #16,\n\"How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?\" - released March 1999, UK Singles Chart pos.- #12,\n\"The Table (feat. The London Community Gospel Choir)\" - released June 1999, UK Singles Chart pos.- #47.\n\nTrack listing \nAll songs written by Paul Heaton and Dave Rotheray\n \"How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?\"\n \"The Lure of the Sea\"\n \"Big Coin\"\n \"Dumb\"\n \"Perfect 10\"\n \"The Slide\"\n \"Look What I Found in My Beer\"\n \"The Table\"\n \"Window Shopping for Blinds\"\n \"Pockets\"\n \"I May Be Ugly\"\n \"Losing Things\"\n \"Your Father and I\"\n\nB-sides\nAs was their usual modus operandi, The Beautiful South included unreleased material on the B-sides of the singles taken from their albums.\n\nfrom the \"Perfect 10\" CD1\n\"Perfect 10\"\n\"If\"\n\"I'll Sail This Ship Alone\" (performed by the East Yorkshire Motor Services Band)\nfrom the \"Perfect 10\" CD2\n\"Perfect 10\"\n\"Loving Arms\" (Tom Jans)\n\"One Last Love Song\" (performed by the East Yorkshire Motor Services Band)\n\nfrom the \"Dumb\" CD1\n\"Dumb\"\n\"Suck Harder\"\n\"Especially For You\" (performed by the East Yorkshire Motor Services Band, sleeve lists \"Blackbird On The Wire\")\nfrom the \"Dumb\" CD2\n\"Dumb\" \n\"I Sold My Heart to the Junkman\" (Leon René)\n\"Blackbird On The Wire\" (performed by the East Yorkshire Motor Services Band, sleeve lists \"Especially For You\")\n\nfrom the \"How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?\" CD1\n\"How Long's A Tear Take To Dry?\"\n\"How Long's A Tear Take To Dry?\" (Remix)\n\"Perfect 10\" (Acoustic)\nfrom the \"How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?\" CD2\n\"How Long's A Tear Take To Dry?\"\n\"Big Coin\" (Acoustic, live on BBC Radio 1's The Mark Goodier Show)\n\"Rotterdam\" (Acoustic with Paul Heaton on vocals, recorded for BBC Radio 2 and UK Arena's songwriter circle 'In The Round' Dec. 2, 1998.\n\nfrom \"The Table\" CD1\n\"The Table\" (featuring The London Community Gospel Choir)\n\"Old Red Eyes Is Back\" (Acoustic)\n\"Your Father And I\" (Recorded live at The Forum, London in 1998 for BBC Radio 2)\nfrom \"The Table\" CD2\n\"The Table\" (featuring The London Community Gospel Choir)\n\"Don't Marry Her\" (Acoustic)\n\"Look What I Found In My Beer\" (Acoustic)\nAll the acoustic tracks were recorded for BBC Radio 2 and UK Arena's songwriter circle 'In The Round' Dec. 2, 1998.\n\nPersonnel\nThe Beautiful South\nPaul Heaton - vocals\nDave Hemingway - vocals\nJacqui Abbott - vocals\nDave Rotheray - guitar\nSean Welch - bass\nDave Stead - drums\nwith: \nDamon Butcher - keyboards\nGary Hammond - percussion\nThe Kick Horns - brass\nThe London Community Gospel Choir - backing vocals \"The Slide\"\nPaul Weller - additional guitar \"Perfect 10\"\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly\n\nYear-end\n\nReferences\n\nThe Beautiful South albums\n1998 albums\nAlbums produced by Jon Kelly" ]
[ "Merchandise Mart", "Expansions and renovations", "When did the renovations take place", "The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s.", "What did the renovations entail?", "The Indian chiefs were removed and replaced with concrete plates in 1961,", "How much did it cost?", "After a 10-year, $100 million modernization in the late 1980s", "Have there been any other recent renovations?", "The project was completed in 1991.", "What kind of expansions have they done?", "In 1977, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the Chicago Apparel Center, located on the west side of Orleans Street, which increased", "Are there any interesting aspects of this article?", "Some of the carvings were later found in a suburban backyard and auctioned in 2014.", "Who pays for all of these expensive renovations?", "I don't know.", "Who owns the building/", "I don't know.", "How long did the renovations take?", "After a 10-year, $100 million modernization" ]
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How large is it?
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How large is Merchandise Mart?
Merchandise Mart
The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s. The Indian chiefs were removed and replaced with concrete plates in 1961, of minimal note to onlookers as skyscrapers did not rise on the north side of the river as predicted. Some of the carvings were later found in a suburban backyard and auctioned in 2014. In 1962, an entrance canopy was constructed over the south for vehicle use. In 1977, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the Chicago Apparel Center, located on the west side of Orleans Street, which increased the Merchandise Mart's total floor space to 6,200,000 square feet (580,000 m2). Making use of plazas, esplanades and overlooks employed the waterfront location for pedestrian pleasure. In 1988, Helmut Jahn designed an enclosed pedestrian walking bridge over Orleans Street connecting the Mart and the Apparel Center. After a 10-year, $100 million modernization in the late 1980s that included public utility upgrades, Beyer Blinder Belle's commission in 1989 was to create additional perimeter entrances and restore the display windows, main entrance and lobby. On the south facade, the drive-through canopy was removed and two smaller doorways aside the main entrance were added. Display windows, painted over during the earlier modernization campaign, were restored with clear glass to showcase merchant's wares. New main and corner entrances were added to the rear facade, and the loading dock that occupied the north portion of the first floor of the river level was removed in order to use the bottom deck of North Bank Drive. Improvements to the lobby included restoration of the original glass curtain wall over the entrance, shop fronts and reception desk using terrazzo floors and wall sconces influenced by the original design. The project was completed in 1991. In November 2007, the building received LEED for Existing Buildings Silver recognition. CANNOTANSWER
the Merchandise Mart's total floor space to 6,200,000 square feet (580,000 m2).
The Merchandise Mart (or the Merch Mart, or the Mart) is a commercial building located in downtown Chicago, Illinois. When it was opened in 1930, it was the largest building in the world, with of floor space. The Art Deco structure is located at the junction of the Chicago River's branches. The building is a leading retailing and wholesale destination, hosting 20,000 visitors and tenants per day in the late 2000s. Built by Marshall Field & Co. and later owned for over half a century by the Kennedy family, the Mart centralized Chicago's wholesale goods business by consolidating architectural and interior design vendors and trades under a single roof. It has since become home to several other enterprises, including the Shops at the Mart, the Chicago campus of the Illinois Institute of Art, Motorola Mobility, and the Chicago tech startup center 1871. It was sold in January 1998 to Vornado Realty Trust. The Merchandise Mart is so large that it had its own ZIP Code (60654) until 2008, when the Postal Service assigned the ZIP Code to part of the surrounding area. In 2010, the building opened its Design Center showrooms to the public. History Construction and context In 1926, a westward extension of double-deck Wacker Drive increased development on the south riverbank. In 1927, Marshall Field & Co. announced its plans to build on the north bank opposite Wacker Drive. The site, bordered by Orleans Street, Wells Street, Kinzie Street and the Chicago River, was formerly a Native American trading post and the site of Chicago and North Western Railway's former Wells Street Station, abandoned in 1911 in favor of the Chicago and North Western Passenger Terminal. With the railroad's air rights, the site was large enough to accommodate "the largest building in the world". Removing the train yard supported the Chicago Plan Commission's desire to develop and beautify the riverfront. James Simpson, president of Marshall Field & Co. from 1923 to 1930 and chairman of the Chicago Plan Commission from 1926 to 1935, turned the first shovels of dirt at groundbreaking on August 16, 1928, along with architect Ernest Graham. General contractor John W. Griffiths & Sons brought building construction into the machine age through the use of techniques "ordinarily used in the construction of big dams." Concrete arriving by boat was lifted by compressed air to bins above the ground, with gravel and sand delivered by railroad cars to conveyor belts and transfer elevators. Giant mixers provided wet concrete to skip hoists in vertical towers that were extended as the building rose. Continuously employing 2,500 men and as many as 5,700 men altogether, the construction project lasted a year and a half into the early months of the Great Depression. With a foundation footprint of nearly two square city blocks, the building required 29 million bricks, of plumbing, of wiring, nearly of concrete, of stone, and 4,000 windows. Bethlehem Steel fabricated much of the 60,000 tons of steel. An estimated of corridors and over 30 elevators were included in the construction. The total cost of construction was estimated to be $26 million. Ownership The Merchandise Mart opened on May 5, 1930, just east of Chicago's original trading post, Wolf Point. The building realized Marshall Field’s dream of a single wholesale center for the entire nation and consolidated 13 different warehouses. It was purchased in 1945 or 1946, depending on the source, by the Kennedy family through Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc., and managed by Sargent Shriver. Kennedy's purchase price was reported to be either $12.5 or $13 million, and it is said that his initial capital was $1 million, though records say his original mortgage was $12.5 million, this was roughly half of what it had cost to construct the complex twenty years earlier. The building's sale was brokered by a good friend of Marshall Field and Joseph Kennedy, E. Stanley Klein. Klein at that time was a partner of Field and together they started Fieldcrest Mills. Klein maintained that Kennedy's bargain price was predicated on an oral agreement between Field and Kennedy that after the sale the building would be donated to the University of Chicago and that Kennedy would take the tax deduction, although as an oral agreement no documentary evidence of this exists. The building revenues became a principal source of Kennedy family wealth, including being a source of political campaign funding. The Kennedy family sold the complex center property to Vornado Realty Trust in 1998 as part of a larger $625 million ($ million in current dollars) transaction, When it was sold, the Merchandise Mart was also the Kennedy's family's last remaining operating business. That year, MMPI was acquired by Vornado for $450 million cash and a $100 million-plus stake in Vornado. As of early 2007, the building was valued at $917 million. Expansions and renovations The Merchandise Mart was modernized in the late 1950s and 1960s. The Indian chiefs were removed and replaced with concrete plates in 1961, of minimal note to onlookers as skyscrapers did not rise on the north side of the river as predicted. Some of the carvings were later found in a suburban backyard and auctioned in 2014. In 1962, an entrance canopy was constructed over the south for vehicle use. In 1977, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the Chicago Apparel Center, located on the west side of Orleans Street, which increased the Merchandise Mart’s total floor space to . Making use of plazas, esplanades and overlooks employed the waterfront location for pedestrian pleasure. In 1988, Helmut Jahn designed an enclosed pedestrian walking bridge over Orleans Street connecting the Mart and the Apparel Center. After a 10-year, $100 million modernization in the late 1980s that included public utility upgrades, Beyer Blinder Belle's commission in 1989 was to create additional perimeter entrances and restore the display windows, main entrance and lobby. On the south facade, the drive-through canopy was removed and two smaller doorways aside the main entrance were added. Display windows, painted over during the earlier modernization campaign, were restored with clear glass to showcase merchant's wares. New main and corner entrances were added to the rear facade, and the loading dock that occupied the north portion of the first floor of the river level was removed in order to use the bottom deck of North Bank Drive. Improvements to the lobby included restoration of the original glass curtain wall over the entrance, shop fronts and reception desk using terrazzo floors and wall sconces influenced by the original design. The project was completed in 1991. In November 2007, the building received LEED for Existing Buildings Silver recognition. Building The Merchandise Mart was designed by the Chicago architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White to be a "city within a city". Second only to Holabird & Root in Chicago art deco architecture, the firm had a long-standing relationship with the Field family. Started in 1928, completed in 1931, and built in the same art deco style as the Chicago Board of Trade Building, its cost was reported as both $32 million and $38 million. The building was the largest in the world in terms of floorspace, but was surpassed by the Pentagon in 1943, and now stands forty-fourth on the list of largest buildings in the world. Once the largest commercial space in the world, New Century Global Center in China is now recognized by Guinness World Records as holding the record. Architecture Designer Alfred Shaw integrated art deco stylings with influences from three building types—the warehouse, the department store and the skyscraper. A warehouse block stands as the 18-story bulk of the building. Ribbon piers define the windows, and the building's chamfered corners, minimal setbacks, and corner pavilions disguise the edges of the mass and visually reduce bulk. The south corner pavilions are of greater height than the north corner pavilions. The building is open at the pedestrian level with bronzed framed display windows, typical of a department store, on the south, west and east boundaries. The 25-story central tower ascends with a peak in the form of a skyscraper, and rests in the southern half of the building. Deeply recessed portals occur between raised panels, and are adorned with medallions featuring the interlocked initials of the Merchandise Mart. The same logo occurs throughout the building. Fifty-six American Indian chiefs circled the tower's crown, a reference to the site's history and Chicago's early trade activities. Three and a half feet wide by seven feet tall, the terra cotta figures were barely visible from the street, meant to be viewed from the upper floors of the skyscrapers planned to rise along the riverbank. The lobby of The Merchandise Mart is defined by eight square marble piers, with storefronts in side aisles framed in embossed bronze trim. The green and orange terrazzo floor was conceived as a carpet: a pattern of squares and stripes bordered by overscaled chevrons inlaid with The Mart's initials. The chevron theme is continued in the column sconces lighting an ornamented cornice overhead. Referred to as "business boulevards", two wide long corridors with terrazzo floors in the upper levels featured six and one-half miles of display windows. Building regulations specified identical entrances along corridors but tenants could personalize the individual floor space. Excepting the corridors, elevator halls, and exhibition space on the fourth floor, the of each upper floor was "raw space" with concrete floors. Artwork Jules Guerin's frieze of 17 murals is the primary feature of the lobby and graphically illustrate commerce throughout the world, including the countries of origin for items sold in the building. The murals depict the industries and products, the primary mode of transportation and the architecture of 14 countries. Drawing on years as a stage set designer, Guerin executed the murals in red with gold leaf using techniques producing distinct image layers in successive planes. In a panel representing Italy, Venetian glassware appears in the foreground with fishing boats moored on the Grand Canal and the facade of the Palazzo Ducale rises above the towers of the Piazza San Marco. "To immortalize outstanding American merchants", Joseph Kennedy in 1953 commissioned eight bronze busts, four times life size, which would come to be known as the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame: retail magnates Frank Winfield Woolworth, Marshall Field and Aaron Montgomery Ward Julius Rosenwald and Robert Elkington Wood of Sears, Roebuck and Company fame advertiser John Wanamaker, merchandiser Edward Albert Filene, and A&P grocery chain founder George Huntington Hartford. All of the busts rest on white pedestals lining the Chicago River and face north toward the gold front door of the building. "Art on theMART" "Art on theMART" is a digital art display begun in 2018. It provides a 2.5 acre "canvas" (2 football fields) for digital artwork projected on the Chicago River facing facade of the Merchandise Mart. The project is intended to be the largest digital art projection in the world and is scheduled to occur over thirty years with annual showings initially between March and December. In 2019 it was expanded from five nights a week to every night. Displays begin 15 minutes after sunset and loop for two hours. Obscura Digital studio initially installed 34 projection cameras to allow the rotating roster of artists to display their work. Surroundings Dominating the skyline in the south end of the Near North Side, the Mart lies just south of the gallery district on the southern terminus of Franklin Street. Eateries and nightclubs abound on Hubbard Street one block to the north. The Kinzie Chophouse, popular with politicians and celebrities, stands on the northwest corner of Wells and Kinzie, across from the Merchandise Mart. The Chicago Varnish Company Building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and now housing Harry Caray's restaurant, is located east on Kinzie Street. Across the street to the east is 325 N. Wells Street, home to The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and DIRTT Environmental Solutions. The Mart is not rectangular in shape, having been constructed after the bascule bridges over the Chicago River were completed. The control house for the double decked Wells Street Bridge stands between the lower level and the southeast corner of the building. The Franklin Street Bridge stands at the southwest corner of the building, at the junction of Orleans Street and Franklin Street. The building slants at the same angle as Franklin Street, from southeast to northwest along Orleans Street. Exterior lighting A heritage of lighting the structure finds the central and corner towers, along with the columns between each window on the setbacks, bathed nightly in an upwardly focused white light. Tradition dictates annual changes to green in mid-March for St. Patrick's Day and orange during the fall months around Halloween and Thanksgiving. Prominent events have found the behemoth lit in pink for Cancer Awareness Month. To note the 2006 Chicago Bears season, highlighted by reaching Super Bowl XLI, the building was lit with team colors, orange floodlights for the setbacks and blue floodlights for the towers. Red and green lights are used during the Christmas season. During the Art Chicago 2008 the American artist Jenny Holzer illuminated the facade of the building with a poem by the Polish winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature Wisława Szymborska. In 2018, a large projection screen began displaying images and videos across the structure's riverfront side. Nighttime lighting on the Mart typically matches the colors of antenna lighting on the Sears Tower and John Hancock Center, as well as the colors used on the top floors of the Aon Center. Green building practices Under Chris Kennedy's leadership of the Mart, it was the largest building in the world to be awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification in 2007 from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The Mart has long been implementing sustainable practices. The Mart Center began operating a thermal storage facility in 1986, capable of building of ice per night, cooling 71 buildings in the surrounding neighborhood, and saving $200,000 in electricity costs in the first year. In 1990, the Mart Center began using Green Seal-approved green cleaning products and the next year implemented a recycling program, which today includes all forms of paper products, glass, light bulbs, batteries, aluminum and construction materials. In 1996, the Mart Center became one of the first major property owners in downtown Chicago to enter into an agreement with the district cooling system now known as Thermal Chicago, thus contributing to the national effort to reduce the discharge of ozone-damaging CFCs. In 2006, MMPI joined Clean Air Counts, a voluntary initiative to reduce smog forming pollutants and energy consumption in the Chicago area. Part of the campaign strategies included utilizing only low VOC cleaning products, paints and building materials, as well as energy efficient lighting and alternative workplace transportation options. To date, the Mart Center has reduced pollution by , the largest reduction by a commercial building. That same year, the Mart Center recycling program saved over 13,000 trees and recycled nearly 11 million pounds of waste, while water conservation efforts saved of water. More than eight percent of the estimated 10,000 people working at the Mart walk, bike or take public transportation; to encourage greener methods of transportation, the Mart expanded bicycle storage capacity to more than 200. In 2009, MMPI converted all stationery to a one hundred percent post-consumer recycled product. The Mart has nine LEED-certified showrooms, with five others on their way to LEED certification. Uses Commerce Wholesale showrooms occupy 50% of the usable floor space, and the Sultan of Brunei once spent $1.6 million at the Mart to furnish his entire palace, claiming the location was the only place where the task could be completed in one week. Select showrooms are open only to wholesalers, with others accessible to the general public. Unlike stores with traditional shelf and rack displays, entire usable rooms are created, providing consumers an opportunity to compare form and function between applications and manufacturers. A portion of the stores offer items for purchase singly or as a collection, while others offer design services, preservation, renovation, or installation. In addition to being a resource for architects and decorators, the Mart also has featured award-winning designs as selected by the American Institute of Architects. Catering to suppliers, on-site firms specialize in providing professional services for market research projects. In 1931, Marshall Field and Company lost $5 million, followed by $8 million in 1932. The wholesale division was greatly reduced and Field's reduced its space in the Mart from four floors to one and half. The Mart continued to display the latest trends in home furnishings within the showrooms and trade shows. The company recovered late in the decade, but did not return to all previously occupied space. In 1942, L. L. Skaggs formed a partnership with three other men and named the partnership the Owners Service Company, hence Osco. The headquarters moved from Waterloo, Iowa, to the Merchandise Mart. A retail shopping area, named The Shops at the Mart, opened in 1991 and includes apparel shops, beauty services, bookstores and newsstands, financial services, telecommunication services, travel services, specialty food and wine stores, photo services, a dry cleaner, shoe shine stand, and a food court. A U.S. Post Office is located on the first floor and a FedEx location is on the second floor. The Apparel Center houses the 521-room Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza River North hotel, the offices of the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago campus of the Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago, as well as the Chicago office of the Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency. GoHealth occupies on the 5th floor of Merchandise Mart, the Potbelly Sandwich Works' corporate offices are located in the tower. Motorola Mobility moved its headquarters to the Merchandise Mart in 2014. Trade fairs Since 1969, the Merchandise Mart has been home to the annual National Exposition of Contract Furnishings, known as NeoCon. With over 1,000 exhibitors of contract and commercial furnishings, and 50,000 attendees, it is the largest trade show of its kind in North America. Since 2006 the Merchandise Mart has played host to the Art Chicago international art fair. Mass media Radio Before the location even opened, NBC announced plans to build studios in the Mart. When opened on October 20, 1930, the nineteenth floor location covered and supported a variety of live broadcasts including those requiring orchestras. WENR and WMAQ broadcast from the location. Expanded in 1935, with office space in the previously unoccupied tower, the additional provided room for an organ chamber, two echo rooms, and a total of 11 studios. A staff of more than 300 produced up to 1,700 programs each month, including Amos 'n' Andy. Hugh Downs contributed to the Burr Tillstrom children's show Kukla, Fran and Ollie from the NBC studios after the network picked up the program from WBKB. The Captain Midnight radio program was broadcast from the Mart from 1942 until 1945. WMAQ and WMAQ-TV moved to the NBC Tower in 1989 (even though the radio station had been sold to Westinghouse Broadcasting two years earlier). (Today, the former NBC space is being utilized by Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy as a learning site for film and broadcast productions.) WMAQ's former sister FM station, WKQX, stayed at the Merchandise Mart; renamed WIQI, as of May 2012 it still occupies space on the west side of the second floor, along with co-owned WLUP. WKQX moved to a new facility at NBC Tower in the summer of 2016. Television On January 7, 1949, NBC station WNBQ commercially debuted its television broadcast schedule on channel 5, with a minimum of two hours of programming per day. April 15, 1956, is remembered as "C-Day" at WMAQ-TV, and was described by Broadcasting-Telecasting magazine as "a daring breakthrough the black-and-white curtain." With Mayor Richard J. Daley looking on, NBC President David Sarnoff operated the controls as Channel 5 became the world's first all-color TV station as "Wide, Wide World" was broadcast to 110 NBC-TV affiliated stations across the country. The color conversion project cost more than $1.25 million with advertising costing $175,000. On "C-Day", three skywriting planes flew over the city, trailing streams of red, green and blue smoke. WMAQ-TV first installed color equipment in late 1953, with the Tournament of Roses Parade of 1954 as the first major broadcast. Introduced in March 1955, the first local color program was John Ott's "How Does Your Garden Grow?", featuring the use of time-lapse color film. Although WMAQ-TV has since moved to NBC Tower about a mile away, and for the most part the 19th floor of the Mart has been turned into office space, one former tenant (Bankers Life and Trust Company) maintained a remnant of the original studios as their video and multimedia department. The former WMAQ space is currently being redeveloped by Flashpoint Academy as a full modern soundstage facility as well as a screening room, backlot, and classroom space over the 19th and 20th floors. Local regional sports network Comcast SportsNet Chicago has their control room, and broadcasts their live studio programming from the Apparel Center expansion; the studios had been home to previous RSNs FSN Chicago and SportsChannel Chicago. Chicago 'L' Built in under four months and opened on December 5, 1930, the Merchandise Mart elevated train station served the Main Line of the North Side Division. The station is now noted for being one of two commercial locations to have its own station on the Chicago Transit Authority's (CTA) 'L' system. The station is now served by the Brown and Purple Lines. The station complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; the turnstiles are located within the building on the second floor, while the platforms are connected to the east side of the building. The northbound platform is accessed by an overhead bridge or elevator. It was rebuilt in 1988, prior to the Wells Street Bridge reconstruction in 1989. The Merchandise Mart housed the CTA's headquarters on the 7th floor from 1947 to 2004. Cultural involvement Owing to the expanding postwar economy and family, the owners began offering tours in 1948. Architecture and design interest groups continue to offer scheduled tours. The Mart hosts the annual Art Chicago activities. Chicago Marathon routes have taken runners past the structure, typically on Wells Street. In popular culture The 1948 film Call Northside 777, was made in Illinois and the Mart is seen from newspaper offices on Wacker Drive. The lobby appeared in the movie The Hudsucker Proxy as the interior of the Hudsucker Company headquarters. In 1956, the eight-minute short subject film The Merchandise Mart used the Mart's name and covered in detail the building's interior and operations. When his late-night NBC talk show was performed in Chicago during the first week of May 1989, David Letterman called the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame "the Pez Hall of Fame" because the combination of busts atop the tall vertical pedestals resembled the candy's dispensers. In the 1993 film The Fugitive, U.S. Marshals pinpoint the location of Dr. Richard Kimble when they hear a CTA train conductor announce, "Next stop, Merchandise Mart" in the background of a recorded phone call. The Mart was depicted as the Candor headquarters in the 2012 novel Insurgent by Veronica Roth. See also Art Deco Chicago architecture Fulton House, Chicago Interior Design List of largest buildings in the world New York Merchandise Mart References Further reading Chappell, Sally A. Kitt, Architecture and Planning of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White, 1912–1936:Transforming Tradition, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1992 Roth, Veronica, Insurgent, HarperCollins, New York, NY 2012 External links archive at the Chicago Tribune Video Merchandise Mart Properties Tenant Profiles The Merchandise Mart Buyers Guide 1930 establishments in Illinois Art Deco architecture in Illinois Buildings and structures completed in 1930 Kennedy family Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design basic silver certified buildings Skyscrapers in Chicago Wholesale markets
false
[ "In mathematics, the phrases arbitrarily large, arbitrarily small and arbitrarily long are used in statements to make clear of the fact that an object is large, small and long with little limitation or restraint, respectively. The use of \"arbitrarily\" often occurs in the context of real numbers (and its subsets thereof), though its meaning can differ from that of \"sufficiently\" and \"infinitely\".\n\nExamples \nThe statement\n\n \" is non-negative for arbitrarily large .\"\n\nis a shorthand for:\n\n \"For every real number , is non-negative for some value of greater than .\"\n\nIn the common parlance, the term \"arbitrarily long\" is often used in the context of sequence of numbers. For example, to say that there are \"arbitrarily long arithmetic progressions of prime numbers\" does not mean that there exists any infinitely long arithmetic progression of prime numbers (there is not), nor that there exists any particular arithmetic progression of prime numbers that is in some sense \"arbitrarily long\". Rather, the phrase is used to refer to the fact that no matter how large a number is, there exists some arithmetic progression of prime numbers of length at least .\n\nSimilar to arbitrarily large, one can also define the phrase \" holds for arbitrarily small real numbers\", as follows:\n\nIn other words:\n\n However small a number, there will be a number smaller than it such that holds.\n\nArbitrarily large vs. sufficiently large vs. infinitely large \nWhile similar, \"arbitrarily large\" is not equivalent to \"sufficiently large\". For instance, while it is true that prime numbers can be arbitrarily large (since there are infinitely many of them due to Euclid's theorem), it is not true that all sufficiently large numbers are prime. \n\nAs another example, the statement \" is non-negative for arbitrarily large .\" could be rewritten as:\n\nHowever, using \"sufficiently large\", the same phrase becomes:\n\nFurthermore, \"arbitrarily large\" also does not mean \"infinitely large\". For example, although prime numbers can be arbitrarily large, an infinitely large prime number does not exist—since all prime numbers (as well as all other integers) are finite.\n\nIn some cases, phrases such as \"the proposition is true for arbitrarily large \" are used primarily for emphasis, as in \" is true for all , no matter how large is.\" In these cases, the phrase \"arbitrarily large\" does not have the meaning indicated above (i.e., \"however large a number, there will be some larger number for which still holds.\"). Instead, the usage in this case is in fact logically synonymous with \"all\".\n\nSee also \n\nSufficiently large\nMathematical jargon\n\nReferences\n\nMathematical terminology", "In mathematics — specifically, in large deviations theory — the contraction principle is a theorem that states how a large deviation principle on one space \"pushes forward\" (via the pushforward of a probability measure) to a large deviation principle on another space via a continuous function.\n\nStatement\n\nLet X and Y be Hausdorff topological spaces and let (με)ε>0 be a family of probability measures on X that satisfies the large deviation principle with rate function I : X → [0, +∞]. Let T : X → Y be a continuous function, and let νε = T∗(με) be the push-forward measure of με by T, i.e., for each measurable set/event E ⊆ Y, νε(E) = με(T−1(E)). Let\n\nwith the convention that the infimum of I over the empty set ∅ is +∞. Then:\n J : Y → [0, +∞] is a rate function on Y,\n J is a good rate function on Y if I is a good rate function on X, and\n (νε)ε>0 satisfies the large deviation principle on Y with rate function J.\n\nReferences\n\n (See chapter 4.2.1)\n \n\nAsymptotic analysis\nLarge deviations theory\nMathematical principles\nProbability theorems" ]
[ "The Darkness (band)", "One Way Ticket to Hell... And Back and decline (2005-2006)" ]
C_963a1528a3544f269cb49ee50eab6e0d_0
When was One Way Ticket to Hell released?
1
When was the album One Way Ticket to Hell of the band The Darkness released?
The Darkness (band)
In October 2005, a month before the album was to be officially released, Justin Hawkins won an eBay auction for a copy of One Way Ticket to Hell ...and Back for PS350 under the username 'turbogunhawk'. He claimed he did this so that he could track down whoever sold the digitally-marked advance copy of the album and try to prevent it from happening again. "One Way Ticket", the first single from their second album, was released on 14 November 2005, debuting and peaking at number 8 on the UK Singles chart. The album itself was released on 28 November 2005 to mixed reviews. The album was produced by rock producer Roy Thomas Baker, best known for his work with Queen. Early sales figures in the UK showed the album had not sold as well as its predecessor, Permission to Land. The album debuted at number 11, and fell to number 34 in the second week of its release. Although it has since reached platinum status, this contrasts with their debut's five times platinum status. The second single taken from their second album was "Is It Just Me?", released on 20 February 2006. The single gained a preliminary position of No. 6 all that week, but finally charted at number 8. The album's third single, "Girlfriend", was Released 22 May and charted at number 39. The band followed up their second album with a tour of the UK and Ireland, consisting of 12 dates in the major cities. The tour opened in Dublin's Point Depot on 4 February and closed in the Nottingham Arena on 20 February. Few of the venues sold out, their appeal seemingly having become more selective. Their world tour, which followed, arrived in Australia and Japan after touring Scandinavia and Continental Europe in March. CANNOTANSWER
"One Way Ticket", the first single from their second album, was released on 14 November 2005,
The Darkness are a British rock band formed in Lowestoft, England, in 2000. The band consists of Justin Hawkins (lead vocals, lead guitar), his brother Dan Hawkins (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Frankie Poullain (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Rufus Tiger Taylor (drums, backing vocals). The Darkness came to prominence with the release of their debut album, Permission to Land, in 2003. Backed by the singles "I Believe in a Thing Called Love", "Growing on Me", "Get Your Hands off My Woman", and "Love Is Only a Feeling", the album was certified quadruple platinum in the United Kingdom, with sales of over 1.3 million. In 2004 the band won three Brit Awards: Best British Group, Best British Rock Act, and Best British Album. After extensive touring in support of their debut album, Poullain left the band in 2005, and was replaced by former guitar technician Richie Edwards. The band's second studio album, One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back, was released in November 2005. The following year, Justin Hawkins departed from the band after successfully completing a course of rehabilitation from alcohol and cocaine abuse. This, combined with the poor sales of the album, resulted in Atlantic dropping the band in October 2006. After the split, the remaining members formed Stone Gods, and continued to perform and record without Hawkins, who subsequently fronted his own project, Hot Leg. On 15 March 2011, The Darkness announced reunion shows, with original bassist Frankie Poullain, including Download Festival 2011, and the Isle of Wight Festival 2012. Their third album, Hot Cakes, was released on 20 August 2012. Original drummer Ed Graham then left the band, feeling the strain of touring was affecting his personal life, in which he had pressing issues. In 2015 a fourth studio album was announced, entitled Last of Our Kind, which was released on 2 June 2015. A fifth album, Pinewood Smile, was released on 6 October 2017 and one year later on 15 June 2018 a live album, Live at Hammersmith, was also released. Their sixth studio album, Easter Is Cancelled was released on 4 October 2019. After the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to their world tour in 2020, the band wound up the year with a one-off streamed live show titled "Streaming of a White Christmas", which was also recorded as a new live album and slated to be released on CD and vinyl in June 2021. On 4 June 2021, the band announced their seventh studio album Motorheart would be released on 15 October 2021 with an extensive UK tour through November and December 2021. History Early years Justin and Dan Hawkins played together as teenagers in a band which, according to Dan Hawkins, "did a lot of Marillion covers, Bruce Springsteen, Genesis" and were "a bit prog-y". Justin Hawkins had been initially inspired to play guitar by Brian May of Queen, as he loved his tone and vibrato. Originally known as Empire, the band generated some music industry buzz through their manager Sue Whitehouse, who was based at Savage & Best in Camden. Whitehouse had managed them since Justin Hawkins' time as a creator of music jingles. Renamed as The Darkness they became renowned for their live show, and such was the popularity of the band, they had a Carling Homecoming gig booked for the London Astoria before they had even signed a record deal. Joe Taylor, Aled Jones and Paul Scaife at The Tip Sheet first heard about the band through a post on The Tip Sheet message board, and featured Love Is Only a Feeling in January 2002. They started Record of the Day, and featured the song again around the time of SXSW in March 2003. They wanted to feature Friday Night too but they were told the band was saving it for an album. According to A&R Nick Raphael in an interview with HitQuarters, there was no initial clamour to sign the band, "There couldn't have been less of a buzz, and only two record labels showed any interest in them." He believes the reason for lack of interest was that "The business as a whole thought they were uncool. In fact, people were saying that they were a joke and that they weren't real." However, throughout their career critics around the world would label them as a "joke band". As part of Sony Music UK, Raphael had attempted to sign them, but the band instead opted to go with Atlantic Records. Permission to Land and commercial success (2003–2005) Their debut album, Permission to Land, went straight up to number two in the UK charts upon its release on 7 July 2003, before going to number one and staying there for four weeks, eventually going on to sell 1.5 million copies in the UK. The Darkness took inspiration for some of their work from the local north Suffolk area, including "Black Shuck" which mentions the nearby village of Blythburgh. The success of this album led to heavy touring for the band, including European portions of Metallica's Summer Sanitarium Tour 2003. They then went on to headline the Carling Festival in 2004. The band won three BRIT Awards in 2004 in response to the album, Best Group, Best Rock Group and Best Album. They also won two Kerrang! awards in 2004 for Best Live Act and Best British Band. The third single from the album, "I Believe in a Thing Called Love", was a substantial hit in the UK as was their tilt at the Christmas 2003 number 1, "Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)", which only just fell short, both singles reaching number 2 in 2003. One Way Ticket to Hell... And Back and decline (2005–2006) In October 2005, a month before the album was to be officially released, Justin Hawkins won an eBay auction for a copy of One Way Ticket to Hell ...and Back for £350 under the username 'turbogunhawk'. He claimed he did this so that he could track down whoever sold the digitally-marked advance copy of the album and try to prevent it from happening again. "One Way Ticket", the first single from their second album, was released on 14 November 2005, debuting and peaking at number 8 on the UK Singles Chart. The album itself was released on 28 November 2005 to mixed reviews. The album was produced by rock producer Roy Thomas Baker, best known for his work with Queen. Early sales figures in the UK showed the album had not sold as well as its predecessor, Permission to Land. The album debuted at number 11, and fell to number 34 in the second week of its release. Although it has since reached platinum status, this contrasts with their debut's five times platinum status. The second single taken from their second album was "Is It Just Me?", released on 20 February 2006. The single gained a preliminary position of No. 6 all that week, but finally charted at number 8. The album's third single, "Girlfriend", was Released 22 May and charted at number 39. Justin Hawkins' departure and breakup (2006) In August 2006, lead singer Justin Hawkins was admitted to a rehabilitation clinic in concern of his health, which caused the band to cancel several concerts. Around this same time the band confirmed that they were to start working on their third album to be released early 2007. Tabloid rumours held that Justin Hawkins was leaving the band after completing his course of rehabilitation from alcohol and cocaine problems, and the band would continue without him, possibly with Richie Edwards as the front man. In response to the story being reported by the media, The Darkness confirmed on their official forum: "We're sorry that you had to find this out through the newspapers, but we were hoping until the last minute that this – Justin's exit – wasn't going to happen. We – Dan, Ed and Richie – are still in total shock and can't say at this stage what the future holds. We would like to thank all our fans, partners and family for their continuous support. You will hear from us, once we know what we want to do..." Hawkins departure, and the lacklustre sales of One Way Ticket to Hell... (which had only gone gold compared to the previous album's four-times platinum status), led to Atlantic dropping the band from the label. Using the pseudonym British Whale, Hawkins went on to release a cover version of the Sparks song "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us", reaching No. 6 in the UK Singles Chart. In 2007, he launched a failed attempt to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2011, Hawkins gave a different explanation for his departure from the band, saying he had left because he felt the band had stopped being creative. Other projects (2006–2011) On 9 November 2007, it was announced on The University of East Anglia's student union website that a new band had been created comprising Dan Hawkins (lead guitar), Toby MacFarlaine (bass), Ed Graham (drums) and Ritchie Edwards (vocals/guitar). The name of the band was The Stone Gods. In 2008, Justin Hawkins formed a new band, Hot Leg with Pete Rinaldi (of Anchorhead), Samuel SJ Stokes (formerly of The Thieves) and Darby Todd (from Protect the Beat). In 2009 Hot Leg released an album, Red Light Fever, which failed to make a dent on the charts (#81). Three singles were taken from it with two of them failing to chart. By December 2010, both Hot Leg and The Stone Gods were in hiatus. Reunion and Hot Cakes (2011–2013) In March 2011, the four original band members reunited. They played three warm-up shows in Norwich, Leamington and at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire, before performing at the 2011 Download Festival. This was followed by an "intimate" show at London's 100 Club, which featured support from Dark Stares and notable appearances from Queen guitarist Brian May and comedian Rufus Hound. The band then toured Japan, the UK and Ireland. A new song, "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us", was released in February 2012 as a free download. They toured North America, playing with Crown Jewel Defense and Foxy Shazam, then performed at the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden and the 18th Przystanek Woodstock. Singles "Every Inch of You" and "Everybody Have a Good Time" were released in May and June 2012, respectively, ahead of their third album, Hot Cakes, which came out in August. Throughout the summer The Darkness played a series of festival dates, including headlining the Big Top Tent at the 2012 Isle of Wight Festival, and were the opening act for the European and African leg of Lady Gaga's The Born This Way Ball world tour. A new non-album song, "The Horn", was released in late 2013 as a digital download. Last of Our Kind and new line-up (2014–2017) The band began work on their fourth studio album in September 2014, with Emily Dolan Davies replacing Ed Graham on drums. The new album, Last of Our Kind, was released on 2 June 2015, on the band's own label Canary Dwarf Records via Kobalt Label Services with a single, "Open Fire", released on 23 March. The first track from the album to be premiered was "Barbarian", which was released with an accompanying animated music video on 23 February. On 21 April 2015, the band issued a statement saying that drummer Davies had left the band. On 25 April 2015, it was announced via the band's official Facebook page that Rufus Taylor, the son of Queen drummer Roger Taylor, was to join the band as Davies' replacement on drums. They were announced as the first headline act for Planet Rockstock 2015, taking place at Trecco Bay in South Wales from 4 to 7 December 2015. The Darkness closed the event on 6 December. On 20 November 2015, the band released a music video for a new Christmas single, entitled "I Am Santa" on their YouTube Channel, which it was announced would be included in the Deluxe edition of the Last of Our Kind album. Pinewood Smile (2017–2019) The Darkness worked on a feature-length documentary, directed by Simon Emmett. In a 2016 interview, Frankie Poullain said, "We are currently over a year in to a feature-length documentary which will surprise a lot of people." In March 2017, The Darkness announced that their 5th album would be released in 2017. This was confirmed in a July issue of Planet Rock, and later on the band's Facebook page. The album's title was later revealed as Pinewood Smile, and was due to be released on 6 October of the same year. The first single from the album 'All The Pretty Girls' was released on 22 July of that year. The band embarked on a winter tour of the UK in November and December 2017. In May 2017, The Darkness performed at the Australian touring music festival Groovin' the Moo, performing at six regional cities across Australia. They performed as a de facto opening act for the "headline act" of the festival, Violent Soho, and supported Guns N' Roses on the European leg of their tour. In December 2017, Justin & Dan Hawkins were contestants on the Pointless Celebrities Christmas special. In 2018, the band supported US supergroup Hollywood Vampires on their European tour, which included their first performances in UK arenas in several years. They also announced their first live album, Live at Hammersmith, a recording of their December 2017 concert at the Eventim Apollo in London. This was released on 15 June 2018. The band contributed theme music to the British children's television programme Catie's Amazing Machines which premiered on CBeebies in October 2018. Easter Is Cancelled (2019–2021) In 2019, The Darkness released their latest album Easter Is Cancelled on 4 October 2019 through Cooking Vinyl. Easter Is Cancelled became the band's fourth UK Top 10 album and topped the Official Charts Top 40 Rock And Metal Chart and the iTunes Rock Chart, while the record has achieved over 3 million streams on Spotify alone. The album was released to a generally positive response from music critics while the previous singles "Heart Explodes" and "Rock and Roll Deserves to Die" proved a radio hit on the playlists of Radio 2, Absolute, Kerrang and more. The comedic video for "Rock and Roll Deserves to Die" has also individually surpassed 1 million views. In January 2020, the Darkness released a new video for "In Another Life" which featured model Abbey Clancy. The track then made the BBC Radio 2 B-List. The band commenced their UK tour of the Easter Is Cancelled album on 25 November 2019 in Ireland, culminating on 20 December at London's Roundhouse. In 2020, the band attempted a worldwide tour across Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and North America. The tour abruptly ended in Adelaide, Australia on 15 March as the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home orders set in. The band returned to the UK for occasional shows and live streams where possible, with an aim to reschedule the remainder of the postponed New Zealand and North American dates in the future. In December the band played a one-off show at The IndigO2 in London. Initial plans to open the show and sound check to a limited audience were shut down at the last minute due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The show still went ahead but only accessible by live stream. The whole show was recorded for a live album titled Streaming Of A White Christmas, scheduled to be released on CD and vinyl in early 2021. Motorheart (2021–present) For most of the first half of 2021 the band remained largely quiet on social media. On June 4, 2021, the band announced they are set to release the new album Motorheart in October. The album was eventually released on November 19. The album's cover was also unveiled in the announcement. The album will be available on CD, vinyl, cassette tape and digital download. The first single, Motorheart was released in August. Along with the album release, the band announced an extensive list of UK tour dates to take place throughout November and December in support of the release of the album. Band members Current members Justin Hawkins – lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitar, keyboards Dan Hawkins – rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals Frankie Poullain – bass, backing vocals Rufus Tiger Taylor – drums, backing vocals Former members Ed Graham – drums Chris McDougall – lead and rhythm guitar Richie Edwards – bass, backing vocals, keyboards Emily Dolan Davies – drums Touring members Darby Todd – drums Timeline Discography Studio albums Permission to Land (2003) One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back (2005) Hot Cakes (2012) Last of Our Kind (2015) Pinewood Smile (2017) Easter Is Cancelled (2019) Motorheart (2021) Awards and honours {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |- ! scope="col" | Award ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Nominee(s) ! scope="col" | Category ! scope="col" | Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable"| |- ! scope="row" rowspan=2|Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards | 2013 | Themselves | Showman of the Year | | rowspan=2| |- | 2015 | Last of Our Kind | Album of the Year | |- ! scope="row" rowspan=4|Kerrang! Awards | rowspan=2|2003 | Themselves | Best Live Act | | rowspan=2| |- | Permission to Land | Best Album | |- | rowspan=2|2004 | rowspan=2|Themselves | Best British Band | | rowspan=2| |- | Best Live Band | |- !scope="row"|Mercury Prize | 2003 | Permission to Land | Album of the Year | | |- !scope="row" rowspan=2|Pop Factory Awards | rowspan=2|2002 | rowspan=2|Themselves | Best Pop Factory Performance | | rowspan=2| |- | Best Pop Factory Debut | 2003 Metal Hammer 'Golden God' for Best Single (Get Your Hands off My Woman) 2004 Metal Hammer 'Golden God' for Best Video ("Love Is Only a Feeling") Ivor Novello Award for Songwriters of the Year BRIT Award for Best British Group BRIT Award for Best Rock Act BRIT Award for Best British Album (Permission to Land) MTV Europe Music Award for Best UK & Ireland Act and Best Rock IFPI Platinum Europe Award for sales in Europe in excess of 1,000,000 (triple Platinum) (Permission to Land) Elle Style Award for Most Stylish Band Meteor Ireland Award for Best Album (Permission to Land) Smash Hits! Pollwinners' Party for Best Rock Award RIAA Digital Sales Certifications Gold Award for 100,000 downloads ("I Believe in a Thing Called Love") European Border Breakers Award for debut albums of European acts achieving the best sales outside of their country of origin in 2003 (Permission to Land) Denmark GAFFA Award for Best Foreign New Act (nominated) Denmark GAFFA Award for Best Foreign Hit ("I Believe in a Thing Called Love") (nominated) 2005 ASCAP Award for one of the Most Performed Works in the USA ("I Believe in a Thing Called Love") 2006 MTV Australia's Best Man Rock Video award ("One Way Ticket") 2008 VH1 The 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" (94) 2011 VH1 The 100 Greatest Songs of '00s "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" (87) 2020 Classic Rock magazine awarded "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" the number one spot on their Greatest Songs of the Century (so far) reader poll. See also Hot Leg Stone Gods References External links Atlantic Records artists Brit Award winners Comedy rock musical groups Cooking Vinyl artists English glam metal musical groups English hard rock musical groups English heavy metal musical groups Ivor Novello Award winners Kerrang! Awards winners Musical groups established in 1999 Musical groups disestablished in 2006 Musical groups reestablished in 2011 Musical groups from Suffolk Musical quartets Sibling musical groups PIAS Recordings artists MTV Europe Music Award winners 1999 establishments in England
true
[ "The Darkness is an English hard rock band formed in Lowestoft, Suffolk in 2000. Their first release was the extended play I Believe in a Thing Called Love in August 2002, which featured the tracks \"I Believe in a Thing Called Love\", \"Love on the Rocks with No Ice\" and \"Love Is Only a Feeling\", all of which were later featured on the band's debut album. After signing with Atlantic Records, the band released their debut album Permission to Land in July, which featured a total of ten tracks. Singles released to support the album were \"Get Your Hands Off My Woman\", \"Growing on Me\", \"I Believe in a Thing Called Love\" and \"Love Is Only a Feeling\", all of which featured new B-sides. The B-sides \"The Best of Me\" (from \"Get Your Hands Off My Woman\") and \"Makin' Out\" (from \"I Believe in a Thing Called Love\") were also featured on the Japanese edition of Permission to Land. \"Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)\" was released at the end of the year, and also featured on the Christmas reissue of the album.\n\nThe band's second album, One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back, was released in November 2005, and also featured ten tracks. The album was supported by the release of singles \"One Way Ticket\", \"Is It Just Me?\" and \"Girlfriend\"; the first two featured new B-sides, while the third featured remixes of the A-side. The B-side \"Grief Hammer\", originally from the single \"One Way Ticket\", was also featured on the Japanese edition of One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back. The band broke up in 2006, and in 2008 the compilation album The Platinum Collection and box set Permission to Land/One Way Ticket to Hell... were released, each featuring all 20 songs from the band's first two albums (\"Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)\" was also included on The Platinum Collection).\n\nThe Darkness reunited in 2011, and in August 2012 they released their third album, Hot Cakes. The album features eleven tracks, including the band's first studio cover version, of Radiohead's \"Street Spirit (Fade Out)\". The deluxe edition of Hot Cakes features four additional tracks, three of which are new songs; the bonus track \"Cannonball\" features Ian Anderson of the band Jethro Tull on flute. In 2014 Graham left the band again, to be replaced by Emily Dolan Davies, who performed on the band's fourth album Last of Our Kind. Davies later left herself, and was replaced by Rufus Tiger Taylor.\n\nSongs\n\nNotes\nA. Featured on special deluxe editions of Last of Our Kind only.\nB. Also featured on the 2008 compilation album The Platinum Collection.\nC. Featured on special deluxe editions of Hot Cakes only.\nD. Featured on the Christmas reissue of Permission to Land only.\nE. Also featured on special deluxe editions of One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back.\nF. Originally featured on the 2002 extended play I Believe in a Thing Called Love.\nG. Also featured on special deluxe editions of Permission to Land.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nList of The Darkness songs at AllMusic\n\nDarkness, The", "One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back is the second studio album by the British rock band The Darkness. It was released on 28 November 2005 through Atlantic Records, reaching number 11 on the UK Album Chart and eventually attaining platinum status in the UK. Three singles were released from the album. The lead single, \"One Way Ticket\", reached number 8 on the UK Singles Chart, as did the second single \"Is It Just Me?\"\n\nBackground\n\nThe album was produced by Roy Thomas Baker, best known for his work with Queen, a major influence on The Darkness. Bassist Frankie Poullain left the band during the early stages of production on the album, with most bass parts on the album played by Dan Hawkins. Poullain has said that \"Hazel Eyes\" is his favourite track on the record, citing, \"I defy anyone after a couple of beverages to listen to \"Hazel Eyes\" standing up and NOT get the Michael Flatleys.\" Poullain was already familiar with six of the ten songs on the album, playing \"Hazel Eyes\", \"Dinner Lady Arms\", \"Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time\" and \"English Country Garden\" on tour with the band before his departure. He also co-wrote four of the tracks featured on the album. The working title for the album was The Painstaking.\n\nTrack listing\n\nOther tracks\n \"Wanker\" (B-side to One Way Ticket) (J. Hawkins/D. Hawkins) – 3:07\n \"Grief Hammer\" (B-side to One Way Ticket) (J. Hawkins/D. Hawkins) – 3:12\n \"Shake (Like a Lettuce Leaf)\" (B-side to Is It Just Me?) (J. Hawkins/D. Hawkins) – 3:18\n \"Shit Ghost\" (B-side to Is It Just Me?) (J. Hawkins/D. Hawkins) – 3:10\n\nReception\nReviews for the album were mixed. Q magazine proclaimed it the 22nd best album of 2005. However Planet Sound remarked how it was the \"world's most expensive penis joke\", regarding the costly delay of the album, and hyper-masculine themes throughout. In an interview with The Sun, Dan said that it cost £1 million to make.\n\nPersonnel\nJustin Hawkins – Lead/backing vocals; lead/rhythm guitars; piano; Hammond organ; Mini-moog; synths; sitar\nDan Hawkins – Rhythm/lead guitars; bass guitars; tubular bells; marching drums; tambourine; triangle; backing vocals\nEd Graham – Drums\nRichie Edwards – Bass guitars; backing vocals (touring member)\n\nAdditional musicians\nFreddy Gomez – pan flute on \"One Way Ticket\"\nStuart Cassells – bagpipes on \"Hazel Eyes\"\n\nCharts\n\nCertifications\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Article by Paul Tingen on the making of One Way Ticket To Hell... and Back in Sound on Sound\n \n\nThe Darkness (band) albums\n2005 albums\nAtlantic Records albums\nAlbums produced by Roy Thomas Baker" ]
[ "The Darkness (band)", "One Way Ticket to Hell... And Back and decline (2005-2006)", "When was One Way Ticket to Hell released?", " \"One Way Ticket\", the first single from their second album, was released on 14 November 2005," ]
C_963a1528a3544f269cb49ee50eab6e0d_0
Did their first single win any awards?
2
Did the first single of the band The Darkness win any awards?
The Darkness (band)
In October 2005, a month before the album was to be officially released, Justin Hawkins won an eBay auction for a copy of One Way Ticket to Hell ...and Back for PS350 under the username 'turbogunhawk'. He claimed he did this so that he could track down whoever sold the digitally-marked advance copy of the album and try to prevent it from happening again. "One Way Ticket", the first single from their second album, was released on 14 November 2005, debuting and peaking at number 8 on the UK Singles chart. The album itself was released on 28 November 2005 to mixed reviews. The album was produced by rock producer Roy Thomas Baker, best known for his work with Queen. Early sales figures in the UK showed the album had not sold as well as its predecessor, Permission to Land. The album debuted at number 11, and fell to number 34 in the second week of its release. Although it has since reached platinum status, this contrasts with their debut's five times platinum status. The second single taken from their second album was "Is It Just Me?", released on 20 February 2006. The single gained a preliminary position of No. 6 all that week, but finally charted at number 8. The album's third single, "Girlfriend", was Released 22 May and charted at number 39. The band followed up their second album with a tour of the UK and Ireland, consisting of 12 dates in the major cities. The tour opened in Dublin's Point Depot on 4 February and closed in the Nottingham Arena on 20 February. Few of the venues sold out, their appeal seemingly having become more selective. Their world tour, which followed, arrived in Australia and Japan after touring Scandinavia and Continental Europe in March. CANNOTANSWER
debuting and peaking at number 8 on the UK Singles chart.
The Darkness are a British rock band formed in Lowestoft, England, in 2000. The band consists of Justin Hawkins (lead vocals, lead guitar), his brother Dan Hawkins (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Frankie Poullain (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Rufus Tiger Taylor (drums, backing vocals). The Darkness came to prominence with the release of their debut album, Permission to Land, in 2003. Backed by the singles "I Believe in a Thing Called Love", "Growing on Me", "Get Your Hands off My Woman", and "Love Is Only a Feeling", the album was certified quadruple platinum in the United Kingdom, with sales of over 1.3 million. In 2004 the band won three Brit Awards: Best British Group, Best British Rock Act, and Best British Album. After extensive touring in support of their debut album, Poullain left the band in 2005, and was replaced by former guitar technician Richie Edwards. The band's second studio album, One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back, was released in November 2005. The following year, Justin Hawkins departed from the band after successfully completing a course of rehabilitation from alcohol and cocaine abuse. This, combined with the poor sales of the album, resulted in Atlantic dropping the band in October 2006. After the split, the remaining members formed Stone Gods, and continued to perform and record without Hawkins, who subsequently fronted his own project, Hot Leg. On 15 March 2011, The Darkness announced reunion shows, with original bassist Frankie Poullain, including Download Festival 2011, and the Isle of Wight Festival 2012. Their third album, Hot Cakes, was released on 20 August 2012. Original drummer Ed Graham then left the band, feeling the strain of touring was affecting his personal life, in which he had pressing issues. In 2015 a fourth studio album was announced, entitled Last of Our Kind, which was released on 2 June 2015. A fifth album, Pinewood Smile, was released on 6 October 2017 and one year later on 15 June 2018 a live album, Live at Hammersmith, was also released. Their sixth studio album, Easter Is Cancelled was released on 4 October 2019. After the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to their world tour in 2020, the band wound up the year with a one-off streamed live show titled "Streaming of a White Christmas", which was also recorded as a new live album and slated to be released on CD and vinyl in June 2021. On 4 June 2021, the band announced their seventh studio album Motorheart would be released on 15 October 2021 with an extensive UK tour through November and December 2021. History Early years Justin and Dan Hawkins played together as teenagers in a band which, according to Dan Hawkins, "did a lot of Marillion covers, Bruce Springsteen, Genesis" and were "a bit prog-y". Justin Hawkins had been initially inspired to play guitar by Brian May of Queen, as he loved his tone and vibrato. Originally known as Empire, the band generated some music industry buzz through their manager Sue Whitehouse, who was based at Savage & Best in Camden. Whitehouse had managed them since Justin Hawkins' time as a creator of music jingles. Renamed as The Darkness they became renowned for their live show, and such was the popularity of the band, they had a Carling Homecoming gig booked for the London Astoria before they had even signed a record deal. Joe Taylor, Aled Jones and Paul Scaife at The Tip Sheet first heard about the band through a post on The Tip Sheet message board, and featured Love Is Only a Feeling in January 2002. They started Record of the Day, and featured the song again around the time of SXSW in March 2003. They wanted to feature Friday Night too but they were told the band was saving it for an album. According to A&R Nick Raphael in an interview with HitQuarters, there was no initial clamour to sign the band, "There couldn't have been less of a buzz, and only two record labels showed any interest in them." He believes the reason for lack of interest was that "The business as a whole thought they were uncool. In fact, people were saying that they were a joke and that they weren't real." However, throughout their career critics around the world would label them as a "joke band". As part of Sony Music UK, Raphael had attempted to sign them, but the band instead opted to go with Atlantic Records. Permission to Land and commercial success (2003–2005) Their debut album, Permission to Land, went straight up to number two in the UK charts upon its release on 7 July 2003, before going to number one and staying there for four weeks, eventually going on to sell 1.5 million copies in the UK. The Darkness took inspiration for some of their work from the local north Suffolk area, including "Black Shuck" which mentions the nearby village of Blythburgh. The success of this album led to heavy touring for the band, including European portions of Metallica's Summer Sanitarium Tour 2003. They then went on to headline the Carling Festival in 2004. The band won three BRIT Awards in 2004 in response to the album, Best Group, Best Rock Group and Best Album. They also won two Kerrang! awards in 2004 for Best Live Act and Best British Band. The third single from the album, "I Believe in a Thing Called Love", was a substantial hit in the UK as was their tilt at the Christmas 2003 number 1, "Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)", which only just fell short, both singles reaching number 2 in 2003. One Way Ticket to Hell... And Back and decline (2005–2006) In October 2005, a month before the album was to be officially released, Justin Hawkins won an eBay auction for a copy of One Way Ticket to Hell ...and Back for £350 under the username 'turbogunhawk'. He claimed he did this so that he could track down whoever sold the digitally-marked advance copy of the album and try to prevent it from happening again. "One Way Ticket", the first single from their second album, was released on 14 November 2005, debuting and peaking at number 8 on the UK Singles Chart. The album itself was released on 28 November 2005 to mixed reviews. The album was produced by rock producer Roy Thomas Baker, best known for his work with Queen. Early sales figures in the UK showed the album had not sold as well as its predecessor, Permission to Land. The album debuted at number 11, and fell to number 34 in the second week of its release. Although it has since reached platinum status, this contrasts with their debut's five times platinum status. The second single taken from their second album was "Is It Just Me?", released on 20 February 2006. The single gained a preliminary position of No. 6 all that week, but finally charted at number 8. The album's third single, "Girlfriend", was Released 22 May and charted at number 39. Justin Hawkins' departure and breakup (2006) In August 2006, lead singer Justin Hawkins was admitted to a rehabilitation clinic in concern of his health, which caused the band to cancel several concerts. Around this same time the band confirmed that they were to start working on their third album to be released early 2007. Tabloid rumours held that Justin Hawkins was leaving the band after completing his course of rehabilitation from alcohol and cocaine problems, and the band would continue without him, possibly with Richie Edwards as the front man. In response to the story being reported by the media, The Darkness confirmed on their official forum: "We're sorry that you had to find this out through the newspapers, but we were hoping until the last minute that this – Justin's exit – wasn't going to happen. We – Dan, Ed and Richie – are still in total shock and can't say at this stage what the future holds. We would like to thank all our fans, partners and family for their continuous support. You will hear from us, once we know what we want to do..." Hawkins departure, and the lacklustre sales of One Way Ticket to Hell... (which had only gone gold compared to the previous album's four-times platinum status), led to Atlantic dropping the band from the label. Using the pseudonym British Whale, Hawkins went on to release a cover version of the Sparks song "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us", reaching No. 6 in the UK Singles Chart. In 2007, he launched a failed attempt to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2011, Hawkins gave a different explanation for his departure from the band, saying he had left because he felt the band had stopped being creative. Other projects (2006–2011) On 9 November 2007, it was announced on The University of East Anglia's student union website that a new band had been created comprising Dan Hawkins (lead guitar), Toby MacFarlaine (bass), Ed Graham (drums) and Ritchie Edwards (vocals/guitar). The name of the band was The Stone Gods. In 2008, Justin Hawkins formed a new band, Hot Leg with Pete Rinaldi (of Anchorhead), Samuel SJ Stokes (formerly of The Thieves) and Darby Todd (from Protect the Beat). In 2009 Hot Leg released an album, Red Light Fever, which failed to make a dent on the charts (#81). Three singles were taken from it with two of them failing to chart. By December 2010, both Hot Leg and The Stone Gods were in hiatus. Reunion and Hot Cakes (2011–2013) In March 2011, the four original band members reunited. They played three warm-up shows in Norwich, Leamington and at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire, before performing at the 2011 Download Festival. This was followed by an "intimate" show at London's 100 Club, which featured support from Dark Stares and notable appearances from Queen guitarist Brian May and comedian Rufus Hound. The band then toured Japan, the UK and Ireland. A new song, "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us", was released in February 2012 as a free download. They toured North America, playing with Crown Jewel Defense and Foxy Shazam, then performed at the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden and the 18th Przystanek Woodstock. Singles "Every Inch of You" and "Everybody Have a Good Time" were released in May and June 2012, respectively, ahead of their third album, Hot Cakes, which came out in August. Throughout the summer The Darkness played a series of festival dates, including headlining the Big Top Tent at the 2012 Isle of Wight Festival, and were the opening act for the European and African leg of Lady Gaga's The Born This Way Ball world tour. A new non-album song, "The Horn", was released in late 2013 as a digital download. Last of Our Kind and new line-up (2014–2017) The band began work on their fourth studio album in September 2014, with Emily Dolan Davies replacing Ed Graham on drums. The new album, Last of Our Kind, was released on 2 June 2015, on the band's own label Canary Dwarf Records via Kobalt Label Services with a single, "Open Fire", released on 23 March. The first track from the album to be premiered was "Barbarian", which was released with an accompanying animated music video on 23 February. On 21 April 2015, the band issued a statement saying that drummer Davies had left the band. On 25 April 2015, it was announced via the band's official Facebook page that Rufus Taylor, the son of Queen drummer Roger Taylor, was to join the band as Davies' replacement on drums. They were announced as the first headline act for Planet Rockstock 2015, taking place at Trecco Bay in South Wales from 4 to 7 December 2015. The Darkness closed the event on 6 December. On 20 November 2015, the band released a music video for a new Christmas single, entitled "I Am Santa" on their YouTube Channel, which it was announced would be included in the Deluxe edition of the Last of Our Kind album. Pinewood Smile (2017–2019) The Darkness worked on a feature-length documentary, directed by Simon Emmett. In a 2016 interview, Frankie Poullain said, "We are currently over a year in to a feature-length documentary which will surprise a lot of people." In March 2017, The Darkness announced that their 5th album would be released in 2017. This was confirmed in a July issue of Planet Rock, and later on the band's Facebook page. The album's title was later revealed as Pinewood Smile, and was due to be released on 6 October of the same year. The first single from the album 'All The Pretty Girls' was released on 22 July of that year. The band embarked on a winter tour of the UK in November and December 2017. In May 2017, The Darkness performed at the Australian touring music festival Groovin' the Moo, performing at six regional cities across Australia. They performed as a de facto opening act for the "headline act" of the festival, Violent Soho, and supported Guns N' Roses on the European leg of their tour. In December 2017, Justin & Dan Hawkins were contestants on the Pointless Celebrities Christmas special. In 2018, the band supported US supergroup Hollywood Vampires on their European tour, which included their first performances in UK arenas in several years. They also announced their first live album, Live at Hammersmith, a recording of their December 2017 concert at the Eventim Apollo in London. This was released on 15 June 2018. The band contributed theme music to the British children's television programme Catie's Amazing Machines which premiered on CBeebies in October 2018. Easter Is Cancelled (2019–2021) In 2019, The Darkness released their latest album Easter Is Cancelled on 4 October 2019 through Cooking Vinyl. Easter Is Cancelled became the band's fourth UK Top 10 album and topped the Official Charts Top 40 Rock And Metal Chart and the iTunes Rock Chart, while the record has achieved over 3 million streams on Spotify alone. The album was released to a generally positive response from music critics while the previous singles "Heart Explodes" and "Rock and Roll Deserves to Die" proved a radio hit on the playlists of Radio 2, Absolute, Kerrang and more. The comedic video for "Rock and Roll Deserves to Die" has also individually surpassed 1 million views. In January 2020, the Darkness released a new video for "In Another Life" which featured model Abbey Clancy. The track then made the BBC Radio 2 B-List. The band commenced their UK tour of the Easter Is Cancelled album on 25 November 2019 in Ireland, culminating on 20 December at London's Roundhouse. In 2020, the band attempted a worldwide tour across Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and North America. The tour abruptly ended in Adelaide, Australia on 15 March as the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home orders set in. The band returned to the UK for occasional shows and live streams where possible, with an aim to reschedule the remainder of the postponed New Zealand and North American dates in the future. In December the band played a one-off show at The IndigO2 in London. Initial plans to open the show and sound check to a limited audience were shut down at the last minute due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The show still went ahead but only accessible by live stream. The whole show was recorded for a live album titled Streaming Of A White Christmas, scheduled to be released on CD and vinyl in early 2021. Motorheart (2021–present) For most of the first half of 2021 the band remained largely quiet on social media. On June 4, 2021, the band announced they are set to release the new album Motorheart in October. The album was eventually released on November 19. The album's cover was also unveiled in the announcement. The album will be available on CD, vinyl, cassette tape and digital download. The first single, Motorheart was released in August. Along with the album release, the band announced an extensive list of UK tour dates to take place throughout November and December in support of the release of the album. Band members Current members Justin Hawkins – lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitar, keyboards Dan Hawkins – rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals Frankie Poullain – bass, backing vocals Rufus Tiger Taylor – drums, backing vocals Former members Ed Graham – drums Chris McDougall – lead and rhythm guitar Richie Edwards – bass, backing vocals, keyboards Emily Dolan Davies – drums Touring members Darby Todd – drums Timeline Discography Studio albums Permission to Land (2003) One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back (2005) Hot Cakes (2012) Last of Our Kind (2015) Pinewood Smile (2017) Easter Is Cancelled (2019) Motorheart (2021) Awards and honours {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |- ! scope="col" | Award ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Nominee(s) ! scope="col" | Category ! scope="col" | Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable"| |- ! scope="row" rowspan=2|Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards | 2013 | Themselves | Showman of the Year | | rowspan=2| |- | 2015 | Last of Our Kind | Album of the Year | |- ! scope="row" rowspan=4|Kerrang! Awards | rowspan=2|2003 | Themselves | Best Live Act | | rowspan=2| |- | Permission to Land | Best Album | |- | rowspan=2|2004 | rowspan=2|Themselves | Best British Band | | rowspan=2| |- | Best Live Band | |- !scope="row"|Mercury Prize | 2003 | Permission to Land | Album of the Year | | |- !scope="row" rowspan=2|Pop Factory Awards | rowspan=2|2002 | rowspan=2|Themselves | Best Pop Factory Performance | | rowspan=2| |- | Best Pop Factory Debut | 2003 Metal Hammer 'Golden God' for Best Single (Get Your Hands off My Woman) 2004 Metal Hammer 'Golden God' for Best Video ("Love Is Only a Feeling") Ivor Novello Award for Songwriters of the Year BRIT Award for Best British Group BRIT Award for Best Rock Act BRIT Award for Best British Album (Permission to Land) MTV Europe Music Award for Best UK & Ireland Act and Best Rock IFPI Platinum Europe Award for sales in Europe in excess of 1,000,000 (triple Platinum) (Permission to Land) Elle Style Award for Most Stylish Band Meteor Ireland Award for Best Album (Permission to Land) Smash Hits! Pollwinners' Party for Best Rock Award RIAA Digital Sales Certifications Gold Award for 100,000 downloads ("I Believe in a Thing Called Love") European Border Breakers Award for debut albums of European acts achieving the best sales outside of their country of origin in 2003 (Permission to Land) Denmark GAFFA Award for Best Foreign New Act (nominated) Denmark GAFFA Award for Best Foreign Hit ("I Believe in a Thing Called Love") (nominated) 2005 ASCAP Award for one of the Most Performed Works in the USA ("I Believe in a Thing Called Love") 2006 MTV Australia's Best Man Rock Video award ("One Way Ticket") 2008 VH1 The 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" (94) 2011 VH1 The 100 Greatest Songs of '00s "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" (87) 2020 Classic Rock magazine awarded "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" the number one spot on their Greatest Songs of the Century (so far) reader poll. See also Hot Leg Stone Gods References External links Atlantic Records artists Brit Award winners Comedy rock musical groups Cooking Vinyl artists English glam metal musical groups English hard rock musical groups English heavy metal musical groups Ivor Novello Award winners Kerrang! Awards winners Musical groups established in 1999 Musical groups disestablished in 2006 Musical groups reestablished in 2011 Musical groups from Suffolk Musical quartets Sibling musical groups PIAS Recordings artists MTV Europe Music Award winners 1999 establishments in England
true
[ "Simply Majestic was a Canadian hip hop and dance music collective, active in the early 1990s. They are most noted for winning the Juno Award for Best R&B/Soul Recording at the Juno Awards of 1991 for their single \"Dance to the Music (Work Your Body)\". Members of the collective included producer Anthony Bond, rappers B-Kool, Frank Morrell, The Russian Prince and MC A-OK, rap groups Point Blank, Brothers from the Ghetto, the Boys of the Greenhouse and the Forbidden Ones, and rhythm and blues singer Porsha-Lee.\n\nThe band signed to Capitol-EMI Canada in 1990 as part of the first significant wave of signings of Canadian hip hop acts, and released the EP Simply Majestic featuring B-Kool that year. The single \"Dance to the Music (Work Your Body)\" won the Juno for Best R&B/Soul Recording Juno and was a nominated finalist for Rap Recording of the Year, but did not win in that category. B-Kool was also a contributor to Dance Appeal, a supergroup of dance, hip hop, rhythm and blues and reggae musicians who released the one-off single \"Can't Repress the Cause\" in 1990.\n\nThey followed up in 1991 with the album We United to Do Dis. The album again received two Juno Award nominations at the Juno Awards of 1992, in the R&B/Soul category for the single \"Destiny\" and in the Rap category for the single \"Play the Music DJ\".\n\nSimply Majestic did not release any further recordings as a collective. B-Kool released the solo album Mellow Madness in 1994, and received another Juno Award nomination for Best Rap Recording at the Juno Awards of 1994 for the single \"Got to Get Over\".\n\nReferences\n\nCanadian hip hop groups\nCanadian dance music groups\nMusical groups from Toronto\nHip hop collectives\nJuno Award for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year winners", "The 49th Primetime Emmy Awards were held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California in 1997. They were presented in two ceremonies hosted by Bryant Gumbel, one on Saturday, September 13 and another on Sunday, September 14. The September 14th ceremony was televised on CBS.\n\nFrasier became the first series to win Outstanding Comedy Series four consecutive years, it joined Hill Street Blues which won Outstanding Drama Series four straight years a decade earlier. For the first time since 1979, James Burrows did not receive a Directing nomination, ending his run at 17 consecutive years. Beginning the following year, Burrows would begin a new streak that lasted another six years. In the drama field perennial nominee Law & Order won for its seventh season, the first time a show had won for this specific season. In winning Law & Order became the first drama series that did not have serialized story arcs since Hill Street Blues perfected the formula. Law & Order remains the only non-serialized winner since 1981.\n\nFor the first time, not only did the Fox Network win the Lead Actress, Drama award, with Gillian Anderson, for The X-Files, but hers was also the network's first win in any of the Major Acting categories. (Laurence Fishburne and Peter Boyle won for Fox in only guest performances. The latter of which was for The X-Files just the year before.)\n\nThis ceremony marked the end of a 20-year residency for the Primetime Emmy Awards at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium dating back to the 29th Primetime Emmy Awards in 1977 ceremony.\n\nThis is the most recent year in which the Big Four Networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC) took home the top 14 Emmys (Comedy and Drama Series, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress in Comedy and Drama, and Directing and Writing for Comedy and Drama).\n\nThe Larry Sanders Show had 16 nominations and zero wins, tying the record with Northern Exposure in 1993 and becoming the first (and only to date) comedy series to set the record. These records with later be broken by Mad Men in 2012 with 17 nominations and without a single win and The Handmaid's Tale in 2021 with 21 nominations and without a single win.\n\nWinners and nominees\n\nPrograms\n\nActing\n\nLead performances\n\nSupporting performances\n\nGuest performances\n\nDirecting\n\nWriting\n\nMost major nominations\nBy network \n NBC – 50\n HBO – 41\n CBS – 21\n ABC – 19\n\nBy program\n ER (NBC) – 14\n The Larry Sanders Show (HBO) – 12\n NYPD Blue (ABC) – 8\n Seinfeld (NBC) – 7\n Chicago Hope (CBS) / Frasier (NBC) / Mad About You (NBC) / Miss Evers' Boys (HBO) – 6\n\nMost major awards\nBy network \n NBC – 11\n HBO – 7\n ABC – 6\n CBS – 2\n PBS – 2\n\nBy program\n NYPD Blue (ABC) – 4\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Emmys.com list of 1997 Nominees & Winners\n \n\n049\nPrimetime Emmy Awards\n1997 in California\nEvents in Pasadena, California\nSeptember 1997 events in the United States\n20th century in Pasadena, California" ]
[ "The Darkness (band)", "One Way Ticket to Hell... And Back and decline (2005-2006)", "When was One Way Ticket to Hell released?", " \"One Way Ticket\", the first single from their second album, was released on 14 November 2005,", "Did their first single win any awards?", "debuting and peaking at number 8 on the UK Singles chart." ]
C_963a1528a3544f269cb49ee50eab6e0d_0
Did they have any other released singles?
3
Other than One Way Ticket to hell Did the band The Darkness have any other released singles?
The Darkness (band)
In October 2005, a month before the album was to be officially released, Justin Hawkins won an eBay auction for a copy of One Way Ticket to Hell ...and Back for PS350 under the username 'turbogunhawk'. He claimed he did this so that he could track down whoever sold the digitally-marked advance copy of the album and try to prevent it from happening again. "One Way Ticket", the first single from their second album, was released on 14 November 2005, debuting and peaking at number 8 on the UK Singles chart. The album itself was released on 28 November 2005 to mixed reviews. The album was produced by rock producer Roy Thomas Baker, best known for his work with Queen. Early sales figures in the UK showed the album had not sold as well as its predecessor, Permission to Land. The album debuted at number 11, and fell to number 34 in the second week of its release. Although it has since reached platinum status, this contrasts with their debut's five times platinum status. The second single taken from their second album was "Is It Just Me?", released on 20 February 2006. The single gained a preliminary position of No. 6 all that week, but finally charted at number 8. The album's third single, "Girlfriend", was Released 22 May and charted at number 39. The band followed up their second album with a tour of the UK and Ireland, consisting of 12 dates in the major cities. The tour opened in Dublin's Point Depot on 4 February and closed in the Nottingham Arena on 20 February. Few of the venues sold out, their appeal seemingly having become more selective. Their world tour, which followed, arrived in Australia and Japan after touring Scandinavia and Continental Europe in March. CANNOTANSWER
The second single taken from their second album was "Is It Just Me?",
The Darkness are a British rock band formed in Lowestoft, England, in 2000. The band consists of Justin Hawkins (lead vocals, lead guitar), his brother Dan Hawkins (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Frankie Poullain (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Rufus Tiger Taylor (drums, backing vocals). The Darkness came to prominence with the release of their debut album, Permission to Land, in 2003. Backed by the singles "I Believe in a Thing Called Love", "Growing on Me", "Get Your Hands off My Woman", and "Love Is Only a Feeling", the album was certified quadruple platinum in the United Kingdom, with sales of over 1.3 million. In 2004 the band won three Brit Awards: Best British Group, Best British Rock Act, and Best British Album. After extensive touring in support of their debut album, Poullain left the band in 2005, and was replaced by former guitar technician Richie Edwards. The band's second studio album, One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back, was released in November 2005. The following year, Justin Hawkins departed from the band after successfully completing a course of rehabilitation from alcohol and cocaine abuse. This, combined with the poor sales of the album, resulted in Atlantic dropping the band in October 2006. After the split, the remaining members formed Stone Gods, and continued to perform and record without Hawkins, who subsequently fronted his own project, Hot Leg. On 15 March 2011, The Darkness announced reunion shows, with original bassist Frankie Poullain, including Download Festival 2011, and the Isle of Wight Festival 2012. Their third album, Hot Cakes, was released on 20 August 2012. Original drummer Ed Graham then left the band, feeling the strain of touring was affecting his personal life, in which he had pressing issues. In 2015 a fourth studio album was announced, entitled Last of Our Kind, which was released on 2 June 2015. A fifth album, Pinewood Smile, was released on 6 October 2017 and one year later on 15 June 2018 a live album, Live at Hammersmith, was also released. Their sixth studio album, Easter Is Cancelled was released on 4 October 2019. After the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to their world tour in 2020, the band wound up the year with a one-off streamed live show titled "Streaming of a White Christmas", which was also recorded as a new live album and slated to be released on CD and vinyl in June 2021. On 4 June 2021, the band announced their seventh studio album Motorheart would be released on 15 October 2021 with an extensive UK tour through November and December 2021. History Early years Justin and Dan Hawkins played together as teenagers in a band which, according to Dan Hawkins, "did a lot of Marillion covers, Bruce Springsteen, Genesis" and were "a bit prog-y". Justin Hawkins had been initially inspired to play guitar by Brian May of Queen, as he loved his tone and vibrato. Originally known as Empire, the band generated some music industry buzz through their manager Sue Whitehouse, who was based at Savage & Best in Camden. Whitehouse had managed them since Justin Hawkins' time as a creator of music jingles. Renamed as The Darkness they became renowned for their live show, and such was the popularity of the band, they had a Carling Homecoming gig booked for the London Astoria before they had even signed a record deal. Joe Taylor, Aled Jones and Paul Scaife at The Tip Sheet first heard about the band through a post on The Tip Sheet message board, and featured Love Is Only a Feeling in January 2002. They started Record of the Day, and featured the song again around the time of SXSW in March 2003. They wanted to feature Friday Night too but they were told the band was saving it for an album. According to A&R Nick Raphael in an interview with HitQuarters, there was no initial clamour to sign the band, "There couldn't have been less of a buzz, and only two record labels showed any interest in them." He believes the reason for lack of interest was that "The business as a whole thought they were uncool. In fact, people were saying that they were a joke and that they weren't real." However, throughout their career critics around the world would label them as a "joke band". As part of Sony Music UK, Raphael had attempted to sign them, but the band instead opted to go with Atlantic Records. Permission to Land and commercial success (2003–2005) Their debut album, Permission to Land, went straight up to number two in the UK charts upon its release on 7 July 2003, before going to number one and staying there for four weeks, eventually going on to sell 1.5 million copies in the UK. The Darkness took inspiration for some of their work from the local north Suffolk area, including "Black Shuck" which mentions the nearby village of Blythburgh. The success of this album led to heavy touring for the band, including European portions of Metallica's Summer Sanitarium Tour 2003. They then went on to headline the Carling Festival in 2004. The band won three BRIT Awards in 2004 in response to the album, Best Group, Best Rock Group and Best Album. They also won two Kerrang! awards in 2004 for Best Live Act and Best British Band. The third single from the album, "I Believe in a Thing Called Love", was a substantial hit in the UK as was their tilt at the Christmas 2003 number 1, "Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)", which only just fell short, both singles reaching number 2 in 2003. One Way Ticket to Hell... And Back and decline (2005–2006) In October 2005, a month before the album was to be officially released, Justin Hawkins won an eBay auction for a copy of One Way Ticket to Hell ...and Back for £350 under the username 'turbogunhawk'. He claimed he did this so that he could track down whoever sold the digitally-marked advance copy of the album and try to prevent it from happening again. "One Way Ticket", the first single from their second album, was released on 14 November 2005, debuting and peaking at number 8 on the UK Singles Chart. The album itself was released on 28 November 2005 to mixed reviews. The album was produced by rock producer Roy Thomas Baker, best known for his work with Queen. Early sales figures in the UK showed the album had not sold as well as its predecessor, Permission to Land. The album debuted at number 11, and fell to number 34 in the second week of its release. Although it has since reached platinum status, this contrasts with their debut's five times platinum status. The second single taken from their second album was "Is It Just Me?", released on 20 February 2006. The single gained a preliminary position of No. 6 all that week, but finally charted at number 8. The album's third single, "Girlfriend", was Released 22 May and charted at number 39. Justin Hawkins' departure and breakup (2006) In August 2006, lead singer Justin Hawkins was admitted to a rehabilitation clinic in concern of his health, which caused the band to cancel several concerts. Around this same time the band confirmed that they were to start working on their third album to be released early 2007. Tabloid rumours held that Justin Hawkins was leaving the band after completing his course of rehabilitation from alcohol and cocaine problems, and the band would continue without him, possibly with Richie Edwards as the front man. In response to the story being reported by the media, The Darkness confirmed on their official forum: "We're sorry that you had to find this out through the newspapers, but we were hoping until the last minute that this – Justin's exit – wasn't going to happen. We – Dan, Ed and Richie – are still in total shock and can't say at this stage what the future holds. We would like to thank all our fans, partners and family for their continuous support. You will hear from us, once we know what we want to do..." Hawkins departure, and the lacklustre sales of One Way Ticket to Hell... (which had only gone gold compared to the previous album's four-times platinum status), led to Atlantic dropping the band from the label. Using the pseudonym British Whale, Hawkins went on to release a cover version of the Sparks song "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us", reaching No. 6 in the UK Singles Chart. In 2007, he launched a failed attempt to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2011, Hawkins gave a different explanation for his departure from the band, saying he had left because he felt the band had stopped being creative. Other projects (2006–2011) On 9 November 2007, it was announced on The University of East Anglia's student union website that a new band had been created comprising Dan Hawkins (lead guitar), Toby MacFarlaine (bass), Ed Graham (drums) and Ritchie Edwards (vocals/guitar). The name of the band was The Stone Gods. In 2008, Justin Hawkins formed a new band, Hot Leg with Pete Rinaldi (of Anchorhead), Samuel SJ Stokes (formerly of The Thieves) and Darby Todd (from Protect the Beat). In 2009 Hot Leg released an album, Red Light Fever, which failed to make a dent on the charts (#81). Three singles were taken from it with two of them failing to chart. By December 2010, both Hot Leg and The Stone Gods were in hiatus. Reunion and Hot Cakes (2011–2013) In March 2011, the four original band members reunited. They played three warm-up shows in Norwich, Leamington and at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire, before performing at the 2011 Download Festival. This was followed by an "intimate" show at London's 100 Club, which featured support from Dark Stares and notable appearances from Queen guitarist Brian May and comedian Rufus Hound. The band then toured Japan, the UK and Ireland. A new song, "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us", was released in February 2012 as a free download. They toured North America, playing with Crown Jewel Defense and Foxy Shazam, then performed at the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden and the 18th Przystanek Woodstock. Singles "Every Inch of You" and "Everybody Have a Good Time" were released in May and June 2012, respectively, ahead of their third album, Hot Cakes, which came out in August. Throughout the summer The Darkness played a series of festival dates, including headlining the Big Top Tent at the 2012 Isle of Wight Festival, and were the opening act for the European and African leg of Lady Gaga's The Born This Way Ball world tour. A new non-album song, "The Horn", was released in late 2013 as a digital download. Last of Our Kind and new line-up (2014–2017) The band began work on their fourth studio album in September 2014, with Emily Dolan Davies replacing Ed Graham on drums. The new album, Last of Our Kind, was released on 2 June 2015, on the band's own label Canary Dwarf Records via Kobalt Label Services with a single, "Open Fire", released on 23 March. The first track from the album to be premiered was "Barbarian", which was released with an accompanying animated music video on 23 February. On 21 April 2015, the band issued a statement saying that drummer Davies had left the band. On 25 April 2015, it was announced via the band's official Facebook page that Rufus Taylor, the son of Queen drummer Roger Taylor, was to join the band as Davies' replacement on drums. They were announced as the first headline act for Planet Rockstock 2015, taking place at Trecco Bay in South Wales from 4 to 7 December 2015. The Darkness closed the event on 6 December. On 20 November 2015, the band released a music video for a new Christmas single, entitled "I Am Santa" on their YouTube Channel, which it was announced would be included in the Deluxe edition of the Last of Our Kind album. Pinewood Smile (2017–2019) The Darkness worked on a feature-length documentary, directed by Simon Emmett. In a 2016 interview, Frankie Poullain said, "We are currently over a year in to a feature-length documentary which will surprise a lot of people." In March 2017, The Darkness announced that their 5th album would be released in 2017. This was confirmed in a July issue of Planet Rock, and later on the band's Facebook page. The album's title was later revealed as Pinewood Smile, and was due to be released on 6 October of the same year. The first single from the album 'All The Pretty Girls' was released on 22 July of that year. The band embarked on a winter tour of the UK in November and December 2017. In May 2017, The Darkness performed at the Australian touring music festival Groovin' the Moo, performing at six regional cities across Australia. They performed as a de facto opening act for the "headline act" of the festival, Violent Soho, and supported Guns N' Roses on the European leg of their tour. In December 2017, Justin & Dan Hawkins were contestants on the Pointless Celebrities Christmas special. In 2018, the band supported US supergroup Hollywood Vampires on their European tour, which included their first performances in UK arenas in several years. They also announced their first live album, Live at Hammersmith, a recording of their December 2017 concert at the Eventim Apollo in London. This was released on 15 June 2018. The band contributed theme music to the British children's television programme Catie's Amazing Machines which premiered on CBeebies in October 2018. Easter Is Cancelled (2019–2021) In 2019, The Darkness released their latest album Easter Is Cancelled on 4 October 2019 through Cooking Vinyl. Easter Is Cancelled became the band's fourth UK Top 10 album and topped the Official Charts Top 40 Rock And Metal Chart and the iTunes Rock Chart, while the record has achieved over 3 million streams on Spotify alone. The album was released to a generally positive response from music critics while the previous singles "Heart Explodes" and "Rock and Roll Deserves to Die" proved a radio hit on the playlists of Radio 2, Absolute, Kerrang and more. The comedic video for "Rock and Roll Deserves to Die" has also individually surpassed 1 million views. In January 2020, the Darkness released a new video for "In Another Life" which featured model Abbey Clancy. The track then made the BBC Radio 2 B-List. The band commenced their UK tour of the Easter Is Cancelled album on 25 November 2019 in Ireland, culminating on 20 December at London's Roundhouse. In 2020, the band attempted a worldwide tour across Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and North America. The tour abruptly ended in Adelaide, Australia on 15 March as the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home orders set in. The band returned to the UK for occasional shows and live streams where possible, with an aim to reschedule the remainder of the postponed New Zealand and North American dates in the future. In December the band played a one-off show at The IndigO2 in London. Initial plans to open the show and sound check to a limited audience were shut down at the last minute due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The show still went ahead but only accessible by live stream. The whole show was recorded for a live album titled Streaming Of A White Christmas, scheduled to be released on CD and vinyl in early 2021. Motorheart (2021–present) For most of the first half of 2021 the band remained largely quiet on social media. On June 4, 2021, the band announced they are set to release the new album Motorheart in October. The album was eventually released on November 19. The album's cover was also unveiled in the announcement. The album will be available on CD, vinyl, cassette tape and digital download. The first single, Motorheart was released in August. Along with the album release, the band announced an extensive list of UK tour dates to take place throughout November and December in support of the release of the album. Band members Current members Justin Hawkins – lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitar, keyboards Dan Hawkins – rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals Frankie Poullain – bass, backing vocals Rufus Tiger Taylor – drums, backing vocals Former members Ed Graham – drums Chris McDougall – lead and rhythm guitar Richie Edwards – bass, backing vocals, keyboards Emily Dolan Davies – drums Touring members Darby Todd – drums Timeline Discography Studio albums Permission to Land (2003) One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back (2005) Hot Cakes (2012) Last of Our Kind (2015) Pinewood Smile (2017) Easter Is Cancelled (2019) Motorheart (2021) Awards and honours {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |- ! scope="col" | Award ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Nominee(s) ! scope="col" | Category ! scope="col" | Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable"| |- ! scope="row" rowspan=2|Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards | 2013 | Themselves | Showman of the Year | | rowspan=2| |- | 2015 | Last of Our Kind | Album of the Year | |- ! scope="row" rowspan=4|Kerrang! Awards | rowspan=2|2003 | Themselves | Best Live Act | | rowspan=2| |- | Permission to Land | Best Album | |- | rowspan=2|2004 | rowspan=2|Themselves | Best British Band | | rowspan=2| |- | Best Live Band | |- !scope="row"|Mercury Prize | 2003 | Permission to Land | Album of the Year | | |- !scope="row" rowspan=2|Pop Factory Awards | rowspan=2|2002 | rowspan=2|Themselves | Best Pop Factory Performance | | rowspan=2| |- | Best Pop Factory Debut | 2003 Metal Hammer 'Golden God' for Best Single (Get Your Hands off My Woman) 2004 Metal Hammer 'Golden God' for Best Video ("Love Is Only a Feeling") Ivor Novello Award for Songwriters of the Year BRIT Award for Best British Group BRIT Award for Best Rock Act BRIT Award for Best British Album (Permission to Land) MTV Europe Music Award for Best UK & Ireland Act and Best Rock IFPI Platinum Europe Award for sales in Europe in excess of 1,000,000 (triple Platinum) (Permission to Land) Elle Style Award for Most Stylish Band Meteor Ireland Award for Best Album (Permission to Land) Smash Hits! Pollwinners' Party for Best Rock Award RIAA Digital Sales Certifications Gold Award for 100,000 downloads ("I Believe in a Thing Called Love") European Border Breakers Award for debut albums of European acts achieving the best sales outside of their country of origin in 2003 (Permission to Land) Denmark GAFFA Award for Best Foreign New Act (nominated) Denmark GAFFA Award for Best Foreign Hit ("I Believe in a Thing Called Love") (nominated) 2005 ASCAP Award for one of the Most Performed Works in the USA ("I Believe in a Thing Called Love") 2006 MTV Australia's Best Man Rock Video award ("One Way Ticket") 2008 VH1 The 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" (94) 2011 VH1 The 100 Greatest Songs of '00s "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" (87) 2020 Classic Rock magazine awarded "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" the number one spot on their Greatest Songs of the Century (so far) reader poll. See also Hot Leg Stone Gods References External links Atlantic Records artists Brit Award winners Comedy rock musical groups Cooking Vinyl artists English glam metal musical groups English hard rock musical groups English heavy metal musical groups Ivor Novello Award winners Kerrang! Awards winners Musical groups established in 1999 Musical groups disestablished in 2006 Musical groups reestablished in 2011 Musical groups from Suffolk Musical quartets Sibling musical groups PIAS Recordings artists MTV Europe Music Award winners 1999 establishments in England
true
[ "\"Under Any Moon\" is a single by Glenn Medeiros and The Jets, released in 1989. \n\nWritten by Diane Warren, the song was released as a single only in the United Kingdom. It was included on the soundtrack for The Karate Kid Part III (1989), on the Mercury label, and was also included on The Jets' album, Believe (1989), on the MCA label. \n\nThe song failed to have any chart impact in the UK, while it did have minor airplay in the United States, it did not chart either. It was never performed live by The Jets.\n\nReferences\n\n1989 singles\n1989 songs\nThe Jets (band) songs\nGlenn Medeiros songs\nMercury Records singles\nSongs written by Diane Warren", "The discography of Mallu Magalhães, a Brazilian Folk singer, consists of two studio albums, one live albums, five singles as a lead artist, one collaborations with Marcelo Camelo and one video albums.\n\nIn 2008 she released her first eponymous album and in 2009 she released her second album, also self-titled.\n\nShe already has five singles released, and the most famous is Tchubaruba.\n\nAlbums\n\nStudio albums\n\nCompilations\n\nVideo albums\n\nNotes\n These albums did not reach any of the charts in Brazil.\n\nSingles\n\nAs lead artist\n\nOther appearances\n\nNotes\n These albums did not reach any of the charts in Brazil.\n\nMusic videos \n J1 (2008)\n Tchubaruba (2008)\n O Preço da Flor (2009)\n Vanguart (2009)\n Shine Yellow (2009)\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nMallu Magalhães's official website\nMallu Magalhães's official MySpace\n\nFolk music discographies\nDiscography\nDiscographies of Brazilian artists\nLatin music discographies" ]
[ "The Darkness (band)", "One Way Ticket to Hell... And Back and decline (2005-2006)", "When was One Way Ticket to Hell released?", " \"One Way Ticket\", the first single from their second album, was released on 14 November 2005,", "Did their first single win any awards?", "debuting and peaking at number 8 on the UK Singles chart.", "Did they have any other released singles?", "The second single taken from their second album was \"Is It Just Me?\"," ]
C_963a1528a3544f269cb49ee50eab6e0d_0
When was their second single released?
4
When was the second single of the band The Darkness released?
The Darkness (band)
In October 2005, a month before the album was to be officially released, Justin Hawkins won an eBay auction for a copy of One Way Ticket to Hell ...and Back for PS350 under the username 'turbogunhawk'. He claimed he did this so that he could track down whoever sold the digitally-marked advance copy of the album and try to prevent it from happening again. "One Way Ticket", the first single from their second album, was released on 14 November 2005, debuting and peaking at number 8 on the UK Singles chart. The album itself was released on 28 November 2005 to mixed reviews. The album was produced by rock producer Roy Thomas Baker, best known for his work with Queen. Early sales figures in the UK showed the album had not sold as well as its predecessor, Permission to Land. The album debuted at number 11, and fell to number 34 in the second week of its release. Although it has since reached platinum status, this contrasts with their debut's five times platinum status. The second single taken from their second album was "Is It Just Me?", released on 20 February 2006. The single gained a preliminary position of No. 6 all that week, but finally charted at number 8. The album's third single, "Girlfriend", was Released 22 May and charted at number 39. The band followed up their second album with a tour of the UK and Ireland, consisting of 12 dates in the major cities. The tour opened in Dublin's Point Depot on 4 February and closed in the Nottingham Arena on 20 February. Few of the venues sold out, their appeal seemingly having become more selective. Their world tour, which followed, arrived in Australia and Japan after touring Scandinavia and Continental Europe in March. CANNOTANSWER
20 February 2006.
The Darkness are a British rock band formed in Lowestoft, England, in 2000. The band consists of Justin Hawkins (lead vocals, lead guitar), his brother Dan Hawkins (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Frankie Poullain (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Rufus Tiger Taylor (drums, backing vocals). The Darkness came to prominence with the release of their debut album, Permission to Land, in 2003. Backed by the singles "I Believe in a Thing Called Love", "Growing on Me", "Get Your Hands off My Woman", and "Love Is Only a Feeling", the album was certified quadruple platinum in the United Kingdom, with sales of over 1.3 million. In 2004 the band won three Brit Awards: Best British Group, Best British Rock Act, and Best British Album. After extensive touring in support of their debut album, Poullain left the band in 2005, and was replaced by former guitar technician Richie Edwards. The band's second studio album, One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back, was released in November 2005. The following year, Justin Hawkins departed from the band after successfully completing a course of rehabilitation from alcohol and cocaine abuse. This, combined with the poor sales of the album, resulted in Atlantic dropping the band in October 2006. After the split, the remaining members formed Stone Gods, and continued to perform and record without Hawkins, who subsequently fronted his own project, Hot Leg. On 15 March 2011, The Darkness announced reunion shows, with original bassist Frankie Poullain, including Download Festival 2011, and the Isle of Wight Festival 2012. Their third album, Hot Cakes, was released on 20 August 2012. Original drummer Ed Graham then left the band, feeling the strain of touring was affecting his personal life, in which he had pressing issues. In 2015 a fourth studio album was announced, entitled Last of Our Kind, which was released on 2 June 2015. A fifth album, Pinewood Smile, was released on 6 October 2017 and one year later on 15 June 2018 a live album, Live at Hammersmith, was also released. Their sixth studio album, Easter Is Cancelled was released on 4 October 2019. After the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to their world tour in 2020, the band wound up the year with a one-off streamed live show titled "Streaming of a White Christmas", which was also recorded as a new live album and slated to be released on CD and vinyl in June 2021. On 4 June 2021, the band announced their seventh studio album Motorheart would be released on 15 October 2021 with an extensive UK tour through November and December 2021. History Early years Justin and Dan Hawkins played together as teenagers in a band which, according to Dan Hawkins, "did a lot of Marillion covers, Bruce Springsteen, Genesis" and were "a bit prog-y". Justin Hawkins had been initially inspired to play guitar by Brian May of Queen, as he loved his tone and vibrato. Originally known as Empire, the band generated some music industry buzz through their manager Sue Whitehouse, who was based at Savage & Best in Camden. Whitehouse had managed them since Justin Hawkins' time as a creator of music jingles. Renamed as The Darkness they became renowned for their live show, and such was the popularity of the band, they had a Carling Homecoming gig booked for the London Astoria before they had even signed a record deal. Joe Taylor, Aled Jones and Paul Scaife at The Tip Sheet first heard about the band through a post on The Tip Sheet message board, and featured Love Is Only a Feeling in January 2002. They started Record of the Day, and featured the song again around the time of SXSW in March 2003. They wanted to feature Friday Night too but they were told the band was saving it for an album. According to A&R Nick Raphael in an interview with HitQuarters, there was no initial clamour to sign the band, "There couldn't have been less of a buzz, and only two record labels showed any interest in them." He believes the reason for lack of interest was that "The business as a whole thought they were uncool. In fact, people were saying that they were a joke and that they weren't real." However, throughout their career critics around the world would label them as a "joke band". As part of Sony Music UK, Raphael had attempted to sign them, but the band instead opted to go with Atlantic Records. Permission to Land and commercial success (2003–2005) Their debut album, Permission to Land, went straight up to number two in the UK charts upon its release on 7 July 2003, before going to number one and staying there for four weeks, eventually going on to sell 1.5 million copies in the UK. The Darkness took inspiration for some of their work from the local north Suffolk area, including "Black Shuck" which mentions the nearby village of Blythburgh. The success of this album led to heavy touring for the band, including European portions of Metallica's Summer Sanitarium Tour 2003. They then went on to headline the Carling Festival in 2004. The band won three BRIT Awards in 2004 in response to the album, Best Group, Best Rock Group and Best Album. They also won two Kerrang! awards in 2004 for Best Live Act and Best British Band. The third single from the album, "I Believe in a Thing Called Love", was a substantial hit in the UK as was their tilt at the Christmas 2003 number 1, "Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)", which only just fell short, both singles reaching number 2 in 2003. One Way Ticket to Hell... And Back and decline (2005–2006) In October 2005, a month before the album was to be officially released, Justin Hawkins won an eBay auction for a copy of One Way Ticket to Hell ...and Back for £350 under the username 'turbogunhawk'. He claimed he did this so that he could track down whoever sold the digitally-marked advance copy of the album and try to prevent it from happening again. "One Way Ticket", the first single from their second album, was released on 14 November 2005, debuting and peaking at number 8 on the UK Singles Chart. The album itself was released on 28 November 2005 to mixed reviews. The album was produced by rock producer Roy Thomas Baker, best known for his work with Queen. Early sales figures in the UK showed the album had not sold as well as its predecessor, Permission to Land. The album debuted at number 11, and fell to number 34 in the second week of its release. Although it has since reached platinum status, this contrasts with their debut's five times platinum status. The second single taken from their second album was "Is It Just Me?", released on 20 February 2006. The single gained a preliminary position of No. 6 all that week, but finally charted at number 8. The album's third single, "Girlfriend", was Released 22 May and charted at number 39. Justin Hawkins' departure and breakup (2006) In August 2006, lead singer Justin Hawkins was admitted to a rehabilitation clinic in concern of his health, which caused the band to cancel several concerts. Around this same time the band confirmed that they were to start working on their third album to be released early 2007. Tabloid rumours held that Justin Hawkins was leaving the band after completing his course of rehabilitation from alcohol and cocaine problems, and the band would continue without him, possibly with Richie Edwards as the front man. In response to the story being reported by the media, The Darkness confirmed on their official forum: "We're sorry that you had to find this out through the newspapers, but we were hoping until the last minute that this – Justin's exit – wasn't going to happen. We – Dan, Ed and Richie – are still in total shock and can't say at this stage what the future holds. We would like to thank all our fans, partners and family for their continuous support. You will hear from us, once we know what we want to do..." Hawkins departure, and the lacklustre sales of One Way Ticket to Hell... (which had only gone gold compared to the previous album's four-times platinum status), led to Atlantic dropping the band from the label. Using the pseudonym British Whale, Hawkins went on to release a cover version of the Sparks song "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us", reaching No. 6 in the UK Singles Chart. In 2007, he launched a failed attempt to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2011, Hawkins gave a different explanation for his departure from the band, saying he had left because he felt the band had stopped being creative. Other projects (2006–2011) On 9 November 2007, it was announced on The University of East Anglia's student union website that a new band had been created comprising Dan Hawkins (lead guitar), Toby MacFarlaine (bass), Ed Graham (drums) and Ritchie Edwards (vocals/guitar). The name of the band was The Stone Gods. In 2008, Justin Hawkins formed a new band, Hot Leg with Pete Rinaldi (of Anchorhead), Samuel SJ Stokes (formerly of The Thieves) and Darby Todd (from Protect the Beat). In 2009 Hot Leg released an album, Red Light Fever, which failed to make a dent on the charts (#81). Three singles were taken from it with two of them failing to chart. By December 2010, both Hot Leg and The Stone Gods were in hiatus. Reunion and Hot Cakes (2011–2013) In March 2011, the four original band members reunited. They played three warm-up shows in Norwich, Leamington and at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire, before performing at the 2011 Download Festival. This was followed by an "intimate" show at London's 100 Club, which featured support from Dark Stares and notable appearances from Queen guitarist Brian May and comedian Rufus Hound. The band then toured Japan, the UK and Ireland. A new song, "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us", was released in February 2012 as a free download. They toured North America, playing with Crown Jewel Defense and Foxy Shazam, then performed at the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden and the 18th Przystanek Woodstock. Singles "Every Inch of You" and "Everybody Have a Good Time" were released in May and June 2012, respectively, ahead of their third album, Hot Cakes, which came out in August. Throughout the summer The Darkness played a series of festival dates, including headlining the Big Top Tent at the 2012 Isle of Wight Festival, and were the opening act for the European and African leg of Lady Gaga's The Born This Way Ball world tour. A new non-album song, "The Horn", was released in late 2013 as a digital download. Last of Our Kind and new line-up (2014–2017) The band began work on their fourth studio album in September 2014, with Emily Dolan Davies replacing Ed Graham on drums. The new album, Last of Our Kind, was released on 2 June 2015, on the band's own label Canary Dwarf Records via Kobalt Label Services with a single, "Open Fire", released on 23 March. The first track from the album to be premiered was "Barbarian", which was released with an accompanying animated music video on 23 February. On 21 April 2015, the band issued a statement saying that drummer Davies had left the band. On 25 April 2015, it was announced via the band's official Facebook page that Rufus Taylor, the son of Queen drummer Roger Taylor, was to join the band as Davies' replacement on drums. They were announced as the first headline act for Planet Rockstock 2015, taking place at Trecco Bay in South Wales from 4 to 7 December 2015. The Darkness closed the event on 6 December. On 20 November 2015, the band released a music video for a new Christmas single, entitled "I Am Santa" on their YouTube Channel, which it was announced would be included in the Deluxe edition of the Last of Our Kind album. Pinewood Smile (2017–2019) The Darkness worked on a feature-length documentary, directed by Simon Emmett. In a 2016 interview, Frankie Poullain said, "We are currently over a year in to a feature-length documentary which will surprise a lot of people." In March 2017, The Darkness announced that their 5th album would be released in 2017. This was confirmed in a July issue of Planet Rock, and later on the band's Facebook page. The album's title was later revealed as Pinewood Smile, and was due to be released on 6 October of the same year. The first single from the album 'All The Pretty Girls' was released on 22 July of that year. The band embarked on a winter tour of the UK in November and December 2017. In May 2017, The Darkness performed at the Australian touring music festival Groovin' the Moo, performing at six regional cities across Australia. They performed as a de facto opening act for the "headline act" of the festival, Violent Soho, and supported Guns N' Roses on the European leg of their tour. In December 2017, Justin & Dan Hawkins were contestants on the Pointless Celebrities Christmas special. In 2018, the band supported US supergroup Hollywood Vampires on their European tour, which included their first performances in UK arenas in several years. They also announced their first live album, Live at Hammersmith, a recording of their December 2017 concert at the Eventim Apollo in London. This was released on 15 June 2018. The band contributed theme music to the British children's television programme Catie's Amazing Machines which premiered on CBeebies in October 2018. Easter Is Cancelled (2019–2021) In 2019, The Darkness released their latest album Easter Is Cancelled on 4 October 2019 through Cooking Vinyl. Easter Is Cancelled became the band's fourth UK Top 10 album and topped the Official Charts Top 40 Rock And Metal Chart and the iTunes Rock Chart, while the record has achieved over 3 million streams on Spotify alone. The album was released to a generally positive response from music critics while the previous singles "Heart Explodes" and "Rock and Roll Deserves to Die" proved a radio hit on the playlists of Radio 2, Absolute, Kerrang and more. The comedic video for "Rock and Roll Deserves to Die" has also individually surpassed 1 million views. In January 2020, the Darkness released a new video for "In Another Life" which featured model Abbey Clancy. The track then made the BBC Radio 2 B-List. The band commenced their UK tour of the Easter Is Cancelled album on 25 November 2019 in Ireland, culminating on 20 December at London's Roundhouse. In 2020, the band attempted a worldwide tour across Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and North America. The tour abruptly ended in Adelaide, Australia on 15 March as the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home orders set in. The band returned to the UK for occasional shows and live streams where possible, with an aim to reschedule the remainder of the postponed New Zealand and North American dates in the future. In December the band played a one-off show at The IndigO2 in London. Initial plans to open the show and sound check to a limited audience were shut down at the last minute due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The show still went ahead but only accessible by live stream. The whole show was recorded for a live album titled Streaming Of A White Christmas, scheduled to be released on CD and vinyl in early 2021. Motorheart (2021–present) For most of the first half of 2021 the band remained largely quiet on social media. On June 4, 2021, the band announced they are set to release the new album Motorheart in October. The album was eventually released on November 19. The album's cover was also unveiled in the announcement. The album will be available on CD, vinyl, cassette tape and digital download. The first single, Motorheart was released in August. Along with the album release, the band announced an extensive list of UK tour dates to take place throughout November and December in support of the release of the album. Band members Current members Justin Hawkins – lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitar, keyboards Dan Hawkins – rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals Frankie Poullain – bass, backing vocals Rufus Tiger Taylor – drums, backing vocals Former members Ed Graham – drums Chris McDougall – lead and rhythm guitar Richie Edwards – bass, backing vocals, keyboards Emily Dolan Davies – drums Touring members Darby Todd – drums Timeline Discography Studio albums Permission to Land (2003) One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back (2005) Hot Cakes (2012) Last of Our Kind (2015) Pinewood Smile (2017) Easter Is Cancelled (2019) Motorheart (2021) Awards and honours {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |- ! scope="col" | Award ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Nominee(s) ! scope="col" | Category ! scope="col" | Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable"| |- ! scope="row" rowspan=2|Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards | 2013 | Themselves | Showman of the Year | | rowspan=2| |- | 2015 | Last of Our Kind | Album of the Year | |- ! scope="row" rowspan=4|Kerrang! Awards | rowspan=2|2003 | Themselves | Best Live Act | | rowspan=2| |- | Permission to Land | Best Album | |- | rowspan=2|2004 | rowspan=2|Themselves | Best British Band | | rowspan=2| |- | Best Live Band | |- !scope="row"|Mercury Prize | 2003 | Permission to Land | Album of the Year | | |- !scope="row" rowspan=2|Pop Factory Awards | rowspan=2|2002 | rowspan=2|Themselves | Best Pop Factory Performance | | rowspan=2| |- | Best Pop Factory Debut | 2003 Metal Hammer 'Golden God' for Best Single (Get Your Hands off My Woman) 2004 Metal Hammer 'Golden God' for Best Video ("Love Is Only a Feeling") Ivor Novello Award for Songwriters of the Year BRIT Award for Best British Group BRIT Award for Best Rock Act BRIT Award for Best British Album (Permission to Land) MTV Europe Music Award for Best UK & Ireland Act and Best Rock IFPI Platinum Europe Award for sales in Europe in excess of 1,000,000 (triple Platinum) (Permission to Land) Elle Style Award for Most Stylish Band Meteor Ireland Award for Best Album (Permission to Land) Smash Hits! Pollwinners' Party for Best Rock Award RIAA Digital Sales Certifications Gold Award for 100,000 downloads ("I Believe in a Thing Called Love") European Border Breakers Award for debut albums of European acts achieving the best sales outside of their country of origin in 2003 (Permission to Land) Denmark GAFFA Award for Best Foreign New Act (nominated) Denmark GAFFA Award for Best Foreign Hit ("I Believe in a Thing Called Love") (nominated) 2005 ASCAP Award for one of the Most Performed Works in the USA ("I Believe in a Thing Called Love") 2006 MTV Australia's Best Man Rock Video award ("One Way Ticket") 2008 VH1 The 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" (94) 2011 VH1 The 100 Greatest Songs of '00s "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" (87) 2020 Classic Rock magazine awarded "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" the number one spot on their Greatest Songs of the Century (so far) reader poll. See also Hot Leg Stone Gods References External links Atlantic Records artists Brit Award winners Comedy rock musical groups Cooking Vinyl artists English glam metal musical groups English hard rock musical groups English heavy metal musical groups Ivor Novello Award winners Kerrang! Awards winners Musical groups established in 1999 Musical groups disestablished in 2006 Musical groups reestablished in 2011 Musical groups from Suffolk Musical quartets Sibling musical groups PIAS Recordings artists MTV Europe Music Award winners 1999 establishments in England
true
[ "\"When We Were Young\" is the second single by Australian dance band Sneaky Sound System, taken from their second studio album 2. It was released on 15 November 2008 on Whack Records as a CD single and digital download. The song was written by band members Angus McDonald (aka Black Angus) and Connie Mitchell.\n\nBackground\nSneaky Sound System's second album, 2 was released by Whack Records on 16 August 2008 and produced by band members Black Angus (aka Angus McDonald) and Donnie Sloan; it was mixed by 'Spike' Stent and Paul PDub Walton (Madonna, Björk, Massive Attack, Gwen Stefani) at Olympic Studios in London. The first single to be released from the album, \"Kansas City\" was released on 12 July, which peaked at #14 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, becoming their second biggest hit after \"UFO\". \"When We Were Young\" was the second single from the album, it was released on 15 November. The song did not show as much success as \"Kansas City\" and was their second single not to enter the top 100 after \"Tease Me\" but it did chart at #16 on the dance chart and #7 on the independent chart, the remix also charted at #9 in the club chart. \"16\", the third single, was released on 14 February 2009. \"It's Not My Problem\" was the fourth single from the album, which peaked at #8 on the Australian Club Chart, and #79 on the Australian Airplay Chart.\n\nTrack listing\n\nCharts\n\n(1) indicates that The Goodwill/Breakbot/Gloves mix charted.\n\nRelease history\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\"When We Were Young\" CD single on Waterfront Records\n\nSneaky Sound System songs\n2008 singles\nSongs written by Connie Mitchell\n2008 songs", "The discography of British pop band The Vamps comprises five studio albums and twenty-three singles.\n\nOn 29 September 2013, The Vamps released their debut single \"Can We Dance\", which debuted at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Their second single \"Wild Heart\" was released on 18 January 2014 and peaked at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart. Their third single \"Last Night\" was released on 6 April 2014 and also reached number two. Their debut album Meet the Vamps was released on 15 April 2014. Their fourth international single \"Somebody to You\", featuring Demi Lovato\", debuted at number four in the UK. Their debut EP Somebody to You entered the top 10 of the US Billboard 200. Their fifth single \"Oh Cecilia\", which previously appeared on the album, was released on 12 October 2014 featuring Shawn Mendes.\n\n\"Wake Up\", released on 2 October 2015, was the first single from their second album. \"Rest Your Love\", released on 27 November 2015, was the second single from their second album. \"I Found a Girl\" was the third single. \"Cheater\" was released as the first countdown single from the album on 13 October 2015, with \"Stolen Moments\" following. On 27 November 2015 they released Wake Up, their second album.\n\nOn 14 July 2017, The Vamps released the first part of their concept album, Night & Day (Night Edition), with the second part, Night & Day (Day Edition), being released on 13 July 2018. These two parts form their third and fourth studio albums. The albums received mixed reviews.\n\nAlbums\n\nStudio albums\n\nVideo albums\n\nExtended plays\n\nSingles\n\nAs lead artist\n\nAs featured artist\n\nPromotional singles\n\nOther charted songs\n\nOther appearances\n\nMusic videos\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\nDiscographies of British artists\nDiscography" ]
[ "The Darkness (band)", "One Way Ticket to Hell... And Back and decline (2005-2006)", "When was One Way Ticket to Hell released?", " \"One Way Ticket\", the first single from their second album, was released on 14 November 2005,", "Did their first single win any awards?", "debuting and peaking at number 8 on the UK Singles chart.", "Did they have any other released singles?", "The second single taken from their second album was \"Is It Just Me?\",", "When was their second single released?", "20 February 2006." ]
C_963a1528a3544f269cb49ee50eab6e0d_0
Did the band go on tour?
5
Did the band The Darkness go on tour?
The Darkness (band)
In October 2005, a month before the album was to be officially released, Justin Hawkins won an eBay auction for a copy of One Way Ticket to Hell ...and Back for PS350 under the username 'turbogunhawk'. He claimed he did this so that he could track down whoever sold the digitally-marked advance copy of the album and try to prevent it from happening again. "One Way Ticket", the first single from their second album, was released on 14 November 2005, debuting and peaking at number 8 on the UK Singles chart. The album itself was released on 28 November 2005 to mixed reviews. The album was produced by rock producer Roy Thomas Baker, best known for his work with Queen. Early sales figures in the UK showed the album had not sold as well as its predecessor, Permission to Land. The album debuted at number 11, and fell to number 34 in the second week of its release. Although it has since reached platinum status, this contrasts with their debut's five times platinum status. The second single taken from their second album was "Is It Just Me?", released on 20 February 2006. The single gained a preliminary position of No. 6 all that week, but finally charted at number 8. The album's third single, "Girlfriend", was Released 22 May and charted at number 39. The band followed up their second album with a tour of the UK and Ireland, consisting of 12 dates in the major cities. The tour opened in Dublin's Point Depot on 4 February and closed in the Nottingham Arena on 20 February. Few of the venues sold out, their appeal seemingly having become more selective. Their world tour, which followed, arrived in Australia and Japan after touring Scandinavia and Continental Europe in March. CANNOTANSWER
The band followed up their second album with a tour of the UK and Ireland,
The Darkness are a British rock band formed in Lowestoft, England, in 2000. The band consists of Justin Hawkins (lead vocals, lead guitar), his brother Dan Hawkins (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Frankie Poullain (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Rufus Tiger Taylor (drums, backing vocals). The Darkness came to prominence with the release of their debut album, Permission to Land, in 2003. Backed by the singles "I Believe in a Thing Called Love", "Growing on Me", "Get Your Hands off My Woman", and "Love Is Only a Feeling", the album was certified quadruple platinum in the United Kingdom, with sales of over 1.3 million. In 2004 the band won three Brit Awards: Best British Group, Best British Rock Act, and Best British Album. After extensive touring in support of their debut album, Poullain left the band in 2005, and was replaced by former guitar technician Richie Edwards. The band's second studio album, One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back, was released in November 2005. The following year, Justin Hawkins departed from the band after successfully completing a course of rehabilitation from alcohol and cocaine abuse. This, combined with the poor sales of the album, resulted in Atlantic dropping the band in October 2006. After the split, the remaining members formed Stone Gods, and continued to perform and record without Hawkins, who subsequently fronted his own project, Hot Leg. On 15 March 2011, The Darkness announced reunion shows, with original bassist Frankie Poullain, including Download Festival 2011, and the Isle of Wight Festival 2012. Their third album, Hot Cakes, was released on 20 August 2012. Original drummer Ed Graham then left the band, feeling the strain of touring was affecting his personal life, in which he had pressing issues. In 2015 a fourth studio album was announced, entitled Last of Our Kind, which was released on 2 June 2015. A fifth album, Pinewood Smile, was released on 6 October 2017 and one year later on 15 June 2018 a live album, Live at Hammersmith, was also released. Their sixth studio album, Easter Is Cancelled was released on 4 October 2019. After the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to their world tour in 2020, the band wound up the year with a one-off streamed live show titled "Streaming of a White Christmas", which was also recorded as a new live album and slated to be released on CD and vinyl in June 2021. On 4 June 2021, the band announced their seventh studio album Motorheart would be released on 15 October 2021 with an extensive UK tour through November and December 2021. History Early years Justin and Dan Hawkins played together as teenagers in a band which, according to Dan Hawkins, "did a lot of Marillion covers, Bruce Springsteen, Genesis" and were "a bit prog-y". Justin Hawkins had been initially inspired to play guitar by Brian May of Queen, as he loved his tone and vibrato. Originally known as Empire, the band generated some music industry buzz through their manager Sue Whitehouse, who was based at Savage & Best in Camden. Whitehouse had managed them since Justin Hawkins' time as a creator of music jingles. Renamed as The Darkness they became renowned for their live show, and such was the popularity of the band, they had a Carling Homecoming gig booked for the London Astoria before they had even signed a record deal. Joe Taylor, Aled Jones and Paul Scaife at The Tip Sheet first heard about the band through a post on The Tip Sheet message board, and featured Love Is Only a Feeling in January 2002. They started Record of the Day, and featured the song again around the time of SXSW in March 2003. They wanted to feature Friday Night too but they were told the band was saving it for an album. According to A&R Nick Raphael in an interview with HitQuarters, there was no initial clamour to sign the band, "There couldn't have been less of a buzz, and only two record labels showed any interest in them." He believes the reason for lack of interest was that "The business as a whole thought they were uncool. In fact, people were saying that they were a joke and that they weren't real." However, throughout their career critics around the world would label them as a "joke band". As part of Sony Music UK, Raphael had attempted to sign them, but the band instead opted to go with Atlantic Records. Permission to Land and commercial success (2003–2005) Their debut album, Permission to Land, went straight up to number two in the UK charts upon its release on 7 July 2003, before going to number one and staying there for four weeks, eventually going on to sell 1.5 million copies in the UK. The Darkness took inspiration for some of their work from the local north Suffolk area, including "Black Shuck" which mentions the nearby village of Blythburgh. The success of this album led to heavy touring for the band, including European portions of Metallica's Summer Sanitarium Tour 2003. They then went on to headline the Carling Festival in 2004. The band won three BRIT Awards in 2004 in response to the album, Best Group, Best Rock Group and Best Album. They also won two Kerrang! awards in 2004 for Best Live Act and Best British Band. The third single from the album, "I Believe in a Thing Called Love", was a substantial hit in the UK as was their tilt at the Christmas 2003 number 1, "Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)", which only just fell short, both singles reaching number 2 in 2003. One Way Ticket to Hell... And Back and decline (2005–2006) In October 2005, a month before the album was to be officially released, Justin Hawkins won an eBay auction for a copy of One Way Ticket to Hell ...and Back for £350 under the username 'turbogunhawk'. He claimed he did this so that he could track down whoever sold the digitally-marked advance copy of the album and try to prevent it from happening again. "One Way Ticket", the first single from their second album, was released on 14 November 2005, debuting and peaking at number 8 on the UK Singles Chart. The album itself was released on 28 November 2005 to mixed reviews. The album was produced by rock producer Roy Thomas Baker, best known for his work with Queen. Early sales figures in the UK showed the album had not sold as well as its predecessor, Permission to Land. The album debuted at number 11, and fell to number 34 in the second week of its release. Although it has since reached platinum status, this contrasts with their debut's five times platinum status. The second single taken from their second album was "Is It Just Me?", released on 20 February 2006. The single gained a preliminary position of No. 6 all that week, but finally charted at number 8. The album's third single, "Girlfriend", was Released 22 May and charted at number 39. Justin Hawkins' departure and breakup (2006) In August 2006, lead singer Justin Hawkins was admitted to a rehabilitation clinic in concern of his health, which caused the band to cancel several concerts. Around this same time the band confirmed that they were to start working on their third album to be released early 2007. Tabloid rumours held that Justin Hawkins was leaving the band after completing his course of rehabilitation from alcohol and cocaine problems, and the band would continue without him, possibly with Richie Edwards as the front man. In response to the story being reported by the media, The Darkness confirmed on their official forum: "We're sorry that you had to find this out through the newspapers, but we were hoping until the last minute that this – Justin's exit – wasn't going to happen. We – Dan, Ed and Richie – are still in total shock and can't say at this stage what the future holds. We would like to thank all our fans, partners and family for their continuous support. You will hear from us, once we know what we want to do..." Hawkins departure, and the lacklustre sales of One Way Ticket to Hell... (which had only gone gold compared to the previous album's four-times platinum status), led to Atlantic dropping the band from the label. Using the pseudonym British Whale, Hawkins went on to release a cover version of the Sparks song "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us", reaching No. 6 in the UK Singles Chart. In 2007, he launched a failed attempt to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2011, Hawkins gave a different explanation for his departure from the band, saying he had left because he felt the band had stopped being creative. Other projects (2006–2011) On 9 November 2007, it was announced on The University of East Anglia's student union website that a new band had been created comprising Dan Hawkins (lead guitar), Toby MacFarlaine (bass), Ed Graham (drums) and Ritchie Edwards (vocals/guitar). The name of the band was The Stone Gods. In 2008, Justin Hawkins formed a new band, Hot Leg with Pete Rinaldi (of Anchorhead), Samuel SJ Stokes (formerly of The Thieves) and Darby Todd (from Protect the Beat). In 2009 Hot Leg released an album, Red Light Fever, which failed to make a dent on the charts (#81). Three singles were taken from it with two of them failing to chart. By December 2010, both Hot Leg and The Stone Gods were in hiatus. Reunion and Hot Cakes (2011–2013) In March 2011, the four original band members reunited. They played three warm-up shows in Norwich, Leamington and at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire, before performing at the 2011 Download Festival. This was followed by an "intimate" show at London's 100 Club, which featured support from Dark Stares and notable appearances from Queen guitarist Brian May and comedian Rufus Hound. The band then toured Japan, the UK and Ireland. A new song, "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us", was released in February 2012 as a free download. They toured North America, playing with Crown Jewel Defense and Foxy Shazam, then performed at the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden and the 18th Przystanek Woodstock. Singles "Every Inch of You" and "Everybody Have a Good Time" were released in May and June 2012, respectively, ahead of their third album, Hot Cakes, which came out in August. Throughout the summer The Darkness played a series of festival dates, including headlining the Big Top Tent at the 2012 Isle of Wight Festival, and were the opening act for the European and African leg of Lady Gaga's The Born This Way Ball world tour. A new non-album song, "The Horn", was released in late 2013 as a digital download. Last of Our Kind and new line-up (2014–2017) The band began work on their fourth studio album in September 2014, with Emily Dolan Davies replacing Ed Graham on drums. The new album, Last of Our Kind, was released on 2 June 2015, on the band's own label Canary Dwarf Records via Kobalt Label Services with a single, "Open Fire", released on 23 March. The first track from the album to be premiered was "Barbarian", which was released with an accompanying animated music video on 23 February. On 21 April 2015, the band issued a statement saying that drummer Davies had left the band. On 25 April 2015, it was announced via the band's official Facebook page that Rufus Taylor, the son of Queen drummer Roger Taylor, was to join the band as Davies' replacement on drums. They were announced as the first headline act for Planet Rockstock 2015, taking place at Trecco Bay in South Wales from 4 to 7 December 2015. The Darkness closed the event on 6 December. On 20 November 2015, the band released a music video for a new Christmas single, entitled "I Am Santa" on their YouTube Channel, which it was announced would be included in the Deluxe edition of the Last of Our Kind album. Pinewood Smile (2017–2019) The Darkness worked on a feature-length documentary, directed by Simon Emmett. In a 2016 interview, Frankie Poullain said, "We are currently over a year in to a feature-length documentary which will surprise a lot of people." In March 2017, The Darkness announced that their 5th album would be released in 2017. This was confirmed in a July issue of Planet Rock, and later on the band's Facebook page. The album's title was later revealed as Pinewood Smile, and was due to be released on 6 October of the same year. The first single from the album 'All The Pretty Girls' was released on 22 July of that year. The band embarked on a winter tour of the UK in November and December 2017. In May 2017, The Darkness performed at the Australian touring music festival Groovin' the Moo, performing at six regional cities across Australia. They performed as a de facto opening act for the "headline act" of the festival, Violent Soho, and supported Guns N' Roses on the European leg of their tour. In December 2017, Justin & Dan Hawkins were contestants on the Pointless Celebrities Christmas special. In 2018, the band supported US supergroup Hollywood Vampires on their European tour, which included their first performances in UK arenas in several years. They also announced their first live album, Live at Hammersmith, a recording of their December 2017 concert at the Eventim Apollo in London. This was released on 15 June 2018. The band contributed theme music to the British children's television programme Catie's Amazing Machines which premiered on CBeebies in October 2018. Easter Is Cancelled (2019–2021) In 2019, The Darkness released their latest album Easter Is Cancelled on 4 October 2019 through Cooking Vinyl. Easter Is Cancelled became the band's fourth UK Top 10 album and topped the Official Charts Top 40 Rock And Metal Chart and the iTunes Rock Chart, while the record has achieved over 3 million streams on Spotify alone. The album was released to a generally positive response from music critics while the previous singles "Heart Explodes" and "Rock and Roll Deserves to Die" proved a radio hit on the playlists of Radio 2, Absolute, Kerrang and more. The comedic video for "Rock and Roll Deserves to Die" has also individually surpassed 1 million views. In January 2020, the Darkness released a new video for "In Another Life" which featured model Abbey Clancy. The track then made the BBC Radio 2 B-List. The band commenced their UK tour of the Easter Is Cancelled album on 25 November 2019 in Ireland, culminating on 20 December at London's Roundhouse. In 2020, the band attempted a worldwide tour across Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and North America. The tour abruptly ended in Adelaide, Australia on 15 March as the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home orders set in. The band returned to the UK for occasional shows and live streams where possible, with an aim to reschedule the remainder of the postponed New Zealand and North American dates in the future. In December the band played a one-off show at The IndigO2 in London. Initial plans to open the show and sound check to a limited audience were shut down at the last minute due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The show still went ahead but only accessible by live stream. The whole show was recorded for a live album titled Streaming Of A White Christmas, scheduled to be released on CD and vinyl in early 2021. Motorheart (2021–present) For most of the first half of 2021 the band remained largely quiet on social media. On June 4, 2021, the band announced they are set to release the new album Motorheart in October. The album was eventually released on November 19. The album's cover was also unveiled in the announcement. The album will be available on CD, vinyl, cassette tape and digital download. The first single, Motorheart was released in August. Along with the album release, the band announced an extensive list of UK tour dates to take place throughout November and December in support of the release of the album. Band members Current members Justin Hawkins – lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitar, keyboards Dan Hawkins – rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals Frankie Poullain – bass, backing vocals Rufus Tiger Taylor – drums, backing vocals Former members Ed Graham – drums Chris McDougall – lead and rhythm guitar Richie Edwards – bass, backing vocals, keyboards Emily Dolan Davies – drums Touring members Darby Todd – drums Timeline Discography Studio albums Permission to Land (2003) One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back (2005) Hot Cakes (2012) Last of Our Kind (2015) Pinewood Smile (2017) Easter Is Cancelled (2019) Motorheart (2021) Awards and honours {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |- ! scope="col" | Award ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Nominee(s) ! scope="col" | Category ! scope="col" | Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable"| |- ! scope="row" rowspan=2|Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards | 2013 | Themselves | Showman of the Year | | rowspan=2| |- | 2015 | Last of Our Kind | Album of the Year | |- ! scope="row" rowspan=4|Kerrang! Awards | rowspan=2|2003 | Themselves | Best Live Act | | rowspan=2| |- | Permission to Land | Best Album | |- | rowspan=2|2004 | rowspan=2|Themselves | Best British Band | | rowspan=2| |- | Best Live Band | |- !scope="row"|Mercury Prize | 2003 | Permission to Land | Album of the Year | | |- !scope="row" rowspan=2|Pop Factory Awards | rowspan=2|2002 | rowspan=2|Themselves | Best Pop Factory Performance | | rowspan=2| |- | Best Pop Factory Debut | 2003 Metal Hammer 'Golden God' for Best Single (Get Your Hands off My Woman) 2004 Metal Hammer 'Golden God' for Best Video ("Love Is Only a Feeling") Ivor Novello Award for Songwriters of the Year BRIT Award for Best British Group BRIT Award for Best Rock Act BRIT Award for Best British Album (Permission to Land) MTV Europe Music Award for Best UK & Ireland Act and Best Rock IFPI Platinum Europe Award for sales in Europe in excess of 1,000,000 (triple Platinum) (Permission to Land) Elle Style Award for Most Stylish Band Meteor Ireland Award for Best Album (Permission to Land) Smash Hits! Pollwinners' Party for Best Rock Award RIAA Digital Sales Certifications Gold Award for 100,000 downloads ("I Believe in a Thing Called Love") European Border Breakers Award for debut albums of European acts achieving the best sales outside of their country of origin in 2003 (Permission to Land) Denmark GAFFA Award for Best Foreign New Act (nominated) Denmark GAFFA Award for Best Foreign Hit ("I Believe in a Thing Called Love") (nominated) 2005 ASCAP Award for one of the Most Performed Works in the USA ("I Believe in a Thing Called Love") 2006 MTV Australia's Best Man Rock Video award ("One Way Ticket") 2008 VH1 The 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" (94) 2011 VH1 The 100 Greatest Songs of '00s "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" (87) 2020 Classic Rock magazine awarded "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" the number one spot on their Greatest Songs of the Century (so far) reader poll. See also Hot Leg Stone Gods References External links Atlantic Records artists Brit Award winners Comedy rock musical groups Cooking Vinyl artists English glam metal musical groups English hard rock musical groups English heavy metal musical groups Ivor Novello Award winners Kerrang! Awards winners Musical groups established in 1999 Musical groups disestablished in 2006 Musical groups reestablished in 2011 Musical groups from Suffolk Musical quartets Sibling musical groups PIAS Recordings artists MTV Europe Music Award winners 1999 establishments in England
false
[ "We All Need a Reason to Believe is the second studio album by American pop punk band Valencia. It was produced by Ariel Rechtshaid, who has done projects for We Are Scientists and Plain White T's. An early review from AbsolutePunk writer Drew Beringer stated the release proved Valencia is \"a band that can breathe new life into pop-punk\".\n\nThe album title comes from lyrics in the second track, \"Holiday\".\n\nRelease\nIn early April 2008, the band appeared at the Bamboozle Left festival. On April 8, the band posted a rough mix of \"Holiday\" online. It was mentioned that the track would feature on the band's next album, which was planned for release in late summer/early fall. In July, the band supported All Time Low on their headlining US tour. We All Need a Reason to Believe was made available for streaming on August 19 through the band's Myspace profile, before being released on August 26 through major label Columbia Records. In October and November, the band supported Bayside on their headlining US tour. On November 21, the band released a music video for \"Where Did You Go?\". In January and February 2009, the band went on a headlining tour of the US with support from Houston Calls. In February and March, the band toured Australia as part of the Soundwave festival. On April 30, a music video was released for \"The Good Life\". The band appeared at The Bamboozle festival in early May. Between late June and late August, the band performed on the Warped Tour.\n\nTrack listing\n \"Better Be Prepared\" — 3:09\n \"Holiday\" — 2:58\n \"Where Did You Go?\" (featuring Rachel Minton of Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer) — 3:21\n \"Head in Hands\" — 2:56\n \"Carry On\" — 3:41\n \"All at Once\" — 3:27\n \"Safe to Say\" — 3:21\n \"Listen Up\" (featuring Kenny Vasoli of The Starting Line) — 3:39 \n \"I Can't See Myself\" — 3:39\n \"The Good Life\" — 4:02\n \"Free\" — 4:18\n\nBonus track\n \"Running Away\" – 3:30\n\nWe All Need a Reason to B-Side\n \"When Words Fail, This Music Speaks\" — 2:41\n \"Working\" — 2:32\n \"Running Away\" — 3:33\n \"A Better Place to Land\" — 3:26\n\nPersonnel\n Shane Henderson — vocals\n JD Perry — guitar\n Maxim Soria — drums\n George Ciukurescu — bass\n Brendan Walter — guitar\n Kenny Vasoli (The Starting Line) — guest vocals on \"Listen Up\"\n Rachel Minton (Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer) — guest vocals on \"Where Did You Go?\"\n Dana Nielsen — engineer\n\nReferences\n\n2008 albums\nValencia (band) albums\nColumbia Records albums", "Go Radio is an American rock band from Tallahassee, Florida, formed by former Mayday Parade vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Jason Lancaster in April 2007.\n\nThe band toured with The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, A Day to Remember, as well as Mayday Parade. They played the entire Vans Warped Tour in 2011, and again during 2013, which was their last tour as a band.\n\nThe band announced that they would break-up on October 6, 2013. The disbandment was apparently due to the lead singer, Jason Lancaster, setting priorities and putting his family first. Lancaster said in an interview on The Gunz Show that this reason for the band's break up was completely false. Jason has no intention of stopping with his music and is writing new music. Lancaster said that he felt Go Radio had run its course as a band and it was time to move on to the next chapter of his life. When they parted, each of the band members planned to continue making music on their own. \n\nIn September 2019, the band announced they had re-united and would begin making music again and were \"sharing ideas and working on songs.\"\n\nHistory\n\nFormation and Welcome to Life (2007–09)\nGo Radio formed in January 2007 before Jason Lancaster left Mayday Parade. Together with Matt 'Burns' Poulos, as well as Steven Kopacz and Patrick Hosey of the Florida band Don't Die Cindy, Lancaster started Go Radio. The name \"Go Radio\" was originally going to be the name of a Mayday Parade side project of Lancaster's. Hosey left the band in late 2007, and was replaced by Tony Planas.\n\nIn 2008 Go Radio released their debut EP Welcome to Life. Planas left the band in late 2008, and was replaced by Alex Reed, formerly of the Michigan band \"Carawae\". Reed contacted the band through Myspace and originally joined only as a touring guitarist, but was later promoted to a full-time member.\n\nDo Overs and Second Chances (2009–10)\nOn September 8, 2009 the band released their first studio update. They revealed that they were in the process of recording a new EP with producers Zack Odom and Kenneth Mount, both of whom produced Mayday Parade's A Lesson in Romantics (2007). On October 5, 2009, Go Radio released two of the songs from the EP on their Myspace. The band then signed to Fearless on January 21, 2010 and went on to release Do Overs and Second Chances as their Fearless debut on April 20, 2010.\n\nLucky Street (2010–11)\nIn the July 2010 issue of Alternative Press Lancaster revealed that he had begun writing for Go Radio's debut album for Fearless. On August 31, 2010 in Brooklyn, NY the band headed into the studio with Tim O'Heir. They finished recording on September 29, 2010. The resulting album, Lucky Street was released on March 1, 2011. The album was very well received by critics, and debuted number 77 on the US Billboard 200 and debuted within the top 20 of the US Billboard Rock, Independent, and Alternative Albums charts. On June 6, 2011, a music video for the single \"Any Other Heart\" premiered on Vevo.\n\nIn the summer of 2011 they played the entire Vans Warped Tour on the Nintendo 3DS Stage. Their next tour will be the first one that takes them overseas as they head to Australia to take part in the Soundwave Counter-Revolution mini-festival from September 24, 2011 until October 12, 2011.\n\nGo Radio announced the release of a deluxe edition of Lucky Street on October 24, 2011. It contains 8 tracks not seen on the original version of the album.\n\nClose the Distance (2012–13)\nIn early 2012 the band began demoing new songs for their second studio full length.\n\nOn March 1, 2012 Jason Lancaster announced that the band had finished recording. On April 20, 2012, the album is title Close the Distance was announced with a release date of August 14, 2012. The release date was pushed back to September 18, 2012. On July 16 the new release date was confirmed and the band announced their album art and track listing along with a preview for their first song \"Collide.\".\nTo promote their album, Go Radio started a share contest in which fans had the chance to unlock the new song off Close the Distance when the number of views, shares, and newsletter signups in total reached 20,000.\n\nOn July 18, two days after the contest started, fans had already reached the goal and the song premiered on Alternative Press magazine's website\n\nThe band joined the Vans Warped Tour for all of its 2013 tenure. This was their last major tour prior to their break up in October.\n\nHiatus (2013-19)\nOn October 6, 2013, the band announced their breakup, the band cited Lancaster's desire to settle down with his wife. Lancaster has stated that he will continue to make music on his own, realising his solo album, As You Are in mid-2014. Kopacz joined Anarbor as a touring drummer. Alex Reed joined another band from Tallahassee, Stages & Stereos as a guitarist.\n\nReunion (2019-present)\nOn September 29, 2019, the band announced that they have reunited and are currently working on new music. On November 25, 2019, the band released \"Goodnight Moon\", a fan favorite from Do Overs and Second Chances, as a single to celebrate their reunion. Paired with it was \"Say It Again\", their first new recording since their breakup in 2013. On July 24, 2020, the band released another single entitled \"So Love\".\n\nBand members\n\nCurrent members\n Jason Lancaster – lead vocals, piano, rhythm guitar (2007–13; 2019–present)\n Matt \"Burns\" Poulos – bass guitar, backing vocals (2007–13; 2019–present)\n Steven Kopacz – drums, percussion (2007–13; 2019–present)\n Alex Reed – lead guitar, backing vocals (2009–13; 2019–present)\n\nFormer members\n Patrick Hosey – lead guitar, backing vocals (2007)\n Tony Planas – lead guitar, backing vocals (2007–08)\n\nDiscography\n\nStudio albums\n\nEPs\n\nSingles\n\nEarly unreleased demos\n \"Hollie Ollie Oxen Free\"\n \"That California Song\"\n \"I Wish It Would Snow\"\n\nCompilation appearances\n 'Tis The Season To Be Fearless with \"O Holy Night\", originally composed by Adolphe Adam.\n Punk Goes Pop 4 with \"Rolling in the Deep\" (Adele cover)\n\nTours\n\n2008\n The Scenic, Lannen Fall, The July Week – To Catch a Preda-Tour (supporting act, U.S.)\n\n2009\n The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus – Kick Your Own Ass Tour (opening act, 5/5 - 5/28 and 8/02 - 8/22 and 9/18, U.S.)\n\n2010\n A Day to Remember – Toursick 2010 (opening act, 4/19 - 5/16, U.S.)\n The Dangerous Summer – Reach for the Sun Tour 2010 (supporting act, 7/10 - 7/17, U.S.)\nSecondhand Serenade – Summer Tour (opening act, 7/20 - 8/8, U.S.)\n Mayday Parade – Fearless Friends Tour (opening act, supporting act on select dates, 10/13 – 11/28, U.S.)\n\n2011\n Emarosa w/ Chiodos, Go Radio, Decoder (supporting act, 2/15 - 3/5, U.S.)\n A Rocket to the Moon – On Your Side Tour (supporting act, 3/15 - 4/23, U.S.)\n Go Radio w/ Sparks the Rescue, This Century, Select Start – District Lines Tour (headliner, 5/5 - 5/28, U.S.)\n Warped Tour 2011 – Warped Tour 2011 (6/24 - 8/14, U.S. and Canada)\n Counter-Revolution - Counter-Revolution - (9/24, 9/25, 9/30, 10/2, 10/3, Australia) \n Yellowcard - Yellowcard Fall Tour (supporting act, 10/8 - 11/18, U.S and Canada)\n\n2012\n Go Radio w/ This Providence, Tyler Carter (ex-Woe, Is Me), Simple As Surgery, and Ivory Lights - Lucky Street Tour (headliner, 3/20 - 5/13, U.S) \n SafetySuit - Fall Tour (direct support, 9/7 - 10/5, U.S)\n Go Radio w/ Paradise Fears and Stages and Stereos - #GoToHell Tour (headliner, 11/2 - 12/4, U.S)\n\n2013\n The Summer Set w/ We Are the In Crowd, Go Radio and For the Foxes - Wake Up & Be Awesome Tour (supporting act, 2/21 - 3/30, U.S)\n Warped Tour 2013 – Warped Tour 2013 (6/15 - 8/4, U.S. and Canada)\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n \n\nAlternative rock groups from Florida\nAmerican pop rock music groups\nFearless Records artists\nMusical groups established in 2007\nMusical groups from Tallahassee, Florida\nMusical quartets\nMusical groups disestablished in 2013\nMusical groups reestablished in 2019\n2007 establishments in Florida\n2013 disestablishments in Florida" ]
[ "The Darkness (band)", "One Way Ticket to Hell... And Back and decline (2005-2006)", "When was One Way Ticket to Hell released?", " \"One Way Ticket\", the first single from their second album, was released on 14 November 2005,", "Did their first single win any awards?", "debuting and peaking at number 8 on the UK Singles chart.", "Did they have any other released singles?", "The second single taken from their second album was \"Is It Just Me?\",", "When was their second single released?", "20 February 2006.", "Did the band go on tour?", "The band followed up their second album with a tour of the UK and Ireland," ]
C_963a1528a3544f269cb49ee50eab6e0d_0
Was their tour successful?
6
Was the tour of the band The Darkness successful?
The Darkness (band)
In October 2005, a month before the album was to be officially released, Justin Hawkins won an eBay auction for a copy of One Way Ticket to Hell ...and Back for PS350 under the username 'turbogunhawk'. He claimed he did this so that he could track down whoever sold the digitally-marked advance copy of the album and try to prevent it from happening again. "One Way Ticket", the first single from their second album, was released on 14 November 2005, debuting and peaking at number 8 on the UK Singles chart. The album itself was released on 28 November 2005 to mixed reviews. The album was produced by rock producer Roy Thomas Baker, best known for his work with Queen. Early sales figures in the UK showed the album had not sold as well as its predecessor, Permission to Land. The album debuted at number 11, and fell to number 34 in the second week of its release. Although it has since reached platinum status, this contrasts with their debut's five times platinum status. The second single taken from their second album was "Is It Just Me?", released on 20 February 2006. The single gained a preliminary position of No. 6 all that week, but finally charted at number 8. The album's third single, "Girlfriend", was Released 22 May and charted at number 39. The band followed up their second album with a tour of the UK and Ireland, consisting of 12 dates in the major cities. The tour opened in Dublin's Point Depot on 4 February and closed in the Nottingham Arena on 20 February. Few of the venues sold out, their appeal seemingly having become more selective. Their world tour, which followed, arrived in Australia and Japan after touring Scandinavia and Continental Europe in March. CANNOTANSWER
Few of the venues sold out, their appeal seemingly having become more selective.
The Darkness are a British rock band formed in Lowestoft, England, in 2000. The band consists of Justin Hawkins (lead vocals, lead guitar), his brother Dan Hawkins (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Frankie Poullain (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Rufus Tiger Taylor (drums, backing vocals). The Darkness came to prominence with the release of their debut album, Permission to Land, in 2003. Backed by the singles "I Believe in a Thing Called Love", "Growing on Me", "Get Your Hands off My Woman", and "Love Is Only a Feeling", the album was certified quadruple platinum in the United Kingdom, with sales of over 1.3 million. In 2004 the band won three Brit Awards: Best British Group, Best British Rock Act, and Best British Album. After extensive touring in support of their debut album, Poullain left the band in 2005, and was replaced by former guitar technician Richie Edwards. The band's second studio album, One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back, was released in November 2005. The following year, Justin Hawkins departed from the band after successfully completing a course of rehabilitation from alcohol and cocaine abuse. This, combined with the poor sales of the album, resulted in Atlantic dropping the band in October 2006. After the split, the remaining members formed Stone Gods, and continued to perform and record without Hawkins, who subsequently fronted his own project, Hot Leg. On 15 March 2011, The Darkness announced reunion shows, with original bassist Frankie Poullain, including Download Festival 2011, and the Isle of Wight Festival 2012. Their third album, Hot Cakes, was released on 20 August 2012. Original drummer Ed Graham then left the band, feeling the strain of touring was affecting his personal life, in which he had pressing issues. In 2015 a fourth studio album was announced, entitled Last of Our Kind, which was released on 2 June 2015. A fifth album, Pinewood Smile, was released on 6 October 2017 and one year later on 15 June 2018 a live album, Live at Hammersmith, was also released. Their sixth studio album, Easter Is Cancelled was released on 4 October 2019. After the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to their world tour in 2020, the band wound up the year with a one-off streamed live show titled "Streaming of a White Christmas", which was also recorded as a new live album and slated to be released on CD and vinyl in June 2021. On 4 June 2021, the band announced their seventh studio album Motorheart would be released on 15 October 2021 with an extensive UK tour through November and December 2021. History Early years Justin and Dan Hawkins played together as teenagers in a band which, according to Dan Hawkins, "did a lot of Marillion covers, Bruce Springsteen, Genesis" and were "a bit prog-y". Justin Hawkins had been initially inspired to play guitar by Brian May of Queen, as he loved his tone and vibrato. Originally known as Empire, the band generated some music industry buzz through their manager Sue Whitehouse, who was based at Savage & Best in Camden. Whitehouse had managed them since Justin Hawkins' time as a creator of music jingles. Renamed as The Darkness they became renowned for their live show, and such was the popularity of the band, they had a Carling Homecoming gig booked for the London Astoria before they had even signed a record deal. Joe Taylor, Aled Jones and Paul Scaife at The Tip Sheet first heard about the band through a post on The Tip Sheet message board, and featured Love Is Only a Feeling in January 2002. They started Record of the Day, and featured the song again around the time of SXSW in March 2003. They wanted to feature Friday Night too but they were told the band was saving it for an album. According to A&R Nick Raphael in an interview with HitQuarters, there was no initial clamour to sign the band, "There couldn't have been less of a buzz, and only two record labels showed any interest in them." He believes the reason for lack of interest was that "The business as a whole thought they were uncool. In fact, people were saying that they were a joke and that they weren't real." However, throughout their career critics around the world would label them as a "joke band". As part of Sony Music UK, Raphael had attempted to sign them, but the band instead opted to go with Atlantic Records. Permission to Land and commercial success (2003–2005) Their debut album, Permission to Land, went straight up to number two in the UK charts upon its release on 7 July 2003, before going to number one and staying there for four weeks, eventually going on to sell 1.5 million copies in the UK. The Darkness took inspiration for some of their work from the local north Suffolk area, including "Black Shuck" which mentions the nearby village of Blythburgh. The success of this album led to heavy touring for the band, including European portions of Metallica's Summer Sanitarium Tour 2003. They then went on to headline the Carling Festival in 2004. The band won three BRIT Awards in 2004 in response to the album, Best Group, Best Rock Group and Best Album. They also won two Kerrang! awards in 2004 for Best Live Act and Best British Band. The third single from the album, "I Believe in a Thing Called Love", was a substantial hit in the UK as was their tilt at the Christmas 2003 number 1, "Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)", which only just fell short, both singles reaching number 2 in 2003. One Way Ticket to Hell... And Back and decline (2005–2006) In October 2005, a month before the album was to be officially released, Justin Hawkins won an eBay auction for a copy of One Way Ticket to Hell ...and Back for £350 under the username 'turbogunhawk'. He claimed he did this so that he could track down whoever sold the digitally-marked advance copy of the album and try to prevent it from happening again. "One Way Ticket", the first single from their second album, was released on 14 November 2005, debuting and peaking at number 8 on the UK Singles Chart. The album itself was released on 28 November 2005 to mixed reviews. The album was produced by rock producer Roy Thomas Baker, best known for his work with Queen. Early sales figures in the UK showed the album had not sold as well as its predecessor, Permission to Land. The album debuted at number 11, and fell to number 34 in the second week of its release. Although it has since reached platinum status, this contrasts with their debut's five times platinum status. The second single taken from their second album was "Is It Just Me?", released on 20 February 2006. The single gained a preliminary position of No. 6 all that week, but finally charted at number 8. The album's third single, "Girlfriend", was Released 22 May and charted at number 39. Justin Hawkins' departure and breakup (2006) In August 2006, lead singer Justin Hawkins was admitted to a rehabilitation clinic in concern of his health, which caused the band to cancel several concerts. Around this same time the band confirmed that they were to start working on their third album to be released early 2007. Tabloid rumours held that Justin Hawkins was leaving the band after completing his course of rehabilitation from alcohol and cocaine problems, and the band would continue without him, possibly with Richie Edwards as the front man. In response to the story being reported by the media, The Darkness confirmed on their official forum: "We're sorry that you had to find this out through the newspapers, but we were hoping until the last minute that this – Justin's exit – wasn't going to happen. We – Dan, Ed and Richie – are still in total shock and can't say at this stage what the future holds. We would like to thank all our fans, partners and family for their continuous support. You will hear from us, once we know what we want to do..." Hawkins departure, and the lacklustre sales of One Way Ticket to Hell... (which had only gone gold compared to the previous album's four-times platinum status), led to Atlantic dropping the band from the label. Using the pseudonym British Whale, Hawkins went on to release a cover version of the Sparks song "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us", reaching No. 6 in the UK Singles Chart. In 2007, he launched a failed attempt to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2011, Hawkins gave a different explanation for his departure from the band, saying he had left because he felt the band had stopped being creative. Other projects (2006–2011) On 9 November 2007, it was announced on The University of East Anglia's student union website that a new band had been created comprising Dan Hawkins (lead guitar), Toby MacFarlaine (bass), Ed Graham (drums) and Ritchie Edwards (vocals/guitar). The name of the band was The Stone Gods. In 2008, Justin Hawkins formed a new band, Hot Leg with Pete Rinaldi (of Anchorhead), Samuel SJ Stokes (formerly of The Thieves) and Darby Todd (from Protect the Beat). In 2009 Hot Leg released an album, Red Light Fever, which failed to make a dent on the charts (#81). Three singles were taken from it with two of them failing to chart. By December 2010, both Hot Leg and The Stone Gods were in hiatus. Reunion and Hot Cakes (2011–2013) In March 2011, the four original band members reunited. They played three warm-up shows in Norwich, Leamington and at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire, before performing at the 2011 Download Festival. This was followed by an "intimate" show at London's 100 Club, which featured support from Dark Stares and notable appearances from Queen guitarist Brian May and comedian Rufus Hound. The band then toured Japan, the UK and Ireland. A new song, "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us", was released in February 2012 as a free download. They toured North America, playing with Crown Jewel Defense and Foxy Shazam, then performed at the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden and the 18th Przystanek Woodstock. Singles "Every Inch of You" and "Everybody Have a Good Time" were released in May and June 2012, respectively, ahead of their third album, Hot Cakes, which came out in August. Throughout the summer The Darkness played a series of festival dates, including headlining the Big Top Tent at the 2012 Isle of Wight Festival, and were the opening act for the European and African leg of Lady Gaga's The Born This Way Ball world tour. A new non-album song, "The Horn", was released in late 2013 as a digital download. Last of Our Kind and new line-up (2014–2017) The band began work on their fourth studio album in September 2014, with Emily Dolan Davies replacing Ed Graham on drums. The new album, Last of Our Kind, was released on 2 June 2015, on the band's own label Canary Dwarf Records via Kobalt Label Services with a single, "Open Fire", released on 23 March. The first track from the album to be premiered was "Barbarian", which was released with an accompanying animated music video on 23 February. On 21 April 2015, the band issued a statement saying that drummer Davies had left the band. On 25 April 2015, it was announced via the band's official Facebook page that Rufus Taylor, the son of Queen drummer Roger Taylor, was to join the band as Davies' replacement on drums. They were announced as the first headline act for Planet Rockstock 2015, taking place at Trecco Bay in South Wales from 4 to 7 December 2015. The Darkness closed the event on 6 December. On 20 November 2015, the band released a music video for a new Christmas single, entitled "I Am Santa" on their YouTube Channel, which it was announced would be included in the Deluxe edition of the Last of Our Kind album. Pinewood Smile (2017–2019) The Darkness worked on a feature-length documentary, directed by Simon Emmett. In a 2016 interview, Frankie Poullain said, "We are currently over a year in to a feature-length documentary which will surprise a lot of people." In March 2017, The Darkness announced that their 5th album would be released in 2017. This was confirmed in a July issue of Planet Rock, and later on the band's Facebook page. The album's title was later revealed as Pinewood Smile, and was due to be released on 6 October of the same year. The first single from the album 'All The Pretty Girls' was released on 22 July of that year. The band embarked on a winter tour of the UK in November and December 2017. In May 2017, The Darkness performed at the Australian touring music festival Groovin' the Moo, performing at six regional cities across Australia. They performed as a de facto opening act for the "headline act" of the festival, Violent Soho, and supported Guns N' Roses on the European leg of their tour. In December 2017, Justin & Dan Hawkins were contestants on the Pointless Celebrities Christmas special. In 2018, the band supported US supergroup Hollywood Vampires on their European tour, which included their first performances in UK arenas in several years. They also announced their first live album, Live at Hammersmith, a recording of their December 2017 concert at the Eventim Apollo in London. This was released on 15 June 2018. The band contributed theme music to the British children's television programme Catie's Amazing Machines which premiered on CBeebies in October 2018. Easter Is Cancelled (2019–2021) In 2019, The Darkness released their latest album Easter Is Cancelled on 4 October 2019 through Cooking Vinyl. Easter Is Cancelled became the band's fourth UK Top 10 album and topped the Official Charts Top 40 Rock And Metal Chart and the iTunes Rock Chart, while the record has achieved over 3 million streams on Spotify alone. The album was released to a generally positive response from music critics while the previous singles "Heart Explodes" and "Rock and Roll Deserves to Die" proved a radio hit on the playlists of Radio 2, Absolute, Kerrang and more. The comedic video for "Rock and Roll Deserves to Die" has also individually surpassed 1 million views. In January 2020, the Darkness released a new video for "In Another Life" which featured model Abbey Clancy. The track then made the BBC Radio 2 B-List. The band commenced their UK tour of the Easter Is Cancelled album on 25 November 2019 in Ireland, culminating on 20 December at London's Roundhouse. In 2020, the band attempted a worldwide tour across Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and North America. The tour abruptly ended in Adelaide, Australia on 15 March as the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home orders set in. The band returned to the UK for occasional shows and live streams where possible, with an aim to reschedule the remainder of the postponed New Zealand and North American dates in the future. In December the band played a one-off show at The IndigO2 in London. Initial plans to open the show and sound check to a limited audience were shut down at the last minute due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The show still went ahead but only accessible by live stream. The whole show was recorded for a live album titled Streaming Of A White Christmas, scheduled to be released on CD and vinyl in early 2021. Motorheart (2021–present) For most of the first half of 2021 the band remained largely quiet on social media. On June 4, 2021, the band announced they are set to release the new album Motorheart in October. The album was eventually released on November 19. The album's cover was also unveiled in the announcement. The album will be available on CD, vinyl, cassette tape and digital download. The first single, Motorheart was released in August. Along with the album release, the band announced an extensive list of UK tour dates to take place throughout November and December in support of the release of the album. Band members Current members Justin Hawkins – lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitar, keyboards Dan Hawkins – rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals Frankie Poullain – bass, backing vocals Rufus Tiger Taylor – drums, backing vocals Former members Ed Graham – drums Chris McDougall – lead and rhythm guitar Richie Edwards – bass, backing vocals, keyboards Emily Dolan Davies – drums Touring members Darby Todd – drums Timeline Discography Studio albums Permission to Land (2003) One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back (2005) Hot Cakes (2012) Last of Our Kind (2015) Pinewood Smile (2017) Easter Is Cancelled (2019) Motorheart (2021) Awards and honours {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |- ! scope="col" | Award ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Nominee(s) ! scope="col" | Category ! scope="col" | Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable"| |- ! scope="row" rowspan=2|Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards | 2013 | Themselves | Showman of the Year | | rowspan=2| |- | 2015 | Last of Our Kind | Album of the Year | |- ! scope="row" rowspan=4|Kerrang! Awards | rowspan=2|2003 | Themselves | Best Live Act | | rowspan=2| |- | Permission to Land | Best Album | |- | rowspan=2|2004 | rowspan=2|Themselves | Best British Band | | rowspan=2| |- | Best Live Band | |- !scope="row"|Mercury Prize | 2003 | Permission to Land | Album of the Year | | |- !scope="row" rowspan=2|Pop Factory Awards | rowspan=2|2002 | rowspan=2|Themselves | Best Pop Factory Performance | | rowspan=2| |- | Best Pop Factory Debut | 2003 Metal Hammer 'Golden God' for Best Single (Get Your Hands off My Woman) 2004 Metal Hammer 'Golden God' for Best Video ("Love Is Only a Feeling") Ivor Novello Award for Songwriters of the Year BRIT Award for Best British Group BRIT Award for Best Rock Act BRIT Award for Best British Album (Permission to Land) MTV Europe Music Award for Best UK & Ireland Act and Best Rock IFPI Platinum Europe Award for sales in Europe in excess of 1,000,000 (triple Platinum) (Permission to Land) Elle Style Award for Most Stylish Band Meteor Ireland Award for Best Album (Permission to Land) Smash Hits! Pollwinners' Party for Best Rock Award RIAA Digital Sales Certifications Gold Award for 100,000 downloads ("I Believe in a Thing Called Love") European Border Breakers Award for debut albums of European acts achieving the best sales outside of their country of origin in 2003 (Permission to Land) Denmark GAFFA Award for Best Foreign New Act (nominated) Denmark GAFFA Award for Best Foreign Hit ("I Believe in a Thing Called Love") (nominated) 2005 ASCAP Award for one of the Most Performed Works in the USA ("I Believe in a Thing Called Love") 2006 MTV Australia's Best Man Rock Video award ("One Way Ticket") 2008 VH1 The 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" (94) 2011 VH1 The 100 Greatest Songs of '00s "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" (87) 2020 Classic Rock magazine awarded "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" the number one spot on their Greatest Songs of the Century (so far) reader poll. See also Hot Leg Stone Gods References External links Atlantic Records artists Brit Award winners Comedy rock musical groups Cooking Vinyl artists English glam metal musical groups English hard rock musical groups English heavy metal musical groups Ivor Novello Award winners Kerrang! Awards winners Musical groups established in 1999 Musical groups disestablished in 2006 Musical groups reestablished in 2011 Musical groups from Suffolk Musical quartets Sibling musical groups PIAS Recordings artists MTV Europe Music Award winners 1999 establishments in England
false
[ "This is a list of the 1970 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates.\n\nThe tournament was held in early November at Tucson Country Club in Tucson, Arizona for the first time. There were nine 54-hole district tournaments to determine the final field of 60 players for the final 72-hole qualifying tournament. 18 players earned their tour cards with Bob Barbarossa being medalist. There was a five-for-one playoff for the last card.\n\nThis was the first year that Greg Powers attempted to qualify for the PGA Tour at PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament. He was not successful. Australian player David Graham also attempted to qualify. However, he was not successful either.\n\nSources:\n\nReferences\n\nPGA Tour Qualifying School\nGolf in Arizona\nPGA Tour Qualifying School Graduates\nPGA Tour Qualifying School Graduates", "The Last Tour is a world tour by the bachata group Aventura to promote their final studio album The Last before their split. The Last Tour started on July 31, 2009 and ended on March 7, 2011. It was their last tour as a group, until their 2016 residency and 2020 Inmortal Tour of US arenas.\n\nThe Last Tour was the band's most successful tour and the longest. It broke attendance records in Latin America, including 60,000 fans in Santo Domingo at Estadio Olímpico Félix Sánchez.\n\nIn the United States the tour was a success. In an article, Billboard stated that in the United States Aventura's 2009-10 shows averaged $675,000 and 9,358 tickets per show. In 2010, Billboard named it the top Latin tour of 2010 with a total gross of US$18.1 million over 27 shows with 15 sellouts and 253,777 attendance. The tour also broke the record of the most consecutive sold-out concerts in Madison Square Garden by a Latin artist.\n\nTour dates\n\nBox office data\n\nNotes\n\nReferences \n\nAventura (band)\n2009 concert tours\n2010 concert tours" ]
[ "The Darkness (band)", "One Way Ticket to Hell... And Back and decline (2005-2006)", "When was One Way Ticket to Hell released?", " \"One Way Ticket\", the first single from their second album, was released on 14 November 2005,", "Did their first single win any awards?", "debuting and peaking at number 8 on the UK Singles chart.", "Did they have any other released singles?", "The second single taken from their second album was \"Is It Just Me?\",", "When was their second single released?", "20 February 2006.", "Did the band go on tour?", "The band followed up their second album with a tour of the UK and Ireland,", "Was their tour successful?", "Few of the venues sold out, their appeal seemingly having become more selective." ]
C_963a1528a3544f269cb49ee50eab6e0d_0
Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?
7
Other than the first and second single and the tour, are there any other interesting aspects about this article on the band The Darkness?
The Darkness (band)
In October 2005, a month before the album was to be officially released, Justin Hawkins won an eBay auction for a copy of One Way Ticket to Hell ...and Back for PS350 under the username 'turbogunhawk'. He claimed he did this so that he could track down whoever sold the digitally-marked advance copy of the album and try to prevent it from happening again. "One Way Ticket", the first single from their second album, was released on 14 November 2005, debuting and peaking at number 8 on the UK Singles chart. The album itself was released on 28 November 2005 to mixed reviews. The album was produced by rock producer Roy Thomas Baker, best known for his work with Queen. Early sales figures in the UK showed the album had not sold as well as its predecessor, Permission to Land. The album debuted at number 11, and fell to number 34 in the second week of its release. Although it has since reached platinum status, this contrasts with their debut's five times platinum status. The second single taken from their second album was "Is It Just Me?", released on 20 February 2006. The single gained a preliminary position of No. 6 all that week, but finally charted at number 8. The album's third single, "Girlfriend", was Released 22 May and charted at number 39. The band followed up their second album with a tour of the UK and Ireland, consisting of 12 dates in the major cities. The tour opened in Dublin's Point Depot on 4 February and closed in the Nottingham Arena on 20 February. Few of the venues sold out, their appeal seemingly having become more selective. Their world tour, which followed, arrived in Australia and Japan after touring Scandinavia and Continental Europe in March. CANNOTANSWER
a month before the album was to be officially released, Justin Hawkins won an eBay auction for a copy of One Way Ticket to Hell ...and Back for PS350
The Darkness are a British rock band formed in Lowestoft, England, in 2000. The band consists of Justin Hawkins (lead vocals, lead guitar), his brother Dan Hawkins (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Frankie Poullain (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Rufus Tiger Taylor (drums, backing vocals). The Darkness came to prominence with the release of their debut album, Permission to Land, in 2003. Backed by the singles "I Believe in a Thing Called Love", "Growing on Me", "Get Your Hands off My Woman", and "Love Is Only a Feeling", the album was certified quadruple platinum in the United Kingdom, with sales of over 1.3 million. In 2004 the band won three Brit Awards: Best British Group, Best British Rock Act, and Best British Album. After extensive touring in support of their debut album, Poullain left the band in 2005, and was replaced by former guitar technician Richie Edwards. The band's second studio album, One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back, was released in November 2005. The following year, Justin Hawkins departed from the band after successfully completing a course of rehabilitation from alcohol and cocaine abuse. This, combined with the poor sales of the album, resulted in Atlantic dropping the band in October 2006. After the split, the remaining members formed Stone Gods, and continued to perform and record without Hawkins, who subsequently fronted his own project, Hot Leg. On 15 March 2011, The Darkness announced reunion shows, with original bassist Frankie Poullain, including Download Festival 2011, and the Isle of Wight Festival 2012. Their third album, Hot Cakes, was released on 20 August 2012. Original drummer Ed Graham then left the band, feeling the strain of touring was affecting his personal life, in which he had pressing issues. In 2015 a fourth studio album was announced, entitled Last of Our Kind, which was released on 2 June 2015. A fifth album, Pinewood Smile, was released on 6 October 2017 and one year later on 15 June 2018 a live album, Live at Hammersmith, was also released. Their sixth studio album, Easter Is Cancelled was released on 4 October 2019. After the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to their world tour in 2020, the band wound up the year with a one-off streamed live show titled "Streaming of a White Christmas", which was also recorded as a new live album and slated to be released on CD and vinyl in June 2021. On 4 June 2021, the band announced their seventh studio album Motorheart would be released on 15 October 2021 with an extensive UK tour through November and December 2021. History Early years Justin and Dan Hawkins played together as teenagers in a band which, according to Dan Hawkins, "did a lot of Marillion covers, Bruce Springsteen, Genesis" and were "a bit prog-y". Justin Hawkins had been initially inspired to play guitar by Brian May of Queen, as he loved his tone and vibrato. Originally known as Empire, the band generated some music industry buzz through their manager Sue Whitehouse, who was based at Savage & Best in Camden. Whitehouse had managed them since Justin Hawkins' time as a creator of music jingles. Renamed as The Darkness they became renowned for their live show, and such was the popularity of the band, they had a Carling Homecoming gig booked for the London Astoria before they had even signed a record deal. Joe Taylor, Aled Jones and Paul Scaife at The Tip Sheet first heard about the band through a post on The Tip Sheet message board, and featured Love Is Only a Feeling in January 2002. They started Record of the Day, and featured the song again around the time of SXSW in March 2003. They wanted to feature Friday Night too but they were told the band was saving it for an album. According to A&R Nick Raphael in an interview with HitQuarters, there was no initial clamour to sign the band, "There couldn't have been less of a buzz, and only two record labels showed any interest in them." He believes the reason for lack of interest was that "The business as a whole thought they were uncool. In fact, people were saying that they were a joke and that they weren't real." However, throughout their career critics around the world would label them as a "joke band". As part of Sony Music UK, Raphael had attempted to sign them, but the band instead opted to go with Atlantic Records. Permission to Land and commercial success (2003–2005) Their debut album, Permission to Land, went straight up to number two in the UK charts upon its release on 7 July 2003, before going to number one and staying there for four weeks, eventually going on to sell 1.5 million copies in the UK. The Darkness took inspiration for some of their work from the local north Suffolk area, including "Black Shuck" which mentions the nearby village of Blythburgh. The success of this album led to heavy touring for the band, including European portions of Metallica's Summer Sanitarium Tour 2003. They then went on to headline the Carling Festival in 2004. The band won three BRIT Awards in 2004 in response to the album, Best Group, Best Rock Group and Best Album. They also won two Kerrang! awards in 2004 for Best Live Act and Best British Band. The third single from the album, "I Believe in a Thing Called Love", was a substantial hit in the UK as was their tilt at the Christmas 2003 number 1, "Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)", which only just fell short, both singles reaching number 2 in 2003. One Way Ticket to Hell... And Back and decline (2005–2006) In October 2005, a month before the album was to be officially released, Justin Hawkins won an eBay auction for a copy of One Way Ticket to Hell ...and Back for £350 under the username 'turbogunhawk'. He claimed he did this so that he could track down whoever sold the digitally-marked advance copy of the album and try to prevent it from happening again. "One Way Ticket", the first single from their second album, was released on 14 November 2005, debuting and peaking at number 8 on the UK Singles Chart. The album itself was released on 28 November 2005 to mixed reviews. The album was produced by rock producer Roy Thomas Baker, best known for his work with Queen. Early sales figures in the UK showed the album had not sold as well as its predecessor, Permission to Land. The album debuted at number 11, and fell to number 34 in the second week of its release. Although it has since reached platinum status, this contrasts with their debut's five times platinum status. The second single taken from their second album was "Is It Just Me?", released on 20 February 2006. The single gained a preliminary position of No. 6 all that week, but finally charted at number 8. The album's third single, "Girlfriend", was Released 22 May and charted at number 39. Justin Hawkins' departure and breakup (2006) In August 2006, lead singer Justin Hawkins was admitted to a rehabilitation clinic in concern of his health, which caused the band to cancel several concerts. Around this same time the band confirmed that they were to start working on their third album to be released early 2007. Tabloid rumours held that Justin Hawkins was leaving the band after completing his course of rehabilitation from alcohol and cocaine problems, and the band would continue without him, possibly with Richie Edwards as the front man. In response to the story being reported by the media, The Darkness confirmed on their official forum: "We're sorry that you had to find this out through the newspapers, but we were hoping until the last minute that this – Justin's exit – wasn't going to happen. We – Dan, Ed and Richie – are still in total shock and can't say at this stage what the future holds. We would like to thank all our fans, partners and family for their continuous support. You will hear from us, once we know what we want to do..." Hawkins departure, and the lacklustre sales of One Way Ticket to Hell... (which had only gone gold compared to the previous album's four-times platinum status), led to Atlantic dropping the band from the label. Using the pseudonym British Whale, Hawkins went on to release a cover version of the Sparks song "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us", reaching No. 6 in the UK Singles Chart. In 2007, he launched a failed attempt to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2011, Hawkins gave a different explanation for his departure from the band, saying he had left because he felt the band had stopped being creative. Other projects (2006–2011) On 9 November 2007, it was announced on The University of East Anglia's student union website that a new band had been created comprising Dan Hawkins (lead guitar), Toby MacFarlaine (bass), Ed Graham (drums) and Ritchie Edwards (vocals/guitar). The name of the band was The Stone Gods. In 2008, Justin Hawkins formed a new band, Hot Leg with Pete Rinaldi (of Anchorhead), Samuel SJ Stokes (formerly of The Thieves) and Darby Todd (from Protect the Beat). In 2009 Hot Leg released an album, Red Light Fever, which failed to make a dent on the charts (#81). Three singles were taken from it with two of them failing to chart. By December 2010, both Hot Leg and The Stone Gods were in hiatus. Reunion and Hot Cakes (2011–2013) In March 2011, the four original band members reunited. They played three warm-up shows in Norwich, Leamington and at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire, before performing at the 2011 Download Festival. This was followed by an "intimate" show at London's 100 Club, which featured support from Dark Stares and notable appearances from Queen guitarist Brian May and comedian Rufus Hound. The band then toured Japan, the UK and Ireland. A new song, "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us", was released in February 2012 as a free download. They toured North America, playing with Crown Jewel Defense and Foxy Shazam, then performed at the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden and the 18th Przystanek Woodstock. Singles "Every Inch of You" and "Everybody Have a Good Time" were released in May and June 2012, respectively, ahead of their third album, Hot Cakes, which came out in August. Throughout the summer The Darkness played a series of festival dates, including headlining the Big Top Tent at the 2012 Isle of Wight Festival, and were the opening act for the European and African leg of Lady Gaga's The Born This Way Ball world tour. A new non-album song, "The Horn", was released in late 2013 as a digital download. Last of Our Kind and new line-up (2014–2017) The band began work on their fourth studio album in September 2014, with Emily Dolan Davies replacing Ed Graham on drums. The new album, Last of Our Kind, was released on 2 June 2015, on the band's own label Canary Dwarf Records via Kobalt Label Services with a single, "Open Fire", released on 23 March. The first track from the album to be premiered was "Barbarian", which was released with an accompanying animated music video on 23 February. On 21 April 2015, the band issued a statement saying that drummer Davies had left the band. On 25 April 2015, it was announced via the band's official Facebook page that Rufus Taylor, the son of Queen drummer Roger Taylor, was to join the band as Davies' replacement on drums. They were announced as the first headline act for Planet Rockstock 2015, taking place at Trecco Bay in South Wales from 4 to 7 December 2015. The Darkness closed the event on 6 December. On 20 November 2015, the band released a music video for a new Christmas single, entitled "I Am Santa" on their YouTube Channel, which it was announced would be included in the Deluxe edition of the Last of Our Kind album. Pinewood Smile (2017–2019) The Darkness worked on a feature-length documentary, directed by Simon Emmett. In a 2016 interview, Frankie Poullain said, "We are currently over a year in to a feature-length documentary which will surprise a lot of people." In March 2017, The Darkness announced that their 5th album would be released in 2017. This was confirmed in a July issue of Planet Rock, and later on the band's Facebook page. The album's title was later revealed as Pinewood Smile, and was due to be released on 6 October of the same year. The first single from the album 'All The Pretty Girls' was released on 22 July of that year. The band embarked on a winter tour of the UK in November and December 2017. In May 2017, The Darkness performed at the Australian touring music festival Groovin' the Moo, performing at six regional cities across Australia. They performed as a de facto opening act for the "headline act" of the festival, Violent Soho, and supported Guns N' Roses on the European leg of their tour. In December 2017, Justin & Dan Hawkins were contestants on the Pointless Celebrities Christmas special. In 2018, the band supported US supergroup Hollywood Vampires on their European tour, which included their first performances in UK arenas in several years. They also announced their first live album, Live at Hammersmith, a recording of their December 2017 concert at the Eventim Apollo in London. This was released on 15 June 2018. The band contributed theme music to the British children's television programme Catie's Amazing Machines which premiered on CBeebies in October 2018. Easter Is Cancelled (2019–2021) In 2019, The Darkness released their latest album Easter Is Cancelled on 4 October 2019 through Cooking Vinyl. Easter Is Cancelled became the band's fourth UK Top 10 album and topped the Official Charts Top 40 Rock And Metal Chart and the iTunes Rock Chart, while the record has achieved over 3 million streams on Spotify alone. The album was released to a generally positive response from music critics while the previous singles "Heart Explodes" and "Rock and Roll Deserves to Die" proved a radio hit on the playlists of Radio 2, Absolute, Kerrang and more. The comedic video for "Rock and Roll Deserves to Die" has also individually surpassed 1 million views. In January 2020, the Darkness released a new video for "In Another Life" which featured model Abbey Clancy. The track then made the BBC Radio 2 B-List. The band commenced their UK tour of the Easter Is Cancelled album on 25 November 2019 in Ireland, culminating on 20 December at London's Roundhouse. In 2020, the band attempted a worldwide tour across Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and North America. The tour abruptly ended in Adelaide, Australia on 15 March as the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home orders set in. The band returned to the UK for occasional shows and live streams where possible, with an aim to reschedule the remainder of the postponed New Zealand and North American dates in the future. In December the band played a one-off show at The IndigO2 in London. Initial plans to open the show and sound check to a limited audience were shut down at the last minute due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The show still went ahead but only accessible by live stream. The whole show was recorded for a live album titled Streaming Of A White Christmas, scheduled to be released on CD and vinyl in early 2021. Motorheart (2021–present) For most of the first half of 2021 the band remained largely quiet on social media. On June 4, 2021, the band announced they are set to release the new album Motorheart in October. The album was eventually released on November 19. The album's cover was also unveiled in the announcement. The album will be available on CD, vinyl, cassette tape and digital download. The first single, Motorheart was released in August. Along with the album release, the band announced an extensive list of UK tour dates to take place throughout November and December in support of the release of the album. Band members Current members Justin Hawkins – lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitar, keyboards Dan Hawkins – rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals Frankie Poullain – bass, backing vocals Rufus Tiger Taylor – drums, backing vocals Former members Ed Graham – drums Chris McDougall – lead and rhythm guitar Richie Edwards – bass, backing vocals, keyboards Emily Dolan Davies – drums Touring members Darby Todd – drums Timeline Discography Studio albums Permission to Land (2003) One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back (2005) Hot Cakes (2012) Last of Our Kind (2015) Pinewood Smile (2017) Easter Is Cancelled (2019) Motorheart (2021) Awards and honours {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |- ! scope="col" | Award ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Nominee(s) ! scope="col" | Category ! scope="col" | Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable"| |- ! scope="row" rowspan=2|Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards | 2013 | Themselves | Showman of the Year | | rowspan=2| |- | 2015 | Last of Our Kind | Album of the Year | |- ! scope="row" rowspan=4|Kerrang! Awards | rowspan=2|2003 | Themselves | Best Live Act | | rowspan=2| |- | Permission to Land | Best Album | |- | rowspan=2|2004 | rowspan=2|Themselves | Best British Band | | rowspan=2| |- | Best Live Band | |- !scope="row"|Mercury Prize | 2003 | Permission to Land | Album of the Year | | |- !scope="row" rowspan=2|Pop Factory Awards | rowspan=2|2002 | rowspan=2|Themselves | Best Pop Factory Performance | | rowspan=2| |- | Best Pop Factory Debut | 2003 Metal Hammer 'Golden God' for Best Single (Get Your Hands off My Woman) 2004 Metal Hammer 'Golden God' for Best Video ("Love Is Only a Feeling") Ivor Novello Award for Songwriters of the Year BRIT Award for Best British Group BRIT Award for Best Rock Act BRIT Award for Best British Album (Permission to Land) MTV Europe Music Award for Best UK & Ireland Act and Best Rock IFPI Platinum Europe Award for sales in Europe in excess of 1,000,000 (triple Platinum) (Permission to Land) Elle Style Award for Most Stylish Band Meteor Ireland Award for Best Album (Permission to Land) Smash Hits! Pollwinners' Party for Best Rock Award RIAA Digital Sales Certifications Gold Award for 100,000 downloads ("I Believe in a Thing Called Love") European Border Breakers Award for debut albums of European acts achieving the best sales outside of their country of origin in 2003 (Permission to Land) Denmark GAFFA Award for Best Foreign New Act (nominated) Denmark GAFFA Award for Best Foreign Hit ("I Believe in a Thing Called Love") (nominated) 2005 ASCAP Award for one of the Most Performed Works in the USA ("I Believe in a Thing Called Love") 2006 MTV Australia's Best Man Rock Video award ("One Way Ticket") 2008 VH1 The 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" (94) 2011 VH1 The 100 Greatest Songs of '00s "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" (87) 2020 Classic Rock magazine awarded "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" the number one spot on their Greatest Songs of the Century (so far) reader poll. See also Hot Leg Stone Gods References External links Atlantic Records artists Brit Award winners Comedy rock musical groups Cooking Vinyl artists English glam metal musical groups English hard rock musical groups English heavy metal musical groups Ivor Novello Award winners Kerrang! Awards winners Musical groups established in 1999 Musical groups disestablished in 2006 Musical groups reestablished in 2011 Musical groups from Suffolk Musical quartets Sibling musical groups PIAS Recordings artists MTV Europe Music Award winners 1999 establishments in England
false
[ "Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region", "Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts" ]
[ "The Darkness (band)", "One Way Ticket to Hell... And Back and decline (2005-2006)", "When was One Way Ticket to Hell released?", " \"One Way Ticket\", the first single from their second album, was released on 14 November 2005,", "Did their first single win any awards?", "debuting and peaking at number 8 on the UK Singles chart.", "Did they have any other released singles?", "The second single taken from their second album was \"Is It Just Me?\",", "When was their second single released?", "20 February 2006.", "Did the band go on tour?", "The band followed up their second album with a tour of the UK and Ireland,", "Was their tour successful?", "Few of the venues sold out, their appeal seemingly having become more selective.", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "a month before the album was to be officially released, Justin Hawkins won an eBay auction for a copy of One Way Ticket to Hell ...and Back for PS350" ]
C_963a1528a3544f269cb49ee50eab6e0d_0
Why did he bid on his own album?
8
Why did Justin Hawkins bid on his own album?
The Darkness (band)
In October 2005, a month before the album was to be officially released, Justin Hawkins won an eBay auction for a copy of One Way Ticket to Hell ...and Back for PS350 under the username 'turbogunhawk'. He claimed he did this so that he could track down whoever sold the digitally-marked advance copy of the album and try to prevent it from happening again. "One Way Ticket", the first single from their second album, was released on 14 November 2005, debuting and peaking at number 8 on the UK Singles chart. The album itself was released on 28 November 2005 to mixed reviews. The album was produced by rock producer Roy Thomas Baker, best known for his work with Queen. Early sales figures in the UK showed the album had not sold as well as its predecessor, Permission to Land. The album debuted at number 11, and fell to number 34 in the second week of its release. Although it has since reached platinum status, this contrasts with their debut's five times platinum status. The second single taken from their second album was "Is It Just Me?", released on 20 February 2006. The single gained a preliminary position of No. 6 all that week, but finally charted at number 8. The album's third single, "Girlfriend", was Released 22 May and charted at number 39. The band followed up their second album with a tour of the UK and Ireland, consisting of 12 dates in the major cities. The tour opened in Dublin's Point Depot on 4 February and closed in the Nottingham Arena on 20 February. Few of the venues sold out, their appeal seemingly having become more selective. Their world tour, which followed, arrived in Australia and Japan after touring Scandinavia and Continental Europe in March. CANNOTANSWER
He claimed he did this so that he could track down whoever sold the digitally-marked advance copy of the album
The Darkness are a British rock band formed in Lowestoft, England, in 2000. The band consists of Justin Hawkins (lead vocals, lead guitar), his brother Dan Hawkins (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Frankie Poullain (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Rufus Tiger Taylor (drums, backing vocals). The Darkness came to prominence with the release of their debut album, Permission to Land, in 2003. Backed by the singles "I Believe in a Thing Called Love", "Growing on Me", "Get Your Hands off My Woman", and "Love Is Only a Feeling", the album was certified quadruple platinum in the United Kingdom, with sales of over 1.3 million. In 2004 the band won three Brit Awards: Best British Group, Best British Rock Act, and Best British Album. After extensive touring in support of their debut album, Poullain left the band in 2005, and was replaced by former guitar technician Richie Edwards. The band's second studio album, One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back, was released in November 2005. The following year, Justin Hawkins departed from the band after successfully completing a course of rehabilitation from alcohol and cocaine abuse. This, combined with the poor sales of the album, resulted in Atlantic dropping the band in October 2006. After the split, the remaining members formed Stone Gods, and continued to perform and record without Hawkins, who subsequently fronted his own project, Hot Leg. On 15 March 2011, The Darkness announced reunion shows, with original bassist Frankie Poullain, including Download Festival 2011, and the Isle of Wight Festival 2012. Their third album, Hot Cakes, was released on 20 August 2012. Original drummer Ed Graham then left the band, feeling the strain of touring was affecting his personal life, in which he had pressing issues. In 2015 a fourth studio album was announced, entitled Last of Our Kind, which was released on 2 June 2015. A fifth album, Pinewood Smile, was released on 6 October 2017 and one year later on 15 June 2018 a live album, Live at Hammersmith, was also released. Their sixth studio album, Easter Is Cancelled was released on 4 October 2019. After the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to their world tour in 2020, the band wound up the year with a one-off streamed live show titled "Streaming of a White Christmas", which was also recorded as a new live album and slated to be released on CD and vinyl in June 2021. On 4 June 2021, the band announced their seventh studio album Motorheart would be released on 15 October 2021 with an extensive UK tour through November and December 2021. History Early years Justin and Dan Hawkins played together as teenagers in a band which, according to Dan Hawkins, "did a lot of Marillion covers, Bruce Springsteen, Genesis" and were "a bit prog-y". Justin Hawkins had been initially inspired to play guitar by Brian May of Queen, as he loved his tone and vibrato. Originally known as Empire, the band generated some music industry buzz through their manager Sue Whitehouse, who was based at Savage & Best in Camden. Whitehouse had managed them since Justin Hawkins' time as a creator of music jingles. Renamed as The Darkness they became renowned for their live show, and such was the popularity of the band, they had a Carling Homecoming gig booked for the London Astoria before they had even signed a record deal. Joe Taylor, Aled Jones and Paul Scaife at The Tip Sheet first heard about the band through a post on The Tip Sheet message board, and featured Love Is Only a Feeling in January 2002. They started Record of the Day, and featured the song again around the time of SXSW in March 2003. They wanted to feature Friday Night too but they were told the band was saving it for an album. According to A&R Nick Raphael in an interview with HitQuarters, there was no initial clamour to sign the band, "There couldn't have been less of a buzz, and only two record labels showed any interest in them." He believes the reason for lack of interest was that "The business as a whole thought they were uncool. In fact, people were saying that they were a joke and that they weren't real." However, throughout their career critics around the world would label them as a "joke band". As part of Sony Music UK, Raphael had attempted to sign them, but the band instead opted to go with Atlantic Records. Permission to Land and commercial success (2003–2005) Their debut album, Permission to Land, went straight up to number two in the UK charts upon its release on 7 July 2003, before going to number one and staying there for four weeks, eventually going on to sell 1.5 million copies in the UK. The Darkness took inspiration for some of their work from the local north Suffolk area, including "Black Shuck" which mentions the nearby village of Blythburgh. The success of this album led to heavy touring for the band, including European portions of Metallica's Summer Sanitarium Tour 2003. They then went on to headline the Carling Festival in 2004. The band won three BRIT Awards in 2004 in response to the album, Best Group, Best Rock Group and Best Album. They also won two Kerrang! awards in 2004 for Best Live Act and Best British Band. The third single from the album, "I Believe in a Thing Called Love", was a substantial hit in the UK as was their tilt at the Christmas 2003 number 1, "Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)", which only just fell short, both singles reaching number 2 in 2003. One Way Ticket to Hell... And Back and decline (2005–2006) In October 2005, a month before the album was to be officially released, Justin Hawkins won an eBay auction for a copy of One Way Ticket to Hell ...and Back for £350 under the username 'turbogunhawk'. He claimed he did this so that he could track down whoever sold the digitally-marked advance copy of the album and try to prevent it from happening again. "One Way Ticket", the first single from their second album, was released on 14 November 2005, debuting and peaking at number 8 on the UK Singles Chart. The album itself was released on 28 November 2005 to mixed reviews. The album was produced by rock producer Roy Thomas Baker, best known for his work with Queen. Early sales figures in the UK showed the album had not sold as well as its predecessor, Permission to Land. The album debuted at number 11, and fell to number 34 in the second week of its release. Although it has since reached platinum status, this contrasts with their debut's five times platinum status. The second single taken from their second album was "Is It Just Me?", released on 20 February 2006. The single gained a preliminary position of No. 6 all that week, but finally charted at number 8. The album's third single, "Girlfriend", was Released 22 May and charted at number 39. Justin Hawkins' departure and breakup (2006) In August 2006, lead singer Justin Hawkins was admitted to a rehabilitation clinic in concern of his health, which caused the band to cancel several concerts. Around this same time the band confirmed that they were to start working on their third album to be released early 2007. Tabloid rumours held that Justin Hawkins was leaving the band after completing his course of rehabilitation from alcohol and cocaine problems, and the band would continue without him, possibly with Richie Edwards as the front man. In response to the story being reported by the media, The Darkness confirmed on their official forum: "We're sorry that you had to find this out through the newspapers, but we were hoping until the last minute that this – Justin's exit – wasn't going to happen. We – Dan, Ed and Richie – are still in total shock and can't say at this stage what the future holds. We would like to thank all our fans, partners and family for their continuous support. You will hear from us, once we know what we want to do..." Hawkins departure, and the lacklustre sales of One Way Ticket to Hell... (which had only gone gold compared to the previous album's four-times platinum status), led to Atlantic dropping the band from the label. Using the pseudonym British Whale, Hawkins went on to release a cover version of the Sparks song "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us", reaching No. 6 in the UK Singles Chart. In 2007, he launched a failed attempt to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2011, Hawkins gave a different explanation for his departure from the band, saying he had left because he felt the band had stopped being creative. Other projects (2006–2011) On 9 November 2007, it was announced on The University of East Anglia's student union website that a new band had been created comprising Dan Hawkins (lead guitar), Toby MacFarlaine (bass), Ed Graham (drums) and Ritchie Edwards (vocals/guitar). The name of the band was The Stone Gods. In 2008, Justin Hawkins formed a new band, Hot Leg with Pete Rinaldi (of Anchorhead), Samuel SJ Stokes (formerly of The Thieves) and Darby Todd (from Protect the Beat). In 2009 Hot Leg released an album, Red Light Fever, which failed to make a dent on the charts (#81). Three singles were taken from it with two of them failing to chart. By December 2010, both Hot Leg and The Stone Gods were in hiatus. Reunion and Hot Cakes (2011–2013) In March 2011, the four original band members reunited. They played three warm-up shows in Norwich, Leamington and at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire, before performing at the 2011 Download Festival. This was followed by an "intimate" show at London's 100 Club, which featured support from Dark Stares and notable appearances from Queen guitarist Brian May and comedian Rufus Hound. The band then toured Japan, the UK and Ireland. A new song, "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us", was released in February 2012 as a free download. They toured North America, playing with Crown Jewel Defense and Foxy Shazam, then performed at the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden and the 18th Przystanek Woodstock. Singles "Every Inch of You" and "Everybody Have a Good Time" were released in May and June 2012, respectively, ahead of their third album, Hot Cakes, which came out in August. Throughout the summer The Darkness played a series of festival dates, including headlining the Big Top Tent at the 2012 Isle of Wight Festival, and were the opening act for the European and African leg of Lady Gaga's The Born This Way Ball world tour. A new non-album song, "The Horn", was released in late 2013 as a digital download. Last of Our Kind and new line-up (2014–2017) The band began work on their fourth studio album in September 2014, with Emily Dolan Davies replacing Ed Graham on drums. The new album, Last of Our Kind, was released on 2 June 2015, on the band's own label Canary Dwarf Records via Kobalt Label Services with a single, "Open Fire", released on 23 March. The first track from the album to be premiered was "Barbarian", which was released with an accompanying animated music video on 23 February. On 21 April 2015, the band issued a statement saying that drummer Davies had left the band. On 25 April 2015, it was announced via the band's official Facebook page that Rufus Taylor, the son of Queen drummer Roger Taylor, was to join the band as Davies' replacement on drums. They were announced as the first headline act for Planet Rockstock 2015, taking place at Trecco Bay in South Wales from 4 to 7 December 2015. The Darkness closed the event on 6 December. On 20 November 2015, the band released a music video for a new Christmas single, entitled "I Am Santa" on their YouTube Channel, which it was announced would be included in the Deluxe edition of the Last of Our Kind album. Pinewood Smile (2017–2019) The Darkness worked on a feature-length documentary, directed by Simon Emmett. In a 2016 interview, Frankie Poullain said, "We are currently over a year in to a feature-length documentary which will surprise a lot of people." In March 2017, The Darkness announced that their 5th album would be released in 2017. This was confirmed in a July issue of Planet Rock, and later on the band's Facebook page. The album's title was later revealed as Pinewood Smile, and was due to be released on 6 October of the same year. The first single from the album 'All The Pretty Girls' was released on 22 July of that year. The band embarked on a winter tour of the UK in November and December 2017. In May 2017, The Darkness performed at the Australian touring music festival Groovin' the Moo, performing at six regional cities across Australia. They performed as a de facto opening act for the "headline act" of the festival, Violent Soho, and supported Guns N' Roses on the European leg of their tour. In December 2017, Justin & Dan Hawkins were contestants on the Pointless Celebrities Christmas special. In 2018, the band supported US supergroup Hollywood Vampires on their European tour, which included their first performances in UK arenas in several years. They also announced their first live album, Live at Hammersmith, a recording of their December 2017 concert at the Eventim Apollo in London. This was released on 15 June 2018. The band contributed theme music to the British children's television programme Catie's Amazing Machines which premiered on CBeebies in October 2018. Easter Is Cancelled (2019–2021) In 2019, The Darkness released their latest album Easter Is Cancelled on 4 October 2019 through Cooking Vinyl. Easter Is Cancelled became the band's fourth UK Top 10 album and topped the Official Charts Top 40 Rock And Metal Chart and the iTunes Rock Chart, while the record has achieved over 3 million streams on Spotify alone. The album was released to a generally positive response from music critics while the previous singles "Heart Explodes" and "Rock and Roll Deserves to Die" proved a radio hit on the playlists of Radio 2, Absolute, Kerrang and more. The comedic video for "Rock and Roll Deserves to Die" has also individually surpassed 1 million views. In January 2020, the Darkness released a new video for "In Another Life" which featured model Abbey Clancy. The track then made the BBC Radio 2 B-List. The band commenced their UK tour of the Easter Is Cancelled album on 25 November 2019 in Ireland, culminating on 20 December at London's Roundhouse. In 2020, the band attempted a worldwide tour across Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and North America. The tour abruptly ended in Adelaide, Australia on 15 March as the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home orders set in. The band returned to the UK for occasional shows and live streams where possible, with an aim to reschedule the remainder of the postponed New Zealand and North American dates in the future. In December the band played a one-off show at The IndigO2 in London. Initial plans to open the show and sound check to a limited audience were shut down at the last minute due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The show still went ahead but only accessible by live stream. The whole show was recorded for a live album titled Streaming Of A White Christmas, scheduled to be released on CD and vinyl in early 2021. Motorheart (2021–present) For most of the first half of 2021 the band remained largely quiet on social media. On June 4, 2021, the band announced they are set to release the new album Motorheart in October. The album was eventually released on November 19. The album's cover was also unveiled in the announcement. The album will be available on CD, vinyl, cassette tape and digital download. The first single, Motorheart was released in August. Along with the album release, the band announced an extensive list of UK tour dates to take place throughout November and December in support of the release of the album. Band members Current members Justin Hawkins – lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitar, keyboards Dan Hawkins – rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals Frankie Poullain – bass, backing vocals Rufus Tiger Taylor – drums, backing vocals Former members Ed Graham – drums Chris McDougall – lead and rhythm guitar Richie Edwards – bass, backing vocals, keyboards Emily Dolan Davies – drums Touring members Darby Todd – drums Timeline Discography Studio albums Permission to Land (2003) One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back (2005) Hot Cakes (2012) Last of Our Kind (2015) Pinewood Smile (2017) Easter Is Cancelled (2019) Motorheart (2021) Awards and honours {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |- ! scope="col" | Award ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Nominee(s) ! scope="col" | Category ! scope="col" | Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable"| |- ! scope="row" rowspan=2|Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards | 2013 | Themselves | Showman of the Year | | rowspan=2| |- | 2015 | Last of Our Kind | Album of the Year | |- ! scope="row" rowspan=4|Kerrang! Awards | rowspan=2|2003 | Themselves | Best Live Act | | rowspan=2| |- | Permission to Land | Best Album | |- | rowspan=2|2004 | rowspan=2|Themselves | Best British Band | | rowspan=2| |- | Best Live Band | |- !scope="row"|Mercury Prize | 2003 | Permission to Land | Album of the Year | | |- !scope="row" rowspan=2|Pop Factory Awards | rowspan=2|2002 | rowspan=2|Themselves | Best Pop Factory Performance | | rowspan=2| |- | Best Pop Factory Debut | 2003 Metal Hammer 'Golden God' for Best Single (Get Your Hands off My Woman) 2004 Metal Hammer 'Golden God' for Best Video ("Love Is Only a Feeling") Ivor Novello Award for Songwriters of the Year BRIT Award for Best British Group BRIT Award for Best Rock Act BRIT Award for Best British Album (Permission to Land) MTV Europe Music Award for Best UK & Ireland Act and Best Rock IFPI Platinum Europe Award for sales in Europe in excess of 1,000,000 (triple Platinum) (Permission to Land) Elle Style Award for Most Stylish Band Meteor Ireland Award for Best Album (Permission to Land) Smash Hits! Pollwinners' Party for Best Rock Award RIAA Digital Sales Certifications Gold Award for 100,000 downloads ("I Believe in a Thing Called Love") European Border Breakers Award for debut albums of European acts achieving the best sales outside of their country of origin in 2003 (Permission to Land) Denmark GAFFA Award for Best Foreign New Act (nominated) Denmark GAFFA Award for Best Foreign Hit ("I Believe in a Thing Called Love") (nominated) 2005 ASCAP Award for one of the Most Performed Works in the USA ("I Believe in a Thing Called Love") 2006 MTV Australia's Best Man Rock Video award ("One Way Ticket") 2008 VH1 The 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" (94) 2011 VH1 The 100 Greatest Songs of '00s "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" (87) 2020 Classic Rock magazine awarded "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" the number one spot on their Greatest Songs of the Century (so far) reader poll. See also Hot Leg Stone Gods References External links Atlantic Records artists Brit Award winners Comedy rock musical groups Cooking Vinyl artists English glam metal musical groups English hard rock musical groups English heavy metal musical groups Ivor Novello Award winners Kerrang! Awards winners Musical groups established in 1999 Musical groups disestablished in 2006 Musical groups reestablished in 2011 Musical groups from Suffolk Musical quartets Sibling musical groups PIAS Recordings artists MTV Europe Music Award winners 1999 establishments in England
true
[ "\"Rez\" is a non-album track by English electronic music group Underworld, originally released in 1993 in the UK. It became a popular club hit and live track in Underworld's sets, despite the fact it could not be found on an album. However, it did appear on many compilations, b-sides, and even appeared on a bonus disc for Second Toughest in the Infants (1996). The first promo release of the single was pressed onto pink vinyl, and is highly collectible as it has another non-album track, \"Why, Why, Why\". Due to this track's obscurity there are many bootlegs of it. The more common release has \"Cowgirl\" on it. There is also a limited white vinyl pressing available in the US.\n\nTrack listing \n\n 12\" / Junior Boy's Own / COLLECT 002 (UK) Promo Pink Vinyl\n \"Rez\" – 9:55\n \"Why, Why, Why\" – 12:14\n\n 12\" / Junior Boy's Own / COLLECT 002 (UK)\n \"Rez\" - 9:55\n \"Cowgirl\" - 8:30\n\n 12\" / Junior Boy's Own / JBO 13 (UK)\n \"Rez\" - 9:55\n \"Cowgirl\" - 8:30\n\n 12\" / Junior Boy's Own / JBO 1001 (UK) 1995\n \"Rez\" - 9:55\n \"Cowgirl\" - 8:30\n\n 12\" / Logic / Junior Boy's Own / LOC 188 (GERMAN) 1996 Promo\n \"Born Slippy\" - 11:37\n \"Rez\" - 9:55\n\n 12\" / Wax Trax! / TVT Records / TVT 8718-0 (US)\n \"Rez\" - 9:55\n \"Cowgirl\" - 8:30\n\n 12\" / Simply Vinyl (S12) / S12DJ118 (UK) Reissue\n \"Rez\" - 9:55\n \"Cowgirl\" - 8:30\n\n 12\" / Dance Train Classics / 541 / 541416 500462 (BELGIUM) Reissue\n U2 - \"Lemon\" (Perfecto Mix) - 8:54\n Underworld - \"Rez\" - 9:55\n\n 12\" / I Love Techno Classics / 541 / 541416 501471 (BELGIUM) Reissue\n Dave Angel - \"Airborne\" (Carl Craig Remix) - 11:39\n Underworld - \"Rez\" - 9:55\n\nNotes \n The text \"CLOUD HAT REMEMBER THIS\" is etched into the run-out groove of the COLLECT 002 12\".\n Unofficial bootleg remixes of 'Rez' / 'Cowgirl' by breakz DJ's 'Atomic Hooligan' were deemed good enough by Underworld's record label and led to their inclusion as remixers of \"Born Slippy .NUXX 2003\" in 2003\n The White Island EP (CD & 2x12\") by Salt Tank features a track inspired by Underworld's \"Rez\". \"Rezmorize\", as the name suggests, is an homage to Underworld's famous instrumental track.\n Underworld's labelmates, Futureshock, were also inspired by \"Rez\"'s b-side, \"Why, Why, Why\", which is sampled heavily in \"The Question\", and was released on the JBO label offshoot, Fuju.\n After hearing the song at a performance, Tetsuya Mizuguchi decided to rename his at-the-time work in progress game from K-Project to Rez. The name stayed into its release.\n\nAppearances \n \"Rez\" appears on numerous dance compilations.\n \"Rez\" appears on the 1994 Underworld EP Dirty Epic/Cowgirl.\n \"Rez\" appears in the film Vanilla Sky.\n \"Rez\" was used in an episode on the third season of Alias.\n A remix of \"Rez\" was played during the Athletes' Parade of the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in London.\n \"Rez\" and \"Why Why Why\" appears on the bonus 8 cm disc on the re-released Japanese Dubnobasswithmyheadman (2001).\n \"Rez\" and \"Why Why Why\" both appear on Underworld's compilation 1992–2012 The Anthology (2012).\n \"Why, Why, Why\" appears on the compilation/magazine Volume 8 as a 5:15 edit.\n \"Why, Why, Why\" appears on the compilation/magazine Wasted – The Best of Volume, part 1'' as an 8:20 remix, incorrectly labelled \"Change\" on the cover.\n \"Rez\" appeared on the closing sequence of Japanese TV channel TV Asahi from 2003 to 2008.\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nUnderworldlive.com\nSingle information from the unofficial Underworld discography web site - BigScreenSatellite\n\nUnderworld (band) songs\n1993 singles\n1993 songs\nSongs written by Darren Emerson\nSongs written by Rick Smith (musician)\nSongs written by Karl Hyde", "\"Why Me\" is an American country and gospel song written and recorded by American country music singer and songwriter Kris Kristofferson.\n\nSong history\nKristofferson had become the toast of Nashville in the early 1970s, with the massive success of compositions including \"For the Good Times\", \"Me and Bobby McGee\", \"Sunday Morning Coming Down\", and \"Help Me Make It Through the Night\", among many others. He had a hit of his own as well, with \"Lovin' Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again)\".\n\n\"Why Me\" was recorded by Kristofferson in 1972, featuring backing vocals by soon-to-be wife Rita Coolidge and up-and-coming singer-songwriter Larry Gatlin. It was released on the album Jesus Was a Capricorn in 1973, and became the biggest hit of his career.\n\nAccording to country music historian Bill Malone, Kristofferson wrote the song during an emotionally low period of his life after having attended a religious service conducted by the Rev. Jimmie Rogers Snow. Malone wrote, \"'Why Me, Lord'\" - as the song is sometimes known - \"may seem greatly out of character for Kristofferson, but it can be interpreted as his own personal religious rephrasing of 'Sunday Morning Coming Down.' In this case, he is 'coming down' not from drugs, but from the whole hedonistic euphoria of the (1960s).\" Malone described Kristofferson's gruff vocal styling as \"perfect\" for the song, since \"he sounds like a man who has lived a lot but is now humbling himself before God.\"\n\nKristofferson said he went with friends to the church service where he was moved by Larry Gatlin's song \"Help Me (Lord)\". He said that he had never thought of needing help, but he was at a low point in his life. When the pastor asked the congregation, \"Is anybody feeling lost?\" \"Up goes my hand,\" Kristofferson says. The Pastor then asked, \"Are you ready to accept Christ? Kneel down there.\" \"I'm kneeling there,\" Kristofferson continues, \"and I carry a big load of guilt around...and I was just out of control, crying. It was a release. It really shook me up.\" Kristofferson later said, \"It was just a personal thing I was going through at the time. I had some kind of experience that I can't even explain.\"\n\nKristofferson met June Carter Cash and Johnny Cash in a hotel room in 1972 to play them two songs he had written. Kristofferson had just attended a rough screening of a movie Johnny and June were heavily involved in, entitled The Gospel Road. Johnny Cash's memoir Man in Black reiterated the story that Larry Gatlin sang \"Help Me\" at the Evangel Temple, which inspired Kristofferson to write the song. Kristofferson also played Cash the song \"Burden of Freedom\", which was used in The Gospel Road.\n\nRecognition and awards\n\"Why Me\" was Kristofferson's lone major country hit as a solo recording artist, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in July 1973. The song peaked only at No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100, but had at that time one of the longer runs (19 weeks) in the top 40 and the most chart reversals (6) in one run on the Hot 100. The song spent 38 weeks in the Hot 100 consecutively, almost tying the record set by Johnny Mathis' song \"Wonderful! Wonderful!\" on the charts for 39 weeks. The song ranked sixth on the list of Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1973.\n\n\"Why Me\" was certified gold for sales of one million units by the Recording Industry Association of America.\n\nChart performance\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nCover versions\nElvis Presley incorporated the song, retitled \"Why Me Lord\", into his live shows beginning in January 1974 up until his last concert tour. It was first released on the live album, Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis in June 1974. The recording is from his March 20, 1974 concert in Memphis, Tennessee. He often introduced the song for J.D. Sumner to sing \"one of his favorite songs.\" Sumner would sing the verses and Elvis would join on the chorus along with the back-up singers. Presley also recorded the \"B\" side of the single, \"Help Me\", written by Larry Gatlin, in December 1973, and it remained part of his live shows as well.\nConnie Smith recorded a version of \"Why Me\" on her 1973 album God Is Abundant.\nMelba Montgomery recorded \"Why Me\" in 1973 on her album Melba Montgomery.\nTanya Tucker included \"Why Me Lord\" on her 1974 album Would You Lay with Me (In a Field of Stone).\nGeorge Jones recorded a version for his 1974 album In a Gospel Way.\nDavid Allan Coe included \"Why Me\" on his 1977 album Texas Moon.\nBritish singer Cliff Richard recorded a version for his 1978 album Small Corners.\nWillie Nelson included a version of \"Why Me\" alongside several other covers of songs written by Kris Kristofferson on his aptly titled 1979 album Sings Kristofferson.\nMerle Haggard recorded a version, released on his 1981 album What a Friend We Have in Jesus.\nBell Gardens released a version of \"Why Me Lord\" on their 2014 album \"Slow Dawns For Lost Conclusions\" \nSlovenian a capella group New Swing Quartet recorded a version, released on the 1985 album Oh, Happy Day, titled \"Why Me Lord\".\nCarlene Davis recorded a version entitled \"Why Me Lord\" on her 1992 album Jesus Is Only A Prayer Away.\nJohnny Cash also recorded a version of the song titled \"Why Me Lord\" on his 1994 album American Recordings.\nConway Twitty released a version on his 1975 album, Linda on My Mind, and then another longer version on his 1994 The Conway Twitty Collection box set.\nChicago punk band The Smoking Popes recorded a version of this song for their 2001 album The Party's Over.\nThe Gaither Vocal Band performed a powerful version of the song during a 2006 Homecoming performance in Toronto. The song was performed with pianist Anthony Burger.\nDavid Crowder Band recorded a version for their final album, Give Us Rest, which was released in 2012.\nGospel artist CeCe Winans recorded a version on her 2017 album Let Them Fall In Love.\nWolfgang Hildebrandt also recorded a version of the song titled \"Why Me Lord\" on his 2018 album Country Love Songs.\nJosh Turner recorded the song as a duet with Kristofferson on his 2020 album Country State of Mind (album)\n\nReferences\n\n1973 songs\n1973 singles\nKris Kristofferson songs\nNumber-one singles in South Africa\nSongs written by Kris Kristofferson\nMonument Records singles" ]
[ "Corey Taylor", "Life" ]
C_a89548a0290942aaa7da18a4e96b4631_1
When was he born?
1
When was Corey Taylor born?
Corey Taylor
Corey Todd Taylor was born on December 8, 1973 in Des Moines, Iowa. He was mostly raised by his single mother in Waterloo, Iowa, a place described by Taylor as a "hole in the ground with buildings around it". He is of Irish, German and Native American descent on his father's side, and Dutch and Irish on his mother's side. In 1979, Taylor and his mother saw the sci-fi series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Before the series, there was a trailer for the 1978 horror film Halloween. Taylor said this "developed some sense of Slipknot in [himself]". While Halloween introduced Taylor to masks and horror themes, Taylor's grandmother introduced him to rock music, showing him a collection of Elvis Presley records from the 1950s to 1970s. He especially found songs like "Teddy Bear", "In the Ghetto", and "Suspicious Minds" to appeal to his interests the most, describing them as "good times". Taylor also began listening to Black Sabbath at a young age, beginning with their early work. Taylor, along with his mother and sister, lived at one point in an "old dilapidated farmhouse" which on days in late autumn would "look like Black Sabbath album covers". By age 15, he had developed a drug addiction and had overdosed on cocaine twice. By this time, he was living in Waterloo, but later set out on his own and ended up at his grandmother's house in Des Moines. She took legal custody of him so that he could continue going to school, and she helped him buy musical equipment. When Taylor was 18, he left his grandmother's house and went to various places in Iowa, Des Moines being a place to which he frequently returned. In 2017, on an episode of Viceland's The Therapist, Taylor revealed that he was sexually assaulted at the age of 10 by a 16-year-old friend. Taylor stated that he never told anyone about the incident until he was "probably 18" because his abuser "threatened to hurt [him] and threatened to hurt [his] mom". At age 18, when Taylor was living with his grandmother, he attempted suicide by way of overdose. His ex-girlfriend's mother drove him to the hospital in Des Moines and doctors were able to resuscitate him. He describes this as the lowest point in his life. Taylor first met his father when he was 30 years old, and now has a relationship with him, although he said their paths do not cross that often. CANNOTANSWER
Corey Todd Taylor was born on December 8, 1973
Corey Todd Taylor (born December 8, 1973) is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. He is known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the bands Slipknot and Stone Sour. Taylor co-founded Stone Sour with drummer Joel Ekman in 1992, playing in the Des Moines area, and working on a demo. He joined Slipknot in 1997 to replace their original vocalist and has subsequently released six studio albums with them. After the first two Slipknot albums went Platinum, Taylor revived Stone Sour to record an album and tour in 2002. His debut solo studio album, CMFT, was released on October 2, 2020, by Roadrunner Records. He has worked with several bands, including Junk Beer Kidnap Band, Korn, Disturbed, Apocalyptica, Code Orange, Anthrax, Steel Panther, Falling in Reverse, and Soulfly. Early life Corey Todd Taylor was born on December 8, 1973, in Des Moines, Iowa. He was mostly raised by his single mother in Waterloo, Iowa, a place described by Taylor as a "hole in the ground with buildings around it". He is of German, Irish and Native American descent on his father's side, and Dutch and Irish on his mother's side. Around 1979, Taylor and his mother saw the sci-fi series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Before the series, there was a trailer for the 1978 horror film Halloween. Taylor said this "developed some sense of Slipknot in [himself]". While Halloween introduced Taylor to masks and horror themes, Taylor's grandmother introduced him to rock music, showing him a collection of Elvis Presley records from the 1950s to 1970s. He especially found songs like "Teddy Bear", "In the Ghetto", and "Suspicious Minds" to appeal to his interests the most, describing them as "good times". Taylor also began listening to Black Sabbath at a young age, beginning with their early work. By age 15, he had developed a drug addiction and had overdosed on cocaine twice. By this time, he was living in Waterloo, but later set out on his own and ended up at his grandmother's house in Des Moines. She took legal custody of him so that he could continue going to school, and she helped him buy musical equipment. When Taylor was 18, he left his grandmother's house and went to various places in Iowa, Des Moines being a place to which he frequently returned. In 2017, on an episode of Viceland's The Therapist, Taylor revealed that he was sexually abused at the age of 10 by a 16-year-old friend. Taylor stated that he never told anyone about the incident until he was "probably 18" because his abuser "threatened to hurt [him] and threatened to hurt [his] mom". At age 18, when Taylor was living with his grandmother, he attempted suicide by way of overdose. His ex-girlfriend's mother drove him to the hospital in Des Moines and doctors were able to resuscitate him. He describes this as the lowest point in his life. Taylor first met his father when he was 30 years old, and now has a relationship with him, although he said their paths do not cross that often. Music career Stone Sour Taylor is a founding member of American hard rock band Stone Sour. After he formed the band in 1992 with drummer Joel Ekman, Shawn Economaki joined filling in the bass position, leaving the electric guitar position to be filled by Josh Rand. Stone Sour recorded a demo album in 1993, and another in 1994. In 1997, Taylor was approached by the metal band, Slipknot, resulting in him abandoning Stone Sour while they were recording a demo album with Sean McMahon at SR studios. Taylor did not return until five years later to record their debut album, Stone Sour in 2002. Both Taylor and guitarist Josh Rand contacted Jim Root, Slipknot's guitarist, and Shawn Economaki, Stone Sour's original bassist, to begin writing songs for their debut album. Drummer Joel Ekman came back on board as well. This "reformation" later resulted in Stone Sour recording at Catamount Studios in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Their self-titled debut album was released August 27, 2002, and it debuted at number 46 on the Billboard 200. Their second album, Come What(ever) May debuted at number four on the Billboard 200. It was released August 1, 2006, and charted on several different charts. Live in Moscow is currently their only album specifically released only for download. During the recording of the album, drummer Joel Ekman left the band for personal reasons. As a result, drummer Roy Mayorga was recruited, taking his place. The group released their third studio album, Audio Secrecy, on September 7, 2010. Later, Corey Taylor announced the release of a concept double album with Stone Sour. The albums are titled "House of Gold & Bones". During the process of making the double album, bassist Shawn Economaki left the band. He was temporarily replaced for touring purposes by Johny Chow. The first part was released in October 2012 and the second part in April 2013. There are 23 songs in total, 11 on the first part and 12 on the second. In addition to these two albums is a four-part comic book series written by Taylor and published by Dark Horse Comics, which went on sale in 2013. With these albums came a story that was written by Taylor that coincide with the album. Fans can also construct a miniature "house of gold and bones" from the packaging design of the physical versions of the two albums. Taylor has also said that he would like to finish off the project by making the story into a movie but nothing has come of this yet. Slipknot In Des Moines, Iowa, Joey Jordison, Shawn Crahan, and Mick Thomson approached him asking him to join Slipknot. He agreed to go to one of their practices, and ended up singing in front of them. Of Slipknot's nine members, Corey was the sixth to join the band. Performing with Slipknot, he would also come to be known as "Number Eight", since the band follows a numbering scheme for its members, ranging from 0–8. According to Shawn Crahan, Corey wanted number eight, because it symbolizes infinity. Feeling he could expand more inside Slipknot than in Stone Sour, Taylor temporarily quit Stone Sour, even though they were recording an album with Sean McMahon. Taylor's first gig with Slipknot was on August 24, 1997, which according to band members did not go well. During his first gig, Taylor was performing with facepaint instead of a mask; however, for his second show on September 12, he wore a mask that resembles his debut album mask. Taylor has recorded with Slipknot since the release of their second demo album, a self-titled demo used to promote the band to prospective labels and producers. As their permanent vocalist, he recorded with Slipknot at Indigo Ranch in Malibu, California, and released Slipknot, the band's debut album that peaked at number one on the Top Heatseekers chart, went double platinum in the United States, and was included in the 2006 book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Taylor was accused of copyright infringement regarding the lyrics of the song "Purity", but no action was taken. Taylor began recording for their second studio album, Iowa, in 2001 at Sound City and Sound Image in Van Nuys, Los Angeles. It was released August 28, 2001, and peaked at number one on the UK Albums Chart, as well as number three on the Billboard 200. While writing Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses), Taylor decided to write lyrics that would not warrant an explicit label. It peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. All Hope Is Gone was the first Slipknot album to peak at number one on the Billboard 200. Other work Taylor has appeared as a guest musician on albums by Soulfly, Apocalyptica, Damageplan, Steel Panther, and Code Orange. At one point, he was heavily involved in the recording of thrash metal band Anthrax's album, Worship Music, but the sessions remain unreleased. He also contributed to the Roadrunner United all-star album in 2005, providing vocals for the song "Rich Man". Taylor also made a brief appearance in Steel Panther's singles "Death to All but Metal", "Eyes of a Panther", and "Asian Hooker". In 2006, Taylor founded the record company Great Big Mouth Records. Taylor has produced two albums: Facecage's self-titled album and Walls of Jericho's Redemption. Taylor provided guest narration on the track "Repentance" for Dream Theater's 2007 album Systematic Chaos. In an interview with Billboard, Taylor confirmed that on January 13, 2009, he was planning on making a solo album, as well as returning to his side project Stone Sour after Slipknot's All Hope Is Gone World Tour. Taylor has stated that he was writing songs that "don't fit either of his main bands." He describes them as a cross between Foo Fighters, Johnny Cash, and Social Distortion, saying that there's "a country background that comes built-in with living in Iowa". On March 30, 2009, it was confirmed that Taylor and the Junk Beer Kidnap Band would be performing at Rockfest in 2009. The group performed on April 24, 2009, at People's Court in Des Moines, Iowa, marking Taylor's first official solo show. Taylor performs with his band the Dum Fux with Denny Harvey, who make covers for 1970s punk rock and 1980s hair metal. Taylor also performs with Audacious P, a band that is primarily a Tenacious D cover band. Rapper Tech N9ne confirmed that Taylor was to perform on his album K.O.D., but was removed because Taylor did not submit his vocals in time. Taylor recently admitted that he tried out for the vacant singer spot in the band Velvet Revolver, but said that it just did not work out. However, according to a recent Billboard article, it seems likely that he may in fact become the vocalist for Velvet Revolver, though no official confirmation has been made. Duff McKagan added that they can neither "confirm or deny" Taylor's membership in the band but believes that Taylor is the "real deal". Slash has since ruled Taylor out as the possible new vocalist explaining that "[it] just wasn't right" although he does love him. Taylor has, however, recorded 10 new songs with the band, although drummer Matt Sorum stated it is unlikely they will ever be released. Taylor explained to Mark Hoppus on Hoppus on Music that he and McKagan were writing new music for a possible new supergroup. On June 21, 2018, Taylor featured on the track "The Hunt" by metallic hardcore band Code Orange, the second track of the 3-track EP The Hurt Will Go On. In April 2019, Taylor collaborated on the song "Drugs" by the band Falling in Reverse. In September 2019, he was featured on Nostalgia Critic's parody album of Pink Floyd's The Wall on a cover of the opening theme for SpongeBob SquarePants. Taylor released his solo album, CMFT, on October 2, 2020, via Roadrunner Records. The first two singles, "Black Eyes Blue" and "CMFT Must Be Stopped", were released on July 29, 2020. Taylor mentioned in an October 3, 2020, interview about a followup album entitled CMF2, which would be completed prior to a tour supporting both it and CMFT. He contributed a cover of the Metallica song "Holier Than Thou" to the charity tribute album The Metallica Blacklist, released in September 2021. Film appearances On December 4, 2013, Taylor joined the cast of Fear Clinic. He played Bauer, one of the employees of the clinic who struggles to keep things under control when all hell breaks loose. He appeared in the 2013 horror film Bullied. In October 2015, Taylor provided the roars for the character of The Fisher King in the Doctor Who episode "Before the Flood". Taylor also appeared as a cameo in Sharknado 4, and will appear in Bad Candy. Style and influence Corey Taylor told Loudwire in 2015 that if it were not for Faith No More, he "wouldn't be here today". While recovering from an attempted suicide, he saw the band perform "Epic" live on the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards and the performance inspired him to begin writing and performing music again. Corey Taylor had once been quoted that Pearl Jam had hugely influenced and inspired his music, saying that the group was "one of the biggest and best rock bands of all time". The first two Slipknot albums with Taylor's vocals, Slipknot and Iowa, both contain substantial explicit content. Many critics claimed Taylor relied on the profanity, which is why Slipknot's third album, Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) is profanity-free, (with the exceptions of the word "bitch" on the song "Duality" and "bastard" on the spoken intro of "Pulse of the Maggots"), and did not warrant the explicit label. Compared with the previous vocalist for Slipknot, Anders Colsefni, Taylor has a vocal style that was characterized by ex-drummer Joey Jordison as "really good melodic singing". Taylor's vocal style, which contains at times melodic singing, growling, screaming, shouting, and rapping, led him to place at number 86 on the Hit Parader's Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time and is often compared to other vocalists such as Ivan Moody, John Bush, Phil Anselmo, and Jamey Jasta. Taylor expressed admiration for vocalists Bruce Dickinson, David Lee Roth, James Hetfield and Bruce Springsteen, but on his ideal rock frontman he states, "Freddie Mercury — nobody touches him. He is the gold standard, as far as I'm concerned. He was just electric from the second he hit the stage. It didn't matter if he was sick or tired or whatever, when he was on, man, it was like you turned a spotlight on and he just shone." Taylor's two major projects have contrasting temperaments. Slipknot is considered to be heavy metal, nu metal and alternative metal, and expresses moods such as depression, hostility, anger, misanthropy, and rebellion. Stone Sour is classified as hard rock, expressing moods of bleakness and somberness as well as anger and rebellion. Personal life On September 17, 2002, Taylor's then-fiancée, Scarlett, gave birth to their son Griffin Parker. Taylor also has two daughters named Angeline and Aravis from earlier relationships. Taylor and Scarlett married on March 11, 2004, and divorced in 2007. On November 13, 2009, Taylor married Stephanie Luby at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas. They also had a daughter named Ryan. On December 28, 2017, Taylor announced on his Twitter that he and Luby had separated. On April 7, 2019, it was announced on his Instagram page that he became engaged to Alicia Dove, creator of "Cherry Bombs". On October 6, 2019, the pair married. Taylor has had problems with alcoholism, which Scarlett helped him through as well as keeping him from committing suicide. In 2006, Taylor told MTV that he had attempted to jump off a balcony of the eighth floor of The Hyatt on Sunset Boulevard in 2003, but "somehow [Scarlett] stopped me". This was later recanted by Taylor in an interview with Kerrang! radio and stated that it was, in fact, his friend Thom Hazaert who physically stopped him from jumping. Scarlett then told him that either he would have to get sober or she would annul their marriage. Before Stone Sour started recording Come What(ever) May in January 2006, Taylor was sober. On August 3, 2009, he co-hosted the 2009 Kerrang! Awards alongside Scott Ian of Anthrax. The following year, they both once again co-hosted The Kerrang! Awards, where Taylor collected the K! Services to Metal award on behalf of Paul Gray, who died after an accidental overdose of morphine and fentanyl. In early September 2010, Taylor announced that his book, Seven Deadly Sins: Settling The Argument Between Born Bad And Damaged Good, would be released on July 12, 2011, through Da Capo Press. In April 2020, it was reported that Taylor switched to a plant-based diet to improve cardiovascular health. In August 2021, Taylor tested positive for COVID-19 after the conclusion of a solo tour in support of his album CMFT. He was symptomatic despite being vaccinated, although he credited the vaccine for preventing him from becoming seriously ill. Discography Studio albums Singles As lead artist As featured artist Guest appearances Filmography Bibliography Equipment Awards Revolver Golden Gods Awards |- | 2010 || Corey Taylor || Best Vocalist || |- | 2013 || Corey Taylor || Best Vocalist || Loudwire Music Awards |- | 2015 || Corey Taylor || Rock Titan || |- | 2017 || Corey Taylor || Best Vocalist || Kerrang! Awards |- | 2018 || Corey Taylor || Legend || References Bibliography External links Corey Taylor interview Metal Underground: interview NY rock: article IGN: article Duff McKagan on Corey Taylor in Seattle Weekly 1973 births American heavy metal singers American male singers American male guitarists American heavy metal guitarists American baritones 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers American people of German descent American people who self-identify as being of Native American descent American people of Irish descent American people of Dutch descent Grammy Award winners Musicians from Des Moines, Iowa Living people Writers from Des Moines, Iowa Writers from Waterloo, Iowa Native American male actors Native American singers Nu metal singers Roadrunner Records artists Slipknot (band) members Stone Sour members Social critics Singers with a five-octave vocal range Singers from Iowa Alternative metal musicians American hard rock musicians Male actors from Iowa Teenage Time Killers members
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[ "Since the first human spaceflight by the Soviet Union, citizens of 42 countries have flown in space. For each nationality, the launch date of the first mission is listed. The list is based on the nationality of the person at the time of the launch. Only 3 of the 42 \"first flyers\" have been women (Helen Sharman for the United Kingdom in 1991, Anousheh Ansari for Iran in 2006, and Yi So-yeon for South Korea in 2008). Only three nations (Soviet Union/Russia, U.S., China) have launched their own crewed spacecraft, with the Soviets/Russians and the American programs providing rides to other nations' astronauts. Twenty-seven \"first flights\" occurred on Soviet or Russian flights while the United States carried fourteen.\n\nTimeline\nNote: All dates given are UTC. Countries indicated in bold have achieved independent human spaceflight capability.\n\nNotes\n\nOther claims\nThe above list uses the nationality at the time of launch. Lists with differing criteria might include the following people:\n Pavel Popovich, first launched 12 August 1962, was the first Ukrainian-born man in space. At the time, Ukraine was a part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.\n Michael Collins, first launched 18 July 1966 was born in Italy to American parents and was an American citizen when he went into space.\n William Anders, American citizen, first launched 21 December 1968, was the first Hong Kong-born man in space.\n Vladimir Shatalov, first launched 14 January 1969, was the first Kazakh-born man in space. At the time, Kazakhstan was a part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.\n Bill Pogue, first launched 16 November 1973, as an inductee to the 5 Civilized Tribes Hall of Fame can lay claim to being the first Native American in space. See John Herrington below regarding technicality of tribal registration.\n Pyotr Klimuk, first launched 18 December 1973, was the first Belorussian-born man in space. At the time, Belarus was a part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.\n Vladimir Dzhanibekov, first launched 16 March 1978, was the first Uzbek-born man in space. At the time, Uzbekistan was a part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.\n Paul D. Scully-Power, first launched 5 October 1984, was born in Australia, but was an American citizen when he went into space; Australian law at the time forbade dual-citizenship.\n Taylor Gun-Jin Wang, first launched 29 April 1985, was born in China to Chinese parents, but was an American citizen when he went into space.\n Lodewijk van den Berg, launched 29 April 1985, was born in the Netherlands, but was an American citizen when he went into space.\n Patrick Baudry, first launched 17 June 1985, was born in French Cameroun (now part of Cameroon), but was a French citizen when he went into space.\n Shannon Lucid, first launched 17 June 1985, was born in China to American parents of European descent, and was an American citizen when she went into space.\n Franklin Chang-Diaz, first launched 12 January 1986, was born in Costa Rica, but was an American citizen when he went into space\n Musa Manarov, first launched 21 December 1987, was the first Azerbaijan-born man in space. At the time, Azerbaijan was a part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.\n Anatoly Solovyev, first launched 7 June 1988, was the first Latvian-born man in space. At the time, Latvia was a part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.\n Sergei Konstantinovich Krikalev and Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Volkov became Russian rather than Soviet citizens while still in orbit aboard Mir, making them the first purely Russian citizens in space.\n James H. Newman, American citizen, first launched 12 September 1993, was born in the portion of the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands that is now the Federated States of Micronesia.\n Talgat Musabayev, first launched 1 July 1994, was born in the Kazakh SSR and is known in Kazakhstan as the \"first cosmonaut of independent Kazakhstan\", but was a Russian citizen when he went into space.\n Frederick W. Leslie, American citizen, launched 20 October 1995, was born in Panama Canal Zone (now Panama).\n Andy Thomas, first launched 19 May 1996, was born in Australia but like Paul D. Scully-Power was an American citizen when he went to space; Australian law at the time forbade dual-citizenship.\n Carlos I. Noriega, first launched 15 May 1997, was born in Peru, but was an American citizen when he went into space.\n Bjarni Tryggvason, launched 7 August 1997, was born in Iceland, but was a Canadian citizen when he went into space.\n Salizhan Sharipov, first launched 22 January 1998, was born in Kyrgyzstan (then the Kirghiz SSR), but was a Russian citizen when he went into space. Sharipov is of Uzbek ancestry.\n Philippe Perrin, first launched 5 June 2002, was born in Morocco, but was a French citizen when he went into space.\n John Herrington, an American citizen first launched 24 November 2002, is the first tribal registered Native American in space (Chickasaw). See also Bill Pogue above.\n Fyodor Yurchikhin, first launched 7 October 2002, was born in Georgia (then the Georgian SSR). He was a Russian citizen at the time he went into space and is of Pontian Greek descent.\n Joseph M. Acaba, first launched 15 March 2009, was born in the U.S. state of California to American parents of Puerto Rican descent.\n\nGallery\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nCurrent Space Demographics, compiled by William Harwood, CBS News Space Consultant, and Rob Navias, NASA.\n\nLists of firsts in space\nSpaceflight timelines", "This is a list of notable books by young authors and of books written by notable writers in their early years. These books were written, or substantially completed, before the author's twentieth birthday. \n\nAlexandra Adornetto (born 18 April 1994) wrote her debut novel, The Shadow Thief, when she was 13. It was published in 2007. Other books written by her as a teenager are: The Lampo Circus (2008), Von Gobstopper's Arcade (2009), Halo (2010) and Hades (2011).\nMargery Allingham (1904–1966) had her first novel, Blackkerchief Dick, about smugglers in 17th century Essex, published in 1923, when she was 19.\nJorge Amado (1912–2001) had his debut novel, The Country of Carnival, published in 1931, when he was 18.\nPrateek Arora wrote his debut novel Village 1104 at the age of 16. It was published in 2010.\nDaisy Ashford (1881–1972) wrote The Young Visiters while aged nine. This novella was first published in 1919, preserving her juvenile punctuation and spelling. An earlier work, The Life of Father McSwiney, was dictated to her father when she was four. It was published almost a century later in 1983.\nAmelia Atwater-Rhodes (born 1984) had her first novel, In the Forests of the Night, published in 1999. Subsequent novels include Demon in My View (2000), Shattered Mirror (2001), Midnight Predator (2002), Hawksong (2003) and Snakecharm (2004).\nJane Austen (1775–1817) wrote Lady Susan, a short epistolary novel, between 1793 and 1795 when she was aged 18-20.\nRuskin Bond (born 1934) wrote his semi-autobiographical novel The Room on the Roof when he was 17. It was published in 1955.\nMarjorie Bowen (1885–1952) wrote the historical novel The Viper of Milan when she was 16. Published in 1906 after several rejections, it became a bestseller.\nOliver Madox Brown (1855–1874) finished his novel Gabriel Denver in early 1872, when he was 17. It was published the following year.\nPamela Brown (1924–1989) finished her children's novel about an amateur theatre company, The Swish of the Curtain (1941), when she was 16 and later wrote other books about the stage.\nCeleste and Carmel Buckingham wrote The Lost Princess when they were 11 and 9.\nFlavia Bujor (born 8 August 1988) wrote The Prophecy of the Stones (2002) when she was 13.\nLord Byron (1788–1824) published two volumes of poetry in his teens, Fugitive Pieces and Hours of Idleness.\nTaylor Caldwell's The Romance of Atlantis was written when she was 12.\n (1956–1976), Le Don de Vorace, was published in 1974.\nHilda Conkling (1910–1986) had her poems published in Poems by a Little Girl (1920), Shoes of the Wind (1922) and Silverhorn (1924).\nAbraham Cowley (1618–1667), Tragicall History of Piramus and Thisbe (1628), Poetical Blossoms (published 1633).\nMaureen Daly (1921–2006) completed Seventeenth Summer before she was 20. It was published in 1942.\nJuliette Davies (born 2000) wrote the first book in the JJ Halo series when she was eight years old. The series was published the following year.\nSamuel R. Delany (born 1 April 1942) published his The Jewels of Aptor in 1962.\nPatricia Finney's A Shadow of Gulls was published in 1977 when she was 18. Its sequel, The Crow Goddess, was published in 1978.\nBarbara Newhall Follett (1914–1939) wrote her first novel The House Without Windows at the age of eight. The manuscript was destroyed in a house fire and she later retyped her manuscript at the age of 12. The novel was published by Knopf publishing house in January 1927.\nFord Madox Ford (né Hueffer) (1873–1939) published in 1892 two children's stories, The Brown Owl and The Feather, and a novel, The Shifting of the Fire.\nAnne Frank (1929–1945) wrote her diary for two-and-a-half years starting on her 13th birthday. It was published posthumously as Het Achterhuis in 1947 and then in English translation in 1952 as Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. An unabridged translation followed in 1996.\nMiles Franklin wrote My Brilliant Career (1901) when she was a teenager.\nAlec Greven's How to Talk to Girls was published in 2008 when he was nine years old. Subsequently he has published How to Talk to Moms, How to Talk to Dads and How to Talk to Santa.\nFaïza Guène (born 1985) had Kiffe kiffe demain published in 2004, when she was 19. It has since been translated into 22 languages, including English (as Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow).\nSonya Hartnett (born 1968) was thirteen years old when she wrote her first novel, Trouble All the Way, which was published in Australia in 1984.\nAlex and Brett Harris wrote the best-selling book Do Hard Things (2008), a non-fiction book challenging teenagers to \"rebel against low expectations\", at age 19. Two years later came a follow-up book called Start Here (2010).\nGeorgette Heyer (1902–1974) wrote The Black Moth when she was 17 and received a publishing contract when she was 18. It was published just after she turned 19.\nSusan Hill (born 1942), The Enclosure, published in 1961.\nS. E. Hinton (born 1948), The Outsiders, first published in 1967.\nPalle Huld (1912–2010) wrote A Boy Scout Around the World (Jorden Rundt i 44 dage) when he was 15, following a sponsored journey around the world.\nGeorge Vernon Hudson (1867–1946) completed An Elementary Manual of New Zealand Entomology at the end of 1886, when he was 19, but not published until 1892.\nKatharine Hull (1921–1977) and Pamela Whitlock (1920–1982) wrote the children's outdoor adventure novel The Far-Distant Oxus in 1937. It was followed in 1938 by Escape to Persia and in 1939 by Oxus in Summer.\nLeigh Hunt (1784–1859) published Juvenilia; or, a Collection of Poems Written between the ages of Twelve and Sixteen by J. H. L. Hunt, Late of the Grammar School of Christ's Hospital in March 1801.\nKody Keplinger (born 1991) wrote her debut novel The DUFF when she was 17.\nGordon Korman (born 1963), This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall (1978), three sequels, and I Want to Go Home (1981).\nMatthew Gregory Lewis (1775–1818) wrote the Gothic novel The Monk, now regarded as a classic of the genre, before he was twenty. It was published in 1796.\nNina Lugovskaya (1918–1993), a painter, theater director and Gulag survivor, kept a diary in 1932–37, which shows strong social sensitivities. It was found in the Russian State Archives and published 2003. It appeared in English in the same year.\nJoyce Maynard (born 1953) completed Looking Back while she was 19. It was first published in 1973.\nMargaret Mitchell (1900–1949) wrote her novella Lost Laysen at the age of fifteen and gave the two notebooks containing the manuscript to her boyfriend, Henry Love Angel. The novel was published posthumously in 1996.\nBen Okri, the Nigerian poet and novelist, (born 1959) wrote his first book Flowers and Shadows while he was 19.\nAlice Oseman(born 1994) wrote the novel Solitaire when she was 17 and it was published in 2014.\nHelen Oyeyemi (born 1984) completed The Icarus Girl while still 18. First published in 2005.\nChristopher Paolini (born 1983) had Eragon, the first novel of the Inheritance Cycle, first published 2002.\nEmily Pepys (1833–1877), daughter of a bishop, wrote a vivid private journal over six months of 1844–45, aged ten. It was discovered much later and published in 1984.\nAnya Reiss (born 1991) wrote her play Spur of the Moment when she was 17. It was both performed and published in 2010, when she was 18.\nArthur Rimbaud (1854–1891) wrote almost all his prose and poetry while still a teenager, for example Le Soleil était encore chaud (1866), Le Bateau ivre (1871) and Une Saison en Enfer (1873).\nJohn Thomas Romney Robinson (1792–1882) saw his juvenile poems published in 1806, when he was 13.\nFrançoise Sagan (1935–2004) had Bonjour tristesse published in 1954, when she was 18.\nMary Shelley (1797–1851) completed Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus during May 1817, when she was 19. It was first published in the following year.\nMattie Stepanek (1990–2004), an American poet, published seven best-selling books of poetry.\nJohn Steptoe (1950–1989), author and illustrator, began his picture book Stevie at 16. It was published in 1969 in Life.\nAnna Stothard (born 1983) saw her Isabel and Rocco published when she was 19.\nDorothy Straight (born 1958) in 1962 wrote How the World Began, which was published by Pantheon Books in 1964. She holds the Guinness world record for the youngest female published author.\nJalaluddin Al-Suyuti (c. 1445–1505) wrote his first book, Sharh Al-Isti'aadha wal-Basmalah, at the age of 17.\nF. J. Thwaites (1908–1979) wrote his bestselling novel The Broken Melody when he was 19.\nJohn Kennedy Toole (1937–1969) wrote The Neon Bible in 1954 when he was 16. It was not published until 1989.\nAlec Waugh (1898–1981) wrote his novel about school life, The Loom of Youth, after leaving school. It was published in 1917.\nCatherine Webb (born 1986) had five young adult books published before she was 20: Mirror Dreams (2002), Mirror Wakes (2003), Waywalkers (2003), Timekeepers (2004) and The Extraordinary and Unusual Adventures of Horatio Lyle (February 2006).\nNancy Yi Fan (born 1993) published her debut Swordbird when she was 12. Other books she published as a teenager include Sword Quest (2008) and Sword Mountain (2012).\nKat Zhang (born 1991) was 20 when she sold, in a three-book deal, her entire Hybrid Chronicles trilogy. The first book, What's Left of Me, was published 2012.\n\nSee also \nLists of books\n\nReferences \n\nBooks Written By Children and Teenagers\nbooks\nChildren And Teenagers, Written By\nChi" ]
[ "Corey Taylor", "Life", "When was he born?", "Corey Todd Taylor was born on December 8, 1973" ]
C_a89548a0290942aaa7da18a4e96b4631_1
Where did he grow up?
2
Where did Corey Taylor grow up?
Corey Taylor
Corey Todd Taylor was born on December 8, 1973 in Des Moines, Iowa. He was mostly raised by his single mother in Waterloo, Iowa, a place described by Taylor as a "hole in the ground with buildings around it". He is of Irish, German and Native American descent on his father's side, and Dutch and Irish on his mother's side. In 1979, Taylor and his mother saw the sci-fi series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Before the series, there was a trailer for the 1978 horror film Halloween. Taylor said this "developed some sense of Slipknot in [himself]". While Halloween introduced Taylor to masks and horror themes, Taylor's grandmother introduced him to rock music, showing him a collection of Elvis Presley records from the 1950s to 1970s. He especially found songs like "Teddy Bear", "In the Ghetto", and "Suspicious Minds" to appeal to his interests the most, describing them as "good times". Taylor also began listening to Black Sabbath at a young age, beginning with their early work. Taylor, along with his mother and sister, lived at one point in an "old dilapidated farmhouse" which on days in late autumn would "look like Black Sabbath album covers". By age 15, he had developed a drug addiction and had overdosed on cocaine twice. By this time, he was living in Waterloo, but later set out on his own and ended up at his grandmother's house in Des Moines. She took legal custody of him so that he could continue going to school, and she helped him buy musical equipment. When Taylor was 18, he left his grandmother's house and went to various places in Iowa, Des Moines being a place to which he frequently returned. In 2017, on an episode of Viceland's The Therapist, Taylor revealed that he was sexually assaulted at the age of 10 by a 16-year-old friend. Taylor stated that he never told anyone about the incident until he was "probably 18" because his abuser "threatened to hurt [him] and threatened to hurt [his] mom". At age 18, when Taylor was living with his grandmother, he attempted suicide by way of overdose. His ex-girlfriend's mother drove him to the hospital in Des Moines and doctors were able to resuscitate him. He describes this as the lowest point in his life. Taylor first met his father when he was 30 years old, and now has a relationship with him, although he said their paths do not cross that often. CANNOTANSWER
He was mostly raised by his single mother in Waterloo, Iowa,
Corey Todd Taylor (born December 8, 1973) is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. He is known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the bands Slipknot and Stone Sour. Taylor co-founded Stone Sour with drummer Joel Ekman in 1992, playing in the Des Moines area, and working on a demo. He joined Slipknot in 1997 to replace their original vocalist and has subsequently released six studio albums with them. After the first two Slipknot albums went Platinum, Taylor revived Stone Sour to record an album and tour in 2002. His debut solo studio album, CMFT, was released on October 2, 2020, by Roadrunner Records. He has worked with several bands, including Junk Beer Kidnap Band, Korn, Disturbed, Apocalyptica, Code Orange, Anthrax, Steel Panther, Falling in Reverse, and Soulfly. Early life Corey Todd Taylor was born on December 8, 1973, in Des Moines, Iowa. He was mostly raised by his single mother in Waterloo, Iowa, a place described by Taylor as a "hole in the ground with buildings around it". He is of German, Irish and Native American descent on his father's side, and Dutch and Irish on his mother's side. Around 1979, Taylor and his mother saw the sci-fi series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Before the series, there was a trailer for the 1978 horror film Halloween. Taylor said this "developed some sense of Slipknot in [himself]". While Halloween introduced Taylor to masks and horror themes, Taylor's grandmother introduced him to rock music, showing him a collection of Elvis Presley records from the 1950s to 1970s. He especially found songs like "Teddy Bear", "In the Ghetto", and "Suspicious Minds" to appeal to his interests the most, describing them as "good times". Taylor also began listening to Black Sabbath at a young age, beginning with their early work. By age 15, he had developed a drug addiction and had overdosed on cocaine twice. By this time, he was living in Waterloo, but later set out on his own and ended up at his grandmother's house in Des Moines. She took legal custody of him so that he could continue going to school, and she helped him buy musical equipment. When Taylor was 18, he left his grandmother's house and went to various places in Iowa, Des Moines being a place to which he frequently returned. In 2017, on an episode of Viceland's The Therapist, Taylor revealed that he was sexually abused at the age of 10 by a 16-year-old friend. Taylor stated that he never told anyone about the incident until he was "probably 18" because his abuser "threatened to hurt [him] and threatened to hurt [his] mom". At age 18, when Taylor was living with his grandmother, he attempted suicide by way of overdose. His ex-girlfriend's mother drove him to the hospital in Des Moines and doctors were able to resuscitate him. He describes this as the lowest point in his life. Taylor first met his father when he was 30 years old, and now has a relationship with him, although he said their paths do not cross that often. Music career Stone Sour Taylor is a founding member of American hard rock band Stone Sour. After he formed the band in 1992 with drummer Joel Ekman, Shawn Economaki joined filling in the bass position, leaving the electric guitar position to be filled by Josh Rand. Stone Sour recorded a demo album in 1993, and another in 1994. In 1997, Taylor was approached by the metal band, Slipknot, resulting in him abandoning Stone Sour while they were recording a demo album with Sean McMahon at SR studios. Taylor did not return until five years later to record their debut album, Stone Sour in 2002. Both Taylor and guitarist Josh Rand contacted Jim Root, Slipknot's guitarist, and Shawn Economaki, Stone Sour's original bassist, to begin writing songs for their debut album. Drummer Joel Ekman came back on board as well. This "reformation" later resulted in Stone Sour recording at Catamount Studios in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Their self-titled debut album was released August 27, 2002, and it debuted at number 46 on the Billboard 200. Their second album, Come What(ever) May debuted at number four on the Billboard 200. It was released August 1, 2006, and charted on several different charts. Live in Moscow is currently their only album specifically released only for download. During the recording of the album, drummer Joel Ekman left the band for personal reasons. As a result, drummer Roy Mayorga was recruited, taking his place. The group released their third studio album, Audio Secrecy, on September 7, 2010. Later, Corey Taylor announced the release of a concept double album with Stone Sour. The albums are titled "House of Gold & Bones". During the process of making the double album, bassist Shawn Economaki left the band. He was temporarily replaced for touring purposes by Johny Chow. The first part was released in October 2012 and the second part in April 2013. There are 23 songs in total, 11 on the first part and 12 on the second. In addition to these two albums is a four-part comic book series written by Taylor and published by Dark Horse Comics, which went on sale in 2013. With these albums came a story that was written by Taylor that coincide with the album. Fans can also construct a miniature "house of gold and bones" from the packaging design of the physical versions of the two albums. Taylor has also said that he would like to finish off the project by making the story into a movie but nothing has come of this yet. Slipknot In Des Moines, Iowa, Joey Jordison, Shawn Crahan, and Mick Thomson approached him asking him to join Slipknot. He agreed to go to one of their practices, and ended up singing in front of them. Of Slipknot's nine members, Corey was the sixth to join the band. Performing with Slipknot, he would also come to be known as "Number Eight", since the band follows a numbering scheme for its members, ranging from 0–8. According to Shawn Crahan, Corey wanted number eight, because it symbolizes infinity. Feeling he could expand more inside Slipknot than in Stone Sour, Taylor temporarily quit Stone Sour, even though they were recording an album with Sean McMahon. Taylor's first gig with Slipknot was on August 24, 1997, which according to band members did not go well. During his first gig, Taylor was performing with facepaint instead of a mask; however, for his second show on September 12, he wore a mask that resembles his debut album mask. Taylor has recorded with Slipknot since the release of their second demo album, a self-titled demo used to promote the band to prospective labels and producers. As their permanent vocalist, he recorded with Slipknot at Indigo Ranch in Malibu, California, and released Slipknot, the band's debut album that peaked at number one on the Top Heatseekers chart, went double platinum in the United States, and was included in the 2006 book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Taylor was accused of copyright infringement regarding the lyrics of the song "Purity", but no action was taken. Taylor began recording for their second studio album, Iowa, in 2001 at Sound City and Sound Image in Van Nuys, Los Angeles. It was released August 28, 2001, and peaked at number one on the UK Albums Chart, as well as number three on the Billboard 200. While writing Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses), Taylor decided to write lyrics that would not warrant an explicit label. It peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. All Hope Is Gone was the first Slipknot album to peak at number one on the Billboard 200. Other work Taylor has appeared as a guest musician on albums by Soulfly, Apocalyptica, Damageplan, Steel Panther, and Code Orange. At one point, he was heavily involved in the recording of thrash metal band Anthrax's album, Worship Music, but the sessions remain unreleased. He also contributed to the Roadrunner United all-star album in 2005, providing vocals for the song "Rich Man". Taylor also made a brief appearance in Steel Panther's singles "Death to All but Metal", "Eyes of a Panther", and "Asian Hooker". In 2006, Taylor founded the record company Great Big Mouth Records. Taylor has produced two albums: Facecage's self-titled album and Walls of Jericho's Redemption. Taylor provided guest narration on the track "Repentance" for Dream Theater's 2007 album Systematic Chaos. In an interview with Billboard, Taylor confirmed that on January 13, 2009, he was planning on making a solo album, as well as returning to his side project Stone Sour after Slipknot's All Hope Is Gone World Tour. Taylor has stated that he was writing songs that "don't fit either of his main bands." He describes them as a cross between Foo Fighters, Johnny Cash, and Social Distortion, saying that there's "a country background that comes built-in with living in Iowa". On March 30, 2009, it was confirmed that Taylor and the Junk Beer Kidnap Band would be performing at Rockfest in 2009. The group performed on April 24, 2009, at People's Court in Des Moines, Iowa, marking Taylor's first official solo show. Taylor performs with his band the Dum Fux with Denny Harvey, who make covers for 1970s punk rock and 1980s hair metal. Taylor also performs with Audacious P, a band that is primarily a Tenacious D cover band. Rapper Tech N9ne confirmed that Taylor was to perform on his album K.O.D., but was removed because Taylor did not submit his vocals in time. Taylor recently admitted that he tried out for the vacant singer spot in the band Velvet Revolver, but said that it just did not work out. However, according to a recent Billboard article, it seems likely that he may in fact become the vocalist for Velvet Revolver, though no official confirmation has been made. Duff McKagan added that they can neither "confirm or deny" Taylor's membership in the band but believes that Taylor is the "real deal". Slash has since ruled Taylor out as the possible new vocalist explaining that "[it] just wasn't right" although he does love him. Taylor has, however, recorded 10 new songs with the band, although drummer Matt Sorum stated it is unlikely they will ever be released. Taylor explained to Mark Hoppus on Hoppus on Music that he and McKagan were writing new music for a possible new supergroup. On June 21, 2018, Taylor featured on the track "The Hunt" by metallic hardcore band Code Orange, the second track of the 3-track EP The Hurt Will Go On. In April 2019, Taylor collaborated on the song "Drugs" by the band Falling in Reverse. In September 2019, he was featured on Nostalgia Critic's parody album of Pink Floyd's The Wall on a cover of the opening theme for SpongeBob SquarePants. Taylor released his solo album, CMFT, on October 2, 2020, via Roadrunner Records. The first two singles, "Black Eyes Blue" and "CMFT Must Be Stopped", were released on July 29, 2020. Taylor mentioned in an October 3, 2020, interview about a followup album entitled CMF2, which would be completed prior to a tour supporting both it and CMFT. He contributed a cover of the Metallica song "Holier Than Thou" to the charity tribute album The Metallica Blacklist, released in September 2021. Film appearances On December 4, 2013, Taylor joined the cast of Fear Clinic. He played Bauer, one of the employees of the clinic who struggles to keep things under control when all hell breaks loose. He appeared in the 2013 horror film Bullied. In October 2015, Taylor provided the roars for the character of The Fisher King in the Doctor Who episode "Before the Flood". Taylor also appeared as a cameo in Sharknado 4, and will appear in Bad Candy. Style and influence Corey Taylor told Loudwire in 2015 that if it were not for Faith No More, he "wouldn't be here today". While recovering from an attempted suicide, he saw the band perform "Epic" live on the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards and the performance inspired him to begin writing and performing music again. Corey Taylor had once been quoted that Pearl Jam had hugely influenced and inspired his music, saying that the group was "one of the biggest and best rock bands of all time". The first two Slipknot albums with Taylor's vocals, Slipknot and Iowa, both contain substantial explicit content. Many critics claimed Taylor relied on the profanity, which is why Slipknot's third album, Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) is profanity-free, (with the exceptions of the word "bitch" on the song "Duality" and "bastard" on the spoken intro of "Pulse of the Maggots"), and did not warrant the explicit label. Compared with the previous vocalist for Slipknot, Anders Colsefni, Taylor has a vocal style that was characterized by ex-drummer Joey Jordison as "really good melodic singing". Taylor's vocal style, which contains at times melodic singing, growling, screaming, shouting, and rapping, led him to place at number 86 on the Hit Parader's Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time and is often compared to other vocalists such as Ivan Moody, John Bush, Phil Anselmo, and Jamey Jasta. Taylor expressed admiration for vocalists Bruce Dickinson, David Lee Roth, James Hetfield and Bruce Springsteen, but on his ideal rock frontman he states, "Freddie Mercury — nobody touches him. He is the gold standard, as far as I'm concerned. He was just electric from the second he hit the stage. It didn't matter if he was sick or tired or whatever, when he was on, man, it was like you turned a spotlight on and he just shone." Taylor's two major projects have contrasting temperaments. Slipknot is considered to be heavy metal, nu metal and alternative metal, and expresses moods such as depression, hostility, anger, misanthropy, and rebellion. Stone Sour is classified as hard rock, expressing moods of bleakness and somberness as well as anger and rebellion. Personal life On September 17, 2002, Taylor's then-fiancée, Scarlett, gave birth to their son Griffin Parker. Taylor also has two daughters named Angeline and Aravis from earlier relationships. Taylor and Scarlett married on March 11, 2004, and divorced in 2007. On November 13, 2009, Taylor married Stephanie Luby at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas. They also had a daughter named Ryan. On December 28, 2017, Taylor announced on his Twitter that he and Luby had separated. On April 7, 2019, it was announced on his Instagram page that he became engaged to Alicia Dove, creator of "Cherry Bombs". On October 6, 2019, the pair married. Taylor has had problems with alcoholism, which Scarlett helped him through as well as keeping him from committing suicide. In 2006, Taylor told MTV that he had attempted to jump off a balcony of the eighth floor of The Hyatt on Sunset Boulevard in 2003, but "somehow [Scarlett] stopped me". This was later recanted by Taylor in an interview with Kerrang! radio and stated that it was, in fact, his friend Thom Hazaert who physically stopped him from jumping. Scarlett then told him that either he would have to get sober or she would annul their marriage. Before Stone Sour started recording Come What(ever) May in January 2006, Taylor was sober. On August 3, 2009, he co-hosted the 2009 Kerrang! Awards alongside Scott Ian of Anthrax. The following year, they both once again co-hosted The Kerrang! Awards, where Taylor collected the K! Services to Metal award on behalf of Paul Gray, who died after an accidental overdose of morphine and fentanyl. In early September 2010, Taylor announced that his book, Seven Deadly Sins: Settling The Argument Between Born Bad And Damaged Good, would be released on July 12, 2011, through Da Capo Press. In April 2020, it was reported that Taylor switched to a plant-based diet to improve cardiovascular health. In August 2021, Taylor tested positive for COVID-19 after the conclusion of a solo tour in support of his album CMFT. He was symptomatic despite being vaccinated, although he credited the vaccine for preventing him from becoming seriously ill. Discography Studio albums Singles As lead artist As featured artist Guest appearances Filmography Bibliography Equipment Awards Revolver Golden Gods Awards |- | 2010 || Corey Taylor || Best Vocalist || |- | 2013 || Corey Taylor || Best Vocalist || Loudwire Music Awards |- | 2015 || Corey Taylor || Rock Titan || |- | 2017 || Corey Taylor || Best Vocalist || Kerrang! Awards |- | 2018 || Corey Taylor || Legend || References Bibliography External links Corey Taylor interview Metal Underground: interview NY rock: article IGN: article Duff McKagan on Corey Taylor in Seattle Weekly 1973 births American heavy metal singers American male singers American male guitarists American heavy metal guitarists American baritones 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers American people of German descent American people who self-identify as being of Native American descent American people of Irish descent American people of Dutch descent Grammy Award winners Musicians from Des Moines, Iowa Living people Writers from Des Moines, Iowa Writers from Waterloo, Iowa Native American male actors Native American singers Nu metal singers Roadrunner Records artists Slipknot (band) members Stone Sour members Social critics Singers with a five-octave vocal range Singers from Iowa Alternative metal musicians American hard rock musicians Male actors from Iowa Teenage Time Killers members
true
[ "Grow Up may refer to:\nAdvance in age\nProgress toward psychological maturity\nGrow Up (book), a 2007 book by Keith Allen\nGrow Up (video game), 2016 video game\n\nMusic\nGrow Up (Desperate Journalist album), 2017\nGrow Up (The Queers album), 1990\nGrow Up (Svoy album), 2011\nGrow Up, a 2015 EP by HALO\n\"Grow Up\" (Olly Murs song)\n\"Grow Up\" (Paramore song)\n\"Grow Up\" (Simple Plan song)\n\"Grow Up\", a song by Rockwell\n\"Grow Up\", a song from the Bratz album Rock Angelz\n\"Grow Up\", a song by Cher Lloyd from Sticks and Stones\n\nSee also\nGrowing Up (disambiguation)\nGrow Up, Tony Phillips, a 2013 film by Emily Hagins", "\"When I Grow Up\" is the second single from Swedish recording artist Fever Ray's self-titled debut album, Fever Ray (2009).\n\nCritical reception\nPitchfork Media placed \"When I Grow Up\" at number 36 on the website's list of The Top 100 Tracks of 2009.\n\nMusic video\nThe music video for \"When I Grow Up\" was directed by Martin de Thurah. He said of the video's visual statement:\n\n\"That initial idea was something about something coming out of water—something which was about to take form – a state turning into something new. And a double headed creature not deciding which to turn. But the idea had to take a simpler form, to let the song grow by itself. I remembered a photo I took in Croatia two years ago, a swimming pool with its shining blue color in a grey foggy autumn landscape.\"\n\nThe video premiered on Fever Ray's YouTube channel on 19 February 2009. It has received over 12 million views as of March 2016.\n\n\"When I Grow Up\" was placed at number three on Spins list of The 20 Best Videos of 2009.\n\nTrack listings\niTunes single\n\"When I Grow Up\" – 4:31\n\"When I Grow Up\" (Håkan Lidbo's Encephalitis Remix) – 5:59\n\"When I Grow Up\" (D. Lissvik) – 4:28\n\"Memories from When I Grew Up (Remembered by The Subliminal Kid)\" – 16:41\n\"When I Grow Up\" (Van Rivers Dark Sails on the Horizon Mix) – 9:16\n\"When I Grow Up\" (We Grow Apart Vocal Version by Pär Grindvik) – 6:02\n\"When I Grow Up\" (We Grow Apart Inspiration - Take 2 - By Pär Grindvik) – 7:59\n\"When I Grow Up\" (Scuba's High Up Mix) – 6:17\n\"When I Grow Up\" (Scuba's Straight Down Mix) – 5:54\n\"When I Grow Up\" (Video) – 4:04\n\nSwedish 12\" single \nA1. \"When I Grow Up\" (Van Rivers Dark Sails on the Horizon Mix) – 9:10\nA2. \"When I Grow Up\" (D. Lissvik) – 4:28\nB1. \"Memories from When I Grew Up (Remembered by The Subliminal Kid)\" – 16:41\n\nUK promo CD single \n\"When I Grow Up\" (Edit) – 3:42\n\"When I Grow Up\" (D. Lissvik Radio Edit) – 3:19\n\nNominations\n\nAppearances in other media\nThe song was used as part of the soundtrack for the video game Pro Evolution Soccer 2011.\n\nReferences\n\n2009 singles\n2009 songs\nFever Ray songs\nSongs written by Karin Dreijer" ]
[ "Corey Taylor", "Life", "When was he born?", "Corey Todd Taylor was born on December 8, 1973", "Where did he grow up?", "He was mostly raised by his single mother in Waterloo, Iowa," ]
C_a89548a0290942aaa7da18a4e96b4631_1
Did he do anything besides music when he was growing up?
3
Did Corey Taylor do anything besides music when he was growing up?
Corey Taylor
Corey Todd Taylor was born on December 8, 1973 in Des Moines, Iowa. He was mostly raised by his single mother in Waterloo, Iowa, a place described by Taylor as a "hole in the ground with buildings around it". He is of Irish, German and Native American descent on his father's side, and Dutch and Irish on his mother's side. In 1979, Taylor and his mother saw the sci-fi series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Before the series, there was a trailer for the 1978 horror film Halloween. Taylor said this "developed some sense of Slipknot in [himself]". While Halloween introduced Taylor to masks and horror themes, Taylor's grandmother introduced him to rock music, showing him a collection of Elvis Presley records from the 1950s to 1970s. He especially found songs like "Teddy Bear", "In the Ghetto", and "Suspicious Minds" to appeal to his interests the most, describing them as "good times". Taylor also began listening to Black Sabbath at a young age, beginning with their early work. Taylor, along with his mother and sister, lived at one point in an "old dilapidated farmhouse" which on days in late autumn would "look like Black Sabbath album covers". By age 15, he had developed a drug addiction and had overdosed on cocaine twice. By this time, he was living in Waterloo, but later set out on his own and ended up at his grandmother's house in Des Moines. She took legal custody of him so that he could continue going to school, and she helped him buy musical equipment. When Taylor was 18, he left his grandmother's house and went to various places in Iowa, Des Moines being a place to which he frequently returned. In 2017, on an episode of Viceland's The Therapist, Taylor revealed that he was sexually assaulted at the age of 10 by a 16-year-old friend. Taylor stated that he never told anyone about the incident until he was "probably 18" because his abuser "threatened to hurt [him] and threatened to hurt [his] mom". At age 18, when Taylor was living with his grandmother, he attempted suicide by way of overdose. His ex-girlfriend's mother drove him to the hospital in Des Moines and doctors were able to resuscitate him. He describes this as the lowest point in his life. Taylor first met his father when he was 30 years old, and now has a relationship with him, although he said their paths do not cross that often. CANNOTANSWER
By age 15, he had developed a drug addiction and had overdosed on cocaine twice.
Corey Todd Taylor (born December 8, 1973) is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. He is known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the bands Slipknot and Stone Sour. Taylor co-founded Stone Sour with drummer Joel Ekman in 1992, playing in the Des Moines area, and working on a demo. He joined Slipknot in 1997 to replace their original vocalist and has subsequently released six studio albums with them. After the first two Slipknot albums went Platinum, Taylor revived Stone Sour to record an album and tour in 2002. His debut solo studio album, CMFT, was released on October 2, 2020, by Roadrunner Records. He has worked with several bands, including Junk Beer Kidnap Band, Korn, Disturbed, Apocalyptica, Code Orange, Anthrax, Steel Panther, Falling in Reverse, and Soulfly. Early life Corey Todd Taylor was born on December 8, 1973, in Des Moines, Iowa. He was mostly raised by his single mother in Waterloo, Iowa, a place described by Taylor as a "hole in the ground with buildings around it". He is of German, Irish and Native American descent on his father's side, and Dutch and Irish on his mother's side. Around 1979, Taylor and his mother saw the sci-fi series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Before the series, there was a trailer for the 1978 horror film Halloween. Taylor said this "developed some sense of Slipknot in [himself]". While Halloween introduced Taylor to masks and horror themes, Taylor's grandmother introduced him to rock music, showing him a collection of Elvis Presley records from the 1950s to 1970s. He especially found songs like "Teddy Bear", "In the Ghetto", and "Suspicious Minds" to appeal to his interests the most, describing them as "good times". Taylor also began listening to Black Sabbath at a young age, beginning with their early work. By age 15, he had developed a drug addiction and had overdosed on cocaine twice. By this time, he was living in Waterloo, but later set out on his own and ended up at his grandmother's house in Des Moines. She took legal custody of him so that he could continue going to school, and she helped him buy musical equipment. When Taylor was 18, he left his grandmother's house and went to various places in Iowa, Des Moines being a place to which he frequently returned. In 2017, on an episode of Viceland's The Therapist, Taylor revealed that he was sexually abused at the age of 10 by a 16-year-old friend. Taylor stated that he never told anyone about the incident until he was "probably 18" because his abuser "threatened to hurt [him] and threatened to hurt [his] mom". At age 18, when Taylor was living with his grandmother, he attempted suicide by way of overdose. His ex-girlfriend's mother drove him to the hospital in Des Moines and doctors were able to resuscitate him. He describes this as the lowest point in his life. Taylor first met his father when he was 30 years old, and now has a relationship with him, although he said their paths do not cross that often. Music career Stone Sour Taylor is a founding member of American hard rock band Stone Sour. After he formed the band in 1992 with drummer Joel Ekman, Shawn Economaki joined filling in the bass position, leaving the electric guitar position to be filled by Josh Rand. Stone Sour recorded a demo album in 1993, and another in 1994. In 1997, Taylor was approached by the metal band, Slipknot, resulting in him abandoning Stone Sour while they were recording a demo album with Sean McMahon at SR studios. Taylor did not return until five years later to record their debut album, Stone Sour in 2002. Both Taylor and guitarist Josh Rand contacted Jim Root, Slipknot's guitarist, and Shawn Economaki, Stone Sour's original bassist, to begin writing songs for their debut album. Drummer Joel Ekman came back on board as well. This "reformation" later resulted in Stone Sour recording at Catamount Studios in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Their self-titled debut album was released August 27, 2002, and it debuted at number 46 on the Billboard 200. Their second album, Come What(ever) May debuted at number four on the Billboard 200. It was released August 1, 2006, and charted on several different charts. Live in Moscow is currently their only album specifically released only for download. During the recording of the album, drummer Joel Ekman left the band for personal reasons. As a result, drummer Roy Mayorga was recruited, taking his place. The group released their third studio album, Audio Secrecy, on September 7, 2010. Later, Corey Taylor announced the release of a concept double album with Stone Sour. The albums are titled "House of Gold & Bones". During the process of making the double album, bassist Shawn Economaki left the band. He was temporarily replaced for touring purposes by Johny Chow. The first part was released in October 2012 and the second part in April 2013. There are 23 songs in total, 11 on the first part and 12 on the second. In addition to these two albums is a four-part comic book series written by Taylor and published by Dark Horse Comics, which went on sale in 2013. With these albums came a story that was written by Taylor that coincide with the album. Fans can also construct a miniature "house of gold and bones" from the packaging design of the physical versions of the two albums. Taylor has also said that he would like to finish off the project by making the story into a movie but nothing has come of this yet. Slipknot In Des Moines, Iowa, Joey Jordison, Shawn Crahan, and Mick Thomson approached him asking him to join Slipknot. He agreed to go to one of their practices, and ended up singing in front of them. Of Slipknot's nine members, Corey was the sixth to join the band. Performing with Slipknot, he would also come to be known as "Number Eight", since the band follows a numbering scheme for its members, ranging from 0–8. According to Shawn Crahan, Corey wanted number eight, because it symbolizes infinity. Feeling he could expand more inside Slipknot than in Stone Sour, Taylor temporarily quit Stone Sour, even though they were recording an album with Sean McMahon. Taylor's first gig with Slipknot was on August 24, 1997, which according to band members did not go well. During his first gig, Taylor was performing with facepaint instead of a mask; however, for his second show on September 12, he wore a mask that resembles his debut album mask. Taylor has recorded with Slipknot since the release of their second demo album, a self-titled demo used to promote the band to prospective labels and producers. As their permanent vocalist, he recorded with Slipknot at Indigo Ranch in Malibu, California, and released Slipknot, the band's debut album that peaked at number one on the Top Heatseekers chart, went double platinum in the United States, and was included in the 2006 book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Taylor was accused of copyright infringement regarding the lyrics of the song "Purity", but no action was taken. Taylor began recording for their second studio album, Iowa, in 2001 at Sound City and Sound Image in Van Nuys, Los Angeles. It was released August 28, 2001, and peaked at number one on the UK Albums Chart, as well as number three on the Billboard 200. While writing Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses), Taylor decided to write lyrics that would not warrant an explicit label. It peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. All Hope Is Gone was the first Slipknot album to peak at number one on the Billboard 200. Other work Taylor has appeared as a guest musician on albums by Soulfly, Apocalyptica, Damageplan, Steel Panther, and Code Orange. At one point, he was heavily involved in the recording of thrash metal band Anthrax's album, Worship Music, but the sessions remain unreleased. He also contributed to the Roadrunner United all-star album in 2005, providing vocals for the song "Rich Man". Taylor also made a brief appearance in Steel Panther's singles "Death to All but Metal", "Eyes of a Panther", and "Asian Hooker". In 2006, Taylor founded the record company Great Big Mouth Records. Taylor has produced two albums: Facecage's self-titled album and Walls of Jericho's Redemption. Taylor provided guest narration on the track "Repentance" for Dream Theater's 2007 album Systematic Chaos. In an interview with Billboard, Taylor confirmed that on January 13, 2009, he was planning on making a solo album, as well as returning to his side project Stone Sour after Slipknot's All Hope Is Gone World Tour. Taylor has stated that he was writing songs that "don't fit either of his main bands." He describes them as a cross between Foo Fighters, Johnny Cash, and Social Distortion, saying that there's "a country background that comes built-in with living in Iowa". On March 30, 2009, it was confirmed that Taylor and the Junk Beer Kidnap Band would be performing at Rockfest in 2009. The group performed on April 24, 2009, at People's Court in Des Moines, Iowa, marking Taylor's first official solo show. Taylor performs with his band the Dum Fux with Denny Harvey, who make covers for 1970s punk rock and 1980s hair metal. Taylor also performs with Audacious P, a band that is primarily a Tenacious D cover band. Rapper Tech N9ne confirmed that Taylor was to perform on his album K.O.D., but was removed because Taylor did not submit his vocals in time. Taylor recently admitted that he tried out for the vacant singer spot in the band Velvet Revolver, but said that it just did not work out. However, according to a recent Billboard article, it seems likely that he may in fact become the vocalist for Velvet Revolver, though no official confirmation has been made. Duff McKagan added that they can neither "confirm or deny" Taylor's membership in the band but believes that Taylor is the "real deal". Slash has since ruled Taylor out as the possible new vocalist explaining that "[it] just wasn't right" although he does love him. Taylor has, however, recorded 10 new songs with the band, although drummer Matt Sorum stated it is unlikely they will ever be released. Taylor explained to Mark Hoppus on Hoppus on Music that he and McKagan were writing new music for a possible new supergroup. On June 21, 2018, Taylor featured on the track "The Hunt" by metallic hardcore band Code Orange, the second track of the 3-track EP The Hurt Will Go On. In April 2019, Taylor collaborated on the song "Drugs" by the band Falling in Reverse. In September 2019, he was featured on Nostalgia Critic's parody album of Pink Floyd's The Wall on a cover of the opening theme for SpongeBob SquarePants. Taylor released his solo album, CMFT, on October 2, 2020, via Roadrunner Records. The first two singles, "Black Eyes Blue" and "CMFT Must Be Stopped", were released on July 29, 2020. Taylor mentioned in an October 3, 2020, interview about a followup album entitled CMF2, which would be completed prior to a tour supporting both it and CMFT. He contributed a cover of the Metallica song "Holier Than Thou" to the charity tribute album The Metallica Blacklist, released in September 2021. Film appearances On December 4, 2013, Taylor joined the cast of Fear Clinic. He played Bauer, one of the employees of the clinic who struggles to keep things under control when all hell breaks loose. He appeared in the 2013 horror film Bullied. In October 2015, Taylor provided the roars for the character of The Fisher King in the Doctor Who episode "Before the Flood". Taylor also appeared as a cameo in Sharknado 4, and will appear in Bad Candy. Style and influence Corey Taylor told Loudwire in 2015 that if it were not for Faith No More, he "wouldn't be here today". While recovering from an attempted suicide, he saw the band perform "Epic" live on the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards and the performance inspired him to begin writing and performing music again. Corey Taylor had once been quoted that Pearl Jam had hugely influenced and inspired his music, saying that the group was "one of the biggest and best rock bands of all time". The first two Slipknot albums with Taylor's vocals, Slipknot and Iowa, both contain substantial explicit content. Many critics claimed Taylor relied on the profanity, which is why Slipknot's third album, Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) is profanity-free, (with the exceptions of the word "bitch" on the song "Duality" and "bastard" on the spoken intro of "Pulse of the Maggots"), and did not warrant the explicit label. Compared with the previous vocalist for Slipknot, Anders Colsefni, Taylor has a vocal style that was characterized by ex-drummer Joey Jordison as "really good melodic singing". Taylor's vocal style, which contains at times melodic singing, growling, screaming, shouting, and rapping, led him to place at number 86 on the Hit Parader's Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time and is often compared to other vocalists such as Ivan Moody, John Bush, Phil Anselmo, and Jamey Jasta. Taylor expressed admiration for vocalists Bruce Dickinson, David Lee Roth, James Hetfield and Bruce Springsteen, but on his ideal rock frontman he states, "Freddie Mercury — nobody touches him. He is the gold standard, as far as I'm concerned. He was just electric from the second he hit the stage. It didn't matter if he was sick or tired or whatever, when he was on, man, it was like you turned a spotlight on and he just shone." Taylor's two major projects have contrasting temperaments. Slipknot is considered to be heavy metal, nu metal and alternative metal, and expresses moods such as depression, hostility, anger, misanthropy, and rebellion. Stone Sour is classified as hard rock, expressing moods of bleakness and somberness as well as anger and rebellion. Personal life On September 17, 2002, Taylor's then-fiancée, Scarlett, gave birth to their son Griffin Parker. Taylor also has two daughters named Angeline and Aravis from earlier relationships. Taylor and Scarlett married on March 11, 2004, and divorced in 2007. On November 13, 2009, Taylor married Stephanie Luby at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas. They also had a daughter named Ryan. On December 28, 2017, Taylor announced on his Twitter that he and Luby had separated. On April 7, 2019, it was announced on his Instagram page that he became engaged to Alicia Dove, creator of "Cherry Bombs". On October 6, 2019, the pair married. Taylor has had problems with alcoholism, which Scarlett helped him through as well as keeping him from committing suicide. In 2006, Taylor told MTV that he had attempted to jump off a balcony of the eighth floor of The Hyatt on Sunset Boulevard in 2003, but "somehow [Scarlett] stopped me". This was later recanted by Taylor in an interview with Kerrang! radio and stated that it was, in fact, his friend Thom Hazaert who physically stopped him from jumping. Scarlett then told him that either he would have to get sober or she would annul their marriage. Before Stone Sour started recording Come What(ever) May in January 2006, Taylor was sober. On August 3, 2009, he co-hosted the 2009 Kerrang! Awards alongside Scott Ian of Anthrax. The following year, they both once again co-hosted The Kerrang! Awards, where Taylor collected the K! Services to Metal award on behalf of Paul Gray, who died after an accidental overdose of morphine and fentanyl. In early September 2010, Taylor announced that his book, Seven Deadly Sins: Settling The Argument Between Born Bad And Damaged Good, would be released on July 12, 2011, through Da Capo Press. In April 2020, it was reported that Taylor switched to a plant-based diet to improve cardiovascular health. In August 2021, Taylor tested positive for COVID-19 after the conclusion of a solo tour in support of his album CMFT. He was symptomatic despite being vaccinated, although he credited the vaccine for preventing him from becoming seriously ill. Discography Studio albums Singles As lead artist As featured artist Guest appearances Filmography Bibliography Equipment Awards Revolver Golden Gods Awards |- | 2010 || Corey Taylor || Best Vocalist || |- | 2013 || Corey Taylor || Best Vocalist || Loudwire Music Awards |- | 2015 || Corey Taylor || Rock Titan || |- | 2017 || Corey Taylor || Best Vocalist || Kerrang! Awards |- | 2018 || Corey Taylor || Legend || References Bibliography External links Corey Taylor interview Metal Underground: interview NY rock: article IGN: article Duff McKagan on Corey Taylor in Seattle Weekly 1973 births American heavy metal singers American male singers American male guitarists American heavy metal guitarists American baritones 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers American people of German descent American people who self-identify as being of Native American descent American people of Irish descent American people of Dutch descent Grammy Award winners Musicians from Des Moines, Iowa Living people Writers from Des Moines, Iowa Writers from Waterloo, Iowa Native American male actors Native American singers Nu metal singers Roadrunner Records artists Slipknot (band) members Stone Sour members Social critics Singers with a five-octave vocal range Singers from Iowa Alternative metal musicians American hard rock musicians Male actors from Iowa Teenage Time Killers members
true
[ "\"Anything\" is a song by rapper Jay-Z that is found on the Vinyl 12\" \"Anything (The Berlin Remixes)\" 1999 with a Remix of DJ Tomekk from Def Jam Germany and later on Beanie Sigel's 2000 album The Truth. It is produced by Sam Sneed and P. Skam, who sample Lionel Bart's \"I'll Do Anything\" for the track's beat and chorus. The sample from Oliver! heavily popularized \"Anything\", as did the Annie sample on \"Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)\", \"Anything\" was also a bonus track on Jay-Z's album Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter (UK/Europe edition) as is \"Anything (Mr. Drunk Mix)\" on the Japanese version of the album.\n\nJay-Z admitted to Angie Martinez in a 2009 interview on the BET program Food for Thought that he hoped the song would be a success like \"Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)\" due to their similarities but was surprised when it wasn't, even saying \"I dropped the record and then nothing\". The song did, however, achieve moderate success in the UK reaching #18 on the singles chart. A music video for the song was also released, which was directed by Chris Robinson.\n\n\"Anything (The Berlin Remixes)\"\n\nFormats and track listings\n\nVinyl 12\"\n\nA-side\n \"Anything (GBZ Remix)\"\t\t\n \"Anything (GBZ Remix Instrumental)\"\n\nB-side\n \"Anything (DJ Tomekk Remix)\"\t\n \"Anything (Original Version)\"\t\n \"Anything (Original Version Instrumental)\"\n\nFormats and track listings\n\nCD\n \"Anything (Radio Edit)\"\n \"So Ghetto\"\n \"There's Been a Murder\"\n \"Anything (Video)\"\n\nVinyl\n\nA-side\n \"Anything (Radio Edit) (3:47)\"\n \"Anything (LP Version) (4:47)\"\n \"Anything (Instrumental) (4:48)\"\n\nB-side\n \"Big Pimpin' (Radio Edit) (3:56)\"\n \"Big Pimpin' (LP Version) (4:44)\"\n \"Big Pimpin' (Instrumental) (4:59)\"\n\nCharts\n\nSee also\nList of songs recorded by Jay-Z\n\nReferences\n\n2000 singles\nJay-Z songs\nMusic videos directed by Chris Robinson (director)\nSongs written by Jay-Z\nSongs written by Lionel Bart\nRoc-A-Fella Records singles\n2000 songs", "Denroy Morgan (born in 1946, May Pen, Clarendon Parish, Jamaica) is a Jamaican reggae artist, but left Jamaica in 1965 at the age of 19 and traveled to the United States to become a musician. He was part of the formation the Black Eagles, a New York City reggae band in the 1970s, before launching a prosperous solo career in the 1980s onwards. His children, encouraged by his success, have also taken on musical careers themselves including Laza Morgan, Gramps Morgan, and in family bands LMS and Morgan Heritage.\n\nIn the Black Eagles\nDenroy had started in the 1970s and created the Black Eagles, a reggae band in New York City in 1974 with Devon \"Igo Levi\" Foster and Llewellyn \"Jah T\" Breadwood.\n\nThe Black Eagles won the New York Reggae Music Festival in 1977, beginning Denroy's rise to fame that continued into the early 1980s. In 1981, Morgan had his most successful release with \"I'll Do Anything For You\", which featured musical backing from the Black Eagles and peaked at number nine on the American soul chart. \"I'll Do Anything For You\" also peaked at number seven on the dance charts. These successes helped to launch his solo reggae career.\n\nSolo career\nDenroy Morgan found success in the States in 1981 with the release of his I'll Do Anything for You album, when the title track became a big R&B and Dance hit. In the realm of reggae, however, Morgan's peak period was when he signed in 1984 with RCA Records. That deal led to the release of the reggae album Make My Day and marked him as the first reggae artist to be signed to RCA Records.\n\nIn March 2014 he announced that he was working on a new album, Half N Half, featuring cover versions of Bob Marley songs and excerpts from speeches by Haile Selassie, as well as working on an updated version of his memoirs, Confession Aloud.\n\nMusical legacy\nHis children were all musical growing up and have since formed two separate bands and one is a successful solo act. \nThe reggae band Morgan Heritage is made up of his children Peter \"Peetah\" Morgan, Una Morgan, Roy \"Gramps\" Morgan, Nakhamyah \"Lukes\" Morgan and Memmalatel \"Mr. Mojo\" Morgan.\nThe dancehall / hip hop band LMS is made up of his children, the trio Noshayah Morgan, Otiyah \"Laza\" Morgan and Miriam Morgan\nOtiyah Morgan known as Laza Morgan is also a solo act with singles like \"This Girl\" and \"One by One\" the latter featuring Mavado. Other famous collaborations include being featured in Alexandra Burke's hit \"Start Without You\" and in Kristina Maria release \"Co-Pilot\" \nRoy Morgan known as Gramps Morgan, in addition to being of Morgan Heritage, is also a successful solo act with two albums Two Sides of My Heart and Reggae Music Lives and was featured in India.Arie hit song \"Therapy\".\nRoy \"Gramps\" Morgan's son Jemere Morgan has also launched a solo music career. His debut single \"First Kiss\" was released in August 2011.\n\nDiscography\n\nAlbums\nI'll Do Anything For You (1981)\nMake My Day (1984)\nI'll Do Anything For You / Sweet Tender Love (1990) ROHIT Records\nSalvation (1998)\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nOfficial website\nDenroy Morgan on Myspace\n\nJamaican reggae musicians\nJamaican emigrants to the United States\nLiving people\nPeople from Clarendon Parish, Jamaica\n1946 births" ]
[ "Corey Taylor", "Life", "When was he born?", "Corey Todd Taylor was born on December 8, 1973", "Where did he grow up?", "He was mostly raised by his single mother in Waterloo, Iowa,", "Did he do anything besides music when he was growing up?", "By age 15, he had developed a drug addiction and had overdosed on cocaine twice." ]
C_a89548a0290942aaa7da18a4e96b4631_1
Did he attend rehab?
4
Did Corey Taylor attend rehab for addiction?
Corey Taylor
Corey Todd Taylor was born on December 8, 1973 in Des Moines, Iowa. He was mostly raised by his single mother in Waterloo, Iowa, a place described by Taylor as a "hole in the ground with buildings around it". He is of Irish, German and Native American descent on his father's side, and Dutch and Irish on his mother's side. In 1979, Taylor and his mother saw the sci-fi series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Before the series, there was a trailer for the 1978 horror film Halloween. Taylor said this "developed some sense of Slipknot in [himself]". While Halloween introduced Taylor to masks and horror themes, Taylor's grandmother introduced him to rock music, showing him a collection of Elvis Presley records from the 1950s to 1970s. He especially found songs like "Teddy Bear", "In the Ghetto", and "Suspicious Minds" to appeal to his interests the most, describing them as "good times". Taylor also began listening to Black Sabbath at a young age, beginning with their early work. Taylor, along with his mother and sister, lived at one point in an "old dilapidated farmhouse" which on days in late autumn would "look like Black Sabbath album covers". By age 15, he had developed a drug addiction and had overdosed on cocaine twice. By this time, he was living in Waterloo, but later set out on his own and ended up at his grandmother's house in Des Moines. She took legal custody of him so that he could continue going to school, and she helped him buy musical equipment. When Taylor was 18, he left his grandmother's house and went to various places in Iowa, Des Moines being a place to which he frequently returned. In 2017, on an episode of Viceland's The Therapist, Taylor revealed that he was sexually assaulted at the age of 10 by a 16-year-old friend. Taylor stated that he never told anyone about the incident until he was "probably 18" because his abuser "threatened to hurt [him] and threatened to hurt [his] mom". At age 18, when Taylor was living with his grandmother, he attempted suicide by way of overdose. His ex-girlfriend's mother drove him to the hospital in Des Moines and doctors were able to resuscitate him. He describes this as the lowest point in his life. Taylor first met his father when he was 30 years old, and now has a relationship with him, although he said their paths do not cross that often. CANNOTANSWER
His ex-girlfriend's mother drove him to the hospital in Des Moines and doctors were able to resuscitate him.
Corey Todd Taylor (born December 8, 1973) is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. He is known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the bands Slipknot and Stone Sour. Taylor co-founded Stone Sour with drummer Joel Ekman in 1992, playing in the Des Moines area, and working on a demo. He joined Slipknot in 1997 to replace their original vocalist and has subsequently released six studio albums with them. After the first two Slipknot albums went Platinum, Taylor revived Stone Sour to record an album and tour in 2002. His debut solo studio album, CMFT, was released on October 2, 2020, by Roadrunner Records. He has worked with several bands, including Junk Beer Kidnap Band, Korn, Disturbed, Apocalyptica, Code Orange, Anthrax, Steel Panther, Falling in Reverse, and Soulfly. Early life Corey Todd Taylor was born on December 8, 1973, in Des Moines, Iowa. He was mostly raised by his single mother in Waterloo, Iowa, a place described by Taylor as a "hole in the ground with buildings around it". He is of German, Irish and Native American descent on his father's side, and Dutch and Irish on his mother's side. Around 1979, Taylor and his mother saw the sci-fi series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Before the series, there was a trailer for the 1978 horror film Halloween. Taylor said this "developed some sense of Slipknot in [himself]". While Halloween introduced Taylor to masks and horror themes, Taylor's grandmother introduced him to rock music, showing him a collection of Elvis Presley records from the 1950s to 1970s. He especially found songs like "Teddy Bear", "In the Ghetto", and "Suspicious Minds" to appeal to his interests the most, describing them as "good times". Taylor also began listening to Black Sabbath at a young age, beginning with their early work. By age 15, he had developed a drug addiction and had overdosed on cocaine twice. By this time, he was living in Waterloo, but later set out on his own and ended up at his grandmother's house in Des Moines. She took legal custody of him so that he could continue going to school, and she helped him buy musical equipment. When Taylor was 18, he left his grandmother's house and went to various places in Iowa, Des Moines being a place to which he frequently returned. In 2017, on an episode of Viceland's The Therapist, Taylor revealed that he was sexually abused at the age of 10 by a 16-year-old friend. Taylor stated that he never told anyone about the incident until he was "probably 18" because his abuser "threatened to hurt [him] and threatened to hurt [his] mom". At age 18, when Taylor was living with his grandmother, he attempted suicide by way of overdose. His ex-girlfriend's mother drove him to the hospital in Des Moines and doctors were able to resuscitate him. He describes this as the lowest point in his life. Taylor first met his father when he was 30 years old, and now has a relationship with him, although he said their paths do not cross that often. Music career Stone Sour Taylor is a founding member of American hard rock band Stone Sour. After he formed the band in 1992 with drummer Joel Ekman, Shawn Economaki joined filling in the bass position, leaving the electric guitar position to be filled by Josh Rand. Stone Sour recorded a demo album in 1993, and another in 1994. In 1997, Taylor was approached by the metal band, Slipknot, resulting in him abandoning Stone Sour while they were recording a demo album with Sean McMahon at SR studios. Taylor did not return until five years later to record their debut album, Stone Sour in 2002. Both Taylor and guitarist Josh Rand contacted Jim Root, Slipknot's guitarist, and Shawn Economaki, Stone Sour's original bassist, to begin writing songs for their debut album. Drummer Joel Ekman came back on board as well. This "reformation" later resulted in Stone Sour recording at Catamount Studios in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Their self-titled debut album was released August 27, 2002, and it debuted at number 46 on the Billboard 200. Their second album, Come What(ever) May debuted at number four on the Billboard 200. It was released August 1, 2006, and charted on several different charts. Live in Moscow is currently their only album specifically released only for download. During the recording of the album, drummer Joel Ekman left the band for personal reasons. As a result, drummer Roy Mayorga was recruited, taking his place. The group released their third studio album, Audio Secrecy, on September 7, 2010. Later, Corey Taylor announced the release of a concept double album with Stone Sour. The albums are titled "House of Gold & Bones". During the process of making the double album, bassist Shawn Economaki left the band. He was temporarily replaced for touring purposes by Johny Chow. The first part was released in October 2012 and the second part in April 2013. There are 23 songs in total, 11 on the first part and 12 on the second. In addition to these two albums is a four-part comic book series written by Taylor and published by Dark Horse Comics, which went on sale in 2013. With these albums came a story that was written by Taylor that coincide with the album. Fans can also construct a miniature "house of gold and bones" from the packaging design of the physical versions of the two albums. Taylor has also said that he would like to finish off the project by making the story into a movie but nothing has come of this yet. Slipknot In Des Moines, Iowa, Joey Jordison, Shawn Crahan, and Mick Thomson approached him asking him to join Slipknot. He agreed to go to one of their practices, and ended up singing in front of them. Of Slipknot's nine members, Corey was the sixth to join the band. Performing with Slipknot, he would also come to be known as "Number Eight", since the band follows a numbering scheme for its members, ranging from 0–8. According to Shawn Crahan, Corey wanted number eight, because it symbolizes infinity. Feeling he could expand more inside Slipknot than in Stone Sour, Taylor temporarily quit Stone Sour, even though they were recording an album with Sean McMahon. Taylor's first gig with Slipknot was on August 24, 1997, which according to band members did not go well. During his first gig, Taylor was performing with facepaint instead of a mask; however, for his second show on September 12, he wore a mask that resembles his debut album mask. Taylor has recorded with Slipknot since the release of their second demo album, a self-titled demo used to promote the band to prospective labels and producers. As their permanent vocalist, he recorded with Slipknot at Indigo Ranch in Malibu, California, and released Slipknot, the band's debut album that peaked at number one on the Top Heatseekers chart, went double platinum in the United States, and was included in the 2006 book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Taylor was accused of copyright infringement regarding the lyrics of the song "Purity", but no action was taken. Taylor began recording for their second studio album, Iowa, in 2001 at Sound City and Sound Image in Van Nuys, Los Angeles. It was released August 28, 2001, and peaked at number one on the UK Albums Chart, as well as number three on the Billboard 200. While writing Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses), Taylor decided to write lyrics that would not warrant an explicit label. It peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. All Hope Is Gone was the first Slipknot album to peak at number one on the Billboard 200. Other work Taylor has appeared as a guest musician on albums by Soulfly, Apocalyptica, Damageplan, Steel Panther, and Code Orange. At one point, he was heavily involved in the recording of thrash metal band Anthrax's album, Worship Music, but the sessions remain unreleased. He also contributed to the Roadrunner United all-star album in 2005, providing vocals for the song "Rich Man". Taylor also made a brief appearance in Steel Panther's singles "Death to All but Metal", "Eyes of a Panther", and "Asian Hooker". In 2006, Taylor founded the record company Great Big Mouth Records. Taylor has produced two albums: Facecage's self-titled album and Walls of Jericho's Redemption. Taylor provided guest narration on the track "Repentance" for Dream Theater's 2007 album Systematic Chaos. In an interview with Billboard, Taylor confirmed that on January 13, 2009, he was planning on making a solo album, as well as returning to his side project Stone Sour after Slipknot's All Hope Is Gone World Tour. Taylor has stated that he was writing songs that "don't fit either of his main bands." He describes them as a cross between Foo Fighters, Johnny Cash, and Social Distortion, saying that there's "a country background that comes built-in with living in Iowa". On March 30, 2009, it was confirmed that Taylor and the Junk Beer Kidnap Band would be performing at Rockfest in 2009. The group performed on April 24, 2009, at People's Court in Des Moines, Iowa, marking Taylor's first official solo show. Taylor performs with his band the Dum Fux with Denny Harvey, who make covers for 1970s punk rock and 1980s hair metal. Taylor also performs with Audacious P, a band that is primarily a Tenacious D cover band. Rapper Tech N9ne confirmed that Taylor was to perform on his album K.O.D., but was removed because Taylor did not submit his vocals in time. Taylor recently admitted that he tried out for the vacant singer spot in the band Velvet Revolver, but said that it just did not work out. However, according to a recent Billboard article, it seems likely that he may in fact become the vocalist for Velvet Revolver, though no official confirmation has been made. Duff McKagan added that they can neither "confirm or deny" Taylor's membership in the band but believes that Taylor is the "real deal". Slash has since ruled Taylor out as the possible new vocalist explaining that "[it] just wasn't right" although he does love him. Taylor has, however, recorded 10 new songs with the band, although drummer Matt Sorum stated it is unlikely they will ever be released. Taylor explained to Mark Hoppus on Hoppus on Music that he and McKagan were writing new music for a possible new supergroup. On June 21, 2018, Taylor featured on the track "The Hunt" by metallic hardcore band Code Orange, the second track of the 3-track EP The Hurt Will Go On. In April 2019, Taylor collaborated on the song "Drugs" by the band Falling in Reverse. In September 2019, he was featured on Nostalgia Critic's parody album of Pink Floyd's The Wall on a cover of the opening theme for SpongeBob SquarePants. Taylor released his solo album, CMFT, on October 2, 2020, via Roadrunner Records. The first two singles, "Black Eyes Blue" and "CMFT Must Be Stopped", were released on July 29, 2020. Taylor mentioned in an October 3, 2020, interview about a followup album entitled CMF2, which would be completed prior to a tour supporting both it and CMFT. He contributed a cover of the Metallica song "Holier Than Thou" to the charity tribute album The Metallica Blacklist, released in September 2021. Film appearances On December 4, 2013, Taylor joined the cast of Fear Clinic. He played Bauer, one of the employees of the clinic who struggles to keep things under control when all hell breaks loose. He appeared in the 2013 horror film Bullied. In October 2015, Taylor provided the roars for the character of The Fisher King in the Doctor Who episode "Before the Flood". Taylor also appeared as a cameo in Sharknado 4, and will appear in Bad Candy. Style and influence Corey Taylor told Loudwire in 2015 that if it were not for Faith No More, he "wouldn't be here today". While recovering from an attempted suicide, he saw the band perform "Epic" live on the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards and the performance inspired him to begin writing and performing music again. Corey Taylor had once been quoted that Pearl Jam had hugely influenced and inspired his music, saying that the group was "one of the biggest and best rock bands of all time". The first two Slipknot albums with Taylor's vocals, Slipknot and Iowa, both contain substantial explicit content. Many critics claimed Taylor relied on the profanity, which is why Slipknot's third album, Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) is profanity-free, (with the exceptions of the word "bitch" on the song "Duality" and "bastard" on the spoken intro of "Pulse of the Maggots"), and did not warrant the explicit label. Compared with the previous vocalist for Slipknot, Anders Colsefni, Taylor has a vocal style that was characterized by ex-drummer Joey Jordison as "really good melodic singing". Taylor's vocal style, which contains at times melodic singing, growling, screaming, shouting, and rapping, led him to place at number 86 on the Hit Parader's Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time and is often compared to other vocalists such as Ivan Moody, John Bush, Phil Anselmo, and Jamey Jasta. Taylor expressed admiration for vocalists Bruce Dickinson, David Lee Roth, James Hetfield and Bruce Springsteen, but on his ideal rock frontman he states, "Freddie Mercury — nobody touches him. He is the gold standard, as far as I'm concerned. He was just electric from the second he hit the stage. It didn't matter if he was sick or tired or whatever, when he was on, man, it was like you turned a spotlight on and he just shone." Taylor's two major projects have contrasting temperaments. Slipknot is considered to be heavy metal, nu metal and alternative metal, and expresses moods such as depression, hostility, anger, misanthropy, and rebellion. Stone Sour is classified as hard rock, expressing moods of bleakness and somberness as well as anger and rebellion. Personal life On September 17, 2002, Taylor's then-fiancée, Scarlett, gave birth to their son Griffin Parker. Taylor also has two daughters named Angeline and Aravis from earlier relationships. Taylor and Scarlett married on March 11, 2004, and divorced in 2007. On November 13, 2009, Taylor married Stephanie Luby at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas. They also had a daughter named Ryan. On December 28, 2017, Taylor announced on his Twitter that he and Luby had separated. On April 7, 2019, it was announced on his Instagram page that he became engaged to Alicia Dove, creator of "Cherry Bombs". On October 6, 2019, the pair married. Taylor has had problems with alcoholism, which Scarlett helped him through as well as keeping him from committing suicide. In 2006, Taylor told MTV that he had attempted to jump off a balcony of the eighth floor of The Hyatt on Sunset Boulevard in 2003, but "somehow [Scarlett] stopped me". This was later recanted by Taylor in an interview with Kerrang! radio and stated that it was, in fact, his friend Thom Hazaert who physically stopped him from jumping. Scarlett then told him that either he would have to get sober or she would annul their marriage. Before Stone Sour started recording Come What(ever) May in January 2006, Taylor was sober. On August 3, 2009, he co-hosted the 2009 Kerrang! Awards alongside Scott Ian of Anthrax. The following year, they both once again co-hosted The Kerrang! Awards, where Taylor collected the K! Services to Metal award on behalf of Paul Gray, who died after an accidental overdose of morphine and fentanyl. In early September 2010, Taylor announced that his book, Seven Deadly Sins: Settling The Argument Between Born Bad And Damaged Good, would be released on July 12, 2011, through Da Capo Press. In April 2020, it was reported that Taylor switched to a plant-based diet to improve cardiovascular health. In August 2021, Taylor tested positive for COVID-19 after the conclusion of a solo tour in support of his album CMFT. He was symptomatic despite being vaccinated, although he credited the vaccine for preventing him from becoming seriously ill. Discography Studio albums Singles As lead artist As featured artist Guest appearances Filmography Bibliography Equipment Awards Revolver Golden Gods Awards |- | 2010 || Corey Taylor || Best Vocalist || |- | 2013 || Corey Taylor || Best Vocalist || Loudwire Music Awards |- | 2015 || Corey Taylor || Rock Titan || |- | 2017 || Corey Taylor || Best Vocalist || Kerrang! Awards |- | 2018 || Corey Taylor || Legend || References Bibliography External links Corey Taylor interview Metal Underground: interview NY rock: article IGN: article Duff McKagan on Corey Taylor in Seattle Weekly 1973 births American heavy metal singers American male singers American male guitarists American heavy metal guitarists American baritones 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers American people of German descent American people who self-identify as being of Native American descent American people of Irish descent American people of Dutch descent Grammy Award winners Musicians from Des Moines, Iowa Living people Writers from Des Moines, Iowa Writers from Waterloo, Iowa Native American male actors Native American singers Nu metal singers Roadrunner Records artists Slipknot (band) members Stone Sour members Social critics Singers with a five-octave vocal range Singers from Iowa Alternative metal musicians American hard rock musicians Male actors from Iowa Teenage Time Killers members
true
[ "The Florida shuffle describes the recruitment of a drug user with good health insurance to repeatedly attend various rehab centers and sober living houses, which allows the facilities to repeatedly bill the patient's insurance company. The treatment centers that participate in this may have little regard for the actual needs of the patient. While named after Florida, the practice also occurs in other places in the United States, such as California and Arizona, with attractive climates and locations. A treatment center can earn more than US$40,000 each time a patient goes through their program.\n\nDescription\nFrequently these users are sent to various rehab centers by brokers who work on a freelance basis for the centers. Brokers will use inducements like cash payments for time spent in rehab or free airfare in order to get drug users to a particular center. They will also sometimes supply the drug users with drugs so that the user will fail a urine test, allowing them to be admitted to the rehab center. Rehab centers will also use advertising on late-night television and social media in order to find potential patients. This process can continue until the user dies.\n\nHistory\nThe regulation of Florida rehab centers stemmed from five Florida rehab centers bills. These five bills HB 807 (SB 788), HB 249 (SB 588), HB 477, HB 557 (SB 840), and SB 866 (HB 791). This practice started after the passage of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (commonly known as Obamacare or the ACA) and the 1996 Mental Health Parity Act. The ACA required insurers to pay for drug rehabilitation treatment as an essential health benefit. Rehab centers are able to bill insurance companies substantial amounts of money for routine tests, such as US$4,000 for a urinalysis test (sometimes facetiously referred to as \"liquid gold\") . According to insurance executives, it took several years to realize what was happening since urinalysis tests had never arisen as a billing issue before and the doctor-signed orders for the tests gave them an aura of medical authority. Many insurance companies are now cutting their reimbursement rates for drug tests.\n\nBoth federal and state legislation have been passed to attempt to curb the practice. This includes California, Florida, and the Federal government through the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act. Florida has arrested 66 people under its law. These laws have resulted in the operators of some closed rehab centers relocating to different states without regulations or laws.\n\nReferences \n\nDrug rehabilitation\nOpioids in the United States", "Rehabilitation or Rehab may refer to:\n\nHealth\n Rehabilitation (neuropsychology), therapy to regain or improve neurocognitive function that has been lost or diminished\n Rehabilitation (wildlife), treatment of injured wildlife so they can be returned to the wild\n Rehabilitation hospital, hospitals devoted to the rehabilitation of patients with various neurological, musculo-skeletal, orthopedic and other medical conditions.\n Drug rehabilitation, medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for dependency on substances such as alcohol and drugs\n Occupational rehabilitation, therapy to return injured workers to an appropriate level of work activity\n Physical medicine and rehabilitation, a branch of medicine that aims to enhance and restore functional ability to those with physical impairments or disabilities\n Physical therapy, physical rehabilitation using mechanical force and movement\n Psychiatric rehabilitation, a branch of psychiatry dealing with restoration of mental health and life skills after mental illness\n Vision rehabilitation, rehabilitation to improve vision or low vision\n Vocational rehabilitation, process which enables persons with impairments or disabilities to maintain or return to employment or occupation\n\nMusic\n Rehab (band), a rock band from Georgia, US\n Rehab (DJ) or R3hab, Dutch DJ \n Rehab (Quiet Riot album), 2006 heavy metal album\n Rehab (Lecrae album), 2010 Christian hip hop album\n \"Rehab\" (Amy Winehouse song), 2006 song from the album Back to Black\n \"Rehab\" (Rihanna song), 2007 song from the album Good Girl Gone Bad\n The Rehab, a 2010 album by Young Buck\n\nPeople\n Rehab Bassam (born 1977), Egyptian blogger\n Rehab Nazzal, Palestinian-born multidisciplinary artist based in Canada\n\nOther uses\n Rehabilitation (penology), re-integration into society of a convicted person \n Political rehabilitation, the process by which a disgraced political actor is restored to public life\n Rehabilitation (Soviet), the restoration of a person who was criminally prosecuted without due basis\n \"Rehab\" (The Assistants episode), 2009 television episode\n Rehab (party), a weekly summer outdoor party in Las Vegas\n Rehab: Party at the Hard Rock Hotel, a reality TV show about the party\n El Rehab, a community within New Cairo, Egypt\n Land rehabilitation, the process of restoring land after some process has damaged it\n Rehabbing housing, see Renovation\n\nSee also\n Corrections\n Habilitation, a qualification required in order to conduct self-contained university teaching in some countries\n Rahab (disambiguation)\n \n \n \n\nde:Reha\npl:Rehab\npt:Rehab\nfi:Rehab" ]
[ "Narendra Modi", "Final years" ]
C_b6a0c764bf0c443b9768973ff08ca8fb_1
What happened in her final years?
1
What happened in Narendra Modi's final years?
Narendra Modi
During Modi's second term the rhetoric of the government shifted from Hindutva to Gujarat's economic development. Modi curtailed the influence of Sangh Parivar organisations such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), entrenched in the state after the decline of Ahmedabad's textile industry, and dropped Gordhan Zadafia (an ally of former Sangh co-worker and VHP state chief Praveen Togadia) from his cabinet. When the BKS staged a farmers' demonstration Modi ordered their eviction from state-provided houses, and his decision to demolish 200 illegal temples in Gandhinagar deepened the rift with the VHP. Sangh organisations were no longer consulted or informed in advance about Modi's administrative decisions. Nonetheless, Modi retained connections with some Hindu nationalists. Modi wrote a foreword to a textbook by Dinanath Batra released in 2014, which stated that ancient India possessed technologies including test-tube babies. Modi's relationship with Muslims continued to attract criticism. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (who asked Modi for tolerance in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat violence and supported his resignation as chief minister) distanced himself, reaching out to North Indian Muslims before the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. After the elections Vajpayee called the violence in Gujarat a reason for the BJP's electoral defeat and said it had been a mistake to leave Modi in office after the riots. Questions about Modi's relationship with Muslims were also raised by many Western nations during his tenure as chief minister. Modi was barred from entering the United States by the State Department, in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on International Religious Freedom formed under the aegis of the International Religious Freedom Act, the only person denied a US visa under this law. The UK and the European Union refused to admit him because of what they saw as his role in the riots. As Modi rose to prominence in India, the UK and the EU lifted their bans in October 2012 and March 2013, respectively, and after his election as prime minister he was invited to Washington. During the run-up to the 2007 assembly elections and the 2009 general election, the BJP intensified its rhetoric on terrorism. In July 2006, Modi criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh " for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislation" such as the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the national government to allow states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. In 2007 Modi authored Karmayog, a 101-page booklet discussing manual scavenging. In it, Modi argued that scavenging was a "spiritual experience" for Dalits. However, this book was not circulated that time because of the election code of conduct. After the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Modi held a meeting to discuss the security of Gujarat's 1,600-kilometre (990 mi)-long coastline, resulting in government authorisation of 30 high-speed surveillance boats. In July 2007 Modi completed 2,063 consecutive days as chief minister of Gujarat, making him the longest-serving holder of that post, and the BJP won 122 of 182 state-assembly seats in that year's election. As Chief Minister, Modi favoured privatisation and small government, which was at odds with the philosophy of the RSS, usually described as anti-privatisation and anti-globalisation. His policies during his second term have been credited with reducing corruption in the state. He established financial and technology parks in Gujarat and during the 2007 Vibrant Gujarat summit, real-estate investment deals worth Rs6.6 trillion were signed. The governments led by Patel and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of groundwater-conservation projects. By December 2008, 500,000 structures had been built, of which 113,738 were check dams, which helped recharge the aquifers beneath them. Sixty of the 112 tehsils which had depleted the water table in 2004 had regained their normal groundwater levels by 2010. As a result, the state's production of genetically modified cotton increased to become the largest in India. The boom in cotton production and its semi-arid land use led to Gujarat's agricultural sector growing at an average rate of 9.6 percent from 2001 to 2007. Public irrigation measures in central and southern Gujarat, such as the Sardar Sarovar Dam, were less successful. The Sardar Sarovar project only irrigated 4-6% of the area intended. Nonetheless, from 2001 to 2010 Gujarat recorded an agricultural growth rate of 10.97 percent - the highest of any state. However, sociologists have pointed out that the growth rate under the 1992-97 INC government was 12.9 percent. In 2008 Modi offered land in Gujarat to Tata Motors to set up a plant manufacturing the Nano after a popular agitation had forced the company to move out of West Bengal. Several other companies followed the Tata's to Gujarat. The Modi government finished the process of bringing electricity to every village in Gujarat that its predecessor had almost completed. Modi significantly changed the state's system of power distribution, greatly impacting farmers. Gujarat expanded the Jyotigram Yojana scheme, in which agricultural electricity was separated from other rural electricity; the agricultural electricity was rationed to fit scheduled irrigation demands, reducing its cost. Although early protests by farmers ended when those who benefited found that their electricity supply had stabilised, according to an assessment study corporations and large farmers benefited from the policy at the expense of small farmers and labourers. During the 2012 campaign, Modi attempted to identify himself with the state of Gujarat, a strategy similar to that used by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, and projected himself as protecting Gujarat against persecution by the rest of India. Despite the BJP's shift away from explicit Hindutva, Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism. Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders. During his 2012 campaign he twice refused to wear articles of clothing gifted by Muslim leaders. He did, however, maintain relations with Dawoodi Bohra. His campaign included references to issues known to cause religious polarisation, including to Afzal Guru and the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. The BJP did not nominate any Muslim candidates for the assembly election of 2012. He had published a Gujarati book titled Jyotipunj in 2008, containing profiles of various RSS leaders. The longest was of M. S. Golwalkar, under whose leadership the RSS expanded and whom Modi refers to as Pujniya Shri Guruji ("Guru worthy of worship"). According to The Economic Times, his intention was to explain the workings of the RSS to his readers and to reassure RSS members that he remained ideologically aligned with them. Modi authored eight other books, mostly containing short stories for children. While campaigning for the 2012 assembly elections, Modi made extensive use of holograms and other technologies allowing him to reach a large number of people, something he would repeat in the 2014 general election. In the 2012 Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections, Modi won the constituency of Maninagar by 86,373 votes over Shweta Bhatt, the INC candidate and wife of Sanjiv Bhatt. The BJP won 115 of the 182 seats, continuing its majority during his tenure and allowing the party to form the government (as it had in Gujarat since 1995). In later by-elections the BJP won four more assembly seats and two Lok Sabha seats held by the INC, although Modi did not campaign for its candidates. In 2013, the Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF) at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania cancelled a keynote video-conference speech by Modi following protests by Indian-Americans. After his election as prime minister, Modi resigned as the chief minister and as an MLA from Maninagar on 21 May 2014. Anandiben Patel succeeded him as the chief minister. CANNOTANSWER
Modi made extensive use of holograms
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from Varanasi. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindu nationalist paramilitary volunteer organisation. He is the first prime minister to have been born after India's independence in 1947 and the second prime minister not belonging to the Indian National Congress to have won two consecutive majorities in the Lok Sabha, or lower house of Indian of parliament. Born and raised in Vadnagar, a small town in northeastern Gujarat, Modi completed his secondary education there. He was introduced to the RSS at age eight. He has drawn attention to having to work as a child in his father's tea stall on the Vadnagar railway station platform, a description that has not been reliably corroborated. At age 18, Modi was married to Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi, whom he abandoned soon after. He left his parental home where she had come to live. He first publicly acknowledged her as his wife more than four decades later when required to do so by Indian law, but has made no contact with her since. Modi has asserted he had travelled in northern India for two years after leaving his parental home, visiting a number of religious centres, but few details of his travels have emerged. Upon his return to Gujarat in 1971, he became a full-time worker for the RSS. After the state of emergency declared by prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1975, Modi went into hiding. The RSS assigned him to the BJP in 1985 and he held several positions within the party hierarchy until 2001, rising to the rank of general secretary. Modi was appointed Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2001 due to Keshubhai Patel's failing health and poor public image following the earthquake in Bhuj. Modi was elected to the legislative assembly soon after. His administration has been considered complicit in the 2002 Gujarat riots in which 1044 people were killed, three-quarters of whom were Muslim, or otherwise criticised for its management of the crisis. The Supreme Court remarked that Narendra Modi was like a Modern-day Nero, looking the other way as innocent women and children were burning. A Supreme Court of India-appointed Special Investigation Team found no evidence to initiate prosecution proceedings against Modi personally. While his policies as chief minister—credited with encouraging economic growth—have received praise, his administration has been criticised for failing to significantly improve health, poverty and education indices in the state. Modi led the BJP in the 2014 general election which gave the party a majority in the Indian lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha, the first time for any single party since 1984. Modi's administration has tried to raise foreign direct investment in the Indian economy and reduced spending on healthcare and social welfare programmes. Modi has attempted to improve efficiency in the bureaucracy; he has centralised power by abolishing the Planning Commission. He began a high-profile sanitation campaign, controversially initiated a demonetisation of high-denomination banknotes and transformation of taxation regime, and weakened or abolished environmental and labour laws. Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. Following his party's victory in the 2019 general election, his administration revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and also introduced the Citizenship Amendment Act, which resulted in widespread protests across the country. Described as engineering a political realignment towards right-wing politics, Modi remains a figure of controversy domestically and internationally over his Hindu nationalist beliefs and his handling of the 2002 Gujarat riots, cited as evidence of an exclusionary social agenda. Early life and education Narendra Damodardas Modi was born on 17 September 1950 to a Gujarati Hindu family of grocers in Vadnagar, Mehsana district, Bombay State (present-day Gujarat). He was the third of six children born to Damodardas Mulchand Modi () and Hiraben Modi (born ). Modi's family belonged to the Modh-Ghanchi-Teli (oil-presser) community, which is categorised as an Other Backward Class by the Indian government. Modi had only infrequently spoken of his family background during his 13 years as chief minister of Gujarat. In the run up to the 2014 national elections, he began to regularly draw attention to his low-ranking social origins and to having to work as a child in his father's tea shop on the Vadnagar railway station platform, a description that the evidence of neighbours does not entirely corroborate. Modi completed his higher secondary education in Vadnagar in 1967, where teachers described him as an average student and a keen gifted debater, with interest in theatre. Modi preferred playing larger-than-life characters in theatrical productions, which has influenced his political image. When eight years old, Modi was introduced to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and began attending its local shakhas (training sessions). There, Modi met Lakshmanrao Inamdar, popularly known as Vakil Saheb, who inducted him as a balswayamsevak (junior cadet) in the RSS and became his political mentor. While Modi was training with the RSS, he also met Vasant Gajendragadkar and Nathalal Jaghda, Bharatiya Jana Sangh leaders who were founding members of the BJP's Gujarat unit in 1980. In a custom traditional to Narendra Modi's caste, his family arranged a betrothal to a girl, Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi, leading to their marriage when she was 17 and he was 18. Soon afterwards, he abandoned his bride, and left home, never divorcing her, but the marriage remaining unmentioned in Modi's public pronouncements for many decades. In April 2014, shortly before the national elections that swept him to power, Modi publicly affirmed that he was married and his spouse was Jashodaben; the couple has remained married, but estranged. Modi spent the ensuing two years travelling across Northern and North-eastern India, though few details of where he went have emerged. In interviews, Modi has described visiting Hindu ashrams founded by Swami Vivekananda: the Belur Math near Kolkata, followed by the Advaita Ashrama in Almora and the Ramakrishna Mission in Rajkot. Modi remained only a short time at each, since he lacked the required college education. Vivekananda has been described as a large influence in Modi's life. In the early summer of 1968, Modi reached the Belur Math but was turned away, after which Modi wandered through Calcutta, West Bengal and Assam, stopping in Siliguri and Guwahati. Modi then went to the Ramakrishna Ashram in Almora, where he was again rejected, before travelling back to Gujarat via Delhi and Rajasthan in 1968–69. Sometime in late 1969 or early 1970, Modi returned to Vadnagar for a brief visit before leaving again for Ahmedabad. There, Modi lived with his uncle, working in the latter's canteen at the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation. In Ahmedabad, Modi renewed his acquaintance with Inamdar, who was based at the Hedgewar Bhavan (RSS headquarters) in the city. Modi's first known political activity as an adult was in 1971 when he, as per his remarks, joined a Jana Sangh Satyagraha in Delhi led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee to enlist for the battlefield during the Bangladesh Liberation War. But the Indira Gandhi-led central government disallowed open support for the Mukti Bahini and Modi, according to his own claim, was put in Tihar Jail for a short period. After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he stopped working for his uncle and became a full-time pracharak (campaigner) for the RSS, working under Inamdar. Shortly before the war, Modi took part in a non-violent protest against the Indian government in New Delhi, for which he was arrested (as per his claim); this has been cited as a reason for Inamdar electing to mentor him. Many years later Modi would co-author a biography of Inamdar, published in 2001. Modi's claim that he was part of a Satyagraha led to a political war. Applications were filed with the PMO under the RTI Act seeking details of his arrest. In reply, the PMO claimed that it maintains official records on Modi only since he took charge as the Prime Minister of India in 2014. Despite this claim, the official website of the PMO contains specific information about Modi which dates back to the 1950s. In 1978 Modi received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the School of Open Learning (SOL) at the University of Delhi, graduating with a third class. Five years later, in 1983, he received a Master of Arts degree in political science from Gujarat University, graduating with a first class as an external distance learning student. But there is a big controversy surrounding his educational qualification. Replying to an RTI query, the SOL said it did not have any data of students who received a BA degree in 1978. Jayantibhai Patel, a former political science professor of Gujarat University, claimed that the subjects listed in Modi's MA degree were not offered by the university when Modi was studying there. Early political career In June 1975, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency in India which lasted until 1977. During this period, known as "The Emergency", many of her political opponents were jailed and opposition groups were banned. Modi was appointed general secretary of the "Gujarat Lok Sangharsh Samiti", an RSS committee co-ordinating opposition to the Emergency in Gujarat. Shortly afterwards, the RSS was banned. Modi was forced to go underground in Gujarat and frequently travelled in disguise to avoid arrest. He became involved in printing pamphlets opposing the government, sending them to Delhi and organising demonstrations. Modi was also involved with creating a network of safe houses for individuals wanted by the government, and in raising funds for political refugees and activists. During this period, Modi wrote a book in Gujarati, Sangharsh Ma Gujarat (In The Struggles of Gujarat), describing events during the Emergency. Among the people he met in this role was trade unionist and socialist activist George Fernandes, as well as several other national political figures. In his travels during the Emergency, Modi was often forced to move in disguise, once dressing as a monk, and once as a Sikh. Modi became an RSS sambhag pracharak (regional organiser) in 1978, overseeing RSS activities in the areas of Surat and Vadodara, and in 1979 he went to work for the RSS in Delhi, where he was put to work researching and writing the RSS's version of the history of the Emergency. He returned to Gujarat a short while later, and was assigned by the RSS to the BJP in 1985. In 1987 Modi helped organise the BJP's campaign in the Ahmedabad municipal election, which the BJP won comfortably; Modi's planning has been described as the reason for that result by biographers. After L. K. Advani became president of the BJP in 1986, the RSS decided to place its members in important positions within the BJP; Modi's work during the Ahmedabad election led to his selection for this role, and Modi was elected organising secretary of the BJP's Gujarat unit later in 1987. Modi rose within the party and was named a member of the BJP's National Election Committee in 1990, helping organise L. K. Advani's 1990 Ram Rath Yatra in 1990 and Murli Manohar Joshi's 1991–92 Ekta Yatra (Journey for Unity). However, he took a brief break from politics in 1992, instead establishing a school in Ahmedabad; friction with Shankersinh Vaghela, a BJP MP from Gujarat at the time, also played a part in this decision. Modi returned to electoral politics in 1994, partly at the insistence of Advani, and as party secretary, Modi's electoral strategy was considered central to the BJP victory in the 1995 state assembly elections. In November of that year Modi was appointed BJP national secretary and transferred to New Delhi, where he assumed responsibility for party activities in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The following year, Shankersinh Vaghela, a prominent BJP leader from Gujarat, defected to the Indian National Congress (Congress, INC) after losing his parliamentary seat in the Lok Sabha elections. Modi, on the selection committee for the 1998 Assembly elections in Gujarat, favoured supporters of BJP leader Keshubhai Patel over those supporting Vaghela to end factional division in the party. His strategy was credited as key to the BJP winning an overall majority in the 1998 elections, and Modi was promoted to BJP general secretary (organisation) in May of that year. Chief Minister of Gujarat Taking office In 2001, Keshubhai Patel's health was failing and the BJP lost a few state assembly seats in by-elections. Allegations of abuse of power, corruption and poor administration were made, and Patel's standing had been damaged by his administration's handling of the earthquake in Bhuj in 2001. The BJP national leadership sought a new candidate for the chief ministership, and Modi, who had expressed misgivings about Patel's administration, was chosen as a replacement. Although BJP leader L. K. Advani did not want to ostracise Patel and was concerned about Modi's lack of experience in government, Modi declined an offer to be Patel's deputy chief minister, telling Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee that he was "going to be fully responsible for Gujarat or not at all". On 3 October 2001 he replaced Patel as Chief Minister of Gujarat, with the responsibility of preparing the BJP for the December 2002 elections. Modi was sworn in as Chief Minister on 7 October 2001, and entered the Gujarat state legislature on 24 February 2002 by winning a by-election to the Rajkot – II constituency, defeating Ashwin Mehta of the INC by 14,728 votes. 2002 Gujarat riots On 27 February 2002, a train with several hundred passengers burned near Godhra, killing approximately 60 people. The train carried a large number of Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya after a religious ceremony at the site of the demolished Babri Masjid. In making a public statement after the incident, Modi declared it a terrorist attack planned and orchestrated by local Muslims. The next day, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad called for a bandh across the state. Riots began during the bandh, and anti-Muslim violence spread through Gujarat. The government's decision to move the bodies of the train victims from Godhra to Ahmedabad further inflamed the violence. The state government stated later that 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed. Independent sources put the death toll at over 2000, the vast majority Muslims Approximately 150,000 people were driven to refugee camps. Numerous women and children were among the victims; the violence included mass rapes and mutilations of women. The government of Gujarat itself is generally considered by scholars to have been complicit in the riots, (with some blaming chief minister Modi explicitly) and has otherwise received heavy criticism for its handling of the situation. Several scholars have described the violence as a pogrom, while others have called it an example of state terrorism. Summarising academic views on the subject, Martha Nussbaum said: "There is by now a broad consensus that the Gujarat violence was a form of ethnic cleansing, that in many ways it was premeditated, and that it was carried out with the complicity of the state government and officers of the law." The Modi government imposed a curfew in 26 major cities, issued shoot-at-sight orders and called for the army to patrol the streets, but was unable to prevent the violence from escalating. The president of the state unit of the BJP expressed support for the bandh, despite such actions being illegal at the time. State officials later prevented riot victims from leaving the refugee camps, and the camps were often unable to meet the needs of those living there. Muslim victims of the riots were subject to further discrimination when the state government announced that compensation for Muslim victims would be half of that offered to Hindus, although this decision was later reversed after the issue was taken to court. During the riots, police officers often did not intervene in situations where they were able. Modi's personal involvement in the 2002 events has continued to be debated. During the riots, Modi said that "What is happening is a chain of action and reaction." Later in 2002, Modi said the way in which he had handled the media was his only regret regarding the episode. In March 2008, the Supreme Court reopened several cases related to the 2002 riots, including that of the Gulbarg Society massacre, and established a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the issue. In response to a petition from Zakia Jafri (widow of Ehsan Jafri, who was killed in the Gulbarg Society massacre), in April 2009 the court also asked the SIT to investigate the issue of Modi's complicity in the killings. The SIT questioned Modi in March 2010; in May, it presented to the court a report finding no evidence against him. In July 2011, the court-appointed amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran submitted his final report to the court. Contrary to the SIT's position, he said that Modi could be prosecuted based on the available evidence. The Supreme Court gave the matter to the magistrate's court. The SIT examined Ramachandran's report, and in March 2012 submitted its final report, asking for the case to be closed. Zakia Jafri filed a protest petition in response. In December 2013 the magistrate's court rejected the protest petition, accepting the SIT's finding that there was no evidence against the chief minister. 2002 election In the aftermath of the violence there were widespread calls for Modi to resign as chief minister from within and outside the state, including from leaders of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Telugu Desam Party (allies in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance coalition), and opposition parties stalled Parliament over the issue. Modi submitted his resignation at the April 2002 BJP national executive meeting in Goa, but it was not accepted. His cabinet had an emergency meeting on 19 July 2002, after which it offered its resignation to the Gujarat Governor S. S. Bhandari, and the state assembly was dissolved. Despite opposition from the election commissioner, who said that a number of voters were still displaced, Modi succeeded in advancing the election to December 2002. In the elections, the BJP won 127 seats in the 182-member assembly. Although Modi later denied it, he made significant use of anti-Muslim rhetoric during his campaign, and the BJP profited from religious polarisation among the voters. He won the Maninagar constituency, receiving of votes and defeating INC candidate Yatin Oza by 75,333 votes. On 22 December 2002, Bhandari swore Modi in for a second term. Modi framed the criticism of his government for human rights violations as an attack upon Gujarati pride, a strategy which led to the BJP winning two-thirds of the seats in the state assembly. Second term During Modi's second term the rhetoric of the government shifted from Hindutva to Gujarat's economic development. Modi curtailed the influence of Sangh Parivar organisations such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), entrenched in the state after the decline of Ahmedabad's textile industry, and dropped Gordhan Zadafia (an ally of former Sangh co-worker and VHP state chief Praveen Togadia) from his cabinet. When the BKS staged a farmers' demonstration Modi ordered their eviction from state-provided houses, and his decision to demolish 200 illegal temples in Gandhinagar deepened the rift with the Vishva Hindu Parishad. Sangh organisations were no longer consulted or informed in advance about Modi's administrative decisions. Nonetheless, Modi retained connections with some Hindu nationalists. Modi wrote a foreword to a textbook by Dinanath Batra released in 2014, which stated that ancient India possessed technologies including test-tube babies. Modi's relationship with Muslims continued to attract criticism. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (who asked Modi for tolerance in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat violence and supported his resignation as chief minister) distanced himself, reaching out to North Indian Muslims before the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. After the elections Vajpayee called the violence in Gujarat a reason for the BJP's electoral defeat and said it had been a mistake to leave Modi in office after the riots. Questions about Modi's relationship with Muslims were also raised by many Western nations during his tenure as chief minister. Modi was barred from entering the United States by the State Department, in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on International Religious Freedom formed under the aegis of the International Religious Freedom Act, the only person denied a US visa under this law. The UK and the European Union refused to admit him because of what they saw as his role in the riots. As Modi rose to prominence in India, the UK and the EU lifted their bans in October 2012 and March 2013, respectively, and after his election he was invited to Washington as the nation's prime minister. During the run-up to the 2007 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election and the 2009 Indian general election, the BJP intensified its rhetoric on terrorism. In July 2006, Modi criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh " for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislation" such as the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the national government to allow states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. In 2007 Modi authored Karmayog, a 101-page booklet discussing manual scavenging. In it, Modi argued that scavenging was a "spiritual experience" for Valmiks, a sub-caste of Dalits. However, this book was not circulated that time because of the election code of conduct. After the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Modi held a meeting to discuss the security of Gujarat's -long coastline, resulting in government authorisation of 30 high-speed surveillance boats. In July 2007 Modi completed 2,063 consecutive days as chief minister of Gujarat, making him the longest-serving holder of that post, and the BJP won 122 of 182 state-assembly seats in that year's election. Development projects As Chief Minister, Modi favoured privatisation and small government, which was at odds with the philosophy of the RSS, usually described as anti-privatisation and anti-globalisation. His policies during his second term have been credited with reducing corruption in the state. He established financial and technology parks in Gujarat and during the 2007 Vibrant Gujarat summit, real-estate investment deals worth were signed. The governments led by Patel and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of groundwater-conservation projects. By December 2008, 500,000 structures had been built, of which 113,738 were check dams, which helped recharge the aquifers beneath them. Sixty of the 112 tehsils which had depleted the water table in 2004 had regained their normal groundwater levels by 2010. As a result, the state's production of genetically modified cotton increased to become the largest in India. The boom in cotton production and its semi-arid land use led to Gujarat's agricultural sector growing at an average rate of 9.6 percent from 2001 to 2007. Public irrigation measures in central and southern Gujarat, such as the Sardar Sarovar Dam, were less successful. The Sardar Sarovar project only irrigated 4–6% of the area intended. Nonetheless, from 2001 to 2010 Gujarat recorded an agricultural growth rate of 10.97 percent – the highest of any state. However, sociologists have pointed out that the growth rate under the 1992–97 INC government was 12.9 percent. In 2008 Modi offered land in Gujarat to Tata Motors to set up a plant manufacturing the Nano after a popular agitation had forced the company to move out of West Bengal. Several other companies followed the Tata to Gujarat. The Modi government finished the process of bringing electricity to every village in Gujarat that its predecessor had almost completed. Modi significantly changed the state's system of power distribution, greatly impacting farmers. Gujarat expanded the Jyotigram Yojana scheme, in which agricultural electricity was separated from other rural electricity; the agricultural electricity was rationed to fit scheduled irrigation demands, reducing its cost. Although early protests by farmers ended when those who benefited found that their electricity supply had stabilised, according to an assessment study corporations and large farmers benefited from the policy at the expense of small farmers and labourers. Development debate A contentious debate surrounds the assessment of Gujarat's economic development during Modi's tenure as chief minister. The state's GDP growth rate averaged 10% during Modi's tenure, a value similar to other highly industrialised states, and above that of the country as a whole. Gujarat also had a high rate of economic growth in the 1990s, before Modi took office, and some scholars have stated that growth did not much accelerate during Modi's tenure, although the state is considered to have maintained a high growth rate during Modi's Chief Ministership. Under Narendra Modi, Gujarat topped the World Bank's "ease of doing business" rankings among Indian states for two consecutive years. In 2013, Gujarat was ranked first among Indian states for "economic freedom" by a report measuring governance, growth, citizens' rights and labour and business regulation among the country's 20 largest states. In the later years of Modi's government, Gujarat's economic growth was frequently used as an argument to counter allegations of communalism. Tax breaks for businesses were easier to obtain in Gujarat than in other states, as was land. Modi's policies to make Gujarat attractive for investment included the creation of Special Economic Zones, where labour laws were greatly weakened. Despite its growth rate, Gujarat had a relatively poor record on human development, poverty relief, nutrition and education during Modi's tenure. In 2013, Gujarat ranked 13th in the country with respect to rates of poverty and 21st in education. Nearly 45 percent of children under five were underweight and 23 percent were undernourished, putting the state in the "alarming" category on the India State Hunger Index. A study by UNICEF and the Indian government found that Gujarat under Modi had a poor record with respect to immunisation in children. Over the decade from 2001 to 2011, Gujarat did not change its position relative to the rest of the country with respect to poverty and female literacy, remaining near the median of the 29 Indian states. It showed a marginal improvement in rates of infant mortality, and its position with respect to individual consumption declined. With respect to the quality of education in government schools, the state ranked below many Indian states. The social policies of the government generally did not benefit Muslims, Dalits, and Adivasis, and generally increased social inequalities. Development in Gujarat was generally limited to the urban middle class, and citizens in rural areas or from lower castes were increasingly marginalised. In 2013 the state ranked 10th of 21 Indian states in the Human Development Index. Under Modi, the state government spent less than the national average on education and healthcare. Final years Despite the BJP's shift away from explicit Hindutva, Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism. Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders. During his 2012 campaign he twice refused to wear articles of clothing gifted by Muslim leaders. He did, however, maintain relations with Dawoodi Bohra. His campaign included references to issues known to cause religious polarisation, including to Afzal Guru and the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. The BJP did not nominate any Muslim candidates for the assembly election of 2012. During the 2012 campaign, Modi attempted to identify himself with the state of Gujarat, a strategy similar to that used by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, and projected himself as protecting Gujarat against persecution by the rest of India. While campaigning for the 2012 assembly elections, Modi made extensive use of holograms and other technologies allowing him to reach a large number of people, something he would repeat in the 2014 general election. In the 2012 Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections, Modi won the constituency of Maninagar by 86,373 votes over Shweta Bhatt, the INC candidate and wife of Sanjiv Bhatt. The BJP won 115 of the 182 seats, continuing its majority during his tenure and allowing the party to form the government (as it had in Gujarat since 1995). After his election as prime minister, Modi resigned as the chief minister and as an MLA from Maninagar on 21 May 2014. Anandiben Patel succeeded him as the chief minister. Premiership campaigns 2014 Indian general election In September 2013 Modi was named the BJP's candidate for prime minister ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha election. Several BJP leaders expressed opposition to Modi's candidature, including BJP founding member L. K. Advani, who cited concern with leaders who were "concerned with their personal agendas". Modi played a dominant role in the BJP's election campaign. Several people who voted for the BJP stated that if Modi had not been the prime-ministerial candidate, they would have voted for another party. The focus on Modi as an individual was unusual for a BJP election campaign. The election was described as a referendum on Narendra Modi. During the campaign, Modi focused on the corruption scandals under the previous INC government, and played on his image as a politician who had created a high rate of GDP growth in Gujarat. Modi projected himself as a person who could bring about "development," without focus on any specific policies. His message found support among young Indians and among middle-class citizens. The BJP under Modi was able to downplay concerns about the protection of religious minorities and Modi's commitment to secularism, areas in which he had previously received criticism. Prior to the election Modi's image in the media had centered around his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots, but during the campaign the BJP was able to shift this to a focus on Modi's neoliberal ideology and the Gujarat model of development, although Hindutva remained a significant part of its campaign. The BJP's campaign was assisted by its wide influence in the media. Modi's campaign blitz cost approximately , and received extensive financial support from corporate donors. In addition to more conventional campaign methods, Modi made extensive use of social media, and addressed more than 1000 rallies via hologram appearances. The BJP won 31% of the vote, and more than doubled its tally in the Lok Sabha to 282, becoming the first party to win a majority of seats on its own since 1984. Voter dissatisfaction with the INC, as well as with regional parties in North India, was another reason for the success of the BJP, as was the support from the RSS. In states such as Uttar Pradesh in which the BJP performed well, it drew exceptionally high support from upper-caste Hindus, although the 10 percent of Muslim votes won was more than it had won before. It performed particularly well in parts of the country that had recently experienced violence between Hindus and Muslims. The magnitude of the BJP's victory led many commentators to say that the election constituted a political realignment away from progressive parties and towards the right-wing. Modi's tweet announcing his victory was described as being emblematic of the political realignment away from a secular, socialist state towards capitalism and Hindu cultural nationalism. Modi himself was a candidate for the Lok Sabha in two constituencies: Varanasi and Vadodara. He won in both constituencies, defeating Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal in Varanasi by 371,784 votes and Madhusudan Mistry of the INC in Vadodara by votes. Modi, who was unanimously elected leader of the BJP, was appointed prime minister by India's president. To comply with the law that an MP cannot represent more than one constituency, he vacated the Vadodara seat. 2019 Indian general election On 13 October 2018, Modi was renamed as the BJP candidate for prime minister for the 2019 general election. The chief campaigner for the party was BJP's president Amit Shah. Modi launched the Main Bhi Chowkidar campaign ahead of the general election, against Chowkidar Chor Hai campaign slogan of INC. In the year 2018, end Party's, second-biggest alliance Telugu Desam Party split from NDA over the matter of special-status for Andhra Pradesh. The campaign was started by Amit Shah on 8 April 2019. In the campaign, Modi was targeted by the opposition on corruption allegations over Rafale deal with France government. Highlighting this controversy the campaign "Chowkidar Chor Hai" was started, which was contrary to "Main Bhi Chowkidar" slogan. Modi made defence and national security among the foremost topics for the election campaign, especially after Pulwama attack, and the retaliatory attack of Balakot airstrike was counted as an achievement of the Modi administration. Other topics in the campaign were development and good foreign relations in the first premiership. Modi contested the Lok Sabha elections as a candidate from Varanasi. He won the seat by defeating Shalini Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, who fought on SP-BSP alliance by a margin of votes. Modi was unanimously appointed the prime minister for a second time by the National Democratic Alliance, after the alliance won the election for the second time by securing 353 seats in the Lok Sabha with the BJP alone won 303 seats. Prime Minister After the Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance won a landslide in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Narendra Modi was sworn in as the Prime Minister of India on 26 May 2014. He became the first Prime Minister born after India's independence from the British Empire in 1947. Modi started his second term after the Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance won again in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. On 6 December 2020, Modi became the 4th longest serving Prime Minister of India and the longest serving Non-Congress Prime Minister. Governance and other initiatives Modi's first year as prime minister saw significant centralisation of power relative to previous administrations. His efforts at centralisation have been linked to an increase in the number of senior administration officials resigning their positions. Initially lacking a majority in the Rajya Sabha, or upper house of Indian Parliament, Modi passed a number of ordinances to enact his policies, leading to further centralisation of power. The government also passed a bill increasing the control that it had over the appointment of judges, and reducing that of the judiciary. In December 2014 Modi abolished the Planning Commission, replacing it with the National Institution for Transforming India, or NITI Aayog. The move had the effect of greatly centralising the power previously with the planning commission in the person of the prime minister. The planning commission had received heavy criticism in previous years for creating inefficiency in the government, and of not filling its role of improving social welfare: however, since the economic liberalisation of the 1990s, it had been the major government body responsible for measures related to social justice. The Modi government launched investigations by the Intelligence Bureau against numerous civil society organisations and foreign non-governmental organisations in the first year of the administration. The investigations, on the grounds that these organisations were slowing economic growth, was criticised as a witch-hunt. International humanitarian aid organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres was among the groups that were put under pressure. Other organisations affected included the Sierra Club and Avaaz. Cases of sedition were filed against individuals criticising the government. This led to discontent within the BJP regarding Modi's style of functioning and drew comparisons to the governing style of Indira Gandhi. Modi repealed 1,200 obsolete laws in first three years as prime minister; a total of 1,301 such laws had been repealed by previous governments over a span of 64 years. He started a monthly radio programme titled "Mann Ki Baat" on 3 October 2014. Modi also launched the Digital India programme, with the goal of ensuring that government services are available electronically, building infrastructure to provide high-speed Internet access to rural areas, boosting manufacturing of electronic goods in the country, and promoting digital literacy. Modi launched Ujjwala scheme to provide free LPG connection to rural households. The scheme led to an increase in LPG consumption by 56% in 2019 as compared to 2014. In 2019, a law was passed to provide 10% reservation to Economically weaker sections. He was again sworn in as prime minister on 30 May 2019. On 30 July 2019, Parliament of India declared the practice of Triple Talaq as illegal, unconstitutional and made it punishable act from 1 August 2019 which is deemed to be in effect from 19 September 2018. On 5 August 2019, the government moved resolution to scrap Article 370 in the Rajya Sabha, and also reorganise the state with Jammu and Kashmir serving as one of the union territory and Ladakh region separated out as a separate union territory. Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. According to one study, "The BJP government incrementally but systemically attacked nearly all existing mechanisms that are in place to hold the political executive to account, either by ensuring that these mechanisms became subservient to the political executive or were captured by party loyalists." Scholars also point to how he Modi government has used state power to intimidate and stifle critics in the media and academia, thus undermining freedom of expression and alternative sources of information. Reporters Without Borders in 2021 characterised Modi as a predator for curbing press freedom in India since 2014. Economic policy The economic policies of Modi's government focused on privatisation and liberalisation of the economy, based on a neoliberal framework. Modi liberalised India's foreign direct investment policies, allowing more foreign investment in several industries, including in defence and the railways. Other proposed reforms included making it harder for workers to form unions and easier for employers to hire and fire them; some of these proposals were dropped after protests. The reforms drew strong opposition from unions: on 2 September 2015, eleven of the country's largest unions went on strike, including one affiliated with the BJP. The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, a constituent of the Sangh Parivar, stated that the underlying motivation of labour reforms favoured corporations over labourers. The funds dedicated to poverty reduction programmes and social welfare measures were greatly decreased by the Modi administration. The money spent on social programmes declined from 14.6% of GDP during the Congress government to 12.6% during Modi's first year in office. Spending on health and family welfare declined by 15%, and on primary and secondary education by 16%. The budgetary allocation for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, or the "education for all" programme, declined by 22%. The government also lowered corporate taxes, abolished the wealth tax, increased sales taxes, and reduced customs duties on gold, and jewellery. In October 2014, the Modi government deregulated diesel prices. In September 2014, Modi introduced the Make in India initiative to encourage foreign companies to manufacture products in India, with the goal of turning the country into a global manufacturing hub. Supporters of economic liberalisation supported the initiative, while critics argued it would allow foreign corporations to capture a greater share of the Indian market. Modi's administration passed a land-reform bill that allowed it to acquire private agricultural land without conducting a social impact assessment, and without the consent of the farmers who owned it. The bill was passed via an executive order after it faced opposition in parliament, but was eventually allowed to lapse. Modi's government put in place the Goods and Services Tax, the biggest tax reform in the country since independence. It subsumed around 17 different taxes and became effective from 1 July 2017. In his first cabinet decision, Modi set up a team to investigate black money. On 9 November 2016, the government demonetised ₹500 and ₹1000 banknotes, with the stated intention of curbing corruption, black money, the use of counterfeit currency, and terrorism. The move led to severe cash shortages, a steep decline in the Indian stock indices BSE SENSEX and NIFTY 50, and sparked widespread protests throughout the country. Several deaths were linked to the rush to exchange cash. In the subsequent year, the number of income tax returns filed for individuals rose by 25%, and the number of digital transactions increased steeply. Over the first four years of Modi's premiership, India's GDP grew at an average rate of 7.23%, higher than the rate of 6.39% under the previous government. The level of income inequality increased, while an internal government report said that in 2017, unemployment had increased to its highest level in 45 years. The loss of jobs was attributed to the 2016 demonetisation, and to the effects of the Goods and Services Tax. In the next year, after 2018, Indian economy started a gradual recovery with a GDP growth of 6.12% in 2018-19 FY, with an inflation rate of 3.4%. Same year, India was successful in making a good economy in trade and manufacturing sector. While in the FY of 2019–20, due to the general election, Modi government focused more on their election campaign. In the year 2019–20, the GDP growth rate was 4.18% and inflation rate also increased to 4.7% from 3.4% in the previous year. Though being high unemployment, increase in inflation rate and budget deficiency, Modi's leadership won in 2019 elections. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous rating agencies downgraded India's GDP predictions for FY21 to negative figures, signalling a recession in India, the most severe since 1979. According to a Dun & Bradstreet report, the country is likely to suffer a recession in the third quarter of FY2020 as a result of the over 2-month long nation-wide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19. This was also accompanied by the mass migration of migrant workers. Health and sanitation In his first year as prime minister, Modi reduced the amount of money spent by the central government on healthcare. The Modi government launched New Health Policy (NHP) in January 2015. The policy did not increase the government's spending on healthcare, instead emphasising the role of private healthcare organisations. This represented a shift away from the policy of the previous Congress government, which had supported programmes to assist public health goals, including reducing child and maternal mortality rates. The National Health Mission, which included public health programmes targeted at these indices received nearly 20% less funds in 2015 than in the previous year. 15 national health programmes, including those aimed at controlling tobacco use and supporting healthcare for the elderly, were merged with the National Health Mission. In its budget for the second year after it took office, the Modi government reduced healthcare spending by 15%. The healthcare budget for the following year rose by 19%. The budget was viewed positively by private insurance providers. Public health experts criticised its emphasis on the role of private healthcare providers, and suggested that it represented a shift away from public health facilities. The healthcare budget rose by 11.5% in 2018; the change included an allocation of for a government-funded health insurance program, and a decrease in the budget of the National Health Mission. The government introduced stricter packaging laws for tobacco which requires 85% of the packet size to be covered by pictorial warnings. An article in the medical journal Lancet stated that the country "might have taken a few steps back in public health" under Modi. In 2018 Modi launched the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, a government health insurance scheme intended to insure 500 million people. 100,000 people had signed up by October 2018. Modi emphasised his government's efforts at sanitation as a means of ensuring good health. On 2 October 2014, Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Mission ("Clean India") campaign. The stated goals of the campaign included eliminating open defecation and manual scavenging within five years. As part of the programme, the Indian government began constructing millions of toilets in rural areas and encouraging people to use them. The government also announced plans to build new sewage treatment plants. The administration plans to construct 60 million toilets by 2019. The construction projects have faced allegations of corruption, and have faced severe difficulty in getting people to use the toilets constructed for them. Sanitation cover in the country increased from 38.7% in October 2014 to 84.1% in May 2018; however, usage of the new sanitary facilities lagged behind the government's targets. In 2018, the World Health Organization stated that at least 180,000 diarrhoeal deaths were averted in rural India after the launch of the sanitation effort. Hindutva During the 2014 election campaign, the BJP sought to identify itself with political leaders known to have opposed Hindu nationalism, including B. R. Ambedkar, Subhas Chandra Bose, and Ram Manohar Lohia. The campaign also saw the use of rhetoric based on Hindutva by BJP leaders in certain states. Communal tensions were played upon especially in Uttar Pradesh and the states of Northeast India. A proposal for the controversial Uniform Civil Code was a part of the BJP's election manifesto. The activities of a number of Hindu nationalist organisations increased in scope after Modi's election as Prime Minister, sometimes with the support of the government. These activities included a Hindu religious conversion programme, a campaign against the alleged Islamic practice of "Love Jihad", and attempts to celebrate Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, by members of the right wing Hindu Mahasabha. Officials in the government, including the Home Minister, defended the conversion programmes. Links between the BJP and the RSS grew stronger under Modi. The RSS provided organisational support to the BJP's electoral campaigns, while the Modi administration appointed a number of individuals affiliated with the RSS to prominent government positions. In 2014, Yellapragada Sudershan Rao, who had previously been associated with the RSS, became the chairperson of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). Historians and former members of the ICHR, including those sympathetic to the BJP, questioned his credentials as a historian, and stated that the appointment was part of an agenda of cultural nationalism. The North East Delhi riots, which left more than 40 dead and hundreds injured, were triggered by protests against a citizenship law seen by many critics as anti-Muslim and part of Modi's Hindu nationalist agenda. On 5 August 2020, Modi visited Ayodhya after the Supreme Court in 2019 ordered a contested land in Ayodhya to be handed over to a trust to build the Hindu temple and ordered the government to give alternate 5 acre land to Sunni Waqf Board for the purpose of building a mosque. He became the first prime minister to visit Ram Janmabhoomi and Hanuman Garhi. Foreign policy Foreign policy played a relatively small role in Modi's election campaign, and did not feature prominently in the BJP's election manifesto. Modi invited all the other leaders of SAARC countries to his swearing in ceremony as prime minister. He was the first Indian prime minister to do so. Modi's foreign policy, similarly to that of the preceding INC government, focused on improving economic ties, security, and regional relations. Modi continued Manmohan Singh's policy of "multi-alignment." The Modi administration tried to attract foreign investment in the Indian economy from several sources, especially in East Asia, with the use of slogans such as "Make in India" and "Digital India". The government also tried to improve relations with Islamic nations in the Middle East, such as Bahrain, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as with Israel. The foreign relations of India with the USA also mended after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister. During the run-up to the general election there was wide-ranging scepticism regarding future of the strategic bilateral relation under Modi's premiership as in 2005 he was, while Chief Minister of Gujarat, denied a U.S. visa during the Bush administration for his poor human rights records. However sensing Modi's inevitable victory well before the election, the US Ambassador Nancy Powell had reached out to him as part of greater rapprochement from the west. Moreover, following his 2014 election as the Prime Minister of India President Obama congratulated him over the telephone and invited him to visit the US. Modi government has been successful in making good foreign relations with the USA in the presidency of both Barack Obama and Donald Trump. During the first few months after the election, Modi made trips to a number of different countries to further the goals of his policy, and attended the BRICS, ASEAN, and G20 summits. One of Modi's first visits as prime minister was to Nepal, during which he promised a billion USD in aid. Modi also made several overtures to the United States, including multiple visits to that country. While this was described as an unexpected development, due to the US having previously denied Modi a travel visa over his role during the 2002 Gujarat riots, the visits were expected to strengthen diplomatic and trade relations between the two countries. In 2015, the Indian parliament ratified a land exchange deal with Bangladesh about the India–Bangladesh enclaves, which had been initiated by the government of Manmohan Singh. Modi's administration gave renewed attention to India's "Look East Policy", instituted in 1991. The policy was renamed the "Act East Policy", and involved directing Indian foreign policy towards East Asia and Southeast Asia. The government signed agreements to improve land connectivity with Myanmar, through the state of Manipur. This represented a break with India's historic engagement with Myanmar, which prioritised border security over trade. China–India relations have deteriorated rapidly following the 2020 China–India skirmishes. Modi has pledged aid of $900 million to Afghanistan, visited the nation twice and been honoured with the nation's highest civilian honour in 2016. Defence policy India's nominal military spending increased steadily under Modi. The military budget declined over Modi's tenure both as a fraction of GDP and when adjusted for inflation. A substantial portion of the military budget was devoted to personnel costs, leading commentators to write that the budget was constraining Indian military modernisation. The BJP election manifesto had also promised to deal with illegal immigration into India in the Northeast, as well as to be more firm in its handling of insurgent groups. The Modi government issued a notification allowing Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist illegal immigrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh to legalise their residency in India. The government described the measure as being taken for humanitarian reasons but it drew criticism from several Assamese organisations.The Modi administration negotiated a peace agreement with the largest faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCM), which was announced in August 2015. The Naga insurgency in northeast India had begun in the 1950s. The NSCM and the government had agreed to a ceasefire in 1997, but a peace accord had not previously been signed. In 2015 the government abrogated a 15-year ceasefire with the Khaplang faction of the NSCM (NSCM-K). The NSCM-K responded with a series of attacks, which killed 18 people. The Modi government carried out a raid across the border with Myanmar as a result, and labelled the NSCM-K a terrorist organisation. Modi promised to be "tough on Pakistan" during his election campaign, and repeatedly stated that Pakistan was an exporter of terrorism. On 29 September 2016, the Indian Army stated that it had conducted a surgical strike on terror launch pads in Azad Kashmir. The Indian media claimed that up to 50 terrorists and Pakistani soldiers had been killed in the strike. Pakistan initially denied that any strikes had taken place. Subsequent reports suggested that Indian claim about the scope of the strike and the number of casualties had been exaggerated, although cross-border strikes had been carried out. In February 2019 India carried out airstrikes in Pakistan against a supposed terrorist camp. Further military skirmishes followed, including cross-border shelling and the loss of an Indian aircraft. Following his victory in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he focused more on Defence policies of India, especially against China and Pakistan. On 5 May 2020, Chinese and Indian troops engaged in aggressive melee, face-offs and skirmishes at locations along the Sino-Indian border, including near the disputed Pangong Lake in Ladakh and the Tibet Autonomous Region, and near the border between Sikkim and the Tibet Autonomous Region. Additional clashes also took place at locations in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). After which there was start of skirmishes between the nations leading to many border clashes, responses and reactions from both sides. A series of talks were also held between the two by both military and diplomatic means for peace. The first border clash reported in 2021 was on 20 January, referred to as a minor border clash in Sikkim. Environmental policy In naming his cabinet, Modi renamed the "Ministry of Environment and Forests" the "Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change." In the first budget of the government, the money allotted to this ministry was reduced by more than 50%. The new ministry also removed or diluted a number of laws related to environmental protection. These included no longer requiring clearance from the National Board for Wildlife for projects close to protected areas, and allowing certain projects to proceed before environmental clearance was received. The government also tried to reconstitute the Wildlife board such that it no longer had representatives from non-governmental organisations: however, this move was prevented by the Supreme Court. Modi also relaxed or abolished a number of other environmental regulations, particularly those related to industrial activity. A government committee stated that the existing system only served to create corruption, and that the government should instead rely on the owners of industries to voluntarily inform the government about the pollution they were creating. Other changes included reducing ministry oversight on small mining projects, and no longer requiring approval from tribal councils for projects inside forested areas. In addition, Modi lifted a moratorium on new industrial activity in the most polluted areas in the countries. The changes were welcomed by businesspeople, but criticised by environmentalists. Under the UPA government that preceded Modi's administration, field trials of Genetically Modified (GM) crops had essentially been put on hold, after protests from farmers fearing for their livelihoods. Under the Modi government these restrictions were gradually lifted. The government received some criticism for freezing the bank accounts of environmental group Greenpeace, citing financial irregularities, although a leaked government report said that the freeze had to do with Greenpeace's opposition to GM crops. At the COP26 conference Modi announced that India would target carbon neutrality by 2070, and also expand its renewable energy capacity. Though the date of net zero is far behind that of China and the USA and India's government wants to continue with the use of coal, Indian environmentalists and economists applauded the decision, describing it as a bold climate action. Democratic backsliding Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. According to one study, "The BJP government incrementally but systemically attacked nearly all existing mechanisms that are in place to hold the political executive to account, either by ensuring that these mechanisms became subservient to the political executive or were captured by party loyalists." Scholars also point to how the Modi government has used state power to intimidate and stifle critics in the media and academia, thus undermining freedom of expression and alternative sources of information. There have been several reports of the Modi government to be as an authoritarian conservative government, even due to lack of good opposition. Electoral history Personal life and image Personal life In accordance with Ghanchi tradition, Modi's marriage was arranged by his parents when he was a child. He was engaged at age 13 to Jashodaben Modi, marrying her when he was 18. They spent little time together and grew apart when Modi began two years of travel, including visits to Hindu ashrams. Reportedly, their marriage was never consummated, and he kept it a secret because otherwise he could not have become a 'pracharak' in the puritan Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Modi kept his marriage secret for most of his career. He acknowledged his wife for the first time when he filed his nomination for the 2014 general elections. Modi maintains a close relationship with his centenarian mother, Hiraben. A vegetarian and teetotaler, Modi has a frugal lifestyle and is a workaholic and introvert. A person named Badri Meena has been his cook since 2002. Modi's 31 August 2012 post on Google Hangouts made him the first Indian politician to interact with citizens on a live chat. Modi has also been called a fashion-icon for his signature crisply ironed, half-sleeved kurta, as well as for a suit with his name embroidered repeatedly in the pinstripes that he wore during a state visit by US President Barack Obama, which drew public and media attention and criticism. Modi's personality has been variously described by scholars and biographers as energetic, arrogant, and charismatic. He had published a Gujarati book titled Jyotipunj in 2008, containing profiles of various RSS leaders. The longest was of M. S. Golwalkar, under whose leadership the RSS expanded and whom Modi refers to as Pujniya Shri Guruji ("Guru worthy of worship"). According to The Economic Times, his intention was to explain the workings of the RSS to his readers and to reassure RSS members that he remained ideologically aligned with them. Modi authored eight other books, mostly containing short stories for children. The nomination of Modi for the prime ministership drew attention to his reputation as "one of contemporary India's most controversial and divisive politicians." During the 2014 election campaign the BJP projected an image of Modi as a strong, masculine leader, who would be able to take difficult decisions. Campaigns in which he has participated have focused on Modi as an individual, in a manner unusual for the BJP and RSS. Modi has relied upon his reputation as a politician able to bring about economic growth and "development". Nonetheless, his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots continues to attract criticism and controversy. Modi's hardline Hindutva philosophy and the policies adopted by his government continue to draw criticism, and have been seen as evidence of a majoritarian and exclusionary social agenda. In March 2021, Modi received his first COVID-19 vaccine dose at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. Personal donations Modi has made donations for various causes and programmes. One such instance was when Modi donated towards the initial corpus of the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) Fund. In his role as chief minister of Gujarat, Modi had donated from personal savings for educating daughters of state government officials. Modi had also raised by auctioning all the gifts he received as chief minister and donated this to the Kanya Kelavani Fund. The money was spent on the education of girl children, through the scheme. Approval ratings As a Prime Minister, Modi has received consistently high approval ratings; at the end of his first year in office, he received an overall approval rating of 87% in a Pew Research poll, with 68% of people rating him "very favorably" and 93% approving of his government. His approval rating remained largely consistent at around 74% through his second year in office, according to a nationwide poll conducted by instaVaani. At the end of his second year in office, an updated Pew Research poll showed Modi continued to receive high overall approval ratings of 81%, with 57% of those polled rating him "very favorably." At the end of his third year in office, a further Pew Research poll showed Modi with an overall approval rating of 88%, his highest yet, with 69% of people polled rating him "very favorably." A poll conducted by The Times of India in May 2017 showed 77% of the respondents rated Modi as "very good" and "good". In early 2017, a survey from Pew Research Center showed Modi to be the most popular figure in Indian politics. In a weekly analysis by Morning Consult called the Global Leader Approval Rating Tracker, Modi had the highest net approval rating as of 22 December 2020 of all government leaders in the 13 countries being tracked. Awards and recognition In March 2012 and June 2014, Modi appeared on the cover of the Asian edition of Time Magazine, one of the few Indian politicians to have done so. He was awarded Indian of the Year by CNN-News18 (formally CNN-IBN) news network in 2014. In June 2015, Modi was featured on the cover of Time Magazine. In 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020 and 2021, he was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World. Forbes Magazine ranked him the 15th Most Powerful Person in the World in 2014 and the 9th Most Powerful Person in the World in 2015, 2016 and 2018. In 2015, Modi was ranked the 13th Most Influential Person in the World by Bloomberg Markets Magazine. Modi was ranked fifth on Fortune Magazines first annual list of the "World's Greatest Leaders" in 2015. In 2017, Gallup International Association (GIA) conducted a poll and ranked Modi as third top leader of the world. In 2016, a wax statue of Modi was unveiled at Madame Tussauds wax museum in London. In 2015 he was named one of Times "30 Most Influential People on the Internet" as the second-most-followed politician on Twitter and Facebook. In 2018, he was the third most followed world leader on Twitter, and the most followed world leader on Facebook and Instagram. In October 2018, Modi received United Nations's highest environmental award, the 'Champions of the Earth', for policy leadership by "pioneering work in championing" the International Solar Alliance and "new areas of levels of cooperation on environmental action". He was conferred the 2018 Seoul Peace Prize in recognition of "his dedication to improving international co-operation, raising global economic growth, accelerating the Human Development of the people of India by fostering economic growth and furthering the development of democracy through anti-corruption and social integration efforts". He is the first Indian to win the award. Following his second swearing-in ceremony as Prime Minister of India, a picture of Modi was displayed on the facade of the ADNOC building in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The Texas India Forum hosted a community event in honour of Modi on 22 September 2019 at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. The event was attended by over 50,000 people and several American politicians including President Donald Trump, making it the largest gathering for an invited foreign leader visiting the United States other than the Pope. At the same event, Modi was presented with the Key to the City of Houston by Mayor Sylvester Turner. He was awarded the Global Goalkeeper Award on 24 September 2019 in New York City by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in recognition for the Swachh Bharat Mission and "the progress India has made in providing safe sanitation under his leadership". In 2020, Modi was among eight world leaders awarded the parodic Ig Nobel Prize in Medical Education "for using the COVID-19 viral pandemic to teach the world that politicians can have a more immediate effect on life and death than scientists and doctors can". On 21 December 2020, President Donald Trump awarded Modi with the Legion of Merit for elevating the India–United States relations. The Legion of Merit was awarded to Modi along with Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison and former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe, the "original architects" of the QUAD. On 24 February 2021, the largest cricket stadium in the world at Ahmedabad was renamed Narendra Modi Stadium by the Gujarat Cricket Association. Modi is featured in TIME Magazine's 100 most influential people of 2021 list, making it his fifth time after 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2020. TIME called him the third "pivotal leader" of independent India after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi who "dominated the country’s politics like no one since them". State honours Other honours In popular culture Modi Kaka Ka Gaon, a 2017 Indian Hindi-language drama film by Tushar Amrish Goel is the first biopic on Modi, starring Vikas Mahante in the titular role it was made halfway into his first-term as the prime minister which is shown in the film. PM Narendra Modi, a 2019 Indian Hindi-language biographical drama film by Omung Kumar, starred Vivek Oberoi in the titular role and covers his rise to prime ministership.An Indian web series, Modi: Journey of a Common Man, based on the same premise released in May 2019 on Eros Now with Ashish Sharma portraying Modi. Hu Narender Modi Banva Mangu Chu is a 2018 Indian Gujarati-language drama film by Anil Naryani about the aspirations of a young boy who wants to become like Narendra Modi. 7 RCR (7, Race Course Road), a 2014 Indian docudrama political television series which charts the political careers of prominent Indian politicians, covered Modi's rise to the PM's office in the episodes - "Story of Narendra Modi from 1950 to 2001", "Story of Narendra Modi in Controversial Years from 2001 to 2013", "Truth Behind Brand Modi", "Election Journey of Narendra Modi to 7 RCR", and "Masterplan of Narendra Modi's NDA Govt."; with Sangam Rai in the role of Modi. Other portrayals of Modi include by Rajit Kapur in the film Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) and Vikram Gokhale in the web-television series Avrodh: The Siege Within (2020) both based on the 2016 Uri attack and the following Indian surgical strikes. Pratap Singh played a character based on Modi in Chand Bujh Gaya (2005) which is set in the backdrop of the Gujarat riots. Premiered on 12 August 2019, Modi appeared in an episode - "Man vs. Wild with Bear Grylls and Prime Minister Modi" - of Discovery Channel's show Man vs Wild with the host Bear Grylls, becoming the second world leader after Barack Obama to appear in the reality show. In the show he trekked the jungles and talked about nature and wildlife conservation with Grylls. The episode was shot in Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand and was broadcast in 180 countries along India. He has also appeared twice on the Indian television talk show Aap Ki Adalat before the 2009 and 2014 elections respectively. Along with hosting the Mann Ki Baat monthly radio programme, on All India Radio, he has also conducted Pariksha Pe Charcha - a competition/discussion for students and the issues they face in examinations. Bibliography See also List of prime ministers of India Opinion polling on the Narendra Modi premiership References Notes Citations Further reading External links |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- 1950 births Living people Gujarati people People from Gujarat People from Mehsana district Indian Hindus Prime Ministers of India Leaders of the Lok Sabha Chief Ministers of Gujarat Chief ministers from Bharatiya Janata Party 16th Lok Sabha members 17th Lok Sabha members Members of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly Delhi University alumni Gujarat University alumni Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharaks Indian nationalists Indian writers Recipients of the Legion of Merit Hindu nationalists Right-wing politics in India 20th-century Indian writers Members of the Planning Commission of India Right-wing populism in India Bharatiya Jana Sangh politicians Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Gujarat Lok Sabha members from Gujarat Lok Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2019 Indian general election Writers from Gujarat Candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Hindu pacifists Narendra Modi ministry Candidates in the 2019 Indian general election Hindu revivalists Writers about activism and social change Indian political people 21st-century prime ministers of India Gujarat MLAs 1998–2002 Politicians of Hindu political parties National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Indian anti-communists Gandhians Gujarat MLAs 2002–2007 Gujarat MLAs 2007–2012 Gujarat MLAs 2012–2017 21st-century Indian non-fiction writers Politicians from Varanasi Time 100
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[ "\"What Happened to Us\" is a song by Australian recording artist Jessica Mauboy, featuring English recording artist Jay Sean. It was written by Sean, Josh Alexander, Billy Steinberg, Jeremy Skaller, Rob Larow, Khaled Rohaim and Israel Cruz. \"What Happened to Us\" was leaked online in October 2010, and was released on 10 March 2011, as the third single from Mauboy's second studio album, Get 'Em Girls (2010). The song received positive reviews from critics.\n\nA remix of \"What Happened to Us\" made by production team OFM, was released on 11 April 2011. A different version of the song which features Stan Walker, was released on 29 May 2011. \"What Happened to Us\" charted on the ARIA Singles Chart at number 14 and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). An accompanying music video was directed by Mark Alston, and reminisces on a former relationship between Mauboy and Sean.\n\nProduction and release\n\n\"What Happened to Us\" was written by Josh Alexander, Billy Steinberg, Jeremy Skaller, Rob Larow, Khaled Rohaim, Israel Cruz and Jay Sean. It was produced by Skaller, Cruz, Rohaim and Bobby Bass. The song uses C, D, and B minor chords in the chorus. \"What Happened to Us\" was sent to contemporary hit radio in Australia on 14 February 2011. The cover art for the song was revealed on 22 February on Mauboy's official Facebook page. A CD release was available for purchase via her official website on 10 March, for one week only. It was released digitally the following day.\n\nReception\nMajhid Heath from ABC Online Indigenous called the song a \"Jordin Sparks-esque duet\", and wrote that it \"has a nice innocence to it that rings true to the experience of losing a first love.\" Chris Urankar from Nine to Five wrote that it as a \"mid-tempo duet ballad\" which signifies Mauboy's strength as a global player. On 21 March 2011, \"What Happened to Us\" debuted at number 30 on the ARIA Singles Chart, and peaked at number 14 the following week. The song was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), for selling 70,000 copies. \"What Happened to Us\" spent a total of ten weeks in the ARIA top fifty.\n\nMusic video\n\nBackground\nThe music video for the song was shot in the Elizabeth Bay House in Sydney on 26 November 2010. The video was shot during Sean's visit to Australia for the Summerbeatz tour. During an interview with The Daily Telegraph while on the set of the video, Sean said \"the song is sick! ... Jessica's voice is amazing and we're shooting [the video] in this ridiculously beautiful mansion overlooking the harbour.\" The video was directed by Mark Alston, who had previously directed the video for Mauboy's single \"Let Me Be Me\" (2009). It premiered on YouTube on 10 February 2011.\n\nSynopsis and reception\nThe video begins showing Mauboy who appears to be sitting on a yellow antique couch in a mansion, wearing a purple dress. As the video progresses, scenes of memories are displayed of Mauboy and her love interest, played by Sean, spending time there previously. It then cuts to the scenes where Sean appears in the main entrance room of the mansion. The final scene shows Mauboy outdoors in a gold dress, surrounded by green grass and trees. She is later joined by Sean who appears in a black suit and a white shirt, and together they sing the chorus of the song to each other. David Lim of Feed Limmy wrote that the video is \"easily the best thing our R&B princess has committed to film – ever\" and praised the \"mansion and wondrous interior décor\". He also commended Mauboy for choosing Australian talent to direct the video instead of American directors, which she had used for her previous two music videos. Since its release, the video has received over two million views on Vevo.\n\nLive performances\nMauboy performed \"What Happened to Us\" live for the first time during her YouTube Live Sessions program on 4 December 2010. She also appeared on Adam Hills in Gordon Street Tonight on 23 February 2011 for an interview and later performed the song. On 15 March 2011, Mauboy performed \"What Happened to Us\" on Sunrise. She also performed the song with Stan Walker during the Australian leg of Chris Brown's F.A.M.E. Tour in April 2011. Mauboy and Walker later performed \"What Happened to Us\" on Dancing with the Stars Australia on 29 May 2011. From November 2013 to February 2014, \"What Happened to Us\" was part of the set list of the To the End of the Earth Tour, Mauboy's second headlining tour of Australia, with Nathaniel Willemse singing Sean's part.\n\nTrack listing\n\nDigital download\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean – 3:19\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean (Sgt Slick Remix) – 6:33\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean (Just Witness Remix) – 3:45\n\nCD single\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean (Album Version) – 3:19\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean (Sgt Slick Remix) – 6:33\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean (OFM Remix) – 3:39\n\nDigital download – Remix\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean (OFM Remix) – 3:38\n\nDigital download\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Stan Walker – 3:20\n\nPersonnel\nSongwriting – Josh Alexander, Billy Steinberg, Jeremy Skaller, Rob Larow, Khaled Rohaim, Israel Cruz, Jay Sean\nProduction – Jeremy Skaller, Bobby Bass\nAdditional production – Israel Cruz, Khaled Rohaim\nLead vocals – Jessica Mauboy, Jay Sean\nMixing – Phil Tan\nAdditional mixing – Damien Lewis\nMastering – Tom Coyne \nSource:\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly chart\n\nYear-end chart\n\nCertification\n\nRadio dates and release history\n\nReferences\n\n2010 songs\n2011 singles\nJessica Mauboy songs\nJay Sean songs\nSongs written by Billy Steinberg\nSongs written by Jay Sean\nSongs written by Josh Alexander\nSongs written by Israel Cruz\nVocal duets\nSony Music Australia singles\nSongs written by Khaled Rohaim", "Don Juan Manuel's Tales of Count Lucanor, in Spanish Libro de los ejemplos del conde Lucanor y de Patronio (Book of the Examples of Count Lucanor and of Patronio), also commonly known as El Conde Lucanor, Libro de Patronio, or Libro de los ejemplos (original Old Castilian: Libro de los enxiemplos del Conde Lucanor et de Patronio), is one of the earliest works of prose in Castilian Spanish. It was first written in 1335.\n\nThe book is divided into four parts. The first and most well-known part is a series of 51 short stories (some no more than a page or two) drawn from various sources, such as Aesop and other classical writers, and Arabic folktales.\n\nTales of Count Lucanor was first printed in 1575 when it was published at Seville under the auspices of Argote de Molina. It was again printed at Madrid in 1642, after which it lay forgotten for nearly two centuries.\n\nPurpose and structure\n\nA didactic, moralistic purpose, which would color so much of the Spanish literature to follow (see Novela picaresca), is the mark of this book. Count Lucanor engages in conversation with his advisor Patronio, putting to him a problem (\"Some man has made me a proposition...\" or \"I fear that such and such person intends to...\") and asking for advice. Patronio responds always with the greatest humility, claiming not to wish to offer advice to so illustrious a person as the Count, but offering to tell him a story of which the Count's problem reminds him. (Thus, the stories are \"examples\" [ejemplos] of wise action.) At the end he advises the Count to do as the protagonist of his story did.\n\nEach chapter ends in more or less the same way, with slight variations on: \"And this pleased the Count greatly and he did just so, and found it well. And Don Johán (Juan) saw that this example was very good, and had it written in this book, and composed the following verses.\" A rhymed couplet closes, giving the moral of the story.\n\nOrigin of stories and influence on later literature\nMany of the stories written in the book are the first examples written in a modern European language of various stories, which many other writers would use in the proceeding centuries. Many of the stories he included were themselves derived from other stories, coming from western and Arab sources.\n\nShakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew has the basic elements of Tale 35, \"What Happened to a Young Man Who Married a Strong and Ill-tempered Woman\".\n\nTale 32, \"What Happened to the King and the Tricksters Who Made Cloth\" tells the story that Hans Christian Andersen made popular as The Emperor's New Clothes.\n\nStory 7, \"What Happened to a Woman Named Truhana\", a version of Aesop's The Milkmaid and Her Pail, was claimed by Max Müller to originate in the Hindu cycle Panchatantra.\n\nTale 2, \"What happened to a good Man and his Son, leading a beast to market,\" is the familiar fable The miller, his son and the donkey.\n\nIn 2016, Baroque Decay released a game under the name \"The Count Lucanor\". As well as some protagonists' names, certain events from the books inspired past events in the game.\n\nThe stories\n\nThe book opens with a prologue which introduces the characters of the Count and Patronio. The titles in the following list are those given in Keller and Keating's 1977 translation into English. James York's 1868 translation into English gives a significantly different ordering of the stories and omits the fifty-first.\n\n What Happened to a King and His Favorite \n What Happened to a Good Man and His Son \n How King Richard of England Leapt into the Sea against the Moors\n What a Genoese Said to His Soul When He Was about to Die \n What Happened to a Fox and a Crow Who Had a Piece of Cheese in His Beak\n How the Swallow Warned the Other Birds When She Saw Flax Being Sown \n What Happened to a Woman Named Truhana \n What Happened to a Man Whose Liver Had to Be Washed \n What Happened to Two Horses Which Were Thrown to the Lion \n What Happened to a Man Who on Account of Poverty and Lack of Other Food Was Eating Bitter Lentils \n What Happened to a Dean of Santiago de Compostela and Don Yllán, the Grand Master of Toledo\n What Happened to the Fox and the Rooster \n What Happened to a Man Who Was Hunting Partridges \n The Miracle of Saint Dominick When He Preached against the Usurer \n What Happened to Lorenzo Suárez at the Siege of Seville \n The Reply that count Fernán González Gave to His Relative Núño Laynes \n What Happened to a Very Hungry Man Who Was Half-heartedly Invited to Dinner \n What Happened to Pero Meléndez de Valdés When He Broke His Leg \n What Happened to the Crows and the Owls \n What Happened to a King for Whom a Man Promised to Perform Alchemy \n What Happened to a Young King and a Philosopher to Whom his Father Commended Him \n What Happened to the Lion and the Bull \n How the Ants Provide for Themselves \n What Happened to the King Who Wanted to Test His Three Sons \n What Happened to the Count of Provence and How He Was Freed from Prison by the Advice of Saladin\n What Happened to the Tree of Lies \n What Happened to an Emperor and to Don Alvarfáñez Minaya and Their Wives \n What Happened in Granada to Don Lorenzo Suárez Gallinato When He Beheaded the Renegade Chaplain \n What Happened to a Fox Who Lay down in the Street to Play Dead \n What Happened to King Abenabet of Seville and Ramayquía His Wife \n How a Cardinal Judged between the Canons of Paris and the Friars Minor \n What Happened to the King and the Tricksters Who Made Cloth \n What Happened to Don Juan Manuel's Saker Falcon and an Eagle and a Heron \n What Happened to a Blind Man Who Was Leading Another \n What Happened to a Young Man Who Married a Strong and Ill-tempered Woman\n What Happened to a Merchant When He Found His Son and His Wife Sleeping Together \n What Happened to Count Fernán González with His Men after He Had Won the Battle of Hacinas \n What Happened to a Man Who Was Loaded down with Precious Stones and Drowned in the River \n What Happened to a Man and a Swallow and a Sparrow \n Why the Seneschal of Carcassonne Lost His Soul \n What Happened to a King of Córdova Named Al-Haquem \n What Happened to a Woman of Sham Piety \n What Happened to Good and Evil and the Wise Man and the Madman \n What Happened to Don Pero Núñez the Loyal, to Don Ruy González de Zavallos, and to Don Gutier Roiz de Blaguiello with Don Rodrigo the Generous \n What Happened to a Man Who Became the Devil's Friend and Vassal \n What Happened to a Philosopher who by Accident Went down a Street Where Prostitutes Lived \n What Befell a Moor and His Sister Who Pretended That She Was Timid \n What Happened to a Man Who Tested His Friends \n What Happened to the Man Whom They Cast out Naked on an Island When They Took away from Him the Kingdom He Ruled \n What Happened to Saladin and a Lady, the Wife of a Knight Who Was His Vassal \n What Happened to a Christian King Who Was Very Powerful and Haughty\n\nReferences\n\nNotes\n\nBibliography\n\n Sturm, Harlan\n\n Wacks, David\n\nExternal links\n\nThe Internet Archive provides free access to the 1868 translation by James York.\nJSTOR has the to the 1977 translation by Keller and Keating.\nSelections in English and Spanish (pedagogical edition) with introduction, notes, and bibliography in Open Iberia/América (open access teaching anthology)\n\n14th-century books\nSpanish literature\n1335 books" ]
[ "Narendra Modi", "Final years", "What happened in her final years?", "Modi made extensive use of holograms" ]
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How did Modi use holograms?
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How did Modi use holograms in his final years?
Narendra Modi
During Modi's second term the rhetoric of the government shifted from Hindutva to Gujarat's economic development. Modi curtailed the influence of Sangh Parivar organisations such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), entrenched in the state after the decline of Ahmedabad's textile industry, and dropped Gordhan Zadafia (an ally of former Sangh co-worker and VHP state chief Praveen Togadia) from his cabinet. When the BKS staged a farmers' demonstration Modi ordered their eviction from state-provided houses, and his decision to demolish 200 illegal temples in Gandhinagar deepened the rift with the VHP. Sangh organisations were no longer consulted or informed in advance about Modi's administrative decisions. Nonetheless, Modi retained connections with some Hindu nationalists. Modi wrote a foreword to a textbook by Dinanath Batra released in 2014, which stated that ancient India possessed technologies including test-tube babies. Modi's relationship with Muslims continued to attract criticism. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (who asked Modi for tolerance in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat violence and supported his resignation as chief minister) distanced himself, reaching out to North Indian Muslims before the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. After the elections Vajpayee called the violence in Gujarat a reason for the BJP's electoral defeat and said it had been a mistake to leave Modi in office after the riots. Questions about Modi's relationship with Muslims were also raised by many Western nations during his tenure as chief minister. Modi was barred from entering the United States by the State Department, in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on International Religious Freedom formed under the aegis of the International Religious Freedom Act, the only person denied a US visa under this law. The UK and the European Union refused to admit him because of what they saw as his role in the riots. As Modi rose to prominence in India, the UK and the EU lifted their bans in October 2012 and March 2013, respectively, and after his election as prime minister he was invited to Washington. During the run-up to the 2007 assembly elections and the 2009 general election, the BJP intensified its rhetoric on terrorism. In July 2006, Modi criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh " for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislation" such as the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the national government to allow states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. In 2007 Modi authored Karmayog, a 101-page booklet discussing manual scavenging. In it, Modi argued that scavenging was a "spiritual experience" for Dalits. However, this book was not circulated that time because of the election code of conduct. After the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Modi held a meeting to discuss the security of Gujarat's 1,600-kilometre (990 mi)-long coastline, resulting in government authorisation of 30 high-speed surveillance boats. In July 2007 Modi completed 2,063 consecutive days as chief minister of Gujarat, making him the longest-serving holder of that post, and the BJP won 122 of 182 state-assembly seats in that year's election. As Chief Minister, Modi favoured privatisation and small government, which was at odds with the philosophy of the RSS, usually described as anti-privatisation and anti-globalisation. His policies during his second term have been credited with reducing corruption in the state. He established financial and technology parks in Gujarat and during the 2007 Vibrant Gujarat summit, real-estate investment deals worth Rs6.6 trillion were signed. The governments led by Patel and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of groundwater-conservation projects. By December 2008, 500,000 structures had been built, of which 113,738 were check dams, which helped recharge the aquifers beneath them. Sixty of the 112 tehsils which had depleted the water table in 2004 had regained their normal groundwater levels by 2010. As a result, the state's production of genetically modified cotton increased to become the largest in India. The boom in cotton production and its semi-arid land use led to Gujarat's agricultural sector growing at an average rate of 9.6 percent from 2001 to 2007. Public irrigation measures in central and southern Gujarat, such as the Sardar Sarovar Dam, were less successful. The Sardar Sarovar project only irrigated 4-6% of the area intended. Nonetheless, from 2001 to 2010 Gujarat recorded an agricultural growth rate of 10.97 percent - the highest of any state. However, sociologists have pointed out that the growth rate under the 1992-97 INC government was 12.9 percent. In 2008 Modi offered land in Gujarat to Tata Motors to set up a plant manufacturing the Nano after a popular agitation had forced the company to move out of West Bengal. Several other companies followed the Tata's to Gujarat. The Modi government finished the process of bringing electricity to every village in Gujarat that its predecessor had almost completed. Modi significantly changed the state's system of power distribution, greatly impacting farmers. Gujarat expanded the Jyotigram Yojana scheme, in which agricultural electricity was separated from other rural electricity; the agricultural electricity was rationed to fit scheduled irrigation demands, reducing its cost. Although early protests by farmers ended when those who benefited found that their electricity supply had stabilised, according to an assessment study corporations and large farmers benefited from the policy at the expense of small farmers and labourers. During the 2012 campaign, Modi attempted to identify himself with the state of Gujarat, a strategy similar to that used by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, and projected himself as protecting Gujarat against persecution by the rest of India. Despite the BJP's shift away from explicit Hindutva, Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism. Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders. During his 2012 campaign he twice refused to wear articles of clothing gifted by Muslim leaders. He did, however, maintain relations with Dawoodi Bohra. His campaign included references to issues known to cause religious polarisation, including to Afzal Guru and the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. The BJP did not nominate any Muslim candidates for the assembly election of 2012. He had published a Gujarati book titled Jyotipunj in 2008, containing profiles of various RSS leaders. The longest was of M. S. Golwalkar, under whose leadership the RSS expanded and whom Modi refers to as Pujniya Shri Guruji ("Guru worthy of worship"). According to The Economic Times, his intention was to explain the workings of the RSS to his readers and to reassure RSS members that he remained ideologically aligned with them. Modi authored eight other books, mostly containing short stories for children. While campaigning for the 2012 assembly elections, Modi made extensive use of holograms and other technologies allowing him to reach a large number of people, something he would repeat in the 2014 general election. In the 2012 Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections, Modi won the constituency of Maninagar by 86,373 votes over Shweta Bhatt, the INC candidate and wife of Sanjiv Bhatt. The BJP won 115 of the 182 seats, continuing its majority during his tenure and allowing the party to form the government (as it had in Gujarat since 1995). In later by-elections the BJP won four more assembly seats and two Lok Sabha seats held by the INC, although Modi did not campaign for its candidates. In 2013, the Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF) at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania cancelled a keynote video-conference speech by Modi following protests by Indian-Americans. After his election as prime minister, Modi resigned as the chief minister and as an MLA from Maninagar on 21 May 2014. Anandiben Patel succeeded him as the chief minister. CANNOTANSWER
allowing him to reach a large number of people,
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from Varanasi. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindu nationalist paramilitary volunteer organisation. He is the first prime minister to have been born after India's independence in 1947 and the second prime minister not belonging to the Indian National Congress to have won two consecutive majorities in the Lok Sabha, or lower house of Indian of parliament. Born and raised in Vadnagar, a small town in northeastern Gujarat, Modi completed his secondary education there. He was introduced to the RSS at age eight. He has drawn attention to having to work as a child in his father's tea stall on the Vadnagar railway station platform, a description that has not been reliably corroborated. At age 18, Modi was married to Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi, whom he abandoned soon after. He left his parental home where she had come to live. He first publicly acknowledged her as his wife more than four decades later when required to do so by Indian law, but has made no contact with her since. Modi has asserted he had travelled in northern India for two years after leaving his parental home, visiting a number of religious centres, but few details of his travels have emerged. Upon his return to Gujarat in 1971, he became a full-time worker for the RSS. After the state of emergency declared by prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1975, Modi went into hiding. The RSS assigned him to the BJP in 1985 and he held several positions within the party hierarchy until 2001, rising to the rank of general secretary. Modi was appointed Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2001 due to Keshubhai Patel's failing health and poor public image following the earthquake in Bhuj. Modi was elected to the legislative assembly soon after. His administration has been considered complicit in the 2002 Gujarat riots in which 1044 people were killed, three-quarters of whom were Muslim, or otherwise criticised for its management of the crisis. The Supreme Court remarked that Narendra Modi was like a Modern-day Nero, looking the other way as innocent women and children were burning. A Supreme Court of India-appointed Special Investigation Team found no evidence to initiate prosecution proceedings against Modi personally. While his policies as chief minister—credited with encouraging economic growth—have received praise, his administration has been criticised for failing to significantly improve health, poverty and education indices in the state. Modi led the BJP in the 2014 general election which gave the party a majority in the Indian lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha, the first time for any single party since 1984. Modi's administration has tried to raise foreign direct investment in the Indian economy and reduced spending on healthcare and social welfare programmes. Modi has attempted to improve efficiency in the bureaucracy; he has centralised power by abolishing the Planning Commission. He began a high-profile sanitation campaign, controversially initiated a demonetisation of high-denomination banknotes and transformation of taxation regime, and weakened or abolished environmental and labour laws. Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. Following his party's victory in the 2019 general election, his administration revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and also introduced the Citizenship Amendment Act, which resulted in widespread protests across the country. Described as engineering a political realignment towards right-wing politics, Modi remains a figure of controversy domestically and internationally over his Hindu nationalist beliefs and his handling of the 2002 Gujarat riots, cited as evidence of an exclusionary social agenda. Early life and education Narendra Damodardas Modi was born on 17 September 1950 to a Gujarati Hindu family of grocers in Vadnagar, Mehsana district, Bombay State (present-day Gujarat). He was the third of six children born to Damodardas Mulchand Modi () and Hiraben Modi (born ). Modi's family belonged to the Modh-Ghanchi-Teli (oil-presser) community, which is categorised as an Other Backward Class by the Indian government. Modi had only infrequently spoken of his family background during his 13 years as chief minister of Gujarat. In the run up to the 2014 national elections, he began to regularly draw attention to his low-ranking social origins and to having to work as a child in his father's tea shop on the Vadnagar railway station platform, a description that the evidence of neighbours does not entirely corroborate. Modi completed his higher secondary education in Vadnagar in 1967, where teachers described him as an average student and a keen gifted debater, with interest in theatre. Modi preferred playing larger-than-life characters in theatrical productions, which has influenced his political image. When eight years old, Modi was introduced to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and began attending its local shakhas (training sessions). There, Modi met Lakshmanrao Inamdar, popularly known as Vakil Saheb, who inducted him as a balswayamsevak (junior cadet) in the RSS and became his political mentor. While Modi was training with the RSS, he also met Vasant Gajendragadkar and Nathalal Jaghda, Bharatiya Jana Sangh leaders who were founding members of the BJP's Gujarat unit in 1980. In a custom traditional to Narendra Modi's caste, his family arranged a betrothal to a girl, Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi, leading to their marriage when she was 17 and he was 18. Soon afterwards, he abandoned his bride, and left home, never divorcing her, but the marriage remaining unmentioned in Modi's public pronouncements for many decades. In April 2014, shortly before the national elections that swept him to power, Modi publicly affirmed that he was married and his spouse was Jashodaben; the couple has remained married, but estranged. Modi spent the ensuing two years travelling across Northern and North-eastern India, though few details of where he went have emerged. In interviews, Modi has described visiting Hindu ashrams founded by Swami Vivekananda: the Belur Math near Kolkata, followed by the Advaita Ashrama in Almora and the Ramakrishna Mission in Rajkot. Modi remained only a short time at each, since he lacked the required college education. Vivekananda has been described as a large influence in Modi's life. In the early summer of 1968, Modi reached the Belur Math but was turned away, after which Modi wandered through Calcutta, West Bengal and Assam, stopping in Siliguri and Guwahati. Modi then went to the Ramakrishna Ashram in Almora, where he was again rejected, before travelling back to Gujarat via Delhi and Rajasthan in 1968–69. Sometime in late 1969 or early 1970, Modi returned to Vadnagar for a brief visit before leaving again for Ahmedabad. There, Modi lived with his uncle, working in the latter's canteen at the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation. In Ahmedabad, Modi renewed his acquaintance with Inamdar, who was based at the Hedgewar Bhavan (RSS headquarters) in the city. Modi's first known political activity as an adult was in 1971 when he, as per his remarks, joined a Jana Sangh Satyagraha in Delhi led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee to enlist for the battlefield during the Bangladesh Liberation War. But the Indira Gandhi-led central government disallowed open support for the Mukti Bahini and Modi, according to his own claim, was put in Tihar Jail for a short period. After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he stopped working for his uncle and became a full-time pracharak (campaigner) for the RSS, working under Inamdar. Shortly before the war, Modi took part in a non-violent protest against the Indian government in New Delhi, for which he was arrested (as per his claim); this has been cited as a reason for Inamdar electing to mentor him. Many years later Modi would co-author a biography of Inamdar, published in 2001. Modi's claim that he was part of a Satyagraha led to a political war. Applications were filed with the PMO under the RTI Act seeking details of his arrest. In reply, the PMO claimed that it maintains official records on Modi only since he took charge as the Prime Minister of India in 2014. Despite this claim, the official website of the PMO contains specific information about Modi which dates back to the 1950s. In 1978 Modi received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the School of Open Learning (SOL) at the University of Delhi, graduating with a third class. Five years later, in 1983, he received a Master of Arts degree in political science from Gujarat University, graduating with a first class as an external distance learning student. But there is a big controversy surrounding his educational qualification. Replying to an RTI query, the SOL said it did not have any data of students who received a BA degree in 1978. Jayantibhai Patel, a former political science professor of Gujarat University, claimed that the subjects listed in Modi's MA degree were not offered by the university when Modi was studying there. Early political career In June 1975, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency in India which lasted until 1977. During this period, known as "The Emergency", many of her political opponents were jailed and opposition groups were banned. Modi was appointed general secretary of the "Gujarat Lok Sangharsh Samiti", an RSS committee co-ordinating opposition to the Emergency in Gujarat. Shortly afterwards, the RSS was banned. Modi was forced to go underground in Gujarat and frequently travelled in disguise to avoid arrest. He became involved in printing pamphlets opposing the government, sending them to Delhi and organising demonstrations. Modi was also involved with creating a network of safe houses for individuals wanted by the government, and in raising funds for political refugees and activists. During this period, Modi wrote a book in Gujarati, Sangharsh Ma Gujarat (In The Struggles of Gujarat), describing events during the Emergency. Among the people he met in this role was trade unionist and socialist activist George Fernandes, as well as several other national political figures. In his travels during the Emergency, Modi was often forced to move in disguise, once dressing as a monk, and once as a Sikh. Modi became an RSS sambhag pracharak (regional organiser) in 1978, overseeing RSS activities in the areas of Surat and Vadodara, and in 1979 he went to work for the RSS in Delhi, where he was put to work researching and writing the RSS's version of the history of the Emergency. He returned to Gujarat a short while later, and was assigned by the RSS to the BJP in 1985. In 1987 Modi helped organise the BJP's campaign in the Ahmedabad municipal election, which the BJP won comfortably; Modi's planning has been described as the reason for that result by biographers. After L. K. Advani became president of the BJP in 1986, the RSS decided to place its members in important positions within the BJP; Modi's work during the Ahmedabad election led to his selection for this role, and Modi was elected organising secretary of the BJP's Gujarat unit later in 1987. Modi rose within the party and was named a member of the BJP's National Election Committee in 1990, helping organise L. K. Advani's 1990 Ram Rath Yatra in 1990 and Murli Manohar Joshi's 1991–92 Ekta Yatra (Journey for Unity). However, he took a brief break from politics in 1992, instead establishing a school in Ahmedabad; friction with Shankersinh Vaghela, a BJP MP from Gujarat at the time, also played a part in this decision. Modi returned to electoral politics in 1994, partly at the insistence of Advani, and as party secretary, Modi's electoral strategy was considered central to the BJP victory in the 1995 state assembly elections. In November of that year Modi was appointed BJP national secretary and transferred to New Delhi, where he assumed responsibility for party activities in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The following year, Shankersinh Vaghela, a prominent BJP leader from Gujarat, defected to the Indian National Congress (Congress, INC) after losing his parliamentary seat in the Lok Sabha elections. Modi, on the selection committee for the 1998 Assembly elections in Gujarat, favoured supporters of BJP leader Keshubhai Patel over those supporting Vaghela to end factional division in the party. His strategy was credited as key to the BJP winning an overall majority in the 1998 elections, and Modi was promoted to BJP general secretary (organisation) in May of that year. Chief Minister of Gujarat Taking office In 2001, Keshubhai Patel's health was failing and the BJP lost a few state assembly seats in by-elections. Allegations of abuse of power, corruption and poor administration were made, and Patel's standing had been damaged by his administration's handling of the earthquake in Bhuj in 2001. The BJP national leadership sought a new candidate for the chief ministership, and Modi, who had expressed misgivings about Patel's administration, was chosen as a replacement. Although BJP leader L. K. Advani did not want to ostracise Patel and was concerned about Modi's lack of experience in government, Modi declined an offer to be Patel's deputy chief minister, telling Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee that he was "going to be fully responsible for Gujarat or not at all". On 3 October 2001 he replaced Patel as Chief Minister of Gujarat, with the responsibility of preparing the BJP for the December 2002 elections. Modi was sworn in as Chief Minister on 7 October 2001, and entered the Gujarat state legislature on 24 February 2002 by winning a by-election to the Rajkot – II constituency, defeating Ashwin Mehta of the INC by 14,728 votes. 2002 Gujarat riots On 27 February 2002, a train with several hundred passengers burned near Godhra, killing approximately 60 people. The train carried a large number of Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya after a religious ceremony at the site of the demolished Babri Masjid. In making a public statement after the incident, Modi declared it a terrorist attack planned and orchestrated by local Muslims. The next day, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad called for a bandh across the state. Riots began during the bandh, and anti-Muslim violence spread through Gujarat. The government's decision to move the bodies of the train victims from Godhra to Ahmedabad further inflamed the violence. The state government stated later that 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed. Independent sources put the death toll at over 2000, the vast majority Muslims Approximately 150,000 people were driven to refugee camps. Numerous women and children were among the victims; the violence included mass rapes and mutilations of women. The government of Gujarat itself is generally considered by scholars to have been complicit in the riots, (with some blaming chief minister Modi explicitly) and has otherwise received heavy criticism for its handling of the situation. Several scholars have described the violence as a pogrom, while others have called it an example of state terrorism. Summarising academic views on the subject, Martha Nussbaum said: "There is by now a broad consensus that the Gujarat violence was a form of ethnic cleansing, that in many ways it was premeditated, and that it was carried out with the complicity of the state government and officers of the law." The Modi government imposed a curfew in 26 major cities, issued shoot-at-sight orders and called for the army to patrol the streets, but was unable to prevent the violence from escalating. The president of the state unit of the BJP expressed support for the bandh, despite such actions being illegal at the time. State officials later prevented riot victims from leaving the refugee camps, and the camps were often unable to meet the needs of those living there. Muslim victims of the riots were subject to further discrimination when the state government announced that compensation for Muslim victims would be half of that offered to Hindus, although this decision was later reversed after the issue was taken to court. During the riots, police officers often did not intervene in situations where they were able. Modi's personal involvement in the 2002 events has continued to be debated. During the riots, Modi said that "What is happening is a chain of action and reaction." Later in 2002, Modi said the way in which he had handled the media was his only regret regarding the episode. In March 2008, the Supreme Court reopened several cases related to the 2002 riots, including that of the Gulbarg Society massacre, and established a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the issue. In response to a petition from Zakia Jafri (widow of Ehsan Jafri, who was killed in the Gulbarg Society massacre), in April 2009 the court also asked the SIT to investigate the issue of Modi's complicity in the killings. The SIT questioned Modi in March 2010; in May, it presented to the court a report finding no evidence against him. In July 2011, the court-appointed amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran submitted his final report to the court. Contrary to the SIT's position, he said that Modi could be prosecuted based on the available evidence. The Supreme Court gave the matter to the magistrate's court. The SIT examined Ramachandran's report, and in March 2012 submitted its final report, asking for the case to be closed. Zakia Jafri filed a protest petition in response. In December 2013 the magistrate's court rejected the protest petition, accepting the SIT's finding that there was no evidence against the chief minister. 2002 election In the aftermath of the violence there were widespread calls for Modi to resign as chief minister from within and outside the state, including from leaders of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Telugu Desam Party (allies in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance coalition), and opposition parties stalled Parliament over the issue. Modi submitted his resignation at the April 2002 BJP national executive meeting in Goa, but it was not accepted. His cabinet had an emergency meeting on 19 July 2002, after which it offered its resignation to the Gujarat Governor S. S. Bhandari, and the state assembly was dissolved. Despite opposition from the election commissioner, who said that a number of voters were still displaced, Modi succeeded in advancing the election to December 2002. In the elections, the BJP won 127 seats in the 182-member assembly. Although Modi later denied it, he made significant use of anti-Muslim rhetoric during his campaign, and the BJP profited from religious polarisation among the voters. He won the Maninagar constituency, receiving of votes and defeating INC candidate Yatin Oza by 75,333 votes. On 22 December 2002, Bhandari swore Modi in for a second term. Modi framed the criticism of his government for human rights violations as an attack upon Gujarati pride, a strategy which led to the BJP winning two-thirds of the seats in the state assembly. Second term During Modi's second term the rhetoric of the government shifted from Hindutva to Gujarat's economic development. Modi curtailed the influence of Sangh Parivar organisations such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), entrenched in the state after the decline of Ahmedabad's textile industry, and dropped Gordhan Zadafia (an ally of former Sangh co-worker and VHP state chief Praveen Togadia) from his cabinet. When the BKS staged a farmers' demonstration Modi ordered their eviction from state-provided houses, and his decision to demolish 200 illegal temples in Gandhinagar deepened the rift with the Vishva Hindu Parishad. Sangh organisations were no longer consulted or informed in advance about Modi's administrative decisions. Nonetheless, Modi retained connections with some Hindu nationalists. Modi wrote a foreword to a textbook by Dinanath Batra released in 2014, which stated that ancient India possessed technologies including test-tube babies. Modi's relationship with Muslims continued to attract criticism. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (who asked Modi for tolerance in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat violence and supported his resignation as chief minister) distanced himself, reaching out to North Indian Muslims before the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. After the elections Vajpayee called the violence in Gujarat a reason for the BJP's electoral defeat and said it had been a mistake to leave Modi in office after the riots. Questions about Modi's relationship with Muslims were also raised by many Western nations during his tenure as chief minister. Modi was barred from entering the United States by the State Department, in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on International Religious Freedom formed under the aegis of the International Religious Freedom Act, the only person denied a US visa under this law. The UK and the European Union refused to admit him because of what they saw as his role in the riots. As Modi rose to prominence in India, the UK and the EU lifted their bans in October 2012 and March 2013, respectively, and after his election he was invited to Washington as the nation's prime minister. During the run-up to the 2007 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election and the 2009 Indian general election, the BJP intensified its rhetoric on terrorism. In July 2006, Modi criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh " for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislation" such as the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the national government to allow states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. In 2007 Modi authored Karmayog, a 101-page booklet discussing manual scavenging. In it, Modi argued that scavenging was a "spiritual experience" for Valmiks, a sub-caste of Dalits. However, this book was not circulated that time because of the election code of conduct. After the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Modi held a meeting to discuss the security of Gujarat's -long coastline, resulting in government authorisation of 30 high-speed surveillance boats. In July 2007 Modi completed 2,063 consecutive days as chief minister of Gujarat, making him the longest-serving holder of that post, and the BJP won 122 of 182 state-assembly seats in that year's election. Development projects As Chief Minister, Modi favoured privatisation and small government, which was at odds with the philosophy of the RSS, usually described as anti-privatisation and anti-globalisation. His policies during his second term have been credited with reducing corruption in the state. He established financial and technology parks in Gujarat and during the 2007 Vibrant Gujarat summit, real-estate investment deals worth were signed. The governments led by Patel and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of groundwater-conservation projects. By December 2008, 500,000 structures had been built, of which 113,738 were check dams, which helped recharge the aquifers beneath them. Sixty of the 112 tehsils which had depleted the water table in 2004 had regained their normal groundwater levels by 2010. As a result, the state's production of genetically modified cotton increased to become the largest in India. The boom in cotton production and its semi-arid land use led to Gujarat's agricultural sector growing at an average rate of 9.6 percent from 2001 to 2007. Public irrigation measures in central and southern Gujarat, such as the Sardar Sarovar Dam, were less successful. The Sardar Sarovar project only irrigated 4–6% of the area intended. Nonetheless, from 2001 to 2010 Gujarat recorded an agricultural growth rate of 10.97 percent – the highest of any state. However, sociologists have pointed out that the growth rate under the 1992–97 INC government was 12.9 percent. In 2008 Modi offered land in Gujarat to Tata Motors to set up a plant manufacturing the Nano after a popular agitation had forced the company to move out of West Bengal. Several other companies followed the Tata to Gujarat. The Modi government finished the process of bringing electricity to every village in Gujarat that its predecessor had almost completed. Modi significantly changed the state's system of power distribution, greatly impacting farmers. Gujarat expanded the Jyotigram Yojana scheme, in which agricultural electricity was separated from other rural electricity; the agricultural electricity was rationed to fit scheduled irrigation demands, reducing its cost. Although early protests by farmers ended when those who benefited found that their electricity supply had stabilised, according to an assessment study corporations and large farmers benefited from the policy at the expense of small farmers and labourers. Development debate A contentious debate surrounds the assessment of Gujarat's economic development during Modi's tenure as chief minister. The state's GDP growth rate averaged 10% during Modi's tenure, a value similar to other highly industrialised states, and above that of the country as a whole. Gujarat also had a high rate of economic growth in the 1990s, before Modi took office, and some scholars have stated that growth did not much accelerate during Modi's tenure, although the state is considered to have maintained a high growth rate during Modi's Chief Ministership. Under Narendra Modi, Gujarat topped the World Bank's "ease of doing business" rankings among Indian states for two consecutive years. In 2013, Gujarat was ranked first among Indian states for "economic freedom" by a report measuring governance, growth, citizens' rights and labour and business regulation among the country's 20 largest states. In the later years of Modi's government, Gujarat's economic growth was frequently used as an argument to counter allegations of communalism. Tax breaks for businesses were easier to obtain in Gujarat than in other states, as was land. Modi's policies to make Gujarat attractive for investment included the creation of Special Economic Zones, where labour laws were greatly weakened. Despite its growth rate, Gujarat had a relatively poor record on human development, poverty relief, nutrition and education during Modi's tenure. In 2013, Gujarat ranked 13th in the country with respect to rates of poverty and 21st in education. Nearly 45 percent of children under five were underweight and 23 percent were undernourished, putting the state in the "alarming" category on the India State Hunger Index. A study by UNICEF and the Indian government found that Gujarat under Modi had a poor record with respect to immunisation in children. Over the decade from 2001 to 2011, Gujarat did not change its position relative to the rest of the country with respect to poverty and female literacy, remaining near the median of the 29 Indian states. It showed a marginal improvement in rates of infant mortality, and its position with respect to individual consumption declined. With respect to the quality of education in government schools, the state ranked below many Indian states. The social policies of the government generally did not benefit Muslims, Dalits, and Adivasis, and generally increased social inequalities. Development in Gujarat was generally limited to the urban middle class, and citizens in rural areas or from lower castes were increasingly marginalised. In 2013 the state ranked 10th of 21 Indian states in the Human Development Index. Under Modi, the state government spent less than the national average on education and healthcare. Final years Despite the BJP's shift away from explicit Hindutva, Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism. Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders. During his 2012 campaign he twice refused to wear articles of clothing gifted by Muslim leaders. He did, however, maintain relations with Dawoodi Bohra. His campaign included references to issues known to cause religious polarisation, including to Afzal Guru and the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. The BJP did not nominate any Muslim candidates for the assembly election of 2012. During the 2012 campaign, Modi attempted to identify himself with the state of Gujarat, a strategy similar to that used by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, and projected himself as protecting Gujarat against persecution by the rest of India. While campaigning for the 2012 assembly elections, Modi made extensive use of holograms and other technologies allowing him to reach a large number of people, something he would repeat in the 2014 general election. In the 2012 Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections, Modi won the constituency of Maninagar by 86,373 votes over Shweta Bhatt, the INC candidate and wife of Sanjiv Bhatt. The BJP won 115 of the 182 seats, continuing its majority during his tenure and allowing the party to form the government (as it had in Gujarat since 1995). After his election as prime minister, Modi resigned as the chief minister and as an MLA from Maninagar on 21 May 2014. Anandiben Patel succeeded him as the chief minister. Premiership campaigns 2014 Indian general election In September 2013 Modi was named the BJP's candidate for prime minister ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha election. Several BJP leaders expressed opposition to Modi's candidature, including BJP founding member L. K. Advani, who cited concern with leaders who were "concerned with their personal agendas". Modi played a dominant role in the BJP's election campaign. Several people who voted for the BJP stated that if Modi had not been the prime-ministerial candidate, they would have voted for another party. The focus on Modi as an individual was unusual for a BJP election campaign. The election was described as a referendum on Narendra Modi. During the campaign, Modi focused on the corruption scandals under the previous INC government, and played on his image as a politician who had created a high rate of GDP growth in Gujarat. Modi projected himself as a person who could bring about "development," without focus on any specific policies. His message found support among young Indians and among middle-class citizens. The BJP under Modi was able to downplay concerns about the protection of religious minorities and Modi's commitment to secularism, areas in which he had previously received criticism. Prior to the election Modi's image in the media had centered around his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots, but during the campaign the BJP was able to shift this to a focus on Modi's neoliberal ideology and the Gujarat model of development, although Hindutva remained a significant part of its campaign. The BJP's campaign was assisted by its wide influence in the media. Modi's campaign blitz cost approximately , and received extensive financial support from corporate donors. In addition to more conventional campaign methods, Modi made extensive use of social media, and addressed more than 1000 rallies via hologram appearances. The BJP won 31% of the vote, and more than doubled its tally in the Lok Sabha to 282, becoming the first party to win a majority of seats on its own since 1984. Voter dissatisfaction with the INC, as well as with regional parties in North India, was another reason for the success of the BJP, as was the support from the RSS. In states such as Uttar Pradesh in which the BJP performed well, it drew exceptionally high support from upper-caste Hindus, although the 10 percent of Muslim votes won was more than it had won before. It performed particularly well in parts of the country that had recently experienced violence between Hindus and Muslims. The magnitude of the BJP's victory led many commentators to say that the election constituted a political realignment away from progressive parties and towards the right-wing. Modi's tweet announcing his victory was described as being emblematic of the political realignment away from a secular, socialist state towards capitalism and Hindu cultural nationalism. Modi himself was a candidate for the Lok Sabha in two constituencies: Varanasi and Vadodara. He won in both constituencies, defeating Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal in Varanasi by 371,784 votes and Madhusudan Mistry of the INC in Vadodara by votes. Modi, who was unanimously elected leader of the BJP, was appointed prime minister by India's president. To comply with the law that an MP cannot represent more than one constituency, he vacated the Vadodara seat. 2019 Indian general election On 13 October 2018, Modi was renamed as the BJP candidate for prime minister for the 2019 general election. The chief campaigner for the party was BJP's president Amit Shah. Modi launched the Main Bhi Chowkidar campaign ahead of the general election, against Chowkidar Chor Hai campaign slogan of INC. In the year 2018, end Party's, second-biggest alliance Telugu Desam Party split from NDA over the matter of special-status for Andhra Pradesh. The campaign was started by Amit Shah on 8 April 2019. In the campaign, Modi was targeted by the opposition on corruption allegations over Rafale deal with France government. Highlighting this controversy the campaign "Chowkidar Chor Hai" was started, which was contrary to "Main Bhi Chowkidar" slogan. Modi made defence and national security among the foremost topics for the election campaign, especially after Pulwama attack, and the retaliatory attack of Balakot airstrike was counted as an achievement of the Modi administration. Other topics in the campaign were development and good foreign relations in the first premiership. Modi contested the Lok Sabha elections as a candidate from Varanasi. He won the seat by defeating Shalini Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, who fought on SP-BSP alliance by a margin of votes. Modi was unanimously appointed the prime minister for a second time by the National Democratic Alliance, after the alliance won the election for the second time by securing 353 seats in the Lok Sabha with the BJP alone won 303 seats. Prime Minister After the Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance won a landslide in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Narendra Modi was sworn in as the Prime Minister of India on 26 May 2014. He became the first Prime Minister born after India's independence from the British Empire in 1947. Modi started his second term after the Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance won again in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. On 6 December 2020, Modi became the 4th longest serving Prime Minister of India and the longest serving Non-Congress Prime Minister. Governance and other initiatives Modi's first year as prime minister saw significant centralisation of power relative to previous administrations. His efforts at centralisation have been linked to an increase in the number of senior administration officials resigning their positions. Initially lacking a majority in the Rajya Sabha, or upper house of Indian Parliament, Modi passed a number of ordinances to enact his policies, leading to further centralisation of power. The government also passed a bill increasing the control that it had over the appointment of judges, and reducing that of the judiciary. In December 2014 Modi abolished the Planning Commission, replacing it with the National Institution for Transforming India, or NITI Aayog. The move had the effect of greatly centralising the power previously with the planning commission in the person of the prime minister. The planning commission had received heavy criticism in previous years for creating inefficiency in the government, and of not filling its role of improving social welfare: however, since the economic liberalisation of the 1990s, it had been the major government body responsible for measures related to social justice. The Modi government launched investigations by the Intelligence Bureau against numerous civil society organisations and foreign non-governmental organisations in the first year of the administration. The investigations, on the grounds that these organisations were slowing economic growth, was criticised as a witch-hunt. International humanitarian aid organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres was among the groups that were put under pressure. Other organisations affected included the Sierra Club and Avaaz. Cases of sedition were filed against individuals criticising the government. This led to discontent within the BJP regarding Modi's style of functioning and drew comparisons to the governing style of Indira Gandhi. Modi repealed 1,200 obsolete laws in first three years as prime minister; a total of 1,301 such laws had been repealed by previous governments over a span of 64 years. He started a monthly radio programme titled "Mann Ki Baat" on 3 October 2014. Modi also launched the Digital India programme, with the goal of ensuring that government services are available electronically, building infrastructure to provide high-speed Internet access to rural areas, boosting manufacturing of electronic goods in the country, and promoting digital literacy. Modi launched Ujjwala scheme to provide free LPG connection to rural households. The scheme led to an increase in LPG consumption by 56% in 2019 as compared to 2014. In 2019, a law was passed to provide 10% reservation to Economically weaker sections. He was again sworn in as prime minister on 30 May 2019. On 30 July 2019, Parliament of India declared the practice of Triple Talaq as illegal, unconstitutional and made it punishable act from 1 August 2019 which is deemed to be in effect from 19 September 2018. On 5 August 2019, the government moved resolution to scrap Article 370 in the Rajya Sabha, and also reorganise the state with Jammu and Kashmir serving as one of the union territory and Ladakh region separated out as a separate union territory. Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. According to one study, "The BJP government incrementally but systemically attacked nearly all existing mechanisms that are in place to hold the political executive to account, either by ensuring that these mechanisms became subservient to the political executive or were captured by party loyalists." Scholars also point to how he Modi government has used state power to intimidate and stifle critics in the media and academia, thus undermining freedom of expression and alternative sources of information. Reporters Without Borders in 2021 characterised Modi as a predator for curbing press freedom in India since 2014. Economic policy The economic policies of Modi's government focused on privatisation and liberalisation of the economy, based on a neoliberal framework. Modi liberalised India's foreign direct investment policies, allowing more foreign investment in several industries, including in defence and the railways. Other proposed reforms included making it harder for workers to form unions and easier for employers to hire and fire them; some of these proposals were dropped after protests. The reforms drew strong opposition from unions: on 2 September 2015, eleven of the country's largest unions went on strike, including one affiliated with the BJP. The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, a constituent of the Sangh Parivar, stated that the underlying motivation of labour reforms favoured corporations over labourers. The funds dedicated to poverty reduction programmes and social welfare measures were greatly decreased by the Modi administration. The money spent on social programmes declined from 14.6% of GDP during the Congress government to 12.6% during Modi's first year in office. Spending on health and family welfare declined by 15%, and on primary and secondary education by 16%. The budgetary allocation for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, or the "education for all" programme, declined by 22%. The government also lowered corporate taxes, abolished the wealth tax, increased sales taxes, and reduced customs duties on gold, and jewellery. In October 2014, the Modi government deregulated diesel prices. In September 2014, Modi introduced the Make in India initiative to encourage foreign companies to manufacture products in India, with the goal of turning the country into a global manufacturing hub. Supporters of economic liberalisation supported the initiative, while critics argued it would allow foreign corporations to capture a greater share of the Indian market. Modi's administration passed a land-reform bill that allowed it to acquire private agricultural land without conducting a social impact assessment, and without the consent of the farmers who owned it. The bill was passed via an executive order after it faced opposition in parliament, but was eventually allowed to lapse. Modi's government put in place the Goods and Services Tax, the biggest tax reform in the country since independence. It subsumed around 17 different taxes and became effective from 1 July 2017. In his first cabinet decision, Modi set up a team to investigate black money. On 9 November 2016, the government demonetised ₹500 and ₹1000 banknotes, with the stated intention of curbing corruption, black money, the use of counterfeit currency, and terrorism. The move led to severe cash shortages, a steep decline in the Indian stock indices BSE SENSEX and NIFTY 50, and sparked widespread protests throughout the country. Several deaths were linked to the rush to exchange cash. In the subsequent year, the number of income tax returns filed for individuals rose by 25%, and the number of digital transactions increased steeply. Over the first four years of Modi's premiership, India's GDP grew at an average rate of 7.23%, higher than the rate of 6.39% under the previous government. The level of income inequality increased, while an internal government report said that in 2017, unemployment had increased to its highest level in 45 years. The loss of jobs was attributed to the 2016 demonetisation, and to the effects of the Goods and Services Tax. In the next year, after 2018, Indian economy started a gradual recovery with a GDP growth of 6.12% in 2018-19 FY, with an inflation rate of 3.4%. Same year, India was successful in making a good economy in trade and manufacturing sector. While in the FY of 2019–20, due to the general election, Modi government focused more on their election campaign. In the year 2019–20, the GDP growth rate was 4.18% and inflation rate also increased to 4.7% from 3.4% in the previous year. Though being high unemployment, increase in inflation rate and budget deficiency, Modi's leadership won in 2019 elections. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous rating agencies downgraded India's GDP predictions for FY21 to negative figures, signalling a recession in India, the most severe since 1979. According to a Dun & Bradstreet report, the country is likely to suffer a recession in the third quarter of FY2020 as a result of the over 2-month long nation-wide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19. This was also accompanied by the mass migration of migrant workers. Health and sanitation In his first year as prime minister, Modi reduced the amount of money spent by the central government on healthcare. The Modi government launched New Health Policy (NHP) in January 2015. The policy did not increase the government's spending on healthcare, instead emphasising the role of private healthcare organisations. This represented a shift away from the policy of the previous Congress government, which had supported programmes to assist public health goals, including reducing child and maternal mortality rates. The National Health Mission, which included public health programmes targeted at these indices received nearly 20% less funds in 2015 than in the previous year. 15 national health programmes, including those aimed at controlling tobacco use and supporting healthcare for the elderly, were merged with the National Health Mission. In its budget for the second year after it took office, the Modi government reduced healthcare spending by 15%. The healthcare budget for the following year rose by 19%. The budget was viewed positively by private insurance providers. Public health experts criticised its emphasis on the role of private healthcare providers, and suggested that it represented a shift away from public health facilities. The healthcare budget rose by 11.5% in 2018; the change included an allocation of for a government-funded health insurance program, and a decrease in the budget of the National Health Mission. The government introduced stricter packaging laws for tobacco which requires 85% of the packet size to be covered by pictorial warnings. An article in the medical journal Lancet stated that the country "might have taken a few steps back in public health" under Modi. In 2018 Modi launched the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, a government health insurance scheme intended to insure 500 million people. 100,000 people had signed up by October 2018. Modi emphasised his government's efforts at sanitation as a means of ensuring good health. On 2 October 2014, Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Mission ("Clean India") campaign. The stated goals of the campaign included eliminating open defecation and manual scavenging within five years. As part of the programme, the Indian government began constructing millions of toilets in rural areas and encouraging people to use them. The government also announced plans to build new sewage treatment plants. The administration plans to construct 60 million toilets by 2019. The construction projects have faced allegations of corruption, and have faced severe difficulty in getting people to use the toilets constructed for them. Sanitation cover in the country increased from 38.7% in October 2014 to 84.1% in May 2018; however, usage of the new sanitary facilities lagged behind the government's targets. In 2018, the World Health Organization stated that at least 180,000 diarrhoeal deaths were averted in rural India after the launch of the sanitation effort. Hindutva During the 2014 election campaign, the BJP sought to identify itself with political leaders known to have opposed Hindu nationalism, including B. R. Ambedkar, Subhas Chandra Bose, and Ram Manohar Lohia. The campaign also saw the use of rhetoric based on Hindutva by BJP leaders in certain states. Communal tensions were played upon especially in Uttar Pradesh and the states of Northeast India. A proposal for the controversial Uniform Civil Code was a part of the BJP's election manifesto. The activities of a number of Hindu nationalist organisations increased in scope after Modi's election as Prime Minister, sometimes with the support of the government. These activities included a Hindu religious conversion programme, a campaign against the alleged Islamic practice of "Love Jihad", and attempts to celebrate Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, by members of the right wing Hindu Mahasabha. Officials in the government, including the Home Minister, defended the conversion programmes. Links between the BJP and the RSS grew stronger under Modi. The RSS provided organisational support to the BJP's electoral campaigns, while the Modi administration appointed a number of individuals affiliated with the RSS to prominent government positions. In 2014, Yellapragada Sudershan Rao, who had previously been associated with the RSS, became the chairperson of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). Historians and former members of the ICHR, including those sympathetic to the BJP, questioned his credentials as a historian, and stated that the appointment was part of an agenda of cultural nationalism. The North East Delhi riots, which left more than 40 dead and hundreds injured, were triggered by protests against a citizenship law seen by many critics as anti-Muslim and part of Modi's Hindu nationalist agenda. On 5 August 2020, Modi visited Ayodhya after the Supreme Court in 2019 ordered a contested land in Ayodhya to be handed over to a trust to build the Hindu temple and ordered the government to give alternate 5 acre land to Sunni Waqf Board for the purpose of building a mosque. He became the first prime minister to visit Ram Janmabhoomi and Hanuman Garhi. Foreign policy Foreign policy played a relatively small role in Modi's election campaign, and did not feature prominently in the BJP's election manifesto. Modi invited all the other leaders of SAARC countries to his swearing in ceremony as prime minister. He was the first Indian prime minister to do so. Modi's foreign policy, similarly to that of the preceding INC government, focused on improving economic ties, security, and regional relations. Modi continued Manmohan Singh's policy of "multi-alignment." The Modi administration tried to attract foreign investment in the Indian economy from several sources, especially in East Asia, with the use of slogans such as "Make in India" and "Digital India". The government also tried to improve relations with Islamic nations in the Middle East, such as Bahrain, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as with Israel. The foreign relations of India with the USA also mended after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister. During the run-up to the general election there was wide-ranging scepticism regarding future of the strategic bilateral relation under Modi's premiership as in 2005 he was, while Chief Minister of Gujarat, denied a U.S. visa during the Bush administration for his poor human rights records. However sensing Modi's inevitable victory well before the election, the US Ambassador Nancy Powell had reached out to him as part of greater rapprochement from the west. Moreover, following his 2014 election as the Prime Minister of India President Obama congratulated him over the telephone and invited him to visit the US. Modi government has been successful in making good foreign relations with the USA in the presidency of both Barack Obama and Donald Trump. During the first few months after the election, Modi made trips to a number of different countries to further the goals of his policy, and attended the BRICS, ASEAN, and G20 summits. One of Modi's first visits as prime minister was to Nepal, during which he promised a billion USD in aid. Modi also made several overtures to the United States, including multiple visits to that country. While this was described as an unexpected development, due to the US having previously denied Modi a travel visa over his role during the 2002 Gujarat riots, the visits were expected to strengthen diplomatic and trade relations between the two countries. In 2015, the Indian parliament ratified a land exchange deal with Bangladesh about the India–Bangladesh enclaves, which had been initiated by the government of Manmohan Singh. Modi's administration gave renewed attention to India's "Look East Policy", instituted in 1991. The policy was renamed the "Act East Policy", and involved directing Indian foreign policy towards East Asia and Southeast Asia. The government signed agreements to improve land connectivity with Myanmar, through the state of Manipur. This represented a break with India's historic engagement with Myanmar, which prioritised border security over trade. China–India relations have deteriorated rapidly following the 2020 China–India skirmishes. Modi has pledged aid of $900 million to Afghanistan, visited the nation twice and been honoured with the nation's highest civilian honour in 2016. Defence policy India's nominal military spending increased steadily under Modi. The military budget declined over Modi's tenure both as a fraction of GDP and when adjusted for inflation. A substantial portion of the military budget was devoted to personnel costs, leading commentators to write that the budget was constraining Indian military modernisation. The BJP election manifesto had also promised to deal with illegal immigration into India in the Northeast, as well as to be more firm in its handling of insurgent groups. The Modi government issued a notification allowing Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist illegal immigrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh to legalise their residency in India. The government described the measure as being taken for humanitarian reasons but it drew criticism from several Assamese organisations.The Modi administration negotiated a peace agreement with the largest faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCM), which was announced in August 2015. The Naga insurgency in northeast India had begun in the 1950s. The NSCM and the government had agreed to a ceasefire in 1997, but a peace accord had not previously been signed. In 2015 the government abrogated a 15-year ceasefire with the Khaplang faction of the NSCM (NSCM-K). The NSCM-K responded with a series of attacks, which killed 18 people. The Modi government carried out a raid across the border with Myanmar as a result, and labelled the NSCM-K a terrorist organisation. Modi promised to be "tough on Pakistan" during his election campaign, and repeatedly stated that Pakistan was an exporter of terrorism. On 29 September 2016, the Indian Army stated that it had conducted a surgical strike on terror launch pads in Azad Kashmir. The Indian media claimed that up to 50 terrorists and Pakistani soldiers had been killed in the strike. Pakistan initially denied that any strikes had taken place. Subsequent reports suggested that Indian claim about the scope of the strike and the number of casualties had been exaggerated, although cross-border strikes had been carried out. In February 2019 India carried out airstrikes in Pakistan against a supposed terrorist camp. Further military skirmishes followed, including cross-border shelling and the loss of an Indian aircraft. Following his victory in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he focused more on Defence policies of India, especially against China and Pakistan. On 5 May 2020, Chinese and Indian troops engaged in aggressive melee, face-offs and skirmishes at locations along the Sino-Indian border, including near the disputed Pangong Lake in Ladakh and the Tibet Autonomous Region, and near the border between Sikkim and the Tibet Autonomous Region. Additional clashes also took place at locations in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). After which there was start of skirmishes between the nations leading to many border clashes, responses and reactions from both sides. A series of talks were also held between the two by both military and diplomatic means for peace. The first border clash reported in 2021 was on 20 January, referred to as a minor border clash in Sikkim. Environmental policy In naming his cabinet, Modi renamed the "Ministry of Environment and Forests" the "Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change." In the first budget of the government, the money allotted to this ministry was reduced by more than 50%. The new ministry also removed or diluted a number of laws related to environmental protection. These included no longer requiring clearance from the National Board for Wildlife for projects close to protected areas, and allowing certain projects to proceed before environmental clearance was received. The government also tried to reconstitute the Wildlife board such that it no longer had representatives from non-governmental organisations: however, this move was prevented by the Supreme Court. Modi also relaxed or abolished a number of other environmental regulations, particularly those related to industrial activity. A government committee stated that the existing system only served to create corruption, and that the government should instead rely on the owners of industries to voluntarily inform the government about the pollution they were creating. Other changes included reducing ministry oversight on small mining projects, and no longer requiring approval from tribal councils for projects inside forested areas. In addition, Modi lifted a moratorium on new industrial activity in the most polluted areas in the countries. The changes were welcomed by businesspeople, but criticised by environmentalists. Under the UPA government that preceded Modi's administration, field trials of Genetically Modified (GM) crops had essentially been put on hold, after protests from farmers fearing for their livelihoods. Under the Modi government these restrictions were gradually lifted. The government received some criticism for freezing the bank accounts of environmental group Greenpeace, citing financial irregularities, although a leaked government report said that the freeze had to do with Greenpeace's opposition to GM crops. At the COP26 conference Modi announced that India would target carbon neutrality by 2070, and also expand its renewable energy capacity. Though the date of net zero is far behind that of China and the USA and India's government wants to continue with the use of coal, Indian environmentalists and economists applauded the decision, describing it as a bold climate action. Democratic backsliding Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. According to one study, "The BJP government incrementally but systemically attacked nearly all existing mechanisms that are in place to hold the political executive to account, either by ensuring that these mechanisms became subservient to the political executive or were captured by party loyalists." Scholars also point to how the Modi government has used state power to intimidate and stifle critics in the media and academia, thus undermining freedom of expression and alternative sources of information. There have been several reports of the Modi government to be as an authoritarian conservative government, even due to lack of good opposition. Electoral history Personal life and image Personal life In accordance with Ghanchi tradition, Modi's marriage was arranged by his parents when he was a child. He was engaged at age 13 to Jashodaben Modi, marrying her when he was 18. They spent little time together and grew apart when Modi began two years of travel, including visits to Hindu ashrams. Reportedly, their marriage was never consummated, and he kept it a secret because otherwise he could not have become a 'pracharak' in the puritan Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Modi kept his marriage secret for most of his career. He acknowledged his wife for the first time when he filed his nomination for the 2014 general elections. Modi maintains a close relationship with his centenarian mother, Hiraben. A vegetarian and teetotaler, Modi has a frugal lifestyle and is a workaholic and introvert. A person named Badri Meena has been his cook since 2002. Modi's 31 August 2012 post on Google Hangouts made him the first Indian politician to interact with citizens on a live chat. Modi has also been called a fashion-icon for his signature crisply ironed, half-sleeved kurta, as well as for a suit with his name embroidered repeatedly in the pinstripes that he wore during a state visit by US President Barack Obama, which drew public and media attention and criticism. Modi's personality has been variously described by scholars and biographers as energetic, arrogant, and charismatic. He had published a Gujarati book titled Jyotipunj in 2008, containing profiles of various RSS leaders. The longest was of M. S. Golwalkar, under whose leadership the RSS expanded and whom Modi refers to as Pujniya Shri Guruji ("Guru worthy of worship"). According to The Economic Times, his intention was to explain the workings of the RSS to his readers and to reassure RSS members that he remained ideologically aligned with them. Modi authored eight other books, mostly containing short stories for children. The nomination of Modi for the prime ministership drew attention to his reputation as "one of contemporary India's most controversial and divisive politicians." During the 2014 election campaign the BJP projected an image of Modi as a strong, masculine leader, who would be able to take difficult decisions. Campaigns in which he has participated have focused on Modi as an individual, in a manner unusual for the BJP and RSS. Modi has relied upon his reputation as a politician able to bring about economic growth and "development". Nonetheless, his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots continues to attract criticism and controversy. Modi's hardline Hindutva philosophy and the policies adopted by his government continue to draw criticism, and have been seen as evidence of a majoritarian and exclusionary social agenda. In March 2021, Modi received his first COVID-19 vaccine dose at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. Personal donations Modi has made donations for various causes and programmes. One such instance was when Modi donated towards the initial corpus of the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) Fund. In his role as chief minister of Gujarat, Modi had donated from personal savings for educating daughters of state government officials. Modi had also raised by auctioning all the gifts he received as chief minister and donated this to the Kanya Kelavani Fund. The money was spent on the education of girl children, through the scheme. Approval ratings As a Prime Minister, Modi has received consistently high approval ratings; at the end of his first year in office, he received an overall approval rating of 87% in a Pew Research poll, with 68% of people rating him "very favorably" and 93% approving of his government. His approval rating remained largely consistent at around 74% through his second year in office, according to a nationwide poll conducted by instaVaani. At the end of his second year in office, an updated Pew Research poll showed Modi continued to receive high overall approval ratings of 81%, with 57% of those polled rating him "very favorably." At the end of his third year in office, a further Pew Research poll showed Modi with an overall approval rating of 88%, his highest yet, with 69% of people polled rating him "very favorably." A poll conducted by The Times of India in May 2017 showed 77% of the respondents rated Modi as "very good" and "good". In early 2017, a survey from Pew Research Center showed Modi to be the most popular figure in Indian politics. In a weekly analysis by Morning Consult called the Global Leader Approval Rating Tracker, Modi had the highest net approval rating as of 22 December 2020 of all government leaders in the 13 countries being tracked. Awards and recognition In March 2012 and June 2014, Modi appeared on the cover of the Asian edition of Time Magazine, one of the few Indian politicians to have done so. He was awarded Indian of the Year by CNN-News18 (formally CNN-IBN) news network in 2014. In June 2015, Modi was featured on the cover of Time Magazine. In 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020 and 2021, he was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World. Forbes Magazine ranked him the 15th Most Powerful Person in the World in 2014 and the 9th Most Powerful Person in the World in 2015, 2016 and 2018. In 2015, Modi was ranked the 13th Most Influential Person in the World by Bloomberg Markets Magazine. Modi was ranked fifth on Fortune Magazines first annual list of the "World's Greatest Leaders" in 2015. In 2017, Gallup International Association (GIA) conducted a poll and ranked Modi as third top leader of the world. In 2016, a wax statue of Modi was unveiled at Madame Tussauds wax museum in London. In 2015 he was named one of Times "30 Most Influential People on the Internet" as the second-most-followed politician on Twitter and Facebook. In 2018, he was the third most followed world leader on Twitter, and the most followed world leader on Facebook and Instagram. In October 2018, Modi received United Nations's highest environmental award, the 'Champions of the Earth', for policy leadership by "pioneering work in championing" the International Solar Alliance and "new areas of levels of cooperation on environmental action". He was conferred the 2018 Seoul Peace Prize in recognition of "his dedication to improving international co-operation, raising global economic growth, accelerating the Human Development of the people of India by fostering economic growth and furthering the development of democracy through anti-corruption and social integration efforts". He is the first Indian to win the award. Following his second swearing-in ceremony as Prime Minister of India, a picture of Modi was displayed on the facade of the ADNOC building in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The Texas India Forum hosted a community event in honour of Modi on 22 September 2019 at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. The event was attended by over 50,000 people and several American politicians including President Donald Trump, making it the largest gathering for an invited foreign leader visiting the United States other than the Pope. At the same event, Modi was presented with the Key to the City of Houston by Mayor Sylvester Turner. He was awarded the Global Goalkeeper Award on 24 September 2019 in New York City by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in recognition for the Swachh Bharat Mission and "the progress India has made in providing safe sanitation under his leadership". In 2020, Modi was among eight world leaders awarded the parodic Ig Nobel Prize in Medical Education "for using the COVID-19 viral pandemic to teach the world that politicians can have a more immediate effect on life and death than scientists and doctors can". On 21 December 2020, President Donald Trump awarded Modi with the Legion of Merit for elevating the India–United States relations. The Legion of Merit was awarded to Modi along with Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison and former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe, the "original architects" of the QUAD. On 24 February 2021, the largest cricket stadium in the world at Ahmedabad was renamed Narendra Modi Stadium by the Gujarat Cricket Association. Modi is featured in TIME Magazine's 100 most influential people of 2021 list, making it his fifth time after 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2020. TIME called him the third "pivotal leader" of independent India after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi who "dominated the country’s politics like no one since them". State honours Other honours In popular culture Modi Kaka Ka Gaon, a 2017 Indian Hindi-language drama film by Tushar Amrish Goel is the first biopic on Modi, starring Vikas Mahante in the titular role it was made halfway into his first-term as the prime minister which is shown in the film. PM Narendra Modi, a 2019 Indian Hindi-language biographical drama film by Omung Kumar, starred Vivek Oberoi in the titular role and covers his rise to prime ministership.An Indian web series, Modi: Journey of a Common Man, based on the same premise released in May 2019 on Eros Now with Ashish Sharma portraying Modi. Hu Narender Modi Banva Mangu Chu is a 2018 Indian Gujarati-language drama film by Anil Naryani about the aspirations of a young boy who wants to become like Narendra Modi. 7 RCR (7, Race Course Road), a 2014 Indian docudrama political television series which charts the political careers of prominent Indian politicians, covered Modi's rise to the PM's office in the episodes - "Story of Narendra Modi from 1950 to 2001", "Story of Narendra Modi in Controversial Years from 2001 to 2013", "Truth Behind Brand Modi", "Election Journey of Narendra Modi to 7 RCR", and "Masterplan of Narendra Modi's NDA Govt."; with Sangam Rai in the role of Modi. Other portrayals of Modi include by Rajit Kapur in the film Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) and Vikram Gokhale in the web-television series Avrodh: The Siege Within (2020) both based on the 2016 Uri attack and the following Indian surgical strikes. Pratap Singh played a character based on Modi in Chand Bujh Gaya (2005) which is set in the backdrop of the Gujarat riots. Premiered on 12 August 2019, Modi appeared in an episode - "Man vs. Wild with Bear Grylls and Prime Minister Modi" - of Discovery Channel's show Man vs Wild with the host Bear Grylls, becoming the second world leader after Barack Obama to appear in the reality show. In the show he trekked the jungles and talked about nature and wildlife conservation with Grylls. The episode was shot in Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand and was broadcast in 180 countries along India. He has also appeared twice on the Indian television talk show Aap Ki Adalat before the 2009 and 2014 elections respectively. Along with hosting the Mann Ki Baat monthly radio programme, on All India Radio, he has also conducted Pariksha Pe Charcha - a competition/discussion for students and the issues they face in examinations. Bibliography See also List of prime ministers of India Opinion polling on the Narendra Modi premiership References Notes Citations Further reading External links |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- 1950 births Living people Gujarati people People from Gujarat People from Mehsana district Indian Hindus Prime Ministers of India Leaders of the Lok Sabha Chief Ministers of Gujarat Chief ministers from Bharatiya Janata Party 16th Lok Sabha members 17th Lok Sabha members Members of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly Delhi University alumni Gujarat University alumni Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharaks Indian nationalists Indian writers Recipients of the Legion of Merit Hindu nationalists Right-wing politics in India 20th-century Indian writers Members of the Planning Commission of India Right-wing populism in India Bharatiya Jana Sangh politicians Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Gujarat Lok Sabha members from Gujarat Lok Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2019 Indian general election Writers from Gujarat Candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Hindu pacifists Narendra Modi ministry Candidates in the 2019 Indian general election Hindu revivalists Writers about activism and social change Indian political people 21st-century prime ministers of India Gujarat MLAs 1998–2002 Politicians of Hindu political parties National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Indian anti-communists Gandhians Gujarat MLAs 2002–2007 Gujarat MLAs 2007–2012 Gujarat MLAs 2012–2017 21st-century Indian non-fiction writers Politicians from Varanasi Time 100
true
[ "Holographic Studios, located in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, is the world's oldest gallery of holography. It was founded in 1979 by Jason Sapan, one of the pioneers of holography. The storefront level gallery features the world's largest collection of motion image integral holograms. On display in the gallery are a variety of different types of holographic images, including a collection of celebrity hologram portraits. There are also cylindrical 360° floating images, multiple image holograms that change as you walk by, and computer generated holograms as well as a selection of novelty hologram items and stickers. Directly below the gallery is the laser laboratory where holograms are created. Holographic Studios creates custom holograms, holographic portraits, offers classes, and operates tours.\n\nHistory \nThe studio was founded in 1979 in a brownstone that was originally a blacksmith's forge. The current building sits on land that was part of the Rose Hill estate of Revolutionary General Horatio Gates.\n\nOver the decades, the studio has filmed portrait holograms of Andy Warhol, President Bill Clinton, Isaac Asimov, NYC Mayor Ed Koch, Prime Minister Edward Heath, Pierre Cardin, Sally Jessy Raphael, John Kenneth Galbraith, Phyllis Diller, Billy Idol, The Smothers Brothers, Phil Donahue, and John Cage. Their corporate clientele include commissions for Mitsubishi, AT&T, Tag Heuer, Goodyear, IBM, NYU Medical Center, Macy's, and Revlon.\n\nNotable interns\nJohn Gaeta, who won the Academy Award for visual effects in The Matrix\nVince Gilligan, who won multiple Emmys for his television show Breaking Bad\nJason Corsaro, who won Grammy awards as a recording engineer on albums including Like a Virgin by Madonna\nSonnie Brown, who starred in the Lincoln Center production of Far East\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \nHolographic Studios\nGizmodo: The Art of the Hologram Is Alive in This Underground Laboratory\nNew York Originals: Holographic Studios\nTested Asks: How Are Holograms Made?\nNY Times: Holographic Studios and Kalustyan’s Cafe in Kips Bay\n\nHolography\n1979 establishments in New York City\nCulture of New York City\nArt museums and galleries in Manhattan", "Volume holograms are holograms where the thickness of the recording material is much larger than the light wavelength used for recording. In this case diffraction of light from the hologram is possible only as Bragg diffraction, i.e., the light has to have the right wavelength (color) and the wave must have the right shape (beam direction, wavefront profile). Volume holograms are also called thick holograms or Bragg holograms.\n\nTheory \nVolume holograms were first treated by H. Kogelnik in 1969 by the so-called \"coupled-wave theory\". For volume phase holograms it is possible to diffract 100% of the incoming reference light into the signal wave, i.e., full diffraction of light can be achieved. Volume absorption holograms show much lower efficiencies. H. Kogelnik provides analytical solutions for transmission as well as for reflection conditions. A good text-book description of the theory of volume holograms can be found in a book from J. Goodman\n.\n\nManufacturing \nA volume hologram is usually made by exposing a photo-thermo-refractive glass to an interference pattern from an ultraviolet laser. It is also possible to make volume holograms in nonphotosensitive glass by exposing it to femtosecond laser pulses.\n\nBragg selectivity \nIn the case of a simple Bragg reflector the wavelength selectivity can be roughly estimated by , where is the vacuum wavelength of the reading light, is the period length of the grating and is the thickness of the grating. The assumption is just that the grating is not too strong, i.e., that the full length of the grating is used for light diffraction. Considering that because of the Bragg condition the simple relation holds, where is the modulated refractive index in the material (not the base index) at this wavelength, one sees that for typical values () one gets showing the extraordinary wavelength selectivity of such volume holograms. \n\nIn the case of a simple grating in the transmission geometry the angular selectivity can be estimated as well: , where is the thickness of the holographic grating. Here is given by ).\n\nUsing again typical numbers () one ends up with showing the impressive angular selectivity of volume holograms.\n\nApplications of volume holograms \nThe Bragg selectivity makes volume holograms very important. Prominent examples are:\n\nDistributed feedback lasers (DFB lasers) as well as distributed Bragg reflector lasers (DBR lasers) where the wavelength selectivity of volume holograms is used to narrow the spectral emission of semiconductor lasers.\nHolographic memory devices for holographic data storage where the Bragg selectivity is used to multiplex several holograms in one piece of holographic recording material using effectively the third dimension of the storage material.\nFiber Bragg gratings that employ volume holographic gratings encrypted into an optical fiber.Wavelength filters that are used as an external feedback in particular for semiconductor lasers. Although the idea is similar to that of DBR lasers, these filters are not integrated onto the chip. With the help of such filters also high-power laser diodes become narrow-band and less temperature sensitive.\nImaging spectroscopy can be achieved by selecting a single wavelength for each pixel in a full camera field. Volume holograms are used as tunable optical filters to produce monochromatic images, also known as hyperspectral imaging.\nLow-frequency (\"THz\") Raman spectroscopy.\n\nSee also\nDynamical theory of diffraction\n\nFootnotes\n\nHolography" ]
[ "Narendra Modi", "Final years", "What happened in her final years?", "Modi made extensive use of holograms", "How did Modi use holograms?", "allowing him to reach a large number of people," ]
C_b6a0c764bf0c443b9768973ff08ca8fb_1
Did Modi ran for any political positions ?
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Did Modi run for any political positions ?
Narendra Modi
During Modi's second term the rhetoric of the government shifted from Hindutva to Gujarat's economic development. Modi curtailed the influence of Sangh Parivar organisations such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), entrenched in the state after the decline of Ahmedabad's textile industry, and dropped Gordhan Zadafia (an ally of former Sangh co-worker and VHP state chief Praveen Togadia) from his cabinet. When the BKS staged a farmers' demonstration Modi ordered their eviction from state-provided houses, and his decision to demolish 200 illegal temples in Gandhinagar deepened the rift with the VHP. Sangh organisations were no longer consulted or informed in advance about Modi's administrative decisions. Nonetheless, Modi retained connections with some Hindu nationalists. Modi wrote a foreword to a textbook by Dinanath Batra released in 2014, which stated that ancient India possessed technologies including test-tube babies. Modi's relationship with Muslims continued to attract criticism. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (who asked Modi for tolerance in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat violence and supported his resignation as chief minister) distanced himself, reaching out to North Indian Muslims before the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. After the elections Vajpayee called the violence in Gujarat a reason for the BJP's electoral defeat and said it had been a mistake to leave Modi in office after the riots. Questions about Modi's relationship with Muslims were also raised by many Western nations during his tenure as chief minister. Modi was barred from entering the United States by the State Department, in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on International Religious Freedom formed under the aegis of the International Religious Freedom Act, the only person denied a US visa under this law. The UK and the European Union refused to admit him because of what they saw as his role in the riots. As Modi rose to prominence in India, the UK and the EU lifted their bans in October 2012 and March 2013, respectively, and after his election as prime minister he was invited to Washington. During the run-up to the 2007 assembly elections and the 2009 general election, the BJP intensified its rhetoric on terrorism. In July 2006, Modi criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh " for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislation" such as the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the national government to allow states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. In 2007 Modi authored Karmayog, a 101-page booklet discussing manual scavenging. In it, Modi argued that scavenging was a "spiritual experience" for Dalits. However, this book was not circulated that time because of the election code of conduct. After the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Modi held a meeting to discuss the security of Gujarat's 1,600-kilometre (990 mi)-long coastline, resulting in government authorisation of 30 high-speed surveillance boats. In July 2007 Modi completed 2,063 consecutive days as chief minister of Gujarat, making him the longest-serving holder of that post, and the BJP won 122 of 182 state-assembly seats in that year's election. As Chief Minister, Modi favoured privatisation and small government, which was at odds with the philosophy of the RSS, usually described as anti-privatisation and anti-globalisation. His policies during his second term have been credited with reducing corruption in the state. He established financial and technology parks in Gujarat and during the 2007 Vibrant Gujarat summit, real-estate investment deals worth Rs6.6 trillion were signed. The governments led by Patel and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of groundwater-conservation projects. By December 2008, 500,000 structures had been built, of which 113,738 were check dams, which helped recharge the aquifers beneath them. Sixty of the 112 tehsils which had depleted the water table in 2004 had regained their normal groundwater levels by 2010. As a result, the state's production of genetically modified cotton increased to become the largest in India. The boom in cotton production and its semi-arid land use led to Gujarat's agricultural sector growing at an average rate of 9.6 percent from 2001 to 2007. Public irrigation measures in central and southern Gujarat, such as the Sardar Sarovar Dam, were less successful. The Sardar Sarovar project only irrigated 4-6% of the area intended. Nonetheless, from 2001 to 2010 Gujarat recorded an agricultural growth rate of 10.97 percent - the highest of any state. However, sociologists have pointed out that the growth rate under the 1992-97 INC government was 12.9 percent. In 2008 Modi offered land in Gujarat to Tata Motors to set up a plant manufacturing the Nano after a popular agitation had forced the company to move out of West Bengal. Several other companies followed the Tata's to Gujarat. The Modi government finished the process of bringing electricity to every village in Gujarat that its predecessor had almost completed. Modi significantly changed the state's system of power distribution, greatly impacting farmers. Gujarat expanded the Jyotigram Yojana scheme, in which agricultural electricity was separated from other rural electricity; the agricultural electricity was rationed to fit scheduled irrigation demands, reducing its cost. Although early protests by farmers ended when those who benefited found that their electricity supply had stabilised, according to an assessment study corporations and large farmers benefited from the policy at the expense of small farmers and labourers. During the 2012 campaign, Modi attempted to identify himself with the state of Gujarat, a strategy similar to that used by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, and projected himself as protecting Gujarat against persecution by the rest of India. Despite the BJP's shift away from explicit Hindutva, Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism. Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders. During his 2012 campaign he twice refused to wear articles of clothing gifted by Muslim leaders. He did, however, maintain relations with Dawoodi Bohra. His campaign included references to issues known to cause religious polarisation, including to Afzal Guru and the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. The BJP did not nominate any Muslim candidates for the assembly election of 2012. He had published a Gujarati book titled Jyotipunj in 2008, containing profiles of various RSS leaders. The longest was of M. S. Golwalkar, under whose leadership the RSS expanded and whom Modi refers to as Pujniya Shri Guruji ("Guru worthy of worship"). According to The Economic Times, his intention was to explain the workings of the RSS to his readers and to reassure RSS members that he remained ideologically aligned with them. Modi authored eight other books, mostly containing short stories for children. While campaigning for the 2012 assembly elections, Modi made extensive use of holograms and other technologies allowing him to reach a large number of people, something he would repeat in the 2014 general election. In the 2012 Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections, Modi won the constituency of Maninagar by 86,373 votes over Shweta Bhatt, the INC candidate and wife of Sanjiv Bhatt. The BJP won 115 of the 182 seats, continuing its majority during his tenure and allowing the party to form the government (as it had in Gujarat since 1995). In later by-elections the BJP won four more assembly seats and two Lok Sabha seats held by the INC, although Modi did not campaign for its candidates. In 2013, the Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF) at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania cancelled a keynote video-conference speech by Modi following protests by Indian-Americans. After his election as prime minister, Modi resigned as the chief minister and as an MLA from Maninagar on 21 May 2014. Anandiben Patel succeeded him as the chief minister. CANNOTANSWER
Modi won the constituency of Maninagar
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from Varanasi. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindu nationalist paramilitary volunteer organisation. He is the first prime minister to have been born after India's independence in 1947 and the second prime minister not belonging to the Indian National Congress to have won two consecutive majorities in the Lok Sabha, or lower house of Indian of parliament. Born and raised in Vadnagar, a small town in northeastern Gujarat, Modi completed his secondary education there. He was introduced to the RSS at age eight. He has drawn attention to having to work as a child in his father's tea stall on the Vadnagar railway station platform, a description that has not been reliably corroborated. At age 18, Modi was married to Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi, whom he abandoned soon after. He left his parental home where she had come to live. He first publicly acknowledged her as his wife more than four decades later when required to do so by Indian law, but has made no contact with her since. Modi has asserted he had travelled in northern India for two years after leaving his parental home, visiting a number of religious centres, but few details of his travels have emerged. Upon his return to Gujarat in 1971, he became a full-time worker for the RSS. After the state of emergency declared by prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1975, Modi went into hiding. The RSS assigned him to the BJP in 1985 and he held several positions within the party hierarchy until 2001, rising to the rank of general secretary. Modi was appointed Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2001 due to Keshubhai Patel's failing health and poor public image following the earthquake in Bhuj. Modi was elected to the legislative assembly soon after. His administration has been considered complicit in the 2002 Gujarat riots in which 1044 people were killed, three-quarters of whom were Muslim, or otherwise criticised for its management of the crisis. The Supreme Court remarked that Narendra Modi was like a Modern-day Nero, looking the other way as innocent women and children were burning. A Supreme Court of India-appointed Special Investigation Team found no evidence to initiate prosecution proceedings against Modi personally. While his policies as chief minister—credited with encouraging economic growth—have received praise, his administration has been criticised for failing to significantly improve health, poverty and education indices in the state. Modi led the BJP in the 2014 general election which gave the party a majority in the Indian lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha, the first time for any single party since 1984. Modi's administration has tried to raise foreign direct investment in the Indian economy and reduced spending on healthcare and social welfare programmes. Modi has attempted to improve efficiency in the bureaucracy; he has centralised power by abolishing the Planning Commission. He began a high-profile sanitation campaign, controversially initiated a demonetisation of high-denomination banknotes and transformation of taxation regime, and weakened or abolished environmental and labour laws. Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. Following his party's victory in the 2019 general election, his administration revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and also introduced the Citizenship Amendment Act, which resulted in widespread protests across the country. Described as engineering a political realignment towards right-wing politics, Modi remains a figure of controversy domestically and internationally over his Hindu nationalist beliefs and his handling of the 2002 Gujarat riots, cited as evidence of an exclusionary social agenda. Early life and education Narendra Damodardas Modi was born on 17 September 1950 to a Gujarati Hindu family of grocers in Vadnagar, Mehsana district, Bombay State (present-day Gujarat). He was the third of six children born to Damodardas Mulchand Modi () and Hiraben Modi (born ). Modi's family belonged to the Modh-Ghanchi-Teli (oil-presser) community, which is categorised as an Other Backward Class by the Indian government. Modi had only infrequently spoken of his family background during his 13 years as chief minister of Gujarat. In the run up to the 2014 national elections, he began to regularly draw attention to his low-ranking social origins and to having to work as a child in his father's tea shop on the Vadnagar railway station platform, a description that the evidence of neighbours does not entirely corroborate. Modi completed his higher secondary education in Vadnagar in 1967, where teachers described him as an average student and a keen gifted debater, with interest in theatre. Modi preferred playing larger-than-life characters in theatrical productions, which has influenced his political image. When eight years old, Modi was introduced to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and began attending its local shakhas (training sessions). There, Modi met Lakshmanrao Inamdar, popularly known as Vakil Saheb, who inducted him as a balswayamsevak (junior cadet) in the RSS and became his political mentor. While Modi was training with the RSS, he also met Vasant Gajendragadkar and Nathalal Jaghda, Bharatiya Jana Sangh leaders who were founding members of the BJP's Gujarat unit in 1980. In a custom traditional to Narendra Modi's caste, his family arranged a betrothal to a girl, Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi, leading to their marriage when she was 17 and he was 18. Soon afterwards, he abandoned his bride, and left home, never divorcing her, but the marriage remaining unmentioned in Modi's public pronouncements for many decades. In April 2014, shortly before the national elections that swept him to power, Modi publicly affirmed that he was married and his spouse was Jashodaben; the couple has remained married, but estranged. Modi spent the ensuing two years travelling across Northern and North-eastern India, though few details of where he went have emerged. In interviews, Modi has described visiting Hindu ashrams founded by Swami Vivekananda: the Belur Math near Kolkata, followed by the Advaita Ashrama in Almora and the Ramakrishna Mission in Rajkot. Modi remained only a short time at each, since he lacked the required college education. Vivekananda has been described as a large influence in Modi's life. In the early summer of 1968, Modi reached the Belur Math but was turned away, after which Modi wandered through Calcutta, West Bengal and Assam, stopping in Siliguri and Guwahati. Modi then went to the Ramakrishna Ashram in Almora, where he was again rejected, before travelling back to Gujarat via Delhi and Rajasthan in 1968–69. Sometime in late 1969 or early 1970, Modi returned to Vadnagar for a brief visit before leaving again for Ahmedabad. There, Modi lived with his uncle, working in the latter's canteen at the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation. In Ahmedabad, Modi renewed his acquaintance with Inamdar, who was based at the Hedgewar Bhavan (RSS headquarters) in the city. Modi's first known political activity as an adult was in 1971 when he, as per his remarks, joined a Jana Sangh Satyagraha in Delhi led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee to enlist for the battlefield during the Bangladesh Liberation War. But the Indira Gandhi-led central government disallowed open support for the Mukti Bahini and Modi, according to his own claim, was put in Tihar Jail for a short period. After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he stopped working for his uncle and became a full-time pracharak (campaigner) for the RSS, working under Inamdar. Shortly before the war, Modi took part in a non-violent protest against the Indian government in New Delhi, for which he was arrested (as per his claim); this has been cited as a reason for Inamdar electing to mentor him. Many years later Modi would co-author a biography of Inamdar, published in 2001. Modi's claim that he was part of a Satyagraha led to a political war. Applications were filed with the PMO under the RTI Act seeking details of his arrest. In reply, the PMO claimed that it maintains official records on Modi only since he took charge as the Prime Minister of India in 2014. Despite this claim, the official website of the PMO contains specific information about Modi which dates back to the 1950s. In 1978 Modi received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the School of Open Learning (SOL) at the University of Delhi, graduating with a third class. Five years later, in 1983, he received a Master of Arts degree in political science from Gujarat University, graduating with a first class as an external distance learning student. But there is a big controversy surrounding his educational qualification. Replying to an RTI query, the SOL said it did not have any data of students who received a BA degree in 1978. Jayantibhai Patel, a former political science professor of Gujarat University, claimed that the subjects listed in Modi's MA degree were not offered by the university when Modi was studying there. Early political career In June 1975, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency in India which lasted until 1977. During this period, known as "The Emergency", many of her political opponents were jailed and opposition groups were banned. Modi was appointed general secretary of the "Gujarat Lok Sangharsh Samiti", an RSS committee co-ordinating opposition to the Emergency in Gujarat. Shortly afterwards, the RSS was banned. Modi was forced to go underground in Gujarat and frequently travelled in disguise to avoid arrest. He became involved in printing pamphlets opposing the government, sending them to Delhi and organising demonstrations. Modi was also involved with creating a network of safe houses for individuals wanted by the government, and in raising funds for political refugees and activists. During this period, Modi wrote a book in Gujarati, Sangharsh Ma Gujarat (In The Struggles of Gujarat), describing events during the Emergency. Among the people he met in this role was trade unionist and socialist activist George Fernandes, as well as several other national political figures. In his travels during the Emergency, Modi was often forced to move in disguise, once dressing as a monk, and once as a Sikh. Modi became an RSS sambhag pracharak (regional organiser) in 1978, overseeing RSS activities in the areas of Surat and Vadodara, and in 1979 he went to work for the RSS in Delhi, where he was put to work researching and writing the RSS's version of the history of the Emergency. He returned to Gujarat a short while later, and was assigned by the RSS to the BJP in 1985. In 1987 Modi helped organise the BJP's campaign in the Ahmedabad municipal election, which the BJP won comfortably; Modi's planning has been described as the reason for that result by biographers. After L. K. Advani became president of the BJP in 1986, the RSS decided to place its members in important positions within the BJP; Modi's work during the Ahmedabad election led to his selection for this role, and Modi was elected organising secretary of the BJP's Gujarat unit later in 1987. Modi rose within the party and was named a member of the BJP's National Election Committee in 1990, helping organise L. K. Advani's 1990 Ram Rath Yatra in 1990 and Murli Manohar Joshi's 1991–92 Ekta Yatra (Journey for Unity). However, he took a brief break from politics in 1992, instead establishing a school in Ahmedabad; friction with Shankersinh Vaghela, a BJP MP from Gujarat at the time, also played a part in this decision. Modi returned to electoral politics in 1994, partly at the insistence of Advani, and as party secretary, Modi's electoral strategy was considered central to the BJP victory in the 1995 state assembly elections. In November of that year Modi was appointed BJP national secretary and transferred to New Delhi, where he assumed responsibility for party activities in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The following year, Shankersinh Vaghela, a prominent BJP leader from Gujarat, defected to the Indian National Congress (Congress, INC) after losing his parliamentary seat in the Lok Sabha elections. Modi, on the selection committee for the 1998 Assembly elections in Gujarat, favoured supporters of BJP leader Keshubhai Patel over those supporting Vaghela to end factional division in the party. His strategy was credited as key to the BJP winning an overall majority in the 1998 elections, and Modi was promoted to BJP general secretary (organisation) in May of that year. Chief Minister of Gujarat Taking office In 2001, Keshubhai Patel's health was failing and the BJP lost a few state assembly seats in by-elections. Allegations of abuse of power, corruption and poor administration were made, and Patel's standing had been damaged by his administration's handling of the earthquake in Bhuj in 2001. The BJP national leadership sought a new candidate for the chief ministership, and Modi, who had expressed misgivings about Patel's administration, was chosen as a replacement. Although BJP leader L. K. Advani did not want to ostracise Patel and was concerned about Modi's lack of experience in government, Modi declined an offer to be Patel's deputy chief minister, telling Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee that he was "going to be fully responsible for Gujarat or not at all". On 3 October 2001 he replaced Patel as Chief Minister of Gujarat, with the responsibility of preparing the BJP for the December 2002 elections. Modi was sworn in as Chief Minister on 7 October 2001, and entered the Gujarat state legislature on 24 February 2002 by winning a by-election to the Rajkot – II constituency, defeating Ashwin Mehta of the INC by 14,728 votes. 2002 Gujarat riots On 27 February 2002, a train with several hundred passengers burned near Godhra, killing approximately 60 people. The train carried a large number of Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya after a religious ceremony at the site of the demolished Babri Masjid. In making a public statement after the incident, Modi declared it a terrorist attack planned and orchestrated by local Muslims. The next day, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad called for a bandh across the state. Riots began during the bandh, and anti-Muslim violence spread through Gujarat. The government's decision to move the bodies of the train victims from Godhra to Ahmedabad further inflamed the violence. The state government stated later that 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed. Independent sources put the death toll at over 2000, the vast majority Muslims Approximately 150,000 people were driven to refugee camps. Numerous women and children were among the victims; the violence included mass rapes and mutilations of women. The government of Gujarat itself is generally considered by scholars to have been complicit in the riots, (with some blaming chief minister Modi explicitly) and has otherwise received heavy criticism for its handling of the situation. Several scholars have described the violence as a pogrom, while others have called it an example of state terrorism. Summarising academic views on the subject, Martha Nussbaum said: "There is by now a broad consensus that the Gujarat violence was a form of ethnic cleansing, that in many ways it was premeditated, and that it was carried out with the complicity of the state government and officers of the law." The Modi government imposed a curfew in 26 major cities, issued shoot-at-sight orders and called for the army to patrol the streets, but was unable to prevent the violence from escalating. The president of the state unit of the BJP expressed support for the bandh, despite such actions being illegal at the time. State officials later prevented riot victims from leaving the refugee camps, and the camps were often unable to meet the needs of those living there. Muslim victims of the riots were subject to further discrimination when the state government announced that compensation for Muslim victims would be half of that offered to Hindus, although this decision was later reversed after the issue was taken to court. During the riots, police officers often did not intervene in situations where they were able. Modi's personal involvement in the 2002 events has continued to be debated. During the riots, Modi said that "What is happening is a chain of action and reaction." Later in 2002, Modi said the way in which he had handled the media was his only regret regarding the episode. In March 2008, the Supreme Court reopened several cases related to the 2002 riots, including that of the Gulbarg Society massacre, and established a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the issue. In response to a petition from Zakia Jafri (widow of Ehsan Jafri, who was killed in the Gulbarg Society massacre), in April 2009 the court also asked the SIT to investigate the issue of Modi's complicity in the killings. The SIT questioned Modi in March 2010; in May, it presented to the court a report finding no evidence against him. In July 2011, the court-appointed amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran submitted his final report to the court. Contrary to the SIT's position, he said that Modi could be prosecuted based on the available evidence. The Supreme Court gave the matter to the magistrate's court. The SIT examined Ramachandran's report, and in March 2012 submitted its final report, asking for the case to be closed. Zakia Jafri filed a protest petition in response. In December 2013 the magistrate's court rejected the protest petition, accepting the SIT's finding that there was no evidence against the chief minister. 2002 election In the aftermath of the violence there were widespread calls for Modi to resign as chief minister from within and outside the state, including from leaders of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Telugu Desam Party (allies in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance coalition), and opposition parties stalled Parliament over the issue. Modi submitted his resignation at the April 2002 BJP national executive meeting in Goa, but it was not accepted. His cabinet had an emergency meeting on 19 July 2002, after which it offered its resignation to the Gujarat Governor S. S. Bhandari, and the state assembly was dissolved. Despite opposition from the election commissioner, who said that a number of voters were still displaced, Modi succeeded in advancing the election to December 2002. In the elections, the BJP won 127 seats in the 182-member assembly. Although Modi later denied it, he made significant use of anti-Muslim rhetoric during his campaign, and the BJP profited from religious polarisation among the voters. He won the Maninagar constituency, receiving of votes and defeating INC candidate Yatin Oza by 75,333 votes. On 22 December 2002, Bhandari swore Modi in for a second term. Modi framed the criticism of his government for human rights violations as an attack upon Gujarati pride, a strategy which led to the BJP winning two-thirds of the seats in the state assembly. Second term During Modi's second term the rhetoric of the government shifted from Hindutva to Gujarat's economic development. Modi curtailed the influence of Sangh Parivar organisations such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), entrenched in the state after the decline of Ahmedabad's textile industry, and dropped Gordhan Zadafia (an ally of former Sangh co-worker and VHP state chief Praveen Togadia) from his cabinet. When the BKS staged a farmers' demonstration Modi ordered their eviction from state-provided houses, and his decision to demolish 200 illegal temples in Gandhinagar deepened the rift with the Vishva Hindu Parishad. Sangh organisations were no longer consulted or informed in advance about Modi's administrative decisions. Nonetheless, Modi retained connections with some Hindu nationalists. Modi wrote a foreword to a textbook by Dinanath Batra released in 2014, which stated that ancient India possessed technologies including test-tube babies. Modi's relationship with Muslims continued to attract criticism. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (who asked Modi for tolerance in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat violence and supported his resignation as chief minister) distanced himself, reaching out to North Indian Muslims before the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. After the elections Vajpayee called the violence in Gujarat a reason for the BJP's electoral defeat and said it had been a mistake to leave Modi in office after the riots. Questions about Modi's relationship with Muslims were also raised by many Western nations during his tenure as chief minister. Modi was barred from entering the United States by the State Department, in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on International Religious Freedom formed under the aegis of the International Religious Freedom Act, the only person denied a US visa under this law. The UK and the European Union refused to admit him because of what they saw as his role in the riots. As Modi rose to prominence in India, the UK and the EU lifted their bans in October 2012 and March 2013, respectively, and after his election he was invited to Washington as the nation's prime minister. During the run-up to the 2007 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election and the 2009 Indian general election, the BJP intensified its rhetoric on terrorism. In July 2006, Modi criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh " for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislation" such as the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the national government to allow states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. In 2007 Modi authored Karmayog, a 101-page booklet discussing manual scavenging. In it, Modi argued that scavenging was a "spiritual experience" for Valmiks, a sub-caste of Dalits. However, this book was not circulated that time because of the election code of conduct. After the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Modi held a meeting to discuss the security of Gujarat's -long coastline, resulting in government authorisation of 30 high-speed surveillance boats. In July 2007 Modi completed 2,063 consecutive days as chief minister of Gujarat, making him the longest-serving holder of that post, and the BJP won 122 of 182 state-assembly seats in that year's election. Development projects As Chief Minister, Modi favoured privatisation and small government, which was at odds with the philosophy of the RSS, usually described as anti-privatisation and anti-globalisation. His policies during his second term have been credited with reducing corruption in the state. He established financial and technology parks in Gujarat and during the 2007 Vibrant Gujarat summit, real-estate investment deals worth were signed. The governments led by Patel and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of groundwater-conservation projects. By December 2008, 500,000 structures had been built, of which 113,738 were check dams, which helped recharge the aquifers beneath them. Sixty of the 112 tehsils which had depleted the water table in 2004 had regained their normal groundwater levels by 2010. As a result, the state's production of genetically modified cotton increased to become the largest in India. The boom in cotton production and its semi-arid land use led to Gujarat's agricultural sector growing at an average rate of 9.6 percent from 2001 to 2007. Public irrigation measures in central and southern Gujarat, such as the Sardar Sarovar Dam, were less successful. The Sardar Sarovar project only irrigated 4–6% of the area intended. Nonetheless, from 2001 to 2010 Gujarat recorded an agricultural growth rate of 10.97 percent – the highest of any state. However, sociologists have pointed out that the growth rate under the 1992–97 INC government was 12.9 percent. In 2008 Modi offered land in Gujarat to Tata Motors to set up a plant manufacturing the Nano after a popular agitation had forced the company to move out of West Bengal. Several other companies followed the Tata to Gujarat. The Modi government finished the process of bringing electricity to every village in Gujarat that its predecessor had almost completed. Modi significantly changed the state's system of power distribution, greatly impacting farmers. Gujarat expanded the Jyotigram Yojana scheme, in which agricultural electricity was separated from other rural electricity; the agricultural electricity was rationed to fit scheduled irrigation demands, reducing its cost. Although early protests by farmers ended when those who benefited found that their electricity supply had stabilised, according to an assessment study corporations and large farmers benefited from the policy at the expense of small farmers and labourers. Development debate A contentious debate surrounds the assessment of Gujarat's economic development during Modi's tenure as chief minister. The state's GDP growth rate averaged 10% during Modi's tenure, a value similar to other highly industrialised states, and above that of the country as a whole. Gujarat also had a high rate of economic growth in the 1990s, before Modi took office, and some scholars have stated that growth did not much accelerate during Modi's tenure, although the state is considered to have maintained a high growth rate during Modi's Chief Ministership. Under Narendra Modi, Gujarat topped the World Bank's "ease of doing business" rankings among Indian states for two consecutive years. In 2013, Gujarat was ranked first among Indian states for "economic freedom" by a report measuring governance, growth, citizens' rights and labour and business regulation among the country's 20 largest states. In the later years of Modi's government, Gujarat's economic growth was frequently used as an argument to counter allegations of communalism. Tax breaks for businesses were easier to obtain in Gujarat than in other states, as was land. Modi's policies to make Gujarat attractive for investment included the creation of Special Economic Zones, where labour laws were greatly weakened. Despite its growth rate, Gujarat had a relatively poor record on human development, poverty relief, nutrition and education during Modi's tenure. In 2013, Gujarat ranked 13th in the country with respect to rates of poverty and 21st in education. Nearly 45 percent of children under five were underweight and 23 percent were undernourished, putting the state in the "alarming" category on the India State Hunger Index. A study by UNICEF and the Indian government found that Gujarat under Modi had a poor record with respect to immunisation in children. Over the decade from 2001 to 2011, Gujarat did not change its position relative to the rest of the country with respect to poverty and female literacy, remaining near the median of the 29 Indian states. It showed a marginal improvement in rates of infant mortality, and its position with respect to individual consumption declined. With respect to the quality of education in government schools, the state ranked below many Indian states. The social policies of the government generally did not benefit Muslims, Dalits, and Adivasis, and generally increased social inequalities. Development in Gujarat was generally limited to the urban middle class, and citizens in rural areas or from lower castes were increasingly marginalised. In 2013 the state ranked 10th of 21 Indian states in the Human Development Index. Under Modi, the state government spent less than the national average on education and healthcare. Final years Despite the BJP's shift away from explicit Hindutva, Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism. Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders. During his 2012 campaign he twice refused to wear articles of clothing gifted by Muslim leaders. He did, however, maintain relations with Dawoodi Bohra. His campaign included references to issues known to cause religious polarisation, including to Afzal Guru and the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. The BJP did not nominate any Muslim candidates for the assembly election of 2012. During the 2012 campaign, Modi attempted to identify himself with the state of Gujarat, a strategy similar to that used by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, and projected himself as protecting Gujarat against persecution by the rest of India. While campaigning for the 2012 assembly elections, Modi made extensive use of holograms and other technologies allowing him to reach a large number of people, something he would repeat in the 2014 general election. In the 2012 Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections, Modi won the constituency of Maninagar by 86,373 votes over Shweta Bhatt, the INC candidate and wife of Sanjiv Bhatt. The BJP won 115 of the 182 seats, continuing its majority during his tenure and allowing the party to form the government (as it had in Gujarat since 1995). After his election as prime minister, Modi resigned as the chief minister and as an MLA from Maninagar on 21 May 2014. Anandiben Patel succeeded him as the chief minister. Premiership campaigns 2014 Indian general election In September 2013 Modi was named the BJP's candidate for prime minister ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha election. Several BJP leaders expressed opposition to Modi's candidature, including BJP founding member L. K. Advani, who cited concern with leaders who were "concerned with their personal agendas". Modi played a dominant role in the BJP's election campaign. Several people who voted for the BJP stated that if Modi had not been the prime-ministerial candidate, they would have voted for another party. The focus on Modi as an individual was unusual for a BJP election campaign. The election was described as a referendum on Narendra Modi. During the campaign, Modi focused on the corruption scandals under the previous INC government, and played on his image as a politician who had created a high rate of GDP growth in Gujarat. Modi projected himself as a person who could bring about "development," without focus on any specific policies. His message found support among young Indians and among middle-class citizens. The BJP under Modi was able to downplay concerns about the protection of religious minorities and Modi's commitment to secularism, areas in which he had previously received criticism. Prior to the election Modi's image in the media had centered around his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots, but during the campaign the BJP was able to shift this to a focus on Modi's neoliberal ideology and the Gujarat model of development, although Hindutva remained a significant part of its campaign. The BJP's campaign was assisted by its wide influence in the media. Modi's campaign blitz cost approximately , and received extensive financial support from corporate donors. In addition to more conventional campaign methods, Modi made extensive use of social media, and addressed more than 1000 rallies via hologram appearances. The BJP won 31% of the vote, and more than doubled its tally in the Lok Sabha to 282, becoming the first party to win a majority of seats on its own since 1984. Voter dissatisfaction with the INC, as well as with regional parties in North India, was another reason for the success of the BJP, as was the support from the RSS. In states such as Uttar Pradesh in which the BJP performed well, it drew exceptionally high support from upper-caste Hindus, although the 10 percent of Muslim votes won was more than it had won before. It performed particularly well in parts of the country that had recently experienced violence between Hindus and Muslims. The magnitude of the BJP's victory led many commentators to say that the election constituted a political realignment away from progressive parties and towards the right-wing. Modi's tweet announcing his victory was described as being emblematic of the political realignment away from a secular, socialist state towards capitalism and Hindu cultural nationalism. Modi himself was a candidate for the Lok Sabha in two constituencies: Varanasi and Vadodara. He won in both constituencies, defeating Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal in Varanasi by 371,784 votes and Madhusudan Mistry of the INC in Vadodara by votes. Modi, who was unanimously elected leader of the BJP, was appointed prime minister by India's president. To comply with the law that an MP cannot represent more than one constituency, he vacated the Vadodara seat. 2019 Indian general election On 13 October 2018, Modi was renamed as the BJP candidate for prime minister for the 2019 general election. The chief campaigner for the party was BJP's president Amit Shah. Modi launched the Main Bhi Chowkidar campaign ahead of the general election, against Chowkidar Chor Hai campaign slogan of INC. In the year 2018, end Party's, second-biggest alliance Telugu Desam Party split from NDA over the matter of special-status for Andhra Pradesh. The campaign was started by Amit Shah on 8 April 2019. In the campaign, Modi was targeted by the opposition on corruption allegations over Rafale deal with France government. Highlighting this controversy the campaign "Chowkidar Chor Hai" was started, which was contrary to "Main Bhi Chowkidar" slogan. Modi made defence and national security among the foremost topics for the election campaign, especially after Pulwama attack, and the retaliatory attack of Balakot airstrike was counted as an achievement of the Modi administration. Other topics in the campaign were development and good foreign relations in the first premiership. Modi contested the Lok Sabha elections as a candidate from Varanasi. He won the seat by defeating Shalini Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, who fought on SP-BSP alliance by a margin of votes. Modi was unanimously appointed the prime minister for a second time by the National Democratic Alliance, after the alliance won the election for the second time by securing 353 seats in the Lok Sabha with the BJP alone won 303 seats. Prime Minister After the Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance won a landslide in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Narendra Modi was sworn in as the Prime Minister of India on 26 May 2014. He became the first Prime Minister born after India's independence from the British Empire in 1947. Modi started his second term after the Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance won again in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. On 6 December 2020, Modi became the 4th longest serving Prime Minister of India and the longest serving Non-Congress Prime Minister. Governance and other initiatives Modi's first year as prime minister saw significant centralisation of power relative to previous administrations. His efforts at centralisation have been linked to an increase in the number of senior administration officials resigning their positions. Initially lacking a majority in the Rajya Sabha, or upper house of Indian Parliament, Modi passed a number of ordinances to enact his policies, leading to further centralisation of power. The government also passed a bill increasing the control that it had over the appointment of judges, and reducing that of the judiciary. In December 2014 Modi abolished the Planning Commission, replacing it with the National Institution for Transforming India, or NITI Aayog. The move had the effect of greatly centralising the power previously with the planning commission in the person of the prime minister. The planning commission had received heavy criticism in previous years for creating inefficiency in the government, and of not filling its role of improving social welfare: however, since the economic liberalisation of the 1990s, it had been the major government body responsible for measures related to social justice. The Modi government launched investigations by the Intelligence Bureau against numerous civil society organisations and foreign non-governmental organisations in the first year of the administration. The investigations, on the grounds that these organisations were slowing economic growth, was criticised as a witch-hunt. International humanitarian aid organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres was among the groups that were put under pressure. Other organisations affected included the Sierra Club and Avaaz. Cases of sedition were filed against individuals criticising the government. This led to discontent within the BJP regarding Modi's style of functioning and drew comparisons to the governing style of Indira Gandhi. Modi repealed 1,200 obsolete laws in first three years as prime minister; a total of 1,301 such laws had been repealed by previous governments over a span of 64 years. He started a monthly radio programme titled "Mann Ki Baat" on 3 October 2014. Modi also launched the Digital India programme, with the goal of ensuring that government services are available electronically, building infrastructure to provide high-speed Internet access to rural areas, boosting manufacturing of electronic goods in the country, and promoting digital literacy. Modi launched Ujjwala scheme to provide free LPG connection to rural households. The scheme led to an increase in LPG consumption by 56% in 2019 as compared to 2014. In 2019, a law was passed to provide 10% reservation to Economically weaker sections. He was again sworn in as prime minister on 30 May 2019. On 30 July 2019, Parliament of India declared the practice of Triple Talaq as illegal, unconstitutional and made it punishable act from 1 August 2019 which is deemed to be in effect from 19 September 2018. On 5 August 2019, the government moved resolution to scrap Article 370 in the Rajya Sabha, and also reorganise the state with Jammu and Kashmir serving as one of the union territory and Ladakh region separated out as a separate union territory. Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. According to one study, "The BJP government incrementally but systemically attacked nearly all existing mechanisms that are in place to hold the political executive to account, either by ensuring that these mechanisms became subservient to the political executive or were captured by party loyalists." Scholars also point to how he Modi government has used state power to intimidate and stifle critics in the media and academia, thus undermining freedom of expression and alternative sources of information. Reporters Without Borders in 2021 characterised Modi as a predator for curbing press freedom in India since 2014. Economic policy The economic policies of Modi's government focused on privatisation and liberalisation of the economy, based on a neoliberal framework. Modi liberalised India's foreign direct investment policies, allowing more foreign investment in several industries, including in defence and the railways. Other proposed reforms included making it harder for workers to form unions and easier for employers to hire and fire them; some of these proposals were dropped after protests. The reforms drew strong opposition from unions: on 2 September 2015, eleven of the country's largest unions went on strike, including one affiliated with the BJP. The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, a constituent of the Sangh Parivar, stated that the underlying motivation of labour reforms favoured corporations over labourers. The funds dedicated to poverty reduction programmes and social welfare measures were greatly decreased by the Modi administration. The money spent on social programmes declined from 14.6% of GDP during the Congress government to 12.6% during Modi's first year in office. Spending on health and family welfare declined by 15%, and on primary and secondary education by 16%. The budgetary allocation for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, or the "education for all" programme, declined by 22%. The government also lowered corporate taxes, abolished the wealth tax, increased sales taxes, and reduced customs duties on gold, and jewellery. In October 2014, the Modi government deregulated diesel prices. In September 2014, Modi introduced the Make in India initiative to encourage foreign companies to manufacture products in India, with the goal of turning the country into a global manufacturing hub. Supporters of economic liberalisation supported the initiative, while critics argued it would allow foreign corporations to capture a greater share of the Indian market. Modi's administration passed a land-reform bill that allowed it to acquire private agricultural land without conducting a social impact assessment, and without the consent of the farmers who owned it. The bill was passed via an executive order after it faced opposition in parliament, but was eventually allowed to lapse. Modi's government put in place the Goods and Services Tax, the biggest tax reform in the country since independence. It subsumed around 17 different taxes and became effective from 1 July 2017. In his first cabinet decision, Modi set up a team to investigate black money. On 9 November 2016, the government demonetised ₹500 and ₹1000 banknotes, with the stated intention of curbing corruption, black money, the use of counterfeit currency, and terrorism. The move led to severe cash shortages, a steep decline in the Indian stock indices BSE SENSEX and NIFTY 50, and sparked widespread protests throughout the country. Several deaths were linked to the rush to exchange cash. In the subsequent year, the number of income tax returns filed for individuals rose by 25%, and the number of digital transactions increased steeply. Over the first four years of Modi's premiership, India's GDP grew at an average rate of 7.23%, higher than the rate of 6.39% under the previous government. The level of income inequality increased, while an internal government report said that in 2017, unemployment had increased to its highest level in 45 years. The loss of jobs was attributed to the 2016 demonetisation, and to the effects of the Goods and Services Tax. In the next year, after 2018, Indian economy started a gradual recovery with a GDP growth of 6.12% in 2018-19 FY, with an inflation rate of 3.4%. Same year, India was successful in making a good economy in trade and manufacturing sector. While in the FY of 2019–20, due to the general election, Modi government focused more on their election campaign. In the year 2019–20, the GDP growth rate was 4.18% and inflation rate also increased to 4.7% from 3.4% in the previous year. Though being high unemployment, increase in inflation rate and budget deficiency, Modi's leadership won in 2019 elections. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous rating agencies downgraded India's GDP predictions for FY21 to negative figures, signalling a recession in India, the most severe since 1979. According to a Dun & Bradstreet report, the country is likely to suffer a recession in the third quarter of FY2020 as a result of the over 2-month long nation-wide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19. This was also accompanied by the mass migration of migrant workers. Health and sanitation In his first year as prime minister, Modi reduced the amount of money spent by the central government on healthcare. The Modi government launched New Health Policy (NHP) in January 2015. The policy did not increase the government's spending on healthcare, instead emphasising the role of private healthcare organisations. This represented a shift away from the policy of the previous Congress government, which had supported programmes to assist public health goals, including reducing child and maternal mortality rates. The National Health Mission, which included public health programmes targeted at these indices received nearly 20% less funds in 2015 than in the previous year. 15 national health programmes, including those aimed at controlling tobacco use and supporting healthcare for the elderly, were merged with the National Health Mission. In its budget for the second year after it took office, the Modi government reduced healthcare spending by 15%. The healthcare budget for the following year rose by 19%. The budget was viewed positively by private insurance providers. Public health experts criticised its emphasis on the role of private healthcare providers, and suggested that it represented a shift away from public health facilities. The healthcare budget rose by 11.5% in 2018; the change included an allocation of for a government-funded health insurance program, and a decrease in the budget of the National Health Mission. The government introduced stricter packaging laws for tobacco which requires 85% of the packet size to be covered by pictorial warnings. An article in the medical journal Lancet stated that the country "might have taken a few steps back in public health" under Modi. In 2018 Modi launched the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, a government health insurance scheme intended to insure 500 million people. 100,000 people had signed up by October 2018. Modi emphasised his government's efforts at sanitation as a means of ensuring good health. On 2 October 2014, Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Mission ("Clean India") campaign. The stated goals of the campaign included eliminating open defecation and manual scavenging within five years. As part of the programme, the Indian government began constructing millions of toilets in rural areas and encouraging people to use them. The government also announced plans to build new sewage treatment plants. The administration plans to construct 60 million toilets by 2019. The construction projects have faced allegations of corruption, and have faced severe difficulty in getting people to use the toilets constructed for them. Sanitation cover in the country increased from 38.7% in October 2014 to 84.1% in May 2018; however, usage of the new sanitary facilities lagged behind the government's targets. In 2018, the World Health Organization stated that at least 180,000 diarrhoeal deaths were averted in rural India after the launch of the sanitation effort. Hindutva During the 2014 election campaign, the BJP sought to identify itself with political leaders known to have opposed Hindu nationalism, including B. R. Ambedkar, Subhas Chandra Bose, and Ram Manohar Lohia. The campaign also saw the use of rhetoric based on Hindutva by BJP leaders in certain states. Communal tensions were played upon especially in Uttar Pradesh and the states of Northeast India. A proposal for the controversial Uniform Civil Code was a part of the BJP's election manifesto. The activities of a number of Hindu nationalist organisations increased in scope after Modi's election as Prime Minister, sometimes with the support of the government. These activities included a Hindu religious conversion programme, a campaign against the alleged Islamic practice of "Love Jihad", and attempts to celebrate Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, by members of the right wing Hindu Mahasabha. Officials in the government, including the Home Minister, defended the conversion programmes. Links between the BJP and the RSS grew stronger under Modi. The RSS provided organisational support to the BJP's electoral campaigns, while the Modi administration appointed a number of individuals affiliated with the RSS to prominent government positions. In 2014, Yellapragada Sudershan Rao, who had previously been associated with the RSS, became the chairperson of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). Historians and former members of the ICHR, including those sympathetic to the BJP, questioned his credentials as a historian, and stated that the appointment was part of an agenda of cultural nationalism. The North East Delhi riots, which left more than 40 dead and hundreds injured, were triggered by protests against a citizenship law seen by many critics as anti-Muslim and part of Modi's Hindu nationalist agenda. On 5 August 2020, Modi visited Ayodhya after the Supreme Court in 2019 ordered a contested land in Ayodhya to be handed over to a trust to build the Hindu temple and ordered the government to give alternate 5 acre land to Sunni Waqf Board for the purpose of building a mosque. He became the first prime minister to visit Ram Janmabhoomi and Hanuman Garhi. Foreign policy Foreign policy played a relatively small role in Modi's election campaign, and did not feature prominently in the BJP's election manifesto. Modi invited all the other leaders of SAARC countries to his swearing in ceremony as prime minister. He was the first Indian prime minister to do so. Modi's foreign policy, similarly to that of the preceding INC government, focused on improving economic ties, security, and regional relations. Modi continued Manmohan Singh's policy of "multi-alignment." The Modi administration tried to attract foreign investment in the Indian economy from several sources, especially in East Asia, with the use of slogans such as "Make in India" and "Digital India". The government also tried to improve relations with Islamic nations in the Middle East, such as Bahrain, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as with Israel. The foreign relations of India with the USA also mended after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister. During the run-up to the general election there was wide-ranging scepticism regarding future of the strategic bilateral relation under Modi's premiership as in 2005 he was, while Chief Minister of Gujarat, denied a U.S. visa during the Bush administration for his poor human rights records. However sensing Modi's inevitable victory well before the election, the US Ambassador Nancy Powell had reached out to him as part of greater rapprochement from the west. Moreover, following his 2014 election as the Prime Minister of India President Obama congratulated him over the telephone and invited him to visit the US. Modi government has been successful in making good foreign relations with the USA in the presidency of both Barack Obama and Donald Trump. During the first few months after the election, Modi made trips to a number of different countries to further the goals of his policy, and attended the BRICS, ASEAN, and G20 summits. One of Modi's first visits as prime minister was to Nepal, during which he promised a billion USD in aid. Modi also made several overtures to the United States, including multiple visits to that country. While this was described as an unexpected development, due to the US having previously denied Modi a travel visa over his role during the 2002 Gujarat riots, the visits were expected to strengthen diplomatic and trade relations between the two countries. In 2015, the Indian parliament ratified a land exchange deal with Bangladesh about the India–Bangladesh enclaves, which had been initiated by the government of Manmohan Singh. Modi's administration gave renewed attention to India's "Look East Policy", instituted in 1991. The policy was renamed the "Act East Policy", and involved directing Indian foreign policy towards East Asia and Southeast Asia. The government signed agreements to improve land connectivity with Myanmar, through the state of Manipur. This represented a break with India's historic engagement with Myanmar, which prioritised border security over trade. China–India relations have deteriorated rapidly following the 2020 China–India skirmishes. Modi has pledged aid of $900 million to Afghanistan, visited the nation twice and been honoured with the nation's highest civilian honour in 2016. Defence policy India's nominal military spending increased steadily under Modi. The military budget declined over Modi's tenure both as a fraction of GDP and when adjusted for inflation. A substantial portion of the military budget was devoted to personnel costs, leading commentators to write that the budget was constraining Indian military modernisation. The BJP election manifesto had also promised to deal with illegal immigration into India in the Northeast, as well as to be more firm in its handling of insurgent groups. The Modi government issued a notification allowing Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist illegal immigrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh to legalise their residency in India. The government described the measure as being taken for humanitarian reasons but it drew criticism from several Assamese organisations.The Modi administration negotiated a peace agreement with the largest faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCM), which was announced in August 2015. The Naga insurgency in northeast India had begun in the 1950s. The NSCM and the government had agreed to a ceasefire in 1997, but a peace accord had not previously been signed. In 2015 the government abrogated a 15-year ceasefire with the Khaplang faction of the NSCM (NSCM-K). The NSCM-K responded with a series of attacks, which killed 18 people. The Modi government carried out a raid across the border with Myanmar as a result, and labelled the NSCM-K a terrorist organisation. Modi promised to be "tough on Pakistan" during his election campaign, and repeatedly stated that Pakistan was an exporter of terrorism. On 29 September 2016, the Indian Army stated that it had conducted a surgical strike on terror launch pads in Azad Kashmir. The Indian media claimed that up to 50 terrorists and Pakistani soldiers had been killed in the strike. Pakistan initially denied that any strikes had taken place. Subsequent reports suggested that Indian claim about the scope of the strike and the number of casualties had been exaggerated, although cross-border strikes had been carried out. In February 2019 India carried out airstrikes in Pakistan against a supposed terrorist camp. Further military skirmishes followed, including cross-border shelling and the loss of an Indian aircraft. Following his victory in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he focused more on Defence policies of India, especially against China and Pakistan. On 5 May 2020, Chinese and Indian troops engaged in aggressive melee, face-offs and skirmishes at locations along the Sino-Indian border, including near the disputed Pangong Lake in Ladakh and the Tibet Autonomous Region, and near the border between Sikkim and the Tibet Autonomous Region. Additional clashes also took place at locations in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). After which there was start of skirmishes between the nations leading to many border clashes, responses and reactions from both sides. A series of talks were also held between the two by both military and diplomatic means for peace. The first border clash reported in 2021 was on 20 January, referred to as a minor border clash in Sikkim. Environmental policy In naming his cabinet, Modi renamed the "Ministry of Environment and Forests" the "Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change." In the first budget of the government, the money allotted to this ministry was reduced by more than 50%. The new ministry also removed or diluted a number of laws related to environmental protection. These included no longer requiring clearance from the National Board for Wildlife for projects close to protected areas, and allowing certain projects to proceed before environmental clearance was received. The government also tried to reconstitute the Wildlife board such that it no longer had representatives from non-governmental organisations: however, this move was prevented by the Supreme Court. Modi also relaxed or abolished a number of other environmental regulations, particularly those related to industrial activity. A government committee stated that the existing system only served to create corruption, and that the government should instead rely on the owners of industries to voluntarily inform the government about the pollution they were creating. Other changes included reducing ministry oversight on small mining projects, and no longer requiring approval from tribal councils for projects inside forested areas. In addition, Modi lifted a moratorium on new industrial activity in the most polluted areas in the countries. The changes were welcomed by businesspeople, but criticised by environmentalists. Under the UPA government that preceded Modi's administration, field trials of Genetically Modified (GM) crops had essentially been put on hold, after protests from farmers fearing for their livelihoods. Under the Modi government these restrictions were gradually lifted. The government received some criticism for freezing the bank accounts of environmental group Greenpeace, citing financial irregularities, although a leaked government report said that the freeze had to do with Greenpeace's opposition to GM crops. At the COP26 conference Modi announced that India would target carbon neutrality by 2070, and also expand its renewable energy capacity. Though the date of net zero is far behind that of China and the USA and India's government wants to continue with the use of coal, Indian environmentalists and economists applauded the decision, describing it as a bold climate action. Democratic backsliding Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. According to one study, "The BJP government incrementally but systemically attacked nearly all existing mechanisms that are in place to hold the political executive to account, either by ensuring that these mechanisms became subservient to the political executive or were captured by party loyalists." Scholars also point to how the Modi government has used state power to intimidate and stifle critics in the media and academia, thus undermining freedom of expression and alternative sources of information. There have been several reports of the Modi government to be as an authoritarian conservative government, even due to lack of good opposition. Electoral history Personal life and image Personal life In accordance with Ghanchi tradition, Modi's marriage was arranged by his parents when he was a child. He was engaged at age 13 to Jashodaben Modi, marrying her when he was 18. They spent little time together and grew apart when Modi began two years of travel, including visits to Hindu ashrams. Reportedly, their marriage was never consummated, and he kept it a secret because otherwise he could not have become a 'pracharak' in the puritan Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Modi kept his marriage secret for most of his career. He acknowledged his wife for the first time when he filed his nomination for the 2014 general elections. Modi maintains a close relationship with his centenarian mother, Hiraben. A vegetarian and teetotaler, Modi has a frugal lifestyle and is a workaholic and introvert. A person named Badri Meena has been his cook since 2002. Modi's 31 August 2012 post on Google Hangouts made him the first Indian politician to interact with citizens on a live chat. Modi has also been called a fashion-icon for his signature crisply ironed, half-sleeved kurta, as well as for a suit with his name embroidered repeatedly in the pinstripes that he wore during a state visit by US President Barack Obama, which drew public and media attention and criticism. Modi's personality has been variously described by scholars and biographers as energetic, arrogant, and charismatic. He had published a Gujarati book titled Jyotipunj in 2008, containing profiles of various RSS leaders. The longest was of M. S. Golwalkar, under whose leadership the RSS expanded and whom Modi refers to as Pujniya Shri Guruji ("Guru worthy of worship"). According to The Economic Times, his intention was to explain the workings of the RSS to his readers and to reassure RSS members that he remained ideologically aligned with them. Modi authored eight other books, mostly containing short stories for children. The nomination of Modi for the prime ministership drew attention to his reputation as "one of contemporary India's most controversial and divisive politicians." During the 2014 election campaign the BJP projected an image of Modi as a strong, masculine leader, who would be able to take difficult decisions. Campaigns in which he has participated have focused on Modi as an individual, in a manner unusual for the BJP and RSS. Modi has relied upon his reputation as a politician able to bring about economic growth and "development". Nonetheless, his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots continues to attract criticism and controversy. Modi's hardline Hindutva philosophy and the policies adopted by his government continue to draw criticism, and have been seen as evidence of a majoritarian and exclusionary social agenda. In March 2021, Modi received his first COVID-19 vaccine dose at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. Personal donations Modi has made donations for various causes and programmes. One such instance was when Modi donated towards the initial corpus of the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) Fund. In his role as chief minister of Gujarat, Modi had donated from personal savings for educating daughters of state government officials. Modi had also raised by auctioning all the gifts he received as chief minister and donated this to the Kanya Kelavani Fund. The money was spent on the education of girl children, through the scheme. Approval ratings As a Prime Minister, Modi has received consistently high approval ratings; at the end of his first year in office, he received an overall approval rating of 87% in a Pew Research poll, with 68% of people rating him "very favorably" and 93% approving of his government. His approval rating remained largely consistent at around 74% through his second year in office, according to a nationwide poll conducted by instaVaani. At the end of his second year in office, an updated Pew Research poll showed Modi continued to receive high overall approval ratings of 81%, with 57% of those polled rating him "very favorably." At the end of his third year in office, a further Pew Research poll showed Modi with an overall approval rating of 88%, his highest yet, with 69% of people polled rating him "very favorably." A poll conducted by The Times of India in May 2017 showed 77% of the respondents rated Modi as "very good" and "good". In early 2017, a survey from Pew Research Center showed Modi to be the most popular figure in Indian politics. In a weekly analysis by Morning Consult called the Global Leader Approval Rating Tracker, Modi had the highest net approval rating as of 22 December 2020 of all government leaders in the 13 countries being tracked. Awards and recognition In March 2012 and June 2014, Modi appeared on the cover of the Asian edition of Time Magazine, one of the few Indian politicians to have done so. He was awarded Indian of the Year by CNN-News18 (formally CNN-IBN) news network in 2014. In June 2015, Modi was featured on the cover of Time Magazine. In 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020 and 2021, he was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World. Forbes Magazine ranked him the 15th Most Powerful Person in the World in 2014 and the 9th Most Powerful Person in the World in 2015, 2016 and 2018. In 2015, Modi was ranked the 13th Most Influential Person in the World by Bloomberg Markets Magazine. Modi was ranked fifth on Fortune Magazines first annual list of the "World's Greatest Leaders" in 2015. In 2017, Gallup International Association (GIA) conducted a poll and ranked Modi as third top leader of the world. In 2016, a wax statue of Modi was unveiled at Madame Tussauds wax museum in London. In 2015 he was named one of Times "30 Most Influential People on the Internet" as the second-most-followed politician on Twitter and Facebook. In 2018, he was the third most followed world leader on Twitter, and the most followed world leader on Facebook and Instagram. In October 2018, Modi received United Nations's highest environmental award, the 'Champions of the Earth', for policy leadership by "pioneering work in championing" the International Solar Alliance and "new areas of levels of cooperation on environmental action". He was conferred the 2018 Seoul Peace Prize in recognition of "his dedication to improving international co-operation, raising global economic growth, accelerating the Human Development of the people of India by fostering economic growth and furthering the development of democracy through anti-corruption and social integration efforts". He is the first Indian to win the award. Following his second swearing-in ceremony as Prime Minister of India, a picture of Modi was displayed on the facade of the ADNOC building in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The Texas India Forum hosted a community event in honour of Modi on 22 September 2019 at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. The event was attended by over 50,000 people and several American politicians including President Donald Trump, making it the largest gathering for an invited foreign leader visiting the United States other than the Pope. At the same event, Modi was presented with the Key to the City of Houston by Mayor Sylvester Turner. He was awarded the Global Goalkeeper Award on 24 September 2019 in New York City by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in recognition for the Swachh Bharat Mission and "the progress India has made in providing safe sanitation under his leadership". In 2020, Modi was among eight world leaders awarded the parodic Ig Nobel Prize in Medical Education "for using the COVID-19 viral pandemic to teach the world that politicians can have a more immediate effect on life and death than scientists and doctors can". On 21 December 2020, President Donald Trump awarded Modi with the Legion of Merit for elevating the India–United States relations. The Legion of Merit was awarded to Modi along with Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison and former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe, the "original architects" of the QUAD. On 24 February 2021, the largest cricket stadium in the world at Ahmedabad was renamed Narendra Modi Stadium by the Gujarat Cricket Association. Modi is featured in TIME Magazine's 100 most influential people of 2021 list, making it his fifth time after 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2020. TIME called him the third "pivotal leader" of independent India after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi who "dominated the country’s politics like no one since them". State honours Other honours In popular culture Modi Kaka Ka Gaon, a 2017 Indian Hindi-language drama film by Tushar Amrish Goel is the first biopic on Modi, starring Vikas Mahante in the titular role it was made halfway into his first-term as the prime minister which is shown in the film. PM Narendra Modi, a 2019 Indian Hindi-language biographical drama film by Omung Kumar, starred Vivek Oberoi in the titular role and covers his rise to prime ministership.An Indian web series, Modi: Journey of a Common Man, based on the same premise released in May 2019 on Eros Now with Ashish Sharma portraying Modi. Hu Narender Modi Banva Mangu Chu is a 2018 Indian Gujarati-language drama film by Anil Naryani about the aspirations of a young boy who wants to become like Narendra Modi. 7 RCR (7, Race Course Road), a 2014 Indian docudrama political television series which charts the political careers of prominent Indian politicians, covered Modi's rise to the PM's office in the episodes - "Story of Narendra Modi from 1950 to 2001", "Story of Narendra Modi in Controversial Years from 2001 to 2013", "Truth Behind Brand Modi", "Election Journey of Narendra Modi to 7 RCR", and "Masterplan of Narendra Modi's NDA Govt."; with Sangam Rai in the role of Modi. Other portrayals of Modi include by Rajit Kapur in the film Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) and Vikram Gokhale in the web-television series Avrodh: The Siege Within (2020) both based on the 2016 Uri attack and the following Indian surgical strikes. Pratap Singh played a character based on Modi in Chand Bujh Gaya (2005) which is set in the backdrop of the Gujarat riots. Premiered on 12 August 2019, Modi appeared in an episode - "Man vs. Wild with Bear Grylls and Prime Minister Modi" - of Discovery Channel's show Man vs Wild with the host Bear Grylls, becoming the second world leader after Barack Obama to appear in the reality show. In the show he trekked the jungles and talked about nature and wildlife conservation with Grylls. The episode was shot in Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand and was broadcast in 180 countries along India. He has also appeared twice on the Indian television talk show Aap Ki Adalat before the 2009 and 2014 elections respectively. Along with hosting the Mann Ki Baat monthly radio programme, on All India Radio, he has also conducted Pariksha Pe Charcha - a competition/discussion for students and the issues they face in examinations. Bibliography See also List of prime ministers of India Opinion polling on the Narendra Modi premiership References Notes Citations Further reading External links |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- 1950 births Living people Gujarati people People from Gujarat People from Mehsana district Indian Hindus Prime Ministers of India Leaders of the Lok Sabha Chief Ministers of Gujarat Chief ministers from Bharatiya Janata Party 16th Lok Sabha members 17th Lok Sabha members Members of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly Delhi University alumni Gujarat University alumni Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharaks Indian nationalists Indian writers Recipients of the Legion of Merit Hindu nationalists Right-wing politics in India 20th-century Indian writers Members of the Planning Commission of India Right-wing populism in India Bharatiya Jana Sangh politicians Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Gujarat Lok Sabha members from Gujarat Lok Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2019 Indian general election Writers from Gujarat Candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Hindu pacifists Narendra Modi ministry Candidates in the 2019 Indian general election Hindu revivalists Writers about activism and social change Indian political people 21st-century prime ministers of India Gujarat MLAs 1998–2002 Politicians of Hindu political parties National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Indian anti-communists Gandhians Gujarat MLAs 2002–2007 Gujarat MLAs 2007–2012 Gujarat MLAs 2012–2017 21st-century Indian non-fiction writers Politicians from Varanasi Time 100
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[ "Lakshman Rao Madhav Rao Inamdar, (19 September 1917 – 1985) popularly known as Vakil Saheb, was one of the founding fathers of the RSS in Gujarat. He is credited with inducting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an RSS balswayamsevak (junior cadet) and becoming Modi's political mentor.\n\nInamdar and Narendra Modi\nInamdar is credited with shaping Narendra Modi's career in the RSS. When Modi became an RSS Pracharak, Inamdar was the Prant Pracharak of Gujarat. Modi and Inamdar are believed to have shared a special bond. According to Narendra Modi, Inamdar was the only person he has ever confided in on personal matters. Inamdar is also credited with persuading Modi to join a BA program in political science for which Inamdar procured the necessary study material. Commenting on Modi's respect for Inamdar, Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay — author of a 2013 biography of Modi — says, \"I haven't seen this kind of reverence in Modi for anyone, living or dead.\" Narendra Modi has co-written a 2001 published book, Setubandh, which is a biography of Inamdar. Modi's 2008 book Jyotipunj, on sixteen prominent RSS figures, also has a chapter on Inamdar. In Jyotipunj, Modi credited Inamdar with opening 150 RSS shakhas in 3–4 years—following the lifting of a 4-year ban on the RSS in 1952. Inamdar is also reportedly responsible for shaping Modi's views of relations between Hindus and Muslims.\n\nReferences\n\nRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharaks\nNarendra Modi\nPeople from Gujarat\n1917 births\n1985 deaths", "Krishan Kumar Modi (27 August 1940 – 2 November 2019), also known as K. K. Modi, was an Indian businessman and the President of Modi Enterprises. Among his three children is Lalit Modi.\n\nBackground\nModi was born in August 1940 in Patiala, the eldest son of Rai Bahadur Gujarmal Modi and his second wife Dayawati Modi. Rai Bahadur Gujarmal Modi was the founder of the Modi Group. He started his first sugar factory in 1933 and gradually built up a vast business empire by venturing into various industrial sectors in the period before and after independence. The young K.K. Modi thus grew up in exciting times, when his father was building the family fortunes, and the country was grappling with major social and political changes.\n\nCareer\nIn 1959, at the age of just 19, Krishan Kumar accompanied his uncle Kedaarnath Modi (Gujarmal's step-brother) to several European countries, to explore the possibility of purchasing the latest textile machinery to produce higher quality cloth. Managing the textile production in the silk mill was the next project entrusted to him. In 1965, he was appointed the Vice-President of Modipon—the then newly established nylon yarn manufacturing unit in Modinagar.\n\nIn 1976, Gujarmal Modi died. KK Modi then provided leadership as patriarch of the Modi family and the group remained united until 1989, when the various businesses of the Modi Group of companies were divided between the five sons of Gujarmal Modi. He has since then moved into cigarette manufacturing, pesticides, leather, industrial chemical technology and other sectors. He was also considered to be India's 89th richest man in 2012, according to Forbes.\n\nModi has served in the following positions:\n President (Confederation of Asia Pacific Chambers of Commerce & Industry – CACCI)\n Patron (Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry – ICCI)\n\nPersonal life\nModi is one of the eleven children (five sons and six daughters) of Rai Bahadur Gujarmal Modi, founder of the Modi Group, by his second wife, Dayawati Devi. His birth in 1940 was greeted with unprecedented joy in the Modi household, because the family had pined for a son for over two decades. His father's first wife, Rajban Devi, had borne as many as ten children, but every single one of them had died in childbirth or infancy. Finally, in 1932, at the behest of his ailing first wife and family elders, Gujarmal Modi had taken a second wife, Dayawati Devi. Several daughters were then born, before the birth of KK Modi, the long-awaited heir, in 1940. KK Modi's younger brothers are Vinay Kumar, Satish Kumar, Bhupendra Kumar Modi and Umesh Kumar.\n\nModi was married to Bina Modi on 4 December 1961 at the age of 21. The match was arranged by their parents in the traditional Indian way. Bina is a cooking enthusiast who runs the Ego Thai restaurant in New Delhi. They have three children, a daughter named Charu Bhartia, and two sons, Lalit Modi and Samir Modi. Charu, who handles the Modi group's educational venture, is the mother of Priyal Bhartia (daughter) and Ashrant Bhartia (son). KK Modi's second son, Samir Modi, handles the group's ventures in the retail and cosmetics sector. He is married to Shivani and is the father of two daughters, Jayati and Vedika.\n\nKK Modi's elder son is the controversial Lalit Modi, the flamboyant cricket administrator famous for creating the Indian Premier League, who is now (as on 10 Dec 2019) wanted by the Indian authorities on various charges and lives in London. Lalit and his parents were estranged for many years. This is because he fell in love with a married woman, Minal, who was nine years older than him and the mother of a teenage daughter. Minal, who came into contact with Lalit because she was Bina's friend, was Hindu by birth, but her first husband and her daughter Karima were both Muslim. Minal divorced her husband and married Lalit, to the horror and disgust of his parents, who disowned him and did not have any contact with him for many years. Lalit is the father of Ruchir (son) and Aliya (daughter), and the step-father of Karima, who is married (again in the teeth of stiff resistance from the Burman family) to Gaurav Burman, son of Vivek Burman of the Dabur Group.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Modi group, official website\n\n1940 births\n2019 deaths\nBusinesspeople from Haryana\nKrishan Kumar\nPeople from Modinagar\nPeople from Patiala\nPunjabi people" ]
[ "Narendra Modi", "Final years", "What happened in her final years?", "Modi made extensive use of holograms", "How did Modi use holograms?", "allowing him to reach a large number of people,", "Did Modi ran for any political positions ?", "Modi won the constituency of Maninagar" ]
C_b6a0c764bf0c443b9768973ff08ca8fb_1
With how many votes did he win this constituency?
4
With how many votes did Modi win the constituency of Maninagar?
Narendra Modi
During Modi's second term the rhetoric of the government shifted from Hindutva to Gujarat's economic development. Modi curtailed the influence of Sangh Parivar organisations such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), entrenched in the state after the decline of Ahmedabad's textile industry, and dropped Gordhan Zadafia (an ally of former Sangh co-worker and VHP state chief Praveen Togadia) from his cabinet. When the BKS staged a farmers' demonstration Modi ordered their eviction from state-provided houses, and his decision to demolish 200 illegal temples in Gandhinagar deepened the rift with the VHP. Sangh organisations were no longer consulted or informed in advance about Modi's administrative decisions. Nonetheless, Modi retained connections with some Hindu nationalists. Modi wrote a foreword to a textbook by Dinanath Batra released in 2014, which stated that ancient India possessed technologies including test-tube babies. Modi's relationship with Muslims continued to attract criticism. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (who asked Modi for tolerance in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat violence and supported his resignation as chief minister) distanced himself, reaching out to North Indian Muslims before the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. After the elections Vajpayee called the violence in Gujarat a reason for the BJP's electoral defeat and said it had been a mistake to leave Modi in office after the riots. Questions about Modi's relationship with Muslims were also raised by many Western nations during his tenure as chief minister. Modi was barred from entering the United States by the State Department, in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on International Religious Freedom formed under the aegis of the International Religious Freedom Act, the only person denied a US visa under this law. The UK and the European Union refused to admit him because of what they saw as his role in the riots. As Modi rose to prominence in India, the UK and the EU lifted their bans in October 2012 and March 2013, respectively, and after his election as prime minister he was invited to Washington. During the run-up to the 2007 assembly elections and the 2009 general election, the BJP intensified its rhetoric on terrorism. In July 2006, Modi criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh " for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislation" such as the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the national government to allow states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. In 2007 Modi authored Karmayog, a 101-page booklet discussing manual scavenging. In it, Modi argued that scavenging was a "spiritual experience" for Dalits. However, this book was not circulated that time because of the election code of conduct. After the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Modi held a meeting to discuss the security of Gujarat's 1,600-kilometre (990 mi)-long coastline, resulting in government authorisation of 30 high-speed surveillance boats. In July 2007 Modi completed 2,063 consecutive days as chief minister of Gujarat, making him the longest-serving holder of that post, and the BJP won 122 of 182 state-assembly seats in that year's election. As Chief Minister, Modi favoured privatisation and small government, which was at odds with the philosophy of the RSS, usually described as anti-privatisation and anti-globalisation. His policies during his second term have been credited with reducing corruption in the state. He established financial and technology parks in Gujarat and during the 2007 Vibrant Gujarat summit, real-estate investment deals worth Rs6.6 trillion were signed. The governments led by Patel and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of groundwater-conservation projects. By December 2008, 500,000 structures had been built, of which 113,738 were check dams, which helped recharge the aquifers beneath them. Sixty of the 112 tehsils which had depleted the water table in 2004 had regained their normal groundwater levels by 2010. As a result, the state's production of genetically modified cotton increased to become the largest in India. The boom in cotton production and its semi-arid land use led to Gujarat's agricultural sector growing at an average rate of 9.6 percent from 2001 to 2007. Public irrigation measures in central and southern Gujarat, such as the Sardar Sarovar Dam, were less successful. The Sardar Sarovar project only irrigated 4-6% of the area intended. Nonetheless, from 2001 to 2010 Gujarat recorded an agricultural growth rate of 10.97 percent - the highest of any state. However, sociologists have pointed out that the growth rate under the 1992-97 INC government was 12.9 percent. In 2008 Modi offered land in Gujarat to Tata Motors to set up a plant manufacturing the Nano after a popular agitation had forced the company to move out of West Bengal. Several other companies followed the Tata's to Gujarat. The Modi government finished the process of bringing electricity to every village in Gujarat that its predecessor had almost completed. Modi significantly changed the state's system of power distribution, greatly impacting farmers. Gujarat expanded the Jyotigram Yojana scheme, in which agricultural electricity was separated from other rural electricity; the agricultural electricity was rationed to fit scheduled irrigation demands, reducing its cost. Although early protests by farmers ended when those who benefited found that their electricity supply had stabilised, according to an assessment study corporations and large farmers benefited from the policy at the expense of small farmers and labourers. During the 2012 campaign, Modi attempted to identify himself with the state of Gujarat, a strategy similar to that used by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, and projected himself as protecting Gujarat against persecution by the rest of India. Despite the BJP's shift away from explicit Hindutva, Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism. Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders. During his 2012 campaign he twice refused to wear articles of clothing gifted by Muslim leaders. He did, however, maintain relations with Dawoodi Bohra. His campaign included references to issues known to cause religious polarisation, including to Afzal Guru and the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. The BJP did not nominate any Muslim candidates for the assembly election of 2012. He had published a Gujarati book titled Jyotipunj in 2008, containing profiles of various RSS leaders. The longest was of M. S. Golwalkar, under whose leadership the RSS expanded and whom Modi refers to as Pujniya Shri Guruji ("Guru worthy of worship"). According to The Economic Times, his intention was to explain the workings of the RSS to his readers and to reassure RSS members that he remained ideologically aligned with them. Modi authored eight other books, mostly containing short stories for children. While campaigning for the 2012 assembly elections, Modi made extensive use of holograms and other technologies allowing him to reach a large number of people, something he would repeat in the 2014 general election. In the 2012 Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections, Modi won the constituency of Maninagar by 86,373 votes over Shweta Bhatt, the INC candidate and wife of Sanjiv Bhatt. The BJP won 115 of the 182 seats, continuing its majority during his tenure and allowing the party to form the government (as it had in Gujarat since 1995). In later by-elections the BJP won four more assembly seats and two Lok Sabha seats held by the INC, although Modi did not campaign for its candidates. In 2013, the Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF) at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania cancelled a keynote video-conference speech by Modi following protests by Indian-Americans. After his election as prime minister, Modi resigned as the chief minister and as an MLA from Maninagar on 21 May 2014. Anandiben Patel succeeded him as the chief minister. CANNOTANSWER
by 86,373 votes
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from Varanasi. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindu nationalist paramilitary volunteer organisation. He is the first prime minister to have been born after India's independence in 1947 and the second prime minister not belonging to the Indian National Congress to have won two consecutive majorities in the Lok Sabha, or lower house of Indian of parliament. Born and raised in Vadnagar, a small town in northeastern Gujarat, Modi completed his secondary education there. He was introduced to the RSS at age eight. He has drawn attention to having to work as a child in his father's tea stall on the Vadnagar railway station platform, a description that has not been reliably corroborated. At age 18, Modi was married to Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi, whom he abandoned soon after. He left his parental home where she had come to live. He first publicly acknowledged her as his wife more than four decades later when required to do so by Indian law, but has made no contact with her since. Modi has asserted he had travelled in northern India for two years after leaving his parental home, visiting a number of religious centres, but few details of his travels have emerged. Upon his return to Gujarat in 1971, he became a full-time worker for the RSS. After the state of emergency declared by prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1975, Modi went into hiding. The RSS assigned him to the BJP in 1985 and he held several positions within the party hierarchy until 2001, rising to the rank of general secretary. Modi was appointed Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2001 due to Keshubhai Patel's failing health and poor public image following the earthquake in Bhuj. Modi was elected to the legislative assembly soon after. His administration has been considered complicit in the 2002 Gujarat riots in which 1044 people were killed, three-quarters of whom were Muslim, or otherwise criticised for its management of the crisis. The Supreme Court remarked that Narendra Modi was like a Modern-day Nero, looking the other way as innocent women and children were burning. A Supreme Court of India-appointed Special Investigation Team found no evidence to initiate prosecution proceedings against Modi personally. While his policies as chief minister—credited with encouraging economic growth—have received praise, his administration has been criticised for failing to significantly improve health, poverty and education indices in the state. Modi led the BJP in the 2014 general election which gave the party a majority in the Indian lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha, the first time for any single party since 1984. Modi's administration has tried to raise foreign direct investment in the Indian economy and reduced spending on healthcare and social welfare programmes. Modi has attempted to improve efficiency in the bureaucracy; he has centralised power by abolishing the Planning Commission. He began a high-profile sanitation campaign, controversially initiated a demonetisation of high-denomination banknotes and transformation of taxation regime, and weakened or abolished environmental and labour laws. Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. Following his party's victory in the 2019 general election, his administration revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and also introduced the Citizenship Amendment Act, which resulted in widespread protests across the country. Described as engineering a political realignment towards right-wing politics, Modi remains a figure of controversy domestically and internationally over his Hindu nationalist beliefs and his handling of the 2002 Gujarat riots, cited as evidence of an exclusionary social agenda. Early life and education Narendra Damodardas Modi was born on 17 September 1950 to a Gujarati Hindu family of grocers in Vadnagar, Mehsana district, Bombay State (present-day Gujarat). He was the third of six children born to Damodardas Mulchand Modi () and Hiraben Modi (born ). Modi's family belonged to the Modh-Ghanchi-Teli (oil-presser) community, which is categorised as an Other Backward Class by the Indian government. Modi had only infrequently spoken of his family background during his 13 years as chief minister of Gujarat. In the run up to the 2014 national elections, he began to regularly draw attention to his low-ranking social origins and to having to work as a child in his father's tea shop on the Vadnagar railway station platform, a description that the evidence of neighbours does not entirely corroborate. Modi completed his higher secondary education in Vadnagar in 1967, where teachers described him as an average student and a keen gifted debater, with interest in theatre. Modi preferred playing larger-than-life characters in theatrical productions, which has influenced his political image. When eight years old, Modi was introduced to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and began attending its local shakhas (training sessions). There, Modi met Lakshmanrao Inamdar, popularly known as Vakil Saheb, who inducted him as a balswayamsevak (junior cadet) in the RSS and became his political mentor. While Modi was training with the RSS, he also met Vasant Gajendragadkar and Nathalal Jaghda, Bharatiya Jana Sangh leaders who were founding members of the BJP's Gujarat unit in 1980. In a custom traditional to Narendra Modi's caste, his family arranged a betrothal to a girl, Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi, leading to their marriage when she was 17 and he was 18. Soon afterwards, he abandoned his bride, and left home, never divorcing her, but the marriage remaining unmentioned in Modi's public pronouncements for many decades. In April 2014, shortly before the national elections that swept him to power, Modi publicly affirmed that he was married and his spouse was Jashodaben; the couple has remained married, but estranged. Modi spent the ensuing two years travelling across Northern and North-eastern India, though few details of where he went have emerged. In interviews, Modi has described visiting Hindu ashrams founded by Swami Vivekananda: the Belur Math near Kolkata, followed by the Advaita Ashrama in Almora and the Ramakrishna Mission in Rajkot. Modi remained only a short time at each, since he lacked the required college education. Vivekananda has been described as a large influence in Modi's life. In the early summer of 1968, Modi reached the Belur Math but was turned away, after which Modi wandered through Calcutta, West Bengal and Assam, stopping in Siliguri and Guwahati. Modi then went to the Ramakrishna Ashram in Almora, where he was again rejected, before travelling back to Gujarat via Delhi and Rajasthan in 1968–69. Sometime in late 1969 or early 1970, Modi returned to Vadnagar for a brief visit before leaving again for Ahmedabad. There, Modi lived with his uncle, working in the latter's canteen at the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation. In Ahmedabad, Modi renewed his acquaintance with Inamdar, who was based at the Hedgewar Bhavan (RSS headquarters) in the city. Modi's first known political activity as an adult was in 1971 when he, as per his remarks, joined a Jana Sangh Satyagraha in Delhi led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee to enlist for the battlefield during the Bangladesh Liberation War. But the Indira Gandhi-led central government disallowed open support for the Mukti Bahini and Modi, according to his own claim, was put in Tihar Jail for a short period. After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he stopped working for his uncle and became a full-time pracharak (campaigner) for the RSS, working under Inamdar. Shortly before the war, Modi took part in a non-violent protest against the Indian government in New Delhi, for which he was arrested (as per his claim); this has been cited as a reason for Inamdar electing to mentor him. Many years later Modi would co-author a biography of Inamdar, published in 2001. Modi's claim that he was part of a Satyagraha led to a political war. Applications were filed with the PMO under the RTI Act seeking details of his arrest. In reply, the PMO claimed that it maintains official records on Modi only since he took charge as the Prime Minister of India in 2014. Despite this claim, the official website of the PMO contains specific information about Modi which dates back to the 1950s. In 1978 Modi received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the School of Open Learning (SOL) at the University of Delhi, graduating with a third class. Five years later, in 1983, he received a Master of Arts degree in political science from Gujarat University, graduating with a first class as an external distance learning student. But there is a big controversy surrounding his educational qualification. Replying to an RTI query, the SOL said it did not have any data of students who received a BA degree in 1978. Jayantibhai Patel, a former political science professor of Gujarat University, claimed that the subjects listed in Modi's MA degree were not offered by the university when Modi was studying there. Early political career In June 1975, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency in India which lasted until 1977. During this period, known as "The Emergency", many of her political opponents were jailed and opposition groups were banned. Modi was appointed general secretary of the "Gujarat Lok Sangharsh Samiti", an RSS committee co-ordinating opposition to the Emergency in Gujarat. Shortly afterwards, the RSS was banned. Modi was forced to go underground in Gujarat and frequently travelled in disguise to avoid arrest. He became involved in printing pamphlets opposing the government, sending them to Delhi and organising demonstrations. Modi was also involved with creating a network of safe houses for individuals wanted by the government, and in raising funds for political refugees and activists. During this period, Modi wrote a book in Gujarati, Sangharsh Ma Gujarat (In The Struggles of Gujarat), describing events during the Emergency. Among the people he met in this role was trade unionist and socialist activist George Fernandes, as well as several other national political figures. In his travels during the Emergency, Modi was often forced to move in disguise, once dressing as a monk, and once as a Sikh. Modi became an RSS sambhag pracharak (regional organiser) in 1978, overseeing RSS activities in the areas of Surat and Vadodara, and in 1979 he went to work for the RSS in Delhi, where he was put to work researching and writing the RSS's version of the history of the Emergency. He returned to Gujarat a short while later, and was assigned by the RSS to the BJP in 1985. In 1987 Modi helped organise the BJP's campaign in the Ahmedabad municipal election, which the BJP won comfortably; Modi's planning has been described as the reason for that result by biographers. After L. K. Advani became president of the BJP in 1986, the RSS decided to place its members in important positions within the BJP; Modi's work during the Ahmedabad election led to his selection for this role, and Modi was elected organising secretary of the BJP's Gujarat unit later in 1987. Modi rose within the party and was named a member of the BJP's National Election Committee in 1990, helping organise L. K. Advani's 1990 Ram Rath Yatra in 1990 and Murli Manohar Joshi's 1991–92 Ekta Yatra (Journey for Unity). However, he took a brief break from politics in 1992, instead establishing a school in Ahmedabad; friction with Shankersinh Vaghela, a BJP MP from Gujarat at the time, also played a part in this decision. Modi returned to electoral politics in 1994, partly at the insistence of Advani, and as party secretary, Modi's electoral strategy was considered central to the BJP victory in the 1995 state assembly elections. In November of that year Modi was appointed BJP national secretary and transferred to New Delhi, where he assumed responsibility for party activities in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The following year, Shankersinh Vaghela, a prominent BJP leader from Gujarat, defected to the Indian National Congress (Congress, INC) after losing his parliamentary seat in the Lok Sabha elections. Modi, on the selection committee for the 1998 Assembly elections in Gujarat, favoured supporters of BJP leader Keshubhai Patel over those supporting Vaghela to end factional division in the party. His strategy was credited as key to the BJP winning an overall majority in the 1998 elections, and Modi was promoted to BJP general secretary (organisation) in May of that year. Chief Minister of Gujarat Taking office In 2001, Keshubhai Patel's health was failing and the BJP lost a few state assembly seats in by-elections. Allegations of abuse of power, corruption and poor administration were made, and Patel's standing had been damaged by his administration's handling of the earthquake in Bhuj in 2001. The BJP national leadership sought a new candidate for the chief ministership, and Modi, who had expressed misgivings about Patel's administration, was chosen as a replacement. Although BJP leader L. K. Advani did not want to ostracise Patel and was concerned about Modi's lack of experience in government, Modi declined an offer to be Patel's deputy chief minister, telling Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee that he was "going to be fully responsible for Gujarat or not at all". On 3 October 2001 he replaced Patel as Chief Minister of Gujarat, with the responsibility of preparing the BJP for the December 2002 elections. Modi was sworn in as Chief Minister on 7 October 2001, and entered the Gujarat state legislature on 24 February 2002 by winning a by-election to the Rajkot – II constituency, defeating Ashwin Mehta of the INC by 14,728 votes. 2002 Gujarat riots On 27 February 2002, a train with several hundred passengers burned near Godhra, killing approximately 60 people. The train carried a large number of Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya after a religious ceremony at the site of the demolished Babri Masjid. In making a public statement after the incident, Modi declared it a terrorist attack planned and orchestrated by local Muslims. The next day, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad called for a bandh across the state. Riots began during the bandh, and anti-Muslim violence spread through Gujarat. The government's decision to move the bodies of the train victims from Godhra to Ahmedabad further inflamed the violence. The state government stated later that 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed. Independent sources put the death toll at over 2000, the vast majority Muslims Approximately 150,000 people were driven to refugee camps. Numerous women and children were among the victims; the violence included mass rapes and mutilations of women. The government of Gujarat itself is generally considered by scholars to have been complicit in the riots, (with some blaming chief minister Modi explicitly) and has otherwise received heavy criticism for its handling of the situation. Several scholars have described the violence as a pogrom, while others have called it an example of state terrorism. Summarising academic views on the subject, Martha Nussbaum said: "There is by now a broad consensus that the Gujarat violence was a form of ethnic cleansing, that in many ways it was premeditated, and that it was carried out with the complicity of the state government and officers of the law." The Modi government imposed a curfew in 26 major cities, issued shoot-at-sight orders and called for the army to patrol the streets, but was unable to prevent the violence from escalating. The president of the state unit of the BJP expressed support for the bandh, despite such actions being illegal at the time. State officials later prevented riot victims from leaving the refugee camps, and the camps were often unable to meet the needs of those living there. Muslim victims of the riots were subject to further discrimination when the state government announced that compensation for Muslim victims would be half of that offered to Hindus, although this decision was later reversed after the issue was taken to court. During the riots, police officers often did not intervene in situations where they were able. Modi's personal involvement in the 2002 events has continued to be debated. During the riots, Modi said that "What is happening is a chain of action and reaction." Later in 2002, Modi said the way in which he had handled the media was his only regret regarding the episode. In March 2008, the Supreme Court reopened several cases related to the 2002 riots, including that of the Gulbarg Society massacre, and established a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the issue. In response to a petition from Zakia Jafri (widow of Ehsan Jafri, who was killed in the Gulbarg Society massacre), in April 2009 the court also asked the SIT to investigate the issue of Modi's complicity in the killings. The SIT questioned Modi in March 2010; in May, it presented to the court a report finding no evidence against him. In July 2011, the court-appointed amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran submitted his final report to the court. Contrary to the SIT's position, he said that Modi could be prosecuted based on the available evidence. The Supreme Court gave the matter to the magistrate's court. The SIT examined Ramachandran's report, and in March 2012 submitted its final report, asking for the case to be closed. Zakia Jafri filed a protest petition in response. In December 2013 the magistrate's court rejected the protest petition, accepting the SIT's finding that there was no evidence against the chief minister. 2002 election In the aftermath of the violence there were widespread calls for Modi to resign as chief minister from within and outside the state, including from leaders of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Telugu Desam Party (allies in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance coalition), and opposition parties stalled Parliament over the issue. Modi submitted his resignation at the April 2002 BJP national executive meeting in Goa, but it was not accepted. His cabinet had an emergency meeting on 19 July 2002, after which it offered its resignation to the Gujarat Governor S. S. Bhandari, and the state assembly was dissolved. Despite opposition from the election commissioner, who said that a number of voters were still displaced, Modi succeeded in advancing the election to December 2002. In the elections, the BJP won 127 seats in the 182-member assembly. Although Modi later denied it, he made significant use of anti-Muslim rhetoric during his campaign, and the BJP profited from religious polarisation among the voters. He won the Maninagar constituency, receiving of votes and defeating INC candidate Yatin Oza by 75,333 votes. On 22 December 2002, Bhandari swore Modi in for a second term. Modi framed the criticism of his government for human rights violations as an attack upon Gujarati pride, a strategy which led to the BJP winning two-thirds of the seats in the state assembly. Second term During Modi's second term the rhetoric of the government shifted from Hindutva to Gujarat's economic development. Modi curtailed the influence of Sangh Parivar organisations such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), entrenched in the state after the decline of Ahmedabad's textile industry, and dropped Gordhan Zadafia (an ally of former Sangh co-worker and VHP state chief Praveen Togadia) from his cabinet. When the BKS staged a farmers' demonstration Modi ordered their eviction from state-provided houses, and his decision to demolish 200 illegal temples in Gandhinagar deepened the rift with the Vishva Hindu Parishad. Sangh organisations were no longer consulted or informed in advance about Modi's administrative decisions. Nonetheless, Modi retained connections with some Hindu nationalists. Modi wrote a foreword to a textbook by Dinanath Batra released in 2014, which stated that ancient India possessed technologies including test-tube babies. Modi's relationship with Muslims continued to attract criticism. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (who asked Modi for tolerance in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat violence and supported his resignation as chief minister) distanced himself, reaching out to North Indian Muslims before the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. After the elections Vajpayee called the violence in Gujarat a reason for the BJP's electoral defeat and said it had been a mistake to leave Modi in office after the riots. Questions about Modi's relationship with Muslims were also raised by many Western nations during his tenure as chief minister. Modi was barred from entering the United States by the State Department, in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on International Religious Freedom formed under the aegis of the International Religious Freedom Act, the only person denied a US visa under this law. The UK and the European Union refused to admit him because of what they saw as his role in the riots. As Modi rose to prominence in India, the UK and the EU lifted their bans in October 2012 and March 2013, respectively, and after his election he was invited to Washington as the nation's prime minister. During the run-up to the 2007 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election and the 2009 Indian general election, the BJP intensified its rhetoric on terrorism. In July 2006, Modi criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh " for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislation" such as the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the national government to allow states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. In 2007 Modi authored Karmayog, a 101-page booklet discussing manual scavenging. In it, Modi argued that scavenging was a "spiritual experience" for Valmiks, a sub-caste of Dalits. However, this book was not circulated that time because of the election code of conduct. After the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Modi held a meeting to discuss the security of Gujarat's -long coastline, resulting in government authorisation of 30 high-speed surveillance boats. In July 2007 Modi completed 2,063 consecutive days as chief minister of Gujarat, making him the longest-serving holder of that post, and the BJP won 122 of 182 state-assembly seats in that year's election. Development projects As Chief Minister, Modi favoured privatisation and small government, which was at odds with the philosophy of the RSS, usually described as anti-privatisation and anti-globalisation. His policies during his second term have been credited with reducing corruption in the state. He established financial and technology parks in Gujarat and during the 2007 Vibrant Gujarat summit, real-estate investment deals worth were signed. The governments led by Patel and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of groundwater-conservation projects. By December 2008, 500,000 structures had been built, of which 113,738 were check dams, which helped recharge the aquifers beneath them. Sixty of the 112 tehsils which had depleted the water table in 2004 had regained their normal groundwater levels by 2010. As a result, the state's production of genetically modified cotton increased to become the largest in India. The boom in cotton production and its semi-arid land use led to Gujarat's agricultural sector growing at an average rate of 9.6 percent from 2001 to 2007. Public irrigation measures in central and southern Gujarat, such as the Sardar Sarovar Dam, were less successful. The Sardar Sarovar project only irrigated 4–6% of the area intended. Nonetheless, from 2001 to 2010 Gujarat recorded an agricultural growth rate of 10.97 percent – the highest of any state. However, sociologists have pointed out that the growth rate under the 1992–97 INC government was 12.9 percent. In 2008 Modi offered land in Gujarat to Tata Motors to set up a plant manufacturing the Nano after a popular agitation had forced the company to move out of West Bengal. Several other companies followed the Tata to Gujarat. The Modi government finished the process of bringing electricity to every village in Gujarat that its predecessor had almost completed. Modi significantly changed the state's system of power distribution, greatly impacting farmers. Gujarat expanded the Jyotigram Yojana scheme, in which agricultural electricity was separated from other rural electricity; the agricultural electricity was rationed to fit scheduled irrigation demands, reducing its cost. Although early protests by farmers ended when those who benefited found that their electricity supply had stabilised, according to an assessment study corporations and large farmers benefited from the policy at the expense of small farmers and labourers. Development debate A contentious debate surrounds the assessment of Gujarat's economic development during Modi's tenure as chief minister. The state's GDP growth rate averaged 10% during Modi's tenure, a value similar to other highly industrialised states, and above that of the country as a whole. Gujarat also had a high rate of economic growth in the 1990s, before Modi took office, and some scholars have stated that growth did not much accelerate during Modi's tenure, although the state is considered to have maintained a high growth rate during Modi's Chief Ministership. Under Narendra Modi, Gujarat topped the World Bank's "ease of doing business" rankings among Indian states for two consecutive years. In 2013, Gujarat was ranked first among Indian states for "economic freedom" by a report measuring governance, growth, citizens' rights and labour and business regulation among the country's 20 largest states. In the later years of Modi's government, Gujarat's economic growth was frequently used as an argument to counter allegations of communalism. Tax breaks for businesses were easier to obtain in Gujarat than in other states, as was land. Modi's policies to make Gujarat attractive for investment included the creation of Special Economic Zones, where labour laws were greatly weakened. Despite its growth rate, Gujarat had a relatively poor record on human development, poverty relief, nutrition and education during Modi's tenure. In 2013, Gujarat ranked 13th in the country with respect to rates of poverty and 21st in education. Nearly 45 percent of children under five were underweight and 23 percent were undernourished, putting the state in the "alarming" category on the India State Hunger Index. A study by UNICEF and the Indian government found that Gujarat under Modi had a poor record with respect to immunisation in children. Over the decade from 2001 to 2011, Gujarat did not change its position relative to the rest of the country with respect to poverty and female literacy, remaining near the median of the 29 Indian states. It showed a marginal improvement in rates of infant mortality, and its position with respect to individual consumption declined. With respect to the quality of education in government schools, the state ranked below many Indian states. The social policies of the government generally did not benefit Muslims, Dalits, and Adivasis, and generally increased social inequalities. Development in Gujarat was generally limited to the urban middle class, and citizens in rural areas or from lower castes were increasingly marginalised. In 2013 the state ranked 10th of 21 Indian states in the Human Development Index. Under Modi, the state government spent less than the national average on education and healthcare. Final years Despite the BJP's shift away from explicit Hindutva, Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism. Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders. During his 2012 campaign he twice refused to wear articles of clothing gifted by Muslim leaders. He did, however, maintain relations with Dawoodi Bohra. His campaign included references to issues known to cause religious polarisation, including to Afzal Guru and the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. The BJP did not nominate any Muslim candidates for the assembly election of 2012. During the 2012 campaign, Modi attempted to identify himself with the state of Gujarat, a strategy similar to that used by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, and projected himself as protecting Gujarat against persecution by the rest of India. While campaigning for the 2012 assembly elections, Modi made extensive use of holograms and other technologies allowing him to reach a large number of people, something he would repeat in the 2014 general election. In the 2012 Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections, Modi won the constituency of Maninagar by 86,373 votes over Shweta Bhatt, the INC candidate and wife of Sanjiv Bhatt. The BJP won 115 of the 182 seats, continuing its majority during his tenure and allowing the party to form the government (as it had in Gujarat since 1995). After his election as prime minister, Modi resigned as the chief minister and as an MLA from Maninagar on 21 May 2014. Anandiben Patel succeeded him as the chief minister. Premiership campaigns 2014 Indian general election In September 2013 Modi was named the BJP's candidate for prime minister ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha election. Several BJP leaders expressed opposition to Modi's candidature, including BJP founding member L. K. Advani, who cited concern with leaders who were "concerned with their personal agendas". Modi played a dominant role in the BJP's election campaign. Several people who voted for the BJP stated that if Modi had not been the prime-ministerial candidate, they would have voted for another party. The focus on Modi as an individual was unusual for a BJP election campaign. The election was described as a referendum on Narendra Modi. During the campaign, Modi focused on the corruption scandals under the previous INC government, and played on his image as a politician who had created a high rate of GDP growth in Gujarat. Modi projected himself as a person who could bring about "development," without focus on any specific policies. His message found support among young Indians and among middle-class citizens. The BJP under Modi was able to downplay concerns about the protection of religious minorities and Modi's commitment to secularism, areas in which he had previously received criticism. Prior to the election Modi's image in the media had centered around his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots, but during the campaign the BJP was able to shift this to a focus on Modi's neoliberal ideology and the Gujarat model of development, although Hindutva remained a significant part of its campaign. The BJP's campaign was assisted by its wide influence in the media. Modi's campaign blitz cost approximately , and received extensive financial support from corporate donors. In addition to more conventional campaign methods, Modi made extensive use of social media, and addressed more than 1000 rallies via hologram appearances. The BJP won 31% of the vote, and more than doubled its tally in the Lok Sabha to 282, becoming the first party to win a majority of seats on its own since 1984. Voter dissatisfaction with the INC, as well as with regional parties in North India, was another reason for the success of the BJP, as was the support from the RSS. In states such as Uttar Pradesh in which the BJP performed well, it drew exceptionally high support from upper-caste Hindus, although the 10 percent of Muslim votes won was more than it had won before. It performed particularly well in parts of the country that had recently experienced violence between Hindus and Muslims. The magnitude of the BJP's victory led many commentators to say that the election constituted a political realignment away from progressive parties and towards the right-wing. Modi's tweet announcing his victory was described as being emblematic of the political realignment away from a secular, socialist state towards capitalism and Hindu cultural nationalism. Modi himself was a candidate for the Lok Sabha in two constituencies: Varanasi and Vadodara. He won in both constituencies, defeating Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal in Varanasi by 371,784 votes and Madhusudan Mistry of the INC in Vadodara by votes. Modi, who was unanimously elected leader of the BJP, was appointed prime minister by India's president. To comply with the law that an MP cannot represent more than one constituency, he vacated the Vadodara seat. 2019 Indian general election On 13 October 2018, Modi was renamed as the BJP candidate for prime minister for the 2019 general election. The chief campaigner for the party was BJP's president Amit Shah. Modi launched the Main Bhi Chowkidar campaign ahead of the general election, against Chowkidar Chor Hai campaign slogan of INC. In the year 2018, end Party's, second-biggest alliance Telugu Desam Party split from NDA over the matter of special-status for Andhra Pradesh. The campaign was started by Amit Shah on 8 April 2019. In the campaign, Modi was targeted by the opposition on corruption allegations over Rafale deal with France government. Highlighting this controversy the campaign "Chowkidar Chor Hai" was started, which was contrary to "Main Bhi Chowkidar" slogan. Modi made defence and national security among the foremost topics for the election campaign, especially after Pulwama attack, and the retaliatory attack of Balakot airstrike was counted as an achievement of the Modi administration. Other topics in the campaign were development and good foreign relations in the first premiership. Modi contested the Lok Sabha elections as a candidate from Varanasi. He won the seat by defeating Shalini Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, who fought on SP-BSP alliance by a margin of votes. Modi was unanimously appointed the prime minister for a second time by the National Democratic Alliance, after the alliance won the election for the second time by securing 353 seats in the Lok Sabha with the BJP alone won 303 seats. Prime Minister After the Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance won a landslide in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Narendra Modi was sworn in as the Prime Minister of India on 26 May 2014. He became the first Prime Minister born after India's independence from the British Empire in 1947. Modi started his second term after the Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance won again in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. On 6 December 2020, Modi became the 4th longest serving Prime Minister of India and the longest serving Non-Congress Prime Minister. Governance and other initiatives Modi's first year as prime minister saw significant centralisation of power relative to previous administrations. His efforts at centralisation have been linked to an increase in the number of senior administration officials resigning their positions. Initially lacking a majority in the Rajya Sabha, or upper house of Indian Parliament, Modi passed a number of ordinances to enact his policies, leading to further centralisation of power. The government also passed a bill increasing the control that it had over the appointment of judges, and reducing that of the judiciary. In December 2014 Modi abolished the Planning Commission, replacing it with the National Institution for Transforming India, or NITI Aayog. The move had the effect of greatly centralising the power previously with the planning commission in the person of the prime minister. The planning commission had received heavy criticism in previous years for creating inefficiency in the government, and of not filling its role of improving social welfare: however, since the economic liberalisation of the 1990s, it had been the major government body responsible for measures related to social justice. The Modi government launched investigations by the Intelligence Bureau against numerous civil society organisations and foreign non-governmental organisations in the first year of the administration. The investigations, on the grounds that these organisations were slowing economic growth, was criticised as a witch-hunt. International humanitarian aid organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres was among the groups that were put under pressure. Other organisations affected included the Sierra Club and Avaaz. Cases of sedition were filed against individuals criticising the government. This led to discontent within the BJP regarding Modi's style of functioning and drew comparisons to the governing style of Indira Gandhi. Modi repealed 1,200 obsolete laws in first three years as prime minister; a total of 1,301 such laws had been repealed by previous governments over a span of 64 years. He started a monthly radio programme titled "Mann Ki Baat" on 3 October 2014. Modi also launched the Digital India programme, with the goal of ensuring that government services are available electronically, building infrastructure to provide high-speed Internet access to rural areas, boosting manufacturing of electronic goods in the country, and promoting digital literacy. Modi launched Ujjwala scheme to provide free LPG connection to rural households. The scheme led to an increase in LPG consumption by 56% in 2019 as compared to 2014. In 2019, a law was passed to provide 10% reservation to Economically weaker sections. He was again sworn in as prime minister on 30 May 2019. On 30 July 2019, Parliament of India declared the practice of Triple Talaq as illegal, unconstitutional and made it punishable act from 1 August 2019 which is deemed to be in effect from 19 September 2018. On 5 August 2019, the government moved resolution to scrap Article 370 in the Rajya Sabha, and also reorganise the state with Jammu and Kashmir serving as one of the union territory and Ladakh region separated out as a separate union territory. Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. According to one study, "The BJP government incrementally but systemically attacked nearly all existing mechanisms that are in place to hold the political executive to account, either by ensuring that these mechanisms became subservient to the political executive or were captured by party loyalists." Scholars also point to how he Modi government has used state power to intimidate and stifle critics in the media and academia, thus undermining freedom of expression and alternative sources of information. Reporters Without Borders in 2021 characterised Modi as a predator for curbing press freedom in India since 2014. Economic policy The economic policies of Modi's government focused on privatisation and liberalisation of the economy, based on a neoliberal framework. Modi liberalised India's foreign direct investment policies, allowing more foreign investment in several industries, including in defence and the railways. Other proposed reforms included making it harder for workers to form unions and easier for employers to hire and fire them; some of these proposals were dropped after protests. The reforms drew strong opposition from unions: on 2 September 2015, eleven of the country's largest unions went on strike, including one affiliated with the BJP. The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, a constituent of the Sangh Parivar, stated that the underlying motivation of labour reforms favoured corporations over labourers. The funds dedicated to poverty reduction programmes and social welfare measures were greatly decreased by the Modi administration. The money spent on social programmes declined from 14.6% of GDP during the Congress government to 12.6% during Modi's first year in office. Spending on health and family welfare declined by 15%, and on primary and secondary education by 16%. The budgetary allocation for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, or the "education for all" programme, declined by 22%. The government also lowered corporate taxes, abolished the wealth tax, increased sales taxes, and reduced customs duties on gold, and jewellery. In October 2014, the Modi government deregulated diesel prices. In September 2014, Modi introduced the Make in India initiative to encourage foreign companies to manufacture products in India, with the goal of turning the country into a global manufacturing hub. Supporters of economic liberalisation supported the initiative, while critics argued it would allow foreign corporations to capture a greater share of the Indian market. Modi's administration passed a land-reform bill that allowed it to acquire private agricultural land without conducting a social impact assessment, and without the consent of the farmers who owned it. The bill was passed via an executive order after it faced opposition in parliament, but was eventually allowed to lapse. Modi's government put in place the Goods and Services Tax, the biggest tax reform in the country since independence. It subsumed around 17 different taxes and became effective from 1 July 2017. In his first cabinet decision, Modi set up a team to investigate black money. On 9 November 2016, the government demonetised ₹500 and ₹1000 banknotes, with the stated intention of curbing corruption, black money, the use of counterfeit currency, and terrorism. The move led to severe cash shortages, a steep decline in the Indian stock indices BSE SENSEX and NIFTY 50, and sparked widespread protests throughout the country. Several deaths were linked to the rush to exchange cash. In the subsequent year, the number of income tax returns filed for individuals rose by 25%, and the number of digital transactions increased steeply. Over the first four years of Modi's premiership, India's GDP grew at an average rate of 7.23%, higher than the rate of 6.39% under the previous government. The level of income inequality increased, while an internal government report said that in 2017, unemployment had increased to its highest level in 45 years. The loss of jobs was attributed to the 2016 demonetisation, and to the effects of the Goods and Services Tax. In the next year, after 2018, Indian economy started a gradual recovery with a GDP growth of 6.12% in 2018-19 FY, with an inflation rate of 3.4%. Same year, India was successful in making a good economy in trade and manufacturing sector. While in the FY of 2019–20, due to the general election, Modi government focused more on their election campaign. In the year 2019–20, the GDP growth rate was 4.18% and inflation rate also increased to 4.7% from 3.4% in the previous year. Though being high unemployment, increase in inflation rate and budget deficiency, Modi's leadership won in 2019 elections. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous rating agencies downgraded India's GDP predictions for FY21 to negative figures, signalling a recession in India, the most severe since 1979. According to a Dun & Bradstreet report, the country is likely to suffer a recession in the third quarter of FY2020 as a result of the over 2-month long nation-wide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19. This was also accompanied by the mass migration of migrant workers. Health and sanitation In his first year as prime minister, Modi reduced the amount of money spent by the central government on healthcare. The Modi government launched New Health Policy (NHP) in January 2015. The policy did not increase the government's spending on healthcare, instead emphasising the role of private healthcare organisations. This represented a shift away from the policy of the previous Congress government, which had supported programmes to assist public health goals, including reducing child and maternal mortality rates. The National Health Mission, which included public health programmes targeted at these indices received nearly 20% less funds in 2015 than in the previous year. 15 national health programmes, including those aimed at controlling tobacco use and supporting healthcare for the elderly, were merged with the National Health Mission. In its budget for the second year after it took office, the Modi government reduced healthcare spending by 15%. The healthcare budget for the following year rose by 19%. The budget was viewed positively by private insurance providers. Public health experts criticised its emphasis on the role of private healthcare providers, and suggested that it represented a shift away from public health facilities. The healthcare budget rose by 11.5% in 2018; the change included an allocation of for a government-funded health insurance program, and a decrease in the budget of the National Health Mission. The government introduced stricter packaging laws for tobacco which requires 85% of the packet size to be covered by pictorial warnings. An article in the medical journal Lancet stated that the country "might have taken a few steps back in public health" under Modi. In 2018 Modi launched the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, a government health insurance scheme intended to insure 500 million people. 100,000 people had signed up by October 2018. Modi emphasised his government's efforts at sanitation as a means of ensuring good health. On 2 October 2014, Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Mission ("Clean India") campaign. The stated goals of the campaign included eliminating open defecation and manual scavenging within five years. As part of the programme, the Indian government began constructing millions of toilets in rural areas and encouraging people to use them. The government also announced plans to build new sewage treatment plants. The administration plans to construct 60 million toilets by 2019. The construction projects have faced allegations of corruption, and have faced severe difficulty in getting people to use the toilets constructed for them. Sanitation cover in the country increased from 38.7% in October 2014 to 84.1% in May 2018; however, usage of the new sanitary facilities lagged behind the government's targets. In 2018, the World Health Organization stated that at least 180,000 diarrhoeal deaths were averted in rural India after the launch of the sanitation effort. Hindutva During the 2014 election campaign, the BJP sought to identify itself with political leaders known to have opposed Hindu nationalism, including B. R. Ambedkar, Subhas Chandra Bose, and Ram Manohar Lohia. The campaign also saw the use of rhetoric based on Hindutva by BJP leaders in certain states. Communal tensions were played upon especially in Uttar Pradesh and the states of Northeast India. A proposal for the controversial Uniform Civil Code was a part of the BJP's election manifesto. The activities of a number of Hindu nationalist organisations increased in scope after Modi's election as Prime Minister, sometimes with the support of the government. These activities included a Hindu religious conversion programme, a campaign against the alleged Islamic practice of "Love Jihad", and attempts to celebrate Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, by members of the right wing Hindu Mahasabha. Officials in the government, including the Home Minister, defended the conversion programmes. Links between the BJP and the RSS grew stronger under Modi. The RSS provided organisational support to the BJP's electoral campaigns, while the Modi administration appointed a number of individuals affiliated with the RSS to prominent government positions. In 2014, Yellapragada Sudershan Rao, who had previously been associated with the RSS, became the chairperson of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). Historians and former members of the ICHR, including those sympathetic to the BJP, questioned his credentials as a historian, and stated that the appointment was part of an agenda of cultural nationalism. The North East Delhi riots, which left more than 40 dead and hundreds injured, were triggered by protests against a citizenship law seen by many critics as anti-Muslim and part of Modi's Hindu nationalist agenda. On 5 August 2020, Modi visited Ayodhya after the Supreme Court in 2019 ordered a contested land in Ayodhya to be handed over to a trust to build the Hindu temple and ordered the government to give alternate 5 acre land to Sunni Waqf Board for the purpose of building a mosque. He became the first prime minister to visit Ram Janmabhoomi and Hanuman Garhi. Foreign policy Foreign policy played a relatively small role in Modi's election campaign, and did not feature prominently in the BJP's election manifesto. Modi invited all the other leaders of SAARC countries to his swearing in ceremony as prime minister. He was the first Indian prime minister to do so. Modi's foreign policy, similarly to that of the preceding INC government, focused on improving economic ties, security, and regional relations. Modi continued Manmohan Singh's policy of "multi-alignment." The Modi administration tried to attract foreign investment in the Indian economy from several sources, especially in East Asia, with the use of slogans such as "Make in India" and "Digital India". The government also tried to improve relations with Islamic nations in the Middle East, such as Bahrain, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as with Israel. The foreign relations of India with the USA also mended after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister. During the run-up to the general election there was wide-ranging scepticism regarding future of the strategic bilateral relation under Modi's premiership as in 2005 he was, while Chief Minister of Gujarat, denied a U.S. visa during the Bush administration for his poor human rights records. However sensing Modi's inevitable victory well before the election, the US Ambassador Nancy Powell had reached out to him as part of greater rapprochement from the west. Moreover, following his 2014 election as the Prime Minister of India President Obama congratulated him over the telephone and invited him to visit the US. Modi government has been successful in making good foreign relations with the USA in the presidency of both Barack Obama and Donald Trump. During the first few months after the election, Modi made trips to a number of different countries to further the goals of his policy, and attended the BRICS, ASEAN, and G20 summits. One of Modi's first visits as prime minister was to Nepal, during which he promised a billion USD in aid. Modi also made several overtures to the United States, including multiple visits to that country. While this was described as an unexpected development, due to the US having previously denied Modi a travel visa over his role during the 2002 Gujarat riots, the visits were expected to strengthen diplomatic and trade relations between the two countries. In 2015, the Indian parliament ratified a land exchange deal with Bangladesh about the India–Bangladesh enclaves, which had been initiated by the government of Manmohan Singh. Modi's administration gave renewed attention to India's "Look East Policy", instituted in 1991. The policy was renamed the "Act East Policy", and involved directing Indian foreign policy towards East Asia and Southeast Asia. The government signed agreements to improve land connectivity with Myanmar, through the state of Manipur. This represented a break with India's historic engagement with Myanmar, which prioritised border security over trade. China–India relations have deteriorated rapidly following the 2020 China–India skirmishes. Modi has pledged aid of $900 million to Afghanistan, visited the nation twice and been honoured with the nation's highest civilian honour in 2016. Defence policy India's nominal military spending increased steadily under Modi. The military budget declined over Modi's tenure both as a fraction of GDP and when adjusted for inflation. A substantial portion of the military budget was devoted to personnel costs, leading commentators to write that the budget was constraining Indian military modernisation. The BJP election manifesto had also promised to deal with illegal immigration into India in the Northeast, as well as to be more firm in its handling of insurgent groups. The Modi government issued a notification allowing Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist illegal immigrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh to legalise their residency in India. The government described the measure as being taken for humanitarian reasons but it drew criticism from several Assamese organisations.The Modi administration negotiated a peace agreement with the largest faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCM), which was announced in August 2015. The Naga insurgency in northeast India had begun in the 1950s. The NSCM and the government had agreed to a ceasefire in 1997, but a peace accord had not previously been signed. In 2015 the government abrogated a 15-year ceasefire with the Khaplang faction of the NSCM (NSCM-K). The NSCM-K responded with a series of attacks, which killed 18 people. The Modi government carried out a raid across the border with Myanmar as a result, and labelled the NSCM-K a terrorist organisation. Modi promised to be "tough on Pakistan" during his election campaign, and repeatedly stated that Pakistan was an exporter of terrorism. On 29 September 2016, the Indian Army stated that it had conducted a surgical strike on terror launch pads in Azad Kashmir. The Indian media claimed that up to 50 terrorists and Pakistani soldiers had been killed in the strike. Pakistan initially denied that any strikes had taken place. Subsequent reports suggested that Indian claim about the scope of the strike and the number of casualties had been exaggerated, although cross-border strikes had been carried out. In February 2019 India carried out airstrikes in Pakistan against a supposed terrorist camp. Further military skirmishes followed, including cross-border shelling and the loss of an Indian aircraft. Following his victory in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he focused more on Defence policies of India, especially against China and Pakistan. On 5 May 2020, Chinese and Indian troops engaged in aggressive melee, face-offs and skirmishes at locations along the Sino-Indian border, including near the disputed Pangong Lake in Ladakh and the Tibet Autonomous Region, and near the border between Sikkim and the Tibet Autonomous Region. Additional clashes also took place at locations in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). After which there was start of skirmishes between the nations leading to many border clashes, responses and reactions from both sides. A series of talks were also held between the two by both military and diplomatic means for peace. The first border clash reported in 2021 was on 20 January, referred to as a minor border clash in Sikkim. Environmental policy In naming his cabinet, Modi renamed the "Ministry of Environment and Forests" the "Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change." In the first budget of the government, the money allotted to this ministry was reduced by more than 50%. The new ministry also removed or diluted a number of laws related to environmental protection. These included no longer requiring clearance from the National Board for Wildlife for projects close to protected areas, and allowing certain projects to proceed before environmental clearance was received. The government also tried to reconstitute the Wildlife board such that it no longer had representatives from non-governmental organisations: however, this move was prevented by the Supreme Court. Modi also relaxed or abolished a number of other environmental regulations, particularly those related to industrial activity. A government committee stated that the existing system only served to create corruption, and that the government should instead rely on the owners of industries to voluntarily inform the government about the pollution they were creating. Other changes included reducing ministry oversight on small mining projects, and no longer requiring approval from tribal councils for projects inside forested areas. In addition, Modi lifted a moratorium on new industrial activity in the most polluted areas in the countries. The changes were welcomed by businesspeople, but criticised by environmentalists. Under the UPA government that preceded Modi's administration, field trials of Genetically Modified (GM) crops had essentially been put on hold, after protests from farmers fearing for their livelihoods. Under the Modi government these restrictions were gradually lifted. The government received some criticism for freezing the bank accounts of environmental group Greenpeace, citing financial irregularities, although a leaked government report said that the freeze had to do with Greenpeace's opposition to GM crops. At the COP26 conference Modi announced that India would target carbon neutrality by 2070, and also expand its renewable energy capacity. Though the date of net zero is far behind that of China and the USA and India's government wants to continue with the use of coal, Indian environmentalists and economists applauded the decision, describing it as a bold climate action. Democratic backsliding Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. According to one study, "The BJP government incrementally but systemically attacked nearly all existing mechanisms that are in place to hold the political executive to account, either by ensuring that these mechanisms became subservient to the political executive or were captured by party loyalists." Scholars also point to how the Modi government has used state power to intimidate and stifle critics in the media and academia, thus undermining freedom of expression and alternative sources of information. There have been several reports of the Modi government to be as an authoritarian conservative government, even due to lack of good opposition. Electoral history Personal life and image Personal life In accordance with Ghanchi tradition, Modi's marriage was arranged by his parents when he was a child. He was engaged at age 13 to Jashodaben Modi, marrying her when he was 18. They spent little time together and grew apart when Modi began two years of travel, including visits to Hindu ashrams. Reportedly, their marriage was never consummated, and he kept it a secret because otherwise he could not have become a 'pracharak' in the puritan Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Modi kept his marriage secret for most of his career. He acknowledged his wife for the first time when he filed his nomination for the 2014 general elections. Modi maintains a close relationship with his centenarian mother, Hiraben. A vegetarian and teetotaler, Modi has a frugal lifestyle and is a workaholic and introvert. A person named Badri Meena has been his cook since 2002. Modi's 31 August 2012 post on Google Hangouts made him the first Indian politician to interact with citizens on a live chat. Modi has also been called a fashion-icon for his signature crisply ironed, half-sleeved kurta, as well as for a suit with his name embroidered repeatedly in the pinstripes that he wore during a state visit by US President Barack Obama, which drew public and media attention and criticism. Modi's personality has been variously described by scholars and biographers as energetic, arrogant, and charismatic. He had published a Gujarati book titled Jyotipunj in 2008, containing profiles of various RSS leaders. The longest was of M. S. Golwalkar, under whose leadership the RSS expanded and whom Modi refers to as Pujniya Shri Guruji ("Guru worthy of worship"). According to The Economic Times, his intention was to explain the workings of the RSS to his readers and to reassure RSS members that he remained ideologically aligned with them. Modi authored eight other books, mostly containing short stories for children. The nomination of Modi for the prime ministership drew attention to his reputation as "one of contemporary India's most controversial and divisive politicians." During the 2014 election campaign the BJP projected an image of Modi as a strong, masculine leader, who would be able to take difficult decisions. Campaigns in which he has participated have focused on Modi as an individual, in a manner unusual for the BJP and RSS. Modi has relied upon his reputation as a politician able to bring about economic growth and "development". Nonetheless, his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots continues to attract criticism and controversy. Modi's hardline Hindutva philosophy and the policies adopted by his government continue to draw criticism, and have been seen as evidence of a majoritarian and exclusionary social agenda. In March 2021, Modi received his first COVID-19 vaccine dose at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. Personal donations Modi has made donations for various causes and programmes. One such instance was when Modi donated towards the initial corpus of the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) Fund. In his role as chief minister of Gujarat, Modi had donated from personal savings for educating daughters of state government officials. Modi had also raised by auctioning all the gifts he received as chief minister and donated this to the Kanya Kelavani Fund. The money was spent on the education of girl children, through the scheme. Approval ratings As a Prime Minister, Modi has received consistently high approval ratings; at the end of his first year in office, he received an overall approval rating of 87% in a Pew Research poll, with 68% of people rating him "very favorably" and 93% approving of his government. His approval rating remained largely consistent at around 74% through his second year in office, according to a nationwide poll conducted by instaVaani. At the end of his second year in office, an updated Pew Research poll showed Modi continued to receive high overall approval ratings of 81%, with 57% of those polled rating him "very favorably." At the end of his third year in office, a further Pew Research poll showed Modi with an overall approval rating of 88%, his highest yet, with 69% of people polled rating him "very favorably." A poll conducted by The Times of India in May 2017 showed 77% of the respondents rated Modi as "very good" and "good". In early 2017, a survey from Pew Research Center showed Modi to be the most popular figure in Indian politics. In a weekly analysis by Morning Consult called the Global Leader Approval Rating Tracker, Modi had the highest net approval rating as of 22 December 2020 of all government leaders in the 13 countries being tracked. Awards and recognition In March 2012 and June 2014, Modi appeared on the cover of the Asian edition of Time Magazine, one of the few Indian politicians to have done so. He was awarded Indian of the Year by CNN-News18 (formally CNN-IBN) news network in 2014. In June 2015, Modi was featured on the cover of Time Magazine. In 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020 and 2021, he was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World. Forbes Magazine ranked him the 15th Most Powerful Person in the World in 2014 and the 9th Most Powerful Person in the World in 2015, 2016 and 2018. In 2015, Modi was ranked the 13th Most Influential Person in the World by Bloomberg Markets Magazine. Modi was ranked fifth on Fortune Magazines first annual list of the "World's Greatest Leaders" in 2015. In 2017, Gallup International Association (GIA) conducted a poll and ranked Modi as third top leader of the world. In 2016, a wax statue of Modi was unveiled at Madame Tussauds wax museum in London. In 2015 he was named one of Times "30 Most Influential People on the Internet" as the second-most-followed politician on Twitter and Facebook. In 2018, he was the third most followed world leader on Twitter, and the most followed world leader on Facebook and Instagram. In October 2018, Modi received United Nations's highest environmental award, the 'Champions of the Earth', for policy leadership by "pioneering work in championing" the International Solar Alliance and "new areas of levels of cooperation on environmental action". He was conferred the 2018 Seoul Peace Prize in recognition of "his dedication to improving international co-operation, raising global economic growth, accelerating the Human Development of the people of India by fostering economic growth and furthering the development of democracy through anti-corruption and social integration efforts". He is the first Indian to win the award. Following his second swearing-in ceremony as Prime Minister of India, a picture of Modi was displayed on the facade of the ADNOC building in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The Texas India Forum hosted a community event in honour of Modi on 22 September 2019 at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. The event was attended by over 50,000 people and several American politicians including President Donald Trump, making it the largest gathering for an invited foreign leader visiting the United States other than the Pope. At the same event, Modi was presented with the Key to the City of Houston by Mayor Sylvester Turner. He was awarded the Global Goalkeeper Award on 24 September 2019 in New York City by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in recognition for the Swachh Bharat Mission and "the progress India has made in providing safe sanitation under his leadership". In 2020, Modi was among eight world leaders awarded the parodic Ig Nobel Prize in Medical Education "for using the COVID-19 viral pandemic to teach the world that politicians can have a more immediate effect on life and death than scientists and doctors can". On 21 December 2020, President Donald Trump awarded Modi with the Legion of Merit for elevating the India–United States relations. The Legion of Merit was awarded to Modi along with Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison and former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe, the "original architects" of the QUAD. On 24 February 2021, the largest cricket stadium in the world at Ahmedabad was renamed Narendra Modi Stadium by the Gujarat Cricket Association. Modi is featured in TIME Magazine's 100 most influential people of 2021 list, making it his fifth time after 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2020. TIME called him the third "pivotal leader" of independent India after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi who "dominated the country’s politics like no one since them". State honours Other honours In popular culture Modi Kaka Ka Gaon, a 2017 Indian Hindi-language drama film by Tushar Amrish Goel is the first biopic on Modi, starring Vikas Mahante in the titular role it was made halfway into his first-term as the prime minister which is shown in the film. PM Narendra Modi, a 2019 Indian Hindi-language biographical drama film by Omung Kumar, starred Vivek Oberoi in the titular role and covers his rise to prime ministership.An Indian web series, Modi: Journey of a Common Man, based on the same premise released in May 2019 on Eros Now with Ashish Sharma portraying Modi. Hu Narender Modi Banva Mangu Chu is a 2018 Indian Gujarati-language drama film by Anil Naryani about the aspirations of a young boy who wants to become like Narendra Modi. 7 RCR (7, Race Course Road), a 2014 Indian docudrama political television series which charts the political careers of prominent Indian politicians, covered Modi's rise to the PM's office in the episodes - "Story of Narendra Modi from 1950 to 2001", "Story of Narendra Modi in Controversial Years from 2001 to 2013", "Truth Behind Brand Modi", "Election Journey of Narendra Modi to 7 RCR", and "Masterplan of Narendra Modi's NDA Govt."; with Sangam Rai in the role of Modi. Other portrayals of Modi include by Rajit Kapur in the film Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) and Vikram Gokhale in the web-television series Avrodh: The Siege Within (2020) both based on the 2016 Uri attack and the following Indian surgical strikes. Pratap Singh played a character based on Modi in Chand Bujh Gaya (2005) which is set in the backdrop of the Gujarat riots. Premiered on 12 August 2019, Modi appeared in an episode - "Man vs. Wild with Bear Grylls and Prime Minister Modi" - of Discovery Channel's show Man vs Wild with the host Bear Grylls, becoming the second world leader after Barack Obama to appear in the reality show. In the show he trekked the jungles and talked about nature and wildlife conservation with Grylls. The episode was shot in Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand and was broadcast in 180 countries along India. He has also appeared twice on the Indian television talk show Aap Ki Adalat before the 2009 and 2014 elections respectively. Along with hosting the Mann Ki Baat monthly radio programme, on All India Radio, he has also conducted Pariksha Pe Charcha - a competition/discussion for students and the issues they face in examinations. Bibliography See also List of prime ministers of India Opinion polling on the Narendra Modi premiership References Notes Citations Further reading External links |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- 1950 births Living people Gujarati people People from Gujarat People from Mehsana district Indian Hindus Prime Ministers of India Leaders of the Lok Sabha Chief Ministers of Gujarat Chief ministers from Bharatiya Janata Party 16th Lok Sabha members 17th Lok Sabha members Members of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly Delhi University alumni Gujarat University alumni Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharaks Indian nationalists Indian writers Recipients of the Legion of Merit Hindu nationalists Right-wing politics in India 20th-century Indian writers Members of the Planning Commission of India Right-wing populism in India Bharatiya Jana Sangh politicians Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Gujarat Lok Sabha members from Gujarat Lok Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2019 Indian general election Writers from Gujarat Candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Hindu pacifists Narendra Modi ministry Candidates in the 2019 Indian general election Hindu revivalists Writers about activism and social change Indian political people 21st-century prime ministers of India Gujarat MLAs 1998–2002 Politicians of Hindu political parties National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Indian anti-communists Gandhians Gujarat MLAs 2002–2007 Gujarat MLAs 2007–2012 Gujarat MLAs 2012–2017 21st-century Indian non-fiction writers Politicians from Varanasi Time 100
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[ "S. R. Parthiban is an Indian politician and Ex-member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly from the Mettur constituency. He represented the Desiya Murpokku Dravidar Kazhagam party. Later he joined in DMK in 2016 and continued as a party activist in Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. After joining in DMK, He contested in state legislative assembly election from Mettur constituency in 2016 and lost by small marginal votes. but he continued working for the party, owing to his tiredless work for the party, DMK Chief Mr. Stalin gave a seat to stand for MP Election from Salem constituency. During his election campaign he went across the Salem Constituency and discussed with people about their needs. His tiredless work in election campaign did not go in vain. He won the Lok Sabha Election in Salem constituency in 2019 by getting 6,06,302 votes (48.3%). DMK win in the Salem constituency is the historic win because after 38 years DMK had registered a winning result in this constituency. Out of 38 elected DMK Alliance MPs from Tamilnadu he is in the list of top 15 DMK Alliance MPs winning with the most votes difference in 2019 Loksabha Election. He also made a massive record of getting more votes difference (146,976).\n\nReferences \n\nDesiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam politicians\nLiving people\nMembers of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly\nYear of birth missing (living people)\n17th Lok Sabha members", "Ernest Attuquaye Armah (born 27 August 1957) is a Development Planner, Architect and Quantity Surveyor. He was also a politician and a former member of parliament for the Trobu-Amasaman constituency in the Greater Accra region of Ghana.\n\nEarly life and education \nArmah was born in 1957 and comes from Afuaman (Manhean Electoral Area) in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. He obtained a Master of Science degree in Architecture from the Kiev Civil Engineering Institute in Ukraine in 1988.\n\nPersonal life and career \nArmah is a Christian who worships with the Church of Pentecost. He is married with four children. He works as a Chief Engineer at the Ga District Assembly.\n\nPolitics \nArmah was elected as the member of parliament for the Ga South constituency in the 3rd parliament of the 4th republic in the 2000 Ghanaian general elections. He was elected on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress. His constituency was a part of the 6 parliamentary seats out of 22 seats won by the National Democratic Congress in that election for the Greater Accra Region.\n\nThe National Democratic Congress won a minority total of 92 parliamentary seats out of 200 seats in the 3rd parliament of the 4th republic of Ghana. He was elected with 41,745 votes out of 78,849 total valid votes cast. This was equivalent to 53.8% of the total valid votes cast.\n\nHe was elected over Samuel Nii-Aryeetey Attoh of the New Patriotic Party, Thelma Lantwei Lamptey of the Convention People's Party, Abraham Lartey Joe of the National Reform Party, Daniel Addoquaye Pappoe of the People's National Convention and Edward Osei Bonsu of the United Ghana Movement. These obtained 30,425, 2,510, 1,556, 1,035 and 335 votes respectively out of the total valid votes cast. These were equivalent to 39.2%, 3.2%, 2.0%, 1.3 and 0.4% respectively of total valid votes cast.\n\nHowever, during the 2004 elections, after the Ga South constituency was dissolved, Armah represented the National Democratic Congress in the Amasaman constituency but lost to Samuel Nii-Aryeetey Attoh.\n\nIn 2008, he became a member of the Fifth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana. He won the Trobu-Amasaman constituency in 2008 on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress. He won the seat with a total number of 34,797 votes out of the 71,093 valid votes cast, getting 48.9% out of 100%. In the 2012 elections, his constituency was divide into two, now the Trobu constituency and the Amasaman constituency. However, he did not win any seat in these two constituencies.\n\nReferences \n\nLiving people\n1957 births\nGhanaian Christians\nGhanaian architects\nNational Democratic Congress (Ghana) politicians\nGhanaian MPs 2001–2005\nGhanaian MPs 2009–2013" ]
[ "Narendra Modi", "Final years", "What happened in her final years?", "Modi made extensive use of holograms", "How did Modi use holograms?", "allowing him to reach a large number of people,", "Did Modi ran for any political positions ?", "Modi won the constituency of Maninagar", "With how many votes did he win this constituency?", "by 86,373 votes" ]
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Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?
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Are there any other interesting aspects about this article other than Modi's use of holograms to win the constituency of Maninagar?
Narendra Modi
During Modi's second term the rhetoric of the government shifted from Hindutva to Gujarat's economic development. Modi curtailed the influence of Sangh Parivar organisations such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), entrenched in the state after the decline of Ahmedabad's textile industry, and dropped Gordhan Zadafia (an ally of former Sangh co-worker and VHP state chief Praveen Togadia) from his cabinet. When the BKS staged a farmers' demonstration Modi ordered their eviction from state-provided houses, and his decision to demolish 200 illegal temples in Gandhinagar deepened the rift with the VHP. Sangh organisations were no longer consulted or informed in advance about Modi's administrative decisions. Nonetheless, Modi retained connections with some Hindu nationalists. Modi wrote a foreword to a textbook by Dinanath Batra released in 2014, which stated that ancient India possessed technologies including test-tube babies. Modi's relationship with Muslims continued to attract criticism. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (who asked Modi for tolerance in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat violence and supported his resignation as chief minister) distanced himself, reaching out to North Indian Muslims before the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. After the elections Vajpayee called the violence in Gujarat a reason for the BJP's electoral defeat and said it had been a mistake to leave Modi in office after the riots. Questions about Modi's relationship with Muslims were also raised by many Western nations during his tenure as chief minister. Modi was barred from entering the United States by the State Department, in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on International Religious Freedom formed under the aegis of the International Religious Freedom Act, the only person denied a US visa under this law. The UK and the European Union refused to admit him because of what they saw as his role in the riots. As Modi rose to prominence in India, the UK and the EU lifted their bans in October 2012 and March 2013, respectively, and after his election as prime minister he was invited to Washington. During the run-up to the 2007 assembly elections and the 2009 general election, the BJP intensified its rhetoric on terrorism. In July 2006, Modi criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh " for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislation" such as the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the national government to allow states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. In 2007 Modi authored Karmayog, a 101-page booklet discussing manual scavenging. In it, Modi argued that scavenging was a "spiritual experience" for Dalits. However, this book was not circulated that time because of the election code of conduct. After the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Modi held a meeting to discuss the security of Gujarat's 1,600-kilometre (990 mi)-long coastline, resulting in government authorisation of 30 high-speed surveillance boats. In July 2007 Modi completed 2,063 consecutive days as chief minister of Gujarat, making him the longest-serving holder of that post, and the BJP won 122 of 182 state-assembly seats in that year's election. As Chief Minister, Modi favoured privatisation and small government, which was at odds with the philosophy of the RSS, usually described as anti-privatisation and anti-globalisation. His policies during his second term have been credited with reducing corruption in the state. He established financial and technology parks in Gujarat and during the 2007 Vibrant Gujarat summit, real-estate investment deals worth Rs6.6 trillion were signed. The governments led by Patel and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of groundwater-conservation projects. By December 2008, 500,000 structures had been built, of which 113,738 were check dams, which helped recharge the aquifers beneath them. Sixty of the 112 tehsils which had depleted the water table in 2004 had regained their normal groundwater levels by 2010. As a result, the state's production of genetically modified cotton increased to become the largest in India. The boom in cotton production and its semi-arid land use led to Gujarat's agricultural sector growing at an average rate of 9.6 percent from 2001 to 2007. Public irrigation measures in central and southern Gujarat, such as the Sardar Sarovar Dam, were less successful. The Sardar Sarovar project only irrigated 4-6% of the area intended. Nonetheless, from 2001 to 2010 Gujarat recorded an agricultural growth rate of 10.97 percent - the highest of any state. However, sociologists have pointed out that the growth rate under the 1992-97 INC government was 12.9 percent. In 2008 Modi offered land in Gujarat to Tata Motors to set up a plant manufacturing the Nano after a popular agitation had forced the company to move out of West Bengal. Several other companies followed the Tata's to Gujarat. The Modi government finished the process of bringing electricity to every village in Gujarat that its predecessor had almost completed. Modi significantly changed the state's system of power distribution, greatly impacting farmers. Gujarat expanded the Jyotigram Yojana scheme, in which agricultural electricity was separated from other rural electricity; the agricultural electricity was rationed to fit scheduled irrigation demands, reducing its cost. Although early protests by farmers ended when those who benefited found that their electricity supply had stabilised, according to an assessment study corporations and large farmers benefited from the policy at the expense of small farmers and labourers. During the 2012 campaign, Modi attempted to identify himself with the state of Gujarat, a strategy similar to that used by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, and projected himself as protecting Gujarat against persecution by the rest of India. Despite the BJP's shift away from explicit Hindutva, Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism. Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders. During his 2012 campaign he twice refused to wear articles of clothing gifted by Muslim leaders. He did, however, maintain relations with Dawoodi Bohra. His campaign included references to issues known to cause religious polarisation, including to Afzal Guru and the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. The BJP did not nominate any Muslim candidates for the assembly election of 2012. He had published a Gujarati book titled Jyotipunj in 2008, containing profiles of various RSS leaders. The longest was of M. S. Golwalkar, under whose leadership the RSS expanded and whom Modi refers to as Pujniya Shri Guruji ("Guru worthy of worship"). According to The Economic Times, his intention was to explain the workings of the RSS to his readers and to reassure RSS members that he remained ideologically aligned with them. Modi authored eight other books, mostly containing short stories for children. While campaigning for the 2012 assembly elections, Modi made extensive use of holograms and other technologies allowing him to reach a large number of people, something he would repeat in the 2014 general election. In the 2012 Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections, Modi won the constituency of Maninagar by 86,373 votes over Shweta Bhatt, the INC candidate and wife of Sanjiv Bhatt. The BJP won 115 of the 182 seats, continuing its majority during his tenure and allowing the party to form the government (as it had in Gujarat since 1995). In later by-elections the BJP won four more assembly seats and two Lok Sabha seats held by the INC, although Modi did not campaign for its candidates. In 2013, the Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF) at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania cancelled a keynote video-conference speech by Modi following protests by Indian-Americans. After his election as prime minister, Modi resigned as the chief minister and as an MLA from Maninagar on 21 May 2014. Anandiben Patel succeeded him as the chief minister. CANNOTANSWER
Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism.
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from Varanasi. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindu nationalist paramilitary volunteer organisation. He is the first prime minister to have been born after India's independence in 1947 and the second prime minister not belonging to the Indian National Congress to have won two consecutive majorities in the Lok Sabha, or lower house of Indian of parliament. Born and raised in Vadnagar, a small town in northeastern Gujarat, Modi completed his secondary education there. He was introduced to the RSS at age eight. He has drawn attention to having to work as a child in his father's tea stall on the Vadnagar railway station platform, a description that has not been reliably corroborated. At age 18, Modi was married to Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi, whom he abandoned soon after. He left his parental home where she had come to live. He first publicly acknowledged her as his wife more than four decades later when required to do so by Indian law, but has made no contact with her since. Modi has asserted he had travelled in northern India for two years after leaving his parental home, visiting a number of religious centres, but few details of his travels have emerged. Upon his return to Gujarat in 1971, he became a full-time worker for the RSS. After the state of emergency declared by prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1975, Modi went into hiding. The RSS assigned him to the BJP in 1985 and he held several positions within the party hierarchy until 2001, rising to the rank of general secretary. Modi was appointed Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2001 due to Keshubhai Patel's failing health and poor public image following the earthquake in Bhuj. Modi was elected to the legislative assembly soon after. His administration has been considered complicit in the 2002 Gujarat riots in which 1044 people were killed, three-quarters of whom were Muslim, or otherwise criticised for its management of the crisis. The Supreme Court remarked that Narendra Modi was like a Modern-day Nero, looking the other way as innocent women and children were burning. A Supreme Court of India-appointed Special Investigation Team found no evidence to initiate prosecution proceedings against Modi personally. While his policies as chief minister—credited with encouraging economic growth—have received praise, his administration has been criticised for failing to significantly improve health, poverty and education indices in the state. Modi led the BJP in the 2014 general election which gave the party a majority in the Indian lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha, the first time for any single party since 1984. Modi's administration has tried to raise foreign direct investment in the Indian economy and reduced spending on healthcare and social welfare programmes. Modi has attempted to improve efficiency in the bureaucracy; he has centralised power by abolishing the Planning Commission. He began a high-profile sanitation campaign, controversially initiated a demonetisation of high-denomination banknotes and transformation of taxation regime, and weakened or abolished environmental and labour laws. Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. Following his party's victory in the 2019 general election, his administration revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and also introduced the Citizenship Amendment Act, which resulted in widespread protests across the country. Described as engineering a political realignment towards right-wing politics, Modi remains a figure of controversy domestically and internationally over his Hindu nationalist beliefs and his handling of the 2002 Gujarat riots, cited as evidence of an exclusionary social agenda. Early life and education Narendra Damodardas Modi was born on 17 September 1950 to a Gujarati Hindu family of grocers in Vadnagar, Mehsana district, Bombay State (present-day Gujarat). He was the third of six children born to Damodardas Mulchand Modi () and Hiraben Modi (born ). Modi's family belonged to the Modh-Ghanchi-Teli (oil-presser) community, which is categorised as an Other Backward Class by the Indian government. Modi had only infrequently spoken of his family background during his 13 years as chief minister of Gujarat. In the run up to the 2014 national elections, he began to regularly draw attention to his low-ranking social origins and to having to work as a child in his father's tea shop on the Vadnagar railway station platform, a description that the evidence of neighbours does not entirely corroborate. Modi completed his higher secondary education in Vadnagar in 1967, where teachers described him as an average student and a keen gifted debater, with interest in theatre. Modi preferred playing larger-than-life characters in theatrical productions, which has influenced his political image. When eight years old, Modi was introduced to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and began attending its local shakhas (training sessions). There, Modi met Lakshmanrao Inamdar, popularly known as Vakil Saheb, who inducted him as a balswayamsevak (junior cadet) in the RSS and became his political mentor. While Modi was training with the RSS, he also met Vasant Gajendragadkar and Nathalal Jaghda, Bharatiya Jana Sangh leaders who were founding members of the BJP's Gujarat unit in 1980. In a custom traditional to Narendra Modi's caste, his family arranged a betrothal to a girl, Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi, leading to their marriage when she was 17 and he was 18. Soon afterwards, he abandoned his bride, and left home, never divorcing her, but the marriage remaining unmentioned in Modi's public pronouncements for many decades. In April 2014, shortly before the national elections that swept him to power, Modi publicly affirmed that he was married and his spouse was Jashodaben; the couple has remained married, but estranged. Modi spent the ensuing two years travelling across Northern and North-eastern India, though few details of where he went have emerged. In interviews, Modi has described visiting Hindu ashrams founded by Swami Vivekananda: the Belur Math near Kolkata, followed by the Advaita Ashrama in Almora and the Ramakrishna Mission in Rajkot. Modi remained only a short time at each, since he lacked the required college education. Vivekananda has been described as a large influence in Modi's life. In the early summer of 1968, Modi reached the Belur Math but was turned away, after which Modi wandered through Calcutta, West Bengal and Assam, stopping in Siliguri and Guwahati. Modi then went to the Ramakrishna Ashram in Almora, where he was again rejected, before travelling back to Gujarat via Delhi and Rajasthan in 1968–69. Sometime in late 1969 or early 1970, Modi returned to Vadnagar for a brief visit before leaving again for Ahmedabad. There, Modi lived with his uncle, working in the latter's canteen at the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation. In Ahmedabad, Modi renewed his acquaintance with Inamdar, who was based at the Hedgewar Bhavan (RSS headquarters) in the city. Modi's first known political activity as an adult was in 1971 when he, as per his remarks, joined a Jana Sangh Satyagraha in Delhi led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee to enlist for the battlefield during the Bangladesh Liberation War. But the Indira Gandhi-led central government disallowed open support for the Mukti Bahini and Modi, according to his own claim, was put in Tihar Jail for a short period. After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he stopped working for his uncle and became a full-time pracharak (campaigner) for the RSS, working under Inamdar. Shortly before the war, Modi took part in a non-violent protest against the Indian government in New Delhi, for which he was arrested (as per his claim); this has been cited as a reason for Inamdar electing to mentor him. Many years later Modi would co-author a biography of Inamdar, published in 2001. Modi's claim that he was part of a Satyagraha led to a political war. Applications were filed with the PMO under the RTI Act seeking details of his arrest. In reply, the PMO claimed that it maintains official records on Modi only since he took charge as the Prime Minister of India in 2014. Despite this claim, the official website of the PMO contains specific information about Modi which dates back to the 1950s. In 1978 Modi received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the School of Open Learning (SOL) at the University of Delhi, graduating with a third class. Five years later, in 1983, he received a Master of Arts degree in political science from Gujarat University, graduating with a first class as an external distance learning student. But there is a big controversy surrounding his educational qualification. Replying to an RTI query, the SOL said it did not have any data of students who received a BA degree in 1978. Jayantibhai Patel, a former political science professor of Gujarat University, claimed that the subjects listed in Modi's MA degree were not offered by the university when Modi was studying there. Early political career In June 1975, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency in India which lasted until 1977. During this period, known as "The Emergency", many of her political opponents were jailed and opposition groups were banned. Modi was appointed general secretary of the "Gujarat Lok Sangharsh Samiti", an RSS committee co-ordinating opposition to the Emergency in Gujarat. Shortly afterwards, the RSS was banned. Modi was forced to go underground in Gujarat and frequently travelled in disguise to avoid arrest. He became involved in printing pamphlets opposing the government, sending them to Delhi and organising demonstrations. Modi was also involved with creating a network of safe houses for individuals wanted by the government, and in raising funds for political refugees and activists. During this period, Modi wrote a book in Gujarati, Sangharsh Ma Gujarat (In The Struggles of Gujarat), describing events during the Emergency. Among the people he met in this role was trade unionist and socialist activist George Fernandes, as well as several other national political figures. In his travels during the Emergency, Modi was often forced to move in disguise, once dressing as a monk, and once as a Sikh. Modi became an RSS sambhag pracharak (regional organiser) in 1978, overseeing RSS activities in the areas of Surat and Vadodara, and in 1979 he went to work for the RSS in Delhi, where he was put to work researching and writing the RSS's version of the history of the Emergency. He returned to Gujarat a short while later, and was assigned by the RSS to the BJP in 1985. In 1987 Modi helped organise the BJP's campaign in the Ahmedabad municipal election, which the BJP won comfortably; Modi's planning has been described as the reason for that result by biographers. After L. K. Advani became president of the BJP in 1986, the RSS decided to place its members in important positions within the BJP; Modi's work during the Ahmedabad election led to his selection for this role, and Modi was elected organising secretary of the BJP's Gujarat unit later in 1987. Modi rose within the party and was named a member of the BJP's National Election Committee in 1990, helping organise L. K. Advani's 1990 Ram Rath Yatra in 1990 and Murli Manohar Joshi's 1991–92 Ekta Yatra (Journey for Unity). However, he took a brief break from politics in 1992, instead establishing a school in Ahmedabad; friction with Shankersinh Vaghela, a BJP MP from Gujarat at the time, also played a part in this decision. Modi returned to electoral politics in 1994, partly at the insistence of Advani, and as party secretary, Modi's electoral strategy was considered central to the BJP victory in the 1995 state assembly elections. In November of that year Modi was appointed BJP national secretary and transferred to New Delhi, where he assumed responsibility for party activities in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The following year, Shankersinh Vaghela, a prominent BJP leader from Gujarat, defected to the Indian National Congress (Congress, INC) after losing his parliamentary seat in the Lok Sabha elections. Modi, on the selection committee for the 1998 Assembly elections in Gujarat, favoured supporters of BJP leader Keshubhai Patel over those supporting Vaghela to end factional division in the party. His strategy was credited as key to the BJP winning an overall majority in the 1998 elections, and Modi was promoted to BJP general secretary (organisation) in May of that year. Chief Minister of Gujarat Taking office In 2001, Keshubhai Patel's health was failing and the BJP lost a few state assembly seats in by-elections. Allegations of abuse of power, corruption and poor administration were made, and Patel's standing had been damaged by his administration's handling of the earthquake in Bhuj in 2001. The BJP national leadership sought a new candidate for the chief ministership, and Modi, who had expressed misgivings about Patel's administration, was chosen as a replacement. Although BJP leader L. K. Advani did not want to ostracise Patel and was concerned about Modi's lack of experience in government, Modi declined an offer to be Patel's deputy chief minister, telling Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee that he was "going to be fully responsible for Gujarat or not at all". On 3 October 2001 he replaced Patel as Chief Minister of Gujarat, with the responsibility of preparing the BJP for the December 2002 elections. Modi was sworn in as Chief Minister on 7 October 2001, and entered the Gujarat state legislature on 24 February 2002 by winning a by-election to the Rajkot – II constituency, defeating Ashwin Mehta of the INC by 14,728 votes. 2002 Gujarat riots On 27 February 2002, a train with several hundred passengers burned near Godhra, killing approximately 60 people. The train carried a large number of Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya after a religious ceremony at the site of the demolished Babri Masjid. In making a public statement after the incident, Modi declared it a terrorist attack planned and orchestrated by local Muslims. The next day, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad called for a bandh across the state. Riots began during the bandh, and anti-Muslim violence spread through Gujarat. The government's decision to move the bodies of the train victims from Godhra to Ahmedabad further inflamed the violence. The state government stated later that 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed. Independent sources put the death toll at over 2000, the vast majority Muslims Approximately 150,000 people were driven to refugee camps. Numerous women and children were among the victims; the violence included mass rapes and mutilations of women. The government of Gujarat itself is generally considered by scholars to have been complicit in the riots, (with some blaming chief minister Modi explicitly) and has otherwise received heavy criticism for its handling of the situation. Several scholars have described the violence as a pogrom, while others have called it an example of state terrorism. Summarising academic views on the subject, Martha Nussbaum said: "There is by now a broad consensus that the Gujarat violence was a form of ethnic cleansing, that in many ways it was premeditated, and that it was carried out with the complicity of the state government and officers of the law." The Modi government imposed a curfew in 26 major cities, issued shoot-at-sight orders and called for the army to patrol the streets, but was unable to prevent the violence from escalating. The president of the state unit of the BJP expressed support for the bandh, despite such actions being illegal at the time. State officials later prevented riot victims from leaving the refugee camps, and the camps were often unable to meet the needs of those living there. Muslim victims of the riots were subject to further discrimination when the state government announced that compensation for Muslim victims would be half of that offered to Hindus, although this decision was later reversed after the issue was taken to court. During the riots, police officers often did not intervene in situations where they were able. Modi's personal involvement in the 2002 events has continued to be debated. During the riots, Modi said that "What is happening is a chain of action and reaction." Later in 2002, Modi said the way in which he had handled the media was his only regret regarding the episode. In March 2008, the Supreme Court reopened several cases related to the 2002 riots, including that of the Gulbarg Society massacre, and established a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the issue. In response to a petition from Zakia Jafri (widow of Ehsan Jafri, who was killed in the Gulbarg Society massacre), in April 2009 the court also asked the SIT to investigate the issue of Modi's complicity in the killings. The SIT questioned Modi in March 2010; in May, it presented to the court a report finding no evidence against him. In July 2011, the court-appointed amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran submitted his final report to the court. Contrary to the SIT's position, he said that Modi could be prosecuted based on the available evidence. The Supreme Court gave the matter to the magistrate's court. The SIT examined Ramachandran's report, and in March 2012 submitted its final report, asking for the case to be closed. Zakia Jafri filed a protest petition in response. In December 2013 the magistrate's court rejected the protest petition, accepting the SIT's finding that there was no evidence against the chief minister. 2002 election In the aftermath of the violence there were widespread calls for Modi to resign as chief minister from within and outside the state, including from leaders of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Telugu Desam Party (allies in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance coalition), and opposition parties stalled Parliament over the issue. Modi submitted his resignation at the April 2002 BJP national executive meeting in Goa, but it was not accepted. His cabinet had an emergency meeting on 19 July 2002, after which it offered its resignation to the Gujarat Governor S. S. Bhandari, and the state assembly was dissolved. Despite opposition from the election commissioner, who said that a number of voters were still displaced, Modi succeeded in advancing the election to December 2002. In the elections, the BJP won 127 seats in the 182-member assembly. Although Modi later denied it, he made significant use of anti-Muslim rhetoric during his campaign, and the BJP profited from religious polarisation among the voters. He won the Maninagar constituency, receiving of votes and defeating INC candidate Yatin Oza by 75,333 votes. On 22 December 2002, Bhandari swore Modi in for a second term. Modi framed the criticism of his government for human rights violations as an attack upon Gujarati pride, a strategy which led to the BJP winning two-thirds of the seats in the state assembly. Second term During Modi's second term the rhetoric of the government shifted from Hindutva to Gujarat's economic development. Modi curtailed the influence of Sangh Parivar organisations such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), entrenched in the state after the decline of Ahmedabad's textile industry, and dropped Gordhan Zadafia (an ally of former Sangh co-worker and VHP state chief Praveen Togadia) from his cabinet. When the BKS staged a farmers' demonstration Modi ordered their eviction from state-provided houses, and his decision to demolish 200 illegal temples in Gandhinagar deepened the rift with the Vishva Hindu Parishad. Sangh organisations were no longer consulted or informed in advance about Modi's administrative decisions. Nonetheless, Modi retained connections with some Hindu nationalists. Modi wrote a foreword to a textbook by Dinanath Batra released in 2014, which stated that ancient India possessed technologies including test-tube babies. Modi's relationship with Muslims continued to attract criticism. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (who asked Modi for tolerance in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat violence and supported his resignation as chief minister) distanced himself, reaching out to North Indian Muslims before the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. After the elections Vajpayee called the violence in Gujarat a reason for the BJP's electoral defeat and said it had been a mistake to leave Modi in office after the riots. Questions about Modi's relationship with Muslims were also raised by many Western nations during his tenure as chief minister. Modi was barred from entering the United States by the State Department, in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on International Religious Freedom formed under the aegis of the International Religious Freedom Act, the only person denied a US visa under this law. The UK and the European Union refused to admit him because of what they saw as his role in the riots. As Modi rose to prominence in India, the UK and the EU lifted their bans in October 2012 and March 2013, respectively, and after his election he was invited to Washington as the nation's prime minister. During the run-up to the 2007 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election and the 2009 Indian general election, the BJP intensified its rhetoric on terrorism. In July 2006, Modi criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh " for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislation" such as the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the national government to allow states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. In 2007 Modi authored Karmayog, a 101-page booklet discussing manual scavenging. In it, Modi argued that scavenging was a "spiritual experience" for Valmiks, a sub-caste of Dalits. However, this book was not circulated that time because of the election code of conduct. After the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Modi held a meeting to discuss the security of Gujarat's -long coastline, resulting in government authorisation of 30 high-speed surveillance boats. In July 2007 Modi completed 2,063 consecutive days as chief minister of Gujarat, making him the longest-serving holder of that post, and the BJP won 122 of 182 state-assembly seats in that year's election. Development projects As Chief Minister, Modi favoured privatisation and small government, which was at odds with the philosophy of the RSS, usually described as anti-privatisation and anti-globalisation. His policies during his second term have been credited with reducing corruption in the state. He established financial and technology parks in Gujarat and during the 2007 Vibrant Gujarat summit, real-estate investment deals worth were signed. The governments led by Patel and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of groundwater-conservation projects. By December 2008, 500,000 structures had been built, of which 113,738 were check dams, which helped recharge the aquifers beneath them. Sixty of the 112 tehsils which had depleted the water table in 2004 had regained their normal groundwater levels by 2010. As a result, the state's production of genetically modified cotton increased to become the largest in India. The boom in cotton production and its semi-arid land use led to Gujarat's agricultural sector growing at an average rate of 9.6 percent from 2001 to 2007. Public irrigation measures in central and southern Gujarat, such as the Sardar Sarovar Dam, were less successful. The Sardar Sarovar project only irrigated 4–6% of the area intended. Nonetheless, from 2001 to 2010 Gujarat recorded an agricultural growth rate of 10.97 percent – the highest of any state. However, sociologists have pointed out that the growth rate under the 1992–97 INC government was 12.9 percent. In 2008 Modi offered land in Gujarat to Tata Motors to set up a plant manufacturing the Nano after a popular agitation had forced the company to move out of West Bengal. Several other companies followed the Tata to Gujarat. The Modi government finished the process of bringing electricity to every village in Gujarat that its predecessor had almost completed. Modi significantly changed the state's system of power distribution, greatly impacting farmers. Gujarat expanded the Jyotigram Yojana scheme, in which agricultural electricity was separated from other rural electricity; the agricultural electricity was rationed to fit scheduled irrigation demands, reducing its cost. Although early protests by farmers ended when those who benefited found that their electricity supply had stabilised, according to an assessment study corporations and large farmers benefited from the policy at the expense of small farmers and labourers. Development debate A contentious debate surrounds the assessment of Gujarat's economic development during Modi's tenure as chief minister. The state's GDP growth rate averaged 10% during Modi's tenure, a value similar to other highly industrialised states, and above that of the country as a whole. Gujarat also had a high rate of economic growth in the 1990s, before Modi took office, and some scholars have stated that growth did not much accelerate during Modi's tenure, although the state is considered to have maintained a high growth rate during Modi's Chief Ministership. Under Narendra Modi, Gujarat topped the World Bank's "ease of doing business" rankings among Indian states for two consecutive years. In 2013, Gujarat was ranked first among Indian states for "economic freedom" by a report measuring governance, growth, citizens' rights and labour and business regulation among the country's 20 largest states. In the later years of Modi's government, Gujarat's economic growth was frequently used as an argument to counter allegations of communalism. Tax breaks for businesses were easier to obtain in Gujarat than in other states, as was land. Modi's policies to make Gujarat attractive for investment included the creation of Special Economic Zones, where labour laws were greatly weakened. Despite its growth rate, Gujarat had a relatively poor record on human development, poverty relief, nutrition and education during Modi's tenure. In 2013, Gujarat ranked 13th in the country with respect to rates of poverty and 21st in education. Nearly 45 percent of children under five were underweight and 23 percent were undernourished, putting the state in the "alarming" category on the India State Hunger Index. A study by UNICEF and the Indian government found that Gujarat under Modi had a poor record with respect to immunisation in children. Over the decade from 2001 to 2011, Gujarat did not change its position relative to the rest of the country with respect to poverty and female literacy, remaining near the median of the 29 Indian states. It showed a marginal improvement in rates of infant mortality, and its position with respect to individual consumption declined. With respect to the quality of education in government schools, the state ranked below many Indian states. The social policies of the government generally did not benefit Muslims, Dalits, and Adivasis, and generally increased social inequalities. Development in Gujarat was generally limited to the urban middle class, and citizens in rural areas or from lower castes were increasingly marginalised. In 2013 the state ranked 10th of 21 Indian states in the Human Development Index. Under Modi, the state government spent less than the national average on education and healthcare. Final years Despite the BJP's shift away from explicit Hindutva, Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism. Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders. During his 2012 campaign he twice refused to wear articles of clothing gifted by Muslim leaders. He did, however, maintain relations with Dawoodi Bohra. His campaign included references to issues known to cause religious polarisation, including to Afzal Guru and the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. The BJP did not nominate any Muslim candidates for the assembly election of 2012. During the 2012 campaign, Modi attempted to identify himself with the state of Gujarat, a strategy similar to that used by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, and projected himself as protecting Gujarat against persecution by the rest of India. While campaigning for the 2012 assembly elections, Modi made extensive use of holograms and other technologies allowing him to reach a large number of people, something he would repeat in the 2014 general election. In the 2012 Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections, Modi won the constituency of Maninagar by 86,373 votes over Shweta Bhatt, the INC candidate and wife of Sanjiv Bhatt. The BJP won 115 of the 182 seats, continuing its majority during his tenure and allowing the party to form the government (as it had in Gujarat since 1995). After his election as prime minister, Modi resigned as the chief minister and as an MLA from Maninagar on 21 May 2014. Anandiben Patel succeeded him as the chief minister. Premiership campaigns 2014 Indian general election In September 2013 Modi was named the BJP's candidate for prime minister ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha election. Several BJP leaders expressed opposition to Modi's candidature, including BJP founding member L. K. Advani, who cited concern with leaders who were "concerned with their personal agendas". Modi played a dominant role in the BJP's election campaign. Several people who voted for the BJP stated that if Modi had not been the prime-ministerial candidate, they would have voted for another party. The focus on Modi as an individual was unusual for a BJP election campaign. The election was described as a referendum on Narendra Modi. During the campaign, Modi focused on the corruption scandals under the previous INC government, and played on his image as a politician who had created a high rate of GDP growth in Gujarat. Modi projected himself as a person who could bring about "development," without focus on any specific policies. His message found support among young Indians and among middle-class citizens. The BJP under Modi was able to downplay concerns about the protection of religious minorities and Modi's commitment to secularism, areas in which he had previously received criticism. Prior to the election Modi's image in the media had centered around his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots, but during the campaign the BJP was able to shift this to a focus on Modi's neoliberal ideology and the Gujarat model of development, although Hindutva remained a significant part of its campaign. The BJP's campaign was assisted by its wide influence in the media. Modi's campaign blitz cost approximately , and received extensive financial support from corporate donors. In addition to more conventional campaign methods, Modi made extensive use of social media, and addressed more than 1000 rallies via hologram appearances. The BJP won 31% of the vote, and more than doubled its tally in the Lok Sabha to 282, becoming the first party to win a majority of seats on its own since 1984. Voter dissatisfaction with the INC, as well as with regional parties in North India, was another reason for the success of the BJP, as was the support from the RSS. In states such as Uttar Pradesh in which the BJP performed well, it drew exceptionally high support from upper-caste Hindus, although the 10 percent of Muslim votes won was more than it had won before. It performed particularly well in parts of the country that had recently experienced violence between Hindus and Muslims. The magnitude of the BJP's victory led many commentators to say that the election constituted a political realignment away from progressive parties and towards the right-wing. Modi's tweet announcing his victory was described as being emblematic of the political realignment away from a secular, socialist state towards capitalism and Hindu cultural nationalism. Modi himself was a candidate for the Lok Sabha in two constituencies: Varanasi and Vadodara. He won in both constituencies, defeating Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal in Varanasi by 371,784 votes and Madhusudan Mistry of the INC in Vadodara by votes. Modi, who was unanimously elected leader of the BJP, was appointed prime minister by India's president. To comply with the law that an MP cannot represent more than one constituency, he vacated the Vadodara seat. 2019 Indian general election On 13 October 2018, Modi was renamed as the BJP candidate for prime minister for the 2019 general election. The chief campaigner for the party was BJP's president Amit Shah. Modi launched the Main Bhi Chowkidar campaign ahead of the general election, against Chowkidar Chor Hai campaign slogan of INC. In the year 2018, end Party's, second-biggest alliance Telugu Desam Party split from NDA over the matter of special-status for Andhra Pradesh. The campaign was started by Amit Shah on 8 April 2019. In the campaign, Modi was targeted by the opposition on corruption allegations over Rafale deal with France government. Highlighting this controversy the campaign "Chowkidar Chor Hai" was started, which was contrary to "Main Bhi Chowkidar" slogan. Modi made defence and national security among the foremost topics for the election campaign, especially after Pulwama attack, and the retaliatory attack of Balakot airstrike was counted as an achievement of the Modi administration. Other topics in the campaign were development and good foreign relations in the first premiership. Modi contested the Lok Sabha elections as a candidate from Varanasi. He won the seat by defeating Shalini Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, who fought on SP-BSP alliance by a margin of votes. Modi was unanimously appointed the prime minister for a second time by the National Democratic Alliance, after the alliance won the election for the second time by securing 353 seats in the Lok Sabha with the BJP alone won 303 seats. Prime Minister After the Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance won a landslide in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Narendra Modi was sworn in as the Prime Minister of India on 26 May 2014. He became the first Prime Minister born after India's independence from the British Empire in 1947. Modi started his second term after the Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance won again in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. On 6 December 2020, Modi became the 4th longest serving Prime Minister of India and the longest serving Non-Congress Prime Minister. Governance and other initiatives Modi's first year as prime minister saw significant centralisation of power relative to previous administrations. His efforts at centralisation have been linked to an increase in the number of senior administration officials resigning their positions. Initially lacking a majority in the Rajya Sabha, or upper house of Indian Parliament, Modi passed a number of ordinances to enact his policies, leading to further centralisation of power. The government also passed a bill increasing the control that it had over the appointment of judges, and reducing that of the judiciary. In December 2014 Modi abolished the Planning Commission, replacing it with the National Institution for Transforming India, or NITI Aayog. The move had the effect of greatly centralising the power previously with the planning commission in the person of the prime minister. The planning commission had received heavy criticism in previous years for creating inefficiency in the government, and of not filling its role of improving social welfare: however, since the economic liberalisation of the 1990s, it had been the major government body responsible for measures related to social justice. The Modi government launched investigations by the Intelligence Bureau against numerous civil society organisations and foreign non-governmental organisations in the first year of the administration. The investigations, on the grounds that these organisations were slowing economic growth, was criticised as a witch-hunt. International humanitarian aid organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres was among the groups that were put under pressure. Other organisations affected included the Sierra Club and Avaaz. Cases of sedition were filed against individuals criticising the government. This led to discontent within the BJP regarding Modi's style of functioning and drew comparisons to the governing style of Indira Gandhi. Modi repealed 1,200 obsolete laws in first three years as prime minister; a total of 1,301 such laws had been repealed by previous governments over a span of 64 years. He started a monthly radio programme titled "Mann Ki Baat" on 3 October 2014. Modi also launched the Digital India programme, with the goal of ensuring that government services are available electronically, building infrastructure to provide high-speed Internet access to rural areas, boosting manufacturing of electronic goods in the country, and promoting digital literacy. Modi launched Ujjwala scheme to provide free LPG connection to rural households. The scheme led to an increase in LPG consumption by 56% in 2019 as compared to 2014. In 2019, a law was passed to provide 10% reservation to Economically weaker sections. He was again sworn in as prime minister on 30 May 2019. On 30 July 2019, Parliament of India declared the practice of Triple Talaq as illegal, unconstitutional and made it punishable act from 1 August 2019 which is deemed to be in effect from 19 September 2018. On 5 August 2019, the government moved resolution to scrap Article 370 in the Rajya Sabha, and also reorganise the state with Jammu and Kashmir serving as one of the union territory and Ladakh region separated out as a separate union territory. Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. According to one study, "The BJP government incrementally but systemically attacked nearly all existing mechanisms that are in place to hold the political executive to account, either by ensuring that these mechanisms became subservient to the political executive or were captured by party loyalists." Scholars also point to how he Modi government has used state power to intimidate and stifle critics in the media and academia, thus undermining freedom of expression and alternative sources of information. Reporters Without Borders in 2021 characterised Modi as a predator for curbing press freedom in India since 2014. Economic policy The economic policies of Modi's government focused on privatisation and liberalisation of the economy, based on a neoliberal framework. Modi liberalised India's foreign direct investment policies, allowing more foreign investment in several industries, including in defence and the railways. Other proposed reforms included making it harder for workers to form unions and easier for employers to hire and fire them; some of these proposals were dropped after protests. The reforms drew strong opposition from unions: on 2 September 2015, eleven of the country's largest unions went on strike, including one affiliated with the BJP. The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, a constituent of the Sangh Parivar, stated that the underlying motivation of labour reforms favoured corporations over labourers. The funds dedicated to poverty reduction programmes and social welfare measures were greatly decreased by the Modi administration. The money spent on social programmes declined from 14.6% of GDP during the Congress government to 12.6% during Modi's first year in office. Spending on health and family welfare declined by 15%, and on primary and secondary education by 16%. The budgetary allocation for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, or the "education for all" programme, declined by 22%. The government also lowered corporate taxes, abolished the wealth tax, increased sales taxes, and reduced customs duties on gold, and jewellery. In October 2014, the Modi government deregulated diesel prices. In September 2014, Modi introduced the Make in India initiative to encourage foreign companies to manufacture products in India, with the goal of turning the country into a global manufacturing hub. Supporters of economic liberalisation supported the initiative, while critics argued it would allow foreign corporations to capture a greater share of the Indian market. Modi's administration passed a land-reform bill that allowed it to acquire private agricultural land without conducting a social impact assessment, and without the consent of the farmers who owned it. The bill was passed via an executive order after it faced opposition in parliament, but was eventually allowed to lapse. Modi's government put in place the Goods and Services Tax, the biggest tax reform in the country since independence. It subsumed around 17 different taxes and became effective from 1 July 2017. In his first cabinet decision, Modi set up a team to investigate black money. On 9 November 2016, the government demonetised ₹500 and ₹1000 banknotes, with the stated intention of curbing corruption, black money, the use of counterfeit currency, and terrorism. The move led to severe cash shortages, a steep decline in the Indian stock indices BSE SENSEX and NIFTY 50, and sparked widespread protests throughout the country. Several deaths were linked to the rush to exchange cash. In the subsequent year, the number of income tax returns filed for individuals rose by 25%, and the number of digital transactions increased steeply. Over the first four years of Modi's premiership, India's GDP grew at an average rate of 7.23%, higher than the rate of 6.39% under the previous government. The level of income inequality increased, while an internal government report said that in 2017, unemployment had increased to its highest level in 45 years. The loss of jobs was attributed to the 2016 demonetisation, and to the effects of the Goods and Services Tax. In the next year, after 2018, Indian economy started a gradual recovery with a GDP growth of 6.12% in 2018-19 FY, with an inflation rate of 3.4%. Same year, India was successful in making a good economy in trade and manufacturing sector. While in the FY of 2019–20, due to the general election, Modi government focused more on their election campaign. In the year 2019–20, the GDP growth rate was 4.18% and inflation rate also increased to 4.7% from 3.4% in the previous year. Though being high unemployment, increase in inflation rate and budget deficiency, Modi's leadership won in 2019 elections. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous rating agencies downgraded India's GDP predictions for FY21 to negative figures, signalling a recession in India, the most severe since 1979. According to a Dun & Bradstreet report, the country is likely to suffer a recession in the third quarter of FY2020 as a result of the over 2-month long nation-wide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19. This was also accompanied by the mass migration of migrant workers. Health and sanitation In his first year as prime minister, Modi reduced the amount of money spent by the central government on healthcare. The Modi government launched New Health Policy (NHP) in January 2015. The policy did not increase the government's spending on healthcare, instead emphasising the role of private healthcare organisations. This represented a shift away from the policy of the previous Congress government, which had supported programmes to assist public health goals, including reducing child and maternal mortality rates. The National Health Mission, which included public health programmes targeted at these indices received nearly 20% less funds in 2015 than in the previous year. 15 national health programmes, including those aimed at controlling tobacco use and supporting healthcare for the elderly, were merged with the National Health Mission. In its budget for the second year after it took office, the Modi government reduced healthcare spending by 15%. The healthcare budget for the following year rose by 19%. The budget was viewed positively by private insurance providers. Public health experts criticised its emphasis on the role of private healthcare providers, and suggested that it represented a shift away from public health facilities. The healthcare budget rose by 11.5% in 2018; the change included an allocation of for a government-funded health insurance program, and a decrease in the budget of the National Health Mission. The government introduced stricter packaging laws for tobacco which requires 85% of the packet size to be covered by pictorial warnings. An article in the medical journal Lancet stated that the country "might have taken a few steps back in public health" under Modi. In 2018 Modi launched the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, a government health insurance scheme intended to insure 500 million people. 100,000 people had signed up by October 2018. Modi emphasised his government's efforts at sanitation as a means of ensuring good health. On 2 October 2014, Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Mission ("Clean India") campaign. The stated goals of the campaign included eliminating open defecation and manual scavenging within five years. As part of the programme, the Indian government began constructing millions of toilets in rural areas and encouraging people to use them. The government also announced plans to build new sewage treatment plants. The administration plans to construct 60 million toilets by 2019. The construction projects have faced allegations of corruption, and have faced severe difficulty in getting people to use the toilets constructed for them. Sanitation cover in the country increased from 38.7% in October 2014 to 84.1% in May 2018; however, usage of the new sanitary facilities lagged behind the government's targets. In 2018, the World Health Organization stated that at least 180,000 diarrhoeal deaths were averted in rural India after the launch of the sanitation effort. Hindutva During the 2014 election campaign, the BJP sought to identify itself with political leaders known to have opposed Hindu nationalism, including B. R. Ambedkar, Subhas Chandra Bose, and Ram Manohar Lohia. The campaign also saw the use of rhetoric based on Hindutva by BJP leaders in certain states. Communal tensions were played upon especially in Uttar Pradesh and the states of Northeast India. A proposal for the controversial Uniform Civil Code was a part of the BJP's election manifesto. The activities of a number of Hindu nationalist organisations increased in scope after Modi's election as Prime Minister, sometimes with the support of the government. These activities included a Hindu religious conversion programme, a campaign against the alleged Islamic practice of "Love Jihad", and attempts to celebrate Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, by members of the right wing Hindu Mahasabha. Officials in the government, including the Home Minister, defended the conversion programmes. Links between the BJP and the RSS grew stronger under Modi. The RSS provided organisational support to the BJP's electoral campaigns, while the Modi administration appointed a number of individuals affiliated with the RSS to prominent government positions. In 2014, Yellapragada Sudershan Rao, who had previously been associated with the RSS, became the chairperson of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). Historians and former members of the ICHR, including those sympathetic to the BJP, questioned his credentials as a historian, and stated that the appointment was part of an agenda of cultural nationalism. The North East Delhi riots, which left more than 40 dead and hundreds injured, were triggered by protests against a citizenship law seen by many critics as anti-Muslim and part of Modi's Hindu nationalist agenda. On 5 August 2020, Modi visited Ayodhya after the Supreme Court in 2019 ordered a contested land in Ayodhya to be handed over to a trust to build the Hindu temple and ordered the government to give alternate 5 acre land to Sunni Waqf Board for the purpose of building a mosque. He became the first prime minister to visit Ram Janmabhoomi and Hanuman Garhi. Foreign policy Foreign policy played a relatively small role in Modi's election campaign, and did not feature prominently in the BJP's election manifesto. Modi invited all the other leaders of SAARC countries to his swearing in ceremony as prime minister. He was the first Indian prime minister to do so. Modi's foreign policy, similarly to that of the preceding INC government, focused on improving economic ties, security, and regional relations. Modi continued Manmohan Singh's policy of "multi-alignment." The Modi administration tried to attract foreign investment in the Indian economy from several sources, especially in East Asia, with the use of slogans such as "Make in India" and "Digital India". The government also tried to improve relations with Islamic nations in the Middle East, such as Bahrain, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as with Israel. The foreign relations of India with the USA also mended after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister. During the run-up to the general election there was wide-ranging scepticism regarding future of the strategic bilateral relation under Modi's premiership as in 2005 he was, while Chief Minister of Gujarat, denied a U.S. visa during the Bush administration for his poor human rights records. However sensing Modi's inevitable victory well before the election, the US Ambassador Nancy Powell had reached out to him as part of greater rapprochement from the west. Moreover, following his 2014 election as the Prime Minister of India President Obama congratulated him over the telephone and invited him to visit the US. Modi government has been successful in making good foreign relations with the USA in the presidency of both Barack Obama and Donald Trump. During the first few months after the election, Modi made trips to a number of different countries to further the goals of his policy, and attended the BRICS, ASEAN, and G20 summits. One of Modi's first visits as prime minister was to Nepal, during which he promised a billion USD in aid. Modi also made several overtures to the United States, including multiple visits to that country. While this was described as an unexpected development, due to the US having previously denied Modi a travel visa over his role during the 2002 Gujarat riots, the visits were expected to strengthen diplomatic and trade relations between the two countries. In 2015, the Indian parliament ratified a land exchange deal with Bangladesh about the India–Bangladesh enclaves, which had been initiated by the government of Manmohan Singh. Modi's administration gave renewed attention to India's "Look East Policy", instituted in 1991. The policy was renamed the "Act East Policy", and involved directing Indian foreign policy towards East Asia and Southeast Asia. The government signed agreements to improve land connectivity with Myanmar, through the state of Manipur. This represented a break with India's historic engagement with Myanmar, which prioritised border security over trade. China–India relations have deteriorated rapidly following the 2020 China–India skirmishes. Modi has pledged aid of $900 million to Afghanistan, visited the nation twice and been honoured with the nation's highest civilian honour in 2016. Defence policy India's nominal military spending increased steadily under Modi. The military budget declined over Modi's tenure both as a fraction of GDP and when adjusted for inflation. A substantial portion of the military budget was devoted to personnel costs, leading commentators to write that the budget was constraining Indian military modernisation. The BJP election manifesto had also promised to deal with illegal immigration into India in the Northeast, as well as to be more firm in its handling of insurgent groups. The Modi government issued a notification allowing Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist illegal immigrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh to legalise their residency in India. The government described the measure as being taken for humanitarian reasons but it drew criticism from several Assamese organisations.The Modi administration negotiated a peace agreement with the largest faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCM), which was announced in August 2015. The Naga insurgency in northeast India had begun in the 1950s. The NSCM and the government had agreed to a ceasefire in 1997, but a peace accord had not previously been signed. In 2015 the government abrogated a 15-year ceasefire with the Khaplang faction of the NSCM (NSCM-K). The NSCM-K responded with a series of attacks, which killed 18 people. The Modi government carried out a raid across the border with Myanmar as a result, and labelled the NSCM-K a terrorist organisation. Modi promised to be "tough on Pakistan" during his election campaign, and repeatedly stated that Pakistan was an exporter of terrorism. On 29 September 2016, the Indian Army stated that it had conducted a surgical strike on terror launch pads in Azad Kashmir. The Indian media claimed that up to 50 terrorists and Pakistani soldiers had been killed in the strike. Pakistan initially denied that any strikes had taken place. Subsequent reports suggested that Indian claim about the scope of the strike and the number of casualties had been exaggerated, although cross-border strikes had been carried out. In February 2019 India carried out airstrikes in Pakistan against a supposed terrorist camp. Further military skirmishes followed, including cross-border shelling and the loss of an Indian aircraft. Following his victory in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he focused more on Defence policies of India, especially against China and Pakistan. On 5 May 2020, Chinese and Indian troops engaged in aggressive melee, face-offs and skirmishes at locations along the Sino-Indian border, including near the disputed Pangong Lake in Ladakh and the Tibet Autonomous Region, and near the border between Sikkim and the Tibet Autonomous Region. Additional clashes also took place at locations in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). After which there was start of skirmishes between the nations leading to many border clashes, responses and reactions from both sides. A series of talks were also held between the two by both military and diplomatic means for peace. The first border clash reported in 2021 was on 20 January, referred to as a minor border clash in Sikkim. Environmental policy In naming his cabinet, Modi renamed the "Ministry of Environment and Forests" the "Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change." In the first budget of the government, the money allotted to this ministry was reduced by more than 50%. The new ministry also removed or diluted a number of laws related to environmental protection. These included no longer requiring clearance from the National Board for Wildlife for projects close to protected areas, and allowing certain projects to proceed before environmental clearance was received. The government also tried to reconstitute the Wildlife board such that it no longer had representatives from non-governmental organisations: however, this move was prevented by the Supreme Court. Modi also relaxed or abolished a number of other environmental regulations, particularly those related to industrial activity. A government committee stated that the existing system only served to create corruption, and that the government should instead rely on the owners of industries to voluntarily inform the government about the pollution they were creating. Other changes included reducing ministry oversight on small mining projects, and no longer requiring approval from tribal councils for projects inside forested areas. In addition, Modi lifted a moratorium on new industrial activity in the most polluted areas in the countries. The changes were welcomed by businesspeople, but criticised by environmentalists. Under the UPA government that preceded Modi's administration, field trials of Genetically Modified (GM) crops had essentially been put on hold, after protests from farmers fearing for their livelihoods. Under the Modi government these restrictions were gradually lifted. The government received some criticism for freezing the bank accounts of environmental group Greenpeace, citing financial irregularities, although a leaked government report said that the freeze had to do with Greenpeace's opposition to GM crops. At the COP26 conference Modi announced that India would target carbon neutrality by 2070, and also expand its renewable energy capacity. Though the date of net zero is far behind that of China and the USA and India's government wants to continue with the use of coal, Indian environmentalists and economists applauded the decision, describing it as a bold climate action. Democratic backsliding Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. According to one study, "The BJP government incrementally but systemically attacked nearly all existing mechanisms that are in place to hold the political executive to account, either by ensuring that these mechanisms became subservient to the political executive or were captured by party loyalists." Scholars also point to how the Modi government has used state power to intimidate and stifle critics in the media and academia, thus undermining freedom of expression and alternative sources of information. There have been several reports of the Modi government to be as an authoritarian conservative government, even due to lack of good opposition. Electoral history Personal life and image Personal life In accordance with Ghanchi tradition, Modi's marriage was arranged by his parents when he was a child. He was engaged at age 13 to Jashodaben Modi, marrying her when he was 18. They spent little time together and grew apart when Modi began two years of travel, including visits to Hindu ashrams. Reportedly, their marriage was never consummated, and he kept it a secret because otherwise he could not have become a 'pracharak' in the puritan Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Modi kept his marriage secret for most of his career. He acknowledged his wife for the first time when he filed his nomination for the 2014 general elections. Modi maintains a close relationship with his centenarian mother, Hiraben. A vegetarian and teetotaler, Modi has a frugal lifestyle and is a workaholic and introvert. A person named Badri Meena has been his cook since 2002. Modi's 31 August 2012 post on Google Hangouts made him the first Indian politician to interact with citizens on a live chat. Modi has also been called a fashion-icon for his signature crisply ironed, half-sleeved kurta, as well as for a suit with his name embroidered repeatedly in the pinstripes that he wore during a state visit by US President Barack Obama, which drew public and media attention and criticism. Modi's personality has been variously described by scholars and biographers as energetic, arrogant, and charismatic. He had published a Gujarati book titled Jyotipunj in 2008, containing profiles of various RSS leaders. The longest was of M. S. Golwalkar, under whose leadership the RSS expanded and whom Modi refers to as Pujniya Shri Guruji ("Guru worthy of worship"). According to The Economic Times, his intention was to explain the workings of the RSS to his readers and to reassure RSS members that he remained ideologically aligned with them. Modi authored eight other books, mostly containing short stories for children. The nomination of Modi for the prime ministership drew attention to his reputation as "one of contemporary India's most controversial and divisive politicians." During the 2014 election campaign the BJP projected an image of Modi as a strong, masculine leader, who would be able to take difficult decisions. Campaigns in which he has participated have focused on Modi as an individual, in a manner unusual for the BJP and RSS. Modi has relied upon his reputation as a politician able to bring about economic growth and "development". Nonetheless, his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots continues to attract criticism and controversy. Modi's hardline Hindutva philosophy and the policies adopted by his government continue to draw criticism, and have been seen as evidence of a majoritarian and exclusionary social agenda. In March 2021, Modi received his first COVID-19 vaccine dose at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. Personal donations Modi has made donations for various causes and programmes. One such instance was when Modi donated towards the initial corpus of the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) Fund. In his role as chief minister of Gujarat, Modi had donated from personal savings for educating daughters of state government officials. Modi had also raised by auctioning all the gifts he received as chief minister and donated this to the Kanya Kelavani Fund. The money was spent on the education of girl children, through the scheme. Approval ratings As a Prime Minister, Modi has received consistently high approval ratings; at the end of his first year in office, he received an overall approval rating of 87% in a Pew Research poll, with 68% of people rating him "very favorably" and 93% approving of his government. His approval rating remained largely consistent at around 74% through his second year in office, according to a nationwide poll conducted by instaVaani. At the end of his second year in office, an updated Pew Research poll showed Modi continued to receive high overall approval ratings of 81%, with 57% of those polled rating him "very favorably." At the end of his third year in office, a further Pew Research poll showed Modi with an overall approval rating of 88%, his highest yet, with 69% of people polled rating him "very favorably." A poll conducted by The Times of India in May 2017 showed 77% of the respondents rated Modi as "very good" and "good". In early 2017, a survey from Pew Research Center showed Modi to be the most popular figure in Indian politics. In a weekly analysis by Morning Consult called the Global Leader Approval Rating Tracker, Modi had the highest net approval rating as of 22 December 2020 of all government leaders in the 13 countries being tracked. Awards and recognition In March 2012 and June 2014, Modi appeared on the cover of the Asian edition of Time Magazine, one of the few Indian politicians to have done so. He was awarded Indian of the Year by CNN-News18 (formally CNN-IBN) news network in 2014. In June 2015, Modi was featured on the cover of Time Magazine. In 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020 and 2021, he was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World. Forbes Magazine ranked him the 15th Most Powerful Person in the World in 2014 and the 9th Most Powerful Person in the World in 2015, 2016 and 2018. In 2015, Modi was ranked the 13th Most Influential Person in the World by Bloomberg Markets Magazine. Modi was ranked fifth on Fortune Magazines first annual list of the "World's Greatest Leaders" in 2015. In 2017, Gallup International Association (GIA) conducted a poll and ranked Modi as third top leader of the world. In 2016, a wax statue of Modi was unveiled at Madame Tussauds wax museum in London. In 2015 he was named one of Times "30 Most Influential People on the Internet" as the second-most-followed politician on Twitter and Facebook. In 2018, he was the third most followed world leader on Twitter, and the most followed world leader on Facebook and Instagram. In October 2018, Modi received United Nations's highest environmental award, the 'Champions of the Earth', for policy leadership by "pioneering work in championing" the International Solar Alliance and "new areas of levels of cooperation on environmental action". He was conferred the 2018 Seoul Peace Prize in recognition of "his dedication to improving international co-operation, raising global economic growth, accelerating the Human Development of the people of India by fostering economic growth and furthering the development of democracy through anti-corruption and social integration efforts". He is the first Indian to win the award. Following his second swearing-in ceremony as Prime Minister of India, a picture of Modi was displayed on the facade of the ADNOC building in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The Texas India Forum hosted a community event in honour of Modi on 22 September 2019 at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. The event was attended by over 50,000 people and several American politicians including President Donald Trump, making it the largest gathering for an invited foreign leader visiting the United States other than the Pope. At the same event, Modi was presented with the Key to the City of Houston by Mayor Sylvester Turner. He was awarded the Global Goalkeeper Award on 24 September 2019 in New York City by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in recognition for the Swachh Bharat Mission and "the progress India has made in providing safe sanitation under his leadership". In 2020, Modi was among eight world leaders awarded the parodic Ig Nobel Prize in Medical Education "for using the COVID-19 viral pandemic to teach the world that politicians can have a more immediate effect on life and death than scientists and doctors can". On 21 December 2020, President Donald Trump awarded Modi with the Legion of Merit for elevating the India–United States relations. The Legion of Merit was awarded to Modi along with Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison and former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe, the "original architects" of the QUAD. On 24 February 2021, the largest cricket stadium in the world at Ahmedabad was renamed Narendra Modi Stadium by the Gujarat Cricket Association. Modi is featured in TIME Magazine's 100 most influential people of 2021 list, making it his fifth time after 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2020. TIME called him the third "pivotal leader" of independent India after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi who "dominated the country’s politics like no one since them". State honours Other honours In popular culture Modi Kaka Ka Gaon, a 2017 Indian Hindi-language drama film by Tushar Amrish Goel is the first biopic on Modi, starring Vikas Mahante in the titular role it was made halfway into his first-term as the prime minister which is shown in the film. PM Narendra Modi, a 2019 Indian Hindi-language biographical drama film by Omung Kumar, starred Vivek Oberoi in the titular role and covers his rise to prime ministership.An Indian web series, Modi: Journey of a Common Man, based on the same premise released in May 2019 on Eros Now with Ashish Sharma portraying Modi. Hu Narender Modi Banva Mangu Chu is a 2018 Indian Gujarati-language drama film by Anil Naryani about the aspirations of a young boy who wants to become like Narendra Modi. 7 RCR (7, Race Course Road), a 2014 Indian docudrama political television series which charts the political careers of prominent Indian politicians, covered Modi's rise to the PM's office in the episodes - "Story of Narendra Modi from 1950 to 2001", "Story of Narendra Modi in Controversial Years from 2001 to 2013", "Truth Behind Brand Modi", "Election Journey of Narendra Modi to 7 RCR", and "Masterplan of Narendra Modi's NDA Govt."; with Sangam Rai in the role of Modi. Other portrayals of Modi include by Rajit Kapur in the film Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) and Vikram Gokhale in the web-television series Avrodh: The Siege Within (2020) both based on the 2016 Uri attack and the following Indian surgical strikes. Pratap Singh played a character based on Modi in Chand Bujh Gaya (2005) which is set in the backdrop of the Gujarat riots. Premiered on 12 August 2019, Modi appeared in an episode - "Man vs. Wild with Bear Grylls and Prime Minister Modi" - of Discovery Channel's show Man vs Wild with the host Bear Grylls, becoming the second world leader after Barack Obama to appear in the reality show. In the show he trekked the jungles and talked about nature and wildlife conservation with Grylls. The episode was shot in Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand and was broadcast in 180 countries along India. He has also appeared twice on the Indian television talk show Aap Ki Adalat before the 2009 and 2014 elections respectively. Along with hosting the Mann Ki Baat monthly radio programme, on All India Radio, he has also conducted Pariksha Pe Charcha - a competition/discussion for students and the issues they face in examinations. Bibliography See also List of prime ministers of India Opinion polling on the Narendra Modi premiership References Notes Citations Further reading External links |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- 1950 births Living people Gujarati people People from Gujarat People from Mehsana district Indian Hindus Prime Ministers of India Leaders of the Lok Sabha Chief Ministers of Gujarat Chief ministers from Bharatiya Janata Party 16th Lok Sabha members 17th Lok Sabha members Members of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly Delhi University alumni Gujarat University alumni Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharaks Indian nationalists Indian writers Recipients of the Legion of Merit Hindu nationalists Right-wing politics in India 20th-century Indian writers Members of the Planning Commission of India Right-wing populism in India Bharatiya Jana Sangh politicians Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Gujarat Lok Sabha members from Gujarat Lok Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2019 Indian general election Writers from Gujarat Candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Hindu pacifists Narendra Modi ministry Candidates in the 2019 Indian general election Hindu revivalists Writers about activism and social change Indian political people 21st-century prime ministers of India Gujarat MLAs 1998–2002 Politicians of Hindu political parties National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Indian anti-communists Gandhians Gujarat MLAs 2002–2007 Gujarat MLAs 2007–2012 Gujarat MLAs 2012–2017 21st-century Indian non-fiction writers Politicians from Varanasi Time 100
true
[ "Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region", "Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts" ]
[ "Narendra Modi", "Final years", "What happened in her final years?", "Modi made extensive use of holograms", "How did Modi use holograms?", "allowing him to reach a large number of people,", "Did Modi ran for any political positions ?", "Modi won the constituency of Maninagar", "With how many votes did he win this constituency?", "by 86,373 votes", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism." ]
C_b6a0c764bf0c443b9768973ff08ca8fb_1
How did this affect his campaing?
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How did elements of Hindu nationalism affect Modi's political campaigning?
Narendra Modi
During Modi's second term the rhetoric of the government shifted from Hindutva to Gujarat's economic development. Modi curtailed the influence of Sangh Parivar organisations such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), entrenched in the state after the decline of Ahmedabad's textile industry, and dropped Gordhan Zadafia (an ally of former Sangh co-worker and VHP state chief Praveen Togadia) from his cabinet. When the BKS staged a farmers' demonstration Modi ordered their eviction from state-provided houses, and his decision to demolish 200 illegal temples in Gandhinagar deepened the rift with the VHP. Sangh organisations were no longer consulted or informed in advance about Modi's administrative decisions. Nonetheless, Modi retained connections with some Hindu nationalists. Modi wrote a foreword to a textbook by Dinanath Batra released in 2014, which stated that ancient India possessed technologies including test-tube babies. Modi's relationship with Muslims continued to attract criticism. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (who asked Modi for tolerance in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat violence and supported his resignation as chief minister) distanced himself, reaching out to North Indian Muslims before the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. After the elections Vajpayee called the violence in Gujarat a reason for the BJP's electoral defeat and said it had been a mistake to leave Modi in office after the riots. Questions about Modi's relationship with Muslims were also raised by many Western nations during his tenure as chief minister. Modi was barred from entering the United States by the State Department, in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on International Religious Freedom formed under the aegis of the International Religious Freedom Act, the only person denied a US visa under this law. The UK and the European Union refused to admit him because of what they saw as his role in the riots. As Modi rose to prominence in India, the UK and the EU lifted their bans in October 2012 and March 2013, respectively, and after his election as prime minister he was invited to Washington. During the run-up to the 2007 assembly elections and the 2009 general election, the BJP intensified its rhetoric on terrorism. In July 2006, Modi criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh " for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislation" such as the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the national government to allow states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. In 2007 Modi authored Karmayog, a 101-page booklet discussing manual scavenging. In it, Modi argued that scavenging was a "spiritual experience" for Dalits. However, this book was not circulated that time because of the election code of conduct. After the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Modi held a meeting to discuss the security of Gujarat's 1,600-kilometre (990 mi)-long coastline, resulting in government authorisation of 30 high-speed surveillance boats. In July 2007 Modi completed 2,063 consecutive days as chief minister of Gujarat, making him the longest-serving holder of that post, and the BJP won 122 of 182 state-assembly seats in that year's election. As Chief Minister, Modi favoured privatisation and small government, which was at odds with the philosophy of the RSS, usually described as anti-privatisation and anti-globalisation. His policies during his second term have been credited with reducing corruption in the state. He established financial and technology parks in Gujarat and during the 2007 Vibrant Gujarat summit, real-estate investment deals worth Rs6.6 trillion were signed. The governments led by Patel and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of groundwater-conservation projects. By December 2008, 500,000 structures had been built, of which 113,738 were check dams, which helped recharge the aquifers beneath them. Sixty of the 112 tehsils which had depleted the water table in 2004 had regained their normal groundwater levels by 2010. As a result, the state's production of genetically modified cotton increased to become the largest in India. The boom in cotton production and its semi-arid land use led to Gujarat's agricultural sector growing at an average rate of 9.6 percent from 2001 to 2007. Public irrigation measures in central and southern Gujarat, such as the Sardar Sarovar Dam, were less successful. The Sardar Sarovar project only irrigated 4-6% of the area intended. Nonetheless, from 2001 to 2010 Gujarat recorded an agricultural growth rate of 10.97 percent - the highest of any state. However, sociologists have pointed out that the growth rate under the 1992-97 INC government was 12.9 percent. In 2008 Modi offered land in Gujarat to Tata Motors to set up a plant manufacturing the Nano after a popular agitation had forced the company to move out of West Bengal. Several other companies followed the Tata's to Gujarat. The Modi government finished the process of bringing electricity to every village in Gujarat that its predecessor had almost completed. Modi significantly changed the state's system of power distribution, greatly impacting farmers. Gujarat expanded the Jyotigram Yojana scheme, in which agricultural electricity was separated from other rural electricity; the agricultural electricity was rationed to fit scheduled irrigation demands, reducing its cost. Although early protests by farmers ended when those who benefited found that their electricity supply had stabilised, according to an assessment study corporations and large farmers benefited from the policy at the expense of small farmers and labourers. During the 2012 campaign, Modi attempted to identify himself with the state of Gujarat, a strategy similar to that used by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, and projected himself as protecting Gujarat against persecution by the rest of India. Despite the BJP's shift away from explicit Hindutva, Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism. Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders. During his 2012 campaign he twice refused to wear articles of clothing gifted by Muslim leaders. He did, however, maintain relations with Dawoodi Bohra. His campaign included references to issues known to cause religious polarisation, including to Afzal Guru and the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. The BJP did not nominate any Muslim candidates for the assembly election of 2012. He had published a Gujarati book titled Jyotipunj in 2008, containing profiles of various RSS leaders. The longest was of M. S. Golwalkar, under whose leadership the RSS expanded and whom Modi refers to as Pujniya Shri Guruji ("Guru worthy of worship"). According to The Economic Times, his intention was to explain the workings of the RSS to his readers and to reassure RSS members that he remained ideologically aligned with them. Modi authored eight other books, mostly containing short stories for children. While campaigning for the 2012 assembly elections, Modi made extensive use of holograms and other technologies allowing him to reach a large number of people, something he would repeat in the 2014 general election. In the 2012 Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections, Modi won the constituency of Maninagar by 86,373 votes over Shweta Bhatt, the INC candidate and wife of Sanjiv Bhatt. The BJP won 115 of the 182 seats, continuing its majority during his tenure and allowing the party to form the government (as it had in Gujarat since 1995). In later by-elections the BJP won four more assembly seats and two Lok Sabha seats held by the INC, although Modi did not campaign for its candidates. In 2013, the Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF) at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania cancelled a keynote video-conference speech by Modi following protests by Indian-Americans. After his election as prime minister, Modi resigned as the chief minister and as an MLA from Maninagar on 21 May 2014. Anandiben Patel succeeded him as the chief minister. CANNOTANSWER
Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders.
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from Varanasi. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindu nationalist paramilitary volunteer organisation. He is the first prime minister to have been born after India's independence in 1947 and the second prime minister not belonging to the Indian National Congress to have won two consecutive majorities in the Lok Sabha, or lower house of Indian of parliament. Born and raised in Vadnagar, a small town in northeastern Gujarat, Modi completed his secondary education there. He was introduced to the RSS at age eight. He has drawn attention to having to work as a child in his father's tea stall on the Vadnagar railway station platform, a description that has not been reliably corroborated. At age 18, Modi was married to Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi, whom he abandoned soon after. He left his parental home where she had come to live. He first publicly acknowledged her as his wife more than four decades later when required to do so by Indian law, but has made no contact with her since. Modi has asserted he had travelled in northern India for two years after leaving his parental home, visiting a number of religious centres, but few details of his travels have emerged. Upon his return to Gujarat in 1971, he became a full-time worker for the RSS. After the state of emergency declared by prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1975, Modi went into hiding. The RSS assigned him to the BJP in 1985 and he held several positions within the party hierarchy until 2001, rising to the rank of general secretary. Modi was appointed Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2001 due to Keshubhai Patel's failing health and poor public image following the earthquake in Bhuj. Modi was elected to the legislative assembly soon after. His administration has been considered complicit in the 2002 Gujarat riots in which 1044 people were killed, three-quarters of whom were Muslim, or otherwise criticised for its management of the crisis. The Supreme Court remarked that Narendra Modi was like a Modern-day Nero, looking the other way as innocent women and children were burning. A Supreme Court of India-appointed Special Investigation Team found no evidence to initiate prosecution proceedings against Modi personally. While his policies as chief minister—credited with encouraging economic growth—have received praise, his administration has been criticised for failing to significantly improve health, poverty and education indices in the state. Modi led the BJP in the 2014 general election which gave the party a majority in the Indian lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha, the first time for any single party since 1984. Modi's administration has tried to raise foreign direct investment in the Indian economy and reduced spending on healthcare and social welfare programmes. Modi has attempted to improve efficiency in the bureaucracy; he has centralised power by abolishing the Planning Commission. He began a high-profile sanitation campaign, controversially initiated a demonetisation of high-denomination banknotes and transformation of taxation regime, and weakened or abolished environmental and labour laws. Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. Following his party's victory in the 2019 general election, his administration revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and also introduced the Citizenship Amendment Act, which resulted in widespread protests across the country. Described as engineering a political realignment towards right-wing politics, Modi remains a figure of controversy domestically and internationally over his Hindu nationalist beliefs and his handling of the 2002 Gujarat riots, cited as evidence of an exclusionary social agenda. Early life and education Narendra Damodardas Modi was born on 17 September 1950 to a Gujarati Hindu family of grocers in Vadnagar, Mehsana district, Bombay State (present-day Gujarat). He was the third of six children born to Damodardas Mulchand Modi () and Hiraben Modi (born ). Modi's family belonged to the Modh-Ghanchi-Teli (oil-presser) community, which is categorised as an Other Backward Class by the Indian government. Modi had only infrequently spoken of his family background during his 13 years as chief minister of Gujarat. In the run up to the 2014 national elections, he began to regularly draw attention to his low-ranking social origins and to having to work as a child in his father's tea shop on the Vadnagar railway station platform, a description that the evidence of neighbours does not entirely corroborate. Modi completed his higher secondary education in Vadnagar in 1967, where teachers described him as an average student and a keen gifted debater, with interest in theatre. Modi preferred playing larger-than-life characters in theatrical productions, which has influenced his political image. When eight years old, Modi was introduced to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and began attending its local shakhas (training sessions). There, Modi met Lakshmanrao Inamdar, popularly known as Vakil Saheb, who inducted him as a balswayamsevak (junior cadet) in the RSS and became his political mentor. While Modi was training with the RSS, he also met Vasant Gajendragadkar and Nathalal Jaghda, Bharatiya Jana Sangh leaders who were founding members of the BJP's Gujarat unit in 1980. In a custom traditional to Narendra Modi's caste, his family arranged a betrothal to a girl, Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi, leading to their marriage when she was 17 and he was 18. Soon afterwards, he abandoned his bride, and left home, never divorcing her, but the marriage remaining unmentioned in Modi's public pronouncements for many decades. In April 2014, shortly before the national elections that swept him to power, Modi publicly affirmed that he was married and his spouse was Jashodaben; the couple has remained married, but estranged. Modi spent the ensuing two years travelling across Northern and North-eastern India, though few details of where he went have emerged. In interviews, Modi has described visiting Hindu ashrams founded by Swami Vivekananda: the Belur Math near Kolkata, followed by the Advaita Ashrama in Almora and the Ramakrishna Mission in Rajkot. Modi remained only a short time at each, since he lacked the required college education. Vivekananda has been described as a large influence in Modi's life. In the early summer of 1968, Modi reached the Belur Math but was turned away, after which Modi wandered through Calcutta, West Bengal and Assam, stopping in Siliguri and Guwahati. Modi then went to the Ramakrishna Ashram in Almora, where he was again rejected, before travelling back to Gujarat via Delhi and Rajasthan in 1968–69. Sometime in late 1969 or early 1970, Modi returned to Vadnagar for a brief visit before leaving again for Ahmedabad. There, Modi lived with his uncle, working in the latter's canteen at the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation. In Ahmedabad, Modi renewed his acquaintance with Inamdar, who was based at the Hedgewar Bhavan (RSS headquarters) in the city. Modi's first known political activity as an adult was in 1971 when he, as per his remarks, joined a Jana Sangh Satyagraha in Delhi led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee to enlist for the battlefield during the Bangladesh Liberation War. But the Indira Gandhi-led central government disallowed open support for the Mukti Bahini and Modi, according to his own claim, was put in Tihar Jail for a short period. After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he stopped working for his uncle and became a full-time pracharak (campaigner) for the RSS, working under Inamdar. Shortly before the war, Modi took part in a non-violent protest against the Indian government in New Delhi, for which he was arrested (as per his claim); this has been cited as a reason for Inamdar electing to mentor him. Many years later Modi would co-author a biography of Inamdar, published in 2001. Modi's claim that he was part of a Satyagraha led to a political war. Applications were filed with the PMO under the RTI Act seeking details of his arrest. In reply, the PMO claimed that it maintains official records on Modi only since he took charge as the Prime Minister of India in 2014. Despite this claim, the official website of the PMO contains specific information about Modi which dates back to the 1950s. In 1978 Modi received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the School of Open Learning (SOL) at the University of Delhi, graduating with a third class. Five years later, in 1983, he received a Master of Arts degree in political science from Gujarat University, graduating with a first class as an external distance learning student. But there is a big controversy surrounding his educational qualification. Replying to an RTI query, the SOL said it did not have any data of students who received a BA degree in 1978. Jayantibhai Patel, a former political science professor of Gujarat University, claimed that the subjects listed in Modi's MA degree were not offered by the university when Modi was studying there. Early political career In June 1975, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency in India which lasted until 1977. During this period, known as "The Emergency", many of her political opponents were jailed and opposition groups were banned. Modi was appointed general secretary of the "Gujarat Lok Sangharsh Samiti", an RSS committee co-ordinating opposition to the Emergency in Gujarat. Shortly afterwards, the RSS was banned. Modi was forced to go underground in Gujarat and frequently travelled in disguise to avoid arrest. He became involved in printing pamphlets opposing the government, sending them to Delhi and organising demonstrations. Modi was also involved with creating a network of safe houses for individuals wanted by the government, and in raising funds for political refugees and activists. During this period, Modi wrote a book in Gujarati, Sangharsh Ma Gujarat (In The Struggles of Gujarat), describing events during the Emergency. Among the people he met in this role was trade unionist and socialist activist George Fernandes, as well as several other national political figures. In his travels during the Emergency, Modi was often forced to move in disguise, once dressing as a monk, and once as a Sikh. Modi became an RSS sambhag pracharak (regional organiser) in 1978, overseeing RSS activities in the areas of Surat and Vadodara, and in 1979 he went to work for the RSS in Delhi, where he was put to work researching and writing the RSS's version of the history of the Emergency. He returned to Gujarat a short while later, and was assigned by the RSS to the BJP in 1985. In 1987 Modi helped organise the BJP's campaign in the Ahmedabad municipal election, which the BJP won comfortably; Modi's planning has been described as the reason for that result by biographers. After L. K. Advani became president of the BJP in 1986, the RSS decided to place its members in important positions within the BJP; Modi's work during the Ahmedabad election led to his selection for this role, and Modi was elected organising secretary of the BJP's Gujarat unit later in 1987. Modi rose within the party and was named a member of the BJP's National Election Committee in 1990, helping organise L. K. Advani's 1990 Ram Rath Yatra in 1990 and Murli Manohar Joshi's 1991–92 Ekta Yatra (Journey for Unity). However, he took a brief break from politics in 1992, instead establishing a school in Ahmedabad; friction with Shankersinh Vaghela, a BJP MP from Gujarat at the time, also played a part in this decision. Modi returned to electoral politics in 1994, partly at the insistence of Advani, and as party secretary, Modi's electoral strategy was considered central to the BJP victory in the 1995 state assembly elections. In November of that year Modi was appointed BJP national secretary and transferred to New Delhi, where he assumed responsibility for party activities in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The following year, Shankersinh Vaghela, a prominent BJP leader from Gujarat, defected to the Indian National Congress (Congress, INC) after losing his parliamentary seat in the Lok Sabha elections. Modi, on the selection committee for the 1998 Assembly elections in Gujarat, favoured supporters of BJP leader Keshubhai Patel over those supporting Vaghela to end factional division in the party. His strategy was credited as key to the BJP winning an overall majority in the 1998 elections, and Modi was promoted to BJP general secretary (organisation) in May of that year. Chief Minister of Gujarat Taking office In 2001, Keshubhai Patel's health was failing and the BJP lost a few state assembly seats in by-elections. Allegations of abuse of power, corruption and poor administration were made, and Patel's standing had been damaged by his administration's handling of the earthquake in Bhuj in 2001. The BJP national leadership sought a new candidate for the chief ministership, and Modi, who had expressed misgivings about Patel's administration, was chosen as a replacement. Although BJP leader L. K. Advani did not want to ostracise Patel and was concerned about Modi's lack of experience in government, Modi declined an offer to be Patel's deputy chief minister, telling Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee that he was "going to be fully responsible for Gujarat or not at all". On 3 October 2001 he replaced Patel as Chief Minister of Gujarat, with the responsibility of preparing the BJP for the December 2002 elections. Modi was sworn in as Chief Minister on 7 October 2001, and entered the Gujarat state legislature on 24 February 2002 by winning a by-election to the Rajkot – II constituency, defeating Ashwin Mehta of the INC by 14,728 votes. 2002 Gujarat riots On 27 February 2002, a train with several hundred passengers burned near Godhra, killing approximately 60 people. The train carried a large number of Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya after a religious ceremony at the site of the demolished Babri Masjid. In making a public statement after the incident, Modi declared it a terrorist attack planned and orchestrated by local Muslims. The next day, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad called for a bandh across the state. Riots began during the bandh, and anti-Muslim violence spread through Gujarat. The government's decision to move the bodies of the train victims from Godhra to Ahmedabad further inflamed the violence. The state government stated later that 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed. Independent sources put the death toll at over 2000, the vast majority Muslims Approximately 150,000 people were driven to refugee camps. Numerous women and children were among the victims; the violence included mass rapes and mutilations of women. The government of Gujarat itself is generally considered by scholars to have been complicit in the riots, (with some blaming chief minister Modi explicitly) and has otherwise received heavy criticism for its handling of the situation. Several scholars have described the violence as a pogrom, while others have called it an example of state terrorism. Summarising academic views on the subject, Martha Nussbaum said: "There is by now a broad consensus that the Gujarat violence was a form of ethnic cleansing, that in many ways it was premeditated, and that it was carried out with the complicity of the state government and officers of the law." The Modi government imposed a curfew in 26 major cities, issued shoot-at-sight orders and called for the army to patrol the streets, but was unable to prevent the violence from escalating. The president of the state unit of the BJP expressed support for the bandh, despite such actions being illegal at the time. State officials later prevented riot victims from leaving the refugee camps, and the camps were often unable to meet the needs of those living there. Muslim victims of the riots were subject to further discrimination when the state government announced that compensation for Muslim victims would be half of that offered to Hindus, although this decision was later reversed after the issue was taken to court. During the riots, police officers often did not intervene in situations where they were able. Modi's personal involvement in the 2002 events has continued to be debated. During the riots, Modi said that "What is happening is a chain of action and reaction." Later in 2002, Modi said the way in which he had handled the media was his only regret regarding the episode. In March 2008, the Supreme Court reopened several cases related to the 2002 riots, including that of the Gulbarg Society massacre, and established a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the issue. In response to a petition from Zakia Jafri (widow of Ehsan Jafri, who was killed in the Gulbarg Society massacre), in April 2009 the court also asked the SIT to investigate the issue of Modi's complicity in the killings. The SIT questioned Modi in March 2010; in May, it presented to the court a report finding no evidence against him. In July 2011, the court-appointed amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran submitted his final report to the court. Contrary to the SIT's position, he said that Modi could be prosecuted based on the available evidence. The Supreme Court gave the matter to the magistrate's court. The SIT examined Ramachandran's report, and in March 2012 submitted its final report, asking for the case to be closed. Zakia Jafri filed a protest petition in response. In December 2013 the magistrate's court rejected the protest petition, accepting the SIT's finding that there was no evidence against the chief minister. 2002 election In the aftermath of the violence there were widespread calls for Modi to resign as chief minister from within and outside the state, including from leaders of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Telugu Desam Party (allies in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance coalition), and opposition parties stalled Parliament over the issue. Modi submitted his resignation at the April 2002 BJP national executive meeting in Goa, but it was not accepted. His cabinet had an emergency meeting on 19 July 2002, after which it offered its resignation to the Gujarat Governor S. S. Bhandari, and the state assembly was dissolved. Despite opposition from the election commissioner, who said that a number of voters were still displaced, Modi succeeded in advancing the election to December 2002. In the elections, the BJP won 127 seats in the 182-member assembly. Although Modi later denied it, he made significant use of anti-Muslim rhetoric during his campaign, and the BJP profited from religious polarisation among the voters. He won the Maninagar constituency, receiving of votes and defeating INC candidate Yatin Oza by 75,333 votes. On 22 December 2002, Bhandari swore Modi in for a second term. Modi framed the criticism of his government for human rights violations as an attack upon Gujarati pride, a strategy which led to the BJP winning two-thirds of the seats in the state assembly. Second term During Modi's second term the rhetoric of the government shifted from Hindutva to Gujarat's economic development. Modi curtailed the influence of Sangh Parivar organisations such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), entrenched in the state after the decline of Ahmedabad's textile industry, and dropped Gordhan Zadafia (an ally of former Sangh co-worker and VHP state chief Praveen Togadia) from his cabinet. When the BKS staged a farmers' demonstration Modi ordered their eviction from state-provided houses, and his decision to demolish 200 illegal temples in Gandhinagar deepened the rift with the Vishva Hindu Parishad. Sangh organisations were no longer consulted or informed in advance about Modi's administrative decisions. Nonetheless, Modi retained connections with some Hindu nationalists. Modi wrote a foreword to a textbook by Dinanath Batra released in 2014, which stated that ancient India possessed technologies including test-tube babies. Modi's relationship with Muslims continued to attract criticism. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (who asked Modi for tolerance in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat violence and supported his resignation as chief minister) distanced himself, reaching out to North Indian Muslims before the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. After the elections Vajpayee called the violence in Gujarat a reason for the BJP's electoral defeat and said it had been a mistake to leave Modi in office after the riots. Questions about Modi's relationship with Muslims were also raised by many Western nations during his tenure as chief minister. Modi was barred from entering the United States by the State Department, in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on International Religious Freedom formed under the aegis of the International Religious Freedom Act, the only person denied a US visa under this law. The UK and the European Union refused to admit him because of what they saw as his role in the riots. As Modi rose to prominence in India, the UK and the EU lifted their bans in October 2012 and March 2013, respectively, and after his election he was invited to Washington as the nation's prime minister. During the run-up to the 2007 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election and the 2009 Indian general election, the BJP intensified its rhetoric on terrorism. In July 2006, Modi criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh " for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislation" such as the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the national government to allow states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. In 2007 Modi authored Karmayog, a 101-page booklet discussing manual scavenging. In it, Modi argued that scavenging was a "spiritual experience" for Valmiks, a sub-caste of Dalits. However, this book was not circulated that time because of the election code of conduct. After the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Modi held a meeting to discuss the security of Gujarat's -long coastline, resulting in government authorisation of 30 high-speed surveillance boats. In July 2007 Modi completed 2,063 consecutive days as chief minister of Gujarat, making him the longest-serving holder of that post, and the BJP won 122 of 182 state-assembly seats in that year's election. Development projects As Chief Minister, Modi favoured privatisation and small government, which was at odds with the philosophy of the RSS, usually described as anti-privatisation and anti-globalisation. His policies during his second term have been credited with reducing corruption in the state. He established financial and technology parks in Gujarat and during the 2007 Vibrant Gujarat summit, real-estate investment deals worth were signed. The governments led by Patel and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of groundwater-conservation projects. By December 2008, 500,000 structures had been built, of which 113,738 were check dams, which helped recharge the aquifers beneath them. Sixty of the 112 tehsils which had depleted the water table in 2004 had regained their normal groundwater levels by 2010. As a result, the state's production of genetically modified cotton increased to become the largest in India. The boom in cotton production and its semi-arid land use led to Gujarat's agricultural sector growing at an average rate of 9.6 percent from 2001 to 2007. Public irrigation measures in central and southern Gujarat, such as the Sardar Sarovar Dam, were less successful. The Sardar Sarovar project only irrigated 4–6% of the area intended. Nonetheless, from 2001 to 2010 Gujarat recorded an agricultural growth rate of 10.97 percent – the highest of any state. However, sociologists have pointed out that the growth rate under the 1992–97 INC government was 12.9 percent. In 2008 Modi offered land in Gujarat to Tata Motors to set up a plant manufacturing the Nano after a popular agitation had forced the company to move out of West Bengal. Several other companies followed the Tata to Gujarat. The Modi government finished the process of bringing electricity to every village in Gujarat that its predecessor had almost completed. Modi significantly changed the state's system of power distribution, greatly impacting farmers. Gujarat expanded the Jyotigram Yojana scheme, in which agricultural electricity was separated from other rural electricity; the agricultural electricity was rationed to fit scheduled irrigation demands, reducing its cost. Although early protests by farmers ended when those who benefited found that their electricity supply had stabilised, according to an assessment study corporations and large farmers benefited from the policy at the expense of small farmers and labourers. Development debate A contentious debate surrounds the assessment of Gujarat's economic development during Modi's tenure as chief minister. The state's GDP growth rate averaged 10% during Modi's tenure, a value similar to other highly industrialised states, and above that of the country as a whole. Gujarat also had a high rate of economic growth in the 1990s, before Modi took office, and some scholars have stated that growth did not much accelerate during Modi's tenure, although the state is considered to have maintained a high growth rate during Modi's Chief Ministership. Under Narendra Modi, Gujarat topped the World Bank's "ease of doing business" rankings among Indian states for two consecutive years. In 2013, Gujarat was ranked first among Indian states for "economic freedom" by a report measuring governance, growth, citizens' rights and labour and business regulation among the country's 20 largest states. In the later years of Modi's government, Gujarat's economic growth was frequently used as an argument to counter allegations of communalism. Tax breaks for businesses were easier to obtain in Gujarat than in other states, as was land. Modi's policies to make Gujarat attractive for investment included the creation of Special Economic Zones, where labour laws were greatly weakened. Despite its growth rate, Gujarat had a relatively poor record on human development, poverty relief, nutrition and education during Modi's tenure. In 2013, Gujarat ranked 13th in the country with respect to rates of poverty and 21st in education. Nearly 45 percent of children under five were underweight and 23 percent were undernourished, putting the state in the "alarming" category on the India State Hunger Index. A study by UNICEF and the Indian government found that Gujarat under Modi had a poor record with respect to immunisation in children. Over the decade from 2001 to 2011, Gujarat did not change its position relative to the rest of the country with respect to poverty and female literacy, remaining near the median of the 29 Indian states. It showed a marginal improvement in rates of infant mortality, and its position with respect to individual consumption declined. With respect to the quality of education in government schools, the state ranked below many Indian states. The social policies of the government generally did not benefit Muslims, Dalits, and Adivasis, and generally increased social inequalities. Development in Gujarat was generally limited to the urban middle class, and citizens in rural areas or from lower castes were increasingly marginalised. In 2013 the state ranked 10th of 21 Indian states in the Human Development Index. Under Modi, the state government spent less than the national average on education and healthcare. Final years Despite the BJP's shift away from explicit Hindutva, Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism. Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders. During his 2012 campaign he twice refused to wear articles of clothing gifted by Muslim leaders. He did, however, maintain relations with Dawoodi Bohra. His campaign included references to issues known to cause religious polarisation, including to Afzal Guru and the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. The BJP did not nominate any Muslim candidates for the assembly election of 2012. During the 2012 campaign, Modi attempted to identify himself with the state of Gujarat, a strategy similar to that used by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, and projected himself as protecting Gujarat against persecution by the rest of India. While campaigning for the 2012 assembly elections, Modi made extensive use of holograms and other technologies allowing him to reach a large number of people, something he would repeat in the 2014 general election. In the 2012 Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections, Modi won the constituency of Maninagar by 86,373 votes over Shweta Bhatt, the INC candidate and wife of Sanjiv Bhatt. The BJP won 115 of the 182 seats, continuing its majority during his tenure and allowing the party to form the government (as it had in Gujarat since 1995). After his election as prime minister, Modi resigned as the chief minister and as an MLA from Maninagar on 21 May 2014. Anandiben Patel succeeded him as the chief minister. Premiership campaigns 2014 Indian general election In September 2013 Modi was named the BJP's candidate for prime minister ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha election. Several BJP leaders expressed opposition to Modi's candidature, including BJP founding member L. K. Advani, who cited concern with leaders who were "concerned with their personal agendas". Modi played a dominant role in the BJP's election campaign. Several people who voted for the BJP stated that if Modi had not been the prime-ministerial candidate, they would have voted for another party. The focus on Modi as an individual was unusual for a BJP election campaign. The election was described as a referendum on Narendra Modi. During the campaign, Modi focused on the corruption scandals under the previous INC government, and played on his image as a politician who had created a high rate of GDP growth in Gujarat. Modi projected himself as a person who could bring about "development," without focus on any specific policies. His message found support among young Indians and among middle-class citizens. The BJP under Modi was able to downplay concerns about the protection of religious minorities and Modi's commitment to secularism, areas in which he had previously received criticism. Prior to the election Modi's image in the media had centered around his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots, but during the campaign the BJP was able to shift this to a focus on Modi's neoliberal ideology and the Gujarat model of development, although Hindutva remained a significant part of its campaign. The BJP's campaign was assisted by its wide influence in the media. Modi's campaign blitz cost approximately , and received extensive financial support from corporate donors. In addition to more conventional campaign methods, Modi made extensive use of social media, and addressed more than 1000 rallies via hologram appearances. The BJP won 31% of the vote, and more than doubled its tally in the Lok Sabha to 282, becoming the first party to win a majority of seats on its own since 1984. Voter dissatisfaction with the INC, as well as with regional parties in North India, was another reason for the success of the BJP, as was the support from the RSS. In states such as Uttar Pradesh in which the BJP performed well, it drew exceptionally high support from upper-caste Hindus, although the 10 percent of Muslim votes won was more than it had won before. It performed particularly well in parts of the country that had recently experienced violence between Hindus and Muslims. The magnitude of the BJP's victory led many commentators to say that the election constituted a political realignment away from progressive parties and towards the right-wing. Modi's tweet announcing his victory was described as being emblematic of the political realignment away from a secular, socialist state towards capitalism and Hindu cultural nationalism. Modi himself was a candidate for the Lok Sabha in two constituencies: Varanasi and Vadodara. He won in both constituencies, defeating Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal in Varanasi by 371,784 votes and Madhusudan Mistry of the INC in Vadodara by votes. Modi, who was unanimously elected leader of the BJP, was appointed prime minister by India's president. To comply with the law that an MP cannot represent more than one constituency, he vacated the Vadodara seat. 2019 Indian general election On 13 October 2018, Modi was renamed as the BJP candidate for prime minister for the 2019 general election. The chief campaigner for the party was BJP's president Amit Shah. Modi launched the Main Bhi Chowkidar campaign ahead of the general election, against Chowkidar Chor Hai campaign slogan of INC. In the year 2018, end Party's, second-biggest alliance Telugu Desam Party split from NDA over the matter of special-status for Andhra Pradesh. The campaign was started by Amit Shah on 8 April 2019. In the campaign, Modi was targeted by the opposition on corruption allegations over Rafale deal with France government. Highlighting this controversy the campaign "Chowkidar Chor Hai" was started, which was contrary to "Main Bhi Chowkidar" slogan. Modi made defence and national security among the foremost topics for the election campaign, especially after Pulwama attack, and the retaliatory attack of Balakot airstrike was counted as an achievement of the Modi administration. Other topics in the campaign were development and good foreign relations in the first premiership. Modi contested the Lok Sabha elections as a candidate from Varanasi. He won the seat by defeating Shalini Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, who fought on SP-BSP alliance by a margin of votes. Modi was unanimously appointed the prime minister for a second time by the National Democratic Alliance, after the alliance won the election for the second time by securing 353 seats in the Lok Sabha with the BJP alone won 303 seats. Prime Minister After the Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance won a landslide in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Narendra Modi was sworn in as the Prime Minister of India on 26 May 2014. He became the first Prime Minister born after India's independence from the British Empire in 1947. Modi started his second term after the Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance won again in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. On 6 December 2020, Modi became the 4th longest serving Prime Minister of India and the longest serving Non-Congress Prime Minister. Governance and other initiatives Modi's first year as prime minister saw significant centralisation of power relative to previous administrations. His efforts at centralisation have been linked to an increase in the number of senior administration officials resigning their positions. Initially lacking a majority in the Rajya Sabha, or upper house of Indian Parliament, Modi passed a number of ordinances to enact his policies, leading to further centralisation of power. The government also passed a bill increasing the control that it had over the appointment of judges, and reducing that of the judiciary. In December 2014 Modi abolished the Planning Commission, replacing it with the National Institution for Transforming India, or NITI Aayog. The move had the effect of greatly centralising the power previously with the planning commission in the person of the prime minister. The planning commission had received heavy criticism in previous years for creating inefficiency in the government, and of not filling its role of improving social welfare: however, since the economic liberalisation of the 1990s, it had been the major government body responsible for measures related to social justice. The Modi government launched investigations by the Intelligence Bureau against numerous civil society organisations and foreign non-governmental organisations in the first year of the administration. The investigations, on the grounds that these organisations were slowing economic growth, was criticised as a witch-hunt. International humanitarian aid organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres was among the groups that were put under pressure. Other organisations affected included the Sierra Club and Avaaz. Cases of sedition were filed against individuals criticising the government. This led to discontent within the BJP regarding Modi's style of functioning and drew comparisons to the governing style of Indira Gandhi. Modi repealed 1,200 obsolete laws in first three years as prime minister; a total of 1,301 such laws had been repealed by previous governments over a span of 64 years. He started a monthly radio programme titled "Mann Ki Baat" on 3 October 2014. Modi also launched the Digital India programme, with the goal of ensuring that government services are available electronically, building infrastructure to provide high-speed Internet access to rural areas, boosting manufacturing of electronic goods in the country, and promoting digital literacy. Modi launched Ujjwala scheme to provide free LPG connection to rural households. The scheme led to an increase in LPG consumption by 56% in 2019 as compared to 2014. In 2019, a law was passed to provide 10% reservation to Economically weaker sections. He was again sworn in as prime minister on 30 May 2019. On 30 July 2019, Parliament of India declared the practice of Triple Talaq as illegal, unconstitutional and made it punishable act from 1 August 2019 which is deemed to be in effect from 19 September 2018. On 5 August 2019, the government moved resolution to scrap Article 370 in the Rajya Sabha, and also reorganise the state with Jammu and Kashmir serving as one of the union territory and Ladakh region separated out as a separate union territory. Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. According to one study, "The BJP government incrementally but systemically attacked nearly all existing mechanisms that are in place to hold the political executive to account, either by ensuring that these mechanisms became subservient to the political executive or were captured by party loyalists." Scholars also point to how he Modi government has used state power to intimidate and stifle critics in the media and academia, thus undermining freedom of expression and alternative sources of information. Reporters Without Borders in 2021 characterised Modi as a predator for curbing press freedom in India since 2014. Economic policy The economic policies of Modi's government focused on privatisation and liberalisation of the economy, based on a neoliberal framework. Modi liberalised India's foreign direct investment policies, allowing more foreign investment in several industries, including in defence and the railways. Other proposed reforms included making it harder for workers to form unions and easier for employers to hire and fire them; some of these proposals were dropped after protests. The reforms drew strong opposition from unions: on 2 September 2015, eleven of the country's largest unions went on strike, including one affiliated with the BJP. The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, a constituent of the Sangh Parivar, stated that the underlying motivation of labour reforms favoured corporations over labourers. The funds dedicated to poverty reduction programmes and social welfare measures were greatly decreased by the Modi administration. The money spent on social programmes declined from 14.6% of GDP during the Congress government to 12.6% during Modi's first year in office. Spending on health and family welfare declined by 15%, and on primary and secondary education by 16%. The budgetary allocation for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, or the "education for all" programme, declined by 22%. The government also lowered corporate taxes, abolished the wealth tax, increased sales taxes, and reduced customs duties on gold, and jewellery. In October 2014, the Modi government deregulated diesel prices. In September 2014, Modi introduced the Make in India initiative to encourage foreign companies to manufacture products in India, with the goal of turning the country into a global manufacturing hub. Supporters of economic liberalisation supported the initiative, while critics argued it would allow foreign corporations to capture a greater share of the Indian market. Modi's administration passed a land-reform bill that allowed it to acquire private agricultural land without conducting a social impact assessment, and without the consent of the farmers who owned it. The bill was passed via an executive order after it faced opposition in parliament, but was eventually allowed to lapse. Modi's government put in place the Goods and Services Tax, the biggest tax reform in the country since independence. It subsumed around 17 different taxes and became effective from 1 July 2017. In his first cabinet decision, Modi set up a team to investigate black money. On 9 November 2016, the government demonetised ₹500 and ₹1000 banknotes, with the stated intention of curbing corruption, black money, the use of counterfeit currency, and terrorism. The move led to severe cash shortages, a steep decline in the Indian stock indices BSE SENSEX and NIFTY 50, and sparked widespread protests throughout the country. Several deaths were linked to the rush to exchange cash. In the subsequent year, the number of income tax returns filed for individuals rose by 25%, and the number of digital transactions increased steeply. Over the first four years of Modi's premiership, India's GDP grew at an average rate of 7.23%, higher than the rate of 6.39% under the previous government. The level of income inequality increased, while an internal government report said that in 2017, unemployment had increased to its highest level in 45 years. The loss of jobs was attributed to the 2016 demonetisation, and to the effects of the Goods and Services Tax. In the next year, after 2018, Indian economy started a gradual recovery with a GDP growth of 6.12% in 2018-19 FY, with an inflation rate of 3.4%. Same year, India was successful in making a good economy in trade and manufacturing sector. While in the FY of 2019–20, due to the general election, Modi government focused more on their election campaign. In the year 2019–20, the GDP growth rate was 4.18% and inflation rate also increased to 4.7% from 3.4% in the previous year. Though being high unemployment, increase in inflation rate and budget deficiency, Modi's leadership won in 2019 elections. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous rating agencies downgraded India's GDP predictions for FY21 to negative figures, signalling a recession in India, the most severe since 1979. According to a Dun & Bradstreet report, the country is likely to suffer a recession in the third quarter of FY2020 as a result of the over 2-month long nation-wide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19. This was also accompanied by the mass migration of migrant workers. Health and sanitation In his first year as prime minister, Modi reduced the amount of money spent by the central government on healthcare. The Modi government launched New Health Policy (NHP) in January 2015. The policy did not increase the government's spending on healthcare, instead emphasising the role of private healthcare organisations. This represented a shift away from the policy of the previous Congress government, which had supported programmes to assist public health goals, including reducing child and maternal mortality rates. The National Health Mission, which included public health programmes targeted at these indices received nearly 20% less funds in 2015 than in the previous year. 15 national health programmes, including those aimed at controlling tobacco use and supporting healthcare for the elderly, were merged with the National Health Mission. In its budget for the second year after it took office, the Modi government reduced healthcare spending by 15%. The healthcare budget for the following year rose by 19%. The budget was viewed positively by private insurance providers. Public health experts criticised its emphasis on the role of private healthcare providers, and suggested that it represented a shift away from public health facilities. The healthcare budget rose by 11.5% in 2018; the change included an allocation of for a government-funded health insurance program, and a decrease in the budget of the National Health Mission. The government introduced stricter packaging laws for tobacco which requires 85% of the packet size to be covered by pictorial warnings. An article in the medical journal Lancet stated that the country "might have taken a few steps back in public health" under Modi. In 2018 Modi launched the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, a government health insurance scheme intended to insure 500 million people. 100,000 people had signed up by October 2018. Modi emphasised his government's efforts at sanitation as a means of ensuring good health. On 2 October 2014, Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Mission ("Clean India") campaign. The stated goals of the campaign included eliminating open defecation and manual scavenging within five years. As part of the programme, the Indian government began constructing millions of toilets in rural areas and encouraging people to use them. The government also announced plans to build new sewage treatment plants. The administration plans to construct 60 million toilets by 2019. The construction projects have faced allegations of corruption, and have faced severe difficulty in getting people to use the toilets constructed for them. Sanitation cover in the country increased from 38.7% in October 2014 to 84.1% in May 2018; however, usage of the new sanitary facilities lagged behind the government's targets. In 2018, the World Health Organization stated that at least 180,000 diarrhoeal deaths were averted in rural India after the launch of the sanitation effort. Hindutva During the 2014 election campaign, the BJP sought to identify itself with political leaders known to have opposed Hindu nationalism, including B. R. Ambedkar, Subhas Chandra Bose, and Ram Manohar Lohia. The campaign also saw the use of rhetoric based on Hindutva by BJP leaders in certain states. Communal tensions were played upon especially in Uttar Pradesh and the states of Northeast India. A proposal for the controversial Uniform Civil Code was a part of the BJP's election manifesto. The activities of a number of Hindu nationalist organisations increased in scope after Modi's election as Prime Minister, sometimes with the support of the government. These activities included a Hindu religious conversion programme, a campaign against the alleged Islamic practice of "Love Jihad", and attempts to celebrate Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, by members of the right wing Hindu Mahasabha. Officials in the government, including the Home Minister, defended the conversion programmes. Links between the BJP and the RSS grew stronger under Modi. The RSS provided organisational support to the BJP's electoral campaigns, while the Modi administration appointed a number of individuals affiliated with the RSS to prominent government positions. In 2014, Yellapragada Sudershan Rao, who had previously been associated with the RSS, became the chairperson of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). Historians and former members of the ICHR, including those sympathetic to the BJP, questioned his credentials as a historian, and stated that the appointment was part of an agenda of cultural nationalism. The North East Delhi riots, which left more than 40 dead and hundreds injured, were triggered by protests against a citizenship law seen by many critics as anti-Muslim and part of Modi's Hindu nationalist agenda. On 5 August 2020, Modi visited Ayodhya after the Supreme Court in 2019 ordered a contested land in Ayodhya to be handed over to a trust to build the Hindu temple and ordered the government to give alternate 5 acre land to Sunni Waqf Board for the purpose of building a mosque. He became the first prime minister to visit Ram Janmabhoomi and Hanuman Garhi. Foreign policy Foreign policy played a relatively small role in Modi's election campaign, and did not feature prominently in the BJP's election manifesto. Modi invited all the other leaders of SAARC countries to his swearing in ceremony as prime minister. He was the first Indian prime minister to do so. Modi's foreign policy, similarly to that of the preceding INC government, focused on improving economic ties, security, and regional relations. Modi continued Manmohan Singh's policy of "multi-alignment." The Modi administration tried to attract foreign investment in the Indian economy from several sources, especially in East Asia, with the use of slogans such as "Make in India" and "Digital India". The government also tried to improve relations with Islamic nations in the Middle East, such as Bahrain, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as with Israel. The foreign relations of India with the USA also mended after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister. During the run-up to the general election there was wide-ranging scepticism regarding future of the strategic bilateral relation under Modi's premiership as in 2005 he was, while Chief Minister of Gujarat, denied a U.S. visa during the Bush administration for his poor human rights records. However sensing Modi's inevitable victory well before the election, the US Ambassador Nancy Powell had reached out to him as part of greater rapprochement from the west. Moreover, following his 2014 election as the Prime Minister of India President Obama congratulated him over the telephone and invited him to visit the US. Modi government has been successful in making good foreign relations with the USA in the presidency of both Barack Obama and Donald Trump. During the first few months after the election, Modi made trips to a number of different countries to further the goals of his policy, and attended the BRICS, ASEAN, and G20 summits. One of Modi's first visits as prime minister was to Nepal, during which he promised a billion USD in aid. Modi also made several overtures to the United States, including multiple visits to that country. While this was described as an unexpected development, due to the US having previously denied Modi a travel visa over his role during the 2002 Gujarat riots, the visits were expected to strengthen diplomatic and trade relations between the two countries. In 2015, the Indian parliament ratified a land exchange deal with Bangladesh about the India–Bangladesh enclaves, which had been initiated by the government of Manmohan Singh. Modi's administration gave renewed attention to India's "Look East Policy", instituted in 1991. The policy was renamed the "Act East Policy", and involved directing Indian foreign policy towards East Asia and Southeast Asia. The government signed agreements to improve land connectivity with Myanmar, through the state of Manipur. This represented a break with India's historic engagement with Myanmar, which prioritised border security over trade. China–India relations have deteriorated rapidly following the 2020 China–India skirmishes. Modi has pledged aid of $900 million to Afghanistan, visited the nation twice and been honoured with the nation's highest civilian honour in 2016. Defence policy India's nominal military spending increased steadily under Modi. The military budget declined over Modi's tenure both as a fraction of GDP and when adjusted for inflation. A substantial portion of the military budget was devoted to personnel costs, leading commentators to write that the budget was constraining Indian military modernisation. The BJP election manifesto had also promised to deal with illegal immigration into India in the Northeast, as well as to be more firm in its handling of insurgent groups. The Modi government issued a notification allowing Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist illegal immigrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh to legalise their residency in India. The government described the measure as being taken for humanitarian reasons but it drew criticism from several Assamese organisations.The Modi administration negotiated a peace agreement with the largest faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCM), which was announced in August 2015. The Naga insurgency in northeast India had begun in the 1950s. The NSCM and the government had agreed to a ceasefire in 1997, but a peace accord had not previously been signed. In 2015 the government abrogated a 15-year ceasefire with the Khaplang faction of the NSCM (NSCM-K). The NSCM-K responded with a series of attacks, which killed 18 people. The Modi government carried out a raid across the border with Myanmar as a result, and labelled the NSCM-K a terrorist organisation. Modi promised to be "tough on Pakistan" during his election campaign, and repeatedly stated that Pakistan was an exporter of terrorism. On 29 September 2016, the Indian Army stated that it had conducted a surgical strike on terror launch pads in Azad Kashmir. The Indian media claimed that up to 50 terrorists and Pakistani soldiers had been killed in the strike. Pakistan initially denied that any strikes had taken place. Subsequent reports suggested that Indian claim about the scope of the strike and the number of casualties had been exaggerated, although cross-border strikes had been carried out. In February 2019 India carried out airstrikes in Pakistan against a supposed terrorist camp. Further military skirmishes followed, including cross-border shelling and the loss of an Indian aircraft. Following his victory in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he focused more on Defence policies of India, especially against China and Pakistan. On 5 May 2020, Chinese and Indian troops engaged in aggressive melee, face-offs and skirmishes at locations along the Sino-Indian border, including near the disputed Pangong Lake in Ladakh and the Tibet Autonomous Region, and near the border between Sikkim and the Tibet Autonomous Region. Additional clashes also took place at locations in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). After which there was start of skirmishes between the nations leading to many border clashes, responses and reactions from both sides. A series of talks were also held between the two by both military and diplomatic means for peace. The first border clash reported in 2021 was on 20 January, referred to as a minor border clash in Sikkim. Environmental policy In naming his cabinet, Modi renamed the "Ministry of Environment and Forests" the "Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change." In the first budget of the government, the money allotted to this ministry was reduced by more than 50%. The new ministry also removed or diluted a number of laws related to environmental protection. These included no longer requiring clearance from the National Board for Wildlife for projects close to protected areas, and allowing certain projects to proceed before environmental clearance was received. The government also tried to reconstitute the Wildlife board such that it no longer had representatives from non-governmental organisations: however, this move was prevented by the Supreme Court. Modi also relaxed or abolished a number of other environmental regulations, particularly those related to industrial activity. A government committee stated that the existing system only served to create corruption, and that the government should instead rely on the owners of industries to voluntarily inform the government about the pollution they were creating. Other changes included reducing ministry oversight on small mining projects, and no longer requiring approval from tribal councils for projects inside forested areas. In addition, Modi lifted a moratorium on new industrial activity in the most polluted areas in the countries. The changes were welcomed by businesspeople, but criticised by environmentalists. Under the UPA government that preceded Modi's administration, field trials of Genetically Modified (GM) crops had essentially been put on hold, after protests from farmers fearing for their livelihoods. Under the Modi government these restrictions were gradually lifted. The government received some criticism for freezing the bank accounts of environmental group Greenpeace, citing financial irregularities, although a leaked government report said that the freeze had to do with Greenpeace's opposition to GM crops. At the COP26 conference Modi announced that India would target carbon neutrality by 2070, and also expand its renewable energy capacity. Though the date of net zero is far behind that of China and the USA and India's government wants to continue with the use of coal, Indian environmentalists and economists applauded the decision, describing it as a bold climate action. Democratic backsliding Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. According to one study, "The BJP government incrementally but systemically attacked nearly all existing mechanisms that are in place to hold the political executive to account, either by ensuring that these mechanisms became subservient to the political executive or were captured by party loyalists." Scholars also point to how the Modi government has used state power to intimidate and stifle critics in the media and academia, thus undermining freedom of expression and alternative sources of information. There have been several reports of the Modi government to be as an authoritarian conservative government, even due to lack of good opposition. Electoral history Personal life and image Personal life In accordance with Ghanchi tradition, Modi's marriage was arranged by his parents when he was a child. He was engaged at age 13 to Jashodaben Modi, marrying her when he was 18. They spent little time together and grew apart when Modi began two years of travel, including visits to Hindu ashrams. Reportedly, their marriage was never consummated, and he kept it a secret because otherwise he could not have become a 'pracharak' in the puritan Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Modi kept his marriage secret for most of his career. He acknowledged his wife for the first time when he filed his nomination for the 2014 general elections. Modi maintains a close relationship with his centenarian mother, Hiraben. A vegetarian and teetotaler, Modi has a frugal lifestyle and is a workaholic and introvert. A person named Badri Meena has been his cook since 2002. Modi's 31 August 2012 post on Google Hangouts made him the first Indian politician to interact with citizens on a live chat. Modi has also been called a fashion-icon for his signature crisply ironed, half-sleeved kurta, as well as for a suit with his name embroidered repeatedly in the pinstripes that he wore during a state visit by US President Barack Obama, which drew public and media attention and criticism. Modi's personality has been variously described by scholars and biographers as energetic, arrogant, and charismatic. He had published a Gujarati book titled Jyotipunj in 2008, containing profiles of various RSS leaders. The longest was of M. S. Golwalkar, under whose leadership the RSS expanded and whom Modi refers to as Pujniya Shri Guruji ("Guru worthy of worship"). According to The Economic Times, his intention was to explain the workings of the RSS to his readers and to reassure RSS members that he remained ideologically aligned with them. Modi authored eight other books, mostly containing short stories for children. The nomination of Modi for the prime ministership drew attention to his reputation as "one of contemporary India's most controversial and divisive politicians." During the 2014 election campaign the BJP projected an image of Modi as a strong, masculine leader, who would be able to take difficult decisions. Campaigns in which he has participated have focused on Modi as an individual, in a manner unusual for the BJP and RSS. Modi has relied upon his reputation as a politician able to bring about economic growth and "development". Nonetheless, his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots continues to attract criticism and controversy. Modi's hardline Hindutva philosophy and the policies adopted by his government continue to draw criticism, and have been seen as evidence of a majoritarian and exclusionary social agenda. In March 2021, Modi received his first COVID-19 vaccine dose at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. Personal donations Modi has made donations for various causes and programmes. One such instance was when Modi donated towards the initial corpus of the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) Fund. In his role as chief minister of Gujarat, Modi had donated from personal savings for educating daughters of state government officials. Modi had also raised by auctioning all the gifts he received as chief minister and donated this to the Kanya Kelavani Fund. The money was spent on the education of girl children, through the scheme. Approval ratings As a Prime Minister, Modi has received consistently high approval ratings; at the end of his first year in office, he received an overall approval rating of 87% in a Pew Research poll, with 68% of people rating him "very favorably" and 93% approving of his government. His approval rating remained largely consistent at around 74% through his second year in office, according to a nationwide poll conducted by instaVaani. At the end of his second year in office, an updated Pew Research poll showed Modi continued to receive high overall approval ratings of 81%, with 57% of those polled rating him "very favorably." At the end of his third year in office, a further Pew Research poll showed Modi with an overall approval rating of 88%, his highest yet, with 69% of people polled rating him "very favorably." A poll conducted by The Times of India in May 2017 showed 77% of the respondents rated Modi as "very good" and "good". In early 2017, a survey from Pew Research Center showed Modi to be the most popular figure in Indian politics. In a weekly analysis by Morning Consult called the Global Leader Approval Rating Tracker, Modi had the highest net approval rating as of 22 December 2020 of all government leaders in the 13 countries being tracked. Awards and recognition In March 2012 and June 2014, Modi appeared on the cover of the Asian edition of Time Magazine, one of the few Indian politicians to have done so. He was awarded Indian of the Year by CNN-News18 (formally CNN-IBN) news network in 2014. In June 2015, Modi was featured on the cover of Time Magazine. In 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020 and 2021, he was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World. Forbes Magazine ranked him the 15th Most Powerful Person in the World in 2014 and the 9th Most Powerful Person in the World in 2015, 2016 and 2018. In 2015, Modi was ranked the 13th Most Influential Person in the World by Bloomberg Markets Magazine. Modi was ranked fifth on Fortune Magazines first annual list of the "World's Greatest Leaders" in 2015. In 2017, Gallup International Association (GIA) conducted a poll and ranked Modi as third top leader of the world. In 2016, a wax statue of Modi was unveiled at Madame Tussauds wax museum in London. In 2015 he was named one of Times "30 Most Influential People on the Internet" as the second-most-followed politician on Twitter and Facebook. In 2018, he was the third most followed world leader on Twitter, and the most followed world leader on Facebook and Instagram. In October 2018, Modi received United Nations's highest environmental award, the 'Champions of the Earth', for policy leadership by "pioneering work in championing" the International Solar Alliance and "new areas of levels of cooperation on environmental action". He was conferred the 2018 Seoul Peace Prize in recognition of "his dedication to improving international co-operation, raising global economic growth, accelerating the Human Development of the people of India by fostering economic growth and furthering the development of democracy through anti-corruption and social integration efforts". He is the first Indian to win the award. Following his second swearing-in ceremony as Prime Minister of India, a picture of Modi was displayed on the facade of the ADNOC building in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The Texas India Forum hosted a community event in honour of Modi on 22 September 2019 at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. The event was attended by over 50,000 people and several American politicians including President Donald Trump, making it the largest gathering for an invited foreign leader visiting the United States other than the Pope. At the same event, Modi was presented with the Key to the City of Houston by Mayor Sylvester Turner. He was awarded the Global Goalkeeper Award on 24 September 2019 in New York City by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in recognition for the Swachh Bharat Mission and "the progress India has made in providing safe sanitation under his leadership". In 2020, Modi was among eight world leaders awarded the parodic Ig Nobel Prize in Medical Education "for using the COVID-19 viral pandemic to teach the world that politicians can have a more immediate effect on life and death than scientists and doctors can". On 21 December 2020, President Donald Trump awarded Modi with the Legion of Merit for elevating the India–United States relations. The Legion of Merit was awarded to Modi along with Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison and former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe, the "original architects" of the QUAD. On 24 February 2021, the largest cricket stadium in the world at Ahmedabad was renamed Narendra Modi Stadium by the Gujarat Cricket Association. Modi is featured in TIME Magazine's 100 most influential people of 2021 list, making it his fifth time after 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2020. TIME called him the third "pivotal leader" of independent India after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi who "dominated the country’s politics like no one since them". State honours Other honours In popular culture Modi Kaka Ka Gaon, a 2017 Indian Hindi-language drama film by Tushar Amrish Goel is the first biopic on Modi, starring Vikas Mahante in the titular role it was made halfway into his first-term as the prime minister which is shown in the film. PM Narendra Modi, a 2019 Indian Hindi-language biographical drama film by Omung Kumar, starred Vivek Oberoi in the titular role and covers his rise to prime ministership.An Indian web series, Modi: Journey of a Common Man, based on the same premise released in May 2019 on Eros Now with Ashish Sharma portraying Modi. Hu Narender Modi Banva Mangu Chu is a 2018 Indian Gujarati-language drama film by Anil Naryani about the aspirations of a young boy who wants to become like Narendra Modi. 7 RCR (7, Race Course Road), a 2014 Indian docudrama political television series which charts the political careers of prominent Indian politicians, covered Modi's rise to the PM's office in the episodes - "Story of Narendra Modi from 1950 to 2001", "Story of Narendra Modi in Controversial Years from 2001 to 2013", "Truth Behind Brand Modi", "Election Journey of Narendra Modi to 7 RCR", and "Masterplan of Narendra Modi's NDA Govt."; with Sangam Rai in the role of Modi. Other portrayals of Modi include by Rajit Kapur in the film Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) and Vikram Gokhale in the web-television series Avrodh: The Siege Within (2020) both based on the 2016 Uri attack and the following Indian surgical strikes. Pratap Singh played a character based on Modi in Chand Bujh Gaya (2005) which is set in the backdrop of the Gujarat riots. Premiered on 12 August 2019, Modi appeared in an episode - "Man vs. Wild with Bear Grylls and Prime Minister Modi" - of Discovery Channel's show Man vs Wild with the host Bear Grylls, becoming the second world leader after Barack Obama to appear in the reality show. In the show he trekked the jungles and talked about nature and wildlife conservation with Grylls. The episode was shot in Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand and was broadcast in 180 countries along India. He has also appeared twice on the Indian television talk show Aap Ki Adalat before the 2009 and 2014 elections respectively. Along with hosting the Mann Ki Baat monthly radio programme, on All India Radio, he has also conducted Pariksha Pe Charcha - a competition/discussion for students and the issues they face in examinations. Bibliography See also List of prime ministers of India Opinion polling on the Narendra Modi premiership References Notes Citations Further reading External links |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- 1950 births Living people Gujarati people People from Gujarat People from Mehsana district Indian Hindus Prime Ministers of India Leaders of the Lok Sabha Chief Ministers of Gujarat Chief ministers from Bharatiya Janata Party 16th Lok Sabha members 17th Lok Sabha members Members of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly Delhi University alumni Gujarat University alumni Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharaks Indian nationalists Indian writers Recipients of the Legion of Merit Hindu nationalists Right-wing politics in India 20th-century Indian writers Members of the Planning Commission of India Right-wing populism in India Bharatiya Jana Sangh politicians Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Gujarat Lok Sabha members from Gujarat Lok Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2019 Indian general election Writers from Gujarat Candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Hindu pacifists Narendra Modi ministry Candidates in the 2019 Indian general election Hindu revivalists Writers about activism and social change Indian political people 21st-century prime ministers of India Gujarat MLAs 1998–2002 Politicians of Hindu political parties National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Indian anti-communists Gandhians Gujarat MLAs 2002–2007 Gujarat MLAs 2007–2012 Gujarat MLAs 2012–2017 21st-century Indian non-fiction writers Politicians from Varanasi Time 100
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[ "Affect, as a term of rhetoric, is the responsive, emotional feeling (affect) that precedes cognition. Affect differs from pathos as described by Aristotle as one of the modes of proof and pathos as described by Jasinski as an emotional appeal because it is “the response we have to things before we label that response with feelings or emotions.”\n\nIn further exploring this term, scholars recognized affect’s rhetorical role in literature, photography, marketing and memory. In 2012, Rogers described how author W. E. B. Du Bois used the structure of his work, The Souls of Black Folk, to affect his audience into feeling shame. In 2016, Brunner and Deluca proposed the term affective winds to describe “the force of images that moves people to engage and interact by exploring the affective potency of visual arguments.” Affective winds were part of the rhetorical persuasiveness of images shared through social media. In a different sense, Harold described how the Target Corporation’s advertising used aura and affect to democratize the appearance of some products. Affect has also been identified as a conduit through which rhetorical memories can be internalized.\n\nDrawing from philosophy, some rhetorical studies of affect have followed Martin Heidegger's articulation of Dasein which posits \"affect\" as the ground of reason. Others follow post-structuralist and post-Heideggerian insights to follow affect's influence on rhetorical canons and digital rhetoric.\n\nReferences\n\nRhetorical techniques", "The name Miriam has been used for eight tropical cyclones in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.\n\nHurricane Miriam (1978), a Category 1 hurricane that threatened Hawaii but did not affect land.\nHurricane Miriam (1982), a Category 1 hurricane that did not affect land.\nTropical Storm Miriam (1988), continuation of Hurricane Joan which originally formed in the Atlantic Ocean and crossed into the Pacific.\nTropical Storm Miriam (1994), a short-lived storm that did not affect land.\nTropical Storm Miriam (2000), a short-lived storm that hit Baja California as a weak storm.\nTropical Storm Miriam (2006), a short-lived tropical storm that did not affect land.\nHurricane Miriam (2012), a Category 3 hurricane that did not affect land.\nHurricane Miriam (2018), a Category 2 hurricane that did not affect land.\n\nPacific hurricane disambiguation pages" ]
[ "Narendra Modi", "Final years", "What happened in her final years?", "Modi made extensive use of holograms", "How did Modi use holograms?", "allowing him to reach a large number of people,", "Did Modi ran for any political positions ?", "Modi won the constituency of Maninagar", "With how many votes did he win this constituency?", "by 86,373 votes", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism.", "How did this affect his campaing?", "Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders." ]
C_b6a0c764bf0c443b9768973ff08ca8fb_1
What else happened towards the final years?
7
What else happened towards Modi's final years, other than his winning of the Maninagar constituency?
Narendra Modi
During Modi's second term the rhetoric of the government shifted from Hindutva to Gujarat's economic development. Modi curtailed the influence of Sangh Parivar organisations such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), entrenched in the state after the decline of Ahmedabad's textile industry, and dropped Gordhan Zadafia (an ally of former Sangh co-worker and VHP state chief Praveen Togadia) from his cabinet. When the BKS staged a farmers' demonstration Modi ordered their eviction from state-provided houses, and his decision to demolish 200 illegal temples in Gandhinagar deepened the rift with the VHP. Sangh organisations were no longer consulted or informed in advance about Modi's administrative decisions. Nonetheless, Modi retained connections with some Hindu nationalists. Modi wrote a foreword to a textbook by Dinanath Batra released in 2014, which stated that ancient India possessed technologies including test-tube babies. Modi's relationship with Muslims continued to attract criticism. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (who asked Modi for tolerance in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat violence and supported his resignation as chief minister) distanced himself, reaching out to North Indian Muslims before the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. After the elections Vajpayee called the violence in Gujarat a reason for the BJP's electoral defeat and said it had been a mistake to leave Modi in office after the riots. Questions about Modi's relationship with Muslims were also raised by many Western nations during his tenure as chief minister. Modi was barred from entering the United States by the State Department, in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on International Religious Freedom formed under the aegis of the International Religious Freedom Act, the only person denied a US visa under this law. The UK and the European Union refused to admit him because of what they saw as his role in the riots. As Modi rose to prominence in India, the UK and the EU lifted their bans in October 2012 and March 2013, respectively, and after his election as prime minister he was invited to Washington. During the run-up to the 2007 assembly elections and the 2009 general election, the BJP intensified its rhetoric on terrorism. In July 2006, Modi criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh " for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislation" such as the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the national government to allow states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. In 2007 Modi authored Karmayog, a 101-page booklet discussing manual scavenging. In it, Modi argued that scavenging was a "spiritual experience" for Dalits. However, this book was not circulated that time because of the election code of conduct. After the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Modi held a meeting to discuss the security of Gujarat's 1,600-kilometre (990 mi)-long coastline, resulting in government authorisation of 30 high-speed surveillance boats. In July 2007 Modi completed 2,063 consecutive days as chief minister of Gujarat, making him the longest-serving holder of that post, and the BJP won 122 of 182 state-assembly seats in that year's election. As Chief Minister, Modi favoured privatisation and small government, which was at odds with the philosophy of the RSS, usually described as anti-privatisation and anti-globalisation. His policies during his second term have been credited with reducing corruption in the state. He established financial and technology parks in Gujarat and during the 2007 Vibrant Gujarat summit, real-estate investment deals worth Rs6.6 trillion were signed. The governments led by Patel and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of groundwater-conservation projects. By December 2008, 500,000 structures had been built, of which 113,738 were check dams, which helped recharge the aquifers beneath them. Sixty of the 112 tehsils which had depleted the water table in 2004 had regained their normal groundwater levels by 2010. As a result, the state's production of genetically modified cotton increased to become the largest in India. The boom in cotton production and its semi-arid land use led to Gujarat's agricultural sector growing at an average rate of 9.6 percent from 2001 to 2007. Public irrigation measures in central and southern Gujarat, such as the Sardar Sarovar Dam, were less successful. The Sardar Sarovar project only irrigated 4-6% of the area intended. Nonetheless, from 2001 to 2010 Gujarat recorded an agricultural growth rate of 10.97 percent - the highest of any state. However, sociologists have pointed out that the growth rate under the 1992-97 INC government was 12.9 percent. In 2008 Modi offered land in Gujarat to Tata Motors to set up a plant manufacturing the Nano after a popular agitation had forced the company to move out of West Bengal. Several other companies followed the Tata's to Gujarat. The Modi government finished the process of bringing electricity to every village in Gujarat that its predecessor had almost completed. Modi significantly changed the state's system of power distribution, greatly impacting farmers. Gujarat expanded the Jyotigram Yojana scheme, in which agricultural electricity was separated from other rural electricity; the agricultural electricity was rationed to fit scheduled irrigation demands, reducing its cost. Although early protests by farmers ended when those who benefited found that their electricity supply had stabilised, according to an assessment study corporations and large farmers benefited from the policy at the expense of small farmers and labourers. During the 2012 campaign, Modi attempted to identify himself with the state of Gujarat, a strategy similar to that used by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, and projected himself as protecting Gujarat against persecution by the rest of India. Despite the BJP's shift away from explicit Hindutva, Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism. Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders. During his 2012 campaign he twice refused to wear articles of clothing gifted by Muslim leaders. He did, however, maintain relations with Dawoodi Bohra. His campaign included references to issues known to cause religious polarisation, including to Afzal Guru and the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. The BJP did not nominate any Muslim candidates for the assembly election of 2012. He had published a Gujarati book titled Jyotipunj in 2008, containing profiles of various RSS leaders. The longest was of M. S. Golwalkar, under whose leadership the RSS expanded and whom Modi refers to as Pujniya Shri Guruji ("Guru worthy of worship"). According to The Economic Times, his intention was to explain the workings of the RSS to his readers and to reassure RSS members that he remained ideologically aligned with them. Modi authored eight other books, mostly containing short stories for children. While campaigning for the 2012 assembly elections, Modi made extensive use of holograms and other technologies allowing him to reach a large number of people, something he would repeat in the 2014 general election. In the 2012 Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections, Modi won the constituency of Maninagar by 86,373 votes over Shweta Bhatt, the INC candidate and wife of Sanjiv Bhatt. The BJP won 115 of the 182 seats, continuing its majority during his tenure and allowing the party to form the government (as it had in Gujarat since 1995). In later by-elections the BJP won four more assembly seats and two Lok Sabha seats held by the INC, although Modi did not campaign for its candidates. In 2013, the Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF) at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania cancelled a keynote video-conference speech by Modi following protests by Indian-Americans. After his election as prime minister, Modi resigned as the chief minister and as an MLA from Maninagar on 21 May 2014. Anandiben Patel succeeded him as the chief minister. CANNOTANSWER
As Chief Minister, Modi favoured privatisation and small government,
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from Varanasi. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindu nationalist paramilitary volunteer organisation. He is the first prime minister to have been born after India's independence in 1947 and the second prime minister not belonging to the Indian National Congress to have won two consecutive majorities in the Lok Sabha, or lower house of Indian of parliament. Born and raised in Vadnagar, a small town in northeastern Gujarat, Modi completed his secondary education there. He was introduced to the RSS at age eight. He has drawn attention to having to work as a child in his father's tea stall on the Vadnagar railway station platform, a description that has not been reliably corroborated. At age 18, Modi was married to Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi, whom he abandoned soon after. He left his parental home where she had come to live. He first publicly acknowledged her as his wife more than four decades later when required to do so by Indian law, but has made no contact with her since. Modi has asserted he had travelled in northern India for two years after leaving his parental home, visiting a number of religious centres, but few details of his travels have emerged. Upon his return to Gujarat in 1971, he became a full-time worker for the RSS. After the state of emergency declared by prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1975, Modi went into hiding. The RSS assigned him to the BJP in 1985 and he held several positions within the party hierarchy until 2001, rising to the rank of general secretary. Modi was appointed Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2001 due to Keshubhai Patel's failing health and poor public image following the earthquake in Bhuj. Modi was elected to the legislative assembly soon after. His administration has been considered complicit in the 2002 Gujarat riots in which 1044 people were killed, three-quarters of whom were Muslim, or otherwise criticised for its management of the crisis. The Supreme Court remarked that Narendra Modi was like a Modern-day Nero, looking the other way as innocent women and children were burning. A Supreme Court of India-appointed Special Investigation Team found no evidence to initiate prosecution proceedings against Modi personally. While his policies as chief minister—credited with encouraging economic growth—have received praise, his administration has been criticised for failing to significantly improve health, poverty and education indices in the state. Modi led the BJP in the 2014 general election which gave the party a majority in the Indian lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha, the first time for any single party since 1984. Modi's administration has tried to raise foreign direct investment in the Indian economy and reduced spending on healthcare and social welfare programmes. Modi has attempted to improve efficiency in the bureaucracy; he has centralised power by abolishing the Planning Commission. He began a high-profile sanitation campaign, controversially initiated a demonetisation of high-denomination banknotes and transformation of taxation regime, and weakened or abolished environmental and labour laws. Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. Following his party's victory in the 2019 general election, his administration revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and also introduced the Citizenship Amendment Act, which resulted in widespread protests across the country. Described as engineering a political realignment towards right-wing politics, Modi remains a figure of controversy domestically and internationally over his Hindu nationalist beliefs and his handling of the 2002 Gujarat riots, cited as evidence of an exclusionary social agenda. Early life and education Narendra Damodardas Modi was born on 17 September 1950 to a Gujarati Hindu family of grocers in Vadnagar, Mehsana district, Bombay State (present-day Gujarat). He was the third of six children born to Damodardas Mulchand Modi () and Hiraben Modi (born ). Modi's family belonged to the Modh-Ghanchi-Teli (oil-presser) community, which is categorised as an Other Backward Class by the Indian government. Modi had only infrequently spoken of his family background during his 13 years as chief minister of Gujarat. In the run up to the 2014 national elections, he began to regularly draw attention to his low-ranking social origins and to having to work as a child in his father's tea shop on the Vadnagar railway station platform, a description that the evidence of neighbours does not entirely corroborate. Modi completed his higher secondary education in Vadnagar in 1967, where teachers described him as an average student and a keen gifted debater, with interest in theatre. Modi preferred playing larger-than-life characters in theatrical productions, which has influenced his political image. When eight years old, Modi was introduced to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and began attending its local shakhas (training sessions). There, Modi met Lakshmanrao Inamdar, popularly known as Vakil Saheb, who inducted him as a balswayamsevak (junior cadet) in the RSS and became his political mentor. While Modi was training with the RSS, he also met Vasant Gajendragadkar and Nathalal Jaghda, Bharatiya Jana Sangh leaders who were founding members of the BJP's Gujarat unit in 1980. In a custom traditional to Narendra Modi's caste, his family arranged a betrothal to a girl, Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi, leading to their marriage when she was 17 and he was 18. Soon afterwards, he abandoned his bride, and left home, never divorcing her, but the marriage remaining unmentioned in Modi's public pronouncements for many decades. In April 2014, shortly before the national elections that swept him to power, Modi publicly affirmed that he was married and his spouse was Jashodaben; the couple has remained married, but estranged. Modi spent the ensuing two years travelling across Northern and North-eastern India, though few details of where he went have emerged. In interviews, Modi has described visiting Hindu ashrams founded by Swami Vivekananda: the Belur Math near Kolkata, followed by the Advaita Ashrama in Almora and the Ramakrishna Mission in Rajkot. Modi remained only a short time at each, since he lacked the required college education. Vivekananda has been described as a large influence in Modi's life. In the early summer of 1968, Modi reached the Belur Math but was turned away, after which Modi wandered through Calcutta, West Bengal and Assam, stopping in Siliguri and Guwahati. Modi then went to the Ramakrishna Ashram in Almora, where he was again rejected, before travelling back to Gujarat via Delhi and Rajasthan in 1968–69. Sometime in late 1969 or early 1970, Modi returned to Vadnagar for a brief visit before leaving again for Ahmedabad. There, Modi lived with his uncle, working in the latter's canteen at the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation. In Ahmedabad, Modi renewed his acquaintance with Inamdar, who was based at the Hedgewar Bhavan (RSS headquarters) in the city. Modi's first known political activity as an adult was in 1971 when he, as per his remarks, joined a Jana Sangh Satyagraha in Delhi led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee to enlist for the battlefield during the Bangladesh Liberation War. But the Indira Gandhi-led central government disallowed open support for the Mukti Bahini and Modi, according to his own claim, was put in Tihar Jail for a short period. After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he stopped working for his uncle and became a full-time pracharak (campaigner) for the RSS, working under Inamdar. Shortly before the war, Modi took part in a non-violent protest against the Indian government in New Delhi, for which he was arrested (as per his claim); this has been cited as a reason for Inamdar electing to mentor him. Many years later Modi would co-author a biography of Inamdar, published in 2001. Modi's claim that he was part of a Satyagraha led to a political war. Applications were filed with the PMO under the RTI Act seeking details of his arrest. In reply, the PMO claimed that it maintains official records on Modi only since he took charge as the Prime Minister of India in 2014. Despite this claim, the official website of the PMO contains specific information about Modi which dates back to the 1950s. In 1978 Modi received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the School of Open Learning (SOL) at the University of Delhi, graduating with a third class. Five years later, in 1983, he received a Master of Arts degree in political science from Gujarat University, graduating with a first class as an external distance learning student. But there is a big controversy surrounding his educational qualification. Replying to an RTI query, the SOL said it did not have any data of students who received a BA degree in 1978. Jayantibhai Patel, a former political science professor of Gujarat University, claimed that the subjects listed in Modi's MA degree were not offered by the university when Modi was studying there. Early political career In June 1975, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency in India which lasted until 1977. During this period, known as "The Emergency", many of her political opponents were jailed and opposition groups were banned. Modi was appointed general secretary of the "Gujarat Lok Sangharsh Samiti", an RSS committee co-ordinating opposition to the Emergency in Gujarat. Shortly afterwards, the RSS was banned. Modi was forced to go underground in Gujarat and frequently travelled in disguise to avoid arrest. He became involved in printing pamphlets opposing the government, sending them to Delhi and organising demonstrations. Modi was also involved with creating a network of safe houses for individuals wanted by the government, and in raising funds for political refugees and activists. During this period, Modi wrote a book in Gujarati, Sangharsh Ma Gujarat (In The Struggles of Gujarat), describing events during the Emergency. Among the people he met in this role was trade unionist and socialist activist George Fernandes, as well as several other national political figures. In his travels during the Emergency, Modi was often forced to move in disguise, once dressing as a monk, and once as a Sikh. Modi became an RSS sambhag pracharak (regional organiser) in 1978, overseeing RSS activities in the areas of Surat and Vadodara, and in 1979 he went to work for the RSS in Delhi, where he was put to work researching and writing the RSS's version of the history of the Emergency. He returned to Gujarat a short while later, and was assigned by the RSS to the BJP in 1985. In 1987 Modi helped organise the BJP's campaign in the Ahmedabad municipal election, which the BJP won comfortably; Modi's planning has been described as the reason for that result by biographers. After L. K. Advani became president of the BJP in 1986, the RSS decided to place its members in important positions within the BJP; Modi's work during the Ahmedabad election led to his selection for this role, and Modi was elected organising secretary of the BJP's Gujarat unit later in 1987. Modi rose within the party and was named a member of the BJP's National Election Committee in 1990, helping organise L. K. Advani's 1990 Ram Rath Yatra in 1990 and Murli Manohar Joshi's 1991–92 Ekta Yatra (Journey for Unity). However, he took a brief break from politics in 1992, instead establishing a school in Ahmedabad; friction with Shankersinh Vaghela, a BJP MP from Gujarat at the time, also played a part in this decision. Modi returned to electoral politics in 1994, partly at the insistence of Advani, and as party secretary, Modi's electoral strategy was considered central to the BJP victory in the 1995 state assembly elections. In November of that year Modi was appointed BJP national secretary and transferred to New Delhi, where he assumed responsibility for party activities in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The following year, Shankersinh Vaghela, a prominent BJP leader from Gujarat, defected to the Indian National Congress (Congress, INC) after losing his parliamentary seat in the Lok Sabha elections. Modi, on the selection committee for the 1998 Assembly elections in Gujarat, favoured supporters of BJP leader Keshubhai Patel over those supporting Vaghela to end factional division in the party. His strategy was credited as key to the BJP winning an overall majority in the 1998 elections, and Modi was promoted to BJP general secretary (organisation) in May of that year. Chief Minister of Gujarat Taking office In 2001, Keshubhai Patel's health was failing and the BJP lost a few state assembly seats in by-elections. Allegations of abuse of power, corruption and poor administration were made, and Patel's standing had been damaged by his administration's handling of the earthquake in Bhuj in 2001. The BJP national leadership sought a new candidate for the chief ministership, and Modi, who had expressed misgivings about Patel's administration, was chosen as a replacement. Although BJP leader L. K. Advani did not want to ostracise Patel and was concerned about Modi's lack of experience in government, Modi declined an offer to be Patel's deputy chief minister, telling Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee that he was "going to be fully responsible for Gujarat or not at all". On 3 October 2001 he replaced Patel as Chief Minister of Gujarat, with the responsibility of preparing the BJP for the December 2002 elections. Modi was sworn in as Chief Minister on 7 October 2001, and entered the Gujarat state legislature on 24 February 2002 by winning a by-election to the Rajkot – II constituency, defeating Ashwin Mehta of the INC by 14,728 votes. 2002 Gujarat riots On 27 February 2002, a train with several hundred passengers burned near Godhra, killing approximately 60 people. The train carried a large number of Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya after a religious ceremony at the site of the demolished Babri Masjid. In making a public statement after the incident, Modi declared it a terrorist attack planned and orchestrated by local Muslims. The next day, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad called for a bandh across the state. Riots began during the bandh, and anti-Muslim violence spread through Gujarat. The government's decision to move the bodies of the train victims from Godhra to Ahmedabad further inflamed the violence. The state government stated later that 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed. Independent sources put the death toll at over 2000, the vast majority Muslims Approximately 150,000 people were driven to refugee camps. Numerous women and children were among the victims; the violence included mass rapes and mutilations of women. The government of Gujarat itself is generally considered by scholars to have been complicit in the riots, (with some blaming chief minister Modi explicitly) and has otherwise received heavy criticism for its handling of the situation. Several scholars have described the violence as a pogrom, while others have called it an example of state terrorism. Summarising academic views on the subject, Martha Nussbaum said: "There is by now a broad consensus that the Gujarat violence was a form of ethnic cleansing, that in many ways it was premeditated, and that it was carried out with the complicity of the state government and officers of the law." The Modi government imposed a curfew in 26 major cities, issued shoot-at-sight orders and called for the army to patrol the streets, but was unable to prevent the violence from escalating. The president of the state unit of the BJP expressed support for the bandh, despite such actions being illegal at the time. State officials later prevented riot victims from leaving the refugee camps, and the camps were often unable to meet the needs of those living there. Muslim victims of the riots were subject to further discrimination when the state government announced that compensation for Muslim victims would be half of that offered to Hindus, although this decision was later reversed after the issue was taken to court. During the riots, police officers often did not intervene in situations where they were able. Modi's personal involvement in the 2002 events has continued to be debated. During the riots, Modi said that "What is happening is a chain of action and reaction." Later in 2002, Modi said the way in which he had handled the media was his only regret regarding the episode. In March 2008, the Supreme Court reopened several cases related to the 2002 riots, including that of the Gulbarg Society massacre, and established a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the issue. In response to a petition from Zakia Jafri (widow of Ehsan Jafri, who was killed in the Gulbarg Society massacre), in April 2009 the court also asked the SIT to investigate the issue of Modi's complicity in the killings. The SIT questioned Modi in March 2010; in May, it presented to the court a report finding no evidence against him. In July 2011, the court-appointed amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran submitted his final report to the court. Contrary to the SIT's position, he said that Modi could be prosecuted based on the available evidence. The Supreme Court gave the matter to the magistrate's court. The SIT examined Ramachandran's report, and in March 2012 submitted its final report, asking for the case to be closed. Zakia Jafri filed a protest petition in response. In December 2013 the magistrate's court rejected the protest petition, accepting the SIT's finding that there was no evidence against the chief minister. 2002 election In the aftermath of the violence there were widespread calls for Modi to resign as chief minister from within and outside the state, including from leaders of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Telugu Desam Party (allies in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance coalition), and opposition parties stalled Parliament over the issue. Modi submitted his resignation at the April 2002 BJP national executive meeting in Goa, but it was not accepted. His cabinet had an emergency meeting on 19 July 2002, after which it offered its resignation to the Gujarat Governor S. S. Bhandari, and the state assembly was dissolved. Despite opposition from the election commissioner, who said that a number of voters were still displaced, Modi succeeded in advancing the election to December 2002. In the elections, the BJP won 127 seats in the 182-member assembly. Although Modi later denied it, he made significant use of anti-Muslim rhetoric during his campaign, and the BJP profited from religious polarisation among the voters. He won the Maninagar constituency, receiving of votes and defeating INC candidate Yatin Oza by 75,333 votes. On 22 December 2002, Bhandari swore Modi in for a second term. Modi framed the criticism of his government for human rights violations as an attack upon Gujarati pride, a strategy which led to the BJP winning two-thirds of the seats in the state assembly. Second term During Modi's second term the rhetoric of the government shifted from Hindutva to Gujarat's economic development. Modi curtailed the influence of Sangh Parivar organisations such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), entrenched in the state after the decline of Ahmedabad's textile industry, and dropped Gordhan Zadafia (an ally of former Sangh co-worker and VHP state chief Praveen Togadia) from his cabinet. When the BKS staged a farmers' demonstration Modi ordered their eviction from state-provided houses, and his decision to demolish 200 illegal temples in Gandhinagar deepened the rift with the Vishva Hindu Parishad. Sangh organisations were no longer consulted or informed in advance about Modi's administrative decisions. Nonetheless, Modi retained connections with some Hindu nationalists. Modi wrote a foreword to a textbook by Dinanath Batra released in 2014, which stated that ancient India possessed technologies including test-tube babies. Modi's relationship with Muslims continued to attract criticism. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (who asked Modi for tolerance in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat violence and supported his resignation as chief minister) distanced himself, reaching out to North Indian Muslims before the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. After the elections Vajpayee called the violence in Gujarat a reason for the BJP's electoral defeat and said it had been a mistake to leave Modi in office after the riots. Questions about Modi's relationship with Muslims were also raised by many Western nations during his tenure as chief minister. Modi was barred from entering the United States by the State Department, in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on International Religious Freedom formed under the aegis of the International Religious Freedom Act, the only person denied a US visa under this law. The UK and the European Union refused to admit him because of what they saw as his role in the riots. As Modi rose to prominence in India, the UK and the EU lifted their bans in October 2012 and March 2013, respectively, and after his election he was invited to Washington as the nation's prime minister. During the run-up to the 2007 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election and the 2009 Indian general election, the BJP intensified its rhetoric on terrorism. In July 2006, Modi criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh " for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislation" such as the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the national government to allow states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. In 2007 Modi authored Karmayog, a 101-page booklet discussing manual scavenging. In it, Modi argued that scavenging was a "spiritual experience" for Valmiks, a sub-caste of Dalits. However, this book was not circulated that time because of the election code of conduct. After the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Modi held a meeting to discuss the security of Gujarat's -long coastline, resulting in government authorisation of 30 high-speed surveillance boats. In July 2007 Modi completed 2,063 consecutive days as chief minister of Gujarat, making him the longest-serving holder of that post, and the BJP won 122 of 182 state-assembly seats in that year's election. Development projects As Chief Minister, Modi favoured privatisation and small government, which was at odds with the philosophy of the RSS, usually described as anti-privatisation and anti-globalisation. His policies during his second term have been credited with reducing corruption in the state. He established financial and technology parks in Gujarat and during the 2007 Vibrant Gujarat summit, real-estate investment deals worth were signed. The governments led by Patel and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of groundwater-conservation projects. By December 2008, 500,000 structures had been built, of which 113,738 were check dams, which helped recharge the aquifers beneath them. Sixty of the 112 tehsils which had depleted the water table in 2004 had regained their normal groundwater levels by 2010. As a result, the state's production of genetically modified cotton increased to become the largest in India. The boom in cotton production and its semi-arid land use led to Gujarat's agricultural sector growing at an average rate of 9.6 percent from 2001 to 2007. Public irrigation measures in central and southern Gujarat, such as the Sardar Sarovar Dam, were less successful. The Sardar Sarovar project only irrigated 4–6% of the area intended. Nonetheless, from 2001 to 2010 Gujarat recorded an agricultural growth rate of 10.97 percent – the highest of any state. However, sociologists have pointed out that the growth rate under the 1992–97 INC government was 12.9 percent. In 2008 Modi offered land in Gujarat to Tata Motors to set up a plant manufacturing the Nano after a popular agitation had forced the company to move out of West Bengal. Several other companies followed the Tata to Gujarat. The Modi government finished the process of bringing electricity to every village in Gujarat that its predecessor had almost completed. Modi significantly changed the state's system of power distribution, greatly impacting farmers. Gujarat expanded the Jyotigram Yojana scheme, in which agricultural electricity was separated from other rural electricity; the agricultural electricity was rationed to fit scheduled irrigation demands, reducing its cost. Although early protests by farmers ended when those who benefited found that their electricity supply had stabilised, according to an assessment study corporations and large farmers benefited from the policy at the expense of small farmers and labourers. Development debate A contentious debate surrounds the assessment of Gujarat's economic development during Modi's tenure as chief minister. The state's GDP growth rate averaged 10% during Modi's tenure, a value similar to other highly industrialised states, and above that of the country as a whole. Gujarat also had a high rate of economic growth in the 1990s, before Modi took office, and some scholars have stated that growth did not much accelerate during Modi's tenure, although the state is considered to have maintained a high growth rate during Modi's Chief Ministership. Under Narendra Modi, Gujarat topped the World Bank's "ease of doing business" rankings among Indian states for two consecutive years. In 2013, Gujarat was ranked first among Indian states for "economic freedom" by a report measuring governance, growth, citizens' rights and labour and business regulation among the country's 20 largest states. In the later years of Modi's government, Gujarat's economic growth was frequently used as an argument to counter allegations of communalism. Tax breaks for businesses were easier to obtain in Gujarat than in other states, as was land. Modi's policies to make Gujarat attractive for investment included the creation of Special Economic Zones, where labour laws were greatly weakened. Despite its growth rate, Gujarat had a relatively poor record on human development, poverty relief, nutrition and education during Modi's tenure. In 2013, Gujarat ranked 13th in the country with respect to rates of poverty and 21st in education. Nearly 45 percent of children under five were underweight and 23 percent were undernourished, putting the state in the "alarming" category on the India State Hunger Index. A study by UNICEF and the Indian government found that Gujarat under Modi had a poor record with respect to immunisation in children. Over the decade from 2001 to 2011, Gujarat did not change its position relative to the rest of the country with respect to poverty and female literacy, remaining near the median of the 29 Indian states. It showed a marginal improvement in rates of infant mortality, and its position with respect to individual consumption declined. With respect to the quality of education in government schools, the state ranked below many Indian states. The social policies of the government generally did not benefit Muslims, Dalits, and Adivasis, and generally increased social inequalities. Development in Gujarat was generally limited to the urban middle class, and citizens in rural areas or from lower castes were increasingly marginalised. In 2013 the state ranked 10th of 21 Indian states in the Human Development Index. Under Modi, the state government spent less than the national average on education and healthcare. Final years Despite the BJP's shift away from explicit Hindutva, Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism. Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders. During his 2012 campaign he twice refused to wear articles of clothing gifted by Muslim leaders. He did, however, maintain relations with Dawoodi Bohra. His campaign included references to issues known to cause religious polarisation, including to Afzal Guru and the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. The BJP did not nominate any Muslim candidates for the assembly election of 2012. During the 2012 campaign, Modi attempted to identify himself with the state of Gujarat, a strategy similar to that used by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, and projected himself as protecting Gujarat against persecution by the rest of India. While campaigning for the 2012 assembly elections, Modi made extensive use of holograms and other technologies allowing him to reach a large number of people, something he would repeat in the 2014 general election. In the 2012 Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections, Modi won the constituency of Maninagar by 86,373 votes over Shweta Bhatt, the INC candidate and wife of Sanjiv Bhatt. The BJP won 115 of the 182 seats, continuing its majority during his tenure and allowing the party to form the government (as it had in Gujarat since 1995). After his election as prime minister, Modi resigned as the chief minister and as an MLA from Maninagar on 21 May 2014. Anandiben Patel succeeded him as the chief minister. Premiership campaigns 2014 Indian general election In September 2013 Modi was named the BJP's candidate for prime minister ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha election. Several BJP leaders expressed opposition to Modi's candidature, including BJP founding member L. K. Advani, who cited concern with leaders who were "concerned with their personal agendas". Modi played a dominant role in the BJP's election campaign. Several people who voted for the BJP stated that if Modi had not been the prime-ministerial candidate, they would have voted for another party. The focus on Modi as an individual was unusual for a BJP election campaign. The election was described as a referendum on Narendra Modi. During the campaign, Modi focused on the corruption scandals under the previous INC government, and played on his image as a politician who had created a high rate of GDP growth in Gujarat. Modi projected himself as a person who could bring about "development," without focus on any specific policies. His message found support among young Indians and among middle-class citizens. The BJP under Modi was able to downplay concerns about the protection of religious minorities and Modi's commitment to secularism, areas in which he had previously received criticism. Prior to the election Modi's image in the media had centered around his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots, but during the campaign the BJP was able to shift this to a focus on Modi's neoliberal ideology and the Gujarat model of development, although Hindutva remained a significant part of its campaign. The BJP's campaign was assisted by its wide influence in the media. Modi's campaign blitz cost approximately , and received extensive financial support from corporate donors. In addition to more conventional campaign methods, Modi made extensive use of social media, and addressed more than 1000 rallies via hologram appearances. The BJP won 31% of the vote, and more than doubled its tally in the Lok Sabha to 282, becoming the first party to win a majority of seats on its own since 1984. Voter dissatisfaction with the INC, as well as with regional parties in North India, was another reason for the success of the BJP, as was the support from the RSS. In states such as Uttar Pradesh in which the BJP performed well, it drew exceptionally high support from upper-caste Hindus, although the 10 percent of Muslim votes won was more than it had won before. It performed particularly well in parts of the country that had recently experienced violence between Hindus and Muslims. The magnitude of the BJP's victory led many commentators to say that the election constituted a political realignment away from progressive parties and towards the right-wing. Modi's tweet announcing his victory was described as being emblematic of the political realignment away from a secular, socialist state towards capitalism and Hindu cultural nationalism. Modi himself was a candidate for the Lok Sabha in two constituencies: Varanasi and Vadodara. He won in both constituencies, defeating Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal in Varanasi by 371,784 votes and Madhusudan Mistry of the INC in Vadodara by votes. Modi, who was unanimously elected leader of the BJP, was appointed prime minister by India's president. To comply with the law that an MP cannot represent more than one constituency, he vacated the Vadodara seat. 2019 Indian general election On 13 October 2018, Modi was renamed as the BJP candidate for prime minister for the 2019 general election. The chief campaigner for the party was BJP's president Amit Shah. Modi launched the Main Bhi Chowkidar campaign ahead of the general election, against Chowkidar Chor Hai campaign slogan of INC. In the year 2018, end Party's, second-biggest alliance Telugu Desam Party split from NDA over the matter of special-status for Andhra Pradesh. The campaign was started by Amit Shah on 8 April 2019. In the campaign, Modi was targeted by the opposition on corruption allegations over Rafale deal with France government. Highlighting this controversy the campaign "Chowkidar Chor Hai" was started, which was contrary to "Main Bhi Chowkidar" slogan. Modi made defence and national security among the foremost topics for the election campaign, especially after Pulwama attack, and the retaliatory attack of Balakot airstrike was counted as an achievement of the Modi administration. Other topics in the campaign were development and good foreign relations in the first premiership. Modi contested the Lok Sabha elections as a candidate from Varanasi. He won the seat by defeating Shalini Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, who fought on SP-BSP alliance by a margin of votes. Modi was unanimously appointed the prime minister for a second time by the National Democratic Alliance, after the alliance won the election for the second time by securing 353 seats in the Lok Sabha with the BJP alone won 303 seats. Prime Minister After the Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance won a landslide in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Narendra Modi was sworn in as the Prime Minister of India on 26 May 2014. He became the first Prime Minister born after India's independence from the British Empire in 1947. Modi started his second term after the Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance won again in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. On 6 December 2020, Modi became the 4th longest serving Prime Minister of India and the longest serving Non-Congress Prime Minister. Governance and other initiatives Modi's first year as prime minister saw significant centralisation of power relative to previous administrations. His efforts at centralisation have been linked to an increase in the number of senior administration officials resigning their positions. Initially lacking a majority in the Rajya Sabha, or upper house of Indian Parliament, Modi passed a number of ordinances to enact his policies, leading to further centralisation of power. The government also passed a bill increasing the control that it had over the appointment of judges, and reducing that of the judiciary. In December 2014 Modi abolished the Planning Commission, replacing it with the National Institution for Transforming India, or NITI Aayog. The move had the effect of greatly centralising the power previously with the planning commission in the person of the prime minister. The planning commission had received heavy criticism in previous years for creating inefficiency in the government, and of not filling its role of improving social welfare: however, since the economic liberalisation of the 1990s, it had been the major government body responsible for measures related to social justice. The Modi government launched investigations by the Intelligence Bureau against numerous civil society organisations and foreign non-governmental organisations in the first year of the administration. The investigations, on the grounds that these organisations were slowing economic growth, was criticised as a witch-hunt. International humanitarian aid organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres was among the groups that were put under pressure. Other organisations affected included the Sierra Club and Avaaz. Cases of sedition were filed against individuals criticising the government. This led to discontent within the BJP regarding Modi's style of functioning and drew comparisons to the governing style of Indira Gandhi. Modi repealed 1,200 obsolete laws in first three years as prime minister; a total of 1,301 such laws had been repealed by previous governments over a span of 64 years. He started a monthly radio programme titled "Mann Ki Baat" on 3 October 2014. Modi also launched the Digital India programme, with the goal of ensuring that government services are available electronically, building infrastructure to provide high-speed Internet access to rural areas, boosting manufacturing of electronic goods in the country, and promoting digital literacy. Modi launched Ujjwala scheme to provide free LPG connection to rural households. The scheme led to an increase in LPG consumption by 56% in 2019 as compared to 2014. In 2019, a law was passed to provide 10% reservation to Economically weaker sections. He was again sworn in as prime minister on 30 May 2019. On 30 July 2019, Parliament of India declared the practice of Triple Talaq as illegal, unconstitutional and made it punishable act from 1 August 2019 which is deemed to be in effect from 19 September 2018. On 5 August 2019, the government moved resolution to scrap Article 370 in the Rajya Sabha, and also reorganise the state with Jammu and Kashmir serving as one of the union territory and Ladakh region separated out as a separate union territory. Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. According to one study, "The BJP government incrementally but systemically attacked nearly all existing mechanisms that are in place to hold the political executive to account, either by ensuring that these mechanisms became subservient to the political executive or were captured by party loyalists." Scholars also point to how he Modi government has used state power to intimidate and stifle critics in the media and academia, thus undermining freedom of expression and alternative sources of information. Reporters Without Borders in 2021 characterised Modi as a predator for curbing press freedom in India since 2014. Economic policy The economic policies of Modi's government focused on privatisation and liberalisation of the economy, based on a neoliberal framework. Modi liberalised India's foreign direct investment policies, allowing more foreign investment in several industries, including in defence and the railways. Other proposed reforms included making it harder for workers to form unions and easier for employers to hire and fire them; some of these proposals were dropped after protests. The reforms drew strong opposition from unions: on 2 September 2015, eleven of the country's largest unions went on strike, including one affiliated with the BJP. The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, a constituent of the Sangh Parivar, stated that the underlying motivation of labour reforms favoured corporations over labourers. The funds dedicated to poverty reduction programmes and social welfare measures were greatly decreased by the Modi administration. The money spent on social programmes declined from 14.6% of GDP during the Congress government to 12.6% during Modi's first year in office. Spending on health and family welfare declined by 15%, and on primary and secondary education by 16%. The budgetary allocation for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, or the "education for all" programme, declined by 22%. The government also lowered corporate taxes, abolished the wealth tax, increased sales taxes, and reduced customs duties on gold, and jewellery. In October 2014, the Modi government deregulated diesel prices. In September 2014, Modi introduced the Make in India initiative to encourage foreign companies to manufacture products in India, with the goal of turning the country into a global manufacturing hub. Supporters of economic liberalisation supported the initiative, while critics argued it would allow foreign corporations to capture a greater share of the Indian market. Modi's administration passed a land-reform bill that allowed it to acquire private agricultural land without conducting a social impact assessment, and without the consent of the farmers who owned it. The bill was passed via an executive order after it faced opposition in parliament, but was eventually allowed to lapse. Modi's government put in place the Goods and Services Tax, the biggest tax reform in the country since independence. It subsumed around 17 different taxes and became effective from 1 July 2017. In his first cabinet decision, Modi set up a team to investigate black money. On 9 November 2016, the government demonetised ₹500 and ₹1000 banknotes, with the stated intention of curbing corruption, black money, the use of counterfeit currency, and terrorism. The move led to severe cash shortages, a steep decline in the Indian stock indices BSE SENSEX and NIFTY 50, and sparked widespread protests throughout the country. Several deaths were linked to the rush to exchange cash. In the subsequent year, the number of income tax returns filed for individuals rose by 25%, and the number of digital transactions increased steeply. Over the first four years of Modi's premiership, India's GDP grew at an average rate of 7.23%, higher than the rate of 6.39% under the previous government. The level of income inequality increased, while an internal government report said that in 2017, unemployment had increased to its highest level in 45 years. The loss of jobs was attributed to the 2016 demonetisation, and to the effects of the Goods and Services Tax. In the next year, after 2018, Indian economy started a gradual recovery with a GDP growth of 6.12% in 2018-19 FY, with an inflation rate of 3.4%. Same year, India was successful in making a good economy in trade and manufacturing sector. While in the FY of 2019–20, due to the general election, Modi government focused more on their election campaign. In the year 2019–20, the GDP growth rate was 4.18% and inflation rate also increased to 4.7% from 3.4% in the previous year. Though being high unemployment, increase in inflation rate and budget deficiency, Modi's leadership won in 2019 elections. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous rating agencies downgraded India's GDP predictions for FY21 to negative figures, signalling a recession in India, the most severe since 1979. According to a Dun & Bradstreet report, the country is likely to suffer a recession in the third quarter of FY2020 as a result of the over 2-month long nation-wide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19. This was also accompanied by the mass migration of migrant workers. Health and sanitation In his first year as prime minister, Modi reduced the amount of money spent by the central government on healthcare. The Modi government launched New Health Policy (NHP) in January 2015. The policy did not increase the government's spending on healthcare, instead emphasising the role of private healthcare organisations. This represented a shift away from the policy of the previous Congress government, which had supported programmes to assist public health goals, including reducing child and maternal mortality rates. The National Health Mission, which included public health programmes targeted at these indices received nearly 20% less funds in 2015 than in the previous year. 15 national health programmes, including those aimed at controlling tobacco use and supporting healthcare for the elderly, were merged with the National Health Mission. In its budget for the second year after it took office, the Modi government reduced healthcare spending by 15%. The healthcare budget for the following year rose by 19%. The budget was viewed positively by private insurance providers. Public health experts criticised its emphasis on the role of private healthcare providers, and suggested that it represented a shift away from public health facilities. The healthcare budget rose by 11.5% in 2018; the change included an allocation of for a government-funded health insurance program, and a decrease in the budget of the National Health Mission. The government introduced stricter packaging laws for tobacco which requires 85% of the packet size to be covered by pictorial warnings. An article in the medical journal Lancet stated that the country "might have taken a few steps back in public health" under Modi. In 2018 Modi launched the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, a government health insurance scheme intended to insure 500 million people. 100,000 people had signed up by October 2018. Modi emphasised his government's efforts at sanitation as a means of ensuring good health. On 2 October 2014, Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Mission ("Clean India") campaign. The stated goals of the campaign included eliminating open defecation and manual scavenging within five years. As part of the programme, the Indian government began constructing millions of toilets in rural areas and encouraging people to use them. The government also announced plans to build new sewage treatment plants. The administration plans to construct 60 million toilets by 2019. The construction projects have faced allegations of corruption, and have faced severe difficulty in getting people to use the toilets constructed for them. Sanitation cover in the country increased from 38.7% in October 2014 to 84.1% in May 2018; however, usage of the new sanitary facilities lagged behind the government's targets. In 2018, the World Health Organization stated that at least 180,000 diarrhoeal deaths were averted in rural India after the launch of the sanitation effort. Hindutva During the 2014 election campaign, the BJP sought to identify itself with political leaders known to have opposed Hindu nationalism, including B. R. Ambedkar, Subhas Chandra Bose, and Ram Manohar Lohia. The campaign also saw the use of rhetoric based on Hindutva by BJP leaders in certain states. Communal tensions were played upon especially in Uttar Pradesh and the states of Northeast India. A proposal for the controversial Uniform Civil Code was a part of the BJP's election manifesto. The activities of a number of Hindu nationalist organisations increased in scope after Modi's election as Prime Minister, sometimes with the support of the government. These activities included a Hindu religious conversion programme, a campaign against the alleged Islamic practice of "Love Jihad", and attempts to celebrate Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, by members of the right wing Hindu Mahasabha. Officials in the government, including the Home Minister, defended the conversion programmes. Links between the BJP and the RSS grew stronger under Modi. The RSS provided organisational support to the BJP's electoral campaigns, while the Modi administration appointed a number of individuals affiliated with the RSS to prominent government positions. In 2014, Yellapragada Sudershan Rao, who had previously been associated with the RSS, became the chairperson of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). Historians and former members of the ICHR, including those sympathetic to the BJP, questioned his credentials as a historian, and stated that the appointment was part of an agenda of cultural nationalism. The North East Delhi riots, which left more than 40 dead and hundreds injured, were triggered by protests against a citizenship law seen by many critics as anti-Muslim and part of Modi's Hindu nationalist agenda. On 5 August 2020, Modi visited Ayodhya after the Supreme Court in 2019 ordered a contested land in Ayodhya to be handed over to a trust to build the Hindu temple and ordered the government to give alternate 5 acre land to Sunni Waqf Board for the purpose of building a mosque. He became the first prime minister to visit Ram Janmabhoomi and Hanuman Garhi. Foreign policy Foreign policy played a relatively small role in Modi's election campaign, and did not feature prominently in the BJP's election manifesto. Modi invited all the other leaders of SAARC countries to his swearing in ceremony as prime minister. He was the first Indian prime minister to do so. Modi's foreign policy, similarly to that of the preceding INC government, focused on improving economic ties, security, and regional relations. Modi continued Manmohan Singh's policy of "multi-alignment." The Modi administration tried to attract foreign investment in the Indian economy from several sources, especially in East Asia, with the use of slogans such as "Make in India" and "Digital India". The government also tried to improve relations with Islamic nations in the Middle East, such as Bahrain, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as with Israel. The foreign relations of India with the USA also mended after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister. During the run-up to the general election there was wide-ranging scepticism regarding future of the strategic bilateral relation under Modi's premiership as in 2005 he was, while Chief Minister of Gujarat, denied a U.S. visa during the Bush administration for his poor human rights records. However sensing Modi's inevitable victory well before the election, the US Ambassador Nancy Powell had reached out to him as part of greater rapprochement from the west. Moreover, following his 2014 election as the Prime Minister of India President Obama congratulated him over the telephone and invited him to visit the US. Modi government has been successful in making good foreign relations with the USA in the presidency of both Barack Obama and Donald Trump. During the first few months after the election, Modi made trips to a number of different countries to further the goals of his policy, and attended the BRICS, ASEAN, and G20 summits. One of Modi's first visits as prime minister was to Nepal, during which he promised a billion USD in aid. Modi also made several overtures to the United States, including multiple visits to that country. While this was described as an unexpected development, due to the US having previously denied Modi a travel visa over his role during the 2002 Gujarat riots, the visits were expected to strengthen diplomatic and trade relations between the two countries. In 2015, the Indian parliament ratified a land exchange deal with Bangladesh about the India–Bangladesh enclaves, which had been initiated by the government of Manmohan Singh. Modi's administration gave renewed attention to India's "Look East Policy", instituted in 1991. The policy was renamed the "Act East Policy", and involved directing Indian foreign policy towards East Asia and Southeast Asia. The government signed agreements to improve land connectivity with Myanmar, through the state of Manipur. This represented a break with India's historic engagement with Myanmar, which prioritised border security over trade. China–India relations have deteriorated rapidly following the 2020 China–India skirmishes. Modi has pledged aid of $900 million to Afghanistan, visited the nation twice and been honoured with the nation's highest civilian honour in 2016. Defence policy India's nominal military spending increased steadily under Modi. The military budget declined over Modi's tenure both as a fraction of GDP and when adjusted for inflation. A substantial portion of the military budget was devoted to personnel costs, leading commentators to write that the budget was constraining Indian military modernisation. The BJP election manifesto had also promised to deal with illegal immigration into India in the Northeast, as well as to be more firm in its handling of insurgent groups. The Modi government issued a notification allowing Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist illegal immigrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh to legalise their residency in India. The government described the measure as being taken for humanitarian reasons but it drew criticism from several Assamese organisations.The Modi administration negotiated a peace agreement with the largest faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCM), which was announced in August 2015. The Naga insurgency in northeast India had begun in the 1950s. The NSCM and the government had agreed to a ceasefire in 1997, but a peace accord had not previously been signed. In 2015 the government abrogated a 15-year ceasefire with the Khaplang faction of the NSCM (NSCM-K). The NSCM-K responded with a series of attacks, which killed 18 people. The Modi government carried out a raid across the border with Myanmar as a result, and labelled the NSCM-K a terrorist organisation. Modi promised to be "tough on Pakistan" during his election campaign, and repeatedly stated that Pakistan was an exporter of terrorism. On 29 September 2016, the Indian Army stated that it had conducted a surgical strike on terror launch pads in Azad Kashmir. The Indian media claimed that up to 50 terrorists and Pakistani soldiers had been killed in the strike. Pakistan initially denied that any strikes had taken place. Subsequent reports suggested that Indian claim about the scope of the strike and the number of casualties had been exaggerated, although cross-border strikes had been carried out. In February 2019 India carried out airstrikes in Pakistan against a supposed terrorist camp. Further military skirmishes followed, including cross-border shelling and the loss of an Indian aircraft. Following his victory in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he focused more on Defence policies of India, especially against China and Pakistan. On 5 May 2020, Chinese and Indian troops engaged in aggressive melee, face-offs and skirmishes at locations along the Sino-Indian border, including near the disputed Pangong Lake in Ladakh and the Tibet Autonomous Region, and near the border between Sikkim and the Tibet Autonomous Region. Additional clashes also took place at locations in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). After which there was start of skirmishes between the nations leading to many border clashes, responses and reactions from both sides. A series of talks were also held between the two by both military and diplomatic means for peace. The first border clash reported in 2021 was on 20 January, referred to as a minor border clash in Sikkim. Environmental policy In naming his cabinet, Modi renamed the "Ministry of Environment and Forests" the "Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change." In the first budget of the government, the money allotted to this ministry was reduced by more than 50%. The new ministry also removed or diluted a number of laws related to environmental protection. These included no longer requiring clearance from the National Board for Wildlife for projects close to protected areas, and allowing certain projects to proceed before environmental clearance was received. The government also tried to reconstitute the Wildlife board such that it no longer had representatives from non-governmental organisations: however, this move was prevented by the Supreme Court. Modi also relaxed or abolished a number of other environmental regulations, particularly those related to industrial activity. A government committee stated that the existing system only served to create corruption, and that the government should instead rely on the owners of industries to voluntarily inform the government about the pollution they were creating. Other changes included reducing ministry oversight on small mining projects, and no longer requiring approval from tribal councils for projects inside forested areas. In addition, Modi lifted a moratorium on new industrial activity in the most polluted areas in the countries. The changes were welcomed by businesspeople, but criticised by environmentalists. Under the UPA government that preceded Modi's administration, field trials of Genetically Modified (GM) crops had essentially been put on hold, after protests from farmers fearing for their livelihoods. Under the Modi government these restrictions were gradually lifted. The government received some criticism for freezing the bank accounts of environmental group Greenpeace, citing financial irregularities, although a leaked government report said that the freeze had to do with Greenpeace's opposition to GM crops. At the COP26 conference Modi announced that India would target carbon neutrality by 2070, and also expand its renewable energy capacity. Though the date of net zero is far behind that of China and the USA and India's government wants to continue with the use of coal, Indian environmentalists and economists applauded the decision, describing it as a bold climate action. Democratic backsliding Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. According to one study, "The BJP government incrementally but systemically attacked nearly all existing mechanisms that are in place to hold the political executive to account, either by ensuring that these mechanisms became subservient to the political executive or were captured by party loyalists." Scholars also point to how the Modi government has used state power to intimidate and stifle critics in the media and academia, thus undermining freedom of expression and alternative sources of information. There have been several reports of the Modi government to be as an authoritarian conservative government, even due to lack of good opposition. Electoral history Personal life and image Personal life In accordance with Ghanchi tradition, Modi's marriage was arranged by his parents when he was a child. He was engaged at age 13 to Jashodaben Modi, marrying her when he was 18. They spent little time together and grew apart when Modi began two years of travel, including visits to Hindu ashrams. Reportedly, their marriage was never consummated, and he kept it a secret because otherwise he could not have become a 'pracharak' in the puritan Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Modi kept his marriage secret for most of his career. He acknowledged his wife for the first time when he filed his nomination for the 2014 general elections. Modi maintains a close relationship with his centenarian mother, Hiraben. A vegetarian and teetotaler, Modi has a frugal lifestyle and is a workaholic and introvert. A person named Badri Meena has been his cook since 2002. Modi's 31 August 2012 post on Google Hangouts made him the first Indian politician to interact with citizens on a live chat. Modi has also been called a fashion-icon for his signature crisply ironed, half-sleeved kurta, as well as for a suit with his name embroidered repeatedly in the pinstripes that he wore during a state visit by US President Barack Obama, which drew public and media attention and criticism. Modi's personality has been variously described by scholars and biographers as energetic, arrogant, and charismatic. He had published a Gujarati book titled Jyotipunj in 2008, containing profiles of various RSS leaders. The longest was of M. S. Golwalkar, under whose leadership the RSS expanded and whom Modi refers to as Pujniya Shri Guruji ("Guru worthy of worship"). According to The Economic Times, his intention was to explain the workings of the RSS to his readers and to reassure RSS members that he remained ideologically aligned with them. Modi authored eight other books, mostly containing short stories for children. The nomination of Modi for the prime ministership drew attention to his reputation as "one of contemporary India's most controversial and divisive politicians." During the 2014 election campaign the BJP projected an image of Modi as a strong, masculine leader, who would be able to take difficult decisions. Campaigns in which he has participated have focused on Modi as an individual, in a manner unusual for the BJP and RSS. Modi has relied upon his reputation as a politician able to bring about economic growth and "development". Nonetheless, his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots continues to attract criticism and controversy. Modi's hardline Hindutva philosophy and the policies adopted by his government continue to draw criticism, and have been seen as evidence of a majoritarian and exclusionary social agenda. In March 2021, Modi received his first COVID-19 vaccine dose at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. Personal donations Modi has made donations for various causes and programmes. One such instance was when Modi donated towards the initial corpus of the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) Fund. In his role as chief minister of Gujarat, Modi had donated from personal savings for educating daughters of state government officials. Modi had also raised by auctioning all the gifts he received as chief minister and donated this to the Kanya Kelavani Fund. The money was spent on the education of girl children, through the scheme. Approval ratings As a Prime Minister, Modi has received consistently high approval ratings; at the end of his first year in office, he received an overall approval rating of 87% in a Pew Research poll, with 68% of people rating him "very favorably" and 93% approving of his government. His approval rating remained largely consistent at around 74% through his second year in office, according to a nationwide poll conducted by instaVaani. At the end of his second year in office, an updated Pew Research poll showed Modi continued to receive high overall approval ratings of 81%, with 57% of those polled rating him "very favorably." At the end of his third year in office, a further Pew Research poll showed Modi with an overall approval rating of 88%, his highest yet, with 69% of people polled rating him "very favorably." A poll conducted by The Times of India in May 2017 showed 77% of the respondents rated Modi as "very good" and "good". In early 2017, a survey from Pew Research Center showed Modi to be the most popular figure in Indian politics. In a weekly analysis by Morning Consult called the Global Leader Approval Rating Tracker, Modi had the highest net approval rating as of 22 December 2020 of all government leaders in the 13 countries being tracked. Awards and recognition In March 2012 and June 2014, Modi appeared on the cover of the Asian edition of Time Magazine, one of the few Indian politicians to have done so. He was awarded Indian of the Year by CNN-News18 (formally CNN-IBN) news network in 2014. In June 2015, Modi was featured on the cover of Time Magazine. In 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020 and 2021, he was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World. Forbes Magazine ranked him the 15th Most Powerful Person in the World in 2014 and the 9th Most Powerful Person in the World in 2015, 2016 and 2018. In 2015, Modi was ranked the 13th Most Influential Person in the World by Bloomberg Markets Magazine. Modi was ranked fifth on Fortune Magazines first annual list of the "World's Greatest Leaders" in 2015. In 2017, Gallup International Association (GIA) conducted a poll and ranked Modi as third top leader of the world. In 2016, a wax statue of Modi was unveiled at Madame Tussauds wax museum in London. In 2015 he was named one of Times "30 Most Influential People on the Internet" as the second-most-followed politician on Twitter and Facebook. In 2018, he was the third most followed world leader on Twitter, and the most followed world leader on Facebook and Instagram. In October 2018, Modi received United Nations's highest environmental award, the 'Champions of the Earth', for policy leadership by "pioneering work in championing" the International Solar Alliance and "new areas of levels of cooperation on environmental action". He was conferred the 2018 Seoul Peace Prize in recognition of "his dedication to improving international co-operation, raising global economic growth, accelerating the Human Development of the people of India by fostering economic growth and furthering the development of democracy through anti-corruption and social integration efforts". He is the first Indian to win the award. Following his second swearing-in ceremony as Prime Minister of India, a picture of Modi was displayed on the facade of the ADNOC building in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The Texas India Forum hosted a community event in honour of Modi on 22 September 2019 at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. The event was attended by over 50,000 people and several American politicians including President Donald Trump, making it the largest gathering for an invited foreign leader visiting the United States other than the Pope. At the same event, Modi was presented with the Key to the City of Houston by Mayor Sylvester Turner. He was awarded the Global Goalkeeper Award on 24 September 2019 in New York City by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in recognition for the Swachh Bharat Mission and "the progress India has made in providing safe sanitation under his leadership". In 2020, Modi was among eight world leaders awarded the parodic Ig Nobel Prize in Medical Education "for using the COVID-19 viral pandemic to teach the world that politicians can have a more immediate effect on life and death than scientists and doctors can". On 21 December 2020, President Donald Trump awarded Modi with the Legion of Merit for elevating the India–United States relations. The Legion of Merit was awarded to Modi along with Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison and former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe, the "original architects" of the QUAD. On 24 February 2021, the largest cricket stadium in the world at Ahmedabad was renamed Narendra Modi Stadium by the Gujarat Cricket Association. Modi is featured in TIME Magazine's 100 most influential people of 2021 list, making it his fifth time after 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2020. TIME called him the third "pivotal leader" of independent India after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi who "dominated the country’s politics like no one since them". State honours Other honours In popular culture Modi Kaka Ka Gaon, a 2017 Indian Hindi-language drama film by Tushar Amrish Goel is the first biopic on Modi, starring Vikas Mahante in the titular role it was made halfway into his first-term as the prime minister which is shown in the film. PM Narendra Modi, a 2019 Indian Hindi-language biographical drama film by Omung Kumar, starred Vivek Oberoi in the titular role and covers his rise to prime ministership.An Indian web series, Modi: Journey of a Common Man, based on the same premise released in May 2019 on Eros Now with Ashish Sharma portraying Modi. Hu Narender Modi Banva Mangu Chu is a 2018 Indian Gujarati-language drama film by Anil Naryani about the aspirations of a young boy who wants to become like Narendra Modi. 7 RCR (7, Race Course Road), a 2014 Indian docudrama political television series which charts the political careers of prominent Indian politicians, covered Modi's rise to the PM's office in the episodes - "Story of Narendra Modi from 1950 to 2001", "Story of Narendra Modi in Controversial Years from 2001 to 2013", "Truth Behind Brand Modi", "Election Journey of Narendra Modi to 7 RCR", and "Masterplan of Narendra Modi's NDA Govt."; with Sangam Rai in the role of Modi. Other portrayals of Modi include by Rajit Kapur in the film Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) and Vikram Gokhale in the web-television series Avrodh: The Siege Within (2020) both based on the 2016 Uri attack and the following Indian surgical strikes. Pratap Singh played a character based on Modi in Chand Bujh Gaya (2005) which is set in the backdrop of the Gujarat riots. Premiered on 12 August 2019, Modi appeared in an episode - "Man vs. Wild with Bear Grylls and Prime Minister Modi" - of Discovery Channel's show Man vs Wild with the host Bear Grylls, becoming the second world leader after Barack Obama to appear in the reality show. In the show he trekked the jungles and talked about nature and wildlife conservation with Grylls. The episode was shot in Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand and was broadcast in 180 countries along India. He has also appeared twice on the Indian television talk show Aap Ki Adalat before the 2009 and 2014 elections respectively. Along with hosting the Mann Ki Baat monthly radio programme, on All India Radio, he has also conducted Pariksha Pe Charcha - a competition/discussion for students and the issues they face in examinations. Bibliography See also List of prime ministers of India Opinion polling on the Narendra Modi premiership References Notes Citations Further reading External links |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- 1950 births Living people Gujarati people People from Gujarat People from Mehsana district Indian Hindus Prime Ministers of India Leaders of the Lok Sabha Chief Ministers of Gujarat Chief ministers from Bharatiya Janata Party 16th Lok Sabha members 17th Lok Sabha members Members of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly Delhi University alumni Gujarat University alumni Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharaks Indian nationalists Indian writers Recipients of the Legion of Merit Hindu nationalists Right-wing politics in India 20th-century Indian writers Members of the Planning Commission of India Right-wing populism in India Bharatiya Jana Sangh politicians Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Gujarat Lok Sabha members from Gujarat Lok Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2019 Indian general election Writers from Gujarat Candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Hindu pacifists Narendra Modi ministry Candidates in the 2019 Indian general election Hindu revivalists Writers about activism and social change Indian political people 21st-century prime ministers of India Gujarat MLAs 1998–2002 Politicians of Hindu political parties National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Indian anti-communists Gandhians Gujarat MLAs 2002–2007 Gujarat MLAs 2007–2012 Gujarat MLAs 2012–2017 21st-century Indian non-fiction writers Politicians from Varanasi Time 100
true
[ "The Last Passenger is a 2013 novel written by Manel Loureiro. The plot is about a British journalist named Kate Kilroy who wants to finish her late husband's last story, which tells the story of the Valkyrie, a German 1930's ocean liner where mysterious disappearances have occurred since its maiden voyage. With the desire to finish the story and some curiosity, Kate decides to board the vessel on its new voyage, a voyage from which she might never return. Kate Kilroy boards the Valkyrie in Hamburg, Germany. 20 days after its publishing, The Last Passenger was listed on Amazon US's Best Sellers and is the first Spanish author to achieve this.\n\nPlot \nAugust 28, 1939. A coal-cargo ship named Pass of Ballaster is heading towards Bristol when it finds an abandoned-looking ocean liner named Valkyrie. A rescue team is assembled and sent to check the mysterious ship. When they board, they find a very interesting puzzle: a deserted ship, with recently cooked meals in the dining room; a few months-old baby dropped in the ballroom; and something else, something evil that no one can identify.\n\nPresent Day. Journalist Kate Kilroy is recovering from her husband's sudden death. In his memory, she decides to finish and publish the story he was working on before his death, the Valkyrie. She starts to research it and goes to an old naval base in northern England for some information. The local officers tell Kate the story of the Valkyrie and her ghostly legacy. She also learns that the ship's new owner is a multi-millionaire man named Isaac Feldman, who does anything to get what he wants. Kate meets an old man who was on board the Pass of Ballaster the night she found the Valkyrie. He tells her what happened on the ship when they first boarded, and what happened to the others from the crew. After trying to break into Isaac Feldman's house, Kate tells him what she knows about the ship and he reveals that he was the baby found in Valkyrie's ballroom. When she goes back to see the old man with Feldman, she finds him mutilated and deceased. Now being the only person who knows the whole story, Kate is invited by Feldman to join his team on the new voyage of the Valkyrie, to find out what really happened in 1939.\n\nReferences\n\n21st-century Spanish novels\n2013 novels", "An Englishman in Auschwitz is a 2001 book written by Leon Greenman, a Holocaust survivor. The book details his experiences in the Auschwitz concentration camp.\n\nThe book is a result of the commitment of English-born Greenman to God \"that if he lived, he would let the world know what happened during the war\". In short, the book describes the reminiscences of his days of imprisonment in six concentration camps of the Nazis. Greenman describes the arrival of his family (consisting of himself, his wife, Esther, a Dutchwoman, and their three-year-old son, Barney) at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in these words: The women were separated from the men: Else and Barny were marched about 20 yards away to a queue of women...I tried to watch Else. I could see her clearly against the blue lights. She could see me too for she threw me a kiss and held up our child for me to see. What was going through her mind I will never know. Perhaps she was pleased that the journey had come to an end.\n\nReferences\n\n2001 non-fiction books\nPersonal accounts of the Holocaust" ]
[ "Narendra Modi", "Final years", "What happened in her final years?", "Modi made extensive use of holograms", "How did Modi use holograms?", "allowing him to reach a large number of people,", "Did Modi ran for any political positions ?", "Modi won the constituency of Maninagar", "With how many votes did he win this constituency?", "by 86,373 votes", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism.", "How did this affect his campaing?", "Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders.", "What else happened towards the final years?", "As Chief Minister, Modi favoured privatisation and small government," ]
C_b6a0c764bf0c443b9768973ff08ca8fb_1
Did he make any important laws or helped with some as Chief Minister?
8
Did Modi make or contribute to any important laws as Chief Minister?
Narendra Modi
During Modi's second term the rhetoric of the government shifted from Hindutva to Gujarat's economic development. Modi curtailed the influence of Sangh Parivar organisations such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), entrenched in the state after the decline of Ahmedabad's textile industry, and dropped Gordhan Zadafia (an ally of former Sangh co-worker and VHP state chief Praveen Togadia) from his cabinet. When the BKS staged a farmers' demonstration Modi ordered their eviction from state-provided houses, and his decision to demolish 200 illegal temples in Gandhinagar deepened the rift with the VHP. Sangh organisations were no longer consulted or informed in advance about Modi's administrative decisions. Nonetheless, Modi retained connections with some Hindu nationalists. Modi wrote a foreword to a textbook by Dinanath Batra released in 2014, which stated that ancient India possessed technologies including test-tube babies. Modi's relationship with Muslims continued to attract criticism. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (who asked Modi for tolerance in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat violence and supported his resignation as chief minister) distanced himself, reaching out to North Indian Muslims before the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. After the elections Vajpayee called the violence in Gujarat a reason for the BJP's electoral defeat and said it had been a mistake to leave Modi in office after the riots. Questions about Modi's relationship with Muslims were also raised by many Western nations during his tenure as chief minister. Modi was barred from entering the United States by the State Department, in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on International Religious Freedom formed under the aegis of the International Religious Freedom Act, the only person denied a US visa under this law. The UK and the European Union refused to admit him because of what they saw as his role in the riots. As Modi rose to prominence in India, the UK and the EU lifted their bans in October 2012 and March 2013, respectively, and after his election as prime minister he was invited to Washington. During the run-up to the 2007 assembly elections and the 2009 general election, the BJP intensified its rhetoric on terrorism. In July 2006, Modi criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh " for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislation" such as the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the national government to allow states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. In 2007 Modi authored Karmayog, a 101-page booklet discussing manual scavenging. In it, Modi argued that scavenging was a "spiritual experience" for Dalits. However, this book was not circulated that time because of the election code of conduct. After the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Modi held a meeting to discuss the security of Gujarat's 1,600-kilometre (990 mi)-long coastline, resulting in government authorisation of 30 high-speed surveillance boats. In July 2007 Modi completed 2,063 consecutive days as chief minister of Gujarat, making him the longest-serving holder of that post, and the BJP won 122 of 182 state-assembly seats in that year's election. As Chief Minister, Modi favoured privatisation and small government, which was at odds with the philosophy of the RSS, usually described as anti-privatisation and anti-globalisation. His policies during his second term have been credited with reducing corruption in the state. He established financial and technology parks in Gujarat and during the 2007 Vibrant Gujarat summit, real-estate investment deals worth Rs6.6 trillion were signed. The governments led by Patel and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of groundwater-conservation projects. By December 2008, 500,000 structures had been built, of which 113,738 were check dams, which helped recharge the aquifers beneath them. Sixty of the 112 tehsils which had depleted the water table in 2004 had regained their normal groundwater levels by 2010. As a result, the state's production of genetically modified cotton increased to become the largest in India. The boom in cotton production and its semi-arid land use led to Gujarat's agricultural sector growing at an average rate of 9.6 percent from 2001 to 2007. Public irrigation measures in central and southern Gujarat, such as the Sardar Sarovar Dam, were less successful. The Sardar Sarovar project only irrigated 4-6% of the area intended. Nonetheless, from 2001 to 2010 Gujarat recorded an agricultural growth rate of 10.97 percent - the highest of any state. However, sociologists have pointed out that the growth rate under the 1992-97 INC government was 12.9 percent. In 2008 Modi offered land in Gujarat to Tata Motors to set up a plant manufacturing the Nano after a popular agitation had forced the company to move out of West Bengal. Several other companies followed the Tata's to Gujarat. The Modi government finished the process of bringing electricity to every village in Gujarat that its predecessor had almost completed. Modi significantly changed the state's system of power distribution, greatly impacting farmers. Gujarat expanded the Jyotigram Yojana scheme, in which agricultural electricity was separated from other rural electricity; the agricultural electricity was rationed to fit scheduled irrigation demands, reducing its cost. Although early protests by farmers ended when those who benefited found that their electricity supply had stabilised, according to an assessment study corporations and large farmers benefited from the policy at the expense of small farmers and labourers. During the 2012 campaign, Modi attempted to identify himself with the state of Gujarat, a strategy similar to that used by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, and projected himself as protecting Gujarat against persecution by the rest of India. Despite the BJP's shift away from explicit Hindutva, Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism. Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders. During his 2012 campaign he twice refused to wear articles of clothing gifted by Muslim leaders. He did, however, maintain relations with Dawoodi Bohra. His campaign included references to issues known to cause religious polarisation, including to Afzal Guru and the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. The BJP did not nominate any Muslim candidates for the assembly election of 2012. He had published a Gujarati book titled Jyotipunj in 2008, containing profiles of various RSS leaders. The longest was of M. S. Golwalkar, under whose leadership the RSS expanded and whom Modi refers to as Pujniya Shri Guruji ("Guru worthy of worship"). According to The Economic Times, his intention was to explain the workings of the RSS to his readers and to reassure RSS members that he remained ideologically aligned with them. Modi authored eight other books, mostly containing short stories for children. While campaigning for the 2012 assembly elections, Modi made extensive use of holograms and other technologies allowing him to reach a large number of people, something he would repeat in the 2014 general election. In the 2012 Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections, Modi won the constituency of Maninagar by 86,373 votes over Shweta Bhatt, the INC candidate and wife of Sanjiv Bhatt. The BJP won 115 of the 182 seats, continuing its majority during his tenure and allowing the party to form the government (as it had in Gujarat since 1995). In later by-elections the BJP won four more assembly seats and two Lok Sabha seats held by the INC, although Modi did not campaign for its candidates. In 2013, the Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF) at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania cancelled a keynote video-conference speech by Modi following protests by Indian-Americans. After his election as prime minister, Modi resigned as the chief minister and as an MLA from Maninagar on 21 May 2014. Anandiben Patel succeeded him as the chief minister. CANNOTANSWER
He established financial and technology parks
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from Varanasi. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindu nationalist paramilitary volunteer organisation. He is the first prime minister to have been born after India's independence in 1947 and the second prime minister not belonging to the Indian National Congress to have won two consecutive majorities in the Lok Sabha, or lower house of Indian of parliament. Born and raised in Vadnagar, a small town in northeastern Gujarat, Modi completed his secondary education there. He was introduced to the RSS at age eight. He has drawn attention to having to work as a child in his father's tea stall on the Vadnagar railway station platform, a description that has not been reliably corroborated. At age 18, Modi was married to Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi, whom he abandoned soon after. He left his parental home where she had come to live. He first publicly acknowledged her as his wife more than four decades later when required to do so by Indian law, but has made no contact with her since. Modi has asserted he had travelled in northern India for two years after leaving his parental home, visiting a number of religious centres, but few details of his travels have emerged. Upon his return to Gujarat in 1971, he became a full-time worker for the RSS. After the state of emergency declared by prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1975, Modi went into hiding. The RSS assigned him to the BJP in 1985 and he held several positions within the party hierarchy until 2001, rising to the rank of general secretary. Modi was appointed Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2001 due to Keshubhai Patel's failing health and poor public image following the earthquake in Bhuj. Modi was elected to the legislative assembly soon after. His administration has been considered complicit in the 2002 Gujarat riots in which 1044 people were killed, three-quarters of whom were Muslim, or otherwise criticised for its management of the crisis. The Supreme Court remarked that Narendra Modi was like a Modern-day Nero, looking the other way as innocent women and children were burning. A Supreme Court of India-appointed Special Investigation Team found no evidence to initiate prosecution proceedings against Modi personally. While his policies as chief minister—credited with encouraging economic growth—have received praise, his administration has been criticised for failing to significantly improve health, poverty and education indices in the state. Modi led the BJP in the 2014 general election which gave the party a majority in the Indian lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha, the first time for any single party since 1984. Modi's administration has tried to raise foreign direct investment in the Indian economy and reduced spending on healthcare and social welfare programmes. Modi has attempted to improve efficiency in the bureaucracy; he has centralised power by abolishing the Planning Commission. He began a high-profile sanitation campaign, controversially initiated a demonetisation of high-denomination banknotes and transformation of taxation regime, and weakened or abolished environmental and labour laws. Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. Following his party's victory in the 2019 general election, his administration revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and also introduced the Citizenship Amendment Act, which resulted in widespread protests across the country. Described as engineering a political realignment towards right-wing politics, Modi remains a figure of controversy domestically and internationally over his Hindu nationalist beliefs and his handling of the 2002 Gujarat riots, cited as evidence of an exclusionary social agenda. Early life and education Narendra Damodardas Modi was born on 17 September 1950 to a Gujarati Hindu family of grocers in Vadnagar, Mehsana district, Bombay State (present-day Gujarat). He was the third of six children born to Damodardas Mulchand Modi () and Hiraben Modi (born ). Modi's family belonged to the Modh-Ghanchi-Teli (oil-presser) community, which is categorised as an Other Backward Class by the Indian government. Modi had only infrequently spoken of his family background during his 13 years as chief minister of Gujarat. In the run up to the 2014 national elections, he began to regularly draw attention to his low-ranking social origins and to having to work as a child in his father's tea shop on the Vadnagar railway station platform, a description that the evidence of neighbours does not entirely corroborate. Modi completed his higher secondary education in Vadnagar in 1967, where teachers described him as an average student and a keen gifted debater, with interest in theatre. Modi preferred playing larger-than-life characters in theatrical productions, which has influenced his political image. When eight years old, Modi was introduced to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and began attending its local shakhas (training sessions). There, Modi met Lakshmanrao Inamdar, popularly known as Vakil Saheb, who inducted him as a balswayamsevak (junior cadet) in the RSS and became his political mentor. While Modi was training with the RSS, he also met Vasant Gajendragadkar and Nathalal Jaghda, Bharatiya Jana Sangh leaders who were founding members of the BJP's Gujarat unit in 1980. In a custom traditional to Narendra Modi's caste, his family arranged a betrothal to a girl, Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi, leading to their marriage when she was 17 and he was 18. Soon afterwards, he abandoned his bride, and left home, never divorcing her, but the marriage remaining unmentioned in Modi's public pronouncements for many decades. In April 2014, shortly before the national elections that swept him to power, Modi publicly affirmed that he was married and his spouse was Jashodaben; the couple has remained married, but estranged. Modi spent the ensuing two years travelling across Northern and North-eastern India, though few details of where he went have emerged. In interviews, Modi has described visiting Hindu ashrams founded by Swami Vivekananda: the Belur Math near Kolkata, followed by the Advaita Ashrama in Almora and the Ramakrishna Mission in Rajkot. Modi remained only a short time at each, since he lacked the required college education. Vivekananda has been described as a large influence in Modi's life. In the early summer of 1968, Modi reached the Belur Math but was turned away, after which Modi wandered through Calcutta, West Bengal and Assam, stopping in Siliguri and Guwahati. Modi then went to the Ramakrishna Ashram in Almora, where he was again rejected, before travelling back to Gujarat via Delhi and Rajasthan in 1968–69. Sometime in late 1969 or early 1970, Modi returned to Vadnagar for a brief visit before leaving again for Ahmedabad. There, Modi lived with his uncle, working in the latter's canteen at the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation. In Ahmedabad, Modi renewed his acquaintance with Inamdar, who was based at the Hedgewar Bhavan (RSS headquarters) in the city. Modi's first known political activity as an adult was in 1971 when he, as per his remarks, joined a Jana Sangh Satyagraha in Delhi led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee to enlist for the battlefield during the Bangladesh Liberation War. But the Indira Gandhi-led central government disallowed open support for the Mukti Bahini and Modi, according to his own claim, was put in Tihar Jail for a short period. After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he stopped working for his uncle and became a full-time pracharak (campaigner) for the RSS, working under Inamdar. Shortly before the war, Modi took part in a non-violent protest against the Indian government in New Delhi, for which he was arrested (as per his claim); this has been cited as a reason for Inamdar electing to mentor him. Many years later Modi would co-author a biography of Inamdar, published in 2001. Modi's claim that he was part of a Satyagraha led to a political war. Applications were filed with the PMO under the RTI Act seeking details of his arrest. In reply, the PMO claimed that it maintains official records on Modi only since he took charge as the Prime Minister of India in 2014. Despite this claim, the official website of the PMO contains specific information about Modi which dates back to the 1950s. In 1978 Modi received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the School of Open Learning (SOL) at the University of Delhi, graduating with a third class. Five years later, in 1983, he received a Master of Arts degree in political science from Gujarat University, graduating with a first class as an external distance learning student. But there is a big controversy surrounding his educational qualification. Replying to an RTI query, the SOL said it did not have any data of students who received a BA degree in 1978. Jayantibhai Patel, a former political science professor of Gujarat University, claimed that the subjects listed in Modi's MA degree were not offered by the university when Modi was studying there. Early political career In June 1975, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency in India which lasted until 1977. During this period, known as "The Emergency", many of her political opponents were jailed and opposition groups were banned. Modi was appointed general secretary of the "Gujarat Lok Sangharsh Samiti", an RSS committee co-ordinating opposition to the Emergency in Gujarat. Shortly afterwards, the RSS was banned. Modi was forced to go underground in Gujarat and frequently travelled in disguise to avoid arrest. He became involved in printing pamphlets opposing the government, sending them to Delhi and organising demonstrations. Modi was also involved with creating a network of safe houses for individuals wanted by the government, and in raising funds for political refugees and activists. During this period, Modi wrote a book in Gujarati, Sangharsh Ma Gujarat (In The Struggles of Gujarat), describing events during the Emergency. Among the people he met in this role was trade unionist and socialist activist George Fernandes, as well as several other national political figures. In his travels during the Emergency, Modi was often forced to move in disguise, once dressing as a monk, and once as a Sikh. Modi became an RSS sambhag pracharak (regional organiser) in 1978, overseeing RSS activities in the areas of Surat and Vadodara, and in 1979 he went to work for the RSS in Delhi, where he was put to work researching and writing the RSS's version of the history of the Emergency. He returned to Gujarat a short while later, and was assigned by the RSS to the BJP in 1985. In 1987 Modi helped organise the BJP's campaign in the Ahmedabad municipal election, which the BJP won comfortably; Modi's planning has been described as the reason for that result by biographers. After L. K. Advani became president of the BJP in 1986, the RSS decided to place its members in important positions within the BJP; Modi's work during the Ahmedabad election led to his selection for this role, and Modi was elected organising secretary of the BJP's Gujarat unit later in 1987. Modi rose within the party and was named a member of the BJP's National Election Committee in 1990, helping organise L. K. Advani's 1990 Ram Rath Yatra in 1990 and Murli Manohar Joshi's 1991–92 Ekta Yatra (Journey for Unity). However, he took a brief break from politics in 1992, instead establishing a school in Ahmedabad; friction with Shankersinh Vaghela, a BJP MP from Gujarat at the time, also played a part in this decision. Modi returned to electoral politics in 1994, partly at the insistence of Advani, and as party secretary, Modi's electoral strategy was considered central to the BJP victory in the 1995 state assembly elections. In November of that year Modi was appointed BJP national secretary and transferred to New Delhi, where he assumed responsibility for party activities in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The following year, Shankersinh Vaghela, a prominent BJP leader from Gujarat, defected to the Indian National Congress (Congress, INC) after losing his parliamentary seat in the Lok Sabha elections. Modi, on the selection committee for the 1998 Assembly elections in Gujarat, favoured supporters of BJP leader Keshubhai Patel over those supporting Vaghela to end factional division in the party. His strategy was credited as key to the BJP winning an overall majority in the 1998 elections, and Modi was promoted to BJP general secretary (organisation) in May of that year. Chief Minister of Gujarat Taking office In 2001, Keshubhai Patel's health was failing and the BJP lost a few state assembly seats in by-elections. Allegations of abuse of power, corruption and poor administration were made, and Patel's standing had been damaged by his administration's handling of the earthquake in Bhuj in 2001. The BJP national leadership sought a new candidate for the chief ministership, and Modi, who had expressed misgivings about Patel's administration, was chosen as a replacement. Although BJP leader L. K. Advani did not want to ostracise Patel and was concerned about Modi's lack of experience in government, Modi declined an offer to be Patel's deputy chief minister, telling Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee that he was "going to be fully responsible for Gujarat or not at all". On 3 October 2001 he replaced Patel as Chief Minister of Gujarat, with the responsibility of preparing the BJP for the December 2002 elections. Modi was sworn in as Chief Minister on 7 October 2001, and entered the Gujarat state legislature on 24 February 2002 by winning a by-election to the Rajkot – II constituency, defeating Ashwin Mehta of the INC by 14,728 votes. 2002 Gujarat riots On 27 February 2002, a train with several hundred passengers burned near Godhra, killing approximately 60 people. The train carried a large number of Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya after a religious ceremony at the site of the demolished Babri Masjid. In making a public statement after the incident, Modi declared it a terrorist attack planned and orchestrated by local Muslims. The next day, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad called for a bandh across the state. Riots began during the bandh, and anti-Muslim violence spread through Gujarat. The government's decision to move the bodies of the train victims from Godhra to Ahmedabad further inflamed the violence. The state government stated later that 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed. Independent sources put the death toll at over 2000, the vast majority Muslims Approximately 150,000 people were driven to refugee camps. Numerous women and children were among the victims; the violence included mass rapes and mutilations of women. The government of Gujarat itself is generally considered by scholars to have been complicit in the riots, (with some blaming chief minister Modi explicitly) and has otherwise received heavy criticism for its handling of the situation. Several scholars have described the violence as a pogrom, while others have called it an example of state terrorism. Summarising academic views on the subject, Martha Nussbaum said: "There is by now a broad consensus that the Gujarat violence was a form of ethnic cleansing, that in many ways it was premeditated, and that it was carried out with the complicity of the state government and officers of the law." The Modi government imposed a curfew in 26 major cities, issued shoot-at-sight orders and called for the army to patrol the streets, but was unable to prevent the violence from escalating. The president of the state unit of the BJP expressed support for the bandh, despite such actions being illegal at the time. State officials later prevented riot victims from leaving the refugee camps, and the camps were often unable to meet the needs of those living there. Muslim victims of the riots were subject to further discrimination when the state government announced that compensation for Muslim victims would be half of that offered to Hindus, although this decision was later reversed after the issue was taken to court. During the riots, police officers often did not intervene in situations where they were able. Modi's personal involvement in the 2002 events has continued to be debated. During the riots, Modi said that "What is happening is a chain of action and reaction." Later in 2002, Modi said the way in which he had handled the media was his only regret regarding the episode. In March 2008, the Supreme Court reopened several cases related to the 2002 riots, including that of the Gulbarg Society massacre, and established a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the issue. In response to a petition from Zakia Jafri (widow of Ehsan Jafri, who was killed in the Gulbarg Society massacre), in April 2009 the court also asked the SIT to investigate the issue of Modi's complicity in the killings. The SIT questioned Modi in March 2010; in May, it presented to the court a report finding no evidence against him. In July 2011, the court-appointed amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran submitted his final report to the court. Contrary to the SIT's position, he said that Modi could be prosecuted based on the available evidence. The Supreme Court gave the matter to the magistrate's court. The SIT examined Ramachandran's report, and in March 2012 submitted its final report, asking for the case to be closed. Zakia Jafri filed a protest petition in response. In December 2013 the magistrate's court rejected the protest petition, accepting the SIT's finding that there was no evidence against the chief minister. 2002 election In the aftermath of the violence there were widespread calls for Modi to resign as chief minister from within and outside the state, including from leaders of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Telugu Desam Party (allies in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance coalition), and opposition parties stalled Parliament over the issue. Modi submitted his resignation at the April 2002 BJP national executive meeting in Goa, but it was not accepted. His cabinet had an emergency meeting on 19 July 2002, after which it offered its resignation to the Gujarat Governor S. S. Bhandari, and the state assembly was dissolved. Despite opposition from the election commissioner, who said that a number of voters were still displaced, Modi succeeded in advancing the election to December 2002. In the elections, the BJP won 127 seats in the 182-member assembly. Although Modi later denied it, he made significant use of anti-Muslim rhetoric during his campaign, and the BJP profited from religious polarisation among the voters. He won the Maninagar constituency, receiving of votes and defeating INC candidate Yatin Oza by 75,333 votes. On 22 December 2002, Bhandari swore Modi in for a second term. Modi framed the criticism of his government for human rights violations as an attack upon Gujarati pride, a strategy which led to the BJP winning two-thirds of the seats in the state assembly. Second term During Modi's second term the rhetoric of the government shifted from Hindutva to Gujarat's economic development. Modi curtailed the influence of Sangh Parivar organisations such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), entrenched in the state after the decline of Ahmedabad's textile industry, and dropped Gordhan Zadafia (an ally of former Sangh co-worker and VHP state chief Praveen Togadia) from his cabinet. When the BKS staged a farmers' demonstration Modi ordered their eviction from state-provided houses, and his decision to demolish 200 illegal temples in Gandhinagar deepened the rift with the Vishva Hindu Parishad. Sangh organisations were no longer consulted or informed in advance about Modi's administrative decisions. Nonetheless, Modi retained connections with some Hindu nationalists. Modi wrote a foreword to a textbook by Dinanath Batra released in 2014, which stated that ancient India possessed technologies including test-tube babies. Modi's relationship with Muslims continued to attract criticism. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (who asked Modi for tolerance in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat violence and supported his resignation as chief minister) distanced himself, reaching out to North Indian Muslims before the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. After the elections Vajpayee called the violence in Gujarat a reason for the BJP's electoral defeat and said it had been a mistake to leave Modi in office after the riots. Questions about Modi's relationship with Muslims were also raised by many Western nations during his tenure as chief minister. Modi was barred from entering the United States by the State Department, in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on International Religious Freedom formed under the aegis of the International Religious Freedom Act, the only person denied a US visa under this law. The UK and the European Union refused to admit him because of what they saw as his role in the riots. As Modi rose to prominence in India, the UK and the EU lifted their bans in October 2012 and March 2013, respectively, and after his election he was invited to Washington as the nation's prime minister. During the run-up to the 2007 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election and the 2009 Indian general election, the BJP intensified its rhetoric on terrorism. In July 2006, Modi criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh " for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislation" such as the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the national government to allow states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. In 2007 Modi authored Karmayog, a 101-page booklet discussing manual scavenging. In it, Modi argued that scavenging was a "spiritual experience" for Valmiks, a sub-caste of Dalits. However, this book was not circulated that time because of the election code of conduct. After the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Modi held a meeting to discuss the security of Gujarat's -long coastline, resulting in government authorisation of 30 high-speed surveillance boats. In July 2007 Modi completed 2,063 consecutive days as chief minister of Gujarat, making him the longest-serving holder of that post, and the BJP won 122 of 182 state-assembly seats in that year's election. Development projects As Chief Minister, Modi favoured privatisation and small government, which was at odds with the philosophy of the RSS, usually described as anti-privatisation and anti-globalisation. His policies during his second term have been credited with reducing corruption in the state. He established financial and technology parks in Gujarat and during the 2007 Vibrant Gujarat summit, real-estate investment deals worth were signed. The governments led by Patel and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of groundwater-conservation projects. By December 2008, 500,000 structures had been built, of which 113,738 were check dams, which helped recharge the aquifers beneath them. Sixty of the 112 tehsils which had depleted the water table in 2004 had regained their normal groundwater levels by 2010. As a result, the state's production of genetically modified cotton increased to become the largest in India. The boom in cotton production and its semi-arid land use led to Gujarat's agricultural sector growing at an average rate of 9.6 percent from 2001 to 2007. Public irrigation measures in central and southern Gujarat, such as the Sardar Sarovar Dam, were less successful. The Sardar Sarovar project only irrigated 4–6% of the area intended. Nonetheless, from 2001 to 2010 Gujarat recorded an agricultural growth rate of 10.97 percent – the highest of any state. However, sociologists have pointed out that the growth rate under the 1992–97 INC government was 12.9 percent. In 2008 Modi offered land in Gujarat to Tata Motors to set up a plant manufacturing the Nano after a popular agitation had forced the company to move out of West Bengal. Several other companies followed the Tata to Gujarat. The Modi government finished the process of bringing electricity to every village in Gujarat that its predecessor had almost completed. Modi significantly changed the state's system of power distribution, greatly impacting farmers. Gujarat expanded the Jyotigram Yojana scheme, in which agricultural electricity was separated from other rural electricity; the agricultural electricity was rationed to fit scheduled irrigation demands, reducing its cost. Although early protests by farmers ended when those who benefited found that their electricity supply had stabilised, according to an assessment study corporations and large farmers benefited from the policy at the expense of small farmers and labourers. Development debate A contentious debate surrounds the assessment of Gujarat's economic development during Modi's tenure as chief minister. The state's GDP growth rate averaged 10% during Modi's tenure, a value similar to other highly industrialised states, and above that of the country as a whole. Gujarat also had a high rate of economic growth in the 1990s, before Modi took office, and some scholars have stated that growth did not much accelerate during Modi's tenure, although the state is considered to have maintained a high growth rate during Modi's Chief Ministership. Under Narendra Modi, Gujarat topped the World Bank's "ease of doing business" rankings among Indian states for two consecutive years. In 2013, Gujarat was ranked first among Indian states for "economic freedom" by a report measuring governance, growth, citizens' rights and labour and business regulation among the country's 20 largest states. In the later years of Modi's government, Gujarat's economic growth was frequently used as an argument to counter allegations of communalism. Tax breaks for businesses were easier to obtain in Gujarat than in other states, as was land. Modi's policies to make Gujarat attractive for investment included the creation of Special Economic Zones, where labour laws were greatly weakened. Despite its growth rate, Gujarat had a relatively poor record on human development, poverty relief, nutrition and education during Modi's tenure. In 2013, Gujarat ranked 13th in the country with respect to rates of poverty and 21st in education. Nearly 45 percent of children under five were underweight and 23 percent were undernourished, putting the state in the "alarming" category on the India State Hunger Index. A study by UNICEF and the Indian government found that Gujarat under Modi had a poor record with respect to immunisation in children. Over the decade from 2001 to 2011, Gujarat did not change its position relative to the rest of the country with respect to poverty and female literacy, remaining near the median of the 29 Indian states. It showed a marginal improvement in rates of infant mortality, and its position with respect to individual consumption declined. With respect to the quality of education in government schools, the state ranked below many Indian states. The social policies of the government generally did not benefit Muslims, Dalits, and Adivasis, and generally increased social inequalities. Development in Gujarat was generally limited to the urban middle class, and citizens in rural areas or from lower castes were increasingly marginalised. In 2013 the state ranked 10th of 21 Indian states in the Human Development Index. Under Modi, the state government spent less than the national average on education and healthcare. Final years Despite the BJP's shift away from explicit Hindutva, Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism. Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders. During his 2012 campaign he twice refused to wear articles of clothing gifted by Muslim leaders. He did, however, maintain relations with Dawoodi Bohra. His campaign included references to issues known to cause religious polarisation, including to Afzal Guru and the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. The BJP did not nominate any Muslim candidates for the assembly election of 2012. During the 2012 campaign, Modi attempted to identify himself with the state of Gujarat, a strategy similar to that used by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, and projected himself as protecting Gujarat against persecution by the rest of India. While campaigning for the 2012 assembly elections, Modi made extensive use of holograms and other technologies allowing him to reach a large number of people, something he would repeat in the 2014 general election. In the 2012 Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections, Modi won the constituency of Maninagar by 86,373 votes over Shweta Bhatt, the INC candidate and wife of Sanjiv Bhatt. The BJP won 115 of the 182 seats, continuing its majority during his tenure and allowing the party to form the government (as it had in Gujarat since 1995). After his election as prime minister, Modi resigned as the chief minister and as an MLA from Maninagar on 21 May 2014. Anandiben Patel succeeded him as the chief minister. Premiership campaigns 2014 Indian general election In September 2013 Modi was named the BJP's candidate for prime minister ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha election. Several BJP leaders expressed opposition to Modi's candidature, including BJP founding member L. K. Advani, who cited concern with leaders who were "concerned with their personal agendas". Modi played a dominant role in the BJP's election campaign. Several people who voted for the BJP stated that if Modi had not been the prime-ministerial candidate, they would have voted for another party. The focus on Modi as an individual was unusual for a BJP election campaign. The election was described as a referendum on Narendra Modi. During the campaign, Modi focused on the corruption scandals under the previous INC government, and played on his image as a politician who had created a high rate of GDP growth in Gujarat. Modi projected himself as a person who could bring about "development," without focus on any specific policies. His message found support among young Indians and among middle-class citizens. The BJP under Modi was able to downplay concerns about the protection of religious minorities and Modi's commitment to secularism, areas in which he had previously received criticism. Prior to the election Modi's image in the media had centered around his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots, but during the campaign the BJP was able to shift this to a focus on Modi's neoliberal ideology and the Gujarat model of development, although Hindutva remained a significant part of its campaign. The BJP's campaign was assisted by its wide influence in the media. Modi's campaign blitz cost approximately , and received extensive financial support from corporate donors. In addition to more conventional campaign methods, Modi made extensive use of social media, and addressed more than 1000 rallies via hologram appearances. The BJP won 31% of the vote, and more than doubled its tally in the Lok Sabha to 282, becoming the first party to win a majority of seats on its own since 1984. Voter dissatisfaction with the INC, as well as with regional parties in North India, was another reason for the success of the BJP, as was the support from the RSS. In states such as Uttar Pradesh in which the BJP performed well, it drew exceptionally high support from upper-caste Hindus, although the 10 percent of Muslim votes won was more than it had won before. It performed particularly well in parts of the country that had recently experienced violence between Hindus and Muslims. The magnitude of the BJP's victory led many commentators to say that the election constituted a political realignment away from progressive parties and towards the right-wing. Modi's tweet announcing his victory was described as being emblematic of the political realignment away from a secular, socialist state towards capitalism and Hindu cultural nationalism. Modi himself was a candidate for the Lok Sabha in two constituencies: Varanasi and Vadodara. He won in both constituencies, defeating Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal in Varanasi by 371,784 votes and Madhusudan Mistry of the INC in Vadodara by votes. Modi, who was unanimously elected leader of the BJP, was appointed prime minister by India's president. To comply with the law that an MP cannot represent more than one constituency, he vacated the Vadodara seat. 2019 Indian general election On 13 October 2018, Modi was renamed as the BJP candidate for prime minister for the 2019 general election. The chief campaigner for the party was BJP's president Amit Shah. Modi launched the Main Bhi Chowkidar campaign ahead of the general election, against Chowkidar Chor Hai campaign slogan of INC. In the year 2018, end Party's, second-biggest alliance Telugu Desam Party split from NDA over the matter of special-status for Andhra Pradesh. The campaign was started by Amit Shah on 8 April 2019. In the campaign, Modi was targeted by the opposition on corruption allegations over Rafale deal with France government. Highlighting this controversy the campaign "Chowkidar Chor Hai" was started, which was contrary to "Main Bhi Chowkidar" slogan. Modi made defence and national security among the foremost topics for the election campaign, especially after Pulwama attack, and the retaliatory attack of Balakot airstrike was counted as an achievement of the Modi administration. Other topics in the campaign were development and good foreign relations in the first premiership. Modi contested the Lok Sabha elections as a candidate from Varanasi. He won the seat by defeating Shalini Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, who fought on SP-BSP alliance by a margin of votes. Modi was unanimously appointed the prime minister for a second time by the National Democratic Alliance, after the alliance won the election for the second time by securing 353 seats in the Lok Sabha with the BJP alone won 303 seats. Prime Minister After the Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance won a landslide in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Narendra Modi was sworn in as the Prime Minister of India on 26 May 2014. He became the first Prime Minister born after India's independence from the British Empire in 1947. Modi started his second term after the Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance won again in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. On 6 December 2020, Modi became the 4th longest serving Prime Minister of India and the longest serving Non-Congress Prime Minister. Governance and other initiatives Modi's first year as prime minister saw significant centralisation of power relative to previous administrations. His efforts at centralisation have been linked to an increase in the number of senior administration officials resigning their positions. Initially lacking a majority in the Rajya Sabha, or upper house of Indian Parliament, Modi passed a number of ordinances to enact his policies, leading to further centralisation of power. The government also passed a bill increasing the control that it had over the appointment of judges, and reducing that of the judiciary. In December 2014 Modi abolished the Planning Commission, replacing it with the National Institution for Transforming India, or NITI Aayog. The move had the effect of greatly centralising the power previously with the planning commission in the person of the prime minister. The planning commission had received heavy criticism in previous years for creating inefficiency in the government, and of not filling its role of improving social welfare: however, since the economic liberalisation of the 1990s, it had been the major government body responsible for measures related to social justice. The Modi government launched investigations by the Intelligence Bureau against numerous civil society organisations and foreign non-governmental organisations in the first year of the administration. The investigations, on the grounds that these organisations were slowing economic growth, was criticised as a witch-hunt. International humanitarian aid organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres was among the groups that were put under pressure. Other organisations affected included the Sierra Club and Avaaz. Cases of sedition were filed against individuals criticising the government. This led to discontent within the BJP regarding Modi's style of functioning and drew comparisons to the governing style of Indira Gandhi. Modi repealed 1,200 obsolete laws in first three years as prime minister; a total of 1,301 such laws had been repealed by previous governments over a span of 64 years. He started a monthly radio programme titled "Mann Ki Baat" on 3 October 2014. Modi also launched the Digital India programme, with the goal of ensuring that government services are available electronically, building infrastructure to provide high-speed Internet access to rural areas, boosting manufacturing of electronic goods in the country, and promoting digital literacy. Modi launched Ujjwala scheme to provide free LPG connection to rural households. The scheme led to an increase in LPG consumption by 56% in 2019 as compared to 2014. In 2019, a law was passed to provide 10% reservation to Economically weaker sections. He was again sworn in as prime minister on 30 May 2019. On 30 July 2019, Parliament of India declared the practice of Triple Talaq as illegal, unconstitutional and made it punishable act from 1 August 2019 which is deemed to be in effect from 19 September 2018. On 5 August 2019, the government moved resolution to scrap Article 370 in the Rajya Sabha, and also reorganise the state with Jammu and Kashmir serving as one of the union territory and Ladakh region separated out as a separate union territory. Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. According to one study, "The BJP government incrementally but systemically attacked nearly all existing mechanisms that are in place to hold the political executive to account, either by ensuring that these mechanisms became subservient to the political executive or were captured by party loyalists." Scholars also point to how he Modi government has used state power to intimidate and stifle critics in the media and academia, thus undermining freedom of expression and alternative sources of information. Reporters Without Borders in 2021 characterised Modi as a predator for curbing press freedom in India since 2014. Economic policy The economic policies of Modi's government focused on privatisation and liberalisation of the economy, based on a neoliberal framework. Modi liberalised India's foreign direct investment policies, allowing more foreign investment in several industries, including in defence and the railways. Other proposed reforms included making it harder for workers to form unions and easier for employers to hire and fire them; some of these proposals were dropped after protests. The reforms drew strong opposition from unions: on 2 September 2015, eleven of the country's largest unions went on strike, including one affiliated with the BJP. The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, a constituent of the Sangh Parivar, stated that the underlying motivation of labour reforms favoured corporations over labourers. The funds dedicated to poverty reduction programmes and social welfare measures were greatly decreased by the Modi administration. The money spent on social programmes declined from 14.6% of GDP during the Congress government to 12.6% during Modi's first year in office. Spending on health and family welfare declined by 15%, and on primary and secondary education by 16%. The budgetary allocation for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, or the "education for all" programme, declined by 22%. The government also lowered corporate taxes, abolished the wealth tax, increased sales taxes, and reduced customs duties on gold, and jewellery. In October 2014, the Modi government deregulated diesel prices. In September 2014, Modi introduced the Make in India initiative to encourage foreign companies to manufacture products in India, with the goal of turning the country into a global manufacturing hub. Supporters of economic liberalisation supported the initiative, while critics argued it would allow foreign corporations to capture a greater share of the Indian market. Modi's administration passed a land-reform bill that allowed it to acquire private agricultural land without conducting a social impact assessment, and without the consent of the farmers who owned it. The bill was passed via an executive order after it faced opposition in parliament, but was eventually allowed to lapse. Modi's government put in place the Goods and Services Tax, the biggest tax reform in the country since independence. It subsumed around 17 different taxes and became effective from 1 July 2017. In his first cabinet decision, Modi set up a team to investigate black money. On 9 November 2016, the government demonetised ₹500 and ₹1000 banknotes, with the stated intention of curbing corruption, black money, the use of counterfeit currency, and terrorism. The move led to severe cash shortages, a steep decline in the Indian stock indices BSE SENSEX and NIFTY 50, and sparked widespread protests throughout the country. Several deaths were linked to the rush to exchange cash. In the subsequent year, the number of income tax returns filed for individuals rose by 25%, and the number of digital transactions increased steeply. Over the first four years of Modi's premiership, India's GDP grew at an average rate of 7.23%, higher than the rate of 6.39% under the previous government. The level of income inequality increased, while an internal government report said that in 2017, unemployment had increased to its highest level in 45 years. The loss of jobs was attributed to the 2016 demonetisation, and to the effects of the Goods and Services Tax. In the next year, after 2018, Indian economy started a gradual recovery with a GDP growth of 6.12% in 2018-19 FY, with an inflation rate of 3.4%. Same year, India was successful in making a good economy in trade and manufacturing sector. While in the FY of 2019–20, due to the general election, Modi government focused more on their election campaign. In the year 2019–20, the GDP growth rate was 4.18% and inflation rate also increased to 4.7% from 3.4% in the previous year. Though being high unemployment, increase in inflation rate and budget deficiency, Modi's leadership won in 2019 elections. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous rating agencies downgraded India's GDP predictions for FY21 to negative figures, signalling a recession in India, the most severe since 1979. According to a Dun & Bradstreet report, the country is likely to suffer a recession in the third quarter of FY2020 as a result of the over 2-month long nation-wide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19. This was also accompanied by the mass migration of migrant workers. Health and sanitation In his first year as prime minister, Modi reduced the amount of money spent by the central government on healthcare. The Modi government launched New Health Policy (NHP) in January 2015. The policy did not increase the government's spending on healthcare, instead emphasising the role of private healthcare organisations. This represented a shift away from the policy of the previous Congress government, which had supported programmes to assist public health goals, including reducing child and maternal mortality rates. The National Health Mission, which included public health programmes targeted at these indices received nearly 20% less funds in 2015 than in the previous year. 15 national health programmes, including those aimed at controlling tobacco use and supporting healthcare for the elderly, were merged with the National Health Mission. In its budget for the second year after it took office, the Modi government reduced healthcare spending by 15%. The healthcare budget for the following year rose by 19%. The budget was viewed positively by private insurance providers. Public health experts criticised its emphasis on the role of private healthcare providers, and suggested that it represented a shift away from public health facilities. The healthcare budget rose by 11.5% in 2018; the change included an allocation of for a government-funded health insurance program, and a decrease in the budget of the National Health Mission. The government introduced stricter packaging laws for tobacco which requires 85% of the packet size to be covered by pictorial warnings. An article in the medical journal Lancet stated that the country "might have taken a few steps back in public health" under Modi. In 2018 Modi launched the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, a government health insurance scheme intended to insure 500 million people. 100,000 people had signed up by October 2018. Modi emphasised his government's efforts at sanitation as a means of ensuring good health. On 2 October 2014, Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Mission ("Clean India") campaign. The stated goals of the campaign included eliminating open defecation and manual scavenging within five years. As part of the programme, the Indian government began constructing millions of toilets in rural areas and encouraging people to use them. The government also announced plans to build new sewage treatment plants. The administration plans to construct 60 million toilets by 2019. The construction projects have faced allegations of corruption, and have faced severe difficulty in getting people to use the toilets constructed for them. Sanitation cover in the country increased from 38.7% in October 2014 to 84.1% in May 2018; however, usage of the new sanitary facilities lagged behind the government's targets. In 2018, the World Health Organization stated that at least 180,000 diarrhoeal deaths were averted in rural India after the launch of the sanitation effort. Hindutva During the 2014 election campaign, the BJP sought to identify itself with political leaders known to have opposed Hindu nationalism, including B. R. Ambedkar, Subhas Chandra Bose, and Ram Manohar Lohia. The campaign also saw the use of rhetoric based on Hindutva by BJP leaders in certain states. Communal tensions were played upon especially in Uttar Pradesh and the states of Northeast India. A proposal for the controversial Uniform Civil Code was a part of the BJP's election manifesto. The activities of a number of Hindu nationalist organisations increased in scope after Modi's election as Prime Minister, sometimes with the support of the government. These activities included a Hindu religious conversion programme, a campaign against the alleged Islamic practice of "Love Jihad", and attempts to celebrate Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, by members of the right wing Hindu Mahasabha. Officials in the government, including the Home Minister, defended the conversion programmes. Links between the BJP and the RSS grew stronger under Modi. The RSS provided organisational support to the BJP's electoral campaigns, while the Modi administration appointed a number of individuals affiliated with the RSS to prominent government positions. In 2014, Yellapragada Sudershan Rao, who had previously been associated with the RSS, became the chairperson of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). Historians and former members of the ICHR, including those sympathetic to the BJP, questioned his credentials as a historian, and stated that the appointment was part of an agenda of cultural nationalism. The North East Delhi riots, which left more than 40 dead and hundreds injured, were triggered by protests against a citizenship law seen by many critics as anti-Muslim and part of Modi's Hindu nationalist agenda. On 5 August 2020, Modi visited Ayodhya after the Supreme Court in 2019 ordered a contested land in Ayodhya to be handed over to a trust to build the Hindu temple and ordered the government to give alternate 5 acre land to Sunni Waqf Board for the purpose of building a mosque. He became the first prime minister to visit Ram Janmabhoomi and Hanuman Garhi. Foreign policy Foreign policy played a relatively small role in Modi's election campaign, and did not feature prominently in the BJP's election manifesto. Modi invited all the other leaders of SAARC countries to his swearing in ceremony as prime minister. He was the first Indian prime minister to do so. Modi's foreign policy, similarly to that of the preceding INC government, focused on improving economic ties, security, and regional relations. Modi continued Manmohan Singh's policy of "multi-alignment." The Modi administration tried to attract foreign investment in the Indian economy from several sources, especially in East Asia, with the use of slogans such as "Make in India" and "Digital India". The government also tried to improve relations with Islamic nations in the Middle East, such as Bahrain, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as with Israel. The foreign relations of India with the USA also mended after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister. During the run-up to the general election there was wide-ranging scepticism regarding future of the strategic bilateral relation under Modi's premiership as in 2005 he was, while Chief Minister of Gujarat, denied a U.S. visa during the Bush administration for his poor human rights records. However sensing Modi's inevitable victory well before the election, the US Ambassador Nancy Powell had reached out to him as part of greater rapprochement from the west. Moreover, following his 2014 election as the Prime Minister of India President Obama congratulated him over the telephone and invited him to visit the US. Modi government has been successful in making good foreign relations with the USA in the presidency of both Barack Obama and Donald Trump. During the first few months after the election, Modi made trips to a number of different countries to further the goals of his policy, and attended the BRICS, ASEAN, and G20 summits. One of Modi's first visits as prime minister was to Nepal, during which he promised a billion USD in aid. Modi also made several overtures to the United States, including multiple visits to that country. While this was described as an unexpected development, due to the US having previously denied Modi a travel visa over his role during the 2002 Gujarat riots, the visits were expected to strengthen diplomatic and trade relations between the two countries. In 2015, the Indian parliament ratified a land exchange deal with Bangladesh about the India–Bangladesh enclaves, which had been initiated by the government of Manmohan Singh. Modi's administration gave renewed attention to India's "Look East Policy", instituted in 1991. The policy was renamed the "Act East Policy", and involved directing Indian foreign policy towards East Asia and Southeast Asia. The government signed agreements to improve land connectivity with Myanmar, through the state of Manipur. This represented a break with India's historic engagement with Myanmar, which prioritised border security over trade. China–India relations have deteriorated rapidly following the 2020 China–India skirmishes. Modi has pledged aid of $900 million to Afghanistan, visited the nation twice and been honoured with the nation's highest civilian honour in 2016. Defence policy India's nominal military spending increased steadily under Modi. The military budget declined over Modi's tenure both as a fraction of GDP and when adjusted for inflation. A substantial portion of the military budget was devoted to personnel costs, leading commentators to write that the budget was constraining Indian military modernisation. The BJP election manifesto had also promised to deal with illegal immigration into India in the Northeast, as well as to be more firm in its handling of insurgent groups. The Modi government issued a notification allowing Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist illegal immigrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh to legalise their residency in India. The government described the measure as being taken for humanitarian reasons but it drew criticism from several Assamese organisations.The Modi administration negotiated a peace agreement with the largest faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCM), which was announced in August 2015. The Naga insurgency in northeast India had begun in the 1950s. The NSCM and the government had agreed to a ceasefire in 1997, but a peace accord had not previously been signed. In 2015 the government abrogated a 15-year ceasefire with the Khaplang faction of the NSCM (NSCM-K). The NSCM-K responded with a series of attacks, which killed 18 people. The Modi government carried out a raid across the border with Myanmar as a result, and labelled the NSCM-K a terrorist organisation. Modi promised to be "tough on Pakistan" during his election campaign, and repeatedly stated that Pakistan was an exporter of terrorism. On 29 September 2016, the Indian Army stated that it had conducted a surgical strike on terror launch pads in Azad Kashmir. The Indian media claimed that up to 50 terrorists and Pakistani soldiers had been killed in the strike. Pakistan initially denied that any strikes had taken place. Subsequent reports suggested that Indian claim about the scope of the strike and the number of casualties had been exaggerated, although cross-border strikes had been carried out. In February 2019 India carried out airstrikes in Pakistan against a supposed terrorist camp. Further military skirmishes followed, including cross-border shelling and the loss of an Indian aircraft. Following his victory in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he focused more on Defence policies of India, especially against China and Pakistan. On 5 May 2020, Chinese and Indian troops engaged in aggressive melee, face-offs and skirmishes at locations along the Sino-Indian border, including near the disputed Pangong Lake in Ladakh and the Tibet Autonomous Region, and near the border between Sikkim and the Tibet Autonomous Region. Additional clashes also took place at locations in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). After which there was start of skirmishes between the nations leading to many border clashes, responses and reactions from both sides. A series of talks were also held between the two by both military and diplomatic means for peace. The first border clash reported in 2021 was on 20 January, referred to as a minor border clash in Sikkim. Environmental policy In naming his cabinet, Modi renamed the "Ministry of Environment and Forests" the "Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change." In the first budget of the government, the money allotted to this ministry was reduced by more than 50%. The new ministry also removed or diluted a number of laws related to environmental protection. These included no longer requiring clearance from the National Board for Wildlife for projects close to protected areas, and allowing certain projects to proceed before environmental clearance was received. The government also tried to reconstitute the Wildlife board such that it no longer had representatives from non-governmental organisations: however, this move was prevented by the Supreme Court. Modi also relaxed or abolished a number of other environmental regulations, particularly those related to industrial activity. A government committee stated that the existing system only served to create corruption, and that the government should instead rely on the owners of industries to voluntarily inform the government about the pollution they were creating. Other changes included reducing ministry oversight on small mining projects, and no longer requiring approval from tribal councils for projects inside forested areas. In addition, Modi lifted a moratorium on new industrial activity in the most polluted areas in the countries. The changes were welcomed by businesspeople, but criticised by environmentalists. Under the UPA government that preceded Modi's administration, field trials of Genetically Modified (GM) crops had essentially been put on hold, after protests from farmers fearing for their livelihoods. Under the Modi government these restrictions were gradually lifted. The government received some criticism for freezing the bank accounts of environmental group Greenpeace, citing financial irregularities, although a leaked government report said that the freeze had to do with Greenpeace's opposition to GM crops. At the COP26 conference Modi announced that India would target carbon neutrality by 2070, and also expand its renewable energy capacity. Though the date of net zero is far behind that of China and the USA and India's government wants to continue with the use of coal, Indian environmentalists and economists applauded the decision, describing it as a bold climate action. Democratic backsliding Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. According to one study, "The BJP government incrementally but systemically attacked nearly all existing mechanisms that are in place to hold the political executive to account, either by ensuring that these mechanisms became subservient to the political executive or were captured by party loyalists." Scholars also point to how the Modi government has used state power to intimidate and stifle critics in the media and academia, thus undermining freedom of expression and alternative sources of information. There have been several reports of the Modi government to be as an authoritarian conservative government, even due to lack of good opposition. Electoral history Personal life and image Personal life In accordance with Ghanchi tradition, Modi's marriage was arranged by his parents when he was a child. He was engaged at age 13 to Jashodaben Modi, marrying her when he was 18. They spent little time together and grew apart when Modi began two years of travel, including visits to Hindu ashrams. Reportedly, their marriage was never consummated, and he kept it a secret because otherwise he could not have become a 'pracharak' in the puritan Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Modi kept his marriage secret for most of his career. He acknowledged his wife for the first time when he filed his nomination for the 2014 general elections. Modi maintains a close relationship with his centenarian mother, Hiraben. A vegetarian and teetotaler, Modi has a frugal lifestyle and is a workaholic and introvert. A person named Badri Meena has been his cook since 2002. Modi's 31 August 2012 post on Google Hangouts made him the first Indian politician to interact with citizens on a live chat. Modi has also been called a fashion-icon for his signature crisply ironed, half-sleeved kurta, as well as for a suit with his name embroidered repeatedly in the pinstripes that he wore during a state visit by US President Barack Obama, which drew public and media attention and criticism. Modi's personality has been variously described by scholars and biographers as energetic, arrogant, and charismatic. He had published a Gujarati book titled Jyotipunj in 2008, containing profiles of various RSS leaders. The longest was of M. S. Golwalkar, under whose leadership the RSS expanded and whom Modi refers to as Pujniya Shri Guruji ("Guru worthy of worship"). According to The Economic Times, his intention was to explain the workings of the RSS to his readers and to reassure RSS members that he remained ideologically aligned with them. Modi authored eight other books, mostly containing short stories for children. The nomination of Modi for the prime ministership drew attention to his reputation as "one of contemporary India's most controversial and divisive politicians." During the 2014 election campaign the BJP projected an image of Modi as a strong, masculine leader, who would be able to take difficult decisions. Campaigns in which he has participated have focused on Modi as an individual, in a manner unusual for the BJP and RSS. Modi has relied upon his reputation as a politician able to bring about economic growth and "development". Nonetheless, his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots continues to attract criticism and controversy. Modi's hardline Hindutva philosophy and the policies adopted by his government continue to draw criticism, and have been seen as evidence of a majoritarian and exclusionary social agenda. In March 2021, Modi received his first COVID-19 vaccine dose at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. Personal donations Modi has made donations for various causes and programmes. One such instance was when Modi donated towards the initial corpus of the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) Fund. In his role as chief minister of Gujarat, Modi had donated from personal savings for educating daughters of state government officials. Modi had also raised by auctioning all the gifts he received as chief minister and donated this to the Kanya Kelavani Fund. The money was spent on the education of girl children, through the scheme. Approval ratings As a Prime Minister, Modi has received consistently high approval ratings; at the end of his first year in office, he received an overall approval rating of 87% in a Pew Research poll, with 68% of people rating him "very favorably" and 93% approving of his government. His approval rating remained largely consistent at around 74% through his second year in office, according to a nationwide poll conducted by instaVaani. At the end of his second year in office, an updated Pew Research poll showed Modi continued to receive high overall approval ratings of 81%, with 57% of those polled rating him "very favorably." At the end of his third year in office, a further Pew Research poll showed Modi with an overall approval rating of 88%, his highest yet, with 69% of people polled rating him "very favorably." A poll conducted by The Times of India in May 2017 showed 77% of the respondents rated Modi as "very good" and "good". In early 2017, a survey from Pew Research Center showed Modi to be the most popular figure in Indian politics. In a weekly analysis by Morning Consult called the Global Leader Approval Rating Tracker, Modi had the highest net approval rating as of 22 December 2020 of all government leaders in the 13 countries being tracked. Awards and recognition In March 2012 and June 2014, Modi appeared on the cover of the Asian edition of Time Magazine, one of the few Indian politicians to have done so. He was awarded Indian of the Year by CNN-News18 (formally CNN-IBN) news network in 2014. In June 2015, Modi was featured on the cover of Time Magazine. In 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020 and 2021, he was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World. Forbes Magazine ranked him the 15th Most Powerful Person in the World in 2014 and the 9th Most Powerful Person in the World in 2015, 2016 and 2018. In 2015, Modi was ranked the 13th Most Influential Person in the World by Bloomberg Markets Magazine. Modi was ranked fifth on Fortune Magazines first annual list of the "World's Greatest Leaders" in 2015. In 2017, Gallup International Association (GIA) conducted a poll and ranked Modi as third top leader of the world. In 2016, a wax statue of Modi was unveiled at Madame Tussauds wax museum in London. In 2015 he was named one of Times "30 Most Influential People on the Internet" as the second-most-followed politician on Twitter and Facebook. In 2018, he was the third most followed world leader on Twitter, and the most followed world leader on Facebook and Instagram. In October 2018, Modi received United Nations's highest environmental award, the 'Champions of the Earth', for policy leadership by "pioneering work in championing" the International Solar Alliance and "new areas of levels of cooperation on environmental action". He was conferred the 2018 Seoul Peace Prize in recognition of "his dedication to improving international co-operation, raising global economic growth, accelerating the Human Development of the people of India by fostering economic growth and furthering the development of democracy through anti-corruption and social integration efforts". He is the first Indian to win the award. Following his second swearing-in ceremony as Prime Minister of India, a picture of Modi was displayed on the facade of the ADNOC building in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The Texas India Forum hosted a community event in honour of Modi on 22 September 2019 at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. The event was attended by over 50,000 people and several American politicians including President Donald Trump, making it the largest gathering for an invited foreign leader visiting the United States other than the Pope. At the same event, Modi was presented with the Key to the City of Houston by Mayor Sylvester Turner. He was awarded the Global Goalkeeper Award on 24 September 2019 in New York City by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in recognition for the Swachh Bharat Mission and "the progress India has made in providing safe sanitation under his leadership". In 2020, Modi was among eight world leaders awarded the parodic Ig Nobel Prize in Medical Education "for using the COVID-19 viral pandemic to teach the world that politicians can have a more immediate effect on life and death than scientists and doctors can". On 21 December 2020, President Donald Trump awarded Modi with the Legion of Merit for elevating the India–United States relations. The Legion of Merit was awarded to Modi along with Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison and former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe, the "original architects" of the QUAD. On 24 February 2021, the largest cricket stadium in the world at Ahmedabad was renamed Narendra Modi Stadium by the Gujarat Cricket Association. Modi is featured in TIME Magazine's 100 most influential people of 2021 list, making it his fifth time after 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2020. TIME called him the third "pivotal leader" of independent India after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi who "dominated the country’s politics like no one since them". State honours Other honours In popular culture Modi Kaka Ka Gaon, a 2017 Indian Hindi-language drama film by Tushar Amrish Goel is the first biopic on Modi, starring Vikas Mahante in the titular role it was made halfway into his first-term as the prime minister which is shown in the film. PM Narendra Modi, a 2019 Indian Hindi-language biographical drama film by Omung Kumar, starred Vivek Oberoi in the titular role and covers his rise to prime ministership.An Indian web series, Modi: Journey of a Common Man, based on the same premise released in May 2019 on Eros Now with Ashish Sharma portraying Modi. Hu Narender Modi Banva Mangu Chu is a 2018 Indian Gujarati-language drama film by Anil Naryani about the aspirations of a young boy who wants to become like Narendra Modi. 7 RCR (7, Race Course Road), a 2014 Indian docudrama political television series which charts the political careers of prominent Indian politicians, covered Modi's rise to the PM's office in the episodes - "Story of Narendra Modi from 1950 to 2001", "Story of Narendra Modi in Controversial Years from 2001 to 2013", "Truth Behind Brand Modi", "Election Journey of Narendra Modi to 7 RCR", and "Masterplan of Narendra Modi's NDA Govt."; with Sangam Rai in the role of Modi. Other portrayals of Modi include by Rajit Kapur in the film Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) and Vikram Gokhale in the web-television series Avrodh: The Siege Within (2020) both based on the 2016 Uri attack and the following Indian surgical strikes. Pratap Singh played a character based on Modi in Chand Bujh Gaya (2005) which is set in the backdrop of the Gujarat riots. Premiered on 12 August 2019, Modi appeared in an episode - "Man vs. Wild with Bear Grylls and Prime Minister Modi" - of Discovery Channel's show Man vs Wild with the host Bear Grylls, becoming the second world leader after Barack Obama to appear in the reality show. In the show he trekked the jungles and talked about nature and wildlife conservation with Grylls. The episode was shot in Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand and was broadcast in 180 countries along India. He has also appeared twice on the Indian television talk show Aap Ki Adalat before the 2009 and 2014 elections respectively. Along with hosting the Mann Ki Baat monthly radio programme, on All India Radio, he has also conducted Pariksha Pe Charcha - a competition/discussion for students and the issues they face in examinations. Bibliography See also List of prime ministers of India Opinion polling on the Narendra Modi premiership References Notes Citations Further reading External links |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- 1950 births Living people Gujarati people People from Gujarat People from Mehsana district Indian Hindus Prime Ministers of India Leaders of the Lok Sabha Chief Ministers of Gujarat Chief ministers from Bharatiya Janata Party 16th Lok Sabha members 17th Lok Sabha members Members of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly Delhi University alumni Gujarat University alumni Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharaks Indian nationalists Indian writers Recipients of the Legion of Merit Hindu nationalists Right-wing politics in India 20th-century Indian writers Members of the Planning Commission of India Right-wing populism in India Bharatiya Jana Sangh politicians Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Gujarat Lok Sabha members from Gujarat Lok Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2019 Indian general election Writers from Gujarat Candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Hindu pacifists Narendra Modi ministry Candidates in the 2019 Indian general election Hindu revivalists Writers about activism and social change Indian political people 21st-century prime ministers of India Gujarat MLAs 1998–2002 Politicians of Hindu political parties National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Indian anti-communists Gandhians Gujarat MLAs 2002–2007 Gujarat MLAs 2007–2012 Gujarat MLAs 2012–2017 21st-century Indian non-fiction writers Politicians from Varanasi Time 100
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[ "Percival Austin Bramble (born January 24, 1931) is a politician from Montserrat. He served as the territory's Chief Minister from December 1970 to November 1978. Bramble is the son of W.H. Bramble, the island's first chief minister. While in office, Bramble helped pass laws to spur development on the island of Montserrat. Among his achievements in this area are the North Road connecting the northern end of the island with its eastern side. Also during his term, medication was made free at the point of delivery for all diabetics and hypertensives.\n\nLeadership\nHis campaign speech was \"I shall slander no one, I shall abuse no one; I shall make no enemies.\"\n\nReferences\n\n1931 births\nMontserrat Labour Party politicians\nMembers of the Legislative Council of Montserrat\nLiving people\nChief Ministers of Montserrat\nChildren of national leaders", "Colonel Kyaw Zaya (; also spelt Kyaw Zay Ya) is a Burmese military officer who currently serving as Minister of Security and Border Affairs for Tanintharyi Region since 20 February 2017. He previously served as Acting Chief Minister of Tanintharyi Region after the arrested Chief Minister Lei Lei Maw with corruption case on 10 March 2019.He became a member of Tanintharyi Administration Council formed after 2021 coup and resumed military services on 1 August 2021.\n\nMilitary and governmental career\nKyaw Zaya served as the tactical officer at Khamaukgyi Subtownship-based Operations (20) Administration Department after the appointed him as vice principal and the chief coach at the No. (12) military training school. Later, he was appointed as Minister of Security and Border Affairs for Tanintharyi Region which is member of Tanintharyi Region Government on 20 February 2017.\n\nActing Chief Minister\nOn 10 March 2019, following the arrested Chief Minister Lei Lei Maw with corruption case, Kyaw Zaya was appointed as acting Chief Minister of Tanintharyi Region, according to constitution laws.\n\nOn 11 March 2019, he succeed his position to Myint Maung, a Regional Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, as acting Chief Minister.\n\nReferences\n\nLiving people\nYear of birth missing (living people)\nBurmese military personnel\nBurmese soldiers\nGovernment ministers of Myanmar\nPeople from Tanintharyi Region" ]
[ "Narendra Modi", "Final years", "What happened in her final years?", "Modi made extensive use of holograms", "How did Modi use holograms?", "allowing him to reach a large number of people,", "Did Modi ran for any political positions ?", "Modi won the constituency of Maninagar", "With how many votes did he win this constituency?", "by 86,373 votes", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism.", "How did this affect his campaing?", "Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders.", "What else happened towards the final years?", "As Chief Minister, Modi favoured privatisation and small government,", "Did he make any important laws or helped with some as Chief Minister?", "He established financial and technology parks" ]
C_b6a0c764bf0c443b9768973ff08ca8fb_1
Did he do any other important things?
9
Did Modi do any important things other than establishing financial and technology parks?
Narendra Modi
During Modi's second term the rhetoric of the government shifted from Hindutva to Gujarat's economic development. Modi curtailed the influence of Sangh Parivar organisations such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), entrenched in the state after the decline of Ahmedabad's textile industry, and dropped Gordhan Zadafia (an ally of former Sangh co-worker and VHP state chief Praveen Togadia) from his cabinet. When the BKS staged a farmers' demonstration Modi ordered their eviction from state-provided houses, and his decision to demolish 200 illegal temples in Gandhinagar deepened the rift with the VHP. Sangh organisations were no longer consulted or informed in advance about Modi's administrative decisions. Nonetheless, Modi retained connections with some Hindu nationalists. Modi wrote a foreword to a textbook by Dinanath Batra released in 2014, which stated that ancient India possessed technologies including test-tube babies. Modi's relationship with Muslims continued to attract criticism. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (who asked Modi for tolerance in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat violence and supported his resignation as chief minister) distanced himself, reaching out to North Indian Muslims before the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. After the elections Vajpayee called the violence in Gujarat a reason for the BJP's electoral defeat and said it had been a mistake to leave Modi in office after the riots. Questions about Modi's relationship with Muslims were also raised by many Western nations during his tenure as chief minister. Modi was barred from entering the United States by the State Department, in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on International Religious Freedom formed under the aegis of the International Religious Freedom Act, the only person denied a US visa under this law. The UK and the European Union refused to admit him because of what they saw as his role in the riots. As Modi rose to prominence in India, the UK and the EU lifted their bans in October 2012 and March 2013, respectively, and after his election as prime minister he was invited to Washington. During the run-up to the 2007 assembly elections and the 2009 general election, the BJP intensified its rhetoric on terrorism. In July 2006, Modi criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh " for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislation" such as the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the national government to allow states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. In 2007 Modi authored Karmayog, a 101-page booklet discussing manual scavenging. In it, Modi argued that scavenging was a "spiritual experience" for Dalits. However, this book was not circulated that time because of the election code of conduct. After the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Modi held a meeting to discuss the security of Gujarat's 1,600-kilometre (990 mi)-long coastline, resulting in government authorisation of 30 high-speed surveillance boats. In July 2007 Modi completed 2,063 consecutive days as chief minister of Gujarat, making him the longest-serving holder of that post, and the BJP won 122 of 182 state-assembly seats in that year's election. As Chief Minister, Modi favoured privatisation and small government, which was at odds with the philosophy of the RSS, usually described as anti-privatisation and anti-globalisation. His policies during his second term have been credited with reducing corruption in the state. He established financial and technology parks in Gujarat and during the 2007 Vibrant Gujarat summit, real-estate investment deals worth Rs6.6 trillion were signed. The governments led by Patel and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of groundwater-conservation projects. By December 2008, 500,000 structures had been built, of which 113,738 were check dams, which helped recharge the aquifers beneath them. Sixty of the 112 tehsils which had depleted the water table in 2004 had regained their normal groundwater levels by 2010. As a result, the state's production of genetically modified cotton increased to become the largest in India. The boom in cotton production and its semi-arid land use led to Gujarat's agricultural sector growing at an average rate of 9.6 percent from 2001 to 2007. Public irrigation measures in central and southern Gujarat, such as the Sardar Sarovar Dam, were less successful. The Sardar Sarovar project only irrigated 4-6% of the area intended. Nonetheless, from 2001 to 2010 Gujarat recorded an agricultural growth rate of 10.97 percent - the highest of any state. However, sociologists have pointed out that the growth rate under the 1992-97 INC government was 12.9 percent. In 2008 Modi offered land in Gujarat to Tata Motors to set up a plant manufacturing the Nano after a popular agitation had forced the company to move out of West Bengal. Several other companies followed the Tata's to Gujarat. The Modi government finished the process of bringing electricity to every village in Gujarat that its predecessor had almost completed. Modi significantly changed the state's system of power distribution, greatly impacting farmers. Gujarat expanded the Jyotigram Yojana scheme, in which agricultural electricity was separated from other rural electricity; the agricultural electricity was rationed to fit scheduled irrigation demands, reducing its cost. Although early protests by farmers ended when those who benefited found that their electricity supply had stabilised, according to an assessment study corporations and large farmers benefited from the policy at the expense of small farmers and labourers. During the 2012 campaign, Modi attempted to identify himself with the state of Gujarat, a strategy similar to that used by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, and projected himself as protecting Gujarat against persecution by the rest of India. Despite the BJP's shift away from explicit Hindutva, Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism. Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders. During his 2012 campaign he twice refused to wear articles of clothing gifted by Muslim leaders. He did, however, maintain relations with Dawoodi Bohra. His campaign included references to issues known to cause religious polarisation, including to Afzal Guru and the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. The BJP did not nominate any Muslim candidates for the assembly election of 2012. He had published a Gujarati book titled Jyotipunj in 2008, containing profiles of various RSS leaders. The longest was of M. S. Golwalkar, under whose leadership the RSS expanded and whom Modi refers to as Pujniya Shri Guruji ("Guru worthy of worship"). According to The Economic Times, his intention was to explain the workings of the RSS to his readers and to reassure RSS members that he remained ideologically aligned with them. Modi authored eight other books, mostly containing short stories for children. While campaigning for the 2012 assembly elections, Modi made extensive use of holograms and other technologies allowing him to reach a large number of people, something he would repeat in the 2014 general election. In the 2012 Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections, Modi won the constituency of Maninagar by 86,373 votes over Shweta Bhatt, the INC candidate and wife of Sanjiv Bhatt. The BJP won 115 of the 182 seats, continuing its majority during his tenure and allowing the party to form the government (as it had in Gujarat since 1995). In later by-elections the BJP won four more assembly seats and two Lok Sabha seats held by the INC, although Modi did not campaign for its candidates. In 2013, the Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF) at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania cancelled a keynote video-conference speech by Modi following protests by Indian-Americans. After his election as prime minister, Modi resigned as the chief minister and as an MLA from Maninagar on 21 May 2014. Anandiben Patel succeeded him as the chief minister. CANNOTANSWER
The governments led by Patel and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of groundwater-conservation projects.
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from Varanasi. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindu nationalist paramilitary volunteer organisation. He is the first prime minister to have been born after India's independence in 1947 and the second prime minister not belonging to the Indian National Congress to have won two consecutive majorities in the Lok Sabha, or lower house of Indian of parliament. Born and raised in Vadnagar, a small town in northeastern Gujarat, Modi completed his secondary education there. He was introduced to the RSS at age eight. He has drawn attention to having to work as a child in his father's tea stall on the Vadnagar railway station platform, a description that has not been reliably corroborated. At age 18, Modi was married to Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi, whom he abandoned soon after. He left his parental home where she had come to live. He first publicly acknowledged her as his wife more than four decades later when required to do so by Indian law, but has made no contact with her since. Modi has asserted he had travelled in northern India for two years after leaving his parental home, visiting a number of religious centres, but few details of his travels have emerged. Upon his return to Gujarat in 1971, he became a full-time worker for the RSS. After the state of emergency declared by prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1975, Modi went into hiding. The RSS assigned him to the BJP in 1985 and he held several positions within the party hierarchy until 2001, rising to the rank of general secretary. Modi was appointed Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2001 due to Keshubhai Patel's failing health and poor public image following the earthquake in Bhuj. Modi was elected to the legislative assembly soon after. His administration has been considered complicit in the 2002 Gujarat riots in which 1044 people were killed, three-quarters of whom were Muslim, or otherwise criticised for its management of the crisis. The Supreme Court remarked that Narendra Modi was like a Modern-day Nero, looking the other way as innocent women and children were burning. A Supreme Court of India-appointed Special Investigation Team found no evidence to initiate prosecution proceedings against Modi personally. While his policies as chief minister—credited with encouraging economic growth—have received praise, his administration has been criticised for failing to significantly improve health, poverty and education indices in the state. Modi led the BJP in the 2014 general election which gave the party a majority in the Indian lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha, the first time for any single party since 1984. Modi's administration has tried to raise foreign direct investment in the Indian economy and reduced spending on healthcare and social welfare programmes. Modi has attempted to improve efficiency in the bureaucracy; he has centralised power by abolishing the Planning Commission. He began a high-profile sanitation campaign, controversially initiated a demonetisation of high-denomination banknotes and transformation of taxation regime, and weakened or abolished environmental and labour laws. Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. Following his party's victory in the 2019 general election, his administration revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and also introduced the Citizenship Amendment Act, which resulted in widespread protests across the country. Described as engineering a political realignment towards right-wing politics, Modi remains a figure of controversy domestically and internationally over his Hindu nationalist beliefs and his handling of the 2002 Gujarat riots, cited as evidence of an exclusionary social agenda. Early life and education Narendra Damodardas Modi was born on 17 September 1950 to a Gujarati Hindu family of grocers in Vadnagar, Mehsana district, Bombay State (present-day Gujarat). He was the third of six children born to Damodardas Mulchand Modi () and Hiraben Modi (born ). Modi's family belonged to the Modh-Ghanchi-Teli (oil-presser) community, which is categorised as an Other Backward Class by the Indian government. Modi had only infrequently spoken of his family background during his 13 years as chief minister of Gujarat. In the run up to the 2014 national elections, he began to regularly draw attention to his low-ranking social origins and to having to work as a child in his father's tea shop on the Vadnagar railway station platform, a description that the evidence of neighbours does not entirely corroborate. Modi completed his higher secondary education in Vadnagar in 1967, where teachers described him as an average student and a keen gifted debater, with interest in theatre. Modi preferred playing larger-than-life characters in theatrical productions, which has influenced his political image. When eight years old, Modi was introduced to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and began attending its local shakhas (training sessions). There, Modi met Lakshmanrao Inamdar, popularly known as Vakil Saheb, who inducted him as a balswayamsevak (junior cadet) in the RSS and became his political mentor. While Modi was training with the RSS, he also met Vasant Gajendragadkar and Nathalal Jaghda, Bharatiya Jana Sangh leaders who were founding members of the BJP's Gujarat unit in 1980. In a custom traditional to Narendra Modi's caste, his family arranged a betrothal to a girl, Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi, leading to their marriage when she was 17 and he was 18. Soon afterwards, he abandoned his bride, and left home, never divorcing her, but the marriage remaining unmentioned in Modi's public pronouncements for many decades. In April 2014, shortly before the national elections that swept him to power, Modi publicly affirmed that he was married and his spouse was Jashodaben; the couple has remained married, but estranged. Modi spent the ensuing two years travelling across Northern and North-eastern India, though few details of where he went have emerged. In interviews, Modi has described visiting Hindu ashrams founded by Swami Vivekananda: the Belur Math near Kolkata, followed by the Advaita Ashrama in Almora and the Ramakrishna Mission in Rajkot. Modi remained only a short time at each, since he lacked the required college education. Vivekananda has been described as a large influence in Modi's life. In the early summer of 1968, Modi reached the Belur Math but was turned away, after which Modi wandered through Calcutta, West Bengal and Assam, stopping in Siliguri and Guwahati. Modi then went to the Ramakrishna Ashram in Almora, where he was again rejected, before travelling back to Gujarat via Delhi and Rajasthan in 1968–69. Sometime in late 1969 or early 1970, Modi returned to Vadnagar for a brief visit before leaving again for Ahmedabad. There, Modi lived with his uncle, working in the latter's canteen at the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation. In Ahmedabad, Modi renewed his acquaintance with Inamdar, who was based at the Hedgewar Bhavan (RSS headquarters) in the city. Modi's first known political activity as an adult was in 1971 when he, as per his remarks, joined a Jana Sangh Satyagraha in Delhi led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee to enlist for the battlefield during the Bangladesh Liberation War. But the Indira Gandhi-led central government disallowed open support for the Mukti Bahini and Modi, according to his own claim, was put in Tihar Jail for a short period. After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he stopped working for his uncle and became a full-time pracharak (campaigner) for the RSS, working under Inamdar. Shortly before the war, Modi took part in a non-violent protest against the Indian government in New Delhi, for which he was arrested (as per his claim); this has been cited as a reason for Inamdar electing to mentor him. Many years later Modi would co-author a biography of Inamdar, published in 2001. Modi's claim that he was part of a Satyagraha led to a political war. Applications were filed with the PMO under the RTI Act seeking details of his arrest. In reply, the PMO claimed that it maintains official records on Modi only since he took charge as the Prime Minister of India in 2014. Despite this claim, the official website of the PMO contains specific information about Modi which dates back to the 1950s. In 1978 Modi received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the School of Open Learning (SOL) at the University of Delhi, graduating with a third class. Five years later, in 1983, he received a Master of Arts degree in political science from Gujarat University, graduating with a first class as an external distance learning student. But there is a big controversy surrounding his educational qualification. Replying to an RTI query, the SOL said it did not have any data of students who received a BA degree in 1978. Jayantibhai Patel, a former political science professor of Gujarat University, claimed that the subjects listed in Modi's MA degree were not offered by the university when Modi was studying there. Early political career In June 1975, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency in India which lasted until 1977. During this period, known as "The Emergency", many of her political opponents were jailed and opposition groups were banned. Modi was appointed general secretary of the "Gujarat Lok Sangharsh Samiti", an RSS committee co-ordinating opposition to the Emergency in Gujarat. Shortly afterwards, the RSS was banned. Modi was forced to go underground in Gujarat and frequently travelled in disguise to avoid arrest. He became involved in printing pamphlets opposing the government, sending them to Delhi and organising demonstrations. Modi was also involved with creating a network of safe houses for individuals wanted by the government, and in raising funds for political refugees and activists. During this period, Modi wrote a book in Gujarati, Sangharsh Ma Gujarat (In The Struggles of Gujarat), describing events during the Emergency. Among the people he met in this role was trade unionist and socialist activist George Fernandes, as well as several other national political figures. In his travels during the Emergency, Modi was often forced to move in disguise, once dressing as a monk, and once as a Sikh. Modi became an RSS sambhag pracharak (regional organiser) in 1978, overseeing RSS activities in the areas of Surat and Vadodara, and in 1979 he went to work for the RSS in Delhi, where he was put to work researching and writing the RSS's version of the history of the Emergency. He returned to Gujarat a short while later, and was assigned by the RSS to the BJP in 1985. In 1987 Modi helped organise the BJP's campaign in the Ahmedabad municipal election, which the BJP won comfortably; Modi's planning has been described as the reason for that result by biographers. After L. K. Advani became president of the BJP in 1986, the RSS decided to place its members in important positions within the BJP; Modi's work during the Ahmedabad election led to his selection for this role, and Modi was elected organising secretary of the BJP's Gujarat unit later in 1987. Modi rose within the party and was named a member of the BJP's National Election Committee in 1990, helping organise L. K. Advani's 1990 Ram Rath Yatra in 1990 and Murli Manohar Joshi's 1991–92 Ekta Yatra (Journey for Unity). However, he took a brief break from politics in 1992, instead establishing a school in Ahmedabad; friction with Shankersinh Vaghela, a BJP MP from Gujarat at the time, also played a part in this decision. Modi returned to electoral politics in 1994, partly at the insistence of Advani, and as party secretary, Modi's electoral strategy was considered central to the BJP victory in the 1995 state assembly elections. In November of that year Modi was appointed BJP national secretary and transferred to New Delhi, where he assumed responsibility for party activities in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The following year, Shankersinh Vaghela, a prominent BJP leader from Gujarat, defected to the Indian National Congress (Congress, INC) after losing his parliamentary seat in the Lok Sabha elections. Modi, on the selection committee for the 1998 Assembly elections in Gujarat, favoured supporters of BJP leader Keshubhai Patel over those supporting Vaghela to end factional division in the party. His strategy was credited as key to the BJP winning an overall majority in the 1998 elections, and Modi was promoted to BJP general secretary (organisation) in May of that year. Chief Minister of Gujarat Taking office In 2001, Keshubhai Patel's health was failing and the BJP lost a few state assembly seats in by-elections. Allegations of abuse of power, corruption and poor administration were made, and Patel's standing had been damaged by his administration's handling of the earthquake in Bhuj in 2001. The BJP national leadership sought a new candidate for the chief ministership, and Modi, who had expressed misgivings about Patel's administration, was chosen as a replacement. Although BJP leader L. K. Advani did not want to ostracise Patel and was concerned about Modi's lack of experience in government, Modi declined an offer to be Patel's deputy chief minister, telling Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee that he was "going to be fully responsible for Gujarat or not at all". On 3 October 2001 he replaced Patel as Chief Minister of Gujarat, with the responsibility of preparing the BJP for the December 2002 elections. Modi was sworn in as Chief Minister on 7 October 2001, and entered the Gujarat state legislature on 24 February 2002 by winning a by-election to the Rajkot – II constituency, defeating Ashwin Mehta of the INC by 14,728 votes. 2002 Gujarat riots On 27 February 2002, a train with several hundred passengers burned near Godhra, killing approximately 60 people. The train carried a large number of Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya after a religious ceremony at the site of the demolished Babri Masjid. In making a public statement after the incident, Modi declared it a terrorist attack planned and orchestrated by local Muslims. The next day, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad called for a bandh across the state. Riots began during the bandh, and anti-Muslim violence spread through Gujarat. The government's decision to move the bodies of the train victims from Godhra to Ahmedabad further inflamed the violence. The state government stated later that 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed. Independent sources put the death toll at over 2000, the vast majority Muslims Approximately 150,000 people were driven to refugee camps. Numerous women and children were among the victims; the violence included mass rapes and mutilations of women. The government of Gujarat itself is generally considered by scholars to have been complicit in the riots, (with some blaming chief minister Modi explicitly) and has otherwise received heavy criticism for its handling of the situation. Several scholars have described the violence as a pogrom, while others have called it an example of state terrorism. Summarising academic views on the subject, Martha Nussbaum said: "There is by now a broad consensus that the Gujarat violence was a form of ethnic cleansing, that in many ways it was premeditated, and that it was carried out with the complicity of the state government and officers of the law." The Modi government imposed a curfew in 26 major cities, issued shoot-at-sight orders and called for the army to patrol the streets, but was unable to prevent the violence from escalating. The president of the state unit of the BJP expressed support for the bandh, despite such actions being illegal at the time. State officials later prevented riot victims from leaving the refugee camps, and the camps were often unable to meet the needs of those living there. Muslim victims of the riots were subject to further discrimination when the state government announced that compensation for Muslim victims would be half of that offered to Hindus, although this decision was later reversed after the issue was taken to court. During the riots, police officers often did not intervene in situations where they were able. Modi's personal involvement in the 2002 events has continued to be debated. During the riots, Modi said that "What is happening is a chain of action and reaction." Later in 2002, Modi said the way in which he had handled the media was his only regret regarding the episode. In March 2008, the Supreme Court reopened several cases related to the 2002 riots, including that of the Gulbarg Society massacre, and established a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the issue. In response to a petition from Zakia Jafri (widow of Ehsan Jafri, who was killed in the Gulbarg Society massacre), in April 2009 the court also asked the SIT to investigate the issue of Modi's complicity in the killings. The SIT questioned Modi in March 2010; in May, it presented to the court a report finding no evidence against him. In July 2011, the court-appointed amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran submitted his final report to the court. Contrary to the SIT's position, he said that Modi could be prosecuted based on the available evidence. The Supreme Court gave the matter to the magistrate's court. The SIT examined Ramachandran's report, and in March 2012 submitted its final report, asking for the case to be closed. Zakia Jafri filed a protest petition in response. In December 2013 the magistrate's court rejected the protest petition, accepting the SIT's finding that there was no evidence against the chief minister. 2002 election In the aftermath of the violence there were widespread calls for Modi to resign as chief minister from within and outside the state, including from leaders of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Telugu Desam Party (allies in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance coalition), and opposition parties stalled Parliament over the issue. Modi submitted his resignation at the April 2002 BJP national executive meeting in Goa, but it was not accepted. His cabinet had an emergency meeting on 19 July 2002, after which it offered its resignation to the Gujarat Governor S. S. Bhandari, and the state assembly was dissolved. Despite opposition from the election commissioner, who said that a number of voters were still displaced, Modi succeeded in advancing the election to December 2002. In the elections, the BJP won 127 seats in the 182-member assembly. Although Modi later denied it, he made significant use of anti-Muslim rhetoric during his campaign, and the BJP profited from religious polarisation among the voters. He won the Maninagar constituency, receiving of votes and defeating INC candidate Yatin Oza by 75,333 votes. On 22 December 2002, Bhandari swore Modi in for a second term. Modi framed the criticism of his government for human rights violations as an attack upon Gujarati pride, a strategy which led to the BJP winning two-thirds of the seats in the state assembly. Second term During Modi's second term the rhetoric of the government shifted from Hindutva to Gujarat's economic development. Modi curtailed the influence of Sangh Parivar organisations such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), entrenched in the state after the decline of Ahmedabad's textile industry, and dropped Gordhan Zadafia (an ally of former Sangh co-worker and VHP state chief Praveen Togadia) from his cabinet. When the BKS staged a farmers' demonstration Modi ordered their eviction from state-provided houses, and his decision to demolish 200 illegal temples in Gandhinagar deepened the rift with the Vishva Hindu Parishad. Sangh organisations were no longer consulted or informed in advance about Modi's administrative decisions. Nonetheless, Modi retained connections with some Hindu nationalists. Modi wrote a foreword to a textbook by Dinanath Batra released in 2014, which stated that ancient India possessed technologies including test-tube babies. Modi's relationship with Muslims continued to attract criticism. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (who asked Modi for tolerance in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat violence and supported his resignation as chief minister) distanced himself, reaching out to North Indian Muslims before the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. After the elections Vajpayee called the violence in Gujarat a reason for the BJP's electoral defeat and said it had been a mistake to leave Modi in office after the riots. Questions about Modi's relationship with Muslims were also raised by many Western nations during his tenure as chief minister. Modi was barred from entering the United States by the State Department, in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on International Religious Freedom formed under the aegis of the International Religious Freedom Act, the only person denied a US visa under this law. The UK and the European Union refused to admit him because of what they saw as his role in the riots. As Modi rose to prominence in India, the UK and the EU lifted their bans in October 2012 and March 2013, respectively, and after his election he was invited to Washington as the nation's prime minister. During the run-up to the 2007 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election and the 2009 Indian general election, the BJP intensified its rhetoric on terrorism. In July 2006, Modi criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh " for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislation" such as the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the national government to allow states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. In 2007 Modi authored Karmayog, a 101-page booklet discussing manual scavenging. In it, Modi argued that scavenging was a "spiritual experience" for Valmiks, a sub-caste of Dalits. However, this book was not circulated that time because of the election code of conduct. After the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Modi held a meeting to discuss the security of Gujarat's -long coastline, resulting in government authorisation of 30 high-speed surveillance boats. In July 2007 Modi completed 2,063 consecutive days as chief minister of Gujarat, making him the longest-serving holder of that post, and the BJP won 122 of 182 state-assembly seats in that year's election. Development projects As Chief Minister, Modi favoured privatisation and small government, which was at odds with the philosophy of the RSS, usually described as anti-privatisation and anti-globalisation. His policies during his second term have been credited with reducing corruption in the state. He established financial and technology parks in Gujarat and during the 2007 Vibrant Gujarat summit, real-estate investment deals worth were signed. The governments led by Patel and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of groundwater-conservation projects. By December 2008, 500,000 structures had been built, of which 113,738 were check dams, which helped recharge the aquifers beneath them. Sixty of the 112 tehsils which had depleted the water table in 2004 had regained their normal groundwater levels by 2010. As a result, the state's production of genetically modified cotton increased to become the largest in India. The boom in cotton production and its semi-arid land use led to Gujarat's agricultural sector growing at an average rate of 9.6 percent from 2001 to 2007. Public irrigation measures in central and southern Gujarat, such as the Sardar Sarovar Dam, were less successful. The Sardar Sarovar project only irrigated 4–6% of the area intended. Nonetheless, from 2001 to 2010 Gujarat recorded an agricultural growth rate of 10.97 percent – the highest of any state. However, sociologists have pointed out that the growth rate under the 1992–97 INC government was 12.9 percent. In 2008 Modi offered land in Gujarat to Tata Motors to set up a plant manufacturing the Nano after a popular agitation had forced the company to move out of West Bengal. Several other companies followed the Tata to Gujarat. The Modi government finished the process of bringing electricity to every village in Gujarat that its predecessor had almost completed. Modi significantly changed the state's system of power distribution, greatly impacting farmers. Gujarat expanded the Jyotigram Yojana scheme, in which agricultural electricity was separated from other rural electricity; the agricultural electricity was rationed to fit scheduled irrigation demands, reducing its cost. Although early protests by farmers ended when those who benefited found that their electricity supply had stabilised, according to an assessment study corporations and large farmers benefited from the policy at the expense of small farmers and labourers. Development debate A contentious debate surrounds the assessment of Gujarat's economic development during Modi's tenure as chief minister. The state's GDP growth rate averaged 10% during Modi's tenure, a value similar to other highly industrialised states, and above that of the country as a whole. Gujarat also had a high rate of economic growth in the 1990s, before Modi took office, and some scholars have stated that growth did not much accelerate during Modi's tenure, although the state is considered to have maintained a high growth rate during Modi's Chief Ministership. Under Narendra Modi, Gujarat topped the World Bank's "ease of doing business" rankings among Indian states for two consecutive years. In 2013, Gujarat was ranked first among Indian states for "economic freedom" by a report measuring governance, growth, citizens' rights and labour and business regulation among the country's 20 largest states. In the later years of Modi's government, Gujarat's economic growth was frequently used as an argument to counter allegations of communalism. Tax breaks for businesses were easier to obtain in Gujarat than in other states, as was land. Modi's policies to make Gujarat attractive for investment included the creation of Special Economic Zones, where labour laws were greatly weakened. Despite its growth rate, Gujarat had a relatively poor record on human development, poverty relief, nutrition and education during Modi's tenure. In 2013, Gujarat ranked 13th in the country with respect to rates of poverty and 21st in education. Nearly 45 percent of children under five were underweight and 23 percent were undernourished, putting the state in the "alarming" category on the India State Hunger Index. A study by UNICEF and the Indian government found that Gujarat under Modi had a poor record with respect to immunisation in children. Over the decade from 2001 to 2011, Gujarat did not change its position relative to the rest of the country with respect to poverty and female literacy, remaining near the median of the 29 Indian states. It showed a marginal improvement in rates of infant mortality, and its position with respect to individual consumption declined. With respect to the quality of education in government schools, the state ranked below many Indian states. The social policies of the government generally did not benefit Muslims, Dalits, and Adivasis, and generally increased social inequalities. Development in Gujarat was generally limited to the urban middle class, and citizens in rural areas or from lower castes were increasingly marginalised. In 2013 the state ranked 10th of 21 Indian states in the Human Development Index. Under Modi, the state government spent less than the national average on education and healthcare. Final years Despite the BJP's shift away from explicit Hindutva, Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism. Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders. During his 2012 campaign he twice refused to wear articles of clothing gifted by Muslim leaders. He did, however, maintain relations with Dawoodi Bohra. His campaign included references to issues known to cause religious polarisation, including to Afzal Guru and the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. The BJP did not nominate any Muslim candidates for the assembly election of 2012. During the 2012 campaign, Modi attempted to identify himself with the state of Gujarat, a strategy similar to that used by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, and projected himself as protecting Gujarat against persecution by the rest of India. While campaigning for the 2012 assembly elections, Modi made extensive use of holograms and other technologies allowing him to reach a large number of people, something he would repeat in the 2014 general election. In the 2012 Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections, Modi won the constituency of Maninagar by 86,373 votes over Shweta Bhatt, the INC candidate and wife of Sanjiv Bhatt. The BJP won 115 of the 182 seats, continuing its majority during his tenure and allowing the party to form the government (as it had in Gujarat since 1995). After his election as prime minister, Modi resigned as the chief minister and as an MLA from Maninagar on 21 May 2014. Anandiben Patel succeeded him as the chief minister. Premiership campaigns 2014 Indian general election In September 2013 Modi was named the BJP's candidate for prime minister ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha election. Several BJP leaders expressed opposition to Modi's candidature, including BJP founding member L. K. Advani, who cited concern with leaders who were "concerned with their personal agendas". Modi played a dominant role in the BJP's election campaign. Several people who voted for the BJP stated that if Modi had not been the prime-ministerial candidate, they would have voted for another party. The focus on Modi as an individual was unusual for a BJP election campaign. The election was described as a referendum on Narendra Modi. During the campaign, Modi focused on the corruption scandals under the previous INC government, and played on his image as a politician who had created a high rate of GDP growth in Gujarat. Modi projected himself as a person who could bring about "development," without focus on any specific policies. His message found support among young Indians and among middle-class citizens. The BJP under Modi was able to downplay concerns about the protection of religious minorities and Modi's commitment to secularism, areas in which he had previously received criticism. Prior to the election Modi's image in the media had centered around his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots, but during the campaign the BJP was able to shift this to a focus on Modi's neoliberal ideology and the Gujarat model of development, although Hindutva remained a significant part of its campaign. The BJP's campaign was assisted by its wide influence in the media. Modi's campaign blitz cost approximately , and received extensive financial support from corporate donors. In addition to more conventional campaign methods, Modi made extensive use of social media, and addressed more than 1000 rallies via hologram appearances. The BJP won 31% of the vote, and more than doubled its tally in the Lok Sabha to 282, becoming the first party to win a majority of seats on its own since 1984. Voter dissatisfaction with the INC, as well as with regional parties in North India, was another reason for the success of the BJP, as was the support from the RSS. In states such as Uttar Pradesh in which the BJP performed well, it drew exceptionally high support from upper-caste Hindus, although the 10 percent of Muslim votes won was more than it had won before. It performed particularly well in parts of the country that had recently experienced violence between Hindus and Muslims. The magnitude of the BJP's victory led many commentators to say that the election constituted a political realignment away from progressive parties and towards the right-wing. Modi's tweet announcing his victory was described as being emblematic of the political realignment away from a secular, socialist state towards capitalism and Hindu cultural nationalism. Modi himself was a candidate for the Lok Sabha in two constituencies: Varanasi and Vadodara. He won in both constituencies, defeating Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal in Varanasi by 371,784 votes and Madhusudan Mistry of the INC in Vadodara by votes. Modi, who was unanimously elected leader of the BJP, was appointed prime minister by India's president. To comply with the law that an MP cannot represent more than one constituency, he vacated the Vadodara seat. 2019 Indian general election On 13 October 2018, Modi was renamed as the BJP candidate for prime minister for the 2019 general election. The chief campaigner for the party was BJP's president Amit Shah. Modi launched the Main Bhi Chowkidar campaign ahead of the general election, against Chowkidar Chor Hai campaign slogan of INC. In the year 2018, end Party's, second-biggest alliance Telugu Desam Party split from NDA over the matter of special-status for Andhra Pradesh. The campaign was started by Amit Shah on 8 April 2019. In the campaign, Modi was targeted by the opposition on corruption allegations over Rafale deal with France government. Highlighting this controversy the campaign "Chowkidar Chor Hai" was started, which was contrary to "Main Bhi Chowkidar" slogan. Modi made defence and national security among the foremost topics for the election campaign, especially after Pulwama attack, and the retaliatory attack of Balakot airstrike was counted as an achievement of the Modi administration. Other topics in the campaign were development and good foreign relations in the first premiership. Modi contested the Lok Sabha elections as a candidate from Varanasi. He won the seat by defeating Shalini Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, who fought on SP-BSP alliance by a margin of votes. Modi was unanimously appointed the prime minister for a second time by the National Democratic Alliance, after the alliance won the election for the second time by securing 353 seats in the Lok Sabha with the BJP alone won 303 seats. Prime Minister After the Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance won a landslide in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Narendra Modi was sworn in as the Prime Minister of India on 26 May 2014. He became the first Prime Minister born after India's independence from the British Empire in 1947. Modi started his second term after the Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance won again in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. On 6 December 2020, Modi became the 4th longest serving Prime Minister of India and the longest serving Non-Congress Prime Minister. Governance and other initiatives Modi's first year as prime minister saw significant centralisation of power relative to previous administrations. His efforts at centralisation have been linked to an increase in the number of senior administration officials resigning their positions. Initially lacking a majority in the Rajya Sabha, or upper house of Indian Parliament, Modi passed a number of ordinances to enact his policies, leading to further centralisation of power. The government also passed a bill increasing the control that it had over the appointment of judges, and reducing that of the judiciary. In December 2014 Modi abolished the Planning Commission, replacing it with the National Institution for Transforming India, or NITI Aayog. The move had the effect of greatly centralising the power previously with the planning commission in the person of the prime minister. The planning commission had received heavy criticism in previous years for creating inefficiency in the government, and of not filling its role of improving social welfare: however, since the economic liberalisation of the 1990s, it had been the major government body responsible for measures related to social justice. The Modi government launched investigations by the Intelligence Bureau against numerous civil society organisations and foreign non-governmental organisations in the first year of the administration. The investigations, on the grounds that these organisations were slowing economic growth, was criticised as a witch-hunt. International humanitarian aid organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres was among the groups that were put under pressure. Other organisations affected included the Sierra Club and Avaaz. Cases of sedition were filed against individuals criticising the government. This led to discontent within the BJP regarding Modi's style of functioning and drew comparisons to the governing style of Indira Gandhi. Modi repealed 1,200 obsolete laws in first three years as prime minister; a total of 1,301 such laws had been repealed by previous governments over a span of 64 years. He started a monthly radio programme titled "Mann Ki Baat" on 3 October 2014. Modi also launched the Digital India programme, with the goal of ensuring that government services are available electronically, building infrastructure to provide high-speed Internet access to rural areas, boosting manufacturing of electronic goods in the country, and promoting digital literacy. Modi launched Ujjwala scheme to provide free LPG connection to rural households. The scheme led to an increase in LPG consumption by 56% in 2019 as compared to 2014. In 2019, a law was passed to provide 10% reservation to Economically weaker sections. He was again sworn in as prime minister on 30 May 2019. On 30 July 2019, Parliament of India declared the practice of Triple Talaq as illegal, unconstitutional and made it punishable act from 1 August 2019 which is deemed to be in effect from 19 September 2018. On 5 August 2019, the government moved resolution to scrap Article 370 in the Rajya Sabha, and also reorganise the state with Jammu and Kashmir serving as one of the union territory and Ladakh region separated out as a separate union territory. Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. According to one study, "The BJP government incrementally but systemically attacked nearly all existing mechanisms that are in place to hold the political executive to account, either by ensuring that these mechanisms became subservient to the political executive or were captured by party loyalists." Scholars also point to how he Modi government has used state power to intimidate and stifle critics in the media and academia, thus undermining freedom of expression and alternative sources of information. Reporters Without Borders in 2021 characterised Modi as a predator for curbing press freedom in India since 2014. Economic policy The economic policies of Modi's government focused on privatisation and liberalisation of the economy, based on a neoliberal framework. Modi liberalised India's foreign direct investment policies, allowing more foreign investment in several industries, including in defence and the railways. Other proposed reforms included making it harder for workers to form unions and easier for employers to hire and fire them; some of these proposals were dropped after protests. The reforms drew strong opposition from unions: on 2 September 2015, eleven of the country's largest unions went on strike, including one affiliated with the BJP. The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, a constituent of the Sangh Parivar, stated that the underlying motivation of labour reforms favoured corporations over labourers. The funds dedicated to poverty reduction programmes and social welfare measures were greatly decreased by the Modi administration. The money spent on social programmes declined from 14.6% of GDP during the Congress government to 12.6% during Modi's first year in office. Spending on health and family welfare declined by 15%, and on primary and secondary education by 16%. The budgetary allocation for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, or the "education for all" programme, declined by 22%. The government also lowered corporate taxes, abolished the wealth tax, increased sales taxes, and reduced customs duties on gold, and jewellery. In October 2014, the Modi government deregulated diesel prices. In September 2014, Modi introduced the Make in India initiative to encourage foreign companies to manufacture products in India, with the goal of turning the country into a global manufacturing hub. Supporters of economic liberalisation supported the initiative, while critics argued it would allow foreign corporations to capture a greater share of the Indian market. Modi's administration passed a land-reform bill that allowed it to acquire private agricultural land without conducting a social impact assessment, and without the consent of the farmers who owned it. The bill was passed via an executive order after it faced opposition in parliament, but was eventually allowed to lapse. Modi's government put in place the Goods and Services Tax, the biggest tax reform in the country since independence. It subsumed around 17 different taxes and became effective from 1 July 2017. In his first cabinet decision, Modi set up a team to investigate black money. On 9 November 2016, the government demonetised ₹500 and ₹1000 banknotes, with the stated intention of curbing corruption, black money, the use of counterfeit currency, and terrorism. The move led to severe cash shortages, a steep decline in the Indian stock indices BSE SENSEX and NIFTY 50, and sparked widespread protests throughout the country. Several deaths were linked to the rush to exchange cash. In the subsequent year, the number of income tax returns filed for individuals rose by 25%, and the number of digital transactions increased steeply. Over the first four years of Modi's premiership, India's GDP grew at an average rate of 7.23%, higher than the rate of 6.39% under the previous government. The level of income inequality increased, while an internal government report said that in 2017, unemployment had increased to its highest level in 45 years. The loss of jobs was attributed to the 2016 demonetisation, and to the effects of the Goods and Services Tax. In the next year, after 2018, Indian economy started a gradual recovery with a GDP growth of 6.12% in 2018-19 FY, with an inflation rate of 3.4%. Same year, India was successful in making a good economy in trade and manufacturing sector. While in the FY of 2019–20, due to the general election, Modi government focused more on their election campaign. In the year 2019–20, the GDP growth rate was 4.18% and inflation rate also increased to 4.7% from 3.4% in the previous year. Though being high unemployment, increase in inflation rate and budget deficiency, Modi's leadership won in 2019 elections. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous rating agencies downgraded India's GDP predictions for FY21 to negative figures, signalling a recession in India, the most severe since 1979. According to a Dun & Bradstreet report, the country is likely to suffer a recession in the third quarter of FY2020 as a result of the over 2-month long nation-wide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19. This was also accompanied by the mass migration of migrant workers. Health and sanitation In his first year as prime minister, Modi reduced the amount of money spent by the central government on healthcare. The Modi government launched New Health Policy (NHP) in January 2015. The policy did not increase the government's spending on healthcare, instead emphasising the role of private healthcare organisations. This represented a shift away from the policy of the previous Congress government, which had supported programmes to assist public health goals, including reducing child and maternal mortality rates. The National Health Mission, which included public health programmes targeted at these indices received nearly 20% less funds in 2015 than in the previous year. 15 national health programmes, including those aimed at controlling tobacco use and supporting healthcare for the elderly, were merged with the National Health Mission. In its budget for the second year after it took office, the Modi government reduced healthcare spending by 15%. The healthcare budget for the following year rose by 19%. The budget was viewed positively by private insurance providers. Public health experts criticised its emphasis on the role of private healthcare providers, and suggested that it represented a shift away from public health facilities. The healthcare budget rose by 11.5% in 2018; the change included an allocation of for a government-funded health insurance program, and a decrease in the budget of the National Health Mission. The government introduced stricter packaging laws for tobacco which requires 85% of the packet size to be covered by pictorial warnings. An article in the medical journal Lancet stated that the country "might have taken a few steps back in public health" under Modi. In 2018 Modi launched the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, a government health insurance scheme intended to insure 500 million people. 100,000 people had signed up by October 2018. Modi emphasised his government's efforts at sanitation as a means of ensuring good health. On 2 October 2014, Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Mission ("Clean India") campaign. The stated goals of the campaign included eliminating open defecation and manual scavenging within five years. As part of the programme, the Indian government began constructing millions of toilets in rural areas and encouraging people to use them. The government also announced plans to build new sewage treatment plants. The administration plans to construct 60 million toilets by 2019. The construction projects have faced allegations of corruption, and have faced severe difficulty in getting people to use the toilets constructed for them. Sanitation cover in the country increased from 38.7% in October 2014 to 84.1% in May 2018; however, usage of the new sanitary facilities lagged behind the government's targets. In 2018, the World Health Organization stated that at least 180,000 diarrhoeal deaths were averted in rural India after the launch of the sanitation effort. Hindutva During the 2014 election campaign, the BJP sought to identify itself with political leaders known to have opposed Hindu nationalism, including B. R. Ambedkar, Subhas Chandra Bose, and Ram Manohar Lohia. The campaign also saw the use of rhetoric based on Hindutva by BJP leaders in certain states. Communal tensions were played upon especially in Uttar Pradesh and the states of Northeast India. A proposal for the controversial Uniform Civil Code was a part of the BJP's election manifesto. The activities of a number of Hindu nationalist organisations increased in scope after Modi's election as Prime Minister, sometimes with the support of the government. These activities included a Hindu religious conversion programme, a campaign against the alleged Islamic practice of "Love Jihad", and attempts to celebrate Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, by members of the right wing Hindu Mahasabha. Officials in the government, including the Home Minister, defended the conversion programmes. Links between the BJP and the RSS grew stronger under Modi. The RSS provided organisational support to the BJP's electoral campaigns, while the Modi administration appointed a number of individuals affiliated with the RSS to prominent government positions. In 2014, Yellapragada Sudershan Rao, who had previously been associated with the RSS, became the chairperson of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). Historians and former members of the ICHR, including those sympathetic to the BJP, questioned his credentials as a historian, and stated that the appointment was part of an agenda of cultural nationalism. The North East Delhi riots, which left more than 40 dead and hundreds injured, were triggered by protests against a citizenship law seen by many critics as anti-Muslim and part of Modi's Hindu nationalist agenda. On 5 August 2020, Modi visited Ayodhya after the Supreme Court in 2019 ordered a contested land in Ayodhya to be handed over to a trust to build the Hindu temple and ordered the government to give alternate 5 acre land to Sunni Waqf Board for the purpose of building a mosque. He became the first prime minister to visit Ram Janmabhoomi and Hanuman Garhi. Foreign policy Foreign policy played a relatively small role in Modi's election campaign, and did not feature prominently in the BJP's election manifesto. Modi invited all the other leaders of SAARC countries to his swearing in ceremony as prime minister. He was the first Indian prime minister to do so. Modi's foreign policy, similarly to that of the preceding INC government, focused on improving economic ties, security, and regional relations. Modi continued Manmohan Singh's policy of "multi-alignment." The Modi administration tried to attract foreign investment in the Indian economy from several sources, especially in East Asia, with the use of slogans such as "Make in India" and "Digital India". The government also tried to improve relations with Islamic nations in the Middle East, such as Bahrain, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as with Israel. The foreign relations of India with the USA also mended after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister. During the run-up to the general election there was wide-ranging scepticism regarding future of the strategic bilateral relation under Modi's premiership as in 2005 he was, while Chief Minister of Gujarat, denied a U.S. visa during the Bush administration for his poor human rights records. However sensing Modi's inevitable victory well before the election, the US Ambassador Nancy Powell had reached out to him as part of greater rapprochement from the west. Moreover, following his 2014 election as the Prime Minister of India President Obama congratulated him over the telephone and invited him to visit the US. Modi government has been successful in making good foreign relations with the USA in the presidency of both Barack Obama and Donald Trump. During the first few months after the election, Modi made trips to a number of different countries to further the goals of his policy, and attended the BRICS, ASEAN, and G20 summits. One of Modi's first visits as prime minister was to Nepal, during which he promised a billion USD in aid. Modi also made several overtures to the United States, including multiple visits to that country. While this was described as an unexpected development, due to the US having previously denied Modi a travel visa over his role during the 2002 Gujarat riots, the visits were expected to strengthen diplomatic and trade relations between the two countries. In 2015, the Indian parliament ratified a land exchange deal with Bangladesh about the India–Bangladesh enclaves, which had been initiated by the government of Manmohan Singh. Modi's administration gave renewed attention to India's "Look East Policy", instituted in 1991. The policy was renamed the "Act East Policy", and involved directing Indian foreign policy towards East Asia and Southeast Asia. The government signed agreements to improve land connectivity with Myanmar, through the state of Manipur. This represented a break with India's historic engagement with Myanmar, which prioritised border security over trade. China–India relations have deteriorated rapidly following the 2020 China–India skirmishes. Modi has pledged aid of $900 million to Afghanistan, visited the nation twice and been honoured with the nation's highest civilian honour in 2016. Defence policy India's nominal military spending increased steadily under Modi. The military budget declined over Modi's tenure both as a fraction of GDP and when adjusted for inflation. A substantial portion of the military budget was devoted to personnel costs, leading commentators to write that the budget was constraining Indian military modernisation. The BJP election manifesto had also promised to deal with illegal immigration into India in the Northeast, as well as to be more firm in its handling of insurgent groups. The Modi government issued a notification allowing Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist illegal immigrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh to legalise their residency in India. The government described the measure as being taken for humanitarian reasons but it drew criticism from several Assamese organisations.The Modi administration negotiated a peace agreement with the largest faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCM), which was announced in August 2015. The Naga insurgency in northeast India had begun in the 1950s. The NSCM and the government had agreed to a ceasefire in 1997, but a peace accord had not previously been signed. In 2015 the government abrogated a 15-year ceasefire with the Khaplang faction of the NSCM (NSCM-K). The NSCM-K responded with a series of attacks, which killed 18 people. The Modi government carried out a raid across the border with Myanmar as a result, and labelled the NSCM-K a terrorist organisation. Modi promised to be "tough on Pakistan" during his election campaign, and repeatedly stated that Pakistan was an exporter of terrorism. On 29 September 2016, the Indian Army stated that it had conducted a surgical strike on terror launch pads in Azad Kashmir. The Indian media claimed that up to 50 terrorists and Pakistani soldiers had been killed in the strike. Pakistan initially denied that any strikes had taken place. Subsequent reports suggested that Indian claim about the scope of the strike and the number of casualties had been exaggerated, although cross-border strikes had been carried out. In February 2019 India carried out airstrikes in Pakistan against a supposed terrorist camp. Further military skirmishes followed, including cross-border shelling and the loss of an Indian aircraft. Following his victory in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he focused more on Defence policies of India, especially against China and Pakistan. On 5 May 2020, Chinese and Indian troops engaged in aggressive melee, face-offs and skirmishes at locations along the Sino-Indian border, including near the disputed Pangong Lake in Ladakh and the Tibet Autonomous Region, and near the border between Sikkim and the Tibet Autonomous Region. Additional clashes also took place at locations in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). After which there was start of skirmishes between the nations leading to many border clashes, responses and reactions from both sides. A series of talks were also held between the two by both military and diplomatic means for peace. The first border clash reported in 2021 was on 20 January, referred to as a minor border clash in Sikkim. Environmental policy In naming his cabinet, Modi renamed the "Ministry of Environment and Forests" the "Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change." In the first budget of the government, the money allotted to this ministry was reduced by more than 50%. The new ministry also removed or diluted a number of laws related to environmental protection. These included no longer requiring clearance from the National Board for Wildlife for projects close to protected areas, and allowing certain projects to proceed before environmental clearance was received. The government also tried to reconstitute the Wildlife board such that it no longer had representatives from non-governmental organisations: however, this move was prevented by the Supreme Court. Modi also relaxed or abolished a number of other environmental regulations, particularly those related to industrial activity. A government committee stated that the existing system only served to create corruption, and that the government should instead rely on the owners of industries to voluntarily inform the government about the pollution they were creating. Other changes included reducing ministry oversight on small mining projects, and no longer requiring approval from tribal councils for projects inside forested areas. In addition, Modi lifted a moratorium on new industrial activity in the most polluted areas in the countries. The changes were welcomed by businesspeople, but criticised by environmentalists. Under the UPA government that preceded Modi's administration, field trials of Genetically Modified (GM) crops had essentially been put on hold, after protests from farmers fearing for their livelihoods. Under the Modi government these restrictions were gradually lifted. The government received some criticism for freezing the bank accounts of environmental group Greenpeace, citing financial irregularities, although a leaked government report said that the freeze had to do with Greenpeace's opposition to GM crops. At the COP26 conference Modi announced that India would target carbon neutrality by 2070, and also expand its renewable energy capacity. Though the date of net zero is far behind that of China and the USA and India's government wants to continue with the use of coal, Indian environmentalists and economists applauded the decision, describing it as a bold climate action. Democratic backsliding Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. According to one study, "The BJP government incrementally but systemically attacked nearly all existing mechanisms that are in place to hold the political executive to account, either by ensuring that these mechanisms became subservient to the political executive or were captured by party loyalists." Scholars also point to how the Modi government has used state power to intimidate and stifle critics in the media and academia, thus undermining freedom of expression and alternative sources of information. There have been several reports of the Modi government to be as an authoritarian conservative government, even due to lack of good opposition. Electoral history Personal life and image Personal life In accordance with Ghanchi tradition, Modi's marriage was arranged by his parents when he was a child. He was engaged at age 13 to Jashodaben Modi, marrying her when he was 18. They spent little time together and grew apart when Modi began two years of travel, including visits to Hindu ashrams. Reportedly, their marriage was never consummated, and he kept it a secret because otherwise he could not have become a 'pracharak' in the puritan Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Modi kept his marriage secret for most of his career. He acknowledged his wife for the first time when he filed his nomination for the 2014 general elections. Modi maintains a close relationship with his centenarian mother, Hiraben. A vegetarian and teetotaler, Modi has a frugal lifestyle and is a workaholic and introvert. A person named Badri Meena has been his cook since 2002. Modi's 31 August 2012 post on Google Hangouts made him the first Indian politician to interact with citizens on a live chat. Modi has also been called a fashion-icon for his signature crisply ironed, half-sleeved kurta, as well as for a suit with his name embroidered repeatedly in the pinstripes that he wore during a state visit by US President Barack Obama, which drew public and media attention and criticism. Modi's personality has been variously described by scholars and biographers as energetic, arrogant, and charismatic. He had published a Gujarati book titled Jyotipunj in 2008, containing profiles of various RSS leaders. The longest was of M. S. Golwalkar, under whose leadership the RSS expanded and whom Modi refers to as Pujniya Shri Guruji ("Guru worthy of worship"). According to The Economic Times, his intention was to explain the workings of the RSS to his readers and to reassure RSS members that he remained ideologically aligned with them. Modi authored eight other books, mostly containing short stories for children. The nomination of Modi for the prime ministership drew attention to his reputation as "one of contemporary India's most controversial and divisive politicians." During the 2014 election campaign the BJP projected an image of Modi as a strong, masculine leader, who would be able to take difficult decisions. Campaigns in which he has participated have focused on Modi as an individual, in a manner unusual for the BJP and RSS. Modi has relied upon his reputation as a politician able to bring about economic growth and "development". Nonetheless, his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots continues to attract criticism and controversy. Modi's hardline Hindutva philosophy and the policies adopted by his government continue to draw criticism, and have been seen as evidence of a majoritarian and exclusionary social agenda. In March 2021, Modi received his first COVID-19 vaccine dose at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. Personal donations Modi has made donations for various causes and programmes. One such instance was when Modi donated towards the initial corpus of the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) Fund. In his role as chief minister of Gujarat, Modi had donated from personal savings for educating daughters of state government officials. Modi had also raised by auctioning all the gifts he received as chief minister and donated this to the Kanya Kelavani Fund. The money was spent on the education of girl children, through the scheme. Approval ratings As a Prime Minister, Modi has received consistently high approval ratings; at the end of his first year in office, he received an overall approval rating of 87% in a Pew Research poll, with 68% of people rating him "very favorably" and 93% approving of his government. His approval rating remained largely consistent at around 74% through his second year in office, according to a nationwide poll conducted by instaVaani. At the end of his second year in office, an updated Pew Research poll showed Modi continued to receive high overall approval ratings of 81%, with 57% of those polled rating him "very favorably." At the end of his third year in office, a further Pew Research poll showed Modi with an overall approval rating of 88%, his highest yet, with 69% of people polled rating him "very favorably." A poll conducted by The Times of India in May 2017 showed 77% of the respondents rated Modi as "very good" and "good". In early 2017, a survey from Pew Research Center showed Modi to be the most popular figure in Indian politics. In a weekly analysis by Morning Consult called the Global Leader Approval Rating Tracker, Modi had the highest net approval rating as of 22 December 2020 of all government leaders in the 13 countries being tracked. Awards and recognition In March 2012 and June 2014, Modi appeared on the cover of the Asian edition of Time Magazine, one of the few Indian politicians to have done so. He was awarded Indian of the Year by CNN-News18 (formally CNN-IBN) news network in 2014. In June 2015, Modi was featured on the cover of Time Magazine. In 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020 and 2021, he was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World. Forbes Magazine ranked him the 15th Most Powerful Person in the World in 2014 and the 9th Most Powerful Person in the World in 2015, 2016 and 2018. In 2015, Modi was ranked the 13th Most Influential Person in the World by Bloomberg Markets Magazine. Modi was ranked fifth on Fortune Magazines first annual list of the "World's Greatest Leaders" in 2015. In 2017, Gallup International Association (GIA) conducted a poll and ranked Modi as third top leader of the world. In 2016, a wax statue of Modi was unveiled at Madame Tussauds wax museum in London. In 2015 he was named one of Times "30 Most Influential People on the Internet" as the second-most-followed politician on Twitter and Facebook. In 2018, he was the third most followed world leader on Twitter, and the most followed world leader on Facebook and Instagram. In October 2018, Modi received United Nations's highest environmental award, the 'Champions of the Earth', for policy leadership by "pioneering work in championing" the International Solar Alliance and "new areas of levels of cooperation on environmental action". He was conferred the 2018 Seoul Peace Prize in recognition of "his dedication to improving international co-operation, raising global economic growth, accelerating the Human Development of the people of India by fostering economic growth and furthering the development of democracy through anti-corruption and social integration efforts". He is the first Indian to win the award. Following his second swearing-in ceremony as Prime Minister of India, a picture of Modi was displayed on the facade of the ADNOC building in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The Texas India Forum hosted a community event in honour of Modi on 22 September 2019 at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. The event was attended by over 50,000 people and several American politicians including President Donald Trump, making it the largest gathering for an invited foreign leader visiting the United States other than the Pope. At the same event, Modi was presented with the Key to the City of Houston by Mayor Sylvester Turner. He was awarded the Global Goalkeeper Award on 24 September 2019 in New York City by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in recognition for the Swachh Bharat Mission and "the progress India has made in providing safe sanitation under his leadership". In 2020, Modi was among eight world leaders awarded the parodic Ig Nobel Prize in Medical Education "for using the COVID-19 viral pandemic to teach the world that politicians can have a more immediate effect on life and death than scientists and doctors can". On 21 December 2020, President Donald Trump awarded Modi with the Legion of Merit for elevating the India–United States relations. The Legion of Merit was awarded to Modi along with Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison and former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe, the "original architects" of the QUAD. On 24 February 2021, the largest cricket stadium in the world at Ahmedabad was renamed Narendra Modi Stadium by the Gujarat Cricket Association. Modi is featured in TIME Magazine's 100 most influential people of 2021 list, making it his fifth time after 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2020. TIME called him the third "pivotal leader" of independent India after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi who "dominated the country’s politics like no one since them". State honours Other honours In popular culture Modi Kaka Ka Gaon, a 2017 Indian Hindi-language drama film by Tushar Amrish Goel is the first biopic on Modi, starring Vikas Mahante in the titular role it was made halfway into his first-term as the prime minister which is shown in the film. PM Narendra Modi, a 2019 Indian Hindi-language biographical drama film by Omung Kumar, starred Vivek Oberoi in the titular role and covers his rise to prime ministership.An Indian web series, Modi: Journey of a Common Man, based on the same premise released in May 2019 on Eros Now with Ashish Sharma portraying Modi. Hu Narender Modi Banva Mangu Chu is a 2018 Indian Gujarati-language drama film by Anil Naryani about the aspirations of a young boy who wants to become like Narendra Modi. 7 RCR (7, Race Course Road), a 2014 Indian docudrama political television series which charts the political careers of prominent Indian politicians, covered Modi's rise to the PM's office in the episodes - "Story of Narendra Modi from 1950 to 2001", "Story of Narendra Modi in Controversial Years from 2001 to 2013", "Truth Behind Brand Modi", "Election Journey of Narendra Modi to 7 RCR", and "Masterplan of Narendra Modi's NDA Govt."; with Sangam Rai in the role of Modi. Other portrayals of Modi include by Rajit Kapur in the film Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) and Vikram Gokhale in the web-television series Avrodh: The Siege Within (2020) both based on the 2016 Uri attack and the following Indian surgical strikes. Pratap Singh played a character based on Modi in Chand Bujh Gaya (2005) which is set in the backdrop of the Gujarat riots. Premiered on 12 August 2019, Modi appeared in an episode - "Man vs. Wild with Bear Grylls and Prime Minister Modi" - of Discovery Channel's show Man vs Wild with the host Bear Grylls, becoming the second world leader after Barack Obama to appear in the reality show. In the show he trekked the jungles and talked about nature and wildlife conservation with Grylls. The episode was shot in Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand and was broadcast in 180 countries along India. He has also appeared twice on the Indian television talk show Aap Ki Adalat before the 2009 and 2014 elections respectively. Along with hosting the Mann Ki Baat monthly radio programme, on All India Radio, he has also conducted Pariksha Pe Charcha - a competition/discussion for students and the issues they face in examinations. Bibliography See also List of prime ministers of India Opinion polling on the Narendra Modi premiership References Notes Citations Further reading External links |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- 1950 births Living people Gujarati people People from Gujarat People from Mehsana district Indian Hindus Prime Ministers of India Leaders of the Lok Sabha Chief Ministers of Gujarat Chief ministers from Bharatiya Janata Party 16th Lok Sabha members 17th Lok Sabha members Members of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly Delhi University alumni Gujarat University alumni Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharaks Indian nationalists Indian writers Recipients of the Legion of Merit Hindu nationalists Right-wing politics in India 20th-century Indian writers Members of the Planning Commission of India Right-wing populism in India Bharatiya Jana Sangh politicians Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Gujarat Lok Sabha members from Gujarat Lok Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2019 Indian general election Writers from Gujarat Candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Hindu pacifists Narendra Modi ministry Candidates in the 2019 Indian general election Hindu revivalists Writers about activism and social change Indian political people 21st-century prime ministers of India Gujarat MLAs 1998–2002 Politicians of Hindu political parties National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Indian anti-communists Gandhians Gujarat MLAs 2002–2007 Gujarat MLAs 2007–2012 Gujarat MLAs 2012–2017 21st-century Indian non-fiction writers Politicians from Varanasi Time 100
true
[ "The Step-Up Books were published by Random House in the 1960s and 1970s as a follow-on series for students who had surpassed the reading level of the I Can Read books.\n\nTitles\n\nNature Library\n Animals Do the Strangest Things, by Leonora and Arthur Hornblow, illustrated by Michael K. Frith\n Birds Do the Strangest Things\n Fish Do Strangest Things\n Insects Do the Strangest Things\n Reptiles Do the Strangest Things\n Prehistoric Monsters Do the Strangest Things\n Plants Do Amazing Things, by Hedda Nussbaum, illustrated by Joe Mathieu\n Animals Build Amazing Homes\n Sea Creatures Do the Strangest Things\n\nStory of America\n Meet the North American Indians\n Meet Christopher Columbus\n Meet the Pilgrim Fathers, by Elizabeth Payne; illustrated by H.B. Vestal (1966)\n Meet Benjamin Franklin\n Meet George Washington, by Joan Heilbroner, illustrated by Victor Mays (1964)\n The Adventures of Lewis and Clark\n Meet Thomas Jefferson, by Marvin Barrett (1967)\n Meet Andrew Jackson, by Ormonde de Kay, Jr., illustrated by Isa Barnett (1967)\n Meet Robert E. Lee\n Meet Abraham Lincoln\n Meet Theodore Roosevelt\n Meet John F. Kennedy\n Meet Martin Luther King, Jr.\n White House Children\n Meet the Men Who Sailed the Seas by John Dyment\n The Story of Flight by Mary Lee Settle\n\nHistory\n Secrets of the Mummies by Joyce Milton\n True-Life Treasure Hunts\n\nSports Library\n Baseball Players Do Amazing Things\n Football Players Do Amazing Things \n Basketball Players Do Amazing Things\n Wonder Women of Sports\n\nFun and Adventure\n Put Your Foot in Your Mouth and Other Silly Sayings\n Star Wars: The Making of the Movie\n Daredevils Do Amazing Things\n Magicians Do Amazing Things\n Kids Do Amazing Things\n\nSeries of children's books\nChildren's non-fiction books\nRandom House books\nSeries of non-fiction books", "The Lund Principle is an important principle in ecumenical relations between Christian churches. It affirms that churches should act together in all matters except those in which deep differences of conviction compel them to act separately.\n\nIt arises from a question raised by the 1952 Faith and Order Conference of the World Council of Churches held at Lund, Sweden. After \"earnestly request[ing] our Churches to consider whether they are doing all they ought to do to manifest the oneness of the people of God\", it continued: \"Should not our Churches ask themselves whether they are showing sufficient eagerness to enter into conversation with other Churches, and whether they should not act together in all matters except those in which deep differences of conviction compel them to act separately?\"\n\nThis means that, instead of doing ecumenical things, Christians and churches should try to do things ecumenically, in particular, to do things together which are already a part of their normal life, i.e. to share a common life. Churches Together in England has created resources to help local groupings of churches to reflect on various aspects of sharing a common life.\n\nReferences\n\nWorld Council of Churches" ]
[ "Narendra Modi", "Final years", "What happened in her final years?", "Modi made extensive use of holograms", "How did Modi use holograms?", "allowing him to reach a large number of people,", "Did Modi ran for any political positions ?", "Modi won the constituency of Maninagar", "With how many votes did he win this constituency?", "by 86,373 votes", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism.", "How did this affect his campaing?", "Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders.", "What else happened towards the final years?", "As Chief Minister, Modi favoured privatisation and small government,", "Did he make any important laws or helped with some as Chief Minister?", "He established financial and technology parks", "Did he do any other important things?", "The governments led by Patel and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of groundwater-conservation projects." ]
C_b6a0c764bf0c443b9768973ff08ca8fb_1
Did he generate any groundwater-conservation projects?
10
Did Modi generate any groundwater-conservation projects?
Narendra Modi
During Modi's second term the rhetoric of the government shifted from Hindutva to Gujarat's economic development. Modi curtailed the influence of Sangh Parivar organisations such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), entrenched in the state after the decline of Ahmedabad's textile industry, and dropped Gordhan Zadafia (an ally of former Sangh co-worker and VHP state chief Praveen Togadia) from his cabinet. When the BKS staged a farmers' demonstration Modi ordered their eviction from state-provided houses, and his decision to demolish 200 illegal temples in Gandhinagar deepened the rift with the VHP. Sangh organisations were no longer consulted or informed in advance about Modi's administrative decisions. Nonetheless, Modi retained connections with some Hindu nationalists. Modi wrote a foreword to a textbook by Dinanath Batra released in 2014, which stated that ancient India possessed technologies including test-tube babies. Modi's relationship with Muslims continued to attract criticism. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (who asked Modi for tolerance in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat violence and supported his resignation as chief minister) distanced himself, reaching out to North Indian Muslims before the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. After the elections Vajpayee called the violence in Gujarat a reason for the BJP's electoral defeat and said it had been a mistake to leave Modi in office after the riots. Questions about Modi's relationship with Muslims were also raised by many Western nations during his tenure as chief minister. Modi was barred from entering the United States by the State Department, in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on International Religious Freedom formed under the aegis of the International Religious Freedom Act, the only person denied a US visa under this law. The UK and the European Union refused to admit him because of what they saw as his role in the riots. As Modi rose to prominence in India, the UK and the EU lifted their bans in October 2012 and March 2013, respectively, and after his election as prime minister he was invited to Washington. During the run-up to the 2007 assembly elections and the 2009 general election, the BJP intensified its rhetoric on terrorism. In July 2006, Modi criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh " for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislation" such as the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the national government to allow states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. In 2007 Modi authored Karmayog, a 101-page booklet discussing manual scavenging. In it, Modi argued that scavenging was a "spiritual experience" for Dalits. However, this book was not circulated that time because of the election code of conduct. After the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Modi held a meeting to discuss the security of Gujarat's 1,600-kilometre (990 mi)-long coastline, resulting in government authorisation of 30 high-speed surveillance boats. In July 2007 Modi completed 2,063 consecutive days as chief minister of Gujarat, making him the longest-serving holder of that post, and the BJP won 122 of 182 state-assembly seats in that year's election. As Chief Minister, Modi favoured privatisation and small government, which was at odds with the philosophy of the RSS, usually described as anti-privatisation and anti-globalisation. His policies during his second term have been credited with reducing corruption in the state. He established financial and technology parks in Gujarat and during the 2007 Vibrant Gujarat summit, real-estate investment deals worth Rs6.6 trillion were signed. The governments led by Patel and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of groundwater-conservation projects. By December 2008, 500,000 structures had been built, of which 113,738 were check dams, which helped recharge the aquifers beneath them. Sixty of the 112 tehsils which had depleted the water table in 2004 had regained their normal groundwater levels by 2010. As a result, the state's production of genetically modified cotton increased to become the largest in India. The boom in cotton production and its semi-arid land use led to Gujarat's agricultural sector growing at an average rate of 9.6 percent from 2001 to 2007. Public irrigation measures in central and southern Gujarat, such as the Sardar Sarovar Dam, were less successful. The Sardar Sarovar project only irrigated 4-6% of the area intended. Nonetheless, from 2001 to 2010 Gujarat recorded an agricultural growth rate of 10.97 percent - the highest of any state. However, sociologists have pointed out that the growth rate under the 1992-97 INC government was 12.9 percent. In 2008 Modi offered land in Gujarat to Tata Motors to set up a plant manufacturing the Nano after a popular agitation had forced the company to move out of West Bengal. Several other companies followed the Tata's to Gujarat. The Modi government finished the process of bringing electricity to every village in Gujarat that its predecessor had almost completed. Modi significantly changed the state's system of power distribution, greatly impacting farmers. Gujarat expanded the Jyotigram Yojana scheme, in which agricultural electricity was separated from other rural electricity; the agricultural electricity was rationed to fit scheduled irrigation demands, reducing its cost. Although early protests by farmers ended when those who benefited found that their electricity supply had stabilised, according to an assessment study corporations and large farmers benefited from the policy at the expense of small farmers and labourers. During the 2012 campaign, Modi attempted to identify himself with the state of Gujarat, a strategy similar to that used by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, and projected himself as protecting Gujarat against persecution by the rest of India. Despite the BJP's shift away from explicit Hindutva, Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism. Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders. During his 2012 campaign he twice refused to wear articles of clothing gifted by Muslim leaders. He did, however, maintain relations with Dawoodi Bohra. His campaign included references to issues known to cause religious polarisation, including to Afzal Guru and the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. The BJP did not nominate any Muslim candidates for the assembly election of 2012. He had published a Gujarati book titled Jyotipunj in 2008, containing profiles of various RSS leaders. The longest was of M. S. Golwalkar, under whose leadership the RSS expanded and whom Modi refers to as Pujniya Shri Guruji ("Guru worthy of worship"). According to The Economic Times, his intention was to explain the workings of the RSS to his readers and to reassure RSS members that he remained ideologically aligned with them. Modi authored eight other books, mostly containing short stories for children. While campaigning for the 2012 assembly elections, Modi made extensive use of holograms and other technologies allowing him to reach a large number of people, something he would repeat in the 2014 general election. In the 2012 Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections, Modi won the constituency of Maninagar by 86,373 votes over Shweta Bhatt, the INC candidate and wife of Sanjiv Bhatt. The BJP won 115 of the 182 seats, continuing its majority during his tenure and allowing the party to form the government (as it had in Gujarat since 1995). In later by-elections the BJP won four more assembly seats and two Lok Sabha seats held by the INC, although Modi did not campaign for its candidates. In 2013, the Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF) at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania cancelled a keynote video-conference speech by Modi following protests by Indian-Americans. After his election as prime minister, Modi resigned as the chief minister and as an MLA from Maninagar on 21 May 2014. Anandiben Patel succeeded him as the chief minister. CANNOTANSWER
500,000 structures had been built, of which 113,738 were check dams,
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from Varanasi. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindu nationalist paramilitary volunteer organisation. He is the first prime minister to have been born after India's independence in 1947 and the second prime minister not belonging to the Indian National Congress to have won two consecutive majorities in the Lok Sabha, or lower house of Indian of parliament. Born and raised in Vadnagar, a small town in northeastern Gujarat, Modi completed his secondary education there. He was introduced to the RSS at age eight. He has drawn attention to having to work as a child in his father's tea stall on the Vadnagar railway station platform, a description that has not been reliably corroborated. At age 18, Modi was married to Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi, whom he abandoned soon after. He left his parental home where she had come to live. He first publicly acknowledged her as his wife more than four decades later when required to do so by Indian law, but has made no contact with her since. Modi has asserted he had travelled in northern India for two years after leaving his parental home, visiting a number of religious centres, but few details of his travels have emerged. Upon his return to Gujarat in 1971, he became a full-time worker for the RSS. After the state of emergency declared by prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1975, Modi went into hiding. The RSS assigned him to the BJP in 1985 and he held several positions within the party hierarchy until 2001, rising to the rank of general secretary. Modi was appointed Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2001 due to Keshubhai Patel's failing health and poor public image following the earthquake in Bhuj. Modi was elected to the legislative assembly soon after. His administration has been considered complicit in the 2002 Gujarat riots in which 1044 people were killed, three-quarters of whom were Muslim, or otherwise criticised for its management of the crisis. The Supreme Court remarked that Narendra Modi was like a Modern-day Nero, looking the other way as innocent women and children were burning. A Supreme Court of India-appointed Special Investigation Team found no evidence to initiate prosecution proceedings against Modi personally. While his policies as chief minister—credited with encouraging economic growth—have received praise, his administration has been criticised for failing to significantly improve health, poverty and education indices in the state. Modi led the BJP in the 2014 general election which gave the party a majority in the Indian lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha, the first time for any single party since 1984. Modi's administration has tried to raise foreign direct investment in the Indian economy and reduced spending on healthcare and social welfare programmes. Modi has attempted to improve efficiency in the bureaucracy; he has centralised power by abolishing the Planning Commission. He began a high-profile sanitation campaign, controversially initiated a demonetisation of high-denomination banknotes and transformation of taxation regime, and weakened or abolished environmental and labour laws. Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. Following his party's victory in the 2019 general election, his administration revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and also introduced the Citizenship Amendment Act, which resulted in widespread protests across the country. Described as engineering a political realignment towards right-wing politics, Modi remains a figure of controversy domestically and internationally over his Hindu nationalist beliefs and his handling of the 2002 Gujarat riots, cited as evidence of an exclusionary social agenda. Early life and education Narendra Damodardas Modi was born on 17 September 1950 to a Gujarati Hindu family of grocers in Vadnagar, Mehsana district, Bombay State (present-day Gujarat). He was the third of six children born to Damodardas Mulchand Modi () and Hiraben Modi (born ). Modi's family belonged to the Modh-Ghanchi-Teli (oil-presser) community, which is categorised as an Other Backward Class by the Indian government. Modi had only infrequently spoken of his family background during his 13 years as chief minister of Gujarat. In the run up to the 2014 national elections, he began to regularly draw attention to his low-ranking social origins and to having to work as a child in his father's tea shop on the Vadnagar railway station platform, a description that the evidence of neighbours does not entirely corroborate. Modi completed his higher secondary education in Vadnagar in 1967, where teachers described him as an average student and a keen gifted debater, with interest in theatre. Modi preferred playing larger-than-life characters in theatrical productions, which has influenced his political image. When eight years old, Modi was introduced to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and began attending its local shakhas (training sessions). There, Modi met Lakshmanrao Inamdar, popularly known as Vakil Saheb, who inducted him as a balswayamsevak (junior cadet) in the RSS and became his political mentor. While Modi was training with the RSS, he also met Vasant Gajendragadkar and Nathalal Jaghda, Bharatiya Jana Sangh leaders who were founding members of the BJP's Gujarat unit in 1980. In a custom traditional to Narendra Modi's caste, his family arranged a betrothal to a girl, Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi, leading to their marriage when she was 17 and he was 18. Soon afterwards, he abandoned his bride, and left home, never divorcing her, but the marriage remaining unmentioned in Modi's public pronouncements for many decades. In April 2014, shortly before the national elections that swept him to power, Modi publicly affirmed that he was married and his spouse was Jashodaben; the couple has remained married, but estranged. Modi spent the ensuing two years travelling across Northern and North-eastern India, though few details of where he went have emerged. In interviews, Modi has described visiting Hindu ashrams founded by Swami Vivekananda: the Belur Math near Kolkata, followed by the Advaita Ashrama in Almora and the Ramakrishna Mission in Rajkot. Modi remained only a short time at each, since he lacked the required college education. Vivekananda has been described as a large influence in Modi's life. In the early summer of 1968, Modi reached the Belur Math but was turned away, after which Modi wandered through Calcutta, West Bengal and Assam, stopping in Siliguri and Guwahati. Modi then went to the Ramakrishna Ashram in Almora, where he was again rejected, before travelling back to Gujarat via Delhi and Rajasthan in 1968–69. Sometime in late 1969 or early 1970, Modi returned to Vadnagar for a brief visit before leaving again for Ahmedabad. There, Modi lived with his uncle, working in the latter's canteen at the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation. In Ahmedabad, Modi renewed his acquaintance with Inamdar, who was based at the Hedgewar Bhavan (RSS headquarters) in the city. Modi's first known political activity as an adult was in 1971 when he, as per his remarks, joined a Jana Sangh Satyagraha in Delhi led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee to enlist for the battlefield during the Bangladesh Liberation War. But the Indira Gandhi-led central government disallowed open support for the Mukti Bahini and Modi, according to his own claim, was put in Tihar Jail for a short period. After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he stopped working for his uncle and became a full-time pracharak (campaigner) for the RSS, working under Inamdar. Shortly before the war, Modi took part in a non-violent protest against the Indian government in New Delhi, for which he was arrested (as per his claim); this has been cited as a reason for Inamdar electing to mentor him. Many years later Modi would co-author a biography of Inamdar, published in 2001. Modi's claim that he was part of a Satyagraha led to a political war. Applications were filed with the PMO under the RTI Act seeking details of his arrest. In reply, the PMO claimed that it maintains official records on Modi only since he took charge as the Prime Minister of India in 2014. Despite this claim, the official website of the PMO contains specific information about Modi which dates back to the 1950s. In 1978 Modi received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the School of Open Learning (SOL) at the University of Delhi, graduating with a third class. Five years later, in 1983, he received a Master of Arts degree in political science from Gujarat University, graduating with a first class as an external distance learning student. But there is a big controversy surrounding his educational qualification. Replying to an RTI query, the SOL said it did not have any data of students who received a BA degree in 1978. Jayantibhai Patel, a former political science professor of Gujarat University, claimed that the subjects listed in Modi's MA degree were not offered by the university when Modi was studying there. Early political career In June 1975, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency in India which lasted until 1977. During this period, known as "The Emergency", many of her political opponents were jailed and opposition groups were banned. Modi was appointed general secretary of the "Gujarat Lok Sangharsh Samiti", an RSS committee co-ordinating opposition to the Emergency in Gujarat. Shortly afterwards, the RSS was banned. Modi was forced to go underground in Gujarat and frequently travelled in disguise to avoid arrest. He became involved in printing pamphlets opposing the government, sending them to Delhi and organising demonstrations. Modi was also involved with creating a network of safe houses for individuals wanted by the government, and in raising funds for political refugees and activists. During this period, Modi wrote a book in Gujarati, Sangharsh Ma Gujarat (In The Struggles of Gujarat), describing events during the Emergency. Among the people he met in this role was trade unionist and socialist activist George Fernandes, as well as several other national political figures. In his travels during the Emergency, Modi was often forced to move in disguise, once dressing as a monk, and once as a Sikh. Modi became an RSS sambhag pracharak (regional organiser) in 1978, overseeing RSS activities in the areas of Surat and Vadodara, and in 1979 he went to work for the RSS in Delhi, where he was put to work researching and writing the RSS's version of the history of the Emergency. He returned to Gujarat a short while later, and was assigned by the RSS to the BJP in 1985. In 1987 Modi helped organise the BJP's campaign in the Ahmedabad municipal election, which the BJP won comfortably; Modi's planning has been described as the reason for that result by biographers. After L. K. Advani became president of the BJP in 1986, the RSS decided to place its members in important positions within the BJP; Modi's work during the Ahmedabad election led to his selection for this role, and Modi was elected organising secretary of the BJP's Gujarat unit later in 1987. Modi rose within the party and was named a member of the BJP's National Election Committee in 1990, helping organise L. K. Advani's 1990 Ram Rath Yatra in 1990 and Murli Manohar Joshi's 1991–92 Ekta Yatra (Journey for Unity). However, he took a brief break from politics in 1992, instead establishing a school in Ahmedabad; friction with Shankersinh Vaghela, a BJP MP from Gujarat at the time, also played a part in this decision. Modi returned to electoral politics in 1994, partly at the insistence of Advani, and as party secretary, Modi's electoral strategy was considered central to the BJP victory in the 1995 state assembly elections. In November of that year Modi was appointed BJP national secretary and transferred to New Delhi, where he assumed responsibility for party activities in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The following year, Shankersinh Vaghela, a prominent BJP leader from Gujarat, defected to the Indian National Congress (Congress, INC) after losing his parliamentary seat in the Lok Sabha elections. Modi, on the selection committee for the 1998 Assembly elections in Gujarat, favoured supporters of BJP leader Keshubhai Patel over those supporting Vaghela to end factional division in the party. His strategy was credited as key to the BJP winning an overall majority in the 1998 elections, and Modi was promoted to BJP general secretary (organisation) in May of that year. Chief Minister of Gujarat Taking office In 2001, Keshubhai Patel's health was failing and the BJP lost a few state assembly seats in by-elections. Allegations of abuse of power, corruption and poor administration were made, and Patel's standing had been damaged by his administration's handling of the earthquake in Bhuj in 2001. The BJP national leadership sought a new candidate for the chief ministership, and Modi, who had expressed misgivings about Patel's administration, was chosen as a replacement. Although BJP leader L. K. Advani did not want to ostracise Patel and was concerned about Modi's lack of experience in government, Modi declined an offer to be Patel's deputy chief minister, telling Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee that he was "going to be fully responsible for Gujarat or not at all". On 3 October 2001 he replaced Patel as Chief Minister of Gujarat, with the responsibility of preparing the BJP for the December 2002 elections. Modi was sworn in as Chief Minister on 7 October 2001, and entered the Gujarat state legislature on 24 February 2002 by winning a by-election to the Rajkot – II constituency, defeating Ashwin Mehta of the INC by 14,728 votes. 2002 Gujarat riots On 27 February 2002, a train with several hundred passengers burned near Godhra, killing approximately 60 people. The train carried a large number of Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya after a religious ceremony at the site of the demolished Babri Masjid. In making a public statement after the incident, Modi declared it a terrorist attack planned and orchestrated by local Muslims. The next day, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad called for a bandh across the state. Riots began during the bandh, and anti-Muslim violence spread through Gujarat. The government's decision to move the bodies of the train victims from Godhra to Ahmedabad further inflamed the violence. The state government stated later that 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed. Independent sources put the death toll at over 2000, the vast majority Muslims Approximately 150,000 people were driven to refugee camps. Numerous women and children were among the victims; the violence included mass rapes and mutilations of women. The government of Gujarat itself is generally considered by scholars to have been complicit in the riots, (with some blaming chief minister Modi explicitly) and has otherwise received heavy criticism for its handling of the situation. Several scholars have described the violence as a pogrom, while others have called it an example of state terrorism. Summarising academic views on the subject, Martha Nussbaum said: "There is by now a broad consensus that the Gujarat violence was a form of ethnic cleansing, that in many ways it was premeditated, and that it was carried out with the complicity of the state government and officers of the law." The Modi government imposed a curfew in 26 major cities, issued shoot-at-sight orders and called for the army to patrol the streets, but was unable to prevent the violence from escalating. The president of the state unit of the BJP expressed support for the bandh, despite such actions being illegal at the time. State officials later prevented riot victims from leaving the refugee camps, and the camps were often unable to meet the needs of those living there. Muslim victims of the riots were subject to further discrimination when the state government announced that compensation for Muslim victims would be half of that offered to Hindus, although this decision was later reversed after the issue was taken to court. During the riots, police officers often did not intervene in situations where they were able. Modi's personal involvement in the 2002 events has continued to be debated. During the riots, Modi said that "What is happening is a chain of action and reaction." Later in 2002, Modi said the way in which he had handled the media was his only regret regarding the episode. In March 2008, the Supreme Court reopened several cases related to the 2002 riots, including that of the Gulbarg Society massacre, and established a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the issue. In response to a petition from Zakia Jafri (widow of Ehsan Jafri, who was killed in the Gulbarg Society massacre), in April 2009 the court also asked the SIT to investigate the issue of Modi's complicity in the killings. The SIT questioned Modi in March 2010; in May, it presented to the court a report finding no evidence against him. In July 2011, the court-appointed amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran submitted his final report to the court. Contrary to the SIT's position, he said that Modi could be prosecuted based on the available evidence. The Supreme Court gave the matter to the magistrate's court. The SIT examined Ramachandran's report, and in March 2012 submitted its final report, asking for the case to be closed. Zakia Jafri filed a protest petition in response. In December 2013 the magistrate's court rejected the protest petition, accepting the SIT's finding that there was no evidence against the chief minister. 2002 election In the aftermath of the violence there were widespread calls for Modi to resign as chief minister from within and outside the state, including from leaders of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Telugu Desam Party (allies in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance coalition), and opposition parties stalled Parliament over the issue. Modi submitted his resignation at the April 2002 BJP national executive meeting in Goa, but it was not accepted. His cabinet had an emergency meeting on 19 July 2002, after which it offered its resignation to the Gujarat Governor S. S. Bhandari, and the state assembly was dissolved. Despite opposition from the election commissioner, who said that a number of voters were still displaced, Modi succeeded in advancing the election to December 2002. In the elections, the BJP won 127 seats in the 182-member assembly. Although Modi later denied it, he made significant use of anti-Muslim rhetoric during his campaign, and the BJP profited from religious polarisation among the voters. He won the Maninagar constituency, receiving of votes and defeating INC candidate Yatin Oza by 75,333 votes. On 22 December 2002, Bhandari swore Modi in for a second term. Modi framed the criticism of his government for human rights violations as an attack upon Gujarati pride, a strategy which led to the BJP winning two-thirds of the seats in the state assembly. Second term During Modi's second term the rhetoric of the government shifted from Hindutva to Gujarat's economic development. Modi curtailed the influence of Sangh Parivar organisations such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), entrenched in the state after the decline of Ahmedabad's textile industry, and dropped Gordhan Zadafia (an ally of former Sangh co-worker and VHP state chief Praveen Togadia) from his cabinet. When the BKS staged a farmers' demonstration Modi ordered their eviction from state-provided houses, and his decision to demolish 200 illegal temples in Gandhinagar deepened the rift with the Vishva Hindu Parishad. Sangh organisations were no longer consulted or informed in advance about Modi's administrative decisions. Nonetheless, Modi retained connections with some Hindu nationalists. Modi wrote a foreword to a textbook by Dinanath Batra released in 2014, which stated that ancient India possessed technologies including test-tube babies. Modi's relationship with Muslims continued to attract criticism. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (who asked Modi for tolerance in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat violence and supported his resignation as chief minister) distanced himself, reaching out to North Indian Muslims before the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. After the elections Vajpayee called the violence in Gujarat a reason for the BJP's electoral defeat and said it had been a mistake to leave Modi in office after the riots. Questions about Modi's relationship with Muslims were also raised by many Western nations during his tenure as chief minister. Modi was barred from entering the United States by the State Department, in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on International Religious Freedom formed under the aegis of the International Religious Freedom Act, the only person denied a US visa under this law. The UK and the European Union refused to admit him because of what they saw as his role in the riots. As Modi rose to prominence in India, the UK and the EU lifted their bans in October 2012 and March 2013, respectively, and after his election he was invited to Washington as the nation's prime minister. During the run-up to the 2007 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election and the 2009 Indian general election, the BJP intensified its rhetoric on terrorism. In July 2006, Modi criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh " for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislation" such as the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the national government to allow states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. In 2007 Modi authored Karmayog, a 101-page booklet discussing manual scavenging. In it, Modi argued that scavenging was a "spiritual experience" for Valmiks, a sub-caste of Dalits. However, this book was not circulated that time because of the election code of conduct. After the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Modi held a meeting to discuss the security of Gujarat's -long coastline, resulting in government authorisation of 30 high-speed surveillance boats. In July 2007 Modi completed 2,063 consecutive days as chief minister of Gujarat, making him the longest-serving holder of that post, and the BJP won 122 of 182 state-assembly seats in that year's election. Development projects As Chief Minister, Modi favoured privatisation and small government, which was at odds with the philosophy of the RSS, usually described as anti-privatisation and anti-globalisation. His policies during his second term have been credited with reducing corruption in the state. He established financial and technology parks in Gujarat and during the 2007 Vibrant Gujarat summit, real-estate investment deals worth were signed. The governments led by Patel and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of groundwater-conservation projects. By December 2008, 500,000 structures had been built, of which 113,738 were check dams, which helped recharge the aquifers beneath them. Sixty of the 112 tehsils which had depleted the water table in 2004 had regained their normal groundwater levels by 2010. As a result, the state's production of genetically modified cotton increased to become the largest in India. The boom in cotton production and its semi-arid land use led to Gujarat's agricultural sector growing at an average rate of 9.6 percent from 2001 to 2007. Public irrigation measures in central and southern Gujarat, such as the Sardar Sarovar Dam, were less successful. The Sardar Sarovar project only irrigated 4–6% of the area intended. Nonetheless, from 2001 to 2010 Gujarat recorded an agricultural growth rate of 10.97 percent – the highest of any state. However, sociologists have pointed out that the growth rate under the 1992–97 INC government was 12.9 percent. In 2008 Modi offered land in Gujarat to Tata Motors to set up a plant manufacturing the Nano after a popular agitation had forced the company to move out of West Bengal. Several other companies followed the Tata to Gujarat. The Modi government finished the process of bringing electricity to every village in Gujarat that its predecessor had almost completed. Modi significantly changed the state's system of power distribution, greatly impacting farmers. Gujarat expanded the Jyotigram Yojana scheme, in which agricultural electricity was separated from other rural electricity; the agricultural electricity was rationed to fit scheduled irrigation demands, reducing its cost. Although early protests by farmers ended when those who benefited found that their electricity supply had stabilised, according to an assessment study corporations and large farmers benefited from the policy at the expense of small farmers and labourers. Development debate A contentious debate surrounds the assessment of Gujarat's economic development during Modi's tenure as chief minister. The state's GDP growth rate averaged 10% during Modi's tenure, a value similar to other highly industrialised states, and above that of the country as a whole. Gujarat also had a high rate of economic growth in the 1990s, before Modi took office, and some scholars have stated that growth did not much accelerate during Modi's tenure, although the state is considered to have maintained a high growth rate during Modi's Chief Ministership. Under Narendra Modi, Gujarat topped the World Bank's "ease of doing business" rankings among Indian states for two consecutive years. In 2013, Gujarat was ranked first among Indian states for "economic freedom" by a report measuring governance, growth, citizens' rights and labour and business regulation among the country's 20 largest states. In the later years of Modi's government, Gujarat's economic growth was frequently used as an argument to counter allegations of communalism. Tax breaks for businesses were easier to obtain in Gujarat than in other states, as was land. Modi's policies to make Gujarat attractive for investment included the creation of Special Economic Zones, where labour laws were greatly weakened. Despite its growth rate, Gujarat had a relatively poor record on human development, poverty relief, nutrition and education during Modi's tenure. In 2013, Gujarat ranked 13th in the country with respect to rates of poverty and 21st in education. Nearly 45 percent of children under five were underweight and 23 percent were undernourished, putting the state in the "alarming" category on the India State Hunger Index. A study by UNICEF and the Indian government found that Gujarat under Modi had a poor record with respect to immunisation in children. Over the decade from 2001 to 2011, Gujarat did not change its position relative to the rest of the country with respect to poverty and female literacy, remaining near the median of the 29 Indian states. It showed a marginal improvement in rates of infant mortality, and its position with respect to individual consumption declined. With respect to the quality of education in government schools, the state ranked below many Indian states. The social policies of the government generally did not benefit Muslims, Dalits, and Adivasis, and generally increased social inequalities. Development in Gujarat was generally limited to the urban middle class, and citizens in rural areas or from lower castes were increasingly marginalised. In 2013 the state ranked 10th of 21 Indian states in the Human Development Index. Under Modi, the state government spent less than the national average on education and healthcare. Final years Despite the BJP's shift away from explicit Hindutva, Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism. Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders. During his 2012 campaign he twice refused to wear articles of clothing gifted by Muslim leaders. He did, however, maintain relations with Dawoodi Bohra. His campaign included references to issues known to cause religious polarisation, including to Afzal Guru and the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. The BJP did not nominate any Muslim candidates for the assembly election of 2012. During the 2012 campaign, Modi attempted to identify himself with the state of Gujarat, a strategy similar to that used by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, and projected himself as protecting Gujarat against persecution by the rest of India. While campaigning for the 2012 assembly elections, Modi made extensive use of holograms and other technologies allowing him to reach a large number of people, something he would repeat in the 2014 general election. In the 2012 Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections, Modi won the constituency of Maninagar by 86,373 votes over Shweta Bhatt, the INC candidate and wife of Sanjiv Bhatt. The BJP won 115 of the 182 seats, continuing its majority during his tenure and allowing the party to form the government (as it had in Gujarat since 1995). After his election as prime minister, Modi resigned as the chief minister and as an MLA from Maninagar on 21 May 2014. Anandiben Patel succeeded him as the chief minister. Premiership campaigns 2014 Indian general election In September 2013 Modi was named the BJP's candidate for prime minister ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha election. Several BJP leaders expressed opposition to Modi's candidature, including BJP founding member L. K. Advani, who cited concern with leaders who were "concerned with their personal agendas". Modi played a dominant role in the BJP's election campaign. Several people who voted for the BJP stated that if Modi had not been the prime-ministerial candidate, they would have voted for another party. The focus on Modi as an individual was unusual for a BJP election campaign. The election was described as a referendum on Narendra Modi. During the campaign, Modi focused on the corruption scandals under the previous INC government, and played on his image as a politician who had created a high rate of GDP growth in Gujarat. Modi projected himself as a person who could bring about "development," without focus on any specific policies. His message found support among young Indians and among middle-class citizens. The BJP under Modi was able to downplay concerns about the protection of religious minorities and Modi's commitment to secularism, areas in which he had previously received criticism. Prior to the election Modi's image in the media had centered around his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots, but during the campaign the BJP was able to shift this to a focus on Modi's neoliberal ideology and the Gujarat model of development, although Hindutva remained a significant part of its campaign. The BJP's campaign was assisted by its wide influence in the media. Modi's campaign blitz cost approximately , and received extensive financial support from corporate donors. In addition to more conventional campaign methods, Modi made extensive use of social media, and addressed more than 1000 rallies via hologram appearances. The BJP won 31% of the vote, and more than doubled its tally in the Lok Sabha to 282, becoming the first party to win a majority of seats on its own since 1984. Voter dissatisfaction with the INC, as well as with regional parties in North India, was another reason for the success of the BJP, as was the support from the RSS. In states such as Uttar Pradesh in which the BJP performed well, it drew exceptionally high support from upper-caste Hindus, although the 10 percent of Muslim votes won was more than it had won before. It performed particularly well in parts of the country that had recently experienced violence between Hindus and Muslims. The magnitude of the BJP's victory led many commentators to say that the election constituted a political realignment away from progressive parties and towards the right-wing. Modi's tweet announcing his victory was described as being emblematic of the political realignment away from a secular, socialist state towards capitalism and Hindu cultural nationalism. Modi himself was a candidate for the Lok Sabha in two constituencies: Varanasi and Vadodara. He won in both constituencies, defeating Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal in Varanasi by 371,784 votes and Madhusudan Mistry of the INC in Vadodara by votes. Modi, who was unanimously elected leader of the BJP, was appointed prime minister by India's president. To comply with the law that an MP cannot represent more than one constituency, he vacated the Vadodara seat. 2019 Indian general election On 13 October 2018, Modi was renamed as the BJP candidate for prime minister for the 2019 general election. The chief campaigner for the party was BJP's president Amit Shah. Modi launched the Main Bhi Chowkidar campaign ahead of the general election, against Chowkidar Chor Hai campaign slogan of INC. In the year 2018, end Party's, second-biggest alliance Telugu Desam Party split from NDA over the matter of special-status for Andhra Pradesh. The campaign was started by Amit Shah on 8 April 2019. In the campaign, Modi was targeted by the opposition on corruption allegations over Rafale deal with France government. Highlighting this controversy the campaign "Chowkidar Chor Hai" was started, which was contrary to "Main Bhi Chowkidar" slogan. Modi made defence and national security among the foremost topics for the election campaign, especially after Pulwama attack, and the retaliatory attack of Balakot airstrike was counted as an achievement of the Modi administration. Other topics in the campaign were development and good foreign relations in the first premiership. Modi contested the Lok Sabha elections as a candidate from Varanasi. He won the seat by defeating Shalini Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, who fought on SP-BSP alliance by a margin of votes. Modi was unanimously appointed the prime minister for a second time by the National Democratic Alliance, after the alliance won the election for the second time by securing 353 seats in the Lok Sabha with the BJP alone won 303 seats. Prime Minister After the Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance won a landslide in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Narendra Modi was sworn in as the Prime Minister of India on 26 May 2014. He became the first Prime Minister born after India's independence from the British Empire in 1947. Modi started his second term after the Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance won again in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. On 6 December 2020, Modi became the 4th longest serving Prime Minister of India and the longest serving Non-Congress Prime Minister. Governance and other initiatives Modi's first year as prime minister saw significant centralisation of power relative to previous administrations. His efforts at centralisation have been linked to an increase in the number of senior administration officials resigning their positions. Initially lacking a majority in the Rajya Sabha, or upper house of Indian Parliament, Modi passed a number of ordinances to enact his policies, leading to further centralisation of power. The government also passed a bill increasing the control that it had over the appointment of judges, and reducing that of the judiciary. In December 2014 Modi abolished the Planning Commission, replacing it with the National Institution for Transforming India, or NITI Aayog. The move had the effect of greatly centralising the power previously with the planning commission in the person of the prime minister. The planning commission had received heavy criticism in previous years for creating inefficiency in the government, and of not filling its role of improving social welfare: however, since the economic liberalisation of the 1990s, it had been the major government body responsible for measures related to social justice. The Modi government launched investigations by the Intelligence Bureau against numerous civil society organisations and foreign non-governmental organisations in the first year of the administration. The investigations, on the grounds that these organisations were slowing economic growth, was criticised as a witch-hunt. International humanitarian aid organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres was among the groups that were put under pressure. Other organisations affected included the Sierra Club and Avaaz. Cases of sedition were filed against individuals criticising the government. This led to discontent within the BJP regarding Modi's style of functioning and drew comparisons to the governing style of Indira Gandhi. Modi repealed 1,200 obsolete laws in first three years as prime minister; a total of 1,301 such laws had been repealed by previous governments over a span of 64 years. He started a monthly radio programme titled "Mann Ki Baat" on 3 October 2014. Modi also launched the Digital India programme, with the goal of ensuring that government services are available electronically, building infrastructure to provide high-speed Internet access to rural areas, boosting manufacturing of electronic goods in the country, and promoting digital literacy. Modi launched Ujjwala scheme to provide free LPG connection to rural households. The scheme led to an increase in LPG consumption by 56% in 2019 as compared to 2014. In 2019, a law was passed to provide 10% reservation to Economically weaker sections. He was again sworn in as prime minister on 30 May 2019. On 30 July 2019, Parliament of India declared the practice of Triple Talaq as illegal, unconstitutional and made it punishable act from 1 August 2019 which is deemed to be in effect from 19 September 2018. On 5 August 2019, the government moved resolution to scrap Article 370 in the Rajya Sabha, and also reorganise the state with Jammu and Kashmir serving as one of the union territory and Ladakh region separated out as a separate union territory. Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. According to one study, "The BJP government incrementally but systemically attacked nearly all existing mechanisms that are in place to hold the political executive to account, either by ensuring that these mechanisms became subservient to the political executive or were captured by party loyalists." Scholars also point to how he Modi government has used state power to intimidate and stifle critics in the media and academia, thus undermining freedom of expression and alternative sources of information. Reporters Without Borders in 2021 characterised Modi as a predator for curbing press freedom in India since 2014. Economic policy The economic policies of Modi's government focused on privatisation and liberalisation of the economy, based on a neoliberal framework. Modi liberalised India's foreign direct investment policies, allowing more foreign investment in several industries, including in defence and the railways. Other proposed reforms included making it harder for workers to form unions and easier for employers to hire and fire them; some of these proposals were dropped after protests. The reforms drew strong opposition from unions: on 2 September 2015, eleven of the country's largest unions went on strike, including one affiliated with the BJP. The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, a constituent of the Sangh Parivar, stated that the underlying motivation of labour reforms favoured corporations over labourers. The funds dedicated to poverty reduction programmes and social welfare measures were greatly decreased by the Modi administration. The money spent on social programmes declined from 14.6% of GDP during the Congress government to 12.6% during Modi's first year in office. Spending on health and family welfare declined by 15%, and on primary and secondary education by 16%. The budgetary allocation for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, or the "education for all" programme, declined by 22%. The government also lowered corporate taxes, abolished the wealth tax, increased sales taxes, and reduced customs duties on gold, and jewellery. In October 2014, the Modi government deregulated diesel prices. In September 2014, Modi introduced the Make in India initiative to encourage foreign companies to manufacture products in India, with the goal of turning the country into a global manufacturing hub. Supporters of economic liberalisation supported the initiative, while critics argued it would allow foreign corporations to capture a greater share of the Indian market. Modi's administration passed a land-reform bill that allowed it to acquire private agricultural land without conducting a social impact assessment, and without the consent of the farmers who owned it. The bill was passed via an executive order after it faced opposition in parliament, but was eventually allowed to lapse. Modi's government put in place the Goods and Services Tax, the biggest tax reform in the country since independence. It subsumed around 17 different taxes and became effective from 1 July 2017. In his first cabinet decision, Modi set up a team to investigate black money. On 9 November 2016, the government demonetised ₹500 and ₹1000 banknotes, with the stated intention of curbing corruption, black money, the use of counterfeit currency, and terrorism. The move led to severe cash shortages, a steep decline in the Indian stock indices BSE SENSEX and NIFTY 50, and sparked widespread protests throughout the country. Several deaths were linked to the rush to exchange cash. In the subsequent year, the number of income tax returns filed for individuals rose by 25%, and the number of digital transactions increased steeply. Over the first four years of Modi's premiership, India's GDP grew at an average rate of 7.23%, higher than the rate of 6.39% under the previous government. The level of income inequality increased, while an internal government report said that in 2017, unemployment had increased to its highest level in 45 years. The loss of jobs was attributed to the 2016 demonetisation, and to the effects of the Goods and Services Tax. In the next year, after 2018, Indian economy started a gradual recovery with a GDP growth of 6.12% in 2018-19 FY, with an inflation rate of 3.4%. Same year, India was successful in making a good economy in trade and manufacturing sector. While in the FY of 2019–20, due to the general election, Modi government focused more on their election campaign. In the year 2019–20, the GDP growth rate was 4.18% and inflation rate also increased to 4.7% from 3.4% in the previous year. Though being high unemployment, increase in inflation rate and budget deficiency, Modi's leadership won in 2019 elections. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous rating agencies downgraded India's GDP predictions for FY21 to negative figures, signalling a recession in India, the most severe since 1979. According to a Dun & Bradstreet report, the country is likely to suffer a recession in the third quarter of FY2020 as a result of the over 2-month long nation-wide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19. This was also accompanied by the mass migration of migrant workers. Health and sanitation In his first year as prime minister, Modi reduced the amount of money spent by the central government on healthcare. The Modi government launched New Health Policy (NHP) in January 2015. The policy did not increase the government's spending on healthcare, instead emphasising the role of private healthcare organisations. This represented a shift away from the policy of the previous Congress government, which had supported programmes to assist public health goals, including reducing child and maternal mortality rates. The National Health Mission, which included public health programmes targeted at these indices received nearly 20% less funds in 2015 than in the previous year. 15 national health programmes, including those aimed at controlling tobacco use and supporting healthcare for the elderly, were merged with the National Health Mission. In its budget for the second year after it took office, the Modi government reduced healthcare spending by 15%. The healthcare budget for the following year rose by 19%. The budget was viewed positively by private insurance providers. Public health experts criticised its emphasis on the role of private healthcare providers, and suggested that it represented a shift away from public health facilities. The healthcare budget rose by 11.5% in 2018; the change included an allocation of for a government-funded health insurance program, and a decrease in the budget of the National Health Mission. The government introduced stricter packaging laws for tobacco which requires 85% of the packet size to be covered by pictorial warnings. An article in the medical journal Lancet stated that the country "might have taken a few steps back in public health" under Modi. In 2018 Modi launched the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, a government health insurance scheme intended to insure 500 million people. 100,000 people had signed up by October 2018. Modi emphasised his government's efforts at sanitation as a means of ensuring good health. On 2 October 2014, Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Mission ("Clean India") campaign. The stated goals of the campaign included eliminating open defecation and manual scavenging within five years. As part of the programme, the Indian government began constructing millions of toilets in rural areas and encouraging people to use them. The government also announced plans to build new sewage treatment plants. The administration plans to construct 60 million toilets by 2019. The construction projects have faced allegations of corruption, and have faced severe difficulty in getting people to use the toilets constructed for them. Sanitation cover in the country increased from 38.7% in October 2014 to 84.1% in May 2018; however, usage of the new sanitary facilities lagged behind the government's targets. In 2018, the World Health Organization stated that at least 180,000 diarrhoeal deaths were averted in rural India after the launch of the sanitation effort. Hindutva During the 2014 election campaign, the BJP sought to identify itself with political leaders known to have opposed Hindu nationalism, including B. R. Ambedkar, Subhas Chandra Bose, and Ram Manohar Lohia. The campaign also saw the use of rhetoric based on Hindutva by BJP leaders in certain states. Communal tensions were played upon especially in Uttar Pradesh and the states of Northeast India. A proposal for the controversial Uniform Civil Code was a part of the BJP's election manifesto. The activities of a number of Hindu nationalist organisations increased in scope after Modi's election as Prime Minister, sometimes with the support of the government. These activities included a Hindu religious conversion programme, a campaign against the alleged Islamic practice of "Love Jihad", and attempts to celebrate Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, by members of the right wing Hindu Mahasabha. Officials in the government, including the Home Minister, defended the conversion programmes. Links between the BJP and the RSS grew stronger under Modi. The RSS provided organisational support to the BJP's electoral campaigns, while the Modi administration appointed a number of individuals affiliated with the RSS to prominent government positions. In 2014, Yellapragada Sudershan Rao, who had previously been associated with the RSS, became the chairperson of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). Historians and former members of the ICHR, including those sympathetic to the BJP, questioned his credentials as a historian, and stated that the appointment was part of an agenda of cultural nationalism. The North East Delhi riots, which left more than 40 dead and hundreds injured, were triggered by protests against a citizenship law seen by many critics as anti-Muslim and part of Modi's Hindu nationalist agenda. On 5 August 2020, Modi visited Ayodhya after the Supreme Court in 2019 ordered a contested land in Ayodhya to be handed over to a trust to build the Hindu temple and ordered the government to give alternate 5 acre land to Sunni Waqf Board for the purpose of building a mosque. He became the first prime minister to visit Ram Janmabhoomi and Hanuman Garhi. Foreign policy Foreign policy played a relatively small role in Modi's election campaign, and did not feature prominently in the BJP's election manifesto. Modi invited all the other leaders of SAARC countries to his swearing in ceremony as prime minister. He was the first Indian prime minister to do so. Modi's foreign policy, similarly to that of the preceding INC government, focused on improving economic ties, security, and regional relations. Modi continued Manmohan Singh's policy of "multi-alignment." The Modi administration tried to attract foreign investment in the Indian economy from several sources, especially in East Asia, with the use of slogans such as "Make in India" and "Digital India". The government also tried to improve relations with Islamic nations in the Middle East, such as Bahrain, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as with Israel. The foreign relations of India with the USA also mended after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister. During the run-up to the general election there was wide-ranging scepticism regarding future of the strategic bilateral relation under Modi's premiership as in 2005 he was, while Chief Minister of Gujarat, denied a U.S. visa during the Bush administration for his poor human rights records. However sensing Modi's inevitable victory well before the election, the US Ambassador Nancy Powell had reached out to him as part of greater rapprochement from the west. Moreover, following his 2014 election as the Prime Minister of India President Obama congratulated him over the telephone and invited him to visit the US. Modi government has been successful in making good foreign relations with the USA in the presidency of both Barack Obama and Donald Trump. During the first few months after the election, Modi made trips to a number of different countries to further the goals of his policy, and attended the BRICS, ASEAN, and G20 summits. One of Modi's first visits as prime minister was to Nepal, during which he promised a billion USD in aid. Modi also made several overtures to the United States, including multiple visits to that country. While this was described as an unexpected development, due to the US having previously denied Modi a travel visa over his role during the 2002 Gujarat riots, the visits were expected to strengthen diplomatic and trade relations between the two countries. In 2015, the Indian parliament ratified a land exchange deal with Bangladesh about the India–Bangladesh enclaves, which had been initiated by the government of Manmohan Singh. Modi's administration gave renewed attention to India's "Look East Policy", instituted in 1991. The policy was renamed the "Act East Policy", and involved directing Indian foreign policy towards East Asia and Southeast Asia. The government signed agreements to improve land connectivity with Myanmar, through the state of Manipur. This represented a break with India's historic engagement with Myanmar, which prioritised border security over trade. China–India relations have deteriorated rapidly following the 2020 China–India skirmishes. Modi has pledged aid of $900 million to Afghanistan, visited the nation twice and been honoured with the nation's highest civilian honour in 2016. Defence policy India's nominal military spending increased steadily under Modi. The military budget declined over Modi's tenure both as a fraction of GDP and when adjusted for inflation. A substantial portion of the military budget was devoted to personnel costs, leading commentators to write that the budget was constraining Indian military modernisation. The BJP election manifesto had also promised to deal with illegal immigration into India in the Northeast, as well as to be more firm in its handling of insurgent groups. The Modi government issued a notification allowing Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist illegal immigrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh to legalise their residency in India. The government described the measure as being taken for humanitarian reasons but it drew criticism from several Assamese organisations.The Modi administration negotiated a peace agreement with the largest faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCM), which was announced in August 2015. The Naga insurgency in northeast India had begun in the 1950s. The NSCM and the government had agreed to a ceasefire in 1997, but a peace accord had not previously been signed. In 2015 the government abrogated a 15-year ceasefire with the Khaplang faction of the NSCM (NSCM-K). The NSCM-K responded with a series of attacks, which killed 18 people. The Modi government carried out a raid across the border with Myanmar as a result, and labelled the NSCM-K a terrorist organisation. Modi promised to be "tough on Pakistan" during his election campaign, and repeatedly stated that Pakistan was an exporter of terrorism. On 29 September 2016, the Indian Army stated that it had conducted a surgical strike on terror launch pads in Azad Kashmir. The Indian media claimed that up to 50 terrorists and Pakistani soldiers had been killed in the strike. Pakistan initially denied that any strikes had taken place. Subsequent reports suggested that Indian claim about the scope of the strike and the number of casualties had been exaggerated, although cross-border strikes had been carried out. In February 2019 India carried out airstrikes in Pakistan against a supposed terrorist camp. Further military skirmishes followed, including cross-border shelling and the loss of an Indian aircraft. Following his victory in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he focused more on Defence policies of India, especially against China and Pakistan. On 5 May 2020, Chinese and Indian troops engaged in aggressive melee, face-offs and skirmishes at locations along the Sino-Indian border, including near the disputed Pangong Lake in Ladakh and the Tibet Autonomous Region, and near the border between Sikkim and the Tibet Autonomous Region. Additional clashes also took place at locations in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). After which there was start of skirmishes between the nations leading to many border clashes, responses and reactions from both sides. A series of talks were also held between the two by both military and diplomatic means for peace. The first border clash reported in 2021 was on 20 January, referred to as a minor border clash in Sikkim. Environmental policy In naming his cabinet, Modi renamed the "Ministry of Environment and Forests" the "Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change." In the first budget of the government, the money allotted to this ministry was reduced by more than 50%. The new ministry also removed or diluted a number of laws related to environmental protection. These included no longer requiring clearance from the National Board for Wildlife for projects close to protected areas, and allowing certain projects to proceed before environmental clearance was received. The government also tried to reconstitute the Wildlife board such that it no longer had representatives from non-governmental organisations: however, this move was prevented by the Supreme Court. Modi also relaxed or abolished a number of other environmental regulations, particularly those related to industrial activity. A government committee stated that the existing system only served to create corruption, and that the government should instead rely on the owners of industries to voluntarily inform the government about the pollution they were creating. Other changes included reducing ministry oversight on small mining projects, and no longer requiring approval from tribal councils for projects inside forested areas. In addition, Modi lifted a moratorium on new industrial activity in the most polluted areas in the countries. The changes were welcomed by businesspeople, but criticised by environmentalists. Under the UPA government that preceded Modi's administration, field trials of Genetically Modified (GM) crops had essentially been put on hold, after protests from farmers fearing for their livelihoods. Under the Modi government these restrictions were gradually lifted. The government received some criticism for freezing the bank accounts of environmental group Greenpeace, citing financial irregularities, although a leaked government report said that the freeze had to do with Greenpeace's opposition to GM crops. At the COP26 conference Modi announced that India would target carbon neutrality by 2070, and also expand its renewable energy capacity. Though the date of net zero is far behind that of China and the USA and India's government wants to continue with the use of coal, Indian environmentalists and economists applauded the decision, describing it as a bold climate action. Democratic backsliding Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. According to one study, "The BJP government incrementally but systemically attacked nearly all existing mechanisms that are in place to hold the political executive to account, either by ensuring that these mechanisms became subservient to the political executive or were captured by party loyalists." Scholars also point to how the Modi government has used state power to intimidate and stifle critics in the media and academia, thus undermining freedom of expression and alternative sources of information. There have been several reports of the Modi government to be as an authoritarian conservative government, even due to lack of good opposition. Electoral history Personal life and image Personal life In accordance with Ghanchi tradition, Modi's marriage was arranged by his parents when he was a child. He was engaged at age 13 to Jashodaben Modi, marrying her when he was 18. They spent little time together and grew apart when Modi began two years of travel, including visits to Hindu ashrams. Reportedly, their marriage was never consummated, and he kept it a secret because otherwise he could not have become a 'pracharak' in the puritan Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Modi kept his marriage secret for most of his career. He acknowledged his wife for the first time when he filed his nomination for the 2014 general elections. Modi maintains a close relationship with his centenarian mother, Hiraben. A vegetarian and teetotaler, Modi has a frugal lifestyle and is a workaholic and introvert. A person named Badri Meena has been his cook since 2002. Modi's 31 August 2012 post on Google Hangouts made him the first Indian politician to interact with citizens on a live chat. Modi has also been called a fashion-icon for his signature crisply ironed, half-sleeved kurta, as well as for a suit with his name embroidered repeatedly in the pinstripes that he wore during a state visit by US President Barack Obama, which drew public and media attention and criticism. Modi's personality has been variously described by scholars and biographers as energetic, arrogant, and charismatic. He had published a Gujarati book titled Jyotipunj in 2008, containing profiles of various RSS leaders. The longest was of M. S. Golwalkar, under whose leadership the RSS expanded and whom Modi refers to as Pujniya Shri Guruji ("Guru worthy of worship"). According to The Economic Times, his intention was to explain the workings of the RSS to his readers and to reassure RSS members that he remained ideologically aligned with them. Modi authored eight other books, mostly containing short stories for children. The nomination of Modi for the prime ministership drew attention to his reputation as "one of contemporary India's most controversial and divisive politicians." During the 2014 election campaign the BJP projected an image of Modi as a strong, masculine leader, who would be able to take difficult decisions. Campaigns in which he has participated have focused on Modi as an individual, in a manner unusual for the BJP and RSS. Modi has relied upon his reputation as a politician able to bring about economic growth and "development". Nonetheless, his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots continues to attract criticism and controversy. Modi's hardline Hindutva philosophy and the policies adopted by his government continue to draw criticism, and have been seen as evidence of a majoritarian and exclusionary social agenda. In March 2021, Modi received his first COVID-19 vaccine dose at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. Personal donations Modi has made donations for various causes and programmes. One such instance was when Modi donated towards the initial corpus of the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) Fund. In his role as chief minister of Gujarat, Modi had donated from personal savings for educating daughters of state government officials. Modi had also raised by auctioning all the gifts he received as chief minister and donated this to the Kanya Kelavani Fund. The money was spent on the education of girl children, through the scheme. Approval ratings As a Prime Minister, Modi has received consistently high approval ratings; at the end of his first year in office, he received an overall approval rating of 87% in a Pew Research poll, with 68% of people rating him "very favorably" and 93% approving of his government. His approval rating remained largely consistent at around 74% through his second year in office, according to a nationwide poll conducted by instaVaani. At the end of his second year in office, an updated Pew Research poll showed Modi continued to receive high overall approval ratings of 81%, with 57% of those polled rating him "very favorably." At the end of his third year in office, a further Pew Research poll showed Modi with an overall approval rating of 88%, his highest yet, with 69% of people polled rating him "very favorably." A poll conducted by The Times of India in May 2017 showed 77% of the respondents rated Modi as "very good" and "good". In early 2017, a survey from Pew Research Center showed Modi to be the most popular figure in Indian politics. In a weekly analysis by Morning Consult called the Global Leader Approval Rating Tracker, Modi had the highest net approval rating as of 22 December 2020 of all government leaders in the 13 countries being tracked. Awards and recognition In March 2012 and June 2014, Modi appeared on the cover of the Asian edition of Time Magazine, one of the few Indian politicians to have done so. He was awarded Indian of the Year by CNN-News18 (formally CNN-IBN) news network in 2014. In June 2015, Modi was featured on the cover of Time Magazine. In 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020 and 2021, he was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World. Forbes Magazine ranked him the 15th Most Powerful Person in the World in 2014 and the 9th Most Powerful Person in the World in 2015, 2016 and 2018. In 2015, Modi was ranked the 13th Most Influential Person in the World by Bloomberg Markets Magazine. Modi was ranked fifth on Fortune Magazines first annual list of the "World's Greatest Leaders" in 2015. In 2017, Gallup International Association (GIA) conducted a poll and ranked Modi as third top leader of the world. In 2016, a wax statue of Modi was unveiled at Madame Tussauds wax museum in London. In 2015 he was named one of Times "30 Most Influential People on the Internet" as the second-most-followed politician on Twitter and Facebook. In 2018, he was the third most followed world leader on Twitter, and the most followed world leader on Facebook and Instagram. In October 2018, Modi received United Nations's highest environmental award, the 'Champions of the Earth', for policy leadership by "pioneering work in championing" the International Solar Alliance and "new areas of levels of cooperation on environmental action". He was conferred the 2018 Seoul Peace Prize in recognition of "his dedication to improving international co-operation, raising global economic growth, accelerating the Human Development of the people of India by fostering economic growth and furthering the development of democracy through anti-corruption and social integration efforts". He is the first Indian to win the award. Following his second swearing-in ceremony as Prime Minister of India, a picture of Modi was displayed on the facade of the ADNOC building in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The Texas India Forum hosted a community event in honour of Modi on 22 September 2019 at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. The event was attended by over 50,000 people and several American politicians including President Donald Trump, making it the largest gathering for an invited foreign leader visiting the United States other than the Pope. At the same event, Modi was presented with the Key to the City of Houston by Mayor Sylvester Turner. He was awarded the Global Goalkeeper Award on 24 September 2019 in New York City by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in recognition for the Swachh Bharat Mission and "the progress India has made in providing safe sanitation under his leadership". In 2020, Modi was among eight world leaders awarded the parodic Ig Nobel Prize in Medical Education "for using the COVID-19 viral pandemic to teach the world that politicians can have a more immediate effect on life and death than scientists and doctors can". On 21 December 2020, President Donald Trump awarded Modi with the Legion of Merit for elevating the India–United States relations. The Legion of Merit was awarded to Modi along with Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison and former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe, the "original architects" of the QUAD. On 24 February 2021, the largest cricket stadium in the world at Ahmedabad was renamed Narendra Modi Stadium by the Gujarat Cricket Association. Modi is featured in TIME Magazine's 100 most influential people of 2021 list, making it his fifth time after 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2020. TIME called him the third "pivotal leader" of independent India after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi who "dominated the country’s politics like no one since them". State honours Other honours In popular culture Modi Kaka Ka Gaon, a 2017 Indian Hindi-language drama film by Tushar Amrish Goel is the first biopic on Modi, starring Vikas Mahante in the titular role it was made halfway into his first-term as the prime minister which is shown in the film. PM Narendra Modi, a 2019 Indian Hindi-language biographical drama film by Omung Kumar, starred Vivek Oberoi in the titular role and covers his rise to prime ministership.An Indian web series, Modi: Journey of a Common Man, based on the same premise released in May 2019 on Eros Now with Ashish Sharma portraying Modi. Hu Narender Modi Banva Mangu Chu is a 2018 Indian Gujarati-language drama film by Anil Naryani about the aspirations of a young boy who wants to become like Narendra Modi. 7 RCR (7, Race Course Road), a 2014 Indian docudrama political television series which charts the political careers of prominent Indian politicians, covered Modi's rise to the PM's office in the episodes - "Story of Narendra Modi from 1950 to 2001", "Story of Narendra Modi in Controversial Years from 2001 to 2013", "Truth Behind Brand Modi", "Election Journey of Narendra Modi to 7 RCR", and "Masterplan of Narendra Modi's NDA Govt."; with Sangam Rai in the role of Modi. Other portrayals of Modi include by Rajit Kapur in the film Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) and Vikram Gokhale in the web-television series Avrodh: The Siege Within (2020) both based on the 2016 Uri attack and the following Indian surgical strikes. Pratap Singh played a character based on Modi in Chand Bujh Gaya (2005) which is set in the backdrop of the Gujarat riots. Premiered on 12 August 2019, Modi appeared in an episode - "Man vs. Wild with Bear Grylls and Prime Minister Modi" - of Discovery Channel's show Man vs Wild with the host Bear Grylls, becoming the second world leader after Barack Obama to appear in the reality show. In the show he trekked the jungles and talked about nature and wildlife conservation with Grylls. The episode was shot in Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand and was broadcast in 180 countries along India. He has also appeared twice on the Indian television talk show Aap Ki Adalat before the 2009 and 2014 elections respectively. Along with hosting the Mann Ki Baat monthly radio programme, on All India Radio, he has also conducted Pariksha Pe Charcha - a competition/discussion for students and the issues they face in examinations. Bibliography See also List of prime ministers of India Opinion polling on the Narendra Modi premiership References Notes Citations Further reading External links |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- 1950 births Living people Gujarati people People from Gujarat People from Mehsana district Indian Hindus Prime Ministers of India Leaders of the Lok Sabha Chief Ministers of Gujarat Chief ministers from Bharatiya Janata Party 16th Lok Sabha members 17th Lok Sabha members Members of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly Delhi University alumni Gujarat University alumni Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharaks Indian nationalists Indian writers Recipients of the Legion of Merit Hindu nationalists Right-wing politics in India 20th-century Indian writers Members of the Planning Commission of India Right-wing populism in India Bharatiya Jana Sangh politicians Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Gujarat Lok Sabha members from Gujarat Lok Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2019 Indian general election Writers from Gujarat Candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Hindu pacifists Narendra Modi ministry Candidates in the 2019 Indian general election Hindu revivalists Writers about activism and social change Indian political people 21st-century prime ministers of India Gujarat MLAs 1998–2002 Politicians of Hindu political parties National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Indian anti-communists Gandhians Gujarat MLAs 2002–2007 Gujarat MLAs 2007–2012 Gujarat MLAs 2012–2017 21st-century Indian non-fiction writers Politicians from Varanasi Time 100
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[ "A spreading ground is a water conservation facility that retains surface water long enough for it to percolate into the soil. Spreading grounds must be located where underlying soils are permeable and connected to a target aquifer.\nLocating them above silt or clay would prevent the surface water from reaching formations that store water.\n\nWhen natural percolation of precipitation is insufficient to replenish groundwater withdrawn for human use, artificial recharge helps prevent aquifer depletion, subsidence and saltwater intrusion. Spreading grounds are one of several available technologies, and are useful to harness storm water runoff in populated areas with low annual precipitation.\nFor example, Los Angeles County, California has 27 such facilities, and four more operated in conjunction with the department, many of which date to the 1930s.\n\nWhile managed aquifer recharge (MAR) projects utilizing storm water and diverted surface water runoff augment groundwater recharge, data suggests that the infiltration capacity of spreading grounds in drought-prone regions is underused due to the seasonality of rainfall. In response, interest is being generated around MAR projects that utilize recycled water to supplement other water sources. Orange County's Groundwater Replenishment System serves as an example of one such system that is combining recycled water and storm water to recharge groundwater through spreading grounds to meet the municipality's annual water needs.\n\nToday, many spreading grounds, which were once considered single-purpose facilities, are being converted to combine municipalities' goals for groundwater recharge with demands for additional recreational opportunities, green space and wildlife habitat. The Dominguez Gap Wetlands in Long Beach, California, which consists of two spreading grounds, is an example of one of these multi-purpose facilities. While the facility's east basin was converted into constructed wetlands, the west basin remains a spreading ground that recharges the local aquifer by an estimated 450-acre feet annually.\n\nReferences\n\nWater resources management", "Conjunctive use is often used in discussing water supplies and water conservation. This phrase usually is used to describe the practice of storing surface water in a groundwater basin in wet years and withdrawing it from the basin in dry years. Conjunctive use consists of harmoniously combining the use of both surface water and groundwater in order to minimise the undesirable physical, environmental and economical effects of each solution and to optimise the water demand\n\nReferences \n\nWater conservation" ]
[ "Narendra Modi", "Final years", "What happened in her final years?", "Modi made extensive use of holograms", "How did Modi use holograms?", "allowing him to reach a large number of people,", "Did Modi ran for any political positions ?", "Modi won the constituency of Maninagar", "With how many votes did he win this constituency?", "by 86,373 votes", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism.", "How did this affect his campaing?", "Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders.", "What else happened towards the final years?", "As Chief Minister, Modi favoured privatisation and small government,", "Did he make any important laws or helped with some as Chief Minister?", "He established financial and technology parks", "Did he do any other important things?", "The governments led by Patel and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of groundwater-conservation projects.", "Did he generate any groundwater-conservation projects?", "500,000 structures had been built, of which 113,738 were check dams," ]
C_b6a0c764bf0c443b9768973ff08ca8fb_1
Did he retire from politics eventually?
11
Did Modi retire from politics eventually?
Narendra Modi
During Modi's second term the rhetoric of the government shifted from Hindutva to Gujarat's economic development. Modi curtailed the influence of Sangh Parivar organisations such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), entrenched in the state after the decline of Ahmedabad's textile industry, and dropped Gordhan Zadafia (an ally of former Sangh co-worker and VHP state chief Praveen Togadia) from his cabinet. When the BKS staged a farmers' demonstration Modi ordered their eviction from state-provided houses, and his decision to demolish 200 illegal temples in Gandhinagar deepened the rift with the VHP. Sangh organisations were no longer consulted or informed in advance about Modi's administrative decisions. Nonetheless, Modi retained connections with some Hindu nationalists. Modi wrote a foreword to a textbook by Dinanath Batra released in 2014, which stated that ancient India possessed technologies including test-tube babies. Modi's relationship with Muslims continued to attract criticism. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (who asked Modi for tolerance in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat violence and supported his resignation as chief minister) distanced himself, reaching out to North Indian Muslims before the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. After the elections Vajpayee called the violence in Gujarat a reason for the BJP's electoral defeat and said it had been a mistake to leave Modi in office after the riots. Questions about Modi's relationship with Muslims were also raised by many Western nations during his tenure as chief minister. Modi was barred from entering the United States by the State Department, in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on International Religious Freedom formed under the aegis of the International Religious Freedom Act, the only person denied a US visa under this law. The UK and the European Union refused to admit him because of what they saw as his role in the riots. As Modi rose to prominence in India, the UK and the EU lifted their bans in October 2012 and March 2013, respectively, and after his election as prime minister he was invited to Washington. During the run-up to the 2007 assembly elections and the 2009 general election, the BJP intensified its rhetoric on terrorism. In July 2006, Modi criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh " for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislation" such as the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the national government to allow states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. In 2007 Modi authored Karmayog, a 101-page booklet discussing manual scavenging. In it, Modi argued that scavenging was a "spiritual experience" for Dalits. However, this book was not circulated that time because of the election code of conduct. After the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Modi held a meeting to discuss the security of Gujarat's 1,600-kilometre (990 mi)-long coastline, resulting in government authorisation of 30 high-speed surveillance boats. In July 2007 Modi completed 2,063 consecutive days as chief minister of Gujarat, making him the longest-serving holder of that post, and the BJP won 122 of 182 state-assembly seats in that year's election. As Chief Minister, Modi favoured privatisation and small government, which was at odds with the philosophy of the RSS, usually described as anti-privatisation and anti-globalisation. His policies during his second term have been credited with reducing corruption in the state. He established financial and technology parks in Gujarat and during the 2007 Vibrant Gujarat summit, real-estate investment deals worth Rs6.6 trillion were signed. The governments led by Patel and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of groundwater-conservation projects. By December 2008, 500,000 structures had been built, of which 113,738 were check dams, which helped recharge the aquifers beneath them. Sixty of the 112 tehsils which had depleted the water table in 2004 had regained their normal groundwater levels by 2010. As a result, the state's production of genetically modified cotton increased to become the largest in India. The boom in cotton production and its semi-arid land use led to Gujarat's agricultural sector growing at an average rate of 9.6 percent from 2001 to 2007. Public irrigation measures in central and southern Gujarat, such as the Sardar Sarovar Dam, were less successful. The Sardar Sarovar project only irrigated 4-6% of the area intended. Nonetheless, from 2001 to 2010 Gujarat recorded an agricultural growth rate of 10.97 percent - the highest of any state. However, sociologists have pointed out that the growth rate under the 1992-97 INC government was 12.9 percent. In 2008 Modi offered land in Gujarat to Tata Motors to set up a plant manufacturing the Nano after a popular agitation had forced the company to move out of West Bengal. Several other companies followed the Tata's to Gujarat. The Modi government finished the process of bringing electricity to every village in Gujarat that its predecessor had almost completed. Modi significantly changed the state's system of power distribution, greatly impacting farmers. Gujarat expanded the Jyotigram Yojana scheme, in which agricultural electricity was separated from other rural electricity; the agricultural electricity was rationed to fit scheduled irrigation demands, reducing its cost. Although early protests by farmers ended when those who benefited found that their electricity supply had stabilised, according to an assessment study corporations and large farmers benefited from the policy at the expense of small farmers and labourers. During the 2012 campaign, Modi attempted to identify himself with the state of Gujarat, a strategy similar to that used by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, and projected himself as protecting Gujarat against persecution by the rest of India. Despite the BJP's shift away from explicit Hindutva, Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism. Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders. During his 2012 campaign he twice refused to wear articles of clothing gifted by Muslim leaders. He did, however, maintain relations with Dawoodi Bohra. His campaign included references to issues known to cause religious polarisation, including to Afzal Guru and the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. The BJP did not nominate any Muslim candidates for the assembly election of 2012. He had published a Gujarati book titled Jyotipunj in 2008, containing profiles of various RSS leaders. The longest was of M. S. Golwalkar, under whose leadership the RSS expanded and whom Modi refers to as Pujniya Shri Guruji ("Guru worthy of worship"). According to The Economic Times, his intention was to explain the workings of the RSS to his readers and to reassure RSS members that he remained ideologically aligned with them. Modi authored eight other books, mostly containing short stories for children. While campaigning for the 2012 assembly elections, Modi made extensive use of holograms and other technologies allowing him to reach a large number of people, something he would repeat in the 2014 general election. In the 2012 Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections, Modi won the constituency of Maninagar by 86,373 votes over Shweta Bhatt, the INC candidate and wife of Sanjiv Bhatt. The BJP won 115 of the 182 seats, continuing its majority during his tenure and allowing the party to form the government (as it had in Gujarat since 1995). In later by-elections the BJP won four more assembly seats and two Lok Sabha seats held by the INC, although Modi did not campaign for its candidates. In 2013, the Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF) at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania cancelled a keynote video-conference speech by Modi following protests by Indian-Americans. After his election as prime minister, Modi resigned as the chief minister and as an MLA from Maninagar on 21 May 2014. Anandiben Patel succeeded him as the chief minister. CANNOTANSWER
After his election as prime minister, Modi resigned as the chief minister and as an MLA from Maninagar on 21 May 2014.
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from Varanasi. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindu nationalist paramilitary volunteer organisation. He is the first prime minister to have been born after India's independence in 1947 and the second prime minister not belonging to the Indian National Congress to have won two consecutive majorities in the Lok Sabha, or lower house of Indian of parliament. Born and raised in Vadnagar, a small town in northeastern Gujarat, Modi completed his secondary education there. He was introduced to the RSS at age eight. He has drawn attention to having to work as a child in his father's tea stall on the Vadnagar railway station platform, a description that has not been reliably corroborated. At age 18, Modi was married to Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi, whom he abandoned soon after. He left his parental home where she had come to live. He first publicly acknowledged her as his wife more than four decades later when required to do so by Indian law, but has made no contact with her since. Modi has asserted he had travelled in northern India for two years after leaving his parental home, visiting a number of religious centres, but few details of his travels have emerged. Upon his return to Gujarat in 1971, he became a full-time worker for the RSS. After the state of emergency declared by prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1975, Modi went into hiding. The RSS assigned him to the BJP in 1985 and he held several positions within the party hierarchy until 2001, rising to the rank of general secretary. Modi was appointed Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2001 due to Keshubhai Patel's failing health and poor public image following the earthquake in Bhuj. Modi was elected to the legislative assembly soon after. His administration has been considered complicit in the 2002 Gujarat riots in which 1044 people were killed, three-quarters of whom were Muslim, or otherwise criticised for its management of the crisis. The Supreme Court remarked that Narendra Modi was like a Modern-day Nero, looking the other way as innocent women and children were burning. A Supreme Court of India-appointed Special Investigation Team found no evidence to initiate prosecution proceedings against Modi personally. While his policies as chief minister—credited with encouraging economic growth—have received praise, his administration has been criticised for failing to significantly improve health, poverty and education indices in the state. Modi led the BJP in the 2014 general election which gave the party a majority in the Indian lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha, the first time for any single party since 1984. Modi's administration has tried to raise foreign direct investment in the Indian economy and reduced spending on healthcare and social welfare programmes. Modi has attempted to improve efficiency in the bureaucracy; he has centralised power by abolishing the Planning Commission. He began a high-profile sanitation campaign, controversially initiated a demonetisation of high-denomination banknotes and transformation of taxation regime, and weakened or abolished environmental and labour laws. Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. Following his party's victory in the 2019 general election, his administration revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and also introduced the Citizenship Amendment Act, which resulted in widespread protests across the country. Described as engineering a political realignment towards right-wing politics, Modi remains a figure of controversy domestically and internationally over his Hindu nationalist beliefs and his handling of the 2002 Gujarat riots, cited as evidence of an exclusionary social agenda. Early life and education Narendra Damodardas Modi was born on 17 September 1950 to a Gujarati Hindu family of grocers in Vadnagar, Mehsana district, Bombay State (present-day Gujarat). He was the third of six children born to Damodardas Mulchand Modi () and Hiraben Modi (born ). Modi's family belonged to the Modh-Ghanchi-Teli (oil-presser) community, which is categorised as an Other Backward Class by the Indian government. Modi had only infrequently spoken of his family background during his 13 years as chief minister of Gujarat. In the run up to the 2014 national elections, he began to regularly draw attention to his low-ranking social origins and to having to work as a child in his father's tea shop on the Vadnagar railway station platform, a description that the evidence of neighbours does not entirely corroborate. Modi completed his higher secondary education in Vadnagar in 1967, where teachers described him as an average student and a keen gifted debater, with interest in theatre. Modi preferred playing larger-than-life characters in theatrical productions, which has influenced his political image. When eight years old, Modi was introduced to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and began attending its local shakhas (training sessions). There, Modi met Lakshmanrao Inamdar, popularly known as Vakil Saheb, who inducted him as a balswayamsevak (junior cadet) in the RSS and became his political mentor. While Modi was training with the RSS, he also met Vasant Gajendragadkar and Nathalal Jaghda, Bharatiya Jana Sangh leaders who were founding members of the BJP's Gujarat unit in 1980. In a custom traditional to Narendra Modi's caste, his family arranged a betrothal to a girl, Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi, leading to their marriage when she was 17 and he was 18. Soon afterwards, he abandoned his bride, and left home, never divorcing her, but the marriage remaining unmentioned in Modi's public pronouncements for many decades. In April 2014, shortly before the national elections that swept him to power, Modi publicly affirmed that he was married and his spouse was Jashodaben; the couple has remained married, but estranged. Modi spent the ensuing two years travelling across Northern and North-eastern India, though few details of where he went have emerged. In interviews, Modi has described visiting Hindu ashrams founded by Swami Vivekananda: the Belur Math near Kolkata, followed by the Advaita Ashrama in Almora and the Ramakrishna Mission in Rajkot. Modi remained only a short time at each, since he lacked the required college education. Vivekananda has been described as a large influence in Modi's life. In the early summer of 1968, Modi reached the Belur Math but was turned away, after which Modi wandered through Calcutta, West Bengal and Assam, stopping in Siliguri and Guwahati. Modi then went to the Ramakrishna Ashram in Almora, where he was again rejected, before travelling back to Gujarat via Delhi and Rajasthan in 1968–69. Sometime in late 1969 or early 1970, Modi returned to Vadnagar for a brief visit before leaving again for Ahmedabad. There, Modi lived with his uncle, working in the latter's canteen at the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation. In Ahmedabad, Modi renewed his acquaintance with Inamdar, who was based at the Hedgewar Bhavan (RSS headquarters) in the city. Modi's first known political activity as an adult was in 1971 when he, as per his remarks, joined a Jana Sangh Satyagraha in Delhi led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee to enlist for the battlefield during the Bangladesh Liberation War. But the Indira Gandhi-led central government disallowed open support for the Mukti Bahini and Modi, according to his own claim, was put in Tihar Jail for a short period. After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he stopped working for his uncle and became a full-time pracharak (campaigner) for the RSS, working under Inamdar. Shortly before the war, Modi took part in a non-violent protest against the Indian government in New Delhi, for which he was arrested (as per his claim); this has been cited as a reason for Inamdar electing to mentor him. Many years later Modi would co-author a biography of Inamdar, published in 2001. Modi's claim that he was part of a Satyagraha led to a political war. Applications were filed with the PMO under the RTI Act seeking details of his arrest. In reply, the PMO claimed that it maintains official records on Modi only since he took charge as the Prime Minister of India in 2014. Despite this claim, the official website of the PMO contains specific information about Modi which dates back to the 1950s. In 1978 Modi received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the School of Open Learning (SOL) at the University of Delhi, graduating with a third class. Five years later, in 1983, he received a Master of Arts degree in political science from Gujarat University, graduating with a first class as an external distance learning student. But there is a big controversy surrounding his educational qualification. Replying to an RTI query, the SOL said it did not have any data of students who received a BA degree in 1978. Jayantibhai Patel, a former political science professor of Gujarat University, claimed that the subjects listed in Modi's MA degree were not offered by the university when Modi was studying there. Early political career In June 1975, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency in India which lasted until 1977. During this period, known as "The Emergency", many of her political opponents were jailed and opposition groups were banned. Modi was appointed general secretary of the "Gujarat Lok Sangharsh Samiti", an RSS committee co-ordinating opposition to the Emergency in Gujarat. Shortly afterwards, the RSS was banned. Modi was forced to go underground in Gujarat and frequently travelled in disguise to avoid arrest. He became involved in printing pamphlets opposing the government, sending them to Delhi and organising demonstrations. Modi was also involved with creating a network of safe houses for individuals wanted by the government, and in raising funds for political refugees and activists. During this period, Modi wrote a book in Gujarati, Sangharsh Ma Gujarat (In The Struggles of Gujarat), describing events during the Emergency. Among the people he met in this role was trade unionist and socialist activist George Fernandes, as well as several other national political figures. In his travels during the Emergency, Modi was often forced to move in disguise, once dressing as a monk, and once as a Sikh. Modi became an RSS sambhag pracharak (regional organiser) in 1978, overseeing RSS activities in the areas of Surat and Vadodara, and in 1979 he went to work for the RSS in Delhi, where he was put to work researching and writing the RSS's version of the history of the Emergency. He returned to Gujarat a short while later, and was assigned by the RSS to the BJP in 1985. In 1987 Modi helped organise the BJP's campaign in the Ahmedabad municipal election, which the BJP won comfortably; Modi's planning has been described as the reason for that result by biographers. After L. K. Advani became president of the BJP in 1986, the RSS decided to place its members in important positions within the BJP; Modi's work during the Ahmedabad election led to his selection for this role, and Modi was elected organising secretary of the BJP's Gujarat unit later in 1987. Modi rose within the party and was named a member of the BJP's National Election Committee in 1990, helping organise L. K. Advani's 1990 Ram Rath Yatra in 1990 and Murli Manohar Joshi's 1991–92 Ekta Yatra (Journey for Unity). However, he took a brief break from politics in 1992, instead establishing a school in Ahmedabad; friction with Shankersinh Vaghela, a BJP MP from Gujarat at the time, also played a part in this decision. Modi returned to electoral politics in 1994, partly at the insistence of Advani, and as party secretary, Modi's electoral strategy was considered central to the BJP victory in the 1995 state assembly elections. In November of that year Modi was appointed BJP national secretary and transferred to New Delhi, where he assumed responsibility for party activities in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The following year, Shankersinh Vaghela, a prominent BJP leader from Gujarat, defected to the Indian National Congress (Congress, INC) after losing his parliamentary seat in the Lok Sabha elections. Modi, on the selection committee for the 1998 Assembly elections in Gujarat, favoured supporters of BJP leader Keshubhai Patel over those supporting Vaghela to end factional division in the party. His strategy was credited as key to the BJP winning an overall majority in the 1998 elections, and Modi was promoted to BJP general secretary (organisation) in May of that year. Chief Minister of Gujarat Taking office In 2001, Keshubhai Patel's health was failing and the BJP lost a few state assembly seats in by-elections. Allegations of abuse of power, corruption and poor administration were made, and Patel's standing had been damaged by his administration's handling of the earthquake in Bhuj in 2001. The BJP national leadership sought a new candidate for the chief ministership, and Modi, who had expressed misgivings about Patel's administration, was chosen as a replacement. Although BJP leader L. K. Advani did not want to ostracise Patel and was concerned about Modi's lack of experience in government, Modi declined an offer to be Patel's deputy chief minister, telling Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee that he was "going to be fully responsible for Gujarat or not at all". On 3 October 2001 he replaced Patel as Chief Minister of Gujarat, with the responsibility of preparing the BJP for the December 2002 elections. Modi was sworn in as Chief Minister on 7 October 2001, and entered the Gujarat state legislature on 24 February 2002 by winning a by-election to the Rajkot – II constituency, defeating Ashwin Mehta of the INC by 14,728 votes. 2002 Gujarat riots On 27 February 2002, a train with several hundred passengers burned near Godhra, killing approximately 60 people. The train carried a large number of Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya after a religious ceremony at the site of the demolished Babri Masjid. In making a public statement after the incident, Modi declared it a terrorist attack planned and orchestrated by local Muslims. The next day, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad called for a bandh across the state. Riots began during the bandh, and anti-Muslim violence spread through Gujarat. The government's decision to move the bodies of the train victims from Godhra to Ahmedabad further inflamed the violence. The state government stated later that 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed. Independent sources put the death toll at over 2000, the vast majority Muslims Approximately 150,000 people were driven to refugee camps. Numerous women and children were among the victims; the violence included mass rapes and mutilations of women. The government of Gujarat itself is generally considered by scholars to have been complicit in the riots, (with some blaming chief minister Modi explicitly) and has otherwise received heavy criticism for its handling of the situation. Several scholars have described the violence as a pogrom, while others have called it an example of state terrorism. Summarising academic views on the subject, Martha Nussbaum said: "There is by now a broad consensus that the Gujarat violence was a form of ethnic cleansing, that in many ways it was premeditated, and that it was carried out with the complicity of the state government and officers of the law." The Modi government imposed a curfew in 26 major cities, issued shoot-at-sight orders and called for the army to patrol the streets, but was unable to prevent the violence from escalating. The president of the state unit of the BJP expressed support for the bandh, despite such actions being illegal at the time. State officials later prevented riot victims from leaving the refugee camps, and the camps were often unable to meet the needs of those living there. Muslim victims of the riots were subject to further discrimination when the state government announced that compensation for Muslim victims would be half of that offered to Hindus, although this decision was later reversed after the issue was taken to court. During the riots, police officers often did not intervene in situations where they were able. Modi's personal involvement in the 2002 events has continued to be debated. During the riots, Modi said that "What is happening is a chain of action and reaction." Later in 2002, Modi said the way in which he had handled the media was his only regret regarding the episode. In March 2008, the Supreme Court reopened several cases related to the 2002 riots, including that of the Gulbarg Society massacre, and established a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the issue. In response to a petition from Zakia Jafri (widow of Ehsan Jafri, who was killed in the Gulbarg Society massacre), in April 2009 the court also asked the SIT to investigate the issue of Modi's complicity in the killings. The SIT questioned Modi in March 2010; in May, it presented to the court a report finding no evidence against him. In July 2011, the court-appointed amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran submitted his final report to the court. Contrary to the SIT's position, he said that Modi could be prosecuted based on the available evidence. The Supreme Court gave the matter to the magistrate's court. The SIT examined Ramachandran's report, and in March 2012 submitted its final report, asking for the case to be closed. Zakia Jafri filed a protest petition in response. In December 2013 the magistrate's court rejected the protest petition, accepting the SIT's finding that there was no evidence against the chief minister. 2002 election In the aftermath of the violence there were widespread calls for Modi to resign as chief minister from within and outside the state, including from leaders of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Telugu Desam Party (allies in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance coalition), and opposition parties stalled Parliament over the issue. Modi submitted his resignation at the April 2002 BJP national executive meeting in Goa, but it was not accepted. His cabinet had an emergency meeting on 19 July 2002, after which it offered its resignation to the Gujarat Governor S. S. Bhandari, and the state assembly was dissolved. Despite opposition from the election commissioner, who said that a number of voters were still displaced, Modi succeeded in advancing the election to December 2002. In the elections, the BJP won 127 seats in the 182-member assembly. Although Modi later denied it, he made significant use of anti-Muslim rhetoric during his campaign, and the BJP profited from religious polarisation among the voters. He won the Maninagar constituency, receiving of votes and defeating INC candidate Yatin Oza by 75,333 votes. On 22 December 2002, Bhandari swore Modi in for a second term. Modi framed the criticism of his government for human rights violations as an attack upon Gujarati pride, a strategy which led to the BJP winning two-thirds of the seats in the state assembly. Second term During Modi's second term the rhetoric of the government shifted from Hindutva to Gujarat's economic development. Modi curtailed the influence of Sangh Parivar organisations such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), entrenched in the state after the decline of Ahmedabad's textile industry, and dropped Gordhan Zadafia (an ally of former Sangh co-worker and VHP state chief Praveen Togadia) from his cabinet. When the BKS staged a farmers' demonstration Modi ordered their eviction from state-provided houses, and his decision to demolish 200 illegal temples in Gandhinagar deepened the rift with the Vishva Hindu Parishad. Sangh organisations were no longer consulted or informed in advance about Modi's administrative decisions. Nonetheless, Modi retained connections with some Hindu nationalists. Modi wrote a foreword to a textbook by Dinanath Batra released in 2014, which stated that ancient India possessed technologies including test-tube babies. Modi's relationship with Muslims continued to attract criticism. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (who asked Modi for tolerance in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat violence and supported his resignation as chief minister) distanced himself, reaching out to North Indian Muslims before the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. After the elections Vajpayee called the violence in Gujarat a reason for the BJP's electoral defeat and said it had been a mistake to leave Modi in office after the riots. Questions about Modi's relationship with Muslims were also raised by many Western nations during his tenure as chief minister. Modi was barred from entering the United States by the State Department, in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on International Religious Freedom formed under the aegis of the International Religious Freedom Act, the only person denied a US visa under this law. The UK and the European Union refused to admit him because of what they saw as his role in the riots. As Modi rose to prominence in India, the UK and the EU lifted their bans in October 2012 and March 2013, respectively, and after his election he was invited to Washington as the nation's prime minister. During the run-up to the 2007 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election and the 2009 Indian general election, the BJP intensified its rhetoric on terrorism. In July 2006, Modi criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh " for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislation" such as the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the national government to allow states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. In 2007 Modi authored Karmayog, a 101-page booklet discussing manual scavenging. In it, Modi argued that scavenging was a "spiritual experience" for Valmiks, a sub-caste of Dalits. However, this book was not circulated that time because of the election code of conduct. After the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Modi held a meeting to discuss the security of Gujarat's -long coastline, resulting in government authorisation of 30 high-speed surveillance boats. In July 2007 Modi completed 2,063 consecutive days as chief minister of Gujarat, making him the longest-serving holder of that post, and the BJP won 122 of 182 state-assembly seats in that year's election. Development projects As Chief Minister, Modi favoured privatisation and small government, which was at odds with the philosophy of the RSS, usually described as anti-privatisation and anti-globalisation. His policies during his second term have been credited with reducing corruption in the state. He established financial and technology parks in Gujarat and during the 2007 Vibrant Gujarat summit, real-estate investment deals worth were signed. The governments led by Patel and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of groundwater-conservation projects. By December 2008, 500,000 structures had been built, of which 113,738 were check dams, which helped recharge the aquifers beneath them. Sixty of the 112 tehsils which had depleted the water table in 2004 had regained their normal groundwater levels by 2010. As a result, the state's production of genetically modified cotton increased to become the largest in India. The boom in cotton production and its semi-arid land use led to Gujarat's agricultural sector growing at an average rate of 9.6 percent from 2001 to 2007. Public irrigation measures in central and southern Gujarat, such as the Sardar Sarovar Dam, were less successful. The Sardar Sarovar project only irrigated 4–6% of the area intended. Nonetheless, from 2001 to 2010 Gujarat recorded an agricultural growth rate of 10.97 percent – the highest of any state. However, sociologists have pointed out that the growth rate under the 1992–97 INC government was 12.9 percent. In 2008 Modi offered land in Gujarat to Tata Motors to set up a plant manufacturing the Nano after a popular agitation had forced the company to move out of West Bengal. Several other companies followed the Tata to Gujarat. The Modi government finished the process of bringing electricity to every village in Gujarat that its predecessor had almost completed. Modi significantly changed the state's system of power distribution, greatly impacting farmers. Gujarat expanded the Jyotigram Yojana scheme, in which agricultural electricity was separated from other rural electricity; the agricultural electricity was rationed to fit scheduled irrigation demands, reducing its cost. Although early protests by farmers ended when those who benefited found that their electricity supply had stabilised, according to an assessment study corporations and large farmers benefited from the policy at the expense of small farmers and labourers. Development debate A contentious debate surrounds the assessment of Gujarat's economic development during Modi's tenure as chief minister. The state's GDP growth rate averaged 10% during Modi's tenure, a value similar to other highly industrialised states, and above that of the country as a whole. Gujarat also had a high rate of economic growth in the 1990s, before Modi took office, and some scholars have stated that growth did not much accelerate during Modi's tenure, although the state is considered to have maintained a high growth rate during Modi's Chief Ministership. Under Narendra Modi, Gujarat topped the World Bank's "ease of doing business" rankings among Indian states for two consecutive years. In 2013, Gujarat was ranked first among Indian states for "economic freedom" by a report measuring governance, growth, citizens' rights and labour and business regulation among the country's 20 largest states. In the later years of Modi's government, Gujarat's economic growth was frequently used as an argument to counter allegations of communalism. Tax breaks for businesses were easier to obtain in Gujarat than in other states, as was land. Modi's policies to make Gujarat attractive for investment included the creation of Special Economic Zones, where labour laws were greatly weakened. Despite its growth rate, Gujarat had a relatively poor record on human development, poverty relief, nutrition and education during Modi's tenure. In 2013, Gujarat ranked 13th in the country with respect to rates of poverty and 21st in education. Nearly 45 percent of children under five were underweight and 23 percent were undernourished, putting the state in the "alarming" category on the India State Hunger Index. A study by UNICEF and the Indian government found that Gujarat under Modi had a poor record with respect to immunisation in children. Over the decade from 2001 to 2011, Gujarat did not change its position relative to the rest of the country with respect to poverty and female literacy, remaining near the median of the 29 Indian states. It showed a marginal improvement in rates of infant mortality, and its position with respect to individual consumption declined. With respect to the quality of education in government schools, the state ranked below many Indian states. The social policies of the government generally did not benefit Muslims, Dalits, and Adivasis, and generally increased social inequalities. Development in Gujarat was generally limited to the urban middle class, and citizens in rural areas or from lower castes were increasingly marginalised. In 2013 the state ranked 10th of 21 Indian states in the Human Development Index. Under Modi, the state government spent less than the national average on education and healthcare. Final years Despite the BJP's shift away from explicit Hindutva, Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism. Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders. During his 2012 campaign he twice refused to wear articles of clothing gifted by Muslim leaders. He did, however, maintain relations with Dawoodi Bohra. His campaign included references to issues known to cause religious polarisation, including to Afzal Guru and the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. The BJP did not nominate any Muslim candidates for the assembly election of 2012. During the 2012 campaign, Modi attempted to identify himself with the state of Gujarat, a strategy similar to that used by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, and projected himself as protecting Gujarat against persecution by the rest of India. While campaigning for the 2012 assembly elections, Modi made extensive use of holograms and other technologies allowing him to reach a large number of people, something he would repeat in the 2014 general election. In the 2012 Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections, Modi won the constituency of Maninagar by 86,373 votes over Shweta Bhatt, the INC candidate and wife of Sanjiv Bhatt. The BJP won 115 of the 182 seats, continuing its majority during his tenure and allowing the party to form the government (as it had in Gujarat since 1995). After his election as prime minister, Modi resigned as the chief minister and as an MLA from Maninagar on 21 May 2014. Anandiben Patel succeeded him as the chief minister. Premiership campaigns 2014 Indian general election In September 2013 Modi was named the BJP's candidate for prime minister ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha election. Several BJP leaders expressed opposition to Modi's candidature, including BJP founding member L. K. Advani, who cited concern with leaders who were "concerned with their personal agendas". Modi played a dominant role in the BJP's election campaign. Several people who voted for the BJP stated that if Modi had not been the prime-ministerial candidate, they would have voted for another party. The focus on Modi as an individual was unusual for a BJP election campaign. The election was described as a referendum on Narendra Modi. During the campaign, Modi focused on the corruption scandals under the previous INC government, and played on his image as a politician who had created a high rate of GDP growth in Gujarat. Modi projected himself as a person who could bring about "development," without focus on any specific policies. His message found support among young Indians and among middle-class citizens. The BJP under Modi was able to downplay concerns about the protection of religious minorities and Modi's commitment to secularism, areas in which he had previously received criticism. Prior to the election Modi's image in the media had centered around his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots, but during the campaign the BJP was able to shift this to a focus on Modi's neoliberal ideology and the Gujarat model of development, although Hindutva remained a significant part of its campaign. The BJP's campaign was assisted by its wide influence in the media. Modi's campaign blitz cost approximately , and received extensive financial support from corporate donors. In addition to more conventional campaign methods, Modi made extensive use of social media, and addressed more than 1000 rallies via hologram appearances. The BJP won 31% of the vote, and more than doubled its tally in the Lok Sabha to 282, becoming the first party to win a majority of seats on its own since 1984. Voter dissatisfaction with the INC, as well as with regional parties in North India, was another reason for the success of the BJP, as was the support from the RSS. In states such as Uttar Pradesh in which the BJP performed well, it drew exceptionally high support from upper-caste Hindus, although the 10 percent of Muslim votes won was more than it had won before. It performed particularly well in parts of the country that had recently experienced violence between Hindus and Muslims. The magnitude of the BJP's victory led many commentators to say that the election constituted a political realignment away from progressive parties and towards the right-wing. Modi's tweet announcing his victory was described as being emblematic of the political realignment away from a secular, socialist state towards capitalism and Hindu cultural nationalism. Modi himself was a candidate for the Lok Sabha in two constituencies: Varanasi and Vadodara. He won in both constituencies, defeating Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal in Varanasi by 371,784 votes and Madhusudan Mistry of the INC in Vadodara by votes. Modi, who was unanimously elected leader of the BJP, was appointed prime minister by India's president. To comply with the law that an MP cannot represent more than one constituency, he vacated the Vadodara seat. 2019 Indian general election On 13 October 2018, Modi was renamed as the BJP candidate for prime minister for the 2019 general election. The chief campaigner for the party was BJP's president Amit Shah. Modi launched the Main Bhi Chowkidar campaign ahead of the general election, against Chowkidar Chor Hai campaign slogan of INC. In the year 2018, end Party's, second-biggest alliance Telugu Desam Party split from NDA over the matter of special-status for Andhra Pradesh. The campaign was started by Amit Shah on 8 April 2019. In the campaign, Modi was targeted by the opposition on corruption allegations over Rafale deal with France government. Highlighting this controversy the campaign "Chowkidar Chor Hai" was started, which was contrary to "Main Bhi Chowkidar" slogan. Modi made defence and national security among the foremost topics for the election campaign, especially after Pulwama attack, and the retaliatory attack of Balakot airstrike was counted as an achievement of the Modi administration. Other topics in the campaign were development and good foreign relations in the first premiership. Modi contested the Lok Sabha elections as a candidate from Varanasi. He won the seat by defeating Shalini Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, who fought on SP-BSP alliance by a margin of votes. Modi was unanimously appointed the prime minister for a second time by the National Democratic Alliance, after the alliance won the election for the second time by securing 353 seats in the Lok Sabha with the BJP alone won 303 seats. Prime Minister After the Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance won a landslide in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Narendra Modi was sworn in as the Prime Minister of India on 26 May 2014. He became the first Prime Minister born after India's independence from the British Empire in 1947. Modi started his second term after the Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance won again in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. On 6 December 2020, Modi became the 4th longest serving Prime Minister of India and the longest serving Non-Congress Prime Minister. Governance and other initiatives Modi's first year as prime minister saw significant centralisation of power relative to previous administrations. His efforts at centralisation have been linked to an increase in the number of senior administration officials resigning their positions. Initially lacking a majority in the Rajya Sabha, or upper house of Indian Parliament, Modi passed a number of ordinances to enact his policies, leading to further centralisation of power. The government also passed a bill increasing the control that it had over the appointment of judges, and reducing that of the judiciary. In December 2014 Modi abolished the Planning Commission, replacing it with the National Institution for Transforming India, or NITI Aayog. The move had the effect of greatly centralising the power previously with the planning commission in the person of the prime minister. The planning commission had received heavy criticism in previous years for creating inefficiency in the government, and of not filling its role of improving social welfare: however, since the economic liberalisation of the 1990s, it had been the major government body responsible for measures related to social justice. The Modi government launched investigations by the Intelligence Bureau against numerous civil society organisations and foreign non-governmental organisations in the first year of the administration. The investigations, on the grounds that these organisations were slowing economic growth, was criticised as a witch-hunt. International humanitarian aid organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres was among the groups that were put under pressure. Other organisations affected included the Sierra Club and Avaaz. Cases of sedition were filed against individuals criticising the government. This led to discontent within the BJP regarding Modi's style of functioning and drew comparisons to the governing style of Indira Gandhi. Modi repealed 1,200 obsolete laws in first three years as prime minister; a total of 1,301 such laws had been repealed by previous governments over a span of 64 years. He started a monthly radio programme titled "Mann Ki Baat" on 3 October 2014. Modi also launched the Digital India programme, with the goal of ensuring that government services are available electronically, building infrastructure to provide high-speed Internet access to rural areas, boosting manufacturing of electronic goods in the country, and promoting digital literacy. Modi launched Ujjwala scheme to provide free LPG connection to rural households. The scheme led to an increase in LPG consumption by 56% in 2019 as compared to 2014. In 2019, a law was passed to provide 10% reservation to Economically weaker sections. He was again sworn in as prime minister on 30 May 2019. On 30 July 2019, Parliament of India declared the practice of Triple Talaq as illegal, unconstitutional and made it punishable act from 1 August 2019 which is deemed to be in effect from 19 September 2018. On 5 August 2019, the government moved resolution to scrap Article 370 in the Rajya Sabha, and also reorganise the state with Jammu and Kashmir serving as one of the union territory and Ladakh region separated out as a separate union territory. Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. According to one study, "The BJP government incrementally but systemically attacked nearly all existing mechanisms that are in place to hold the political executive to account, either by ensuring that these mechanisms became subservient to the political executive or were captured by party loyalists." Scholars also point to how he Modi government has used state power to intimidate and stifle critics in the media and academia, thus undermining freedom of expression and alternative sources of information. Reporters Without Borders in 2021 characterised Modi as a predator for curbing press freedom in India since 2014. Economic policy The economic policies of Modi's government focused on privatisation and liberalisation of the economy, based on a neoliberal framework. Modi liberalised India's foreign direct investment policies, allowing more foreign investment in several industries, including in defence and the railways. Other proposed reforms included making it harder for workers to form unions and easier for employers to hire and fire them; some of these proposals were dropped after protests. The reforms drew strong opposition from unions: on 2 September 2015, eleven of the country's largest unions went on strike, including one affiliated with the BJP. The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, a constituent of the Sangh Parivar, stated that the underlying motivation of labour reforms favoured corporations over labourers. The funds dedicated to poverty reduction programmes and social welfare measures were greatly decreased by the Modi administration. The money spent on social programmes declined from 14.6% of GDP during the Congress government to 12.6% during Modi's first year in office. Spending on health and family welfare declined by 15%, and on primary and secondary education by 16%. The budgetary allocation for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, or the "education for all" programme, declined by 22%. The government also lowered corporate taxes, abolished the wealth tax, increased sales taxes, and reduced customs duties on gold, and jewellery. In October 2014, the Modi government deregulated diesel prices. In September 2014, Modi introduced the Make in India initiative to encourage foreign companies to manufacture products in India, with the goal of turning the country into a global manufacturing hub. Supporters of economic liberalisation supported the initiative, while critics argued it would allow foreign corporations to capture a greater share of the Indian market. Modi's administration passed a land-reform bill that allowed it to acquire private agricultural land without conducting a social impact assessment, and without the consent of the farmers who owned it. The bill was passed via an executive order after it faced opposition in parliament, but was eventually allowed to lapse. Modi's government put in place the Goods and Services Tax, the biggest tax reform in the country since independence. It subsumed around 17 different taxes and became effective from 1 July 2017. In his first cabinet decision, Modi set up a team to investigate black money. On 9 November 2016, the government demonetised ₹500 and ₹1000 banknotes, with the stated intention of curbing corruption, black money, the use of counterfeit currency, and terrorism. The move led to severe cash shortages, a steep decline in the Indian stock indices BSE SENSEX and NIFTY 50, and sparked widespread protests throughout the country. Several deaths were linked to the rush to exchange cash. In the subsequent year, the number of income tax returns filed for individuals rose by 25%, and the number of digital transactions increased steeply. Over the first four years of Modi's premiership, India's GDP grew at an average rate of 7.23%, higher than the rate of 6.39% under the previous government. The level of income inequality increased, while an internal government report said that in 2017, unemployment had increased to its highest level in 45 years. The loss of jobs was attributed to the 2016 demonetisation, and to the effects of the Goods and Services Tax. In the next year, after 2018, Indian economy started a gradual recovery with a GDP growth of 6.12% in 2018-19 FY, with an inflation rate of 3.4%. Same year, India was successful in making a good economy in trade and manufacturing sector. While in the FY of 2019–20, due to the general election, Modi government focused more on their election campaign. In the year 2019–20, the GDP growth rate was 4.18% and inflation rate also increased to 4.7% from 3.4% in the previous year. Though being high unemployment, increase in inflation rate and budget deficiency, Modi's leadership won in 2019 elections. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous rating agencies downgraded India's GDP predictions for FY21 to negative figures, signalling a recession in India, the most severe since 1979. According to a Dun & Bradstreet report, the country is likely to suffer a recession in the third quarter of FY2020 as a result of the over 2-month long nation-wide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19. This was also accompanied by the mass migration of migrant workers. Health and sanitation In his first year as prime minister, Modi reduced the amount of money spent by the central government on healthcare. The Modi government launched New Health Policy (NHP) in January 2015. The policy did not increase the government's spending on healthcare, instead emphasising the role of private healthcare organisations. This represented a shift away from the policy of the previous Congress government, which had supported programmes to assist public health goals, including reducing child and maternal mortality rates. The National Health Mission, which included public health programmes targeted at these indices received nearly 20% less funds in 2015 than in the previous year. 15 national health programmes, including those aimed at controlling tobacco use and supporting healthcare for the elderly, were merged with the National Health Mission. In its budget for the second year after it took office, the Modi government reduced healthcare spending by 15%. The healthcare budget for the following year rose by 19%. The budget was viewed positively by private insurance providers. Public health experts criticised its emphasis on the role of private healthcare providers, and suggested that it represented a shift away from public health facilities. The healthcare budget rose by 11.5% in 2018; the change included an allocation of for a government-funded health insurance program, and a decrease in the budget of the National Health Mission. The government introduced stricter packaging laws for tobacco which requires 85% of the packet size to be covered by pictorial warnings. An article in the medical journal Lancet stated that the country "might have taken a few steps back in public health" under Modi. In 2018 Modi launched the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, a government health insurance scheme intended to insure 500 million people. 100,000 people had signed up by October 2018. Modi emphasised his government's efforts at sanitation as a means of ensuring good health. On 2 October 2014, Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Mission ("Clean India") campaign. The stated goals of the campaign included eliminating open defecation and manual scavenging within five years. As part of the programme, the Indian government began constructing millions of toilets in rural areas and encouraging people to use them. The government also announced plans to build new sewage treatment plants. The administration plans to construct 60 million toilets by 2019. The construction projects have faced allegations of corruption, and have faced severe difficulty in getting people to use the toilets constructed for them. Sanitation cover in the country increased from 38.7% in October 2014 to 84.1% in May 2018; however, usage of the new sanitary facilities lagged behind the government's targets. In 2018, the World Health Organization stated that at least 180,000 diarrhoeal deaths were averted in rural India after the launch of the sanitation effort. Hindutva During the 2014 election campaign, the BJP sought to identify itself with political leaders known to have opposed Hindu nationalism, including B. R. Ambedkar, Subhas Chandra Bose, and Ram Manohar Lohia. The campaign also saw the use of rhetoric based on Hindutva by BJP leaders in certain states. Communal tensions were played upon especially in Uttar Pradesh and the states of Northeast India. A proposal for the controversial Uniform Civil Code was a part of the BJP's election manifesto. The activities of a number of Hindu nationalist organisations increased in scope after Modi's election as Prime Minister, sometimes with the support of the government. These activities included a Hindu religious conversion programme, a campaign against the alleged Islamic practice of "Love Jihad", and attempts to celebrate Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, by members of the right wing Hindu Mahasabha. Officials in the government, including the Home Minister, defended the conversion programmes. Links between the BJP and the RSS grew stronger under Modi. The RSS provided organisational support to the BJP's electoral campaigns, while the Modi administration appointed a number of individuals affiliated with the RSS to prominent government positions. In 2014, Yellapragada Sudershan Rao, who had previously been associated with the RSS, became the chairperson of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). Historians and former members of the ICHR, including those sympathetic to the BJP, questioned his credentials as a historian, and stated that the appointment was part of an agenda of cultural nationalism. The North East Delhi riots, which left more than 40 dead and hundreds injured, were triggered by protests against a citizenship law seen by many critics as anti-Muslim and part of Modi's Hindu nationalist agenda. On 5 August 2020, Modi visited Ayodhya after the Supreme Court in 2019 ordered a contested land in Ayodhya to be handed over to a trust to build the Hindu temple and ordered the government to give alternate 5 acre land to Sunni Waqf Board for the purpose of building a mosque. He became the first prime minister to visit Ram Janmabhoomi and Hanuman Garhi. Foreign policy Foreign policy played a relatively small role in Modi's election campaign, and did not feature prominently in the BJP's election manifesto. Modi invited all the other leaders of SAARC countries to his swearing in ceremony as prime minister. He was the first Indian prime minister to do so. Modi's foreign policy, similarly to that of the preceding INC government, focused on improving economic ties, security, and regional relations. Modi continued Manmohan Singh's policy of "multi-alignment." The Modi administration tried to attract foreign investment in the Indian economy from several sources, especially in East Asia, with the use of slogans such as "Make in India" and "Digital India". The government also tried to improve relations with Islamic nations in the Middle East, such as Bahrain, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as with Israel. The foreign relations of India with the USA also mended after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister. During the run-up to the general election there was wide-ranging scepticism regarding future of the strategic bilateral relation under Modi's premiership as in 2005 he was, while Chief Minister of Gujarat, denied a U.S. visa during the Bush administration for his poor human rights records. However sensing Modi's inevitable victory well before the election, the US Ambassador Nancy Powell had reached out to him as part of greater rapprochement from the west. Moreover, following his 2014 election as the Prime Minister of India President Obama congratulated him over the telephone and invited him to visit the US. Modi government has been successful in making good foreign relations with the USA in the presidency of both Barack Obama and Donald Trump. During the first few months after the election, Modi made trips to a number of different countries to further the goals of his policy, and attended the BRICS, ASEAN, and G20 summits. One of Modi's first visits as prime minister was to Nepal, during which he promised a billion USD in aid. Modi also made several overtures to the United States, including multiple visits to that country. While this was described as an unexpected development, due to the US having previously denied Modi a travel visa over his role during the 2002 Gujarat riots, the visits were expected to strengthen diplomatic and trade relations between the two countries. In 2015, the Indian parliament ratified a land exchange deal with Bangladesh about the India–Bangladesh enclaves, which had been initiated by the government of Manmohan Singh. Modi's administration gave renewed attention to India's "Look East Policy", instituted in 1991. The policy was renamed the "Act East Policy", and involved directing Indian foreign policy towards East Asia and Southeast Asia. The government signed agreements to improve land connectivity with Myanmar, through the state of Manipur. This represented a break with India's historic engagement with Myanmar, which prioritised border security over trade. China–India relations have deteriorated rapidly following the 2020 China–India skirmishes. Modi has pledged aid of $900 million to Afghanistan, visited the nation twice and been honoured with the nation's highest civilian honour in 2016. Defence policy India's nominal military spending increased steadily under Modi. The military budget declined over Modi's tenure both as a fraction of GDP and when adjusted for inflation. A substantial portion of the military budget was devoted to personnel costs, leading commentators to write that the budget was constraining Indian military modernisation. The BJP election manifesto had also promised to deal with illegal immigration into India in the Northeast, as well as to be more firm in its handling of insurgent groups. The Modi government issued a notification allowing Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist illegal immigrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh to legalise their residency in India. The government described the measure as being taken for humanitarian reasons but it drew criticism from several Assamese organisations.The Modi administration negotiated a peace agreement with the largest faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCM), which was announced in August 2015. The Naga insurgency in northeast India had begun in the 1950s. The NSCM and the government had agreed to a ceasefire in 1997, but a peace accord had not previously been signed. In 2015 the government abrogated a 15-year ceasefire with the Khaplang faction of the NSCM (NSCM-K). The NSCM-K responded with a series of attacks, which killed 18 people. The Modi government carried out a raid across the border with Myanmar as a result, and labelled the NSCM-K a terrorist organisation. Modi promised to be "tough on Pakistan" during his election campaign, and repeatedly stated that Pakistan was an exporter of terrorism. On 29 September 2016, the Indian Army stated that it had conducted a surgical strike on terror launch pads in Azad Kashmir. The Indian media claimed that up to 50 terrorists and Pakistani soldiers had been killed in the strike. Pakistan initially denied that any strikes had taken place. Subsequent reports suggested that Indian claim about the scope of the strike and the number of casualties had been exaggerated, although cross-border strikes had been carried out. In February 2019 India carried out airstrikes in Pakistan against a supposed terrorist camp. Further military skirmishes followed, including cross-border shelling and the loss of an Indian aircraft. Following his victory in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he focused more on Defence policies of India, especially against China and Pakistan. On 5 May 2020, Chinese and Indian troops engaged in aggressive melee, face-offs and skirmishes at locations along the Sino-Indian border, including near the disputed Pangong Lake in Ladakh and the Tibet Autonomous Region, and near the border between Sikkim and the Tibet Autonomous Region. Additional clashes also took place at locations in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). After which there was start of skirmishes between the nations leading to many border clashes, responses and reactions from both sides. A series of talks were also held between the two by both military and diplomatic means for peace. The first border clash reported in 2021 was on 20 January, referred to as a minor border clash in Sikkim. Environmental policy In naming his cabinet, Modi renamed the "Ministry of Environment and Forests" the "Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change." In the first budget of the government, the money allotted to this ministry was reduced by more than 50%. The new ministry also removed or diluted a number of laws related to environmental protection. These included no longer requiring clearance from the National Board for Wildlife for projects close to protected areas, and allowing certain projects to proceed before environmental clearance was received. The government also tried to reconstitute the Wildlife board such that it no longer had representatives from non-governmental organisations: however, this move was prevented by the Supreme Court. Modi also relaxed or abolished a number of other environmental regulations, particularly those related to industrial activity. A government committee stated that the existing system only served to create corruption, and that the government should instead rely on the owners of industries to voluntarily inform the government about the pollution they were creating. Other changes included reducing ministry oversight on small mining projects, and no longer requiring approval from tribal councils for projects inside forested areas. In addition, Modi lifted a moratorium on new industrial activity in the most polluted areas in the countries. The changes were welcomed by businesspeople, but criticised by environmentalists. Under the UPA government that preceded Modi's administration, field trials of Genetically Modified (GM) crops had essentially been put on hold, after protests from farmers fearing for their livelihoods. Under the Modi government these restrictions were gradually lifted. The government received some criticism for freezing the bank accounts of environmental group Greenpeace, citing financial irregularities, although a leaked government report said that the freeze had to do with Greenpeace's opposition to GM crops. At the COP26 conference Modi announced that India would target carbon neutrality by 2070, and also expand its renewable energy capacity. Though the date of net zero is far behind that of China and the USA and India's government wants to continue with the use of coal, Indian environmentalists and economists applauded the decision, describing it as a bold climate action. Democratic backsliding Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. According to one study, "The BJP government incrementally but systemically attacked nearly all existing mechanisms that are in place to hold the political executive to account, either by ensuring that these mechanisms became subservient to the political executive or were captured by party loyalists." Scholars also point to how the Modi government has used state power to intimidate and stifle critics in the media and academia, thus undermining freedom of expression and alternative sources of information. There have been several reports of the Modi government to be as an authoritarian conservative government, even due to lack of good opposition. Electoral history Personal life and image Personal life In accordance with Ghanchi tradition, Modi's marriage was arranged by his parents when he was a child. He was engaged at age 13 to Jashodaben Modi, marrying her when he was 18. They spent little time together and grew apart when Modi began two years of travel, including visits to Hindu ashrams. Reportedly, their marriage was never consummated, and he kept it a secret because otherwise he could not have become a 'pracharak' in the puritan Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Modi kept his marriage secret for most of his career. He acknowledged his wife for the first time when he filed his nomination for the 2014 general elections. Modi maintains a close relationship with his centenarian mother, Hiraben. A vegetarian and teetotaler, Modi has a frugal lifestyle and is a workaholic and introvert. A person named Badri Meena has been his cook since 2002. Modi's 31 August 2012 post on Google Hangouts made him the first Indian politician to interact with citizens on a live chat. Modi has also been called a fashion-icon for his signature crisply ironed, half-sleeved kurta, as well as for a suit with his name embroidered repeatedly in the pinstripes that he wore during a state visit by US President Barack Obama, which drew public and media attention and criticism. Modi's personality has been variously described by scholars and biographers as energetic, arrogant, and charismatic. He had published a Gujarati book titled Jyotipunj in 2008, containing profiles of various RSS leaders. The longest was of M. S. Golwalkar, under whose leadership the RSS expanded and whom Modi refers to as Pujniya Shri Guruji ("Guru worthy of worship"). According to The Economic Times, his intention was to explain the workings of the RSS to his readers and to reassure RSS members that he remained ideologically aligned with them. Modi authored eight other books, mostly containing short stories for children. The nomination of Modi for the prime ministership drew attention to his reputation as "one of contemporary India's most controversial and divisive politicians." During the 2014 election campaign the BJP projected an image of Modi as a strong, masculine leader, who would be able to take difficult decisions. Campaigns in which he has participated have focused on Modi as an individual, in a manner unusual for the BJP and RSS. Modi has relied upon his reputation as a politician able to bring about economic growth and "development". Nonetheless, his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots continues to attract criticism and controversy. Modi's hardline Hindutva philosophy and the policies adopted by his government continue to draw criticism, and have been seen as evidence of a majoritarian and exclusionary social agenda. In March 2021, Modi received his first COVID-19 vaccine dose at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. Personal donations Modi has made donations for various causes and programmes. One such instance was when Modi donated towards the initial corpus of the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) Fund. In his role as chief minister of Gujarat, Modi had donated from personal savings for educating daughters of state government officials. Modi had also raised by auctioning all the gifts he received as chief minister and donated this to the Kanya Kelavani Fund. The money was spent on the education of girl children, through the scheme. Approval ratings As a Prime Minister, Modi has received consistently high approval ratings; at the end of his first year in office, he received an overall approval rating of 87% in a Pew Research poll, with 68% of people rating him "very favorably" and 93% approving of his government. His approval rating remained largely consistent at around 74% through his second year in office, according to a nationwide poll conducted by instaVaani. At the end of his second year in office, an updated Pew Research poll showed Modi continued to receive high overall approval ratings of 81%, with 57% of those polled rating him "very favorably." At the end of his third year in office, a further Pew Research poll showed Modi with an overall approval rating of 88%, his highest yet, with 69% of people polled rating him "very favorably." A poll conducted by The Times of India in May 2017 showed 77% of the respondents rated Modi as "very good" and "good". In early 2017, a survey from Pew Research Center showed Modi to be the most popular figure in Indian politics. In a weekly analysis by Morning Consult called the Global Leader Approval Rating Tracker, Modi had the highest net approval rating as of 22 December 2020 of all government leaders in the 13 countries being tracked. Awards and recognition In March 2012 and June 2014, Modi appeared on the cover of the Asian edition of Time Magazine, one of the few Indian politicians to have done so. He was awarded Indian of the Year by CNN-News18 (formally CNN-IBN) news network in 2014. In June 2015, Modi was featured on the cover of Time Magazine. In 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020 and 2021, he was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World. Forbes Magazine ranked him the 15th Most Powerful Person in the World in 2014 and the 9th Most Powerful Person in the World in 2015, 2016 and 2018. In 2015, Modi was ranked the 13th Most Influential Person in the World by Bloomberg Markets Magazine. Modi was ranked fifth on Fortune Magazines first annual list of the "World's Greatest Leaders" in 2015. In 2017, Gallup International Association (GIA) conducted a poll and ranked Modi as third top leader of the world. In 2016, a wax statue of Modi was unveiled at Madame Tussauds wax museum in London. In 2015 he was named one of Times "30 Most Influential People on the Internet" as the second-most-followed politician on Twitter and Facebook. In 2018, he was the third most followed world leader on Twitter, and the most followed world leader on Facebook and Instagram. In October 2018, Modi received United Nations's highest environmental award, the 'Champions of the Earth', for policy leadership by "pioneering work in championing" the International Solar Alliance and "new areas of levels of cooperation on environmental action". He was conferred the 2018 Seoul Peace Prize in recognition of "his dedication to improving international co-operation, raising global economic growth, accelerating the Human Development of the people of India by fostering economic growth and furthering the development of democracy through anti-corruption and social integration efforts". He is the first Indian to win the award. Following his second swearing-in ceremony as Prime Minister of India, a picture of Modi was displayed on the facade of the ADNOC building in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The Texas India Forum hosted a community event in honour of Modi on 22 September 2019 at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. The event was attended by over 50,000 people and several American politicians including President Donald Trump, making it the largest gathering for an invited foreign leader visiting the United States other than the Pope. At the same event, Modi was presented with the Key to the City of Houston by Mayor Sylvester Turner. He was awarded the Global Goalkeeper Award on 24 September 2019 in New York City by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in recognition for the Swachh Bharat Mission and "the progress India has made in providing safe sanitation under his leadership". In 2020, Modi was among eight world leaders awarded the parodic Ig Nobel Prize in Medical Education "for using the COVID-19 viral pandemic to teach the world that politicians can have a more immediate effect on life and death than scientists and doctors can". On 21 December 2020, President Donald Trump awarded Modi with the Legion of Merit for elevating the India–United States relations. The Legion of Merit was awarded to Modi along with Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison and former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe, the "original architects" of the QUAD. On 24 February 2021, the largest cricket stadium in the world at Ahmedabad was renamed Narendra Modi Stadium by the Gujarat Cricket Association. Modi is featured in TIME Magazine's 100 most influential people of 2021 list, making it his fifth time after 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2020. TIME called him the third "pivotal leader" of independent India after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi who "dominated the country’s politics like no one since them". State honours Other honours In popular culture Modi Kaka Ka Gaon, a 2017 Indian Hindi-language drama film by Tushar Amrish Goel is the first biopic on Modi, starring Vikas Mahante in the titular role it was made halfway into his first-term as the prime minister which is shown in the film. PM Narendra Modi, a 2019 Indian Hindi-language biographical drama film by Omung Kumar, starred Vivek Oberoi in the titular role and covers his rise to prime ministership.An Indian web series, Modi: Journey of a Common Man, based on the same premise released in May 2019 on Eros Now with Ashish Sharma portraying Modi. Hu Narender Modi Banva Mangu Chu is a 2018 Indian Gujarati-language drama film by Anil Naryani about the aspirations of a young boy who wants to become like Narendra Modi. 7 RCR (7, Race Course Road), a 2014 Indian docudrama political television series which charts the political careers of prominent Indian politicians, covered Modi's rise to the PM's office in the episodes - "Story of Narendra Modi from 1950 to 2001", "Story of Narendra Modi in Controversial Years from 2001 to 2013", "Truth Behind Brand Modi", "Election Journey of Narendra Modi to 7 RCR", and "Masterplan of Narendra Modi's NDA Govt."; with Sangam Rai in the role of Modi. Other portrayals of Modi include by Rajit Kapur in the film Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) and Vikram Gokhale in the web-television series Avrodh: The Siege Within (2020) both based on the 2016 Uri attack and the following Indian surgical strikes. Pratap Singh played a character based on Modi in Chand Bujh Gaya (2005) which is set in the backdrop of the Gujarat riots. Premiered on 12 August 2019, Modi appeared in an episode - "Man vs. Wild with Bear Grylls and Prime Minister Modi" - of Discovery Channel's show Man vs Wild with the host Bear Grylls, becoming the second world leader after Barack Obama to appear in the reality show. In the show he trekked the jungles and talked about nature and wildlife conservation with Grylls. The episode was shot in Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand and was broadcast in 180 countries along India. He has also appeared twice on the Indian television talk show Aap Ki Adalat before the 2009 and 2014 elections respectively. Along with hosting the Mann Ki Baat monthly radio programme, on All India Radio, he has also conducted Pariksha Pe Charcha - a competition/discussion for students and the issues they face in examinations. Bibliography See also List of prime ministers of India Opinion polling on the Narendra Modi premiership References Notes Citations Further reading External links |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- 1950 births Living people Gujarati people People from Gujarat People from Mehsana district Indian Hindus Prime Ministers of India Leaders of the Lok Sabha Chief Ministers of Gujarat Chief ministers from Bharatiya Janata Party 16th Lok Sabha members 17th Lok Sabha members Members of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly Delhi University alumni Gujarat University alumni Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharaks Indian nationalists Indian writers Recipients of the Legion of Merit Hindu nationalists Right-wing politics in India 20th-century Indian writers Members of the Planning Commission of India Right-wing populism in India Bharatiya Jana Sangh politicians Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Gujarat Lok Sabha members from Gujarat Lok Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2019 Indian general election Writers from Gujarat Candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Hindu pacifists Narendra Modi ministry Candidates in the 2019 Indian general election Hindu revivalists Writers about activism and social change Indian political people 21st-century prime ministers of India Gujarat MLAs 1998–2002 Politicians of Hindu political parties National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Indian anti-communists Gandhians Gujarat MLAs 2002–2007 Gujarat MLAs 2007–2012 Gujarat MLAs 2012–2017 21st-century Indian non-fiction writers Politicians from Varanasi Time 100
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[ "Guy Leblanc was a politician from Quebec, Canada and a former Mayor of Trois-Rivières.\n\nBackground\n\nHe was born around 1947 and is a notary.\n\nCity Councillor\n\nHe was elected to the Trois-Rivières City Council in 1982 and was re-elected in 1986.\n\nMayor of Trois-Rivières\n\nAfter Mayor Gilles Beaudoin announced that he would retire from politics in 1990, Leblanc made the decision to run for Mayor of Trois-Rivières and won. He was re-elected in 1994 and 1998. He did not run for re-election in 2001.\n\nProvincial Politics\n\nHe also ran as a Liberal candidate in 1998 in the provincial district of Trois-Rivières against Parti Québécois incumbent Guy Julien. Julien was re-elected by a large margin.\n\nFootnotes\n\nLiving people\nMayors of Trois-Rivières\nTrois-Rivières city councillors\nYear of birth missing (living people)", "Mukhran Gogia (; born August 16, 1971 in Zugdidi, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti) is a retired male weightlifter from Georgia. He qualified for the 1996 Summer Olympics, but eventually did not start in Atlanta, Georgia. Four years later Gogia had to retire after one snatch after having finished fourth in the men's heavyweight division (– 105 kg) at the 1999 World Weightlifting Championships. Gogia now is a truck driver for Zen Auto Transport LLC out of Southampton, PA.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n \n\n1971 births\nLiving people\nMale weightlifters from Georgia (country)\nOlympic weightlifters of Georgia (country)\nWeightlifters at the 1996 Summer Olympics\nWeightlifters at the 2000 Summer Olympics" ]
[ "Narendra Modi", "Final years", "What happened in her final years?", "Modi made extensive use of holograms", "How did Modi use holograms?", "allowing him to reach a large number of people,", "Did Modi ran for any political positions ?", "Modi won the constituency of Maninagar", "With how many votes did he win this constituency?", "by 86,373 votes", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism.", "How did this affect his campaing?", "Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders.", "What else happened towards the final years?", "As Chief Minister, Modi favoured privatisation and small government,", "Did he make any important laws or helped with some as Chief Minister?", "He established financial and technology parks", "Did he do any other important things?", "The governments led by Patel and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of groundwater-conservation projects.", "Did he generate any groundwater-conservation projects?", "500,000 structures had been built, of which 113,738 were check dams,", "Did he retire from politics eventually?", "After his election as prime minister, Modi resigned as the chief minister and as an MLA from Maninagar on 21 May 2014." ]
C_b6a0c764bf0c443b9768973ff08ca8fb_1
What did he do after this?
12
What did Modi do after retiring from politics?
Narendra Modi
During Modi's second term the rhetoric of the government shifted from Hindutva to Gujarat's economic development. Modi curtailed the influence of Sangh Parivar organisations such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), entrenched in the state after the decline of Ahmedabad's textile industry, and dropped Gordhan Zadafia (an ally of former Sangh co-worker and VHP state chief Praveen Togadia) from his cabinet. When the BKS staged a farmers' demonstration Modi ordered their eviction from state-provided houses, and his decision to demolish 200 illegal temples in Gandhinagar deepened the rift with the VHP. Sangh organisations were no longer consulted or informed in advance about Modi's administrative decisions. Nonetheless, Modi retained connections with some Hindu nationalists. Modi wrote a foreword to a textbook by Dinanath Batra released in 2014, which stated that ancient India possessed technologies including test-tube babies. Modi's relationship with Muslims continued to attract criticism. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (who asked Modi for tolerance in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat violence and supported his resignation as chief minister) distanced himself, reaching out to North Indian Muslims before the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. After the elections Vajpayee called the violence in Gujarat a reason for the BJP's electoral defeat and said it had been a mistake to leave Modi in office after the riots. Questions about Modi's relationship with Muslims were also raised by many Western nations during his tenure as chief minister. Modi was barred from entering the United States by the State Department, in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on International Religious Freedom formed under the aegis of the International Religious Freedom Act, the only person denied a US visa under this law. The UK and the European Union refused to admit him because of what they saw as his role in the riots. As Modi rose to prominence in India, the UK and the EU lifted their bans in October 2012 and March 2013, respectively, and after his election as prime minister he was invited to Washington. During the run-up to the 2007 assembly elections and the 2009 general election, the BJP intensified its rhetoric on terrorism. In July 2006, Modi criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh " for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislation" such as the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the national government to allow states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. In 2007 Modi authored Karmayog, a 101-page booklet discussing manual scavenging. In it, Modi argued that scavenging was a "spiritual experience" for Dalits. However, this book was not circulated that time because of the election code of conduct. After the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Modi held a meeting to discuss the security of Gujarat's 1,600-kilometre (990 mi)-long coastline, resulting in government authorisation of 30 high-speed surveillance boats. In July 2007 Modi completed 2,063 consecutive days as chief minister of Gujarat, making him the longest-serving holder of that post, and the BJP won 122 of 182 state-assembly seats in that year's election. As Chief Minister, Modi favoured privatisation and small government, which was at odds with the philosophy of the RSS, usually described as anti-privatisation and anti-globalisation. His policies during his second term have been credited with reducing corruption in the state. He established financial and technology parks in Gujarat and during the 2007 Vibrant Gujarat summit, real-estate investment deals worth Rs6.6 trillion were signed. The governments led by Patel and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of groundwater-conservation projects. By December 2008, 500,000 structures had been built, of which 113,738 were check dams, which helped recharge the aquifers beneath them. Sixty of the 112 tehsils which had depleted the water table in 2004 had regained their normal groundwater levels by 2010. As a result, the state's production of genetically modified cotton increased to become the largest in India. The boom in cotton production and its semi-arid land use led to Gujarat's agricultural sector growing at an average rate of 9.6 percent from 2001 to 2007. Public irrigation measures in central and southern Gujarat, such as the Sardar Sarovar Dam, were less successful. The Sardar Sarovar project only irrigated 4-6% of the area intended. Nonetheless, from 2001 to 2010 Gujarat recorded an agricultural growth rate of 10.97 percent - the highest of any state. However, sociologists have pointed out that the growth rate under the 1992-97 INC government was 12.9 percent. In 2008 Modi offered land in Gujarat to Tata Motors to set up a plant manufacturing the Nano after a popular agitation had forced the company to move out of West Bengal. Several other companies followed the Tata's to Gujarat. The Modi government finished the process of bringing electricity to every village in Gujarat that its predecessor had almost completed. Modi significantly changed the state's system of power distribution, greatly impacting farmers. Gujarat expanded the Jyotigram Yojana scheme, in which agricultural electricity was separated from other rural electricity; the agricultural electricity was rationed to fit scheduled irrigation demands, reducing its cost. Although early protests by farmers ended when those who benefited found that their electricity supply had stabilised, according to an assessment study corporations and large farmers benefited from the policy at the expense of small farmers and labourers. During the 2012 campaign, Modi attempted to identify himself with the state of Gujarat, a strategy similar to that used by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, and projected himself as protecting Gujarat against persecution by the rest of India. Despite the BJP's shift away from explicit Hindutva, Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism. Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders. During his 2012 campaign he twice refused to wear articles of clothing gifted by Muslim leaders. He did, however, maintain relations with Dawoodi Bohra. His campaign included references to issues known to cause religious polarisation, including to Afzal Guru and the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. The BJP did not nominate any Muslim candidates for the assembly election of 2012. He had published a Gujarati book titled Jyotipunj in 2008, containing profiles of various RSS leaders. The longest was of M. S. Golwalkar, under whose leadership the RSS expanded and whom Modi refers to as Pujniya Shri Guruji ("Guru worthy of worship"). According to The Economic Times, his intention was to explain the workings of the RSS to his readers and to reassure RSS members that he remained ideologically aligned with them. Modi authored eight other books, mostly containing short stories for children. While campaigning for the 2012 assembly elections, Modi made extensive use of holograms and other technologies allowing him to reach a large number of people, something he would repeat in the 2014 general election. In the 2012 Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections, Modi won the constituency of Maninagar by 86,373 votes over Shweta Bhatt, the INC candidate and wife of Sanjiv Bhatt. The BJP won 115 of the 182 seats, continuing its majority during his tenure and allowing the party to form the government (as it had in Gujarat since 1995). In later by-elections the BJP won four more assembly seats and two Lok Sabha seats held by the INC, although Modi did not campaign for its candidates. In 2013, the Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF) at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania cancelled a keynote video-conference speech by Modi following protests by Indian-Americans. After his election as prime minister, Modi resigned as the chief minister and as an MLA from Maninagar on 21 May 2014. Anandiben Patel succeeded him as the chief minister. CANNOTANSWER
CANNOTANSWER
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from Varanasi. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindu nationalist paramilitary volunteer organisation. He is the first prime minister to have been born after India's independence in 1947 and the second prime minister not belonging to the Indian National Congress to have won two consecutive majorities in the Lok Sabha, or lower house of Indian of parliament. Born and raised in Vadnagar, a small town in northeastern Gujarat, Modi completed his secondary education there. He was introduced to the RSS at age eight. He has drawn attention to having to work as a child in his father's tea stall on the Vadnagar railway station platform, a description that has not been reliably corroborated. At age 18, Modi was married to Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi, whom he abandoned soon after. He left his parental home where she had come to live. He first publicly acknowledged her as his wife more than four decades later when required to do so by Indian law, but has made no contact with her since. Modi has asserted he had travelled in northern India for two years after leaving his parental home, visiting a number of religious centres, but few details of his travels have emerged. Upon his return to Gujarat in 1971, he became a full-time worker for the RSS. After the state of emergency declared by prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1975, Modi went into hiding. The RSS assigned him to the BJP in 1985 and he held several positions within the party hierarchy until 2001, rising to the rank of general secretary. Modi was appointed Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2001 due to Keshubhai Patel's failing health and poor public image following the earthquake in Bhuj. Modi was elected to the legislative assembly soon after. His administration has been considered complicit in the 2002 Gujarat riots in which 1044 people were killed, three-quarters of whom were Muslim, or otherwise criticised for its management of the crisis. The Supreme Court remarked that Narendra Modi was like a Modern-day Nero, looking the other way as innocent women and children were burning. A Supreme Court of India-appointed Special Investigation Team found no evidence to initiate prosecution proceedings against Modi personally. While his policies as chief minister—credited with encouraging economic growth—have received praise, his administration has been criticised for failing to significantly improve health, poverty and education indices in the state. Modi led the BJP in the 2014 general election which gave the party a majority in the Indian lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha, the first time for any single party since 1984. Modi's administration has tried to raise foreign direct investment in the Indian economy and reduced spending on healthcare and social welfare programmes. Modi has attempted to improve efficiency in the bureaucracy; he has centralised power by abolishing the Planning Commission. He began a high-profile sanitation campaign, controversially initiated a demonetisation of high-denomination banknotes and transformation of taxation regime, and weakened or abolished environmental and labour laws. Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. Following his party's victory in the 2019 general election, his administration revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and also introduced the Citizenship Amendment Act, which resulted in widespread protests across the country. Described as engineering a political realignment towards right-wing politics, Modi remains a figure of controversy domestically and internationally over his Hindu nationalist beliefs and his handling of the 2002 Gujarat riots, cited as evidence of an exclusionary social agenda. Early life and education Narendra Damodardas Modi was born on 17 September 1950 to a Gujarati Hindu family of grocers in Vadnagar, Mehsana district, Bombay State (present-day Gujarat). He was the third of six children born to Damodardas Mulchand Modi () and Hiraben Modi (born ). Modi's family belonged to the Modh-Ghanchi-Teli (oil-presser) community, which is categorised as an Other Backward Class by the Indian government. Modi had only infrequently spoken of his family background during his 13 years as chief minister of Gujarat. In the run up to the 2014 national elections, he began to regularly draw attention to his low-ranking social origins and to having to work as a child in his father's tea shop on the Vadnagar railway station platform, a description that the evidence of neighbours does not entirely corroborate. Modi completed his higher secondary education in Vadnagar in 1967, where teachers described him as an average student and a keen gifted debater, with interest in theatre. Modi preferred playing larger-than-life characters in theatrical productions, which has influenced his political image. When eight years old, Modi was introduced to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and began attending its local shakhas (training sessions). There, Modi met Lakshmanrao Inamdar, popularly known as Vakil Saheb, who inducted him as a balswayamsevak (junior cadet) in the RSS and became his political mentor. While Modi was training with the RSS, he also met Vasant Gajendragadkar and Nathalal Jaghda, Bharatiya Jana Sangh leaders who were founding members of the BJP's Gujarat unit in 1980. In a custom traditional to Narendra Modi's caste, his family arranged a betrothal to a girl, Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi, leading to their marriage when she was 17 and he was 18. Soon afterwards, he abandoned his bride, and left home, never divorcing her, but the marriage remaining unmentioned in Modi's public pronouncements for many decades. In April 2014, shortly before the national elections that swept him to power, Modi publicly affirmed that he was married and his spouse was Jashodaben; the couple has remained married, but estranged. Modi spent the ensuing two years travelling across Northern and North-eastern India, though few details of where he went have emerged. In interviews, Modi has described visiting Hindu ashrams founded by Swami Vivekananda: the Belur Math near Kolkata, followed by the Advaita Ashrama in Almora and the Ramakrishna Mission in Rajkot. Modi remained only a short time at each, since he lacked the required college education. Vivekananda has been described as a large influence in Modi's life. In the early summer of 1968, Modi reached the Belur Math but was turned away, after which Modi wandered through Calcutta, West Bengal and Assam, stopping in Siliguri and Guwahati. Modi then went to the Ramakrishna Ashram in Almora, where he was again rejected, before travelling back to Gujarat via Delhi and Rajasthan in 1968–69. Sometime in late 1969 or early 1970, Modi returned to Vadnagar for a brief visit before leaving again for Ahmedabad. There, Modi lived with his uncle, working in the latter's canteen at the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation. In Ahmedabad, Modi renewed his acquaintance with Inamdar, who was based at the Hedgewar Bhavan (RSS headquarters) in the city. Modi's first known political activity as an adult was in 1971 when he, as per his remarks, joined a Jana Sangh Satyagraha in Delhi led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee to enlist for the battlefield during the Bangladesh Liberation War. But the Indira Gandhi-led central government disallowed open support for the Mukti Bahini and Modi, according to his own claim, was put in Tihar Jail for a short period. After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he stopped working for his uncle and became a full-time pracharak (campaigner) for the RSS, working under Inamdar. Shortly before the war, Modi took part in a non-violent protest against the Indian government in New Delhi, for which he was arrested (as per his claim); this has been cited as a reason for Inamdar electing to mentor him. Many years later Modi would co-author a biography of Inamdar, published in 2001. Modi's claim that he was part of a Satyagraha led to a political war. Applications were filed with the PMO under the RTI Act seeking details of his arrest. In reply, the PMO claimed that it maintains official records on Modi only since he took charge as the Prime Minister of India in 2014. Despite this claim, the official website of the PMO contains specific information about Modi which dates back to the 1950s. In 1978 Modi received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the School of Open Learning (SOL) at the University of Delhi, graduating with a third class. Five years later, in 1983, he received a Master of Arts degree in political science from Gujarat University, graduating with a first class as an external distance learning student. But there is a big controversy surrounding his educational qualification. Replying to an RTI query, the SOL said it did not have any data of students who received a BA degree in 1978. Jayantibhai Patel, a former political science professor of Gujarat University, claimed that the subjects listed in Modi's MA degree were not offered by the university when Modi was studying there. Early political career In June 1975, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency in India which lasted until 1977. During this period, known as "The Emergency", many of her political opponents were jailed and opposition groups were banned. Modi was appointed general secretary of the "Gujarat Lok Sangharsh Samiti", an RSS committee co-ordinating opposition to the Emergency in Gujarat. Shortly afterwards, the RSS was banned. Modi was forced to go underground in Gujarat and frequently travelled in disguise to avoid arrest. He became involved in printing pamphlets opposing the government, sending them to Delhi and organising demonstrations. Modi was also involved with creating a network of safe houses for individuals wanted by the government, and in raising funds for political refugees and activists. During this period, Modi wrote a book in Gujarati, Sangharsh Ma Gujarat (In The Struggles of Gujarat), describing events during the Emergency. Among the people he met in this role was trade unionist and socialist activist George Fernandes, as well as several other national political figures. In his travels during the Emergency, Modi was often forced to move in disguise, once dressing as a monk, and once as a Sikh. Modi became an RSS sambhag pracharak (regional organiser) in 1978, overseeing RSS activities in the areas of Surat and Vadodara, and in 1979 he went to work for the RSS in Delhi, where he was put to work researching and writing the RSS's version of the history of the Emergency. He returned to Gujarat a short while later, and was assigned by the RSS to the BJP in 1985. In 1987 Modi helped organise the BJP's campaign in the Ahmedabad municipal election, which the BJP won comfortably; Modi's planning has been described as the reason for that result by biographers. After L. K. Advani became president of the BJP in 1986, the RSS decided to place its members in important positions within the BJP; Modi's work during the Ahmedabad election led to his selection for this role, and Modi was elected organising secretary of the BJP's Gujarat unit later in 1987. Modi rose within the party and was named a member of the BJP's National Election Committee in 1990, helping organise L. K. Advani's 1990 Ram Rath Yatra in 1990 and Murli Manohar Joshi's 1991–92 Ekta Yatra (Journey for Unity). However, he took a brief break from politics in 1992, instead establishing a school in Ahmedabad; friction with Shankersinh Vaghela, a BJP MP from Gujarat at the time, also played a part in this decision. Modi returned to electoral politics in 1994, partly at the insistence of Advani, and as party secretary, Modi's electoral strategy was considered central to the BJP victory in the 1995 state assembly elections. In November of that year Modi was appointed BJP national secretary and transferred to New Delhi, where he assumed responsibility for party activities in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The following year, Shankersinh Vaghela, a prominent BJP leader from Gujarat, defected to the Indian National Congress (Congress, INC) after losing his parliamentary seat in the Lok Sabha elections. Modi, on the selection committee for the 1998 Assembly elections in Gujarat, favoured supporters of BJP leader Keshubhai Patel over those supporting Vaghela to end factional division in the party. His strategy was credited as key to the BJP winning an overall majority in the 1998 elections, and Modi was promoted to BJP general secretary (organisation) in May of that year. Chief Minister of Gujarat Taking office In 2001, Keshubhai Patel's health was failing and the BJP lost a few state assembly seats in by-elections. Allegations of abuse of power, corruption and poor administration were made, and Patel's standing had been damaged by his administration's handling of the earthquake in Bhuj in 2001. The BJP national leadership sought a new candidate for the chief ministership, and Modi, who had expressed misgivings about Patel's administration, was chosen as a replacement. Although BJP leader L. K. Advani did not want to ostracise Patel and was concerned about Modi's lack of experience in government, Modi declined an offer to be Patel's deputy chief minister, telling Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee that he was "going to be fully responsible for Gujarat or not at all". On 3 October 2001 he replaced Patel as Chief Minister of Gujarat, with the responsibility of preparing the BJP for the December 2002 elections. Modi was sworn in as Chief Minister on 7 October 2001, and entered the Gujarat state legislature on 24 February 2002 by winning a by-election to the Rajkot – II constituency, defeating Ashwin Mehta of the INC by 14,728 votes. 2002 Gujarat riots On 27 February 2002, a train with several hundred passengers burned near Godhra, killing approximately 60 people. The train carried a large number of Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya after a religious ceremony at the site of the demolished Babri Masjid. In making a public statement after the incident, Modi declared it a terrorist attack planned and orchestrated by local Muslims. The next day, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad called for a bandh across the state. Riots began during the bandh, and anti-Muslim violence spread through Gujarat. The government's decision to move the bodies of the train victims from Godhra to Ahmedabad further inflamed the violence. The state government stated later that 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed. Independent sources put the death toll at over 2000, the vast majority Muslims Approximately 150,000 people were driven to refugee camps. Numerous women and children were among the victims; the violence included mass rapes and mutilations of women. The government of Gujarat itself is generally considered by scholars to have been complicit in the riots, (with some blaming chief minister Modi explicitly) and has otherwise received heavy criticism for its handling of the situation. Several scholars have described the violence as a pogrom, while others have called it an example of state terrorism. Summarising academic views on the subject, Martha Nussbaum said: "There is by now a broad consensus that the Gujarat violence was a form of ethnic cleansing, that in many ways it was premeditated, and that it was carried out with the complicity of the state government and officers of the law." The Modi government imposed a curfew in 26 major cities, issued shoot-at-sight orders and called for the army to patrol the streets, but was unable to prevent the violence from escalating. The president of the state unit of the BJP expressed support for the bandh, despite such actions being illegal at the time. State officials later prevented riot victims from leaving the refugee camps, and the camps were often unable to meet the needs of those living there. Muslim victims of the riots were subject to further discrimination when the state government announced that compensation for Muslim victims would be half of that offered to Hindus, although this decision was later reversed after the issue was taken to court. During the riots, police officers often did not intervene in situations where they were able. Modi's personal involvement in the 2002 events has continued to be debated. During the riots, Modi said that "What is happening is a chain of action and reaction." Later in 2002, Modi said the way in which he had handled the media was his only regret regarding the episode. In March 2008, the Supreme Court reopened several cases related to the 2002 riots, including that of the Gulbarg Society massacre, and established a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the issue. In response to a petition from Zakia Jafri (widow of Ehsan Jafri, who was killed in the Gulbarg Society massacre), in April 2009 the court also asked the SIT to investigate the issue of Modi's complicity in the killings. The SIT questioned Modi in March 2010; in May, it presented to the court a report finding no evidence against him. In July 2011, the court-appointed amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran submitted his final report to the court. Contrary to the SIT's position, he said that Modi could be prosecuted based on the available evidence. The Supreme Court gave the matter to the magistrate's court. The SIT examined Ramachandran's report, and in March 2012 submitted its final report, asking for the case to be closed. Zakia Jafri filed a protest petition in response. In December 2013 the magistrate's court rejected the protest petition, accepting the SIT's finding that there was no evidence against the chief minister. 2002 election In the aftermath of the violence there were widespread calls for Modi to resign as chief minister from within and outside the state, including from leaders of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Telugu Desam Party (allies in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance coalition), and opposition parties stalled Parliament over the issue. Modi submitted his resignation at the April 2002 BJP national executive meeting in Goa, but it was not accepted. His cabinet had an emergency meeting on 19 July 2002, after which it offered its resignation to the Gujarat Governor S. S. Bhandari, and the state assembly was dissolved. Despite opposition from the election commissioner, who said that a number of voters were still displaced, Modi succeeded in advancing the election to December 2002. In the elections, the BJP won 127 seats in the 182-member assembly. Although Modi later denied it, he made significant use of anti-Muslim rhetoric during his campaign, and the BJP profited from religious polarisation among the voters. He won the Maninagar constituency, receiving of votes and defeating INC candidate Yatin Oza by 75,333 votes. On 22 December 2002, Bhandari swore Modi in for a second term. Modi framed the criticism of his government for human rights violations as an attack upon Gujarati pride, a strategy which led to the BJP winning two-thirds of the seats in the state assembly. Second term During Modi's second term the rhetoric of the government shifted from Hindutva to Gujarat's economic development. Modi curtailed the influence of Sangh Parivar organisations such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), entrenched in the state after the decline of Ahmedabad's textile industry, and dropped Gordhan Zadafia (an ally of former Sangh co-worker and VHP state chief Praveen Togadia) from his cabinet. When the BKS staged a farmers' demonstration Modi ordered their eviction from state-provided houses, and his decision to demolish 200 illegal temples in Gandhinagar deepened the rift with the Vishva Hindu Parishad. Sangh organisations were no longer consulted or informed in advance about Modi's administrative decisions. Nonetheless, Modi retained connections with some Hindu nationalists. Modi wrote a foreword to a textbook by Dinanath Batra released in 2014, which stated that ancient India possessed technologies including test-tube babies. Modi's relationship with Muslims continued to attract criticism. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (who asked Modi for tolerance in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat violence and supported his resignation as chief minister) distanced himself, reaching out to North Indian Muslims before the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. After the elections Vajpayee called the violence in Gujarat a reason for the BJP's electoral defeat and said it had been a mistake to leave Modi in office after the riots. Questions about Modi's relationship with Muslims were also raised by many Western nations during his tenure as chief minister. Modi was barred from entering the United States by the State Department, in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on International Religious Freedom formed under the aegis of the International Religious Freedom Act, the only person denied a US visa under this law. The UK and the European Union refused to admit him because of what they saw as his role in the riots. As Modi rose to prominence in India, the UK and the EU lifted their bans in October 2012 and March 2013, respectively, and after his election he was invited to Washington as the nation's prime minister. During the run-up to the 2007 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election and the 2009 Indian general election, the BJP intensified its rhetoric on terrorism. In July 2006, Modi criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh " for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislation" such as the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the national government to allow states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. In 2007 Modi authored Karmayog, a 101-page booklet discussing manual scavenging. In it, Modi argued that scavenging was a "spiritual experience" for Valmiks, a sub-caste of Dalits. However, this book was not circulated that time because of the election code of conduct. After the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Modi held a meeting to discuss the security of Gujarat's -long coastline, resulting in government authorisation of 30 high-speed surveillance boats. In July 2007 Modi completed 2,063 consecutive days as chief minister of Gujarat, making him the longest-serving holder of that post, and the BJP won 122 of 182 state-assembly seats in that year's election. Development projects As Chief Minister, Modi favoured privatisation and small government, which was at odds with the philosophy of the RSS, usually described as anti-privatisation and anti-globalisation. His policies during his second term have been credited with reducing corruption in the state. He established financial and technology parks in Gujarat and during the 2007 Vibrant Gujarat summit, real-estate investment deals worth were signed. The governments led by Patel and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of groundwater-conservation projects. By December 2008, 500,000 structures had been built, of which 113,738 were check dams, which helped recharge the aquifers beneath them. Sixty of the 112 tehsils which had depleted the water table in 2004 had regained their normal groundwater levels by 2010. As a result, the state's production of genetically modified cotton increased to become the largest in India. The boom in cotton production and its semi-arid land use led to Gujarat's agricultural sector growing at an average rate of 9.6 percent from 2001 to 2007. Public irrigation measures in central and southern Gujarat, such as the Sardar Sarovar Dam, were less successful. The Sardar Sarovar project only irrigated 4–6% of the area intended. Nonetheless, from 2001 to 2010 Gujarat recorded an agricultural growth rate of 10.97 percent – the highest of any state. However, sociologists have pointed out that the growth rate under the 1992–97 INC government was 12.9 percent. In 2008 Modi offered land in Gujarat to Tata Motors to set up a plant manufacturing the Nano after a popular agitation had forced the company to move out of West Bengal. Several other companies followed the Tata to Gujarat. The Modi government finished the process of bringing electricity to every village in Gujarat that its predecessor had almost completed. Modi significantly changed the state's system of power distribution, greatly impacting farmers. Gujarat expanded the Jyotigram Yojana scheme, in which agricultural electricity was separated from other rural electricity; the agricultural electricity was rationed to fit scheduled irrigation demands, reducing its cost. Although early protests by farmers ended when those who benefited found that their electricity supply had stabilised, according to an assessment study corporations and large farmers benefited from the policy at the expense of small farmers and labourers. Development debate A contentious debate surrounds the assessment of Gujarat's economic development during Modi's tenure as chief minister. The state's GDP growth rate averaged 10% during Modi's tenure, a value similar to other highly industrialised states, and above that of the country as a whole. Gujarat also had a high rate of economic growth in the 1990s, before Modi took office, and some scholars have stated that growth did not much accelerate during Modi's tenure, although the state is considered to have maintained a high growth rate during Modi's Chief Ministership. Under Narendra Modi, Gujarat topped the World Bank's "ease of doing business" rankings among Indian states for two consecutive years. In 2013, Gujarat was ranked first among Indian states for "economic freedom" by a report measuring governance, growth, citizens' rights and labour and business regulation among the country's 20 largest states. In the later years of Modi's government, Gujarat's economic growth was frequently used as an argument to counter allegations of communalism. Tax breaks for businesses were easier to obtain in Gujarat than in other states, as was land. Modi's policies to make Gujarat attractive for investment included the creation of Special Economic Zones, where labour laws were greatly weakened. Despite its growth rate, Gujarat had a relatively poor record on human development, poverty relief, nutrition and education during Modi's tenure. In 2013, Gujarat ranked 13th in the country with respect to rates of poverty and 21st in education. Nearly 45 percent of children under five were underweight and 23 percent were undernourished, putting the state in the "alarming" category on the India State Hunger Index. A study by UNICEF and the Indian government found that Gujarat under Modi had a poor record with respect to immunisation in children. Over the decade from 2001 to 2011, Gujarat did not change its position relative to the rest of the country with respect to poverty and female literacy, remaining near the median of the 29 Indian states. It showed a marginal improvement in rates of infant mortality, and its position with respect to individual consumption declined. With respect to the quality of education in government schools, the state ranked below many Indian states. The social policies of the government generally did not benefit Muslims, Dalits, and Adivasis, and generally increased social inequalities. Development in Gujarat was generally limited to the urban middle class, and citizens in rural areas or from lower castes were increasingly marginalised. In 2013 the state ranked 10th of 21 Indian states in the Human Development Index. Under Modi, the state government spent less than the national average on education and healthcare. Final years Despite the BJP's shift away from explicit Hindutva, Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012 contained elements of Hindu nationalism. Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders. During his 2012 campaign he twice refused to wear articles of clothing gifted by Muslim leaders. He did, however, maintain relations with Dawoodi Bohra. His campaign included references to issues known to cause religious polarisation, including to Afzal Guru and the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. The BJP did not nominate any Muslim candidates for the assembly election of 2012. During the 2012 campaign, Modi attempted to identify himself with the state of Gujarat, a strategy similar to that used by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, and projected himself as protecting Gujarat against persecution by the rest of India. While campaigning for the 2012 assembly elections, Modi made extensive use of holograms and other technologies allowing him to reach a large number of people, something he would repeat in the 2014 general election. In the 2012 Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections, Modi won the constituency of Maninagar by 86,373 votes over Shweta Bhatt, the INC candidate and wife of Sanjiv Bhatt. The BJP won 115 of the 182 seats, continuing its majority during his tenure and allowing the party to form the government (as it had in Gujarat since 1995). After his election as prime minister, Modi resigned as the chief minister and as an MLA from Maninagar on 21 May 2014. Anandiben Patel succeeded him as the chief minister. Premiership campaigns 2014 Indian general election In September 2013 Modi was named the BJP's candidate for prime minister ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha election. Several BJP leaders expressed opposition to Modi's candidature, including BJP founding member L. K. Advani, who cited concern with leaders who were "concerned with their personal agendas". Modi played a dominant role in the BJP's election campaign. Several people who voted for the BJP stated that if Modi had not been the prime-ministerial candidate, they would have voted for another party. The focus on Modi as an individual was unusual for a BJP election campaign. The election was described as a referendum on Narendra Modi. During the campaign, Modi focused on the corruption scandals under the previous INC government, and played on his image as a politician who had created a high rate of GDP growth in Gujarat. Modi projected himself as a person who could bring about "development," without focus on any specific policies. His message found support among young Indians and among middle-class citizens. The BJP under Modi was able to downplay concerns about the protection of religious minorities and Modi's commitment to secularism, areas in which he had previously received criticism. Prior to the election Modi's image in the media had centered around his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots, but during the campaign the BJP was able to shift this to a focus on Modi's neoliberal ideology and the Gujarat model of development, although Hindutva remained a significant part of its campaign. The BJP's campaign was assisted by its wide influence in the media. Modi's campaign blitz cost approximately , and received extensive financial support from corporate donors. In addition to more conventional campaign methods, Modi made extensive use of social media, and addressed more than 1000 rallies via hologram appearances. The BJP won 31% of the vote, and more than doubled its tally in the Lok Sabha to 282, becoming the first party to win a majority of seats on its own since 1984. Voter dissatisfaction with the INC, as well as with regional parties in North India, was another reason for the success of the BJP, as was the support from the RSS. In states such as Uttar Pradesh in which the BJP performed well, it drew exceptionally high support from upper-caste Hindus, although the 10 percent of Muslim votes won was more than it had won before. It performed particularly well in parts of the country that had recently experienced violence between Hindus and Muslims. The magnitude of the BJP's victory led many commentators to say that the election constituted a political realignment away from progressive parties and towards the right-wing. Modi's tweet announcing his victory was described as being emblematic of the political realignment away from a secular, socialist state towards capitalism and Hindu cultural nationalism. Modi himself was a candidate for the Lok Sabha in two constituencies: Varanasi and Vadodara. He won in both constituencies, defeating Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal in Varanasi by 371,784 votes and Madhusudan Mistry of the INC in Vadodara by votes. Modi, who was unanimously elected leader of the BJP, was appointed prime minister by India's president. To comply with the law that an MP cannot represent more than one constituency, he vacated the Vadodara seat. 2019 Indian general election On 13 October 2018, Modi was renamed as the BJP candidate for prime minister for the 2019 general election. The chief campaigner for the party was BJP's president Amit Shah. Modi launched the Main Bhi Chowkidar campaign ahead of the general election, against Chowkidar Chor Hai campaign slogan of INC. In the year 2018, end Party's, second-biggest alliance Telugu Desam Party split from NDA over the matter of special-status for Andhra Pradesh. The campaign was started by Amit Shah on 8 April 2019. In the campaign, Modi was targeted by the opposition on corruption allegations over Rafale deal with France government. Highlighting this controversy the campaign "Chowkidar Chor Hai" was started, which was contrary to "Main Bhi Chowkidar" slogan. Modi made defence and national security among the foremost topics for the election campaign, especially after Pulwama attack, and the retaliatory attack of Balakot airstrike was counted as an achievement of the Modi administration. Other topics in the campaign were development and good foreign relations in the first premiership. Modi contested the Lok Sabha elections as a candidate from Varanasi. He won the seat by defeating Shalini Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, who fought on SP-BSP alliance by a margin of votes. Modi was unanimously appointed the prime minister for a second time by the National Democratic Alliance, after the alliance won the election for the second time by securing 353 seats in the Lok Sabha with the BJP alone won 303 seats. Prime Minister After the Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance won a landslide in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Narendra Modi was sworn in as the Prime Minister of India on 26 May 2014. He became the first Prime Minister born after India's independence from the British Empire in 1947. Modi started his second term after the Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance won again in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. On 6 December 2020, Modi became the 4th longest serving Prime Minister of India and the longest serving Non-Congress Prime Minister. Governance and other initiatives Modi's first year as prime minister saw significant centralisation of power relative to previous administrations. His efforts at centralisation have been linked to an increase in the number of senior administration officials resigning their positions. Initially lacking a majority in the Rajya Sabha, or upper house of Indian Parliament, Modi passed a number of ordinances to enact his policies, leading to further centralisation of power. The government also passed a bill increasing the control that it had over the appointment of judges, and reducing that of the judiciary. In December 2014 Modi abolished the Planning Commission, replacing it with the National Institution for Transforming India, or NITI Aayog. The move had the effect of greatly centralising the power previously with the planning commission in the person of the prime minister. The planning commission had received heavy criticism in previous years for creating inefficiency in the government, and of not filling its role of improving social welfare: however, since the economic liberalisation of the 1990s, it had been the major government body responsible for measures related to social justice. The Modi government launched investigations by the Intelligence Bureau against numerous civil society organisations and foreign non-governmental organisations in the first year of the administration. The investigations, on the grounds that these organisations were slowing economic growth, was criticised as a witch-hunt. International humanitarian aid organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres was among the groups that were put under pressure. Other organisations affected included the Sierra Club and Avaaz. Cases of sedition were filed against individuals criticising the government. This led to discontent within the BJP regarding Modi's style of functioning and drew comparisons to the governing style of Indira Gandhi. Modi repealed 1,200 obsolete laws in first three years as prime minister; a total of 1,301 such laws had been repealed by previous governments over a span of 64 years. He started a monthly radio programme titled "Mann Ki Baat" on 3 October 2014. Modi also launched the Digital India programme, with the goal of ensuring that government services are available electronically, building infrastructure to provide high-speed Internet access to rural areas, boosting manufacturing of electronic goods in the country, and promoting digital literacy. Modi launched Ujjwala scheme to provide free LPG connection to rural households. The scheme led to an increase in LPG consumption by 56% in 2019 as compared to 2014. In 2019, a law was passed to provide 10% reservation to Economically weaker sections. He was again sworn in as prime minister on 30 May 2019. On 30 July 2019, Parliament of India declared the practice of Triple Talaq as illegal, unconstitutional and made it punishable act from 1 August 2019 which is deemed to be in effect from 19 September 2018. On 5 August 2019, the government moved resolution to scrap Article 370 in the Rajya Sabha, and also reorganise the state with Jammu and Kashmir serving as one of the union territory and Ladakh region separated out as a separate union territory. Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. According to one study, "The BJP government incrementally but systemically attacked nearly all existing mechanisms that are in place to hold the political executive to account, either by ensuring that these mechanisms became subservient to the political executive or were captured by party loyalists." Scholars also point to how he Modi government has used state power to intimidate and stifle critics in the media and academia, thus undermining freedom of expression and alternative sources of information. Reporters Without Borders in 2021 characterised Modi as a predator for curbing press freedom in India since 2014. Economic policy The economic policies of Modi's government focused on privatisation and liberalisation of the economy, based on a neoliberal framework. Modi liberalised India's foreign direct investment policies, allowing more foreign investment in several industries, including in defence and the railways. Other proposed reforms included making it harder for workers to form unions and easier for employers to hire and fire them; some of these proposals were dropped after protests. The reforms drew strong opposition from unions: on 2 September 2015, eleven of the country's largest unions went on strike, including one affiliated with the BJP. The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, a constituent of the Sangh Parivar, stated that the underlying motivation of labour reforms favoured corporations over labourers. The funds dedicated to poverty reduction programmes and social welfare measures were greatly decreased by the Modi administration. The money spent on social programmes declined from 14.6% of GDP during the Congress government to 12.6% during Modi's first year in office. Spending on health and family welfare declined by 15%, and on primary and secondary education by 16%. The budgetary allocation for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, or the "education for all" programme, declined by 22%. The government also lowered corporate taxes, abolished the wealth tax, increased sales taxes, and reduced customs duties on gold, and jewellery. In October 2014, the Modi government deregulated diesel prices. In September 2014, Modi introduced the Make in India initiative to encourage foreign companies to manufacture products in India, with the goal of turning the country into a global manufacturing hub. Supporters of economic liberalisation supported the initiative, while critics argued it would allow foreign corporations to capture a greater share of the Indian market. Modi's administration passed a land-reform bill that allowed it to acquire private agricultural land without conducting a social impact assessment, and without the consent of the farmers who owned it. The bill was passed via an executive order after it faced opposition in parliament, but was eventually allowed to lapse. Modi's government put in place the Goods and Services Tax, the biggest tax reform in the country since independence. It subsumed around 17 different taxes and became effective from 1 July 2017. In his first cabinet decision, Modi set up a team to investigate black money. On 9 November 2016, the government demonetised ₹500 and ₹1000 banknotes, with the stated intention of curbing corruption, black money, the use of counterfeit currency, and terrorism. The move led to severe cash shortages, a steep decline in the Indian stock indices BSE SENSEX and NIFTY 50, and sparked widespread protests throughout the country. Several deaths were linked to the rush to exchange cash. In the subsequent year, the number of income tax returns filed for individuals rose by 25%, and the number of digital transactions increased steeply. Over the first four years of Modi's premiership, India's GDP grew at an average rate of 7.23%, higher than the rate of 6.39% under the previous government. The level of income inequality increased, while an internal government report said that in 2017, unemployment had increased to its highest level in 45 years. The loss of jobs was attributed to the 2016 demonetisation, and to the effects of the Goods and Services Tax. In the next year, after 2018, Indian economy started a gradual recovery with a GDP growth of 6.12% in 2018-19 FY, with an inflation rate of 3.4%. Same year, India was successful in making a good economy in trade and manufacturing sector. While in the FY of 2019–20, due to the general election, Modi government focused more on their election campaign. In the year 2019–20, the GDP growth rate was 4.18% and inflation rate also increased to 4.7% from 3.4% in the previous year. Though being high unemployment, increase in inflation rate and budget deficiency, Modi's leadership won in 2019 elections. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous rating agencies downgraded India's GDP predictions for FY21 to negative figures, signalling a recession in India, the most severe since 1979. According to a Dun & Bradstreet report, the country is likely to suffer a recession in the third quarter of FY2020 as a result of the over 2-month long nation-wide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19. This was also accompanied by the mass migration of migrant workers. Health and sanitation In his first year as prime minister, Modi reduced the amount of money spent by the central government on healthcare. The Modi government launched New Health Policy (NHP) in January 2015. The policy did not increase the government's spending on healthcare, instead emphasising the role of private healthcare organisations. This represented a shift away from the policy of the previous Congress government, which had supported programmes to assist public health goals, including reducing child and maternal mortality rates. The National Health Mission, which included public health programmes targeted at these indices received nearly 20% less funds in 2015 than in the previous year. 15 national health programmes, including those aimed at controlling tobacco use and supporting healthcare for the elderly, were merged with the National Health Mission. In its budget for the second year after it took office, the Modi government reduced healthcare spending by 15%. The healthcare budget for the following year rose by 19%. The budget was viewed positively by private insurance providers. Public health experts criticised its emphasis on the role of private healthcare providers, and suggested that it represented a shift away from public health facilities. The healthcare budget rose by 11.5% in 2018; the change included an allocation of for a government-funded health insurance program, and a decrease in the budget of the National Health Mission. The government introduced stricter packaging laws for tobacco which requires 85% of the packet size to be covered by pictorial warnings. An article in the medical journal Lancet stated that the country "might have taken a few steps back in public health" under Modi. In 2018 Modi launched the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, a government health insurance scheme intended to insure 500 million people. 100,000 people had signed up by October 2018. Modi emphasised his government's efforts at sanitation as a means of ensuring good health. On 2 October 2014, Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Mission ("Clean India") campaign. The stated goals of the campaign included eliminating open defecation and manual scavenging within five years. As part of the programme, the Indian government began constructing millions of toilets in rural areas and encouraging people to use them. The government also announced plans to build new sewage treatment plants. The administration plans to construct 60 million toilets by 2019. The construction projects have faced allegations of corruption, and have faced severe difficulty in getting people to use the toilets constructed for them. Sanitation cover in the country increased from 38.7% in October 2014 to 84.1% in May 2018; however, usage of the new sanitary facilities lagged behind the government's targets. In 2018, the World Health Organization stated that at least 180,000 diarrhoeal deaths were averted in rural India after the launch of the sanitation effort. Hindutva During the 2014 election campaign, the BJP sought to identify itself with political leaders known to have opposed Hindu nationalism, including B. R. Ambedkar, Subhas Chandra Bose, and Ram Manohar Lohia. The campaign also saw the use of rhetoric based on Hindutva by BJP leaders in certain states. Communal tensions were played upon especially in Uttar Pradesh and the states of Northeast India. A proposal for the controversial Uniform Civil Code was a part of the BJP's election manifesto. The activities of a number of Hindu nationalist organisations increased in scope after Modi's election as Prime Minister, sometimes with the support of the government. These activities included a Hindu religious conversion programme, a campaign against the alleged Islamic practice of "Love Jihad", and attempts to celebrate Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, by members of the right wing Hindu Mahasabha. Officials in the government, including the Home Minister, defended the conversion programmes. Links between the BJP and the RSS grew stronger under Modi. The RSS provided organisational support to the BJP's electoral campaigns, while the Modi administration appointed a number of individuals affiliated with the RSS to prominent government positions. In 2014, Yellapragada Sudershan Rao, who had previously been associated with the RSS, became the chairperson of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). Historians and former members of the ICHR, including those sympathetic to the BJP, questioned his credentials as a historian, and stated that the appointment was part of an agenda of cultural nationalism. The North East Delhi riots, which left more than 40 dead and hundreds injured, were triggered by protests against a citizenship law seen by many critics as anti-Muslim and part of Modi's Hindu nationalist agenda. On 5 August 2020, Modi visited Ayodhya after the Supreme Court in 2019 ordered a contested land in Ayodhya to be handed over to a trust to build the Hindu temple and ordered the government to give alternate 5 acre land to Sunni Waqf Board for the purpose of building a mosque. He became the first prime minister to visit Ram Janmabhoomi and Hanuman Garhi. Foreign policy Foreign policy played a relatively small role in Modi's election campaign, and did not feature prominently in the BJP's election manifesto. Modi invited all the other leaders of SAARC countries to his swearing in ceremony as prime minister. He was the first Indian prime minister to do so. Modi's foreign policy, similarly to that of the preceding INC government, focused on improving economic ties, security, and regional relations. Modi continued Manmohan Singh's policy of "multi-alignment." The Modi administration tried to attract foreign investment in the Indian economy from several sources, especially in East Asia, with the use of slogans such as "Make in India" and "Digital India". The government also tried to improve relations with Islamic nations in the Middle East, such as Bahrain, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as with Israel. The foreign relations of India with the USA also mended after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister. During the run-up to the general election there was wide-ranging scepticism regarding future of the strategic bilateral relation under Modi's premiership as in 2005 he was, while Chief Minister of Gujarat, denied a U.S. visa during the Bush administration for his poor human rights records. However sensing Modi's inevitable victory well before the election, the US Ambassador Nancy Powell had reached out to him as part of greater rapprochement from the west. Moreover, following his 2014 election as the Prime Minister of India President Obama congratulated him over the telephone and invited him to visit the US. Modi government has been successful in making good foreign relations with the USA in the presidency of both Barack Obama and Donald Trump. During the first few months after the election, Modi made trips to a number of different countries to further the goals of his policy, and attended the BRICS, ASEAN, and G20 summits. One of Modi's first visits as prime minister was to Nepal, during which he promised a billion USD in aid. Modi also made several overtures to the United States, including multiple visits to that country. While this was described as an unexpected development, due to the US having previously denied Modi a travel visa over his role during the 2002 Gujarat riots, the visits were expected to strengthen diplomatic and trade relations between the two countries. In 2015, the Indian parliament ratified a land exchange deal with Bangladesh about the India–Bangladesh enclaves, which had been initiated by the government of Manmohan Singh. Modi's administration gave renewed attention to India's "Look East Policy", instituted in 1991. The policy was renamed the "Act East Policy", and involved directing Indian foreign policy towards East Asia and Southeast Asia. The government signed agreements to improve land connectivity with Myanmar, through the state of Manipur. This represented a break with India's historic engagement with Myanmar, which prioritised border security over trade. China–India relations have deteriorated rapidly following the 2020 China–India skirmishes. Modi has pledged aid of $900 million to Afghanistan, visited the nation twice and been honoured with the nation's highest civilian honour in 2016. Defence policy India's nominal military spending increased steadily under Modi. The military budget declined over Modi's tenure both as a fraction of GDP and when adjusted for inflation. A substantial portion of the military budget was devoted to personnel costs, leading commentators to write that the budget was constraining Indian military modernisation. The BJP election manifesto had also promised to deal with illegal immigration into India in the Northeast, as well as to be more firm in its handling of insurgent groups. The Modi government issued a notification allowing Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist illegal immigrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh to legalise their residency in India. The government described the measure as being taken for humanitarian reasons but it drew criticism from several Assamese organisations.The Modi administration negotiated a peace agreement with the largest faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCM), which was announced in August 2015. The Naga insurgency in northeast India had begun in the 1950s. The NSCM and the government had agreed to a ceasefire in 1997, but a peace accord had not previously been signed. In 2015 the government abrogated a 15-year ceasefire with the Khaplang faction of the NSCM (NSCM-K). The NSCM-K responded with a series of attacks, which killed 18 people. The Modi government carried out a raid across the border with Myanmar as a result, and labelled the NSCM-K a terrorist organisation. Modi promised to be "tough on Pakistan" during his election campaign, and repeatedly stated that Pakistan was an exporter of terrorism. On 29 September 2016, the Indian Army stated that it had conducted a surgical strike on terror launch pads in Azad Kashmir. The Indian media claimed that up to 50 terrorists and Pakistani soldiers had been killed in the strike. Pakistan initially denied that any strikes had taken place. Subsequent reports suggested that Indian claim about the scope of the strike and the number of casualties had been exaggerated, although cross-border strikes had been carried out. In February 2019 India carried out airstrikes in Pakistan against a supposed terrorist camp. Further military skirmishes followed, including cross-border shelling and the loss of an Indian aircraft. Following his victory in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he focused more on Defence policies of India, especially against China and Pakistan. On 5 May 2020, Chinese and Indian troops engaged in aggressive melee, face-offs and skirmishes at locations along the Sino-Indian border, including near the disputed Pangong Lake in Ladakh and the Tibet Autonomous Region, and near the border between Sikkim and the Tibet Autonomous Region. Additional clashes also took place at locations in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). After which there was start of skirmishes between the nations leading to many border clashes, responses and reactions from both sides. A series of talks were also held between the two by both military and diplomatic means for peace. The first border clash reported in 2021 was on 20 January, referred to as a minor border clash in Sikkim. Environmental policy In naming his cabinet, Modi renamed the "Ministry of Environment and Forests" the "Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change." In the first budget of the government, the money allotted to this ministry was reduced by more than 50%. The new ministry also removed or diluted a number of laws related to environmental protection. These included no longer requiring clearance from the National Board for Wildlife for projects close to protected areas, and allowing certain projects to proceed before environmental clearance was received. The government also tried to reconstitute the Wildlife board such that it no longer had representatives from non-governmental organisations: however, this move was prevented by the Supreme Court. Modi also relaxed or abolished a number of other environmental regulations, particularly those related to industrial activity. A government committee stated that the existing system only served to create corruption, and that the government should instead rely on the owners of industries to voluntarily inform the government about the pollution they were creating. Other changes included reducing ministry oversight on small mining projects, and no longer requiring approval from tribal councils for projects inside forested areas. In addition, Modi lifted a moratorium on new industrial activity in the most polluted areas in the countries. The changes were welcomed by businesspeople, but criticised by environmentalists. Under the UPA government that preceded Modi's administration, field trials of Genetically Modified (GM) crops had essentially been put on hold, after protests from farmers fearing for their livelihoods. Under the Modi government these restrictions were gradually lifted. The government received some criticism for freezing the bank accounts of environmental group Greenpeace, citing financial irregularities, although a leaked government report said that the freeze had to do with Greenpeace's opposition to GM crops. At the COP26 conference Modi announced that India would target carbon neutrality by 2070, and also expand its renewable energy capacity. Though the date of net zero is far behind that of China and the USA and India's government wants to continue with the use of coal, Indian environmentalists and economists applauded the decision, describing it as a bold climate action. Democratic backsliding Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding. According to one study, "The BJP government incrementally but systemically attacked nearly all existing mechanisms that are in place to hold the political executive to account, either by ensuring that these mechanisms became subservient to the political executive or were captured by party loyalists." Scholars also point to how the Modi government has used state power to intimidate and stifle critics in the media and academia, thus undermining freedom of expression and alternative sources of information. There have been several reports of the Modi government to be as an authoritarian conservative government, even due to lack of good opposition. Electoral history Personal life and image Personal life In accordance with Ghanchi tradition, Modi's marriage was arranged by his parents when he was a child. He was engaged at age 13 to Jashodaben Modi, marrying her when he was 18. They spent little time together and grew apart when Modi began two years of travel, including visits to Hindu ashrams. Reportedly, their marriage was never consummated, and he kept it a secret because otherwise he could not have become a 'pracharak' in the puritan Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Modi kept his marriage secret for most of his career. He acknowledged his wife for the first time when he filed his nomination for the 2014 general elections. Modi maintains a close relationship with his centenarian mother, Hiraben. A vegetarian and teetotaler, Modi has a frugal lifestyle and is a workaholic and introvert. A person named Badri Meena has been his cook since 2002. Modi's 31 August 2012 post on Google Hangouts made him the first Indian politician to interact with citizens on a live chat. Modi has also been called a fashion-icon for his signature crisply ironed, half-sleeved kurta, as well as for a suit with his name embroidered repeatedly in the pinstripes that he wore during a state visit by US President Barack Obama, which drew public and media attention and criticism. Modi's personality has been variously described by scholars and biographers as energetic, arrogant, and charismatic. He had published a Gujarati book titled Jyotipunj in 2008, containing profiles of various RSS leaders. The longest was of M. S. Golwalkar, under whose leadership the RSS expanded and whom Modi refers to as Pujniya Shri Guruji ("Guru worthy of worship"). According to The Economic Times, his intention was to explain the workings of the RSS to his readers and to reassure RSS members that he remained ideologically aligned with them. Modi authored eight other books, mostly containing short stories for children. The nomination of Modi for the prime ministership drew attention to his reputation as "one of contemporary India's most controversial and divisive politicians." During the 2014 election campaign the BJP projected an image of Modi as a strong, masculine leader, who would be able to take difficult decisions. Campaigns in which he has participated have focused on Modi as an individual, in a manner unusual for the BJP and RSS. Modi has relied upon his reputation as a politician able to bring about economic growth and "development". Nonetheless, his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots continues to attract criticism and controversy. Modi's hardline Hindutva philosophy and the policies adopted by his government continue to draw criticism, and have been seen as evidence of a majoritarian and exclusionary social agenda. In March 2021, Modi received his first COVID-19 vaccine dose at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. Personal donations Modi has made donations for various causes and programmes. One such instance was when Modi donated towards the initial corpus of the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) Fund. In his role as chief minister of Gujarat, Modi had donated from personal savings for educating daughters of state government officials. Modi had also raised by auctioning all the gifts he received as chief minister and donated this to the Kanya Kelavani Fund. The money was spent on the education of girl children, through the scheme. Approval ratings As a Prime Minister, Modi has received consistently high approval ratings; at the end of his first year in office, he received an overall approval rating of 87% in a Pew Research poll, with 68% of people rating him "very favorably" and 93% approving of his government. His approval rating remained largely consistent at around 74% through his second year in office, according to a nationwide poll conducted by instaVaani. At the end of his second year in office, an updated Pew Research poll showed Modi continued to receive high overall approval ratings of 81%, with 57% of those polled rating him "very favorably." At the end of his third year in office, a further Pew Research poll showed Modi with an overall approval rating of 88%, his highest yet, with 69% of people polled rating him "very favorably." A poll conducted by The Times of India in May 2017 showed 77% of the respondents rated Modi as "very good" and "good". In early 2017, a survey from Pew Research Center showed Modi to be the most popular figure in Indian politics. In a weekly analysis by Morning Consult called the Global Leader Approval Rating Tracker, Modi had the highest net approval rating as of 22 December 2020 of all government leaders in the 13 countries being tracked. Awards and recognition In March 2012 and June 2014, Modi appeared on the cover of the Asian edition of Time Magazine, one of the few Indian politicians to have done so. He was awarded Indian of the Year by CNN-News18 (formally CNN-IBN) news network in 2014. In June 2015, Modi was featured on the cover of Time Magazine. In 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020 and 2021, he was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World. Forbes Magazine ranked him the 15th Most Powerful Person in the World in 2014 and the 9th Most Powerful Person in the World in 2015, 2016 and 2018. In 2015, Modi was ranked the 13th Most Influential Person in the World by Bloomberg Markets Magazine. Modi was ranked fifth on Fortune Magazines first annual list of the "World's Greatest Leaders" in 2015. In 2017, Gallup International Association (GIA) conducted a poll and ranked Modi as third top leader of the world. In 2016, a wax statue of Modi was unveiled at Madame Tussauds wax museum in London. In 2015 he was named one of Times "30 Most Influential People on the Internet" as the second-most-followed politician on Twitter and Facebook. In 2018, he was the third most followed world leader on Twitter, and the most followed world leader on Facebook and Instagram. In October 2018, Modi received United Nations's highest environmental award, the 'Champions of the Earth', for policy leadership by "pioneering work in championing" the International Solar Alliance and "new areas of levels of cooperation on environmental action". He was conferred the 2018 Seoul Peace Prize in recognition of "his dedication to improving international co-operation, raising global economic growth, accelerating the Human Development of the people of India by fostering economic growth and furthering the development of democracy through anti-corruption and social integration efforts". He is the first Indian to win the award. Following his second swearing-in ceremony as Prime Minister of India, a picture of Modi was displayed on the facade of the ADNOC building in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The Texas India Forum hosted a community event in honour of Modi on 22 September 2019 at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. The event was attended by over 50,000 people and several American politicians including President Donald Trump, making it the largest gathering for an invited foreign leader visiting the United States other than the Pope. At the same event, Modi was presented with the Key to the City of Houston by Mayor Sylvester Turner. He was awarded the Global Goalkeeper Award on 24 September 2019 in New York City by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in recognition for the Swachh Bharat Mission and "the progress India has made in providing safe sanitation under his leadership". In 2020, Modi was among eight world leaders awarded the parodic Ig Nobel Prize in Medical Education "for using the COVID-19 viral pandemic to teach the world that politicians can have a more immediate effect on life and death than scientists and doctors can". On 21 December 2020, President Donald Trump awarded Modi with the Legion of Merit for elevating the India–United States relations. The Legion of Merit was awarded to Modi along with Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison and former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe, the "original architects" of the QUAD. On 24 February 2021, the largest cricket stadium in the world at Ahmedabad was renamed Narendra Modi Stadium by the Gujarat Cricket Association. Modi is featured in TIME Magazine's 100 most influential people of 2021 list, making it his fifth time after 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2020. TIME called him the third "pivotal leader" of independent India after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi who "dominated the country’s politics like no one since them". State honours Other honours In popular culture Modi Kaka Ka Gaon, a 2017 Indian Hindi-language drama film by Tushar Amrish Goel is the first biopic on Modi, starring Vikas Mahante in the titular role it was made halfway into his first-term as the prime minister which is shown in the film. PM Narendra Modi, a 2019 Indian Hindi-language biographical drama film by Omung Kumar, starred Vivek Oberoi in the titular role and covers his rise to prime ministership.An Indian web series, Modi: Journey of a Common Man, based on the same premise released in May 2019 on Eros Now with Ashish Sharma portraying Modi. Hu Narender Modi Banva Mangu Chu is a 2018 Indian Gujarati-language drama film by Anil Naryani about the aspirations of a young boy who wants to become like Narendra Modi. 7 RCR (7, Race Course Road), a 2014 Indian docudrama political television series which charts the political careers of prominent Indian politicians, covered Modi's rise to the PM's office in the episodes - "Story of Narendra Modi from 1950 to 2001", "Story of Narendra Modi in Controversial Years from 2001 to 2013", "Truth Behind Brand Modi", "Election Journey of Narendra Modi to 7 RCR", and "Masterplan of Narendra Modi's NDA Govt."; with Sangam Rai in the role of Modi. Other portrayals of Modi include by Rajit Kapur in the film Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) and Vikram Gokhale in the web-television series Avrodh: The Siege Within (2020) both based on the 2016 Uri attack and the following Indian surgical strikes. Pratap Singh played a character based on Modi in Chand Bujh Gaya (2005) which is set in the backdrop of the Gujarat riots. Premiered on 12 August 2019, Modi appeared in an episode - "Man vs. Wild with Bear Grylls and Prime Minister Modi" - of Discovery Channel's show Man vs Wild with the host Bear Grylls, becoming the second world leader after Barack Obama to appear in the reality show. In the show he trekked the jungles and talked about nature and wildlife conservation with Grylls. The episode was shot in Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand and was broadcast in 180 countries along India. He has also appeared twice on the Indian television talk show Aap Ki Adalat before the 2009 and 2014 elections respectively. Along with hosting the Mann Ki Baat monthly radio programme, on All India Radio, he has also conducted Pariksha Pe Charcha - a competition/discussion for students and the issues they face in examinations. Bibliography See also List of prime ministers of India Opinion polling on the Narendra Modi premiership References Notes Citations Further reading External links |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- 1950 births Living people Gujarati people People from Gujarat People from Mehsana district Indian Hindus Prime Ministers of India Leaders of the Lok Sabha Chief Ministers of Gujarat Chief ministers from Bharatiya Janata Party 16th Lok Sabha members 17th Lok Sabha members Members of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly Delhi University alumni Gujarat University alumni Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharaks Indian nationalists Indian writers Recipients of the Legion of Merit Hindu nationalists Right-wing politics in India 20th-century Indian writers Members of the Planning Commission of India Right-wing populism in India Bharatiya Jana Sangh politicians Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Gujarat Lok Sabha members from Gujarat Lok Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2019 Indian general election Writers from Gujarat Candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Hindu pacifists Narendra Modi ministry Candidates in the 2019 Indian general election Hindu revivalists Writers about activism and social change Indian political people 21st-century prime ministers of India Gujarat MLAs 1998–2002 Politicians of Hindu political parties National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Indian anti-communists Gandhians Gujarat MLAs 2002–2007 Gujarat MLAs 2007–2012 Gujarat MLAs 2012–2017 21st-century Indian non-fiction writers Politicians from Varanasi Time 100
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[ "\"What Did I Do to You?\" is a song recorded by British singer Lisa Stansfield for her 1989 album, Affection. It was written by Stansfield, Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, and produced by Devaney and Morris. The song was released as the fourth European single on 30 April 1990. It included three previously unreleased songs written by Stansfield, Devaney and Morris: \"My Apple Heart,\" \"Lay Me Down\" and \"Something's Happenin'.\" \"What Did I Do to You?\" was remixed by Mark Saunders and by the Grammy Award-winning American house music DJ and producer, David Morales. The single became a top forty hit in the European countries reaching number eighteen in Finland, number twenty in Ireland and number twenty-five in the United Kingdom. \"What Did I Do to You?\" was also released in Japan.\n\nIn 2014, the remixes of \"What Did I Do to You?\" were included on the deluxe 2CD + DVD re-release of Affection and on People Hold On ... The Remix Anthology. They were also featured on The Collection 1989–2003 box set (2014), including previously unreleased Red Zone Mix by David Morales.\n\nCritical reception\nThe song received positive reviews from music critics. Matthew Hocter from Albumism viewed it as a \"upbeat offering\". David Giles from Music Week said it is \"beautifully performed\" by Stansfield. A reviewer from Reading Eagle wrote that \"What Did I Do to You?\" \"would be right at home on the \"Saturday Night Fever\" soundtrack.\"\n\nMusic video\nA music video was produced to promote the single, directed by Philip Richardson, who had previously directed the videos for \"All Around the World\" and \"Live Together\". It features Stansfield with her kiss curls, dressed in a white outfit and performing with her band on a stage in front of a jumping audience. The video was later published on Stansfield's official YouTube channel in November 2009. It has amassed more than 1,6 million views as of October 2021.\n\nTrack listings\n\n European/UK 7\" single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Mark Saunders Remix Edit) – 4:20\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:59\n\n European/UK/Japanese CD single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Mark Saunders Remix Edit) – 4:20\n\"My Apple Heart\" – 5:19\n\"Lay Me Down\" – 4:17\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:59\n\n UK 10\" single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Mark Saunders Remix) – 5:52\n\"My Apple Heart\" – 5:19\n\"Lay Me Down\" – 4:17\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:59\n\n European/UK 12\" single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Morales Mix) – 7:59\n\"My Apple Heart\" – 4:22\n\"Lay Me Down\" – 3:19\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:15\n\n UK 12\" promotional single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Morales Mix) – 7:59\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Anti Poll Tax Dub) – 6:31\n\n Other remixes\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Red Zone Mix) – 7:45\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\nLisa Stansfield songs\n1990 singles\nSongs written by Lisa Stansfield\n1989 songs\nArista Records singles\nSongs written by Ian Devaney\nSongs written by Andy Morris (musician)", "What Did I Do To Deserve This My Lord!? 2 (formerly known as Holy Invasion Of Privacy, Badman! 2: Time To Tighten Up Security!, known as Yūsha no Kuse ni Namaiki da or2, 勇者のくせになまいきだor2, literally \"For a hero, [you are] quite impudent/cheeky/bold] 2)\" in Japan) is a real-time strategy/god game for the PlayStation Portable, sequel to What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord?.\n\nThe game was released in Japan in 2008, and was announced for a North American release during Tokyo Game Show 2009. This release was delayed until May 4, 2010, due to NIS America changing the game's name from Holy Invasion Of Privacy, Badman! 2: Time to Tighten Up Security! to What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord!? 2 to avoid conflict with the Batman license.. The UMD release includes the first game.\n\nGameplay \nThe gameplay is almost identical to the first game, with a few different additions and changes. These include 'Mutation' (monsters can mutate in three forms: by deformity, by obesity and by gigantism) and 'The Overlord's Chamber', where you can grow monsters and observe their evolution.\nWhat Did I Do To Deserve This, My Lord!? 2 contains \"4 times more stages, 3.3 times more monsters and 2.3 times more heroes\" than the first game.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Official website\n\n2008 video games\nGod games\nPlayStation Portable games\nPlayStation Portable-only games\nReal-time strategy video games\nSony Interactive Entertainment games\nVideo game sequels\nVideo games developed in Japan" ]
[ "The Beatles", "Musical style and development" ]
C_dba0296f5d064f41ae36361cc026d5b9_0
What is notable about their music style?
1
What is notable about the Beatles' music style?
The Beatles
In Icons of Rock: An Encyclopedia of the Legends Who Changed Music Forever, Scott Schinder and Andy Schwartz describe the Beatles' musical evolution: In their initial incarnation as cheerful, wisecracking moptops, the Fab Four revolutionised the sound, style, and attitude of popular music and opened rock and roll's doors to a tidal wave of British rock acts. Their initial impact would have been enough to establish the Beatles as one of their era's most influential cultural forces, but they didn't stop there. Although their initial style was a highly original, irresistibly catchy synthesis of early American rock and roll and R&B, the Beatles spent the rest of the 1960s expanding rock's stylistic frontiers, consistently staking out new musical territory on each release. The band's increasingly sophisticated experimentation encompassed a variety of genres, including folk-rock, country, psychedelia, and baroque pop, without sacrificing the effortless mass appeal of their early work. In The Beatles as Musicians, Walter Everett describes Lennon and McCartney's contrasting motivations and approaches to composition: "McCartney may be said to have constantly developed - as a means to entertain - a focused musical talent with an ear for counterpoint and other aspects of craft in the demonstration of a universally agreed-upon common language that he did much to enrich. Conversely, Lennon's mature music is best appreciated as the daring product of a largely unconscious, searching but undisciplined artistic sensibility." Ian MacDonald describes McCartney as "a natural melodist - a creator of tunes capable of existing apart from their harmony". His melody lines are characterised as primarily "vertical", employing wide, consonant intervals which express his "extrovert energy and optimism". Conversely, Lennon's "sedentary, ironic personality" is reflected in a "horizontal" approach featuring minimal, dissonant intervals and repetitive melodies which rely on their harmonic accompaniment for interest: "Basically a realist, he instinctively kept his melodies close to the rhythms and cadences of speech, colouring his lyrics with bluesy tone and harmony rather than creating tunes that made striking shapes of their own." MacDonald praises Harrison's lead guitar work for the role his "characterful lines and textural colourings" play in supporting Lennon and McCartney's parts, and describes Starr as "the father of modern pop/rock drumming". CANNOTANSWER
". His melody lines are characterised as primarily "vertical", employing wide, consonant intervals which express his "extrovert energy and optimism".
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and popular music's recognition as an art form. Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock and roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways; the band later explored music styles ranging from ballads and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock. As pioneers in recording, songwriting and artistic presentation, the Beatles revolutionised many aspects of the music industry and were often publicised as leaders of the era's youth and sociocultural movements. Led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney, the Beatles evolved from Lennon's previous group, the Quarrymen, and built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over three years from 1960, initially with Stuart Sutcliffe playing bass. The core trio of Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, together since 1958, went through a succession of drummers, including Pete Best, before asking Starr to join them in 1962. Manager Brian Epstein moulded them into a professional act, and producer George Martin guided and developed their recordings, greatly expanding their domestic success after their first hit, "Love Me Do", in late 1962. As their popularity grew into the intense fan frenzy dubbed "Beatlemania", the band acquired the nickname "the Fab Four", with Epstein, Martin and other members of the band's entourage sometimes given the informal title of "fifth Beatle". By early 1964, the Beatles were international stars and had achieved unprecedented levels of critical and commercial success. They became a leading force in Britain's cultural resurgence, ushering in the British Invasion of the United States pop market, and soon made their film debut with A Hard Day's Night (1964). From 1965 onwards, they produced records of greater sophistication, including the albums Rubber Soul (1965), Revolver (1966) and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), and enjoyed further commercial success with The Beatles (also known as "the White Album", 1968) and Abbey Road (1969). Heralding the album era, their success elevated the album to be the dominant form of record consumption over singles; they also inspired a greater public interest in psychedelic drugs and Eastern spirituality, and furthered advancements in electronic music, album art and music videos. In 1968, they founded Apple Corps, a multi-armed multimedia corporation that continues to oversee projects related to the band's legacy. After the group's break-up in 1970, all principal members enjoyed success as solo artists and some partial reunions have occurred. Lennon was murdered in 1980 and Harrison died of lung cancer in 2001. McCartney and Starr remain musically active. The Beatles are the best-selling music act of all time, with estimated sales of 600 million units worldwide. They hold the record for most number-one albums on the UK Albums Chart (15), most number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (20), and most singles sold in the UK (21.9 million). The band received many accolades, including seven Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards, an Academy Award (for Best Original Song Score for the 1970 film Let It Be) and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, and each principal member was inducted individually between 1994 and 2015. In 2004 and 2011, the group topped Rolling Stones lists of the greatest artists in history. Time magazine named them among the 20th century's 100 most important people. History 1956–1963: Formation The Quarrymen and name changes In November 1956, John Lennon, then aged sixteen, formed a skiffle group with several friends from Quarry Bank High School in Liverpool. They briefly called themselves the Blackjacks, before changing their name to the Quarrymen after discovering that another local group were already using the name. Fifteen-year-old Paul McCartney met Lennon in July 1957, and joined as a rhythm guitarist shortly after. In February 1958, McCartney invited his friend George Harrison, then fifteen, to watch the band. Harrison auditioned for Lennon, impressing him with his playing, but Lennon initially thought Harrison was too young. After a month's persistence, during a second meeting (arranged by McCartney), Harrison performed the lead guitar part of the instrumental song "Raunchy" on the upper deck of a Liverpool bus, and they enlisted him as lead guitarist. By January 1959, Lennon's Quarry Bank friends had left the group, and he began his studies at the Liverpool College of Art. The three guitarists, billing themselves as Johnny and the Moondogs, were playing rock and roll whenever they could find a drummer. Lennon's art school friend Stuart Sutcliffe, who had just sold one of his paintings and was persuaded to purchase a bass guitar with the proceeds, joined in January 1960. He suggested changing the band's name to Beatals, as a tribute to Buddy Holly and the Crickets. They used this name until May, when they became the Silver Beetles, before undertaking a brief tour of Scotland as the backing group for pop singer and fellow Liverpudlian Johnny Gentle. By early July, they had refashioned themselves as the Silver Beatles, and by the middle of August simply the Beatles. Early residencies and UK popularity Allan Williams, the Beatles' unofficial manager, arranged a residency for them in Hamburg. They auditioned and hired drummer Pete Best in mid-August 1960. The band, now a five-piece, departed Liverpool for Hamburg four days later, contracted to club owner Bruno Koschmider for what would be a 3½-month residency. Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn writes: "They pulled into Hamburg at dusk on 17 August, the time when the red-light area comes to life ... flashing neon lights screamed out the various entertainment on offer, while scantily clad women sat unabashed in shop windows waiting for business opportunities." Koschmider had converted a couple of strip clubs in the district into music venues, and he initially placed the Beatles at the Indra Club. After closing Indra due to noise complaints, he moved them to the Kaiserkeller in October. When he learned they had been performing at the rival Top Ten Club in breach of their contract, he gave them one month's termination notice, and reported the underage Harrison, who had obtained permission to stay in Hamburg by lying to the German authorities about his age. The authorities arranged for Harrison's deportation in late November. One week later, Koschmider had McCartney and Best arrested for arson after they set fire to a condom in a concrete corridor; the authorities deported them. Lennon returned to Liverpool in early December, while Sutcliffe remained in Hamburg until late February with his German fiancée Astrid Kirchherr, who took the first semi-professional photos of the Beatles. During the next two years, the Beatles were resident for periods in Hamburg, where they used Preludin both recreationally and to maintain their energy through all-night performances. In 1961, during their second Hamburg engagement, Kirchherr cut Sutcliffe's hair in the "exi" (existentialist) style, later adopted by the other Beatles. When Sutcliffe decided to leave the band early that year and resume his art studies in Germany, McCartney took up the bass. Producer Bert Kaempfert contracted what was now a four-piece group until June 1962, and he used them as Tony Sheridan's backing band on a series of recordings for Polydor Records. As part of the sessions, the Beatles were signed to Polydor for one year. Credited to "Tony Sheridan & the Beat Brothers", the single "My Bonnie", recorded in June 1961 and released four months later, reached number 32 on the Musikmarkt chart. After the Beatles completed their second Hamburg residency, they enjoyed increasing popularity in Liverpool with the growing Merseybeat movement. However, they were growing tired of the monotony of numerous appearances at the same clubs night after night. In November 1961, during one of the group's frequent performances at The Cavern Club, they encountered Brian Epstein, a local record-store owner and music columnist. He later recalled: "I immediately liked what I heard. They were fresh, and they were honest, and they had what I thought was a sort of presence ... [a] star quality." First EMI recordings Epstein courted the band over the next couple of months, and they appointed him as their manager in January 1962. Throughout early and mid-1962, Epstein sought to free the Beatles from their contractual obligations to Bert Kaempfert Productions. He eventually negotiated a one-month early release in exchange for one last recording session in Hamburg. On their return to Germany in April, a distraught Kirchherr met them at the airport with news of Sutcliffe's death the previous day from a brain haemorrhage. Epstein began negotiations with record labels for a recording contract. To secure a UK record contract, Epstein negotiated an early end to the band's contract with Polydor, in exchange for more recordings backing Tony Sheridan. After a New Year's Day audition, Decca Records rejected the band, saying, "Guitar groups are on the way out, Mr. Epstein." However, three months later, producer George Martin signed the Beatles to EMI's Parlophone label. Martin's first recording session with the Beatles took place at EMI Recording Studios (later Abbey Road Studios) in London on 6 June 1962. He immediately complained to Epstein about Best's drumming and suggested they use a session drummer in his place. Already contemplating Best's dismissal, the Beatles replaced him in mid-August with Ringo Starr, who left Rory Storm and the Hurricanes to join them. A 4 September session at EMI yielded a recording of "Love Me Do" featuring Starr on drums, but a dissatisfied Martin hired drummer Andy White for the band's third session a week later, which produced recordings of "Love Me Do", "Please Please Me" and "P.S. I Love You". Martin initially selected the Starr version of "Love Me Do" for the band's first single, though subsequent re-pressings featured the White version, with Starr on tambourine. Released in early October, "Love Me Do" peaked at number seventeen on the Record Retailer chart. Their television debut came later that month with a live performance on the regional news programme People and Places. After Martin suggested rerecording "Please Please Me" at a faster tempo, a studio session in late November yielded that recording, of which Martin accurately predicted, "You've just made your first No. 1." In December 1962, the Beatles concluded their fifth and final Hamburg residency. By 1963, they had agreed that all four band members would contribute vocals to their albums – including Starr, despite his restricted vocal range, to validate his standing in the group. Lennon and McCartney had established a songwriting partnership, and as the band's success grew, their dominant collaboration limited Harrison's opportunities as a lead vocalist. Epstein, to maximise the Beatles' commercial potential, encouraged them to adopt a professional approach to performing. Lennon recalled him saying, "Look, if you really want to get in these bigger places, you're going to have to change – stop eating on stage, stop swearing, stop smoking ...." 1963–1966: Beatlemania and touring years Please Please Me and With the Beatles On 11 February 1963, the Beatles recorded ten songs during a single studio session for their debut LP, Please Please Me. It was supplemented by the four tracks already released on their first two singles. Martin considered recording the LP live at The Cavern Club, but after deciding that the building's acoustics were inadequate, he elected to simulate a "live" album with minimal production in "a single marathon session at Abbey Road". After the moderate success of "Love Me Do", the single "Please Please Me" was released in January 1963, two months ahead of the album. It reached number one on every UK chart except Record Retailer, where it peaked at number two. Recalling how the Beatles "rushed to deliver a debut album, bashing out Please Please Me in a day", AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote: "Decades after its release, the album still sounds fresh, precisely because of its intense origins." Lennon said little thought went into composition at the time; he and McCartney were "just writing songs à la Everly Brothers, à la Buddy Holly, pop songs with no more thought of them than that – to create a sound. And the words were almost irrelevant." Released in March 1963, Please Please Me was the first of eleven consecutive Beatles albums released in the United Kingdom to reach number one. The band's third single, "From Me to You", came out in April and began an almost unbroken string of seventeen British number-one singles, including all but one of the eighteen they released over the next six years. Issued in August, their fourth single, "She Loves You", achieved the fastest sales of any record in the UK up to that time, selling three-quarters of a million copies in under four weeks. It became their first single to sell a million copies, and remained the biggest-selling record in the UK until 1978. The success brought increased media exposure, to which the Beatles responded with an irreverent and comical attitude that defied the expectations of pop musicians at the time, inspiring even more interest. The band toured the UK three times in the first half of the year: a four-week tour that began in February, the Beatles' first nationwide, preceded three-week tours in March and May–June. As their popularity spread, a frenzied adulation of the group took hold. Greeted with riotous enthusiasm by screaming fans, the press dubbed the phenomenon "Beatlemania". Although not billed as tour leaders, the Beatles overshadowed American acts Tommy Roe and Chris Montez during the February engagements and assumed top billing "by audience demand", something no British act had previously accomplished while touring with artists from the US. A similar situation arose during their May–June tour with Roy Orbison. In late October, the Beatles began a five-day tour of Sweden, their first time abroad since the final Hamburg engagement of December 1962. On their return to the UK on 31 October, several hundred screaming fans greeted them in heavy rain at Heathrow Airport. Around 50 to 100 journalists and photographers, as well as representatives from the BBC, also joined the airport reception, the first of more than 100 such events. The next day, the band began its fourth tour of Britain within nine months, this one scheduled for six weeks. In mid-November, as Beatlemania intensified, police resorted to using high-pressure water hoses to control the crowd before a concert in Plymouth. Please Please Me maintained the top position on the Record Retailer chart for 30 weeks, only to be displaced by its follow-up, With the Beatles, which EMI released on 22 November to record advance orders of 270,000 copies. The LP topped a half-million albums sold in one week. Recorded between July and October, With the Beatles made better use of studio production techniques than its predecessor. It held the top spot for 21 weeks with a chart life of 40 weeks. Erlewine described the LP as "a sequel of the highest order – one that betters the original". In a reversal of then standard practice, EMI released the album ahead of the impending single "I Want to Hold Your Hand", with the song excluded to maximise the single's sales. The album caught the attention of music critic William Mann of The Times, who suggested that Lennon and McCartney were "the outstanding English composers of 1963". The newspaper published a series of articles in which Mann offered detailed analyses of the music, lending it respectability. With the Beatles became the second album in UK chart history to sell a million copies, a figure previously reached only by the 1958 South Pacific soundtrack. When writing the sleeve notes for the album, the band's press officer, Tony Barrow, used the superlative the "fabulous foursome", which the media widely adopted as "the Fab Four". First visit to the United States and the British Invasion EMI's American subsidiary, Capitol Records, hindered the Beatles' releases in the United States for more than a year by initially declining to issue their music, including their first three singles. Concurrent negotiations with the independent US label Vee-Jay led to the release of some, but not all, of the songs in 1963. Vee-Jay finished preparation for the album Introducing... The Beatles, comprising most of the songs of Parlophone's Please Please Me, but a management shake-up led to the album not being released. After it emerged that the label did not report royalties on their sales, the licence that Vee-Jay had signed with EMI was voided. A new licence was granted to the Swan label for the single "She Loves You". The record received some airplay in the Tidewater area of Virginia from Gene Loving of radio station WGH and was featured on the "Rate-a-Record" segment of American Bandstand, but it failed to catch on nationally. Epstein brought a demo copy of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" to Capitol's Brown Meggs, who signed the band and arranged for a $40,000 US marketing campaign. American chart success began after disc jockey Carroll James of AM radio station WWDC, in Washington, DC, obtained a copy of the British single "I Want to Hold Your Hand" in mid-December 1963 and began playing it on-air. Taped copies of the song soon circulated among other radio stations throughout the US. This caused an increase in demand, leading Capitol to bring forward the release of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by three weeks. Issued on 26 December, with the band's previously scheduled debut there just weeks away, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" sold a million copies, becoming a number-one hit in the US by mid-January. In its wake Vee-Jay released Introducing... The Beatles along with Capitol's debut album, Meet the Beatles!, while Swan reactivated production of "She Loves You". On 7 February 1964, the Beatles departed from Heathrow with an estimated 4,000 fans waving and screaming as the aircraft took off. Upon landing at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport, an uproarious crowd estimated at 3,000 greeted them. They gave their first live US television performance two days later on The Ed Sullivan Show, watched by approximately 73 million viewers in over 23 million households, or 34 percent of the American population. Biographer Jonathan Gould writes that, according to the Nielsen rating service, it was "the largest audience that had ever been recorded for an American television ". The next morning, the Beatles awoke to a largely negative critical consensus in the US, but a day later at their first US concert, Beatlemania erupted at the Washington Coliseum. Back in New York the following day, the Beatles met with another strong reception during two shows at Carnegie Hall. The band flew to Florida, where they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show a second time, again before 70 million viewers, before returning to the UK on 22 February. The Beatles' first visit to the US took place when the nation was still mourning the assassination of President John F. Kennedy the previous November. Commentators often suggest that for many, particularly the young, the Beatles' performances reignited the sense of excitement and possibility that momentarily faded in the wake of the assassination, and helped pave the way for the revolutionary social changes to come later in the decade. Their hairstyle, unusually long for the era and mocked by many adults, became an emblem of rebellion to the burgeoning youth culture. The group's popularity generated unprecedented interest in British music, and many other UK acts subsequently made their American debuts, successfully touring over the next three years in what was termed the British Invasion. The Beatles' success in the US opened the door for a successive string of British beat groups and pop acts such as the Dave Clark Five, the Animals, Petula Clark, the Kinks, and the Rolling Stones to achieve success in America. During the week of 4 April 1964, the Beatles held twelve positions on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, including the top five. A Hard Day's Night Capitol Records' lack of interest throughout 1963 did not go unnoticed, and a competitor, United Artists Records, encouraged their film division to offer the Beatles a three-motion-picture deal, primarily for the commercial potential of the soundtracks in the US. Directed by Richard Lester, A Hard Day's Night involved the band for six weeks in March–April 1964 as they played themselves in a musical comedy. The film premiered in London and New York in July and August, respectively, and was an international success, with some critics drawing a comparison with the Marx Brothers. United Artists released a full soundtrack album for the North American market, combining Beatles songs and Martin's orchestral score; elsewhere, the group's third studio LP, A Hard Day's Night, contained songs from the film on side one and other new recordings on side two. According to Erlewine, the album saw them "truly coming into their own as a band. All of the disparate influences on their first two albums coalesced into a bright, joyous, original sound, filled with ringing guitars and irresistible melodies." That "ringing guitar" sound was primarily the product of Harrison's 12-string electric Rickenbacker, a prototype given to him by the manufacturer, which made its debut on the record. 1964 world tour, meeting Bob Dylan, and stand on civil rights Touring internationally in June and July, the Beatles staged 37 shows over 27 days in Denmark, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. In August and September, they returned to the US, with a 30-concert tour of 23 cities. Generating intense interest once again, the month-long tour attracted between 10,000 and 20,000 fans to each 30-minute performance in cities from San Francisco to New York. In August, journalist Al Aronowitz arranged for the Beatles to meet Bob Dylan. Visiting the band in their New York hotel suite, Dylan introduced them to cannabis. Gould points out the musical and cultural significance of this meeting, before which the musicians' respective fanbases were "perceived as inhabiting two separate subcultural worlds": Dylan's audience of "college kids with artistic or intellectual leanings, a dawning political and social idealism, and a mildly bohemian style" contrasted with their fans, "veritable 'teenyboppers' – kids in high school or grade school whose lives were totally wrapped up in the commercialised popular culture of television, radio, pop records, fan magazines, and teen fashion. To many of Dylan's followers in the folk music scene, the Beatles were seen as idolaters, not idealists." Within six months of the meeting, according to Gould, "Lennon would be making records on which he openly imitated Dylan's nasal drone, brittle strum, and introspective vocal persona"; and six months after that, Dylan began performing with a backing band and electric instrumentation, and "dressed in the height of Mod fashion". As a result, Gould continues, the traditional division between folk and rock enthusiasts "nearly evaporated", as the Beatles' fans began to mature in their outlook and Dylan's audience embraced the new, youth-driven pop culture. During the 1964 US tour, the group were confronted with racial segregation in the country at the time. When informed that the venue for their 11 September concert, the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida, was segregated, the Beatles said they would refuse to perform unless the audience was integrated. Lennon stated: "We never play to segregated audiences and we aren't going to start now ... I'd sooner lose our appearance money." City officials relented and agreed to allow an integrated show. The group also cancelled their reservations at the whites-only Hotel George Washington in Jacksonville. For their subsequent US tours in 1965 and 1966, the Beatles included clauses in contracts stipulating that shows be integrated. Beatles for Sale, Help! and Rubber Soul According to Gould, the Beatles' fourth studio LP, Beatles for Sale, evidenced a growing conflict between the commercial pressures of their global success and their creative ambitions. They had intended the album, recorded between August and October 1964, to continue the format established by A Hard Day's Night which, unlike their first two LPs, contained only original songs. They had nearly exhausted their backlog of songs on the previous album, however, and given the challenges constant international touring posed to their songwriting efforts, Lennon admitted, "Material's becoming a hell of a problem". As a result, six covers from their extensive repertoire were chosen to complete the album. Released in early December, its eight original compositions stood out, demonstrating the growing maturity of the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership. In early 1965, following a dinner with Lennon, Harrison and their wives, Harrison's dentist, John Riley, secretly added LSD to their coffee. Lennon described the experience: "It was just terrifying, but it was fantastic. I was pretty stunned for a month or two." He and Harrison subsequently became regular users of the drug, joined by Starr on at least one occasion. Harrison's use of psychedelic drugs encouraged his path to meditation and Hinduism. He commented: "For me, it was like a flash. The first time I had acid, it just opened up something in my head that was inside of me, and I realised a lot of things. I didn't learn them because I already knew them, but that happened to be the key that opened the door to reveal them. From the moment I had that, I wanted to have it all the time – these thoughts about the yogis and the Himalayas, and Ravi's music." McCartney was initially reluctant to try it, but eventually did so in late 1966. He became the first Beatle to discuss LSD publicly, declaring in a magazine interview that "it opened my eyes" and "made me a better, more honest, more tolerant member of society". Controversy erupted in June 1965 when Queen Elizabeth II appointed all four Beatles Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) after Prime Minister Harold Wilson nominated them for the award. In protest – the honour was at that time primarily bestowed upon military veterans and civic leaders – some conservative MBE recipients returned their insignia. In July, the Beatles' second film, Help!, was released, again directed by Lester. Described as "mainly a relentless spoof of Bond", it inspired a mixed response among both reviewers and the band. McCartney said: "Help! was great but it wasn't our film – we were sort of guest stars. It was fun, but basically, as an idea for a film, it was a bit wrong." The soundtrack was dominated by Lennon, who wrote and sang lead on most of its songs, including the two singles: "Help!" and "Ticket to Ride". The Help! album, the group's fifth studio LP, mirrored A Hard Day's Night by featuring soundtrack songs on side one and additional songs from the same sessions on side two. The LP contained all original material save for two covers, "Act Naturally" and "Dizzy Miss Lizzy"; they were the last covers the band would include on an album, except for Let It Be brief rendition of the traditional Liverpool folk song "Maggie Mae". The band expanded their use of vocal overdubs on Help! and incorporated classical instruments into some arrangements, including a string quartet on the pop ballad "Yesterday". Composed by and sung by McCartney – none of the other Beatles perform on the recording – "Yesterday" has inspired the most cover versions of any song ever written. With Help!, the Beatles became the first rock group to be nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. The group's third US tour opened with a performance before a world-record crowd of 55,600 at New York's Shea Stadium on 15 August – "perhaps the most famous of all Beatles' concerts", in Lewisohn's description. A further nine successful concerts followed in other American cities. At a show in Atlanta, the Beatles gave one of the first live performances ever to make use of a foldback system of on-stage monitor speakers. Towards the end of the tour, they met with Elvis Presley, a foundational musical influence on the band, who invited them to his home in Beverly Hills. September 1965 saw the launch of an American Saturday-morning cartoon series, The Beatles, that echoed A Hard Day's Night slapstick antics over its two-year original run. The series was a historical milestone as the first weekly television series to feature animated versions of real, living people. In mid-October, the Beatles entered the recording studio; for the first time when making an album, they had an extended period without other major commitments. Until this time, according to George Martin, "we had been making albums rather like a collection of singles. Now we were really beginning to think about albums as a bit of art on their own." Released in December, Rubber Soul was hailed by critics as a major step forward in the maturity and complexity of the band's music. Their thematic reach was beginning to expand as they embraced deeper aspects of romance and philosophy, a development that NEMS executive Peter Brown attributed to the band members' "now habitual use of marijuana". Lennon referred to Rubber Soul as "the pot album" and Starr said: "Grass was really influential in a lot of our changes, especially with the writers. And because they were writing different material, we were playing differently." After Help!s foray into classical music with flutes and strings, Harrison's introduction of a sitar on "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" marked a further progression outside the traditional boundaries of popular music. As the lyrics grew more artful, fans began to study them for deeper meaning. While some of Rubber Souls songs were the product of Lennon and McCartney's collaborative songwriting, the album also included distinct compositions from each, though they continued to share official credit. "In My Life", of which each later claimed lead authorship, is considered a highlight of the entire Lennon–McCartney catalogue. Harrison called Rubber Soul his "favourite album", and Starr referred to it as "the departure record". McCartney has said, "We'd had our cute period, and now it was time to expand." However, recording engineer Norman Smith later stated that the studio sessions revealed signs of growing conflict within the group – "the clash between John and Paul was becoming obvious", he wrote, and "as far as Paul was concerned, George could do no right". In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Rubber Soul fifth among "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", and AllMusic's Richie Unterberger describes it as "one of the classic folk-rock records". Controversies, Revolver and final tour Capitol Records, from December 1963 when it began issuing Beatles recordings for the US market, exercised complete control over format, compiling distinct US albums from the band's recordings and issuing songs of their choosing as singles. In June 1966, the Capitol LP Yesterday and Today caused an uproar with its cover, which portrayed the grinning Beatles dressed in butcher's overalls, accompanied by raw meat and mutilated plastic baby dolls. According to Beatles biographer Bill Harry, it has been incorrectly suggested that this was meant as a satirical response to the way Capitol had "butchered" the US versions of the band's albums. Thousands of copies of the LP had a new cover pasted over the original; an unpeeled "first-state" copy fetched $10,500 at a December 2005 auction. In England, meanwhile, Harrison met sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, who agreed to train him on the instrument. During a tour of the Philippines the month after the Yesterday and Today furore, the Beatles unintentionally snubbed the nation's first lady, Imelda Marcos, who had expected them to attend a breakfast reception at the Presidential Palace. When presented with the invitation, Epstein politely declined on the band members' behalf, as it had never been his policy to accept such official invitations. They soon found that the Marcos regime was unaccustomed to taking no for an answer. The resulting riots endangered the group and they escaped the country with difficulty. Immediately afterwards, the band members visited India for the first time. Almost as soon as they returned home, the Beatles faced a fierce backlash from US religious and social conservatives (as well as the Ku Klux Klan) over a comment Lennon had made in a March interview with British reporter Maureen Cleave. "Christianity will go", Lennon had said. "It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that; I'm right and I will be proved right ... Jesus was alright but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me." His comments went virtually unnoticed in England, but when US teenage fan magazine Datebook printed them five months later, it sparked a controversy with Christians in America's conservative Bible Belt region. The Vatican issued a protest, and bans on Beatles' records were imposed by Spanish and Dutch stations and South Africa's national broadcasting service. Epstein accused Datebook of having taken Lennon's words out of context. At a press conference, Lennon pointed out, "If I'd said television was more popular than Jesus, I might have got away with it." He claimed that he was referring to how other people viewed their success, but at the prompting of reporters, he concluded: "If you want me to apologise, if that will make you happy, then okay, I'm sorry." Released in August 1966, a week before the Beatles' final tour, Revolver marked another artistic step forward for the group. The album featured sophisticated songwriting, studio experimentation, and a greatly expanded repertoire of musical styles, ranging from innovative classical string arrangements to psychedelia. Abandoning the customary group photograph, its Aubrey Beardsley-inspired cover – designed by Klaus Voormann, a friend of the band since their Hamburg days – was a monochrome collage and line drawing caricature of the group. The album was preceded by the single "Paperback Writer", backed by "Rain". Short promotional films were made for both songs; described by cultural historian Saul Austerlitz as "among the first true music videos", they aired on The Ed Sullivan Show and Top of the Pops in June. Among the experimental songs that Revolver featured was "Tomorrow Never Knows", the lyrics for which Lennon drew from Timothy Leary's The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Its creation involved eight tape decks distributed about the EMI building, each staffed by an engineer or band member, who randomly varied the movement of a tape loop while Martin created a composite recording by sampling the incoming data. McCartney's "Eleanor Rigby" made prominent use of a string octet; Gould describes it as "a true hybrid, conforming to no recognisable style or genre of song". Harrison's emergence as a songwriter was reflected in three of his compositions appearing on the record. Among these, "Taxman", which opened the album, marked the first example of the Beatles making a political statement through their music. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Revolver as the third greatest album of all time. As preparations were made for a tour of the US, the Beatles knew that their music would hardly be heard. Having originally used Vox AC30 amplifiers, they later acquired more powerful 100-watt amplifiers, specially designed by Vox for them as they moved into larger venues in 1964, but these were still inadequate. Struggling to compete with the volume of sound generated by screaming fans, the band had grown increasingly bored with the routine of performing live. Recognising that their shows were no longer about the music, they decided to make the August tour their last. The band performed none of their new songs on the tour. In Chris Ingham's description, they were very much "studio creations ... and there was no way a four-piece rock 'n' roll group could do them justice, particularly through the desensitising wall of the fans' screams. 'Live Beatles' and 'Studio Beatles' had become entirely different beasts." The band's concert at San Francisco's Candlestick Park on 29 August was their last commercial concert. It marked the end of four years dominated by almost nonstop touring that included over 1,400 concert appearances internationally. 1966–1970: Studio years Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Freed from the burden of touring, the Beatles embraced an increasingly experimental approach as they recorded Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, beginning in late November 1966. According to engineer Geoff Emerick, the album's recording took over 700 hours. He recalled the band's insistence "that everything on Sgt. Pepper had to be different. We had microphones right down in the bells of brass instruments and headphones turned into microphones attached to violins. We used giant primitive oscillators to vary the speed of instruments and vocals and we had tapes chopped to pieces and stuck together upside down and the wrong way around." Parts of "A Day in the Life" featured a 40-piece orchestra. The sessions initially yielded the non-album double A-side single "Strawberry Fields Forever"/"Penny Lane" in February 1967; the Sgt. Pepper LP followed with a rush-release in May. The musical complexity of the records, created using relatively primitive four-track recording technology, astounded contemporary artists. Among music critics, acclaim for the album was virtually universal. Gould writes: In the wake of Sgt. Pepper, the underground and mainstream press widely publicised the Beatles as leaders of youth culture, as well as "lifestyle revolutionaries". The album was the first major pop/rock LP to include its complete lyrics, which appeared on the back cover. Those lyrics were the subject of critical analysis; for instance, in late 1967 the album was the subject of a scholarly inquiry by American literary critic and professor of English Richard Poirier, who observed that his students were "listening to the group's music with a degree of engagement that he, as a teacher of literature, could only envy". The elaborate cover also attracted considerable interest and study. A collage designed by pop artists Peter Blake and Jann Haworth, it depicted the group as the fictional band referred to in the album's title track standing in front of a crowd of famous people. The heavy moustaches worn by the group reflected the growing influence of hippie style, while cultural historian Jonathan Harris describes their "brightly coloured parodies of military uniforms" as a knowingly "anti-authoritarian and anti-establishment" display. Sgt. Pepper topped the UK charts for 23 consecutive weeks, with a further four weeks at number one in the period through to February 1968. With 2.5 million copies sold within three months of its release, Sgt. Peppers initial commercial success exceeded that of all previous Beatles albums. It sustained its immense popularity into the 21st century while breaking numerous sales records. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Sgt. Pepper at number one on its list of the greatest albums of all time. Magical Mystery Tour and Yellow Submarine Two Beatles film projects were conceived within weeks of completing Sgt. Pepper: Magical Mystery Tour, a one-hour television film, and Yellow Submarine, an animated feature-length film produced by United Artists. The group began recording music for the former in late April 1967, but the project then lay dormant as they focused on recording songs for the latter. On 25 June, the Beatles performed their forthcoming single "All You Need Is Love" to an estimated 350 million viewers on Our World, the first live global television link. Released a week later, during the Summer of Love, the song was adopted as a flower power anthem. The Beatles' use of psychedelic drugs was at its height during that summer. In July and August, the group pursued interests related to similar utopian-based ideology, including a week-long investigation into the possibility of starting an island-based commune off the coast of Greece. On 24 August, the group were introduced to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in London. The next day, they travelled to Bangor for his Transcendental Meditation retreat. On 27 August, their manager's assistant, Peter Brown, phoned to inform them that Epstein had died. The coroner ruled the death an accidental carbitol overdose, although it was widely rumoured to be a suicide. His death left the group disoriented and fearful about the future. Lennon recalled: "We collapsed. I knew that we were in trouble then. I didn't really have any misconceptions about our ability to do anything other than play music, and I was scared. I thought, 'We've fuckin' had it now.'" Harrison's then-wife Pattie Boyd remembered that "Paul and George were in complete shock. I don't think it could have been worse if they had heard that their own fathers had dropped dead." During a band meeting in September, McCartney recommended that the band proceed with Magical Mystery Tour. The Magical Mystery Tour soundtrack was released in the UK as a six-track double extended play (EP) in early December 1967. It was the first example of a double EP in the UK. The record carried on the psychedelic vein of Sgt. Pepper, however, in line with the band's wishes, the packaging reinforced the idea that the release was a film soundtrack rather than a follow-up to Sgt. Pepper. In the US, the soundtrack appeared as an identically titled LP that also included five tracks from the band's recent singles. In its first three weeks, the album set a record for the highest initial sales of any Capitol LP, and it is the only Capitol compilation later to be adopted in the band's official canon of studio albums. Magical Mystery Tour first aired on Boxing Day to an audience of approximately 15 million. Largely directed by McCartney, the film was the band's first critical failure in the UK. It was dismissed as "blatant rubbish" by the Daily Express; the Daily Mail called it "a colossal conceit"; and The Guardian labelled the film "a kind of fantasy morality play about the grossness and warmth and stupidity of the audience". Gould describes it as "a great deal of raw footage showing a group of people getting on, getting off, and riding on a bus". Although the viewership figures were respectable, its slating in the press led US television networks to lose interest in broadcasting the film. The group were less involved with Yellow Submarine, which only featured the band appearing as themselves for a short live-action segment. Premiering in July 1968, the film featured cartoon versions of the band members and a soundtrack with eleven of their songs, including four unreleased studio recordings that made their debut in the film. Critics praised the film for its music, humour and innovative visual style. A soundtrack LP was issued seven months later; it contained those four new songs, the title track (already issued on Revolver), "All You Need Is Love" (already issued as a single and on the US Magical Mystery Tour LP) and seven instrumental pieces composed by Martin. India retreat, Apple Corps and the White Album In February 1968, the Beatles travelled to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram in Rishikesh, India, to take part in a three-month meditation "Guide Course". Their time in India marked one of the band's most prolific periods, yielding numerous songs, including a majority of those on their next album. However, Starr left after only ten days, unable to stomach the food, and McCartney eventually grew bored and departed a month later. For Lennon and Harrison, creativity turned to question when an electronics technician known as Magic Alex suggested that the Maharishi was attempting to manipulate them. When he alleged that the Maharishi had made sexual advances to women attendees, a persuaded Lennon left abruptly just two months into the course, bringing an unconvinced Harrison and the remainder of the group's entourage with him. In anger, Lennon wrote a scathing song titled "Maharishi", renamed "Sexy Sadie" to avoid potential legal issues. McCartney said, "We made a mistake. We thought there was more to him than there was." In May, Lennon and McCartney travelled to New York for the public unveiling of the Beatles' new business venture, Apple Corps. It was initially formed several months earlier as part of a plan to create a tax-effective business structure, but the band then desired to extend the corporation to other pursuits, including record distribution, peace activism, and education. McCartney described Apple as "rather like a Western communism". The enterprise drained the group financially with a series of unsuccessful projects handled largely by members of the Beatles' entourage, who were given their jobs regardless of talent and experience. Among its numerous subsidiaries were Apple Electronics, established to foster technological innovations with Magic Alex at the head, and Apple Retailing, which opened the short-lived Apple Boutique in London. Harrison later said, "Basically, it was chaos ... John and Paul got carried away with the idea and blew millions, and Ringo and I just had to go along with it." From late May to mid-October 1968, the group recorded what became The Beatles, a double LP commonly known as "the White Album" for its virtually featureless cover. During this time, relations between the members grew openly divisive. Starr quit for two weeks, leaving his bandmates to record "Back in the U.S.S.R." and "Dear Prudence" as a trio, with McCartney filling in on drums. Lennon had lost interest in collaborating with McCartney, whose contribution "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" he scorned as "granny music shit". Tensions were further aggravated by Lennon's romantic preoccupation with avant-garde artist Yoko Ono, whom he insisted on bringing to the sessions despite the group's well-established understanding that girlfriends were not allowed in the studio. McCartney has recalled that the album "wasn't a pleasant one to make". He and Lennon identified the sessions as the start of the band's break-up. With the record, the band executed a wider range of musical styles and broke with their recent tradition of incorporating several musical styles in one song by keeping each piece of music consistently faithful to a select genre. During the sessions, the group upgraded to an eight-track tape console, which made it easier for them to layer tracks piecemeal, while the members often recorded independently of each other, affording the album a reputation as a collection of solo recordings rather than a unified group effort. Describing the double album, Lennon later said: "Every track is an individual track; there isn't any Beatle music on it. [It's] John and the band, Paul and the band, George and the band." The sessions also produced the Beatles' longest song yet, "Hey Jude", released in August as a non-album single with "Revolution". Issued in November, the White Album was the band's first Apple Records album release, although EMI continued to own their recordings. The record attracted more than 2 million advance orders, selling nearly 4 million copies in the US in little over a month, and its tracks dominated the playlists of American radio stations. Its lyric content was the focus of much analysis by the counterculture. Despite its popularity, reviewers were largely confused by the album's content, and it failed to inspire the level of critical writing that Sgt. Pepper had. General critical opinion eventually turned in favour of the White Album, and in 2003, Rolling Stone ranked it as the tenth greatest album of all time. Abbey Road, Let It Be and separation Although Let It Be was the Beatles' final album release, it was largely recorded before Abbey Road. The project's impetus came from an idea Martin attributes to McCartney, who suggested they "record an album of new material and rehearse it, then perform it before a live audience for the very first time – on record and on film". Originally intended for a one-hour television programme to be called Beatles at Work, in the event much of the album's content came from studio work beginning in January 1969, many hours of which were captured on film by director Michael Lindsay-Hogg. Martin said that the project was "not at all a happy recording experience. It was a time when relations between the Beatles were at their lowest ebb." Lennon described the largely impromptu sessions as "hell ... the most miserable ... on Earth", and Harrison, "the low of all-time". Irritated by McCartney and Lennon, Harrison walked out for five days. Upon returning, he threatened to leave the band unless they "abandon[ed] all talk of live performance" and instead focused on finishing a new album, initially titled Get Back, using songs recorded for the TV special. He also demanded they cease work at Twickenham Film Studios, where the sessions had begun, and relocate to the newly finished Apple Studio. His bandmates agreed, and it was decided to salvage the footage shot for the TV production for use in a feature film. To alleviate tensions within the band and improve the quality of their live sound, Harrison invited keyboardist Billy Preston to participate in the last nine days of sessions. Preston received label billing on the "Get Back" single – the only musician ever to receive that acknowledgment on an official Beatles release. After the rehearsals, the band could not agree on a location to film a concert, rejecting several ideas, including a boat at sea, a lunatic asylum, the Tunisian desert, and the Colosseum. Ultimately, what would be their final live performance was filmed on the rooftop of the Apple Corps building at 3 Savile Row, London, on 30 January 1969. Five weeks later, engineer Glyn Johns, whom Lewisohn describes as Get Backs "uncredited producer", began work assembling an album, given "free rein" as the band "all but washed their hands of the entire project". New strains developed between the band members regarding the appointment of a financial adviser, the need for which had become evident without Epstein to manage business affairs. Lennon, Harrison and Starr favoured Allen Klein, who had managed the Rolling Stones and Sam Cooke; McCartney wanted Lee and John Eastman – father and brother, respectively, of Linda Eastman, whom McCartney married on 12 March. Agreement could not be reached, so both Klein and the Eastmans were temporarily appointed: Klein as the Beatles' business manager and the Eastmans as their lawyers. Further conflict ensued, however, and financial opportunities were lost. On 8 May, Klein was named sole manager of the band, the Eastmans having previously been dismissed as the Beatles' lawyers. McCartney refused to sign the management contract with Klein, but he was out-voted by the other Beatles. Martin stated that he was surprised when McCartney asked him to produce another album, as the Get Back sessions had been "a miserable experience" and he had "thought it was the end of the road for all of us". The primary recording sessions for Abbey Road began on 2 July. Lennon, who rejected Martin's proposed format of a "continuously moving piece of music", wanted his and McCartney's songs to occupy separate sides of the album. The eventual format, with individually composed songs on the first side and the second consisting largely of a medley, was McCartney's suggested compromise. Emerick noted that the replacement of the studio's valve mixing console with a transistorised one yielded a less punchy sound, leaving the group frustrated at the thinner tone and lack of impact and contributing to its "kinder, gentler" feel relative to their previous albums. On 4 July, the first solo single by a Beatle was released: Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance", credited to the Plastic Ono Band. The completion and mixing of "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" on 20 August was the last occasion on which all four Beatles were together in the same studio. On 8 September, while Starr was in hospital, the other band members met to discuss recording a new album. They considered a different approach to songwriting by ending the Lennon–McCartney pretence and having four compositions apiece from Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, with two from Starr and a lead single around Christmas. On 20 September, Lennon announced his departure to the rest of the group but agreed to withhold a public announcement to avoid undermining sales of the forthcoming album. Released on 26 September, Abbey Road sold four million copies within three months and topped the UK charts for a total of seventeen weeks. Its second track, the ballad "Something", was issued as a single – the only Harrison composition that appeared as a Beatles A-side. Abbey Road received mixed reviews, although the medley met with general acclaim. Unterberger considers it "a fitting swan song for the group", containing "some of the greatest harmonies to be heard on any rock record". Musicologist and author Ian MacDonald calls the album "erratic and often hollow", despite the "semblance of unity and coherence" offered by the medley. Martin singled it out as his favourite Beatles album; Lennon said it was "competent" but had "no life in it". For the still unfinished Get Back album, one last song, Harrison's "I Me Mine", was recorded on 3 January 1970. Lennon, in Denmark at the time, did not participate. In March, rejecting the work Johns had done on the project, now retitled Let It Be, Klein gave the session tapes to American producer Phil Spector, who had recently produced Lennon's solo single "Instant Karma!" In addition to remixing the material, Spector edited, spliced and overdubbed several of the recordings that had been intended as "live". McCartney was unhappy with the producer's approach and particularly dissatisfied with the lavish orchestration on "The Long and Winding Road", which involved a fourteen-voice choir and 36-piece instrumental ensemble. McCartney's demands that the alterations to the song be reverted were ignored, and he publicly announced his departure from the band on 10 April, a week before the release of his first self-titled solo album. On 8 May 1970, Let It Be was released. Its accompanying single, "The Long and Winding Road", was the Beatles' last; it was released in the US, but not in the UK. The Let It Be documentary film followed later that month, and would win the 1970 Academy Award for Best Original Song Score. Sunday Telegraph critic Penelope Gilliatt called it "a very bad film and a touching one ... about the breaking apart of this reassuring, geometrically perfect, once apparently ageless family of siblings". Several reviewers stated that some of the performances in the film sounded better than their analogous album tracks. Describing Let It Be as the "only Beatles album to occasion negative, even hostile reviews", Unterberger calls it "on the whole underrated"; he singles out "some good moments of straight hard rock in 'I've Got a Feeling' and 'Dig a Pony'", and praises "Let It Be", "Get Back", and "the folky 'Two of Us', with John and Paul harmonising together". McCartney filed suit for the dissolution of the Beatles' contractual partnership on 31 December 1970. Legal disputes continued long after their break-up, and the dissolution was not formalised until 29 December 1974, when Lennon signed the paperwork terminating the partnership while on vacation with his family at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. 1970–present: After the break-up 1970s Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr all released solo albums in 1970. Their solo records sometimes involved one or more of the others; Starr's Ringo (1973) was the only album to include compositions and performances by all four ex-Beatles, albeit on separate songs. With Starr's participation, Harrison staged the Concert for Bangladesh in New York City in August 1971. Other than an unreleased jam session in 1974, later bootlegged as A Toot and a Snore in '74, Lennon and McCartney never recorded together again. Two double-LP sets of the Beatles' greatest hits, compiled by Klein, 1962–1966 and 1967–1970, were released in 1973, at first under the Apple Records imprint. Commonly known as the "Red Album" and "Blue Album", respectively, each has earned a Multi-Platinum certification in the US and a Platinum certification in the UK. Between 1976 and 1982, EMI/Capitol released a wave of compilation albums without input from the ex-Beatles, starting with the double-disc compilation Rock 'n' Roll Music. The only one to feature previously unreleased material was The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl (1977); the first officially issued concert recordings by the group, it contained selections from two shows they played during their 1964 and 1965 US tours. The music and enduring fame of the Beatles were commercially exploited in various other ways, again often outside their creative control. In April 1974, the musical John, Paul, George, Ringo ... and Bert, written by Willy Russell and featuring singer Barbara Dickson, opened in London. It included, with permission from Northern Songs, eleven Lennon-McCartney compositions and one by Harrison, "Here Comes the Sun". Displeased with the production's use of his song, Harrison withdrew his permission to use it. Later that year, the off-Broadway musical Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on the Road opened. All This and World War II (1976) was an unorthodox nonfiction film that combined newsreel footage with covers of Beatles songs by performers ranging from Elton John and Keith Moon to the London Symphony Orchestra. The Broadway musical Beatlemania, an unauthorised nostalgia revue, opened in early 1977 and proved popular, spinning off five separate touring productions. In 1979, the band sued the producers, settling for several million dollars in damages. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978), a musical film starring the Bee Gees and Peter Frampton, was a commercial failure and an "artistic fiasco", according to Ingham. Accompanying the wave of Beatles nostalgia and persistent reunion rumours in the US during the 1970s, several entrepreneurs made public offers to the Beatles for a reunion concert. Promoter Bill Sargent first offered the Beatles $10 million for a reunion concert in 1974. He raised his offer to $30 million in January 1976 and then to $50 million the following month. On 24 April 1976, during a broadcast of Saturday Night Live, producer Lorne Michaels jokingly offered the Beatles $3,000 to reunite on the show. Lennon and McCartney were watching the live broadcast at Lennon's apartment at the Dakota in New York, which was within driving distance of the NBC studio where the show was being broadcast. The former bandmates briefly entertained the idea of going to the studio and surprising Michaels by accepting his offer, but decided not to. 1980s In December 1980, Lennon was shot and killed outside his New York City apartment. Harrison rewrote the lyrics of his song "All Those Years Ago" in Lennon's honour. With Starr on drums and McCartney and his wife, Linda, contributing backing vocals, the song was released as a single in May 1981. McCartney's own tribute, "Here Today", appeared on his Tug of War album in April 1982. In 1984 Starr joined McCartney to star in Paul's film Give My Regards to Broad Street, and played with Paul on several of the songs on the soundtrack. In 1987, Harrison's Cloud Nine album included "When We Was Fab", a song about the Beatlemania era. When the Beatles' studio albums were released on CD by EMI and Apple Corps in 1987, their catalogue was standardised throughout the world, establishing a canon of the twelve original studio LPs as issued in the UK plus the US LP version of Magical Mystery Tour. All the remaining material from the singles and EPs that had not appeared on these thirteen studio albums was gathered on the two-volume compilation Past Masters (1988). Except for the Red and Blue albums, EMI deleted all its other Beatles compilations – including the Hollywood Bowl record – from its catalogue. In 1988, the Beatles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, their first year of eligibility. Harrison and Starr attended the ceremony with Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, and his two sons, Julian and Sean. McCartney declined to attend, citing unresolved "business differences" that would make him "feel like a complete hypocrite waving and smiling with them at a fake reunion". The following year, EMI/Capitol settled a decade-long lawsuit filed by the band over royalties, clearing the way to commercially package previously unreleased material. 1990s Live at the BBC, the first official release of unissued Beatles performances in seventeen years, appeared in 1994. That same year McCartney, Harrison and Starr collaborated on the Anthology project. Anthology was the culmination of work begun in 1970, when Apple Corps director Neil Aspinall, their former road manager and personal assistant, had started to gather material for a documentary with the working title The Long and Winding Road. Documenting their history in the band's own words, the Anthology project included the release of several unissued Beatles recordings. McCartney, Harrison and Starr also added new instrumental and vocal parts to songs recorded as demos by Lennon in the late 1970s. During 1995–96, the project yielded a television miniseries, an eight-volume video set, and three two-CD/three-LP box sets featuring artwork by Klaus Voormann. Two songs based on Lennon demos, "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love", were issued as new Beatles singles. The releases were commercially successful and the television series was viewed by an estimated 400 million people. In 1999, to coincide with the re-release of the 1968 film Yellow Submarine, an expanded soundtrack album, Yellow Submarine Songtrack, was issued. 2000s The Beatles' 1, a compilation album of the band's British and American number-one hits, was released on 13 November 2000. It became the fastest-selling album of all time, with 3.6 million sold in its first week and 13 million within a month. It topped albums charts in at least 28 countries. The compilation had sold 31 million copies globally by April 2009. Harrison died from metastatic lung cancer in November 2001. McCartney and Starr were among the musicians who performed at the Concert for George, organised by Eric Clapton and Harrison's widow, Olivia. The tribute event took place at the Royal Albert Hall on the first anniversary of Harrison's death. In 2003, Let It Be... Naked, a reconceived version of the Let It Be album, with McCartney supervising production, was released. One of the main differences from the Spector-produced version was the omission of the original string arrangements. It was a top-ten hit in both Britain and America. The US album configurations from 1964 to 1965 were released as box sets in 2004 and 2006; The Capitol Albums, Volume 1 and Volume 2 included both stereo and mono versions based on the mixes that were prepared for vinyl at the time of the music's original American release. As a soundtrack for Cirque du Soleil's Las Vegas Beatles stage revue, Love, George Martin and his son Giles remixed and blended 130 of the band's recordings to create what Martin called "a way of re-living the whole Beatles musical lifespan in a very condensed period". The show premiered in June 2006, and the Love album was released that November. In April 2009, Starr performed three songs with McCartney at a benefit concert held at New York's Radio City Music Hall and organised by McCartney. On 9 September 2009, the Beatles' entire back catalogue was reissued following an extensive digital remastering process that lasted four years. Stereo editions of all twelve original UK studio albums, along with Magical Mystery Tour and the Past Masters compilation, were released on compact disc both individually and as a box set. A second collection, The Beatles in Mono, included remastered versions of every Beatles album released in true mono along with the original 1965 stereo mixes of Help! and Rubber Soul (both of which Martin had remixed for the 1987 editions). The Beatles: Rock Band, a music video game in the Rock Band series, was issued on the same day. In December 2009, the band's catalogue was officially released in FLAC and MP3 format in a limited edition of 30,000 USB flash drives. 2010s Owing to a long-running royalty disagreement, the Beatles were among the last major artists to sign deals with online music services. Residual disagreement emanating from Apple Corps' dispute with Apple, Inc., iTunes' owners, over the use of the name "Apple" was also partly responsible for the delay, although in 2008, McCartney stated that the main obstacle to making the Beatles' catalogue available online was that EMI "want[s] something we're not prepared to give them". In 2010, the official canon of thirteen Beatles studio albums, Past Masters, and the "Red" and "Blue" greatest-hits albums were made available on iTunes. In 2012, EMI's recorded music operations were sold to Universal Music Group. In order for Universal Music to acquire EMI, the European Union, for antitrust reasons, forced EMI to spin off assets including Parlophone. Universal was allowed to keep the Beatles' recorded music catalogue, managed by Capitol Records under its Capitol Music Group division. The entire original Beatles album catalogue was also reissued on vinyl in 2012; available either individually or as a box set. In 2013, a second volume of BBC recordings, titled On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2, was released. That December saw the release of another 59 Beatles recordings on iTunes. The set, titled The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963, had the opportunity to gain a 70-year copyright extension conditional on the songs being published at least once before the end of 2013. Apple Records released the recordings on 17 December to prevent them from going into the public domain and had them taken down from iTunes later that same day. Fan reactions to the release were mixed, with one blogger saying "the hardcore Beatles collectors who are trying to obtain everything will already have these." On 26 January 2014, McCartney and Starr performed together at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The following day, The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to The Beatles television special was taped in the Los Angeles Convention Center's West Hall. It aired on 9 February, the exact date of – and at the same time, and on the same network as – the original broadcast of the Beatles' first US television appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, 50 years earlier. The special included performances of Beatles songs by current artists as well as by McCartney and Starr, archival footage, and interviews with the two surviving ex-Beatles carried out by David Letterman at the Ed Sullivan Theater. In December 2015, the Beatles released their catalogue for streaming on various streaming music services including Spotify and Apple Music. In September 2016, the documentary film The Beatles: Eight Days a Week was released. Directed by Ron Howard, it chronicled the Beatles' career during their touring years from 1961 to 1966, from their performances in Liverpool's the Cavern Club in 1961 to their final concert in San Francisco in 1966. The film was released theatrically on 15 September in the UK and the US, and started streaming on Hulu on 17 September. It received several awards and nominations, including for Best Documentary at the 70th British Academy Film Awards and the Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special at the 69th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. An expanded, remixed and remastered version of The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl was released on 9 September, to coincide with the release of the film. On 18 May 2017, Sirius XM Radio launched a 24/7 radio channel, The Beatles Channel. A week later, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was reissued with new stereo mixes and unreleased material for the album's 50th anniversary. Similar box sets were released for The Beatles in November 2018, and Abbey Road in September 2019. On the first week of October 2019, Abbey Road returned to number one on the UK Albums Chart. The Beatles broke their own record for the album with the longest gap between topping the charts as Abbey Road hit the top spot 50 years after its original release. 2020s In November 2021, The Beatles: Get Back, a documentary directed by Peter Jackson using footage captured for the Let It Be film, was released on Disney+ as a three-part miniseries. A book also titled The Beatles: Get Back was released on 12 October, ahead of the documentary. A super deluxe version of the Let It Be album was released on 15 October. Musical style and development In Icons of Rock: An Encyclopedia of the Legends Who Changed Music Forever, Scott Schinder and Andy Schwartz describe the Beatles' musical evolution: In The Beatles as Musicians, Walter Everett describes Lennon and McCartney's contrasting motivations and approaches to composition: "McCartney may be said to have constantly developed – as a means to entertain – a focused musical talent with an ear for counterpoint and other aspects of craft in the demonstration of a universally agreed-upon common language that he did much to enrich. Conversely, Lennon's mature music is best appreciated as the daring product of a largely unconscious, searching but undisciplined artistic sensibility." Ian MacDonald describes McCartney as "a natural melodist – a creator of tunes capable of existing apart from their harmony". His melody lines are characterised as primarily "vertical", employing wide, consonant intervals which express his "extrovert energy and optimism". Conversely, Lennon's "sedentary, ironic personality" is reflected in a "horizontal" approach featuring minimal, dissonant intervals and repetitive melodies which rely on their harmonic accompaniment for interest: "Basically a realist, he instinctively kept his melodies close to the rhythms and cadences of speech, colouring his lyrics with bluesy tone and harmony rather than creating tunes that made striking shapes of their own." MacDonald praises Harrison's lead guitar work for the role his "characterful lines and textural colourings" play in supporting Lennon and McCartney's parts, and describes Starr as "the father of modern pop/rock drumming". Influences The band's earliest influences include Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Little Richard and Chuck Berry. During the Beatles' co-residency with Little Richard at the Star-Club in Hamburg, from April to May 1962, he advised them on the proper technique for performing his songs. Of Presley, Lennon said, "Nothing really affected me until I heard Elvis. If there hadn't been Elvis, there would not have been the Beatles." Other early influences include Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, Roy Orbison and the Everly Brothers. The Beatles continued to absorb influences long after their initial success, often finding new musical and lyrical avenues by listening to their contemporaries, including Bob Dylan, the Who, Frank Zappa, the Lovin' Spoonful, the Byrds and the Beach Boys, whose 1966 album Pet Sounds amazed and inspired McCartney. Referring to the Beach Boys' creative leader, Martin later stated: "No one made a greater impact on the Beatles than Brian [Wilson]." Ravi Shankar, with whom Harrison studied for six weeks in India in late 1966, had a significant effect on his musical development during the band's later years. Genres Originating as a skiffle group, the Beatles quickly embraced 1950s rock and roll and helped pioneer the Merseybeat genre, and their repertoire ultimately expanded to include a broad variety of pop music. Reflecting the range of styles they explored, Lennon said of Beatles for Sale, "You could call our new one a Beatles country-and-western LP", while Gould credits Rubber Soul as "the instrument by which legions of folk-music enthusiasts were coaxed into the camp of pop". Although the 1965 song "Yesterday" was not the first pop record to employ orchestral strings, it marked the group's first recorded use of classical music elements. Gould observes: "The more traditional sound of strings allowed for a fresh appreciation of their talent as composers by listeners who were otherwise allergic to the din of drums and electric guitars." They continued to experiment with string arrangements to various effect; Sgt. Peppers "She's Leaving Home", for instance, is "cast in the of a sentimental Victorian ballad", Gould writes, "its words and music filled with the clichés of musical melodrama". The band's stylistic range expanded in another direction with their 1966 B-side "Rain", described by Martin Strong as "the first overtly psychedelic Beatles record". Other psychedelic numbers followed, such as "Tomorrow Never Knows" (recorded before "Rain"), "Strawberry Fields Forever", "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "I Am the Walrus". The influence of Indian classical music was evident in Harrison's "The Inner Light", "Love You To" and "Within You Without You" – Gould describes the latter two as attempts "to replicate the raga form in miniature". Innovation was the most striking feature of their creative evolution, according to music historian and pianist Michael Campbell: "'A Day in the Life' encapsulates the art and achievement of the Beatles as well as any single track can. It highlights key features of their music: the sound imagination, the persistence of tuneful melody, and the close coordination between words and music. It represents a new category of song – more sophisticated than pop ... and uniquely innovative. There literally had never before been a song – classical or vernacular – that had blended so many disparate elements so imaginatively." Philosophy professor Bruce Ellis Benson agrees: "the Beatles ... give us a wonderful example of how such far-ranging influences as Celtic music, rhythm and blues, and country and western could be put together in a new way." Author Dominic Pedler describes the way they crossed musical styles: "Far from moving sequentially from one genre to another (as is sometimes conveniently suggested) the group maintained in parallel their mastery of the traditional, catchy chart hit while simultaneously forging rock and dabbling with a wide range of peripheral influences from country to vaudeville. One of these threads was their take on folk music, which would form such essential groundwork for their later collisions with Indian music and philosophy." As the personal relationships between the band members grew increasingly strained, their individual tastes became more apparent. The minimalistic cover artwork for the White Album contrasted with the complexity and diversity of its music, which encompassed Lennon's "Revolution 9" (whose musique concrète approach was influenced by Yoko Ono), Starr's country song "Don't Pass Me By", Harrison's rock ballad "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", and the "proto-metal roar" of McCartney's "Helter Skelter". Contribution of George Martin George Martin's close involvement in his role as producer made him one of the leading candidates for the informal title of the "fifth Beatle". He applied his classical musical training in various ways, and functioned as "an informal music teacher" to the progressing songwriters, according to Gould. Martin suggested to a sceptical McCartney that the arrangement of "Yesterday" should feature a string quartet accompaniment, thereby introducing the Beatles to a "hitherto unsuspected world of classical instrumental colour", in MacDonald's description. Their creative development was also facilitated by Martin's willingness to experiment in response to their suggestions, such as adding "something baroque" to a particular recording. In addition to scoring orchestral arrangements for recordings, Martin often performed on them, playing instruments including piano, organ and brass. Collaborating with Lennon and McCartney required Martin to adapt to their different approaches to songwriting and recording. MacDonald comments, "while [he] worked more naturally with the conventionally articulate McCartney, the challenge of catering to Lennon's intuitive approach generally spurred him to his more original arrangements, of which 'Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!' is an outstanding example." Martin said of the two composers' distinct songwriting styles and his stabilising influence: Harrison echoed Martin's description of his stabilising role: "I think we just grew through those years together, him as the straight man and us as the loonies; but he was always there for us to interpret our madness – we used to be slightly avant-garde on certain days of the week, and he would be there as the anchor person, to communicate that through the engineers and on to the tape." In the studio Making innovative use of technology while expanding the possibilities of recorded music, the Beatles urged experimentation by Martin and his recording engineers. Seeking ways to put chance occurrences to creative use, accidental guitar feedback, a resonating glass bottle, a tape loaded the wrong way round so that it played backwards – any of these might be incorporated into their music. Their desire to create new sounds on every new recording, combined with Martin's arranging abilities and the studio expertise of EMI staff engineers Norman Smith, Ken Townsend and Geoff Emerick, all contributed significantly to their records from Rubber Soul and, especially, Revolver onwards. Along with innovative studio techniques such as sound effects, unconventional microphone placements, tape loops, double tracking and vari-speed recording, the Beatles augmented their songs with instruments that were unconventional in rock music at the time. These included string and brass ensembles as well as Indian instruments such as the sitar in "Norwegian Wood" and the swarmandal in "Strawberry Fields Forever". They also used novel electronic instruments such as the Mellotron, with which McCartney supplied the flute voices on the "Strawberry Fields Forever" intro, and the clavioline, an electronic keyboard that created the unusual oboe-like sound on "Baby, You're a Rich Man". Legacy Former Rolling Stone associate editor Robert Greenfield compared the Beatles to Picasso, as "artists who broke through the constraints of their time period to come up with something that was unique and original ... [I]n the form of popular music, no one will ever be more revolutionary, more creative and more distinctive ..." The British poet Philip Larkin described their work as "an enchanting and intoxicating hybrid of Negro rock-and-roll with their own adolescent romanticism", and "the first advance in popular music since the War". The Beatles' 1964 arrival in the US is credited with initiating the album era; the music historian Joel Whitburn says that LP sales soon "exploded and eventually outpaced the sales and releases of singles" in the music industry. They not only sparked the British Invasion of the US, they became a globally influential phenomenon as well. From the 1920s, the US had dominated popular entertainment culture throughout much of the world, via Hollywood films, jazz, the music of Broadway and Tin Pan Alley and, later, the rock and roll that first emerged in Memphis, Tennessee. The Beatles are regarded as British cultural icons, with young adults from abroad naming the band among a group of people whom they most associated with UK culture. Their musical innovations and commercial success inspired musicians worldwide. Many artists have acknowledged the Beatles' influence and enjoyed chart success with covers of their songs. On radio, their arrival marked the beginning of a new era; in 1968 the programme director of New York's WABC radio station forbade his DJs from playing any "pre-Beatles" music, marking the defining line of what would be considered oldies on American radio. They helped to redefine the album as something more than just a few hits padded out with "filler", and they were primary innovators of the modern music video. The Shea Stadium show with which they opened their 1965 North American tour attracted an estimated 55,600 people, then the largest audience in concert history; Spitz describes the event as a "major breakthrough ... a giant step toward reshaping the concert business". Emulation of their clothing and especially their hairstyles, which became a mark of rebellion, had a global impact on fashion. According to Gould, the Beatles changed the way people listened to popular music and experienced its role in their lives. From what began as the Beatlemania fad, the group's popularity grew into what was seen as an embodiment of sociocultural movements of the decade. As icons of the 1960s counterculture, Gould continues, they became a catalyst for bohemianism and activism in various social and political arenas, fuelling movements such as women's liberation, gay liberation and environmentalism. According to Peter Lavezzoli, after the "more popular than Jesus" controversy in 1966, the Beatles felt considerable pressure to say the right things and "began a concerted effort to spread a message of wisdom and higher consciousness". Other commentators such as Mikal Gilmore and Todd Leopold have traced the inception of their socio-cultural impact earlier, interpreting even the Beatlemania period, particularly on their first visit to the US, as a key moment in the development of generational awareness. Referring to their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show Leopold states: "In many ways, the Sullivan appearance marked the beginning of a cultural revolution ... The Beatles were like aliens dropped into the United States of 1964." According to Gilmore: Established in 2009, Global Beatles Day is an annual holiday on 25 June each year that honours and celebrates the ideals of the Beatles. The date was chosen to commemorate the date the group participated in the BBC programme Our World in 1967, performing "All You Need Is Love" broadcast to an international audience. Awards and achievements In 1965, Queen Elizabeth II appointed Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). The Beatles won the 1971 Academy Award for Best Original Song Score for the film Let It Be (1970). The recipients of seven Grammy Awards and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards, the Beatles have six Diamond albums, as well as 20 Multi-Platinum albums, 16 Platinum albums and six Gold albums in the US. In the UK, the Beatles have four Multi-Platinum albums, four Platinum albums, eight Gold albums and one Silver album. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. The best-selling band in history, the Beatles have sold more than 600 million units . They have had more number-one albums on the UK charts, fifteen, and sold more singles in the UK, 21.9 million, than any other act. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the Beatles as the most significant and influential rock music artists of the last 50 years. They ranked number one on Billboard magazine's list of the all-time most successful Hot 100 artists, released in 2008 to celebrate the US singles chart's 50th anniversary. , they hold the record for most number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100, with twenty. The Recording Industry Association of America certifies that the Beatles have sold 183 million units in the US, more than any other artist. They were collectively included in Time magazine's compilation of the 20th century's 100 most influential people. In 2014, they received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. On 16 January each year, beginning in 2001, people celebrate World Beatles Day under UNESCO. This date has direct relation to the opening of The Cavern Club in 1957. In 2007, the Beatles became the first band to feature on a series of UK postage stamps issued by the Royal Mail. Personnel Principal members John Lennon – vocals, guitars, keyboards, harmonica, bass (1960–1969; died 1980) Paul McCartney – vocals, bass, guitars, keyboards, drums (1960–1970) George Harrison – guitars, vocals, sitar, keyboards, bass (1960–1970; died 2001) Ringo Starr – drums, percussion, vocals (1962–1970) Early members Pete Best – drums, vocals (1960–1962) Stuart Sutcliffe – bass, vocals (1960–1961; died 1962) Chas Newby – bass (1960–1961) Norman Chapman – drums (1960; died 1995) Tommy Moore – drums (1960; died 1981) Touring musician Jimmie Nicol – drums (1964) Discography The Beatles have a core catalogue consisting of 13 studio albums and one compilation. Please Please Me (1963) With the Beatles (1963) A Hard Day's Night (1964) Beatles for Sale (1964) Help! (1965) Rubber Soul (1965) Revolver (1966) Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) Magical Mystery Tour (1967) The Beatles (1968) ("The White Album") Yellow Submarine (1969) Abbey Road (1969) Let It Be (1970) Past Masters (1988, compilation) Song catalogue Through 1969, the Beatles' catalogue was published almost exclusively by Northern Songs Ltd, a company formed in February 1963 by music publisher Dick James specifically for Lennon and McCartney, though it later acquired songs by other artists. The company was organised with James and his partner, Emmanuel Silver, owning a controlling interest, variously described as 51% or 50% plus one share. McCartney had 20%. Reports again vary concerning Lennon's portion – 19 or 20% – and Brian Epstein's – 9 or 10% – which he received in lieu of a 25% band management fee. In 1965, the company went public. Five million shares were created, of which the original principals retained 3.75 million. James and Silver each received 937,500 shares (18.75% of 5 million); Lennon and McCartney each received 750,000 shares (15%); and Epstein's management company, NEMS Enterprises, received 375,000 shares (7.5%). Of the 1.25 million shares put up for sale, Harrison and Starr each acquired 40,000. At the time of the stock offering, Lennon and McCartney renewed their three-year publishing contracts, binding them to Northern Songs until 1973. Harrison created Harrisongs to represent his Beatles compositions, but signed a three-year contract with Northern Songs that gave it the copyright to his work through March 1968, which included "Taxman" and "Within You Without You". The songs on which Starr received co-writing credit before 1968, such as "What Goes On" and "Flying", were also Northern Songs copyrights. Harrison did not renew his contract with Northern Songs when it ended, signing instead with Apple Publishing while retaining the copyright to his work from that point on. Harrison thus owns the rights to his later Beatles songs such as "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Something". That year, as well, Starr created Startling Music, which holds the rights to his Beatles compositions, "Don't Pass Me By" and "Octopus's Garden". In March 1969, James arranged to sell his and his partner's shares of Northern Songs to the British broadcasting company Associated Television (ATV), founded by impresario Lew Grade, without first informing the Beatles. The band then made a bid to gain a controlling interest by attempting to work out a deal with a consortium of London brokerage firms that had accumulated a 14% holding. The deal collapsed over the objections of Lennon, who declared, "I'm sick of being fucked about by men in suits sitting on their fat arses in the City." By the end of May, ATV had acquired a majority stake in Northern Songs, controlling nearly the entire Lennon–McCartney catalogue, as well as any future material until 1973. In frustration, Lennon and McCartney sold their shares to ATV in late October 1969. In 1981, financial losses by ATV's parent company, Associated Communications Corporation (ACC), led it to attempt to sell its music division. According to authors Brian Southall and Rupert Perry, Grade contacted McCartney, offering ATV Music and Northern Songs for $30 million. According to an account McCartney gave in 1995, he met with Grade and explained he was interested solely in the Northern Songs catalogue if Grade were ever willing to "separate off" that portion of ATV Music. Soon afterwards, Grade offered to sell him Northern Songs for £20 million, giving the ex-Beatle "a week or so" to decide. By McCartney's account, he and Ono countered with a £5 million bid that was rejected. According to reports at the time, Grade refused to separate Northern Songs and turned down an offer of £21–25 million from McCartney and Ono for Northern Songs. In 1982, ACC was acquired in a takeover by Australian business magnate Robert Holmes à Court for £60 million. In 1985, Michael Jackson purchased ATV for a reported $47.5 million. The acquisition gave him control over the publishing rights to more than 200 Beatles songs, as well as 40,000 other copyrights. In 1995, in a deal that earned him a reported $110 million, Jackson merged his music publishing business with Sony, creating a new company, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, in which he held a 50% stake. The merger made the new company, then valued at over half a billion dollars, the third-largest music publisher in the world. In 2016, Sony acquired Jackson's share of Sony/ATV from the Jackson estate for $750 million. Despite the lack of publishing rights to most of their songs, Lennon's estate and McCartney continue to receive their respective shares of the writers' royalties, which together are 33% of total commercial proceeds in the US and which vary elsewhere around the world between 50 and 55%. Two of Lennon and McCartney's earliest songs – "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You" – were published by an EMI subsidiary, Ardmore & Beechwood, before they signed with James. McCartney acquired their publishing rights from Ardmore in 1978, and they are the only two Beatles songs owned by McCartney's company MPL Communications. On 18 January 2017, McCartney filed a suit in the United States district court against Sony/ATV Music Publishing seeking to reclaim ownership of his share of the Lennon–McCartney song catalogue beginning in 2018. Under US copyright law, for works published before 1978 the author can reclaim copyrights assigned to a publisher after 56 years. McCartney and Sony agreed to a confidential settlement in June 2017. Selected filmography Fictionalised A Hard Day's Night (1964) Help! (1965) Magical Mystery Tour (1967) Yellow Submarine (1968) (brief cameo) Documentaries and filmed performances The Beatles at Shea Stadium (1966) Let It Be (1970) The Compleat Beatles (1982) It Was Twenty Years Ago Today (1987) (about Sgt. Pepper) The Beatles Anthology (1995) The Beatles: 1+ (2015) (collection of digitally restored music videos) The Beatles: Eight Days a Week (2016) (about Beatlemania and touring years) The Beatles: Get Back (2021) Concert tours 1963 1963 UK tours (winter–autumn) The Beatles Winter 1963 Helen Shapiro Tour Spring 1963 Tommy Roe/Chris Montez UK tour Roy Orbison/The Beatles Tour Autumn 1963 Sweden tour 1964 Winter 1964 North American tour Spring 1964 UK tour The Beatles' 1964 world tour 1965 The Beatles' 1965 European tour The Beatles' 1965 US tour The Beatles' 1965 UK tour 1966 The Beatles' 1966 tour of Germany, Japan and the Philippines The Beatles' 1966 US tour See also Grammy Award records – Most Grammys won by a group Notes Citations Sources Further reading External links The Beatles – FBI file. 1960 establishments in England 1970 disestablishments in England Apple Corps Apple Records artists Atco Records artists Beat groups Brit Award winners British Invasion artists Capitol Records artists English pop music groups English psychedelic rock music groups English rock music groups George Harrison Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners John Lennon Musical groups established in 1960 Musical groups disestablished in 1970 Musical groups from Liverpool Musical quartets Parlophone artists Paul McCartney Proto-prog musicians Psychedelic pop music groups Ringo Starr Swan Records artists United Artists Records artists Vee-Jay Records artists World Music Awards winners World record holders
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[ "Stare Dobre Małżeństwo (in English translation \"good old marriage\") is a Polish music group.\n\nThe band derives from the so-called \"student music\", popular in Poland. This musical style is characterised by the use of a guitar for accompaniment, while the lyrics often talk about hiking in the Polish mountains, love and adventure. SDM, however, quickly created their own style, and became famous due to their interesting musical interpretations of poems written by the famous Polish poet Edward Stachura. Another important author, who worked with the band, is the Polish poet Adam Ziemianin.\n\nCurrently, the band has moved away from \"student music\" towards what can be described as acoustic blues. Furthermore, they often use poems of the forgotten poet Jan Rybowicz whose work addressed important questions about human existence.\n\nDiscography\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n \n\nSung poetry of Poland\nPolish musical groups", "Chaoui is a musical style of Aurès in southern Algeria. Chaoui is the French or Berber spelling of the Shawiya language. The music is sometimes called Shawiya style in English, but also as French Chaoui.\n\nIt is a mix of sahraoui (Saharan) music and marked danceable rhythms, accompanied by flute and bendir. \n\nNotable singers include Houria Aïchi, Ali El-Khencheli, A'issa ÉI-Djermouni, Hadj Bouregaa, Teldja and Zoulikha.\n\nReferences\n\nAlgerian music\nBerber music" ]
[ "The Beatles", "Musical style and development", "What is notable about their music style?", "\". His melody lines are characterised as primarily \"vertical\", employing wide, consonant intervals which express his \"extrovert energy and optimism\"." ]
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Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?
2
Other than the Beatles' musical style, Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?
The Beatles
In Icons of Rock: An Encyclopedia of the Legends Who Changed Music Forever, Scott Schinder and Andy Schwartz describe the Beatles' musical evolution: In their initial incarnation as cheerful, wisecracking moptops, the Fab Four revolutionised the sound, style, and attitude of popular music and opened rock and roll's doors to a tidal wave of British rock acts. Their initial impact would have been enough to establish the Beatles as one of their era's most influential cultural forces, but they didn't stop there. Although their initial style was a highly original, irresistibly catchy synthesis of early American rock and roll and R&B, the Beatles spent the rest of the 1960s expanding rock's stylistic frontiers, consistently staking out new musical territory on each release. The band's increasingly sophisticated experimentation encompassed a variety of genres, including folk-rock, country, psychedelia, and baroque pop, without sacrificing the effortless mass appeal of their early work. In The Beatles as Musicians, Walter Everett describes Lennon and McCartney's contrasting motivations and approaches to composition: "McCartney may be said to have constantly developed - as a means to entertain - a focused musical talent with an ear for counterpoint and other aspects of craft in the demonstration of a universally agreed-upon common language that he did much to enrich. Conversely, Lennon's mature music is best appreciated as the daring product of a largely unconscious, searching but undisciplined artistic sensibility." Ian MacDonald describes McCartney as "a natural melodist - a creator of tunes capable of existing apart from their harmony". His melody lines are characterised as primarily "vertical", employing wide, consonant intervals which express his "extrovert energy and optimism". Conversely, Lennon's "sedentary, ironic personality" is reflected in a "horizontal" approach featuring minimal, dissonant intervals and repetitive melodies which rely on their harmonic accompaniment for interest: "Basically a realist, he instinctively kept his melodies close to the rhythms and cadences of speech, colouring his lyrics with bluesy tone and harmony rather than creating tunes that made striking shapes of their own." MacDonald praises Harrison's lead guitar work for the role his "characterful lines and textural colourings" play in supporting Lennon and McCartney's parts, and describes Starr as "the father of modern pop/rock drumming". CANNOTANSWER
the Fab Four revolutionised the sound, style, and attitude of popular music and opened rock and roll's doors to a tidal wave of British rock acts.
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and popular music's recognition as an art form. Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock and roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways; the band later explored music styles ranging from ballads and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock. As pioneers in recording, songwriting and artistic presentation, the Beatles revolutionised many aspects of the music industry and were often publicised as leaders of the era's youth and sociocultural movements. Led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney, the Beatles evolved from Lennon's previous group, the Quarrymen, and built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over three years from 1960, initially with Stuart Sutcliffe playing bass. The core trio of Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, together since 1958, went through a succession of drummers, including Pete Best, before asking Starr to join them in 1962. Manager Brian Epstein moulded them into a professional act, and producer George Martin guided and developed their recordings, greatly expanding their domestic success after their first hit, "Love Me Do", in late 1962. As their popularity grew into the intense fan frenzy dubbed "Beatlemania", the band acquired the nickname "the Fab Four", with Epstein, Martin and other members of the band's entourage sometimes given the informal title of "fifth Beatle". By early 1964, the Beatles were international stars and had achieved unprecedented levels of critical and commercial success. They became a leading force in Britain's cultural resurgence, ushering in the British Invasion of the United States pop market, and soon made their film debut with A Hard Day's Night (1964). From 1965 onwards, they produced records of greater sophistication, including the albums Rubber Soul (1965), Revolver (1966) and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), and enjoyed further commercial success with The Beatles (also known as "the White Album", 1968) and Abbey Road (1969). Heralding the album era, their success elevated the album to be the dominant form of record consumption over singles; they also inspired a greater public interest in psychedelic drugs and Eastern spirituality, and furthered advancements in electronic music, album art and music videos. In 1968, they founded Apple Corps, a multi-armed multimedia corporation that continues to oversee projects related to the band's legacy. After the group's break-up in 1970, all principal members enjoyed success as solo artists and some partial reunions have occurred. Lennon was murdered in 1980 and Harrison died of lung cancer in 2001. McCartney and Starr remain musically active. The Beatles are the best-selling music act of all time, with estimated sales of 600 million units worldwide. They hold the record for most number-one albums on the UK Albums Chart (15), most number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (20), and most singles sold in the UK (21.9 million). The band received many accolades, including seven Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards, an Academy Award (for Best Original Song Score for the 1970 film Let It Be) and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, and each principal member was inducted individually between 1994 and 2015. In 2004 and 2011, the group topped Rolling Stones lists of the greatest artists in history. Time magazine named them among the 20th century's 100 most important people. History 1956–1963: Formation The Quarrymen and name changes In November 1956, John Lennon, then aged sixteen, formed a skiffle group with several friends from Quarry Bank High School in Liverpool. They briefly called themselves the Blackjacks, before changing their name to the Quarrymen after discovering that another local group were already using the name. Fifteen-year-old Paul McCartney met Lennon in July 1957, and joined as a rhythm guitarist shortly after. In February 1958, McCartney invited his friend George Harrison, then fifteen, to watch the band. Harrison auditioned for Lennon, impressing him with his playing, but Lennon initially thought Harrison was too young. After a month's persistence, during a second meeting (arranged by McCartney), Harrison performed the lead guitar part of the instrumental song "Raunchy" on the upper deck of a Liverpool bus, and they enlisted him as lead guitarist. By January 1959, Lennon's Quarry Bank friends had left the group, and he began his studies at the Liverpool College of Art. The three guitarists, billing themselves as Johnny and the Moondogs, were playing rock and roll whenever they could find a drummer. Lennon's art school friend Stuart Sutcliffe, who had just sold one of his paintings and was persuaded to purchase a bass guitar with the proceeds, joined in January 1960. He suggested changing the band's name to Beatals, as a tribute to Buddy Holly and the Crickets. They used this name until May, when they became the Silver Beetles, before undertaking a brief tour of Scotland as the backing group for pop singer and fellow Liverpudlian Johnny Gentle. By early July, they had refashioned themselves as the Silver Beatles, and by the middle of August simply the Beatles. Early residencies and UK popularity Allan Williams, the Beatles' unofficial manager, arranged a residency for them in Hamburg. They auditioned and hired drummer Pete Best in mid-August 1960. The band, now a five-piece, departed Liverpool for Hamburg four days later, contracted to club owner Bruno Koschmider for what would be a 3½-month residency. Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn writes: "They pulled into Hamburg at dusk on 17 August, the time when the red-light area comes to life ... flashing neon lights screamed out the various entertainment on offer, while scantily clad women sat unabashed in shop windows waiting for business opportunities." Koschmider had converted a couple of strip clubs in the district into music venues, and he initially placed the Beatles at the Indra Club. After closing Indra due to noise complaints, he moved them to the Kaiserkeller in October. When he learned they had been performing at the rival Top Ten Club in breach of their contract, he gave them one month's termination notice, and reported the underage Harrison, who had obtained permission to stay in Hamburg by lying to the German authorities about his age. The authorities arranged for Harrison's deportation in late November. One week later, Koschmider had McCartney and Best arrested for arson after they set fire to a condom in a concrete corridor; the authorities deported them. Lennon returned to Liverpool in early December, while Sutcliffe remained in Hamburg until late February with his German fiancée Astrid Kirchherr, who took the first semi-professional photos of the Beatles. During the next two years, the Beatles were resident for periods in Hamburg, where they used Preludin both recreationally and to maintain their energy through all-night performances. In 1961, during their second Hamburg engagement, Kirchherr cut Sutcliffe's hair in the "exi" (existentialist) style, later adopted by the other Beatles. When Sutcliffe decided to leave the band early that year and resume his art studies in Germany, McCartney took up the bass. Producer Bert Kaempfert contracted what was now a four-piece group until June 1962, and he used them as Tony Sheridan's backing band on a series of recordings for Polydor Records. As part of the sessions, the Beatles were signed to Polydor for one year. Credited to "Tony Sheridan & the Beat Brothers", the single "My Bonnie", recorded in June 1961 and released four months later, reached number 32 on the Musikmarkt chart. After the Beatles completed their second Hamburg residency, they enjoyed increasing popularity in Liverpool with the growing Merseybeat movement. However, they were growing tired of the monotony of numerous appearances at the same clubs night after night. In November 1961, during one of the group's frequent performances at The Cavern Club, they encountered Brian Epstein, a local record-store owner and music columnist. He later recalled: "I immediately liked what I heard. They were fresh, and they were honest, and they had what I thought was a sort of presence ... [a] star quality." First EMI recordings Epstein courted the band over the next couple of months, and they appointed him as their manager in January 1962. Throughout early and mid-1962, Epstein sought to free the Beatles from their contractual obligations to Bert Kaempfert Productions. He eventually negotiated a one-month early release in exchange for one last recording session in Hamburg. On their return to Germany in April, a distraught Kirchherr met them at the airport with news of Sutcliffe's death the previous day from a brain haemorrhage. Epstein began negotiations with record labels for a recording contract. To secure a UK record contract, Epstein negotiated an early end to the band's contract with Polydor, in exchange for more recordings backing Tony Sheridan. After a New Year's Day audition, Decca Records rejected the band, saying, "Guitar groups are on the way out, Mr. Epstein." However, three months later, producer George Martin signed the Beatles to EMI's Parlophone label. Martin's first recording session with the Beatles took place at EMI Recording Studios (later Abbey Road Studios) in London on 6 June 1962. He immediately complained to Epstein about Best's drumming and suggested they use a session drummer in his place. Already contemplating Best's dismissal, the Beatles replaced him in mid-August with Ringo Starr, who left Rory Storm and the Hurricanes to join them. A 4 September session at EMI yielded a recording of "Love Me Do" featuring Starr on drums, but a dissatisfied Martin hired drummer Andy White for the band's third session a week later, which produced recordings of "Love Me Do", "Please Please Me" and "P.S. I Love You". Martin initially selected the Starr version of "Love Me Do" for the band's first single, though subsequent re-pressings featured the White version, with Starr on tambourine. Released in early October, "Love Me Do" peaked at number seventeen on the Record Retailer chart. Their television debut came later that month with a live performance on the regional news programme People and Places. After Martin suggested rerecording "Please Please Me" at a faster tempo, a studio session in late November yielded that recording, of which Martin accurately predicted, "You've just made your first No. 1." In December 1962, the Beatles concluded their fifth and final Hamburg residency. By 1963, they had agreed that all four band members would contribute vocals to their albums – including Starr, despite his restricted vocal range, to validate his standing in the group. Lennon and McCartney had established a songwriting partnership, and as the band's success grew, their dominant collaboration limited Harrison's opportunities as a lead vocalist. Epstein, to maximise the Beatles' commercial potential, encouraged them to adopt a professional approach to performing. Lennon recalled him saying, "Look, if you really want to get in these bigger places, you're going to have to change – stop eating on stage, stop swearing, stop smoking ...." 1963–1966: Beatlemania and touring years Please Please Me and With the Beatles On 11 February 1963, the Beatles recorded ten songs during a single studio session for their debut LP, Please Please Me. It was supplemented by the four tracks already released on their first two singles. Martin considered recording the LP live at The Cavern Club, but after deciding that the building's acoustics were inadequate, he elected to simulate a "live" album with minimal production in "a single marathon session at Abbey Road". After the moderate success of "Love Me Do", the single "Please Please Me" was released in January 1963, two months ahead of the album. It reached number one on every UK chart except Record Retailer, where it peaked at number two. Recalling how the Beatles "rushed to deliver a debut album, bashing out Please Please Me in a day", AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote: "Decades after its release, the album still sounds fresh, precisely because of its intense origins." Lennon said little thought went into composition at the time; he and McCartney were "just writing songs à la Everly Brothers, à la Buddy Holly, pop songs with no more thought of them than that – to create a sound. And the words were almost irrelevant." Released in March 1963, Please Please Me was the first of eleven consecutive Beatles albums released in the United Kingdom to reach number one. The band's third single, "From Me to You", came out in April and began an almost unbroken string of seventeen British number-one singles, including all but one of the eighteen they released over the next six years. Issued in August, their fourth single, "She Loves You", achieved the fastest sales of any record in the UK up to that time, selling three-quarters of a million copies in under four weeks. It became their first single to sell a million copies, and remained the biggest-selling record in the UK until 1978. The success brought increased media exposure, to which the Beatles responded with an irreverent and comical attitude that defied the expectations of pop musicians at the time, inspiring even more interest. The band toured the UK three times in the first half of the year: a four-week tour that began in February, the Beatles' first nationwide, preceded three-week tours in March and May–June. As their popularity spread, a frenzied adulation of the group took hold. Greeted with riotous enthusiasm by screaming fans, the press dubbed the phenomenon "Beatlemania". Although not billed as tour leaders, the Beatles overshadowed American acts Tommy Roe and Chris Montez during the February engagements and assumed top billing "by audience demand", something no British act had previously accomplished while touring with artists from the US. A similar situation arose during their May–June tour with Roy Orbison. In late October, the Beatles began a five-day tour of Sweden, their first time abroad since the final Hamburg engagement of December 1962. On their return to the UK on 31 October, several hundred screaming fans greeted them in heavy rain at Heathrow Airport. Around 50 to 100 journalists and photographers, as well as representatives from the BBC, also joined the airport reception, the first of more than 100 such events. The next day, the band began its fourth tour of Britain within nine months, this one scheduled for six weeks. In mid-November, as Beatlemania intensified, police resorted to using high-pressure water hoses to control the crowd before a concert in Plymouth. Please Please Me maintained the top position on the Record Retailer chart for 30 weeks, only to be displaced by its follow-up, With the Beatles, which EMI released on 22 November to record advance orders of 270,000 copies. The LP topped a half-million albums sold in one week. Recorded between July and October, With the Beatles made better use of studio production techniques than its predecessor. It held the top spot for 21 weeks with a chart life of 40 weeks. Erlewine described the LP as "a sequel of the highest order – one that betters the original". In a reversal of then standard practice, EMI released the album ahead of the impending single "I Want to Hold Your Hand", with the song excluded to maximise the single's sales. The album caught the attention of music critic William Mann of The Times, who suggested that Lennon and McCartney were "the outstanding English composers of 1963". The newspaper published a series of articles in which Mann offered detailed analyses of the music, lending it respectability. With the Beatles became the second album in UK chart history to sell a million copies, a figure previously reached only by the 1958 South Pacific soundtrack. When writing the sleeve notes for the album, the band's press officer, Tony Barrow, used the superlative the "fabulous foursome", which the media widely adopted as "the Fab Four". First visit to the United States and the British Invasion EMI's American subsidiary, Capitol Records, hindered the Beatles' releases in the United States for more than a year by initially declining to issue their music, including their first three singles. Concurrent negotiations with the independent US label Vee-Jay led to the release of some, but not all, of the songs in 1963. Vee-Jay finished preparation for the album Introducing... The Beatles, comprising most of the songs of Parlophone's Please Please Me, but a management shake-up led to the album not being released. After it emerged that the label did not report royalties on their sales, the licence that Vee-Jay had signed with EMI was voided. A new licence was granted to the Swan label for the single "She Loves You". The record received some airplay in the Tidewater area of Virginia from Gene Loving of radio station WGH and was featured on the "Rate-a-Record" segment of American Bandstand, but it failed to catch on nationally. Epstein brought a demo copy of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" to Capitol's Brown Meggs, who signed the band and arranged for a $40,000 US marketing campaign. American chart success began after disc jockey Carroll James of AM radio station WWDC, in Washington, DC, obtained a copy of the British single "I Want to Hold Your Hand" in mid-December 1963 and began playing it on-air. Taped copies of the song soon circulated among other radio stations throughout the US. This caused an increase in demand, leading Capitol to bring forward the release of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by three weeks. Issued on 26 December, with the band's previously scheduled debut there just weeks away, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" sold a million copies, becoming a number-one hit in the US by mid-January. In its wake Vee-Jay released Introducing... The Beatles along with Capitol's debut album, Meet the Beatles!, while Swan reactivated production of "She Loves You". On 7 February 1964, the Beatles departed from Heathrow with an estimated 4,000 fans waving and screaming as the aircraft took off. Upon landing at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport, an uproarious crowd estimated at 3,000 greeted them. They gave their first live US television performance two days later on The Ed Sullivan Show, watched by approximately 73 million viewers in over 23 million households, or 34 percent of the American population. Biographer Jonathan Gould writes that, according to the Nielsen rating service, it was "the largest audience that had ever been recorded for an American television ". The next morning, the Beatles awoke to a largely negative critical consensus in the US, but a day later at their first US concert, Beatlemania erupted at the Washington Coliseum. Back in New York the following day, the Beatles met with another strong reception during two shows at Carnegie Hall. The band flew to Florida, where they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show a second time, again before 70 million viewers, before returning to the UK on 22 February. The Beatles' first visit to the US took place when the nation was still mourning the assassination of President John F. Kennedy the previous November. Commentators often suggest that for many, particularly the young, the Beatles' performances reignited the sense of excitement and possibility that momentarily faded in the wake of the assassination, and helped pave the way for the revolutionary social changes to come later in the decade. Their hairstyle, unusually long for the era and mocked by many adults, became an emblem of rebellion to the burgeoning youth culture. The group's popularity generated unprecedented interest in British music, and many other UK acts subsequently made their American debuts, successfully touring over the next three years in what was termed the British Invasion. The Beatles' success in the US opened the door for a successive string of British beat groups and pop acts such as the Dave Clark Five, the Animals, Petula Clark, the Kinks, and the Rolling Stones to achieve success in America. During the week of 4 April 1964, the Beatles held twelve positions on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, including the top five. A Hard Day's Night Capitol Records' lack of interest throughout 1963 did not go unnoticed, and a competitor, United Artists Records, encouraged their film division to offer the Beatles a three-motion-picture deal, primarily for the commercial potential of the soundtracks in the US. Directed by Richard Lester, A Hard Day's Night involved the band for six weeks in March–April 1964 as they played themselves in a musical comedy. The film premiered in London and New York in July and August, respectively, and was an international success, with some critics drawing a comparison with the Marx Brothers. United Artists released a full soundtrack album for the North American market, combining Beatles songs and Martin's orchestral score; elsewhere, the group's third studio LP, A Hard Day's Night, contained songs from the film on side one and other new recordings on side two. According to Erlewine, the album saw them "truly coming into their own as a band. All of the disparate influences on their first two albums coalesced into a bright, joyous, original sound, filled with ringing guitars and irresistible melodies." That "ringing guitar" sound was primarily the product of Harrison's 12-string electric Rickenbacker, a prototype given to him by the manufacturer, which made its debut on the record. 1964 world tour, meeting Bob Dylan, and stand on civil rights Touring internationally in June and July, the Beatles staged 37 shows over 27 days in Denmark, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. In August and September, they returned to the US, with a 30-concert tour of 23 cities. Generating intense interest once again, the month-long tour attracted between 10,000 and 20,000 fans to each 30-minute performance in cities from San Francisco to New York. In August, journalist Al Aronowitz arranged for the Beatles to meet Bob Dylan. Visiting the band in their New York hotel suite, Dylan introduced them to cannabis. Gould points out the musical and cultural significance of this meeting, before which the musicians' respective fanbases were "perceived as inhabiting two separate subcultural worlds": Dylan's audience of "college kids with artistic or intellectual leanings, a dawning political and social idealism, and a mildly bohemian style" contrasted with their fans, "veritable 'teenyboppers' – kids in high school or grade school whose lives were totally wrapped up in the commercialised popular culture of television, radio, pop records, fan magazines, and teen fashion. To many of Dylan's followers in the folk music scene, the Beatles were seen as idolaters, not idealists." Within six months of the meeting, according to Gould, "Lennon would be making records on which he openly imitated Dylan's nasal drone, brittle strum, and introspective vocal persona"; and six months after that, Dylan began performing with a backing band and electric instrumentation, and "dressed in the height of Mod fashion". As a result, Gould continues, the traditional division between folk and rock enthusiasts "nearly evaporated", as the Beatles' fans began to mature in their outlook and Dylan's audience embraced the new, youth-driven pop culture. During the 1964 US tour, the group were confronted with racial segregation in the country at the time. When informed that the venue for their 11 September concert, the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida, was segregated, the Beatles said they would refuse to perform unless the audience was integrated. Lennon stated: "We never play to segregated audiences and we aren't going to start now ... I'd sooner lose our appearance money." City officials relented and agreed to allow an integrated show. The group also cancelled their reservations at the whites-only Hotel George Washington in Jacksonville. For their subsequent US tours in 1965 and 1966, the Beatles included clauses in contracts stipulating that shows be integrated. Beatles for Sale, Help! and Rubber Soul According to Gould, the Beatles' fourth studio LP, Beatles for Sale, evidenced a growing conflict between the commercial pressures of their global success and their creative ambitions. They had intended the album, recorded between August and October 1964, to continue the format established by A Hard Day's Night which, unlike their first two LPs, contained only original songs. They had nearly exhausted their backlog of songs on the previous album, however, and given the challenges constant international touring posed to their songwriting efforts, Lennon admitted, "Material's becoming a hell of a problem". As a result, six covers from their extensive repertoire were chosen to complete the album. Released in early December, its eight original compositions stood out, demonstrating the growing maturity of the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership. In early 1965, following a dinner with Lennon, Harrison and their wives, Harrison's dentist, John Riley, secretly added LSD to their coffee. Lennon described the experience: "It was just terrifying, but it was fantastic. I was pretty stunned for a month or two." He and Harrison subsequently became regular users of the drug, joined by Starr on at least one occasion. Harrison's use of psychedelic drugs encouraged his path to meditation and Hinduism. He commented: "For me, it was like a flash. The first time I had acid, it just opened up something in my head that was inside of me, and I realised a lot of things. I didn't learn them because I already knew them, but that happened to be the key that opened the door to reveal them. From the moment I had that, I wanted to have it all the time – these thoughts about the yogis and the Himalayas, and Ravi's music." McCartney was initially reluctant to try it, but eventually did so in late 1966. He became the first Beatle to discuss LSD publicly, declaring in a magazine interview that "it opened my eyes" and "made me a better, more honest, more tolerant member of society". Controversy erupted in June 1965 when Queen Elizabeth II appointed all four Beatles Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) after Prime Minister Harold Wilson nominated them for the award. In protest – the honour was at that time primarily bestowed upon military veterans and civic leaders – some conservative MBE recipients returned their insignia. In July, the Beatles' second film, Help!, was released, again directed by Lester. Described as "mainly a relentless spoof of Bond", it inspired a mixed response among both reviewers and the band. McCartney said: "Help! was great but it wasn't our film – we were sort of guest stars. It was fun, but basically, as an idea for a film, it was a bit wrong." The soundtrack was dominated by Lennon, who wrote and sang lead on most of its songs, including the two singles: "Help!" and "Ticket to Ride". The Help! album, the group's fifth studio LP, mirrored A Hard Day's Night by featuring soundtrack songs on side one and additional songs from the same sessions on side two. The LP contained all original material save for two covers, "Act Naturally" and "Dizzy Miss Lizzy"; they were the last covers the band would include on an album, except for Let It Be brief rendition of the traditional Liverpool folk song "Maggie Mae". The band expanded their use of vocal overdubs on Help! and incorporated classical instruments into some arrangements, including a string quartet on the pop ballad "Yesterday". Composed by and sung by McCartney – none of the other Beatles perform on the recording – "Yesterday" has inspired the most cover versions of any song ever written. With Help!, the Beatles became the first rock group to be nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. The group's third US tour opened with a performance before a world-record crowd of 55,600 at New York's Shea Stadium on 15 August – "perhaps the most famous of all Beatles' concerts", in Lewisohn's description. A further nine successful concerts followed in other American cities. At a show in Atlanta, the Beatles gave one of the first live performances ever to make use of a foldback system of on-stage monitor speakers. Towards the end of the tour, they met with Elvis Presley, a foundational musical influence on the band, who invited them to his home in Beverly Hills. September 1965 saw the launch of an American Saturday-morning cartoon series, The Beatles, that echoed A Hard Day's Night slapstick antics over its two-year original run. The series was a historical milestone as the first weekly television series to feature animated versions of real, living people. In mid-October, the Beatles entered the recording studio; for the first time when making an album, they had an extended period without other major commitments. Until this time, according to George Martin, "we had been making albums rather like a collection of singles. Now we were really beginning to think about albums as a bit of art on their own." Released in December, Rubber Soul was hailed by critics as a major step forward in the maturity and complexity of the band's music. Their thematic reach was beginning to expand as they embraced deeper aspects of romance and philosophy, a development that NEMS executive Peter Brown attributed to the band members' "now habitual use of marijuana". Lennon referred to Rubber Soul as "the pot album" and Starr said: "Grass was really influential in a lot of our changes, especially with the writers. And because they were writing different material, we were playing differently." After Help!s foray into classical music with flutes and strings, Harrison's introduction of a sitar on "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" marked a further progression outside the traditional boundaries of popular music. As the lyrics grew more artful, fans began to study them for deeper meaning. While some of Rubber Souls songs were the product of Lennon and McCartney's collaborative songwriting, the album also included distinct compositions from each, though they continued to share official credit. "In My Life", of which each later claimed lead authorship, is considered a highlight of the entire Lennon–McCartney catalogue. Harrison called Rubber Soul his "favourite album", and Starr referred to it as "the departure record". McCartney has said, "We'd had our cute period, and now it was time to expand." However, recording engineer Norman Smith later stated that the studio sessions revealed signs of growing conflict within the group – "the clash between John and Paul was becoming obvious", he wrote, and "as far as Paul was concerned, George could do no right". In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Rubber Soul fifth among "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", and AllMusic's Richie Unterberger describes it as "one of the classic folk-rock records". Controversies, Revolver and final tour Capitol Records, from December 1963 when it began issuing Beatles recordings for the US market, exercised complete control over format, compiling distinct US albums from the band's recordings and issuing songs of their choosing as singles. In June 1966, the Capitol LP Yesterday and Today caused an uproar with its cover, which portrayed the grinning Beatles dressed in butcher's overalls, accompanied by raw meat and mutilated plastic baby dolls. According to Beatles biographer Bill Harry, it has been incorrectly suggested that this was meant as a satirical response to the way Capitol had "butchered" the US versions of the band's albums. Thousands of copies of the LP had a new cover pasted over the original; an unpeeled "first-state" copy fetched $10,500 at a December 2005 auction. In England, meanwhile, Harrison met sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, who agreed to train him on the instrument. During a tour of the Philippines the month after the Yesterday and Today furore, the Beatles unintentionally snubbed the nation's first lady, Imelda Marcos, who had expected them to attend a breakfast reception at the Presidential Palace. When presented with the invitation, Epstein politely declined on the band members' behalf, as it had never been his policy to accept such official invitations. They soon found that the Marcos regime was unaccustomed to taking no for an answer. The resulting riots endangered the group and they escaped the country with difficulty. Immediately afterwards, the band members visited India for the first time. Almost as soon as they returned home, the Beatles faced a fierce backlash from US religious and social conservatives (as well as the Ku Klux Klan) over a comment Lennon had made in a March interview with British reporter Maureen Cleave. "Christianity will go", Lennon had said. "It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that; I'm right and I will be proved right ... Jesus was alright but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me." His comments went virtually unnoticed in England, but when US teenage fan magazine Datebook printed them five months later, it sparked a controversy with Christians in America's conservative Bible Belt region. The Vatican issued a protest, and bans on Beatles' records were imposed by Spanish and Dutch stations and South Africa's national broadcasting service. Epstein accused Datebook of having taken Lennon's words out of context. At a press conference, Lennon pointed out, "If I'd said television was more popular than Jesus, I might have got away with it." He claimed that he was referring to how other people viewed their success, but at the prompting of reporters, he concluded: "If you want me to apologise, if that will make you happy, then okay, I'm sorry." Released in August 1966, a week before the Beatles' final tour, Revolver marked another artistic step forward for the group. The album featured sophisticated songwriting, studio experimentation, and a greatly expanded repertoire of musical styles, ranging from innovative classical string arrangements to psychedelia. Abandoning the customary group photograph, its Aubrey Beardsley-inspired cover – designed by Klaus Voormann, a friend of the band since their Hamburg days – was a monochrome collage and line drawing caricature of the group. The album was preceded by the single "Paperback Writer", backed by "Rain". Short promotional films were made for both songs; described by cultural historian Saul Austerlitz as "among the first true music videos", they aired on The Ed Sullivan Show and Top of the Pops in June. Among the experimental songs that Revolver featured was "Tomorrow Never Knows", the lyrics for which Lennon drew from Timothy Leary's The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Its creation involved eight tape decks distributed about the EMI building, each staffed by an engineer or band member, who randomly varied the movement of a tape loop while Martin created a composite recording by sampling the incoming data. McCartney's "Eleanor Rigby" made prominent use of a string octet; Gould describes it as "a true hybrid, conforming to no recognisable style or genre of song". Harrison's emergence as a songwriter was reflected in three of his compositions appearing on the record. Among these, "Taxman", which opened the album, marked the first example of the Beatles making a political statement through their music. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Revolver as the third greatest album of all time. As preparations were made for a tour of the US, the Beatles knew that their music would hardly be heard. Having originally used Vox AC30 amplifiers, they later acquired more powerful 100-watt amplifiers, specially designed by Vox for them as they moved into larger venues in 1964, but these were still inadequate. Struggling to compete with the volume of sound generated by screaming fans, the band had grown increasingly bored with the routine of performing live. Recognising that their shows were no longer about the music, they decided to make the August tour their last. The band performed none of their new songs on the tour. In Chris Ingham's description, they were very much "studio creations ... and there was no way a four-piece rock 'n' roll group could do them justice, particularly through the desensitising wall of the fans' screams. 'Live Beatles' and 'Studio Beatles' had become entirely different beasts." The band's concert at San Francisco's Candlestick Park on 29 August was their last commercial concert. It marked the end of four years dominated by almost nonstop touring that included over 1,400 concert appearances internationally. 1966–1970: Studio years Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Freed from the burden of touring, the Beatles embraced an increasingly experimental approach as they recorded Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, beginning in late November 1966. According to engineer Geoff Emerick, the album's recording took over 700 hours. He recalled the band's insistence "that everything on Sgt. Pepper had to be different. We had microphones right down in the bells of brass instruments and headphones turned into microphones attached to violins. We used giant primitive oscillators to vary the speed of instruments and vocals and we had tapes chopped to pieces and stuck together upside down and the wrong way around." Parts of "A Day in the Life" featured a 40-piece orchestra. The sessions initially yielded the non-album double A-side single "Strawberry Fields Forever"/"Penny Lane" in February 1967; the Sgt. Pepper LP followed with a rush-release in May. The musical complexity of the records, created using relatively primitive four-track recording technology, astounded contemporary artists. Among music critics, acclaim for the album was virtually universal. Gould writes: In the wake of Sgt. Pepper, the underground and mainstream press widely publicised the Beatles as leaders of youth culture, as well as "lifestyle revolutionaries". The album was the first major pop/rock LP to include its complete lyrics, which appeared on the back cover. Those lyrics were the subject of critical analysis; for instance, in late 1967 the album was the subject of a scholarly inquiry by American literary critic and professor of English Richard Poirier, who observed that his students were "listening to the group's music with a degree of engagement that he, as a teacher of literature, could only envy". The elaborate cover also attracted considerable interest and study. A collage designed by pop artists Peter Blake and Jann Haworth, it depicted the group as the fictional band referred to in the album's title track standing in front of a crowd of famous people. The heavy moustaches worn by the group reflected the growing influence of hippie style, while cultural historian Jonathan Harris describes their "brightly coloured parodies of military uniforms" as a knowingly "anti-authoritarian and anti-establishment" display. Sgt. Pepper topped the UK charts for 23 consecutive weeks, with a further four weeks at number one in the period through to February 1968. With 2.5 million copies sold within three months of its release, Sgt. Peppers initial commercial success exceeded that of all previous Beatles albums. It sustained its immense popularity into the 21st century while breaking numerous sales records. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Sgt. Pepper at number one on its list of the greatest albums of all time. Magical Mystery Tour and Yellow Submarine Two Beatles film projects were conceived within weeks of completing Sgt. Pepper: Magical Mystery Tour, a one-hour television film, and Yellow Submarine, an animated feature-length film produced by United Artists. The group began recording music for the former in late April 1967, but the project then lay dormant as they focused on recording songs for the latter. On 25 June, the Beatles performed their forthcoming single "All You Need Is Love" to an estimated 350 million viewers on Our World, the first live global television link. Released a week later, during the Summer of Love, the song was adopted as a flower power anthem. The Beatles' use of psychedelic drugs was at its height during that summer. In July and August, the group pursued interests related to similar utopian-based ideology, including a week-long investigation into the possibility of starting an island-based commune off the coast of Greece. On 24 August, the group were introduced to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in London. The next day, they travelled to Bangor for his Transcendental Meditation retreat. On 27 August, their manager's assistant, Peter Brown, phoned to inform them that Epstein had died. The coroner ruled the death an accidental carbitol overdose, although it was widely rumoured to be a suicide. His death left the group disoriented and fearful about the future. Lennon recalled: "We collapsed. I knew that we were in trouble then. I didn't really have any misconceptions about our ability to do anything other than play music, and I was scared. I thought, 'We've fuckin' had it now.'" Harrison's then-wife Pattie Boyd remembered that "Paul and George were in complete shock. I don't think it could have been worse if they had heard that their own fathers had dropped dead." During a band meeting in September, McCartney recommended that the band proceed with Magical Mystery Tour. The Magical Mystery Tour soundtrack was released in the UK as a six-track double extended play (EP) in early December 1967. It was the first example of a double EP in the UK. The record carried on the psychedelic vein of Sgt. Pepper, however, in line with the band's wishes, the packaging reinforced the idea that the release was a film soundtrack rather than a follow-up to Sgt. Pepper. In the US, the soundtrack appeared as an identically titled LP that also included five tracks from the band's recent singles. In its first three weeks, the album set a record for the highest initial sales of any Capitol LP, and it is the only Capitol compilation later to be adopted in the band's official canon of studio albums. Magical Mystery Tour first aired on Boxing Day to an audience of approximately 15 million. Largely directed by McCartney, the film was the band's first critical failure in the UK. It was dismissed as "blatant rubbish" by the Daily Express; the Daily Mail called it "a colossal conceit"; and The Guardian labelled the film "a kind of fantasy morality play about the grossness and warmth and stupidity of the audience". Gould describes it as "a great deal of raw footage showing a group of people getting on, getting off, and riding on a bus". Although the viewership figures were respectable, its slating in the press led US television networks to lose interest in broadcasting the film. The group were less involved with Yellow Submarine, which only featured the band appearing as themselves for a short live-action segment. Premiering in July 1968, the film featured cartoon versions of the band members and a soundtrack with eleven of their songs, including four unreleased studio recordings that made their debut in the film. Critics praised the film for its music, humour and innovative visual style. A soundtrack LP was issued seven months later; it contained those four new songs, the title track (already issued on Revolver), "All You Need Is Love" (already issued as a single and on the US Magical Mystery Tour LP) and seven instrumental pieces composed by Martin. India retreat, Apple Corps and the White Album In February 1968, the Beatles travelled to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram in Rishikesh, India, to take part in a three-month meditation "Guide Course". Their time in India marked one of the band's most prolific periods, yielding numerous songs, including a majority of those on their next album. However, Starr left after only ten days, unable to stomach the food, and McCartney eventually grew bored and departed a month later. For Lennon and Harrison, creativity turned to question when an electronics technician known as Magic Alex suggested that the Maharishi was attempting to manipulate them. When he alleged that the Maharishi had made sexual advances to women attendees, a persuaded Lennon left abruptly just two months into the course, bringing an unconvinced Harrison and the remainder of the group's entourage with him. In anger, Lennon wrote a scathing song titled "Maharishi", renamed "Sexy Sadie" to avoid potential legal issues. McCartney said, "We made a mistake. We thought there was more to him than there was." In May, Lennon and McCartney travelled to New York for the public unveiling of the Beatles' new business venture, Apple Corps. It was initially formed several months earlier as part of a plan to create a tax-effective business structure, but the band then desired to extend the corporation to other pursuits, including record distribution, peace activism, and education. McCartney described Apple as "rather like a Western communism". The enterprise drained the group financially with a series of unsuccessful projects handled largely by members of the Beatles' entourage, who were given their jobs regardless of talent and experience. Among its numerous subsidiaries were Apple Electronics, established to foster technological innovations with Magic Alex at the head, and Apple Retailing, which opened the short-lived Apple Boutique in London. Harrison later said, "Basically, it was chaos ... John and Paul got carried away with the idea and blew millions, and Ringo and I just had to go along with it." From late May to mid-October 1968, the group recorded what became The Beatles, a double LP commonly known as "the White Album" for its virtually featureless cover. During this time, relations between the members grew openly divisive. Starr quit for two weeks, leaving his bandmates to record "Back in the U.S.S.R." and "Dear Prudence" as a trio, with McCartney filling in on drums. Lennon had lost interest in collaborating with McCartney, whose contribution "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" he scorned as "granny music shit". Tensions were further aggravated by Lennon's romantic preoccupation with avant-garde artist Yoko Ono, whom he insisted on bringing to the sessions despite the group's well-established understanding that girlfriends were not allowed in the studio. McCartney has recalled that the album "wasn't a pleasant one to make". He and Lennon identified the sessions as the start of the band's break-up. With the record, the band executed a wider range of musical styles and broke with their recent tradition of incorporating several musical styles in one song by keeping each piece of music consistently faithful to a select genre. During the sessions, the group upgraded to an eight-track tape console, which made it easier for them to layer tracks piecemeal, while the members often recorded independently of each other, affording the album a reputation as a collection of solo recordings rather than a unified group effort. Describing the double album, Lennon later said: "Every track is an individual track; there isn't any Beatle music on it. [It's] John and the band, Paul and the band, George and the band." The sessions also produced the Beatles' longest song yet, "Hey Jude", released in August as a non-album single with "Revolution". Issued in November, the White Album was the band's first Apple Records album release, although EMI continued to own their recordings. The record attracted more than 2 million advance orders, selling nearly 4 million copies in the US in little over a month, and its tracks dominated the playlists of American radio stations. Its lyric content was the focus of much analysis by the counterculture. Despite its popularity, reviewers were largely confused by the album's content, and it failed to inspire the level of critical writing that Sgt. Pepper had. General critical opinion eventually turned in favour of the White Album, and in 2003, Rolling Stone ranked it as the tenth greatest album of all time. Abbey Road, Let It Be and separation Although Let It Be was the Beatles' final album release, it was largely recorded before Abbey Road. The project's impetus came from an idea Martin attributes to McCartney, who suggested they "record an album of new material and rehearse it, then perform it before a live audience for the very first time – on record and on film". Originally intended for a one-hour television programme to be called Beatles at Work, in the event much of the album's content came from studio work beginning in January 1969, many hours of which were captured on film by director Michael Lindsay-Hogg. Martin said that the project was "not at all a happy recording experience. It was a time when relations between the Beatles were at their lowest ebb." Lennon described the largely impromptu sessions as "hell ... the most miserable ... on Earth", and Harrison, "the low of all-time". Irritated by McCartney and Lennon, Harrison walked out for five days. Upon returning, he threatened to leave the band unless they "abandon[ed] all talk of live performance" and instead focused on finishing a new album, initially titled Get Back, using songs recorded for the TV special. He also demanded they cease work at Twickenham Film Studios, where the sessions had begun, and relocate to the newly finished Apple Studio. His bandmates agreed, and it was decided to salvage the footage shot for the TV production for use in a feature film. To alleviate tensions within the band and improve the quality of their live sound, Harrison invited keyboardist Billy Preston to participate in the last nine days of sessions. Preston received label billing on the "Get Back" single – the only musician ever to receive that acknowledgment on an official Beatles release. After the rehearsals, the band could not agree on a location to film a concert, rejecting several ideas, including a boat at sea, a lunatic asylum, the Tunisian desert, and the Colosseum. Ultimately, what would be their final live performance was filmed on the rooftop of the Apple Corps building at 3 Savile Row, London, on 30 January 1969. Five weeks later, engineer Glyn Johns, whom Lewisohn describes as Get Backs "uncredited producer", began work assembling an album, given "free rein" as the band "all but washed their hands of the entire project". New strains developed between the band members regarding the appointment of a financial adviser, the need for which had become evident without Epstein to manage business affairs. Lennon, Harrison and Starr favoured Allen Klein, who had managed the Rolling Stones and Sam Cooke; McCartney wanted Lee and John Eastman – father and brother, respectively, of Linda Eastman, whom McCartney married on 12 March. Agreement could not be reached, so both Klein and the Eastmans were temporarily appointed: Klein as the Beatles' business manager and the Eastmans as their lawyers. Further conflict ensued, however, and financial opportunities were lost. On 8 May, Klein was named sole manager of the band, the Eastmans having previously been dismissed as the Beatles' lawyers. McCartney refused to sign the management contract with Klein, but he was out-voted by the other Beatles. Martin stated that he was surprised when McCartney asked him to produce another album, as the Get Back sessions had been "a miserable experience" and he had "thought it was the end of the road for all of us". The primary recording sessions for Abbey Road began on 2 July. Lennon, who rejected Martin's proposed format of a "continuously moving piece of music", wanted his and McCartney's songs to occupy separate sides of the album. The eventual format, with individually composed songs on the first side and the second consisting largely of a medley, was McCartney's suggested compromise. Emerick noted that the replacement of the studio's valve mixing console with a transistorised one yielded a less punchy sound, leaving the group frustrated at the thinner tone and lack of impact and contributing to its "kinder, gentler" feel relative to their previous albums. On 4 July, the first solo single by a Beatle was released: Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance", credited to the Plastic Ono Band. The completion and mixing of "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" on 20 August was the last occasion on which all four Beatles were together in the same studio. On 8 September, while Starr was in hospital, the other band members met to discuss recording a new album. They considered a different approach to songwriting by ending the Lennon–McCartney pretence and having four compositions apiece from Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, with two from Starr and a lead single around Christmas. On 20 September, Lennon announced his departure to the rest of the group but agreed to withhold a public announcement to avoid undermining sales of the forthcoming album. Released on 26 September, Abbey Road sold four million copies within three months and topped the UK charts for a total of seventeen weeks. Its second track, the ballad "Something", was issued as a single – the only Harrison composition that appeared as a Beatles A-side. Abbey Road received mixed reviews, although the medley met with general acclaim. Unterberger considers it "a fitting swan song for the group", containing "some of the greatest harmonies to be heard on any rock record". Musicologist and author Ian MacDonald calls the album "erratic and often hollow", despite the "semblance of unity and coherence" offered by the medley. Martin singled it out as his favourite Beatles album; Lennon said it was "competent" but had "no life in it". For the still unfinished Get Back album, one last song, Harrison's "I Me Mine", was recorded on 3 January 1970. Lennon, in Denmark at the time, did not participate. In March, rejecting the work Johns had done on the project, now retitled Let It Be, Klein gave the session tapes to American producer Phil Spector, who had recently produced Lennon's solo single "Instant Karma!" In addition to remixing the material, Spector edited, spliced and overdubbed several of the recordings that had been intended as "live". McCartney was unhappy with the producer's approach and particularly dissatisfied with the lavish orchestration on "The Long and Winding Road", which involved a fourteen-voice choir and 36-piece instrumental ensemble. McCartney's demands that the alterations to the song be reverted were ignored, and he publicly announced his departure from the band on 10 April, a week before the release of his first self-titled solo album. On 8 May 1970, Let It Be was released. Its accompanying single, "The Long and Winding Road", was the Beatles' last; it was released in the US, but not in the UK. The Let It Be documentary film followed later that month, and would win the 1970 Academy Award for Best Original Song Score. Sunday Telegraph critic Penelope Gilliatt called it "a very bad film and a touching one ... about the breaking apart of this reassuring, geometrically perfect, once apparently ageless family of siblings". Several reviewers stated that some of the performances in the film sounded better than their analogous album tracks. Describing Let It Be as the "only Beatles album to occasion negative, even hostile reviews", Unterberger calls it "on the whole underrated"; he singles out "some good moments of straight hard rock in 'I've Got a Feeling' and 'Dig a Pony'", and praises "Let It Be", "Get Back", and "the folky 'Two of Us', with John and Paul harmonising together". McCartney filed suit for the dissolution of the Beatles' contractual partnership on 31 December 1970. Legal disputes continued long after their break-up, and the dissolution was not formalised until 29 December 1974, when Lennon signed the paperwork terminating the partnership while on vacation with his family at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. 1970–present: After the break-up 1970s Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr all released solo albums in 1970. Their solo records sometimes involved one or more of the others; Starr's Ringo (1973) was the only album to include compositions and performances by all four ex-Beatles, albeit on separate songs. With Starr's participation, Harrison staged the Concert for Bangladesh in New York City in August 1971. Other than an unreleased jam session in 1974, later bootlegged as A Toot and a Snore in '74, Lennon and McCartney never recorded together again. Two double-LP sets of the Beatles' greatest hits, compiled by Klein, 1962–1966 and 1967–1970, were released in 1973, at first under the Apple Records imprint. Commonly known as the "Red Album" and "Blue Album", respectively, each has earned a Multi-Platinum certification in the US and a Platinum certification in the UK. Between 1976 and 1982, EMI/Capitol released a wave of compilation albums without input from the ex-Beatles, starting with the double-disc compilation Rock 'n' Roll Music. The only one to feature previously unreleased material was The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl (1977); the first officially issued concert recordings by the group, it contained selections from two shows they played during their 1964 and 1965 US tours. The music and enduring fame of the Beatles were commercially exploited in various other ways, again often outside their creative control. In April 1974, the musical John, Paul, George, Ringo ... and Bert, written by Willy Russell and featuring singer Barbara Dickson, opened in London. It included, with permission from Northern Songs, eleven Lennon-McCartney compositions and one by Harrison, "Here Comes the Sun". Displeased with the production's use of his song, Harrison withdrew his permission to use it. Later that year, the off-Broadway musical Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on the Road opened. All This and World War II (1976) was an unorthodox nonfiction film that combined newsreel footage with covers of Beatles songs by performers ranging from Elton John and Keith Moon to the London Symphony Orchestra. The Broadway musical Beatlemania, an unauthorised nostalgia revue, opened in early 1977 and proved popular, spinning off five separate touring productions. In 1979, the band sued the producers, settling for several million dollars in damages. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978), a musical film starring the Bee Gees and Peter Frampton, was a commercial failure and an "artistic fiasco", according to Ingham. Accompanying the wave of Beatles nostalgia and persistent reunion rumours in the US during the 1970s, several entrepreneurs made public offers to the Beatles for a reunion concert. Promoter Bill Sargent first offered the Beatles $10 million for a reunion concert in 1974. He raised his offer to $30 million in January 1976 and then to $50 million the following month. On 24 April 1976, during a broadcast of Saturday Night Live, producer Lorne Michaels jokingly offered the Beatles $3,000 to reunite on the show. Lennon and McCartney were watching the live broadcast at Lennon's apartment at the Dakota in New York, which was within driving distance of the NBC studio where the show was being broadcast. The former bandmates briefly entertained the idea of going to the studio and surprising Michaels by accepting his offer, but decided not to. 1980s In December 1980, Lennon was shot and killed outside his New York City apartment. Harrison rewrote the lyrics of his song "All Those Years Ago" in Lennon's honour. With Starr on drums and McCartney and his wife, Linda, contributing backing vocals, the song was released as a single in May 1981. McCartney's own tribute, "Here Today", appeared on his Tug of War album in April 1982. In 1984 Starr joined McCartney to star in Paul's film Give My Regards to Broad Street, and played with Paul on several of the songs on the soundtrack. In 1987, Harrison's Cloud Nine album included "When We Was Fab", a song about the Beatlemania era. When the Beatles' studio albums were released on CD by EMI and Apple Corps in 1987, their catalogue was standardised throughout the world, establishing a canon of the twelve original studio LPs as issued in the UK plus the US LP version of Magical Mystery Tour. All the remaining material from the singles and EPs that had not appeared on these thirteen studio albums was gathered on the two-volume compilation Past Masters (1988). Except for the Red and Blue albums, EMI deleted all its other Beatles compilations – including the Hollywood Bowl record – from its catalogue. In 1988, the Beatles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, their first year of eligibility. Harrison and Starr attended the ceremony with Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, and his two sons, Julian and Sean. McCartney declined to attend, citing unresolved "business differences" that would make him "feel like a complete hypocrite waving and smiling with them at a fake reunion". The following year, EMI/Capitol settled a decade-long lawsuit filed by the band over royalties, clearing the way to commercially package previously unreleased material. 1990s Live at the BBC, the first official release of unissued Beatles performances in seventeen years, appeared in 1994. That same year McCartney, Harrison and Starr collaborated on the Anthology project. Anthology was the culmination of work begun in 1970, when Apple Corps director Neil Aspinall, their former road manager and personal assistant, had started to gather material for a documentary with the working title The Long and Winding Road. Documenting their history in the band's own words, the Anthology project included the release of several unissued Beatles recordings. McCartney, Harrison and Starr also added new instrumental and vocal parts to songs recorded as demos by Lennon in the late 1970s. During 1995–96, the project yielded a television miniseries, an eight-volume video set, and three two-CD/three-LP box sets featuring artwork by Klaus Voormann. Two songs based on Lennon demos, "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love", were issued as new Beatles singles. The releases were commercially successful and the television series was viewed by an estimated 400 million people. In 1999, to coincide with the re-release of the 1968 film Yellow Submarine, an expanded soundtrack album, Yellow Submarine Songtrack, was issued. 2000s The Beatles' 1, a compilation album of the band's British and American number-one hits, was released on 13 November 2000. It became the fastest-selling album of all time, with 3.6 million sold in its first week and 13 million within a month. It topped albums charts in at least 28 countries. The compilation had sold 31 million copies globally by April 2009. Harrison died from metastatic lung cancer in November 2001. McCartney and Starr were among the musicians who performed at the Concert for George, organised by Eric Clapton and Harrison's widow, Olivia. The tribute event took place at the Royal Albert Hall on the first anniversary of Harrison's death. In 2003, Let It Be... Naked, a reconceived version of the Let It Be album, with McCartney supervising production, was released. One of the main differences from the Spector-produced version was the omission of the original string arrangements. It was a top-ten hit in both Britain and America. The US album configurations from 1964 to 1965 were released as box sets in 2004 and 2006; The Capitol Albums, Volume 1 and Volume 2 included both stereo and mono versions based on the mixes that were prepared for vinyl at the time of the music's original American release. As a soundtrack for Cirque du Soleil's Las Vegas Beatles stage revue, Love, George Martin and his son Giles remixed and blended 130 of the band's recordings to create what Martin called "a way of re-living the whole Beatles musical lifespan in a very condensed period". The show premiered in June 2006, and the Love album was released that November. In April 2009, Starr performed three songs with McCartney at a benefit concert held at New York's Radio City Music Hall and organised by McCartney. On 9 September 2009, the Beatles' entire back catalogue was reissued following an extensive digital remastering process that lasted four years. Stereo editions of all twelve original UK studio albums, along with Magical Mystery Tour and the Past Masters compilation, were released on compact disc both individually and as a box set. A second collection, The Beatles in Mono, included remastered versions of every Beatles album released in true mono along with the original 1965 stereo mixes of Help! and Rubber Soul (both of which Martin had remixed for the 1987 editions). The Beatles: Rock Band, a music video game in the Rock Band series, was issued on the same day. In December 2009, the band's catalogue was officially released in FLAC and MP3 format in a limited edition of 30,000 USB flash drives. 2010s Owing to a long-running royalty disagreement, the Beatles were among the last major artists to sign deals with online music services. Residual disagreement emanating from Apple Corps' dispute with Apple, Inc., iTunes' owners, over the use of the name "Apple" was also partly responsible for the delay, although in 2008, McCartney stated that the main obstacle to making the Beatles' catalogue available online was that EMI "want[s] something we're not prepared to give them". In 2010, the official canon of thirteen Beatles studio albums, Past Masters, and the "Red" and "Blue" greatest-hits albums were made available on iTunes. In 2012, EMI's recorded music operations were sold to Universal Music Group. In order for Universal Music to acquire EMI, the European Union, for antitrust reasons, forced EMI to spin off assets including Parlophone. Universal was allowed to keep the Beatles' recorded music catalogue, managed by Capitol Records under its Capitol Music Group division. The entire original Beatles album catalogue was also reissued on vinyl in 2012; available either individually or as a box set. In 2013, a second volume of BBC recordings, titled On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2, was released. That December saw the release of another 59 Beatles recordings on iTunes. The set, titled The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963, had the opportunity to gain a 70-year copyright extension conditional on the songs being published at least once before the end of 2013. Apple Records released the recordings on 17 December to prevent them from going into the public domain and had them taken down from iTunes later that same day. Fan reactions to the release were mixed, with one blogger saying "the hardcore Beatles collectors who are trying to obtain everything will already have these." On 26 January 2014, McCartney and Starr performed together at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The following day, The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to The Beatles television special was taped in the Los Angeles Convention Center's West Hall. It aired on 9 February, the exact date of – and at the same time, and on the same network as – the original broadcast of the Beatles' first US television appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, 50 years earlier. The special included performances of Beatles songs by current artists as well as by McCartney and Starr, archival footage, and interviews with the two surviving ex-Beatles carried out by David Letterman at the Ed Sullivan Theater. In December 2015, the Beatles released their catalogue for streaming on various streaming music services including Spotify and Apple Music. In September 2016, the documentary film The Beatles: Eight Days a Week was released. Directed by Ron Howard, it chronicled the Beatles' career during their touring years from 1961 to 1966, from their performances in Liverpool's the Cavern Club in 1961 to their final concert in San Francisco in 1966. The film was released theatrically on 15 September in the UK and the US, and started streaming on Hulu on 17 September. It received several awards and nominations, including for Best Documentary at the 70th British Academy Film Awards and the Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special at the 69th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. An expanded, remixed and remastered version of The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl was released on 9 September, to coincide with the release of the film. On 18 May 2017, Sirius XM Radio launched a 24/7 radio channel, The Beatles Channel. A week later, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was reissued with new stereo mixes and unreleased material for the album's 50th anniversary. Similar box sets were released for The Beatles in November 2018, and Abbey Road in September 2019. On the first week of October 2019, Abbey Road returned to number one on the UK Albums Chart. The Beatles broke their own record for the album with the longest gap between topping the charts as Abbey Road hit the top spot 50 years after its original release. 2020s In November 2021, The Beatles: Get Back, a documentary directed by Peter Jackson using footage captured for the Let It Be film, was released on Disney+ as a three-part miniseries. A book also titled The Beatles: Get Back was released on 12 October, ahead of the documentary. A super deluxe version of the Let It Be album was released on 15 October. Musical style and development In Icons of Rock: An Encyclopedia of the Legends Who Changed Music Forever, Scott Schinder and Andy Schwartz describe the Beatles' musical evolution: In The Beatles as Musicians, Walter Everett describes Lennon and McCartney's contrasting motivations and approaches to composition: "McCartney may be said to have constantly developed – as a means to entertain – a focused musical talent with an ear for counterpoint and other aspects of craft in the demonstration of a universally agreed-upon common language that he did much to enrich. Conversely, Lennon's mature music is best appreciated as the daring product of a largely unconscious, searching but undisciplined artistic sensibility." Ian MacDonald describes McCartney as "a natural melodist – a creator of tunes capable of existing apart from their harmony". His melody lines are characterised as primarily "vertical", employing wide, consonant intervals which express his "extrovert energy and optimism". Conversely, Lennon's "sedentary, ironic personality" is reflected in a "horizontal" approach featuring minimal, dissonant intervals and repetitive melodies which rely on their harmonic accompaniment for interest: "Basically a realist, he instinctively kept his melodies close to the rhythms and cadences of speech, colouring his lyrics with bluesy tone and harmony rather than creating tunes that made striking shapes of their own." MacDonald praises Harrison's lead guitar work for the role his "characterful lines and textural colourings" play in supporting Lennon and McCartney's parts, and describes Starr as "the father of modern pop/rock drumming". Influences The band's earliest influences include Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Little Richard and Chuck Berry. During the Beatles' co-residency with Little Richard at the Star-Club in Hamburg, from April to May 1962, he advised them on the proper technique for performing his songs. Of Presley, Lennon said, "Nothing really affected me until I heard Elvis. If there hadn't been Elvis, there would not have been the Beatles." Other early influences include Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, Roy Orbison and the Everly Brothers. The Beatles continued to absorb influences long after their initial success, often finding new musical and lyrical avenues by listening to their contemporaries, including Bob Dylan, the Who, Frank Zappa, the Lovin' Spoonful, the Byrds and the Beach Boys, whose 1966 album Pet Sounds amazed and inspired McCartney. Referring to the Beach Boys' creative leader, Martin later stated: "No one made a greater impact on the Beatles than Brian [Wilson]." Ravi Shankar, with whom Harrison studied for six weeks in India in late 1966, had a significant effect on his musical development during the band's later years. Genres Originating as a skiffle group, the Beatles quickly embraced 1950s rock and roll and helped pioneer the Merseybeat genre, and their repertoire ultimately expanded to include a broad variety of pop music. Reflecting the range of styles they explored, Lennon said of Beatles for Sale, "You could call our new one a Beatles country-and-western LP", while Gould credits Rubber Soul as "the instrument by which legions of folk-music enthusiasts were coaxed into the camp of pop". Although the 1965 song "Yesterday" was not the first pop record to employ orchestral strings, it marked the group's first recorded use of classical music elements. Gould observes: "The more traditional sound of strings allowed for a fresh appreciation of their talent as composers by listeners who were otherwise allergic to the din of drums and electric guitars." They continued to experiment with string arrangements to various effect; Sgt. Peppers "She's Leaving Home", for instance, is "cast in the of a sentimental Victorian ballad", Gould writes, "its words and music filled with the clichés of musical melodrama". The band's stylistic range expanded in another direction with their 1966 B-side "Rain", described by Martin Strong as "the first overtly psychedelic Beatles record". Other psychedelic numbers followed, such as "Tomorrow Never Knows" (recorded before "Rain"), "Strawberry Fields Forever", "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "I Am the Walrus". The influence of Indian classical music was evident in Harrison's "The Inner Light", "Love You To" and "Within You Without You" – Gould describes the latter two as attempts "to replicate the raga form in miniature". Innovation was the most striking feature of their creative evolution, according to music historian and pianist Michael Campbell: "'A Day in the Life' encapsulates the art and achievement of the Beatles as well as any single track can. It highlights key features of their music: the sound imagination, the persistence of tuneful melody, and the close coordination between words and music. It represents a new category of song – more sophisticated than pop ... and uniquely innovative. There literally had never before been a song – classical or vernacular – that had blended so many disparate elements so imaginatively." Philosophy professor Bruce Ellis Benson agrees: "the Beatles ... give us a wonderful example of how such far-ranging influences as Celtic music, rhythm and blues, and country and western could be put together in a new way." Author Dominic Pedler describes the way they crossed musical styles: "Far from moving sequentially from one genre to another (as is sometimes conveniently suggested) the group maintained in parallel their mastery of the traditional, catchy chart hit while simultaneously forging rock and dabbling with a wide range of peripheral influences from country to vaudeville. One of these threads was their take on folk music, which would form such essential groundwork for their later collisions with Indian music and philosophy." As the personal relationships between the band members grew increasingly strained, their individual tastes became more apparent. The minimalistic cover artwork for the White Album contrasted with the complexity and diversity of its music, which encompassed Lennon's "Revolution 9" (whose musique concrète approach was influenced by Yoko Ono), Starr's country song "Don't Pass Me By", Harrison's rock ballad "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", and the "proto-metal roar" of McCartney's "Helter Skelter". Contribution of George Martin George Martin's close involvement in his role as producer made him one of the leading candidates for the informal title of the "fifth Beatle". He applied his classical musical training in various ways, and functioned as "an informal music teacher" to the progressing songwriters, according to Gould. Martin suggested to a sceptical McCartney that the arrangement of "Yesterday" should feature a string quartet accompaniment, thereby introducing the Beatles to a "hitherto unsuspected world of classical instrumental colour", in MacDonald's description. Their creative development was also facilitated by Martin's willingness to experiment in response to their suggestions, such as adding "something baroque" to a particular recording. In addition to scoring orchestral arrangements for recordings, Martin often performed on them, playing instruments including piano, organ and brass. Collaborating with Lennon and McCartney required Martin to adapt to their different approaches to songwriting and recording. MacDonald comments, "while [he] worked more naturally with the conventionally articulate McCartney, the challenge of catering to Lennon's intuitive approach generally spurred him to his more original arrangements, of which 'Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!' is an outstanding example." Martin said of the two composers' distinct songwriting styles and his stabilising influence: Harrison echoed Martin's description of his stabilising role: "I think we just grew through those years together, him as the straight man and us as the loonies; but he was always there for us to interpret our madness – we used to be slightly avant-garde on certain days of the week, and he would be there as the anchor person, to communicate that through the engineers and on to the tape." In the studio Making innovative use of technology while expanding the possibilities of recorded music, the Beatles urged experimentation by Martin and his recording engineers. Seeking ways to put chance occurrences to creative use, accidental guitar feedback, a resonating glass bottle, a tape loaded the wrong way round so that it played backwards – any of these might be incorporated into their music. Their desire to create new sounds on every new recording, combined with Martin's arranging abilities and the studio expertise of EMI staff engineers Norman Smith, Ken Townsend and Geoff Emerick, all contributed significantly to their records from Rubber Soul and, especially, Revolver onwards. Along with innovative studio techniques such as sound effects, unconventional microphone placements, tape loops, double tracking and vari-speed recording, the Beatles augmented their songs with instruments that were unconventional in rock music at the time. These included string and brass ensembles as well as Indian instruments such as the sitar in "Norwegian Wood" and the swarmandal in "Strawberry Fields Forever". They also used novel electronic instruments such as the Mellotron, with which McCartney supplied the flute voices on the "Strawberry Fields Forever" intro, and the clavioline, an electronic keyboard that created the unusual oboe-like sound on "Baby, You're a Rich Man". Legacy Former Rolling Stone associate editor Robert Greenfield compared the Beatles to Picasso, as "artists who broke through the constraints of their time period to come up with something that was unique and original ... [I]n the form of popular music, no one will ever be more revolutionary, more creative and more distinctive ..." The British poet Philip Larkin described their work as "an enchanting and intoxicating hybrid of Negro rock-and-roll with their own adolescent romanticism", and "the first advance in popular music since the War". The Beatles' 1964 arrival in the US is credited with initiating the album era; the music historian Joel Whitburn says that LP sales soon "exploded and eventually outpaced the sales and releases of singles" in the music industry. They not only sparked the British Invasion of the US, they became a globally influential phenomenon as well. From the 1920s, the US had dominated popular entertainment culture throughout much of the world, via Hollywood films, jazz, the music of Broadway and Tin Pan Alley and, later, the rock and roll that first emerged in Memphis, Tennessee. The Beatles are regarded as British cultural icons, with young adults from abroad naming the band among a group of people whom they most associated with UK culture. Their musical innovations and commercial success inspired musicians worldwide. Many artists have acknowledged the Beatles' influence and enjoyed chart success with covers of their songs. On radio, their arrival marked the beginning of a new era; in 1968 the programme director of New York's WABC radio station forbade his DJs from playing any "pre-Beatles" music, marking the defining line of what would be considered oldies on American radio. They helped to redefine the album as something more than just a few hits padded out with "filler", and they were primary innovators of the modern music video. The Shea Stadium show with which they opened their 1965 North American tour attracted an estimated 55,600 people, then the largest audience in concert history; Spitz describes the event as a "major breakthrough ... a giant step toward reshaping the concert business". Emulation of their clothing and especially their hairstyles, which became a mark of rebellion, had a global impact on fashion. According to Gould, the Beatles changed the way people listened to popular music and experienced its role in their lives. From what began as the Beatlemania fad, the group's popularity grew into what was seen as an embodiment of sociocultural movements of the decade. As icons of the 1960s counterculture, Gould continues, they became a catalyst for bohemianism and activism in various social and political arenas, fuelling movements such as women's liberation, gay liberation and environmentalism. According to Peter Lavezzoli, after the "more popular than Jesus" controversy in 1966, the Beatles felt considerable pressure to say the right things and "began a concerted effort to spread a message of wisdom and higher consciousness". Other commentators such as Mikal Gilmore and Todd Leopold have traced the inception of their socio-cultural impact earlier, interpreting even the Beatlemania period, particularly on their first visit to the US, as a key moment in the development of generational awareness. Referring to their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show Leopold states: "In many ways, the Sullivan appearance marked the beginning of a cultural revolution ... The Beatles were like aliens dropped into the United States of 1964." According to Gilmore: Established in 2009, Global Beatles Day is an annual holiday on 25 June each year that honours and celebrates the ideals of the Beatles. The date was chosen to commemorate the date the group participated in the BBC programme Our World in 1967, performing "All You Need Is Love" broadcast to an international audience. Awards and achievements In 1965, Queen Elizabeth II appointed Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). The Beatles won the 1971 Academy Award for Best Original Song Score for the film Let It Be (1970). The recipients of seven Grammy Awards and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards, the Beatles have six Diamond albums, as well as 20 Multi-Platinum albums, 16 Platinum albums and six Gold albums in the US. In the UK, the Beatles have four Multi-Platinum albums, four Platinum albums, eight Gold albums and one Silver album. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. The best-selling band in history, the Beatles have sold more than 600 million units . They have had more number-one albums on the UK charts, fifteen, and sold more singles in the UK, 21.9 million, than any other act. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the Beatles as the most significant and influential rock music artists of the last 50 years. They ranked number one on Billboard magazine's list of the all-time most successful Hot 100 artists, released in 2008 to celebrate the US singles chart's 50th anniversary. , they hold the record for most number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100, with twenty. The Recording Industry Association of America certifies that the Beatles have sold 183 million units in the US, more than any other artist. They were collectively included in Time magazine's compilation of the 20th century's 100 most influential people. In 2014, they received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. On 16 January each year, beginning in 2001, people celebrate World Beatles Day under UNESCO. This date has direct relation to the opening of The Cavern Club in 1957. In 2007, the Beatles became the first band to feature on a series of UK postage stamps issued by the Royal Mail. Personnel Principal members John Lennon – vocals, guitars, keyboards, harmonica, bass (1960–1969; died 1980) Paul McCartney – vocals, bass, guitars, keyboards, drums (1960–1970) George Harrison – guitars, vocals, sitar, keyboards, bass (1960–1970; died 2001) Ringo Starr – drums, percussion, vocals (1962–1970) Early members Pete Best – drums, vocals (1960–1962) Stuart Sutcliffe – bass, vocals (1960–1961; died 1962) Chas Newby – bass (1960–1961) Norman Chapman – drums (1960; died 1995) Tommy Moore – drums (1960; died 1981) Touring musician Jimmie Nicol – drums (1964) Discography The Beatles have a core catalogue consisting of 13 studio albums and one compilation. Please Please Me (1963) With the Beatles (1963) A Hard Day's Night (1964) Beatles for Sale (1964) Help! (1965) Rubber Soul (1965) Revolver (1966) Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) Magical Mystery Tour (1967) The Beatles (1968) ("The White Album") Yellow Submarine (1969) Abbey Road (1969) Let It Be (1970) Past Masters (1988, compilation) Song catalogue Through 1969, the Beatles' catalogue was published almost exclusively by Northern Songs Ltd, a company formed in February 1963 by music publisher Dick James specifically for Lennon and McCartney, though it later acquired songs by other artists. The company was organised with James and his partner, Emmanuel Silver, owning a controlling interest, variously described as 51% or 50% plus one share. McCartney had 20%. Reports again vary concerning Lennon's portion – 19 or 20% – and Brian Epstein's – 9 or 10% – which he received in lieu of a 25% band management fee. In 1965, the company went public. Five million shares were created, of which the original principals retained 3.75 million. James and Silver each received 937,500 shares (18.75% of 5 million); Lennon and McCartney each received 750,000 shares (15%); and Epstein's management company, NEMS Enterprises, received 375,000 shares (7.5%). Of the 1.25 million shares put up for sale, Harrison and Starr each acquired 40,000. At the time of the stock offering, Lennon and McCartney renewed their three-year publishing contracts, binding them to Northern Songs until 1973. Harrison created Harrisongs to represent his Beatles compositions, but signed a three-year contract with Northern Songs that gave it the copyright to his work through March 1968, which included "Taxman" and "Within You Without You". The songs on which Starr received co-writing credit before 1968, such as "What Goes On" and "Flying", were also Northern Songs copyrights. Harrison did not renew his contract with Northern Songs when it ended, signing instead with Apple Publishing while retaining the copyright to his work from that point on. Harrison thus owns the rights to his later Beatles songs such as "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Something". That year, as well, Starr created Startling Music, which holds the rights to his Beatles compositions, "Don't Pass Me By" and "Octopus's Garden". In March 1969, James arranged to sell his and his partner's shares of Northern Songs to the British broadcasting company Associated Television (ATV), founded by impresario Lew Grade, without first informing the Beatles. The band then made a bid to gain a controlling interest by attempting to work out a deal with a consortium of London brokerage firms that had accumulated a 14% holding. The deal collapsed over the objections of Lennon, who declared, "I'm sick of being fucked about by men in suits sitting on their fat arses in the City." By the end of May, ATV had acquired a majority stake in Northern Songs, controlling nearly the entire Lennon–McCartney catalogue, as well as any future material until 1973. In frustration, Lennon and McCartney sold their shares to ATV in late October 1969. In 1981, financial losses by ATV's parent company, Associated Communications Corporation (ACC), led it to attempt to sell its music division. According to authors Brian Southall and Rupert Perry, Grade contacted McCartney, offering ATV Music and Northern Songs for $30 million. According to an account McCartney gave in 1995, he met with Grade and explained he was interested solely in the Northern Songs catalogue if Grade were ever willing to "separate off" that portion of ATV Music. Soon afterwards, Grade offered to sell him Northern Songs for £20 million, giving the ex-Beatle "a week or so" to decide. By McCartney's account, he and Ono countered with a £5 million bid that was rejected. According to reports at the time, Grade refused to separate Northern Songs and turned down an offer of £21–25 million from McCartney and Ono for Northern Songs. In 1982, ACC was acquired in a takeover by Australian business magnate Robert Holmes à Court for £60 million. In 1985, Michael Jackson purchased ATV for a reported $47.5 million. The acquisition gave him control over the publishing rights to more than 200 Beatles songs, as well as 40,000 other copyrights. In 1995, in a deal that earned him a reported $110 million, Jackson merged his music publishing business with Sony, creating a new company, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, in which he held a 50% stake. The merger made the new company, then valued at over half a billion dollars, the third-largest music publisher in the world. In 2016, Sony acquired Jackson's share of Sony/ATV from the Jackson estate for $750 million. Despite the lack of publishing rights to most of their songs, Lennon's estate and McCartney continue to receive their respective shares of the writers' royalties, which together are 33% of total commercial proceeds in the US and which vary elsewhere around the world between 50 and 55%. Two of Lennon and McCartney's earliest songs – "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You" – were published by an EMI subsidiary, Ardmore & Beechwood, before they signed with James. McCartney acquired their publishing rights from Ardmore in 1978, and they are the only two Beatles songs owned by McCartney's company MPL Communications. On 18 January 2017, McCartney filed a suit in the United States district court against Sony/ATV Music Publishing seeking to reclaim ownership of his share of the Lennon–McCartney song catalogue beginning in 2018. Under US copyright law, for works published before 1978 the author can reclaim copyrights assigned to a publisher after 56 years. McCartney and Sony agreed to a confidential settlement in June 2017. Selected filmography Fictionalised A Hard Day's Night (1964) Help! (1965) Magical Mystery Tour (1967) Yellow Submarine (1968) (brief cameo) Documentaries and filmed performances The Beatles at Shea Stadium (1966) Let It Be (1970) The Compleat Beatles (1982) It Was Twenty Years Ago Today (1987) (about Sgt. Pepper) The Beatles Anthology (1995) The Beatles: 1+ (2015) (collection of digitally restored music videos) The Beatles: Eight Days a Week (2016) (about Beatlemania and touring years) The Beatles: Get Back (2021) Concert tours 1963 1963 UK tours (winter–autumn) The Beatles Winter 1963 Helen Shapiro Tour Spring 1963 Tommy Roe/Chris Montez UK tour Roy Orbison/The Beatles Tour Autumn 1963 Sweden tour 1964 Winter 1964 North American tour Spring 1964 UK tour The Beatles' 1964 world tour 1965 The Beatles' 1965 European tour The Beatles' 1965 US tour The Beatles' 1965 UK tour 1966 The Beatles' 1966 tour of Germany, Japan and the Philippines The Beatles' 1966 US tour See also Grammy Award records – Most Grammys won by a group Notes Citations Sources Further reading External links The Beatles – FBI file. 1960 establishments in England 1970 disestablishments in England Apple Corps Apple Records artists Atco Records artists Beat groups Brit Award winners British Invasion artists Capitol Records artists English pop music groups English psychedelic rock music groups English rock music groups George Harrison Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners John Lennon Musical groups established in 1960 Musical groups disestablished in 1970 Musical groups from Liverpool Musical quartets Parlophone artists Paul McCartney Proto-prog musicians Psychedelic pop music groups Ringo Starr Swan Records artists United Artists Records artists Vee-Jay Records artists World Music Awards winners World record holders
false
[ "Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region", "Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts" ]
[ "The Beatles", "Musical style and development", "What is notable about their music style?", "\". His melody lines are characterised as primarily \"vertical\", employing wide, consonant intervals which express his \"extrovert energy and optimism\".", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "the Fab Four revolutionised the sound, style, and attitude of popular music and opened rock and roll's doors to a tidal wave of British rock acts." ]
C_dba0296f5d064f41ae36361cc026d5b9_0
What is the Fab Four?
3
What is the Fab Four?
The Beatles
In Icons of Rock: An Encyclopedia of the Legends Who Changed Music Forever, Scott Schinder and Andy Schwartz describe the Beatles' musical evolution: In their initial incarnation as cheerful, wisecracking moptops, the Fab Four revolutionised the sound, style, and attitude of popular music and opened rock and roll's doors to a tidal wave of British rock acts. Their initial impact would have been enough to establish the Beatles as one of their era's most influential cultural forces, but they didn't stop there. Although their initial style was a highly original, irresistibly catchy synthesis of early American rock and roll and R&B, the Beatles spent the rest of the 1960s expanding rock's stylistic frontiers, consistently staking out new musical territory on each release. The band's increasingly sophisticated experimentation encompassed a variety of genres, including folk-rock, country, psychedelia, and baroque pop, without sacrificing the effortless mass appeal of their early work. In The Beatles as Musicians, Walter Everett describes Lennon and McCartney's contrasting motivations and approaches to composition: "McCartney may be said to have constantly developed - as a means to entertain - a focused musical talent with an ear for counterpoint and other aspects of craft in the demonstration of a universally agreed-upon common language that he did much to enrich. Conversely, Lennon's mature music is best appreciated as the daring product of a largely unconscious, searching but undisciplined artistic sensibility." Ian MacDonald describes McCartney as "a natural melodist - a creator of tunes capable of existing apart from their harmony". His melody lines are characterised as primarily "vertical", employing wide, consonant intervals which express his "extrovert energy and optimism". Conversely, Lennon's "sedentary, ironic personality" is reflected in a "horizontal" approach featuring minimal, dissonant intervals and repetitive melodies which rely on their harmonic accompaniment for interest: "Basically a realist, he instinctively kept his melodies close to the rhythms and cadences of speech, colouring his lyrics with bluesy tone and harmony rather than creating tunes that made striking shapes of their own." MacDonald praises Harrison's lead guitar work for the role his "characterful lines and textural colourings" play in supporting Lennon and McCartney's parts, and describes Starr as "the father of modern pop/rock drumming". CANNOTANSWER
The Beatles as Musicians,
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and popular music's recognition as an art form. Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock and roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways; the band later explored music styles ranging from ballads and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock. As pioneers in recording, songwriting and artistic presentation, the Beatles revolutionised many aspects of the music industry and were often publicised as leaders of the era's youth and sociocultural movements. Led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney, the Beatles evolved from Lennon's previous group, the Quarrymen, and built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over three years from 1960, initially with Stuart Sutcliffe playing bass. The core trio of Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, together since 1958, went through a succession of drummers, including Pete Best, before asking Starr to join them in 1962. Manager Brian Epstein moulded them into a professional act, and producer George Martin guided and developed their recordings, greatly expanding their domestic success after their first hit, "Love Me Do", in late 1962. As their popularity grew into the intense fan frenzy dubbed "Beatlemania", the band acquired the nickname "the Fab Four", with Epstein, Martin and other members of the band's entourage sometimes given the informal title of "fifth Beatle". By early 1964, the Beatles were international stars and had achieved unprecedented levels of critical and commercial success. They became a leading force in Britain's cultural resurgence, ushering in the British Invasion of the United States pop market, and soon made their film debut with A Hard Day's Night (1964). From 1965 onwards, they produced records of greater sophistication, including the albums Rubber Soul (1965), Revolver (1966) and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), and enjoyed further commercial success with The Beatles (also known as "the White Album", 1968) and Abbey Road (1969). Heralding the album era, their success elevated the album to be the dominant form of record consumption over singles; they also inspired a greater public interest in psychedelic drugs and Eastern spirituality, and furthered advancements in electronic music, album art and music videos. In 1968, they founded Apple Corps, a multi-armed multimedia corporation that continues to oversee projects related to the band's legacy. After the group's break-up in 1970, all principal members enjoyed success as solo artists and some partial reunions have occurred. Lennon was murdered in 1980 and Harrison died of lung cancer in 2001. McCartney and Starr remain musically active. The Beatles are the best-selling music act of all time, with estimated sales of 600 million units worldwide. They hold the record for most number-one albums on the UK Albums Chart (15), most number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (20), and most singles sold in the UK (21.9 million). The band received many accolades, including seven Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards, an Academy Award (for Best Original Song Score for the 1970 film Let It Be) and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, and each principal member was inducted individually between 1994 and 2015. In 2004 and 2011, the group topped Rolling Stones lists of the greatest artists in history. Time magazine named them among the 20th century's 100 most important people. History 1956–1963: Formation The Quarrymen and name changes In November 1956, John Lennon, then aged sixteen, formed a skiffle group with several friends from Quarry Bank High School in Liverpool. They briefly called themselves the Blackjacks, before changing their name to the Quarrymen after discovering that another local group were already using the name. Fifteen-year-old Paul McCartney met Lennon in July 1957, and joined as a rhythm guitarist shortly after. In February 1958, McCartney invited his friend George Harrison, then fifteen, to watch the band. Harrison auditioned for Lennon, impressing him with his playing, but Lennon initially thought Harrison was too young. After a month's persistence, during a second meeting (arranged by McCartney), Harrison performed the lead guitar part of the instrumental song "Raunchy" on the upper deck of a Liverpool bus, and they enlisted him as lead guitarist. By January 1959, Lennon's Quarry Bank friends had left the group, and he began his studies at the Liverpool College of Art. The three guitarists, billing themselves as Johnny and the Moondogs, were playing rock and roll whenever they could find a drummer. Lennon's art school friend Stuart Sutcliffe, who had just sold one of his paintings and was persuaded to purchase a bass guitar with the proceeds, joined in January 1960. He suggested changing the band's name to Beatals, as a tribute to Buddy Holly and the Crickets. They used this name until May, when they became the Silver Beetles, before undertaking a brief tour of Scotland as the backing group for pop singer and fellow Liverpudlian Johnny Gentle. By early July, they had refashioned themselves as the Silver Beatles, and by the middle of August simply the Beatles. Early residencies and UK popularity Allan Williams, the Beatles' unofficial manager, arranged a residency for them in Hamburg. They auditioned and hired drummer Pete Best in mid-August 1960. The band, now a five-piece, departed Liverpool for Hamburg four days later, contracted to club owner Bruno Koschmider for what would be a 3½-month residency. Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn writes: "They pulled into Hamburg at dusk on 17 August, the time when the red-light area comes to life ... flashing neon lights screamed out the various entertainment on offer, while scantily clad women sat unabashed in shop windows waiting for business opportunities." Koschmider had converted a couple of strip clubs in the district into music venues, and he initially placed the Beatles at the Indra Club. After closing Indra due to noise complaints, he moved them to the Kaiserkeller in October. When he learned they had been performing at the rival Top Ten Club in breach of their contract, he gave them one month's termination notice, and reported the underage Harrison, who had obtained permission to stay in Hamburg by lying to the German authorities about his age. The authorities arranged for Harrison's deportation in late November. One week later, Koschmider had McCartney and Best arrested for arson after they set fire to a condom in a concrete corridor; the authorities deported them. Lennon returned to Liverpool in early December, while Sutcliffe remained in Hamburg until late February with his German fiancée Astrid Kirchherr, who took the first semi-professional photos of the Beatles. During the next two years, the Beatles were resident for periods in Hamburg, where they used Preludin both recreationally and to maintain their energy through all-night performances. In 1961, during their second Hamburg engagement, Kirchherr cut Sutcliffe's hair in the "exi" (existentialist) style, later adopted by the other Beatles. When Sutcliffe decided to leave the band early that year and resume his art studies in Germany, McCartney took up the bass. Producer Bert Kaempfert contracted what was now a four-piece group until June 1962, and he used them as Tony Sheridan's backing band on a series of recordings for Polydor Records. As part of the sessions, the Beatles were signed to Polydor for one year. Credited to "Tony Sheridan & the Beat Brothers", the single "My Bonnie", recorded in June 1961 and released four months later, reached number 32 on the Musikmarkt chart. After the Beatles completed their second Hamburg residency, they enjoyed increasing popularity in Liverpool with the growing Merseybeat movement. However, they were growing tired of the monotony of numerous appearances at the same clubs night after night. In November 1961, during one of the group's frequent performances at The Cavern Club, they encountered Brian Epstein, a local record-store owner and music columnist. He later recalled: "I immediately liked what I heard. They were fresh, and they were honest, and they had what I thought was a sort of presence ... [a] star quality." First EMI recordings Epstein courted the band over the next couple of months, and they appointed him as their manager in January 1962. Throughout early and mid-1962, Epstein sought to free the Beatles from their contractual obligations to Bert Kaempfert Productions. He eventually negotiated a one-month early release in exchange for one last recording session in Hamburg. On their return to Germany in April, a distraught Kirchherr met them at the airport with news of Sutcliffe's death the previous day from a brain haemorrhage. Epstein began negotiations with record labels for a recording contract. To secure a UK record contract, Epstein negotiated an early end to the band's contract with Polydor, in exchange for more recordings backing Tony Sheridan. After a New Year's Day audition, Decca Records rejected the band, saying, "Guitar groups are on the way out, Mr. Epstein." However, three months later, producer George Martin signed the Beatles to EMI's Parlophone label. Martin's first recording session with the Beatles took place at EMI Recording Studios (later Abbey Road Studios) in London on 6 June 1962. He immediately complained to Epstein about Best's drumming and suggested they use a session drummer in his place. Already contemplating Best's dismissal, the Beatles replaced him in mid-August with Ringo Starr, who left Rory Storm and the Hurricanes to join them. A 4 September session at EMI yielded a recording of "Love Me Do" featuring Starr on drums, but a dissatisfied Martin hired drummer Andy White for the band's third session a week later, which produced recordings of "Love Me Do", "Please Please Me" and "P.S. I Love You". Martin initially selected the Starr version of "Love Me Do" for the band's first single, though subsequent re-pressings featured the White version, with Starr on tambourine. Released in early October, "Love Me Do" peaked at number seventeen on the Record Retailer chart. Their television debut came later that month with a live performance on the regional news programme People and Places. After Martin suggested rerecording "Please Please Me" at a faster tempo, a studio session in late November yielded that recording, of which Martin accurately predicted, "You've just made your first No. 1." In December 1962, the Beatles concluded their fifth and final Hamburg residency. By 1963, they had agreed that all four band members would contribute vocals to their albums – including Starr, despite his restricted vocal range, to validate his standing in the group. Lennon and McCartney had established a songwriting partnership, and as the band's success grew, their dominant collaboration limited Harrison's opportunities as a lead vocalist. Epstein, to maximise the Beatles' commercial potential, encouraged them to adopt a professional approach to performing. Lennon recalled him saying, "Look, if you really want to get in these bigger places, you're going to have to change – stop eating on stage, stop swearing, stop smoking ...." 1963–1966: Beatlemania and touring years Please Please Me and With the Beatles On 11 February 1963, the Beatles recorded ten songs during a single studio session for their debut LP, Please Please Me. It was supplemented by the four tracks already released on their first two singles. Martin considered recording the LP live at The Cavern Club, but after deciding that the building's acoustics were inadequate, he elected to simulate a "live" album with minimal production in "a single marathon session at Abbey Road". After the moderate success of "Love Me Do", the single "Please Please Me" was released in January 1963, two months ahead of the album. It reached number one on every UK chart except Record Retailer, where it peaked at number two. Recalling how the Beatles "rushed to deliver a debut album, bashing out Please Please Me in a day", AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote: "Decades after its release, the album still sounds fresh, precisely because of its intense origins." Lennon said little thought went into composition at the time; he and McCartney were "just writing songs à la Everly Brothers, à la Buddy Holly, pop songs with no more thought of them than that – to create a sound. And the words were almost irrelevant." Released in March 1963, Please Please Me was the first of eleven consecutive Beatles albums released in the United Kingdom to reach number one. The band's third single, "From Me to You", came out in April and began an almost unbroken string of seventeen British number-one singles, including all but one of the eighteen they released over the next six years. Issued in August, their fourth single, "She Loves You", achieved the fastest sales of any record in the UK up to that time, selling three-quarters of a million copies in under four weeks. It became their first single to sell a million copies, and remained the biggest-selling record in the UK until 1978. The success brought increased media exposure, to which the Beatles responded with an irreverent and comical attitude that defied the expectations of pop musicians at the time, inspiring even more interest. The band toured the UK three times in the first half of the year: a four-week tour that began in February, the Beatles' first nationwide, preceded three-week tours in March and May–June. As their popularity spread, a frenzied adulation of the group took hold. Greeted with riotous enthusiasm by screaming fans, the press dubbed the phenomenon "Beatlemania". Although not billed as tour leaders, the Beatles overshadowed American acts Tommy Roe and Chris Montez during the February engagements and assumed top billing "by audience demand", something no British act had previously accomplished while touring with artists from the US. A similar situation arose during their May–June tour with Roy Orbison. In late October, the Beatles began a five-day tour of Sweden, their first time abroad since the final Hamburg engagement of December 1962. On their return to the UK on 31 October, several hundred screaming fans greeted them in heavy rain at Heathrow Airport. Around 50 to 100 journalists and photographers, as well as representatives from the BBC, also joined the airport reception, the first of more than 100 such events. The next day, the band began its fourth tour of Britain within nine months, this one scheduled for six weeks. In mid-November, as Beatlemania intensified, police resorted to using high-pressure water hoses to control the crowd before a concert in Plymouth. Please Please Me maintained the top position on the Record Retailer chart for 30 weeks, only to be displaced by its follow-up, With the Beatles, which EMI released on 22 November to record advance orders of 270,000 copies. The LP topped a half-million albums sold in one week. Recorded between July and October, With the Beatles made better use of studio production techniques than its predecessor. It held the top spot for 21 weeks with a chart life of 40 weeks. Erlewine described the LP as "a sequel of the highest order – one that betters the original". In a reversal of then standard practice, EMI released the album ahead of the impending single "I Want to Hold Your Hand", with the song excluded to maximise the single's sales. The album caught the attention of music critic William Mann of The Times, who suggested that Lennon and McCartney were "the outstanding English composers of 1963". The newspaper published a series of articles in which Mann offered detailed analyses of the music, lending it respectability. With the Beatles became the second album in UK chart history to sell a million copies, a figure previously reached only by the 1958 South Pacific soundtrack. When writing the sleeve notes for the album, the band's press officer, Tony Barrow, used the superlative the "fabulous foursome", which the media widely adopted as "the Fab Four". First visit to the United States and the British Invasion EMI's American subsidiary, Capitol Records, hindered the Beatles' releases in the United States for more than a year by initially declining to issue their music, including their first three singles. Concurrent negotiations with the independent US label Vee-Jay led to the release of some, but not all, of the songs in 1963. Vee-Jay finished preparation for the album Introducing... The Beatles, comprising most of the songs of Parlophone's Please Please Me, but a management shake-up led to the album not being released. After it emerged that the label did not report royalties on their sales, the licence that Vee-Jay had signed with EMI was voided. A new licence was granted to the Swan label for the single "She Loves You". The record received some airplay in the Tidewater area of Virginia from Gene Loving of radio station WGH and was featured on the "Rate-a-Record" segment of American Bandstand, but it failed to catch on nationally. Epstein brought a demo copy of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" to Capitol's Brown Meggs, who signed the band and arranged for a $40,000 US marketing campaign. American chart success began after disc jockey Carroll James of AM radio station WWDC, in Washington, DC, obtained a copy of the British single "I Want to Hold Your Hand" in mid-December 1963 and began playing it on-air. Taped copies of the song soon circulated among other radio stations throughout the US. This caused an increase in demand, leading Capitol to bring forward the release of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by three weeks. Issued on 26 December, with the band's previously scheduled debut there just weeks away, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" sold a million copies, becoming a number-one hit in the US by mid-January. In its wake Vee-Jay released Introducing... The Beatles along with Capitol's debut album, Meet the Beatles!, while Swan reactivated production of "She Loves You". On 7 February 1964, the Beatles departed from Heathrow with an estimated 4,000 fans waving and screaming as the aircraft took off. Upon landing at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport, an uproarious crowd estimated at 3,000 greeted them. They gave their first live US television performance two days later on The Ed Sullivan Show, watched by approximately 73 million viewers in over 23 million households, or 34 percent of the American population. Biographer Jonathan Gould writes that, according to the Nielsen rating service, it was "the largest audience that had ever been recorded for an American television ". The next morning, the Beatles awoke to a largely negative critical consensus in the US, but a day later at their first US concert, Beatlemania erupted at the Washington Coliseum. Back in New York the following day, the Beatles met with another strong reception during two shows at Carnegie Hall. The band flew to Florida, where they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show a second time, again before 70 million viewers, before returning to the UK on 22 February. The Beatles' first visit to the US took place when the nation was still mourning the assassination of President John F. Kennedy the previous November. Commentators often suggest that for many, particularly the young, the Beatles' performances reignited the sense of excitement and possibility that momentarily faded in the wake of the assassination, and helped pave the way for the revolutionary social changes to come later in the decade. Their hairstyle, unusually long for the era and mocked by many adults, became an emblem of rebellion to the burgeoning youth culture. The group's popularity generated unprecedented interest in British music, and many other UK acts subsequently made their American debuts, successfully touring over the next three years in what was termed the British Invasion. The Beatles' success in the US opened the door for a successive string of British beat groups and pop acts such as the Dave Clark Five, the Animals, Petula Clark, the Kinks, and the Rolling Stones to achieve success in America. During the week of 4 April 1964, the Beatles held twelve positions on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, including the top five. A Hard Day's Night Capitol Records' lack of interest throughout 1963 did not go unnoticed, and a competitor, United Artists Records, encouraged their film division to offer the Beatles a three-motion-picture deal, primarily for the commercial potential of the soundtracks in the US. Directed by Richard Lester, A Hard Day's Night involved the band for six weeks in March–April 1964 as they played themselves in a musical comedy. The film premiered in London and New York in July and August, respectively, and was an international success, with some critics drawing a comparison with the Marx Brothers. United Artists released a full soundtrack album for the North American market, combining Beatles songs and Martin's orchestral score; elsewhere, the group's third studio LP, A Hard Day's Night, contained songs from the film on side one and other new recordings on side two. According to Erlewine, the album saw them "truly coming into their own as a band. All of the disparate influences on their first two albums coalesced into a bright, joyous, original sound, filled with ringing guitars and irresistible melodies." That "ringing guitar" sound was primarily the product of Harrison's 12-string electric Rickenbacker, a prototype given to him by the manufacturer, which made its debut on the record. 1964 world tour, meeting Bob Dylan, and stand on civil rights Touring internationally in June and July, the Beatles staged 37 shows over 27 days in Denmark, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. In August and September, they returned to the US, with a 30-concert tour of 23 cities. Generating intense interest once again, the month-long tour attracted between 10,000 and 20,000 fans to each 30-minute performance in cities from San Francisco to New York. In August, journalist Al Aronowitz arranged for the Beatles to meet Bob Dylan. Visiting the band in their New York hotel suite, Dylan introduced them to cannabis. Gould points out the musical and cultural significance of this meeting, before which the musicians' respective fanbases were "perceived as inhabiting two separate subcultural worlds": Dylan's audience of "college kids with artistic or intellectual leanings, a dawning political and social idealism, and a mildly bohemian style" contrasted with their fans, "veritable 'teenyboppers' – kids in high school or grade school whose lives were totally wrapped up in the commercialised popular culture of television, radio, pop records, fan magazines, and teen fashion. To many of Dylan's followers in the folk music scene, the Beatles were seen as idolaters, not idealists." Within six months of the meeting, according to Gould, "Lennon would be making records on which he openly imitated Dylan's nasal drone, brittle strum, and introspective vocal persona"; and six months after that, Dylan began performing with a backing band and electric instrumentation, and "dressed in the height of Mod fashion". As a result, Gould continues, the traditional division between folk and rock enthusiasts "nearly evaporated", as the Beatles' fans began to mature in their outlook and Dylan's audience embraced the new, youth-driven pop culture. During the 1964 US tour, the group were confronted with racial segregation in the country at the time. When informed that the venue for their 11 September concert, the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida, was segregated, the Beatles said they would refuse to perform unless the audience was integrated. Lennon stated: "We never play to segregated audiences and we aren't going to start now ... I'd sooner lose our appearance money." City officials relented and agreed to allow an integrated show. The group also cancelled their reservations at the whites-only Hotel George Washington in Jacksonville. For their subsequent US tours in 1965 and 1966, the Beatles included clauses in contracts stipulating that shows be integrated. Beatles for Sale, Help! and Rubber Soul According to Gould, the Beatles' fourth studio LP, Beatles for Sale, evidenced a growing conflict between the commercial pressures of their global success and their creative ambitions. They had intended the album, recorded between August and October 1964, to continue the format established by A Hard Day's Night which, unlike their first two LPs, contained only original songs. They had nearly exhausted their backlog of songs on the previous album, however, and given the challenges constant international touring posed to their songwriting efforts, Lennon admitted, "Material's becoming a hell of a problem". As a result, six covers from their extensive repertoire were chosen to complete the album. Released in early December, its eight original compositions stood out, demonstrating the growing maturity of the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership. In early 1965, following a dinner with Lennon, Harrison and their wives, Harrison's dentist, John Riley, secretly added LSD to their coffee. Lennon described the experience: "It was just terrifying, but it was fantastic. I was pretty stunned for a month or two." He and Harrison subsequently became regular users of the drug, joined by Starr on at least one occasion. Harrison's use of psychedelic drugs encouraged his path to meditation and Hinduism. He commented: "For me, it was like a flash. The first time I had acid, it just opened up something in my head that was inside of me, and I realised a lot of things. I didn't learn them because I already knew them, but that happened to be the key that opened the door to reveal them. From the moment I had that, I wanted to have it all the time – these thoughts about the yogis and the Himalayas, and Ravi's music." McCartney was initially reluctant to try it, but eventually did so in late 1966. He became the first Beatle to discuss LSD publicly, declaring in a magazine interview that "it opened my eyes" and "made me a better, more honest, more tolerant member of society". Controversy erupted in June 1965 when Queen Elizabeth II appointed all four Beatles Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) after Prime Minister Harold Wilson nominated them for the award. In protest – the honour was at that time primarily bestowed upon military veterans and civic leaders – some conservative MBE recipients returned their insignia. In July, the Beatles' second film, Help!, was released, again directed by Lester. Described as "mainly a relentless spoof of Bond", it inspired a mixed response among both reviewers and the band. McCartney said: "Help! was great but it wasn't our film – we were sort of guest stars. It was fun, but basically, as an idea for a film, it was a bit wrong." The soundtrack was dominated by Lennon, who wrote and sang lead on most of its songs, including the two singles: "Help!" and "Ticket to Ride". The Help! album, the group's fifth studio LP, mirrored A Hard Day's Night by featuring soundtrack songs on side one and additional songs from the same sessions on side two. The LP contained all original material save for two covers, "Act Naturally" and "Dizzy Miss Lizzy"; they were the last covers the band would include on an album, except for Let It Be brief rendition of the traditional Liverpool folk song "Maggie Mae". The band expanded their use of vocal overdubs on Help! and incorporated classical instruments into some arrangements, including a string quartet on the pop ballad "Yesterday". Composed by and sung by McCartney – none of the other Beatles perform on the recording – "Yesterday" has inspired the most cover versions of any song ever written. With Help!, the Beatles became the first rock group to be nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. The group's third US tour opened with a performance before a world-record crowd of 55,600 at New York's Shea Stadium on 15 August – "perhaps the most famous of all Beatles' concerts", in Lewisohn's description. A further nine successful concerts followed in other American cities. At a show in Atlanta, the Beatles gave one of the first live performances ever to make use of a foldback system of on-stage monitor speakers. Towards the end of the tour, they met with Elvis Presley, a foundational musical influence on the band, who invited them to his home in Beverly Hills. September 1965 saw the launch of an American Saturday-morning cartoon series, The Beatles, that echoed A Hard Day's Night slapstick antics over its two-year original run. The series was a historical milestone as the first weekly television series to feature animated versions of real, living people. In mid-October, the Beatles entered the recording studio; for the first time when making an album, they had an extended period without other major commitments. Until this time, according to George Martin, "we had been making albums rather like a collection of singles. Now we were really beginning to think about albums as a bit of art on their own." Released in December, Rubber Soul was hailed by critics as a major step forward in the maturity and complexity of the band's music. Their thematic reach was beginning to expand as they embraced deeper aspects of romance and philosophy, a development that NEMS executive Peter Brown attributed to the band members' "now habitual use of marijuana". Lennon referred to Rubber Soul as "the pot album" and Starr said: "Grass was really influential in a lot of our changes, especially with the writers. And because they were writing different material, we were playing differently." After Help!s foray into classical music with flutes and strings, Harrison's introduction of a sitar on "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" marked a further progression outside the traditional boundaries of popular music. As the lyrics grew more artful, fans began to study them for deeper meaning. While some of Rubber Souls songs were the product of Lennon and McCartney's collaborative songwriting, the album also included distinct compositions from each, though they continued to share official credit. "In My Life", of which each later claimed lead authorship, is considered a highlight of the entire Lennon–McCartney catalogue. Harrison called Rubber Soul his "favourite album", and Starr referred to it as "the departure record". McCartney has said, "We'd had our cute period, and now it was time to expand." However, recording engineer Norman Smith later stated that the studio sessions revealed signs of growing conflict within the group – "the clash between John and Paul was becoming obvious", he wrote, and "as far as Paul was concerned, George could do no right". In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Rubber Soul fifth among "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", and AllMusic's Richie Unterberger describes it as "one of the classic folk-rock records". Controversies, Revolver and final tour Capitol Records, from December 1963 when it began issuing Beatles recordings for the US market, exercised complete control over format, compiling distinct US albums from the band's recordings and issuing songs of their choosing as singles. In June 1966, the Capitol LP Yesterday and Today caused an uproar with its cover, which portrayed the grinning Beatles dressed in butcher's overalls, accompanied by raw meat and mutilated plastic baby dolls. According to Beatles biographer Bill Harry, it has been incorrectly suggested that this was meant as a satirical response to the way Capitol had "butchered" the US versions of the band's albums. Thousands of copies of the LP had a new cover pasted over the original; an unpeeled "first-state" copy fetched $10,500 at a December 2005 auction. In England, meanwhile, Harrison met sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, who agreed to train him on the instrument. During a tour of the Philippines the month after the Yesterday and Today furore, the Beatles unintentionally snubbed the nation's first lady, Imelda Marcos, who had expected them to attend a breakfast reception at the Presidential Palace. When presented with the invitation, Epstein politely declined on the band members' behalf, as it had never been his policy to accept such official invitations. They soon found that the Marcos regime was unaccustomed to taking no for an answer. The resulting riots endangered the group and they escaped the country with difficulty. Immediately afterwards, the band members visited India for the first time. Almost as soon as they returned home, the Beatles faced a fierce backlash from US religious and social conservatives (as well as the Ku Klux Klan) over a comment Lennon had made in a March interview with British reporter Maureen Cleave. "Christianity will go", Lennon had said. "It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that; I'm right and I will be proved right ... Jesus was alright but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me." His comments went virtually unnoticed in England, but when US teenage fan magazine Datebook printed them five months later, it sparked a controversy with Christians in America's conservative Bible Belt region. The Vatican issued a protest, and bans on Beatles' records were imposed by Spanish and Dutch stations and South Africa's national broadcasting service. Epstein accused Datebook of having taken Lennon's words out of context. At a press conference, Lennon pointed out, "If I'd said television was more popular than Jesus, I might have got away with it." He claimed that he was referring to how other people viewed their success, but at the prompting of reporters, he concluded: "If you want me to apologise, if that will make you happy, then okay, I'm sorry." Released in August 1966, a week before the Beatles' final tour, Revolver marked another artistic step forward for the group. The album featured sophisticated songwriting, studio experimentation, and a greatly expanded repertoire of musical styles, ranging from innovative classical string arrangements to psychedelia. Abandoning the customary group photograph, its Aubrey Beardsley-inspired cover – designed by Klaus Voormann, a friend of the band since their Hamburg days – was a monochrome collage and line drawing caricature of the group. The album was preceded by the single "Paperback Writer", backed by "Rain". Short promotional films were made for both songs; described by cultural historian Saul Austerlitz as "among the first true music videos", they aired on The Ed Sullivan Show and Top of the Pops in June. Among the experimental songs that Revolver featured was "Tomorrow Never Knows", the lyrics for which Lennon drew from Timothy Leary's The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Its creation involved eight tape decks distributed about the EMI building, each staffed by an engineer or band member, who randomly varied the movement of a tape loop while Martin created a composite recording by sampling the incoming data. McCartney's "Eleanor Rigby" made prominent use of a string octet; Gould describes it as "a true hybrid, conforming to no recognisable style or genre of song". Harrison's emergence as a songwriter was reflected in three of his compositions appearing on the record. Among these, "Taxman", which opened the album, marked the first example of the Beatles making a political statement through their music. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Revolver as the third greatest album of all time. As preparations were made for a tour of the US, the Beatles knew that their music would hardly be heard. Having originally used Vox AC30 amplifiers, they later acquired more powerful 100-watt amplifiers, specially designed by Vox for them as they moved into larger venues in 1964, but these were still inadequate. Struggling to compete with the volume of sound generated by screaming fans, the band had grown increasingly bored with the routine of performing live. Recognising that their shows were no longer about the music, they decided to make the August tour their last. The band performed none of their new songs on the tour. In Chris Ingham's description, they were very much "studio creations ... and there was no way a four-piece rock 'n' roll group could do them justice, particularly through the desensitising wall of the fans' screams. 'Live Beatles' and 'Studio Beatles' had become entirely different beasts." The band's concert at San Francisco's Candlestick Park on 29 August was their last commercial concert. It marked the end of four years dominated by almost nonstop touring that included over 1,400 concert appearances internationally. 1966–1970: Studio years Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Freed from the burden of touring, the Beatles embraced an increasingly experimental approach as they recorded Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, beginning in late November 1966. According to engineer Geoff Emerick, the album's recording took over 700 hours. He recalled the band's insistence "that everything on Sgt. Pepper had to be different. We had microphones right down in the bells of brass instruments and headphones turned into microphones attached to violins. We used giant primitive oscillators to vary the speed of instruments and vocals and we had tapes chopped to pieces and stuck together upside down and the wrong way around." Parts of "A Day in the Life" featured a 40-piece orchestra. The sessions initially yielded the non-album double A-side single "Strawberry Fields Forever"/"Penny Lane" in February 1967; the Sgt. Pepper LP followed with a rush-release in May. The musical complexity of the records, created using relatively primitive four-track recording technology, astounded contemporary artists. Among music critics, acclaim for the album was virtually universal. Gould writes: In the wake of Sgt. Pepper, the underground and mainstream press widely publicised the Beatles as leaders of youth culture, as well as "lifestyle revolutionaries". The album was the first major pop/rock LP to include its complete lyrics, which appeared on the back cover. Those lyrics were the subject of critical analysis; for instance, in late 1967 the album was the subject of a scholarly inquiry by American literary critic and professor of English Richard Poirier, who observed that his students were "listening to the group's music with a degree of engagement that he, as a teacher of literature, could only envy". The elaborate cover also attracted considerable interest and study. A collage designed by pop artists Peter Blake and Jann Haworth, it depicted the group as the fictional band referred to in the album's title track standing in front of a crowd of famous people. The heavy moustaches worn by the group reflected the growing influence of hippie style, while cultural historian Jonathan Harris describes their "brightly coloured parodies of military uniforms" as a knowingly "anti-authoritarian and anti-establishment" display. Sgt. Pepper topped the UK charts for 23 consecutive weeks, with a further four weeks at number one in the period through to February 1968. With 2.5 million copies sold within three months of its release, Sgt. Peppers initial commercial success exceeded that of all previous Beatles albums. It sustained its immense popularity into the 21st century while breaking numerous sales records. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Sgt. Pepper at number one on its list of the greatest albums of all time. Magical Mystery Tour and Yellow Submarine Two Beatles film projects were conceived within weeks of completing Sgt. Pepper: Magical Mystery Tour, a one-hour television film, and Yellow Submarine, an animated feature-length film produced by United Artists. The group began recording music for the former in late April 1967, but the project then lay dormant as they focused on recording songs for the latter. On 25 June, the Beatles performed their forthcoming single "All You Need Is Love" to an estimated 350 million viewers on Our World, the first live global television link. Released a week later, during the Summer of Love, the song was adopted as a flower power anthem. The Beatles' use of psychedelic drugs was at its height during that summer. In July and August, the group pursued interests related to similar utopian-based ideology, including a week-long investigation into the possibility of starting an island-based commune off the coast of Greece. On 24 August, the group were introduced to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in London. The next day, they travelled to Bangor for his Transcendental Meditation retreat. On 27 August, their manager's assistant, Peter Brown, phoned to inform them that Epstein had died. The coroner ruled the death an accidental carbitol overdose, although it was widely rumoured to be a suicide. His death left the group disoriented and fearful about the future. Lennon recalled: "We collapsed. I knew that we were in trouble then. I didn't really have any misconceptions about our ability to do anything other than play music, and I was scared. I thought, 'We've fuckin' had it now.'" Harrison's then-wife Pattie Boyd remembered that "Paul and George were in complete shock. I don't think it could have been worse if they had heard that their own fathers had dropped dead." During a band meeting in September, McCartney recommended that the band proceed with Magical Mystery Tour. The Magical Mystery Tour soundtrack was released in the UK as a six-track double extended play (EP) in early December 1967. It was the first example of a double EP in the UK. The record carried on the psychedelic vein of Sgt. Pepper, however, in line with the band's wishes, the packaging reinforced the idea that the release was a film soundtrack rather than a follow-up to Sgt. Pepper. In the US, the soundtrack appeared as an identically titled LP that also included five tracks from the band's recent singles. In its first three weeks, the album set a record for the highest initial sales of any Capitol LP, and it is the only Capitol compilation later to be adopted in the band's official canon of studio albums. Magical Mystery Tour first aired on Boxing Day to an audience of approximately 15 million. Largely directed by McCartney, the film was the band's first critical failure in the UK. It was dismissed as "blatant rubbish" by the Daily Express; the Daily Mail called it "a colossal conceit"; and The Guardian labelled the film "a kind of fantasy morality play about the grossness and warmth and stupidity of the audience". Gould describes it as "a great deal of raw footage showing a group of people getting on, getting off, and riding on a bus". Although the viewership figures were respectable, its slating in the press led US television networks to lose interest in broadcasting the film. The group were less involved with Yellow Submarine, which only featured the band appearing as themselves for a short live-action segment. Premiering in July 1968, the film featured cartoon versions of the band members and a soundtrack with eleven of their songs, including four unreleased studio recordings that made their debut in the film. Critics praised the film for its music, humour and innovative visual style. A soundtrack LP was issued seven months later; it contained those four new songs, the title track (already issued on Revolver), "All You Need Is Love" (already issued as a single and on the US Magical Mystery Tour LP) and seven instrumental pieces composed by Martin. India retreat, Apple Corps and the White Album In February 1968, the Beatles travelled to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram in Rishikesh, India, to take part in a three-month meditation "Guide Course". Their time in India marked one of the band's most prolific periods, yielding numerous songs, including a majority of those on their next album. However, Starr left after only ten days, unable to stomach the food, and McCartney eventually grew bored and departed a month later. For Lennon and Harrison, creativity turned to question when an electronics technician known as Magic Alex suggested that the Maharishi was attempting to manipulate them. When he alleged that the Maharishi had made sexual advances to women attendees, a persuaded Lennon left abruptly just two months into the course, bringing an unconvinced Harrison and the remainder of the group's entourage with him. In anger, Lennon wrote a scathing song titled "Maharishi", renamed "Sexy Sadie" to avoid potential legal issues. McCartney said, "We made a mistake. We thought there was more to him than there was." In May, Lennon and McCartney travelled to New York for the public unveiling of the Beatles' new business venture, Apple Corps. It was initially formed several months earlier as part of a plan to create a tax-effective business structure, but the band then desired to extend the corporation to other pursuits, including record distribution, peace activism, and education. McCartney described Apple as "rather like a Western communism". The enterprise drained the group financially with a series of unsuccessful projects handled largely by members of the Beatles' entourage, who were given their jobs regardless of talent and experience. Among its numerous subsidiaries were Apple Electronics, established to foster technological innovations with Magic Alex at the head, and Apple Retailing, which opened the short-lived Apple Boutique in London. Harrison later said, "Basically, it was chaos ... John and Paul got carried away with the idea and blew millions, and Ringo and I just had to go along with it." From late May to mid-October 1968, the group recorded what became The Beatles, a double LP commonly known as "the White Album" for its virtually featureless cover. During this time, relations between the members grew openly divisive. Starr quit for two weeks, leaving his bandmates to record "Back in the U.S.S.R." and "Dear Prudence" as a trio, with McCartney filling in on drums. Lennon had lost interest in collaborating with McCartney, whose contribution "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" he scorned as "granny music shit". Tensions were further aggravated by Lennon's romantic preoccupation with avant-garde artist Yoko Ono, whom he insisted on bringing to the sessions despite the group's well-established understanding that girlfriends were not allowed in the studio. McCartney has recalled that the album "wasn't a pleasant one to make". He and Lennon identified the sessions as the start of the band's break-up. With the record, the band executed a wider range of musical styles and broke with their recent tradition of incorporating several musical styles in one song by keeping each piece of music consistently faithful to a select genre. During the sessions, the group upgraded to an eight-track tape console, which made it easier for them to layer tracks piecemeal, while the members often recorded independently of each other, affording the album a reputation as a collection of solo recordings rather than a unified group effort. Describing the double album, Lennon later said: "Every track is an individual track; there isn't any Beatle music on it. [It's] John and the band, Paul and the band, George and the band." The sessions also produced the Beatles' longest song yet, "Hey Jude", released in August as a non-album single with "Revolution". Issued in November, the White Album was the band's first Apple Records album release, although EMI continued to own their recordings. The record attracted more than 2 million advance orders, selling nearly 4 million copies in the US in little over a month, and its tracks dominated the playlists of American radio stations. Its lyric content was the focus of much analysis by the counterculture. Despite its popularity, reviewers were largely confused by the album's content, and it failed to inspire the level of critical writing that Sgt. Pepper had. General critical opinion eventually turned in favour of the White Album, and in 2003, Rolling Stone ranked it as the tenth greatest album of all time. Abbey Road, Let It Be and separation Although Let It Be was the Beatles' final album release, it was largely recorded before Abbey Road. The project's impetus came from an idea Martin attributes to McCartney, who suggested they "record an album of new material and rehearse it, then perform it before a live audience for the very first time – on record and on film". Originally intended for a one-hour television programme to be called Beatles at Work, in the event much of the album's content came from studio work beginning in January 1969, many hours of which were captured on film by director Michael Lindsay-Hogg. Martin said that the project was "not at all a happy recording experience. It was a time when relations between the Beatles were at their lowest ebb." Lennon described the largely impromptu sessions as "hell ... the most miserable ... on Earth", and Harrison, "the low of all-time". Irritated by McCartney and Lennon, Harrison walked out for five days. Upon returning, he threatened to leave the band unless they "abandon[ed] all talk of live performance" and instead focused on finishing a new album, initially titled Get Back, using songs recorded for the TV special. He also demanded they cease work at Twickenham Film Studios, where the sessions had begun, and relocate to the newly finished Apple Studio. His bandmates agreed, and it was decided to salvage the footage shot for the TV production for use in a feature film. To alleviate tensions within the band and improve the quality of their live sound, Harrison invited keyboardist Billy Preston to participate in the last nine days of sessions. Preston received label billing on the "Get Back" single – the only musician ever to receive that acknowledgment on an official Beatles release. After the rehearsals, the band could not agree on a location to film a concert, rejecting several ideas, including a boat at sea, a lunatic asylum, the Tunisian desert, and the Colosseum. Ultimately, what would be their final live performance was filmed on the rooftop of the Apple Corps building at 3 Savile Row, London, on 30 January 1969. Five weeks later, engineer Glyn Johns, whom Lewisohn describes as Get Backs "uncredited producer", began work assembling an album, given "free rein" as the band "all but washed their hands of the entire project". New strains developed between the band members regarding the appointment of a financial adviser, the need for which had become evident without Epstein to manage business affairs. Lennon, Harrison and Starr favoured Allen Klein, who had managed the Rolling Stones and Sam Cooke; McCartney wanted Lee and John Eastman – father and brother, respectively, of Linda Eastman, whom McCartney married on 12 March. Agreement could not be reached, so both Klein and the Eastmans were temporarily appointed: Klein as the Beatles' business manager and the Eastmans as their lawyers. Further conflict ensued, however, and financial opportunities were lost. On 8 May, Klein was named sole manager of the band, the Eastmans having previously been dismissed as the Beatles' lawyers. McCartney refused to sign the management contract with Klein, but he was out-voted by the other Beatles. Martin stated that he was surprised when McCartney asked him to produce another album, as the Get Back sessions had been "a miserable experience" and he had "thought it was the end of the road for all of us". The primary recording sessions for Abbey Road began on 2 July. Lennon, who rejected Martin's proposed format of a "continuously moving piece of music", wanted his and McCartney's songs to occupy separate sides of the album. The eventual format, with individually composed songs on the first side and the second consisting largely of a medley, was McCartney's suggested compromise. Emerick noted that the replacement of the studio's valve mixing console with a transistorised one yielded a less punchy sound, leaving the group frustrated at the thinner tone and lack of impact and contributing to its "kinder, gentler" feel relative to their previous albums. On 4 July, the first solo single by a Beatle was released: Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance", credited to the Plastic Ono Band. The completion and mixing of "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" on 20 August was the last occasion on which all four Beatles were together in the same studio. On 8 September, while Starr was in hospital, the other band members met to discuss recording a new album. They considered a different approach to songwriting by ending the Lennon–McCartney pretence and having four compositions apiece from Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, with two from Starr and a lead single around Christmas. On 20 September, Lennon announced his departure to the rest of the group but agreed to withhold a public announcement to avoid undermining sales of the forthcoming album. Released on 26 September, Abbey Road sold four million copies within three months and topped the UK charts for a total of seventeen weeks. Its second track, the ballad "Something", was issued as a single – the only Harrison composition that appeared as a Beatles A-side. Abbey Road received mixed reviews, although the medley met with general acclaim. Unterberger considers it "a fitting swan song for the group", containing "some of the greatest harmonies to be heard on any rock record". Musicologist and author Ian MacDonald calls the album "erratic and often hollow", despite the "semblance of unity and coherence" offered by the medley. Martin singled it out as his favourite Beatles album; Lennon said it was "competent" but had "no life in it". For the still unfinished Get Back album, one last song, Harrison's "I Me Mine", was recorded on 3 January 1970. Lennon, in Denmark at the time, did not participate. In March, rejecting the work Johns had done on the project, now retitled Let It Be, Klein gave the session tapes to American producer Phil Spector, who had recently produced Lennon's solo single "Instant Karma!" In addition to remixing the material, Spector edited, spliced and overdubbed several of the recordings that had been intended as "live". McCartney was unhappy with the producer's approach and particularly dissatisfied with the lavish orchestration on "The Long and Winding Road", which involved a fourteen-voice choir and 36-piece instrumental ensemble. McCartney's demands that the alterations to the song be reverted were ignored, and he publicly announced his departure from the band on 10 April, a week before the release of his first self-titled solo album. On 8 May 1970, Let It Be was released. Its accompanying single, "The Long and Winding Road", was the Beatles' last; it was released in the US, but not in the UK. The Let It Be documentary film followed later that month, and would win the 1970 Academy Award for Best Original Song Score. Sunday Telegraph critic Penelope Gilliatt called it "a very bad film and a touching one ... about the breaking apart of this reassuring, geometrically perfect, once apparently ageless family of siblings". Several reviewers stated that some of the performances in the film sounded better than their analogous album tracks. Describing Let It Be as the "only Beatles album to occasion negative, even hostile reviews", Unterberger calls it "on the whole underrated"; he singles out "some good moments of straight hard rock in 'I've Got a Feeling' and 'Dig a Pony'", and praises "Let It Be", "Get Back", and "the folky 'Two of Us', with John and Paul harmonising together". McCartney filed suit for the dissolution of the Beatles' contractual partnership on 31 December 1970. Legal disputes continued long after their break-up, and the dissolution was not formalised until 29 December 1974, when Lennon signed the paperwork terminating the partnership while on vacation with his family at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. 1970–present: After the break-up 1970s Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr all released solo albums in 1970. Their solo records sometimes involved one or more of the others; Starr's Ringo (1973) was the only album to include compositions and performances by all four ex-Beatles, albeit on separate songs. With Starr's participation, Harrison staged the Concert for Bangladesh in New York City in August 1971. Other than an unreleased jam session in 1974, later bootlegged as A Toot and a Snore in '74, Lennon and McCartney never recorded together again. Two double-LP sets of the Beatles' greatest hits, compiled by Klein, 1962–1966 and 1967–1970, were released in 1973, at first under the Apple Records imprint. Commonly known as the "Red Album" and "Blue Album", respectively, each has earned a Multi-Platinum certification in the US and a Platinum certification in the UK. Between 1976 and 1982, EMI/Capitol released a wave of compilation albums without input from the ex-Beatles, starting with the double-disc compilation Rock 'n' Roll Music. The only one to feature previously unreleased material was The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl (1977); the first officially issued concert recordings by the group, it contained selections from two shows they played during their 1964 and 1965 US tours. The music and enduring fame of the Beatles were commercially exploited in various other ways, again often outside their creative control. In April 1974, the musical John, Paul, George, Ringo ... and Bert, written by Willy Russell and featuring singer Barbara Dickson, opened in London. It included, with permission from Northern Songs, eleven Lennon-McCartney compositions and one by Harrison, "Here Comes the Sun". Displeased with the production's use of his song, Harrison withdrew his permission to use it. Later that year, the off-Broadway musical Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on the Road opened. All This and World War II (1976) was an unorthodox nonfiction film that combined newsreel footage with covers of Beatles songs by performers ranging from Elton John and Keith Moon to the London Symphony Orchestra. The Broadway musical Beatlemania, an unauthorised nostalgia revue, opened in early 1977 and proved popular, spinning off five separate touring productions. In 1979, the band sued the producers, settling for several million dollars in damages. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978), a musical film starring the Bee Gees and Peter Frampton, was a commercial failure and an "artistic fiasco", according to Ingham. Accompanying the wave of Beatles nostalgia and persistent reunion rumours in the US during the 1970s, several entrepreneurs made public offers to the Beatles for a reunion concert. Promoter Bill Sargent first offered the Beatles $10 million for a reunion concert in 1974. He raised his offer to $30 million in January 1976 and then to $50 million the following month. On 24 April 1976, during a broadcast of Saturday Night Live, producer Lorne Michaels jokingly offered the Beatles $3,000 to reunite on the show. Lennon and McCartney were watching the live broadcast at Lennon's apartment at the Dakota in New York, which was within driving distance of the NBC studio where the show was being broadcast. The former bandmates briefly entertained the idea of going to the studio and surprising Michaels by accepting his offer, but decided not to. 1980s In December 1980, Lennon was shot and killed outside his New York City apartment. Harrison rewrote the lyrics of his song "All Those Years Ago" in Lennon's honour. With Starr on drums and McCartney and his wife, Linda, contributing backing vocals, the song was released as a single in May 1981. McCartney's own tribute, "Here Today", appeared on his Tug of War album in April 1982. In 1984 Starr joined McCartney to star in Paul's film Give My Regards to Broad Street, and played with Paul on several of the songs on the soundtrack. In 1987, Harrison's Cloud Nine album included "When We Was Fab", a song about the Beatlemania era. When the Beatles' studio albums were released on CD by EMI and Apple Corps in 1987, their catalogue was standardised throughout the world, establishing a canon of the twelve original studio LPs as issued in the UK plus the US LP version of Magical Mystery Tour. All the remaining material from the singles and EPs that had not appeared on these thirteen studio albums was gathered on the two-volume compilation Past Masters (1988). Except for the Red and Blue albums, EMI deleted all its other Beatles compilations – including the Hollywood Bowl record – from its catalogue. In 1988, the Beatles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, their first year of eligibility. Harrison and Starr attended the ceremony with Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, and his two sons, Julian and Sean. McCartney declined to attend, citing unresolved "business differences" that would make him "feel like a complete hypocrite waving and smiling with them at a fake reunion". The following year, EMI/Capitol settled a decade-long lawsuit filed by the band over royalties, clearing the way to commercially package previously unreleased material. 1990s Live at the BBC, the first official release of unissued Beatles performances in seventeen years, appeared in 1994. That same year McCartney, Harrison and Starr collaborated on the Anthology project. Anthology was the culmination of work begun in 1970, when Apple Corps director Neil Aspinall, their former road manager and personal assistant, had started to gather material for a documentary with the working title The Long and Winding Road. Documenting their history in the band's own words, the Anthology project included the release of several unissued Beatles recordings. McCartney, Harrison and Starr also added new instrumental and vocal parts to songs recorded as demos by Lennon in the late 1970s. During 1995–96, the project yielded a television miniseries, an eight-volume video set, and three two-CD/three-LP box sets featuring artwork by Klaus Voormann. Two songs based on Lennon demos, "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love", were issued as new Beatles singles. The releases were commercially successful and the television series was viewed by an estimated 400 million people. In 1999, to coincide with the re-release of the 1968 film Yellow Submarine, an expanded soundtrack album, Yellow Submarine Songtrack, was issued. 2000s The Beatles' 1, a compilation album of the band's British and American number-one hits, was released on 13 November 2000. It became the fastest-selling album of all time, with 3.6 million sold in its first week and 13 million within a month. It topped albums charts in at least 28 countries. The compilation had sold 31 million copies globally by April 2009. Harrison died from metastatic lung cancer in November 2001. McCartney and Starr were among the musicians who performed at the Concert for George, organised by Eric Clapton and Harrison's widow, Olivia. The tribute event took place at the Royal Albert Hall on the first anniversary of Harrison's death. In 2003, Let It Be... Naked, a reconceived version of the Let It Be album, with McCartney supervising production, was released. One of the main differences from the Spector-produced version was the omission of the original string arrangements. It was a top-ten hit in both Britain and America. The US album configurations from 1964 to 1965 were released as box sets in 2004 and 2006; The Capitol Albums, Volume 1 and Volume 2 included both stereo and mono versions based on the mixes that were prepared for vinyl at the time of the music's original American release. As a soundtrack for Cirque du Soleil's Las Vegas Beatles stage revue, Love, George Martin and his son Giles remixed and blended 130 of the band's recordings to create what Martin called "a way of re-living the whole Beatles musical lifespan in a very condensed period". The show premiered in June 2006, and the Love album was released that November. In April 2009, Starr performed three songs with McCartney at a benefit concert held at New York's Radio City Music Hall and organised by McCartney. On 9 September 2009, the Beatles' entire back catalogue was reissued following an extensive digital remastering process that lasted four years. Stereo editions of all twelve original UK studio albums, along with Magical Mystery Tour and the Past Masters compilation, were released on compact disc both individually and as a box set. A second collection, The Beatles in Mono, included remastered versions of every Beatles album released in true mono along with the original 1965 stereo mixes of Help! and Rubber Soul (both of which Martin had remixed for the 1987 editions). The Beatles: Rock Band, a music video game in the Rock Band series, was issued on the same day. In December 2009, the band's catalogue was officially released in FLAC and MP3 format in a limited edition of 30,000 USB flash drives. 2010s Owing to a long-running royalty disagreement, the Beatles were among the last major artists to sign deals with online music services. Residual disagreement emanating from Apple Corps' dispute with Apple, Inc., iTunes' owners, over the use of the name "Apple" was also partly responsible for the delay, although in 2008, McCartney stated that the main obstacle to making the Beatles' catalogue available online was that EMI "want[s] something we're not prepared to give them". In 2010, the official canon of thirteen Beatles studio albums, Past Masters, and the "Red" and "Blue" greatest-hits albums were made available on iTunes. In 2012, EMI's recorded music operations were sold to Universal Music Group. In order for Universal Music to acquire EMI, the European Union, for antitrust reasons, forced EMI to spin off assets including Parlophone. Universal was allowed to keep the Beatles' recorded music catalogue, managed by Capitol Records under its Capitol Music Group division. The entire original Beatles album catalogue was also reissued on vinyl in 2012; available either individually or as a box set. In 2013, a second volume of BBC recordings, titled On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2, was released. That December saw the release of another 59 Beatles recordings on iTunes. The set, titled The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963, had the opportunity to gain a 70-year copyright extension conditional on the songs being published at least once before the end of 2013. Apple Records released the recordings on 17 December to prevent them from going into the public domain and had them taken down from iTunes later that same day. Fan reactions to the release were mixed, with one blogger saying "the hardcore Beatles collectors who are trying to obtain everything will already have these." On 26 January 2014, McCartney and Starr performed together at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The following day, The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to The Beatles television special was taped in the Los Angeles Convention Center's West Hall. It aired on 9 February, the exact date of – and at the same time, and on the same network as – the original broadcast of the Beatles' first US television appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, 50 years earlier. The special included performances of Beatles songs by current artists as well as by McCartney and Starr, archival footage, and interviews with the two surviving ex-Beatles carried out by David Letterman at the Ed Sullivan Theater. In December 2015, the Beatles released their catalogue for streaming on various streaming music services including Spotify and Apple Music. In September 2016, the documentary film The Beatles: Eight Days a Week was released. Directed by Ron Howard, it chronicled the Beatles' career during their touring years from 1961 to 1966, from their performances in Liverpool's the Cavern Club in 1961 to their final concert in San Francisco in 1966. The film was released theatrically on 15 September in the UK and the US, and started streaming on Hulu on 17 September. It received several awards and nominations, including for Best Documentary at the 70th British Academy Film Awards and the Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special at the 69th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. An expanded, remixed and remastered version of The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl was released on 9 September, to coincide with the release of the film. On 18 May 2017, Sirius XM Radio launched a 24/7 radio channel, The Beatles Channel. A week later, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was reissued with new stereo mixes and unreleased material for the album's 50th anniversary. Similar box sets were released for The Beatles in November 2018, and Abbey Road in September 2019. On the first week of October 2019, Abbey Road returned to number one on the UK Albums Chart. The Beatles broke their own record for the album with the longest gap between topping the charts as Abbey Road hit the top spot 50 years after its original release. 2020s In November 2021, The Beatles: Get Back, a documentary directed by Peter Jackson using footage captured for the Let It Be film, was released on Disney+ as a three-part miniseries. A book also titled The Beatles: Get Back was released on 12 October, ahead of the documentary. A super deluxe version of the Let It Be album was released on 15 October. Musical style and development In Icons of Rock: An Encyclopedia of the Legends Who Changed Music Forever, Scott Schinder and Andy Schwartz describe the Beatles' musical evolution: In The Beatles as Musicians, Walter Everett describes Lennon and McCartney's contrasting motivations and approaches to composition: "McCartney may be said to have constantly developed – as a means to entertain – a focused musical talent with an ear for counterpoint and other aspects of craft in the demonstration of a universally agreed-upon common language that he did much to enrich. Conversely, Lennon's mature music is best appreciated as the daring product of a largely unconscious, searching but undisciplined artistic sensibility." Ian MacDonald describes McCartney as "a natural melodist – a creator of tunes capable of existing apart from their harmony". His melody lines are characterised as primarily "vertical", employing wide, consonant intervals which express his "extrovert energy and optimism". Conversely, Lennon's "sedentary, ironic personality" is reflected in a "horizontal" approach featuring minimal, dissonant intervals and repetitive melodies which rely on their harmonic accompaniment for interest: "Basically a realist, he instinctively kept his melodies close to the rhythms and cadences of speech, colouring his lyrics with bluesy tone and harmony rather than creating tunes that made striking shapes of their own." MacDonald praises Harrison's lead guitar work for the role his "characterful lines and textural colourings" play in supporting Lennon and McCartney's parts, and describes Starr as "the father of modern pop/rock drumming". Influences The band's earliest influences include Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Little Richard and Chuck Berry. During the Beatles' co-residency with Little Richard at the Star-Club in Hamburg, from April to May 1962, he advised them on the proper technique for performing his songs. Of Presley, Lennon said, "Nothing really affected me until I heard Elvis. If there hadn't been Elvis, there would not have been the Beatles." Other early influences include Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, Roy Orbison and the Everly Brothers. The Beatles continued to absorb influences long after their initial success, often finding new musical and lyrical avenues by listening to their contemporaries, including Bob Dylan, the Who, Frank Zappa, the Lovin' Spoonful, the Byrds and the Beach Boys, whose 1966 album Pet Sounds amazed and inspired McCartney. Referring to the Beach Boys' creative leader, Martin later stated: "No one made a greater impact on the Beatles than Brian [Wilson]." Ravi Shankar, with whom Harrison studied for six weeks in India in late 1966, had a significant effect on his musical development during the band's later years. Genres Originating as a skiffle group, the Beatles quickly embraced 1950s rock and roll and helped pioneer the Merseybeat genre, and their repertoire ultimately expanded to include a broad variety of pop music. Reflecting the range of styles they explored, Lennon said of Beatles for Sale, "You could call our new one a Beatles country-and-western LP", while Gould credits Rubber Soul as "the instrument by which legions of folk-music enthusiasts were coaxed into the camp of pop". Although the 1965 song "Yesterday" was not the first pop record to employ orchestral strings, it marked the group's first recorded use of classical music elements. Gould observes: "The more traditional sound of strings allowed for a fresh appreciation of their talent as composers by listeners who were otherwise allergic to the din of drums and electric guitars." They continued to experiment with string arrangements to various effect; Sgt. Peppers "She's Leaving Home", for instance, is "cast in the of a sentimental Victorian ballad", Gould writes, "its words and music filled with the clichés of musical melodrama". The band's stylistic range expanded in another direction with their 1966 B-side "Rain", described by Martin Strong as "the first overtly psychedelic Beatles record". Other psychedelic numbers followed, such as "Tomorrow Never Knows" (recorded before "Rain"), "Strawberry Fields Forever", "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "I Am the Walrus". The influence of Indian classical music was evident in Harrison's "The Inner Light", "Love You To" and "Within You Without You" – Gould describes the latter two as attempts "to replicate the raga form in miniature". Innovation was the most striking feature of their creative evolution, according to music historian and pianist Michael Campbell: "'A Day in the Life' encapsulates the art and achievement of the Beatles as well as any single track can. It highlights key features of their music: the sound imagination, the persistence of tuneful melody, and the close coordination between words and music. It represents a new category of song – more sophisticated than pop ... and uniquely innovative. There literally had never before been a song – classical or vernacular – that had blended so many disparate elements so imaginatively." Philosophy professor Bruce Ellis Benson agrees: "the Beatles ... give us a wonderful example of how such far-ranging influences as Celtic music, rhythm and blues, and country and western could be put together in a new way." Author Dominic Pedler describes the way they crossed musical styles: "Far from moving sequentially from one genre to another (as is sometimes conveniently suggested) the group maintained in parallel their mastery of the traditional, catchy chart hit while simultaneously forging rock and dabbling with a wide range of peripheral influences from country to vaudeville. One of these threads was their take on folk music, which would form such essential groundwork for their later collisions with Indian music and philosophy." As the personal relationships between the band members grew increasingly strained, their individual tastes became more apparent. The minimalistic cover artwork for the White Album contrasted with the complexity and diversity of its music, which encompassed Lennon's "Revolution 9" (whose musique concrète approach was influenced by Yoko Ono), Starr's country song "Don't Pass Me By", Harrison's rock ballad "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", and the "proto-metal roar" of McCartney's "Helter Skelter". Contribution of George Martin George Martin's close involvement in his role as producer made him one of the leading candidates for the informal title of the "fifth Beatle". He applied his classical musical training in various ways, and functioned as "an informal music teacher" to the progressing songwriters, according to Gould. Martin suggested to a sceptical McCartney that the arrangement of "Yesterday" should feature a string quartet accompaniment, thereby introducing the Beatles to a "hitherto unsuspected world of classical instrumental colour", in MacDonald's description. Their creative development was also facilitated by Martin's willingness to experiment in response to their suggestions, such as adding "something baroque" to a particular recording. In addition to scoring orchestral arrangements for recordings, Martin often performed on them, playing instruments including piano, organ and brass. Collaborating with Lennon and McCartney required Martin to adapt to their different approaches to songwriting and recording. MacDonald comments, "while [he] worked more naturally with the conventionally articulate McCartney, the challenge of catering to Lennon's intuitive approach generally spurred him to his more original arrangements, of which 'Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!' is an outstanding example." Martin said of the two composers' distinct songwriting styles and his stabilising influence: Harrison echoed Martin's description of his stabilising role: "I think we just grew through those years together, him as the straight man and us as the loonies; but he was always there for us to interpret our madness – we used to be slightly avant-garde on certain days of the week, and he would be there as the anchor person, to communicate that through the engineers and on to the tape." In the studio Making innovative use of technology while expanding the possibilities of recorded music, the Beatles urged experimentation by Martin and his recording engineers. Seeking ways to put chance occurrences to creative use, accidental guitar feedback, a resonating glass bottle, a tape loaded the wrong way round so that it played backwards – any of these might be incorporated into their music. Their desire to create new sounds on every new recording, combined with Martin's arranging abilities and the studio expertise of EMI staff engineers Norman Smith, Ken Townsend and Geoff Emerick, all contributed significantly to their records from Rubber Soul and, especially, Revolver onwards. Along with innovative studio techniques such as sound effects, unconventional microphone placements, tape loops, double tracking and vari-speed recording, the Beatles augmented their songs with instruments that were unconventional in rock music at the time. These included string and brass ensembles as well as Indian instruments such as the sitar in "Norwegian Wood" and the swarmandal in "Strawberry Fields Forever". They also used novel electronic instruments such as the Mellotron, with which McCartney supplied the flute voices on the "Strawberry Fields Forever" intro, and the clavioline, an electronic keyboard that created the unusual oboe-like sound on "Baby, You're a Rich Man". Legacy Former Rolling Stone associate editor Robert Greenfield compared the Beatles to Picasso, as "artists who broke through the constraints of their time period to come up with something that was unique and original ... [I]n the form of popular music, no one will ever be more revolutionary, more creative and more distinctive ..." The British poet Philip Larkin described their work as "an enchanting and intoxicating hybrid of Negro rock-and-roll with their own adolescent romanticism", and "the first advance in popular music since the War". The Beatles' 1964 arrival in the US is credited with initiating the album era; the music historian Joel Whitburn says that LP sales soon "exploded and eventually outpaced the sales and releases of singles" in the music industry. They not only sparked the British Invasion of the US, they became a globally influential phenomenon as well. From the 1920s, the US had dominated popular entertainment culture throughout much of the world, via Hollywood films, jazz, the music of Broadway and Tin Pan Alley and, later, the rock and roll that first emerged in Memphis, Tennessee. The Beatles are regarded as British cultural icons, with young adults from abroad naming the band among a group of people whom they most associated with UK culture. Their musical innovations and commercial success inspired musicians worldwide. Many artists have acknowledged the Beatles' influence and enjoyed chart success with covers of their songs. On radio, their arrival marked the beginning of a new era; in 1968 the programme director of New York's WABC radio station forbade his DJs from playing any "pre-Beatles" music, marking the defining line of what would be considered oldies on American radio. They helped to redefine the album as something more than just a few hits padded out with "filler", and they were primary innovators of the modern music video. The Shea Stadium show with which they opened their 1965 North American tour attracted an estimated 55,600 people, then the largest audience in concert history; Spitz describes the event as a "major breakthrough ... a giant step toward reshaping the concert business". Emulation of their clothing and especially their hairstyles, which became a mark of rebellion, had a global impact on fashion. According to Gould, the Beatles changed the way people listened to popular music and experienced its role in their lives. From what began as the Beatlemania fad, the group's popularity grew into what was seen as an embodiment of sociocultural movements of the decade. As icons of the 1960s counterculture, Gould continues, they became a catalyst for bohemianism and activism in various social and political arenas, fuelling movements such as women's liberation, gay liberation and environmentalism. According to Peter Lavezzoli, after the "more popular than Jesus" controversy in 1966, the Beatles felt considerable pressure to say the right things and "began a concerted effort to spread a message of wisdom and higher consciousness". Other commentators such as Mikal Gilmore and Todd Leopold have traced the inception of their socio-cultural impact earlier, interpreting even the Beatlemania period, particularly on their first visit to the US, as a key moment in the development of generational awareness. Referring to their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show Leopold states: "In many ways, the Sullivan appearance marked the beginning of a cultural revolution ... The Beatles were like aliens dropped into the United States of 1964." According to Gilmore: Established in 2009, Global Beatles Day is an annual holiday on 25 June each year that honours and celebrates the ideals of the Beatles. The date was chosen to commemorate the date the group participated in the BBC programme Our World in 1967, performing "All You Need Is Love" broadcast to an international audience. Awards and achievements In 1965, Queen Elizabeth II appointed Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). The Beatles won the 1971 Academy Award for Best Original Song Score for the film Let It Be (1970). The recipients of seven Grammy Awards and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards, the Beatles have six Diamond albums, as well as 20 Multi-Platinum albums, 16 Platinum albums and six Gold albums in the US. In the UK, the Beatles have four Multi-Platinum albums, four Platinum albums, eight Gold albums and one Silver album. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. The best-selling band in history, the Beatles have sold more than 600 million units . They have had more number-one albums on the UK charts, fifteen, and sold more singles in the UK, 21.9 million, than any other act. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the Beatles as the most significant and influential rock music artists of the last 50 years. They ranked number one on Billboard magazine's list of the all-time most successful Hot 100 artists, released in 2008 to celebrate the US singles chart's 50th anniversary. , they hold the record for most number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100, with twenty. The Recording Industry Association of America certifies that the Beatles have sold 183 million units in the US, more than any other artist. They were collectively included in Time magazine's compilation of the 20th century's 100 most influential people. In 2014, they received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. On 16 January each year, beginning in 2001, people celebrate World Beatles Day under UNESCO. This date has direct relation to the opening of The Cavern Club in 1957. In 2007, the Beatles became the first band to feature on a series of UK postage stamps issued by the Royal Mail. Personnel Principal members John Lennon – vocals, guitars, keyboards, harmonica, bass (1960–1969; died 1980) Paul McCartney – vocals, bass, guitars, keyboards, drums (1960–1970) George Harrison – guitars, vocals, sitar, keyboards, bass (1960–1970; died 2001) Ringo Starr – drums, percussion, vocals (1962–1970) Early members Pete Best – drums, vocals (1960–1962) Stuart Sutcliffe – bass, vocals (1960–1961; died 1962) Chas Newby – bass (1960–1961) Norman Chapman – drums (1960; died 1995) Tommy Moore – drums (1960; died 1981) Touring musician Jimmie Nicol – drums (1964) Discography The Beatles have a core catalogue consisting of 13 studio albums and one compilation. Please Please Me (1963) With the Beatles (1963) A Hard Day's Night (1964) Beatles for Sale (1964) Help! (1965) Rubber Soul (1965) Revolver (1966) Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) Magical Mystery Tour (1967) The Beatles (1968) ("The White Album") Yellow Submarine (1969) Abbey Road (1969) Let It Be (1970) Past Masters (1988, compilation) Song catalogue Through 1969, the Beatles' catalogue was published almost exclusively by Northern Songs Ltd, a company formed in February 1963 by music publisher Dick James specifically for Lennon and McCartney, though it later acquired songs by other artists. The company was organised with James and his partner, Emmanuel Silver, owning a controlling interest, variously described as 51% or 50% plus one share. McCartney had 20%. Reports again vary concerning Lennon's portion – 19 or 20% – and Brian Epstein's – 9 or 10% – which he received in lieu of a 25% band management fee. In 1965, the company went public. Five million shares were created, of which the original principals retained 3.75 million. James and Silver each received 937,500 shares (18.75% of 5 million); Lennon and McCartney each received 750,000 shares (15%); and Epstein's management company, NEMS Enterprises, received 375,000 shares (7.5%). Of the 1.25 million shares put up for sale, Harrison and Starr each acquired 40,000. At the time of the stock offering, Lennon and McCartney renewed their three-year publishing contracts, binding them to Northern Songs until 1973. Harrison created Harrisongs to represent his Beatles compositions, but signed a three-year contract with Northern Songs that gave it the copyright to his work through March 1968, which included "Taxman" and "Within You Without You". The songs on which Starr received co-writing credit before 1968, such as "What Goes On" and "Flying", were also Northern Songs copyrights. Harrison did not renew his contract with Northern Songs when it ended, signing instead with Apple Publishing while retaining the copyright to his work from that point on. Harrison thus owns the rights to his later Beatles songs such as "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Something". That year, as well, Starr created Startling Music, which holds the rights to his Beatles compositions, "Don't Pass Me By" and "Octopus's Garden". In March 1969, James arranged to sell his and his partner's shares of Northern Songs to the British broadcasting company Associated Television (ATV), founded by impresario Lew Grade, without first informing the Beatles. The band then made a bid to gain a controlling interest by attempting to work out a deal with a consortium of London brokerage firms that had accumulated a 14% holding. The deal collapsed over the objections of Lennon, who declared, "I'm sick of being fucked about by men in suits sitting on their fat arses in the City." By the end of May, ATV had acquired a majority stake in Northern Songs, controlling nearly the entire Lennon–McCartney catalogue, as well as any future material until 1973. In frustration, Lennon and McCartney sold their shares to ATV in late October 1969. In 1981, financial losses by ATV's parent company, Associated Communications Corporation (ACC), led it to attempt to sell its music division. According to authors Brian Southall and Rupert Perry, Grade contacted McCartney, offering ATV Music and Northern Songs for $30 million. According to an account McCartney gave in 1995, he met with Grade and explained he was interested solely in the Northern Songs catalogue if Grade were ever willing to "separate off" that portion of ATV Music. Soon afterwards, Grade offered to sell him Northern Songs for £20 million, giving the ex-Beatle "a week or so" to decide. By McCartney's account, he and Ono countered with a £5 million bid that was rejected. According to reports at the time, Grade refused to separate Northern Songs and turned down an offer of £21–25 million from McCartney and Ono for Northern Songs. In 1982, ACC was acquired in a takeover by Australian business magnate Robert Holmes à Court for £60 million. In 1985, Michael Jackson purchased ATV for a reported $47.5 million. The acquisition gave him control over the publishing rights to more than 200 Beatles songs, as well as 40,000 other copyrights. In 1995, in a deal that earned him a reported $110 million, Jackson merged his music publishing business with Sony, creating a new company, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, in which he held a 50% stake. The merger made the new company, then valued at over half a billion dollars, the third-largest music publisher in the world. In 2016, Sony acquired Jackson's share of Sony/ATV from the Jackson estate for $750 million. Despite the lack of publishing rights to most of their songs, Lennon's estate and McCartney continue to receive their respective shares of the writers' royalties, which together are 33% of total commercial proceeds in the US and which vary elsewhere around the world between 50 and 55%. Two of Lennon and McCartney's earliest songs – "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You" – were published by an EMI subsidiary, Ardmore & Beechwood, before they signed with James. McCartney acquired their publishing rights from Ardmore in 1978, and they are the only two Beatles songs owned by McCartney's company MPL Communications. On 18 January 2017, McCartney filed a suit in the United States district court against Sony/ATV Music Publishing seeking to reclaim ownership of his share of the Lennon–McCartney song catalogue beginning in 2018. Under US copyright law, for works published before 1978 the author can reclaim copyrights assigned to a publisher after 56 years. McCartney and Sony agreed to a confidential settlement in June 2017. Selected filmography Fictionalised A Hard Day's Night (1964) Help! (1965) Magical Mystery Tour (1967) Yellow Submarine (1968) (brief cameo) Documentaries and filmed performances The Beatles at Shea Stadium (1966) Let It Be (1970) The Compleat Beatles (1982) It Was Twenty Years Ago Today (1987) (about Sgt. Pepper) The Beatles Anthology (1995) The Beatles: 1+ (2015) (collection of digitally restored music videos) The Beatles: Eight Days a Week (2016) (about Beatlemania and touring years) The Beatles: Get Back (2021) Concert tours 1963 1963 UK tours (winter–autumn) The Beatles Winter 1963 Helen Shapiro Tour Spring 1963 Tommy Roe/Chris Montez UK tour Roy Orbison/The Beatles Tour Autumn 1963 Sweden tour 1964 Winter 1964 North American tour Spring 1964 UK tour The Beatles' 1964 world tour 1965 The Beatles' 1965 European tour The Beatles' 1965 US tour The Beatles' 1965 UK tour 1966 The Beatles' 1966 tour of Germany, Japan and the Philippines The Beatles' 1966 US tour See also Grammy Award records – Most Grammys won by a group Notes Citations Sources Further reading External links The Beatles – FBI file. 1960 establishments in England 1970 disestablishments in England Apple Corps Apple Records artists Atco Records artists Beat groups Brit Award winners British Invasion artists Capitol Records artists English pop music groups English psychedelic rock music groups English rock music groups George Harrison Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners John Lennon Musical groups established in 1960 Musical groups disestablished in 1970 Musical groups from Liverpool Musical quartets Parlophone artists Paul McCartney Proto-prog musicians Psychedelic pop music groups Ringo Starr Swan Records artists United Artists Records artists Vee-Jay Records artists World Music Awards winners World record holders
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[ "The Film Advisory Board (FAB) is a member-supported organization founded in 1975 by Elayne Blythe (1919–2005). The FAB's \"Award of Excellence\" was developed to award quality family-oriented and children's entertainment in both print and electronic media.\n\nThe second division of FAB is the FAB Ratings System. Originally developed by Elayne Blythe in four categories (\"L\", \"V\", \"N\" and \"S\", for (respectively) Language, Violence, Nudity and Sex), the present system was developed in 1988 at the request of independent film makers and distributors as an alternative to the Motion Picture Association of America film rating system. The FAB ratings system is intended to be less costly and more informative than the MPAA's system. The ratings fee is based on the film's running time instead of negative cost, and the ratings are based on the level of maturity of the material's intended audience, rather than the film's content.\n\nWhile the FAB ratings system is not as recognized or well known as the MPAA's rating system, it is in use by a number of commercial video distributors for direct-to-video releases that would have been impractical to submit to the MPAA.\n\nFilm Advisory Board Rating System\nThe Film Advisory Board has six ratings categories. Each includes a brief description as to the rating's explanation, such as \"Violence in Battle Scenes\", \"Substance Abuse\" or \"Brief Nudity\".\n\nCriticism of the \"Seal of Excellence\"\n\nThe Film Advisory Board has come under criticism as of late with the seemingly wide use of the FAB Seal of Excellence, with critics stating that while the seal denotes family-friendly entertainment, it does not always denote quality. Critic Erik Childress has criticized the Film Advisory Board for being hypocritical in its application of the Seal of Excellence, in part because it was applied to such films as Deck the Halls and the 2006 remake of The Pink Panther, both of which he felt violated the FAB's listed guidelines by including \"strong sexual content...related to sex and titillation\". When Gelf Magazine contacted Janet Stokes, current head of the FAB, about awarding the FAB Seal of Excellence to the box-office flop Deck the Halls, she admitted that the FAB does not review movies, but determines which are suitable for children:\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nThe only authorized official website of the Film Advisory Board is http://www.filmadvisoryboard.com\n \n \"Seal of Doom\" - Article by Jerry Beck, critical of the FAB Seal of Excellence\n\n1975 establishments in the United States\nCinema of the United States\nMotion picture rating systems\nOrganizations established in 1975", "The fading affect bias, more commonly known as FAB, is a psychological phenomenon in which memories associated with negative emotions tend to be forgotten more quickly than those associated with positive emotions. It is important to note that FAB only refers to the feelings one has associated with the memories and not the content of the memories themselves. Early research studied FAB retrospectively, or through personal reflection, which brought about some criticism because retrospective analysis can be affected by subjective retrospective biases. However, new research using non-retrospective recall studies have found evidence for FAB., and the phenomenon has become largely accepted.\n\nDescription and background \nSome of the earliest evidence for the Fading Affect Bias dates back to a study by . Cason's study using a retrospective procedure where participants recalled and rated past events and emotion when prompted found that recalled emotional intensity for positive events was generally stronger than that of negative events.\n\nLandau and Gunter (2009) showed that the FAB occurs regardless of whether the experience is shared between one person or a group of people that share that memory. People’s recall of an event, the negative affective quality of the event can lessen. And the fading affect bias can have an effect on the memory.\n\nInitially, the Fading Affect Bias was widely accepted as the process whereby the emotional valence of certain events fades over time. More specifically, early researchers largely believed that there was a general fading over time of emotional content and intensity in relation to specific life events, regardless of whether the experiences were positive or negative. However, later studies found emotional intensity of negative events to dissipate at a faster rate than positively perceived events. Furthermore, not only are the negative emotions toward the event fading over time, but the ability to recall the negative event memory fades overtime as well. Growing evidence has also acknowledged the tendency for originally negative events to shift over time and be viewed in a more positive way. The FAB exists universally across cultures, and increases in intensity as we age.\n\nDue to the fading of negative event memories, the autobiographical memory of an individual is skewed in a positive light. The FAB is an essential counterpart to the positive affect bias, as it allows and promotes the salience of positive emotional memories. It also plays an important role in positive personal event memory trends essential to the Pollyanna Principle.\n\nViews opposing the FAB concern the idea that negative memories and negative experiences are more salient than positive ones and therefore negative memories would not be subject to recall fading. The first opposing idea is based on the \"bad is stronger than good\" theory, and is therefore more salient, in terms of affective fading. This view contrary to fading affect bias argues that due to the nature of the self, we are more inclined to focus on and remember negative events. This theory focuses on the belief that human nature is based around negative experiences, memories, and emotions. These are more shaping than all others in regard to the hedonistic view. Those that came up with the “bad is stronger than good” theory talk about how nature itself has been shaped by negative experiences. Things that are better attuned to negative things are also more adaptive and able to survive better. This effect can feed into every aspect of life. Yet, despite this theory, research has also shown that people often recall positive events more often and clearly than negative events, which opposes the idea that “bad is stronger than good”.\n\nAnother opposing idea to fading affect bias, a stems from the Freudian theory of repression, that in order for repression to occur, the negative emotion associated with the traumatic event would have to remain. The diminishing of these memories via FAB could possibly make repression incapable of occurring, at least according to this interpretation of the concept of repression. However, this idea has been attributed to Freud despite it has been noted that it is only an extension of the Freudian view and not a direct statement of that view. Therefore, none of this views represent solid arguments against FAB and the growing body of evidence seems to solidify its existence.\n\nResearch history \nCriticism of the study centered around the fact that retrospective and introspective procedures could be subject to memory biases. A later study—Holmes (1970)—took a \"non-introspective\" approach to studying FAB using a record of diary events that included the emotional intensity of the event. Twenty-six subjects were told to record events in a diary and record the emotional intensities of the experiences. Results from these studies were found to be generally consistent with FAB.\n\nA study by discussed the role which memory plays in FAB using diary recording to analyze cognitive processes. Here, it is stated that human beings are preferential in what they select to remember and that certain particulars of events fade, but not emotions. This study found that emotions prompted by positive events were more likely to last than those prompted by negative occurrences.\n\n used subject's personal responses to 1200 autobiographical events to study the Fading Affect Bias. In this study, four possible trends were found regarding memory: the Fixed Affect (wherein emotional intensity is maintained), the Fading Affect (wherein emotional intensity diminishes), the Flourishing Affect (where there is an increase in intensity), and the Flexible Affect (where there is a reversal of valence). For positive recollections, the Fixed Affect was more prominent (39%) than the Fading Affect (37%). However, for negative occurrences, the Fading Affect was more prominent (51%) than the Fixed Affect (38%). Reiterating the bias towards the fading of negative memories.\n\nIn addition to the aforementioned psychological studies, related neurobiological studies were conducted that could possibly further explain the phenomenon of FAB. During an interview, neurobiologist Matt Wilson detailed that in studying the brain activity of rats it was found that the remembrance of past events and the anticipation of future events seemed to be linked neurologically. This is a possible implication of why FAB exists: the human need to catalog relevant information to be used in the future.\n\nMemory types \nFAB is most commonly observed in autobiographical event memories, however it has been explored across different memory types.\n\nFlashbulb memories \n A study by Bohn & Berntsen (2007) used the falling of the Berlin Wall to observe how the FAB affects flashbulb memories. East and West Germans were asked to rate their feelings toward the fall of the Berlin Wall when it happened and their current feelings towards the event. They found that individuals with positive feelings towards the event, at the time of the event, maintained their positive feelings at time of recall. Those who viewed the fall of The Wall as negative had less negative emotions attached to the event at time of recall. The salience of FAB outside of autobiographical event recall, such as flashbulb memory recall, strengthens the argument for this phenomenon being universal.\n\nSomething else to note that was found in this study was when looking at flashbulb memories there is the person tendency to indulge the memory or not. When asked to focus on a positive flashbulb memory the person tended to re-immerse themselves into the memory and the memories were seen as shaping parts of their lives. The accuracy of these memories was susceptible to change as they reconstructed in their minds. When asked to focus on a negative flashbulb memory the person would not have this immersion as they did not want to associate as much with these negative experiences. However, the accuracy's of the memories was far higher. FAB is thought to have a significant effect on how these memories are maintained within the mind.\n\nDreams \nRitchie & Skowronski (2008) asked individuals to keep dream journals in which they rated their feelings about their dreams when they happened and were later asked to recall how they felt about those same dreams. In line with previous findings about the nature of the FAB and autobiographical memory, positive affect at time of occurrence and at time of recall decreased slower than that of negative affect. An interesting finding in this study was that the FAB was mitigated by the use of recreational drugs.\n\nModerating factors\n\nSocial moderators\n\nRehearsal \nSharing and repeating one's memories with others can effectively change one's perception of the memory and the emotions attached to it. Frequently sharing memories with others can increase recall of positive event memories and effectively decrease negative event memories, thus promoting positive event memory recall. To amplify effects of the FAB, frequent, repeated, social disclosure of event memories, perceived as social support is integral. Overall, the sharing of events with others can positively influence the way an individual remembers events, however self-rehearsal does not yield the same results, as it is linked to a lack of affective fading overall. Self-rehearsal can allow the subject to maintain the vividness of both positive and negative of the memory. The effect that rehearsal has on FAB can also possibly be explained by the relationship between event rehearsal and memory retainment and vividness\n\nPersonality moderators \nAnxiety\n\nFAB’s effectiveness can be affected by anxiety. Depending on the amount of anxiety a person is experiencing the effectiveness of FAB can be reduced. Increased levels of anxiety lowered FAB for both positive and negative events. This has been found in multiple studies showing anxiety has a powerful effect on FAB. Those with higher anxiety seem to show that increased levels of anxiety may produce a greater sense of awareness that amplify the emotional aspects of their memory of an event.\n\nSomething to consider from these findings is that those that suffer from anxiety report more emotional experiences, and a poorer understanding of their own emotions. These people recall experiences with more emotion than was originally there but struggle to define those emotions within the memory. Studies have looked at this in relation to those with trait anxiety who are stuck in a state of anticipating a threat whether real or perceived. Other studies have shown that individuals that suffer with higher levels of anxiety do not have to be consciously aware that perceived threats are distracting them and creating more anxiety for themselves (Bishop, 2007). Those experiencing higher levels of anxiety seem to experience these effects more than others, which likely affects how they experience the world and how they recall autobiographical memories.\n\nDepression \nThe presence of depression or dysphoria can moderate the effectiveness of FAB. The overall contents of autobiographical memories between depressed and non-depressed individuals differ in that a dysphoric autobiographical memory has more negative event memories. As found in multiple studies, the disproportionate amount of negative memories of a dysphoric individual can be attributed to the interruption of the FAB. Negative memories tend to fade slower in dysphorics than in non-dysphorics, and furthermore dysphorics' positive memories and negative memories seem to fade at similar rates.\n\nNarcissism \nNarcissists are seen as having extremely high levels of self-esteem, thus one would believe they have an elevated FAB, however this is not the case. The more narcissistic an individual is, it has been found, the less of an FAB effect is present. An exception to this depends on the type of event memory that is being recalled. When the focus of the event memory is the narcissist or something that they did, the FAB is present. However, when focused on a memory involving a group or community, FAB was not present. There is some evidence that those with low levels of narcissism experience the FAB effect more and that there is a correlation between levels of narcissism and FAB. The moderation of the FAB by narcissism provides more evidence that FAB is an indicator of healthy emotional regulation\n\nEmotional moderators\n\nMood \nIt is a common misconception when looking at the FAB that the mood state of the individual during recall will significantly impact their perception of the event. For example, a person is only looking back at a negative event with a positive lens because they are currently in a good mood. A study by found this to be partially true in that the most positive individuals at time of recall have a more pertinent FAB effect, however FAB was still experienced by everyone no matter their emotional state, reinforcing that FAB is a universal experience that functions beyond the current emotional state.\n\nPossible explanations\n\nFAB is regarded a generally beneficial occurrence. A popular explanation for the FAB among psychologists and researchers alike, is the need for healthy self-awareness, self-regulation and positive self view. Effectively regulating negative emotions in autobiographical memories reduces maladaptive future behavior and allows for the enhancing of the self. FAB allows for successful social navigation by promoting the retention of positive experiences, thus allowing for an individual to be open to new experiences as modeled in the Broaden-and-Build theory. This is further supported by evidence which shows that individuals with depression, a maladaptive disorder, experience interference with FAB by retaining negative emotions from unpleasant memories. FAB may also be attributed to one's drive to protect oneself from recalling traumatic experiences and may also explain why negative experiences may feel farther away in time than they actually are. Overall, the fading affect bias is seen as an adaptive behavior in healthy individuals that allows for a more positive outlook on life\n\nCultural Considerations \nMuch of the research for FAB has been done almost exclusively in the US. Time and again the results and effects of FAB are shown in normal life and within the lab. There is a concern that FAB is only prevalent within the US and that it could reflect US attitude of “looking to the brightside.” In light of this Ritchie and associates did a test of 10 different samples from 6 different universities with access to diverse ethnic backgrounds. FAB occurred in every sample regardless of background establishing a solid foundation that FAB seems to be universal. Knowing that FAB is universal doesn’t mean that it as prevalent in all cultures though. Culture effectively standardizes the customs and rituals that formalize the human relationships according to the core groups’ value system. It, therefore, enables individuals and groups to reduce stress by anticipating events. Different cultures experience stress, depression and these other emotions differently, which can greatly affect how prevalent FAB is within that particular culture.\n\nReferences\n\nResources and studies\n\nStudies\n\n Abstract\n\nFurther reading\n\nExternal links\nFading affect bias on Google Scholar\n\nCognitive biases\nMemory biases" ]
[ "The Beatles", "Musical style and development", "What is notable about their music style?", "\". His melody lines are characterised as primarily \"vertical\", employing wide, consonant intervals which express his \"extrovert energy and optimism\".", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "the Fab Four revolutionised the sound, style, and attitude of popular music and opened rock and roll's doors to a tidal wave of British rock acts.", "What is the Fab Four?", "The Beatles as Musicians," ]
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Why did they revolutionize the sound of rock and roll?
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Why did the Fab Four revolutionize the sound of rock and roll?
The Beatles
In Icons of Rock: An Encyclopedia of the Legends Who Changed Music Forever, Scott Schinder and Andy Schwartz describe the Beatles' musical evolution: In their initial incarnation as cheerful, wisecracking moptops, the Fab Four revolutionised the sound, style, and attitude of popular music and opened rock and roll's doors to a tidal wave of British rock acts. Their initial impact would have been enough to establish the Beatles as one of their era's most influential cultural forces, but they didn't stop there. Although their initial style was a highly original, irresistibly catchy synthesis of early American rock and roll and R&B, the Beatles spent the rest of the 1960s expanding rock's stylistic frontiers, consistently staking out new musical territory on each release. The band's increasingly sophisticated experimentation encompassed a variety of genres, including folk-rock, country, psychedelia, and baroque pop, without sacrificing the effortless mass appeal of their early work. In The Beatles as Musicians, Walter Everett describes Lennon and McCartney's contrasting motivations and approaches to composition: "McCartney may be said to have constantly developed - as a means to entertain - a focused musical talent with an ear for counterpoint and other aspects of craft in the demonstration of a universally agreed-upon common language that he did much to enrich. Conversely, Lennon's mature music is best appreciated as the daring product of a largely unconscious, searching but undisciplined artistic sensibility." Ian MacDonald describes McCartney as "a natural melodist - a creator of tunes capable of existing apart from their harmony". His melody lines are characterised as primarily "vertical", employing wide, consonant intervals which express his "extrovert energy and optimism". Conversely, Lennon's "sedentary, ironic personality" is reflected in a "horizontal" approach featuring minimal, dissonant intervals and repetitive melodies which rely on their harmonic accompaniment for interest: "Basically a realist, he instinctively kept his melodies close to the rhythms and cadences of speech, colouring his lyrics with bluesy tone and harmony rather than creating tunes that made striking shapes of their own." MacDonald praises Harrison's lead guitar work for the role his "characterful lines and textural colourings" play in supporting Lennon and McCartney's parts, and describes Starr as "the father of modern pop/rock drumming". CANNOTANSWER
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The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and popular music's recognition as an art form. Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock and roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways; the band later explored music styles ranging from ballads and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock. As pioneers in recording, songwriting and artistic presentation, the Beatles revolutionised many aspects of the music industry and were often publicised as leaders of the era's youth and sociocultural movements. Led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney, the Beatles evolved from Lennon's previous group, the Quarrymen, and built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over three years from 1960, initially with Stuart Sutcliffe playing bass. The core trio of Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, together since 1958, went through a succession of drummers, including Pete Best, before asking Starr to join them in 1962. Manager Brian Epstein moulded them into a professional act, and producer George Martin guided and developed their recordings, greatly expanding their domestic success after their first hit, "Love Me Do", in late 1962. As their popularity grew into the intense fan frenzy dubbed "Beatlemania", the band acquired the nickname "the Fab Four", with Epstein, Martin and other members of the band's entourage sometimes given the informal title of "fifth Beatle". By early 1964, the Beatles were international stars and had achieved unprecedented levels of critical and commercial success. They became a leading force in Britain's cultural resurgence, ushering in the British Invasion of the United States pop market, and soon made their film debut with A Hard Day's Night (1964). From 1965 onwards, they produced records of greater sophistication, including the albums Rubber Soul (1965), Revolver (1966) and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), and enjoyed further commercial success with The Beatles (also known as "the White Album", 1968) and Abbey Road (1969). Heralding the album era, their success elevated the album to be the dominant form of record consumption over singles; they also inspired a greater public interest in psychedelic drugs and Eastern spirituality, and furthered advancements in electronic music, album art and music videos. In 1968, they founded Apple Corps, a multi-armed multimedia corporation that continues to oversee projects related to the band's legacy. After the group's break-up in 1970, all principal members enjoyed success as solo artists and some partial reunions have occurred. Lennon was murdered in 1980 and Harrison died of lung cancer in 2001. McCartney and Starr remain musically active. The Beatles are the best-selling music act of all time, with estimated sales of 600 million units worldwide. They hold the record for most number-one albums on the UK Albums Chart (15), most number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (20), and most singles sold in the UK (21.9 million). The band received many accolades, including seven Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards, an Academy Award (for Best Original Song Score for the 1970 film Let It Be) and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, and each principal member was inducted individually between 1994 and 2015. In 2004 and 2011, the group topped Rolling Stones lists of the greatest artists in history. Time magazine named them among the 20th century's 100 most important people. History 1956–1963: Formation The Quarrymen and name changes In November 1956, John Lennon, then aged sixteen, formed a skiffle group with several friends from Quarry Bank High School in Liverpool. They briefly called themselves the Blackjacks, before changing their name to the Quarrymen after discovering that another local group were already using the name. Fifteen-year-old Paul McCartney met Lennon in July 1957, and joined as a rhythm guitarist shortly after. In February 1958, McCartney invited his friend George Harrison, then fifteen, to watch the band. Harrison auditioned for Lennon, impressing him with his playing, but Lennon initially thought Harrison was too young. After a month's persistence, during a second meeting (arranged by McCartney), Harrison performed the lead guitar part of the instrumental song "Raunchy" on the upper deck of a Liverpool bus, and they enlisted him as lead guitarist. By January 1959, Lennon's Quarry Bank friends had left the group, and he began his studies at the Liverpool College of Art. The three guitarists, billing themselves as Johnny and the Moondogs, were playing rock and roll whenever they could find a drummer. Lennon's art school friend Stuart Sutcliffe, who had just sold one of his paintings and was persuaded to purchase a bass guitar with the proceeds, joined in January 1960. He suggested changing the band's name to Beatals, as a tribute to Buddy Holly and the Crickets. They used this name until May, when they became the Silver Beetles, before undertaking a brief tour of Scotland as the backing group for pop singer and fellow Liverpudlian Johnny Gentle. By early July, they had refashioned themselves as the Silver Beatles, and by the middle of August simply the Beatles. Early residencies and UK popularity Allan Williams, the Beatles' unofficial manager, arranged a residency for them in Hamburg. They auditioned and hired drummer Pete Best in mid-August 1960. The band, now a five-piece, departed Liverpool for Hamburg four days later, contracted to club owner Bruno Koschmider for what would be a 3½-month residency. Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn writes: "They pulled into Hamburg at dusk on 17 August, the time when the red-light area comes to life ... flashing neon lights screamed out the various entertainment on offer, while scantily clad women sat unabashed in shop windows waiting for business opportunities." Koschmider had converted a couple of strip clubs in the district into music venues, and he initially placed the Beatles at the Indra Club. After closing Indra due to noise complaints, he moved them to the Kaiserkeller in October. When he learned they had been performing at the rival Top Ten Club in breach of their contract, he gave them one month's termination notice, and reported the underage Harrison, who had obtained permission to stay in Hamburg by lying to the German authorities about his age. The authorities arranged for Harrison's deportation in late November. One week later, Koschmider had McCartney and Best arrested for arson after they set fire to a condom in a concrete corridor; the authorities deported them. Lennon returned to Liverpool in early December, while Sutcliffe remained in Hamburg until late February with his German fiancée Astrid Kirchherr, who took the first semi-professional photos of the Beatles. During the next two years, the Beatles were resident for periods in Hamburg, where they used Preludin both recreationally and to maintain their energy through all-night performances. In 1961, during their second Hamburg engagement, Kirchherr cut Sutcliffe's hair in the "exi" (existentialist) style, later adopted by the other Beatles. When Sutcliffe decided to leave the band early that year and resume his art studies in Germany, McCartney took up the bass. Producer Bert Kaempfert contracted what was now a four-piece group until June 1962, and he used them as Tony Sheridan's backing band on a series of recordings for Polydor Records. As part of the sessions, the Beatles were signed to Polydor for one year. Credited to "Tony Sheridan & the Beat Brothers", the single "My Bonnie", recorded in June 1961 and released four months later, reached number 32 on the Musikmarkt chart. After the Beatles completed their second Hamburg residency, they enjoyed increasing popularity in Liverpool with the growing Merseybeat movement. However, they were growing tired of the monotony of numerous appearances at the same clubs night after night. In November 1961, during one of the group's frequent performances at The Cavern Club, they encountered Brian Epstein, a local record-store owner and music columnist. He later recalled: "I immediately liked what I heard. They were fresh, and they were honest, and they had what I thought was a sort of presence ... [a] star quality." First EMI recordings Epstein courted the band over the next couple of months, and they appointed him as their manager in January 1962. Throughout early and mid-1962, Epstein sought to free the Beatles from their contractual obligations to Bert Kaempfert Productions. He eventually negotiated a one-month early release in exchange for one last recording session in Hamburg. On their return to Germany in April, a distraught Kirchherr met them at the airport with news of Sutcliffe's death the previous day from a brain haemorrhage. Epstein began negotiations with record labels for a recording contract. To secure a UK record contract, Epstein negotiated an early end to the band's contract with Polydor, in exchange for more recordings backing Tony Sheridan. After a New Year's Day audition, Decca Records rejected the band, saying, "Guitar groups are on the way out, Mr. Epstein." However, three months later, producer George Martin signed the Beatles to EMI's Parlophone label. Martin's first recording session with the Beatles took place at EMI Recording Studios (later Abbey Road Studios) in London on 6 June 1962. He immediately complained to Epstein about Best's drumming and suggested they use a session drummer in his place. Already contemplating Best's dismissal, the Beatles replaced him in mid-August with Ringo Starr, who left Rory Storm and the Hurricanes to join them. A 4 September session at EMI yielded a recording of "Love Me Do" featuring Starr on drums, but a dissatisfied Martin hired drummer Andy White for the band's third session a week later, which produced recordings of "Love Me Do", "Please Please Me" and "P.S. I Love You". Martin initially selected the Starr version of "Love Me Do" for the band's first single, though subsequent re-pressings featured the White version, with Starr on tambourine. Released in early October, "Love Me Do" peaked at number seventeen on the Record Retailer chart. Their television debut came later that month with a live performance on the regional news programme People and Places. After Martin suggested rerecording "Please Please Me" at a faster tempo, a studio session in late November yielded that recording, of which Martin accurately predicted, "You've just made your first No. 1." In December 1962, the Beatles concluded their fifth and final Hamburg residency. By 1963, they had agreed that all four band members would contribute vocals to their albums – including Starr, despite his restricted vocal range, to validate his standing in the group. Lennon and McCartney had established a songwriting partnership, and as the band's success grew, their dominant collaboration limited Harrison's opportunities as a lead vocalist. Epstein, to maximise the Beatles' commercial potential, encouraged them to adopt a professional approach to performing. Lennon recalled him saying, "Look, if you really want to get in these bigger places, you're going to have to change – stop eating on stage, stop swearing, stop smoking ...." 1963–1966: Beatlemania and touring years Please Please Me and With the Beatles On 11 February 1963, the Beatles recorded ten songs during a single studio session for their debut LP, Please Please Me. It was supplemented by the four tracks already released on their first two singles. Martin considered recording the LP live at The Cavern Club, but after deciding that the building's acoustics were inadequate, he elected to simulate a "live" album with minimal production in "a single marathon session at Abbey Road". After the moderate success of "Love Me Do", the single "Please Please Me" was released in January 1963, two months ahead of the album. It reached number one on every UK chart except Record Retailer, where it peaked at number two. Recalling how the Beatles "rushed to deliver a debut album, bashing out Please Please Me in a day", AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote: "Decades after its release, the album still sounds fresh, precisely because of its intense origins." Lennon said little thought went into composition at the time; he and McCartney were "just writing songs à la Everly Brothers, à la Buddy Holly, pop songs with no more thought of them than that – to create a sound. And the words were almost irrelevant." Released in March 1963, Please Please Me was the first of eleven consecutive Beatles albums released in the United Kingdom to reach number one. The band's third single, "From Me to You", came out in April and began an almost unbroken string of seventeen British number-one singles, including all but one of the eighteen they released over the next six years. Issued in August, their fourth single, "She Loves You", achieved the fastest sales of any record in the UK up to that time, selling three-quarters of a million copies in under four weeks. It became their first single to sell a million copies, and remained the biggest-selling record in the UK until 1978. The success brought increased media exposure, to which the Beatles responded with an irreverent and comical attitude that defied the expectations of pop musicians at the time, inspiring even more interest. The band toured the UK three times in the first half of the year: a four-week tour that began in February, the Beatles' first nationwide, preceded three-week tours in March and May–June. As their popularity spread, a frenzied adulation of the group took hold. Greeted with riotous enthusiasm by screaming fans, the press dubbed the phenomenon "Beatlemania". Although not billed as tour leaders, the Beatles overshadowed American acts Tommy Roe and Chris Montez during the February engagements and assumed top billing "by audience demand", something no British act had previously accomplished while touring with artists from the US. A similar situation arose during their May–June tour with Roy Orbison. In late October, the Beatles began a five-day tour of Sweden, their first time abroad since the final Hamburg engagement of December 1962. On their return to the UK on 31 October, several hundred screaming fans greeted them in heavy rain at Heathrow Airport. Around 50 to 100 journalists and photographers, as well as representatives from the BBC, also joined the airport reception, the first of more than 100 such events. The next day, the band began its fourth tour of Britain within nine months, this one scheduled for six weeks. In mid-November, as Beatlemania intensified, police resorted to using high-pressure water hoses to control the crowd before a concert in Plymouth. Please Please Me maintained the top position on the Record Retailer chart for 30 weeks, only to be displaced by its follow-up, With the Beatles, which EMI released on 22 November to record advance orders of 270,000 copies. The LP topped a half-million albums sold in one week. Recorded between July and October, With the Beatles made better use of studio production techniques than its predecessor. It held the top spot for 21 weeks with a chart life of 40 weeks. Erlewine described the LP as "a sequel of the highest order – one that betters the original". In a reversal of then standard practice, EMI released the album ahead of the impending single "I Want to Hold Your Hand", with the song excluded to maximise the single's sales. The album caught the attention of music critic William Mann of The Times, who suggested that Lennon and McCartney were "the outstanding English composers of 1963". The newspaper published a series of articles in which Mann offered detailed analyses of the music, lending it respectability. With the Beatles became the second album in UK chart history to sell a million copies, a figure previously reached only by the 1958 South Pacific soundtrack. When writing the sleeve notes for the album, the band's press officer, Tony Barrow, used the superlative the "fabulous foursome", which the media widely adopted as "the Fab Four". First visit to the United States and the British Invasion EMI's American subsidiary, Capitol Records, hindered the Beatles' releases in the United States for more than a year by initially declining to issue their music, including their first three singles. Concurrent negotiations with the independent US label Vee-Jay led to the release of some, but not all, of the songs in 1963. Vee-Jay finished preparation for the album Introducing... The Beatles, comprising most of the songs of Parlophone's Please Please Me, but a management shake-up led to the album not being released. After it emerged that the label did not report royalties on their sales, the licence that Vee-Jay had signed with EMI was voided. A new licence was granted to the Swan label for the single "She Loves You". The record received some airplay in the Tidewater area of Virginia from Gene Loving of radio station WGH and was featured on the "Rate-a-Record" segment of American Bandstand, but it failed to catch on nationally. Epstein brought a demo copy of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" to Capitol's Brown Meggs, who signed the band and arranged for a $40,000 US marketing campaign. American chart success began after disc jockey Carroll James of AM radio station WWDC, in Washington, DC, obtained a copy of the British single "I Want to Hold Your Hand" in mid-December 1963 and began playing it on-air. Taped copies of the song soon circulated among other radio stations throughout the US. This caused an increase in demand, leading Capitol to bring forward the release of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by three weeks. Issued on 26 December, with the band's previously scheduled debut there just weeks away, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" sold a million copies, becoming a number-one hit in the US by mid-January. In its wake Vee-Jay released Introducing... The Beatles along with Capitol's debut album, Meet the Beatles!, while Swan reactivated production of "She Loves You". On 7 February 1964, the Beatles departed from Heathrow with an estimated 4,000 fans waving and screaming as the aircraft took off. Upon landing at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport, an uproarious crowd estimated at 3,000 greeted them. They gave their first live US television performance two days later on The Ed Sullivan Show, watched by approximately 73 million viewers in over 23 million households, or 34 percent of the American population. Biographer Jonathan Gould writes that, according to the Nielsen rating service, it was "the largest audience that had ever been recorded for an American television ". The next morning, the Beatles awoke to a largely negative critical consensus in the US, but a day later at their first US concert, Beatlemania erupted at the Washington Coliseum. Back in New York the following day, the Beatles met with another strong reception during two shows at Carnegie Hall. The band flew to Florida, where they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show a second time, again before 70 million viewers, before returning to the UK on 22 February. The Beatles' first visit to the US took place when the nation was still mourning the assassination of President John F. Kennedy the previous November. Commentators often suggest that for many, particularly the young, the Beatles' performances reignited the sense of excitement and possibility that momentarily faded in the wake of the assassination, and helped pave the way for the revolutionary social changes to come later in the decade. Their hairstyle, unusually long for the era and mocked by many adults, became an emblem of rebellion to the burgeoning youth culture. The group's popularity generated unprecedented interest in British music, and many other UK acts subsequently made their American debuts, successfully touring over the next three years in what was termed the British Invasion. The Beatles' success in the US opened the door for a successive string of British beat groups and pop acts such as the Dave Clark Five, the Animals, Petula Clark, the Kinks, and the Rolling Stones to achieve success in America. During the week of 4 April 1964, the Beatles held twelve positions on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, including the top five. A Hard Day's Night Capitol Records' lack of interest throughout 1963 did not go unnoticed, and a competitor, United Artists Records, encouraged their film division to offer the Beatles a three-motion-picture deal, primarily for the commercial potential of the soundtracks in the US. Directed by Richard Lester, A Hard Day's Night involved the band for six weeks in March–April 1964 as they played themselves in a musical comedy. The film premiered in London and New York in July and August, respectively, and was an international success, with some critics drawing a comparison with the Marx Brothers. United Artists released a full soundtrack album for the North American market, combining Beatles songs and Martin's orchestral score; elsewhere, the group's third studio LP, A Hard Day's Night, contained songs from the film on side one and other new recordings on side two. According to Erlewine, the album saw them "truly coming into their own as a band. All of the disparate influences on their first two albums coalesced into a bright, joyous, original sound, filled with ringing guitars and irresistible melodies." That "ringing guitar" sound was primarily the product of Harrison's 12-string electric Rickenbacker, a prototype given to him by the manufacturer, which made its debut on the record. 1964 world tour, meeting Bob Dylan, and stand on civil rights Touring internationally in June and July, the Beatles staged 37 shows over 27 days in Denmark, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. In August and September, they returned to the US, with a 30-concert tour of 23 cities. Generating intense interest once again, the month-long tour attracted between 10,000 and 20,000 fans to each 30-minute performance in cities from San Francisco to New York. In August, journalist Al Aronowitz arranged for the Beatles to meet Bob Dylan. Visiting the band in their New York hotel suite, Dylan introduced them to cannabis. Gould points out the musical and cultural significance of this meeting, before which the musicians' respective fanbases were "perceived as inhabiting two separate subcultural worlds": Dylan's audience of "college kids with artistic or intellectual leanings, a dawning political and social idealism, and a mildly bohemian style" contrasted with their fans, "veritable 'teenyboppers' – kids in high school or grade school whose lives were totally wrapped up in the commercialised popular culture of television, radio, pop records, fan magazines, and teen fashion. To many of Dylan's followers in the folk music scene, the Beatles were seen as idolaters, not idealists." Within six months of the meeting, according to Gould, "Lennon would be making records on which he openly imitated Dylan's nasal drone, brittle strum, and introspective vocal persona"; and six months after that, Dylan began performing with a backing band and electric instrumentation, and "dressed in the height of Mod fashion". As a result, Gould continues, the traditional division between folk and rock enthusiasts "nearly evaporated", as the Beatles' fans began to mature in their outlook and Dylan's audience embraced the new, youth-driven pop culture. During the 1964 US tour, the group were confronted with racial segregation in the country at the time. When informed that the venue for their 11 September concert, the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida, was segregated, the Beatles said they would refuse to perform unless the audience was integrated. Lennon stated: "We never play to segregated audiences and we aren't going to start now ... I'd sooner lose our appearance money." City officials relented and agreed to allow an integrated show. The group also cancelled their reservations at the whites-only Hotel George Washington in Jacksonville. For their subsequent US tours in 1965 and 1966, the Beatles included clauses in contracts stipulating that shows be integrated. Beatles for Sale, Help! and Rubber Soul According to Gould, the Beatles' fourth studio LP, Beatles for Sale, evidenced a growing conflict between the commercial pressures of their global success and their creative ambitions. They had intended the album, recorded between August and October 1964, to continue the format established by A Hard Day's Night which, unlike their first two LPs, contained only original songs. They had nearly exhausted their backlog of songs on the previous album, however, and given the challenges constant international touring posed to their songwriting efforts, Lennon admitted, "Material's becoming a hell of a problem". As a result, six covers from their extensive repertoire were chosen to complete the album. Released in early December, its eight original compositions stood out, demonstrating the growing maturity of the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership. In early 1965, following a dinner with Lennon, Harrison and their wives, Harrison's dentist, John Riley, secretly added LSD to their coffee. Lennon described the experience: "It was just terrifying, but it was fantastic. I was pretty stunned for a month or two." He and Harrison subsequently became regular users of the drug, joined by Starr on at least one occasion. Harrison's use of psychedelic drugs encouraged his path to meditation and Hinduism. He commented: "For me, it was like a flash. The first time I had acid, it just opened up something in my head that was inside of me, and I realised a lot of things. I didn't learn them because I already knew them, but that happened to be the key that opened the door to reveal them. From the moment I had that, I wanted to have it all the time – these thoughts about the yogis and the Himalayas, and Ravi's music." McCartney was initially reluctant to try it, but eventually did so in late 1966. He became the first Beatle to discuss LSD publicly, declaring in a magazine interview that "it opened my eyes" and "made me a better, more honest, more tolerant member of society". Controversy erupted in June 1965 when Queen Elizabeth II appointed all four Beatles Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) after Prime Minister Harold Wilson nominated them for the award. In protest – the honour was at that time primarily bestowed upon military veterans and civic leaders – some conservative MBE recipients returned their insignia. In July, the Beatles' second film, Help!, was released, again directed by Lester. Described as "mainly a relentless spoof of Bond", it inspired a mixed response among both reviewers and the band. McCartney said: "Help! was great but it wasn't our film – we were sort of guest stars. It was fun, but basically, as an idea for a film, it was a bit wrong." The soundtrack was dominated by Lennon, who wrote and sang lead on most of its songs, including the two singles: "Help!" and "Ticket to Ride". The Help! album, the group's fifth studio LP, mirrored A Hard Day's Night by featuring soundtrack songs on side one and additional songs from the same sessions on side two. The LP contained all original material save for two covers, "Act Naturally" and "Dizzy Miss Lizzy"; they were the last covers the band would include on an album, except for Let It Be brief rendition of the traditional Liverpool folk song "Maggie Mae". The band expanded their use of vocal overdubs on Help! and incorporated classical instruments into some arrangements, including a string quartet on the pop ballad "Yesterday". Composed by and sung by McCartney – none of the other Beatles perform on the recording – "Yesterday" has inspired the most cover versions of any song ever written. With Help!, the Beatles became the first rock group to be nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. The group's third US tour opened with a performance before a world-record crowd of 55,600 at New York's Shea Stadium on 15 August – "perhaps the most famous of all Beatles' concerts", in Lewisohn's description. A further nine successful concerts followed in other American cities. At a show in Atlanta, the Beatles gave one of the first live performances ever to make use of a foldback system of on-stage monitor speakers. Towards the end of the tour, they met with Elvis Presley, a foundational musical influence on the band, who invited them to his home in Beverly Hills. September 1965 saw the launch of an American Saturday-morning cartoon series, The Beatles, that echoed A Hard Day's Night slapstick antics over its two-year original run. The series was a historical milestone as the first weekly television series to feature animated versions of real, living people. In mid-October, the Beatles entered the recording studio; for the first time when making an album, they had an extended period without other major commitments. Until this time, according to George Martin, "we had been making albums rather like a collection of singles. Now we were really beginning to think about albums as a bit of art on their own." Released in December, Rubber Soul was hailed by critics as a major step forward in the maturity and complexity of the band's music. Their thematic reach was beginning to expand as they embraced deeper aspects of romance and philosophy, a development that NEMS executive Peter Brown attributed to the band members' "now habitual use of marijuana". Lennon referred to Rubber Soul as "the pot album" and Starr said: "Grass was really influential in a lot of our changes, especially with the writers. And because they were writing different material, we were playing differently." After Help!s foray into classical music with flutes and strings, Harrison's introduction of a sitar on "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" marked a further progression outside the traditional boundaries of popular music. As the lyrics grew more artful, fans began to study them for deeper meaning. While some of Rubber Souls songs were the product of Lennon and McCartney's collaborative songwriting, the album also included distinct compositions from each, though they continued to share official credit. "In My Life", of which each later claimed lead authorship, is considered a highlight of the entire Lennon–McCartney catalogue. Harrison called Rubber Soul his "favourite album", and Starr referred to it as "the departure record". McCartney has said, "We'd had our cute period, and now it was time to expand." However, recording engineer Norman Smith later stated that the studio sessions revealed signs of growing conflict within the group – "the clash between John and Paul was becoming obvious", he wrote, and "as far as Paul was concerned, George could do no right". In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Rubber Soul fifth among "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", and AllMusic's Richie Unterberger describes it as "one of the classic folk-rock records". Controversies, Revolver and final tour Capitol Records, from December 1963 when it began issuing Beatles recordings for the US market, exercised complete control over format, compiling distinct US albums from the band's recordings and issuing songs of their choosing as singles. In June 1966, the Capitol LP Yesterday and Today caused an uproar with its cover, which portrayed the grinning Beatles dressed in butcher's overalls, accompanied by raw meat and mutilated plastic baby dolls. According to Beatles biographer Bill Harry, it has been incorrectly suggested that this was meant as a satirical response to the way Capitol had "butchered" the US versions of the band's albums. Thousands of copies of the LP had a new cover pasted over the original; an unpeeled "first-state" copy fetched $10,500 at a December 2005 auction. In England, meanwhile, Harrison met sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, who agreed to train him on the instrument. During a tour of the Philippines the month after the Yesterday and Today furore, the Beatles unintentionally snubbed the nation's first lady, Imelda Marcos, who had expected them to attend a breakfast reception at the Presidential Palace. When presented with the invitation, Epstein politely declined on the band members' behalf, as it had never been his policy to accept such official invitations. They soon found that the Marcos regime was unaccustomed to taking no for an answer. The resulting riots endangered the group and they escaped the country with difficulty. Immediately afterwards, the band members visited India for the first time. Almost as soon as they returned home, the Beatles faced a fierce backlash from US religious and social conservatives (as well as the Ku Klux Klan) over a comment Lennon had made in a March interview with British reporter Maureen Cleave. "Christianity will go", Lennon had said. "It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that; I'm right and I will be proved right ... Jesus was alright but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me." His comments went virtually unnoticed in England, but when US teenage fan magazine Datebook printed them five months later, it sparked a controversy with Christians in America's conservative Bible Belt region. The Vatican issued a protest, and bans on Beatles' records were imposed by Spanish and Dutch stations and South Africa's national broadcasting service. Epstein accused Datebook of having taken Lennon's words out of context. At a press conference, Lennon pointed out, "If I'd said television was more popular than Jesus, I might have got away with it." He claimed that he was referring to how other people viewed their success, but at the prompting of reporters, he concluded: "If you want me to apologise, if that will make you happy, then okay, I'm sorry." Released in August 1966, a week before the Beatles' final tour, Revolver marked another artistic step forward for the group. The album featured sophisticated songwriting, studio experimentation, and a greatly expanded repertoire of musical styles, ranging from innovative classical string arrangements to psychedelia. Abandoning the customary group photograph, its Aubrey Beardsley-inspired cover – designed by Klaus Voormann, a friend of the band since their Hamburg days – was a monochrome collage and line drawing caricature of the group. The album was preceded by the single "Paperback Writer", backed by "Rain". Short promotional films were made for both songs; described by cultural historian Saul Austerlitz as "among the first true music videos", they aired on The Ed Sullivan Show and Top of the Pops in June. Among the experimental songs that Revolver featured was "Tomorrow Never Knows", the lyrics for which Lennon drew from Timothy Leary's The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Its creation involved eight tape decks distributed about the EMI building, each staffed by an engineer or band member, who randomly varied the movement of a tape loop while Martin created a composite recording by sampling the incoming data. McCartney's "Eleanor Rigby" made prominent use of a string octet; Gould describes it as "a true hybrid, conforming to no recognisable style or genre of song". Harrison's emergence as a songwriter was reflected in three of his compositions appearing on the record. Among these, "Taxman", which opened the album, marked the first example of the Beatles making a political statement through their music. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Revolver as the third greatest album of all time. As preparations were made for a tour of the US, the Beatles knew that their music would hardly be heard. Having originally used Vox AC30 amplifiers, they later acquired more powerful 100-watt amplifiers, specially designed by Vox for them as they moved into larger venues in 1964, but these were still inadequate. Struggling to compete with the volume of sound generated by screaming fans, the band had grown increasingly bored with the routine of performing live. Recognising that their shows were no longer about the music, they decided to make the August tour their last. The band performed none of their new songs on the tour. In Chris Ingham's description, they were very much "studio creations ... and there was no way a four-piece rock 'n' roll group could do them justice, particularly through the desensitising wall of the fans' screams. 'Live Beatles' and 'Studio Beatles' had become entirely different beasts." The band's concert at San Francisco's Candlestick Park on 29 August was their last commercial concert. It marked the end of four years dominated by almost nonstop touring that included over 1,400 concert appearances internationally. 1966–1970: Studio years Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Freed from the burden of touring, the Beatles embraced an increasingly experimental approach as they recorded Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, beginning in late November 1966. According to engineer Geoff Emerick, the album's recording took over 700 hours. He recalled the band's insistence "that everything on Sgt. Pepper had to be different. We had microphones right down in the bells of brass instruments and headphones turned into microphones attached to violins. We used giant primitive oscillators to vary the speed of instruments and vocals and we had tapes chopped to pieces and stuck together upside down and the wrong way around." Parts of "A Day in the Life" featured a 40-piece orchestra. The sessions initially yielded the non-album double A-side single "Strawberry Fields Forever"/"Penny Lane" in February 1967; the Sgt. Pepper LP followed with a rush-release in May. The musical complexity of the records, created using relatively primitive four-track recording technology, astounded contemporary artists. Among music critics, acclaim for the album was virtually universal. Gould writes: In the wake of Sgt. Pepper, the underground and mainstream press widely publicised the Beatles as leaders of youth culture, as well as "lifestyle revolutionaries". The album was the first major pop/rock LP to include its complete lyrics, which appeared on the back cover. Those lyrics were the subject of critical analysis; for instance, in late 1967 the album was the subject of a scholarly inquiry by American literary critic and professor of English Richard Poirier, who observed that his students were "listening to the group's music with a degree of engagement that he, as a teacher of literature, could only envy". The elaborate cover also attracted considerable interest and study. A collage designed by pop artists Peter Blake and Jann Haworth, it depicted the group as the fictional band referred to in the album's title track standing in front of a crowd of famous people. The heavy moustaches worn by the group reflected the growing influence of hippie style, while cultural historian Jonathan Harris describes their "brightly coloured parodies of military uniforms" as a knowingly "anti-authoritarian and anti-establishment" display. Sgt. Pepper topped the UK charts for 23 consecutive weeks, with a further four weeks at number one in the period through to February 1968. With 2.5 million copies sold within three months of its release, Sgt. Peppers initial commercial success exceeded that of all previous Beatles albums. It sustained its immense popularity into the 21st century while breaking numerous sales records. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Sgt. Pepper at number one on its list of the greatest albums of all time. Magical Mystery Tour and Yellow Submarine Two Beatles film projects were conceived within weeks of completing Sgt. Pepper: Magical Mystery Tour, a one-hour television film, and Yellow Submarine, an animated feature-length film produced by United Artists. The group began recording music for the former in late April 1967, but the project then lay dormant as they focused on recording songs for the latter. On 25 June, the Beatles performed their forthcoming single "All You Need Is Love" to an estimated 350 million viewers on Our World, the first live global television link. Released a week later, during the Summer of Love, the song was adopted as a flower power anthem. The Beatles' use of psychedelic drugs was at its height during that summer. In July and August, the group pursued interests related to similar utopian-based ideology, including a week-long investigation into the possibility of starting an island-based commune off the coast of Greece. On 24 August, the group were introduced to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in London. The next day, they travelled to Bangor for his Transcendental Meditation retreat. On 27 August, their manager's assistant, Peter Brown, phoned to inform them that Epstein had died. The coroner ruled the death an accidental carbitol overdose, although it was widely rumoured to be a suicide. His death left the group disoriented and fearful about the future. Lennon recalled: "We collapsed. I knew that we were in trouble then. I didn't really have any misconceptions about our ability to do anything other than play music, and I was scared. I thought, 'We've fuckin' had it now.'" Harrison's then-wife Pattie Boyd remembered that "Paul and George were in complete shock. I don't think it could have been worse if they had heard that their own fathers had dropped dead." During a band meeting in September, McCartney recommended that the band proceed with Magical Mystery Tour. The Magical Mystery Tour soundtrack was released in the UK as a six-track double extended play (EP) in early December 1967. It was the first example of a double EP in the UK. The record carried on the psychedelic vein of Sgt. Pepper, however, in line with the band's wishes, the packaging reinforced the idea that the release was a film soundtrack rather than a follow-up to Sgt. Pepper. In the US, the soundtrack appeared as an identically titled LP that also included five tracks from the band's recent singles. In its first three weeks, the album set a record for the highest initial sales of any Capitol LP, and it is the only Capitol compilation later to be adopted in the band's official canon of studio albums. Magical Mystery Tour first aired on Boxing Day to an audience of approximately 15 million. Largely directed by McCartney, the film was the band's first critical failure in the UK. It was dismissed as "blatant rubbish" by the Daily Express; the Daily Mail called it "a colossal conceit"; and The Guardian labelled the film "a kind of fantasy morality play about the grossness and warmth and stupidity of the audience". Gould describes it as "a great deal of raw footage showing a group of people getting on, getting off, and riding on a bus". Although the viewership figures were respectable, its slating in the press led US television networks to lose interest in broadcasting the film. The group were less involved with Yellow Submarine, which only featured the band appearing as themselves for a short live-action segment. Premiering in July 1968, the film featured cartoon versions of the band members and a soundtrack with eleven of their songs, including four unreleased studio recordings that made their debut in the film. Critics praised the film for its music, humour and innovative visual style. A soundtrack LP was issued seven months later; it contained those four new songs, the title track (already issued on Revolver), "All You Need Is Love" (already issued as a single and on the US Magical Mystery Tour LP) and seven instrumental pieces composed by Martin. India retreat, Apple Corps and the White Album In February 1968, the Beatles travelled to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram in Rishikesh, India, to take part in a three-month meditation "Guide Course". Their time in India marked one of the band's most prolific periods, yielding numerous songs, including a majority of those on their next album. However, Starr left after only ten days, unable to stomach the food, and McCartney eventually grew bored and departed a month later. For Lennon and Harrison, creativity turned to question when an electronics technician known as Magic Alex suggested that the Maharishi was attempting to manipulate them. When he alleged that the Maharishi had made sexual advances to women attendees, a persuaded Lennon left abruptly just two months into the course, bringing an unconvinced Harrison and the remainder of the group's entourage with him. In anger, Lennon wrote a scathing song titled "Maharishi", renamed "Sexy Sadie" to avoid potential legal issues. McCartney said, "We made a mistake. We thought there was more to him than there was." In May, Lennon and McCartney travelled to New York for the public unveiling of the Beatles' new business venture, Apple Corps. It was initially formed several months earlier as part of a plan to create a tax-effective business structure, but the band then desired to extend the corporation to other pursuits, including record distribution, peace activism, and education. McCartney described Apple as "rather like a Western communism". The enterprise drained the group financially with a series of unsuccessful projects handled largely by members of the Beatles' entourage, who were given their jobs regardless of talent and experience. Among its numerous subsidiaries were Apple Electronics, established to foster technological innovations with Magic Alex at the head, and Apple Retailing, which opened the short-lived Apple Boutique in London. Harrison later said, "Basically, it was chaos ... John and Paul got carried away with the idea and blew millions, and Ringo and I just had to go along with it." From late May to mid-October 1968, the group recorded what became The Beatles, a double LP commonly known as "the White Album" for its virtually featureless cover. During this time, relations between the members grew openly divisive. Starr quit for two weeks, leaving his bandmates to record "Back in the U.S.S.R." and "Dear Prudence" as a trio, with McCartney filling in on drums. Lennon had lost interest in collaborating with McCartney, whose contribution "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" he scorned as "granny music shit". Tensions were further aggravated by Lennon's romantic preoccupation with avant-garde artist Yoko Ono, whom he insisted on bringing to the sessions despite the group's well-established understanding that girlfriends were not allowed in the studio. McCartney has recalled that the album "wasn't a pleasant one to make". He and Lennon identified the sessions as the start of the band's break-up. With the record, the band executed a wider range of musical styles and broke with their recent tradition of incorporating several musical styles in one song by keeping each piece of music consistently faithful to a select genre. During the sessions, the group upgraded to an eight-track tape console, which made it easier for them to layer tracks piecemeal, while the members often recorded independently of each other, affording the album a reputation as a collection of solo recordings rather than a unified group effort. Describing the double album, Lennon later said: "Every track is an individual track; there isn't any Beatle music on it. [It's] John and the band, Paul and the band, George and the band." The sessions also produced the Beatles' longest song yet, "Hey Jude", released in August as a non-album single with "Revolution". Issued in November, the White Album was the band's first Apple Records album release, although EMI continued to own their recordings. The record attracted more than 2 million advance orders, selling nearly 4 million copies in the US in little over a month, and its tracks dominated the playlists of American radio stations. Its lyric content was the focus of much analysis by the counterculture. Despite its popularity, reviewers were largely confused by the album's content, and it failed to inspire the level of critical writing that Sgt. Pepper had. General critical opinion eventually turned in favour of the White Album, and in 2003, Rolling Stone ranked it as the tenth greatest album of all time. Abbey Road, Let It Be and separation Although Let It Be was the Beatles' final album release, it was largely recorded before Abbey Road. The project's impetus came from an idea Martin attributes to McCartney, who suggested they "record an album of new material and rehearse it, then perform it before a live audience for the very first time – on record and on film". Originally intended for a one-hour television programme to be called Beatles at Work, in the event much of the album's content came from studio work beginning in January 1969, many hours of which were captured on film by director Michael Lindsay-Hogg. Martin said that the project was "not at all a happy recording experience. It was a time when relations between the Beatles were at their lowest ebb." Lennon described the largely impromptu sessions as "hell ... the most miserable ... on Earth", and Harrison, "the low of all-time". Irritated by McCartney and Lennon, Harrison walked out for five days. Upon returning, he threatened to leave the band unless they "abandon[ed] all talk of live performance" and instead focused on finishing a new album, initially titled Get Back, using songs recorded for the TV special. He also demanded they cease work at Twickenham Film Studios, where the sessions had begun, and relocate to the newly finished Apple Studio. His bandmates agreed, and it was decided to salvage the footage shot for the TV production for use in a feature film. To alleviate tensions within the band and improve the quality of their live sound, Harrison invited keyboardist Billy Preston to participate in the last nine days of sessions. Preston received label billing on the "Get Back" single – the only musician ever to receive that acknowledgment on an official Beatles release. After the rehearsals, the band could not agree on a location to film a concert, rejecting several ideas, including a boat at sea, a lunatic asylum, the Tunisian desert, and the Colosseum. Ultimately, what would be their final live performance was filmed on the rooftop of the Apple Corps building at 3 Savile Row, London, on 30 January 1969. Five weeks later, engineer Glyn Johns, whom Lewisohn describes as Get Backs "uncredited producer", began work assembling an album, given "free rein" as the band "all but washed their hands of the entire project". New strains developed between the band members regarding the appointment of a financial adviser, the need for which had become evident without Epstein to manage business affairs. Lennon, Harrison and Starr favoured Allen Klein, who had managed the Rolling Stones and Sam Cooke; McCartney wanted Lee and John Eastman – father and brother, respectively, of Linda Eastman, whom McCartney married on 12 March. Agreement could not be reached, so both Klein and the Eastmans were temporarily appointed: Klein as the Beatles' business manager and the Eastmans as their lawyers. Further conflict ensued, however, and financial opportunities were lost. On 8 May, Klein was named sole manager of the band, the Eastmans having previously been dismissed as the Beatles' lawyers. McCartney refused to sign the management contract with Klein, but he was out-voted by the other Beatles. Martin stated that he was surprised when McCartney asked him to produce another album, as the Get Back sessions had been "a miserable experience" and he had "thought it was the end of the road for all of us". The primary recording sessions for Abbey Road began on 2 July. Lennon, who rejected Martin's proposed format of a "continuously moving piece of music", wanted his and McCartney's songs to occupy separate sides of the album. The eventual format, with individually composed songs on the first side and the second consisting largely of a medley, was McCartney's suggested compromise. Emerick noted that the replacement of the studio's valve mixing console with a transistorised one yielded a less punchy sound, leaving the group frustrated at the thinner tone and lack of impact and contributing to its "kinder, gentler" feel relative to their previous albums. On 4 July, the first solo single by a Beatle was released: Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance", credited to the Plastic Ono Band. The completion and mixing of "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" on 20 August was the last occasion on which all four Beatles were together in the same studio. On 8 September, while Starr was in hospital, the other band members met to discuss recording a new album. They considered a different approach to songwriting by ending the Lennon–McCartney pretence and having four compositions apiece from Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, with two from Starr and a lead single around Christmas. On 20 September, Lennon announced his departure to the rest of the group but agreed to withhold a public announcement to avoid undermining sales of the forthcoming album. Released on 26 September, Abbey Road sold four million copies within three months and topped the UK charts for a total of seventeen weeks. Its second track, the ballad "Something", was issued as a single – the only Harrison composition that appeared as a Beatles A-side. Abbey Road received mixed reviews, although the medley met with general acclaim. Unterberger considers it "a fitting swan song for the group", containing "some of the greatest harmonies to be heard on any rock record". Musicologist and author Ian MacDonald calls the album "erratic and often hollow", despite the "semblance of unity and coherence" offered by the medley. Martin singled it out as his favourite Beatles album; Lennon said it was "competent" but had "no life in it". For the still unfinished Get Back album, one last song, Harrison's "I Me Mine", was recorded on 3 January 1970. Lennon, in Denmark at the time, did not participate. In March, rejecting the work Johns had done on the project, now retitled Let It Be, Klein gave the session tapes to American producer Phil Spector, who had recently produced Lennon's solo single "Instant Karma!" In addition to remixing the material, Spector edited, spliced and overdubbed several of the recordings that had been intended as "live". McCartney was unhappy with the producer's approach and particularly dissatisfied with the lavish orchestration on "The Long and Winding Road", which involved a fourteen-voice choir and 36-piece instrumental ensemble. McCartney's demands that the alterations to the song be reverted were ignored, and he publicly announced his departure from the band on 10 April, a week before the release of his first self-titled solo album. On 8 May 1970, Let It Be was released. Its accompanying single, "The Long and Winding Road", was the Beatles' last; it was released in the US, but not in the UK. The Let It Be documentary film followed later that month, and would win the 1970 Academy Award for Best Original Song Score. Sunday Telegraph critic Penelope Gilliatt called it "a very bad film and a touching one ... about the breaking apart of this reassuring, geometrically perfect, once apparently ageless family of siblings". Several reviewers stated that some of the performances in the film sounded better than their analogous album tracks. Describing Let It Be as the "only Beatles album to occasion negative, even hostile reviews", Unterberger calls it "on the whole underrated"; he singles out "some good moments of straight hard rock in 'I've Got a Feeling' and 'Dig a Pony'", and praises "Let It Be", "Get Back", and "the folky 'Two of Us', with John and Paul harmonising together". McCartney filed suit for the dissolution of the Beatles' contractual partnership on 31 December 1970. Legal disputes continued long after their break-up, and the dissolution was not formalised until 29 December 1974, when Lennon signed the paperwork terminating the partnership while on vacation with his family at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. 1970–present: After the break-up 1970s Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr all released solo albums in 1970. Their solo records sometimes involved one or more of the others; Starr's Ringo (1973) was the only album to include compositions and performances by all four ex-Beatles, albeit on separate songs. With Starr's participation, Harrison staged the Concert for Bangladesh in New York City in August 1971. Other than an unreleased jam session in 1974, later bootlegged as A Toot and a Snore in '74, Lennon and McCartney never recorded together again. Two double-LP sets of the Beatles' greatest hits, compiled by Klein, 1962–1966 and 1967–1970, were released in 1973, at first under the Apple Records imprint. Commonly known as the "Red Album" and "Blue Album", respectively, each has earned a Multi-Platinum certification in the US and a Platinum certification in the UK. Between 1976 and 1982, EMI/Capitol released a wave of compilation albums without input from the ex-Beatles, starting with the double-disc compilation Rock 'n' Roll Music. The only one to feature previously unreleased material was The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl (1977); the first officially issued concert recordings by the group, it contained selections from two shows they played during their 1964 and 1965 US tours. The music and enduring fame of the Beatles were commercially exploited in various other ways, again often outside their creative control. In April 1974, the musical John, Paul, George, Ringo ... and Bert, written by Willy Russell and featuring singer Barbara Dickson, opened in London. It included, with permission from Northern Songs, eleven Lennon-McCartney compositions and one by Harrison, "Here Comes the Sun". Displeased with the production's use of his song, Harrison withdrew his permission to use it. Later that year, the off-Broadway musical Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on the Road opened. All This and World War II (1976) was an unorthodox nonfiction film that combined newsreel footage with covers of Beatles songs by performers ranging from Elton John and Keith Moon to the London Symphony Orchestra. The Broadway musical Beatlemania, an unauthorised nostalgia revue, opened in early 1977 and proved popular, spinning off five separate touring productions. In 1979, the band sued the producers, settling for several million dollars in damages. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978), a musical film starring the Bee Gees and Peter Frampton, was a commercial failure and an "artistic fiasco", according to Ingham. Accompanying the wave of Beatles nostalgia and persistent reunion rumours in the US during the 1970s, several entrepreneurs made public offers to the Beatles for a reunion concert. Promoter Bill Sargent first offered the Beatles $10 million for a reunion concert in 1974. He raised his offer to $30 million in January 1976 and then to $50 million the following month. On 24 April 1976, during a broadcast of Saturday Night Live, producer Lorne Michaels jokingly offered the Beatles $3,000 to reunite on the show. Lennon and McCartney were watching the live broadcast at Lennon's apartment at the Dakota in New York, which was within driving distance of the NBC studio where the show was being broadcast. The former bandmates briefly entertained the idea of going to the studio and surprising Michaels by accepting his offer, but decided not to. 1980s In December 1980, Lennon was shot and killed outside his New York City apartment. Harrison rewrote the lyrics of his song "All Those Years Ago" in Lennon's honour. With Starr on drums and McCartney and his wife, Linda, contributing backing vocals, the song was released as a single in May 1981. McCartney's own tribute, "Here Today", appeared on his Tug of War album in April 1982. In 1984 Starr joined McCartney to star in Paul's film Give My Regards to Broad Street, and played with Paul on several of the songs on the soundtrack. In 1987, Harrison's Cloud Nine album included "When We Was Fab", a song about the Beatlemania era. When the Beatles' studio albums were released on CD by EMI and Apple Corps in 1987, their catalogue was standardised throughout the world, establishing a canon of the twelve original studio LPs as issued in the UK plus the US LP version of Magical Mystery Tour. All the remaining material from the singles and EPs that had not appeared on these thirteen studio albums was gathered on the two-volume compilation Past Masters (1988). Except for the Red and Blue albums, EMI deleted all its other Beatles compilations – including the Hollywood Bowl record – from its catalogue. In 1988, the Beatles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, their first year of eligibility. Harrison and Starr attended the ceremony with Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, and his two sons, Julian and Sean. McCartney declined to attend, citing unresolved "business differences" that would make him "feel like a complete hypocrite waving and smiling with them at a fake reunion". The following year, EMI/Capitol settled a decade-long lawsuit filed by the band over royalties, clearing the way to commercially package previously unreleased material. 1990s Live at the BBC, the first official release of unissued Beatles performances in seventeen years, appeared in 1994. That same year McCartney, Harrison and Starr collaborated on the Anthology project. Anthology was the culmination of work begun in 1970, when Apple Corps director Neil Aspinall, their former road manager and personal assistant, had started to gather material for a documentary with the working title The Long and Winding Road. Documenting their history in the band's own words, the Anthology project included the release of several unissued Beatles recordings. McCartney, Harrison and Starr also added new instrumental and vocal parts to songs recorded as demos by Lennon in the late 1970s. During 1995–96, the project yielded a television miniseries, an eight-volume video set, and three two-CD/three-LP box sets featuring artwork by Klaus Voormann. Two songs based on Lennon demos, "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love", were issued as new Beatles singles. The releases were commercially successful and the television series was viewed by an estimated 400 million people. In 1999, to coincide with the re-release of the 1968 film Yellow Submarine, an expanded soundtrack album, Yellow Submarine Songtrack, was issued. 2000s The Beatles' 1, a compilation album of the band's British and American number-one hits, was released on 13 November 2000. It became the fastest-selling album of all time, with 3.6 million sold in its first week and 13 million within a month. It topped albums charts in at least 28 countries. The compilation had sold 31 million copies globally by April 2009. Harrison died from metastatic lung cancer in November 2001. McCartney and Starr were among the musicians who performed at the Concert for George, organised by Eric Clapton and Harrison's widow, Olivia. The tribute event took place at the Royal Albert Hall on the first anniversary of Harrison's death. In 2003, Let It Be... Naked, a reconceived version of the Let It Be album, with McCartney supervising production, was released. One of the main differences from the Spector-produced version was the omission of the original string arrangements. It was a top-ten hit in both Britain and America. The US album configurations from 1964 to 1965 were released as box sets in 2004 and 2006; The Capitol Albums, Volume 1 and Volume 2 included both stereo and mono versions based on the mixes that were prepared for vinyl at the time of the music's original American release. As a soundtrack for Cirque du Soleil's Las Vegas Beatles stage revue, Love, George Martin and his son Giles remixed and blended 130 of the band's recordings to create what Martin called "a way of re-living the whole Beatles musical lifespan in a very condensed period". The show premiered in June 2006, and the Love album was released that November. In April 2009, Starr performed three songs with McCartney at a benefit concert held at New York's Radio City Music Hall and organised by McCartney. On 9 September 2009, the Beatles' entire back catalogue was reissued following an extensive digital remastering process that lasted four years. Stereo editions of all twelve original UK studio albums, along with Magical Mystery Tour and the Past Masters compilation, were released on compact disc both individually and as a box set. A second collection, The Beatles in Mono, included remastered versions of every Beatles album released in true mono along with the original 1965 stereo mixes of Help! and Rubber Soul (both of which Martin had remixed for the 1987 editions). The Beatles: Rock Band, a music video game in the Rock Band series, was issued on the same day. In December 2009, the band's catalogue was officially released in FLAC and MP3 format in a limited edition of 30,000 USB flash drives. 2010s Owing to a long-running royalty disagreement, the Beatles were among the last major artists to sign deals with online music services. Residual disagreement emanating from Apple Corps' dispute with Apple, Inc., iTunes' owners, over the use of the name "Apple" was also partly responsible for the delay, although in 2008, McCartney stated that the main obstacle to making the Beatles' catalogue available online was that EMI "want[s] something we're not prepared to give them". In 2010, the official canon of thirteen Beatles studio albums, Past Masters, and the "Red" and "Blue" greatest-hits albums were made available on iTunes. In 2012, EMI's recorded music operations were sold to Universal Music Group. In order for Universal Music to acquire EMI, the European Union, for antitrust reasons, forced EMI to spin off assets including Parlophone. Universal was allowed to keep the Beatles' recorded music catalogue, managed by Capitol Records under its Capitol Music Group division. The entire original Beatles album catalogue was also reissued on vinyl in 2012; available either individually or as a box set. In 2013, a second volume of BBC recordings, titled On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2, was released. That December saw the release of another 59 Beatles recordings on iTunes. The set, titled The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963, had the opportunity to gain a 70-year copyright extension conditional on the songs being published at least once before the end of 2013. Apple Records released the recordings on 17 December to prevent them from going into the public domain and had them taken down from iTunes later that same day. Fan reactions to the release were mixed, with one blogger saying "the hardcore Beatles collectors who are trying to obtain everything will already have these." On 26 January 2014, McCartney and Starr performed together at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The following day, The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to The Beatles television special was taped in the Los Angeles Convention Center's West Hall. It aired on 9 February, the exact date of – and at the same time, and on the same network as – the original broadcast of the Beatles' first US television appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, 50 years earlier. The special included performances of Beatles songs by current artists as well as by McCartney and Starr, archival footage, and interviews with the two surviving ex-Beatles carried out by David Letterman at the Ed Sullivan Theater. In December 2015, the Beatles released their catalogue for streaming on various streaming music services including Spotify and Apple Music. In September 2016, the documentary film The Beatles: Eight Days a Week was released. Directed by Ron Howard, it chronicled the Beatles' career during their touring years from 1961 to 1966, from their performances in Liverpool's the Cavern Club in 1961 to their final concert in San Francisco in 1966. The film was released theatrically on 15 September in the UK and the US, and started streaming on Hulu on 17 September. It received several awards and nominations, including for Best Documentary at the 70th British Academy Film Awards and the Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special at the 69th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. An expanded, remixed and remastered version of The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl was released on 9 September, to coincide with the release of the film. On 18 May 2017, Sirius XM Radio launched a 24/7 radio channel, The Beatles Channel. A week later, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was reissued with new stereo mixes and unreleased material for the album's 50th anniversary. Similar box sets were released for The Beatles in November 2018, and Abbey Road in September 2019. On the first week of October 2019, Abbey Road returned to number one on the UK Albums Chart. The Beatles broke their own record for the album with the longest gap between topping the charts as Abbey Road hit the top spot 50 years after its original release. 2020s In November 2021, The Beatles: Get Back, a documentary directed by Peter Jackson using footage captured for the Let It Be film, was released on Disney+ as a three-part miniseries. A book also titled The Beatles: Get Back was released on 12 October, ahead of the documentary. A super deluxe version of the Let It Be album was released on 15 October. Musical style and development In Icons of Rock: An Encyclopedia of the Legends Who Changed Music Forever, Scott Schinder and Andy Schwartz describe the Beatles' musical evolution: In The Beatles as Musicians, Walter Everett describes Lennon and McCartney's contrasting motivations and approaches to composition: "McCartney may be said to have constantly developed – as a means to entertain – a focused musical talent with an ear for counterpoint and other aspects of craft in the demonstration of a universally agreed-upon common language that he did much to enrich. Conversely, Lennon's mature music is best appreciated as the daring product of a largely unconscious, searching but undisciplined artistic sensibility." Ian MacDonald describes McCartney as "a natural melodist – a creator of tunes capable of existing apart from their harmony". His melody lines are characterised as primarily "vertical", employing wide, consonant intervals which express his "extrovert energy and optimism". Conversely, Lennon's "sedentary, ironic personality" is reflected in a "horizontal" approach featuring minimal, dissonant intervals and repetitive melodies which rely on their harmonic accompaniment for interest: "Basically a realist, he instinctively kept his melodies close to the rhythms and cadences of speech, colouring his lyrics with bluesy tone and harmony rather than creating tunes that made striking shapes of their own." MacDonald praises Harrison's lead guitar work for the role his "characterful lines and textural colourings" play in supporting Lennon and McCartney's parts, and describes Starr as "the father of modern pop/rock drumming". Influences The band's earliest influences include Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Little Richard and Chuck Berry. During the Beatles' co-residency with Little Richard at the Star-Club in Hamburg, from April to May 1962, he advised them on the proper technique for performing his songs. Of Presley, Lennon said, "Nothing really affected me until I heard Elvis. If there hadn't been Elvis, there would not have been the Beatles." Other early influences include Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, Roy Orbison and the Everly Brothers. The Beatles continued to absorb influences long after their initial success, often finding new musical and lyrical avenues by listening to their contemporaries, including Bob Dylan, the Who, Frank Zappa, the Lovin' Spoonful, the Byrds and the Beach Boys, whose 1966 album Pet Sounds amazed and inspired McCartney. Referring to the Beach Boys' creative leader, Martin later stated: "No one made a greater impact on the Beatles than Brian [Wilson]." Ravi Shankar, with whom Harrison studied for six weeks in India in late 1966, had a significant effect on his musical development during the band's later years. Genres Originating as a skiffle group, the Beatles quickly embraced 1950s rock and roll and helped pioneer the Merseybeat genre, and their repertoire ultimately expanded to include a broad variety of pop music. Reflecting the range of styles they explored, Lennon said of Beatles for Sale, "You could call our new one a Beatles country-and-western LP", while Gould credits Rubber Soul as "the instrument by which legions of folk-music enthusiasts were coaxed into the camp of pop". Although the 1965 song "Yesterday" was not the first pop record to employ orchestral strings, it marked the group's first recorded use of classical music elements. Gould observes: "The more traditional sound of strings allowed for a fresh appreciation of their talent as composers by listeners who were otherwise allergic to the din of drums and electric guitars." They continued to experiment with string arrangements to various effect; Sgt. Peppers "She's Leaving Home", for instance, is "cast in the of a sentimental Victorian ballad", Gould writes, "its words and music filled with the clichés of musical melodrama". The band's stylistic range expanded in another direction with their 1966 B-side "Rain", described by Martin Strong as "the first overtly psychedelic Beatles record". Other psychedelic numbers followed, such as "Tomorrow Never Knows" (recorded before "Rain"), "Strawberry Fields Forever", "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "I Am the Walrus". The influence of Indian classical music was evident in Harrison's "The Inner Light", "Love You To" and "Within You Without You" – Gould describes the latter two as attempts "to replicate the raga form in miniature". Innovation was the most striking feature of their creative evolution, according to music historian and pianist Michael Campbell: "'A Day in the Life' encapsulates the art and achievement of the Beatles as well as any single track can. It highlights key features of their music: the sound imagination, the persistence of tuneful melody, and the close coordination between words and music. It represents a new category of song – more sophisticated than pop ... and uniquely innovative. There literally had never before been a song – classical or vernacular – that had blended so many disparate elements so imaginatively." Philosophy professor Bruce Ellis Benson agrees: "the Beatles ... give us a wonderful example of how such far-ranging influences as Celtic music, rhythm and blues, and country and western could be put together in a new way." Author Dominic Pedler describes the way they crossed musical styles: "Far from moving sequentially from one genre to another (as is sometimes conveniently suggested) the group maintained in parallel their mastery of the traditional, catchy chart hit while simultaneously forging rock and dabbling with a wide range of peripheral influences from country to vaudeville. One of these threads was their take on folk music, which would form such essential groundwork for their later collisions with Indian music and philosophy." As the personal relationships between the band members grew increasingly strained, their individual tastes became more apparent. The minimalistic cover artwork for the White Album contrasted with the complexity and diversity of its music, which encompassed Lennon's "Revolution 9" (whose musique concrète approach was influenced by Yoko Ono), Starr's country song "Don't Pass Me By", Harrison's rock ballad "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", and the "proto-metal roar" of McCartney's "Helter Skelter". Contribution of George Martin George Martin's close involvement in his role as producer made him one of the leading candidates for the informal title of the "fifth Beatle". He applied his classical musical training in various ways, and functioned as "an informal music teacher" to the progressing songwriters, according to Gould. Martin suggested to a sceptical McCartney that the arrangement of "Yesterday" should feature a string quartet accompaniment, thereby introducing the Beatles to a "hitherto unsuspected world of classical instrumental colour", in MacDonald's description. Their creative development was also facilitated by Martin's willingness to experiment in response to their suggestions, such as adding "something baroque" to a particular recording. In addition to scoring orchestral arrangements for recordings, Martin often performed on them, playing instruments including piano, organ and brass. Collaborating with Lennon and McCartney required Martin to adapt to their different approaches to songwriting and recording. MacDonald comments, "while [he] worked more naturally with the conventionally articulate McCartney, the challenge of catering to Lennon's intuitive approach generally spurred him to his more original arrangements, of which 'Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!' is an outstanding example." Martin said of the two composers' distinct songwriting styles and his stabilising influence: Harrison echoed Martin's description of his stabilising role: "I think we just grew through those years together, him as the straight man and us as the loonies; but he was always there for us to interpret our madness – we used to be slightly avant-garde on certain days of the week, and he would be there as the anchor person, to communicate that through the engineers and on to the tape." In the studio Making innovative use of technology while expanding the possibilities of recorded music, the Beatles urged experimentation by Martin and his recording engineers. Seeking ways to put chance occurrences to creative use, accidental guitar feedback, a resonating glass bottle, a tape loaded the wrong way round so that it played backwards – any of these might be incorporated into their music. Their desire to create new sounds on every new recording, combined with Martin's arranging abilities and the studio expertise of EMI staff engineers Norman Smith, Ken Townsend and Geoff Emerick, all contributed significantly to their records from Rubber Soul and, especially, Revolver onwards. Along with innovative studio techniques such as sound effects, unconventional microphone placements, tape loops, double tracking and vari-speed recording, the Beatles augmented their songs with instruments that were unconventional in rock music at the time. These included string and brass ensembles as well as Indian instruments such as the sitar in "Norwegian Wood" and the swarmandal in "Strawberry Fields Forever". They also used novel electronic instruments such as the Mellotron, with which McCartney supplied the flute voices on the "Strawberry Fields Forever" intro, and the clavioline, an electronic keyboard that created the unusual oboe-like sound on "Baby, You're a Rich Man". Legacy Former Rolling Stone associate editor Robert Greenfield compared the Beatles to Picasso, as "artists who broke through the constraints of their time period to come up with something that was unique and original ... [I]n the form of popular music, no one will ever be more revolutionary, more creative and more distinctive ..." The British poet Philip Larkin described their work as "an enchanting and intoxicating hybrid of Negro rock-and-roll with their own adolescent romanticism", and "the first advance in popular music since the War". The Beatles' 1964 arrival in the US is credited with initiating the album era; the music historian Joel Whitburn says that LP sales soon "exploded and eventually outpaced the sales and releases of singles" in the music industry. They not only sparked the British Invasion of the US, they became a globally influential phenomenon as well. From the 1920s, the US had dominated popular entertainment culture throughout much of the world, via Hollywood films, jazz, the music of Broadway and Tin Pan Alley and, later, the rock and roll that first emerged in Memphis, Tennessee. The Beatles are regarded as British cultural icons, with young adults from abroad naming the band among a group of people whom they most associated with UK culture. Their musical innovations and commercial success inspired musicians worldwide. Many artists have acknowledged the Beatles' influence and enjoyed chart success with covers of their songs. On radio, their arrival marked the beginning of a new era; in 1968 the programme director of New York's WABC radio station forbade his DJs from playing any "pre-Beatles" music, marking the defining line of what would be considered oldies on American radio. They helped to redefine the album as something more than just a few hits padded out with "filler", and they were primary innovators of the modern music video. The Shea Stadium show with which they opened their 1965 North American tour attracted an estimated 55,600 people, then the largest audience in concert history; Spitz describes the event as a "major breakthrough ... a giant step toward reshaping the concert business". Emulation of their clothing and especially their hairstyles, which became a mark of rebellion, had a global impact on fashion. According to Gould, the Beatles changed the way people listened to popular music and experienced its role in their lives. From what began as the Beatlemania fad, the group's popularity grew into what was seen as an embodiment of sociocultural movements of the decade. As icons of the 1960s counterculture, Gould continues, they became a catalyst for bohemianism and activism in various social and political arenas, fuelling movements such as women's liberation, gay liberation and environmentalism. According to Peter Lavezzoli, after the "more popular than Jesus" controversy in 1966, the Beatles felt considerable pressure to say the right things and "began a concerted effort to spread a message of wisdom and higher consciousness". Other commentators such as Mikal Gilmore and Todd Leopold have traced the inception of their socio-cultural impact earlier, interpreting even the Beatlemania period, particularly on their first visit to the US, as a key moment in the development of generational awareness. Referring to their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show Leopold states: "In many ways, the Sullivan appearance marked the beginning of a cultural revolution ... The Beatles were like aliens dropped into the United States of 1964." According to Gilmore: Established in 2009, Global Beatles Day is an annual holiday on 25 June each year that honours and celebrates the ideals of the Beatles. The date was chosen to commemorate the date the group participated in the BBC programme Our World in 1967, performing "All You Need Is Love" broadcast to an international audience. Awards and achievements In 1965, Queen Elizabeth II appointed Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). The Beatles won the 1971 Academy Award for Best Original Song Score for the film Let It Be (1970). The recipients of seven Grammy Awards and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards, the Beatles have six Diamond albums, as well as 20 Multi-Platinum albums, 16 Platinum albums and six Gold albums in the US. In the UK, the Beatles have four Multi-Platinum albums, four Platinum albums, eight Gold albums and one Silver album. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. The best-selling band in history, the Beatles have sold more than 600 million units . They have had more number-one albums on the UK charts, fifteen, and sold more singles in the UK, 21.9 million, than any other act. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the Beatles as the most significant and influential rock music artists of the last 50 years. They ranked number one on Billboard magazine's list of the all-time most successful Hot 100 artists, released in 2008 to celebrate the US singles chart's 50th anniversary. , they hold the record for most number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100, with twenty. The Recording Industry Association of America certifies that the Beatles have sold 183 million units in the US, more than any other artist. They were collectively included in Time magazine's compilation of the 20th century's 100 most influential people. In 2014, they received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. On 16 January each year, beginning in 2001, people celebrate World Beatles Day under UNESCO. This date has direct relation to the opening of The Cavern Club in 1957. In 2007, the Beatles became the first band to feature on a series of UK postage stamps issued by the Royal Mail. Personnel Principal members John Lennon – vocals, guitars, keyboards, harmonica, bass (1960–1969; died 1980) Paul McCartney – vocals, bass, guitars, keyboards, drums (1960–1970) George Harrison – guitars, vocals, sitar, keyboards, bass (1960–1970; died 2001) Ringo Starr – drums, percussion, vocals (1962–1970) Early members Pete Best – drums, vocals (1960–1962) Stuart Sutcliffe – bass, vocals (1960–1961; died 1962) Chas Newby – bass (1960–1961) Norman Chapman – drums (1960; died 1995) Tommy Moore – drums (1960; died 1981) Touring musician Jimmie Nicol – drums (1964) Discography The Beatles have a core catalogue consisting of 13 studio albums and one compilation. Please Please Me (1963) With the Beatles (1963) A Hard Day's Night (1964) Beatles for Sale (1964) Help! (1965) Rubber Soul (1965) Revolver (1966) Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) Magical Mystery Tour (1967) The Beatles (1968) ("The White Album") Yellow Submarine (1969) Abbey Road (1969) Let It Be (1970) Past Masters (1988, compilation) Song catalogue Through 1969, the Beatles' catalogue was published almost exclusively by Northern Songs Ltd, a company formed in February 1963 by music publisher Dick James specifically for Lennon and McCartney, though it later acquired songs by other artists. The company was organised with James and his partner, Emmanuel Silver, owning a controlling interest, variously described as 51% or 50% plus one share. McCartney had 20%. Reports again vary concerning Lennon's portion – 19 or 20% – and Brian Epstein's – 9 or 10% – which he received in lieu of a 25% band management fee. In 1965, the company went public. Five million shares were created, of which the original principals retained 3.75 million. James and Silver each received 937,500 shares (18.75% of 5 million); Lennon and McCartney each received 750,000 shares (15%); and Epstein's management company, NEMS Enterprises, received 375,000 shares (7.5%). Of the 1.25 million shares put up for sale, Harrison and Starr each acquired 40,000. At the time of the stock offering, Lennon and McCartney renewed their three-year publishing contracts, binding them to Northern Songs until 1973. Harrison created Harrisongs to represent his Beatles compositions, but signed a three-year contract with Northern Songs that gave it the copyright to his work through March 1968, which included "Taxman" and "Within You Without You". The songs on which Starr received co-writing credit before 1968, such as "What Goes On" and "Flying", were also Northern Songs copyrights. Harrison did not renew his contract with Northern Songs when it ended, signing instead with Apple Publishing while retaining the copyright to his work from that point on. Harrison thus owns the rights to his later Beatles songs such as "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Something". That year, as well, Starr created Startling Music, which holds the rights to his Beatles compositions, "Don't Pass Me By" and "Octopus's Garden". In March 1969, James arranged to sell his and his partner's shares of Northern Songs to the British broadcasting company Associated Television (ATV), founded by impresario Lew Grade, without first informing the Beatles. The band then made a bid to gain a controlling interest by attempting to work out a deal with a consortium of London brokerage firms that had accumulated a 14% holding. The deal collapsed over the objections of Lennon, who declared, "I'm sick of being fucked about by men in suits sitting on their fat arses in the City." By the end of May, ATV had acquired a majority stake in Northern Songs, controlling nearly the entire Lennon–McCartney catalogue, as well as any future material until 1973. In frustration, Lennon and McCartney sold their shares to ATV in late October 1969. In 1981, financial losses by ATV's parent company, Associated Communications Corporation (ACC), led it to attempt to sell its music division. According to authors Brian Southall and Rupert Perry, Grade contacted McCartney, offering ATV Music and Northern Songs for $30 million. According to an account McCartney gave in 1995, he met with Grade and explained he was interested solely in the Northern Songs catalogue if Grade were ever willing to "separate off" that portion of ATV Music. Soon afterwards, Grade offered to sell him Northern Songs for £20 million, giving the ex-Beatle "a week or so" to decide. By McCartney's account, he and Ono countered with a £5 million bid that was rejected. According to reports at the time, Grade refused to separate Northern Songs and turned down an offer of £21–25 million from McCartney and Ono for Northern Songs. In 1982, ACC was acquired in a takeover by Australian business magnate Robert Holmes à Court for £60 million. In 1985, Michael Jackson purchased ATV for a reported $47.5 million. The acquisition gave him control over the publishing rights to more than 200 Beatles songs, as well as 40,000 other copyrights. In 1995, in a deal that earned him a reported $110 million, Jackson merged his music publishing business with Sony, creating a new company, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, in which he held a 50% stake. The merger made the new company, then valued at over half a billion dollars, the third-largest music publisher in the world. In 2016, Sony acquired Jackson's share of Sony/ATV from the Jackson estate for $750 million. Despite the lack of publishing rights to most of their songs, Lennon's estate and McCartney continue to receive their respective shares of the writers' royalties, which together are 33% of total commercial proceeds in the US and which vary elsewhere around the world between 50 and 55%. Two of Lennon and McCartney's earliest songs – "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You" – were published by an EMI subsidiary, Ardmore & Beechwood, before they signed with James. McCartney acquired their publishing rights from Ardmore in 1978, and they are the only two Beatles songs owned by McCartney's company MPL Communications. On 18 January 2017, McCartney filed a suit in the United States district court against Sony/ATV Music Publishing seeking to reclaim ownership of his share of the Lennon–McCartney song catalogue beginning in 2018. Under US copyright law, for works published before 1978 the author can reclaim copyrights assigned to a publisher after 56 years. McCartney and Sony agreed to a confidential settlement in June 2017. Selected filmography Fictionalised A Hard Day's Night (1964) Help! (1965) Magical Mystery Tour (1967) Yellow Submarine (1968) (brief cameo) Documentaries and filmed performances The Beatles at Shea Stadium (1966) Let It Be (1970) The Compleat Beatles (1982) It Was Twenty Years Ago Today (1987) (about Sgt. Pepper) The Beatles Anthology (1995) The Beatles: 1+ (2015) (collection of digitally restored music videos) The Beatles: Eight Days a Week (2016) (about Beatlemania and touring years) The Beatles: Get Back (2021) Concert tours 1963 1963 UK tours (winter–autumn) The Beatles Winter 1963 Helen Shapiro Tour Spring 1963 Tommy Roe/Chris Montez UK tour Roy Orbison/The Beatles Tour Autumn 1963 Sweden tour 1964 Winter 1964 North American tour Spring 1964 UK tour The Beatles' 1964 world tour 1965 The Beatles' 1965 European tour The Beatles' 1965 US tour The Beatles' 1965 UK tour 1966 The Beatles' 1966 tour of Germany, Japan and the Philippines The Beatles' 1966 US tour See also Grammy Award records – Most Grammys won by a group Notes Citations Sources Further reading External links The Beatles – FBI file. 1960 establishments in England 1970 disestablishments in England Apple Corps Apple Records artists Atco Records artists Beat groups Brit Award winners British Invasion artists Capitol Records artists English pop music groups English psychedelic rock music groups English rock music groups George Harrison Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners John Lennon Musical groups established in 1960 Musical groups disestablished in 1970 Musical groups from Liverpool Musical quartets Parlophone artists Paul McCartney Proto-prog musicians Psychedelic pop music groups Ringo Starr Swan Records artists United Artists Records artists Vee-Jay Records artists World Music Awards winners World record holders
false
[ "The Jersey Shore sound is a genre of rock and roll popularized at the Jersey Shore on the Atlantic Ocean coast of New Jersey, United States.\n\nThe Jersey Shore sound evolved from the mixing of pre-Beatles rock and roll, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, and the urban culture of the Mid-Atlantic states. The form has a strong Italian-American influence inasmuch as many of the form's key precursors and artists, from Frankie Valli through Bruce Springsteen, are of Italian ancestry and urban background. \n\nJersey Shore music shares two thematic elements with the genres of heartland rock and roots rock: A focus on the daily lives of people (in this case, those living in the stereotypically industrial society of the northeast United States, Northern and Central Jersey) and a sense of being the underdog (a theme in the genre from The Four Seasons' \"Rag Doll\", \"Walk Like a Man\", and \"Big Man in Town\" and through Springsteen's Dancing in the Dark).. Traditionally it also is known by its horn section.\n\nMajor artists\n Bruce Springsteen \n Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes\n Looking Glass \n Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul\n\nOther artists\n Willy DeVille and Mink DeVille: The Willy DeVille bands of the early 1980s exhibited a pure Jersey Shore sound with accordions and a full-throated sax played by Louis Cortelezzi. Critics sometimes compared Mink DeVille's Coup de Grâce (1981) and Where Angels Fear to Tread (1983) to Springsteen and Southside Johnny. Allmusic said about Coup de Grâce, \"The band's sound combined with Nitzsche's timeless production style, which combined with that voice to create a purer rock & roll noise than even Springsteen's in 1981.\" Allmusic said about Where Angels Fear to Tread, \"Why (Mink DeVille) didn't catch and George Thorogood and Southside Johnny (briefly) did is a mystery that will be up to '80s historians to figure out.\"\n The Gaslight Anthem: A New Brunswick, New Jersey rock band that encompasses punk rock, blues, soul, and Americana as well as Jersey shore. They achieved the best album of 2008 awards from punknews.org and eMusic as well as high ratings from multiple sites for their album The '59 Sound.\n\nSee also\nBrown-eyed soul\nDoo-wop\nRock and roll\nSoul music\nHeartland rock\nRoots rock\nBeach music\n\nReferences \n\n \nAmerican rock music genres\nMusic of New Jersey\nMusic scenes", "\"A Praise Chorus\" is a song by American rock band Jimmy Eat World. It was released in 2002 as the fourth single released from the band's fourth album Bleed American, which was later retitled Jimmy Eat World.\n\nSongs \"praised\" by this song\nAfter the second stanza, references to seven songs become the \"praise chorus\" of the title. The first line is sung continuously in the background before the other six are sung over it.\n\nTommy James and the Shondells – \"Crimson and Clover\" – \"Crimson and clover, over and over\", sung continuously in the background.\nMadness – \"Our House\" – \"Our house in the middle of the street.\"\nThe Promise Ring – \"Why Did Ever We Meet\" – \"Why did we ever meet?\"\nBad Company – \"Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy\" – \"[Started] my rock 'n' roll fantasy.\"\nThey Might Be Giants – \"Don't Let's Start\" – \"Don't, don't, don't let's start.\" \nThe Promise Ring – \"All of My Everythings\" – \"Why did we ever part?\"\nMötley Crüe – \"Kickstart My Heart\" – \"Kickstart my rock 'n roll heart.\"\n\nFollowing the recording of the song's demo (which contains none of these songs, but rather a repetition of \"Fast action/Come on, come on, come on/Fast action/So what'cha here for\"), the band felt that it needed some additional work in the chorus section. They sent the recording to The Promise Ring's Davey von Bohlen, a friend of the band, and asked him to \"Sing [us] something that [we] know\". During live performances, Tom Linton sings the repeated \"Crimson and Clover\" line, while Jim Adkins sings the lyrics from the other six songs.\n\nTrack listing\nThe Middle/A Praise Chorus AUS Tour EP\n\"The Middle\"\n\"A Praise Chorus\"\n\"Bleed American\" (live from the 9:30 Club, Washington DC 6/4/02)\n\"Firestarter\" (non-album) (The Prodigy cover)\n\"The Middle\" (acoustic)\n\nPromotional compact disc\n\"A Praise Chorus\"\n\"Authority Song\" (demo version)\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\nJimmy Eat World songs\n2001 singles\n2001 songs\nSongs written by Tommy James\nDreamWorks Records singles" ]
[ "Lenny Bruce", "Obscenity arrests" ]
C_bde6fa1924234f399674744a805129f9_0
What was Bruce arrested for?
1
What was Lenny Bruce arrested for?
Lenny Bruce
On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb", that the sexual context of come is so common that it bears no weight, and that if someone hearing it becomes upset, he "probably can't come". Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity. Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession and again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy named Sherman Block, who later became County Sheriff. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. The Hollywood charges were later dismissed. On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago. The same year he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering England by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien". In April 1964, he appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. On both occasions, he was arrested after leaving the stage, the complaints again pertaining to his use of various obscenities. A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant D.A. Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from - among other artists, writers and educators - Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced on December 21, 1964 to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon later saw his conviction overturned; Bruce, who died before the decision, never had his conviction stricken. Bruce later received a full posthumous gubernatorial pardon. CANNOTANSWER
On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco;
Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, freestyle and critical form of comedy which contained satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity. His 1964 conviction in an obscenity trial was followed by a posthumous pardon in 2003. Bruce paved the way for counterculture-era comedians. His trial for obscenity is a landmark for freedom of speech in the United States. In 2017, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him third (behind Richard Pryor and George Carlin) on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time. Early life Lenny Bruce was Jewish, born Leonard Alfred Schneider, in Mineola, New York. He grew up in nearby Bellmore, and attended Wellington C. Mepham High School. His parents divorced before he turned 10, and he lived with various relatives over the next decade. His British-born father, Myron (Mickey) Schneider, was a shoe clerk, and the two saw each other very infrequently. Bruce's mother, Sally Marr (legal name Sadie Schneider, born Sadie Kitchenberg), was a stage performer and had an enormous influence on Bruce's career. After spending time working on a farm, Bruce joined the United States Navy at the age of 16 in 1942, with active service during World War II aboard the in Northern Africa; Palermo, Italy, in 1943; and Anzio, Italy, in 1944. In May 1945, after a comedic performance for his shipmates in which he was dressed in drag, his commanding officers became upset. He defiantly convinced his ship's medical officer that he was experiencing homosexual urges. This led to his undesirable discharge in July 1945. However, he had not admitted to or been found guilty of any breach of naval regulations and successfully applied to have his discharge changed to "Under Honorable Conditions ... by reason of unsuitability for the naval service". During the Korean War era, Bruce served in the United States Merchant Marine, ferrying troops from the US to Europe and back. In 1959, while taping the first episode of Hugh Hefner's Playboy's Penthouse, Bruce talked about his Navy experience and showed a tattoo he received in Malta in 1942. After a short period living with his father in California, Bruce settled in New York City, hoping to establish himself as a comedian. However, he found it difficult to differentiate himself from the thousands of other show-business hopefuls who populated the city. One locale where they congregated was Hanson's, the diner where Bruce first met the comedian Joe Ancis, who had a profound influence on Bruce's approach to comedy. Many of Bruce's later routines reflected his meticulous schooling at the hands of Ancis. According to Bruce's biographer Albert Goldman, Ancis's humor involved stream-of-consciousness sexual fantasies and references to jazz. Bruce took the stage as "Lenny Marsalle" one evening at the Victory Club, as a stand-in master of ceremonies for one of his mother's shows. His ad-libs earned him some laughs. Soon afterward, in 1947, just after changing his last name to Bruce, he earned $12 and a free spaghetti dinner for his first stand-up performance in Brooklyn. He was later a guest—and was introduced by his mother, who called herself "Sally Bruce"—on the Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts radio program. Lenny did a piece inspired by Sid Caesar, "The Bavarian Mimic", featuring impressions of American movie stars (e.g., Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson). Career Bruce's early comedy career included writing the screenplays for Dance Hall Racket in 1953, which featured Bruce, his wife Honey Harlow, and mother Sally Marr; Dream Follies in 1954, a low-budget burlesque romp; and a children's film, The Rocket Man, in 1954. In 1956, Frank Ray Perilli, a fellow nightclub comedian who eventually became a screenwriter of two dozen successful films and plays, became a mentor and part-time manager of Bruce. Through Perilli, Bruce met and collaborated with photojournalist William Karl Thomas on three screenplays (Leather Jacket, Killer's Grave and The Degenerate), none of which made it to the screen, and the comedy material on his first three comedy albums. Bruce was a roommate of Buddy Hackett in the 1950s. The two appeared on the Patrice Munsel Show (1957–1958), calling their comedy duo the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players", twenty years before the cast of Saturday Night Live used the same name. In 1957, Thomas booked Bruce into the Slate Brothers nightclub, where he was fired the first night for what Variety headlined as "blue material"; this led to the theme of Bruce's first solo album on Berkeley-based Fantasy Records, The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce, for which Thomas shot the album cover. Thomas also shot other album covers, acted as cinematographer on abortive attempts to film their screenplays, and in 1989 authored a memoir of their ten-year collaboration titled Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet. The 2016 biography of Frank Ray Perilli titled The Candy Butcher, devotes a chapter to Perilli's ten-year collaboration with Bruce. Bruce released a total of four albums of original material on Fantasy Records. These albums were later compiled and re-released as The Lenny Bruce Originals. Two later records were produced and sold by Bruce himself, including a 10-inch album of the 1961 San Francisco performances that started his legal troubles. Starting in the late 1960s, other unissued Bruce material was released by Alan Douglas, Frank Zappa and Phil Spector, as well as Fantasy. Bruce developed the complexity and tone of his material in Enrico Banducci's North Beach nightclub, the "hungry i", where Mort Sahl had earlier made a name for himself. Branded a "sick comic", Bruce was essentially blacklisted from television, and when he did appear thanks to sympathetic fans like Hefner and Steve Allen, it was with great concessions to Broadcast Standards and Practices. Jokes that might offend, like a bit on airplane glue-sniffing teenagers that was done live for The Steve Allen Show in 1959, had to be typed out and pre-approved by network officials. On his debut on Allen's show, Bruce made an unscripted comment on the recent marriage of Elizabeth Taylor to Eddie Fisher, wondering, "Will Elizabeth Taylor become bar mitzvahed?" In the midst of a severe blizzard, Bruce gave a famous performance at Carnegie Hall at midnight on February 4, 1961. It was recorded and later released as a three-disc set titled The Carnegie Hall Concert. In the posthumous biography about Bruce, Albert Goldman described the night of the concert as follows: In August 1965, a year before his death, Bruce gave his penultimate performance at San Francisco's Basin Street West, mainly talking about his legal troubles. The filmed performance was released by Rhino Home Video in 1992 as The Lenny Bruce Performance Film. Personal life In 1951, Bruce met Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas. They were married that same year, and Bruce was determined she would end her work as a stripper. The couple eventually left New York in 1953 for the West Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles. Bruce then went on to join the bill at the club Strip City. Harlow found employment at the Colony Club, which was widely known to be the best burlesque club in Los Angeles at the time. Bruce left Strip City in late 1954 and found work within the San Fernando Valley at a variety of strip clubs. As the master of ceremonies, he introduced the strippers while performing his material. The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines: according to his primary biographer, Albert Goldman, it was "precisely at the moment when he sank to the bottom of the barrel and started working the places that were the lowest of the low" that he suddenly broke free of "all the restraints and inhibitions and disabilities that formerly had kept him just mediocre and began to blow with a spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school." Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955. Honey and Lenny had a tumultuous relationship. Many serious domestic incidents occurred between them, usually the result of serious drug use. They broke up and reunited over and over again between 1956 and Lenny's death in 1966. They first separated in March 1956, and were back together again by July of that year when they travelled to Honolulu for a night club tour. During this trip, Honey was arrested for marijuana possession. Prevented from leaving the island due to her parole conditions, Lenny took the opportunity to leave her again, and this time kidnapped the then one-year-old Kitty. In her autobiography, Honey claims Lenny turned her in to the police. She would be later sentenced to two years in federal prison. Throughout the final decade of his life, Bruce was beset by severe drug addiction. He would use heroin, methamphetamine and Dilaudid daily. He suffered numerous health problems and personal strife as a result of his addiction. He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s. In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized. At the time of his death, his girlfriend was comedian Lotus Weinstock. Legal troubles Bruce's desire to help his wife cease working as a stripper led him to pursue schemes that were designed to make as much money as possible. The most notable was the Brother Mathias Foundation scam, which resulted in Bruce's arrest in Miami, Florida, in 1951 for impersonating a priest. He had been soliciting donations for a leper colony in British Guiana (now Guyana) under the auspices of the "Brother Mathias Foundation", which he had legally chartered—the name was his own invention, but possibly referred to the actual Brother Matthias who had befriended Babe Ruth at the Baltimore orphanage to which Ruth had been confined as a child. Bruce had stolen several priests' clergy shirts and a clerical collar while posing as a laundry man. He was found not guilty because of the legality of the New York state-chartered foundation, the actual existence of the Guiana leper colony, and the inability of the local clergy to expose him as an impostor. Later, in his semifictional autobiography How to Talk Dirty and Influence People, Bruce said that he had made about $8,000 in three weeks, sending $2,500 to the leper colony and keeping the rest. Obscenity arrests On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb", that the sexual context of come is so common that it bears no weight, and that if someone hearing it becomes upset, he "probably can't come". Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity. Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession and again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy named Sherman Block, who later became County Sheriff. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. The Hollywood charges were later dismissed. On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago. That same year, he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering the United Kingdom by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien". In April 1964, he appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. On both occasions, he was arrested after leaving the stage, the complaints again pertaining to his use of various obscenities. A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant D.A. Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from—among other artists, writers and educators—Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced on December 21, 1964, to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon later saw his conviction overturned. Later years Despite his prominence as a comedian, Bruce appeared on network television only six times in his life. In his later club performances, he was known for relating the details of his encounters with the police directly in his comedy routine. These performances often included rants about his court battles over obscenity charges, tirades against fascism, and complaints that he was being denied his right to freedom of speech. Bruce was banned outright from several U.S. cities. In September 1962, his only visit to Australia caused a media storm—although, contrary to popular belief, he was not banned nor was he forced to leave the country. Bruce was booked for a two-week engagement at Aaron's Exchange Hotel, a small pub in central Sydney by the American-born, Australian-based promoter Lee Gordon, who was by then deeply in debt, nearing the end of his formerly successful career, and desperate to save his business. Bruce's first show at 9 p.m. on September 6 was uneventful, but his second show at 11 p.m. led to a major public controversy. Bruce was heckled by audience members during his performance, and when local actress Barbara Wyndon stood up and complained that Bruce was only talking about America, and asked him to talk about something different, a clearly annoyed Bruce responded, "Fuck you, madam. That's different, isn't it?" Bruce's remark shocked some members of the audience and several walked out. By the next day the local press had blown the incident up into a major controversy, with several Sydney papers denouncing Bruce as "sick" and one even illustrating their story with a retouched photograph appearing to show Bruce giving a fascist salute. The venue owners immediately cancelled the rest of Bruce's performances, and he retreated to his Kings Cross hotel room. Local university students (including future OZ magazine editor Richard Neville) who were fans of Bruce's humor tried to arrange a performance at the Roundhouse at the University of New South Wales, but at the last minute the university's Vice-Chancellor rescinded permission to use the venue, with no reason given and an interview he was scheduled to give on Australian television was cancelled in advance by the Australian Broadcasting Commission. Bruce remained largely confined to his hotel, but eight days later gave his third and last Australian concert at the Wintergarden Theatre in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Although the theatre had a capacity of 2,100, only 200 people attended, including a strong police presence, and Bruce gave what was described as a "subdued" performance. It was long rumored that a tape recording of Bruce's historic performance was made by police, but it was, in fact, recorded by local jazz saxophonist Sid Powell, who brought a portable tape recorder to the show. The tape was rediscovered in 2011 in the possession of Australian singer Sammy Gaha, who had acted as Bruce's chauffeur during his visit, and it was subsequently donated to the Lenny Bruce audio collection at Brandeis University. Bruce left the country a few days later and spoke little about the experience afterwards. Increasing drug use also affected Bruce's health. By 1966, he had been blacklisted by nearly every nightclub in the U.S., as owners feared prosecution for obscenity. He gave a famous performance at the Berkeley Community Theatre in December 1965, which was recorded and became his last live album, titled The Berkeley Concert; his performance here has been described as lucid, clear and calm, and one of his best. His last performance took place on June 25, 1966, at The Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, on a bill with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. The performance was not remembered fondly by Bill Graham, whose memoir describes Bruce as "whacked out on amphetamine;" Graham thought that Bruce finished his set emotionally disturbed. Zappa asked Bruce to sign his draft card, but the suspicious Bruce refused. At the request of Hefner and with the aid of Paul Krassner, Bruce wrote an autobiography. Serialized in Playboy in 1964 and 1965, this material was later published as the book How to Talk Dirty and Influence People. During this time, Bruce also contributed a number of articles to Krassner's satirical magazine The Realist. Death and posthumous pardon On August 3, 1966, Bruce was found dead in the bathroom of his Hollywood Hills home at 8825 W. Hollywood Blvd. The official photo, taken at the scene, showed Bruce lying naked on the floor, a syringe and burned bottle cap nearby, along with various other narcotics paraphernalia. Record producer Phil Spector, a friend of Bruce, bought the negatives of the photographs "to keep them from the press". The official cause of death was "acute morphine poisoning caused by an overdose". Bruce's remains were interred in Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Mission Hills, California, but an unconventional memorial on August 21 was controversial enough to keep his name in the spotlight. Over 500 people came to the service to pay their respects, led by Spector. Cemetery officials had tried to block the ceremony after advertisements for the event encouraged attendees to bring box lunches and noisemakers. Delivering the eulogy, which is featured at the end of the documentary Lenny Bruce Without the Tears, the Rev. William Glenesk said: Lenny Bruce's epitaph reads: "Beloved father—devoted son / Peace at last". Dick Schaap concluded his eulogy to Bruce in Playboy with the words: "One last four-letter word for Lenny: Dead. At forty. That's obscene". A memorial event was held at the Judson Memorial Church, New York City on Friday, August 12, which was "packed to overflowing" an hour before it was due to get underway at 6pm, and was attended by prominent members of the arts, many of whom also performed, and included Allen Ginsberg, Joe Lee Wilson, Jean Shepherd, Charlie Haden, and The Fugs; Paul Krassner officiated. On December 23, 2003, thirty-seven years after Bruce's death, New York Governor George Pataki granted him a posthumous pardon for his obscenity conviction. Legacy Bruce was the subject of the 1974 biographical film Lenny, directed by Bob Fosse and starring Dustin Hoffman (in an Academy Award-nominated Best Actor role), and based on the Broadway stage play of the same name written by Julian Barry and starring Cliff Gorman in his 1972 Tony Award–winning role. In addition, the main character's editing of a fictionalized film version of Lenny was a major part of Fosse's own autobiopic, the 1979 Academy Award–nominated All That Jazz; Gorman again played the role of the stand-up comic. The documentary Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth, directed by Robert B. Weide and narrated by Robert De Niro, was released in 1998. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. In 2004, Comedy Central listed Bruce at number three on its list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time, placing above Woody Allen (4th) and below Richard Pryor (1st) and George Carlin (2nd). Both comedians who ranked higher than Bruce considered him a major influence; Pryor said that hearing Bruce for the first time "changed my life," while Carlin said that Bruce was a "brilliant comedian" who influenced him as much as a man in his moral thinking and attitudes as he did as a comedian. Carlin was arrested along with Bruce after refusing to provide identification when police raided a Bruce performance. In popular culture In 1966, Grace Slick co-wrote and sang the Great Society song "Father Bruce". Bruce is pictured in the top row of the cover of the Beatles 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The clip of a news broadcast featured in "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" by Simon & Garfunkel carries the ostensible newscast audio of Lenny Bruce's death. In another track on the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, "A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)," Paul Simon sings, "... I learned the truth from Lenny Bruce, that all my wealth won't buy me health." Tim Hardin's fourth album Tim Hardin 3 Live in Concert, released in 1968, includes his song Lenny's Tune written about his friend Lenny Bruce. Nico's 1967 album Chelsea Girl includes a track entitled "Eulogy to Lenny Bruce," which was "Lenny's Tune" by Tim Hardin, with the lyrics slightly altered. In it she describes her sorrow and anger at Bruce's death. The Stranglers' 1977 song No More Heroes (The Stranglers song) references Lenny Bruce, asking "Whatever happened to dear old Lenny?". Bob Dylan's 1981 song "Lenny Bruce" from his Shot of Love album describes a brief taxi ride shared by the two men. In the last line of the song, Dylan recalls: "Lenny Bruce was bad, he was the brother that you never had." Dylan has included this song live in concert as recently as November 2019. Phil Ochs wrote a song eulogizing the late comedian, titled "Doesn't Lenny Live Here Anymore?" The song is featured on his 1969 album Rehearsals for Retirement. Australian group Paul Kelly And The Dots' 1982 album Manila features a track named "Lenny (To Live Is to Burn)", which includes a couple clips of Lenny Bruce performing. R.E.M.'s 1987 song "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" includes references to a quartet of famous people all sharing the initials L.B. with Lenny Bruce being one of them (the others being Leonard Bernstein, Leonid Brezhnev and Lester Bangs). The opening line of the song mentioning Bruce goes, "That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds, snakes and aeroplanes; Lenny Bruce is not afraid." Lenny Bruce appears as a character in Don DeLillo's 1997 novel Underworld. In the novel, Bruce does a stand-up routine about the Cuban Missile Crisis. Genesis' 1974 song "Broadway Melody of 1974" depicts a dystopic New York where "Lenny Bruce declares a truce and plays his other hand, Marshall McLuhan, casual viewin', head buried in the sand" and "Groucho, with his movies trailing, stands alone with his punchline failing." Jonathan Larson's musical RENT, has a song entitled, La Vie Boheme B, mentioning Lenny Bruce. Joy Zipper's 2005 album The Heartlight Set features a track named "For Lenny's Own Pleasure". Nada Surf's song "Imaginary Friends" (from their 2005 album The Weight Is a Gift) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "Lenny Bruce's bug eyes stare from an LP, asking me just what kind of fight I've got in me." Shmaltz Brewing Company brews a year-round beer called Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. and the tagline is "Brewed with an obscene amount of hops". Metric's song "On the Sly" (from their 2007 album Grow Up and Blow Away) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "for Halloween I want to be Lenny Bruce". In the 2014 episode "Comic Perversion" of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, fictional comic Josh Galloway says while being arrested, "I would like to dedicate my arrest to Mr. Lenny Bruce. NYPD crucified him, too." John Mayall's 1969 live album "The turning point" opens with the song "The laws must change", which features the line "Lenny Bruce was trying to tell you many things before he died". A fictionalized version of the comedian is played by Luke Kirby as a recurring character in the Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, in which he is portrayed as a friend and champion of the titular character. Kirby won an Emmy for his portrayal in 2019. Bibliography Bruce, Lenny. Stamp Help Out! (Self-published pamphlet, 1962) Bruce, Lenny. How to Talk Dirty and Influence People (Playboy Publishing, 1967) Autobiography, released posthumously. Content previously serialized in Playboy magazine. By others: Barry, Julian. Lenny (play) (Grove Press, Inc. 1971) Bruce, Honey. Honey: The Life and Loves of Lenny's Shady Lady (Playboy Press, 1976, with Dana Benenson) Bruce, Kitty. The (almost) Unpublished Lenny Bruce (1984, Running Press) (includes transcripts of interviews and routines, ephemera, and a graphically spruced up reproduction of 'Stamp Help Out!') Cohen, John, ed., compiler. The Essential Lenny Bruce (Ballantine Books, 1967) Collins, Ronald and David Skover, The Trials of Lenny Bruce: The Fall & Rise of an American Icon (Sourcebooks, 2002) DeLillo, Don. Underworld, (Simon and Schuster Inc., 1997) Denton, Bradley. The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians, an award-winning collection of science fiction stories in which the title story has Lenny Bruce as one of the two protagonists. Goldman, Albert, with Lawrence Schiller. Ladies and Gentlemen – Lenny Bruce!! (Random House, 1974) Goldstein, Jonathan. Lenny Bruce Is Dead (Coach House Press, 2001) Josepher, Brian. What the Psychic Saw (Sterlinghouse Publisher, 2005) Kofsky, Frank. Lenny Bruce: The Comedian as Social Critic & Secular Moralist (Monad Press, 1974) Kringas, Damian. Lenny Bruce: 13 Days In Sydney (Independence Jones Guerilla Press, Sydney, 2010) A study of Bruce's ill-fated September 1962 tour down under. Marciniak, Vwadek P., Politics, Humor and the Counterculture: Laughter in the Age of Decay (New York etc., Peter Lang, 2008). Marmo, Ronnie. I'm Not a Comedian... I'm Lenny Bruce (written/performed by Marmo, directed by Joe Mantegna, 2017) Smith, Valerie Kohler. Lenny (novelization based on the Barry-scripted/Fosse-directed film) (Grove Press, Inc., 1974) Thomas, William Karl. Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator. First printing, Archon Books, 1989; second printing, Media Maestro, 2002; Japanese edition, DHC Corp. Tokyo, 2001. Filmography Discography Albums Posthumous releases Compilations The later compilations are released in the European Union under various oldies labels, as the content used is public domain in the EU. Audiobooks Tribute albums See also List of civil rights leaders Dirtymouth, a 1970 biographical film about Bruce Footnotes References External links The Official Lenny Bruce Website FBI Records: The Vault – Lenny Bruce at fbi.gov Correspondence and Other Papers Pertaining to Lenny Bruce's Drug Case, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Articles Linder, Douglas, "The Lenny Bruce Trial: An Account" "Famous Trials: The Lenny Bruce Trial, 1964" Azlant, Edward. "Lenny Bruce Again", Shecky Magazine, August 22, 2006 Gilmore, John. "Lenny Bruce and the Bunny", excerpt from Laid Bare: A Memoir of Wrecked Lives and the Hollywood Death Trip (Amok Books, 1997). Harnisch, Larry. "Voices", Los Angeles Times, April 13, 2007. (Reminiscences by saxophonist Dave Pell) Kaufman, Anthony. (interview with Swear to Tell the Truth producer), Indiewire.com, April 16, 2008 Hentoff, Nat. "Lenny Bruce: The crucifixion of a true believer", Gadfly March/April 2001 Sloan, Will. "Is Lenny Bruce Still Funny?", Hazlitt, November 4, 2014 Smith, Daniel V. "The Complete Lenny Bruce Chronology" (fan site) "Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet" Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator, Media Maestro 2001. [CC-By-SA] Audio/video Video Clips Relating to the Trial of Lenny Bruce as assembled by the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School 1925 births 1966 deaths 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American memoirists Accidental deaths in California American anti-fascists American humorists American male comedians American people convicted of drug offenses American people of English-Jewish descent American sailors American satirists American social commentators American stand-up comedians Beat Generation people Burials at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery Censorship in the arts Comedians from New York (state) Critics of religions Critics of the Catholic Church Drug-related deaths in California Freedom of speech in the United States Jewish American male comedians Jewish anti-fascists Military personnel from New York (state) Obscenity controversies in stand-up comedy People from Bellmore, New York People from Greenwich Village People from Mineola, New York People who have received posthumous pardons Philles Records artists Race-related controversies in stand-up comedy Recipients of American gubernatorial pardons Religious controversies in stand-up comedy Social critics Free speech activists Stand-up comedy controversies United States Merchant Mariners United States Merchant Mariners of the Korean War United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy sailors
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[ "The Buffalo Nine was a group of nine Vietnam War protesters arrested together on August 19, 1968, at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Buffalo, New York.\n\nBackground \n\nDuring the Vietnam War there was a rise in draft resistance as a political statement. A group of students, primarily associated with the University at Buffalo, had been active against the draft and the war. When they and supporters sought sanctuary in the Unitarian church on Elmwood Avenue, U.S. Marshals, FBI agents, and Buffalo Police surrounded the church. The minister, Dr. Paul Carnes, was out of the country in Romania during this time. Eventually, the lawmen \"stormed\" the church. When the group of lawmen entered the church, they used blackjacks to \"clear the aisle\". Bruce Beyer, a leader of the Buffalo Draft Resistance Union, was arrested, as were seven others, on charges including draft evasion and assaulting an officer. Others arrested included prominent campus radicals Carl Kronberg and Jerry Gross. A later investigation led them to arrest Students for a Democratic Society organizer Bill Yates.\n\nTrials \nThe first federal trial began in February, 1969. Around 150 University of Buffalo students and faculty picketed the U.S. Courthouse, chanting \"Free the Nine - The Trial's a Crime.\" The defendants and their lawyers used the trial as an organizing tool. Beyer, Gross, and Kronberg and the other defendants informed the court that it was necessary to resist an \"immoral, illegal, racist, politically insane war on the Vietnamese people.\" The jury was unable to reach a verdict on several of the defendants but Bruce Beyer was convicted and received a three-year sentence.\n\nAt the second trial, Malak, Yates, and Berry angered the judge and others by raising their fists in power salutes when introduced to the court, guaranteeing a contentious atmosphere. Malak and Yates drew contempt of court citations for refusing to stand as the judge left for a recess. In the end, Berry and Kronberg were acquitted, but Malak and Yates were convicted. The jury was unable to arrive at a verdict on Jerry Gross and the government decided to drop his case. Malak and Yates were sentenced to three years' imprisonment.\n\nReaction \nThe series of trials occupied the attention of the university and city. The Buffalo Nine Defense Committee was formed, publishing its own newsletter, Liberated Community News, out of the Urban Action offices, publishers of \"The Buffalo Broadside\" newsletter, as well as a printing facility for various student newspapers. In October 1968 this office was raided by Buffalo Police, based on an accusation that a foot patrolman had been threatened with violence, an action that drew protest from the Buffalo ACLU over police use of violence. During that raid six men were arrested, three on the street corner and three inside the offices, and charged with various misdemeanors, all of which were later dropped or reduced to disorderly conduct. Of those arrested only Kronberg had any relationship to the Buffalo Nine.\n\nA symposium in September 1968 to discuss the case drew prominent New York City intellectuals such as Susan Sontag.\n\nWhen Beyer was convicted the UB campus erupted into violent protests. Hundreds of students stormed the campus and set fire to buildings that housed a US Navy research project. Others entered Hayes Hall and climbed to the top of its bell tower, ringing its bells continuously to be heard across campus.\n\nThe nine \n Bruce Cline, organizer, Buffalo Draft Resistance Union\n Ray Malak, Chairman of the Research Action Committee of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Vietnam veteran\n Thomas O'Connell, Vietnam veteran\n Bruce Beyer, organizer, Buffalo Draft Resistance Union\n James McGlynn, Vietnam veteran\n William Berry, organizer, Buffalo Draft Resistance Union\n Carl Kronberg, organizer, Peace and Freedom Party\n Jerry Gross, Chairman of Youth Against War and Fascism (YAWF) and Martin Sostre Defense Committee\n William Yates, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)\n\n\"What started out as a peaceful, non-violent demonstration against the war and the Selective Service System, ended in a violent fist-swinging melee. I maintain to this day that this was precisely what the government had in mind when it sent thirty-two police officers to arrest two draft resisters ...\" (Bruce Beyer)\n\nAn article appeared in the Magazine Section of the Buffalo Evening News, December 18, 1988, with extensive detail about the case and also covering the 20-year reunion, in Buffalo, of some of the defendants.\n\nSee also\n List of peace activists\n\nReferences \n\n The Vietnam War, Protest, and Liberal Academia: The Buffalo Nine, Published by Sarah Handley-Cousins on August 27, 2017\n\nExternal links \n Buffalo Nine Pamphlet Cover \n Gross, Malek, Kronberg, Beyer \n Gross and Buffalo Police \n Buffalo Police Invade UB Campus \n William Berry \n 20-Year B9 Reunion Statement \n The Political Declaration of the Buffalo Nine: Non-Cooperation with \"Our\" Government \n YouTube interview with Bruce Beyer part 1\n YouTube interview with Bruce Beyer part 2\n YouTube interview with Bruce Beyer part 3\n YouTube interview with Bruce Beyer part 4\n Canadian film company's interview with Bruce Beyer \n Bruce Beyer's Return to USA \n The Buffalonian, an article by Promoting the. Decline of the Rising State: Documents of Resistance and Renewal from the Alternative Community: Buffalo, 1965-76 by Elwin H. Powell (Reprinted from Catalyst,1977) \n\nActivists from Buffalo, New York\nAmerican prisoners and detainees\nHistory of Buffalo, New York\nOpposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War", "The 1892 Rangitikei by-election was a by-election held during the 11th New Zealand Parliament in the Rangitikei electorate of the North Island. This was the fifth by-election since the Rangitikei electorate was established for the 1861 election. The previous by-election took place in 1880 and the following one took place in 1909. Robert Bruce, who had previously been the MP for Rangitikei between 1884 and 1890, won the by-election narrowly.\n\nThis was the last election in Rangitikei and the fifth last election overall in New Zealand in which there was no universal suffrage. The Electoral Act 1893 extended voting rights to all women aged 21 and over.\n\nBackground\nRobert Bruce, an independent, had previously been the MP for Rangitikei between 1884 and 1890. In 1890 he contested the election for the Waitotara electorate in South Taranaki, but was beaten by incumbent George Hutchison. The Rangitikei electorate, meanwhile, was won by Douglas Hastings Macarthur, but Macarthur died on 24 May 1892. Macarthur's death resulted in a by-election which took place on 8 July 1892.\n\nThe two candidates for this by-election were Robert Bruce, a previous MP and conservationist, and John Stevens, also a previous MP for Rangitikei between 1881 and 1884. Bruce was a candidate for the opposition and Stevens was an Independent Liberal as the Liberal Party was reluctant to endorse him in light of the recent Bruce by-election in which the candidate the Liberal Party endorsed lost by a large margin. Furthermore, the result was regarded as \"a foregone conclusion in favour of Mr Bruce\".\n\nResults\n\nThe by-election was much closer than what was expected as Bruce won by 61 votes, a margin of less than 3%. After the election results were announced at the Club Hotel in Marton both candidates gave speeches and enjoyed a whisky together.\n\nBruce would never go on to win another election, as he temporarily retired in 1893 and lost to Stevens in the Manawatu electorate in both 1896 and 1899.\n\nSee also\nList of New Zealand by-elections\nRangitikei by-election (disambiguation), other by-elections for the Rangitikei electorate\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\nRangitikei 1892\n1892 elections in New Zealand\nPolitics of Rangitikei" ]
[ "Lenny Bruce", "Obscenity arrests", "What was Bruce arrested for?", "On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco;" ]
C_bde6fa1924234f399674744a805129f9_0
Did he get jail time?
2
Did Lenny Bruce get jail time?
Lenny Bruce
On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb", that the sexual context of come is so common that it bears no weight, and that if someone hearing it becomes upset, he "probably can't come". Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity. Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession and again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy named Sherman Block, who later became County Sheriff. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. The Hollywood charges were later dismissed. On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago. The same year he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering England by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien". In April 1964, he appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. On both occasions, he was arrested after leaving the stage, the complaints again pertaining to his use of various obscenities. A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant D.A. Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from - among other artists, writers and educators - Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced on December 21, 1964 to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon later saw his conviction overturned; Bruce, who died before the decision, never had his conviction stricken. Bruce later received a full posthumous gubernatorial pardon. CANNOTANSWER
Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity.
Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, freestyle and critical form of comedy which contained satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity. His 1964 conviction in an obscenity trial was followed by a posthumous pardon in 2003. Bruce paved the way for counterculture-era comedians. His trial for obscenity is a landmark for freedom of speech in the United States. In 2017, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him third (behind Richard Pryor and George Carlin) on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time. Early life Lenny Bruce was Jewish, born Leonard Alfred Schneider, in Mineola, New York. He grew up in nearby Bellmore, and attended Wellington C. Mepham High School. His parents divorced before he turned 10, and he lived with various relatives over the next decade. His British-born father, Myron (Mickey) Schneider, was a shoe clerk, and the two saw each other very infrequently. Bruce's mother, Sally Marr (legal name Sadie Schneider, born Sadie Kitchenberg), was a stage performer and had an enormous influence on Bruce's career. After spending time working on a farm, Bruce joined the United States Navy at the age of 16 in 1942, with active service during World War II aboard the in Northern Africa; Palermo, Italy, in 1943; and Anzio, Italy, in 1944. In May 1945, after a comedic performance for his shipmates in which he was dressed in drag, his commanding officers became upset. He defiantly convinced his ship's medical officer that he was experiencing homosexual urges. This led to his undesirable discharge in July 1945. However, he had not admitted to or been found guilty of any breach of naval regulations and successfully applied to have his discharge changed to "Under Honorable Conditions ... by reason of unsuitability for the naval service". During the Korean War era, Bruce served in the United States Merchant Marine, ferrying troops from the US to Europe and back. In 1959, while taping the first episode of Hugh Hefner's Playboy's Penthouse, Bruce talked about his Navy experience and showed a tattoo he received in Malta in 1942. After a short period living with his father in California, Bruce settled in New York City, hoping to establish himself as a comedian. However, he found it difficult to differentiate himself from the thousands of other show-business hopefuls who populated the city. One locale where they congregated was Hanson's, the diner where Bruce first met the comedian Joe Ancis, who had a profound influence on Bruce's approach to comedy. Many of Bruce's later routines reflected his meticulous schooling at the hands of Ancis. According to Bruce's biographer Albert Goldman, Ancis's humor involved stream-of-consciousness sexual fantasies and references to jazz. Bruce took the stage as "Lenny Marsalle" one evening at the Victory Club, as a stand-in master of ceremonies for one of his mother's shows. His ad-libs earned him some laughs. Soon afterward, in 1947, just after changing his last name to Bruce, he earned $12 and a free spaghetti dinner for his first stand-up performance in Brooklyn. He was later a guest—and was introduced by his mother, who called herself "Sally Bruce"—on the Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts radio program. Lenny did a piece inspired by Sid Caesar, "The Bavarian Mimic", featuring impressions of American movie stars (e.g., Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson). Career Bruce's early comedy career included writing the screenplays for Dance Hall Racket in 1953, which featured Bruce, his wife Honey Harlow, and mother Sally Marr; Dream Follies in 1954, a low-budget burlesque romp; and a children's film, The Rocket Man, in 1954. In 1956, Frank Ray Perilli, a fellow nightclub comedian who eventually became a screenwriter of two dozen successful films and plays, became a mentor and part-time manager of Bruce. Through Perilli, Bruce met and collaborated with photojournalist William Karl Thomas on three screenplays (Leather Jacket, Killer's Grave and The Degenerate), none of which made it to the screen, and the comedy material on his first three comedy albums. Bruce was a roommate of Buddy Hackett in the 1950s. The two appeared on the Patrice Munsel Show (1957–1958), calling their comedy duo the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players", twenty years before the cast of Saturday Night Live used the same name. In 1957, Thomas booked Bruce into the Slate Brothers nightclub, where he was fired the first night for what Variety headlined as "blue material"; this led to the theme of Bruce's first solo album on Berkeley-based Fantasy Records, The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce, for which Thomas shot the album cover. Thomas also shot other album covers, acted as cinematographer on abortive attempts to film their screenplays, and in 1989 authored a memoir of their ten-year collaboration titled Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet. The 2016 biography of Frank Ray Perilli titled The Candy Butcher, devotes a chapter to Perilli's ten-year collaboration with Bruce. Bruce released a total of four albums of original material on Fantasy Records. These albums were later compiled and re-released as The Lenny Bruce Originals. Two later records were produced and sold by Bruce himself, including a 10-inch album of the 1961 San Francisco performances that started his legal troubles. Starting in the late 1960s, other unissued Bruce material was released by Alan Douglas, Frank Zappa and Phil Spector, as well as Fantasy. Bruce developed the complexity and tone of his material in Enrico Banducci's North Beach nightclub, the "hungry i", where Mort Sahl had earlier made a name for himself. Branded a "sick comic", Bruce was essentially blacklisted from television, and when he did appear thanks to sympathetic fans like Hefner and Steve Allen, it was with great concessions to Broadcast Standards and Practices. Jokes that might offend, like a bit on airplane glue-sniffing teenagers that was done live for The Steve Allen Show in 1959, had to be typed out and pre-approved by network officials. On his debut on Allen's show, Bruce made an unscripted comment on the recent marriage of Elizabeth Taylor to Eddie Fisher, wondering, "Will Elizabeth Taylor become bar mitzvahed?" In the midst of a severe blizzard, Bruce gave a famous performance at Carnegie Hall at midnight on February 4, 1961. It was recorded and later released as a three-disc set titled The Carnegie Hall Concert. In the posthumous biography about Bruce, Albert Goldman described the night of the concert as follows: In August 1965, a year before his death, Bruce gave his penultimate performance at San Francisco's Basin Street West, mainly talking about his legal troubles. The filmed performance was released by Rhino Home Video in 1992 as The Lenny Bruce Performance Film. Personal life In 1951, Bruce met Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas. They were married that same year, and Bruce was determined she would end her work as a stripper. The couple eventually left New York in 1953 for the West Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles. Bruce then went on to join the bill at the club Strip City. Harlow found employment at the Colony Club, which was widely known to be the best burlesque club in Los Angeles at the time. Bruce left Strip City in late 1954 and found work within the San Fernando Valley at a variety of strip clubs. As the master of ceremonies, he introduced the strippers while performing his material. The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines: according to his primary biographer, Albert Goldman, it was "precisely at the moment when he sank to the bottom of the barrel and started working the places that were the lowest of the low" that he suddenly broke free of "all the restraints and inhibitions and disabilities that formerly had kept him just mediocre and began to blow with a spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school." Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955. Honey and Lenny had a tumultuous relationship. Many serious domestic incidents occurred between them, usually the result of serious drug use. They broke up and reunited over and over again between 1956 and Lenny's death in 1966. They first separated in March 1956, and were back together again by July of that year when they travelled to Honolulu for a night club tour. During this trip, Honey was arrested for marijuana possession. Prevented from leaving the island due to her parole conditions, Lenny took the opportunity to leave her again, and this time kidnapped the then one-year-old Kitty. In her autobiography, Honey claims Lenny turned her in to the police. She would be later sentenced to two years in federal prison. Throughout the final decade of his life, Bruce was beset by severe drug addiction. He would use heroin, methamphetamine and Dilaudid daily. He suffered numerous health problems and personal strife as a result of his addiction. He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s. In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized. At the time of his death, his girlfriend was comedian Lotus Weinstock. Legal troubles Bruce's desire to help his wife cease working as a stripper led him to pursue schemes that were designed to make as much money as possible. The most notable was the Brother Mathias Foundation scam, which resulted in Bruce's arrest in Miami, Florida, in 1951 for impersonating a priest. He had been soliciting donations for a leper colony in British Guiana (now Guyana) under the auspices of the "Brother Mathias Foundation", which he had legally chartered—the name was his own invention, but possibly referred to the actual Brother Matthias who had befriended Babe Ruth at the Baltimore orphanage to which Ruth had been confined as a child. Bruce had stolen several priests' clergy shirts and a clerical collar while posing as a laundry man. He was found not guilty because of the legality of the New York state-chartered foundation, the actual existence of the Guiana leper colony, and the inability of the local clergy to expose him as an impostor. Later, in his semifictional autobiography How to Talk Dirty and Influence People, Bruce said that he had made about $8,000 in three weeks, sending $2,500 to the leper colony and keeping the rest. Obscenity arrests On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb", that the sexual context of come is so common that it bears no weight, and that if someone hearing it becomes upset, he "probably can't come". Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity. Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession and again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy named Sherman Block, who later became County Sheriff. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. The Hollywood charges were later dismissed. On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago. That same year, he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering the United Kingdom by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien". In April 1964, he appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. On both occasions, he was arrested after leaving the stage, the complaints again pertaining to his use of various obscenities. A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant D.A. Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from—among other artists, writers and educators—Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced on December 21, 1964, to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon later saw his conviction overturned. Later years Despite his prominence as a comedian, Bruce appeared on network television only six times in his life. In his later club performances, he was known for relating the details of his encounters with the police directly in his comedy routine. These performances often included rants about his court battles over obscenity charges, tirades against fascism, and complaints that he was being denied his right to freedom of speech. Bruce was banned outright from several U.S. cities. In September 1962, his only visit to Australia caused a media storm—although, contrary to popular belief, he was not banned nor was he forced to leave the country. Bruce was booked for a two-week engagement at Aaron's Exchange Hotel, a small pub in central Sydney by the American-born, Australian-based promoter Lee Gordon, who was by then deeply in debt, nearing the end of his formerly successful career, and desperate to save his business. Bruce's first show at 9 p.m. on September 6 was uneventful, but his second show at 11 p.m. led to a major public controversy. Bruce was heckled by audience members during his performance, and when local actress Barbara Wyndon stood up and complained that Bruce was only talking about America, and asked him to talk about something different, a clearly annoyed Bruce responded, "Fuck you, madam. That's different, isn't it?" Bruce's remark shocked some members of the audience and several walked out. By the next day the local press had blown the incident up into a major controversy, with several Sydney papers denouncing Bruce as "sick" and one even illustrating their story with a retouched photograph appearing to show Bruce giving a fascist salute. The venue owners immediately cancelled the rest of Bruce's performances, and he retreated to his Kings Cross hotel room. Local university students (including future OZ magazine editor Richard Neville) who were fans of Bruce's humor tried to arrange a performance at the Roundhouse at the University of New South Wales, but at the last minute the university's Vice-Chancellor rescinded permission to use the venue, with no reason given and an interview he was scheduled to give on Australian television was cancelled in advance by the Australian Broadcasting Commission. Bruce remained largely confined to his hotel, but eight days later gave his third and last Australian concert at the Wintergarden Theatre in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Although the theatre had a capacity of 2,100, only 200 people attended, including a strong police presence, and Bruce gave what was described as a "subdued" performance. It was long rumored that a tape recording of Bruce's historic performance was made by police, but it was, in fact, recorded by local jazz saxophonist Sid Powell, who brought a portable tape recorder to the show. The tape was rediscovered in 2011 in the possession of Australian singer Sammy Gaha, who had acted as Bruce's chauffeur during his visit, and it was subsequently donated to the Lenny Bruce audio collection at Brandeis University. Bruce left the country a few days later and spoke little about the experience afterwards. Increasing drug use also affected Bruce's health. By 1966, he had been blacklisted by nearly every nightclub in the U.S., as owners feared prosecution for obscenity. He gave a famous performance at the Berkeley Community Theatre in December 1965, which was recorded and became his last live album, titled The Berkeley Concert; his performance here has been described as lucid, clear and calm, and one of his best. His last performance took place on June 25, 1966, at The Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, on a bill with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. The performance was not remembered fondly by Bill Graham, whose memoir describes Bruce as "whacked out on amphetamine;" Graham thought that Bruce finished his set emotionally disturbed. Zappa asked Bruce to sign his draft card, but the suspicious Bruce refused. At the request of Hefner and with the aid of Paul Krassner, Bruce wrote an autobiography. Serialized in Playboy in 1964 and 1965, this material was later published as the book How to Talk Dirty and Influence People. During this time, Bruce also contributed a number of articles to Krassner's satirical magazine The Realist. Death and posthumous pardon On August 3, 1966, Bruce was found dead in the bathroom of his Hollywood Hills home at 8825 W. Hollywood Blvd. The official photo, taken at the scene, showed Bruce lying naked on the floor, a syringe and burned bottle cap nearby, along with various other narcotics paraphernalia. Record producer Phil Spector, a friend of Bruce, bought the negatives of the photographs "to keep them from the press". The official cause of death was "acute morphine poisoning caused by an overdose". Bruce's remains were interred in Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Mission Hills, California, but an unconventional memorial on August 21 was controversial enough to keep his name in the spotlight. Over 500 people came to the service to pay their respects, led by Spector. Cemetery officials had tried to block the ceremony after advertisements for the event encouraged attendees to bring box lunches and noisemakers. Delivering the eulogy, which is featured at the end of the documentary Lenny Bruce Without the Tears, the Rev. William Glenesk said: Lenny Bruce's epitaph reads: "Beloved father—devoted son / Peace at last". Dick Schaap concluded his eulogy to Bruce in Playboy with the words: "One last four-letter word for Lenny: Dead. At forty. That's obscene". A memorial event was held at the Judson Memorial Church, New York City on Friday, August 12, which was "packed to overflowing" an hour before it was due to get underway at 6pm, and was attended by prominent members of the arts, many of whom also performed, and included Allen Ginsberg, Joe Lee Wilson, Jean Shepherd, Charlie Haden, and The Fugs; Paul Krassner officiated. On December 23, 2003, thirty-seven years after Bruce's death, New York Governor George Pataki granted him a posthumous pardon for his obscenity conviction. Legacy Bruce was the subject of the 1974 biographical film Lenny, directed by Bob Fosse and starring Dustin Hoffman (in an Academy Award-nominated Best Actor role), and based on the Broadway stage play of the same name written by Julian Barry and starring Cliff Gorman in his 1972 Tony Award–winning role. In addition, the main character's editing of a fictionalized film version of Lenny was a major part of Fosse's own autobiopic, the 1979 Academy Award–nominated All That Jazz; Gorman again played the role of the stand-up comic. The documentary Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth, directed by Robert B. Weide and narrated by Robert De Niro, was released in 1998. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. In 2004, Comedy Central listed Bruce at number three on its list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time, placing above Woody Allen (4th) and below Richard Pryor (1st) and George Carlin (2nd). Both comedians who ranked higher than Bruce considered him a major influence; Pryor said that hearing Bruce for the first time "changed my life," while Carlin said that Bruce was a "brilliant comedian" who influenced him as much as a man in his moral thinking and attitudes as he did as a comedian. Carlin was arrested along with Bruce after refusing to provide identification when police raided a Bruce performance. In popular culture In 1966, Grace Slick co-wrote and sang the Great Society song "Father Bruce". Bruce is pictured in the top row of the cover of the Beatles 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The clip of a news broadcast featured in "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" by Simon & Garfunkel carries the ostensible newscast audio of Lenny Bruce's death. In another track on the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, "A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)," Paul Simon sings, "... I learned the truth from Lenny Bruce, that all my wealth won't buy me health." Tim Hardin's fourth album Tim Hardin 3 Live in Concert, released in 1968, includes his song Lenny's Tune written about his friend Lenny Bruce. Nico's 1967 album Chelsea Girl includes a track entitled "Eulogy to Lenny Bruce," which was "Lenny's Tune" by Tim Hardin, with the lyrics slightly altered. In it she describes her sorrow and anger at Bruce's death. The Stranglers' 1977 song No More Heroes (The Stranglers song) references Lenny Bruce, asking "Whatever happened to dear old Lenny?". Bob Dylan's 1981 song "Lenny Bruce" from his Shot of Love album describes a brief taxi ride shared by the two men. In the last line of the song, Dylan recalls: "Lenny Bruce was bad, he was the brother that you never had." Dylan has included this song live in concert as recently as November 2019. Phil Ochs wrote a song eulogizing the late comedian, titled "Doesn't Lenny Live Here Anymore?" The song is featured on his 1969 album Rehearsals for Retirement. Australian group Paul Kelly And The Dots' 1982 album Manila features a track named "Lenny (To Live Is to Burn)", which includes a couple clips of Lenny Bruce performing. R.E.M.'s 1987 song "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" includes references to a quartet of famous people all sharing the initials L.B. with Lenny Bruce being one of them (the others being Leonard Bernstein, Leonid Brezhnev and Lester Bangs). The opening line of the song mentioning Bruce goes, "That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds, snakes and aeroplanes; Lenny Bruce is not afraid." Lenny Bruce appears as a character in Don DeLillo's 1997 novel Underworld. In the novel, Bruce does a stand-up routine about the Cuban Missile Crisis. Genesis' 1974 song "Broadway Melody of 1974" depicts a dystopic New York where "Lenny Bruce declares a truce and plays his other hand, Marshall McLuhan, casual viewin', head buried in the sand" and "Groucho, with his movies trailing, stands alone with his punchline failing." Jonathan Larson's musical RENT, has a song entitled, La Vie Boheme B, mentioning Lenny Bruce. Joy Zipper's 2005 album The Heartlight Set features a track named "For Lenny's Own Pleasure". Nada Surf's song "Imaginary Friends" (from their 2005 album The Weight Is a Gift) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "Lenny Bruce's bug eyes stare from an LP, asking me just what kind of fight I've got in me." Shmaltz Brewing Company brews a year-round beer called Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. and the tagline is "Brewed with an obscene amount of hops". Metric's song "On the Sly" (from their 2007 album Grow Up and Blow Away) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "for Halloween I want to be Lenny Bruce". In the 2014 episode "Comic Perversion" of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, fictional comic Josh Galloway says while being arrested, "I would like to dedicate my arrest to Mr. Lenny Bruce. NYPD crucified him, too." John Mayall's 1969 live album "The turning point" opens with the song "The laws must change", which features the line "Lenny Bruce was trying to tell you many things before he died". A fictionalized version of the comedian is played by Luke Kirby as a recurring character in the Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, in which he is portrayed as a friend and champion of the titular character. Kirby won an Emmy for his portrayal in 2019. Bibliography Bruce, Lenny. Stamp Help Out! (Self-published pamphlet, 1962) Bruce, Lenny. How to Talk Dirty and Influence People (Playboy Publishing, 1967) Autobiography, released posthumously. Content previously serialized in Playboy magazine. By others: Barry, Julian. Lenny (play) (Grove Press, Inc. 1971) Bruce, Honey. Honey: The Life and Loves of Lenny's Shady Lady (Playboy Press, 1976, with Dana Benenson) Bruce, Kitty. The (almost) Unpublished Lenny Bruce (1984, Running Press) (includes transcripts of interviews and routines, ephemera, and a graphically spruced up reproduction of 'Stamp Help Out!') Cohen, John, ed., compiler. The Essential Lenny Bruce (Ballantine Books, 1967) Collins, Ronald and David Skover, The Trials of Lenny Bruce: The Fall & Rise of an American Icon (Sourcebooks, 2002) DeLillo, Don. Underworld, (Simon and Schuster Inc., 1997) Denton, Bradley. The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians, an award-winning collection of science fiction stories in which the title story has Lenny Bruce as one of the two protagonists. Goldman, Albert, with Lawrence Schiller. Ladies and Gentlemen – Lenny Bruce!! (Random House, 1974) Goldstein, Jonathan. Lenny Bruce Is Dead (Coach House Press, 2001) Josepher, Brian. What the Psychic Saw (Sterlinghouse Publisher, 2005) Kofsky, Frank. Lenny Bruce: The Comedian as Social Critic & Secular Moralist (Monad Press, 1974) Kringas, Damian. Lenny Bruce: 13 Days In Sydney (Independence Jones Guerilla Press, Sydney, 2010) A study of Bruce's ill-fated September 1962 tour down under. Marciniak, Vwadek P., Politics, Humor and the Counterculture: Laughter in the Age of Decay (New York etc., Peter Lang, 2008). Marmo, Ronnie. I'm Not a Comedian... I'm Lenny Bruce (written/performed by Marmo, directed by Joe Mantegna, 2017) Smith, Valerie Kohler. Lenny (novelization based on the Barry-scripted/Fosse-directed film) (Grove Press, Inc., 1974) Thomas, William Karl. Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator. First printing, Archon Books, 1989; second printing, Media Maestro, 2002; Japanese edition, DHC Corp. Tokyo, 2001. Filmography Discography Albums Posthumous releases Compilations The later compilations are released in the European Union under various oldies labels, as the content used is public domain in the EU. Audiobooks Tribute albums See also List of civil rights leaders Dirtymouth, a 1970 biographical film about Bruce Footnotes References External links The Official Lenny Bruce Website FBI Records: The Vault – Lenny Bruce at fbi.gov Correspondence and Other Papers Pertaining to Lenny Bruce's Drug Case, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Articles Linder, Douglas, "The Lenny Bruce Trial: An Account" "Famous Trials: The Lenny Bruce Trial, 1964" Azlant, Edward. "Lenny Bruce Again", Shecky Magazine, August 22, 2006 Gilmore, John. "Lenny Bruce and the Bunny", excerpt from Laid Bare: A Memoir of Wrecked Lives and the Hollywood Death Trip (Amok Books, 1997). Harnisch, Larry. "Voices", Los Angeles Times, April 13, 2007. (Reminiscences by saxophonist Dave Pell) Kaufman, Anthony. (interview with Swear to Tell the Truth producer), Indiewire.com, April 16, 2008 Hentoff, Nat. "Lenny Bruce: The crucifixion of a true believer", Gadfly March/April 2001 Sloan, Will. "Is Lenny Bruce Still Funny?", Hazlitt, November 4, 2014 Smith, Daniel V. "The Complete Lenny Bruce Chronology" (fan site) "Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet" Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator, Media Maestro 2001. [CC-By-SA] Audio/video Video Clips Relating to the Trial of Lenny Bruce as assembled by the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School 1925 births 1966 deaths 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American memoirists Accidental deaths in California American anti-fascists American humorists American male comedians American people convicted of drug offenses American people of English-Jewish descent American sailors American satirists American social commentators American stand-up comedians Beat Generation people Burials at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery Censorship in the arts Comedians from New York (state) Critics of religions Critics of the Catholic Church Drug-related deaths in California Freedom of speech in the United States Jewish American male comedians Jewish anti-fascists Military personnel from New York (state) Obscenity controversies in stand-up comedy People from Bellmore, New York People from Greenwich Village People from Mineola, New York People who have received posthumous pardons Philles Records artists Race-related controversies in stand-up comedy Recipients of American gubernatorial pardons Religious controversies in stand-up comedy Social critics Free speech activists Stand-up comedy controversies United States Merchant Mariners United States Merchant Mariners of the Korean War United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy sailors
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[ "A Get Out of Jail Free card is an element of the board game Monopoly which has become a popular metaphor for something that will get one out of an undesired situation.\n\nUse in the game\nThe original U.S. version of the board game Monopoly has two Get Out of Jail Free cards, with distinctive artwork. One, a \"Community Chest\" card, depicts a winged version of the game's mascot, Mr. Monopoly, in his tuxedo as he flies out of an open birdcage. The other, a \"Chance\" card, shows him booted out of a prison cell in a striped convict uniform. More modern versions of the game have more simply illustrated cards with a set of four jail bars, with the middle two bent outwards, implying a prison escape.\n\nPlayers move around the Monopoly board according to dice throws. Most of the tiles players land on are properties that can be bought. There is also a tile, the Jail, that can hold players and cause them to lose their turn until certain conditions are met. They can end up in this space by landing on the \"Go to Jail\" tile, throwing three doubles in a row, or drawing a \"Go to Jail\" card from Community Chest or Chance. The Get Out of Jail Free card frees the player from jail to continue playing and progress around the board without paying a fee, then must be returned to the respective deck upon playing it.\n\nAs the card's text says, it can also be sold by the possessing player to another player for a price that is \"agreeable by both\".\n\nIn law\n In 1567, the prize in Britain's first lottery, commissioned by Queen Elizabeth I and Sir Frances Drake to raise funds for England's navy, included a kind of \"get out of jail free card\" which the winner could use to excuse any but the most serious crimes.\n In 1967, James Robert Ringrose, one of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives at the time, presented a Get Out of Jail Free card to FBI agents after he was arrested.\n In the U.S. Supreme Court case Hudson v. Michigan (2006), the Court ruled that use of evidence against a defendant obtained through search warrants in instances that the police failed to knock-and-announce does not violate the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The majority opinion by Justice Scalia notes that suppressing evidence in such instances would amount \"in many cases to a get-out-of-jail-free card.\"\n The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association of the City of New York, a large NYPD union, gives out cards to officers to distribute to friends and family, giving them preferential treatment for minor offenses. The cards are commonly referred to as \"get out of jail free\" cards, and are sometimes sold on eBay.\n\nSee also\n\nReferences\n\nEnglish phrases\nMonopoly (game)\nSlang", "Milan is a 1995 Indian Hindi action romance film directed by Mahesh Bhatt, starring Jackie Shroff and Manisha Koirala.\n\nPlot \nRaja (Jackie Shroff) is a small-time smuggler. His sweetheart, Priya (Manisha Koirala), does not approve of this, and convinces him to give up his smuggling activities, and turn the information over to the police. He does so, only to find that he has been framed for a murder he did not commit. When he decides to entrust himself to the justice of the courts, he is convicted of murder and sentenced to jail. In jail, he encounters more problems, and needs all his wits to stay alive. Back to Priya; Raja's former smuggling colleagues, including corrupt police officers, are openly harassing her, and no one seems to be able to look after her. Raja must get out of jail to find out who has framed him, and who is the king-pin behind the smuggling ring.\n\nCast\n\nMusic\nMusic was by Anand–Milind. Lyrics were by Sameer. \"Ek Baat Bataoon\" became very popular.\n \"Aanewali Hai Milan Ki\" Performed by Abhijeet Bhattacharya\n \"Aansu Judai Ke\" Performed by Pankaj Udhas, Sadhna Sargam\n \"Ek Baat Bataon\" Performed by Kumar Sanu, Sadhna Sargam\n \"Kahin Toh Milegi\" Performed by Abhijeet\n \"Aa Jaana Haseen Samaan\" Performed by Abhijeet, Kavita Krishnamurthy\n\nExternal links\n\n1995 films\n1990s Hindi-language films\nFilms scored by Anand–Milind\nIndian films\nFilms directed by Mahesh Bhatt\nIndian action drama films\nFilms with screenplays by Robin Bhatt\nIndian romantic action films\n1990s action drama films" ]
[ "Lenny Bruce", "Obscenity arrests", "What was Bruce arrested for?", "On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco;", "Did he get jail time?", "Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity." ]
C_bde6fa1924234f399674744a805129f9_0
What other times was he arrested?
3
Besides being arrested for obscenity, what other times was Lenny Bruce arrested?
Lenny Bruce
On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb", that the sexual context of come is so common that it bears no weight, and that if someone hearing it becomes upset, he "probably can't come". Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity. Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession and again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy named Sherman Block, who later became County Sheriff. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. The Hollywood charges were later dismissed. On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago. The same year he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering England by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien". In April 1964, he appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. On both occasions, he was arrested after leaving the stage, the complaints again pertaining to his use of various obscenities. A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant D.A. Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from - among other artists, writers and educators - Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced on December 21, 1964 to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon later saw his conviction overturned; Bruce, who died before the decision, never had his conviction stricken. Bruce later received a full posthumous gubernatorial pardon. CANNOTANSWER
Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession
Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, freestyle and critical form of comedy which contained satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity. His 1964 conviction in an obscenity trial was followed by a posthumous pardon in 2003. Bruce paved the way for counterculture-era comedians. His trial for obscenity is a landmark for freedom of speech in the United States. In 2017, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him third (behind Richard Pryor and George Carlin) on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time. Early life Lenny Bruce was Jewish, born Leonard Alfred Schneider, in Mineola, New York. He grew up in nearby Bellmore, and attended Wellington C. Mepham High School. His parents divorced before he turned 10, and he lived with various relatives over the next decade. His British-born father, Myron (Mickey) Schneider, was a shoe clerk, and the two saw each other very infrequently. Bruce's mother, Sally Marr (legal name Sadie Schneider, born Sadie Kitchenberg), was a stage performer and had an enormous influence on Bruce's career. After spending time working on a farm, Bruce joined the United States Navy at the age of 16 in 1942, with active service during World War II aboard the in Northern Africa; Palermo, Italy, in 1943; and Anzio, Italy, in 1944. In May 1945, after a comedic performance for his shipmates in which he was dressed in drag, his commanding officers became upset. He defiantly convinced his ship's medical officer that he was experiencing homosexual urges. This led to his undesirable discharge in July 1945. However, he had not admitted to or been found guilty of any breach of naval regulations and successfully applied to have his discharge changed to "Under Honorable Conditions ... by reason of unsuitability for the naval service". During the Korean War era, Bruce served in the United States Merchant Marine, ferrying troops from the US to Europe and back. In 1959, while taping the first episode of Hugh Hefner's Playboy's Penthouse, Bruce talked about his Navy experience and showed a tattoo he received in Malta in 1942. After a short period living with his father in California, Bruce settled in New York City, hoping to establish himself as a comedian. However, he found it difficult to differentiate himself from the thousands of other show-business hopefuls who populated the city. One locale where they congregated was Hanson's, the diner where Bruce first met the comedian Joe Ancis, who had a profound influence on Bruce's approach to comedy. Many of Bruce's later routines reflected his meticulous schooling at the hands of Ancis. According to Bruce's biographer Albert Goldman, Ancis's humor involved stream-of-consciousness sexual fantasies and references to jazz. Bruce took the stage as "Lenny Marsalle" one evening at the Victory Club, as a stand-in master of ceremonies for one of his mother's shows. His ad-libs earned him some laughs. Soon afterward, in 1947, just after changing his last name to Bruce, he earned $12 and a free spaghetti dinner for his first stand-up performance in Brooklyn. He was later a guest—and was introduced by his mother, who called herself "Sally Bruce"—on the Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts radio program. Lenny did a piece inspired by Sid Caesar, "The Bavarian Mimic", featuring impressions of American movie stars (e.g., Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson). Career Bruce's early comedy career included writing the screenplays for Dance Hall Racket in 1953, which featured Bruce, his wife Honey Harlow, and mother Sally Marr; Dream Follies in 1954, a low-budget burlesque romp; and a children's film, The Rocket Man, in 1954. In 1956, Frank Ray Perilli, a fellow nightclub comedian who eventually became a screenwriter of two dozen successful films and plays, became a mentor and part-time manager of Bruce. Through Perilli, Bruce met and collaborated with photojournalist William Karl Thomas on three screenplays (Leather Jacket, Killer's Grave and The Degenerate), none of which made it to the screen, and the comedy material on his first three comedy albums. Bruce was a roommate of Buddy Hackett in the 1950s. The two appeared on the Patrice Munsel Show (1957–1958), calling their comedy duo the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players", twenty years before the cast of Saturday Night Live used the same name. In 1957, Thomas booked Bruce into the Slate Brothers nightclub, where he was fired the first night for what Variety headlined as "blue material"; this led to the theme of Bruce's first solo album on Berkeley-based Fantasy Records, The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce, for which Thomas shot the album cover. Thomas also shot other album covers, acted as cinematographer on abortive attempts to film their screenplays, and in 1989 authored a memoir of their ten-year collaboration titled Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet. The 2016 biography of Frank Ray Perilli titled The Candy Butcher, devotes a chapter to Perilli's ten-year collaboration with Bruce. Bruce released a total of four albums of original material on Fantasy Records. These albums were later compiled and re-released as The Lenny Bruce Originals. Two later records were produced and sold by Bruce himself, including a 10-inch album of the 1961 San Francisco performances that started his legal troubles. Starting in the late 1960s, other unissued Bruce material was released by Alan Douglas, Frank Zappa and Phil Spector, as well as Fantasy. Bruce developed the complexity and tone of his material in Enrico Banducci's North Beach nightclub, the "hungry i", where Mort Sahl had earlier made a name for himself. Branded a "sick comic", Bruce was essentially blacklisted from television, and when he did appear thanks to sympathetic fans like Hefner and Steve Allen, it was with great concessions to Broadcast Standards and Practices. Jokes that might offend, like a bit on airplane glue-sniffing teenagers that was done live for The Steve Allen Show in 1959, had to be typed out and pre-approved by network officials. On his debut on Allen's show, Bruce made an unscripted comment on the recent marriage of Elizabeth Taylor to Eddie Fisher, wondering, "Will Elizabeth Taylor become bar mitzvahed?" In the midst of a severe blizzard, Bruce gave a famous performance at Carnegie Hall at midnight on February 4, 1961. It was recorded and later released as a three-disc set titled The Carnegie Hall Concert. In the posthumous biography about Bruce, Albert Goldman described the night of the concert as follows: In August 1965, a year before his death, Bruce gave his penultimate performance at San Francisco's Basin Street West, mainly talking about his legal troubles. The filmed performance was released by Rhino Home Video in 1992 as The Lenny Bruce Performance Film. Personal life In 1951, Bruce met Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas. They were married that same year, and Bruce was determined she would end her work as a stripper. The couple eventually left New York in 1953 for the West Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles. Bruce then went on to join the bill at the club Strip City. Harlow found employment at the Colony Club, which was widely known to be the best burlesque club in Los Angeles at the time. Bruce left Strip City in late 1954 and found work within the San Fernando Valley at a variety of strip clubs. As the master of ceremonies, he introduced the strippers while performing his material. The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines: according to his primary biographer, Albert Goldman, it was "precisely at the moment when he sank to the bottom of the barrel and started working the places that were the lowest of the low" that he suddenly broke free of "all the restraints and inhibitions and disabilities that formerly had kept him just mediocre and began to blow with a spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school." Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955. Honey and Lenny had a tumultuous relationship. Many serious domestic incidents occurred between them, usually the result of serious drug use. They broke up and reunited over and over again between 1956 and Lenny's death in 1966. They first separated in March 1956, and were back together again by July of that year when they travelled to Honolulu for a night club tour. During this trip, Honey was arrested for marijuana possession. Prevented from leaving the island due to her parole conditions, Lenny took the opportunity to leave her again, and this time kidnapped the then one-year-old Kitty. In her autobiography, Honey claims Lenny turned her in to the police. She would be later sentenced to two years in federal prison. Throughout the final decade of his life, Bruce was beset by severe drug addiction. He would use heroin, methamphetamine and Dilaudid daily. He suffered numerous health problems and personal strife as a result of his addiction. He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s. In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized. At the time of his death, his girlfriend was comedian Lotus Weinstock. Legal troubles Bruce's desire to help his wife cease working as a stripper led him to pursue schemes that were designed to make as much money as possible. The most notable was the Brother Mathias Foundation scam, which resulted in Bruce's arrest in Miami, Florida, in 1951 for impersonating a priest. He had been soliciting donations for a leper colony in British Guiana (now Guyana) under the auspices of the "Brother Mathias Foundation", which he had legally chartered—the name was his own invention, but possibly referred to the actual Brother Matthias who had befriended Babe Ruth at the Baltimore orphanage to which Ruth had been confined as a child. Bruce had stolen several priests' clergy shirts and a clerical collar while posing as a laundry man. He was found not guilty because of the legality of the New York state-chartered foundation, the actual existence of the Guiana leper colony, and the inability of the local clergy to expose him as an impostor. Later, in his semifictional autobiography How to Talk Dirty and Influence People, Bruce said that he had made about $8,000 in three weeks, sending $2,500 to the leper colony and keeping the rest. Obscenity arrests On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb", that the sexual context of come is so common that it bears no weight, and that if someone hearing it becomes upset, he "probably can't come". Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity. Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession and again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy named Sherman Block, who later became County Sheriff. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. The Hollywood charges were later dismissed. On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago. That same year, he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering the United Kingdom by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien". In April 1964, he appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. On both occasions, he was arrested after leaving the stage, the complaints again pertaining to his use of various obscenities. A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant D.A. Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from—among other artists, writers and educators—Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced on December 21, 1964, to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon later saw his conviction overturned. Later years Despite his prominence as a comedian, Bruce appeared on network television only six times in his life. In his later club performances, he was known for relating the details of his encounters with the police directly in his comedy routine. These performances often included rants about his court battles over obscenity charges, tirades against fascism, and complaints that he was being denied his right to freedom of speech. Bruce was banned outright from several U.S. cities. In September 1962, his only visit to Australia caused a media storm—although, contrary to popular belief, he was not banned nor was he forced to leave the country. Bruce was booked for a two-week engagement at Aaron's Exchange Hotel, a small pub in central Sydney by the American-born, Australian-based promoter Lee Gordon, who was by then deeply in debt, nearing the end of his formerly successful career, and desperate to save his business. Bruce's first show at 9 p.m. on September 6 was uneventful, but his second show at 11 p.m. led to a major public controversy. Bruce was heckled by audience members during his performance, and when local actress Barbara Wyndon stood up and complained that Bruce was only talking about America, and asked him to talk about something different, a clearly annoyed Bruce responded, "Fuck you, madam. That's different, isn't it?" Bruce's remark shocked some members of the audience and several walked out. By the next day the local press had blown the incident up into a major controversy, with several Sydney papers denouncing Bruce as "sick" and one even illustrating their story with a retouched photograph appearing to show Bruce giving a fascist salute. The venue owners immediately cancelled the rest of Bruce's performances, and he retreated to his Kings Cross hotel room. Local university students (including future OZ magazine editor Richard Neville) who were fans of Bruce's humor tried to arrange a performance at the Roundhouse at the University of New South Wales, but at the last minute the university's Vice-Chancellor rescinded permission to use the venue, with no reason given and an interview he was scheduled to give on Australian television was cancelled in advance by the Australian Broadcasting Commission. Bruce remained largely confined to his hotel, but eight days later gave his third and last Australian concert at the Wintergarden Theatre in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Although the theatre had a capacity of 2,100, only 200 people attended, including a strong police presence, and Bruce gave what was described as a "subdued" performance. It was long rumored that a tape recording of Bruce's historic performance was made by police, but it was, in fact, recorded by local jazz saxophonist Sid Powell, who brought a portable tape recorder to the show. The tape was rediscovered in 2011 in the possession of Australian singer Sammy Gaha, who had acted as Bruce's chauffeur during his visit, and it was subsequently donated to the Lenny Bruce audio collection at Brandeis University. Bruce left the country a few days later and spoke little about the experience afterwards. Increasing drug use also affected Bruce's health. By 1966, he had been blacklisted by nearly every nightclub in the U.S., as owners feared prosecution for obscenity. He gave a famous performance at the Berkeley Community Theatre in December 1965, which was recorded and became his last live album, titled The Berkeley Concert; his performance here has been described as lucid, clear and calm, and one of his best. His last performance took place on June 25, 1966, at The Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, on a bill with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. The performance was not remembered fondly by Bill Graham, whose memoir describes Bruce as "whacked out on amphetamine;" Graham thought that Bruce finished his set emotionally disturbed. Zappa asked Bruce to sign his draft card, but the suspicious Bruce refused. At the request of Hefner and with the aid of Paul Krassner, Bruce wrote an autobiography. Serialized in Playboy in 1964 and 1965, this material was later published as the book How to Talk Dirty and Influence People. During this time, Bruce also contributed a number of articles to Krassner's satirical magazine The Realist. Death and posthumous pardon On August 3, 1966, Bruce was found dead in the bathroom of his Hollywood Hills home at 8825 W. Hollywood Blvd. The official photo, taken at the scene, showed Bruce lying naked on the floor, a syringe and burned bottle cap nearby, along with various other narcotics paraphernalia. Record producer Phil Spector, a friend of Bruce, bought the negatives of the photographs "to keep them from the press". The official cause of death was "acute morphine poisoning caused by an overdose". Bruce's remains were interred in Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Mission Hills, California, but an unconventional memorial on August 21 was controversial enough to keep his name in the spotlight. Over 500 people came to the service to pay their respects, led by Spector. Cemetery officials had tried to block the ceremony after advertisements for the event encouraged attendees to bring box lunches and noisemakers. Delivering the eulogy, which is featured at the end of the documentary Lenny Bruce Without the Tears, the Rev. William Glenesk said: Lenny Bruce's epitaph reads: "Beloved father—devoted son / Peace at last". Dick Schaap concluded his eulogy to Bruce in Playboy with the words: "One last four-letter word for Lenny: Dead. At forty. That's obscene". A memorial event was held at the Judson Memorial Church, New York City on Friday, August 12, which was "packed to overflowing" an hour before it was due to get underway at 6pm, and was attended by prominent members of the arts, many of whom also performed, and included Allen Ginsberg, Joe Lee Wilson, Jean Shepherd, Charlie Haden, and The Fugs; Paul Krassner officiated. On December 23, 2003, thirty-seven years after Bruce's death, New York Governor George Pataki granted him a posthumous pardon for his obscenity conviction. Legacy Bruce was the subject of the 1974 biographical film Lenny, directed by Bob Fosse and starring Dustin Hoffman (in an Academy Award-nominated Best Actor role), and based on the Broadway stage play of the same name written by Julian Barry and starring Cliff Gorman in his 1972 Tony Award–winning role. In addition, the main character's editing of a fictionalized film version of Lenny was a major part of Fosse's own autobiopic, the 1979 Academy Award–nominated All That Jazz; Gorman again played the role of the stand-up comic. The documentary Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth, directed by Robert B. Weide and narrated by Robert De Niro, was released in 1998. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. In 2004, Comedy Central listed Bruce at number three on its list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time, placing above Woody Allen (4th) and below Richard Pryor (1st) and George Carlin (2nd). Both comedians who ranked higher than Bruce considered him a major influence; Pryor said that hearing Bruce for the first time "changed my life," while Carlin said that Bruce was a "brilliant comedian" who influenced him as much as a man in his moral thinking and attitudes as he did as a comedian. Carlin was arrested along with Bruce after refusing to provide identification when police raided a Bruce performance. In popular culture In 1966, Grace Slick co-wrote and sang the Great Society song "Father Bruce". Bruce is pictured in the top row of the cover of the Beatles 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The clip of a news broadcast featured in "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" by Simon & Garfunkel carries the ostensible newscast audio of Lenny Bruce's death. In another track on the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, "A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)," Paul Simon sings, "... I learned the truth from Lenny Bruce, that all my wealth won't buy me health." Tim Hardin's fourth album Tim Hardin 3 Live in Concert, released in 1968, includes his song Lenny's Tune written about his friend Lenny Bruce. Nico's 1967 album Chelsea Girl includes a track entitled "Eulogy to Lenny Bruce," which was "Lenny's Tune" by Tim Hardin, with the lyrics slightly altered. In it she describes her sorrow and anger at Bruce's death. The Stranglers' 1977 song No More Heroes (The Stranglers song) references Lenny Bruce, asking "Whatever happened to dear old Lenny?". Bob Dylan's 1981 song "Lenny Bruce" from his Shot of Love album describes a brief taxi ride shared by the two men. In the last line of the song, Dylan recalls: "Lenny Bruce was bad, he was the brother that you never had." Dylan has included this song live in concert as recently as November 2019. Phil Ochs wrote a song eulogizing the late comedian, titled "Doesn't Lenny Live Here Anymore?" The song is featured on his 1969 album Rehearsals for Retirement. Australian group Paul Kelly And The Dots' 1982 album Manila features a track named "Lenny (To Live Is to Burn)", which includes a couple clips of Lenny Bruce performing. R.E.M.'s 1987 song "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" includes references to a quartet of famous people all sharing the initials L.B. with Lenny Bruce being one of them (the others being Leonard Bernstein, Leonid Brezhnev and Lester Bangs). The opening line of the song mentioning Bruce goes, "That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds, snakes and aeroplanes; Lenny Bruce is not afraid." Lenny Bruce appears as a character in Don DeLillo's 1997 novel Underworld. In the novel, Bruce does a stand-up routine about the Cuban Missile Crisis. Genesis' 1974 song "Broadway Melody of 1974" depicts a dystopic New York where "Lenny Bruce declares a truce and plays his other hand, Marshall McLuhan, casual viewin', head buried in the sand" and "Groucho, with his movies trailing, stands alone with his punchline failing." Jonathan Larson's musical RENT, has a song entitled, La Vie Boheme B, mentioning Lenny Bruce. Joy Zipper's 2005 album The Heartlight Set features a track named "For Lenny's Own Pleasure". Nada Surf's song "Imaginary Friends" (from their 2005 album The Weight Is a Gift) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "Lenny Bruce's bug eyes stare from an LP, asking me just what kind of fight I've got in me." Shmaltz Brewing Company brews a year-round beer called Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. and the tagline is "Brewed with an obscene amount of hops". Metric's song "On the Sly" (from their 2007 album Grow Up and Blow Away) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "for Halloween I want to be Lenny Bruce". In the 2014 episode "Comic Perversion" of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, fictional comic Josh Galloway says while being arrested, "I would like to dedicate my arrest to Mr. Lenny Bruce. NYPD crucified him, too." John Mayall's 1969 live album "The turning point" opens with the song "The laws must change", which features the line "Lenny Bruce was trying to tell you many things before he died". A fictionalized version of the comedian is played by Luke Kirby as a recurring character in the Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, in which he is portrayed as a friend and champion of the titular character. Kirby won an Emmy for his portrayal in 2019. Bibliography Bruce, Lenny. Stamp Help Out! (Self-published pamphlet, 1962) Bruce, Lenny. How to Talk Dirty and Influence People (Playboy Publishing, 1967) Autobiography, released posthumously. Content previously serialized in Playboy magazine. By others: Barry, Julian. Lenny (play) (Grove Press, Inc. 1971) Bruce, Honey. Honey: The Life and Loves of Lenny's Shady Lady (Playboy Press, 1976, with Dana Benenson) Bruce, Kitty. The (almost) Unpublished Lenny Bruce (1984, Running Press) (includes transcripts of interviews and routines, ephemera, and a graphically spruced up reproduction of 'Stamp Help Out!') Cohen, John, ed., compiler. The Essential Lenny Bruce (Ballantine Books, 1967) Collins, Ronald and David Skover, The Trials of Lenny Bruce: The Fall & Rise of an American Icon (Sourcebooks, 2002) DeLillo, Don. Underworld, (Simon and Schuster Inc., 1997) Denton, Bradley. The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians, an award-winning collection of science fiction stories in which the title story has Lenny Bruce as one of the two protagonists. Goldman, Albert, with Lawrence Schiller. Ladies and Gentlemen – Lenny Bruce!! (Random House, 1974) Goldstein, Jonathan. Lenny Bruce Is Dead (Coach House Press, 2001) Josepher, Brian. What the Psychic Saw (Sterlinghouse Publisher, 2005) Kofsky, Frank. Lenny Bruce: The Comedian as Social Critic & Secular Moralist (Monad Press, 1974) Kringas, Damian. Lenny Bruce: 13 Days In Sydney (Independence Jones Guerilla Press, Sydney, 2010) A study of Bruce's ill-fated September 1962 tour down under. Marciniak, Vwadek P., Politics, Humor and the Counterculture: Laughter in the Age of Decay (New York etc., Peter Lang, 2008). Marmo, Ronnie. I'm Not a Comedian... I'm Lenny Bruce (written/performed by Marmo, directed by Joe Mantegna, 2017) Smith, Valerie Kohler. Lenny (novelization based on the Barry-scripted/Fosse-directed film) (Grove Press, Inc., 1974) Thomas, William Karl. Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator. First printing, Archon Books, 1989; second printing, Media Maestro, 2002; Japanese edition, DHC Corp. Tokyo, 2001. Filmography Discography Albums Posthumous releases Compilations The later compilations are released in the European Union under various oldies labels, as the content used is public domain in the EU. Audiobooks Tribute albums See also List of civil rights leaders Dirtymouth, a 1970 biographical film about Bruce Footnotes References External links The Official Lenny Bruce Website FBI Records: The Vault – Lenny Bruce at fbi.gov Correspondence and Other Papers Pertaining to Lenny Bruce's Drug Case, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Articles Linder, Douglas, "The Lenny Bruce Trial: An Account" "Famous Trials: The Lenny Bruce Trial, 1964" Azlant, Edward. "Lenny Bruce Again", Shecky Magazine, August 22, 2006 Gilmore, John. "Lenny Bruce and the Bunny", excerpt from Laid Bare: A Memoir of Wrecked Lives and the Hollywood Death Trip (Amok Books, 1997). Harnisch, Larry. "Voices", Los Angeles Times, April 13, 2007. (Reminiscences by saxophonist Dave Pell) Kaufman, Anthony. (interview with Swear to Tell the Truth producer), Indiewire.com, April 16, 2008 Hentoff, Nat. "Lenny Bruce: The crucifixion of a true believer", Gadfly March/April 2001 Sloan, Will. "Is Lenny Bruce Still Funny?", Hazlitt, November 4, 2014 Smith, Daniel V. "The Complete Lenny Bruce Chronology" (fan site) "Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet" Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator, Media Maestro 2001. [CC-By-SA] Audio/video Video Clips Relating to the Trial of Lenny Bruce as assembled by the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School 1925 births 1966 deaths 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American memoirists Accidental deaths in California American anti-fascists American humorists American male comedians American people convicted of drug offenses American people of English-Jewish descent American sailors American satirists American social commentators American stand-up comedians Beat Generation people Burials at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery Censorship in the arts Comedians from New York (state) Critics of religions Critics of the Catholic Church Drug-related deaths in California Freedom of speech in the United States Jewish American male comedians Jewish anti-fascists Military personnel from New York (state) Obscenity controversies in stand-up comedy People from Bellmore, New York People from Greenwich Village People from Mineola, New York People who have received posthumous pardons Philles Records artists Race-related controversies in stand-up comedy Recipients of American gubernatorial pardons Religious controversies in stand-up comedy Social critics Free speech activists Stand-up comedy controversies United States Merchant Mariners United States Merchant Mariners of the Korean War United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy sailors
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[ "Clyde Pete Hall is a former player in the National Football League. He was drafted in the twelfth round of the 1960 NFL Draft by the New York Giants and later played with the team during the 1961 NFL season.\n\nPersonal life \nAfter football, Hall became a financial analyst. However, what Hall truly did was enter a life of crime, being arrested numerous times for possession of cocaine and general con artist schemes. He was arrested in 2010 for investment fraud after stealing more than four million dollars from investors, and his wife was arrested along with him for the scheme. He spent over a decade defrauding people. Hall had defrauded investors with fake letters from big banks, stole $80,000 from an ex-wife, and filed phony bankruptcy claims. For this crime, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison.\n\nHe was also arrested in the past for wire fraud and other offenses. Hall was released from prison into home confinement due to the pandemic, and while in home confinement he arranged for a cocaine deal with undercover agents and was arrested once again in his apartment in April of 2021.\n\nHall's son, Alexander, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2007 for shooting at and murdering a random passerby in anger after getting kicked out of a club for smoking.\n\nReferences\n\nPeople from Sharon, Pennsylvania\nNew York Giants players\nMarquette Golden Avalanche football players\n1939 births\nLiving people\nPlayers of American football from Pennsylvania", "Xie Shiguang (; June 1917 – 25 August 2005) was a bishop of People's Republic of China's underground Roman Catholic Church.\n\nCareer \nXie was ordained to the priesthood on May 3, 1949, and he became a bishop on January 25, 1984.\n\nArrests \nXie was arrested multiple times in China. The first arrest was in 1955, when he refused to enter the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association. He was arrested again for the same reason in 1958, but he was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. He was then arrested in 1984, released in 1987, and was arrested yet again in 1990.\n\nDeath \nXie died from leukemia on 25 August 2005 at the age of 88.\n\nHeritage \nA street has been named after him in 2021 in Budapest.\n\nSee also\n\nCatholicism in China\n\nReferences \n\n20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in China\n1917 births\n2005 deaths\n21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in China\nDeaths from leukemia" ]
[ "Lenny Bruce", "Obscenity arrests", "What was Bruce arrested for?", "On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco;", "Did he get jail time?", "Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity.", "What other times was he arrested?", "Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession" ]
C_bde6fa1924234f399674744a805129f9_0
Any other arrests?
4
Besides for drug possession, are there other arrests for Lenny Bruce?
Lenny Bruce
On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb", that the sexual context of come is so common that it bears no weight, and that if someone hearing it becomes upset, he "probably can't come". Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity. Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession and again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy named Sherman Block, who later became County Sheriff. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. The Hollywood charges were later dismissed. On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago. The same year he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering England by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien". In April 1964, he appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. On both occasions, he was arrested after leaving the stage, the complaints again pertaining to his use of various obscenities. A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant D.A. Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from - among other artists, writers and educators - Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced on December 21, 1964 to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon later saw his conviction overturned; Bruce, who died before the decision, never had his conviction stricken. Bruce later received a full posthumous gubernatorial pardon. CANNOTANSWER
again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy
Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, freestyle and critical form of comedy which contained satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity. His 1964 conviction in an obscenity trial was followed by a posthumous pardon in 2003. Bruce paved the way for counterculture-era comedians. His trial for obscenity is a landmark for freedom of speech in the United States. In 2017, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him third (behind Richard Pryor and George Carlin) on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time. Early life Lenny Bruce was Jewish, born Leonard Alfred Schneider, in Mineola, New York. He grew up in nearby Bellmore, and attended Wellington C. Mepham High School. His parents divorced before he turned 10, and he lived with various relatives over the next decade. His British-born father, Myron (Mickey) Schneider, was a shoe clerk, and the two saw each other very infrequently. Bruce's mother, Sally Marr (legal name Sadie Schneider, born Sadie Kitchenberg), was a stage performer and had an enormous influence on Bruce's career. After spending time working on a farm, Bruce joined the United States Navy at the age of 16 in 1942, with active service during World War II aboard the in Northern Africa; Palermo, Italy, in 1943; and Anzio, Italy, in 1944. In May 1945, after a comedic performance for his shipmates in which he was dressed in drag, his commanding officers became upset. He defiantly convinced his ship's medical officer that he was experiencing homosexual urges. This led to his undesirable discharge in July 1945. However, he had not admitted to or been found guilty of any breach of naval regulations and successfully applied to have his discharge changed to "Under Honorable Conditions ... by reason of unsuitability for the naval service". During the Korean War era, Bruce served in the United States Merchant Marine, ferrying troops from the US to Europe and back. In 1959, while taping the first episode of Hugh Hefner's Playboy's Penthouse, Bruce talked about his Navy experience and showed a tattoo he received in Malta in 1942. After a short period living with his father in California, Bruce settled in New York City, hoping to establish himself as a comedian. However, he found it difficult to differentiate himself from the thousands of other show-business hopefuls who populated the city. One locale where they congregated was Hanson's, the diner where Bruce first met the comedian Joe Ancis, who had a profound influence on Bruce's approach to comedy. Many of Bruce's later routines reflected his meticulous schooling at the hands of Ancis. According to Bruce's biographer Albert Goldman, Ancis's humor involved stream-of-consciousness sexual fantasies and references to jazz. Bruce took the stage as "Lenny Marsalle" one evening at the Victory Club, as a stand-in master of ceremonies for one of his mother's shows. His ad-libs earned him some laughs. Soon afterward, in 1947, just after changing his last name to Bruce, he earned $12 and a free spaghetti dinner for his first stand-up performance in Brooklyn. He was later a guest—and was introduced by his mother, who called herself "Sally Bruce"—on the Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts radio program. Lenny did a piece inspired by Sid Caesar, "The Bavarian Mimic", featuring impressions of American movie stars (e.g., Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson). Career Bruce's early comedy career included writing the screenplays for Dance Hall Racket in 1953, which featured Bruce, his wife Honey Harlow, and mother Sally Marr; Dream Follies in 1954, a low-budget burlesque romp; and a children's film, The Rocket Man, in 1954. In 1956, Frank Ray Perilli, a fellow nightclub comedian who eventually became a screenwriter of two dozen successful films and plays, became a mentor and part-time manager of Bruce. Through Perilli, Bruce met and collaborated with photojournalist William Karl Thomas on three screenplays (Leather Jacket, Killer's Grave and The Degenerate), none of which made it to the screen, and the comedy material on his first three comedy albums. Bruce was a roommate of Buddy Hackett in the 1950s. The two appeared on the Patrice Munsel Show (1957–1958), calling their comedy duo the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players", twenty years before the cast of Saturday Night Live used the same name. In 1957, Thomas booked Bruce into the Slate Brothers nightclub, where he was fired the first night for what Variety headlined as "blue material"; this led to the theme of Bruce's first solo album on Berkeley-based Fantasy Records, The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce, for which Thomas shot the album cover. Thomas also shot other album covers, acted as cinematographer on abortive attempts to film their screenplays, and in 1989 authored a memoir of their ten-year collaboration titled Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet. The 2016 biography of Frank Ray Perilli titled The Candy Butcher, devotes a chapter to Perilli's ten-year collaboration with Bruce. Bruce released a total of four albums of original material on Fantasy Records. These albums were later compiled and re-released as The Lenny Bruce Originals. Two later records were produced and sold by Bruce himself, including a 10-inch album of the 1961 San Francisco performances that started his legal troubles. Starting in the late 1960s, other unissued Bruce material was released by Alan Douglas, Frank Zappa and Phil Spector, as well as Fantasy. Bruce developed the complexity and tone of his material in Enrico Banducci's North Beach nightclub, the "hungry i", where Mort Sahl had earlier made a name for himself. Branded a "sick comic", Bruce was essentially blacklisted from television, and when he did appear thanks to sympathetic fans like Hefner and Steve Allen, it was with great concessions to Broadcast Standards and Practices. Jokes that might offend, like a bit on airplane glue-sniffing teenagers that was done live for The Steve Allen Show in 1959, had to be typed out and pre-approved by network officials. On his debut on Allen's show, Bruce made an unscripted comment on the recent marriage of Elizabeth Taylor to Eddie Fisher, wondering, "Will Elizabeth Taylor become bar mitzvahed?" In the midst of a severe blizzard, Bruce gave a famous performance at Carnegie Hall at midnight on February 4, 1961. It was recorded and later released as a three-disc set titled The Carnegie Hall Concert. In the posthumous biography about Bruce, Albert Goldman described the night of the concert as follows: In August 1965, a year before his death, Bruce gave his penultimate performance at San Francisco's Basin Street West, mainly talking about his legal troubles. The filmed performance was released by Rhino Home Video in 1992 as The Lenny Bruce Performance Film. Personal life In 1951, Bruce met Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas. They were married that same year, and Bruce was determined she would end her work as a stripper. The couple eventually left New York in 1953 for the West Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles. Bruce then went on to join the bill at the club Strip City. Harlow found employment at the Colony Club, which was widely known to be the best burlesque club in Los Angeles at the time. Bruce left Strip City in late 1954 and found work within the San Fernando Valley at a variety of strip clubs. As the master of ceremonies, he introduced the strippers while performing his material. The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines: according to his primary biographer, Albert Goldman, it was "precisely at the moment when he sank to the bottom of the barrel and started working the places that were the lowest of the low" that he suddenly broke free of "all the restraints and inhibitions and disabilities that formerly had kept him just mediocre and began to blow with a spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school." Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955. Honey and Lenny had a tumultuous relationship. Many serious domestic incidents occurred between them, usually the result of serious drug use. They broke up and reunited over and over again between 1956 and Lenny's death in 1966. They first separated in March 1956, and were back together again by July of that year when they travelled to Honolulu for a night club tour. During this trip, Honey was arrested for marijuana possession. Prevented from leaving the island due to her parole conditions, Lenny took the opportunity to leave her again, and this time kidnapped the then one-year-old Kitty. In her autobiography, Honey claims Lenny turned her in to the police. She would be later sentenced to two years in federal prison. Throughout the final decade of his life, Bruce was beset by severe drug addiction. He would use heroin, methamphetamine and Dilaudid daily. He suffered numerous health problems and personal strife as a result of his addiction. He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s. In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized. At the time of his death, his girlfriend was comedian Lotus Weinstock. Legal troubles Bruce's desire to help his wife cease working as a stripper led him to pursue schemes that were designed to make as much money as possible. The most notable was the Brother Mathias Foundation scam, which resulted in Bruce's arrest in Miami, Florida, in 1951 for impersonating a priest. He had been soliciting donations for a leper colony in British Guiana (now Guyana) under the auspices of the "Brother Mathias Foundation", which he had legally chartered—the name was his own invention, but possibly referred to the actual Brother Matthias who had befriended Babe Ruth at the Baltimore orphanage to which Ruth had been confined as a child. Bruce had stolen several priests' clergy shirts and a clerical collar while posing as a laundry man. He was found not guilty because of the legality of the New York state-chartered foundation, the actual existence of the Guiana leper colony, and the inability of the local clergy to expose him as an impostor. Later, in his semifictional autobiography How to Talk Dirty and Influence People, Bruce said that he had made about $8,000 in three weeks, sending $2,500 to the leper colony and keeping the rest. Obscenity arrests On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb", that the sexual context of come is so common that it bears no weight, and that if someone hearing it becomes upset, he "probably can't come". Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity. Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession and again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy named Sherman Block, who later became County Sheriff. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. The Hollywood charges were later dismissed. On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago. That same year, he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering the United Kingdom by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien". In April 1964, he appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. On both occasions, he was arrested after leaving the stage, the complaints again pertaining to his use of various obscenities. A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant D.A. Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from—among other artists, writers and educators—Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced on December 21, 1964, to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon later saw his conviction overturned. Later years Despite his prominence as a comedian, Bruce appeared on network television only six times in his life. In his later club performances, he was known for relating the details of his encounters with the police directly in his comedy routine. These performances often included rants about his court battles over obscenity charges, tirades against fascism, and complaints that he was being denied his right to freedom of speech. Bruce was banned outright from several U.S. cities. In September 1962, his only visit to Australia caused a media storm—although, contrary to popular belief, he was not banned nor was he forced to leave the country. Bruce was booked for a two-week engagement at Aaron's Exchange Hotel, a small pub in central Sydney by the American-born, Australian-based promoter Lee Gordon, who was by then deeply in debt, nearing the end of his formerly successful career, and desperate to save his business. Bruce's first show at 9 p.m. on September 6 was uneventful, but his second show at 11 p.m. led to a major public controversy. Bruce was heckled by audience members during his performance, and when local actress Barbara Wyndon stood up and complained that Bruce was only talking about America, and asked him to talk about something different, a clearly annoyed Bruce responded, "Fuck you, madam. That's different, isn't it?" Bruce's remark shocked some members of the audience and several walked out. By the next day the local press had blown the incident up into a major controversy, with several Sydney papers denouncing Bruce as "sick" and one even illustrating their story with a retouched photograph appearing to show Bruce giving a fascist salute. The venue owners immediately cancelled the rest of Bruce's performances, and he retreated to his Kings Cross hotel room. Local university students (including future OZ magazine editor Richard Neville) who were fans of Bruce's humor tried to arrange a performance at the Roundhouse at the University of New South Wales, but at the last minute the university's Vice-Chancellor rescinded permission to use the venue, with no reason given and an interview he was scheduled to give on Australian television was cancelled in advance by the Australian Broadcasting Commission. Bruce remained largely confined to his hotel, but eight days later gave his third and last Australian concert at the Wintergarden Theatre in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Although the theatre had a capacity of 2,100, only 200 people attended, including a strong police presence, and Bruce gave what was described as a "subdued" performance. It was long rumored that a tape recording of Bruce's historic performance was made by police, but it was, in fact, recorded by local jazz saxophonist Sid Powell, who brought a portable tape recorder to the show. The tape was rediscovered in 2011 in the possession of Australian singer Sammy Gaha, who had acted as Bruce's chauffeur during his visit, and it was subsequently donated to the Lenny Bruce audio collection at Brandeis University. Bruce left the country a few days later and spoke little about the experience afterwards. Increasing drug use also affected Bruce's health. By 1966, he had been blacklisted by nearly every nightclub in the U.S., as owners feared prosecution for obscenity. He gave a famous performance at the Berkeley Community Theatre in December 1965, which was recorded and became his last live album, titled The Berkeley Concert; his performance here has been described as lucid, clear and calm, and one of his best. His last performance took place on June 25, 1966, at The Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, on a bill with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. The performance was not remembered fondly by Bill Graham, whose memoir describes Bruce as "whacked out on amphetamine;" Graham thought that Bruce finished his set emotionally disturbed. Zappa asked Bruce to sign his draft card, but the suspicious Bruce refused. At the request of Hefner and with the aid of Paul Krassner, Bruce wrote an autobiography. Serialized in Playboy in 1964 and 1965, this material was later published as the book How to Talk Dirty and Influence People. During this time, Bruce also contributed a number of articles to Krassner's satirical magazine The Realist. Death and posthumous pardon On August 3, 1966, Bruce was found dead in the bathroom of his Hollywood Hills home at 8825 W. Hollywood Blvd. The official photo, taken at the scene, showed Bruce lying naked on the floor, a syringe and burned bottle cap nearby, along with various other narcotics paraphernalia. Record producer Phil Spector, a friend of Bruce, bought the negatives of the photographs "to keep them from the press". The official cause of death was "acute morphine poisoning caused by an overdose". Bruce's remains were interred in Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Mission Hills, California, but an unconventional memorial on August 21 was controversial enough to keep his name in the spotlight. Over 500 people came to the service to pay their respects, led by Spector. Cemetery officials had tried to block the ceremony after advertisements for the event encouraged attendees to bring box lunches and noisemakers. Delivering the eulogy, which is featured at the end of the documentary Lenny Bruce Without the Tears, the Rev. William Glenesk said: Lenny Bruce's epitaph reads: "Beloved father—devoted son / Peace at last". Dick Schaap concluded his eulogy to Bruce in Playboy with the words: "One last four-letter word for Lenny: Dead. At forty. That's obscene". A memorial event was held at the Judson Memorial Church, New York City on Friday, August 12, which was "packed to overflowing" an hour before it was due to get underway at 6pm, and was attended by prominent members of the arts, many of whom also performed, and included Allen Ginsberg, Joe Lee Wilson, Jean Shepherd, Charlie Haden, and The Fugs; Paul Krassner officiated. On December 23, 2003, thirty-seven years after Bruce's death, New York Governor George Pataki granted him a posthumous pardon for his obscenity conviction. Legacy Bruce was the subject of the 1974 biographical film Lenny, directed by Bob Fosse and starring Dustin Hoffman (in an Academy Award-nominated Best Actor role), and based on the Broadway stage play of the same name written by Julian Barry and starring Cliff Gorman in his 1972 Tony Award–winning role. In addition, the main character's editing of a fictionalized film version of Lenny was a major part of Fosse's own autobiopic, the 1979 Academy Award–nominated All That Jazz; Gorman again played the role of the stand-up comic. The documentary Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth, directed by Robert B. Weide and narrated by Robert De Niro, was released in 1998. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. In 2004, Comedy Central listed Bruce at number three on its list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time, placing above Woody Allen (4th) and below Richard Pryor (1st) and George Carlin (2nd). Both comedians who ranked higher than Bruce considered him a major influence; Pryor said that hearing Bruce for the first time "changed my life," while Carlin said that Bruce was a "brilliant comedian" who influenced him as much as a man in his moral thinking and attitudes as he did as a comedian. Carlin was arrested along with Bruce after refusing to provide identification when police raided a Bruce performance. In popular culture In 1966, Grace Slick co-wrote and sang the Great Society song "Father Bruce". Bruce is pictured in the top row of the cover of the Beatles 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The clip of a news broadcast featured in "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" by Simon & Garfunkel carries the ostensible newscast audio of Lenny Bruce's death. In another track on the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, "A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)," Paul Simon sings, "... I learned the truth from Lenny Bruce, that all my wealth won't buy me health." Tim Hardin's fourth album Tim Hardin 3 Live in Concert, released in 1968, includes his song Lenny's Tune written about his friend Lenny Bruce. Nico's 1967 album Chelsea Girl includes a track entitled "Eulogy to Lenny Bruce," which was "Lenny's Tune" by Tim Hardin, with the lyrics slightly altered. In it she describes her sorrow and anger at Bruce's death. The Stranglers' 1977 song No More Heroes (The Stranglers song) references Lenny Bruce, asking "Whatever happened to dear old Lenny?". Bob Dylan's 1981 song "Lenny Bruce" from his Shot of Love album describes a brief taxi ride shared by the two men. In the last line of the song, Dylan recalls: "Lenny Bruce was bad, he was the brother that you never had." Dylan has included this song live in concert as recently as November 2019. Phil Ochs wrote a song eulogizing the late comedian, titled "Doesn't Lenny Live Here Anymore?" The song is featured on his 1969 album Rehearsals for Retirement. Australian group Paul Kelly And The Dots' 1982 album Manila features a track named "Lenny (To Live Is to Burn)", which includes a couple clips of Lenny Bruce performing. R.E.M.'s 1987 song "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" includes references to a quartet of famous people all sharing the initials L.B. with Lenny Bruce being one of them (the others being Leonard Bernstein, Leonid Brezhnev and Lester Bangs). The opening line of the song mentioning Bruce goes, "That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds, snakes and aeroplanes; Lenny Bruce is not afraid." Lenny Bruce appears as a character in Don DeLillo's 1997 novel Underworld. In the novel, Bruce does a stand-up routine about the Cuban Missile Crisis. Genesis' 1974 song "Broadway Melody of 1974" depicts a dystopic New York where "Lenny Bruce declares a truce and plays his other hand, Marshall McLuhan, casual viewin', head buried in the sand" and "Groucho, with his movies trailing, stands alone with his punchline failing." Jonathan Larson's musical RENT, has a song entitled, La Vie Boheme B, mentioning Lenny Bruce. Joy Zipper's 2005 album The Heartlight Set features a track named "For Lenny's Own Pleasure". Nada Surf's song "Imaginary Friends" (from their 2005 album The Weight Is a Gift) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "Lenny Bruce's bug eyes stare from an LP, asking me just what kind of fight I've got in me." Shmaltz Brewing Company brews a year-round beer called Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. and the tagline is "Brewed with an obscene amount of hops". Metric's song "On the Sly" (from their 2007 album Grow Up and Blow Away) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "for Halloween I want to be Lenny Bruce". In the 2014 episode "Comic Perversion" of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, fictional comic Josh Galloway says while being arrested, "I would like to dedicate my arrest to Mr. Lenny Bruce. NYPD crucified him, too." John Mayall's 1969 live album "The turning point" opens with the song "The laws must change", which features the line "Lenny Bruce was trying to tell you many things before he died". A fictionalized version of the comedian is played by Luke Kirby as a recurring character in the Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, in which he is portrayed as a friend and champion of the titular character. Kirby won an Emmy for his portrayal in 2019. Bibliography Bruce, Lenny. Stamp Help Out! (Self-published pamphlet, 1962) Bruce, Lenny. How to Talk Dirty and Influence People (Playboy Publishing, 1967) Autobiography, released posthumously. Content previously serialized in Playboy magazine. By others: Barry, Julian. Lenny (play) (Grove Press, Inc. 1971) Bruce, Honey. Honey: The Life and Loves of Lenny's Shady Lady (Playboy Press, 1976, with Dana Benenson) Bruce, Kitty. The (almost) Unpublished Lenny Bruce (1984, Running Press) (includes transcripts of interviews and routines, ephemera, and a graphically spruced up reproduction of 'Stamp Help Out!') Cohen, John, ed., compiler. The Essential Lenny Bruce (Ballantine Books, 1967) Collins, Ronald and David Skover, The Trials of Lenny Bruce: The Fall & Rise of an American Icon (Sourcebooks, 2002) DeLillo, Don. Underworld, (Simon and Schuster Inc., 1997) Denton, Bradley. The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians, an award-winning collection of science fiction stories in which the title story has Lenny Bruce as one of the two protagonists. Goldman, Albert, with Lawrence Schiller. Ladies and Gentlemen – Lenny Bruce!! (Random House, 1974) Goldstein, Jonathan. Lenny Bruce Is Dead (Coach House Press, 2001) Josepher, Brian. What the Psychic Saw (Sterlinghouse Publisher, 2005) Kofsky, Frank. Lenny Bruce: The Comedian as Social Critic & Secular Moralist (Monad Press, 1974) Kringas, Damian. Lenny Bruce: 13 Days In Sydney (Independence Jones Guerilla Press, Sydney, 2010) A study of Bruce's ill-fated September 1962 tour down under. Marciniak, Vwadek P., Politics, Humor and the Counterculture: Laughter in the Age of Decay (New York etc., Peter Lang, 2008). Marmo, Ronnie. I'm Not a Comedian... I'm Lenny Bruce (written/performed by Marmo, directed by Joe Mantegna, 2017) Smith, Valerie Kohler. Lenny (novelization based on the Barry-scripted/Fosse-directed film) (Grove Press, Inc., 1974) Thomas, William Karl. Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator. First printing, Archon Books, 1989; second printing, Media Maestro, 2002; Japanese edition, DHC Corp. Tokyo, 2001. Filmography Discography Albums Posthumous releases Compilations The later compilations are released in the European Union under various oldies labels, as the content used is public domain in the EU. Audiobooks Tribute albums See also List of civil rights leaders Dirtymouth, a 1970 biographical film about Bruce Footnotes References External links The Official Lenny Bruce Website FBI Records: The Vault – Lenny Bruce at fbi.gov Correspondence and Other Papers Pertaining to Lenny Bruce's Drug Case, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Articles Linder, Douglas, "The Lenny Bruce Trial: An Account" "Famous Trials: The Lenny Bruce Trial, 1964" Azlant, Edward. "Lenny Bruce Again", Shecky Magazine, August 22, 2006 Gilmore, John. "Lenny Bruce and the Bunny", excerpt from Laid Bare: A Memoir of Wrecked Lives and the Hollywood Death Trip (Amok Books, 1997). Harnisch, Larry. "Voices", Los Angeles Times, April 13, 2007. (Reminiscences by saxophonist Dave Pell) Kaufman, Anthony. (interview with Swear to Tell the Truth producer), Indiewire.com, April 16, 2008 Hentoff, Nat. "Lenny Bruce: The crucifixion of a true believer", Gadfly March/April 2001 Sloan, Will. "Is Lenny Bruce Still Funny?", Hazlitt, November 4, 2014 Smith, Daniel V. "The Complete Lenny Bruce Chronology" (fan site) "Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet" Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator, Media Maestro 2001. [CC-By-SA] Audio/video Video Clips Relating to the Trial of Lenny Bruce as assembled by the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School 1925 births 1966 deaths 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American memoirists Accidental deaths in California American anti-fascists American humorists American male comedians American people convicted of drug offenses American people of English-Jewish descent American sailors American satirists American social commentators American stand-up comedians Beat Generation people Burials at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery Censorship in the arts Comedians from New York (state) Critics of religions Critics of the Catholic Church Drug-related deaths in California Freedom of speech in the United States Jewish American male comedians Jewish anti-fascists Military personnel from New York (state) Obscenity controversies in stand-up comedy People from Bellmore, New York People from Greenwich Village People from Mineola, New York People who have received posthumous pardons Philles Records artists Race-related controversies in stand-up comedy Recipients of American gubernatorial pardons Religious controversies in stand-up comedy Social critics Free speech activists Stand-up comedy controversies United States Merchant Mariners United States Merchant Mariners of the Korean War United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy sailors
true
[ "Harry Gene Levine (born April 1, 1945) is an American sociologist known for his research on alcohol and illicit drugs in American society. He is a professor of sociology at Queens College and the Graduate Center, CUNY. His work has included studies on marijuana arrests in New York City, which have found that such arrests are more common there than in any other city in the world, and that they were much more common from 1998 to 2007 than from 1988 to 1997. He has also found that over the 15 years leading up to 2011, far more of those arrested in New York City for marijuana possession were black (54%) than were Latino (33%) or white (12%). Levine's research has also found that during the period from 2002 to 2010, under the mayoralty of Michael Bloomberg, marijuana arrests by the NYPD increased significantly, and 87% of those arrested for marijuana were black or Hispanic.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nFaculty page\n\n1945 births\nLiving people\nBrandeis University alumni\nUniversity of California, Berkeley alumni\nQueens College, City University of New York faculty\nGraduate Center, CUNY faculty\nAmerican sociologists", "A mass arrest occurs when police apprehend large numbers of suspects at once. This sometimes occurs at protests. Some mass arrests are also used in an effort to combat gang activity. This is sometimes controversial, and lawsuits sometimes result. In police science, it is deemed to be good practice to plan for the identification of those arrested during mass arrests, since it is unlikely that the officers will remember everyone they arrested.\n\nHistorical examples\nThe Japan Farmers' Union and Japanese labor-farmer groups were hit by mass arrests in the 1920s. On April 16, 1929, several thousand members of the farmers' movement were arrested. Following World War II, mass arrests (over 120,000) of actual and suspected Quislings occurred in Norway. Totalitarian regimes have sometimes conducted mass arrests as a prelude to a purge of perceived political enemies, sometimes through executions.\n\nOn March 10, 2010 a mass crackdown was initiated to thwart a planned peaceful 'million march' to be conducted in a South Indian state capital of Hyderabad demanding formation of a new federal unit, more than 100,000 Telangana people were taken in to custody by a police force controlled by the coastal 'andhra' elites.\n\nThe 2010 G-20 Toronto summit was witness to the largest mass arrest in Canadian history.\n\nMass arrests of protesters in the United States\nIn December 1964, the University of California, Berkeley was disrupted by a mass student sit-in in the administration building and by mass arrests of 700 students.\n\nBeginning on May 3, 1971, three days into the 1971 May Day Protests - a series of large-scale civil disobedience actions in Washington, D.C. - massive arrest sweeps begin. In a few days over 12,000 are arrested - the largest mass arrest in U.S. history.\n\nFormer American President Jimmy Carter said in regards to the racial conflicts of the time, \"I would be opposed to mass arrest, and I would be opposed to preventive detention. But I think that the abuses in the past have in many cases exacerbated the disharmonies that brought about demonstrations, and I think that arrest or large numbers of people without warrants ... is a contrary to our best systems of justice.\"\n\nA famous mass arrest occurred on September 27, 2002, in Washington, DC in which several hundred anti-World Bank/International Monetary Fund protestors, journalists and bystanders were systematically arrested by police and charged with failure to obey a police order. A class action lawsuit against the government ensued. Pre-emptive mass arrests have also sometimes been criticized.\n\nOver 1,700 protesters were arrested during the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City.\n\nOn October 1, 2011, more than 700 protesters with the Occupy Wall Street movement were arrested while attempting to march across the bridge on the roadway.\n\nOn January 28, 2012, more than 400 people were arrested at Oakland.\n\nDuring a seven-day span on Capitol Hill, from April 11 through April 18, 2016 police arrested approximately 1,240 people (300 arrests were made on April 18 alone) who were demonstrating for reforms to how Americans vote and campaign in elections.\n\nOn November 4, 2020, 646 protesters were arrested on Highway 94 in Minneapolis.\n\nWar crime \nIndiscriminate mass arrests were designated a war crime in 1944 by a commission on war crimes created by the London International Assembly. Thar was one of two items added by that Commission to the list of war crimes that had been drawn up by the Commission on the Responsibility of the Authors of the War and on Enforcement of Penalties in 1919. Specifically, \"indiscriminate mass arrests for the purpose of terrorizing the population\" were designated as war crimes by the commission.\n\nAt the Netherlands temporary court martial in 1947, several members of the tokkeitai in the Netherlands East Indies were accused of the war crime of indiscriminate mass arrests. The applicable legislation, used by the court, was the NEI Statute Book Decree #44 of 1946, whose definition of war crimes paralleled the commission's list. Specifically, item #34 of the enumerated list of war crimes under the NEI legislation was \"indiscriminate mass arrests for the purpose of terrorising the population, whether described as taking hostages or not\". The court understood the definition of such unlawful mass arrests to be as \"arrests of groups of persons firstly on the ground of wild rumours and suppositions, and secondly without definite facts and indications being present with regard to each person which would justify his arrest\". It added commentary on indiscriminate mass arrests that are for the purpose of terrorizing the populace by stating that they \"contained the elements of systematic terrorism for nobody, even the most innocent, was any longer certain of his liberty, and a person once arrested, even if absolutely innocent, could no longer be sure of health and life\".\n\nSee also\nArbitrary arrest and detention\nJanuary 2021 arrests of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists\n\nReferences\n\nCriminal justice\nCrowd control and riot control techniques\nPolitical repression" ]
[ "Lenny Bruce", "Obscenity arrests", "What was Bruce arrested for?", "On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco;", "Did he get jail time?", "Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity.", "What other times was he arrested?", "Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession", "Any other arrests?", "again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy" ]
C_bde6fa1924234f399674744a805129f9_0
Did this arrest record have any negative effects for Bruce?
5
Did his arrest record have any negative effects on Lenny Bruce?
Lenny Bruce
On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb", that the sexual context of come is so common that it bears no weight, and that if someone hearing it becomes upset, he "probably can't come". Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity. Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession and again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy named Sherman Block, who later became County Sheriff. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. The Hollywood charges were later dismissed. On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago. The same year he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering England by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien". In April 1964, he appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. On both occasions, he was arrested after leaving the stage, the complaints again pertaining to his use of various obscenities. A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant D.A. Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from - among other artists, writers and educators - Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced on December 21, 1964 to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon later saw his conviction overturned; Bruce, who died before the decision, never had his conviction stricken. Bruce later received a full posthumous gubernatorial pardon. CANNOTANSWER
Solomon later saw his conviction overturned; Bruce, who died before the decision, never had his conviction stricken.
Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, freestyle and critical form of comedy which contained satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity. His 1964 conviction in an obscenity trial was followed by a posthumous pardon in 2003. Bruce paved the way for counterculture-era comedians. His trial for obscenity is a landmark for freedom of speech in the United States. In 2017, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him third (behind Richard Pryor and George Carlin) on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time. Early life Lenny Bruce was Jewish, born Leonard Alfred Schneider, in Mineola, New York. He grew up in nearby Bellmore, and attended Wellington C. Mepham High School. His parents divorced before he turned 10, and he lived with various relatives over the next decade. His British-born father, Myron (Mickey) Schneider, was a shoe clerk, and the two saw each other very infrequently. Bruce's mother, Sally Marr (legal name Sadie Schneider, born Sadie Kitchenberg), was a stage performer and had an enormous influence on Bruce's career. After spending time working on a farm, Bruce joined the United States Navy at the age of 16 in 1942, with active service during World War II aboard the in Northern Africa; Palermo, Italy, in 1943; and Anzio, Italy, in 1944. In May 1945, after a comedic performance for his shipmates in which he was dressed in drag, his commanding officers became upset. He defiantly convinced his ship's medical officer that he was experiencing homosexual urges. This led to his undesirable discharge in July 1945. However, he had not admitted to or been found guilty of any breach of naval regulations and successfully applied to have his discharge changed to "Under Honorable Conditions ... by reason of unsuitability for the naval service". During the Korean War era, Bruce served in the United States Merchant Marine, ferrying troops from the US to Europe and back. In 1959, while taping the first episode of Hugh Hefner's Playboy's Penthouse, Bruce talked about his Navy experience and showed a tattoo he received in Malta in 1942. After a short period living with his father in California, Bruce settled in New York City, hoping to establish himself as a comedian. However, he found it difficult to differentiate himself from the thousands of other show-business hopefuls who populated the city. One locale where they congregated was Hanson's, the diner where Bruce first met the comedian Joe Ancis, who had a profound influence on Bruce's approach to comedy. Many of Bruce's later routines reflected his meticulous schooling at the hands of Ancis. According to Bruce's biographer Albert Goldman, Ancis's humor involved stream-of-consciousness sexual fantasies and references to jazz. Bruce took the stage as "Lenny Marsalle" one evening at the Victory Club, as a stand-in master of ceremonies for one of his mother's shows. His ad-libs earned him some laughs. Soon afterward, in 1947, just after changing his last name to Bruce, he earned $12 and a free spaghetti dinner for his first stand-up performance in Brooklyn. He was later a guest—and was introduced by his mother, who called herself "Sally Bruce"—on the Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts radio program. Lenny did a piece inspired by Sid Caesar, "The Bavarian Mimic", featuring impressions of American movie stars (e.g., Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson). Career Bruce's early comedy career included writing the screenplays for Dance Hall Racket in 1953, which featured Bruce, his wife Honey Harlow, and mother Sally Marr; Dream Follies in 1954, a low-budget burlesque romp; and a children's film, The Rocket Man, in 1954. In 1956, Frank Ray Perilli, a fellow nightclub comedian who eventually became a screenwriter of two dozen successful films and plays, became a mentor and part-time manager of Bruce. Through Perilli, Bruce met and collaborated with photojournalist William Karl Thomas on three screenplays (Leather Jacket, Killer's Grave and The Degenerate), none of which made it to the screen, and the comedy material on his first three comedy albums. Bruce was a roommate of Buddy Hackett in the 1950s. The two appeared on the Patrice Munsel Show (1957–1958), calling their comedy duo the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players", twenty years before the cast of Saturday Night Live used the same name. In 1957, Thomas booked Bruce into the Slate Brothers nightclub, where he was fired the first night for what Variety headlined as "blue material"; this led to the theme of Bruce's first solo album on Berkeley-based Fantasy Records, The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce, for which Thomas shot the album cover. Thomas also shot other album covers, acted as cinematographer on abortive attempts to film their screenplays, and in 1989 authored a memoir of their ten-year collaboration titled Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet. The 2016 biography of Frank Ray Perilli titled The Candy Butcher, devotes a chapter to Perilli's ten-year collaboration with Bruce. Bruce released a total of four albums of original material on Fantasy Records. These albums were later compiled and re-released as The Lenny Bruce Originals. Two later records were produced and sold by Bruce himself, including a 10-inch album of the 1961 San Francisco performances that started his legal troubles. Starting in the late 1960s, other unissued Bruce material was released by Alan Douglas, Frank Zappa and Phil Spector, as well as Fantasy. Bruce developed the complexity and tone of his material in Enrico Banducci's North Beach nightclub, the "hungry i", where Mort Sahl had earlier made a name for himself. Branded a "sick comic", Bruce was essentially blacklisted from television, and when he did appear thanks to sympathetic fans like Hefner and Steve Allen, it was with great concessions to Broadcast Standards and Practices. Jokes that might offend, like a bit on airplane glue-sniffing teenagers that was done live for The Steve Allen Show in 1959, had to be typed out and pre-approved by network officials. On his debut on Allen's show, Bruce made an unscripted comment on the recent marriage of Elizabeth Taylor to Eddie Fisher, wondering, "Will Elizabeth Taylor become bar mitzvahed?" In the midst of a severe blizzard, Bruce gave a famous performance at Carnegie Hall at midnight on February 4, 1961. It was recorded and later released as a three-disc set titled The Carnegie Hall Concert. In the posthumous biography about Bruce, Albert Goldman described the night of the concert as follows: In August 1965, a year before his death, Bruce gave his penultimate performance at San Francisco's Basin Street West, mainly talking about his legal troubles. The filmed performance was released by Rhino Home Video in 1992 as The Lenny Bruce Performance Film. Personal life In 1951, Bruce met Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas. They were married that same year, and Bruce was determined she would end her work as a stripper. The couple eventually left New York in 1953 for the West Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles. Bruce then went on to join the bill at the club Strip City. Harlow found employment at the Colony Club, which was widely known to be the best burlesque club in Los Angeles at the time. Bruce left Strip City in late 1954 and found work within the San Fernando Valley at a variety of strip clubs. As the master of ceremonies, he introduced the strippers while performing his material. The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines: according to his primary biographer, Albert Goldman, it was "precisely at the moment when he sank to the bottom of the barrel and started working the places that were the lowest of the low" that he suddenly broke free of "all the restraints and inhibitions and disabilities that formerly had kept him just mediocre and began to blow with a spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school." Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955. Honey and Lenny had a tumultuous relationship. Many serious domestic incidents occurred between them, usually the result of serious drug use. They broke up and reunited over and over again between 1956 and Lenny's death in 1966. They first separated in March 1956, and were back together again by July of that year when they travelled to Honolulu for a night club tour. During this trip, Honey was arrested for marijuana possession. Prevented from leaving the island due to her parole conditions, Lenny took the opportunity to leave her again, and this time kidnapped the then one-year-old Kitty. In her autobiography, Honey claims Lenny turned her in to the police. She would be later sentenced to two years in federal prison. Throughout the final decade of his life, Bruce was beset by severe drug addiction. He would use heroin, methamphetamine and Dilaudid daily. He suffered numerous health problems and personal strife as a result of his addiction. He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s. In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized. At the time of his death, his girlfriend was comedian Lotus Weinstock. Legal troubles Bruce's desire to help his wife cease working as a stripper led him to pursue schemes that were designed to make as much money as possible. The most notable was the Brother Mathias Foundation scam, which resulted in Bruce's arrest in Miami, Florida, in 1951 for impersonating a priest. He had been soliciting donations for a leper colony in British Guiana (now Guyana) under the auspices of the "Brother Mathias Foundation", which he had legally chartered—the name was his own invention, but possibly referred to the actual Brother Matthias who had befriended Babe Ruth at the Baltimore orphanage to which Ruth had been confined as a child. Bruce had stolen several priests' clergy shirts and a clerical collar while posing as a laundry man. He was found not guilty because of the legality of the New York state-chartered foundation, the actual existence of the Guiana leper colony, and the inability of the local clergy to expose him as an impostor. Later, in his semifictional autobiography How to Talk Dirty and Influence People, Bruce said that he had made about $8,000 in three weeks, sending $2,500 to the leper colony and keeping the rest. Obscenity arrests On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb", that the sexual context of come is so common that it bears no weight, and that if someone hearing it becomes upset, he "probably can't come". Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity. Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession and again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy named Sherman Block, who later became County Sheriff. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. The Hollywood charges were later dismissed. On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago. That same year, he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering the United Kingdom by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien". In April 1964, he appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. On both occasions, he was arrested after leaving the stage, the complaints again pertaining to his use of various obscenities. A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant D.A. Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from—among other artists, writers and educators—Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced on December 21, 1964, to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon later saw his conviction overturned. Later years Despite his prominence as a comedian, Bruce appeared on network television only six times in his life. In his later club performances, he was known for relating the details of his encounters with the police directly in his comedy routine. These performances often included rants about his court battles over obscenity charges, tirades against fascism, and complaints that he was being denied his right to freedom of speech. Bruce was banned outright from several U.S. cities. In September 1962, his only visit to Australia caused a media storm—although, contrary to popular belief, he was not banned nor was he forced to leave the country. Bruce was booked for a two-week engagement at Aaron's Exchange Hotel, a small pub in central Sydney by the American-born, Australian-based promoter Lee Gordon, who was by then deeply in debt, nearing the end of his formerly successful career, and desperate to save his business. Bruce's first show at 9 p.m. on September 6 was uneventful, but his second show at 11 p.m. led to a major public controversy. Bruce was heckled by audience members during his performance, and when local actress Barbara Wyndon stood up and complained that Bruce was only talking about America, and asked him to talk about something different, a clearly annoyed Bruce responded, "Fuck you, madam. That's different, isn't it?" Bruce's remark shocked some members of the audience and several walked out. By the next day the local press had blown the incident up into a major controversy, with several Sydney papers denouncing Bruce as "sick" and one even illustrating their story with a retouched photograph appearing to show Bruce giving a fascist salute. The venue owners immediately cancelled the rest of Bruce's performances, and he retreated to his Kings Cross hotel room. Local university students (including future OZ magazine editor Richard Neville) who were fans of Bruce's humor tried to arrange a performance at the Roundhouse at the University of New South Wales, but at the last minute the university's Vice-Chancellor rescinded permission to use the venue, with no reason given and an interview he was scheduled to give on Australian television was cancelled in advance by the Australian Broadcasting Commission. Bruce remained largely confined to his hotel, but eight days later gave his third and last Australian concert at the Wintergarden Theatre in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Although the theatre had a capacity of 2,100, only 200 people attended, including a strong police presence, and Bruce gave what was described as a "subdued" performance. It was long rumored that a tape recording of Bruce's historic performance was made by police, but it was, in fact, recorded by local jazz saxophonist Sid Powell, who brought a portable tape recorder to the show. The tape was rediscovered in 2011 in the possession of Australian singer Sammy Gaha, who had acted as Bruce's chauffeur during his visit, and it was subsequently donated to the Lenny Bruce audio collection at Brandeis University. Bruce left the country a few days later and spoke little about the experience afterwards. Increasing drug use also affected Bruce's health. By 1966, he had been blacklisted by nearly every nightclub in the U.S., as owners feared prosecution for obscenity. He gave a famous performance at the Berkeley Community Theatre in December 1965, which was recorded and became his last live album, titled The Berkeley Concert; his performance here has been described as lucid, clear and calm, and one of his best. His last performance took place on June 25, 1966, at The Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, on a bill with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. The performance was not remembered fondly by Bill Graham, whose memoir describes Bruce as "whacked out on amphetamine;" Graham thought that Bruce finished his set emotionally disturbed. Zappa asked Bruce to sign his draft card, but the suspicious Bruce refused. At the request of Hefner and with the aid of Paul Krassner, Bruce wrote an autobiography. Serialized in Playboy in 1964 and 1965, this material was later published as the book How to Talk Dirty and Influence People. During this time, Bruce also contributed a number of articles to Krassner's satirical magazine The Realist. Death and posthumous pardon On August 3, 1966, Bruce was found dead in the bathroom of his Hollywood Hills home at 8825 W. Hollywood Blvd. The official photo, taken at the scene, showed Bruce lying naked on the floor, a syringe and burned bottle cap nearby, along with various other narcotics paraphernalia. Record producer Phil Spector, a friend of Bruce, bought the negatives of the photographs "to keep them from the press". The official cause of death was "acute morphine poisoning caused by an overdose". Bruce's remains were interred in Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Mission Hills, California, but an unconventional memorial on August 21 was controversial enough to keep his name in the spotlight. Over 500 people came to the service to pay their respects, led by Spector. Cemetery officials had tried to block the ceremony after advertisements for the event encouraged attendees to bring box lunches and noisemakers. Delivering the eulogy, which is featured at the end of the documentary Lenny Bruce Without the Tears, the Rev. William Glenesk said: Lenny Bruce's epitaph reads: "Beloved father—devoted son / Peace at last". Dick Schaap concluded his eulogy to Bruce in Playboy with the words: "One last four-letter word for Lenny: Dead. At forty. That's obscene". A memorial event was held at the Judson Memorial Church, New York City on Friday, August 12, which was "packed to overflowing" an hour before it was due to get underway at 6pm, and was attended by prominent members of the arts, many of whom also performed, and included Allen Ginsberg, Joe Lee Wilson, Jean Shepherd, Charlie Haden, and The Fugs; Paul Krassner officiated. On December 23, 2003, thirty-seven years after Bruce's death, New York Governor George Pataki granted him a posthumous pardon for his obscenity conviction. Legacy Bruce was the subject of the 1974 biographical film Lenny, directed by Bob Fosse and starring Dustin Hoffman (in an Academy Award-nominated Best Actor role), and based on the Broadway stage play of the same name written by Julian Barry and starring Cliff Gorman in his 1972 Tony Award–winning role. In addition, the main character's editing of a fictionalized film version of Lenny was a major part of Fosse's own autobiopic, the 1979 Academy Award–nominated All That Jazz; Gorman again played the role of the stand-up comic. The documentary Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth, directed by Robert B. Weide and narrated by Robert De Niro, was released in 1998. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. In 2004, Comedy Central listed Bruce at number three on its list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time, placing above Woody Allen (4th) and below Richard Pryor (1st) and George Carlin (2nd). Both comedians who ranked higher than Bruce considered him a major influence; Pryor said that hearing Bruce for the first time "changed my life," while Carlin said that Bruce was a "brilliant comedian" who influenced him as much as a man in his moral thinking and attitudes as he did as a comedian. Carlin was arrested along with Bruce after refusing to provide identification when police raided a Bruce performance. In popular culture In 1966, Grace Slick co-wrote and sang the Great Society song "Father Bruce". Bruce is pictured in the top row of the cover of the Beatles 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The clip of a news broadcast featured in "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" by Simon & Garfunkel carries the ostensible newscast audio of Lenny Bruce's death. In another track on the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, "A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)," Paul Simon sings, "... I learned the truth from Lenny Bruce, that all my wealth won't buy me health." Tim Hardin's fourth album Tim Hardin 3 Live in Concert, released in 1968, includes his song Lenny's Tune written about his friend Lenny Bruce. Nico's 1967 album Chelsea Girl includes a track entitled "Eulogy to Lenny Bruce," which was "Lenny's Tune" by Tim Hardin, with the lyrics slightly altered. In it she describes her sorrow and anger at Bruce's death. The Stranglers' 1977 song No More Heroes (The Stranglers song) references Lenny Bruce, asking "Whatever happened to dear old Lenny?". Bob Dylan's 1981 song "Lenny Bruce" from his Shot of Love album describes a brief taxi ride shared by the two men. In the last line of the song, Dylan recalls: "Lenny Bruce was bad, he was the brother that you never had." Dylan has included this song live in concert as recently as November 2019. Phil Ochs wrote a song eulogizing the late comedian, titled "Doesn't Lenny Live Here Anymore?" The song is featured on his 1969 album Rehearsals for Retirement. Australian group Paul Kelly And The Dots' 1982 album Manila features a track named "Lenny (To Live Is to Burn)", which includes a couple clips of Lenny Bruce performing. R.E.M.'s 1987 song "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" includes references to a quartet of famous people all sharing the initials L.B. with Lenny Bruce being one of them (the others being Leonard Bernstein, Leonid Brezhnev and Lester Bangs). The opening line of the song mentioning Bruce goes, "That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds, snakes and aeroplanes; Lenny Bruce is not afraid." Lenny Bruce appears as a character in Don DeLillo's 1997 novel Underworld. In the novel, Bruce does a stand-up routine about the Cuban Missile Crisis. Genesis' 1974 song "Broadway Melody of 1974" depicts a dystopic New York where "Lenny Bruce declares a truce and plays his other hand, Marshall McLuhan, casual viewin', head buried in the sand" and "Groucho, with his movies trailing, stands alone with his punchline failing." Jonathan Larson's musical RENT, has a song entitled, La Vie Boheme B, mentioning Lenny Bruce. Joy Zipper's 2005 album The Heartlight Set features a track named "For Lenny's Own Pleasure". Nada Surf's song "Imaginary Friends" (from their 2005 album The Weight Is a Gift) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "Lenny Bruce's bug eyes stare from an LP, asking me just what kind of fight I've got in me." Shmaltz Brewing Company brews a year-round beer called Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. and the tagline is "Brewed with an obscene amount of hops". Metric's song "On the Sly" (from their 2007 album Grow Up and Blow Away) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "for Halloween I want to be Lenny Bruce". In the 2014 episode "Comic Perversion" of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, fictional comic Josh Galloway says while being arrested, "I would like to dedicate my arrest to Mr. Lenny Bruce. NYPD crucified him, too." John Mayall's 1969 live album "The turning point" opens with the song "The laws must change", which features the line "Lenny Bruce was trying to tell you many things before he died". A fictionalized version of the comedian is played by Luke Kirby as a recurring character in the Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, in which he is portrayed as a friend and champion of the titular character. Kirby won an Emmy for his portrayal in 2019. Bibliography Bruce, Lenny. Stamp Help Out! (Self-published pamphlet, 1962) Bruce, Lenny. How to Talk Dirty and Influence People (Playboy Publishing, 1967) Autobiography, released posthumously. Content previously serialized in Playboy magazine. By others: Barry, Julian. Lenny (play) (Grove Press, Inc. 1971) Bruce, Honey. Honey: The Life and Loves of Lenny's Shady Lady (Playboy Press, 1976, with Dana Benenson) Bruce, Kitty. The (almost) Unpublished Lenny Bruce (1984, Running Press) (includes transcripts of interviews and routines, ephemera, and a graphically spruced up reproduction of 'Stamp Help Out!') Cohen, John, ed., compiler. The Essential Lenny Bruce (Ballantine Books, 1967) Collins, Ronald and David Skover, The Trials of Lenny Bruce: The Fall & Rise of an American Icon (Sourcebooks, 2002) DeLillo, Don. Underworld, (Simon and Schuster Inc., 1997) Denton, Bradley. The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians, an award-winning collection of science fiction stories in which the title story has Lenny Bruce as one of the two protagonists. Goldman, Albert, with Lawrence Schiller. Ladies and Gentlemen – Lenny Bruce!! (Random House, 1974) Goldstein, Jonathan. Lenny Bruce Is Dead (Coach House Press, 2001) Josepher, Brian. What the Psychic Saw (Sterlinghouse Publisher, 2005) Kofsky, Frank. Lenny Bruce: The Comedian as Social Critic & Secular Moralist (Monad Press, 1974) Kringas, Damian. Lenny Bruce: 13 Days In Sydney (Independence Jones Guerilla Press, Sydney, 2010) A study of Bruce's ill-fated September 1962 tour down under. Marciniak, Vwadek P., Politics, Humor and the Counterculture: Laughter in the Age of Decay (New York etc., Peter Lang, 2008). Marmo, Ronnie. I'm Not a Comedian... I'm Lenny Bruce (written/performed by Marmo, directed by Joe Mantegna, 2017) Smith, Valerie Kohler. Lenny (novelization based on the Barry-scripted/Fosse-directed film) (Grove Press, Inc., 1974) Thomas, William Karl. Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator. First printing, Archon Books, 1989; second printing, Media Maestro, 2002; Japanese edition, DHC Corp. Tokyo, 2001. Filmography Discography Albums Posthumous releases Compilations The later compilations are released in the European Union under various oldies labels, as the content used is public domain in the EU. Audiobooks Tribute albums See also List of civil rights leaders Dirtymouth, a 1970 biographical film about Bruce Footnotes References External links The Official Lenny Bruce Website FBI Records: The Vault – Lenny Bruce at fbi.gov Correspondence and Other Papers Pertaining to Lenny Bruce's Drug Case, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Articles Linder, Douglas, "The Lenny Bruce Trial: An Account" "Famous Trials: The Lenny Bruce Trial, 1964" Azlant, Edward. "Lenny Bruce Again", Shecky Magazine, August 22, 2006 Gilmore, John. "Lenny Bruce and the Bunny", excerpt from Laid Bare: A Memoir of Wrecked Lives and the Hollywood Death Trip (Amok Books, 1997). Harnisch, Larry. "Voices", Los Angeles Times, April 13, 2007. (Reminiscences by saxophonist Dave Pell) Kaufman, Anthony. (interview with Swear to Tell the Truth producer), Indiewire.com, April 16, 2008 Hentoff, Nat. "Lenny Bruce: The crucifixion of a true believer", Gadfly March/April 2001 Sloan, Will. "Is Lenny Bruce Still Funny?", Hazlitt, November 4, 2014 Smith, Daniel V. "The Complete Lenny Bruce Chronology" (fan site) "Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet" Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator, Media Maestro 2001. [CC-By-SA] Audio/video Video Clips Relating to the Trial of Lenny Bruce as assembled by the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School 1925 births 1966 deaths 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American memoirists Accidental deaths in California American anti-fascists American humorists American male comedians American people convicted of drug offenses American people of English-Jewish descent American sailors American satirists American social commentators American stand-up comedians Beat Generation people Burials at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery Censorship in the arts Comedians from New York (state) Critics of religions Critics of the Catholic Church Drug-related deaths in California Freedom of speech in the United States Jewish American male comedians Jewish anti-fascists Military personnel from New York (state) Obscenity controversies in stand-up comedy People from Bellmore, New York People from Greenwich Village People from Mineola, New York People who have received posthumous pardons Philles Records artists Race-related controversies in stand-up comedy Recipients of American gubernatorial pardons Religious controversies in stand-up comedy Social critics Free speech activists Stand-up comedy controversies United States Merchant Mariners United States Merchant Mariners of the Korean War United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy sailors
false
[ "Missouri has two forms of expungement, one generally applicable to criminal cases and a unique one for the crime of being a minor in possession of alcohol. On July 13, 2016, governor Jay Nixon signed Senate Bill 588 into law, which expands the opportunities available for expungement of criminal convictions in Missouri. The new law went into effect January 1, 2018.\n\nOrdinary expungement \nIf certain requirements are met, Missouri law allows a person to have an arrest record expunged, which the law of Missouri defines as the process of legally destroying, obliterating or striking out records or information in files, computers and other depositories relating to criminal charges.\n\nA person is eligible for expungement in Missouri if the arrest was based on false information and the following conditions exist: \n\nThere is no probable cause to believe the person committed the offense;\nNo charges will be pursued as a result of the arrest;\nThe person has no prior or subsequent misdemeanor or felony convictions;\nThe person did not receive a suspended imposition of sentence for the offense; and\nNo civil action is pending relating to the arrest or records sought to be expunged.\n\nIf a person qualifies, in order to have the records expunged, they must file a verified petition for expungement in the civil division of the Circuit Court in the county of the arrest. The court sets a hearing on the matter no sooner than thirty days after the petition was filed. If the court finds that the petitioner is entitled to expungement of any record, it will enter an order directing expungement.\n\nRecords expunged under this provision still may be opened to law enforcement if the person is charged with a subsequent offense or if any of the requirements of expungement no longer are met.\n\nThe Missouri Expungement Law Senate Bill 588 \nWith the 2018 Missouri Expungement Law, a process has been created where around 1,900 eligible offenses can be sealed. Some individuals with misdemeanor convictions can file petitions after three years and those with felonies, after seven years. That waiting time used to be 10 and 20 years respectively. This law opens the door for thousands of offenders to petition the courts to seal or remove their records of arrests and convictions as of January 1, 2018. After a successful petition those with no other criminal record, will be able to honestly answer “no” to inquiries about whether they have a criminal record (Unless a specific employer is required by law to exclude certain applicants).\n\nFor individuals who are eligible to start their petition process they have to file them in the court where they were charged or found guilty of the crime (offenses, violations, infractions). The petition must include all names of municipal prosecuting attorneys, law enforcement agencies, courts, state repositories of criminal records – basically any entity that might possess records of the items they wish to have expunged. They must also list every offense they wish to have expunged.\n\nThe state will then have 30-days to file objections to the petition you have filed. If there is an objection the court must hold a hearing within 60-days, or 30-days if there is no objection. While the 3 and 7 year waiting period has been stated, the bill does not explicitly demand this, so there might be avenues open for an earlier expungement date. The individual will also have to show the court that their habits and personal conduct, since their release, make them a good candidate for expungement. This is the key element to the success of their petition.\n\nThe petition process can take as little as 120-days resulting in a removal of their criminal record from potential landlords, employers and financial institution immediately.\n\nMinor in possession of alcohol \n\nIn 2005, the Missouri General Assembly enacted a special new section in the state's Liquor Control Law allowing for the complete and total expungement for the offense of being a minor in possession of alcohol. Unlike ordinary expungement, the MIP expungement exists with the explicit legislative mandate that the effect of an order of expungement under it \"shall be to restore such person to the status occupied prior to such arrest, plea or conviction, as if such event had never happened.\"\n\nAfter not less than one year since the offense was disposed of, or upon reaching the age of twenty-one, whichever occurs first, a person who pleaded guilty to or was found guilty of the crime of minor in possession of alcohol for the first time, and who since such conviction has not been convicted of any other alcohol-related offense, may apply to the civil division of the circuit court of the county in which the person was sentenced for an order to expunge all official records of the arrest, plea, trial and conviction.\n\nThe person also must meet the following requirements:\nThe person has not been convicted of any other alcohol-related offense at the time of the application for expungement; and\nThe person has had no other contacts with law enforcement (i.e. arrest, charge) which were alcohol-related (such as for drunk driving or violation of the terms of a liquor license).\n\nIf a person has had an MIP record expunged this way, the law states they cannot \"be held thereafter under any provision of any law to be guilty of perjury or otherwise giving a false statement by reason of failure to recite or acknowledge such arrest, plea, trial, conviction or expungement in response to any inquiry made for any purpose whatsoever.\"\n\nA person is only entitled to one MIP expungement under this special provision.\n\nSee also \nExpungement in the United States\n\nReferences\n\nM\nMissouri law", "Ro4938581 is a nootropic drug invented in 2009 by a team working for Hoffmann-La Roche, which acts as a subtype-selective inverse agonist at the α5 subtype of the benzodiazepine binding site on the GABAA receptor. It has good selectivity for the α5 subtype and did not produce convulsant or anxiogenic effects in animal studies, making it a promising potential nootropic. Ro4938581 and a related derivative basmisanil (RG-1662, RO5186582) have subsequently been investigated for the alleviation of cognitive dysfunction in Down syndrome.\n\nSee also \n GABAA receptor negative allosteric modulator\n GABAA receptor § Ligands\n\nReferences \n\nImidazobenzodiazepines\nTriazolobenzodiazepines\nGABAA receptor negative allosteric modulators\nNootropics" ]
[ "Lenny Bruce", "Obscenity arrests", "What was Bruce arrested for?", "On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco;", "Did he get jail time?", "Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity.", "What other times was he arrested?", "Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession", "Any other arrests?", "again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy", "Did this arrest record have any negative effects for Bruce?", "Solomon later saw his conviction overturned; Bruce, who died before the decision, never had his conviction stricken." ]
C_bde6fa1924234f399674744a805129f9_0
Who was Solomon?
6
Who was Solomon?
Lenny Bruce
On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb", that the sexual context of come is so common that it bears no weight, and that if someone hearing it becomes upset, he "probably can't come". Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity. Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession and again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy named Sherman Block, who later became County Sheriff. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. The Hollywood charges were later dismissed. On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago. The same year he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering England by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien". In April 1964, he appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. On both occasions, he was arrested after leaving the stage, the complaints again pertaining to his use of various obscenities. A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant D.A. Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from - among other artists, writers and educators - Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced on December 21, 1964 to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon later saw his conviction overturned; Bruce, who died before the decision, never had his conviction stricken. Bruce later received a full posthumous gubernatorial pardon. CANNOTANSWER
Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964.
Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, freestyle and critical form of comedy which contained satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity. His 1964 conviction in an obscenity trial was followed by a posthumous pardon in 2003. Bruce paved the way for counterculture-era comedians. His trial for obscenity is a landmark for freedom of speech in the United States. In 2017, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him third (behind Richard Pryor and George Carlin) on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time. Early life Lenny Bruce was Jewish, born Leonard Alfred Schneider, in Mineola, New York. He grew up in nearby Bellmore, and attended Wellington C. Mepham High School. His parents divorced before he turned 10, and he lived with various relatives over the next decade. His British-born father, Myron (Mickey) Schneider, was a shoe clerk, and the two saw each other very infrequently. Bruce's mother, Sally Marr (legal name Sadie Schneider, born Sadie Kitchenberg), was a stage performer and had an enormous influence on Bruce's career. After spending time working on a farm, Bruce joined the United States Navy at the age of 16 in 1942, with active service during World War II aboard the in Northern Africa; Palermo, Italy, in 1943; and Anzio, Italy, in 1944. In May 1945, after a comedic performance for his shipmates in which he was dressed in drag, his commanding officers became upset. He defiantly convinced his ship's medical officer that he was experiencing homosexual urges. This led to his undesirable discharge in July 1945. However, he had not admitted to or been found guilty of any breach of naval regulations and successfully applied to have his discharge changed to "Under Honorable Conditions ... by reason of unsuitability for the naval service". During the Korean War era, Bruce served in the United States Merchant Marine, ferrying troops from the US to Europe and back. In 1959, while taping the first episode of Hugh Hefner's Playboy's Penthouse, Bruce talked about his Navy experience and showed a tattoo he received in Malta in 1942. After a short period living with his father in California, Bruce settled in New York City, hoping to establish himself as a comedian. However, he found it difficult to differentiate himself from the thousands of other show-business hopefuls who populated the city. One locale where they congregated was Hanson's, the diner where Bruce first met the comedian Joe Ancis, who had a profound influence on Bruce's approach to comedy. Many of Bruce's later routines reflected his meticulous schooling at the hands of Ancis. According to Bruce's biographer Albert Goldman, Ancis's humor involved stream-of-consciousness sexual fantasies and references to jazz. Bruce took the stage as "Lenny Marsalle" one evening at the Victory Club, as a stand-in master of ceremonies for one of his mother's shows. His ad-libs earned him some laughs. Soon afterward, in 1947, just after changing his last name to Bruce, he earned $12 and a free spaghetti dinner for his first stand-up performance in Brooklyn. He was later a guest—and was introduced by his mother, who called herself "Sally Bruce"—on the Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts radio program. Lenny did a piece inspired by Sid Caesar, "The Bavarian Mimic", featuring impressions of American movie stars (e.g., Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson). Career Bruce's early comedy career included writing the screenplays for Dance Hall Racket in 1953, which featured Bruce, his wife Honey Harlow, and mother Sally Marr; Dream Follies in 1954, a low-budget burlesque romp; and a children's film, The Rocket Man, in 1954. In 1956, Frank Ray Perilli, a fellow nightclub comedian who eventually became a screenwriter of two dozen successful films and plays, became a mentor and part-time manager of Bruce. Through Perilli, Bruce met and collaborated with photojournalist William Karl Thomas on three screenplays (Leather Jacket, Killer's Grave and The Degenerate), none of which made it to the screen, and the comedy material on his first three comedy albums. Bruce was a roommate of Buddy Hackett in the 1950s. The two appeared on the Patrice Munsel Show (1957–1958), calling their comedy duo the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players", twenty years before the cast of Saturday Night Live used the same name. In 1957, Thomas booked Bruce into the Slate Brothers nightclub, where he was fired the first night for what Variety headlined as "blue material"; this led to the theme of Bruce's first solo album on Berkeley-based Fantasy Records, The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce, for which Thomas shot the album cover. Thomas also shot other album covers, acted as cinematographer on abortive attempts to film their screenplays, and in 1989 authored a memoir of their ten-year collaboration titled Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet. The 2016 biography of Frank Ray Perilli titled The Candy Butcher, devotes a chapter to Perilli's ten-year collaboration with Bruce. Bruce released a total of four albums of original material on Fantasy Records. These albums were later compiled and re-released as The Lenny Bruce Originals. Two later records were produced and sold by Bruce himself, including a 10-inch album of the 1961 San Francisco performances that started his legal troubles. Starting in the late 1960s, other unissued Bruce material was released by Alan Douglas, Frank Zappa and Phil Spector, as well as Fantasy. Bruce developed the complexity and tone of his material in Enrico Banducci's North Beach nightclub, the "hungry i", where Mort Sahl had earlier made a name for himself. Branded a "sick comic", Bruce was essentially blacklisted from television, and when he did appear thanks to sympathetic fans like Hefner and Steve Allen, it was with great concessions to Broadcast Standards and Practices. Jokes that might offend, like a bit on airplane glue-sniffing teenagers that was done live for The Steve Allen Show in 1959, had to be typed out and pre-approved by network officials. On his debut on Allen's show, Bruce made an unscripted comment on the recent marriage of Elizabeth Taylor to Eddie Fisher, wondering, "Will Elizabeth Taylor become bar mitzvahed?" In the midst of a severe blizzard, Bruce gave a famous performance at Carnegie Hall at midnight on February 4, 1961. It was recorded and later released as a three-disc set titled The Carnegie Hall Concert. In the posthumous biography about Bruce, Albert Goldman described the night of the concert as follows: In August 1965, a year before his death, Bruce gave his penultimate performance at San Francisco's Basin Street West, mainly talking about his legal troubles. The filmed performance was released by Rhino Home Video in 1992 as The Lenny Bruce Performance Film. Personal life In 1951, Bruce met Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas. They were married that same year, and Bruce was determined she would end her work as a stripper. The couple eventually left New York in 1953 for the West Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles. Bruce then went on to join the bill at the club Strip City. Harlow found employment at the Colony Club, which was widely known to be the best burlesque club in Los Angeles at the time. Bruce left Strip City in late 1954 and found work within the San Fernando Valley at a variety of strip clubs. As the master of ceremonies, he introduced the strippers while performing his material. The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines: according to his primary biographer, Albert Goldman, it was "precisely at the moment when he sank to the bottom of the barrel and started working the places that were the lowest of the low" that he suddenly broke free of "all the restraints and inhibitions and disabilities that formerly had kept him just mediocre and began to blow with a spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school." Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955. Honey and Lenny had a tumultuous relationship. Many serious domestic incidents occurred between them, usually the result of serious drug use. They broke up and reunited over and over again between 1956 and Lenny's death in 1966. They first separated in March 1956, and were back together again by July of that year when they travelled to Honolulu for a night club tour. During this trip, Honey was arrested for marijuana possession. Prevented from leaving the island due to her parole conditions, Lenny took the opportunity to leave her again, and this time kidnapped the then one-year-old Kitty. In her autobiography, Honey claims Lenny turned her in to the police. She would be later sentenced to two years in federal prison. Throughout the final decade of his life, Bruce was beset by severe drug addiction. He would use heroin, methamphetamine and Dilaudid daily. He suffered numerous health problems and personal strife as a result of his addiction. He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s. In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized. At the time of his death, his girlfriend was comedian Lotus Weinstock. Legal troubles Bruce's desire to help his wife cease working as a stripper led him to pursue schemes that were designed to make as much money as possible. The most notable was the Brother Mathias Foundation scam, which resulted in Bruce's arrest in Miami, Florida, in 1951 for impersonating a priest. He had been soliciting donations for a leper colony in British Guiana (now Guyana) under the auspices of the "Brother Mathias Foundation", which he had legally chartered—the name was his own invention, but possibly referred to the actual Brother Matthias who had befriended Babe Ruth at the Baltimore orphanage to which Ruth had been confined as a child. Bruce had stolen several priests' clergy shirts and a clerical collar while posing as a laundry man. He was found not guilty because of the legality of the New York state-chartered foundation, the actual existence of the Guiana leper colony, and the inability of the local clergy to expose him as an impostor. Later, in his semifictional autobiography How to Talk Dirty and Influence People, Bruce said that he had made about $8,000 in three weeks, sending $2,500 to the leper colony and keeping the rest. Obscenity arrests On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb", that the sexual context of come is so common that it bears no weight, and that if someone hearing it becomes upset, he "probably can't come". Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity. Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession and again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy named Sherman Block, who later became County Sheriff. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. The Hollywood charges were later dismissed. On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago. That same year, he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering the United Kingdom by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien". In April 1964, he appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. On both occasions, he was arrested after leaving the stage, the complaints again pertaining to his use of various obscenities. A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant D.A. Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from—among other artists, writers and educators—Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced on December 21, 1964, to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon later saw his conviction overturned. Later years Despite his prominence as a comedian, Bruce appeared on network television only six times in his life. In his later club performances, he was known for relating the details of his encounters with the police directly in his comedy routine. These performances often included rants about his court battles over obscenity charges, tirades against fascism, and complaints that he was being denied his right to freedom of speech. Bruce was banned outright from several U.S. cities. In September 1962, his only visit to Australia caused a media storm—although, contrary to popular belief, he was not banned nor was he forced to leave the country. Bruce was booked for a two-week engagement at Aaron's Exchange Hotel, a small pub in central Sydney by the American-born, Australian-based promoter Lee Gordon, who was by then deeply in debt, nearing the end of his formerly successful career, and desperate to save his business. Bruce's first show at 9 p.m. on September 6 was uneventful, but his second show at 11 p.m. led to a major public controversy. Bruce was heckled by audience members during his performance, and when local actress Barbara Wyndon stood up and complained that Bruce was only talking about America, and asked him to talk about something different, a clearly annoyed Bruce responded, "Fuck you, madam. That's different, isn't it?" Bruce's remark shocked some members of the audience and several walked out. By the next day the local press had blown the incident up into a major controversy, with several Sydney papers denouncing Bruce as "sick" and one even illustrating their story with a retouched photograph appearing to show Bruce giving a fascist salute. The venue owners immediately cancelled the rest of Bruce's performances, and he retreated to his Kings Cross hotel room. Local university students (including future OZ magazine editor Richard Neville) who were fans of Bruce's humor tried to arrange a performance at the Roundhouse at the University of New South Wales, but at the last minute the university's Vice-Chancellor rescinded permission to use the venue, with no reason given and an interview he was scheduled to give on Australian television was cancelled in advance by the Australian Broadcasting Commission. Bruce remained largely confined to his hotel, but eight days later gave his third and last Australian concert at the Wintergarden Theatre in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Although the theatre had a capacity of 2,100, only 200 people attended, including a strong police presence, and Bruce gave what was described as a "subdued" performance. It was long rumored that a tape recording of Bruce's historic performance was made by police, but it was, in fact, recorded by local jazz saxophonist Sid Powell, who brought a portable tape recorder to the show. The tape was rediscovered in 2011 in the possession of Australian singer Sammy Gaha, who had acted as Bruce's chauffeur during his visit, and it was subsequently donated to the Lenny Bruce audio collection at Brandeis University. Bruce left the country a few days later and spoke little about the experience afterwards. Increasing drug use also affected Bruce's health. By 1966, he had been blacklisted by nearly every nightclub in the U.S., as owners feared prosecution for obscenity. He gave a famous performance at the Berkeley Community Theatre in December 1965, which was recorded and became his last live album, titled The Berkeley Concert; his performance here has been described as lucid, clear and calm, and one of his best. His last performance took place on June 25, 1966, at The Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, on a bill with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. The performance was not remembered fondly by Bill Graham, whose memoir describes Bruce as "whacked out on amphetamine;" Graham thought that Bruce finished his set emotionally disturbed. Zappa asked Bruce to sign his draft card, but the suspicious Bruce refused. At the request of Hefner and with the aid of Paul Krassner, Bruce wrote an autobiography. Serialized in Playboy in 1964 and 1965, this material was later published as the book How to Talk Dirty and Influence People. During this time, Bruce also contributed a number of articles to Krassner's satirical magazine The Realist. Death and posthumous pardon On August 3, 1966, Bruce was found dead in the bathroom of his Hollywood Hills home at 8825 W. Hollywood Blvd. The official photo, taken at the scene, showed Bruce lying naked on the floor, a syringe and burned bottle cap nearby, along with various other narcotics paraphernalia. Record producer Phil Spector, a friend of Bruce, bought the negatives of the photographs "to keep them from the press". The official cause of death was "acute morphine poisoning caused by an overdose". Bruce's remains were interred in Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Mission Hills, California, but an unconventional memorial on August 21 was controversial enough to keep his name in the spotlight. Over 500 people came to the service to pay their respects, led by Spector. Cemetery officials had tried to block the ceremony after advertisements for the event encouraged attendees to bring box lunches and noisemakers. Delivering the eulogy, which is featured at the end of the documentary Lenny Bruce Without the Tears, the Rev. William Glenesk said: Lenny Bruce's epitaph reads: "Beloved father—devoted son / Peace at last". Dick Schaap concluded his eulogy to Bruce in Playboy with the words: "One last four-letter word for Lenny: Dead. At forty. That's obscene". A memorial event was held at the Judson Memorial Church, New York City on Friday, August 12, which was "packed to overflowing" an hour before it was due to get underway at 6pm, and was attended by prominent members of the arts, many of whom also performed, and included Allen Ginsberg, Joe Lee Wilson, Jean Shepherd, Charlie Haden, and The Fugs; Paul Krassner officiated. On December 23, 2003, thirty-seven years after Bruce's death, New York Governor George Pataki granted him a posthumous pardon for his obscenity conviction. Legacy Bruce was the subject of the 1974 biographical film Lenny, directed by Bob Fosse and starring Dustin Hoffman (in an Academy Award-nominated Best Actor role), and based on the Broadway stage play of the same name written by Julian Barry and starring Cliff Gorman in his 1972 Tony Award–winning role. In addition, the main character's editing of a fictionalized film version of Lenny was a major part of Fosse's own autobiopic, the 1979 Academy Award–nominated All That Jazz; Gorman again played the role of the stand-up comic. The documentary Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth, directed by Robert B. Weide and narrated by Robert De Niro, was released in 1998. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. In 2004, Comedy Central listed Bruce at number three on its list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time, placing above Woody Allen (4th) and below Richard Pryor (1st) and George Carlin (2nd). Both comedians who ranked higher than Bruce considered him a major influence; Pryor said that hearing Bruce for the first time "changed my life," while Carlin said that Bruce was a "brilliant comedian" who influenced him as much as a man in his moral thinking and attitudes as he did as a comedian. Carlin was arrested along with Bruce after refusing to provide identification when police raided a Bruce performance. In popular culture In 1966, Grace Slick co-wrote and sang the Great Society song "Father Bruce". Bruce is pictured in the top row of the cover of the Beatles 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The clip of a news broadcast featured in "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" by Simon & Garfunkel carries the ostensible newscast audio of Lenny Bruce's death. In another track on the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, "A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)," Paul Simon sings, "... I learned the truth from Lenny Bruce, that all my wealth won't buy me health." Tim Hardin's fourth album Tim Hardin 3 Live in Concert, released in 1968, includes his song Lenny's Tune written about his friend Lenny Bruce. Nico's 1967 album Chelsea Girl includes a track entitled "Eulogy to Lenny Bruce," which was "Lenny's Tune" by Tim Hardin, with the lyrics slightly altered. In it she describes her sorrow and anger at Bruce's death. The Stranglers' 1977 song No More Heroes (The Stranglers song) references Lenny Bruce, asking "Whatever happened to dear old Lenny?". Bob Dylan's 1981 song "Lenny Bruce" from his Shot of Love album describes a brief taxi ride shared by the two men. In the last line of the song, Dylan recalls: "Lenny Bruce was bad, he was the brother that you never had." Dylan has included this song live in concert as recently as November 2019. Phil Ochs wrote a song eulogizing the late comedian, titled "Doesn't Lenny Live Here Anymore?" The song is featured on his 1969 album Rehearsals for Retirement. Australian group Paul Kelly And The Dots' 1982 album Manila features a track named "Lenny (To Live Is to Burn)", which includes a couple clips of Lenny Bruce performing. R.E.M.'s 1987 song "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" includes references to a quartet of famous people all sharing the initials L.B. with Lenny Bruce being one of them (the others being Leonard Bernstein, Leonid Brezhnev and Lester Bangs). The opening line of the song mentioning Bruce goes, "That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds, snakes and aeroplanes; Lenny Bruce is not afraid." Lenny Bruce appears as a character in Don DeLillo's 1997 novel Underworld. In the novel, Bruce does a stand-up routine about the Cuban Missile Crisis. Genesis' 1974 song "Broadway Melody of 1974" depicts a dystopic New York where "Lenny Bruce declares a truce and plays his other hand, Marshall McLuhan, casual viewin', head buried in the sand" and "Groucho, with his movies trailing, stands alone with his punchline failing." Jonathan Larson's musical RENT, has a song entitled, La Vie Boheme B, mentioning Lenny Bruce. Joy Zipper's 2005 album The Heartlight Set features a track named "For Lenny's Own Pleasure". Nada Surf's song "Imaginary Friends" (from their 2005 album The Weight Is a Gift) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "Lenny Bruce's bug eyes stare from an LP, asking me just what kind of fight I've got in me." Shmaltz Brewing Company brews a year-round beer called Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. and the tagline is "Brewed with an obscene amount of hops". Metric's song "On the Sly" (from their 2007 album Grow Up and Blow Away) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "for Halloween I want to be Lenny Bruce". In the 2014 episode "Comic Perversion" of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, fictional comic Josh Galloway says while being arrested, "I would like to dedicate my arrest to Mr. Lenny Bruce. NYPD crucified him, too." John Mayall's 1969 live album "The turning point" opens with the song "The laws must change", which features the line "Lenny Bruce was trying to tell you many things before he died". A fictionalized version of the comedian is played by Luke Kirby as a recurring character in the Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, in which he is portrayed as a friend and champion of the titular character. Kirby won an Emmy for his portrayal in 2019. Bibliography Bruce, Lenny. Stamp Help Out! (Self-published pamphlet, 1962) Bruce, Lenny. How to Talk Dirty and Influence People (Playboy Publishing, 1967) Autobiography, released posthumously. Content previously serialized in Playboy magazine. By others: Barry, Julian. Lenny (play) (Grove Press, Inc. 1971) Bruce, Honey. Honey: The Life and Loves of Lenny's Shady Lady (Playboy Press, 1976, with Dana Benenson) Bruce, Kitty. The (almost) Unpublished Lenny Bruce (1984, Running Press) (includes transcripts of interviews and routines, ephemera, and a graphically spruced up reproduction of 'Stamp Help Out!') Cohen, John, ed., compiler. The Essential Lenny Bruce (Ballantine Books, 1967) Collins, Ronald and David Skover, The Trials of Lenny Bruce: The Fall & Rise of an American Icon (Sourcebooks, 2002) DeLillo, Don. Underworld, (Simon and Schuster Inc., 1997) Denton, Bradley. The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians, an award-winning collection of science fiction stories in which the title story has Lenny Bruce as one of the two protagonists. Goldman, Albert, with Lawrence Schiller. Ladies and Gentlemen – Lenny Bruce!! (Random House, 1974) Goldstein, Jonathan. Lenny Bruce Is Dead (Coach House Press, 2001) Josepher, Brian. What the Psychic Saw (Sterlinghouse Publisher, 2005) Kofsky, Frank. Lenny Bruce: The Comedian as Social Critic & Secular Moralist (Monad Press, 1974) Kringas, Damian. Lenny Bruce: 13 Days In Sydney (Independence Jones Guerilla Press, Sydney, 2010) A study of Bruce's ill-fated September 1962 tour down under. Marciniak, Vwadek P., Politics, Humor and the Counterculture: Laughter in the Age of Decay (New York etc., Peter Lang, 2008). Marmo, Ronnie. I'm Not a Comedian... I'm Lenny Bruce (written/performed by Marmo, directed by Joe Mantegna, 2017) Smith, Valerie Kohler. Lenny (novelization based on the Barry-scripted/Fosse-directed film) (Grove Press, Inc., 1974) Thomas, William Karl. Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator. First printing, Archon Books, 1989; second printing, Media Maestro, 2002; Japanese edition, DHC Corp. Tokyo, 2001. Filmography Discography Albums Posthumous releases Compilations The later compilations are released in the European Union under various oldies labels, as the content used is public domain in the EU. Audiobooks Tribute albums See also List of civil rights leaders Dirtymouth, a 1970 biographical film about Bruce Footnotes References External links The Official Lenny Bruce Website FBI Records: The Vault – Lenny Bruce at fbi.gov Correspondence and Other Papers Pertaining to Lenny Bruce's Drug Case, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Articles Linder, Douglas, "The Lenny Bruce Trial: An Account" "Famous Trials: The Lenny Bruce Trial, 1964" Azlant, Edward. "Lenny Bruce Again", Shecky Magazine, August 22, 2006 Gilmore, John. "Lenny Bruce and the Bunny", excerpt from Laid Bare: A Memoir of Wrecked Lives and the Hollywood Death Trip (Amok Books, 1997). Harnisch, Larry. "Voices", Los Angeles Times, April 13, 2007. (Reminiscences by saxophonist Dave Pell) Kaufman, Anthony. (interview with Swear to Tell the Truth producer), Indiewire.com, April 16, 2008 Hentoff, Nat. "Lenny Bruce: The crucifixion of a true believer", Gadfly March/April 2001 Sloan, Will. "Is Lenny Bruce Still Funny?", Hazlitt, November 4, 2014 Smith, Daniel V. "The Complete Lenny Bruce Chronology" (fan site) "Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet" Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator, Media Maestro 2001. [CC-By-SA] Audio/video Video Clips Relating to the Trial of Lenny Bruce as assembled by the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School 1925 births 1966 deaths 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American memoirists Accidental deaths in California American anti-fascists American humorists American male comedians American people convicted of drug offenses American people of English-Jewish descent American sailors American satirists American social commentators American stand-up comedians Beat Generation people Burials at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery Censorship in the arts Comedians from New York (state) Critics of religions Critics of the Catholic Church Drug-related deaths in California Freedom of speech in the United States Jewish American male comedians Jewish anti-fascists Military personnel from New York (state) Obscenity controversies in stand-up comedy People from Bellmore, New York People from Greenwich Village People from Mineola, New York People who have received posthumous pardons Philles Records artists Race-related controversies in stand-up comedy Recipients of American gubernatorial pardons Religious controversies in stand-up comedy Social critics Free speech activists Stand-up comedy controversies United States Merchant Mariners United States Merchant Mariners of the Korean War United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy sailors
true
[ "Hon. Saul Solomon QC (1875–1960), styled Mr Justice Solomon, was a judge in the Supreme Court of South Africa.\n\nBiography\nSolomon was born in Sea Point, Cape Town, on 9 April 1875. His mother was Georgiana Solomon who was a teacher and later a suffragette. His father was Saul Solomon, the influential liberal politician of the Cape Colony. Saul Solomon was educated at Bedford School and at Lincoln College, Oxford, where he was a scholar. His sister Daisy Solomon was also a suffragette, and 'posted' as a letter to the British Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street in 1909.\n\nSolomon was called to the Bar by Lincoln's Inn, in 1900, appointed as King's Counsel, in 1919, and as a judge in the Supreme Court of South Africa, between 1927 and 1945.\n\nMr Justice Solomon died in St James, Cape Town, on 10 December 1960.\n\nReferences\n\nPeople educated at Bedford School\nAlumni of Lincoln College, Oxford\nQueen's Counsel 1901–2000\nMembers of Lincoln's Inn\nEnglish barristers\nSouth African Jews\nSouth African judges\nPeople from Cape Town\n1875 births\n1960 deaths\nSouth African Queen's Counsel", "'Are'are was a single-member constituency of the Governing Council and Legislative Assembly of the Solomon Islands. Created in 1973 when the Governing Council was expanded from 17 to 24 seats, it was located on the island of Malaita. In the 1973 elections the seat was won by David Kausimae, who had been elected in the South Central Malaita constituency in the 1970 elections, defeating Peter Kenilorea. It was abolished in 1976 and succeeded by East 'Are'are (which was won by Kenilorea, who went on to be appointed the Islands' first Chief Minister) and West 'Are'are (in which Kausimae was elected).\n\nList of MPs\n\nElection results\n\n1973\n\nReferences\n\nGoverning Council of the Solomon Islands constituencies\nLegislative Assembly of the Solomon Islands constituencies\n1973 establishments in the Solomon Islands\nConstituencies established in 1973\n1976 disestablishments in the Solomon Islands\nConstituencies disestablished in 1976" ]
[ "Lenny Bruce", "Obscenity arrests", "What was Bruce arrested for?", "On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco;", "Did he get jail time?", "Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity.", "What other times was he arrested?", "Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession", "Any other arrests?", "again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy", "Did this arrest record have any negative effects for Bruce?", "Solomon later saw his conviction overturned; Bruce, who died before the decision, never had his conviction stricken.", "Who was Solomon?", "Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964." ]
C_bde6fa1924234f399674744a805129f9_0
What is considered to be "obscenity" in these arrests?
7
What was considered to be "obscenity" in Lenny Bruce's arrests?
Lenny Bruce
On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb", that the sexual context of come is so common that it bears no weight, and that if someone hearing it becomes upset, he "probably can't come". Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity. Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession and again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy named Sherman Block, who later became County Sheriff. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. The Hollywood charges were later dismissed. On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago. The same year he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering England by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien". In April 1964, he appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. On both occasions, he was arrested after leaving the stage, the complaints again pertaining to his use of various obscenities. A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant D.A. Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from - among other artists, writers and educators - Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced on December 21, 1964 to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon later saw his conviction overturned; Bruce, who died before the decision, never had his conviction stricken. Bruce later received a full posthumous gubernatorial pardon. CANNOTANSWER
he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb",
Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, freestyle and critical form of comedy which contained satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity. His 1964 conviction in an obscenity trial was followed by a posthumous pardon in 2003. Bruce paved the way for counterculture-era comedians. His trial for obscenity is a landmark for freedom of speech in the United States. In 2017, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him third (behind Richard Pryor and George Carlin) on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time. Early life Lenny Bruce was Jewish, born Leonard Alfred Schneider, in Mineola, New York. He grew up in nearby Bellmore, and attended Wellington C. Mepham High School. His parents divorced before he turned 10, and he lived with various relatives over the next decade. His British-born father, Myron (Mickey) Schneider, was a shoe clerk, and the two saw each other very infrequently. Bruce's mother, Sally Marr (legal name Sadie Schneider, born Sadie Kitchenberg), was a stage performer and had an enormous influence on Bruce's career. After spending time working on a farm, Bruce joined the United States Navy at the age of 16 in 1942, with active service during World War II aboard the in Northern Africa; Palermo, Italy, in 1943; and Anzio, Italy, in 1944. In May 1945, after a comedic performance for his shipmates in which he was dressed in drag, his commanding officers became upset. He defiantly convinced his ship's medical officer that he was experiencing homosexual urges. This led to his undesirable discharge in July 1945. However, he had not admitted to or been found guilty of any breach of naval regulations and successfully applied to have his discharge changed to "Under Honorable Conditions ... by reason of unsuitability for the naval service". During the Korean War era, Bruce served in the United States Merchant Marine, ferrying troops from the US to Europe and back. In 1959, while taping the first episode of Hugh Hefner's Playboy's Penthouse, Bruce talked about his Navy experience and showed a tattoo he received in Malta in 1942. After a short period living with his father in California, Bruce settled in New York City, hoping to establish himself as a comedian. However, he found it difficult to differentiate himself from the thousands of other show-business hopefuls who populated the city. One locale where they congregated was Hanson's, the diner where Bruce first met the comedian Joe Ancis, who had a profound influence on Bruce's approach to comedy. Many of Bruce's later routines reflected his meticulous schooling at the hands of Ancis. According to Bruce's biographer Albert Goldman, Ancis's humor involved stream-of-consciousness sexual fantasies and references to jazz. Bruce took the stage as "Lenny Marsalle" one evening at the Victory Club, as a stand-in master of ceremonies for one of his mother's shows. His ad-libs earned him some laughs. Soon afterward, in 1947, just after changing his last name to Bruce, he earned $12 and a free spaghetti dinner for his first stand-up performance in Brooklyn. He was later a guest—and was introduced by his mother, who called herself "Sally Bruce"—on the Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts radio program. Lenny did a piece inspired by Sid Caesar, "The Bavarian Mimic", featuring impressions of American movie stars (e.g., Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson). Career Bruce's early comedy career included writing the screenplays for Dance Hall Racket in 1953, which featured Bruce, his wife Honey Harlow, and mother Sally Marr; Dream Follies in 1954, a low-budget burlesque romp; and a children's film, The Rocket Man, in 1954. In 1956, Frank Ray Perilli, a fellow nightclub comedian who eventually became a screenwriter of two dozen successful films and plays, became a mentor and part-time manager of Bruce. Through Perilli, Bruce met and collaborated with photojournalist William Karl Thomas on three screenplays (Leather Jacket, Killer's Grave and The Degenerate), none of which made it to the screen, and the comedy material on his first three comedy albums. Bruce was a roommate of Buddy Hackett in the 1950s. The two appeared on the Patrice Munsel Show (1957–1958), calling their comedy duo the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players", twenty years before the cast of Saturday Night Live used the same name. In 1957, Thomas booked Bruce into the Slate Brothers nightclub, where he was fired the first night for what Variety headlined as "blue material"; this led to the theme of Bruce's first solo album on Berkeley-based Fantasy Records, The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce, for which Thomas shot the album cover. Thomas also shot other album covers, acted as cinematographer on abortive attempts to film their screenplays, and in 1989 authored a memoir of their ten-year collaboration titled Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet. The 2016 biography of Frank Ray Perilli titled The Candy Butcher, devotes a chapter to Perilli's ten-year collaboration with Bruce. Bruce released a total of four albums of original material on Fantasy Records. These albums were later compiled and re-released as The Lenny Bruce Originals. Two later records were produced and sold by Bruce himself, including a 10-inch album of the 1961 San Francisco performances that started his legal troubles. Starting in the late 1960s, other unissued Bruce material was released by Alan Douglas, Frank Zappa and Phil Spector, as well as Fantasy. Bruce developed the complexity and tone of his material in Enrico Banducci's North Beach nightclub, the "hungry i", where Mort Sahl had earlier made a name for himself. Branded a "sick comic", Bruce was essentially blacklisted from television, and when he did appear thanks to sympathetic fans like Hefner and Steve Allen, it was with great concessions to Broadcast Standards and Practices. Jokes that might offend, like a bit on airplane glue-sniffing teenagers that was done live for The Steve Allen Show in 1959, had to be typed out and pre-approved by network officials. On his debut on Allen's show, Bruce made an unscripted comment on the recent marriage of Elizabeth Taylor to Eddie Fisher, wondering, "Will Elizabeth Taylor become bar mitzvahed?" In the midst of a severe blizzard, Bruce gave a famous performance at Carnegie Hall at midnight on February 4, 1961. It was recorded and later released as a three-disc set titled The Carnegie Hall Concert. In the posthumous biography about Bruce, Albert Goldman described the night of the concert as follows: In August 1965, a year before his death, Bruce gave his penultimate performance at San Francisco's Basin Street West, mainly talking about his legal troubles. The filmed performance was released by Rhino Home Video in 1992 as The Lenny Bruce Performance Film. Personal life In 1951, Bruce met Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas. They were married that same year, and Bruce was determined she would end her work as a stripper. The couple eventually left New York in 1953 for the West Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles. Bruce then went on to join the bill at the club Strip City. Harlow found employment at the Colony Club, which was widely known to be the best burlesque club in Los Angeles at the time. Bruce left Strip City in late 1954 and found work within the San Fernando Valley at a variety of strip clubs. As the master of ceremonies, he introduced the strippers while performing his material. The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines: according to his primary biographer, Albert Goldman, it was "precisely at the moment when he sank to the bottom of the barrel and started working the places that were the lowest of the low" that he suddenly broke free of "all the restraints and inhibitions and disabilities that formerly had kept him just mediocre and began to blow with a spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school." Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955. Honey and Lenny had a tumultuous relationship. Many serious domestic incidents occurred between them, usually the result of serious drug use. They broke up and reunited over and over again between 1956 and Lenny's death in 1966. They first separated in March 1956, and were back together again by July of that year when they travelled to Honolulu for a night club tour. During this trip, Honey was arrested for marijuana possession. Prevented from leaving the island due to her parole conditions, Lenny took the opportunity to leave her again, and this time kidnapped the then one-year-old Kitty. In her autobiography, Honey claims Lenny turned her in to the police. She would be later sentenced to two years in federal prison. Throughout the final decade of his life, Bruce was beset by severe drug addiction. He would use heroin, methamphetamine and Dilaudid daily. He suffered numerous health problems and personal strife as a result of his addiction. He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s. In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized. At the time of his death, his girlfriend was comedian Lotus Weinstock. Legal troubles Bruce's desire to help his wife cease working as a stripper led him to pursue schemes that were designed to make as much money as possible. The most notable was the Brother Mathias Foundation scam, which resulted in Bruce's arrest in Miami, Florida, in 1951 for impersonating a priest. He had been soliciting donations for a leper colony in British Guiana (now Guyana) under the auspices of the "Brother Mathias Foundation", which he had legally chartered—the name was his own invention, but possibly referred to the actual Brother Matthias who had befriended Babe Ruth at the Baltimore orphanage to which Ruth had been confined as a child. Bruce had stolen several priests' clergy shirts and a clerical collar while posing as a laundry man. He was found not guilty because of the legality of the New York state-chartered foundation, the actual existence of the Guiana leper colony, and the inability of the local clergy to expose him as an impostor. Later, in his semifictional autobiography How to Talk Dirty and Influence People, Bruce said that he had made about $8,000 in three weeks, sending $2,500 to the leper colony and keeping the rest. Obscenity arrests On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb", that the sexual context of come is so common that it bears no weight, and that if someone hearing it becomes upset, he "probably can't come". Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity. Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession and again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy named Sherman Block, who later became County Sheriff. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. The Hollywood charges were later dismissed. On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago. That same year, he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering the United Kingdom by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien". In April 1964, he appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. On both occasions, he was arrested after leaving the stage, the complaints again pertaining to his use of various obscenities. A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant D.A. Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from—among other artists, writers and educators—Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced on December 21, 1964, to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon later saw his conviction overturned. Later years Despite his prominence as a comedian, Bruce appeared on network television only six times in his life. In his later club performances, he was known for relating the details of his encounters with the police directly in his comedy routine. These performances often included rants about his court battles over obscenity charges, tirades against fascism, and complaints that he was being denied his right to freedom of speech. Bruce was banned outright from several U.S. cities. In September 1962, his only visit to Australia caused a media storm—although, contrary to popular belief, he was not banned nor was he forced to leave the country. Bruce was booked for a two-week engagement at Aaron's Exchange Hotel, a small pub in central Sydney by the American-born, Australian-based promoter Lee Gordon, who was by then deeply in debt, nearing the end of his formerly successful career, and desperate to save his business. Bruce's first show at 9 p.m. on September 6 was uneventful, but his second show at 11 p.m. led to a major public controversy. Bruce was heckled by audience members during his performance, and when local actress Barbara Wyndon stood up and complained that Bruce was only talking about America, and asked him to talk about something different, a clearly annoyed Bruce responded, "Fuck you, madam. That's different, isn't it?" Bruce's remark shocked some members of the audience and several walked out. By the next day the local press had blown the incident up into a major controversy, with several Sydney papers denouncing Bruce as "sick" and one even illustrating their story with a retouched photograph appearing to show Bruce giving a fascist salute. The venue owners immediately cancelled the rest of Bruce's performances, and he retreated to his Kings Cross hotel room. Local university students (including future OZ magazine editor Richard Neville) who were fans of Bruce's humor tried to arrange a performance at the Roundhouse at the University of New South Wales, but at the last minute the university's Vice-Chancellor rescinded permission to use the venue, with no reason given and an interview he was scheduled to give on Australian television was cancelled in advance by the Australian Broadcasting Commission. Bruce remained largely confined to his hotel, but eight days later gave his third and last Australian concert at the Wintergarden Theatre in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Although the theatre had a capacity of 2,100, only 200 people attended, including a strong police presence, and Bruce gave what was described as a "subdued" performance. It was long rumored that a tape recording of Bruce's historic performance was made by police, but it was, in fact, recorded by local jazz saxophonist Sid Powell, who brought a portable tape recorder to the show. The tape was rediscovered in 2011 in the possession of Australian singer Sammy Gaha, who had acted as Bruce's chauffeur during his visit, and it was subsequently donated to the Lenny Bruce audio collection at Brandeis University. Bruce left the country a few days later and spoke little about the experience afterwards. Increasing drug use also affected Bruce's health. By 1966, he had been blacklisted by nearly every nightclub in the U.S., as owners feared prosecution for obscenity. He gave a famous performance at the Berkeley Community Theatre in December 1965, which was recorded and became his last live album, titled The Berkeley Concert; his performance here has been described as lucid, clear and calm, and one of his best. His last performance took place on June 25, 1966, at The Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, on a bill with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. The performance was not remembered fondly by Bill Graham, whose memoir describes Bruce as "whacked out on amphetamine;" Graham thought that Bruce finished his set emotionally disturbed. Zappa asked Bruce to sign his draft card, but the suspicious Bruce refused. At the request of Hefner and with the aid of Paul Krassner, Bruce wrote an autobiography. Serialized in Playboy in 1964 and 1965, this material was later published as the book How to Talk Dirty and Influence People. During this time, Bruce also contributed a number of articles to Krassner's satirical magazine The Realist. Death and posthumous pardon On August 3, 1966, Bruce was found dead in the bathroom of his Hollywood Hills home at 8825 W. Hollywood Blvd. The official photo, taken at the scene, showed Bruce lying naked on the floor, a syringe and burned bottle cap nearby, along with various other narcotics paraphernalia. Record producer Phil Spector, a friend of Bruce, bought the negatives of the photographs "to keep them from the press". The official cause of death was "acute morphine poisoning caused by an overdose". Bruce's remains were interred in Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Mission Hills, California, but an unconventional memorial on August 21 was controversial enough to keep his name in the spotlight. Over 500 people came to the service to pay their respects, led by Spector. Cemetery officials had tried to block the ceremony after advertisements for the event encouraged attendees to bring box lunches and noisemakers. Delivering the eulogy, which is featured at the end of the documentary Lenny Bruce Without the Tears, the Rev. William Glenesk said: Lenny Bruce's epitaph reads: "Beloved father—devoted son / Peace at last". Dick Schaap concluded his eulogy to Bruce in Playboy with the words: "One last four-letter word for Lenny: Dead. At forty. That's obscene". A memorial event was held at the Judson Memorial Church, New York City on Friday, August 12, which was "packed to overflowing" an hour before it was due to get underway at 6pm, and was attended by prominent members of the arts, many of whom also performed, and included Allen Ginsberg, Joe Lee Wilson, Jean Shepherd, Charlie Haden, and The Fugs; Paul Krassner officiated. On December 23, 2003, thirty-seven years after Bruce's death, New York Governor George Pataki granted him a posthumous pardon for his obscenity conviction. Legacy Bruce was the subject of the 1974 biographical film Lenny, directed by Bob Fosse and starring Dustin Hoffman (in an Academy Award-nominated Best Actor role), and based on the Broadway stage play of the same name written by Julian Barry and starring Cliff Gorman in his 1972 Tony Award–winning role. In addition, the main character's editing of a fictionalized film version of Lenny was a major part of Fosse's own autobiopic, the 1979 Academy Award–nominated All That Jazz; Gorman again played the role of the stand-up comic. The documentary Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth, directed by Robert B. Weide and narrated by Robert De Niro, was released in 1998. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. In 2004, Comedy Central listed Bruce at number three on its list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time, placing above Woody Allen (4th) and below Richard Pryor (1st) and George Carlin (2nd). Both comedians who ranked higher than Bruce considered him a major influence; Pryor said that hearing Bruce for the first time "changed my life," while Carlin said that Bruce was a "brilliant comedian" who influenced him as much as a man in his moral thinking and attitudes as he did as a comedian. Carlin was arrested along with Bruce after refusing to provide identification when police raided a Bruce performance. In popular culture In 1966, Grace Slick co-wrote and sang the Great Society song "Father Bruce". Bruce is pictured in the top row of the cover of the Beatles 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The clip of a news broadcast featured in "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" by Simon & Garfunkel carries the ostensible newscast audio of Lenny Bruce's death. In another track on the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, "A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)," Paul Simon sings, "... I learned the truth from Lenny Bruce, that all my wealth won't buy me health." Tim Hardin's fourth album Tim Hardin 3 Live in Concert, released in 1968, includes his song Lenny's Tune written about his friend Lenny Bruce. Nico's 1967 album Chelsea Girl includes a track entitled "Eulogy to Lenny Bruce," which was "Lenny's Tune" by Tim Hardin, with the lyrics slightly altered. In it she describes her sorrow and anger at Bruce's death. The Stranglers' 1977 song No More Heroes (The Stranglers song) references Lenny Bruce, asking "Whatever happened to dear old Lenny?". Bob Dylan's 1981 song "Lenny Bruce" from his Shot of Love album describes a brief taxi ride shared by the two men. In the last line of the song, Dylan recalls: "Lenny Bruce was bad, he was the brother that you never had." Dylan has included this song live in concert as recently as November 2019. Phil Ochs wrote a song eulogizing the late comedian, titled "Doesn't Lenny Live Here Anymore?" The song is featured on his 1969 album Rehearsals for Retirement. Australian group Paul Kelly And The Dots' 1982 album Manila features a track named "Lenny (To Live Is to Burn)", which includes a couple clips of Lenny Bruce performing. R.E.M.'s 1987 song "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" includes references to a quartet of famous people all sharing the initials L.B. with Lenny Bruce being one of them (the others being Leonard Bernstein, Leonid Brezhnev and Lester Bangs). The opening line of the song mentioning Bruce goes, "That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds, snakes and aeroplanes; Lenny Bruce is not afraid." Lenny Bruce appears as a character in Don DeLillo's 1997 novel Underworld. In the novel, Bruce does a stand-up routine about the Cuban Missile Crisis. Genesis' 1974 song "Broadway Melody of 1974" depicts a dystopic New York where "Lenny Bruce declares a truce and plays his other hand, Marshall McLuhan, casual viewin', head buried in the sand" and "Groucho, with his movies trailing, stands alone with his punchline failing." Jonathan Larson's musical RENT, has a song entitled, La Vie Boheme B, mentioning Lenny Bruce. Joy Zipper's 2005 album The Heartlight Set features a track named "For Lenny's Own Pleasure". Nada Surf's song "Imaginary Friends" (from their 2005 album The Weight Is a Gift) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "Lenny Bruce's bug eyes stare from an LP, asking me just what kind of fight I've got in me." Shmaltz Brewing Company brews a year-round beer called Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. and the tagline is "Brewed with an obscene amount of hops". Metric's song "On the Sly" (from their 2007 album Grow Up and Blow Away) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "for Halloween I want to be Lenny Bruce". In the 2014 episode "Comic Perversion" of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, fictional comic Josh Galloway says while being arrested, "I would like to dedicate my arrest to Mr. Lenny Bruce. NYPD crucified him, too." John Mayall's 1969 live album "The turning point" opens with the song "The laws must change", which features the line "Lenny Bruce was trying to tell you many things before he died". A fictionalized version of the comedian is played by Luke Kirby as a recurring character in the Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, in which he is portrayed as a friend and champion of the titular character. Kirby won an Emmy for his portrayal in 2019. Bibliography Bruce, Lenny. Stamp Help Out! (Self-published pamphlet, 1962) Bruce, Lenny. How to Talk Dirty and Influence People (Playboy Publishing, 1967) Autobiography, released posthumously. Content previously serialized in Playboy magazine. By others: Barry, Julian. Lenny (play) (Grove Press, Inc. 1971) Bruce, Honey. Honey: The Life and Loves of Lenny's Shady Lady (Playboy Press, 1976, with Dana Benenson) Bruce, Kitty. The (almost) Unpublished Lenny Bruce (1984, Running Press) (includes transcripts of interviews and routines, ephemera, and a graphically spruced up reproduction of 'Stamp Help Out!') Cohen, John, ed., compiler. The Essential Lenny Bruce (Ballantine Books, 1967) Collins, Ronald and David Skover, The Trials of Lenny Bruce: The Fall & Rise of an American Icon (Sourcebooks, 2002) DeLillo, Don. Underworld, (Simon and Schuster Inc., 1997) Denton, Bradley. The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians, an award-winning collection of science fiction stories in which the title story has Lenny Bruce as one of the two protagonists. Goldman, Albert, with Lawrence Schiller. Ladies and Gentlemen – Lenny Bruce!! (Random House, 1974) Goldstein, Jonathan. Lenny Bruce Is Dead (Coach House Press, 2001) Josepher, Brian. What the Psychic Saw (Sterlinghouse Publisher, 2005) Kofsky, Frank. Lenny Bruce: The Comedian as Social Critic & Secular Moralist (Monad Press, 1974) Kringas, Damian. Lenny Bruce: 13 Days In Sydney (Independence Jones Guerilla Press, Sydney, 2010) A study of Bruce's ill-fated September 1962 tour down under. Marciniak, Vwadek P., Politics, Humor and the Counterculture: Laughter in the Age of Decay (New York etc., Peter Lang, 2008). Marmo, Ronnie. I'm Not a Comedian... I'm Lenny Bruce (written/performed by Marmo, directed by Joe Mantegna, 2017) Smith, Valerie Kohler. Lenny (novelization based on the Barry-scripted/Fosse-directed film) (Grove Press, Inc., 1974) Thomas, William Karl. Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator. First printing, Archon Books, 1989; second printing, Media Maestro, 2002; Japanese edition, DHC Corp. Tokyo, 2001. Filmography Discography Albums Posthumous releases Compilations The later compilations are released in the European Union under various oldies labels, as the content used is public domain in the EU. Audiobooks Tribute albums See also List of civil rights leaders Dirtymouth, a 1970 biographical film about Bruce Footnotes References External links The Official Lenny Bruce Website FBI Records: The Vault – Lenny Bruce at fbi.gov Correspondence and Other Papers Pertaining to Lenny Bruce's Drug Case, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Articles Linder, Douglas, "The Lenny Bruce Trial: An Account" "Famous Trials: The Lenny Bruce Trial, 1964" Azlant, Edward. "Lenny Bruce Again", Shecky Magazine, August 22, 2006 Gilmore, John. "Lenny Bruce and the Bunny", excerpt from Laid Bare: A Memoir of Wrecked Lives and the Hollywood Death Trip (Amok Books, 1997). Harnisch, Larry. "Voices", Los Angeles Times, April 13, 2007. (Reminiscences by saxophonist Dave Pell) Kaufman, Anthony. (interview with Swear to Tell the Truth producer), Indiewire.com, April 16, 2008 Hentoff, Nat. "Lenny Bruce: The crucifixion of a true believer", Gadfly March/April 2001 Sloan, Will. "Is Lenny Bruce Still Funny?", Hazlitt, November 4, 2014 Smith, Daniel V. "The Complete Lenny Bruce Chronology" (fan site) "Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet" Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator, Media Maestro 2001. [CC-By-SA] Audio/video Video Clips Relating to the Trial of Lenny Bruce as assembled by the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School 1925 births 1966 deaths 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American memoirists Accidental deaths in California American anti-fascists American humorists American male comedians American people convicted of drug offenses American people of English-Jewish descent American sailors American satirists American social commentators American stand-up comedians Beat Generation people Burials at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery Censorship in the arts Comedians from New York (state) Critics of religions Critics of the Catholic Church Drug-related deaths in California Freedom of speech in the United States Jewish American male comedians Jewish anti-fascists Military personnel from New York (state) Obscenity controversies in stand-up comedy People from Bellmore, New York People from Greenwich Village People from Mineola, New York People who have received posthumous pardons Philles Records artists Race-related controversies in stand-up comedy Recipients of American gubernatorial pardons Religious controversies in stand-up comedy Social critics Free speech activists Stand-up comedy controversies United States Merchant Mariners United States Merchant Mariners of the Korean War United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy sailors
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[ "In the United States, distribution of \"obscene, lewd, lascivious, or filthy\" materials is a federal crime. The determination of what is \"obscene, lewd, lascivious, or filthy\" is up to a jury in a trial, which must apply the Miller test; however, due to the prominence of pornography in most communities most pornographic materials are not considered \"patently offensive\" in the Miller test.\n\nIn 1967, Denmark decriminalized pornography with few adverse effects, and the following year, the United States Supreme Court held that people could view whatever they wished in the privacy of their own homes. These two developments contributed in part to Congress creating the President's Commission on Obscenity and Pornography in 1968 to investigate the effects of obscenity and pornography on the people of the United States. Each member of the Commission was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. In what became the most detailed and comprehensive investigation into pornography to date, the Commission in its final report found that pornography could not be shown to do harm to individuals or to society, and recommended the repeal of obscenity and pornography legislation as it related to adults. Released during the presidency of Richard Nixon, the report generated a brief bout of controversy but was ultimately ignored by the administration.\n\nAttorney General for Ronald Reagan Edwin Meese also courted controversy when he appointed the \"Meese Commission\" to investigate pornography in the United States; their report, released in July 1986, was highly critical of pornography and itself became a target of widespread criticism. That year, Meese Commission chairman Alan Sears sent letters on Commission letterhead to the heads of 23 convenience store chains and other companies, declaring that the Commission would find that they were distributors of pornography and threatening that they would be listed as such in the final Report. In fact, the list of purported distributors had been identified by Donald Wildmon, the head of the conservative Christian advocacy organization that later became the American Family Association. The letters triggered several companies to remove common soft-core pornography magazines as Playboy and Penthouse from store shelves. The American Booksellers Association, the Council for Periodical Distributors Associations, the Magazine Publishers of America, and the publishers of Playboy and Penthouse sued, arguing that the letters constituted prior restraint and were forbidden under the First Amendment. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia agreed, leading it to admonish the Commission order it to withdraw the letter, and forbid it to issue any list of retailers in the report.\n\nIn the United States in 2005, George W. Bush's Attorney General Alberto Gonzales made obscenity and pornography a top prosecutorial priority of the Department of Justice.\n\nThe conservative religious organization Concerned Women for America polled every U.S. attorney's office to find out what they planned to do about obscenity. Except for a handful of offices that didn't return calls, not one said it had any inclination to pursue anything other than child obscenity cases.\n\nSee also\nMiller v. California\n\nReferences\n\nUnited States, law\nObscenity law\nAnti-pornography movements\nUnited States pornography law", "United States obscenity law deals with the regulation or suppression of what is considered obscenity. In the United States, discussion of obscenity typically relates to pornography, as well as issues of freedom of speech and of the press, otherwise protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Issues of obscenity arise at federal and state levels. The States have a direct interest in public morality and have responsibility in relation to criminal law matters, including the punishment for the production and sale of obscene materials. State laws operate only within the jurisdiction of each state, and there are wide differences in such laws. The federal government is involved in the issue indirectly, by making it an offense to distribute obscene pornographic material depicting children through the post, to broadcast them, as well as in relation to importation of such materials.\n\nMost obscenity cases in the United States in the past century have revolved around images and films, but there have also been many cases that dealt with textual works as well, a notable case being that of the 18th century novel Fanny Hill. Because censorship laws enacted to combat obscenity restrict the freedom of expression, crafting a legal definition of obscenity presents a civil liberties issue.\n\nLegal issues and definitions\n\nThe sale and distribution of obscene materials had been prohibited in most American states since the early 19th century, and by federal law since 1873. Adoption of obscenity laws in the United States at the federal level in 1873 was largely due to the efforts of Anthony Comstock, who created and led the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice. Comstock's intense efforts led to the passage of an anti-obscenity statute known as the Comstock Act which made it a crime to distribute \"obscene\" material through the post. It also prohibited the use of the mail for distribution of birth control devices and information. Comstock was appointed postal inspector to enforce the new law. Twenty-four states passed similar prohibitions on materials distributed within the states. The law criminalized not only sexually explicit material, but also material dealing with birth control and abortion. However, the legislation did not define \"obscenity\", which was left to the courts to determine on a case by case basis.\n\nIn the United States, the suppression or limitation of what is defined as obscenity raises issues of rights to freedom of speech and of the press protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The Supreme Court has ruled that obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment, but that the courts still need to determine whether material in question in each case is obscene.\n\nLegally, a distinction is made between socially permitted material and discussions that the public can access on the one hand and obscenity, access to which should be denied, on the other. There does exist a classification of those acceptable materials and discussions that the public should be allowed to engage in, and the access to that same permitted material—which in the areas of sexual materials ranges between the permitted areas of erotic art (which usually includes \"classic nude forms\" such as Michelangelo's David statue) and the generally less respected commercial pornography. The legal distinction between artistic nudity and permitted commercial pornography (which includes sexual penetration) deemed \"protected forms of speech\", versus \"obscene acts\", which are illegal acts and separate from those permitted areas, is usually predicated on cultural factors. However, no such specific objective distinction exists outside of legal decisions in federal court cases where a specific action is deemed to fit the classification of obscene and thus illegal. The difference between erotic art and (protected) commercial pornography, vs. that which is legally obscene (and thus not covered by 1st Amendment protection), appears to be subject to decisions within local US federal districts and contemporary moral standards.\n\nFederal obscenity law in the U.S. is unusual in that there is no uniform national standard, and there is an explicit legal precedent (the Miller test, below) that allows that something which is legally obscene in one jurisdiction may not be in another. In effect, the First Amendment protections of free speech vary by location within the U.S., and over time. With the advent of Internet distribution of potentially obscene material, this question of jurisdiction and community standards has created significant controversy in the legal community. (See United States v. Thomas, 74 F.3d 701 (6th Cir. 1996))\n\nEven at the federal level, there does not exist a specific listing of which exact acts are to be classified as obscene outside of the legally determined court cases. Title 18, chapter 71 of the USC deals with obscenity, the workings out of the law described in this article, most notably the aforementioned Miller test.\n\nThe Citizen's Guide To U.S. Federal Law On Obscenity lists several relevant statutes in regards to obscenity and its qualifications.\n\nDefinition of obscenity\nAlthough lower courts in the U.S. had used the Hicklin standard sporadically since 1868, it was not until 1879, when prominent federal judge Samuel Blatchford upheld the obscenity conviction of D. M. Bennett using the Hicklin test, that the constitutionality of the Comstock Law became firmly established.\n\nIn Rosen v. United States (1896), the Supreme Court adopted the same obscenity standard as had been articulated in a famous British case, Regina v. Hicklin, [1868] L. R. 3 Q. B. 360. The Hicklin test defined material as obscene if it tended \"to deprave or corrupt those whose minds are open to such immoral influences, and into whose hands a publication of this sort may fall.\"\n\nIn the mid-1950s, the Supreme Court ruled in Roth v. United States, that the Hicklin test was inappropriate. Instead, the new Roth test for obscenity was:\n\nIn 1964, in Jacobellis v. Ohio, Justice Potter Stewart in applying the Roth test pointed out that \"community standards\" applicable to an obscenity are national, not local standards. He found that the material in question is \"utterly without redeeming social importance\". In attempting to classify what material constituted exactly \"what is obscene,\" he famously wrote, \"I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced ... [b]ut I know it when I see it ...\" In Memoirs v. Massachusetts (1966) (dealing with the banning of the book Fanny Hill) the Court applied the Roth-Jacobellis test to determine that though the other aspects of the test were clear, the censor could not prove that Fanny Hill had no redeeming social value.\n\nIn 1973, the Supreme Court in Miller v. California established the three-tiered Miller test to determine what was obscene (and thus not protected) versus what was merely erotic and thus protected by the First Amendment. Delivering the opinion of the court, Chief Justice Warren Burger wrote:\n\nThe Miller Test is the current U.S. judicial precedent for determining obscenity.\n\nPast standards \n\nThe following standards were once used by courts to determine obscenity. Each of them has been invalidated, overturned, or superseded by the Miller test.\n Wepplo test (1947): If material has a substantial tendency to deprave or corrupt its readers by inciting lascivious thoughts or arousing lustful desires. (People v. Wepplo, 78 Cal. App. 2d Supp. 959, 178 P.2d 853).\n Hicklin test (1868): the effect of isolated passages upon the most susceptible persons. (British common law, cited in Regina v. Hicklin, 1868. LR 3 QB 360 - overturned when Michigan tried to outlaw all printed matter that would 'corrupt the morals of youth' in Butler v. State of Michigan 352 U.S. 380 (1957)).\n\nUnder FCC rules and federal law, radio stations and over-the-air television channels cannot air obscene material at any time and cannot air indecent material between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.: language or material that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium, sexual or excretory organs or activities.\n\nMany historically important works have been described as obscene or prosecuted under obscenity laws, including the works of Charles Baudelaire, Lenny Bruce, William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, James Joyce, D. H. Lawrence, Henry Miller, Samuel Beckett, and the Marquis de Sade.\n\nOther court cases on obscenity \n FCC v. Pacifica (1978) (external link) better known as the landmark \"seven dirty words\" case. In the decision, the Court found that only \"repetitive and frequent\" use of the words at a time or place when a minor could hear them could be punished.\nIn State v. Henry (1987), the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that the Oregon state law that criminalized obscenity was an unconstitutional restriction of free speech under the free speech provision of the Oregon Constitution, with the ruling making Oregon the \"first state in the nation to abolish the offense of obscenity.\"\nIn Reno v. ACLU (1997), the Supreme Court invalidated several indecency provisions in the 1996 Communications Decency Act applying to the Internet.\n\nApplication of test\nIn U.S. legal texts, the question of \"obscenity\" refers to the Miller test. As articulated in several sections of 18 USC Chapter 71, the Supreme Court has ruled that it is constitutional to legally limit the sale, transport for personal use or other transmission of obscenity. However, it has ruled unconstitutional the passing of law concerning personal possession of obscenity per se. Federal obscenity laws at present apply to inter-state and foreign obscenity issues such as distribution; intrastate issues are for the most part still governed by state law. \"Obscene articles ... are generally prohibited entry\" to the United States by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.\n\nAt present, there are only two legally protected areas of explicit commercial pornography. The first is \"mere nudity\". In Jenkins v. Georgia, 418 U.S. 153 (1974), the film Carnal Knowledge was deemed not to be obscene under the constitutional standards announced by Miller. As declared by the trial judge in Jenkins, \"The film shows occasional nudity, but nudity alone does not render material obscene under Miller's standards.\" This principle was upheld time and again in later cases, including Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville FL, 422 U.S. 205 (1975), in which a Jacksonville city ordinance made it a punishable offense to show films containing nudity when the screen is visible from a public street or place. The law was determined to be invalid as it was an infringement of First Amendment rights of the movie producer and theater owners.\n\nThe second protected area is single male-to-female vaginal-only penetration that does NOT show the actual ejaculation of semen (sometimes referred to as \"soft-core\" pornography) wherein the sexual act and its fulfillment (orgasm) are merely implied to happen rather than explicitly shown. In June 2006, the federal government brought a case against JM Productions of Chatsworth, California in order to classify commercial pornography that specifically shows actual semen being ejaculated as obscene. The four films that were the subject of the case were entitled American Bukkake 13, Gag Factor 15, Gag Factor 18 and Filthy Things 6. The case also included charges of distribution of obscene material (a criminal act under 18 USC § 1465 - \"Transportation of obscene matters for sale or distribution\") against Five Star DVD for the extra-state commercial distribution of the JM Productions films in question. At trial, the Department of Justice decided not to pursue the JM obscenity case any further. The jury found that Five Star Video LC and Five Star Video Outlet LC were guilty of violating \"18 USC 1465 - Transportation of obscene matters for sale or distribution\" for having shipped JM Productions' film Gag Factor 18. However, the specific content that the jury deemed \"obscene\" was not stated.\n\nObscenity v. indecency\n\nThe differentiation between indecent and obscene material is a particularly difficult one, and a contentious First Amendment issue that has not fully been settled. Similarly, the level of offense (if any) generated by a profane word or phrase depends on region, context, and audience.\n\nNon image-based obscenity cases in the United States\n\nObscene texts\nWhile most of the obscenity cases in the United States in the past century have revolved around images and films, there have been many cases that dealt with textual works as well.\n\nThe classification of \"obscene\" and thus illegal for production and distribution has been judged on printed text-only stories starting with \"Dunlop v. U.S., 165 U.S. 486 (1897)\" which upheld a conviction for mailing and delivery of a newspaper called the 'Chicago Dispatch,' containing \"obscene, lewd, lascivious, and indecent materials\", which was later upheld in several cases. One of these was \"A Book Named \"John Cleland's Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure\" v. Attorney General of Com. of Massachusetts, 383 U.S. 413 (1966)\" wherein the book Fanny Hill, written by John Cleland c. 1760, was judged to be obscene in a proceeding that put the book itself on trial rather than its publisher. Another was \"Kaplan v. California, 413 U.S. 115 (1973)\" whereby the court most famously determined that \"Obscene material in book form is not entitled to any First Amendment protection merely because it has no pictorial content.\"\n\nHowever, the book was labeled \"erotica\" in the 1965 case (206 NE 2d 403) and there a division between erotica and obscenity was made—not all items with erotic content were automatically obscene. Further, the 1965 \"John Cleland's 'Memoirs'\" case added a further qualification for the proving of \"obscenity\"—the work in question had to inspire or exhibit \"prurient\" (that is, \"shameful or morbid\") interest.\n\nIn 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Grove Press, Inc. v. Gerstein, cited Jacobellis v. Ohio (which was decided the same day) and overruled state court findings of obscenity against Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer. A unauthorized \"Medusa\" edition of the novel was published in New York City in 1940 by Jacob Brussel; its title page claimed its place of publication to be Mexico. Brussel was eventually sent to prison for three years for the edition, a copy of which is in the Library of Congress.\n\nIn 2005, the U.S. Department of Justice formed the Obscenity Prosecution Task Force in a push to prosecute obscenity cases. Red Rose Stories (www.red-rose-stories.com, now defunct), a site dedicated to text-only fantasy stories, became one of many sites targeted by the FBI for shutdown. The government alleged that Red Rose Stories contained depictions of child rape. The publisher pleaded guilty.\n\nObscene devices\nMany U.S. states have had bans on the sale of sex toys, regulating them as obscene devices. For instance, the 1999 Law and Government of Alabama (Ala. Code. § 13A-12-200.1) made it \"unlawful to produce, distribute or otherwise sell sexual devices that are marketed primarily for the stimulation of human genital organs.\" Alabama claimed that these products were obscene, and that there was \"no fundamental right to purchase a product to use in pursuit of having an orgasm.\" The ACLU challenged the statute, which was overturned in 2002. A federal judge reinstated the law in 2004. The matter was appealed to the US Supreme Court, who in 2007 refused to hear the case, thus the decision of the lower court is enforceable within the state of Alabama. In 2007, a federal appeals court upheld Alabama's law prohibiting the sale of sex toys. The law, the Anti-Obscenity Enforcement Act of 1998, was also upheld by the Supreme Court of Alabama on September 11, 2009.\n\nBut other states have seen their sex toy bans ruled unconstitutional in the courts. In 2008 the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled a similar Texas statute violated the constitutional right to privacy that was recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Lawrence v. Texas decision. That ruling leaves only Mississippi, Alabama, and Virginia with current bans on the sale of obscene devices. Alabama is the only state with a law specifically prohibiting the sale of sex toys.\n\nCriticism \nObscenity law has been criticized in the following areas::\n Federal law forbids obscenity in certain contexts (such as broadcast); however, the law does not define the term.\n The U.S. Supreme Court similarly has had difficulty defining the term. In Miller v. California, the court defers definition to two hypothetical entities, \"contemporary community standards\" and \"hypothetical reasonable persons\".\n The courts and the legislature have had similar problems defining the term.\n Arguments have been made that the term \"obscenity\" is not specifically defined by case law, and thus does not satisfy the Vagueness doctrine, which states that people must clearly be informed as to the prohibited behavior.\n Arguments have been made that determination of what is obscene (offensive) varies, and thus alleged violations of obscenity law are not actionable (actions require a right).\n Critics have argued that no actual injury occurs when a mere preference is violated, so alleged violations of obscenity law are not actionable (actions require an injury).\n Critics have argued that, given its unusual and problematic history, unclear meaning, and the poor reasoning offered by the majorities in Roth and Miller to explain or justify the doctrine, the Supreme Court was simply wrong on the issue and the doctrine should be wholly discarded.\n\nIn light of the recent en banc decision of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, as brought by Judge Lancaster in the original US vs. Extreme Associates case, only the US Supreme Court is allowed to revise its earlier decision that established the Miller decision.\n\nThe US Supreme Court refused to hear, effectively rejecting, such modification in August 2006 when the same en banc decision by the Third Circuit was sent to the US Supreme Court for review. Thus the open ended conflicting notes above remain in effect for obscenity prosecutions.\n\nPublic funding/public places \nCongress passed a law in 1990 that required such organizations such as the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) and National Association of Artists' Organizations (NAAO) to abide by general decency standards for the \"diverse beliefs and values of the American public.\" in order to receive grant money.\n\nIn National Endowment for the Arts vs. Karen Finley, the Supreme Court upheld the law, noting that the conditions were acceptable in light of the conditions on funding, rather than being a direct regulation on speech.\n\nGovernment owned exhibition spaces are available under the Supreme Court's \"public forum\" doctrine. This doctrine explains that citizens within the United States have access to display in such public places such as lobbies of public buildings, theatrical productions, etc.\n\nEven with this law in place it is hard for artists who have addressed sexually explicit work in work because of complaints which are generally in the form of \"inappropriate for children\" or seen as a form of \"sexual harassment.\" Therefore, the arts works are removed and at times there are official \"no nudity\" policies that are put in place.\n\nWhen these decisions are taken to court on account of free expression, the venues are often looked at to see if they are an actual \"designated public forum.\" If they are, then public officials have violated the First Amendment rights of the individuals. The other side is if the court finds that there is \"no designated public forum\" in that venue, and thus government officials have the right to exclude and or censor the work.\n\nAdditional restrictions on sexual expression \n\nIn the Miller decision the use of the words \"contemporary community standards\" typically means that the law evolves along with social mores and norms. This has been shown throughout the expansion of the pornography industry along with commercial pornography by people such as amateurs and publishers of personal websites on the World Wide Web. Indirect government control such as restrictive zoning of adult video stores and nude dancing were put in place because general obscenity convictions were harder to come by, but First Amendment case law allows reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions. Similarly a set of rules was put in place in Indiana to control erotic dancing, where legal, so that all dancers must either wear \"pasties\" or \"g-strings\" as shown in the 1991 case of Barnes v. Glen Theatre.\n\nState laws \nThe laws on pornography are regulated by the state, meaning that there is not a national law for pornography. Many states have restrictions on buying books and magazines of pornography. Between 1995 and 2002, almost half of the states were considering bills to control internet pornography, and more than a quarter of states enacted such laws. In many states, other laws controlling access to pornography exist, such as exposing minors to indecent material. However, the federal courts, in American Bookseller's Association v. Hudnut, have struck down anti-pornography laws as unconstitutional on first-amendment basis, because the restrictions at issue were based on viewpoint, and the state could not demonstrate enough harm to successfully overcome the traditional first-amendment jurisprudence.\n\nCensorship in schools, universities, and libraries \nSchools, universities, and libraries receive government funds for many purposes, and some of these funds go to censorship of obscenity in these institutions. There are a few different ways in which this is done. One way is by not carrying pornographic or what the government deems obscene material in these places; another is for these places to purchase software that filters the internet activity on campus. An example is the federal Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA). This mandates that all schools and libraries receiving federal aid for internet connections install a \"technology protection measure\" (filter) on all computers, whether used by children or adults. There are some states that have passed laws mandating censorship in schools, universities, and libraries even if they are not receiving government aid that would fund censorship in these institutions. These include Arizona, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Twenty more states were considering such legislation in 2001–2002.\n\nChild pornography \n\nChild pornography refers to images or films (also known as child abuse images) and in some cases outside of the United States, writings depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child; as such, child pornography is a record of child sexual abuse. Abuse of the child occurs during the sexual acts which are recorded in the production of child pornography, and several professors of psychology state that memories of the abuse are maintained as long as visual records exist, are accessed, and are \"exploited perversely.\"\n\nChild pornography is widely considered extremely obscene; however, the Supreme Court case New York v Ferber established that such material does not have to be found legally obscene to be prohibited, and offences relating to child pornography are separate from obscenity.\n\nCensorship of film \nFilm censorship in the United States was recognized as constitutional without limits by the 1915 U.S. Supreme Court decision Mutual Film Corp. v. Industrial Commission of Ohio. This was overturned by the 1952 decision Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson, restricting regulation only to \"obscene\" films. The 1965 case Freedman v. Maryland ruled that prior restraint of film exhibition without a court order was unconstitutional, leading to the end of most state and local film censorship boards. Current laws which can be enforced after the fact are limited by the definition of \"obscene\" in the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision Miller v. California.\n\nThe voluntary Motion Picture Association film rating system was adopted in 1968, functioning mostly to prevent children of various ages from seeing certain films at participating theaters. This has sometimes lead to self-censorship of certain sexual content among participating filmmakers wishing to avoid an X, R, or PG-13 rating that would restrict the size of the potential audience.\n\nThe most notable films given an \"X\" rating were Deep Throat (1972) and The Devil in Miss Jones (1973). These films show explicit, non-simulated, penetrative sex that was presented as part of a reasonable plot with respectable production values. Some state authorities issued injunctions against such films to protect \"local community standards\"; in New York the print of Deep Throat was seized mid-run, and the film's exhibitors were found guilty of promoting obscenity. This Film Is Not Yet Rated is a 2006 film which discusses disparities the filmmaker sees in ratings and feedback: between Hollywood and independent films, between homosexual and heterosexual sexual situations, between male and female sexual depictions, and between violence and sexual content. They found that films have also been further censored than their heterosexual, male, white counterparts due to gay sex (even if implied), African American sex, or female pleasure as opposed to male pleasure.\n\nPossession of obscene material\nIn 1969, the Supreme Court held in Stanley v. Georgia that State laws making mere private possession of obscene material a crime are invalid, at least in the absence of an intention to sell, expose or circulate the material.\n\nSee also\n\n Censorship in the United States\n Indecent exposure in the United States\n Legality of pornography in the United States\n Anti-Obscenity Enforcement Act (Alabama)\n Texas obscenity statute\n\nReferences\n\nFurther reading\n - Written on June 19, 2009; posted June 22 that year\n\nObscenity law\nSexuality and society\nCensorship in the United States" ]
[ "Lenny Bruce", "Obscenity arrests", "What was Bruce arrested for?", "On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco;", "Did he get jail time?", "Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity.", "What other times was he arrested?", "Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession", "Any other arrests?", "again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy", "Did this arrest record have any negative effects for Bruce?", "Solomon later saw his conviction overturned; Bruce, who died before the decision, never had his conviction stricken.", "Who was Solomon?", "Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964.", "What is considered to be \"obscenity\" in these arrests?", "he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that \"to is a preposition, come is a verb\"," ]
C_bde6fa1924234f399674744a805129f9_0
Any other words that were considered to be "obscene"?
8
Besides cocksucker, were there any other words that were considered to be "obscene"?
Lenny Bruce
On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb", that the sexual context of come is so common that it bears no weight, and that if someone hearing it becomes upset, he "probably can't come". Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity. Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession and again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy named Sherman Block, who later became County Sheriff. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. The Hollywood charges were later dismissed. On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago. The same year he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering England by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien". In April 1964, he appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. On both occasions, he was arrested after leaving the stage, the complaints again pertaining to his use of various obscenities. A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant D.A. Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from - among other artists, writers and educators - Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced on December 21, 1964 to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon later saw his conviction overturned; Bruce, who died before the decision, never had his conviction stricken. Bruce later received a full posthumous gubernatorial pardon. CANNOTANSWER
The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis.
Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, freestyle and critical form of comedy which contained satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity. His 1964 conviction in an obscenity trial was followed by a posthumous pardon in 2003. Bruce paved the way for counterculture-era comedians. His trial for obscenity is a landmark for freedom of speech in the United States. In 2017, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him third (behind Richard Pryor and George Carlin) on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time. Early life Lenny Bruce was Jewish, born Leonard Alfred Schneider, in Mineola, New York. He grew up in nearby Bellmore, and attended Wellington C. Mepham High School. His parents divorced before he turned 10, and he lived with various relatives over the next decade. His British-born father, Myron (Mickey) Schneider, was a shoe clerk, and the two saw each other very infrequently. Bruce's mother, Sally Marr (legal name Sadie Schneider, born Sadie Kitchenberg), was a stage performer and had an enormous influence on Bruce's career. After spending time working on a farm, Bruce joined the United States Navy at the age of 16 in 1942, with active service during World War II aboard the in Northern Africa; Palermo, Italy, in 1943; and Anzio, Italy, in 1944. In May 1945, after a comedic performance for his shipmates in which he was dressed in drag, his commanding officers became upset. He defiantly convinced his ship's medical officer that he was experiencing homosexual urges. This led to his undesirable discharge in July 1945. However, he had not admitted to or been found guilty of any breach of naval regulations and successfully applied to have his discharge changed to "Under Honorable Conditions ... by reason of unsuitability for the naval service". During the Korean War era, Bruce served in the United States Merchant Marine, ferrying troops from the US to Europe and back. In 1959, while taping the first episode of Hugh Hefner's Playboy's Penthouse, Bruce talked about his Navy experience and showed a tattoo he received in Malta in 1942. After a short period living with his father in California, Bruce settled in New York City, hoping to establish himself as a comedian. However, he found it difficult to differentiate himself from the thousands of other show-business hopefuls who populated the city. One locale where they congregated was Hanson's, the diner where Bruce first met the comedian Joe Ancis, who had a profound influence on Bruce's approach to comedy. Many of Bruce's later routines reflected his meticulous schooling at the hands of Ancis. According to Bruce's biographer Albert Goldman, Ancis's humor involved stream-of-consciousness sexual fantasies and references to jazz. Bruce took the stage as "Lenny Marsalle" one evening at the Victory Club, as a stand-in master of ceremonies for one of his mother's shows. His ad-libs earned him some laughs. Soon afterward, in 1947, just after changing his last name to Bruce, he earned $12 and a free spaghetti dinner for his first stand-up performance in Brooklyn. He was later a guest—and was introduced by his mother, who called herself "Sally Bruce"—on the Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts radio program. Lenny did a piece inspired by Sid Caesar, "The Bavarian Mimic", featuring impressions of American movie stars (e.g., Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson). Career Bruce's early comedy career included writing the screenplays for Dance Hall Racket in 1953, which featured Bruce, his wife Honey Harlow, and mother Sally Marr; Dream Follies in 1954, a low-budget burlesque romp; and a children's film, The Rocket Man, in 1954. In 1956, Frank Ray Perilli, a fellow nightclub comedian who eventually became a screenwriter of two dozen successful films and plays, became a mentor and part-time manager of Bruce. Through Perilli, Bruce met and collaborated with photojournalist William Karl Thomas on three screenplays (Leather Jacket, Killer's Grave and The Degenerate), none of which made it to the screen, and the comedy material on his first three comedy albums. Bruce was a roommate of Buddy Hackett in the 1950s. The two appeared on the Patrice Munsel Show (1957–1958), calling their comedy duo the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players", twenty years before the cast of Saturday Night Live used the same name. In 1957, Thomas booked Bruce into the Slate Brothers nightclub, where he was fired the first night for what Variety headlined as "blue material"; this led to the theme of Bruce's first solo album on Berkeley-based Fantasy Records, The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce, for which Thomas shot the album cover. Thomas also shot other album covers, acted as cinematographer on abortive attempts to film their screenplays, and in 1989 authored a memoir of their ten-year collaboration titled Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet. The 2016 biography of Frank Ray Perilli titled The Candy Butcher, devotes a chapter to Perilli's ten-year collaboration with Bruce. Bruce released a total of four albums of original material on Fantasy Records. These albums were later compiled and re-released as The Lenny Bruce Originals. Two later records were produced and sold by Bruce himself, including a 10-inch album of the 1961 San Francisco performances that started his legal troubles. Starting in the late 1960s, other unissued Bruce material was released by Alan Douglas, Frank Zappa and Phil Spector, as well as Fantasy. Bruce developed the complexity and tone of his material in Enrico Banducci's North Beach nightclub, the "hungry i", where Mort Sahl had earlier made a name for himself. Branded a "sick comic", Bruce was essentially blacklisted from television, and when he did appear thanks to sympathetic fans like Hefner and Steve Allen, it was with great concessions to Broadcast Standards and Practices. Jokes that might offend, like a bit on airplane glue-sniffing teenagers that was done live for The Steve Allen Show in 1959, had to be typed out and pre-approved by network officials. On his debut on Allen's show, Bruce made an unscripted comment on the recent marriage of Elizabeth Taylor to Eddie Fisher, wondering, "Will Elizabeth Taylor become bar mitzvahed?" In the midst of a severe blizzard, Bruce gave a famous performance at Carnegie Hall at midnight on February 4, 1961. It was recorded and later released as a three-disc set titled The Carnegie Hall Concert. In the posthumous biography about Bruce, Albert Goldman described the night of the concert as follows: In August 1965, a year before his death, Bruce gave his penultimate performance at San Francisco's Basin Street West, mainly talking about his legal troubles. The filmed performance was released by Rhino Home Video in 1992 as The Lenny Bruce Performance Film. Personal life In 1951, Bruce met Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas. They were married that same year, and Bruce was determined she would end her work as a stripper. The couple eventually left New York in 1953 for the West Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles. Bruce then went on to join the bill at the club Strip City. Harlow found employment at the Colony Club, which was widely known to be the best burlesque club in Los Angeles at the time. Bruce left Strip City in late 1954 and found work within the San Fernando Valley at a variety of strip clubs. As the master of ceremonies, he introduced the strippers while performing his material. The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines: according to his primary biographer, Albert Goldman, it was "precisely at the moment when he sank to the bottom of the barrel and started working the places that were the lowest of the low" that he suddenly broke free of "all the restraints and inhibitions and disabilities that formerly had kept him just mediocre and began to blow with a spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school." Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955. Honey and Lenny had a tumultuous relationship. Many serious domestic incidents occurred between them, usually the result of serious drug use. They broke up and reunited over and over again between 1956 and Lenny's death in 1966. They first separated in March 1956, and were back together again by July of that year when they travelled to Honolulu for a night club tour. During this trip, Honey was arrested for marijuana possession. Prevented from leaving the island due to her parole conditions, Lenny took the opportunity to leave her again, and this time kidnapped the then one-year-old Kitty. In her autobiography, Honey claims Lenny turned her in to the police. She would be later sentenced to two years in federal prison. Throughout the final decade of his life, Bruce was beset by severe drug addiction. He would use heroin, methamphetamine and Dilaudid daily. He suffered numerous health problems and personal strife as a result of his addiction. He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s. In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized. At the time of his death, his girlfriend was comedian Lotus Weinstock. Legal troubles Bruce's desire to help his wife cease working as a stripper led him to pursue schemes that were designed to make as much money as possible. The most notable was the Brother Mathias Foundation scam, which resulted in Bruce's arrest in Miami, Florida, in 1951 for impersonating a priest. He had been soliciting donations for a leper colony in British Guiana (now Guyana) under the auspices of the "Brother Mathias Foundation", which he had legally chartered—the name was his own invention, but possibly referred to the actual Brother Matthias who had befriended Babe Ruth at the Baltimore orphanage to which Ruth had been confined as a child. Bruce had stolen several priests' clergy shirts and a clerical collar while posing as a laundry man. He was found not guilty because of the legality of the New York state-chartered foundation, the actual existence of the Guiana leper colony, and the inability of the local clergy to expose him as an impostor. Later, in his semifictional autobiography How to Talk Dirty and Influence People, Bruce said that he had made about $8,000 in three weeks, sending $2,500 to the leper colony and keeping the rest. Obscenity arrests On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb", that the sexual context of come is so common that it bears no weight, and that if someone hearing it becomes upset, he "probably can't come". Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity. Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession and again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy named Sherman Block, who later became County Sheriff. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. The Hollywood charges were later dismissed. On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago. That same year, he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering the United Kingdom by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien". In April 1964, he appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. On both occasions, he was arrested after leaving the stage, the complaints again pertaining to his use of various obscenities. A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant D.A. Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from—among other artists, writers and educators—Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced on December 21, 1964, to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon later saw his conviction overturned. Later years Despite his prominence as a comedian, Bruce appeared on network television only six times in his life. In his later club performances, he was known for relating the details of his encounters with the police directly in his comedy routine. These performances often included rants about his court battles over obscenity charges, tirades against fascism, and complaints that he was being denied his right to freedom of speech. Bruce was banned outright from several U.S. cities. In September 1962, his only visit to Australia caused a media storm—although, contrary to popular belief, he was not banned nor was he forced to leave the country. Bruce was booked for a two-week engagement at Aaron's Exchange Hotel, a small pub in central Sydney by the American-born, Australian-based promoter Lee Gordon, who was by then deeply in debt, nearing the end of his formerly successful career, and desperate to save his business. Bruce's first show at 9 p.m. on September 6 was uneventful, but his second show at 11 p.m. led to a major public controversy. Bruce was heckled by audience members during his performance, and when local actress Barbara Wyndon stood up and complained that Bruce was only talking about America, and asked him to talk about something different, a clearly annoyed Bruce responded, "Fuck you, madam. That's different, isn't it?" Bruce's remark shocked some members of the audience and several walked out. By the next day the local press had blown the incident up into a major controversy, with several Sydney papers denouncing Bruce as "sick" and one even illustrating their story with a retouched photograph appearing to show Bruce giving a fascist salute. The venue owners immediately cancelled the rest of Bruce's performances, and he retreated to his Kings Cross hotel room. Local university students (including future OZ magazine editor Richard Neville) who were fans of Bruce's humor tried to arrange a performance at the Roundhouse at the University of New South Wales, but at the last minute the university's Vice-Chancellor rescinded permission to use the venue, with no reason given and an interview he was scheduled to give on Australian television was cancelled in advance by the Australian Broadcasting Commission. Bruce remained largely confined to his hotel, but eight days later gave his third and last Australian concert at the Wintergarden Theatre in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Although the theatre had a capacity of 2,100, only 200 people attended, including a strong police presence, and Bruce gave what was described as a "subdued" performance. It was long rumored that a tape recording of Bruce's historic performance was made by police, but it was, in fact, recorded by local jazz saxophonist Sid Powell, who brought a portable tape recorder to the show. The tape was rediscovered in 2011 in the possession of Australian singer Sammy Gaha, who had acted as Bruce's chauffeur during his visit, and it was subsequently donated to the Lenny Bruce audio collection at Brandeis University. Bruce left the country a few days later and spoke little about the experience afterwards. Increasing drug use also affected Bruce's health. By 1966, he had been blacklisted by nearly every nightclub in the U.S., as owners feared prosecution for obscenity. He gave a famous performance at the Berkeley Community Theatre in December 1965, which was recorded and became his last live album, titled The Berkeley Concert; his performance here has been described as lucid, clear and calm, and one of his best. His last performance took place on June 25, 1966, at The Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, on a bill with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. The performance was not remembered fondly by Bill Graham, whose memoir describes Bruce as "whacked out on amphetamine;" Graham thought that Bruce finished his set emotionally disturbed. Zappa asked Bruce to sign his draft card, but the suspicious Bruce refused. At the request of Hefner and with the aid of Paul Krassner, Bruce wrote an autobiography. Serialized in Playboy in 1964 and 1965, this material was later published as the book How to Talk Dirty and Influence People. During this time, Bruce also contributed a number of articles to Krassner's satirical magazine The Realist. Death and posthumous pardon On August 3, 1966, Bruce was found dead in the bathroom of his Hollywood Hills home at 8825 W. Hollywood Blvd. The official photo, taken at the scene, showed Bruce lying naked on the floor, a syringe and burned bottle cap nearby, along with various other narcotics paraphernalia. Record producer Phil Spector, a friend of Bruce, bought the negatives of the photographs "to keep them from the press". The official cause of death was "acute morphine poisoning caused by an overdose". Bruce's remains were interred in Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Mission Hills, California, but an unconventional memorial on August 21 was controversial enough to keep his name in the spotlight. Over 500 people came to the service to pay their respects, led by Spector. Cemetery officials had tried to block the ceremony after advertisements for the event encouraged attendees to bring box lunches and noisemakers. Delivering the eulogy, which is featured at the end of the documentary Lenny Bruce Without the Tears, the Rev. William Glenesk said: Lenny Bruce's epitaph reads: "Beloved father—devoted son / Peace at last". Dick Schaap concluded his eulogy to Bruce in Playboy with the words: "One last four-letter word for Lenny: Dead. At forty. That's obscene". A memorial event was held at the Judson Memorial Church, New York City on Friday, August 12, which was "packed to overflowing" an hour before it was due to get underway at 6pm, and was attended by prominent members of the arts, many of whom also performed, and included Allen Ginsberg, Joe Lee Wilson, Jean Shepherd, Charlie Haden, and The Fugs; Paul Krassner officiated. On December 23, 2003, thirty-seven years after Bruce's death, New York Governor George Pataki granted him a posthumous pardon for his obscenity conviction. Legacy Bruce was the subject of the 1974 biographical film Lenny, directed by Bob Fosse and starring Dustin Hoffman (in an Academy Award-nominated Best Actor role), and based on the Broadway stage play of the same name written by Julian Barry and starring Cliff Gorman in his 1972 Tony Award–winning role. In addition, the main character's editing of a fictionalized film version of Lenny was a major part of Fosse's own autobiopic, the 1979 Academy Award–nominated All That Jazz; Gorman again played the role of the stand-up comic. The documentary Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth, directed by Robert B. Weide and narrated by Robert De Niro, was released in 1998. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. In 2004, Comedy Central listed Bruce at number three on its list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time, placing above Woody Allen (4th) and below Richard Pryor (1st) and George Carlin (2nd). Both comedians who ranked higher than Bruce considered him a major influence; Pryor said that hearing Bruce for the first time "changed my life," while Carlin said that Bruce was a "brilliant comedian" who influenced him as much as a man in his moral thinking and attitudes as he did as a comedian. Carlin was arrested along with Bruce after refusing to provide identification when police raided a Bruce performance. In popular culture In 1966, Grace Slick co-wrote and sang the Great Society song "Father Bruce". Bruce is pictured in the top row of the cover of the Beatles 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The clip of a news broadcast featured in "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" by Simon & Garfunkel carries the ostensible newscast audio of Lenny Bruce's death. In another track on the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, "A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)," Paul Simon sings, "... I learned the truth from Lenny Bruce, that all my wealth won't buy me health." Tim Hardin's fourth album Tim Hardin 3 Live in Concert, released in 1968, includes his song Lenny's Tune written about his friend Lenny Bruce. Nico's 1967 album Chelsea Girl includes a track entitled "Eulogy to Lenny Bruce," which was "Lenny's Tune" by Tim Hardin, with the lyrics slightly altered. In it she describes her sorrow and anger at Bruce's death. The Stranglers' 1977 song No More Heroes (The Stranglers song) references Lenny Bruce, asking "Whatever happened to dear old Lenny?". Bob Dylan's 1981 song "Lenny Bruce" from his Shot of Love album describes a brief taxi ride shared by the two men. In the last line of the song, Dylan recalls: "Lenny Bruce was bad, he was the brother that you never had." Dylan has included this song live in concert as recently as November 2019. Phil Ochs wrote a song eulogizing the late comedian, titled "Doesn't Lenny Live Here Anymore?" The song is featured on his 1969 album Rehearsals for Retirement. Australian group Paul Kelly And The Dots' 1982 album Manila features a track named "Lenny (To Live Is to Burn)", which includes a couple clips of Lenny Bruce performing. R.E.M.'s 1987 song "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" includes references to a quartet of famous people all sharing the initials L.B. with Lenny Bruce being one of them (the others being Leonard Bernstein, Leonid Brezhnev and Lester Bangs). The opening line of the song mentioning Bruce goes, "That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds, snakes and aeroplanes; Lenny Bruce is not afraid." Lenny Bruce appears as a character in Don DeLillo's 1997 novel Underworld. In the novel, Bruce does a stand-up routine about the Cuban Missile Crisis. Genesis' 1974 song "Broadway Melody of 1974" depicts a dystopic New York where "Lenny Bruce declares a truce and plays his other hand, Marshall McLuhan, casual viewin', head buried in the sand" and "Groucho, with his movies trailing, stands alone with his punchline failing." Jonathan Larson's musical RENT, has a song entitled, La Vie Boheme B, mentioning Lenny Bruce. Joy Zipper's 2005 album The Heartlight Set features a track named "For Lenny's Own Pleasure". Nada Surf's song "Imaginary Friends" (from their 2005 album The Weight Is a Gift) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "Lenny Bruce's bug eyes stare from an LP, asking me just what kind of fight I've got in me." Shmaltz Brewing Company brews a year-round beer called Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. and the tagline is "Brewed with an obscene amount of hops". Metric's song "On the Sly" (from their 2007 album Grow Up and Blow Away) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "for Halloween I want to be Lenny Bruce". In the 2014 episode "Comic Perversion" of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, fictional comic Josh Galloway says while being arrested, "I would like to dedicate my arrest to Mr. Lenny Bruce. NYPD crucified him, too." John Mayall's 1969 live album "The turning point" opens with the song "The laws must change", which features the line "Lenny Bruce was trying to tell you many things before he died". A fictionalized version of the comedian is played by Luke Kirby as a recurring character in the Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, in which he is portrayed as a friend and champion of the titular character. Kirby won an Emmy for his portrayal in 2019. Bibliography Bruce, Lenny. Stamp Help Out! (Self-published pamphlet, 1962) Bruce, Lenny. How to Talk Dirty and Influence People (Playboy Publishing, 1967) Autobiography, released posthumously. Content previously serialized in Playboy magazine. By others: Barry, Julian. Lenny (play) (Grove Press, Inc. 1971) Bruce, Honey. Honey: The Life and Loves of Lenny's Shady Lady (Playboy Press, 1976, with Dana Benenson) Bruce, Kitty. The (almost) Unpublished Lenny Bruce (1984, Running Press) (includes transcripts of interviews and routines, ephemera, and a graphically spruced up reproduction of 'Stamp Help Out!') Cohen, John, ed., compiler. The Essential Lenny Bruce (Ballantine Books, 1967) Collins, Ronald and David Skover, The Trials of Lenny Bruce: The Fall & Rise of an American Icon (Sourcebooks, 2002) DeLillo, Don. Underworld, (Simon and Schuster Inc., 1997) Denton, Bradley. The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians, an award-winning collection of science fiction stories in which the title story has Lenny Bruce as one of the two protagonists. Goldman, Albert, with Lawrence Schiller. Ladies and Gentlemen – Lenny Bruce!! (Random House, 1974) Goldstein, Jonathan. Lenny Bruce Is Dead (Coach House Press, 2001) Josepher, Brian. What the Psychic Saw (Sterlinghouse Publisher, 2005) Kofsky, Frank. Lenny Bruce: The Comedian as Social Critic & Secular Moralist (Monad Press, 1974) Kringas, Damian. Lenny Bruce: 13 Days In Sydney (Independence Jones Guerilla Press, Sydney, 2010) A study of Bruce's ill-fated September 1962 tour down under. Marciniak, Vwadek P., Politics, Humor and the Counterculture: Laughter in the Age of Decay (New York etc., Peter Lang, 2008). Marmo, Ronnie. I'm Not a Comedian... I'm Lenny Bruce (written/performed by Marmo, directed by Joe Mantegna, 2017) Smith, Valerie Kohler. Lenny (novelization based on the Barry-scripted/Fosse-directed film) (Grove Press, Inc., 1974) Thomas, William Karl. Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator. First printing, Archon Books, 1989; second printing, Media Maestro, 2002; Japanese edition, DHC Corp. Tokyo, 2001. Filmography Discography Albums Posthumous releases Compilations The later compilations are released in the European Union under various oldies labels, as the content used is public domain in the EU. Audiobooks Tribute albums See also List of civil rights leaders Dirtymouth, a 1970 biographical film about Bruce Footnotes References External links The Official Lenny Bruce Website FBI Records: The Vault – Lenny Bruce at fbi.gov Correspondence and Other Papers Pertaining to Lenny Bruce's Drug Case, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Articles Linder, Douglas, "The Lenny Bruce Trial: An Account" "Famous Trials: The Lenny Bruce Trial, 1964" Azlant, Edward. "Lenny Bruce Again", Shecky Magazine, August 22, 2006 Gilmore, John. "Lenny Bruce and the Bunny", excerpt from Laid Bare: A Memoir of Wrecked Lives and the Hollywood Death Trip (Amok Books, 1997). Harnisch, Larry. "Voices", Los Angeles Times, April 13, 2007. (Reminiscences by saxophonist Dave Pell) Kaufman, Anthony. (interview with Swear to Tell the Truth producer), Indiewire.com, April 16, 2008 Hentoff, Nat. "Lenny Bruce: The crucifixion of a true believer", Gadfly March/April 2001 Sloan, Will. "Is Lenny Bruce Still Funny?", Hazlitt, November 4, 2014 Smith, Daniel V. "The Complete Lenny Bruce Chronology" (fan site) "Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet" Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator, Media Maestro 2001. [CC-By-SA] Audio/video Video Clips Relating to the Trial of Lenny Bruce as assembled by the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School 1925 births 1966 deaths 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American memoirists Accidental deaths in California American anti-fascists American humorists American male comedians American people convicted of drug offenses American people of English-Jewish descent American sailors American satirists American social commentators American stand-up comedians Beat Generation people Burials at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery Censorship in the arts Comedians from New York (state) Critics of religions Critics of the Catholic Church Drug-related deaths in California Freedom of speech in the United States Jewish American male comedians Jewish anti-fascists Military personnel from New York (state) Obscenity controversies in stand-up comedy People from Bellmore, New York People from Greenwich Village People from Mineola, New York People who have received posthumous pardons Philles Records artists Race-related controversies in stand-up comedy Recipients of American gubernatorial pardons Religious controversies in stand-up comedy Social critics Free speech activists Stand-up comedy controversies United States Merchant Mariners United States Merchant Mariners of the Korean War United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy sailors
true
[ "Section 294 of the Indian Penal Code lays down the punishment for obscene acts or words in public. The other sections of Indian Penal code which deal with obscenity are 292 and 293. The law does not clearly define what would constitute an obscene act, but it would enter the domain of the state only when it takes place in a public place to the annoyance of others. Temple art or nakedness of sadhus are traditionally outside the purview of this section.\n\nText\nWhoever, to the annoyance of others;\n(a) Does any obscene act in any public place, or\n(b) Sings, recites or utters any obscene song, ballad or words, in or near any public place,\nShall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine, or with both.\n\nCase law\nDismissing a complaint that Richard Gere had acted obscenely by kissing Shilpa Shetty in public, the Supreme Court of India had observed that in this issue 'no case was made out'.\nEven after this verdict, complaints have been filed in courts claiming that kissing in public constitutes an offense under this section. Kiss of Love Protesters were threatened with lawsuits under this section.\nThe Kerala High Court had observed that the performance of cabaret dance devoid of nudity and obscenity, judged according to the standards indicated was permissible, and was not in any way liable to be banned or prevented.\nQuashing a case against 13 men who were arrested for allegedly indulging in obscene acts with women in a flat, the Bombay High Court has said any such action done in a private place is not a criminal offence under the Indian Penal Code.\n\nNotes\n\nSections of the Indian Penal Code\nObscenity law", "Narratophilia is a sexual fetish in which words and stories are sexually arousing, usually by the telling of dirty and obscene words or stories to a partner. For some people, writings or words that are not outright obscene can have the same arousal effect. The term is also used for arousal by means of listening to obscene words and stories.\n\nReferences\n\nSexual fetishism" ]
[ "Lenny Bruce", "Obscenity arrests", "What was Bruce arrested for?", "On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco;", "Did he get jail time?", "Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity.", "What other times was he arrested?", "Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession", "Any other arrests?", "again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy", "Did this arrest record have any negative effects for Bruce?", "Solomon later saw his conviction overturned; Bruce, who died before the decision, never had his conviction stricken.", "Who was Solomon?", "Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964.", "What is considered to be \"obscenity\" in these arrests?", "he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that \"to is a preposition, come is a verb\",", "Any other words that were considered to be \"obscene\"?", "The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis." ]
C_bde6fa1924234f399674744a805129f9_0
Were words the only reason he was arrested for "obscenity"?
9
Were words the only reason Lenny Bruce was arrested for?
Lenny Bruce
On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb", that the sexual context of come is so common that it bears no weight, and that if someone hearing it becomes upset, he "probably can't come". Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity. Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession and again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy named Sherman Block, who later became County Sheriff. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. The Hollywood charges were later dismissed. On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago. The same year he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering England by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien". In April 1964, he appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. On both occasions, he was arrested after leaving the stage, the complaints again pertaining to his use of various obscenities. A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant D.A. Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from - among other artists, writers and educators - Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced on December 21, 1964 to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon later saw his conviction overturned; Bruce, who died before the decision, never had his conviction stricken. Bruce later received a full posthumous gubernatorial pardon. CANNOTANSWER
he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering England by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien".
Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, freestyle and critical form of comedy which contained satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity. His 1964 conviction in an obscenity trial was followed by a posthumous pardon in 2003. Bruce paved the way for counterculture-era comedians. His trial for obscenity is a landmark for freedom of speech in the United States. In 2017, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him third (behind Richard Pryor and George Carlin) on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time. Early life Lenny Bruce was Jewish, born Leonard Alfred Schneider, in Mineola, New York. He grew up in nearby Bellmore, and attended Wellington C. Mepham High School. His parents divorced before he turned 10, and he lived with various relatives over the next decade. His British-born father, Myron (Mickey) Schneider, was a shoe clerk, and the two saw each other very infrequently. Bruce's mother, Sally Marr (legal name Sadie Schneider, born Sadie Kitchenberg), was a stage performer and had an enormous influence on Bruce's career. After spending time working on a farm, Bruce joined the United States Navy at the age of 16 in 1942, with active service during World War II aboard the in Northern Africa; Palermo, Italy, in 1943; and Anzio, Italy, in 1944. In May 1945, after a comedic performance for his shipmates in which he was dressed in drag, his commanding officers became upset. He defiantly convinced his ship's medical officer that he was experiencing homosexual urges. This led to his undesirable discharge in July 1945. However, he had not admitted to or been found guilty of any breach of naval regulations and successfully applied to have his discharge changed to "Under Honorable Conditions ... by reason of unsuitability for the naval service". During the Korean War era, Bruce served in the United States Merchant Marine, ferrying troops from the US to Europe and back. In 1959, while taping the first episode of Hugh Hefner's Playboy's Penthouse, Bruce talked about his Navy experience and showed a tattoo he received in Malta in 1942. After a short period living with his father in California, Bruce settled in New York City, hoping to establish himself as a comedian. However, he found it difficult to differentiate himself from the thousands of other show-business hopefuls who populated the city. One locale where they congregated was Hanson's, the diner where Bruce first met the comedian Joe Ancis, who had a profound influence on Bruce's approach to comedy. Many of Bruce's later routines reflected his meticulous schooling at the hands of Ancis. According to Bruce's biographer Albert Goldman, Ancis's humor involved stream-of-consciousness sexual fantasies and references to jazz. Bruce took the stage as "Lenny Marsalle" one evening at the Victory Club, as a stand-in master of ceremonies for one of his mother's shows. His ad-libs earned him some laughs. Soon afterward, in 1947, just after changing his last name to Bruce, he earned $12 and a free spaghetti dinner for his first stand-up performance in Brooklyn. He was later a guest—and was introduced by his mother, who called herself "Sally Bruce"—on the Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts radio program. Lenny did a piece inspired by Sid Caesar, "The Bavarian Mimic", featuring impressions of American movie stars (e.g., Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson). Career Bruce's early comedy career included writing the screenplays for Dance Hall Racket in 1953, which featured Bruce, his wife Honey Harlow, and mother Sally Marr; Dream Follies in 1954, a low-budget burlesque romp; and a children's film, The Rocket Man, in 1954. In 1956, Frank Ray Perilli, a fellow nightclub comedian who eventually became a screenwriter of two dozen successful films and plays, became a mentor and part-time manager of Bruce. Through Perilli, Bruce met and collaborated with photojournalist William Karl Thomas on three screenplays (Leather Jacket, Killer's Grave and The Degenerate), none of which made it to the screen, and the comedy material on his first three comedy albums. Bruce was a roommate of Buddy Hackett in the 1950s. The two appeared on the Patrice Munsel Show (1957–1958), calling their comedy duo the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players", twenty years before the cast of Saturday Night Live used the same name. In 1957, Thomas booked Bruce into the Slate Brothers nightclub, where he was fired the first night for what Variety headlined as "blue material"; this led to the theme of Bruce's first solo album on Berkeley-based Fantasy Records, The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce, for which Thomas shot the album cover. Thomas also shot other album covers, acted as cinematographer on abortive attempts to film their screenplays, and in 1989 authored a memoir of their ten-year collaboration titled Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet. The 2016 biography of Frank Ray Perilli titled The Candy Butcher, devotes a chapter to Perilli's ten-year collaboration with Bruce. Bruce released a total of four albums of original material on Fantasy Records. These albums were later compiled and re-released as The Lenny Bruce Originals. Two later records were produced and sold by Bruce himself, including a 10-inch album of the 1961 San Francisco performances that started his legal troubles. Starting in the late 1960s, other unissued Bruce material was released by Alan Douglas, Frank Zappa and Phil Spector, as well as Fantasy. Bruce developed the complexity and tone of his material in Enrico Banducci's North Beach nightclub, the "hungry i", where Mort Sahl had earlier made a name for himself. Branded a "sick comic", Bruce was essentially blacklisted from television, and when he did appear thanks to sympathetic fans like Hefner and Steve Allen, it was with great concessions to Broadcast Standards and Practices. Jokes that might offend, like a bit on airplane glue-sniffing teenagers that was done live for The Steve Allen Show in 1959, had to be typed out and pre-approved by network officials. On his debut on Allen's show, Bruce made an unscripted comment on the recent marriage of Elizabeth Taylor to Eddie Fisher, wondering, "Will Elizabeth Taylor become bar mitzvahed?" In the midst of a severe blizzard, Bruce gave a famous performance at Carnegie Hall at midnight on February 4, 1961. It was recorded and later released as a three-disc set titled The Carnegie Hall Concert. In the posthumous biography about Bruce, Albert Goldman described the night of the concert as follows: In August 1965, a year before his death, Bruce gave his penultimate performance at San Francisco's Basin Street West, mainly talking about his legal troubles. The filmed performance was released by Rhino Home Video in 1992 as The Lenny Bruce Performance Film. Personal life In 1951, Bruce met Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas. They were married that same year, and Bruce was determined she would end her work as a stripper. The couple eventually left New York in 1953 for the West Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles. Bruce then went on to join the bill at the club Strip City. Harlow found employment at the Colony Club, which was widely known to be the best burlesque club in Los Angeles at the time. Bruce left Strip City in late 1954 and found work within the San Fernando Valley at a variety of strip clubs. As the master of ceremonies, he introduced the strippers while performing his material. The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines: according to his primary biographer, Albert Goldman, it was "precisely at the moment when he sank to the bottom of the barrel and started working the places that were the lowest of the low" that he suddenly broke free of "all the restraints and inhibitions and disabilities that formerly had kept him just mediocre and began to blow with a spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school." Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955. Honey and Lenny had a tumultuous relationship. Many serious domestic incidents occurred between them, usually the result of serious drug use. They broke up and reunited over and over again between 1956 and Lenny's death in 1966. They first separated in March 1956, and were back together again by July of that year when they travelled to Honolulu for a night club tour. During this trip, Honey was arrested for marijuana possession. Prevented from leaving the island due to her parole conditions, Lenny took the opportunity to leave her again, and this time kidnapped the then one-year-old Kitty. In her autobiography, Honey claims Lenny turned her in to the police. She would be later sentenced to two years in federal prison. Throughout the final decade of his life, Bruce was beset by severe drug addiction. He would use heroin, methamphetamine and Dilaudid daily. He suffered numerous health problems and personal strife as a result of his addiction. He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s. In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized. At the time of his death, his girlfriend was comedian Lotus Weinstock. Legal troubles Bruce's desire to help his wife cease working as a stripper led him to pursue schemes that were designed to make as much money as possible. The most notable was the Brother Mathias Foundation scam, which resulted in Bruce's arrest in Miami, Florida, in 1951 for impersonating a priest. He had been soliciting donations for a leper colony in British Guiana (now Guyana) under the auspices of the "Brother Mathias Foundation", which he had legally chartered—the name was his own invention, but possibly referred to the actual Brother Matthias who had befriended Babe Ruth at the Baltimore orphanage to which Ruth had been confined as a child. Bruce had stolen several priests' clergy shirts and a clerical collar while posing as a laundry man. He was found not guilty because of the legality of the New York state-chartered foundation, the actual existence of the Guiana leper colony, and the inability of the local clergy to expose him as an impostor. Later, in his semifictional autobiography How to Talk Dirty and Influence People, Bruce said that he had made about $8,000 in three weeks, sending $2,500 to the leper colony and keeping the rest. Obscenity arrests On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb", that the sexual context of come is so common that it bears no weight, and that if someone hearing it becomes upset, he "probably can't come". Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity. Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession and again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy named Sherman Block, who later became County Sheriff. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. The Hollywood charges were later dismissed. On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago. That same year, he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering the United Kingdom by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien". In April 1964, he appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. On both occasions, he was arrested after leaving the stage, the complaints again pertaining to his use of various obscenities. A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant D.A. Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from—among other artists, writers and educators—Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced on December 21, 1964, to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon later saw his conviction overturned. Later years Despite his prominence as a comedian, Bruce appeared on network television only six times in his life. In his later club performances, he was known for relating the details of his encounters with the police directly in his comedy routine. These performances often included rants about his court battles over obscenity charges, tirades against fascism, and complaints that he was being denied his right to freedom of speech. Bruce was banned outright from several U.S. cities. In September 1962, his only visit to Australia caused a media storm—although, contrary to popular belief, he was not banned nor was he forced to leave the country. Bruce was booked for a two-week engagement at Aaron's Exchange Hotel, a small pub in central Sydney by the American-born, Australian-based promoter Lee Gordon, who was by then deeply in debt, nearing the end of his formerly successful career, and desperate to save his business. Bruce's first show at 9 p.m. on September 6 was uneventful, but his second show at 11 p.m. led to a major public controversy. Bruce was heckled by audience members during his performance, and when local actress Barbara Wyndon stood up and complained that Bruce was only talking about America, and asked him to talk about something different, a clearly annoyed Bruce responded, "Fuck you, madam. That's different, isn't it?" Bruce's remark shocked some members of the audience and several walked out. By the next day the local press had blown the incident up into a major controversy, with several Sydney papers denouncing Bruce as "sick" and one even illustrating their story with a retouched photograph appearing to show Bruce giving a fascist salute. The venue owners immediately cancelled the rest of Bruce's performances, and he retreated to his Kings Cross hotel room. Local university students (including future OZ magazine editor Richard Neville) who were fans of Bruce's humor tried to arrange a performance at the Roundhouse at the University of New South Wales, but at the last minute the university's Vice-Chancellor rescinded permission to use the venue, with no reason given and an interview he was scheduled to give on Australian television was cancelled in advance by the Australian Broadcasting Commission. Bruce remained largely confined to his hotel, but eight days later gave his third and last Australian concert at the Wintergarden Theatre in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Although the theatre had a capacity of 2,100, only 200 people attended, including a strong police presence, and Bruce gave what was described as a "subdued" performance. It was long rumored that a tape recording of Bruce's historic performance was made by police, but it was, in fact, recorded by local jazz saxophonist Sid Powell, who brought a portable tape recorder to the show. The tape was rediscovered in 2011 in the possession of Australian singer Sammy Gaha, who had acted as Bruce's chauffeur during his visit, and it was subsequently donated to the Lenny Bruce audio collection at Brandeis University. Bruce left the country a few days later and spoke little about the experience afterwards. Increasing drug use also affected Bruce's health. By 1966, he had been blacklisted by nearly every nightclub in the U.S., as owners feared prosecution for obscenity. He gave a famous performance at the Berkeley Community Theatre in December 1965, which was recorded and became his last live album, titled The Berkeley Concert; his performance here has been described as lucid, clear and calm, and one of his best. His last performance took place on June 25, 1966, at The Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, on a bill with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. The performance was not remembered fondly by Bill Graham, whose memoir describes Bruce as "whacked out on amphetamine;" Graham thought that Bruce finished his set emotionally disturbed. Zappa asked Bruce to sign his draft card, but the suspicious Bruce refused. At the request of Hefner and with the aid of Paul Krassner, Bruce wrote an autobiography. Serialized in Playboy in 1964 and 1965, this material was later published as the book How to Talk Dirty and Influence People. During this time, Bruce also contributed a number of articles to Krassner's satirical magazine The Realist. Death and posthumous pardon On August 3, 1966, Bruce was found dead in the bathroom of his Hollywood Hills home at 8825 W. Hollywood Blvd. The official photo, taken at the scene, showed Bruce lying naked on the floor, a syringe and burned bottle cap nearby, along with various other narcotics paraphernalia. Record producer Phil Spector, a friend of Bruce, bought the negatives of the photographs "to keep them from the press". The official cause of death was "acute morphine poisoning caused by an overdose". Bruce's remains were interred in Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Mission Hills, California, but an unconventional memorial on August 21 was controversial enough to keep his name in the spotlight. Over 500 people came to the service to pay their respects, led by Spector. Cemetery officials had tried to block the ceremony after advertisements for the event encouraged attendees to bring box lunches and noisemakers. Delivering the eulogy, which is featured at the end of the documentary Lenny Bruce Without the Tears, the Rev. William Glenesk said: Lenny Bruce's epitaph reads: "Beloved father—devoted son / Peace at last". Dick Schaap concluded his eulogy to Bruce in Playboy with the words: "One last four-letter word for Lenny: Dead. At forty. That's obscene". A memorial event was held at the Judson Memorial Church, New York City on Friday, August 12, which was "packed to overflowing" an hour before it was due to get underway at 6pm, and was attended by prominent members of the arts, many of whom also performed, and included Allen Ginsberg, Joe Lee Wilson, Jean Shepherd, Charlie Haden, and The Fugs; Paul Krassner officiated. On December 23, 2003, thirty-seven years after Bruce's death, New York Governor George Pataki granted him a posthumous pardon for his obscenity conviction. Legacy Bruce was the subject of the 1974 biographical film Lenny, directed by Bob Fosse and starring Dustin Hoffman (in an Academy Award-nominated Best Actor role), and based on the Broadway stage play of the same name written by Julian Barry and starring Cliff Gorman in his 1972 Tony Award–winning role. In addition, the main character's editing of a fictionalized film version of Lenny was a major part of Fosse's own autobiopic, the 1979 Academy Award–nominated All That Jazz; Gorman again played the role of the stand-up comic. The documentary Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth, directed by Robert B. Weide and narrated by Robert De Niro, was released in 1998. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. In 2004, Comedy Central listed Bruce at number three on its list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time, placing above Woody Allen (4th) and below Richard Pryor (1st) and George Carlin (2nd). Both comedians who ranked higher than Bruce considered him a major influence; Pryor said that hearing Bruce for the first time "changed my life," while Carlin said that Bruce was a "brilliant comedian" who influenced him as much as a man in his moral thinking and attitudes as he did as a comedian. Carlin was arrested along with Bruce after refusing to provide identification when police raided a Bruce performance. In popular culture In 1966, Grace Slick co-wrote and sang the Great Society song "Father Bruce". Bruce is pictured in the top row of the cover of the Beatles 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The clip of a news broadcast featured in "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" by Simon & Garfunkel carries the ostensible newscast audio of Lenny Bruce's death. In another track on the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, "A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)," Paul Simon sings, "... I learned the truth from Lenny Bruce, that all my wealth won't buy me health." Tim Hardin's fourth album Tim Hardin 3 Live in Concert, released in 1968, includes his song Lenny's Tune written about his friend Lenny Bruce. Nico's 1967 album Chelsea Girl includes a track entitled "Eulogy to Lenny Bruce," which was "Lenny's Tune" by Tim Hardin, with the lyrics slightly altered. In it she describes her sorrow and anger at Bruce's death. The Stranglers' 1977 song No More Heroes (The Stranglers song) references Lenny Bruce, asking "Whatever happened to dear old Lenny?". Bob Dylan's 1981 song "Lenny Bruce" from his Shot of Love album describes a brief taxi ride shared by the two men. In the last line of the song, Dylan recalls: "Lenny Bruce was bad, he was the brother that you never had." Dylan has included this song live in concert as recently as November 2019. Phil Ochs wrote a song eulogizing the late comedian, titled "Doesn't Lenny Live Here Anymore?" The song is featured on his 1969 album Rehearsals for Retirement. Australian group Paul Kelly And The Dots' 1982 album Manila features a track named "Lenny (To Live Is to Burn)", which includes a couple clips of Lenny Bruce performing. R.E.M.'s 1987 song "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" includes references to a quartet of famous people all sharing the initials L.B. with Lenny Bruce being one of them (the others being Leonard Bernstein, Leonid Brezhnev and Lester Bangs). The opening line of the song mentioning Bruce goes, "That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds, snakes and aeroplanes; Lenny Bruce is not afraid." Lenny Bruce appears as a character in Don DeLillo's 1997 novel Underworld. In the novel, Bruce does a stand-up routine about the Cuban Missile Crisis. Genesis' 1974 song "Broadway Melody of 1974" depicts a dystopic New York where "Lenny Bruce declares a truce and plays his other hand, Marshall McLuhan, casual viewin', head buried in the sand" and "Groucho, with his movies trailing, stands alone with his punchline failing." Jonathan Larson's musical RENT, has a song entitled, La Vie Boheme B, mentioning Lenny Bruce. Joy Zipper's 2005 album The Heartlight Set features a track named "For Lenny's Own Pleasure". Nada Surf's song "Imaginary Friends" (from their 2005 album The Weight Is a Gift) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "Lenny Bruce's bug eyes stare from an LP, asking me just what kind of fight I've got in me." Shmaltz Brewing Company brews a year-round beer called Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. and the tagline is "Brewed with an obscene amount of hops". Metric's song "On the Sly" (from their 2007 album Grow Up and Blow Away) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "for Halloween I want to be Lenny Bruce". In the 2014 episode "Comic Perversion" of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, fictional comic Josh Galloway says while being arrested, "I would like to dedicate my arrest to Mr. Lenny Bruce. NYPD crucified him, too." John Mayall's 1969 live album "The turning point" opens with the song "The laws must change", which features the line "Lenny Bruce was trying to tell you many things before he died". A fictionalized version of the comedian is played by Luke Kirby as a recurring character in the Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, in which he is portrayed as a friend and champion of the titular character. Kirby won an Emmy for his portrayal in 2019. Bibliography Bruce, Lenny. Stamp Help Out! (Self-published pamphlet, 1962) Bruce, Lenny. How to Talk Dirty and Influence People (Playboy Publishing, 1967) Autobiography, released posthumously. Content previously serialized in Playboy magazine. By others: Barry, Julian. Lenny (play) (Grove Press, Inc. 1971) Bruce, Honey. Honey: The Life and Loves of Lenny's Shady Lady (Playboy Press, 1976, with Dana Benenson) Bruce, Kitty. The (almost) Unpublished Lenny Bruce (1984, Running Press) (includes transcripts of interviews and routines, ephemera, and a graphically spruced up reproduction of 'Stamp Help Out!') Cohen, John, ed., compiler. The Essential Lenny Bruce (Ballantine Books, 1967) Collins, Ronald and David Skover, The Trials of Lenny Bruce: The Fall & Rise of an American Icon (Sourcebooks, 2002) DeLillo, Don. Underworld, (Simon and Schuster Inc., 1997) Denton, Bradley. The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians, an award-winning collection of science fiction stories in which the title story has Lenny Bruce as one of the two protagonists. Goldman, Albert, with Lawrence Schiller. Ladies and Gentlemen – Lenny Bruce!! (Random House, 1974) Goldstein, Jonathan. Lenny Bruce Is Dead (Coach House Press, 2001) Josepher, Brian. What the Psychic Saw (Sterlinghouse Publisher, 2005) Kofsky, Frank. Lenny Bruce: The Comedian as Social Critic & Secular Moralist (Monad Press, 1974) Kringas, Damian. Lenny Bruce: 13 Days In Sydney (Independence Jones Guerilla Press, Sydney, 2010) A study of Bruce's ill-fated September 1962 tour down under. Marciniak, Vwadek P., Politics, Humor and the Counterculture: Laughter in the Age of Decay (New York etc., Peter Lang, 2008). Marmo, Ronnie. I'm Not a Comedian... I'm Lenny Bruce (written/performed by Marmo, directed by Joe Mantegna, 2017) Smith, Valerie Kohler. Lenny (novelization based on the Barry-scripted/Fosse-directed film) (Grove Press, Inc., 1974) Thomas, William Karl. Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator. First printing, Archon Books, 1989; second printing, Media Maestro, 2002; Japanese edition, DHC Corp. Tokyo, 2001. Filmography Discography Albums Posthumous releases Compilations The later compilations are released in the European Union under various oldies labels, as the content used is public domain in the EU. Audiobooks Tribute albums See also List of civil rights leaders Dirtymouth, a 1970 biographical film about Bruce Footnotes References External links The Official Lenny Bruce Website FBI Records: The Vault – Lenny Bruce at fbi.gov Correspondence and Other Papers Pertaining to Lenny Bruce's Drug Case, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Articles Linder, Douglas, "The Lenny Bruce Trial: An Account" "Famous Trials: The Lenny Bruce Trial, 1964" Azlant, Edward. "Lenny Bruce Again", Shecky Magazine, August 22, 2006 Gilmore, John. "Lenny Bruce and the Bunny", excerpt from Laid Bare: A Memoir of Wrecked Lives and the Hollywood Death Trip (Amok Books, 1997). Harnisch, Larry. "Voices", Los Angeles Times, April 13, 2007. (Reminiscences by saxophonist Dave Pell) Kaufman, Anthony. (interview with Swear to Tell the Truth producer), Indiewire.com, April 16, 2008 Hentoff, Nat. "Lenny Bruce: The crucifixion of a true believer", Gadfly March/April 2001 Sloan, Will. "Is Lenny Bruce Still Funny?", Hazlitt, November 4, 2014 Smith, Daniel V. "The Complete Lenny Bruce Chronology" (fan site) "Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet" Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator, Media Maestro 2001. [CC-By-SA] Audio/video Video Clips Relating to the Trial of Lenny Bruce as assembled by the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School 1925 births 1966 deaths 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American memoirists Accidental deaths in California American anti-fascists American humorists American male comedians American people convicted of drug offenses American people of English-Jewish descent American sailors American satirists American social commentators American stand-up comedians Beat Generation people Burials at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery Censorship in the arts Comedians from New York (state) Critics of religions Critics of the Catholic Church Drug-related deaths in California Freedom of speech in the United States Jewish American male comedians Jewish anti-fascists Military personnel from New York (state) Obscenity controversies in stand-up comedy People from Bellmore, New York People from Greenwich Village People from Mineola, New York People who have received posthumous pardons Philles Records artists Race-related controversies in stand-up comedy Recipients of American gubernatorial pardons Religious controversies in stand-up comedy Social critics Free speech activists Stand-up comedy controversies United States Merchant Mariners United States Merchant Mariners of the Korean War United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy sailors
false
[ "Section 294 of the Indian Penal Code lays down the punishment for obscene acts or words in public. The other sections of Indian Penal code which deal with obscenity are 292 and 293. The law does not clearly define what would constitute an obscene act, but it would enter the domain of the state only when it takes place in a public place to the annoyance of others. Temple art or nakedness of sadhus are traditionally outside the purview of this section.\n\nText\nWhoever, to the annoyance of others;\n(a) Does any obscene act in any public place, or\n(b) Sings, recites or utters any obscene song, ballad or words, in or near any public place,\nShall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine, or with both.\n\nCase law\nDismissing a complaint that Richard Gere had acted obscenely by kissing Shilpa Shetty in public, the Supreme Court of India had observed that in this issue 'no case was made out'.\nEven after this verdict, complaints have been filed in courts claiming that kissing in public constitutes an offense under this section. Kiss of Love Protesters were threatened with lawsuits under this section.\nThe Kerala High Court had observed that the performance of cabaret dance devoid of nudity and obscenity, judged according to the standards indicated was permissible, and was not in any way liable to be banned or prevented.\nQuashing a case against 13 men who were arrested for allegedly indulging in obscene acts with women in a flat, the Bombay High Court has said any such action done in a private place is not a criminal offence under the Indian Penal Code.\n\nNotes\n\nSections of the Indian Penal Code\nObscenity law", "is a 1972 Japanese film in Nikkatsu's Roman porno series, directed by Seiichirō Yamaguchi and starring Hidemi Hara, Mari Tanaka, and Sumiko Minami. The film was banned for obscenity, and director Yamaguchi arrested. The resulting trials were the last time that a film was prosecuted for obscenity in Japan.\n\nSynopsis\nKyōko is a woman with a promiscuous past who is sexually unsatisfied with her marriage. Her frustrations lead her to have hedonistic dreams, such as her mother and grandfather having sex together. Seeking to rejuvenate her marriage, she throws a wild party. The ploy is a success.\n\nCast\n Hidemi Hara: Kyōko\n Mari Tanaka: Hisako\n Gen Mitamura: Hideyuki\n Uju Ranko: Keiko\n Ryūji Ōizumi: Kazuo\n Sumiko Minami: Mother\n Akira Takahashi: Chef\n Akemi Yamaguchi: Jōji\n Juju: Jun\n\nBackground\nThe screenwriting credit, Kiyomi Kōyama, was a stage name for director Yamaguchi and prominent Roman Porno director Tatsumi Kumashiro. Sumiko Minami was a Nikkatsu veteran from the Nikkatsu Action days. Many of the studio's staff from this pre-Roman Porno era had left rather than make films in the softcore pink style that the studio had adopted in 1971. Minami was one of the few performers who remained, and audiences were given a shock to see this actress in previously conservative roles performing perverse scenes such as sex with her father in the dream sequence.\n\nReaction \nNo Japanese film had been prosecuted for obscenity since Tetsuji Takechi's Black Snow (1965), which ended up in a victory for the filmmaker. When Nikkatsu started its Roman Porno series in November 1971, it opened to critical and box-office success with the double-release Apartment Wife: Affair In the Afternoon and Castle Orgies. The interest of the authorities was also aroused, and with the release of Love Hunter in January 1972, they took action.\n\nThe Tokyo Metropolitan Police arrested director Yamaguchi as well as other Nikkatsu employees. Inspectors for Eirin, the Japanese film industry's self-monitoring organization, were also indicted for passing the film. All copies of the film, as well as the accompanying features, Katsuhiko Fujii's Office Lady Diary: Scent of a She-Cat and Kaoru Umezawa's independent pink film, Highschool Geisha were included in the raid.\n\nYamaguchi had been one of the Hachirō Guryū, the eight writers for Suzuki's Branded to Kill (1967). He took an adversarial approach to the prosecution, announcing publicly that he was being \"crucified\", and was \"nothing but a scapegoat\". His confrontational stance made him popular with the media, but Nikkatsu considered him a troublemaker. During the period leading up to the trial, Yamaguchi filmed a sequel to Love Hunter, Love Hunter: Desire (1973), a story about a stripper who is arrested for obscenity. Mari Tanaka, who had had a supporting role in the original film, was the star of the sequel. The obvious baiting of the authorities intended by the film only added to his trouble with the government and the studio. After starting work on a second sequel, Love Hunter: Lustful Murder, Nikkatsu fired Yamaguchi and had Masaru Konuma finish the project. Yamaguchi moved to Art Theatre Guild where he made one more film.\n\nThrough her involvement in Love Hunter, its sequel, and Warmth of Love (1972), which the police accused of obscenity three months later, but did not prosecute, actress Mari Tanaka became a favorite of anti-establishment organizations. Leading Nikkatsu filmmaker Tatsumi Kumashiro was inspired by the Love Hunter trial to direct several films with an anti-censorship theme. Among them were The World of Geisha, and Woods Are Wet (both 1973). Kumashiro's Woods Are Wet: Woman Hell would also run afoul of the police, when they shut it down on May 29, 1973, insisting that Eirin review it again.\n\nIn 1978 the Tokyo District Court declared that while the film contained obscenity, it was not, as a whole, obscene. The prosecution appealed the decision, and in July 1980 all of the accused were acquitted. The group of legal suits instigated by Love Hunter were, as of 2009, the last time that a film was prosecuted for obscenity in Japan.\n\nAvailability\nLove Hunter was released on DVD in Japan on December 21, 2007, as part of Geneon's tenth wave of Nikkatsu Roman porno series.\n\nReferences\n\nNotes\n\nBibliography\n\nEnglish\n\nJapanese\n\nExternal links\n \n\n1972 films\nJapanese films\nJapanese-language films\nNikkatsu films\nNikkatsu Roman Porno" ]
[ "Lenny Bruce", "Obscenity arrests", "What was Bruce arrested for?", "On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco;", "Did he get jail time?", "Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity.", "What other times was he arrested?", "Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession", "Any other arrests?", "again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy", "Did this arrest record have any negative effects for Bruce?", "Solomon later saw his conviction overturned; Bruce, who died before the decision, never had his conviction stricken.", "Who was Solomon?", "Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964.", "What is considered to be \"obscenity\" in these arrests?", "he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that \"to is a preposition, come is a verb\",", "Any other words that were considered to be \"obscene\"?", "The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis.", "Were words the only reason he was arrested for \"obscenity\"?", "he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering England by the Home Office as an \"undesirable alien\"." ]
C_bde6fa1924234f399674744a805129f9_0
Why was he considered to be an "undesirable alien"?
10
Why was Lenny Bruce considered to be an "undesirable alien"?
Lenny Bruce
On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb", that the sexual context of come is so common that it bears no weight, and that if someone hearing it becomes upset, he "probably can't come". Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity. Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession and again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy named Sherman Block, who later became County Sheriff. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. The Hollywood charges were later dismissed. On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago. The same year he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering England by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien". In April 1964, he appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. On both occasions, he was arrested after leaving the stage, the complaints again pertaining to his use of various obscenities. A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant D.A. Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from - among other artists, writers and educators - Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced on December 21, 1964 to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon later saw his conviction overturned; Bruce, who died before the decision, never had his conviction stricken. Bruce later received a full posthumous gubernatorial pardon. CANNOTANSWER
On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago.
Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, freestyle and critical form of comedy which contained satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity. His 1964 conviction in an obscenity trial was followed by a posthumous pardon in 2003. Bruce paved the way for counterculture-era comedians. His trial for obscenity is a landmark for freedom of speech in the United States. In 2017, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him third (behind Richard Pryor and George Carlin) on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time. Early life Lenny Bruce was Jewish, born Leonard Alfred Schneider, in Mineola, New York. He grew up in nearby Bellmore, and attended Wellington C. Mepham High School. His parents divorced before he turned 10, and he lived with various relatives over the next decade. His British-born father, Myron (Mickey) Schneider, was a shoe clerk, and the two saw each other very infrequently. Bruce's mother, Sally Marr (legal name Sadie Schneider, born Sadie Kitchenberg), was a stage performer and had an enormous influence on Bruce's career. After spending time working on a farm, Bruce joined the United States Navy at the age of 16 in 1942, with active service during World War II aboard the in Northern Africa; Palermo, Italy, in 1943; and Anzio, Italy, in 1944. In May 1945, after a comedic performance for his shipmates in which he was dressed in drag, his commanding officers became upset. He defiantly convinced his ship's medical officer that he was experiencing homosexual urges. This led to his undesirable discharge in July 1945. However, he had not admitted to or been found guilty of any breach of naval regulations and successfully applied to have his discharge changed to "Under Honorable Conditions ... by reason of unsuitability for the naval service". During the Korean War era, Bruce served in the United States Merchant Marine, ferrying troops from the US to Europe and back. In 1959, while taping the first episode of Hugh Hefner's Playboy's Penthouse, Bruce talked about his Navy experience and showed a tattoo he received in Malta in 1942. After a short period living with his father in California, Bruce settled in New York City, hoping to establish himself as a comedian. However, he found it difficult to differentiate himself from the thousands of other show-business hopefuls who populated the city. One locale where they congregated was Hanson's, the diner where Bruce first met the comedian Joe Ancis, who had a profound influence on Bruce's approach to comedy. Many of Bruce's later routines reflected his meticulous schooling at the hands of Ancis. According to Bruce's biographer Albert Goldman, Ancis's humor involved stream-of-consciousness sexual fantasies and references to jazz. Bruce took the stage as "Lenny Marsalle" one evening at the Victory Club, as a stand-in master of ceremonies for one of his mother's shows. His ad-libs earned him some laughs. Soon afterward, in 1947, just after changing his last name to Bruce, he earned $12 and a free spaghetti dinner for his first stand-up performance in Brooklyn. He was later a guest—and was introduced by his mother, who called herself "Sally Bruce"—on the Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts radio program. Lenny did a piece inspired by Sid Caesar, "The Bavarian Mimic", featuring impressions of American movie stars (e.g., Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson). Career Bruce's early comedy career included writing the screenplays for Dance Hall Racket in 1953, which featured Bruce, his wife Honey Harlow, and mother Sally Marr; Dream Follies in 1954, a low-budget burlesque romp; and a children's film, The Rocket Man, in 1954. In 1956, Frank Ray Perilli, a fellow nightclub comedian who eventually became a screenwriter of two dozen successful films and plays, became a mentor and part-time manager of Bruce. Through Perilli, Bruce met and collaborated with photojournalist William Karl Thomas on three screenplays (Leather Jacket, Killer's Grave and The Degenerate), none of which made it to the screen, and the comedy material on his first three comedy albums. Bruce was a roommate of Buddy Hackett in the 1950s. The two appeared on the Patrice Munsel Show (1957–1958), calling their comedy duo the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players", twenty years before the cast of Saturday Night Live used the same name. In 1957, Thomas booked Bruce into the Slate Brothers nightclub, where he was fired the first night for what Variety headlined as "blue material"; this led to the theme of Bruce's first solo album on Berkeley-based Fantasy Records, The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce, for which Thomas shot the album cover. Thomas also shot other album covers, acted as cinematographer on abortive attempts to film their screenplays, and in 1989 authored a memoir of their ten-year collaboration titled Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet. The 2016 biography of Frank Ray Perilli titled The Candy Butcher, devotes a chapter to Perilli's ten-year collaboration with Bruce. Bruce released a total of four albums of original material on Fantasy Records. These albums were later compiled and re-released as The Lenny Bruce Originals. Two later records were produced and sold by Bruce himself, including a 10-inch album of the 1961 San Francisco performances that started his legal troubles. Starting in the late 1960s, other unissued Bruce material was released by Alan Douglas, Frank Zappa and Phil Spector, as well as Fantasy. Bruce developed the complexity and tone of his material in Enrico Banducci's North Beach nightclub, the "hungry i", where Mort Sahl had earlier made a name for himself. Branded a "sick comic", Bruce was essentially blacklisted from television, and when he did appear thanks to sympathetic fans like Hefner and Steve Allen, it was with great concessions to Broadcast Standards and Practices. Jokes that might offend, like a bit on airplane glue-sniffing teenagers that was done live for The Steve Allen Show in 1959, had to be typed out and pre-approved by network officials. On his debut on Allen's show, Bruce made an unscripted comment on the recent marriage of Elizabeth Taylor to Eddie Fisher, wondering, "Will Elizabeth Taylor become bar mitzvahed?" In the midst of a severe blizzard, Bruce gave a famous performance at Carnegie Hall at midnight on February 4, 1961. It was recorded and later released as a three-disc set titled The Carnegie Hall Concert. In the posthumous biography about Bruce, Albert Goldman described the night of the concert as follows: In August 1965, a year before his death, Bruce gave his penultimate performance at San Francisco's Basin Street West, mainly talking about his legal troubles. The filmed performance was released by Rhino Home Video in 1992 as The Lenny Bruce Performance Film. Personal life In 1951, Bruce met Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas. They were married that same year, and Bruce was determined she would end her work as a stripper. The couple eventually left New York in 1953 for the West Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles. Bruce then went on to join the bill at the club Strip City. Harlow found employment at the Colony Club, which was widely known to be the best burlesque club in Los Angeles at the time. Bruce left Strip City in late 1954 and found work within the San Fernando Valley at a variety of strip clubs. As the master of ceremonies, he introduced the strippers while performing his material. The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines: according to his primary biographer, Albert Goldman, it was "precisely at the moment when he sank to the bottom of the barrel and started working the places that were the lowest of the low" that he suddenly broke free of "all the restraints and inhibitions and disabilities that formerly had kept him just mediocre and began to blow with a spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school." Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955. Honey and Lenny had a tumultuous relationship. Many serious domestic incidents occurred between them, usually the result of serious drug use. They broke up and reunited over and over again between 1956 and Lenny's death in 1966. They first separated in March 1956, and were back together again by July of that year when they travelled to Honolulu for a night club tour. During this trip, Honey was arrested for marijuana possession. Prevented from leaving the island due to her parole conditions, Lenny took the opportunity to leave her again, and this time kidnapped the then one-year-old Kitty. In her autobiography, Honey claims Lenny turned her in to the police. She would be later sentenced to two years in federal prison. Throughout the final decade of his life, Bruce was beset by severe drug addiction. He would use heroin, methamphetamine and Dilaudid daily. He suffered numerous health problems and personal strife as a result of his addiction. He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s. In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized. At the time of his death, his girlfriend was comedian Lotus Weinstock. Legal troubles Bruce's desire to help his wife cease working as a stripper led him to pursue schemes that were designed to make as much money as possible. The most notable was the Brother Mathias Foundation scam, which resulted in Bruce's arrest in Miami, Florida, in 1951 for impersonating a priest. He had been soliciting donations for a leper colony in British Guiana (now Guyana) under the auspices of the "Brother Mathias Foundation", which he had legally chartered—the name was his own invention, but possibly referred to the actual Brother Matthias who had befriended Babe Ruth at the Baltimore orphanage to which Ruth had been confined as a child. Bruce had stolen several priests' clergy shirts and a clerical collar while posing as a laundry man. He was found not guilty because of the legality of the New York state-chartered foundation, the actual existence of the Guiana leper colony, and the inability of the local clergy to expose him as an impostor. Later, in his semifictional autobiography How to Talk Dirty and Influence People, Bruce said that he had made about $8,000 in three weeks, sending $2,500 to the leper colony and keeping the rest. Obscenity arrests On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb", that the sexual context of come is so common that it bears no weight, and that if someone hearing it becomes upset, he "probably can't come". Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity. Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession and again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy named Sherman Block, who later became County Sheriff. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. The Hollywood charges were later dismissed. On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago. That same year, he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering the United Kingdom by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien". In April 1964, he appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. On both occasions, he was arrested after leaving the stage, the complaints again pertaining to his use of various obscenities. A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant D.A. Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from—among other artists, writers and educators—Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced on December 21, 1964, to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon later saw his conviction overturned. Later years Despite his prominence as a comedian, Bruce appeared on network television only six times in his life. In his later club performances, he was known for relating the details of his encounters with the police directly in his comedy routine. These performances often included rants about his court battles over obscenity charges, tirades against fascism, and complaints that he was being denied his right to freedom of speech. Bruce was banned outright from several U.S. cities. In September 1962, his only visit to Australia caused a media storm—although, contrary to popular belief, he was not banned nor was he forced to leave the country. Bruce was booked for a two-week engagement at Aaron's Exchange Hotel, a small pub in central Sydney by the American-born, Australian-based promoter Lee Gordon, who was by then deeply in debt, nearing the end of his formerly successful career, and desperate to save his business. Bruce's first show at 9 p.m. on September 6 was uneventful, but his second show at 11 p.m. led to a major public controversy. Bruce was heckled by audience members during his performance, and when local actress Barbara Wyndon stood up and complained that Bruce was only talking about America, and asked him to talk about something different, a clearly annoyed Bruce responded, "Fuck you, madam. That's different, isn't it?" Bruce's remark shocked some members of the audience and several walked out. By the next day the local press had blown the incident up into a major controversy, with several Sydney papers denouncing Bruce as "sick" and one even illustrating their story with a retouched photograph appearing to show Bruce giving a fascist salute. The venue owners immediately cancelled the rest of Bruce's performances, and he retreated to his Kings Cross hotel room. Local university students (including future OZ magazine editor Richard Neville) who were fans of Bruce's humor tried to arrange a performance at the Roundhouse at the University of New South Wales, but at the last minute the university's Vice-Chancellor rescinded permission to use the venue, with no reason given and an interview he was scheduled to give on Australian television was cancelled in advance by the Australian Broadcasting Commission. Bruce remained largely confined to his hotel, but eight days later gave his third and last Australian concert at the Wintergarden Theatre in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Although the theatre had a capacity of 2,100, only 200 people attended, including a strong police presence, and Bruce gave what was described as a "subdued" performance. It was long rumored that a tape recording of Bruce's historic performance was made by police, but it was, in fact, recorded by local jazz saxophonist Sid Powell, who brought a portable tape recorder to the show. The tape was rediscovered in 2011 in the possession of Australian singer Sammy Gaha, who had acted as Bruce's chauffeur during his visit, and it was subsequently donated to the Lenny Bruce audio collection at Brandeis University. Bruce left the country a few days later and spoke little about the experience afterwards. Increasing drug use also affected Bruce's health. By 1966, he had been blacklisted by nearly every nightclub in the U.S., as owners feared prosecution for obscenity. He gave a famous performance at the Berkeley Community Theatre in December 1965, which was recorded and became his last live album, titled The Berkeley Concert; his performance here has been described as lucid, clear and calm, and one of his best. His last performance took place on June 25, 1966, at The Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, on a bill with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. The performance was not remembered fondly by Bill Graham, whose memoir describes Bruce as "whacked out on amphetamine;" Graham thought that Bruce finished his set emotionally disturbed. Zappa asked Bruce to sign his draft card, but the suspicious Bruce refused. At the request of Hefner and with the aid of Paul Krassner, Bruce wrote an autobiography. Serialized in Playboy in 1964 and 1965, this material was later published as the book How to Talk Dirty and Influence People. During this time, Bruce also contributed a number of articles to Krassner's satirical magazine The Realist. Death and posthumous pardon On August 3, 1966, Bruce was found dead in the bathroom of his Hollywood Hills home at 8825 W. Hollywood Blvd. The official photo, taken at the scene, showed Bruce lying naked on the floor, a syringe and burned bottle cap nearby, along with various other narcotics paraphernalia. Record producer Phil Spector, a friend of Bruce, bought the negatives of the photographs "to keep them from the press". The official cause of death was "acute morphine poisoning caused by an overdose". Bruce's remains were interred in Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Mission Hills, California, but an unconventional memorial on August 21 was controversial enough to keep his name in the spotlight. Over 500 people came to the service to pay their respects, led by Spector. Cemetery officials had tried to block the ceremony after advertisements for the event encouraged attendees to bring box lunches and noisemakers. Delivering the eulogy, which is featured at the end of the documentary Lenny Bruce Without the Tears, the Rev. William Glenesk said: Lenny Bruce's epitaph reads: "Beloved father—devoted son / Peace at last". Dick Schaap concluded his eulogy to Bruce in Playboy with the words: "One last four-letter word for Lenny: Dead. At forty. That's obscene". A memorial event was held at the Judson Memorial Church, New York City on Friday, August 12, which was "packed to overflowing" an hour before it was due to get underway at 6pm, and was attended by prominent members of the arts, many of whom also performed, and included Allen Ginsberg, Joe Lee Wilson, Jean Shepherd, Charlie Haden, and The Fugs; Paul Krassner officiated. On December 23, 2003, thirty-seven years after Bruce's death, New York Governor George Pataki granted him a posthumous pardon for his obscenity conviction. Legacy Bruce was the subject of the 1974 biographical film Lenny, directed by Bob Fosse and starring Dustin Hoffman (in an Academy Award-nominated Best Actor role), and based on the Broadway stage play of the same name written by Julian Barry and starring Cliff Gorman in his 1972 Tony Award–winning role. In addition, the main character's editing of a fictionalized film version of Lenny was a major part of Fosse's own autobiopic, the 1979 Academy Award–nominated All That Jazz; Gorman again played the role of the stand-up comic. The documentary Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth, directed by Robert B. Weide and narrated by Robert De Niro, was released in 1998. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. In 2004, Comedy Central listed Bruce at number three on its list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time, placing above Woody Allen (4th) and below Richard Pryor (1st) and George Carlin (2nd). Both comedians who ranked higher than Bruce considered him a major influence; Pryor said that hearing Bruce for the first time "changed my life," while Carlin said that Bruce was a "brilliant comedian" who influenced him as much as a man in his moral thinking and attitudes as he did as a comedian. Carlin was arrested along with Bruce after refusing to provide identification when police raided a Bruce performance. In popular culture In 1966, Grace Slick co-wrote and sang the Great Society song "Father Bruce". Bruce is pictured in the top row of the cover of the Beatles 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The clip of a news broadcast featured in "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" by Simon & Garfunkel carries the ostensible newscast audio of Lenny Bruce's death. In another track on the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, "A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)," Paul Simon sings, "... I learned the truth from Lenny Bruce, that all my wealth won't buy me health." Tim Hardin's fourth album Tim Hardin 3 Live in Concert, released in 1968, includes his song Lenny's Tune written about his friend Lenny Bruce. Nico's 1967 album Chelsea Girl includes a track entitled "Eulogy to Lenny Bruce," which was "Lenny's Tune" by Tim Hardin, with the lyrics slightly altered. In it she describes her sorrow and anger at Bruce's death. The Stranglers' 1977 song No More Heroes (The Stranglers song) references Lenny Bruce, asking "Whatever happened to dear old Lenny?". Bob Dylan's 1981 song "Lenny Bruce" from his Shot of Love album describes a brief taxi ride shared by the two men. In the last line of the song, Dylan recalls: "Lenny Bruce was bad, he was the brother that you never had." Dylan has included this song live in concert as recently as November 2019. Phil Ochs wrote a song eulogizing the late comedian, titled "Doesn't Lenny Live Here Anymore?" The song is featured on his 1969 album Rehearsals for Retirement. Australian group Paul Kelly And The Dots' 1982 album Manila features a track named "Lenny (To Live Is to Burn)", which includes a couple clips of Lenny Bruce performing. R.E.M.'s 1987 song "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" includes references to a quartet of famous people all sharing the initials L.B. with Lenny Bruce being one of them (the others being Leonard Bernstein, Leonid Brezhnev and Lester Bangs). The opening line of the song mentioning Bruce goes, "That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds, snakes and aeroplanes; Lenny Bruce is not afraid." Lenny Bruce appears as a character in Don DeLillo's 1997 novel Underworld. In the novel, Bruce does a stand-up routine about the Cuban Missile Crisis. Genesis' 1974 song "Broadway Melody of 1974" depicts a dystopic New York where "Lenny Bruce declares a truce and plays his other hand, Marshall McLuhan, casual viewin', head buried in the sand" and "Groucho, with his movies trailing, stands alone with his punchline failing." Jonathan Larson's musical RENT, has a song entitled, La Vie Boheme B, mentioning Lenny Bruce. Joy Zipper's 2005 album The Heartlight Set features a track named "For Lenny's Own Pleasure". Nada Surf's song "Imaginary Friends" (from their 2005 album The Weight Is a Gift) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "Lenny Bruce's bug eyes stare from an LP, asking me just what kind of fight I've got in me." Shmaltz Brewing Company brews a year-round beer called Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. and the tagline is "Brewed with an obscene amount of hops". Metric's song "On the Sly" (from their 2007 album Grow Up and Blow Away) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "for Halloween I want to be Lenny Bruce". In the 2014 episode "Comic Perversion" of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, fictional comic Josh Galloway says while being arrested, "I would like to dedicate my arrest to Mr. Lenny Bruce. NYPD crucified him, too." John Mayall's 1969 live album "The turning point" opens with the song "The laws must change", which features the line "Lenny Bruce was trying to tell you many things before he died". A fictionalized version of the comedian is played by Luke Kirby as a recurring character in the Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, in which he is portrayed as a friend and champion of the titular character. Kirby won an Emmy for his portrayal in 2019. Bibliography Bruce, Lenny. Stamp Help Out! (Self-published pamphlet, 1962) Bruce, Lenny. How to Talk Dirty and Influence People (Playboy Publishing, 1967) Autobiography, released posthumously. Content previously serialized in Playboy magazine. By others: Barry, Julian. Lenny (play) (Grove Press, Inc. 1971) Bruce, Honey. Honey: The Life and Loves of Lenny's Shady Lady (Playboy Press, 1976, with Dana Benenson) Bruce, Kitty. The (almost) Unpublished Lenny Bruce (1984, Running Press) (includes transcripts of interviews and routines, ephemera, and a graphically spruced up reproduction of 'Stamp Help Out!') Cohen, John, ed., compiler. The Essential Lenny Bruce (Ballantine Books, 1967) Collins, Ronald and David Skover, The Trials of Lenny Bruce: The Fall & Rise of an American Icon (Sourcebooks, 2002) DeLillo, Don. Underworld, (Simon and Schuster Inc., 1997) Denton, Bradley. The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians, an award-winning collection of science fiction stories in which the title story has Lenny Bruce as one of the two protagonists. Goldman, Albert, with Lawrence Schiller. Ladies and Gentlemen – Lenny Bruce!! (Random House, 1974) Goldstein, Jonathan. Lenny Bruce Is Dead (Coach House Press, 2001) Josepher, Brian. What the Psychic Saw (Sterlinghouse Publisher, 2005) Kofsky, Frank. Lenny Bruce: The Comedian as Social Critic & Secular Moralist (Monad Press, 1974) Kringas, Damian. Lenny Bruce: 13 Days In Sydney (Independence Jones Guerilla Press, Sydney, 2010) A study of Bruce's ill-fated September 1962 tour down under. Marciniak, Vwadek P., Politics, Humor and the Counterculture: Laughter in the Age of Decay (New York etc., Peter Lang, 2008). Marmo, Ronnie. I'm Not a Comedian... I'm Lenny Bruce (written/performed by Marmo, directed by Joe Mantegna, 2017) Smith, Valerie Kohler. Lenny (novelization based on the Barry-scripted/Fosse-directed film) (Grove Press, Inc., 1974) Thomas, William Karl. Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator. First printing, Archon Books, 1989; second printing, Media Maestro, 2002; Japanese edition, DHC Corp. Tokyo, 2001. Filmography Discography Albums Posthumous releases Compilations The later compilations are released in the European Union under various oldies labels, as the content used is public domain in the EU. Audiobooks Tribute albums See also List of civil rights leaders Dirtymouth, a 1970 biographical film about Bruce Footnotes References External links The Official Lenny Bruce Website FBI Records: The Vault – Lenny Bruce at fbi.gov Correspondence and Other Papers Pertaining to Lenny Bruce's Drug Case, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Articles Linder, Douglas, "The Lenny Bruce Trial: An Account" "Famous Trials: The Lenny Bruce Trial, 1964" Azlant, Edward. "Lenny Bruce Again", Shecky Magazine, August 22, 2006 Gilmore, John. "Lenny Bruce and the Bunny", excerpt from Laid Bare: A Memoir of Wrecked Lives and the Hollywood Death Trip (Amok Books, 1997). Harnisch, Larry. "Voices", Los Angeles Times, April 13, 2007. (Reminiscences by saxophonist Dave Pell) Kaufman, Anthony. (interview with Swear to Tell the Truth producer), Indiewire.com, April 16, 2008 Hentoff, Nat. "Lenny Bruce: The crucifixion of a true believer", Gadfly March/April 2001 Sloan, Will. "Is Lenny Bruce Still Funny?", Hazlitt, November 4, 2014 Smith, Daniel V. "The Complete Lenny Bruce Chronology" (fan site) "Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet" Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator, Media Maestro 2001. [CC-By-SA] Audio/video Video Clips Relating to the Trial of Lenny Bruce as assembled by the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School 1925 births 1966 deaths 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American memoirists Accidental deaths in California American anti-fascists American humorists American male comedians American people convicted of drug offenses American people of English-Jewish descent American sailors American satirists American social commentators American stand-up comedians Beat Generation people Burials at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery Censorship in the arts Comedians from New York (state) Critics of religions Critics of the Catholic Church Drug-related deaths in California Freedom of speech in the United States Jewish American male comedians Jewish anti-fascists Military personnel from New York (state) Obscenity controversies in stand-up comedy People from Bellmore, New York People from Greenwich Village People from Mineola, New York People who have received posthumous pardons Philles Records artists Race-related controversies in stand-up comedy Recipients of American gubernatorial pardons Religious controversies in stand-up comedy Social critics Free speech activists Stand-up comedy controversies United States Merchant Mariners United States Merchant Mariners of the Korean War United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy sailors
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[ "I Thought I Was an Alien is the debut studio album by French singer Soko, released in February 2012.\n\nRelease and promotion\nStereogum premiered I Thought I Was an Alien for online streaming on 13 February 2012. The album was issued to Belgian, British, Dutch, German, Italian, Irish, Luxembourgish, Polish and Swiss music stores on 17 February.\n\nTrack listing\n\"I Just Want to Make It New with You\" - 2:19\n\"I Thought I Was an Alien\" - 2:18\n\"People Always Look Better in the Sun\" - 2:18\n\"We Might Be Dead by Tomorrow\" - 2:41\n\"No More Home, No More Love...\" - 2:36\n\"For Marlon\" - 3:23\n\"First Love Never Die\" - 4:22\n\"Treat Your Woman Right\" - 4:19\n\"How Are You??\" - 3:46\n\"Don't You Touch Me\" - 3:23\n\"Destruction of the Disgusting Ugly Hate\" - 3:55\n\"Happy Hippie Birthday\" - 4:01\n\"I've Been Alone Too Long\" - 4:44\n\"Why Don't You Eat Me Now, You Can\" - 1:28\n\"You Have a Power on Me\" - 2:49\n\nChart positions\n\nReferences\n\n2012 debut albums\nBecause Music albums\nSoko (singer) albums", "How to be an Alien is a humorous book by George Mikes, illustrated by Nicolas Bentley and published in 1946. It was Mikes' second book and is the most famous of the 44 he wrote. It is a classic of British humour and by its 32nd impression in 1966 had sold over 300,000 copies. It pokes gentle fun at the English and their relationship with foreigners, \"alien\" meaning in this context any non-English person. The book is characterised by much humour, affection and a total lack of rancour or bitterness. Mikes, an immigrant from Hungary, demonstrated not only his knowledge of English society but an insight into the English language.\n\nSynopsis \nThe book is in two parts. The first part, \"How to be a General Alien\", deals with such important English topics as the weather, tea, how not to be clever (since it is considered bad manners), how to compromise, and queueing (according to Mikes, the national passion). The chapter entitled \"Sex\" is in its entirety as follows.\nContinental people have sex lives: the English have hot water bottles.\nThe second part, \"How to be a Particular Alien\", describes particular occupations from Bloomsbury intellectual to bus driver, finishing with how to be a naturalised citizen, which includes the eating of porridge for breakfast, and alleging that you like it.\n\nMikes subsequently wrote How to be Inimitable (1960) and How to be Decadent (1977). All three books were published in one volume in 1984 as How to be a Brit.\n\nAdaptations \nA television programme based on the book, How to Be an Alien, was broadcast in 1964, featuring Frank Muir and Denis Norden, with the voices of Ronnie Barker and June Whitfield. The book was adopted for English language teaching in the Penguin Readers series.\n\nEditions\n1946 First edition: André Deutsch (UK) hardback with illustrations by Nicolas Bentley\n1966 Penguin Books (paperback)\n1999 How to Be an Alien (Penguin ELT Simplified Readers: Level 3: Pre-Intermediate) (Paperback)\n\nOnline\n\nReferences\n\nBooks about England\nComedy books" ]
[ "Focus (band)", "1985-1999: Reunions" ]
C_f5c93dc410b34900bc07c020bdf85216_0
Did the band reunite during this time frame?
1
Did the band Focus reunite during 1985-1999?
Focus (band)
In mid-1983, both of Akkerman's managers came up with the idea of the guitarist reuniting with van Leer to record new music, to which Akkerman agreed. Van Leer immediately accepted the invitation, and went on to play the synthesiser on "Headbanger" on Akkerman's 1984 solo album From the Basement. After this initial collaboration, one executive at Phonogram Records suggested the pair work with producer Trevor Horn to release an album of re-recorded Focus tracks, but it was dismissed. In the following 15 months, the two wrote, rehearsed, and recorded new music with several additional musicians with engineer Theo Balijob. Their contract required the two to record as a duet, rather under the name Focus. During the recording, producer Ruud Jacobs was brought in to supervise the project due to the length of time taken to put the tracks down. Balijon claimed Jacobs cut corners and pushed for the strongest tracks to be completed quickly to save production costs, which "unintentionally increased the animosity between Jan and Thijs". In the 63 days they spent recording from April to May 1984, around 30 tracks were completed with several additional musicians. Focus was released in March 1985 by Vertigo Records which reached number 33 in the Netherlands. The pair followed the album with promotional videos and a local four-date tour. In 1988, EMI acquired the rights to the band's back catalogue and reissued their albums on compact disc for the first time. In 1990, the former line-up of van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for the first time since 1975. The four played a 40-minute set at the Americahal in Apeldoorn on 20 April that was broadcast as part of the Oud van Goud television special. It came about when producer Frans Meijer asked Akkerman to perform a gig with the group, and the fact that the guitarist's manager had not seen the band play in the 1970s, so "it was swatting two flies with one hit". The other three agreed at the opportunity, and they rehearsed for four hours in Wijchen several days prior to the concert. Ruiter said they "went very well"; van Leer said it was "fantastic". Following the concert, van Leer was keen to formally restart Focus with Akkerman, though the latter felt different though he was happy to reunite with van der Linden. On 17 May the group, minus Akkerman, mimed a performance of "House of the King" on the Service Salon television program on AVRO-TV. Originally the band were to perform "Hocus Pocus" with Akkerman, but the guitarist declined the offer made by the network, stating he reunited with Focus for Meijer and his manager. The appearance went ahead regardless. Van Leer and Akkerman shared the stage once more in 1993, performing Focus songs at the North Sea Jazz Festival. In 1999, van Leer attempted to reform Focus with Cleuver, Ruiter, and Dutch guitarist Menno Gootjes. They performed several live dates in the Netherlands, but disagreements between van Leer and Ruiter over material intended for release effectively split up the group. CANNOTANSWER
In 1990, the former line-up of van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for the first time since 1975.
Focus are a Dutch progressive rock band formed in Amsterdam in 1969 by keyboardist, vocalist, and flutist Thijs van Leer, drummer Hans Cleuver, bassist Martijn Dresden, and guitarist Jan Akkerman. The band have undergone numerous formations in its history; since December 2016, it has comprised van Leer, drummer Pierre van der Linden, guitarist Menno Gootjes, and bassist Udo Pannekeet. They have sold one million RIAA-certified albums in the United States. After the addition of Akkerman to van Leer's rock trio in late 1969, the band named themselves Focus and initially worked in the band for a Dutch production of the rock musical Hair. Their debut album Focus Plays Focus (1970) gained little attention but the follow-up, Moving Waves (1971), and its lead single "Hocus Pocus", earned the band international recognition. Their success continued with Focus 3 (1972) and Hamburger Concerto (1974), the former containing their second hit single, "Sylvia". After recording two albums with various musicians, including guitarist Phillip Catherine, singer P. J. Proby, and drummers Colin Allen, David Kemper, and Steve Smith, Focus dissolved in 1978. They briefly reunited in 1990 and 1997. In 2002, van Leer reformed Focus with a new line-up that saw van der Linden rejoining the group in 2004. The albums Focus 8 (2002), Focus 9 / New Skin (2006) and Focus X (2012) were well received, and Focus continue to perform worldwide. Their most recent album is Focus 11 (2018). They received a renewed interest after Nike used "Hocus Pocus" in its 2010 World Cup commercial Write The Future. Focus remain one of the most successful and influential rock bands from the Netherlands. History 1969–1970: Formation Focus formed in mid-1969 by keyboardist, vocalist, and flautist Thijs van Leer, who recruited bass guitarist Martijn Dresden and drummer Hans Cleuver after he met them at sessions for the Jazz and Poetry radio program in Hilversum, Netherlands. The three went on to start a new three-piece band initially known as Thijs van Leer and the Rebaptised, playing a set formed mostly of cover songs by Traffic and original material mostly written by van Leer. In November 1969, during rehearsals at the theatre where van Leer performed as part of Ramses Shaffy's theatre group, they were joined by guitarist Jan Akkerman of the rock band Brainbox after Shaffy invited him to play with the trio. Van Leer later recalled the first try out session: "Jan came in and we jammed for hours, and it was really kicking". They then settled on the name Focus for the new band; Akkerman later said, "Focus is a Latin word that is the same in many languages. It means concentration, which is the meaning of what Focus does". Their first live gig as Focus followed at the Bird's Club in Rembrandtplein, and they soon secured a weekly residency playing two shows a night on two days. Early sets were mainly formed of covers, including "I Shall Be Released" by Bob Dylan, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum and "Nights in White Satin" by The Moody Blues, mixed with original material, including van Leer's first song written with the group in mind, the instrumental "Focus". In their search for more work and a steady income, Focus was chosen to play as part of the pit band for the Dutch production of the rock musical Hair produced by Welsh actor Victor Spinetti. They were invited to audition at the Victoria Ballroom, London after Dutch lyricist Lennaert Nijgh suggested them to Del Newman, the musical's director. Cast member Robin Lent claimed the production was suffering and Focus, taking part only for the money, "were also pretty rusty ... but this changed and everybody got into it". The show, launched in December 1969, involved six nightly performances a week and gave them space to rehearse in the afternoons for free and store their equipment. An album of the soundtrack featuring the band was recorded in February 1970 and released soon after by Polydor Records. After Hair ended its run in June 1970, Focus declined an offer to tour the musical across the Netherlands for a year and a half and become a full time band. They had picked up more local gigs and dates across the country by this time, and had performed their first international gigs in Belgium and Spain. Their weekly earnings from gigs, plus their earnings from Hair, had reached 400 guilders though Akkerman recalled the group failed to appreciate its value and were quick to spend it. To manage their finances more carefully, Cleuver was chosen to oversee their earnings and expenses. 1970–1971: Debut album, "House of the King", and line-up change In 1970, Focus reached contact with Hubert Terheggen, director of Radio-Tele-Music Belgium-Holland, a music publishing division of Radio Luxembourg, through connections with Dresden's father. Terheggen enjoyed their music and signed them to his production company, secured deals with music publishers worldwide, and booked studio time for them to record their first album, which took place in January 1970 at Sound Techniques in Chelsea, London during time off from Hair. The result was Focus Plays Focus, better known as its international release title In and Out of Focus, with Terheggen credited as producer and Jerry Boys the engineer. A mix of pop-oriented songs and instrumentals were recorded for the album; van Leer felt the vocals suffered as a result of singing English lyrics with a foreign accent, which inspired the group to become stronger instrumentally. After recording Focus Plays Focus, the band struggled to find a label willing to release it. Their fortunes changed once they had recorded "House of the King", an instrumental by Akkerman with different accounts of its origin. Focus biographer Peet Johnson gives the general consensus that it was inspired by their appearance at the Barbarela de Conjuntos music contest in Majorca on 11 June 1970, where in the final round, their rendition of Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquín Rodrigo ran over the 15-minute time limit, causing their plugs to be pulled. Focus proceeded to retaliate with van Leer playing the flute to the audience as a distraction while the rest of the group trashed the dressing room, after which they were arrested and spent a night in jail. Van Leer claims Akkerman came up with the track the day after their arrest, but the guitarist said he wrote it "on a mountain, with a beautiful Spanish stewardess ... in about five minutes". Focus recorded it without management's permission in one evening at Heemstede, yet it reached staff at Imperial Records who thought it was strong enough as a hit single and signed the group. Focus Plays Focus was released in September 1970, eight months after it was recorded. "Why Dream" and "Happy Nightmare" were released as their first single in the Netherlands. The album saw an American release in October by Sire Records, who had secured the rights to the band's international distribution, with "House of the King" added to the track listing. Prior to signing Focus, Sire founder Seymour Stein had flown to the Netherlands to see the band perform: "Without a doubt they were the most original band I had ever heard". Though the album received little commercial attention it earned Focus their first Edison Award, and the January 1971 release of "House of the King" went to number 10 on the home chart. Late in 1970, Akkerman had become increasingly unhappy with Cleuver and Dresden as a rhythm section and missed his former Brainbox bandmate, drummer Pierre van der Linden. He thought the pair struggled to incorporate their own identity or musicianship into the music. Akkerman then presented an ultimatum to van Leer by threatening to quit unless he asked Cleuver and Dresden to leave. Van Leer refused to part ways with his co-founders and instead told Akkerman to leave, which increased tension between the two as they were often at odds with each other. Cleuver sensed panic from Imperial as it knew "House of the King" would be a hit and wanted van Leer and Akkerman to stay together. The situation reached Terheggen, who asked Yde de Jong to become Focus's manager if he could reunite the band. After six weeks of driving to both members' homes to negotiate, van Leer agreed to fire Cleuver and Dresden and joined Akkerman, van der Linden, and newcomer bassist Cyril Havermans, who had played on Akkerman's second solo album Profile, on the condition that the group continue as Focus. With the new line-up secured, Stein convinced English producer Mike Vernon to witness the band perform in the Netherlands in late 1970. Vernon was not so impressed with their first album, but enjoyed them as a live act: "I couldn't stop talking or thinking about them! They were formidable ... the power of Jan and Thijs alone gave me heart palpitations". Vernon subsequently agreed to produce their next studio album. 1971–1972: Moving Waves and breakthrough Following rehearsals at Groeneveld Castle in Baarn, the band recorded Focus II, better known as its international title Moving Waves, in April and May 1971 at Sound Techniques and Morgan Studios, London. It showcased the band exploring progressive rock with jazz fusion and classical music elements with extended pieces and lengthy solos. Akkerman changed his sound, moving from a Gretsch White Falcon to a 1957 Gibson Les Paul Custom which enabled him to "'sing' on the guitar" to compensate for the group's weak vocals. Its opening track, "Hocus Pocus", became one of the band's best known tracks, featuring a recognisable rock guitar riff and van Leer's yodelling, whistling, and nonsensical vocals that developed through an improvised jam session. Akkerman wrote "Janis" as a tribute to Janis Joplin, and its closer, "Eruption", is a 23-minute multi-part track inspired by the operas Orfeo ed Euridice by Christoph Willibald Gluck and L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, combining rock, jazz and classical influences. Released in October 1971, Moving Waves became the band's international breakthrough, reaching number 2 in the UK, number 4 in the Netherlands, and number 8 in the US. The album awarded Focus with a Conamus Export Award, their second Edison Award, and gold certifications in the three aforementioned countries; the US award was issued in 1973 for selling 500,000 copies. Its success was helped by the release of "Hocus Pocus" as a single, released in the Netherlands in July 1971 which peaked at number 12 and exposed the band to a new audience. It peaked at number 20 in the UK in January 1973. Between the recording and release of Moving Waves, Focus underwent further line-up changes. Shortly before a tour of France in July 1971, van der Linden temporarily left the band after he found out van Leer and Akkerman would get paid more than himself. He was replaced by Akkerman's younger brother, the 19-year-old Jacob "Cocky" Akkerman, before the rift was sorted and van der Linden resumed on the drums at its conclusion. This was followed by Havermans' departure in September 1971, having handed in his notice in late June. He wished to sing on more tracks but was unable to do so within the confines of the group and pursued a solo career. The remaining members would reunite with the bassist in the US in early 1973 to play on his first solo album, Cyril. Focus found their new bassist in Bert Ruiter, who had previously rehearsed with van der Linden prior to a gig in Texel in June 1971, and went on to see the band live around ten times thereafter. He was invited by the drummer to a tryout session, after which he became a full-time member. Focus resumed as a live act in September 1971; among their first gigs with Ruiter was in Rotterdam as part of the European Newport Jazz Festival on 29 October. Towards the end of the year, de Jong organised the band's first UK tour, a 15-gig trek between 15 February–10 March 1972, to increase exposure and record sales. Van Leer felt insecure about the tour at first and expressed the lack of courage from the group when they compared themselves to other popular UK rock acts. They arrived in the UK during a period of nationwide energy shortages, yet de Jong resolved the issue by having Focus tour with their own power generator. Despite receiving little money for their performances, they received radio airplay on BBC Radio 1, earned positive reviews from critics, and gained new fans. Akkerman recalled the attendance of the gigs "were packed because it was probably the only thing that was going on". On 28 May 1972, Focus were booked to play the Lincoln Festival for an estimated 40,000 people, but the band arrived too late for their spot and were unable to reschedule, leaving them furious at the missed opportunity. Two days later, Focus made their British television debut with a pre-recorded performance of excerpts of "Eruption" and "Hocus Pocus" on the BBC music show The Old Grey Whistle Test. In the following month they were voted Brightest Hope by readers of Melody Maker and Best New Talent by readers of New Musical Express. 1972–1974: Focus 3 and Hamburger Concerto The band spent four days at Olympic Studios in Barnes, London in July 1972 recording their third album, Focus 3. They had written a considerable amount of material by this time which led to the decision to make a double album, mostly by van Leer and Akkerman. Focus 3 saw the group produce short and extended pieces, including the three-minute instrumental "Sylvia" and the group devised, 26-minute "Anonymous II" that devotes a solo spot for each member, and the addition of "House of the King". Upon its release in November 1972, the album went to number one in the Netherlands for one week, number 6 in the UK, and number 35 in the US. "Sylvia" was released as a single and reached number 4 in the UK in January 1973, the week after "Hocus Pocus" reached its peak on the same chart. This marked the first time in a decade that a band had two concurrent songs without lyrics in the UK top 40. To support the album, Focus began their largest tour since their formation with spots at the Reading Festival on 12 August 1972 followed by the Melody Maker Poll Awards show at The Oval, London on 30 September. This was followed by an exhaustive 31-date UK tour in 36 days that included their return appearance on The Old Grey Whistle Test on 12 December which caused a surge in interest for their records; host Bob Harris said the show was inundated with calls and letters about the band and Polydor's record plant printed nothing but Focus for ten days in order to meet demand. A performance of "Sylvia" from the Marquee Club, London aired on the BBC's Top of the Pops show. After a sell out UK tour in January 1973 that spanned 24 days, Focus completed their first of three North American tours in 1973 from February to April, supporting various acts including Gentle Giant, Frank Zappa and Yes. Upon their return, they toured the UK once more which included two sold out shows at the Rainbow Theatre, London in May 1973 which aired on BBC television. In early May 1973, Focus returned to Olympic Studios at Vernon's request and recorded a new cut of "Hocus Pocus" titled "Hocus Pocus II", released exclusively for the American market. Later in the month, the band retreated to Chipping Norton Recording Studios, Oxfordshire to record a fourth studio album. Akkerman had expressed a wish to put down "great ideas" he had written over the past year, but extensive touring had left the band physically and mentally exhausted which reduced their eagerness to write and record new group material. Vernon recalled Akkerman's reluctance to take part in the sessions which to him, "led to the final dissolving of the Akkerman/van Leer partnership". Around 40 minutes of songs was eventually recorded, yet the pair refused to co-operate and recorded their parts without the other present. Vernon later called this period as "probably the worst ten days I've ever spent in a studio". As a new studio album could not be released, Vernon took the recording from the Rainbow Theatre concerts and released it as a live album, At the Rainbow. The album went to number 23 in the UK in October 1973. The band went on to receive a Billboard Trendsetter Award for their success after notching up two gold albums, combining sales of one million copies sold in the US, and one gold single. Recordings from the Chipping Norton sessions remained unreleased, rearranged years later, or included in the collection of previously unreleased Focus studio recordings Ship of Memories, in 1976. Upon their return from their second North American tour from June to September 1973, the band returned to Groeneveld Castle for rehearsals. Van der Linden failed to turn up, and the group soon learned of his decision to quit the band. Van Leer claimed rock music was a step in the wrong direction for the drummer, who wished to pursue jazz. Vernon suggested English players Mitch Mitchell, Aynsley Dunbar, and Colin Allen as replacements. Allen was the only one available as his previous group, Stone the Crows had recently broken up. He flew to the Netherlands to meet the band and after a successful try out session, he joined the group. “It all happened pretty quickly ... I fitted in." His arrival came eight days before the band's upcoming North American tour was to start. From January to March 1974, Focus recorded Hamburger Concerto at Olympic Studios with Vernon. Recording was met with growing tension, with van Leer, Ruiter and Allen working together during the day and Akkerman recording his parts in the evening. The album presents further classical music influences, opening with "Delitæ Musicæ", a lute piece Akkerman adapted from Delitæ Musicæ Cantiones by Dutch composer Joachim van den Hove. It closes with a six-part, 20-minute conceptual title track inspired by Akkerman once eating a hamburger while watching cartoons at his hotel room in New York City and was put down in basic form during the 1973 Chipping Norton sessions. Released in May 1974, Hamburger Concerto peaked at number 5 in the Netherlands and number 20 in the UK. Van Leer claimed it was the band's "First proper work. It has strength and purpose", and Vernon later said the album and Moving Waves were the most rewarding on a second listen. Akkerman later felt the album suffered as his position in the group had weakened with van der Linden gone and claimed van Leer "broke up the tandem I had with Pierre rhythmically". A single version of "Harem Scarem" was released but did not chart in the UK. Focus toured Hamburger Concerto from March 1974, starting with dates across Europe, including two in London that were filmed for broadcast on the BBC2 and US television music series In Concert. They began their first tour of Japan and Australia in June, followed by an appearance at the Reading Festival in August and the start of their fourth North American tour in September. They were featured on the nationally syndicated Don Kirshner's Rock Concert show aired live from Long Beach, California, giving the band widespread exposure. At one concert during the US leg, van Leer and Akkerman noticed a young Michael Jackson sitting in the front row. Upon their return, the band completed a 24-day tour of Europe and two compilation albums were released, The Story of Focus and Masters of Rock. 1975–1978: Mother Focus, Focus con Proby, and disbanding In 1975, the band gathered at Morgan Studios, Brussels to rehearse and record Mother Focus. They reunited with Terheggen to oversee the project as executive producer, but the group found themselves without a collective direction; van Leer put its failure down to the band's recording contract which required them to produce one studio album each year, the pressures of touring had affected the songs, and a lack of overall interest from the band. In addition, Akkerman continued to record parts separately, showing no sign of an improvement in his relationship with van Leer. Ruiter became a more prominent songwriter and contributed more ideas than he had on previous Focus albums; he and Allen, after recording "I Need a Bathroom", began to experiment with a drum machine to aid their ideas, but the drummer recalled Akkerman got angry, shouted at him, and tossed the machine across the room. Allen was fired the next day, not knowing who made the decision. He was required to pay what he owed to the group during his tenure which amounted to roughly £10,000, using his earnings from royalties to pay much of it. Despite the problems, he "will always remain proud to have been a member". In May 1975, at the suggestion of their studio engineer, American drummer David Kemper was brought in to complete the rest of the album. Released in October 1975, Mother Focus saw Focus depart from their classical and jazz-influenced sound towards shorter, commercially accessible songs with middle of the road influences and little room for improvisation and jamming they were known for. Akkerman argued with van Leer and Ruiter over the group's change in musical direction, deeming it "typical American music". The album went to number 23 in the UK, and received mostly negative reviews from critics. During plans for their upcoming tour Akkerman refused to perform the album's music, thinking it was not strong enough. To solve the issue, he and van Leer returned to Morgan Studios and put down "Red Sky at Night" and "Avondrood", the latter featuring the two singing in Dutch. After Kemper left when recording was complete, Akkerman wished van der Linden to return, thinking he was responsible "for at least 40%" of the band's success and said he "wouldn't leave Focus" with him on the drums. However, van Leer and Ruiter did not share the same enthusiasm over van der Linden's return. Nevertheless, Focus returned to Australia and Japan in May and June 1975 for a series of sold out dates, yet reviewers of the gigs noticed the lack of cohesiveness than before. During the Scandinavian tour that followed, a gig at the Ullevaal Stadium, Oslo during the Ragnarok Festival was met with Akkerman and van der Linden jamming with "little adherence to the repertoire" that was taken as a protest to playing the same material night after night. Matters turned for the worse after van Leer and Ruiter refused to have van der Linden re-record the drums for a single release of "Crackers", causing the drummer to quit a second time. With van der Linden gone, Focus cancelled a proposed 34-date UK tour and brought back Kemper during subsequent rehearsals after a desperate plea from de Jong. The "House of the King"/"Avondrood" single was released in 1976; the latter track originally appeared on a Dutch compilation album. The two appear in instrumental form on Ship of Memories. In February 1976, two and a half days before the group's arrival to the UK for a tour, van Leer asked Akkerman to leave Focus over his disagreements with the music they were rehearsing and the decision not to have van der Linden return on the drums. Akkerman had grown tired of playing the same songs on stage, "It felt like I was in a straitjacket. There was still a lot of improvisation but even this had become planned". Van Leer said he wished to write "happy" music and move from "our European minor chords". Rather than have the tour cancelled, van Leer decided to proceed, with Kemper having seven days to arrive from the US and learn the new material and Akkerman at home with illness. In the guitarist's absence, van Leer met Belgian guitarist Philip Catherine and the two played a jam session that van Leer enjoyed. Akkerman disliked a song that the group had rehearsed about him soon after, which led to van Leer asking him to leave the next day. After Catherine agreed to step in, the group rehearsed for fifty hours without sleep; van Leer spent the evening prior the first gig mapping out the guitar parts on paper which Catherine followed on stage. Refunds were offered to concert goers as news of Akkerman's departure was not made public until after the tour had begun, which ended in March 1976. Dutch guitarist Eef Albers later joined Focus. A handful of scattered gigs were performed through 1977 and 1978 with American drummer Richard James on call out whenever they secured a booking. After van Leer signed a deal with EMI in April 1976 to record a new Focus album, work did not begin until late 1977 when the band faced potential legal action if they did not release something. Recording took place in December 1977 at EMI Studios in Haarlem, Amsterdam with van Leer, Ruiter, Albers, and a returning Catherine, who was contractually required to perform. Van Leer turned to ideas that he had developed with his wife Roselie during Focus tours, but felt neither his or Ruiter's voices were strong enough to sing on. In the search for a suitable lead vocalist de Jong, a friend of American singer P. J. Proby, rang his Netherlands-based manager and invited him to the studio, thinking his vocals would replace Akkerman's lyrical playing. Van Leer was sceptical as Proby was not familiar with the band and the singer was going through a period of heavy alcohol abuse. Upon Proby's arrival, Albers recalled: "He drank Four Roses whiskey the whole day, so much so that the nearest liquor store was soon sold out ... he always had the intention to run away". Proby interpreted the jazz-rock influenced songs as he felt, attempting "to meet them half-way between jazz and rock". James's drumming was unsuitable for the lighter material, so van Leer brought in future Journey drummer, American Steve Smith. Following the release of Focus con Proby in February 1978, which ignored the UK market, the album received negative reviews. Cleuver, then van Leer's manager, later called it "simply shameful". After a handful of gigs in the Netherlands, which concluded with a show in Terneuzen in August 1978 with James on the drums, van Leer ended Focus. 1983−1999: Reunions In 1983, Akkerman agreed to the idea of reuniting with van Leer and record new music, as suggested by his management. Van Leer immediately accepted the invitation and went on to play the synthesiser on "Headbanger", a track for Akkerman's solo album From the Basement (1984). After this initial collaboration, an executive at Phonogram Records suggested the pair work on an album of re-recorded Focus songs with English producer Trevor Horn, but it fell through. They subsequently signed a recording contract with Vertigo Records, which required the two to record as a duo, as opposed to Focus. During the recording, producer Ruud Jacobs was brought in to supervise due to the length of time taken to finalise tracks. Engineer Theo Balijon claimed Jacobs cut corners and pushed for the strongest tracks to be completed quickly to save production costs, which "unintentionally increased the animosity between Jan and Thijs". Around 30 tracks were completed with several additional musicians in 1984. Focus was released in March 1985 and reached number 33 in the Netherlands. The pair followed the album with promotional videos and a local four-date tour. In 1988, EMI acquired the rights to the band's back catalogue and reissued their albums on CD for the first time. In 1990, van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for a live gig, marking their first performance together since 1975. The four played a 40-minute set at the Americahal in Apeldoorn on 20 April that was broadcast as part of the Oud van Goud television special. It came about when producer Frans Meijer asked Akkerman to perform a gig with the group, and the fact that the guitarist's manager had not seen the band play in the 1970s. After the group agreed to participate, they rehearsed for four hours in Wijchen several days prior to the concert. Ruiter said they "went very well"; van Leer said it was "fantastic". Following the concert van Leer was keen to formally restart Focus with Akkerman, but the latter resisted. On 17 May 1990 the group, minus Akkerman, mimed a performance of "House of the King" on Service Salon on AVRO-TV. They had planned to perform "Hocus Pocus" with Akkerman, but the guitarist declined to take part. Van Leer and Akkerman shared the stage once more in 1993, performing mostly Akkerman solo songs at the North Sea Jazz Festival. In 1997, van Leer reformed Focus with Cleuver and Ruiter returning on drums and bass, respectively, and 21-year-old Dutch guitarist Menno Gootjes who was studying at the Rotterdam Conservatory. The four made their live debut at the Hockey Club in Mill, Netherlands, on 30 August. They performed additional shows in the Netherlands, but disagreements between van Leer and Ruiter over material intended for an official release effectively split up the group, in 1999. 2001–2009: Reformation, albums, and touring In 2001, van Leer was invited to a try out session by his stepson and bassist Bobby Jacobs, who was rehearsing with guitarist Jan Dumée and drummer Ruben van Roon. Jacobs and van Roon was former members of van Leer's side project Conxi. To van Leer's surprise, he found out the three had been rehearsing Focus songs from the 1970s era. The sessions led to the group's decision to perform live as a Focus tribute band named Hocus Pocus "just for fun, nothing too serious". After some well received gigs in the Netherlands, the group resumed the Focus name and acquired Willem Hubers as their new manager and booking agent which led to several offers to perform worldwide. Focus 8 was recorded between February and July 2002; van Roon left soon after due to personal circumstances. He was replaced by drummer Bert Smaak. Released on Musea Records in late 2002, it received critical praise and was supported with a world tour in 2002 and 2003. In the autumn of 2004, Smaak had left the group and replaced by a returning van der Linden. In July 2006, Dumée was replaced by guitarist Niels van der Steenhoven. This line-up recorded Focus 9 / New Skin, released in September 2006 by Red Bullet Records. 2010–present: Line-up changes, Focus 11 and 50th Anniversary In May 2010, Nike included "Hocus Pocus" as the main theme in its 2010 FIFA World Cup commercial, Write the Future. The advert aired on television worldwide which generated renewed interest in the band and led to "Hocus Pocus" entering the UK Singles Chart at number 57. In late 2010, Gootjes rejoined the band as a replacement to a departing van der Steenhoven. In 2011, American rapper J. Cole sampled "Hocus Pocus" in his song "Blow Up", which is featured in the game MLB 11: The Show. The band released their eleventh studio album Focus X, featuring cover art by Roger Dean, in November 2012. On 14 April 2014, the band released Golden Oldies on their own label, In and Out of Focus Records. It is a collection of re-recorded versions of Focus songs. In 2016, the band released Focus 8.5 / Beyond the Horizon. It is credited to "Focus and Friends featuring Marvio Ciribelli", and was recorded during gaps in their 2005 South American tour with Brazilian musicians. In December 2016, Udo Pannekeet replaced Jacobs on bass. Focus performed at their second Cruise to the Edge event in February 2017, third in 2018, and fourth in 2019. The line-up included Dumée on guitar after Gootjes was too ill to perform. From March to October 2017, Focus toured Europe. In November 2018, Focus released their fourteenth studio album Focus 11 to coincide with their 20-date UK tour. The album was available at each venue which was followed by its full release on 25 January 2019, via Cherry Red Records. In November 2020, a box set containing new remasters of the band's albums from 1970 to 1976, with previously unreleased audio and video material, entitled 50 Years: Anthology 1970–1976, was released by Red Bullet Productions to commemorate the band's fiftieth anniversary. This was followed in June 2021 by the release of Focus 50, a set featuring live material recorded in 2017 in Rio de Janeiro and a disc entitled Completely Focused, containing studio re-recordings of "Focus 1" through "Focus 12". In November 2021, during a UK tour, Focus cancelled all scheduled dates after van Leer contracted COVID-19 in hospital while receiving treatment for an unrelated illness. A new studio album is expected in early 2022. Band members Current members Thijs van Leer – keyboards, flute, vocals (1969–1978, 1990, 1993-1995, 1997–1999, 2001–present) Pierre van der Linden – drums, percussion (1971–1973, 1975, 1990, 2004–present) Menno Gootjes – guitar, backing vocals (1997–1999, 2010–present) Udo Pannekeet – bass (2016–present) Discography Studio albums Focus Plays Focus (1970; also known as In and Out of Focus) Focus II (1971; also known as Moving Waves) Focus 3 (1972) Hamburger Concerto (1974) Mother Focus (1975) Ship of Memories (1977) (studio compilation) Focus con Proby (1978) Focus (1985) (as Jan Akkerman & Thijs Van Leer) Focus 8 (2002) Focus 9 / New Skin (2006) Focus X (2012) Golden Oldies (2014) (studio re-recordings) Focus 8.5 / Beyond the Horizon (2016) The Focus Family Album (2017) (studio outtakes from 2012–2017, plus solo tracks) Focus 11 (2018) Completely Focused (2021) (studio re-recordings) References Sources External links Official band website at FocusTheBand.co.uk Fan website at FocusTributeHomepage, since 1996 Atco Records artists Dutch hard rock musical groups Dutch musical groups Dutch progressive rock groups EMI Records artists Instrumental rock musical groups Musical groups established in 1969 Sire Records artists Symphonic rock groups Musical groups from Amsterdam
false
[ "Aztec Camera were a Scottish pop/new wave band formed by Roddy Frame, the group's singer, songwriter, and only consistent member. Formed in 1980, Aztec Camera released a total of six albums: High Land, Hard Rain (1983), Knife (1984), Love (1987), Stray (1990), Dreamland (1993) and Frestonia (1995). The band garnered popular success for the songs \"Oblivious\", \"Somewhere in My Heart\" and \"Good Morning Britain\" (a duet with former Clash guitarist Mick Jones).\n\nHistory\n\nEarly years\nAztec Camera first appeared on a Glasgow cassette-only compilation of local unsigned bands on the Pungent Records label, affiliated with the Fumes fanzine run by Danny Easson and John Gilhooly.\n\nPostcard Records\nThe band's first United Kingdom (UK) single release was sold in a 7\" format by Postcard Records—a Glasgow-based independent record label cofounded by Edwyn Collins and Alan Horne—in 1981. The single featured the song \"Just Like Gold\" and a B-side entitled \"We Could Send Letters\"; an acoustic version of the latter song appeared on a compilation album, entitled C81, that was released on cassette in 1981 through a partnership between NME magazine and Rough Trade Records. Frame, aged 16 years, met Collins for the first time during the Postcard period when the latter was 21 years old.\n\nA second single, also released in 1981, featured the songs \"Mattress of Wire\" and \"Lost Outside The Tunnel\". Following the two 7\" releases with Postcard, the group signed with Rough Trade Records in the UK and Sire Records in the United States (US) for their debut album. At this point, the band was officially a quartet: Roddy Frame (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Bernie Clark (piano, organ), Campbell Owens (bass) and Dave Ruffy (drums, percussion).\n\nRough Trade\nAztec Camera's debut album, High Land, Hard Rain was produced by John Brand and Bernie Clarke for the Rough Trade record label. The album was released in April 1983 and was distributed in different formats on Domino Recording Co. Ltd. in the US (in addition to Sire); WEA and Celluloid in France; Nuevos Medios, Nuevos Medios in Spain; Powderworks in Australia; MVM Records in Portugal; and WEA for a general European release. The album was successful, garnering significant critical acclaim, and peaked at number 129 on the Billboard 200. Frame later revealed that the song \"Oblivious\" was consciously written as a Top of the Pops-type pop song and received a corresponding degree of popularity.\n\nDuring the recording process for the album, Frame used a different guitar for every song. For the song \"Orchid Girl\", Frame explained in 2013—during the 30th anniversary tour—that he was attempting to merge the influences of his favorite guitarist at the time, Wes Montgomery, and punk rock icon Joe Strummer. In a late 1990s television interview, Frame explained that a \"boy\" image was associated with him during this era, and that he was annoyed by it at the time, as he was taking his music very seriously—\"you don't want to be called 'boy'; especially when you're listening to Joy Division\"—but he eventually stopped caring about it.\n\nWEA\n\nKnife\nAfter High Land Hard Rain, Bernie Clarke left the band, and was replaced by Malcolm Ross on second guitar and backing vocals. Aztec Camera changed record labels once again for the release of their second album, Knife, which was released through WEA (Warner Music Group).\n\nFrame revealed in a May 2014 BBC radio interview that he was not informed of the ownership arrangements of the record deal, stating that he was unaware as an 18-year-old that the record company would own the rights to all of his corresponding recordings. After High Land, Hard Rain, Frame spent a significant amount of time living in New Orleans, United States (US), listening to Bob Dylan's album Infidels. Upon reading that Dire Straits' guitarist and singer Mark Knopfler produced the album, Frame began writing songs based on a sound that he thought Knopfler could work with.\n\nFrame signed the band to the WEA record label—at the time his manager was Rob Johnson—and secured Knopfler as the producer for Aztec Camera's second album, Knife, which was released in 1984; Frame explained in 1988 that Knopfler was \"professional\" and efficient during the recording process. Frame's experimental mindset in relation to music emerged on Knife, as the duration of the titular song is nearly nine minutes and synthesizers appear throughout the album. Prior to the album's release, the band previewed a selection of songs as part of a performance for the BBC television show Rock Around The Clock and the song \"All I Need is Everything\" received radio airplay subsequent to release. In a 2007 interview alongside Collins, Frame explained further:\n\nHe's [Knopfler] a great guitarist. Mark Knopfler's recording techniques were great—you [Collins] would have liked him, 'cos that was ... then, it was quite a thing. 'Cos everyone was going digital, and going MIDI and all that, and his thing was all about using the right microphone. If you use the right microphone, then you don't have to use too much EQ and all that stuff, and it was all about that. Yeah, I kinda liked that—the right mic[rophone], the right amp[lifier], the right kind of board and stuff.\n\nLove\nAt the time that the band's third album Love (1987) was created, Frame was the only original member of the band involved with the project; Love and future Aztec Camera albums were written and recorded by Frame under the \"Aztec Camera\" moniker, and session musicians recorded with Frame on a track-by-track basis.\n\nFrame explained in August 2014 that he contemplated the conception of Love during a three-year hiatus following the release of Knife. Frame said that he moved even further away from the British \"indie ethic\" and was listening to the \"pop end of hip hop\", including artists such as Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Cherrelle, the Force MDs and Alexander O'Neill. Frame wanted to make a record based on such influences and \"Working in a Goldmine\" was the first song to achieve this aspiration.\n\nFrame relocated to the US to record the album—\"pretty much against the wishes of Warner Brothers\", who were unsure of his decision-making at the time—and was primarily based in Boston, Massachusetts, and New York. Frame recorded with American session musicians, like Marcus Miller and David Franke, and explained that his audience was \"mystified\" by the transformation of the band, but he was \"too far gone\" to care and just wanted to do his \"own thing\" by that stage. Due to the significant change of musical direction, the album's first three singles did not make a strong impression in the marketplace.\n\nThe Love album produced the popular song \"Somewhere in My Heart\", recorded by Frame with dance, R&B and pop producer Michael Jonzun in Boston. Frame said in 2014 that the song has been \"great\" for him, but at the time of creating the album, the song was not \"in keeping\" with the rest of Love. Frame revealed in a radio interview with the \"Soho Social\" program, presented by Dan Gray, that he considered \"Somewhere in My Heart\" an odd song and initially thought it would be best as a B-side. Frame concluded, \"I can't pick them [the successful songs].\"\n\nFrame was asked during a television interview, following the release of Love, about the new sound of the album, and he referenced artists like Anita Baker and Luther Vandross. When asked if the album could be labelled \"Middle of the road (MOR)\", Frame replied: \"Call it what you like. I don't really mind.\"\n\nStray\n\nFor the band's fourth album, Stray, Frame collaborated with the Clash's Jones on the song \"Good Morning Britain\", and Jones also toured with the band following the album's release. Jones performed with Aztec Camera at the Glasgow Barrowlands and the Ibiza Festival in 1990.\n\nIn a 1990 interview, recorded during a tour of Japan, Frame explained that he wrote \"Good Morning Britain\" in 45 minutes after a two- to three-hour conversation with Jones in the canteen of a London rehearsal studio that both Big Audio Dynamite and Aztec Camera were using. In an August 2014 radio interview, Frame elaborated further, stating that at the time he wrote the song, Jones lived near his London home; Frame visited Jones after recording the song and said to the Clash guitarist, \"You'll either sing on it, or you'll want to sue me\", as Frame believed the song was so similar to Jones' previous work.\n\nDreamland\nFrame then recorded the next Aztec Camera album, Dreamland, with Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. Released in 1993, the album was mixed by Julian Mendelsohn, who had previously worked with the band. While mixing the album at Hook End Manor, an 18th-century red-brick building that had been converted into a studio in the Berkshire countryside of England, UK, Frame explained that he waited for a lengthy period of time to work with Sakamoto, due to the latter's busy schedule. Frame finally met with Sakamoto in Ibiza and both eventually recorded the album in New York City, US over a four-week period. Frame's interest in Sakamoto was elaborated upon in the same interview:\n\nI liked what he did when he was in the Yellow Magic Orchestra, and I also liked that album where he plays the music from Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence on piano. That's where you realise that the atmosphere around his compositions is actually in the writing – it's got nothing to do with synthesisers.\n\nFrame's decision to ask Sakamoto was finalised after he saw his performance at the Japan Festival that was held in London, UK. During the recording process, Frame's routine consisted of: working in the studio from the early afternoon until around 2am; a turkey sandwich at a deli off Times Square (\"because it was possible to get one at two in the morning, and for no other reason\"); a cab-ride back to the Mayflower Hotel, where he was staying; an hour of listening to Shabba Ranks; and then bed.\n\nFrestonia\nFor Frame's final album under the Aztec Camera moniker, and the last original studio recording for the WEA label, Frame worked with renowned production team Langer-Winstanley, who had previously worked with Madness and Elvis Costello. Frestonia was released in 1995 and the Reprise Records label issued it in the US. \"Sun\" (1996) was the only one song from the album that was released as a single. After the release of Frestonia, Frame finally decided to record under his own name and was no longer a Warner artist.\n\nPost-WEA\nThree Aztec Camera \"Best of\" compilations were eventually released: The Best of Aztec Camera was released in 1999 by Warner.ESP, a division of the Warner corporation that specialised in compilations; in 2005, Deep and Wide and Tall was released by the Warner Strategic Marketing United Kingdom label as part of the Warner Platinum series; and Walk Out To Winter: The Best of Aztec Camera, a two-disc collection that was released by the Music Club Deluxe label in 2011.\n\nSince the Stray Tour in 1990, Frame has merged a segment of the Bob Dylan song \"It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)\" into \"Down The Dip\", from High Land, Hard Rain, and this version of the song was played by Frame at subsequent shows, up until October 2012. Around 2012, Frame included a segment of the Curtis Mayfield song \"People Get Ready\" in live solo versions of the song \"How Men Are\", from the Love album. In October 2013, a book entitled The Lyrics: Roddy Frame—containing the entirety of Frame's lyrical work with Aztec Camera—and a High Land, Hard Rain T-shirt were released as part of a \"Roddy Frame\" collection.\n\nReissues\nAll six Aztec Camera studio albums were reissued in August 2012 by the Edsel Records label, which had previously completed the same process for the studio albums of Everything But The Girl. The reissued editions included bonus tracks and live recordings. In a 1 August 2012 post on his Twitter profile, Frame explained that he was not involved with the Edsel Records reissue and was negotiating with a \"supercool US label about releasing the definitive set (w/ rarities, home demos etc.)\" in 2013. Domino Recording Company is the label that Frame referred to, but only High Land, Hard Rain was reissued, rather than the entire Aztec Camera catalog.\n\nIn August 2013, the Domino reissue of High Land, Hard Rain was released in Europe to commemorate the album's 30th anniversary. The reissue was remastered from the original analogue tapes and was physically produced only as a vinyl pressing, but was sold with a digital download of the album.\n\nDomino released an expanded second version of the 30th anniversary reissue of High Land, Hard Rain in 2014 for North America that consisted of two compact discs, 16 additional rarities and liner notes from American music journalist David Fricke (a vinyl version was also released and was sold with a digital download card that provided the additional songs). To accompany the North American version, AED (Analogue Enhanced Digital) Records—a label cofounded by Collins and James Endeacott, the latter a former employee of Rough Trade—also offered a 7\" EP to the first 400 buyers.\n\n30th anniversary of High Land, Hard Rain\nFollowing the August 2013 reissue of High Land, Hard Rain, Frame announced three corresponding live performances, at which the album was played in its entirety with a full band. The December 2013 shows occurred in London, Manchester and Glasgow, UK. To replicate the original recording process, Frame used the different guitars than he used for each song in the anniversary shows.\n\nOriginal Aztec Camera bassist Campbell Owens attended the Glasgow performance as an audience member—Frame later explained on the Clyde 2 radio station that Owens thanked him backstage after the show and the gesture made the experience worthwhile. At the Glasgow show, Frame and his band also played songs, such as \"Green Jacket Grey\", that were recorded for High Land, Hard Rain, but did not appear on the final track listing.\n\nWhen asked in April 2014 about reconnecting with a record that he wrote as a teenager while around the age of 50 years, Frame replied:\n\nThe songs that you write when you're young are just a part of you—they stay with you. The interesting thing was how far I kind of strayed from the original versions over the years—I mean acoustically and everything. So, coming back and stripping them down and trying to revisit them in a kind of honest, genuine fashion was actually—even for an old cynic like me—it turned to be a very moving thing ... It [30th anniversary tour] was a very moving experience. It was like we were all revisiting out teenage years together, and it was nostalgic, but in a nice, happy, positive way.\n\nFrame explained in May 2014 that the tour was arranged after he had reconnected with his former Aztec Camera manager, Johnson, who received a call from a prominent UK promoter who asked Frame if he was interested in the concept—Frame agreed to the tour at the time he was first asked.\n\nCauses\nOn 21 January 1985, alongside Orange Juice, The Woodentops and Everything But The Girl, Aztec Camera raised an estimated £18,000 for the striking miners of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) through a fundraising event at the Brixton Academy—the year-long strike concluded six weeks later.\n\nFollowing the release of the Love album, the band was invited to perform at a benefit concert for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) organisation in the late 1980s. Frame explained in a television interview prior to the concert that he was merely the entertainment and would not deliver any speeches.\n\nIn 1990, Aztec Camera contributed the song \"Do I Love You?\" to the Cole Porter tribute album Red Hot + Blue that was produced by the Red Hot Organization. The proceeds from the album benefited HIV/AIDS research.\n\nAwards and accolades\nThe band's album Love was among the nominations for \"Best British Album\" at the 1989 BRIT Awards. \"Somewhere in My Heart\", the second single from Love, was the band's biggest hit, reaching No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart. Following the release of the Stray album, \"Good Morning Britain\" was considered to be a comeback for Frame, as the preceding single \"The Crying Scene\" had only reached No. 70 in the UK.\n\nMusicians\nRoddy Frame – guitar, harmonica, vocals (1981–1995)\n\nBass\n Campbell Owens (1981–1985, 1990)\n Will Lee (1987)\n Paul Powell (1990–1993)\n Clare Kenny (1990–1993)\n Gary Tibbs (1993)\n Yolanda Charles (1995)\n\nGuitar\nCraig Gannon (1983–1984)\nMalcolm Ross (1984)\nGary Sanford (1987–1991)\n\nKeyboards\n Bernie Clarke (1981–1983)\n Miffy Smith (1982)\n Tony Mansfield (1983)\n Eddie Kulak (1984–1990)\n Rob Mounsey (1987)\n Gary Sanctuary (1990–1993)\n Mark Edwards (1995)\n\nDrums\n\n Dave Mulholland (1981)\n John Hendry (1982)\n Dave Ruffy (1983–1988)\n Dave Weckl (1987)\n Kevin Smith (1988)\n Frank Tontoh (1989–1990)\n David Palmer (1993)\n\nFrame changed the band's line-up numerous times over the course of its existence and, in a 1988 interview, Frame explained that the changes were underpinned by a desire to continually improve the quality of their music; however, he differentiated this desire from \"blind ambition\", whereby popular success is constantly sought after. Early members included Owens (bass) and Mulholland (drums). Gannon was a member from 1983 to 1984 before joining The Smiths, while guitarist Malcolm Ross (formerly of Josef K and Orange Juice) joined the band in 1984 and played on the Knife album.\n\nOther musicians\n Paul Carrack – keyboards (1990)\n Edwyn Collins – guitar, vocals (1990)\n Mick Jones – guitar, vocals (1990)\n Steve Sidelnyk – percussion (1990–1993)\n Ryūichi Sakamoto – keyboards (1993)\n Victor Bailey – bass (1993)\n Barry Finclair – violin (1993)\n Marcus Miller – bass (1987)\n Steve Gadd - drums (1987)\n Sylvia Mason-James – vocals (1993)\n Romero Lubambo – guitar (1993)\n Vivian Sessoms – vocals (1993)\n Naná Vasconcelos – percussion (1993)\n Sue Dench – strings (1995)\n Claudia Fontaine – vocals (1995)\n Leo Payne – strings (1995)\n Audrey Riley – strings (1995)\n Chris Tombling – strings (1995)\nGuy Fletcher of Dire Straits – Keyboards (1984)\n\nTouring band members\n\n1980–1982\nRoddy Frame – guitars, vocals\nCampbell Owens – bass guitar\nCraig Gannon – guitars\nJohn Hendry – drums\n\nPillar to Post Tour (1982–1983)\nRoddy Frame – guitars, vocals\nCampbell Owens – bass guitar\nDave Ruffy – drums\nCraig Gannon – guitars\nBernie Clark – keyboards\n\nLate 1983 tour\nRoddy Frame – guitars, vocals\nCampbell Owens – bass guitar\nDave Ruffy – drums\nMalcolm Ross – guitars\nBernie Clark – keyboards\n\nKnife Tour (1984–1985)\nRoddy Frame – guitars, vocals\nCampbell Owens – bass guitars\nDave Ruffy – drums\nMalcolm Ross – guitars\nEddie Kulak – keyboards\n\nLove Tour (1987–1988)\nRoddy Frame – guitars, vocals\nDave Ruffy – drums\nEddie Kulak – keyboards\nPaul Powell – bass guitar\nGary Sanford – guitars\nSteve Sidelnyk – percussion\nSylvia Mason-James – vocals\nVivian Sessoms – vocals\n\nStray Tour (1990)\nRoddy Frame – guitar, vocals\nEddie Kulak – keyboards\nGary Sanford – guitars\nClare Kenny – bass guitars\nFrank Tontoh – drums\nMick Jones – guitars, vocals (formerly of The Clash, Jones performed \"Good Morning Britain\" during the European tour)\nEdwyn Collins – guitars, vocals (formerly of Orange Juice, Collins performed \"Consolation Prize\" and \"I Threw It All Away\" on the European tour)\n\nDreamland Tour (1993)\nFull band tour\nRoddy Frame – guitars, vocals\nGary Sanford – guitars\nClare Kenny – bass guitar\nFrank Tontoh – drums\nSteve Sidelnyk – percussion\nMark Edwards – keyboards\n\nAcoustic tour\nRoddy Frame – guitars, vocals\nGary Sanctuary – keyboards\n\nFrestonia Tour (1995)\nRoddy Frame – guitars, vocals\nGary Sanford – guitars (early 1995 only)\nMark Edwards – keyboards\nYolande Charles – bass guitar\nJeremy Stacey – drums\n\nDiscography\n\n High Land, Hard Rain (1983)\n Knife (1984)\n Love (1987)\n Stray (1990)\n Dreamland (1993) \n Frestonia (1995)\n\nSee also\n List of new wave artists and bands\n List of Scottish musicians\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nOfficial website\nRoddy Frame on AED\n\"Killermont Street\" – a fan site for Roddy Frame and Aztec Camera\n\nScottish new wave musical groups\nMusical groups from Glasgow\nMusical groups established in 1981\nScottish pop music groups\nSophisti-pop musical groups\nSire Records artists\nWarner Records artists\nMusical groups disestablished in 1995\n1981 establishments in Scotland", "Deadheads for Obama is the name given to the February 4, 2008 reunion concert of three former members of the Grateful Dead at The Warfield in San Francisco. The show, performed one day before the Super Tuesday primary elections, was an act of support for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, and featured former Dead members Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, and Mickey Hart, as well as John Molo, Jackie Greene, Steve Molitz, Mark Karan and Barry Sless.\n\nThe show marked the first time Lesh, Weir and Hart had shared the stage since 2004, and was simulcast on the iClips Network.\n\nDeadheads for Obama is also a 350 member grassroots organization founded in February 2007 through Barack Obama's website; one year before the concert of the same namesake. This group collectively raised more than $150,000 for the Obama campaign.\n\nSetlist\nAfter a videotaped introduction by Barack Obama, the band played \"Playing in the Band\" into \"Brown-Eyed Women\", and continued the first set with other Grateful Dead staples \"Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo\", \"New Minglewood Blues\", and a cover of \"Come Together\" by the Beatles.\n\nA short speech by Phil Lesh was followed by a four-song acoustic second set, featuring more classic Dead songs like \"Friend of the Devil\" and \"Deal\". Then the band plugged in again to play an extended third set, including New Orleans classic \"Iko Iko\" (in honor of Mardi Gras), and ending with a reprise of the opener, \"Playing in the Band\", and an encore of \"U.S. Blues\".\n\nThe complete setlist was:\n First set: \"Playing in the Band\", \"Brown-Eyed Women\", \"Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo\", \"New Minglewood Blues\", \"Come Together\"\n Second set (acoustic): \"Deep Elem Blues\", \"Friend of the Devil\", \"Deal\", \"Ripple\"\n Third set: \"China Cat Sunflower\", \"The Wheel\", \"The Other One\", \"Sugaree\", \"Eyes of the World\", \"Throwing Stones\", \"Iko Iko\", \"Playing in the Band\" reprise\n Encore: \"U.S. Blues\"\n\nChange Rocks\nHart, Lesh, and Weir reunited again in support of the Obama presidential campaign, this time joined by Bill Kreutzmann, on October 13, 2008, in the Bryce Jordan Center at Penn State University, playing a concert called \"Change Rocks\". Warren Haynes provided guitar and vocal support for the reunion, and Jeff Chimenti played keyboards. The performance was preceded by a set of music by members of the Allman Brothers Band.\n\nThe set list was: \"Truckin'\", \"U.S. Blues\", \"Help on the Way\", \"Slipknot!\", \"Franklin's Tower\",\n\"Playing in the Band\", \"Dark Star\", \"St. Stephen\", \"Unbroken Chain\", \"The Other One\", \"Throwing Stones\", and \"Playing in the Band\" reprise, with an encore of \"Touch of Grey\" and \"Not Fade Away\"\n\nPresidential inauguration ball\nOn January 20, 2009, the Dead played at one of the 10 official balls for the Inauguration of President Barack Obama. Their sets were immediately followed by an appearance by President Barack Obama and the First Lady; Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden appeared during a setbreak.\n\nSee also\n\n Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008\n List of Barack Obama presidential campaign endorsements, 2008\n Reunions of the Grateful Dead\n\nReferences\n\nFurther reading\n \n Tanner, Adam. \"Grateful Dead, Deadheads reunite for Obama\", Reuters, February 5, 2008\n Franke-Ruta, Garance. \"Calif. Contest Leads to Battle of the Bands\", Washington Post, February 2, 2008\n Melber, Ari. \"Deadheads for Obama\", The Nation, February 2, 2008\n Selvin, Joel. \"Grateful Dead Bury Hatchet, Reunite for Obama\", San Francisco Chronicle, February 5, 2008\n Selvin, Joel. \"Grateful Dead Reunite for Barack Obama Benefit Show\", Rolling Stone, February 5, 2008\n Liberatore, Paul. \"How Grateful Dead Came Together Again for Obama Fundraiser\", Marin Independent Journal, February 7, 2008\n Simon, Richard B. \"Lesh Unites with Weir and Hart for Deadheads for Obama\", Relix, February 5, 2008\n \"Grateful Dead Reunite to Support Obama\", New Musical Express, February 5, 2008\n Smith, Dakota. \"Grateful Dead Reunite for Obama\", NewsQuake, February 5, 2008\n \"Deadheads for Obama\", Jambase.com, February 4, 2008\n Deadheads for Obama on iClips\n\nExternal links\n Deadheads for Obama download at JamRadio.org\n\n2008 in American music\n2008 in San Francisco\nBarack Obama 2008 presidential campaign\nConcerts in the United States\nCalifornia Democratic Party\nPolitical events in California\nFebruary 2008 events in the United States\nGrateful Dead\nMusic and politics\n2008 United States Democratic presidential primaries\n2008 United States presidential election in popular culture" ]
[ "Focus (band)", "1985-1999: Reunions", "Did the band reunite during this time frame?", "In 1990, the former line-up of van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for the first time since 1975." ]
C_f5c93dc410b34900bc07c020bdf85216_0
Did anything particular happen during the reunion?
2
Did anything particular happen during the reunion of van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden and Ruiter?
Focus (band)
In mid-1983, both of Akkerman's managers came up with the idea of the guitarist reuniting with van Leer to record new music, to which Akkerman agreed. Van Leer immediately accepted the invitation, and went on to play the synthesiser on "Headbanger" on Akkerman's 1984 solo album From the Basement. After this initial collaboration, one executive at Phonogram Records suggested the pair work with producer Trevor Horn to release an album of re-recorded Focus tracks, but it was dismissed. In the following 15 months, the two wrote, rehearsed, and recorded new music with several additional musicians with engineer Theo Balijob. Their contract required the two to record as a duet, rather under the name Focus. During the recording, producer Ruud Jacobs was brought in to supervise the project due to the length of time taken to put the tracks down. Balijon claimed Jacobs cut corners and pushed for the strongest tracks to be completed quickly to save production costs, which "unintentionally increased the animosity between Jan and Thijs". In the 63 days they spent recording from April to May 1984, around 30 tracks were completed with several additional musicians. Focus was released in March 1985 by Vertigo Records which reached number 33 in the Netherlands. The pair followed the album with promotional videos and a local four-date tour. In 1988, EMI acquired the rights to the band's back catalogue and reissued their albums on compact disc for the first time. In 1990, the former line-up of van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for the first time since 1975. The four played a 40-minute set at the Americahal in Apeldoorn on 20 April that was broadcast as part of the Oud van Goud television special. It came about when producer Frans Meijer asked Akkerman to perform a gig with the group, and the fact that the guitarist's manager had not seen the band play in the 1970s, so "it was swatting two flies with one hit". The other three agreed at the opportunity, and they rehearsed for four hours in Wijchen several days prior to the concert. Ruiter said they "went very well"; van Leer said it was "fantastic". Following the concert, van Leer was keen to formally restart Focus with Akkerman, though the latter felt different though he was happy to reunite with van der Linden. On 17 May the group, minus Akkerman, mimed a performance of "House of the King" on the Service Salon television program on AVRO-TV. Originally the band were to perform "Hocus Pocus" with Akkerman, but the guitarist declined the offer made by the network, stating he reunited with Focus for Meijer and his manager. The appearance went ahead regardless. Van Leer and Akkerman shared the stage once more in 1993, performing Focus songs at the North Sea Jazz Festival. In 1999, van Leer attempted to reform Focus with Cleuver, Ruiter, and Dutch guitarist Menno Gootjes. They performed several live dates in the Netherlands, but disagreements between van Leer and Ruiter over material intended for release effectively split up the group. CANNOTANSWER
The four played a 40-minute set at the Americahal in Apeldoorn on 20 April that was broadcast as part of the Oud van Goud television special.
Focus are a Dutch progressive rock band formed in Amsterdam in 1969 by keyboardist, vocalist, and flutist Thijs van Leer, drummer Hans Cleuver, bassist Martijn Dresden, and guitarist Jan Akkerman. The band have undergone numerous formations in its history; since December 2016, it has comprised van Leer, drummer Pierre van der Linden, guitarist Menno Gootjes, and bassist Udo Pannekeet. They have sold one million RIAA-certified albums in the United States. After the addition of Akkerman to van Leer's rock trio in late 1969, the band named themselves Focus and initially worked in the band for a Dutch production of the rock musical Hair. Their debut album Focus Plays Focus (1970) gained little attention but the follow-up, Moving Waves (1971), and its lead single "Hocus Pocus", earned the band international recognition. Their success continued with Focus 3 (1972) and Hamburger Concerto (1974), the former containing their second hit single, "Sylvia". After recording two albums with various musicians, including guitarist Phillip Catherine, singer P. J. Proby, and drummers Colin Allen, David Kemper, and Steve Smith, Focus dissolved in 1978. They briefly reunited in 1990 and 1997. In 2002, van Leer reformed Focus with a new line-up that saw van der Linden rejoining the group in 2004. The albums Focus 8 (2002), Focus 9 / New Skin (2006) and Focus X (2012) were well received, and Focus continue to perform worldwide. Their most recent album is Focus 11 (2018). They received a renewed interest after Nike used "Hocus Pocus" in its 2010 World Cup commercial Write The Future. Focus remain one of the most successful and influential rock bands from the Netherlands. History 1969–1970: Formation Focus formed in mid-1969 by keyboardist, vocalist, and flautist Thijs van Leer, who recruited bass guitarist Martijn Dresden and drummer Hans Cleuver after he met them at sessions for the Jazz and Poetry radio program in Hilversum, Netherlands. The three went on to start a new three-piece band initially known as Thijs van Leer and the Rebaptised, playing a set formed mostly of cover songs by Traffic and original material mostly written by van Leer. In November 1969, during rehearsals at the theatre where van Leer performed as part of Ramses Shaffy's theatre group, they were joined by guitarist Jan Akkerman of the rock band Brainbox after Shaffy invited him to play with the trio. Van Leer later recalled the first try out session: "Jan came in and we jammed for hours, and it was really kicking". They then settled on the name Focus for the new band; Akkerman later said, "Focus is a Latin word that is the same in many languages. It means concentration, which is the meaning of what Focus does". Their first live gig as Focus followed at the Bird's Club in Rembrandtplein, and they soon secured a weekly residency playing two shows a night on two days. Early sets were mainly formed of covers, including "I Shall Be Released" by Bob Dylan, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum and "Nights in White Satin" by The Moody Blues, mixed with original material, including van Leer's first song written with the group in mind, the instrumental "Focus". In their search for more work and a steady income, Focus was chosen to play as part of the pit band for the Dutch production of the rock musical Hair produced by Welsh actor Victor Spinetti. They were invited to audition at the Victoria Ballroom, London after Dutch lyricist Lennaert Nijgh suggested them to Del Newman, the musical's director. Cast member Robin Lent claimed the production was suffering and Focus, taking part only for the money, "were also pretty rusty ... but this changed and everybody got into it". The show, launched in December 1969, involved six nightly performances a week and gave them space to rehearse in the afternoons for free and store their equipment. An album of the soundtrack featuring the band was recorded in February 1970 and released soon after by Polydor Records. After Hair ended its run in June 1970, Focus declined an offer to tour the musical across the Netherlands for a year and a half and become a full time band. They had picked up more local gigs and dates across the country by this time, and had performed their first international gigs in Belgium and Spain. Their weekly earnings from gigs, plus their earnings from Hair, had reached 400 guilders though Akkerman recalled the group failed to appreciate its value and were quick to spend it. To manage their finances more carefully, Cleuver was chosen to oversee their earnings and expenses. 1970–1971: Debut album, "House of the King", and line-up change In 1970, Focus reached contact with Hubert Terheggen, director of Radio-Tele-Music Belgium-Holland, a music publishing division of Radio Luxembourg, through connections with Dresden's father. Terheggen enjoyed their music and signed them to his production company, secured deals with music publishers worldwide, and booked studio time for them to record their first album, which took place in January 1970 at Sound Techniques in Chelsea, London during time off from Hair. The result was Focus Plays Focus, better known as its international release title In and Out of Focus, with Terheggen credited as producer and Jerry Boys the engineer. A mix of pop-oriented songs and instrumentals were recorded for the album; van Leer felt the vocals suffered as a result of singing English lyrics with a foreign accent, which inspired the group to become stronger instrumentally. After recording Focus Plays Focus, the band struggled to find a label willing to release it. Their fortunes changed once they had recorded "House of the King", an instrumental by Akkerman with different accounts of its origin. Focus biographer Peet Johnson gives the general consensus that it was inspired by their appearance at the Barbarela de Conjuntos music contest in Majorca on 11 June 1970, where in the final round, their rendition of Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquín Rodrigo ran over the 15-minute time limit, causing their plugs to be pulled. Focus proceeded to retaliate with van Leer playing the flute to the audience as a distraction while the rest of the group trashed the dressing room, after which they were arrested and spent a night in jail. Van Leer claims Akkerman came up with the track the day after their arrest, but the guitarist said he wrote it "on a mountain, with a beautiful Spanish stewardess ... in about five minutes". Focus recorded it without management's permission in one evening at Heemstede, yet it reached staff at Imperial Records who thought it was strong enough as a hit single and signed the group. Focus Plays Focus was released in September 1970, eight months after it was recorded. "Why Dream" and "Happy Nightmare" were released as their first single in the Netherlands. The album saw an American release in October by Sire Records, who had secured the rights to the band's international distribution, with "House of the King" added to the track listing. Prior to signing Focus, Sire founder Seymour Stein had flown to the Netherlands to see the band perform: "Without a doubt they were the most original band I had ever heard". Though the album received little commercial attention it earned Focus their first Edison Award, and the January 1971 release of "House of the King" went to number 10 on the home chart. Late in 1970, Akkerman had become increasingly unhappy with Cleuver and Dresden as a rhythm section and missed his former Brainbox bandmate, drummer Pierre van der Linden. He thought the pair struggled to incorporate their own identity or musicianship into the music. Akkerman then presented an ultimatum to van Leer by threatening to quit unless he asked Cleuver and Dresden to leave. Van Leer refused to part ways with his co-founders and instead told Akkerman to leave, which increased tension between the two as they were often at odds with each other. Cleuver sensed panic from Imperial as it knew "House of the King" would be a hit and wanted van Leer and Akkerman to stay together. The situation reached Terheggen, who asked Yde de Jong to become Focus's manager if he could reunite the band. After six weeks of driving to both members' homes to negotiate, van Leer agreed to fire Cleuver and Dresden and joined Akkerman, van der Linden, and newcomer bassist Cyril Havermans, who had played on Akkerman's second solo album Profile, on the condition that the group continue as Focus. With the new line-up secured, Stein convinced English producer Mike Vernon to witness the band perform in the Netherlands in late 1970. Vernon was not so impressed with their first album, but enjoyed them as a live act: "I couldn't stop talking or thinking about them! They were formidable ... the power of Jan and Thijs alone gave me heart palpitations". Vernon subsequently agreed to produce their next studio album. 1971–1972: Moving Waves and breakthrough Following rehearsals at Groeneveld Castle in Baarn, the band recorded Focus II, better known as its international title Moving Waves, in April and May 1971 at Sound Techniques and Morgan Studios, London. It showcased the band exploring progressive rock with jazz fusion and classical music elements with extended pieces and lengthy solos. Akkerman changed his sound, moving from a Gretsch White Falcon to a 1957 Gibson Les Paul Custom which enabled him to "'sing' on the guitar" to compensate for the group's weak vocals. Its opening track, "Hocus Pocus", became one of the band's best known tracks, featuring a recognisable rock guitar riff and van Leer's yodelling, whistling, and nonsensical vocals that developed through an improvised jam session. Akkerman wrote "Janis" as a tribute to Janis Joplin, and its closer, "Eruption", is a 23-minute multi-part track inspired by the operas Orfeo ed Euridice by Christoph Willibald Gluck and L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, combining rock, jazz and classical influences. Released in October 1971, Moving Waves became the band's international breakthrough, reaching number 2 in the UK, number 4 in the Netherlands, and number 8 in the US. The album awarded Focus with a Conamus Export Award, their second Edison Award, and gold certifications in the three aforementioned countries; the US award was issued in 1973 for selling 500,000 copies. Its success was helped by the release of "Hocus Pocus" as a single, released in the Netherlands in July 1971 which peaked at number 12 and exposed the band to a new audience. It peaked at number 20 in the UK in January 1973. Between the recording and release of Moving Waves, Focus underwent further line-up changes. Shortly before a tour of France in July 1971, van der Linden temporarily left the band after he found out van Leer and Akkerman would get paid more than himself. He was replaced by Akkerman's younger brother, the 19-year-old Jacob "Cocky" Akkerman, before the rift was sorted and van der Linden resumed on the drums at its conclusion. This was followed by Havermans' departure in September 1971, having handed in his notice in late June. He wished to sing on more tracks but was unable to do so within the confines of the group and pursued a solo career. The remaining members would reunite with the bassist in the US in early 1973 to play on his first solo album, Cyril. Focus found their new bassist in Bert Ruiter, who had previously rehearsed with van der Linden prior to a gig in Texel in June 1971, and went on to see the band live around ten times thereafter. He was invited by the drummer to a tryout session, after which he became a full-time member. Focus resumed as a live act in September 1971; among their first gigs with Ruiter was in Rotterdam as part of the European Newport Jazz Festival on 29 October. Towards the end of the year, de Jong organised the band's first UK tour, a 15-gig trek between 15 February–10 March 1972, to increase exposure and record sales. Van Leer felt insecure about the tour at first and expressed the lack of courage from the group when they compared themselves to other popular UK rock acts. They arrived in the UK during a period of nationwide energy shortages, yet de Jong resolved the issue by having Focus tour with their own power generator. Despite receiving little money for their performances, they received radio airplay on BBC Radio 1, earned positive reviews from critics, and gained new fans. Akkerman recalled the attendance of the gigs "were packed because it was probably the only thing that was going on". On 28 May 1972, Focus were booked to play the Lincoln Festival for an estimated 40,000 people, but the band arrived too late for their spot and were unable to reschedule, leaving them furious at the missed opportunity. Two days later, Focus made their British television debut with a pre-recorded performance of excerpts of "Eruption" and "Hocus Pocus" on the BBC music show The Old Grey Whistle Test. In the following month they were voted Brightest Hope by readers of Melody Maker and Best New Talent by readers of New Musical Express. 1972–1974: Focus 3 and Hamburger Concerto The band spent four days at Olympic Studios in Barnes, London in July 1972 recording their third album, Focus 3. They had written a considerable amount of material by this time which led to the decision to make a double album, mostly by van Leer and Akkerman. Focus 3 saw the group produce short and extended pieces, including the three-minute instrumental "Sylvia" and the group devised, 26-minute "Anonymous II" that devotes a solo spot for each member, and the addition of "House of the King". Upon its release in November 1972, the album went to number one in the Netherlands for one week, number 6 in the UK, and number 35 in the US. "Sylvia" was released as a single and reached number 4 in the UK in January 1973, the week after "Hocus Pocus" reached its peak on the same chart. This marked the first time in a decade that a band had two concurrent songs without lyrics in the UK top 40. To support the album, Focus began their largest tour since their formation with spots at the Reading Festival on 12 August 1972 followed by the Melody Maker Poll Awards show at The Oval, London on 30 September. This was followed by an exhaustive 31-date UK tour in 36 days that included their return appearance on The Old Grey Whistle Test on 12 December which caused a surge in interest for their records; host Bob Harris said the show was inundated with calls and letters about the band and Polydor's record plant printed nothing but Focus for ten days in order to meet demand. A performance of "Sylvia" from the Marquee Club, London aired on the BBC's Top of the Pops show. After a sell out UK tour in January 1973 that spanned 24 days, Focus completed their first of three North American tours in 1973 from February to April, supporting various acts including Gentle Giant, Frank Zappa and Yes. Upon their return, they toured the UK once more which included two sold out shows at the Rainbow Theatre, London in May 1973 which aired on BBC television. In early May 1973, Focus returned to Olympic Studios at Vernon's request and recorded a new cut of "Hocus Pocus" titled "Hocus Pocus II", released exclusively for the American market. Later in the month, the band retreated to Chipping Norton Recording Studios, Oxfordshire to record a fourth studio album. Akkerman had expressed a wish to put down "great ideas" he had written over the past year, but extensive touring had left the band physically and mentally exhausted which reduced their eagerness to write and record new group material. Vernon recalled Akkerman's reluctance to take part in the sessions which to him, "led to the final dissolving of the Akkerman/van Leer partnership". Around 40 minutes of songs was eventually recorded, yet the pair refused to co-operate and recorded their parts without the other present. Vernon later called this period as "probably the worst ten days I've ever spent in a studio". As a new studio album could not be released, Vernon took the recording from the Rainbow Theatre concerts and released it as a live album, At the Rainbow. The album went to number 23 in the UK in October 1973. The band went on to receive a Billboard Trendsetter Award for their success after notching up two gold albums, combining sales of one million copies sold in the US, and one gold single. Recordings from the Chipping Norton sessions remained unreleased, rearranged years later, or included in the collection of previously unreleased Focus studio recordings Ship of Memories, in 1976. Upon their return from their second North American tour from June to September 1973, the band returned to Groeneveld Castle for rehearsals. Van der Linden failed to turn up, and the group soon learned of his decision to quit the band. Van Leer claimed rock music was a step in the wrong direction for the drummer, who wished to pursue jazz. Vernon suggested English players Mitch Mitchell, Aynsley Dunbar, and Colin Allen as replacements. Allen was the only one available as his previous group, Stone the Crows had recently broken up. He flew to the Netherlands to meet the band and after a successful try out session, he joined the group. “It all happened pretty quickly ... I fitted in." His arrival came eight days before the band's upcoming North American tour was to start. From January to March 1974, Focus recorded Hamburger Concerto at Olympic Studios with Vernon. Recording was met with growing tension, with van Leer, Ruiter and Allen working together during the day and Akkerman recording his parts in the evening. The album presents further classical music influences, opening with "Delitæ Musicæ", a lute piece Akkerman adapted from Delitæ Musicæ Cantiones by Dutch composer Joachim van den Hove. It closes with a six-part, 20-minute conceptual title track inspired by Akkerman once eating a hamburger while watching cartoons at his hotel room in New York City and was put down in basic form during the 1973 Chipping Norton sessions. Released in May 1974, Hamburger Concerto peaked at number 5 in the Netherlands and number 20 in the UK. Van Leer claimed it was the band's "First proper work. It has strength and purpose", and Vernon later said the album and Moving Waves were the most rewarding on a second listen. Akkerman later felt the album suffered as his position in the group had weakened with van der Linden gone and claimed van Leer "broke up the tandem I had with Pierre rhythmically". A single version of "Harem Scarem" was released but did not chart in the UK. Focus toured Hamburger Concerto from March 1974, starting with dates across Europe, including two in London that were filmed for broadcast on the BBC2 and US television music series In Concert. They began their first tour of Japan and Australia in June, followed by an appearance at the Reading Festival in August and the start of their fourth North American tour in September. They were featured on the nationally syndicated Don Kirshner's Rock Concert show aired live from Long Beach, California, giving the band widespread exposure. At one concert during the US leg, van Leer and Akkerman noticed a young Michael Jackson sitting in the front row. Upon their return, the band completed a 24-day tour of Europe and two compilation albums were released, The Story of Focus and Masters of Rock. 1975–1978: Mother Focus, Focus con Proby, and disbanding In 1975, the band gathered at Morgan Studios, Brussels to rehearse and record Mother Focus. They reunited with Terheggen to oversee the project as executive producer, but the group found themselves without a collective direction; van Leer put its failure down to the band's recording contract which required them to produce one studio album each year, the pressures of touring had affected the songs, and a lack of overall interest from the band. In addition, Akkerman continued to record parts separately, showing no sign of an improvement in his relationship with van Leer. Ruiter became a more prominent songwriter and contributed more ideas than he had on previous Focus albums; he and Allen, after recording "I Need a Bathroom", began to experiment with a drum machine to aid their ideas, but the drummer recalled Akkerman got angry, shouted at him, and tossed the machine across the room. Allen was fired the next day, not knowing who made the decision. He was required to pay what he owed to the group during his tenure which amounted to roughly £10,000, using his earnings from royalties to pay much of it. Despite the problems, he "will always remain proud to have been a member". In May 1975, at the suggestion of their studio engineer, American drummer David Kemper was brought in to complete the rest of the album. Released in October 1975, Mother Focus saw Focus depart from their classical and jazz-influenced sound towards shorter, commercially accessible songs with middle of the road influences and little room for improvisation and jamming they were known for. Akkerman argued with van Leer and Ruiter over the group's change in musical direction, deeming it "typical American music". The album went to number 23 in the UK, and received mostly negative reviews from critics. During plans for their upcoming tour Akkerman refused to perform the album's music, thinking it was not strong enough. To solve the issue, he and van Leer returned to Morgan Studios and put down "Red Sky at Night" and "Avondrood", the latter featuring the two singing in Dutch. After Kemper left when recording was complete, Akkerman wished van der Linden to return, thinking he was responsible "for at least 40%" of the band's success and said he "wouldn't leave Focus" with him on the drums. However, van Leer and Ruiter did not share the same enthusiasm over van der Linden's return. Nevertheless, Focus returned to Australia and Japan in May and June 1975 for a series of sold out dates, yet reviewers of the gigs noticed the lack of cohesiveness than before. During the Scandinavian tour that followed, a gig at the Ullevaal Stadium, Oslo during the Ragnarok Festival was met with Akkerman and van der Linden jamming with "little adherence to the repertoire" that was taken as a protest to playing the same material night after night. Matters turned for the worse after van Leer and Ruiter refused to have van der Linden re-record the drums for a single release of "Crackers", causing the drummer to quit a second time. With van der Linden gone, Focus cancelled a proposed 34-date UK tour and brought back Kemper during subsequent rehearsals after a desperate plea from de Jong. The "House of the King"/"Avondrood" single was released in 1976; the latter track originally appeared on a Dutch compilation album. The two appear in instrumental form on Ship of Memories. In February 1976, two and a half days before the group's arrival to the UK for a tour, van Leer asked Akkerman to leave Focus over his disagreements with the music they were rehearsing and the decision not to have van der Linden return on the drums. Akkerman had grown tired of playing the same songs on stage, "It felt like I was in a straitjacket. There was still a lot of improvisation but even this had become planned". Van Leer said he wished to write "happy" music and move from "our European minor chords". Rather than have the tour cancelled, van Leer decided to proceed, with Kemper having seven days to arrive from the US and learn the new material and Akkerman at home with illness. In the guitarist's absence, van Leer met Belgian guitarist Philip Catherine and the two played a jam session that van Leer enjoyed. Akkerman disliked a song that the group had rehearsed about him soon after, which led to van Leer asking him to leave the next day. After Catherine agreed to step in, the group rehearsed for fifty hours without sleep; van Leer spent the evening prior the first gig mapping out the guitar parts on paper which Catherine followed on stage. Refunds were offered to concert goers as news of Akkerman's departure was not made public until after the tour had begun, which ended in March 1976. Dutch guitarist Eef Albers later joined Focus. A handful of scattered gigs were performed through 1977 and 1978 with American drummer Richard James on call out whenever they secured a booking. After van Leer signed a deal with EMI in April 1976 to record a new Focus album, work did not begin until late 1977 when the band faced potential legal action if they did not release something. Recording took place in December 1977 at EMI Studios in Haarlem, Amsterdam with van Leer, Ruiter, Albers, and a returning Catherine, who was contractually required to perform. Van Leer turned to ideas that he had developed with his wife Roselie during Focus tours, but felt neither his or Ruiter's voices were strong enough to sing on. In the search for a suitable lead vocalist de Jong, a friend of American singer P. J. Proby, rang his Netherlands-based manager and invited him to the studio, thinking his vocals would replace Akkerman's lyrical playing. Van Leer was sceptical as Proby was not familiar with the band and the singer was going through a period of heavy alcohol abuse. Upon Proby's arrival, Albers recalled: "He drank Four Roses whiskey the whole day, so much so that the nearest liquor store was soon sold out ... he always had the intention to run away". Proby interpreted the jazz-rock influenced songs as he felt, attempting "to meet them half-way between jazz and rock". James's drumming was unsuitable for the lighter material, so van Leer brought in future Journey drummer, American Steve Smith. Following the release of Focus con Proby in February 1978, which ignored the UK market, the album received negative reviews. Cleuver, then van Leer's manager, later called it "simply shameful". After a handful of gigs in the Netherlands, which concluded with a show in Terneuzen in August 1978 with James on the drums, van Leer ended Focus. 1983−1999: Reunions In 1983, Akkerman agreed to the idea of reuniting with van Leer and record new music, as suggested by his management. Van Leer immediately accepted the invitation and went on to play the synthesiser on "Headbanger", a track for Akkerman's solo album From the Basement (1984). After this initial collaboration, an executive at Phonogram Records suggested the pair work on an album of re-recorded Focus songs with English producer Trevor Horn, but it fell through. They subsequently signed a recording contract with Vertigo Records, which required the two to record as a duo, as opposed to Focus. During the recording, producer Ruud Jacobs was brought in to supervise due to the length of time taken to finalise tracks. Engineer Theo Balijon claimed Jacobs cut corners and pushed for the strongest tracks to be completed quickly to save production costs, which "unintentionally increased the animosity between Jan and Thijs". Around 30 tracks were completed with several additional musicians in 1984. Focus was released in March 1985 and reached number 33 in the Netherlands. The pair followed the album with promotional videos and a local four-date tour. In 1988, EMI acquired the rights to the band's back catalogue and reissued their albums on CD for the first time. In 1990, van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for a live gig, marking their first performance together since 1975. The four played a 40-minute set at the Americahal in Apeldoorn on 20 April that was broadcast as part of the Oud van Goud television special. It came about when producer Frans Meijer asked Akkerman to perform a gig with the group, and the fact that the guitarist's manager had not seen the band play in the 1970s. After the group agreed to participate, they rehearsed for four hours in Wijchen several days prior to the concert. Ruiter said they "went very well"; van Leer said it was "fantastic". Following the concert van Leer was keen to formally restart Focus with Akkerman, but the latter resisted. On 17 May 1990 the group, minus Akkerman, mimed a performance of "House of the King" on Service Salon on AVRO-TV. They had planned to perform "Hocus Pocus" with Akkerman, but the guitarist declined to take part. Van Leer and Akkerman shared the stage once more in 1993, performing mostly Akkerman solo songs at the North Sea Jazz Festival. In 1997, van Leer reformed Focus with Cleuver and Ruiter returning on drums and bass, respectively, and 21-year-old Dutch guitarist Menno Gootjes who was studying at the Rotterdam Conservatory. The four made their live debut at the Hockey Club in Mill, Netherlands, on 30 August. They performed additional shows in the Netherlands, but disagreements between van Leer and Ruiter over material intended for an official release effectively split up the group, in 1999. 2001–2009: Reformation, albums, and touring In 2001, van Leer was invited to a try out session by his stepson and bassist Bobby Jacobs, who was rehearsing with guitarist Jan Dumée and drummer Ruben van Roon. Jacobs and van Roon was former members of van Leer's side project Conxi. To van Leer's surprise, he found out the three had been rehearsing Focus songs from the 1970s era. The sessions led to the group's decision to perform live as a Focus tribute band named Hocus Pocus "just for fun, nothing too serious". After some well received gigs in the Netherlands, the group resumed the Focus name and acquired Willem Hubers as their new manager and booking agent which led to several offers to perform worldwide. Focus 8 was recorded between February and July 2002; van Roon left soon after due to personal circumstances. He was replaced by drummer Bert Smaak. Released on Musea Records in late 2002, it received critical praise and was supported with a world tour in 2002 and 2003. In the autumn of 2004, Smaak had left the group and replaced by a returning van der Linden. In July 2006, Dumée was replaced by guitarist Niels van der Steenhoven. This line-up recorded Focus 9 / New Skin, released in September 2006 by Red Bullet Records. 2010–present: Line-up changes, Focus 11 and 50th Anniversary In May 2010, Nike included "Hocus Pocus" as the main theme in its 2010 FIFA World Cup commercial, Write the Future. The advert aired on television worldwide which generated renewed interest in the band and led to "Hocus Pocus" entering the UK Singles Chart at number 57. In late 2010, Gootjes rejoined the band as a replacement to a departing van der Steenhoven. In 2011, American rapper J. Cole sampled "Hocus Pocus" in his song "Blow Up", which is featured in the game MLB 11: The Show. The band released their eleventh studio album Focus X, featuring cover art by Roger Dean, in November 2012. On 14 April 2014, the band released Golden Oldies on their own label, In and Out of Focus Records. It is a collection of re-recorded versions of Focus songs. In 2016, the band released Focus 8.5 / Beyond the Horizon. It is credited to "Focus and Friends featuring Marvio Ciribelli", and was recorded during gaps in their 2005 South American tour with Brazilian musicians. In December 2016, Udo Pannekeet replaced Jacobs on bass. Focus performed at their second Cruise to the Edge event in February 2017, third in 2018, and fourth in 2019. The line-up included Dumée on guitar after Gootjes was too ill to perform. From March to October 2017, Focus toured Europe. In November 2018, Focus released their fourteenth studio album Focus 11 to coincide with their 20-date UK tour. The album was available at each venue which was followed by its full release on 25 January 2019, via Cherry Red Records. In November 2020, a box set containing new remasters of the band's albums from 1970 to 1976, with previously unreleased audio and video material, entitled 50 Years: Anthology 1970–1976, was released by Red Bullet Productions to commemorate the band's fiftieth anniversary. This was followed in June 2021 by the release of Focus 50, a set featuring live material recorded in 2017 in Rio de Janeiro and a disc entitled Completely Focused, containing studio re-recordings of "Focus 1" through "Focus 12". In November 2021, during a UK tour, Focus cancelled all scheduled dates after van Leer contracted COVID-19 in hospital while receiving treatment for an unrelated illness. A new studio album is expected in early 2022. Band members Current members Thijs van Leer – keyboards, flute, vocals (1969–1978, 1990, 1993-1995, 1997–1999, 2001–present) Pierre van der Linden – drums, percussion (1971–1973, 1975, 1990, 2004–present) Menno Gootjes – guitar, backing vocals (1997–1999, 2010–present) Udo Pannekeet – bass (2016–present) Discography Studio albums Focus Plays Focus (1970; also known as In and Out of Focus) Focus II (1971; also known as Moving Waves) Focus 3 (1972) Hamburger Concerto (1974) Mother Focus (1975) Ship of Memories (1977) (studio compilation) Focus con Proby (1978) Focus (1985) (as Jan Akkerman & Thijs Van Leer) Focus 8 (2002) Focus 9 / New Skin (2006) Focus X (2012) Golden Oldies (2014) (studio re-recordings) Focus 8.5 / Beyond the Horizon (2016) The Focus Family Album (2017) (studio outtakes from 2012–2017, plus solo tracks) Focus 11 (2018) Completely Focused (2021) (studio re-recordings) References Sources External links Official band website at FocusTheBand.co.uk Fan website at FocusTributeHomepage, since 1996 Atco Records artists Dutch hard rock musical groups Dutch musical groups Dutch progressive rock groups EMI Records artists Instrumental rock musical groups Musical groups established in 1969 Sire Records artists Symphonic rock groups Musical groups from Amsterdam
true
[ "Anything Can Happen is a 1952 comedy-drama film.\n\nAnything Can Happen may also refer to:\n\n Anything Can Happen (album), by Leon Russell, 1994\n \"Anything Can Happen\", a 2019 song by Saint Jhn \n Edhuvum Nadakkum ('Anything Can Happen'), a season of the Tamil TV series Marmadesam\n \"Anything Can Happen in the Next Half Hour\", or \"Anything Can Happen\", a 2007 song by Enter Shikari\n Anything Can Happen in the Next Half Hour (EP), 2004\n\nSee also\n \"Anything Could Happen\", a 2012 song by Ellie Goulding \n Anything Might Happen, 1934 British crime film\n Special Effects: Anything Can Happen, a 1996 American documentary film\n \"Anything Can Happen on Halloween\", a song from the 1986 film The Worst Witch \n Anything Can Happen in the Theatre, a musical revue of works by Maury Yeston\n \"The Anything Can Happen Recurrence\", an episode of The Big Bang Theory (season 7)\n The Anupam Kher Show - Kucch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai ('The Anupam Kher Show — Anything Can Happen') an Indian TV show", "\"Anything Can Happen in the Next Half Hour...\" (often shortened to \"Anything Can Happen\") is the second physical single, and third overall, by Enter Shikari and the second single to be released from their debut album Take to the Skies. It was released on 18 February 2007 for digital download and on 5 March 2007 on both CD and 7\" vinyl. It is the band's highest charting single, charting at #27 in the UK single chart, and number 1 on the UK indie chart. There are two remixes of the song, Colon Open Bracket Remix and Grayedout Mix. Both are up for download on their official download store.\n\nTrack listing\n\n CD\n \"Anything Can Happen in the Next Half Hour...\" (Rou, Enter Shikari) - 4:40\n \"Kickin' Back on the Surface of Your Cheek\" (Rou, Enter Shikari) - 3:50\n \"Keep It on Ice\" (Rou) - 2:51\n\n 7\"\n\n \"Anything Can Happen in the Next Half Hour...\" (Rou, Enter Shikari) - 4:40\n \"Kickin' Back on the Surface of Your Cheek\" (Rou, Enter Shikari) - 3:50\n\nOriginal version\nIn the original version of the song, a sample is heard from the introduction of the popular 1960s TV series Stingray in which the character says \"Anything can happen in the next half hour\". This is, however, not heard in the re-recorded version.\n\nChart performance\n\nPersonnel\n\nEnter Shikari\nRoughton \"Rou\" Reynolds - vocals, electronics\nLiam \"Rory\" Clewlow - guitar\nChris Batten - bass, vocals\nRob Rolfe - drums\nProduction\nEnter Shikari - production\nJohn Mitchell - recording\nBen Humphreys - recording\nMartin Giles - mastering\nKeaton Henson - illustration, design\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Video - \"Anything Can Happen in the Next Half Hour...\" video.\n Original Video - Original video using the 2004 EP version of the song.\n Stingray Introduction - The phrase can be heard at 0:44\n\n2007 singles\nEnter Shikari songs\nSong articles missing an audio sample\n2007 songs" ]
[ "Focus (band)", "1985-1999: Reunions", "Did the band reunite during this time frame?", "In 1990, the former line-up of van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for the first time since 1975.", "Did anything particular happen during the reunion?", "The four played a 40-minute set at the Americahal in Apeldoorn on 20 April that was broadcast as part of the Oud van Goud television special." ]
C_f5c93dc410b34900bc07c020bdf85216_0
Was there anything else important happening?
3
Besides Focus playing at their reunion, was there anything else important happening?
Focus (band)
In mid-1983, both of Akkerman's managers came up with the idea of the guitarist reuniting with van Leer to record new music, to which Akkerman agreed. Van Leer immediately accepted the invitation, and went on to play the synthesiser on "Headbanger" on Akkerman's 1984 solo album From the Basement. After this initial collaboration, one executive at Phonogram Records suggested the pair work with producer Trevor Horn to release an album of re-recorded Focus tracks, but it was dismissed. In the following 15 months, the two wrote, rehearsed, and recorded new music with several additional musicians with engineer Theo Balijob. Their contract required the two to record as a duet, rather under the name Focus. During the recording, producer Ruud Jacobs was brought in to supervise the project due to the length of time taken to put the tracks down. Balijon claimed Jacobs cut corners and pushed for the strongest tracks to be completed quickly to save production costs, which "unintentionally increased the animosity between Jan and Thijs". In the 63 days they spent recording from April to May 1984, around 30 tracks were completed with several additional musicians. Focus was released in March 1985 by Vertigo Records which reached number 33 in the Netherlands. The pair followed the album with promotional videos and a local four-date tour. In 1988, EMI acquired the rights to the band's back catalogue and reissued their albums on compact disc for the first time. In 1990, the former line-up of van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for the first time since 1975. The four played a 40-minute set at the Americahal in Apeldoorn on 20 April that was broadcast as part of the Oud van Goud television special. It came about when producer Frans Meijer asked Akkerman to perform a gig with the group, and the fact that the guitarist's manager had not seen the band play in the 1970s, so "it was swatting two flies with one hit". The other three agreed at the opportunity, and they rehearsed for four hours in Wijchen several days prior to the concert. Ruiter said they "went very well"; van Leer said it was "fantastic". Following the concert, van Leer was keen to formally restart Focus with Akkerman, though the latter felt different though he was happy to reunite with van der Linden. On 17 May the group, minus Akkerman, mimed a performance of "House of the King" on the Service Salon television program on AVRO-TV. Originally the band were to perform "Hocus Pocus" with Akkerman, but the guitarist declined the offer made by the network, stating he reunited with Focus for Meijer and his manager. The appearance went ahead regardless. Van Leer and Akkerman shared the stage once more in 1993, performing Focus songs at the North Sea Jazz Festival. In 1999, van Leer attempted to reform Focus with Cleuver, Ruiter, and Dutch guitarist Menno Gootjes. They performed several live dates in the Netherlands, but disagreements between van Leer and Ruiter over material intended for release effectively split up the group. CANNOTANSWER
On 17 May the group, minus Akkerman, mimed a performance of "House of the King" on the Service Salon television program on AVRO-TV.
Focus are a Dutch progressive rock band formed in Amsterdam in 1969 by keyboardist, vocalist, and flutist Thijs van Leer, drummer Hans Cleuver, bassist Martijn Dresden, and guitarist Jan Akkerman. The band have undergone numerous formations in its history; since December 2016, it has comprised van Leer, drummer Pierre van der Linden, guitarist Menno Gootjes, and bassist Udo Pannekeet. They have sold one million RIAA-certified albums in the United States. After the addition of Akkerman to van Leer's rock trio in late 1969, the band named themselves Focus and initially worked in the band for a Dutch production of the rock musical Hair. Their debut album Focus Plays Focus (1970) gained little attention but the follow-up, Moving Waves (1971), and its lead single "Hocus Pocus", earned the band international recognition. Their success continued with Focus 3 (1972) and Hamburger Concerto (1974), the former containing their second hit single, "Sylvia". After recording two albums with various musicians, including guitarist Phillip Catherine, singer P. J. Proby, and drummers Colin Allen, David Kemper, and Steve Smith, Focus dissolved in 1978. They briefly reunited in 1990 and 1997. In 2002, van Leer reformed Focus with a new line-up that saw van der Linden rejoining the group in 2004. The albums Focus 8 (2002), Focus 9 / New Skin (2006) and Focus X (2012) were well received, and Focus continue to perform worldwide. Their most recent album is Focus 11 (2018). They received a renewed interest after Nike used "Hocus Pocus" in its 2010 World Cup commercial Write The Future. Focus remain one of the most successful and influential rock bands from the Netherlands. History 1969–1970: Formation Focus formed in mid-1969 by keyboardist, vocalist, and flautist Thijs van Leer, who recruited bass guitarist Martijn Dresden and drummer Hans Cleuver after he met them at sessions for the Jazz and Poetry radio program in Hilversum, Netherlands. The three went on to start a new three-piece band initially known as Thijs van Leer and the Rebaptised, playing a set formed mostly of cover songs by Traffic and original material mostly written by van Leer. In November 1969, during rehearsals at the theatre where van Leer performed as part of Ramses Shaffy's theatre group, they were joined by guitarist Jan Akkerman of the rock band Brainbox after Shaffy invited him to play with the trio. Van Leer later recalled the first try out session: "Jan came in and we jammed for hours, and it was really kicking". They then settled on the name Focus for the new band; Akkerman later said, "Focus is a Latin word that is the same in many languages. It means concentration, which is the meaning of what Focus does". Their first live gig as Focus followed at the Bird's Club in Rembrandtplein, and they soon secured a weekly residency playing two shows a night on two days. Early sets were mainly formed of covers, including "I Shall Be Released" by Bob Dylan, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum and "Nights in White Satin" by The Moody Blues, mixed with original material, including van Leer's first song written with the group in mind, the instrumental "Focus". In their search for more work and a steady income, Focus was chosen to play as part of the pit band for the Dutch production of the rock musical Hair produced by Welsh actor Victor Spinetti. They were invited to audition at the Victoria Ballroom, London after Dutch lyricist Lennaert Nijgh suggested them to Del Newman, the musical's director. Cast member Robin Lent claimed the production was suffering and Focus, taking part only for the money, "were also pretty rusty ... but this changed and everybody got into it". The show, launched in December 1969, involved six nightly performances a week and gave them space to rehearse in the afternoons for free and store their equipment. An album of the soundtrack featuring the band was recorded in February 1970 and released soon after by Polydor Records. After Hair ended its run in June 1970, Focus declined an offer to tour the musical across the Netherlands for a year and a half and become a full time band. They had picked up more local gigs and dates across the country by this time, and had performed their first international gigs in Belgium and Spain. Their weekly earnings from gigs, plus their earnings from Hair, had reached 400 guilders though Akkerman recalled the group failed to appreciate its value and were quick to spend it. To manage their finances more carefully, Cleuver was chosen to oversee their earnings and expenses. 1970–1971: Debut album, "House of the King", and line-up change In 1970, Focus reached contact with Hubert Terheggen, director of Radio-Tele-Music Belgium-Holland, a music publishing division of Radio Luxembourg, through connections with Dresden's father. Terheggen enjoyed their music and signed them to his production company, secured deals with music publishers worldwide, and booked studio time for them to record their first album, which took place in January 1970 at Sound Techniques in Chelsea, London during time off from Hair. The result was Focus Plays Focus, better known as its international release title In and Out of Focus, with Terheggen credited as producer and Jerry Boys the engineer. A mix of pop-oriented songs and instrumentals were recorded for the album; van Leer felt the vocals suffered as a result of singing English lyrics with a foreign accent, which inspired the group to become stronger instrumentally. After recording Focus Plays Focus, the band struggled to find a label willing to release it. Their fortunes changed once they had recorded "House of the King", an instrumental by Akkerman with different accounts of its origin. Focus biographer Peet Johnson gives the general consensus that it was inspired by their appearance at the Barbarela de Conjuntos music contest in Majorca on 11 June 1970, where in the final round, their rendition of Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquín Rodrigo ran over the 15-minute time limit, causing their plugs to be pulled. Focus proceeded to retaliate with van Leer playing the flute to the audience as a distraction while the rest of the group trashed the dressing room, after which they were arrested and spent a night in jail. Van Leer claims Akkerman came up with the track the day after their arrest, but the guitarist said he wrote it "on a mountain, with a beautiful Spanish stewardess ... in about five minutes". Focus recorded it without management's permission in one evening at Heemstede, yet it reached staff at Imperial Records who thought it was strong enough as a hit single and signed the group. Focus Plays Focus was released in September 1970, eight months after it was recorded. "Why Dream" and "Happy Nightmare" were released as their first single in the Netherlands. The album saw an American release in October by Sire Records, who had secured the rights to the band's international distribution, with "House of the King" added to the track listing. Prior to signing Focus, Sire founder Seymour Stein had flown to the Netherlands to see the band perform: "Without a doubt they were the most original band I had ever heard". Though the album received little commercial attention it earned Focus their first Edison Award, and the January 1971 release of "House of the King" went to number 10 on the home chart. Late in 1970, Akkerman had become increasingly unhappy with Cleuver and Dresden as a rhythm section and missed his former Brainbox bandmate, drummer Pierre van der Linden. He thought the pair struggled to incorporate their own identity or musicianship into the music. Akkerman then presented an ultimatum to van Leer by threatening to quit unless he asked Cleuver and Dresden to leave. Van Leer refused to part ways with his co-founders and instead told Akkerman to leave, which increased tension between the two as they were often at odds with each other. Cleuver sensed panic from Imperial as it knew "House of the King" would be a hit and wanted van Leer and Akkerman to stay together. The situation reached Terheggen, who asked Yde de Jong to become Focus's manager if he could reunite the band. After six weeks of driving to both members' homes to negotiate, van Leer agreed to fire Cleuver and Dresden and joined Akkerman, van der Linden, and newcomer bassist Cyril Havermans, who had played on Akkerman's second solo album Profile, on the condition that the group continue as Focus. With the new line-up secured, Stein convinced English producer Mike Vernon to witness the band perform in the Netherlands in late 1970. Vernon was not so impressed with their first album, but enjoyed them as a live act: "I couldn't stop talking or thinking about them! They were formidable ... the power of Jan and Thijs alone gave me heart palpitations". Vernon subsequently agreed to produce their next studio album. 1971–1972: Moving Waves and breakthrough Following rehearsals at Groeneveld Castle in Baarn, the band recorded Focus II, better known as its international title Moving Waves, in April and May 1971 at Sound Techniques and Morgan Studios, London. It showcased the band exploring progressive rock with jazz fusion and classical music elements with extended pieces and lengthy solos. Akkerman changed his sound, moving from a Gretsch White Falcon to a 1957 Gibson Les Paul Custom which enabled him to "'sing' on the guitar" to compensate for the group's weak vocals. Its opening track, "Hocus Pocus", became one of the band's best known tracks, featuring a recognisable rock guitar riff and van Leer's yodelling, whistling, and nonsensical vocals that developed through an improvised jam session. Akkerman wrote "Janis" as a tribute to Janis Joplin, and its closer, "Eruption", is a 23-minute multi-part track inspired by the operas Orfeo ed Euridice by Christoph Willibald Gluck and L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, combining rock, jazz and classical influences. Released in October 1971, Moving Waves became the band's international breakthrough, reaching number 2 in the UK, number 4 in the Netherlands, and number 8 in the US. The album awarded Focus with a Conamus Export Award, their second Edison Award, and gold certifications in the three aforementioned countries; the US award was issued in 1973 for selling 500,000 copies. Its success was helped by the release of "Hocus Pocus" as a single, released in the Netherlands in July 1971 which peaked at number 12 and exposed the band to a new audience. It peaked at number 20 in the UK in January 1973. Between the recording and release of Moving Waves, Focus underwent further line-up changes. Shortly before a tour of France in July 1971, van der Linden temporarily left the band after he found out van Leer and Akkerman would get paid more than himself. He was replaced by Akkerman's younger brother, the 19-year-old Jacob "Cocky" Akkerman, before the rift was sorted and van der Linden resumed on the drums at its conclusion. This was followed by Havermans' departure in September 1971, having handed in his notice in late June. He wished to sing on more tracks but was unable to do so within the confines of the group and pursued a solo career. The remaining members would reunite with the bassist in the US in early 1973 to play on his first solo album, Cyril. Focus found their new bassist in Bert Ruiter, who had previously rehearsed with van der Linden prior to a gig in Texel in June 1971, and went on to see the band live around ten times thereafter. He was invited by the drummer to a tryout session, after which he became a full-time member. Focus resumed as a live act in September 1971; among their first gigs with Ruiter was in Rotterdam as part of the European Newport Jazz Festival on 29 October. Towards the end of the year, de Jong organised the band's first UK tour, a 15-gig trek between 15 February–10 March 1972, to increase exposure and record sales. Van Leer felt insecure about the tour at first and expressed the lack of courage from the group when they compared themselves to other popular UK rock acts. They arrived in the UK during a period of nationwide energy shortages, yet de Jong resolved the issue by having Focus tour with their own power generator. Despite receiving little money for their performances, they received radio airplay on BBC Radio 1, earned positive reviews from critics, and gained new fans. Akkerman recalled the attendance of the gigs "were packed because it was probably the only thing that was going on". On 28 May 1972, Focus were booked to play the Lincoln Festival for an estimated 40,000 people, but the band arrived too late for their spot and were unable to reschedule, leaving them furious at the missed opportunity. Two days later, Focus made their British television debut with a pre-recorded performance of excerpts of "Eruption" and "Hocus Pocus" on the BBC music show The Old Grey Whistle Test. In the following month they were voted Brightest Hope by readers of Melody Maker and Best New Talent by readers of New Musical Express. 1972–1974: Focus 3 and Hamburger Concerto The band spent four days at Olympic Studios in Barnes, London in July 1972 recording their third album, Focus 3. They had written a considerable amount of material by this time which led to the decision to make a double album, mostly by van Leer and Akkerman. Focus 3 saw the group produce short and extended pieces, including the three-minute instrumental "Sylvia" and the group devised, 26-minute "Anonymous II" that devotes a solo spot for each member, and the addition of "House of the King". Upon its release in November 1972, the album went to number one in the Netherlands for one week, number 6 in the UK, and number 35 in the US. "Sylvia" was released as a single and reached number 4 in the UK in January 1973, the week after "Hocus Pocus" reached its peak on the same chart. This marked the first time in a decade that a band had two concurrent songs without lyrics in the UK top 40. To support the album, Focus began their largest tour since their formation with spots at the Reading Festival on 12 August 1972 followed by the Melody Maker Poll Awards show at The Oval, London on 30 September. This was followed by an exhaustive 31-date UK tour in 36 days that included their return appearance on The Old Grey Whistle Test on 12 December which caused a surge in interest for their records; host Bob Harris said the show was inundated with calls and letters about the band and Polydor's record plant printed nothing but Focus for ten days in order to meet demand. A performance of "Sylvia" from the Marquee Club, London aired on the BBC's Top of the Pops show. After a sell out UK tour in January 1973 that spanned 24 days, Focus completed their first of three North American tours in 1973 from February to April, supporting various acts including Gentle Giant, Frank Zappa and Yes. Upon their return, they toured the UK once more which included two sold out shows at the Rainbow Theatre, London in May 1973 which aired on BBC television. In early May 1973, Focus returned to Olympic Studios at Vernon's request and recorded a new cut of "Hocus Pocus" titled "Hocus Pocus II", released exclusively for the American market. Later in the month, the band retreated to Chipping Norton Recording Studios, Oxfordshire to record a fourth studio album. Akkerman had expressed a wish to put down "great ideas" he had written over the past year, but extensive touring had left the band physically and mentally exhausted which reduced their eagerness to write and record new group material. Vernon recalled Akkerman's reluctance to take part in the sessions which to him, "led to the final dissolving of the Akkerman/van Leer partnership". Around 40 minutes of songs was eventually recorded, yet the pair refused to co-operate and recorded their parts without the other present. Vernon later called this period as "probably the worst ten days I've ever spent in a studio". As a new studio album could not be released, Vernon took the recording from the Rainbow Theatre concerts and released it as a live album, At the Rainbow. The album went to number 23 in the UK in October 1973. The band went on to receive a Billboard Trendsetter Award for their success after notching up two gold albums, combining sales of one million copies sold in the US, and one gold single. Recordings from the Chipping Norton sessions remained unreleased, rearranged years later, or included in the collection of previously unreleased Focus studio recordings Ship of Memories, in 1976. Upon their return from their second North American tour from June to September 1973, the band returned to Groeneveld Castle for rehearsals. Van der Linden failed to turn up, and the group soon learned of his decision to quit the band. Van Leer claimed rock music was a step in the wrong direction for the drummer, who wished to pursue jazz. Vernon suggested English players Mitch Mitchell, Aynsley Dunbar, and Colin Allen as replacements. Allen was the only one available as his previous group, Stone the Crows had recently broken up. He flew to the Netherlands to meet the band and after a successful try out session, he joined the group. “It all happened pretty quickly ... I fitted in." His arrival came eight days before the band's upcoming North American tour was to start. From January to March 1974, Focus recorded Hamburger Concerto at Olympic Studios with Vernon. Recording was met with growing tension, with van Leer, Ruiter and Allen working together during the day and Akkerman recording his parts in the evening. The album presents further classical music influences, opening with "Delitæ Musicæ", a lute piece Akkerman adapted from Delitæ Musicæ Cantiones by Dutch composer Joachim van den Hove. It closes with a six-part, 20-minute conceptual title track inspired by Akkerman once eating a hamburger while watching cartoons at his hotel room in New York City and was put down in basic form during the 1973 Chipping Norton sessions. Released in May 1974, Hamburger Concerto peaked at number 5 in the Netherlands and number 20 in the UK. Van Leer claimed it was the band's "First proper work. It has strength and purpose", and Vernon later said the album and Moving Waves were the most rewarding on a second listen. Akkerman later felt the album suffered as his position in the group had weakened with van der Linden gone and claimed van Leer "broke up the tandem I had with Pierre rhythmically". A single version of "Harem Scarem" was released but did not chart in the UK. Focus toured Hamburger Concerto from March 1974, starting with dates across Europe, including two in London that were filmed for broadcast on the BBC2 and US television music series In Concert. They began their first tour of Japan and Australia in June, followed by an appearance at the Reading Festival in August and the start of their fourth North American tour in September. They were featured on the nationally syndicated Don Kirshner's Rock Concert show aired live from Long Beach, California, giving the band widespread exposure. At one concert during the US leg, van Leer and Akkerman noticed a young Michael Jackson sitting in the front row. Upon their return, the band completed a 24-day tour of Europe and two compilation albums were released, The Story of Focus and Masters of Rock. 1975–1978: Mother Focus, Focus con Proby, and disbanding In 1975, the band gathered at Morgan Studios, Brussels to rehearse and record Mother Focus. They reunited with Terheggen to oversee the project as executive producer, but the group found themselves without a collective direction; van Leer put its failure down to the band's recording contract which required them to produce one studio album each year, the pressures of touring had affected the songs, and a lack of overall interest from the band. In addition, Akkerman continued to record parts separately, showing no sign of an improvement in his relationship with van Leer. Ruiter became a more prominent songwriter and contributed more ideas than he had on previous Focus albums; he and Allen, after recording "I Need a Bathroom", began to experiment with a drum machine to aid their ideas, but the drummer recalled Akkerman got angry, shouted at him, and tossed the machine across the room. Allen was fired the next day, not knowing who made the decision. He was required to pay what he owed to the group during his tenure which amounted to roughly £10,000, using his earnings from royalties to pay much of it. Despite the problems, he "will always remain proud to have been a member". In May 1975, at the suggestion of their studio engineer, American drummer David Kemper was brought in to complete the rest of the album. Released in October 1975, Mother Focus saw Focus depart from their classical and jazz-influenced sound towards shorter, commercially accessible songs with middle of the road influences and little room for improvisation and jamming they were known for. Akkerman argued with van Leer and Ruiter over the group's change in musical direction, deeming it "typical American music". The album went to number 23 in the UK, and received mostly negative reviews from critics. During plans for their upcoming tour Akkerman refused to perform the album's music, thinking it was not strong enough. To solve the issue, he and van Leer returned to Morgan Studios and put down "Red Sky at Night" and "Avondrood", the latter featuring the two singing in Dutch. After Kemper left when recording was complete, Akkerman wished van der Linden to return, thinking he was responsible "for at least 40%" of the band's success and said he "wouldn't leave Focus" with him on the drums. However, van Leer and Ruiter did not share the same enthusiasm over van der Linden's return. Nevertheless, Focus returned to Australia and Japan in May and June 1975 for a series of sold out dates, yet reviewers of the gigs noticed the lack of cohesiveness than before. During the Scandinavian tour that followed, a gig at the Ullevaal Stadium, Oslo during the Ragnarok Festival was met with Akkerman and van der Linden jamming with "little adherence to the repertoire" that was taken as a protest to playing the same material night after night. Matters turned for the worse after van Leer and Ruiter refused to have van der Linden re-record the drums for a single release of "Crackers", causing the drummer to quit a second time. With van der Linden gone, Focus cancelled a proposed 34-date UK tour and brought back Kemper during subsequent rehearsals after a desperate plea from de Jong. The "House of the King"/"Avondrood" single was released in 1976; the latter track originally appeared on a Dutch compilation album. The two appear in instrumental form on Ship of Memories. In February 1976, two and a half days before the group's arrival to the UK for a tour, van Leer asked Akkerman to leave Focus over his disagreements with the music they were rehearsing and the decision not to have van der Linden return on the drums. Akkerman had grown tired of playing the same songs on stage, "It felt like I was in a straitjacket. There was still a lot of improvisation but even this had become planned". Van Leer said he wished to write "happy" music and move from "our European minor chords". Rather than have the tour cancelled, van Leer decided to proceed, with Kemper having seven days to arrive from the US and learn the new material and Akkerman at home with illness. In the guitarist's absence, van Leer met Belgian guitarist Philip Catherine and the two played a jam session that van Leer enjoyed. Akkerman disliked a song that the group had rehearsed about him soon after, which led to van Leer asking him to leave the next day. After Catherine agreed to step in, the group rehearsed for fifty hours without sleep; van Leer spent the evening prior the first gig mapping out the guitar parts on paper which Catherine followed on stage. Refunds were offered to concert goers as news of Akkerman's departure was not made public until after the tour had begun, which ended in March 1976. Dutch guitarist Eef Albers later joined Focus. A handful of scattered gigs were performed through 1977 and 1978 with American drummer Richard James on call out whenever they secured a booking. After van Leer signed a deal with EMI in April 1976 to record a new Focus album, work did not begin until late 1977 when the band faced potential legal action if they did not release something. Recording took place in December 1977 at EMI Studios in Haarlem, Amsterdam with van Leer, Ruiter, Albers, and a returning Catherine, who was contractually required to perform. Van Leer turned to ideas that he had developed with his wife Roselie during Focus tours, but felt neither his or Ruiter's voices were strong enough to sing on. In the search for a suitable lead vocalist de Jong, a friend of American singer P. J. Proby, rang his Netherlands-based manager and invited him to the studio, thinking his vocals would replace Akkerman's lyrical playing. Van Leer was sceptical as Proby was not familiar with the band and the singer was going through a period of heavy alcohol abuse. Upon Proby's arrival, Albers recalled: "He drank Four Roses whiskey the whole day, so much so that the nearest liquor store was soon sold out ... he always had the intention to run away". Proby interpreted the jazz-rock influenced songs as he felt, attempting "to meet them half-way between jazz and rock". James's drumming was unsuitable for the lighter material, so van Leer brought in future Journey drummer, American Steve Smith. Following the release of Focus con Proby in February 1978, which ignored the UK market, the album received negative reviews. Cleuver, then van Leer's manager, later called it "simply shameful". After a handful of gigs in the Netherlands, which concluded with a show in Terneuzen in August 1978 with James on the drums, van Leer ended Focus. 1983−1999: Reunions In 1983, Akkerman agreed to the idea of reuniting with van Leer and record new music, as suggested by his management. Van Leer immediately accepted the invitation and went on to play the synthesiser on "Headbanger", a track for Akkerman's solo album From the Basement (1984). After this initial collaboration, an executive at Phonogram Records suggested the pair work on an album of re-recorded Focus songs with English producer Trevor Horn, but it fell through. They subsequently signed a recording contract with Vertigo Records, which required the two to record as a duo, as opposed to Focus. During the recording, producer Ruud Jacobs was brought in to supervise due to the length of time taken to finalise tracks. Engineer Theo Balijon claimed Jacobs cut corners and pushed for the strongest tracks to be completed quickly to save production costs, which "unintentionally increased the animosity between Jan and Thijs". Around 30 tracks were completed with several additional musicians in 1984. Focus was released in March 1985 and reached number 33 in the Netherlands. The pair followed the album with promotional videos and a local four-date tour. In 1988, EMI acquired the rights to the band's back catalogue and reissued their albums on CD for the first time. In 1990, van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for a live gig, marking their first performance together since 1975. The four played a 40-minute set at the Americahal in Apeldoorn on 20 April that was broadcast as part of the Oud van Goud television special. It came about when producer Frans Meijer asked Akkerman to perform a gig with the group, and the fact that the guitarist's manager had not seen the band play in the 1970s. After the group agreed to participate, they rehearsed for four hours in Wijchen several days prior to the concert. Ruiter said they "went very well"; van Leer said it was "fantastic". Following the concert van Leer was keen to formally restart Focus with Akkerman, but the latter resisted. On 17 May 1990 the group, minus Akkerman, mimed a performance of "House of the King" on Service Salon on AVRO-TV. They had planned to perform "Hocus Pocus" with Akkerman, but the guitarist declined to take part. Van Leer and Akkerman shared the stage once more in 1993, performing mostly Akkerman solo songs at the North Sea Jazz Festival. In 1997, van Leer reformed Focus with Cleuver and Ruiter returning on drums and bass, respectively, and 21-year-old Dutch guitarist Menno Gootjes who was studying at the Rotterdam Conservatory. The four made their live debut at the Hockey Club in Mill, Netherlands, on 30 August. They performed additional shows in the Netherlands, but disagreements between van Leer and Ruiter over material intended for an official release effectively split up the group, in 1999. 2001–2009: Reformation, albums, and touring In 2001, van Leer was invited to a try out session by his stepson and bassist Bobby Jacobs, who was rehearsing with guitarist Jan Dumée and drummer Ruben van Roon. Jacobs and van Roon was former members of van Leer's side project Conxi. To van Leer's surprise, he found out the three had been rehearsing Focus songs from the 1970s era. The sessions led to the group's decision to perform live as a Focus tribute band named Hocus Pocus "just for fun, nothing too serious". After some well received gigs in the Netherlands, the group resumed the Focus name and acquired Willem Hubers as their new manager and booking agent which led to several offers to perform worldwide. Focus 8 was recorded between February and July 2002; van Roon left soon after due to personal circumstances. He was replaced by drummer Bert Smaak. Released on Musea Records in late 2002, it received critical praise and was supported with a world tour in 2002 and 2003. In the autumn of 2004, Smaak had left the group and replaced by a returning van der Linden. In July 2006, Dumée was replaced by guitarist Niels van der Steenhoven. This line-up recorded Focus 9 / New Skin, released in September 2006 by Red Bullet Records. 2010–present: Line-up changes, Focus 11 and 50th Anniversary In May 2010, Nike included "Hocus Pocus" as the main theme in its 2010 FIFA World Cup commercial, Write the Future. The advert aired on television worldwide which generated renewed interest in the band and led to "Hocus Pocus" entering the UK Singles Chart at number 57. In late 2010, Gootjes rejoined the band as a replacement to a departing van der Steenhoven. In 2011, American rapper J. Cole sampled "Hocus Pocus" in his song "Blow Up", which is featured in the game MLB 11: The Show. The band released their eleventh studio album Focus X, featuring cover art by Roger Dean, in November 2012. On 14 April 2014, the band released Golden Oldies on their own label, In and Out of Focus Records. It is a collection of re-recorded versions of Focus songs. In 2016, the band released Focus 8.5 / Beyond the Horizon. It is credited to "Focus and Friends featuring Marvio Ciribelli", and was recorded during gaps in their 2005 South American tour with Brazilian musicians. In December 2016, Udo Pannekeet replaced Jacobs on bass. Focus performed at their second Cruise to the Edge event in February 2017, third in 2018, and fourth in 2019. The line-up included Dumée on guitar after Gootjes was too ill to perform. From March to October 2017, Focus toured Europe. In November 2018, Focus released their fourteenth studio album Focus 11 to coincide with their 20-date UK tour. The album was available at each venue which was followed by its full release on 25 January 2019, via Cherry Red Records. In November 2020, a box set containing new remasters of the band's albums from 1970 to 1976, with previously unreleased audio and video material, entitled 50 Years: Anthology 1970–1976, was released by Red Bullet Productions to commemorate the band's fiftieth anniversary. This was followed in June 2021 by the release of Focus 50, a set featuring live material recorded in 2017 in Rio de Janeiro and a disc entitled Completely Focused, containing studio re-recordings of "Focus 1" through "Focus 12". In November 2021, during a UK tour, Focus cancelled all scheduled dates after van Leer contracted COVID-19 in hospital while receiving treatment for an unrelated illness. A new studio album is expected in early 2022. Band members Current members Thijs van Leer – keyboards, flute, vocals (1969–1978, 1990, 1993-1995, 1997–1999, 2001–present) Pierre van der Linden – drums, percussion (1971–1973, 1975, 1990, 2004–present) Menno Gootjes – guitar, backing vocals (1997–1999, 2010–present) Udo Pannekeet – bass (2016–present) Discography Studio albums Focus Plays Focus (1970; also known as In and Out of Focus) Focus II (1971; also known as Moving Waves) Focus 3 (1972) Hamburger Concerto (1974) Mother Focus (1975) Ship of Memories (1977) (studio compilation) Focus con Proby (1978) Focus (1985) (as Jan Akkerman & Thijs Van Leer) Focus 8 (2002) Focus 9 / New Skin (2006) Focus X (2012) Golden Oldies (2014) (studio re-recordings) Focus 8.5 / Beyond the Horizon (2016) The Focus Family Album (2017) (studio outtakes from 2012–2017, plus solo tracks) Focus 11 (2018) Completely Focused (2021) (studio re-recordings) References Sources External links Official band website at FocusTheBand.co.uk Fan website at FocusTributeHomepage, since 1996 Atco Records artists Dutch hard rock musical groups Dutch musical groups Dutch progressive rock groups EMI Records artists Instrumental rock musical groups Musical groups established in 1969 Sire Records artists Symphonic rock groups Musical groups from Amsterdam
false
[ "Ward v. Tesco Stores Ltd. [1976] 1 WLR 810, is an English tort law case concerning the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur (\"the thing speaks for itself\"). It deals with the law of negligence and it set an important precedent in so called \"trip and slip\" cases which are a common occurrence.\n\nFacts\nThe plaintiff slipped on some pink yoghurt in a Tesco store in Smithdown Road, Liverpool. It was not clear whether or not Tesco staff were to blame for the spillage. It could have been another customer, or the wind, or anything else. Spillages happened roughly 10 times a week and staff had standing orders to clean anything up straight away. As Lawton LJ observed in his judgment,\n\nThe trial judge had held in Mrs Ward's favour and she was awarded £137.50 in damages. Tesco appealed.\n\nJudgment\nIt was held by a majority (Lawton LJ and Megaw LJ) that even though it could not be said exactly what happened, the pink yoghurt being spilled spoke for itself as to who was to blame. Tesco was required to pay compensation. The plaintiff did not need to prove how long the spill had been there, because the burden of proof was on Tesco. Lawton LJ's judgment explained the previous case law, starting with Richards v. WF White & Co. [1957] 1 Lloyd's Rep.\n\nDissent\nOmrod LJ disagreed with Lawton LJ and Megaw LJ on the basis that Tesco did not seem to have been able to do anything to have prevented the accident. He argued that they did not fail to take reasonable care, and in his words, the accident \"could clearly have happened no matter what degree of care these defendants had taken.\"\n\nNotes\n\nEnglish tort case law\nEnglish occupier case law\nCourt of Appeal (England and Wales) cases\n1976 in case law\n1976 in British law\nTesco", "Äteritsiputeritsipuolilautatsijänkä is a bog region in Savukoski, Lapland in Finland. Its name is 35 letters long and is the longest place name in Finland, and also the third longest, if names with spaces or hyphens are included, in Europe. It has also been the longest official place name in the European Union since 31 January 2020, when Brexit was completed, as the record was previously held by Llanfair­pwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwll­llan­tysiliogogogoch, a village in Wales, United Kingdom.\n\nOverview\nA pub in Salla was named Äteritsiputeritsipuolilautatsi-baari after this bog region. According to an anecdote, the owner of the pub tried two different names for it, but both had already been taken. Frustrated, he registered the pub under a name he knew no one else would be using. The pub also had the longest name of a registered commercial establishment in Finland. The bar was in practice known as Äteritsi-baari. The pub was closed in April 2006.\n\nThe etymology is not known, although the name has been confirmed as genuine. Other than jänkä \"bog\", lauta \"board\" and puoli \"half\", it does not mean anything in Finnish, and was probably never intended to be anything else than alliterative gibberish.\n\nReferences \n\nSavukoski\nBogs of Finland\nLandforms of Lapland (Finland)" ]
[ "Focus (band)", "1985-1999: Reunions", "Did the band reunite during this time frame?", "In 1990, the former line-up of van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for the first time since 1975.", "Did anything particular happen during the reunion?", "The four played a 40-minute set at the Americahal in Apeldoorn on 20 April that was broadcast as part of the Oud van Goud television special.", "Was there anything else important happening?", "On 17 May the group, minus Akkerman, mimed a performance of \"House of the King\" on the Service Salon television program on AVRO-TV." ]
C_f5c93dc410b34900bc07c020bdf85216_0
What were some of their songs?
4
What were some of Focus' songs?
Focus (band)
In mid-1983, both of Akkerman's managers came up with the idea of the guitarist reuniting with van Leer to record new music, to which Akkerman agreed. Van Leer immediately accepted the invitation, and went on to play the synthesiser on "Headbanger" on Akkerman's 1984 solo album From the Basement. After this initial collaboration, one executive at Phonogram Records suggested the pair work with producer Trevor Horn to release an album of re-recorded Focus tracks, but it was dismissed. In the following 15 months, the two wrote, rehearsed, and recorded new music with several additional musicians with engineer Theo Balijob. Their contract required the two to record as a duet, rather under the name Focus. During the recording, producer Ruud Jacobs was brought in to supervise the project due to the length of time taken to put the tracks down. Balijon claimed Jacobs cut corners and pushed for the strongest tracks to be completed quickly to save production costs, which "unintentionally increased the animosity between Jan and Thijs". In the 63 days they spent recording from April to May 1984, around 30 tracks were completed with several additional musicians. Focus was released in March 1985 by Vertigo Records which reached number 33 in the Netherlands. The pair followed the album with promotional videos and a local four-date tour. In 1988, EMI acquired the rights to the band's back catalogue and reissued their albums on compact disc for the first time. In 1990, the former line-up of van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for the first time since 1975. The four played a 40-minute set at the Americahal in Apeldoorn on 20 April that was broadcast as part of the Oud van Goud television special. It came about when producer Frans Meijer asked Akkerman to perform a gig with the group, and the fact that the guitarist's manager had not seen the band play in the 1970s, so "it was swatting two flies with one hit". The other three agreed at the opportunity, and they rehearsed for four hours in Wijchen several days prior to the concert. Ruiter said they "went very well"; van Leer said it was "fantastic". Following the concert, van Leer was keen to formally restart Focus with Akkerman, though the latter felt different though he was happy to reunite with van der Linden. On 17 May the group, minus Akkerman, mimed a performance of "House of the King" on the Service Salon television program on AVRO-TV. Originally the band were to perform "Hocus Pocus" with Akkerman, but the guitarist declined the offer made by the network, stating he reunited with Focus for Meijer and his manager. The appearance went ahead regardless. Van Leer and Akkerman shared the stage once more in 1993, performing Focus songs at the North Sea Jazz Festival. In 1999, van Leer attempted to reform Focus with Cleuver, Ruiter, and Dutch guitarist Menno Gootjes. They performed several live dates in the Netherlands, but disagreements between van Leer and Ruiter over material intended for release effectively split up the group. CANNOTANSWER
Hocus Pocus
Focus are a Dutch progressive rock band formed in Amsterdam in 1969 by keyboardist, vocalist, and flutist Thijs van Leer, drummer Hans Cleuver, bassist Martijn Dresden, and guitarist Jan Akkerman. The band have undergone numerous formations in its history; since December 2016, it has comprised van Leer, drummer Pierre van der Linden, guitarist Menno Gootjes, and bassist Udo Pannekeet. They have sold one million RIAA-certified albums in the United States. After the addition of Akkerman to van Leer's rock trio in late 1969, the band named themselves Focus and initially worked in the band for a Dutch production of the rock musical Hair. Their debut album Focus Plays Focus (1970) gained little attention but the follow-up, Moving Waves (1971), and its lead single "Hocus Pocus", earned the band international recognition. Their success continued with Focus 3 (1972) and Hamburger Concerto (1974), the former containing their second hit single, "Sylvia". After recording two albums with various musicians, including guitarist Phillip Catherine, singer P. J. Proby, and drummers Colin Allen, David Kemper, and Steve Smith, Focus dissolved in 1978. They briefly reunited in 1990 and 1997. In 2002, van Leer reformed Focus with a new line-up that saw van der Linden rejoining the group in 2004. The albums Focus 8 (2002), Focus 9 / New Skin (2006) and Focus X (2012) were well received, and Focus continue to perform worldwide. Their most recent album is Focus 11 (2018). They received a renewed interest after Nike used "Hocus Pocus" in its 2010 World Cup commercial Write The Future. Focus remain one of the most successful and influential rock bands from the Netherlands. History 1969–1970: Formation Focus formed in mid-1969 by keyboardist, vocalist, and flautist Thijs van Leer, who recruited bass guitarist Martijn Dresden and drummer Hans Cleuver after he met them at sessions for the Jazz and Poetry radio program in Hilversum, Netherlands. The three went on to start a new three-piece band initially known as Thijs van Leer and the Rebaptised, playing a set formed mostly of cover songs by Traffic and original material mostly written by van Leer. In November 1969, during rehearsals at the theatre where van Leer performed as part of Ramses Shaffy's theatre group, they were joined by guitarist Jan Akkerman of the rock band Brainbox after Shaffy invited him to play with the trio. Van Leer later recalled the first try out session: "Jan came in and we jammed for hours, and it was really kicking". They then settled on the name Focus for the new band; Akkerman later said, "Focus is a Latin word that is the same in many languages. It means concentration, which is the meaning of what Focus does". Their first live gig as Focus followed at the Bird's Club in Rembrandtplein, and they soon secured a weekly residency playing two shows a night on two days. Early sets were mainly formed of covers, including "I Shall Be Released" by Bob Dylan, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum and "Nights in White Satin" by The Moody Blues, mixed with original material, including van Leer's first song written with the group in mind, the instrumental "Focus". In their search for more work and a steady income, Focus was chosen to play as part of the pit band for the Dutch production of the rock musical Hair produced by Welsh actor Victor Spinetti. They were invited to audition at the Victoria Ballroom, London after Dutch lyricist Lennaert Nijgh suggested them to Del Newman, the musical's director. Cast member Robin Lent claimed the production was suffering and Focus, taking part only for the money, "were also pretty rusty ... but this changed and everybody got into it". The show, launched in December 1969, involved six nightly performances a week and gave them space to rehearse in the afternoons for free and store their equipment. An album of the soundtrack featuring the band was recorded in February 1970 and released soon after by Polydor Records. After Hair ended its run in June 1970, Focus declined an offer to tour the musical across the Netherlands for a year and a half and become a full time band. They had picked up more local gigs and dates across the country by this time, and had performed their first international gigs in Belgium and Spain. Their weekly earnings from gigs, plus their earnings from Hair, had reached 400 guilders though Akkerman recalled the group failed to appreciate its value and were quick to spend it. To manage their finances more carefully, Cleuver was chosen to oversee their earnings and expenses. 1970–1971: Debut album, "House of the King", and line-up change In 1970, Focus reached contact with Hubert Terheggen, director of Radio-Tele-Music Belgium-Holland, a music publishing division of Radio Luxembourg, through connections with Dresden's father. Terheggen enjoyed their music and signed them to his production company, secured deals with music publishers worldwide, and booked studio time for them to record their first album, which took place in January 1970 at Sound Techniques in Chelsea, London during time off from Hair. The result was Focus Plays Focus, better known as its international release title In and Out of Focus, with Terheggen credited as producer and Jerry Boys the engineer. A mix of pop-oriented songs and instrumentals were recorded for the album; van Leer felt the vocals suffered as a result of singing English lyrics with a foreign accent, which inspired the group to become stronger instrumentally. After recording Focus Plays Focus, the band struggled to find a label willing to release it. Their fortunes changed once they had recorded "House of the King", an instrumental by Akkerman with different accounts of its origin. Focus biographer Peet Johnson gives the general consensus that it was inspired by their appearance at the Barbarela de Conjuntos music contest in Majorca on 11 June 1970, where in the final round, their rendition of Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquín Rodrigo ran over the 15-minute time limit, causing their plugs to be pulled. Focus proceeded to retaliate with van Leer playing the flute to the audience as a distraction while the rest of the group trashed the dressing room, after which they were arrested and spent a night in jail. Van Leer claims Akkerman came up with the track the day after their arrest, but the guitarist said he wrote it "on a mountain, with a beautiful Spanish stewardess ... in about five minutes". Focus recorded it without management's permission in one evening at Heemstede, yet it reached staff at Imperial Records who thought it was strong enough as a hit single and signed the group. Focus Plays Focus was released in September 1970, eight months after it was recorded. "Why Dream" and "Happy Nightmare" were released as their first single in the Netherlands. The album saw an American release in October by Sire Records, who had secured the rights to the band's international distribution, with "House of the King" added to the track listing. Prior to signing Focus, Sire founder Seymour Stein had flown to the Netherlands to see the band perform: "Without a doubt they were the most original band I had ever heard". Though the album received little commercial attention it earned Focus their first Edison Award, and the January 1971 release of "House of the King" went to number 10 on the home chart. Late in 1970, Akkerman had become increasingly unhappy with Cleuver and Dresden as a rhythm section and missed his former Brainbox bandmate, drummer Pierre van der Linden. He thought the pair struggled to incorporate their own identity or musicianship into the music. Akkerman then presented an ultimatum to van Leer by threatening to quit unless he asked Cleuver and Dresden to leave. Van Leer refused to part ways with his co-founders and instead told Akkerman to leave, which increased tension between the two as they were often at odds with each other. Cleuver sensed panic from Imperial as it knew "House of the King" would be a hit and wanted van Leer and Akkerman to stay together. The situation reached Terheggen, who asked Yde de Jong to become Focus's manager if he could reunite the band. After six weeks of driving to both members' homes to negotiate, van Leer agreed to fire Cleuver and Dresden and joined Akkerman, van der Linden, and newcomer bassist Cyril Havermans, who had played on Akkerman's second solo album Profile, on the condition that the group continue as Focus. With the new line-up secured, Stein convinced English producer Mike Vernon to witness the band perform in the Netherlands in late 1970. Vernon was not so impressed with their first album, but enjoyed them as a live act: "I couldn't stop talking or thinking about them! They were formidable ... the power of Jan and Thijs alone gave me heart palpitations". Vernon subsequently agreed to produce their next studio album. 1971–1972: Moving Waves and breakthrough Following rehearsals at Groeneveld Castle in Baarn, the band recorded Focus II, better known as its international title Moving Waves, in April and May 1971 at Sound Techniques and Morgan Studios, London. It showcased the band exploring progressive rock with jazz fusion and classical music elements with extended pieces and lengthy solos. Akkerman changed his sound, moving from a Gretsch White Falcon to a 1957 Gibson Les Paul Custom which enabled him to "'sing' on the guitar" to compensate for the group's weak vocals. Its opening track, "Hocus Pocus", became one of the band's best known tracks, featuring a recognisable rock guitar riff and van Leer's yodelling, whistling, and nonsensical vocals that developed through an improvised jam session. Akkerman wrote "Janis" as a tribute to Janis Joplin, and its closer, "Eruption", is a 23-minute multi-part track inspired by the operas Orfeo ed Euridice by Christoph Willibald Gluck and L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, combining rock, jazz and classical influences. Released in October 1971, Moving Waves became the band's international breakthrough, reaching number 2 in the UK, number 4 in the Netherlands, and number 8 in the US. The album awarded Focus with a Conamus Export Award, their second Edison Award, and gold certifications in the three aforementioned countries; the US award was issued in 1973 for selling 500,000 copies. Its success was helped by the release of "Hocus Pocus" as a single, released in the Netherlands in July 1971 which peaked at number 12 and exposed the band to a new audience. It peaked at number 20 in the UK in January 1973. Between the recording and release of Moving Waves, Focus underwent further line-up changes. Shortly before a tour of France in July 1971, van der Linden temporarily left the band after he found out van Leer and Akkerman would get paid more than himself. He was replaced by Akkerman's younger brother, the 19-year-old Jacob "Cocky" Akkerman, before the rift was sorted and van der Linden resumed on the drums at its conclusion. This was followed by Havermans' departure in September 1971, having handed in his notice in late June. He wished to sing on more tracks but was unable to do so within the confines of the group and pursued a solo career. The remaining members would reunite with the bassist in the US in early 1973 to play on his first solo album, Cyril. Focus found their new bassist in Bert Ruiter, who had previously rehearsed with van der Linden prior to a gig in Texel in June 1971, and went on to see the band live around ten times thereafter. He was invited by the drummer to a tryout session, after which he became a full-time member. Focus resumed as a live act in September 1971; among their first gigs with Ruiter was in Rotterdam as part of the European Newport Jazz Festival on 29 October. Towards the end of the year, de Jong organised the band's first UK tour, a 15-gig trek between 15 February–10 March 1972, to increase exposure and record sales. Van Leer felt insecure about the tour at first and expressed the lack of courage from the group when they compared themselves to other popular UK rock acts. They arrived in the UK during a period of nationwide energy shortages, yet de Jong resolved the issue by having Focus tour with their own power generator. Despite receiving little money for their performances, they received radio airplay on BBC Radio 1, earned positive reviews from critics, and gained new fans. Akkerman recalled the attendance of the gigs "were packed because it was probably the only thing that was going on". On 28 May 1972, Focus were booked to play the Lincoln Festival for an estimated 40,000 people, but the band arrived too late for their spot and were unable to reschedule, leaving them furious at the missed opportunity. Two days later, Focus made their British television debut with a pre-recorded performance of excerpts of "Eruption" and "Hocus Pocus" on the BBC music show The Old Grey Whistle Test. In the following month they were voted Brightest Hope by readers of Melody Maker and Best New Talent by readers of New Musical Express. 1972–1974: Focus 3 and Hamburger Concerto The band spent four days at Olympic Studios in Barnes, London in July 1972 recording their third album, Focus 3. They had written a considerable amount of material by this time which led to the decision to make a double album, mostly by van Leer and Akkerman. Focus 3 saw the group produce short and extended pieces, including the three-minute instrumental "Sylvia" and the group devised, 26-minute "Anonymous II" that devotes a solo spot for each member, and the addition of "House of the King". Upon its release in November 1972, the album went to number one in the Netherlands for one week, number 6 in the UK, and number 35 in the US. "Sylvia" was released as a single and reached number 4 in the UK in January 1973, the week after "Hocus Pocus" reached its peak on the same chart. This marked the first time in a decade that a band had two concurrent songs without lyrics in the UK top 40. To support the album, Focus began their largest tour since their formation with spots at the Reading Festival on 12 August 1972 followed by the Melody Maker Poll Awards show at The Oval, London on 30 September. This was followed by an exhaustive 31-date UK tour in 36 days that included their return appearance on The Old Grey Whistle Test on 12 December which caused a surge in interest for their records; host Bob Harris said the show was inundated with calls and letters about the band and Polydor's record plant printed nothing but Focus for ten days in order to meet demand. A performance of "Sylvia" from the Marquee Club, London aired on the BBC's Top of the Pops show. After a sell out UK tour in January 1973 that spanned 24 days, Focus completed their first of three North American tours in 1973 from February to April, supporting various acts including Gentle Giant, Frank Zappa and Yes. Upon their return, they toured the UK once more which included two sold out shows at the Rainbow Theatre, London in May 1973 which aired on BBC television. In early May 1973, Focus returned to Olympic Studios at Vernon's request and recorded a new cut of "Hocus Pocus" titled "Hocus Pocus II", released exclusively for the American market. Later in the month, the band retreated to Chipping Norton Recording Studios, Oxfordshire to record a fourth studio album. Akkerman had expressed a wish to put down "great ideas" he had written over the past year, but extensive touring had left the band physically and mentally exhausted which reduced their eagerness to write and record new group material. Vernon recalled Akkerman's reluctance to take part in the sessions which to him, "led to the final dissolving of the Akkerman/van Leer partnership". Around 40 minutes of songs was eventually recorded, yet the pair refused to co-operate and recorded their parts without the other present. Vernon later called this period as "probably the worst ten days I've ever spent in a studio". As a new studio album could not be released, Vernon took the recording from the Rainbow Theatre concerts and released it as a live album, At the Rainbow. The album went to number 23 in the UK in October 1973. The band went on to receive a Billboard Trendsetter Award for their success after notching up two gold albums, combining sales of one million copies sold in the US, and one gold single. Recordings from the Chipping Norton sessions remained unreleased, rearranged years later, or included in the collection of previously unreleased Focus studio recordings Ship of Memories, in 1976. Upon their return from their second North American tour from June to September 1973, the band returned to Groeneveld Castle for rehearsals. Van der Linden failed to turn up, and the group soon learned of his decision to quit the band. Van Leer claimed rock music was a step in the wrong direction for the drummer, who wished to pursue jazz. Vernon suggested English players Mitch Mitchell, Aynsley Dunbar, and Colin Allen as replacements. Allen was the only one available as his previous group, Stone the Crows had recently broken up. He flew to the Netherlands to meet the band and after a successful try out session, he joined the group. “It all happened pretty quickly ... I fitted in." His arrival came eight days before the band's upcoming North American tour was to start. From January to March 1974, Focus recorded Hamburger Concerto at Olympic Studios with Vernon. Recording was met with growing tension, with van Leer, Ruiter and Allen working together during the day and Akkerman recording his parts in the evening. The album presents further classical music influences, opening with "Delitæ Musicæ", a lute piece Akkerman adapted from Delitæ Musicæ Cantiones by Dutch composer Joachim van den Hove. It closes with a six-part, 20-minute conceptual title track inspired by Akkerman once eating a hamburger while watching cartoons at his hotel room in New York City and was put down in basic form during the 1973 Chipping Norton sessions. Released in May 1974, Hamburger Concerto peaked at number 5 in the Netherlands and number 20 in the UK. Van Leer claimed it was the band's "First proper work. It has strength and purpose", and Vernon later said the album and Moving Waves were the most rewarding on a second listen. Akkerman later felt the album suffered as his position in the group had weakened with van der Linden gone and claimed van Leer "broke up the tandem I had with Pierre rhythmically". A single version of "Harem Scarem" was released but did not chart in the UK. Focus toured Hamburger Concerto from March 1974, starting with dates across Europe, including two in London that were filmed for broadcast on the BBC2 and US television music series In Concert. They began their first tour of Japan and Australia in June, followed by an appearance at the Reading Festival in August and the start of their fourth North American tour in September. They were featured on the nationally syndicated Don Kirshner's Rock Concert show aired live from Long Beach, California, giving the band widespread exposure. At one concert during the US leg, van Leer and Akkerman noticed a young Michael Jackson sitting in the front row. Upon their return, the band completed a 24-day tour of Europe and two compilation albums were released, The Story of Focus and Masters of Rock. 1975–1978: Mother Focus, Focus con Proby, and disbanding In 1975, the band gathered at Morgan Studios, Brussels to rehearse and record Mother Focus. They reunited with Terheggen to oversee the project as executive producer, but the group found themselves without a collective direction; van Leer put its failure down to the band's recording contract which required them to produce one studio album each year, the pressures of touring had affected the songs, and a lack of overall interest from the band. In addition, Akkerman continued to record parts separately, showing no sign of an improvement in his relationship with van Leer. Ruiter became a more prominent songwriter and contributed more ideas than he had on previous Focus albums; he and Allen, after recording "I Need a Bathroom", began to experiment with a drum machine to aid their ideas, but the drummer recalled Akkerman got angry, shouted at him, and tossed the machine across the room. Allen was fired the next day, not knowing who made the decision. He was required to pay what he owed to the group during his tenure which amounted to roughly £10,000, using his earnings from royalties to pay much of it. Despite the problems, he "will always remain proud to have been a member". In May 1975, at the suggestion of their studio engineer, American drummer David Kemper was brought in to complete the rest of the album. Released in October 1975, Mother Focus saw Focus depart from their classical and jazz-influenced sound towards shorter, commercially accessible songs with middle of the road influences and little room for improvisation and jamming they were known for. Akkerman argued with van Leer and Ruiter over the group's change in musical direction, deeming it "typical American music". The album went to number 23 in the UK, and received mostly negative reviews from critics. During plans for their upcoming tour Akkerman refused to perform the album's music, thinking it was not strong enough. To solve the issue, he and van Leer returned to Morgan Studios and put down "Red Sky at Night" and "Avondrood", the latter featuring the two singing in Dutch. After Kemper left when recording was complete, Akkerman wished van der Linden to return, thinking he was responsible "for at least 40%" of the band's success and said he "wouldn't leave Focus" with him on the drums. However, van Leer and Ruiter did not share the same enthusiasm over van der Linden's return. Nevertheless, Focus returned to Australia and Japan in May and June 1975 for a series of sold out dates, yet reviewers of the gigs noticed the lack of cohesiveness than before. During the Scandinavian tour that followed, a gig at the Ullevaal Stadium, Oslo during the Ragnarok Festival was met with Akkerman and van der Linden jamming with "little adherence to the repertoire" that was taken as a protest to playing the same material night after night. Matters turned for the worse after van Leer and Ruiter refused to have van der Linden re-record the drums for a single release of "Crackers", causing the drummer to quit a second time. With van der Linden gone, Focus cancelled a proposed 34-date UK tour and brought back Kemper during subsequent rehearsals after a desperate plea from de Jong. The "House of the King"/"Avondrood" single was released in 1976; the latter track originally appeared on a Dutch compilation album. The two appear in instrumental form on Ship of Memories. In February 1976, two and a half days before the group's arrival to the UK for a tour, van Leer asked Akkerman to leave Focus over his disagreements with the music they were rehearsing and the decision not to have van der Linden return on the drums. Akkerman had grown tired of playing the same songs on stage, "It felt like I was in a straitjacket. There was still a lot of improvisation but even this had become planned". Van Leer said he wished to write "happy" music and move from "our European minor chords". Rather than have the tour cancelled, van Leer decided to proceed, with Kemper having seven days to arrive from the US and learn the new material and Akkerman at home with illness. In the guitarist's absence, van Leer met Belgian guitarist Philip Catherine and the two played a jam session that van Leer enjoyed. Akkerman disliked a song that the group had rehearsed about him soon after, which led to van Leer asking him to leave the next day. After Catherine agreed to step in, the group rehearsed for fifty hours without sleep; van Leer spent the evening prior the first gig mapping out the guitar parts on paper which Catherine followed on stage. Refunds were offered to concert goers as news of Akkerman's departure was not made public until after the tour had begun, which ended in March 1976. Dutch guitarist Eef Albers later joined Focus. A handful of scattered gigs were performed through 1977 and 1978 with American drummer Richard James on call out whenever they secured a booking. After van Leer signed a deal with EMI in April 1976 to record a new Focus album, work did not begin until late 1977 when the band faced potential legal action if they did not release something. Recording took place in December 1977 at EMI Studios in Haarlem, Amsterdam with van Leer, Ruiter, Albers, and a returning Catherine, who was contractually required to perform. Van Leer turned to ideas that he had developed with his wife Roselie during Focus tours, but felt neither his or Ruiter's voices were strong enough to sing on. In the search for a suitable lead vocalist de Jong, a friend of American singer P. J. Proby, rang his Netherlands-based manager and invited him to the studio, thinking his vocals would replace Akkerman's lyrical playing. Van Leer was sceptical as Proby was not familiar with the band and the singer was going through a period of heavy alcohol abuse. Upon Proby's arrival, Albers recalled: "He drank Four Roses whiskey the whole day, so much so that the nearest liquor store was soon sold out ... he always had the intention to run away". Proby interpreted the jazz-rock influenced songs as he felt, attempting "to meet them half-way between jazz and rock". James's drumming was unsuitable for the lighter material, so van Leer brought in future Journey drummer, American Steve Smith. Following the release of Focus con Proby in February 1978, which ignored the UK market, the album received negative reviews. Cleuver, then van Leer's manager, later called it "simply shameful". After a handful of gigs in the Netherlands, which concluded with a show in Terneuzen in August 1978 with James on the drums, van Leer ended Focus. 1983−1999: Reunions In 1983, Akkerman agreed to the idea of reuniting with van Leer and record new music, as suggested by his management. Van Leer immediately accepted the invitation and went on to play the synthesiser on "Headbanger", a track for Akkerman's solo album From the Basement (1984). After this initial collaboration, an executive at Phonogram Records suggested the pair work on an album of re-recorded Focus songs with English producer Trevor Horn, but it fell through. They subsequently signed a recording contract with Vertigo Records, which required the two to record as a duo, as opposed to Focus. During the recording, producer Ruud Jacobs was brought in to supervise due to the length of time taken to finalise tracks. Engineer Theo Balijon claimed Jacobs cut corners and pushed for the strongest tracks to be completed quickly to save production costs, which "unintentionally increased the animosity between Jan and Thijs". Around 30 tracks were completed with several additional musicians in 1984. Focus was released in March 1985 and reached number 33 in the Netherlands. The pair followed the album with promotional videos and a local four-date tour. In 1988, EMI acquired the rights to the band's back catalogue and reissued their albums on CD for the first time. In 1990, van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for a live gig, marking their first performance together since 1975. The four played a 40-minute set at the Americahal in Apeldoorn on 20 April that was broadcast as part of the Oud van Goud television special. It came about when producer Frans Meijer asked Akkerman to perform a gig with the group, and the fact that the guitarist's manager had not seen the band play in the 1970s. After the group agreed to participate, they rehearsed for four hours in Wijchen several days prior to the concert. Ruiter said they "went very well"; van Leer said it was "fantastic". Following the concert van Leer was keen to formally restart Focus with Akkerman, but the latter resisted. On 17 May 1990 the group, minus Akkerman, mimed a performance of "House of the King" on Service Salon on AVRO-TV. They had planned to perform "Hocus Pocus" with Akkerman, but the guitarist declined to take part. Van Leer and Akkerman shared the stage once more in 1993, performing mostly Akkerman solo songs at the North Sea Jazz Festival. In 1997, van Leer reformed Focus with Cleuver and Ruiter returning on drums and bass, respectively, and 21-year-old Dutch guitarist Menno Gootjes who was studying at the Rotterdam Conservatory. The four made their live debut at the Hockey Club in Mill, Netherlands, on 30 August. They performed additional shows in the Netherlands, but disagreements between van Leer and Ruiter over material intended for an official release effectively split up the group, in 1999. 2001–2009: Reformation, albums, and touring In 2001, van Leer was invited to a try out session by his stepson and bassist Bobby Jacobs, who was rehearsing with guitarist Jan Dumée and drummer Ruben van Roon. Jacobs and van Roon was former members of van Leer's side project Conxi. To van Leer's surprise, he found out the three had been rehearsing Focus songs from the 1970s era. The sessions led to the group's decision to perform live as a Focus tribute band named Hocus Pocus "just for fun, nothing too serious". After some well received gigs in the Netherlands, the group resumed the Focus name and acquired Willem Hubers as their new manager and booking agent which led to several offers to perform worldwide. Focus 8 was recorded between February and July 2002; van Roon left soon after due to personal circumstances. He was replaced by drummer Bert Smaak. Released on Musea Records in late 2002, it received critical praise and was supported with a world tour in 2002 and 2003. In the autumn of 2004, Smaak had left the group and replaced by a returning van der Linden. In July 2006, Dumée was replaced by guitarist Niels van der Steenhoven. This line-up recorded Focus 9 / New Skin, released in September 2006 by Red Bullet Records. 2010–present: Line-up changes, Focus 11 and 50th Anniversary In May 2010, Nike included "Hocus Pocus" as the main theme in its 2010 FIFA World Cup commercial, Write the Future. The advert aired on television worldwide which generated renewed interest in the band and led to "Hocus Pocus" entering the UK Singles Chart at number 57. In late 2010, Gootjes rejoined the band as a replacement to a departing van der Steenhoven. In 2011, American rapper J. Cole sampled "Hocus Pocus" in his song "Blow Up", which is featured in the game MLB 11: The Show. The band released their eleventh studio album Focus X, featuring cover art by Roger Dean, in November 2012. On 14 April 2014, the band released Golden Oldies on their own label, In and Out of Focus Records. It is a collection of re-recorded versions of Focus songs. In 2016, the band released Focus 8.5 / Beyond the Horizon. It is credited to "Focus and Friends featuring Marvio Ciribelli", and was recorded during gaps in their 2005 South American tour with Brazilian musicians. In December 2016, Udo Pannekeet replaced Jacobs on bass. Focus performed at their second Cruise to the Edge event in February 2017, third in 2018, and fourth in 2019. The line-up included Dumée on guitar after Gootjes was too ill to perform. From March to October 2017, Focus toured Europe. In November 2018, Focus released their fourteenth studio album Focus 11 to coincide with their 20-date UK tour. The album was available at each venue which was followed by its full release on 25 January 2019, via Cherry Red Records. In November 2020, a box set containing new remasters of the band's albums from 1970 to 1976, with previously unreleased audio and video material, entitled 50 Years: Anthology 1970–1976, was released by Red Bullet Productions to commemorate the band's fiftieth anniversary. This was followed in June 2021 by the release of Focus 50, a set featuring live material recorded in 2017 in Rio de Janeiro and a disc entitled Completely Focused, containing studio re-recordings of "Focus 1" through "Focus 12". In November 2021, during a UK tour, Focus cancelled all scheduled dates after van Leer contracted COVID-19 in hospital while receiving treatment for an unrelated illness. A new studio album is expected in early 2022. Band members Current members Thijs van Leer – keyboards, flute, vocals (1969–1978, 1990, 1993-1995, 1997–1999, 2001–present) Pierre van der Linden – drums, percussion (1971–1973, 1975, 1990, 2004–present) Menno Gootjes – guitar, backing vocals (1997–1999, 2010–present) Udo Pannekeet – bass (2016–present) Discography Studio albums Focus Plays Focus (1970; also known as In and Out of Focus) Focus II (1971; also known as Moving Waves) Focus 3 (1972) Hamburger Concerto (1974) Mother Focus (1975) Ship of Memories (1977) (studio compilation) Focus con Proby (1978) Focus (1985) (as Jan Akkerman & Thijs Van Leer) Focus 8 (2002) Focus 9 / New Skin (2006) Focus X (2012) Golden Oldies (2014) (studio re-recordings) Focus 8.5 / Beyond the Horizon (2016) The Focus Family Album (2017) (studio outtakes from 2012–2017, plus solo tracks) Focus 11 (2018) Completely Focused (2021) (studio re-recordings) References Sources External links Official band website at FocusTheBand.co.uk Fan website at FocusTributeHomepage, since 1996 Atco Records artists Dutch hard rock musical groups Dutch musical groups Dutch progressive rock groups EMI Records artists Instrumental rock musical groups Musical groups established in 1969 Sire Records artists Symphonic rock groups Musical groups from Amsterdam
true
[ "Led Zeppelin were an English rock band who recorded 108 songs between 1968 and 1980. The band pioneered the concept of album-oriented rock and often refused to release popular songs as singles, instead viewing their albums as indivisible, complete listening experiences, and disliked record labels re-editing their songs for single releases.\n\nTheir self-titled debut album, Led Zeppelin, released in early 1969, contained songs that were influenced by the genres of blues, hard rock and heavy metal. Led Zeppelin II, released in October 1969, built upon their debut with a more direct, hard-hitting sound that has become a blueprint for heavy metal bands. Led Zeppelin III (1970) marked a musical growth for the band; half of its songs were hard rockers while the other half were built upon folk and acoustic music that gave it \"extra depth\". \"Immigrant Song\", released as a single, was backed by the band's only non-album single, \"Hey, Hey, What Can I Do\". Their untitled fourth album, commonly referred to as Led Zeppelin IV, was released in November 1971. Bringing together all the genres from their previous albums, the album contains some of the band's best-known songs, including \"Black Dog\", \"Rock and Roll\", \"Going to California\" and \"Stairway to Heaven\", referred to as one of the greatest rock songs of all time.\n\nThe band's following albums, Houses of the Holy (1973) and Physical Graffiti (1975), continued the band's musical growth. Houses of the Holy contained a wider range of musical styles, from the ballad \"The Rain Song\" to the funk-inspired \"The Crunge\", while Physical Graffiti was a double album that contained new songs as well as unreleased outtakes from previous albums. The album, like its predecessor, contained a variety of musical styles, including hard rock, funk, acoustic rock, blues, soft and progressive rock, and even country rock. Presence (1976) marked a departure from their previous albums by featuring more straightforward, guitar-driven songs with less emphasis on musical experimentation. In Through the Out Door (1979), a direct contrast to Presence, featured a keyboard-heavy sound that was dominated by Jones. The album would prove to be their last as a band, as after Bonham's death in September 1980, the remaining members decided to disband the group. Coda (1982) is a collection of outtakes from various sessions during the band's career.\n\nSince their breakup, 26 songs have seen official release. The Led Zeppelin Boxed Set (1990) saw the release of the band's cover of Robert Johnson's \"Travelling Riverside Blues\", the live medley \"White Summer/Black Mountain Side\", and the first album release of \"Hey, Hey, What Can I Do?\"; the second boxed set (1993) saw the release of \"Baby Come On Home\". New songs were also released on BBC Sessions (1997) and its remaster, The Complete BBC Sessions (2015), 2003's Led Zeppelin DVD and the live album How the West Was Won (2003). After the release of the concert film Celebration Day (2012), Page announced the remastering of the band's discography in the form of deluxe editions, which together included 13 previously unreleased songs, some of which were different mixes of previously released songs. The albums were released between 2014 and 2015.\n\nSongs\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\nBibliography\n\nExternal links\n Led Zeppelin discography\n\n \nBritish music-related lists\nLed Zeppelin", "\"What You're Proposing\" is a single released by the British rock band Status Quo in 1980. It was included on their album Just Supposin'.\n\nThe B-side is \"A B Blues\", a non-album instrumental studio jam. Some later pressings of this single mis-credited Andy Bown as Andy Brown on the B-side composer's credit. The initial pressing run of 75,000 copies of this single were issued with a colour picture sleeve.\n\nThe song was reprised, in 2014, for the band's thirty-first studio album Aquostic (Stripped Bare). It was featured in the ninety-minute launch performance of the album at London's Roundhouse on 22 October, the concert being recorded and broadcast live by BBC Radio 2 as part of their In Concert series.\n\nTrack listing \n \"What You're Proposing\" (Rossi/Frost) (4.13)\n \"A B Blues\" (Rossi/Parfitt/Lancaster/Coghlan/Bown) (4.33)\n\nCharts\n\nReferences \n\nStatus Quo (band) songs\n1980 singles\nSongs written by Francis Rossi\n1980 songs\nVertigo Records singles" ]
[ "Focus (band)", "1985-1999: Reunions", "Did the band reunite during this time frame?", "In 1990, the former line-up of van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for the first time since 1975.", "Did anything particular happen during the reunion?", "The four played a 40-minute set at the Americahal in Apeldoorn on 20 April that was broadcast as part of the Oud van Goud television special.", "Was there anything else important happening?", "On 17 May the group, minus Akkerman, mimed a performance of \"House of the King\" on the Service Salon television program on AVRO-TV.", "What were some of their songs?", "Hocus Pocus" ]
C_f5c93dc410b34900bc07c020bdf85216_0
Are there any other songs?
5
Besides Hocus Pocus, were there any other songs that Focus played?
Focus (band)
In mid-1983, both of Akkerman's managers came up with the idea of the guitarist reuniting with van Leer to record new music, to which Akkerman agreed. Van Leer immediately accepted the invitation, and went on to play the synthesiser on "Headbanger" on Akkerman's 1984 solo album From the Basement. After this initial collaboration, one executive at Phonogram Records suggested the pair work with producer Trevor Horn to release an album of re-recorded Focus tracks, but it was dismissed. In the following 15 months, the two wrote, rehearsed, and recorded new music with several additional musicians with engineer Theo Balijob. Their contract required the two to record as a duet, rather under the name Focus. During the recording, producer Ruud Jacobs was brought in to supervise the project due to the length of time taken to put the tracks down. Balijon claimed Jacobs cut corners and pushed for the strongest tracks to be completed quickly to save production costs, which "unintentionally increased the animosity between Jan and Thijs". In the 63 days they spent recording from April to May 1984, around 30 tracks were completed with several additional musicians. Focus was released in March 1985 by Vertigo Records which reached number 33 in the Netherlands. The pair followed the album with promotional videos and a local four-date tour. In 1988, EMI acquired the rights to the band's back catalogue and reissued their albums on compact disc for the first time. In 1990, the former line-up of van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for the first time since 1975. The four played a 40-minute set at the Americahal in Apeldoorn on 20 April that was broadcast as part of the Oud van Goud television special. It came about when producer Frans Meijer asked Akkerman to perform a gig with the group, and the fact that the guitarist's manager had not seen the band play in the 1970s, so "it was swatting two flies with one hit". The other three agreed at the opportunity, and they rehearsed for four hours in Wijchen several days prior to the concert. Ruiter said they "went very well"; van Leer said it was "fantastic". Following the concert, van Leer was keen to formally restart Focus with Akkerman, though the latter felt different though he was happy to reunite with van der Linden. On 17 May the group, minus Akkerman, mimed a performance of "House of the King" on the Service Salon television program on AVRO-TV. Originally the band were to perform "Hocus Pocus" with Akkerman, but the guitarist declined the offer made by the network, stating he reunited with Focus for Meijer and his manager. The appearance went ahead regardless. Van Leer and Akkerman shared the stage once more in 1993, performing Focus songs at the North Sea Jazz Festival. In 1999, van Leer attempted to reform Focus with Cleuver, Ruiter, and Dutch guitarist Menno Gootjes. They performed several live dates in the Netherlands, but disagreements between van Leer and Ruiter over material intended for release effectively split up the group. CANNOTANSWER
In the 63 days they spent recording from April to May 1984, around 30 tracks were completed with several additional musicians.
Focus are a Dutch progressive rock band formed in Amsterdam in 1969 by keyboardist, vocalist, and flutist Thijs van Leer, drummer Hans Cleuver, bassist Martijn Dresden, and guitarist Jan Akkerman. The band have undergone numerous formations in its history; since December 2016, it has comprised van Leer, drummer Pierre van der Linden, guitarist Menno Gootjes, and bassist Udo Pannekeet. They have sold one million RIAA-certified albums in the United States. After the addition of Akkerman to van Leer's rock trio in late 1969, the band named themselves Focus and initially worked in the band for a Dutch production of the rock musical Hair. Their debut album Focus Plays Focus (1970) gained little attention but the follow-up, Moving Waves (1971), and its lead single "Hocus Pocus", earned the band international recognition. Their success continued with Focus 3 (1972) and Hamburger Concerto (1974), the former containing their second hit single, "Sylvia". After recording two albums with various musicians, including guitarist Phillip Catherine, singer P. J. Proby, and drummers Colin Allen, David Kemper, and Steve Smith, Focus dissolved in 1978. They briefly reunited in 1990 and 1997. In 2002, van Leer reformed Focus with a new line-up that saw van der Linden rejoining the group in 2004. The albums Focus 8 (2002), Focus 9 / New Skin (2006) and Focus X (2012) were well received, and Focus continue to perform worldwide. Their most recent album is Focus 11 (2018). They received a renewed interest after Nike used "Hocus Pocus" in its 2010 World Cup commercial Write The Future. Focus remain one of the most successful and influential rock bands from the Netherlands. History 1969–1970: Formation Focus formed in mid-1969 by keyboardist, vocalist, and flautist Thijs van Leer, who recruited bass guitarist Martijn Dresden and drummer Hans Cleuver after he met them at sessions for the Jazz and Poetry radio program in Hilversum, Netherlands. The three went on to start a new three-piece band initially known as Thijs van Leer and the Rebaptised, playing a set formed mostly of cover songs by Traffic and original material mostly written by van Leer. In November 1969, during rehearsals at the theatre where van Leer performed as part of Ramses Shaffy's theatre group, they were joined by guitarist Jan Akkerman of the rock band Brainbox after Shaffy invited him to play with the trio. Van Leer later recalled the first try out session: "Jan came in and we jammed for hours, and it was really kicking". They then settled on the name Focus for the new band; Akkerman later said, "Focus is a Latin word that is the same in many languages. It means concentration, which is the meaning of what Focus does". Their first live gig as Focus followed at the Bird's Club in Rembrandtplein, and they soon secured a weekly residency playing two shows a night on two days. Early sets were mainly formed of covers, including "I Shall Be Released" by Bob Dylan, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum and "Nights in White Satin" by The Moody Blues, mixed with original material, including van Leer's first song written with the group in mind, the instrumental "Focus". In their search for more work and a steady income, Focus was chosen to play as part of the pit band for the Dutch production of the rock musical Hair produced by Welsh actor Victor Spinetti. They were invited to audition at the Victoria Ballroom, London after Dutch lyricist Lennaert Nijgh suggested them to Del Newman, the musical's director. Cast member Robin Lent claimed the production was suffering and Focus, taking part only for the money, "were also pretty rusty ... but this changed and everybody got into it". The show, launched in December 1969, involved six nightly performances a week and gave them space to rehearse in the afternoons for free and store their equipment. An album of the soundtrack featuring the band was recorded in February 1970 and released soon after by Polydor Records. After Hair ended its run in June 1970, Focus declined an offer to tour the musical across the Netherlands for a year and a half and become a full time band. They had picked up more local gigs and dates across the country by this time, and had performed their first international gigs in Belgium and Spain. Their weekly earnings from gigs, plus their earnings from Hair, had reached 400 guilders though Akkerman recalled the group failed to appreciate its value and were quick to spend it. To manage their finances more carefully, Cleuver was chosen to oversee their earnings and expenses. 1970–1971: Debut album, "House of the King", and line-up change In 1970, Focus reached contact with Hubert Terheggen, director of Radio-Tele-Music Belgium-Holland, a music publishing division of Radio Luxembourg, through connections with Dresden's father. Terheggen enjoyed their music and signed them to his production company, secured deals with music publishers worldwide, and booked studio time for them to record their first album, which took place in January 1970 at Sound Techniques in Chelsea, London during time off from Hair. The result was Focus Plays Focus, better known as its international release title In and Out of Focus, with Terheggen credited as producer and Jerry Boys the engineer. A mix of pop-oriented songs and instrumentals were recorded for the album; van Leer felt the vocals suffered as a result of singing English lyrics with a foreign accent, which inspired the group to become stronger instrumentally. After recording Focus Plays Focus, the band struggled to find a label willing to release it. Their fortunes changed once they had recorded "House of the King", an instrumental by Akkerman with different accounts of its origin. Focus biographer Peet Johnson gives the general consensus that it was inspired by their appearance at the Barbarela de Conjuntos music contest in Majorca on 11 June 1970, where in the final round, their rendition of Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquín Rodrigo ran over the 15-minute time limit, causing their plugs to be pulled. Focus proceeded to retaliate with van Leer playing the flute to the audience as a distraction while the rest of the group trashed the dressing room, after which they were arrested and spent a night in jail. Van Leer claims Akkerman came up with the track the day after their arrest, but the guitarist said he wrote it "on a mountain, with a beautiful Spanish stewardess ... in about five minutes". Focus recorded it without management's permission in one evening at Heemstede, yet it reached staff at Imperial Records who thought it was strong enough as a hit single and signed the group. Focus Plays Focus was released in September 1970, eight months after it was recorded. "Why Dream" and "Happy Nightmare" were released as their first single in the Netherlands. The album saw an American release in October by Sire Records, who had secured the rights to the band's international distribution, with "House of the King" added to the track listing. Prior to signing Focus, Sire founder Seymour Stein had flown to the Netherlands to see the band perform: "Without a doubt they were the most original band I had ever heard". Though the album received little commercial attention it earned Focus their first Edison Award, and the January 1971 release of "House of the King" went to number 10 on the home chart. Late in 1970, Akkerman had become increasingly unhappy with Cleuver and Dresden as a rhythm section and missed his former Brainbox bandmate, drummer Pierre van der Linden. He thought the pair struggled to incorporate their own identity or musicianship into the music. Akkerman then presented an ultimatum to van Leer by threatening to quit unless he asked Cleuver and Dresden to leave. Van Leer refused to part ways with his co-founders and instead told Akkerman to leave, which increased tension between the two as they were often at odds with each other. Cleuver sensed panic from Imperial as it knew "House of the King" would be a hit and wanted van Leer and Akkerman to stay together. The situation reached Terheggen, who asked Yde de Jong to become Focus's manager if he could reunite the band. After six weeks of driving to both members' homes to negotiate, van Leer agreed to fire Cleuver and Dresden and joined Akkerman, van der Linden, and newcomer bassist Cyril Havermans, who had played on Akkerman's second solo album Profile, on the condition that the group continue as Focus. With the new line-up secured, Stein convinced English producer Mike Vernon to witness the band perform in the Netherlands in late 1970. Vernon was not so impressed with their first album, but enjoyed them as a live act: "I couldn't stop talking or thinking about them! They were formidable ... the power of Jan and Thijs alone gave me heart palpitations". Vernon subsequently agreed to produce their next studio album. 1971–1972: Moving Waves and breakthrough Following rehearsals at Groeneveld Castle in Baarn, the band recorded Focus II, better known as its international title Moving Waves, in April and May 1971 at Sound Techniques and Morgan Studios, London. It showcased the band exploring progressive rock with jazz fusion and classical music elements with extended pieces and lengthy solos. Akkerman changed his sound, moving from a Gretsch White Falcon to a 1957 Gibson Les Paul Custom which enabled him to "'sing' on the guitar" to compensate for the group's weak vocals. Its opening track, "Hocus Pocus", became one of the band's best known tracks, featuring a recognisable rock guitar riff and van Leer's yodelling, whistling, and nonsensical vocals that developed through an improvised jam session. Akkerman wrote "Janis" as a tribute to Janis Joplin, and its closer, "Eruption", is a 23-minute multi-part track inspired by the operas Orfeo ed Euridice by Christoph Willibald Gluck and L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, combining rock, jazz and classical influences. Released in October 1971, Moving Waves became the band's international breakthrough, reaching number 2 in the UK, number 4 in the Netherlands, and number 8 in the US. The album awarded Focus with a Conamus Export Award, their second Edison Award, and gold certifications in the three aforementioned countries; the US award was issued in 1973 for selling 500,000 copies. Its success was helped by the release of "Hocus Pocus" as a single, released in the Netherlands in July 1971 which peaked at number 12 and exposed the band to a new audience. It peaked at number 20 in the UK in January 1973. Between the recording and release of Moving Waves, Focus underwent further line-up changes. Shortly before a tour of France in July 1971, van der Linden temporarily left the band after he found out van Leer and Akkerman would get paid more than himself. He was replaced by Akkerman's younger brother, the 19-year-old Jacob "Cocky" Akkerman, before the rift was sorted and van der Linden resumed on the drums at its conclusion. This was followed by Havermans' departure in September 1971, having handed in his notice in late June. He wished to sing on more tracks but was unable to do so within the confines of the group and pursued a solo career. The remaining members would reunite with the bassist in the US in early 1973 to play on his first solo album, Cyril. Focus found their new bassist in Bert Ruiter, who had previously rehearsed with van der Linden prior to a gig in Texel in June 1971, and went on to see the band live around ten times thereafter. He was invited by the drummer to a tryout session, after which he became a full-time member. Focus resumed as a live act in September 1971; among their first gigs with Ruiter was in Rotterdam as part of the European Newport Jazz Festival on 29 October. Towards the end of the year, de Jong organised the band's first UK tour, a 15-gig trek between 15 February–10 March 1972, to increase exposure and record sales. Van Leer felt insecure about the tour at first and expressed the lack of courage from the group when they compared themselves to other popular UK rock acts. They arrived in the UK during a period of nationwide energy shortages, yet de Jong resolved the issue by having Focus tour with their own power generator. Despite receiving little money for their performances, they received radio airplay on BBC Radio 1, earned positive reviews from critics, and gained new fans. Akkerman recalled the attendance of the gigs "were packed because it was probably the only thing that was going on". On 28 May 1972, Focus were booked to play the Lincoln Festival for an estimated 40,000 people, but the band arrived too late for their spot and were unable to reschedule, leaving them furious at the missed opportunity. Two days later, Focus made their British television debut with a pre-recorded performance of excerpts of "Eruption" and "Hocus Pocus" on the BBC music show The Old Grey Whistle Test. In the following month they were voted Brightest Hope by readers of Melody Maker and Best New Talent by readers of New Musical Express. 1972–1974: Focus 3 and Hamburger Concerto The band spent four days at Olympic Studios in Barnes, London in July 1972 recording their third album, Focus 3. They had written a considerable amount of material by this time which led to the decision to make a double album, mostly by van Leer and Akkerman. Focus 3 saw the group produce short and extended pieces, including the three-minute instrumental "Sylvia" and the group devised, 26-minute "Anonymous II" that devotes a solo spot for each member, and the addition of "House of the King". Upon its release in November 1972, the album went to number one in the Netherlands for one week, number 6 in the UK, and number 35 in the US. "Sylvia" was released as a single and reached number 4 in the UK in January 1973, the week after "Hocus Pocus" reached its peak on the same chart. This marked the first time in a decade that a band had two concurrent songs without lyrics in the UK top 40. To support the album, Focus began their largest tour since their formation with spots at the Reading Festival on 12 August 1972 followed by the Melody Maker Poll Awards show at The Oval, London on 30 September. This was followed by an exhaustive 31-date UK tour in 36 days that included their return appearance on The Old Grey Whistle Test on 12 December which caused a surge in interest for their records; host Bob Harris said the show was inundated with calls and letters about the band and Polydor's record plant printed nothing but Focus for ten days in order to meet demand. A performance of "Sylvia" from the Marquee Club, London aired on the BBC's Top of the Pops show. After a sell out UK tour in January 1973 that spanned 24 days, Focus completed their first of three North American tours in 1973 from February to April, supporting various acts including Gentle Giant, Frank Zappa and Yes. Upon their return, they toured the UK once more which included two sold out shows at the Rainbow Theatre, London in May 1973 which aired on BBC television. In early May 1973, Focus returned to Olympic Studios at Vernon's request and recorded a new cut of "Hocus Pocus" titled "Hocus Pocus II", released exclusively for the American market. Later in the month, the band retreated to Chipping Norton Recording Studios, Oxfordshire to record a fourth studio album. Akkerman had expressed a wish to put down "great ideas" he had written over the past year, but extensive touring had left the band physically and mentally exhausted which reduced their eagerness to write and record new group material. Vernon recalled Akkerman's reluctance to take part in the sessions which to him, "led to the final dissolving of the Akkerman/van Leer partnership". Around 40 minutes of songs was eventually recorded, yet the pair refused to co-operate and recorded their parts without the other present. Vernon later called this period as "probably the worst ten days I've ever spent in a studio". As a new studio album could not be released, Vernon took the recording from the Rainbow Theatre concerts and released it as a live album, At the Rainbow. The album went to number 23 in the UK in October 1973. The band went on to receive a Billboard Trendsetter Award for their success after notching up two gold albums, combining sales of one million copies sold in the US, and one gold single. Recordings from the Chipping Norton sessions remained unreleased, rearranged years later, or included in the collection of previously unreleased Focus studio recordings Ship of Memories, in 1976. Upon their return from their second North American tour from June to September 1973, the band returned to Groeneveld Castle for rehearsals. Van der Linden failed to turn up, and the group soon learned of his decision to quit the band. Van Leer claimed rock music was a step in the wrong direction for the drummer, who wished to pursue jazz. Vernon suggested English players Mitch Mitchell, Aynsley Dunbar, and Colin Allen as replacements. Allen was the only one available as his previous group, Stone the Crows had recently broken up. He flew to the Netherlands to meet the band and after a successful try out session, he joined the group. “It all happened pretty quickly ... I fitted in." His arrival came eight days before the band's upcoming North American tour was to start. From January to March 1974, Focus recorded Hamburger Concerto at Olympic Studios with Vernon. Recording was met with growing tension, with van Leer, Ruiter and Allen working together during the day and Akkerman recording his parts in the evening. The album presents further classical music influences, opening with "Delitæ Musicæ", a lute piece Akkerman adapted from Delitæ Musicæ Cantiones by Dutch composer Joachim van den Hove. It closes with a six-part, 20-minute conceptual title track inspired by Akkerman once eating a hamburger while watching cartoons at his hotel room in New York City and was put down in basic form during the 1973 Chipping Norton sessions. Released in May 1974, Hamburger Concerto peaked at number 5 in the Netherlands and number 20 in the UK. Van Leer claimed it was the band's "First proper work. It has strength and purpose", and Vernon later said the album and Moving Waves were the most rewarding on a second listen. Akkerman later felt the album suffered as his position in the group had weakened with van der Linden gone and claimed van Leer "broke up the tandem I had with Pierre rhythmically". A single version of "Harem Scarem" was released but did not chart in the UK. Focus toured Hamburger Concerto from March 1974, starting with dates across Europe, including two in London that were filmed for broadcast on the BBC2 and US television music series In Concert. They began their first tour of Japan and Australia in June, followed by an appearance at the Reading Festival in August and the start of their fourth North American tour in September. They were featured on the nationally syndicated Don Kirshner's Rock Concert show aired live from Long Beach, California, giving the band widespread exposure. At one concert during the US leg, van Leer and Akkerman noticed a young Michael Jackson sitting in the front row. Upon their return, the band completed a 24-day tour of Europe and two compilation albums were released, The Story of Focus and Masters of Rock. 1975–1978: Mother Focus, Focus con Proby, and disbanding In 1975, the band gathered at Morgan Studios, Brussels to rehearse and record Mother Focus. They reunited with Terheggen to oversee the project as executive producer, but the group found themselves without a collective direction; van Leer put its failure down to the band's recording contract which required them to produce one studio album each year, the pressures of touring had affected the songs, and a lack of overall interest from the band. In addition, Akkerman continued to record parts separately, showing no sign of an improvement in his relationship with van Leer. Ruiter became a more prominent songwriter and contributed more ideas than he had on previous Focus albums; he and Allen, after recording "I Need a Bathroom", began to experiment with a drum machine to aid their ideas, but the drummer recalled Akkerman got angry, shouted at him, and tossed the machine across the room. Allen was fired the next day, not knowing who made the decision. He was required to pay what he owed to the group during his tenure which amounted to roughly £10,000, using his earnings from royalties to pay much of it. Despite the problems, he "will always remain proud to have been a member". In May 1975, at the suggestion of their studio engineer, American drummer David Kemper was brought in to complete the rest of the album. Released in October 1975, Mother Focus saw Focus depart from their classical and jazz-influenced sound towards shorter, commercially accessible songs with middle of the road influences and little room for improvisation and jamming they were known for. Akkerman argued with van Leer and Ruiter over the group's change in musical direction, deeming it "typical American music". The album went to number 23 in the UK, and received mostly negative reviews from critics. During plans for their upcoming tour Akkerman refused to perform the album's music, thinking it was not strong enough. To solve the issue, he and van Leer returned to Morgan Studios and put down "Red Sky at Night" and "Avondrood", the latter featuring the two singing in Dutch. After Kemper left when recording was complete, Akkerman wished van der Linden to return, thinking he was responsible "for at least 40%" of the band's success and said he "wouldn't leave Focus" with him on the drums. However, van Leer and Ruiter did not share the same enthusiasm over van der Linden's return. Nevertheless, Focus returned to Australia and Japan in May and June 1975 for a series of sold out dates, yet reviewers of the gigs noticed the lack of cohesiveness than before. During the Scandinavian tour that followed, a gig at the Ullevaal Stadium, Oslo during the Ragnarok Festival was met with Akkerman and van der Linden jamming with "little adherence to the repertoire" that was taken as a protest to playing the same material night after night. Matters turned for the worse after van Leer and Ruiter refused to have van der Linden re-record the drums for a single release of "Crackers", causing the drummer to quit a second time. With van der Linden gone, Focus cancelled a proposed 34-date UK tour and brought back Kemper during subsequent rehearsals after a desperate plea from de Jong. The "House of the King"/"Avondrood" single was released in 1976; the latter track originally appeared on a Dutch compilation album. The two appear in instrumental form on Ship of Memories. In February 1976, two and a half days before the group's arrival to the UK for a tour, van Leer asked Akkerman to leave Focus over his disagreements with the music they were rehearsing and the decision not to have van der Linden return on the drums. Akkerman had grown tired of playing the same songs on stage, "It felt like I was in a straitjacket. There was still a lot of improvisation but even this had become planned". Van Leer said he wished to write "happy" music and move from "our European minor chords". Rather than have the tour cancelled, van Leer decided to proceed, with Kemper having seven days to arrive from the US and learn the new material and Akkerman at home with illness. In the guitarist's absence, van Leer met Belgian guitarist Philip Catherine and the two played a jam session that van Leer enjoyed. Akkerman disliked a song that the group had rehearsed about him soon after, which led to van Leer asking him to leave the next day. After Catherine agreed to step in, the group rehearsed for fifty hours without sleep; van Leer spent the evening prior the first gig mapping out the guitar parts on paper which Catherine followed on stage. Refunds were offered to concert goers as news of Akkerman's departure was not made public until after the tour had begun, which ended in March 1976. Dutch guitarist Eef Albers later joined Focus. A handful of scattered gigs were performed through 1977 and 1978 with American drummer Richard James on call out whenever they secured a booking. After van Leer signed a deal with EMI in April 1976 to record a new Focus album, work did not begin until late 1977 when the band faced potential legal action if they did not release something. Recording took place in December 1977 at EMI Studios in Haarlem, Amsterdam with van Leer, Ruiter, Albers, and a returning Catherine, who was contractually required to perform. Van Leer turned to ideas that he had developed with his wife Roselie during Focus tours, but felt neither his or Ruiter's voices were strong enough to sing on. In the search for a suitable lead vocalist de Jong, a friend of American singer P. J. Proby, rang his Netherlands-based manager and invited him to the studio, thinking his vocals would replace Akkerman's lyrical playing. Van Leer was sceptical as Proby was not familiar with the band and the singer was going through a period of heavy alcohol abuse. Upon Proby's arrival, Albers recalled: "He drank Four Roses whiskey the whole day, so much so that the nearest liquor store was soon sold out ... he always had the intention to run away". Proby interpreted the jazz-rock influenced songs as he felt, attempting "to meet them half-way between jazz and rock". James's drumming was unsuitable for the lighter material, so van Leer brought in future Journey drummer, American Steve Smith. Following the release of Focus con Proby in February 1978, which ignored the UK market, the album received negative reviews. Cleuver, then van Leer's manager, later called it "simply shameful". After a handful of gigs in the Netherlands, which concluded with a show in Terneuzen in August 1978 with James on the drums, van Leer ended Focus. 1983−1999: Reunions In 1983, Akkerman agreed to the idea of reuniting with van Leer and record new music, as suggested by his management. Van Leer immediately accepted the invitation and went on to play the synthesiser on "Headbanger", a track for Akkerman's solo album From the Basement (1984). After this initial collaboration, an executive at Phonogram Records suggested the pair work on an album of re-recorded Focus songs with English producer Trevor Horn, but it fell through. They subsequently signed a recording contract with Vertigo Records, which required the two to record as a duo, as opposed to Focus. During the recording, producer Ruud Jacobs was brought in to supervise due to the length of time taken to finalise tracks. Engineer Theo Balijon claimed Jacobs cut corners and pushed for the strongest tracks to be completed quickly to save production costs, which "unintentionally increased the animosity between Jan and Thijs". Around 30 tracks were completed with several additional musicians in 1984. Focus was released in March 1985 and reached number 33 in the Netherlands. The pair followed the album with promotional videos and a local four-date tour. In 1988, EMI acquired the rights to the band's back catalogue and reissued their albums on CD for the first time. In 1990, van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for a live gig, marking their first performance together since 1975. The four played a 40-minute set at the Americahal in Apeldoorn on 20 April that was broadcast as part of the Oud van Goud television special. It came about when producer Frans Meijer asked Akkerman to perform a gig with the group, and the fact that the guitarist's manager had not seen the band play in the 1970s. After the group agreed to participate, they rehearsed for four hours in Wijchen several days prior to the concert. Ruiter said they "went very well"; van Leer said it was "fantastic". Following the concert van Leer was keen to formally restart Focus with Akkerman, but the latter resisted. On 17 May 1990 the group, minus Akkerman, mimed a performance of "House of the King" on Service Salon on AVRO-TV. They had planned to perform "Hocus Pocus" with Akkerman, but the guitarist declined to take part. Van Leer and Akkerman shared the stage once more in 1993, performing mostly Akkerman solo songs at the North Sea Jazz Festival. In 1997, van Leer reformed Focus with Cleuver and Ruiter returning on drums and bass, respectively, and 21-year-old Dutch guitarist Menno Gootjes who was studying at the Rotterdam Conservatory. The four made their live debut at the Hockey Club in Mill, Netherlands, on 30 August. They performed additional shows in the Netherlands, but disagreements between van Leer and Ruiter over material intended for an official release effectively split up the group, in 1999. 2001–2009: Reformation, albums, and touring In 2001, van Leer was invited to a try out session by his stepson and bassist Bobby Jacobs, who was rehearsing with guitarist Jan Dumée and drummer Ruben van Roon. Jacobs and van Roon was former members of van Leer's side project Conxi. To van Leer's surprise, he found out the three had been rehearsing Focus songs from the 1970s era. The sessions led to the group's decision to perform live as a Focus tribute band named Hocus Pocus "just for fun, nothing too serious". After some well received gigs in the Netherlands, the group resumed the Focus name and acquired Willem Hubers as their new manager and booking agent which led to several offers to perform worldwide. Focus 8 was recorded between February and July 2002; van Roon left soon after due to personal circumstances. He was replaced by drummer Bert Smaak. Released on Musea Records in late 2002, it received critical praise and was supported with a world tour in 2002 and 2003. In the autumn of 2004, Smaak had left the group and replaced by a returning van der Linden. In July 2006, Dumée was replaced by guitarist Niels van der Steenhoven. This line-up recorded Focus 9 / New Skin, released in September 2006 by Red Bullet Records. 2010–present: Line-up changes, Focus 11 and 50th Anniversary In May 2010, Nike included "Hocus Pocus" as the main theme in its 2010 FIFA World Cup commercial, Write the Future. The advert aired on television worldwide which generated renewed interest in the band and led to "Hocus Pocus" entering the UK Singles Chart at number 57. In late 2010, Gootjes rejoined the band as a replacement to a departing van der Steenhoven. In 2011, American rapper J. Cole sampled "Hocus Pocus" in his song "Blow Up", which is featured in the game MLB 11: The Show. The band released their eleventh studio album Focus X, featuring cover art by Roger Dean, in November 2012. On 14 April 2014, the band released Golden Oldies on their own label, In and Out of Focus Records. It is a collection of re-recorded versions of Focus songs. In 2016, the band released Focus 8.5 / Beyond the Horizon. It is credited to "Focus and Friends featuring Marvio Ciribelli", and was recorded during gaps in their 2005 South American tour with Brazilian musicians. In December 2016, Udo Pannekeet replaced Jacobs on bass. Focus performed at their second Cruise to the Edge event in February 2017, third in 2018, and fourth in 2019. The line-up included Dumée on guitar after Gootjes was too ill to perform. From March to October 2017, Focus toured Europe. In November 2018, Focus released their fourteenth studio album Focus 11 to coincide with their 20-date UK tour. The album was available at each venue which was followed by its full release on 25 January 2019, via Cherry Red Records. In November 2020, a box set containing new remasters of the band's albums from 1970 to 1976, with previously unreleased audio and video material, entitled 50 Years: Anthology 1970–1976, was released by Red Bullet Productions to commemorate the band's fiftieth anniversary. This was followed in June 2021 by the release of Focus 50, a set featuring live material recorded in 2017 in Rio de Janeiro and a disc entitled Completely Focused, containing studio re-recordings of "Focus 1" through "Focus 12". In November 2021, during a UK tour, Focus cancelled all scheduled dates after van Leer contracted COVID-19 in hospital while receiving treatment for an unrelated illness. A new studio album is expected in early 2022. Band members Current members Thijs van Leer – keyboards, flute, vocals (1969–1978, 1990, 1993-1995, 1997–1999, 2001–present) Pierre van der Linden – drums, percussion (1971–1973, 1975, 1990, 2004–present) Menno Gootjes – guitar, backing vocals (1997–1999, 2010–present) Udo Pannekeet – bass (2016–present) Discography Studio albums Focus Plays Focus (1970; also known as In and Out of Focus) Focus II (1971; also known as Moving Waves) Focus 3 (1972) Hamburger Concerto (1974) Mother Focus (1975) Ship of Memories (1977) (studio compilation) Focus con Proby (1978) Focus (1985) (as Jan Akkerman & Thijs Van Leer) Focus 8 (2002) Focus 9 / New Skin (2006) Focus X (2012) Golden Oldies (2014) (studio re-recordings) Focus 8.5 / Beyond the Horizon (2016) The Focus Family Album (2017) (studio outtakes from 2012–2017, plus solo tracks) Focus 11 (2018) Completely Focused (2021) (studio re-recordings) References Sources External links Official band website at FocusTheBand.co.uk Fan website at FocusTributeHomepage, since 1996 Atco Records artists Dutch hard rock musical groups Dutch musical groups Dutch progressive rock groups EMI Records artists Instrumental rock musical groups Musical groups established in 1969 Sire Records artists Symphonic rock groups Musical groups from Amsterdam
false
[ "This is a list of songs recorded by Northern Irish rock band Therapy?.\n\nRare released songs \nThe following is a table of rare released songs meeting the following criteria:\n\n Songs on any official record release (record company or otherwise), and any collaborations by Therapy? with other artists, are included here, except for songs on the official 15 albums (Baby Teeth to Cleave), the 2 compilation albums (So Much for the Ten Year Plan and Music Through a Cheap Transistor), the 2 live albums (We're Here to the End and Communion: Live at the Union Chapel), or The Gemil Box.\n\n Songs provided on the official website for free download are not included here.\n Songs only released on bootlegs are not included here.\nThe columns Title, Released, Where and Notes list each song title, the year the song was released, on which release it can be found and any notes accompanying the song.\n\nOfficial website free MP3 downloads \n\nThe following is a table of Official Website Free MP3 Downloads meeting the following criteria;\n\n Songs released exclusively free via the official website (or mailing list) and unavailable elsewhere are included here.\n Songs on any official release are not included here.\nThe columns Title, Recorded, Source, MP3 kbit/s and Notes list each song title, the year the song was recorded, the audio source, the bit-rate of the download and any notes accompanying the song.\n\nRare unreleased songs \n\nThe following is a table of rare non-released songs meeting the following criteria:\n\n Noteworthy songs released on bootlegs are included here.\n Noteworthy songs not available yet in any form are included here.\n Noteworthy songs released via streaming (not download) on official sites are included here.\n Songs on any official release are not included here.\nThe columns Title, Recorded, Source, Available and Notes list each song title, the year the song was recorded, the audio source, the availability of the song and any notes accompanying the song.\n\nUnofficial bootleg releases \n\n\"Have a Merry Fucking Christmas\" (7\")\n\"Next to You / Invisible Sun\" (7\", turquoise)\n\"Live at the Astoria\" (12\") (London '92)\n\"I Want My Money Back\" (London '92)\n\"Who Did This?\" (Berlin '93)\n\"No Love Lost\" (Hultsfred '93, Roskilde '93, Feile '93, Aalborg '92)\n\"Fistful of Power\" (Donington '94)\n\"Isolation\" (Wolverhampton '94)\n\"Absolutely Barking\" (Donington '94, London '94)\n\"Clash Therapy\" (Stockholm '94)\n\"Not Lunacy\" (Stockholm '94)\n\"Shock Treatment\" (Florence '94)\n\"Iron Man\" (Florence '94)\n\"Europe 1994\" (Donington '94, Glasgow '94, London '94)\n\"Live in England 94\" (Donington '94, London '92)\n\"Good Fuckin' Night\" (Glasgow '94)\n\"Dead Laughing\" (Arnhem '95)\n\"The Black Sessions\" (Paris '95)\n\"Infernal Gum\" (B-Sides)\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n Official discography\n\nTherapy", "\"Is There Any Love in Your Heart\" is a song recorded by American singer Lenny Kravitz and released on December 2, 1993, as the fourth single from his fourth studio album Are You Gonna Go My Way. The song was also included in his 2000 album Greatest Hits. The music video was directed by Mark Romanek and features Canadian model Ève Salvail playing a vampire.\n\nReception\nJames E. Perone in The Album: A Guide to Pop Music's Most Provocative, Influential, and Important Creations stated, \"The Kravitz and Craig Ross collaboration “Is There Any Love in Your Heart” re-creates the style of late 1960s' and early 1970s hard rock.\" Alan Sculley of The Crisis noted, \"There is one particularly acidic track directed to gold diggers attracted by his celebrity status, \"Is There Any Love in Your Heart.\"\n\nTrack listing\n\nWeekly charts\n\nUses\n The song was featured in Season 7 (episode \"Pumping Iron\") of the MTV animated television series Beavis and Butt-Head.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\nLenny Kravitz songs\n1993 songs\nSongs written by Lenny Kravitz\nSongs written by Craig Ross\nMusic videos directed by Mark Romanek" ]
[ "Focus (band)", "1985-1999: Reunions", "Did the band reunite during this time frame?", "In 1990, the former line-up of van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for the first time since 1975.", "Did anything particular happen during the reunion?", "The four played a 40-minute set at the Americahal in Apeldoorn on 20 April that was broadcast as part of the Oud van Goud television special.", "Was there anything else important happening?", "On 17 May the group, minus Akkerman, mimed a performance of \"House of the King\" on the Service Salon television program on AVRO-TV.", "What were some of their songs?", "Hocus Pocus", "Are there any other songs?", "In the 63 days they spent recording from April to May 1984, around 30 tracks were completed with several additional musicians." ]
C_f5c93dc410b34900bc07c020bdf85216_0
Did they do any tours during this time frame?
6
Did Focus do any tours during April to May 1984?
Focus (band)
In mid-1983, both of Akkerman's managers came up with the idea of the guitarist reuniting with van Leer to record new music, to which Akkerman agreed. Van Leer immediately accepted the invitation, and went on to play the synthesiser on "Headbanger" on Akkerman's 1984 solo album From the Basement. After this initial collaboration, one executive at Phonogram Records suggested the pair work with producer Trevor Horn to release an album of re-recorded Focus tracks, but it was dismissed. In the following 15 months, the two wrote, rehearsed, and recorded new music with several additional musicians with engineer Theo Balijob. Their contract required the two to record as a duet, rather under the name Focus. During the recording, producer Ruud Jacobs was brought in to supervise the project due to the length of time taken to put the tracks down. Balijon claimed Jacobs cut corners and pushed for the strongest tracks to be completed quickly to save production costs, which "unintentionally increased the animosity between Jan and Thijs". In the 63 days they spent recording from April to May 1984, around 30 tracks were completed with several additional musicians. Focus was released in March 1985 by Vertigo Records which reached number 33 in the Netherlands. The pair followed the album with promotional videos and a local four-date tour. In 1988, EMI acquired the rights to the band's back catalogue and reissued their albums on compact disc for the first time. In 1990, the former line-up of van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for the first time since 1975. The four played a 40-minute set at the Americahal in Apeldoorn on 20 April that was broadcast as part of the Oud van Goud television special. It came about when producer Frans Meijer asked Akkerman to perform a gig with the group, and the fact that the guitarist's manager had not seen the band play in the 1970s, so "it was swatting two flies with one hit". The other three agreed at the opportunity, and they rehearsed for four hours in Wijchen several days prior to the concert. Ruiter said they "went very well"; van Leer said it was "fantastic". Following the concert, van Leer was keen to formally restart Focus with Akkerman, though the latter felt different though he was happy to reunite with van der Linden. On 17 May the group, minus Akkerman, mimed a performance of "House of the King" on the Service Salon television program on AVRO-TV. Originally the band were to perform "Hocus Pocus" with Akkerman, but the guitarist declined the offer made by the network, stating he reunited with Focus for Meijer and his manager. The appearance went ahead regardless. Van Leer and Akkerman shared the stage once more in 1993, performing Focus songs at the North Sea Jazz Festival. In 1999, van Leer attempted to reform Focus with Cleuver, Ruiter, and Dutch guitarist Menno Gootjes. They performed several live dates in the Netherlands, but disagreements between van Leer and Ruiter over material intended for release effectively split up the group. CANNOTANSWER
Focus was released in March 1985 by Vertigo Records which reached number 33 in the Netherlands. The pair followed the album with promotional videos and a local four-date tour.
Focus are a Dutch progressive rock band formed in Amsterdam in 1969 by keyboardist, vocalist, and flutist Thijs van Leer, drummer Hans Cleuver, bassist Martijn Dresden, and guitarist Jan Akkerman. The band have undergone numerous formations in its history; since December 2016, it has comprised van Leer, drummer Pierre van der Linden, guitarist Menno Gootjes, and bassist Udo Pannekeet. They have sold one million RIAA-certified albums in the United States. After the addition of Akkerman to van Leer's rock trio in late 1969, the band named themselves Focus and initially worked in the band for a Dutch production of the rock musical Hair. Their debut album Focus Plays Focus (1970) gained little attention but the follow-up, Moving Waves (1971), and its lead single "Hocus Pocus", earned the band international recognition. Their success continued with Focus 3 (1972) and Hamburger Concerto (1974), the former containing their second hit single, "Sylvia". After recording two albums with various musicians, including guitarist Phillip Catherine, singer P. J. Proby, and drummers Colin Allen, David Kemper, and Steve Smith, Focus dissolved in 1978. They briefly reunited in 1990 and 1997. In 2002, van Leer reformed Focus with a new line-up that saw van der Linden rejoining the group in 2004. The albums Focus 8 (2002), Focus 9 / New Skin (2006) and Focus X (2012) were well received, and Focus continue to perform worldwide. Their most recent album is Focus 11 (2018). They received a renewed interest after Nike used "Hocus Pocus" in its 2010 World Cup commercial Write The Future. Focus remain one of the most successful and influential rock bands from the Netherlands. History 1969–1970: Formation Focus formed in mid-1969 by keyboardist, vocalist, and flautist Thijs van Leer, who recruited bass guitarist Martijn Dresden and drummer Hans Cleuver after he met them at sessions for the Jazz and Poetry radio program in Hilversum, Netherlands. The three went on to start a new three-piece band initially known as Thijs van Leer and the Rebaptised, playing a set formed mostly of cover songs by Traffic and original material mostly written by van Leer. In November 1969, during rehearsals at the theatre where van Leer performed as part of Ramses Shaffy's theatre group, they were joined by guitarist Jan Akkerman of the rock band Brainbox after Shaffy invited him to play with the trio. Van Leer later recalled the first try out session: "Jan came in and we jammed for hours, and it was really kicking". They then settled on the name Focus for the new band; Akkerman later said, "Focus is a Latin word that is the same in many languages. It means concentration, which is the meaning of what Focus does". Their first live gig as Focus followed at the Bird's Club in Rembrandtplein, and they soon secured a weekly residency playing two shows a night on two days. Early sets were mainly formed of covers, including "I Shall Be Released" by Bob Dylan, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum and "Nights in White Satin" by The Moody Blues, mixed with original material, including van Leer's first song written with the group in mind, the instrumental "Focus". In their search for more work and a steady income, Focus was chosen to play as part of the pit band for the Dutch production of the rock musical Hair produced by Welsh actor Victor Spinetti. They were invited to audition at the Victoria Ballroom, London after Dutch lyricist Lennaert Nijgh suggested them to Del Newman, the musical's director. Cast member Robin Lent claimed the production was suffering and Focus, taking part only for the money, "were also pretty rusty ... but this changed and everybody got into it". The show, launched in December 1969, involved six nightly performances a week and gave them space to rehearse in the afternoons for free and store their equipment. An album of the soundtrack featuring the band was recorded in February 1970 and released soon after by Polydor Records. After Hair ended its run in June 1970, Focus declined an offer to tour the musical across the Netherlands for a year and a half and become a full time band. They had picked up more local gigs and dates across the country by this time, and had performed their first international gigs in Belgium and Spain. Their weekly earnings from gigs, plus their earnings from Hair, had reached 400 guilders though Akkerman recalled the group failed to appreciate its value and were quick to spend it. To manage their finances more carefully, Cleuver was chosen to oversee their earnings and expenses. 1970–1971: Debut album, "House of the King", and line-up change In 1970, Focus reached contact with Hubert Terheggen, director of Radio-Tele-Music Belgium-Holland, a music publishing division of Radio Luxembourg, through connections with Dresden's father. Terheggen enjoyed their music and signed them to his production company, secured deals with music publishers worldwide, and booked studio time for them to record their first album, which took place in January 1970 at Sound Techniques in Chelsea, London during time off from Hair. The result was Focus Plays Focus, better known as its international release title In and Out of Focus, with Terheggen credited as producer and Jerry Boys the engineer. A mix of pop-oriented songs and instrumentals were recorded for the album; van Leer felt the vocals suffered as a result of singing English lyrics with a foreign accent, which inspired the group to become stronger instrumentally. After recording Focus Plays Focus, the band struggled to find a label willing to release it. Their fortunes changed once they had recorded "House of the King", an instrumental by Akkerman with different accounts of its origin. Focus biographer Peet Johnson gives the general consensus that it was inspired by their appearance at the Barbarela de Conjuntos music contest in Majorca on 11 June 1970, where in the final round, their rendition of Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquín Rodrigo ran over the 15-minute time limit, causing their plugs to be pulled. Focus proceeded to retaliate with van Leer playing the flute to the audience as a distraction while the rest of the group trashed the dressing room, after which they were arrested and spent a night in jail. Van Leer claims Akkerman came up with the track the day after their arrest, but the guitarist said he wrote it "on a mountain, with a beautiful Spanish stewardess ... in about five minutes". Focus recorded it without management's permission in one evening at Heemstede, yet it reached staff at Imperial Records who thought it was strong enough as a hit single and signed the group. Focus Plays Focus was released in September 1970, eight months after it was recorded. "Why Dream" and "Happy Nightmare" were released as their first single in the Netherlands. The album saw an American release in October by Sire Records, who had secured the rights to the band's international distribution, with "House of the King" added to the track listing. Prior to signing Focus, Sire founder Seymour Stein had flown to the Netherlands to see the band perform: "Without a doubt they were the most original band I had ever heard". Though the album received little commercial attention it earned Focus their first Edison Award, and the January 1971 release of "House of the King" went to number 10 on the home chart. Late in 1970, Akkerman had become increasingly unhappy with Cleuver and Dresden as a rhythm section and missed his former Brainbox bandmate, drummer Pierre van der Linden. He thought the pair struggled to incorporate their own identity or musicianship into the music. Akkerman then presented an ultimatum to van Leer by threatening to quit unless he asked Cleuver and Dresden to leave. Van Leer refused to part ways with his co-founders and instead told Akkerman to leave, which increased tension between the two as they were often at odds with each other. Cleuver sensed panic from Imperial as it knew "House of the King" would be a hit and wanted van Leer and Akkerman to stay together. The situation reached Terheggen, who asked Yde de Jong to become Focus's manager if he could reunite the band. After six weeks of driving to both members' homes to negotiate, van Leer agreed to fire Cleuver and Dresden and joined Akkerman, van der Linden, and newcomer bassist Cyril Havermans, who had played on Akkerman's second solo album Profile, on the condition that the group continue as Focus. With the new line-up secured, Stein convinced English producer Mike Vernon to witness the band perform in the Netherlands in late 1970. Vernon was not so impressed with their first album, but enjoyed them as a live act: "I couldn't stop talking or thinking about them! They were formidable ... the power of Jan and Thijs alone gave me heart palpitations". Vernon subsequently agreed to produce their next studio album. 1971–1972: Moving Waves and breakthrough Following rehearsals at Groeneveld Castle in Baarn, the band recorded Focus II, better known as its international title Moving Waves, in April and May 1971 at Sound Techniques and Morgan Studios, London. It showcased the band exploring progressive rock with jazz fusion and classical music elements with extended pieces and lengthy solos. Akkerman changed his sound, moving from a Gretsch White Falcon to a 1957 Gibson Les Paul Custom which enabled him to "'sing' on the guitar" to compensate for the group's weak vocals. Its opening track, "Hocus Pocus", became one of the band's best known tracks, featuring a recognisable rock guitar riff and van Leer's yodelling, whistling, and nonsensical vocals that developed through an improvised jam session. Akkerman wrote "Janis" as a tribute to Janis Joplin, and its closer, "Eruption", is a 23-minute multi-part track inspired by the operas Orfeo ed Euridice by Christoph Willibald Gluck and L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, combining rock, jazz and classical influences. Released in October 1971, Moving Waves became the band's international breakthrough, reaching number 2 in the UK, number 4 in the Netherlands, and number 8 in the US. The album awarded Focus with a Conamus Export Award, their second Edison Award, and gold certifications in the three aforementioned countries; the US award was issued in 1973 for selling 500,000 copies. Its success was helped by the release of "Hocus Pocus" as a single, released in the Netherlands in July 1971 which peaked at number 12 and exposed the band to a new audience. It peaked at number 20 in the UK in January 1973. Between the recording and release of Moving Waves, Focus underwent further line-up changes. Shortly before a tour of France in July 1971, van der Linden temporarily left the band after he found out van Leer and Akkerman would get paid more than himself. He was replaced by Akkerman's younger brother, the 19-year-old Jacob "Cocky" Akkerman, before the rift was sorted and van der Linden resumed on the drums at its conclusion. This was followed by Havermans' departure in September 1971, having handed in his notice in late June. He wished to sing on more tracks but was unable to do so within the confines of the group and pursued a solo career. The remaining members would reunite with the bassist in the US in early 1973 to play on his first solo album, Cyril. Focus found their new bassist in Bert Ruiter, who had previously rehearsed with van der Linden prior to a gig in Texel in June 1971, and went on to see the band live around ten times thereafter. He was invited by the drummer to a tryout session, after which he became a full-time member. Focus resumed as a live act in September 1971; among their first gigs with Ruiter was in Rotterdam as part of the European Newport Jazz Festival on 29 October. Towards the end of the year, de Jong organised the band's first UK tour, a 15-gig trek between 15 February–10 March 1972, to increase exposure and record sales. Van Leer felt insecure about the tour at first and expressed the lack of courage from the group when they compared themselves to other popular UK rock acts. They arrived in the UK during a period of nationwide energy shortages, yet de Jong resolved the issue by having Focus tour with their own power generator. Despite receiving little money for their performances, they received radio airplay on BBC Radio 1, earned positive reviews from critics, and gained new fans. Akkerman recalled the attendance of the gigs "were packed because it was probably the only thing that was going on". On 28 May 1972, Focus were booked to play the Lincoln Festival for an estimated 40,000 people, but the band arrived too late for their spot and were unable to reschedule, leaving them furious at the missed opportunity. Two days later, Focus made their British television debut with a pre-recorded performance of excerpts of "Eruption" and "Hocus Pocus" on the BBC music show The Old Grey Whistle Test. In the following month they were voted Brightest Hope by readers of Melody Maker and Best New Talent by readers of New Musical Express. 1972–1974: Focus 3 and Hamburger Concerto The band spent four days at Olympic Studios in Barnes, London in July 1972 recording their third album, Focus 3. They had written a considerable amount of material by this time which led to the decision to make a double album, mostly by van Leer and Akkerman. Focus 3 saw the group produce short and extended pieces, including the three-minute instrumental "Sylvia" and the group devised, 26-minute "Anonymous II" that devotes a solo spot for each member, and the addition of "House of the King". Upon its release in November 1972, the album went to number one in the Netherlands for one week, number 6 in the UK, and number 35 in the US. "Sylvia" was released as a single and reached number 4 in the UK in January 1973, the week after "Hocus Pocus" reached its peak on the same chart. This marked the first time in a decade that a band had two concurrent songs without lyrics in the UK top 40. To support the album, Focus began their largest tour since their formation with spots at the Reading Festival on 12 August 1972 followed by the Melody Maker Poll Awards show at The Oval, London on 30 September. This was followed by an exhaustive 31-date UK tour in 36 days that included their return appearance on The Old Grey Whistle Test on 12 December which caused a surge in interest for their records; host Bob Harris said the show was inundated with calls and letters about the band and Polydor's record plant printed nothing but Focus for ten days in order to meet demand. A performance of "Sylvia" from the Marquee Club, London aired on the BBC's Top of the Pops show. After a sell out UK tour in January 1973 that spanned 24 days, Focus completed their first of three North American tours in 1973 from February to April, supporting various acts including Gentle Giant, Frank Zappa and Yes. Upon their return, they toured the UK once more which included two sold out shows at the Rainbow Theatre, London in May 1973 which aired on BBC television. In early May 1973, Focus returned to Olympic Studios at Vernon's request and recorded a new cut of "Hocus Pocus" titled "Hocus Pocus II", released exclusively for the American market. Later in the month, the band retreated to Chipping Norton Recording Studios, Oxfordshire to record a fourth studio album. Akkerman had expressed a wish to put down "great ideas" he had written over the past year, but extensive touring had left the band physically and mentally exhausted which reduced their eagerness to write and record new group material. Vernon recalled Akkerman's reluctance to take part in the sessions which to him, "led to the final dissolving of the Akkerman/van Leer partnership". Around 40 minutes of songs was eventually recorded, yet the pair refused to co-operate and recorded their parts without the other present. Vernon later called this period as "probably the worst ten days I've ever spent in a studio". As a new studio album could not be released, Vernon took the recording from the Rainbow Theatre concerts and released it as a live album, At the Rainbow. The album went to number 23 in the UK in October 1973. The band went on to receive a Billboard Trendsetter Award for their success after notching up two gold albums, combining sales of one million copies sold in the US, and one gold single. Recordings from the Chipping Norton sessions remained unreleased, rearranged years later, or included in the collection of previously unreleased Focus studio recordings Ship of Memories, in 1976. Upon their return from their second North American tour from June to September 1973, the band returned to Groeneveld Castle for rehearsals. Van der Linden failed to turn up, and the group soon learned of his decision to quit the band. Van Leer claimed rock music was a step in the wrong direction for the drummer, who wished to pursue jazz. Vernon suggested English players Mitch Mitchell, Aynsley Dunbar, and Colin Allen as replacements. Allen was the only one available as his previous group, Stone the Crows had recently broken up. He flew to the Netherlands to meet the band and after a successful try out session, he joined the group. “It all happened pretty quickly ... I fitted in." His arrival came eight days before the band's upcoming North American tour was to start. From January to March 1974, Focus recorded Hamburger Concerto at Olympic Studios with Vernon. Recording was met with growing tension, with van Leer, Ruiter and Allen working together during the day and Akkerman recording his parts in the evening. The album presents further classical music influences, opening with "Delitæ Musicæ", a lute piece Akkerman adapted from Delitæ Musicæ Cantiones by Dutch composer Joachim van den Hove. It closes with a six-part, 20-minute conceptual title track inspired by Akkerman once eating a hamburger while watching cartoons at his hotel room in New York City and was put down in basic form during the 1973 Chipping Norton sessions. Released in May 1974, Hamburger Concerto peaked at number 5 in the Netherlands and number 20 in the UK. Van Leer claimed it was the band's "First proper work. It has strength and purpose", and Vernon later said the album and Moving Waves were the most rewarding on a second listen. Akkerman later felt the album suffered as his position in the group had weakened with van der Linden gone and claimed van Leer "broke up the tandem I had with Pierre rhythmically". A single version of "Harem Scarem" was released but did not chart in the UK. Focus toured Hamburger Concerto from March 1974, starting with dates across Europe, including two in London that were filmed for broadcast on the BBC2 and US television music series In Concert. They began their first tour of Japan and Australia in June, followed by an appearance at the Reading Festival in August and the start of their fourth North American tour in September. They were featured on the nationally syndicated Don Kirshner's Rock Concert show aired live from Long Beach, California, giving the band widespread exposure. At one concert during the US leg, van Leer and Akkerman noticed a young Michael Jackson sitting in the front row. Upon their return, the band completed a 24-day tour of Europe and two compilation albums were released, The Story of Focus and Masters of Rock. 1975–1978: Mother Focus, Focus con Proby, and disbanding In 1975, the band gathered at Morgan Studios, Brussels to rehearse and record Mother Focus. They reunited with Terheggen to oversee the project as executive producer, but the group found themselves without a collective direction; van Leer put its failure down to the band's recording contract which required them to produce one studio album each year, the pressures of touring had affected the songs, and a lack of overall interest from the band. In addition, Akkerman continued to record parts separately, showing no sign of an improvement in his relationship with van Leer. Ruiter became a more prominent songwriter and contributed more ideas than he had on previous Focus albums; he and Allen, after recording "I Need a Bathroom", began to experiment with a drum machine to aid their ideas, but the drummer recalled Akkerman got angry, shouted at him, and tossed the machine across the room. Allen was fired the next day, not knowing who made the decision. He was required to pay what he owed to the group during his tenure which amounted to roughly £10,000, using his earnings from royalties to pay much of it. Despite the problems, he "will always remain proud to have been a member". In May 1975, at the suggestion of their studio engineer, American drummer David Kemper was brought in to complete the rest of the album. Released in October 1975, Mother Focus saw Focus depart from their classical and jazz-influenced sound towards shorter, commercially accessible songs with middle of the road influences and little room for improvisation and jamming they were known for. Akkerman argued with van Leer and Ruiter over the group's change in musical direction, deeming it "typical American music". The album went to number 23 in the UK, and received mostly negative reviews from critics. During plans for their upcoming tour Akkerman refused to perform the album's music, thinking it was not strong enough. To solve the issue, he and van Leer returned to Morgan Studios and put down "Red Sky at Night" and "Avondrood", the latter featuring the two singing in Dutch. After Kemper left when recording was complete, Akkerman wished van der Linden to return, thinking he was responsible "for at least 40%" of the band's success and said he "wouldn't leave Focus" with him on the drums. However, van Leer and Ruiter did not share the same enthusiasm over van der Linden's return. Nevertheless, Focus returned to Australia and Japan in May and June 1975 for a series of sold out dates, yet reviewers of the gigs noticed the lack of cohesiveness than before. During the Scandinavian tour that followed, a gig at the Ullevaal Stadium, Oslo during the Ragnarok Festival was met with Akkerman and van der Linden jamming with "little adherence to the repertoire" that was taken as a protest to playing the same material night after night. Matters turned for the worse after van Leer and Ruiter refused to have van der Linden re-record the drums for a single release of "Crackers", causing the drummer to quit a second time. With van der Linden gone, Focus cancelled a proposed 34-date UK tour and brought back Kemper during subsequent rehearsals after a desperate plea from de Jong. The "House of the King"/"Avondrood" single was released in 1976; the latter track originally appeared on a Dutch compilation album. The two appear in instrumental form on Ship of Memories. In February 1976, two and a half days before the group's arrival to the UK for a tour, van Leer asked Akkerman to leave Focus over his disagreements with the music they were rehearsing and the decision not to have van der Linden return on the drums. Akkerman had grown tired of playing the same songs on stage, "It felt like I was in a straitjacket. There was still a lot of improvisation but even this had become planned". Van Leer said he wished to write "happy" music and move from "our European minor chords". Rather than have the tour cancelled, van Leer decided to proceed, with Kemper having seven days to arrive from the US and learn the new material and Akkerman at home with illness. In the guitarist's absence, van Leer met Belgian guitarist Philip Catherine and the two played a jam session that van Leer enjoyed. Akkerman disliked a song that the group had rehearsed about him soon after, which led to van Leer asking him to leave the next day. After Catherine agreed to step in, the group rehearsed for fifty hours without sleep; van Leer spent the evening prior the first gig mapping out the guitar parts on paper which Catherine followed on stage. Refunds were offered to concert goers as news of Akkerman's departure was not made public until after the tour had begun, which ended in March 1976. Dutch guitarist Eef Albers later joined Focus. A handful of scattered gigs were performed through 1977 and 1978 with American drummer Richard James on call out whenever they secured a booking. After van Leer signed a deal with EMI in April 1976 to record a new Focus album, work did not begin until late 1977 when the band faced potential legal action if they did not release something. Recording took place in December 1977 at EMI Studios in Haarlem, Amsterdam with van Leer, Ruiter, Albers, and a returning Catherine, who was contractually required to perform. Van Leer turned to ideas that he had developed with his wife Roselie during Focus tours, but felt neither his or Ruiter's voices were strong enough to sing on. In the search for a suitable lead vocalist de Jong, a friend of American singer P. J. Proby, rang his Netherlands-based manager and invited him to the studio, thinking his vocals would replace Akkerman's lyrical playing. Van Leer was sceptical as Proby was not familiar with the band and the singer was going through a period of heavy alcohol abuse. Upon Proby's arrival, Albers recalled: "He drank Four Roses whiskey the whole day, so much so that the nearest liquor store was soon sold out ... he always had the intention to run away". Proby interpreted the jazz-rock influenced songs as he felt, attempting "to meet them half-way between jazz and rock". James's drumming was unsuitable for the lighter material, so van Leer brought in future Journey drummer, American Steve Smith. Following the release of Focus con Proby in February 1978, which ignored the UK market, the album received negative reviews. Cleuver, then van Leer's manager, later called it "simply shameful". After a handful of gigs in the Netherlands, which concluded with a show in Terneuzen in August 1978 with James on the drums, van Leer ended Focus. 1983−1999: Reunions In 1983, Akkerman agreed to the idea of reuniting with van Leer and record new music, as suggested by his management. Van Leer immediately accepted the invitation and went on to play the synthesiser on "Headbanger", a track for Akkerman's solo album From the Basement (1984). After this initial collaboration, an executive at Phonogram Records suggested the pair work on an album of re-recorded Focus songs with English producer Trevor Horn, but it fell through. They subsequently signed a recording contract with Vertigo Records, which required the two to record as a duo, as opposed to Focus. During the recording, producer Ruud Jacobs was brought in to supervise due to the length of time taken to finalise tracks. Engineer Theo Balijon claimed Jacobs cut corners and pushed for the strongest tracks to be completed quickly to save production costs, which "unintentionally increased the animosity between Jan and Thijs". Around 30 tracks were completed with several additional musicians in 1984. Focus was released in March 1985 and reached number 33 in the Netherlands. The pair followed the album with promotional videos and a local four-date tour. In 1988, EMI acquired the rights to the band's back catalogue and reissued their albums on CD for the first time. In 1990, van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for a live gig, marking their first performance together since 1975. The four played a 40-minute set at the Americahal in Apeldoorn on 20 April that was broadcast as part of the Oud van Goud television special. It came about when producer Frans Meijer asked Akkerman to perform a gig with the group, and the fact that the guitarist's manager had not seen the band play in the 1970s. After the group agreed to participate, they rehearsed for four hours in Wijchen several days prior to the concert. Ruiter said they "went very well"; van Leer said it was "fantastic". Following the concert van Leer was keen to formally restart Focus with Akkerman, but the latter resisted. On 17 May 1990 the group, minus Akkerman, mimed a performance of "House of the King" on Service Salon on AVRO-TV. They had planned to perform "Hocus Pocus" with Akkerman, but the guitarist declined to take part. Van Leer and Akkerman shared the stage once more in 1993, performing mostly Akkerman solo songs at the North Sea Jazz Festival. In 1997, van Leer reformed Focus with Cleuver and Ruiter returning on drums and bass, respectively, and 21-year-old Dutch guitarist Menno Gootjes who was studying at the Rotterdam Conservatory. The four made their live debut at the Hockey Club in Mill, Netherlands, on 30 August. They performed additional shows in the Netherlands, but disagreements between van Leer and Ruiter over material intended for an official release effectively split up the group, in 1999. 2001–2009: Reformation, albums, and touring In 2001, van Leer was invited to a try out session by his stepson and bassist Bobby Jacobs, who was rehearsing with guitarist Jan Dumée and drummer Ruben van Roon. Jacobs and van Roon was former members of van Leer's side project Conxi. To van Leer's surprise, he found out the three had been rehearsing Focus songs from the 1970s era. The sessions led to the group's decision to perform live as a Focus tribute band named Hocus Pocus "just for fun, nothing too serious". After some well received gigs in the Netherlands, the group resumed the Focus name and acquired Willem Hubers as their new manager and booking agent which led to several offers to perform worldwide. Focus 8 was recorded between February and July 2002; van Roon left soon after due to personal circumstances. He was replaced by drummer Bert Smaak. Released on Musea Records in late 2002, it received critical praise and was supported with a world tour in 2002 and 2003. In the autumn of 2004, Smaak had left the group and replaced by a returning van der Linden. In July 2006, Dumée was replaced by guitarist Niels van der Steenhoven. This line-up recorded Focus 9 / New Skin, released in September 2006 by Red Bullet Records. 2010–present: Line-up changes, Focus 11 and 50th Anniversary In May 2010, Nike included "Hocus Pocus" as the main theme in its 2010 FIFA World Cup commercial, Write the Future. The advert aired on television worldwide which generated renewed interest in the band and led to "Hocus Pocus" entering the UK Singles Chart at number 57. In late 2010, Gootjes rejoined the band as a replacement to a departing van der Steenhoven. In 2011, American rapper J. Cole sampled "Hocus Pocus" in his song "Blow Up", which is featured in the game MLB 11: The Show. The band released their eleventh studio album Focus X, featuring cover art by Roger Dean, in November 2012. On 14 April 2014, the band released Golden Oldies on their own label, In and Out of Focus Records. It is a collection of re-recorded versions of Focus songs. In 2016, the band released Focus 8.5 / Beyond the Horizon. It is credited to "Focus and Friends featuring Marvio Ciribelli", and was recorded during gaps in their 2005 South American tour with Brazilian musicians. In December 2016, Udo Pannekeet replaced Jacobs on bass. Focus performed at their second Cruise to the Edge event in February 2017, third in 2018, and fourth in 2019. The line-up included Dumée on guitar after Gootjes was too ill to perform. From March to October 2017, Focus toured Europe. In November 2018, Focus released their fourteenth studio album Focus 11 to coincide with their 20-date UK tour. The album was available at each venue which was followed by its full release on 25 January 2019, via Cherry Red Records. In November 2020, a box set containing new remasters of the band's albums from 1970 to 1976, with previously unreleased audio and video material, entitled 50 Years: Anthology 1970–1976, was released by Red Bullet Productions to commemorate the band's fiftieth anniversary. This was followed in June 2021 by the release of Focus 50, a set featuring live material recorded in 2017 in Rio de Janeiro and a disc entitled Completely Focused, containing studio re-recordings of "Focus 1" through "Focus 12". In November 2021, during a UK tour, Focus cancelled all scheduled dates after van Leer contracted COVID-19 in hospital while receiving treatment for an unrelated illness. A new studio album is expected in early 2022. Band members Current members Thijs van Leer – keyboards, flute, vocals (1969–1978, 1990, 1993-1995, 1997–1999, 2001–present) Pierre van der Linden – drums, percussion (1971–1973, 1975, 1990, 2004–present) Menno Gootjes – guitar, backing vocals (1997–1999, 2010–present) Udo Pannekeet – bass (2016–present) Discography Studio albums Focus Plays Focus (1970; also known as In and Out of Focus) Focus II (1971; also known as Moving Waves) Focus 3 (1972) Hamburger Concerto (1974) Mother Focus (1975) Ship of Memories (1977) (studio compilation) Focus con Proby (1978) Focus (1985) (as Jan Akkerman & Thijs Van Leer) Focus 8 (2002) Focus 9 / New Skin (2006) Focus X (2012) Golden Oldies (2014) (studio re-recordings) Focus 8.5 / Beyond the Horizon (2016) The Focus Family Album (2017) (studio outtakes from 2012–2017, plus solo tracks) Focus 11 (2018) Completely Focused (2021) (studio re-recordings) References Sources External links Official band website at FocusTheBand.co.uk Fan website at FocusTributeHomepage, since 1996 Atco Records artists Dutch hard rock musical groups Dutch musical groups Dutch progressive rock groups EMI Records artists Instrumental rock musical groups Musical groups established in 1969 Sire Records artists Symphonic rock groups Musical groups from Amsterdam
false
[ "A book tour is a promotion for a newly published book in which the author tours a region to do bookselling, present to the media, and meet the people who would read the book. Three objectives of any presentation on a book tour are to entertain the audience, serve the interest of whichever institution is hosting the presentation, and to sell books in person at the presentation. Authors have a range of opinions about the effectiveness of book tours.\n\nHigher profile writers sometimes do tours with an escort to help them manage interaction with the audience during presentations.\n\nBook tours have become less common since the 2008 Great Recession.\n\nReferences\n\nBookselling\nPromotion and marketing communications\nTouring performing arts", "F31 is a disability sport classification for seated throwing events (the \"F\" stands for field events, excluding jump events) in disability athletics. The only event this class competes in at the Paralympic Games is the club throw.\n\nDefinition \nThis classification is for disability athletics. The Australian Paralympic Committee defines this classification as being for \"Severe quadriplegia \"\n\nHistory\nThe classification was created by the International Paralympic Committee and has roots in a 2003 attempt to address \"the overall objective to support and co-ordinate the ongoing development of accurate, reliable, consistent and credible sport focused classification systems and their implementation.\"\n\nPerformance and rules\nAthletes in this class used secure frames for throwing events. The frame can be only one of two shapes: A rectangle or square. The sides must be at least long. The seat needs to be lower at the back or level, and it cannot be taller than . This height includes any cushioning or padding. Throwers can have footplates on their frames, but the footplate can only be used for stability. It cannot be used to push off from. Rests can be used on the frame but they need to be present only for safety reasons and to aide in athlete stability. They need to be manufactured from rigid materials that do not move. These materials may include steel or aluminum. The backrest can have cushioning but it cannot be thicker than . It cannot have any movable parts. The frame can also have a holding bar. The holding bar needs to be round or square, and needs to be a single straight piece. Athletes are not required to use a holding bar during their throw, and they can hold on to any part of the frame during their throw. Throwing frames should be inspected prior to the event. This should be done either in the call room or in the competition area. In general, people in this class should be allocated around 3 minutes to set up their chair.\n\nAthletes need to throw from a seated position. They cannot throw from an inclined or other position. Doing so could increase the contribution of their legs and benefit their performance. Their legs must be in contact with the seat during the throw. If an athlete throws from a non-seated position, this is counted as a foul. People in this class cannot put tape on their hands. All straps used to hold the athlete to the frame must be non-elastic. While in the process of throwing, an athlete cannot touch a tie-down for the frame. Because of visibility issues for officials, athletes cannot wear lose clothing and they can ask athletes to tuck in clothing if they feel there is any issue with visibility. In throwing events at the World Championships, athletes get three initial throws. After that, the top 8 throwers get an additional three throws. For other events, organizers generally have the option to use that formula or to give all throwers six consecutive throws.\n\nBecoming classified\nAthletes with cerebral palsy or similar impairments who wish to compete in para-athletics competition must first undergo a classification assessment. During this, they both undergo a bench test of muscle coordination and demonstrate their skills in athletics, such as pushing a racing wheelchair and throwing. A determination is then made as to what classification an athlete should compete in. Classifications may be Confirmed or Review status. For athletes who do not have access to a full classification panel, Provisional classification is available; this is a temporary Review classification, considered an indication of class only, and generally used only in lower levels of competition.\n\nCompetitions\n\nSee also\n\n Para-athletics classification\n Athletics at the Summer Paralympics\n\nReferences\n\nParasports classifications" ]
[ "Focus (band)", "1985-1999: Reunions", "Did the band reunite during this time frame?", "In 1990, the former line-up of van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for the first time since 1975.", "Did anything particular happen during the reunion?", "The four played a 40-minute set at the Americahal in Apeldoorn on 20 April that was broadcast as part of the Oud van Goud television special.", "Was there anything else important happening?", "On 17 May the group, minus Akkerman, mimed a performance of \"House of the King\" on the Service Salon television program on AVRO-TV.", "What were some of their songs?", "Hocus Pocus", "Are there any other songs?", "In the 63 days they spent recording from April to May 1984, around 30 tracks were completed with several additional musicians.", "Did they do any tours during this time frame?", "Focus was released in March 1985 by Vertigo Records which reached number 33 in the Netherlands. The pair followed the album with promotional videos and a local four-date tour." ]
C_f5c93dc410b34900bc07c020bdf85216_0
Are there any other highlights during their reunion?
7
Besides playing Hocus Pocus, were there any other highlights during Focus' reunion?
Focus (band)
In mid-1983, both of Akkerman's managers came up with the idea of the guitarist reuniting with van Leer to record new music, to which Akkerman agreed. Van Leer immediately accepted the invitation, and went on to play the synthesiser on "Headbanger" on Akkerman's 1984 solo album From the Basement. After this initial collaboration, one executive at Phonogram Records suggested the pair work with producer Trevor Horn to release an album of re-recorded Focus tracks, but it was dismissed. In the following 15 months, the two wrote, rehearsed, and recorded new music with several additional musicians with engineer Theo Balijob. Their contract required the two to record as a duet, rather under the name Focus. During the recording, producer Ruud Jacobs was brought in to supervise the project due to the length of time taken to put the tracks down. Balijon claimed Jacobs cut corners and pushed for the strongest tracks to be completed quickly to save production costs, which "unintentionally increased the animosity between Jan and Thijs". In the 63 days they spent recording from April to May 1984, around 30 tracks were completed with several additional musicians. Focus was released in March 1985 by Vertigo Records which reached number 33 in the Netherlands. The pair followed the album with promotional videos and a local four-date tour. In 1988, EMI acquired the rights to the band's back catalogue and reissued their albums on compact disc for the first time. In 1990, the former line-up of van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for the first time since 1975. The four played a 40-minute set at the Americahal in Apeldoorn on 20 April that was broadcast as part of the Oud van Goud television special. It came about when producer Frans Meijer asked Akkerman to perform a gig with the group, and the fact that the guitarist's manager had not seen the band play in the 1970s, so "it was swatting two flies with one hit". The other three agreed at the opportunity, and they rehearsed for four hours in Wijchen several days prior to the concert. Ruiter said they "went very well"; van Leer said it was "fantastic". Following the concert, van Leer was keen to formally restart Focus with Akkerman, though the latter felt different though he was happy to reunite with van der Linden. On 17 May the group, minus Akkerman, mimed a performance of "House of the King" on the Service Salon television program on AVRO-TV. Originally the band were to perform "Hocus Pocus" with Akkerman, but the guitarist declined the offer made by the network, stating he reunited with Focus for Meijer and his manager. The appearance went ahead regardless. Van Leer and Akkerman shared the stage once more in 1993, performing Focus songs at the North Sea Jazz Festival. In 1999, van Leer attempted to reform Focus with Cleuver, Ruiter, and Dutch guitarist Menno Gootjes. They performed several live dates in the Netherlands, but disagreements between van Leer and Ruiter over material intended for release effectively split up the group. CANNOTANSWER
In 1999, van Leer attempted to reform Focus with Cleuver, Ruiter, and Dutch guitarist Menno Gootjes. They performed several live dates in the Netherlands,
Focus are a Dutch progressive rock band formed in Amsterdam in 1969 by keyboardist, vocalist, and flutist Thijs van Leer, drummer Hans Cleuver, bassist Martijn Dresden, and guitarist Jan Akkerman. The band have undergone numerous formations in its history; since December 2016, it has comprised van Leer, drummer Pierre van der Linden, guitarist Menno Gootjes, and bassist Udo Pannekeet. They have sold one million RIAA-certified albums in the United States. After the addition of Akkerman to van Leer's rock trio in late 1969, the band named themselves Focus and initially worked in the band for a Dutch production of the rock musical Hair. Their debut album Focus Plays Focus (1970) gained little attention but the follow-up, Moving Waves (1971), and its lead single "Hocus Pocus", earned the band international recognition. Their success continued with Focus 3 (1972) and Hamburger Concerto (1974), the former containing their second hit single, "Sylvia". After recording two albums with various musicians, including guitarist Phillip Catherine, singer P. J. Proby, and drummers Colin Allen, David Kemper, and Steve Smith, Focus dissolved in 1978. They briefly reunited in 1990 and 1997. In 2002, van Leer reformed Focus with a new line-up that saw van der Linden rejoining the group in 2004. The albums Focus 8 (2002), Focus 9 / New Skin (2006) and Focus X (2012) were well received, and Focus continue to perform worldwide. Their most recent album is Focus 11 (2018). They received a renewed interest after Nike used "Hocus Pocus" in its 2010 World Cup commercial Write The Future. Focus remain one of the most successful and influential rock bands from the Netherlands. History 1969–1970: Formation Focus formed in mid-1969 by keyboardist, vocalist, and flautist Thijs van Leer, who recruited bass guitarist Martijn Dresden and drummer Hans Cleuver after he met them at sessions for the Jazz and Poetry radio program in Hilversum, Netherlands. The three went on to start a new three-piece band initially known as Thijs van Leer and the Rebaptised, playing a set formed mostly of cover songs by Traffic and original material mostly written by van Leer. In November 1969, during rehearsals at the theatre where van Leer performed as part of Ramses Shaffy's theatre group, they were joined by guitarist Jan Akkerman of the rock band Brainbox after Shaffy invited him to play with the trio. Van Leer later recalled the first try out session: "Jan came in and we jammed for hours, and it was really kicking". They then settled on the name Focus for the new band; Akkerman later said, "Focus is a Latin word that is the same in many languages. It means concentration, which is the meaning of what Focus does". Their first live gig as Focus followed at the Bird's Club in Rembrandtplein, and they soon secured a weekly residency playing two shows a night on two days. Early sets were mainly formed of covers, including "I Shall Be Released" by Bob Dylan, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum and "Nights in White Satin" by The Moody Blues, mixed with original material, including van Leer's first song written with the group in mind, the instrumental "Focus". In their search for more work and a steady income, Focus was chosen to play as part of the pit band for the Dutch production of the rock musical Hair produced by Welsh actor Victor Spinetti. They were invited to audition at the Victoria Ballroom, London after Dutch lyricist Lennaert Nijgh suggested them to Del Newman, the musical's director. Cast member Robin Lent claimed the production was suffering and Focus, taking part only for the money, "were also pretty rusty ... but this changed and everybody got into it". The show, launched in December 1969, involved six nightly performances a week and gave them space to rehearse in the afternoons for free and store their equipment. An album of the soundtrack featuring the band was recorded in February 1970 and released soon after by Polydor Records. After Hair ended its run in June 1970, Focus declined an offer to tour the musical across the Netherlands for a year and a half and become a full time band. They had picked up more local gigs and dates across the country by this time, and had performed their first international gigs in Belgium and Spain. Their weekly earnings from gigs, plus their earnings from Hair, had reached 400 guilders though Akkerman recalled the group failed to appreciate its value and were quick to spend it. To manage their finances more carefully, Cleuver was chosen to oversee their earnings and expenses. 1970–1971: Debut album, "House of the King", and line-up change In 1970, Focus reached contact with Hubert Terheggen, director of Radio-Tele-Music Belgium-Holland, a music publishing division of Radio Luxembourg, through connections with Dresden's father. Terheggen enjoyed their music and signed them to his production company, secured deals with music publishers worldwide, and booked studio time for them to record their first album, which took place in January 1970 at Sound Techniques in Chelsea, London during time off from Hair. The result was Focus Plays Focus, better known as its international release title In and Out of Focus, with Terheggen credited as producer and Jerry Boys the engineer. A mix of pop-oriented songs and instrumentals were recorded for the album; van Leer felt the vocals suffered as a result of singing English lyrics with a foreign accent, which inspired the group to become stronger instrumentally. After recording Focus Plays Focus, the band struggled to find a label willing to release it. Their fortunes changed once they had recorded "House of the King", an instrumental by Akkerman with different accounts of its origin. Focus biographer Peet Johnson gives the general consensus that it was inspired by their appearance at the Barbarela de Conjuntos music contest in Majorca on 11 June 1970, where in the final round, their rendition of Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquín Rodrigo ran over the 15-minute time limit, causing their plugs to be pulled. Focus proceeded to retaliate with van Leer playing the flute to the audience as a distraction while the rest of the group trashed the dressing room, after which they were arrested and spent a night in jail. Van Leer claims Akkerman came up with the track the day after their arrest, but the guitarist said he wrote it "on a mountain, with a beautiful Spanish stewardess ... in about five minutes". Focus recorded it without management's permission in one evening at Heemstede, yet it reached staff at Imperial Records who thought it was strong enough as a hit single and signed the group. Focus Plays Focus was released in September 1970, eight months after it was recorded. "Why Dream" and "Happy Nightmare" were released as their first single in the Netherlands. The album saw an American release in October by Sire Records, who had secured the rights to the band's international distribution, with "House of the King" added to the track listing. Prior to signing Focus, Sire founder Seymour Stein had flown to the Netherlands to see the band perform: "Without a doubt they were the most original band I had ever heard". Though the album received little commercial attention it earned Focus their first Edison Award, and the January 1971 release of "House of the King" went to number 10 on the home chart. Late in 1970, Akkerman had become increasingly unhappy with Cleuver and Dresden as a rhythm section and missed his former Brainbox bandmate, drummer Pierre van der Linden. He thought the pair struggled to incorporate their own identity or musicianship into the music. Akkerman then presented an ultimatum to van Leer by threatening to quit unless he asked Cleuver and Dresden to leave. Van Leer refused to part ways with his co-founders and instead told Akkerman to leave, which increased tension between the two as they were often at odds with each other. Cleuver sensed panic from Imperial as it knew "House of the King" would be a hit and wanted van Leer and Akkerman to stay together. The situation reached Terheggen, who asked Yde de Jong to become Focus's manager if he could reunite the band. After six weeks of driving to both members' homes to negotiate, van Leer agreed to fire Cleuver and Dresden and joined Akkerman, van der Linden, and newcomer bassist Cyril Havermans, who had played on Akkerman's second solo album Profile, on the condition that the group continue as Focus. With the new line-up secured, Stein convinced English producer Mike Vernon to witness the band perform in the Netherlands in late 1970. Vernon was not so impressed with their first album, but enjoyed them as a live act: "I couldn't stop talking or thinking about them! They were formidable ... the power of Jan and Thijs alone gave me heart palpitations". Vernon subsequently agreed to produce their next studio album. 1971–1972: Moving Waves and breakthrough Following rehearsals at Groeneveld Castle in Baarn, the band recorded Focus II, better known as its international title Moving Waves, in April and May 1971 at Sound Techniques and Morgan Studios, London. It showcased the band exploring progressive rock with jazz fusion and classical music elements with extended pieces and lengthy solos. Akkerman changed his sound, moving from a Gretsch White Falcon to a 1957 Gibson Les Paul Custom which enabled him to "'sing' on the guitar" to compensate for the group's weak vocals. Its opening track, "Hocus Pocus", became one of the band's best known tracks, featuring a recognisable rock guitar riff and van Leer's yodelling, whistling, and nonsensical vocals that developed through an improvised jam session. Akkerman wrote "Janis" as a tribute to Janis Joplin, and its closer, "Eruption", is a 23-minute multi-part track inspired by the operas Orfeo ed Euridice by Christoph Willibald Gluck and L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, combining rock, jazz and classical influences. Released in October 1971, Moving Waves became the band's international breakthrough, reaching number 2 in the UK, number 4 in the Netherlands, and number 8 in the US. The album awarded Focus with a Conamus Export Award, their second Edison Award, and gold certifications in the three aforementioned countries; the US award was issued in 1973 for selling 500,000 copies. Its success was helped by the release of "Hocus Pocus" as a single, released in the Netherlands in July 1971 which peaked at number 12 and exposed the band to a new audience. It peaked at number 20 in the UK in January 1973. Between the recording and release of Moving Waves, Focus underwent further line-up changes. Shortly before a tour of France in July 1971, van der Linden temporarily left the band after he found out van Leer and Akkerman would get paid more than himself. He was replaced by Akkerman's younger brother, the 19-year-old Jacob "Cocky" Akkerman, before the rift was sorted and van der Linden resumed on the drums at its conclusion. This was followed by Havermans' departure in September 1971, having handed in his notice in late June. He wished to sing on more tracks but was unable to do so within the confines of the group and pursued a solo career. The remaining members would reunite with the bassist in the US in early 1973 to play on his first solo album, Cyril. Focus found their new bassist in Bert Ruiter, who had previously rehearsed with van der Linden prior to a gig in Texel in June 1971, and went on to see the band live around ten times thereafter. He was invited by the drummer to a tryout session, after which he became a full-time member. Focus resumed as a live act in September 1971; among their first gigs with Ruiter was in Rotterdam as part of the European Newport Jazz Festival on 29 October. Towards the end of the year, de Jong organised the band's first UK tour, a 15-gig trek between 15 February–10 March 1972, to increase exposure and record sales. Van Leer felt insecure about the tour at first and expressed the lack of courage from the group when they compared themselves to other popular UK rock acts. They arrived in the UK during a period of nationwide energy shortages, yet de Jong resolved the issue by having Focus tour with their own power generator. Despite receiving little money for their performances, they received radio airplay on BBC Radio 1, earned positive reviews from critics, and gained new fans. Akkerman recalled the attendance of the gigs "were packed because it was probably the only thing that was going on". On 28 May 1972, Focus were booked to play the Lincoln Festival for an estimated 40,000 people, but the band arrived too late for their spot and were unable to reschedule, leaving them furious at the missed opportunity. Two days later, Focus made their British television debut with a pre-recorded performance of excerpts of "Eruption" and "Hocus Pocus" on the BBC music show The Old Grey Whistle Test. In the following month they were voted Brightest Hope by readers of Melody Maker and Best New Talent by readers of New Musical Express. 1972–1974: Focus 3 and Hamburger Concerto The band spent four days at Olympic Studios in Barnes, London in July 1972 recording their third album, Focus 3. They had written a considerable amount of material by this time which led to the decision to make a double album, mostly by van Leer and Akkerman. Focus 3 saw the group produce short and extended pieces, including the three-minute instrumental "Sylvia" and the group devised, 26-minute "Anonymous II" that devotes a solo spot for each member, and the addition of "House of the King". Upon its release in November 1972, the album went to number one in the Netherlands for one week, number 6 in the UK, and number 35 in the US. "Sylvia" was released as a single and reached number 4 in the UK in January 1973, the week after "Hocus Pocus" reached its peak on the same chart. This marked the first time in a decade that a band had two concurrent songs without lyrics in the UK top 40. To support the album, Focus began their largest tour since their formation with spots at the Reading Festival on 12 August 1972 followed by the Melody Maker Poll Awards show at The Oval, London on 30 September. This was followed by an exhaustive 31-date UK tour in 36 days that included their return appearance on The Old Grey Whistle Test on 12 December which caused a surge in interest for their records; host Bob Harris said the show was inundated with calls and letters about the band and Polydor's record plant printed nothing but Focus for ten days in order to meet demand. A performance of "Sylvia" from the Marquee Club, London aired on the BBC's Top of the Pops show. After a sell out UK tour in January 1973 that spanned 24 days, Focus completed their first of three North American tours in 1973 from February to April, supporting various acts including Gentle Giant, Frank Zappa and Yes. Upon their return, they toured the UK once more which included two sold out shows at the Rainbow Theatre, London in May 1973 which aired on BBC television. In early May 1973, Focus returned to Olympic Studios at Vernon's request and recorded a new cut of "Hocus Pocus" titled "Hocus Pocus II", released exclusively for the American market. Later in the month, the band retreated to Chipping Norton Recording Studios, Oxfordshire to record a fourth studio album. Akkerman had expressed a wish to put down "great ideas" he had written over the past year, but extensive touring had left the band physically and mentally exhausted which reduced their eagerness to write and record new group material. Vernon recalled Akkerman's reluctance to take part in the sessions which to him, "led to the final dissolving of the Akkerman/van Leer partnership". Around 40 minutes of songs was eventually recorded, yet the pair refused to co-operate and recorded their parts without the other present. Vernon later called this period as "probably the worst ten days I've ever spent in a studio". As a new studio album could not be released, Vernon took the recording from the Rainbow Theatre concerts and released it as a live album, At the Rainbow. The album went to number 23 in the UK in October 1973. The band went on to receive a Billboard Trendsetter Award for their success after notching up two gold albums, combining sales of one million copies sold in the US, and one gold single. Recordings from the Chipping Norton sessions remained unreleased, rearranged years later, or included in the collection of previously unreleased Focus studio recordings Ship of Memories, in 1976. Upon their return from their second North American tour from June to September 1973, the band returned to Groeneveld Castle for rehearsals. Van der Linden failed to turn up, and the group soon learned of his decision to quit the band. Van Leer claimed rock music was a step in the wrong direction for the drummer, who wished to pursue jazz. Vernon suggested English players Mitch Mitchell, Aynsley Dunbar, and Colin Allen as replacements. Allen was the only one available as his previous group, Stone the Crows had recently broken up. He flew to the Netherlands to meet the band and after a successful try out session, he joined the group. “It all happened pretty quickly ... I fitted in." His arrival came eight days before the band's upcoming North American tour was to start. From January to March 1974, Focus recorded Hamburger Concerto at Olympic Studios with Vernon. Recording was met with growing tension, with van Leer, Ruiter and Allen working together during the day and Akkerman recording his parts in the evening. The album presents further classical music influences, opening with "Delitæ Musicæ", a lute piece Akkerman adapted from Delitæ Musicæ Cantiones by Dutch composer Joachim van den Hove. It closes with a six-part, 20-minute conceptual title track inspired by Akkerman once eating a hamburger while watching cartoons at his hotel room in New York City and was put down in basic form during the 1973 Chipping Norton sessions. Released in May 1974, Hamburger Concerto peaked at number 5 in the Netherlands and number 20 in the UK. Van Leer claimed it was the band's "First proper work. It has strength and purpose", and Vernon later said the album and Moving Waves were the most rewarding on a second listen. Akkerman later felt the album suffered as his position in the group had weakened with van der Linden gone and claimed van Leer "broke up the tandem I had with Pierre rhythmically". A single version of "Harem Scarem" was released but did not chart in the UK. Focus toured Hamburger Concerto from March 1974, starting with dates across Europe, including two in London that were filmed for broadcast on the BBC2 and US television music series In Concert. They began their first tour of Japan and Australia in June, followed by an appearance at the Reading Festival in August and the start of their fourth North American tour in September. They were featured on the nationally syndicated Don Kirshner's Rock Concert show aired live from Long Beach, California, giving the band widespread exposure. At one concert during the US leg, van Leer and Akkerman noticed a young Michael Jackson sitting in the front row. Upon their return, the band completed a 24-day tour of Europe and two compilation albums were released, The Story of Focus and Masters of Rock. 1975–1978: Mother Focus, Focus con Proby, and disbanding In 1975, the band gathered at Morgan Studios, Brussels to rehearse and record Mother Focus. They reunited with Terheggen to oversee the project as executive producer, but the group found themselves without a collective direction; van Leer put its failure down to the band's recording contract which required them to produce one studio album each year, the pressures of touring had affected the songs, and a lack of overall interest from the band. In addition, Akkerman continued to record parts separately, showing no sign of an improvement in his relationship with van Leer. Ruiter became a more prominent songwriter and contributed more ideas than he had on previous Focus albums; he and Allen, after recording "I Need a Bathroom", began to experiment with a drum machine to aid their ideas, but the drummer recalled Akkerman got angry, shouted at him, and tossed the machine across the room. Allen was fired the next day, not knowing who made the decision. He was required to pay what he owed to the group during his tenure which amounted to roughly £10,000, using his earnings from royalties to pay much of it. Despite the problems, he "will always remain proud to have been a member". In May 1975, at the suggestion of their studio engineer, American drummer David Kemper was brought in to complete the rest of the album. Released in October 1975, Mother Focus saw Focus depart from their classical and jazz-influenced sound towards shorter, commercially accessible songs with middle of the road influences and little room for improvisation and jamming they were known for. Akkerman argued with van Leer and Ruiter over the group's change in musical direction, deeming it "typical American music". The album went to number 23 in the UK, and received mostly negative reviews from critics. During plans for their upcoming tour Akkerman refused to perform the album's music, thinking it was not strong enough. To solve the issue, he and van Leer returned to Morgan Studios and put down "Red Sky at Night" and "Avondrood", the latter featuring the two singing in Dutch. After Kemper left when recording was complete, Akkerman wished van der Linden to return, thinking he was responsible "for at least 40%" of the band's success and said he "wouldn't leave Focus" with him on the drums. However, van Leer and Ruiter did not share the same enthusiasm over van der Linden's return. Nevertheless, Focus returned to Australia and Japan in May and June 1975 for a series of sold out dates, yet reviewers of the gigs noticed the lack of cohesiveness than before. During the Scandinavian tour that followed, a gig at the Ullevaal Stadium, Oslo during the Ragnarok Festival was met with Akkerman and van der Linden jamming with "little adherence to the repertoire" that was taken as a protest to playing the same material night after night. Matters turned for the worse after van Leer and Ruiter refused to have van der Linden re-record the drums for a single release of "Crackers", causing the drummer to quit a second time. With van der Linden gone, Focus cancelled a proposed 34-date UK tour and brought back Kemper during subsequent rehearsals after a desperate plea from de Jong. The "House of the King"/"Avondrood" single was released in 1976; the latter track originally appeared on a Dutch compilation album. The two appear in instrumental form on Ship of Memories. In February 1976, two and a half days before the group's arrival to the UK for a tour, van Leer asked Akkerman to leave Focus over his disagreements with the music they were rehearsing and the decision not to have van der Linden return on the drums. Akkerman had grown tired of playing the same songs on stage, "It felt like I was in a straitjacket. There was still a lot of improvisation but even this had become planned". Van Leer said he wished to write "happy" music and move from "our European minor chords". Rather than have the tour cancelled, van Leer decided to proceed, with Kemper having seven days to arrive from the US and learn the new material and Akkerman at home with illness. In the guitarist's absence, van Leer met Belgian guitarist Philip Catherine and the two played a jam session that van Leer enjoyed. Akkerman disliked a song that the group had rehearsed about him soon after, which led to van Leer asking him to leave the next day. After Catherine agreed to step in, the group rehearsed for fifty hours without sleep; van Leer spent the evening prior the first gig mapping out the guitar parts on paper which Catherine followed on stage. Refunds were offered to concert goers as news of Akkerman's departure was not made public until after the tour had begun, which ended in March 1976. Dutch guitarist Eef Albers later joined Focus. A handful of scattered gigs were performed through 1977 and 1978 with American drummer Richard James on call out whenever they secured a booking. After van Leer signed a deal with EMI in April 1976 to record a new Focus album, work did not begin until late 1977 when the band faced potential legal action if they did not release something. Recording took place in December 1977 at EMI Studios in Haarlem, Amsterdam with van Leer, Ruiter, Albers, and a returning Catherine, who was contractually required to perform. Van Leer turned to ideas that he had developed with his wife Roselie during Focus tours, but felt neither his or Ruiter's voices were strong enough to sing on. In the search for a suitable lead vocalist de Jong, a friend of American singer P. J. Proby, rang his Netherlands-based manager and invited him to the studio, thinking his vocals would replace Akkerman's lyrical playing. Van Leer was sceptical as Proby was not familiar with the band and the singer was going through a period of heavy alcohol abuse. Upon Proby's arrival, Albers recalled: "He drank Four Roses whiskey the whole day, so much so that the nearest liquor store was soon sold out ... he always had the intention to run away". Proby interpreted the jazz-rock influenced songs as he felt, attempting "to meet them half-way between jazz and rock". James's drumming was unsuitable for the lighter material, so van Leer brought in future Journey drummer, American Steve Smith. Following the release of Focus con Proby in February 1978, which ignored the UK market, the album received negative reviews. Cleuver, then van Leer's manager, later called it "simply shameful". After a handful of gigs in the Netherlands, which concluded with a show in Terneuzen in August 1978 with James on the drums, van Leer ended Focus. 1983−1999: Reunions In 1983, Akkerman agreed to the idea of reuniting with van Leer and record new music, as suggested by his management. Van Leer immediately accepted the invitation and went on to play the synthesiser on "Headbanger", a track for Akkerman's solo album From the Basement (1984). After this initial collaboration, an executive at Phonogram Records suggested the pair work on an album of re-recorded Focus songs with English producer Trevor Horn, but it fell through. They subsequently signed a recording contract with Vertigo Records, which required the two to record as a duo, as opposed to Focus. During the recording, producer Ruud Jacobs was brought in to supervise due to the length of time taken to finalise tracks. Engineer Theo Balijon claimed Jacobs cut corners and pushed for the strongest tracks to be completed quickly to save production costs, which "unintentionally increased the animosity between Jan and Thijs". Around 30 tracks were completed with several additional musicians in 1984. Focus was released in March 1985 and reached number 33 in the Netherlands. The pair followed the album with promotional videos and a local four-date tour. In 1988, EMI acquired the rights to the band's back catalogue and reissued their albums on CD for the first time. In 1990, van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for a live gig, marking their first performance together since 1975. The four played a 40-minute set at the Americahal in Apeldoorn on 20 April that was broadcast as part of the Oud van Goud television special. It came about when producer Frans Meijer asked Akkerman to perform a gig with the group, and the fact that the guitarist's manager had not seen the band play in the 1970s. After the group agreed to participate, they rehearsed for four hours in Wijchen several days prior to the concert. Ruiter said they "went very well"; van Leer said it was "fantastic". Following the concert van Leer was keen to formally restart Focus with Akkerman, but the latter resisted. On 17 May 1990 the group, minus Akkerman, mimed a performance of "House of the King" on Service Salon on AVRO-TV. They had planned to perform "Hocus Pocus" with Akkerman, but the guitarist declined to take part. Van Leer and Akkerman shared the stage once more in 1993, performing mostly Akkerman solo songs at the North Sea Jazz Festival. In 1997, van Leer reformed Focus with Cleuver and Ruiter returning on drums and bass, respectively, and 21-year-old Dutch guitarist Menno Gootjes who was studying at the Rotterdam Conservatory. The four made their live debut at the Hockey Club in Mill, Netherlands, on 30 August. They performed additional shows in the Netherlands, but disagreements between van Leer and Ruiter over material intended for an official release effectively split up the group, in 1999. 2001–2009: Reformation, albums, and touring In 2001, van Leer was invited to a try out session by his stepson and bassist Bobby Jacobs, who was rehearsing with guitarist Jan Dumée and drummer Ruben van Roon. Jacobs and van Roon was former members of van Leer's side project Conxi. To van Leer's surprise, he found out the three had been rehearsing Focus songs from the 1970s era. The sessions led to the group's decision to perform live as a Focus tribute band named Hocus Pocus "just for fun, nothing too serious". After some well received gigs in the Netherlands, the group resumed the Focus name and acquired Willem Hubers as their new manager and booking agent which led to several offers to perform worldwide. Focus 8 was recorded between February and July 2002; van Roon left soon after due to personal circumstances. He was replaced by drummer Bert Smaak. Released on Musea Records in late 2002, it received critical praise and was supported with a world tour in 2002 and 2003. In the autumn of 2004, Smaak had left the group and replaced by a returning van der Linden. In July 2006, Dumée was replaced by guitarist Niels van der Steenhoven. This line-up recorded Focus 9 / New Skin, released in September 2006 by Red Bullet Records. 2010–present: Line-up changes, Focus 11 and 50th Anniversary In May 2010, Nike included "Hocus Pocus" as the main theme in its 2010 FIFA World Cup commercial, Write the Future. The advert aired on television worldwide which generated renewed interest in the band and led to "Hocus Pocus" entering the UK Singles Chart at number 57. In late 2010, Gootjes rejoined the band as a replacement to a departing van der Steenhoven. In 2011, American rapper J. Cole sampled "Hocus Pocus" in his song "Blow Up", which is featured in the game MLB 11: The Show. The band released their eleventh studio album Focus X, featuring cover art by Roger Dean, in November 2012. On 14 April 2014, the band released Golden Oldies on their own label, In and Out of Focus Records. It is a collection of re-recorded versions of Focus songs. In 2016, the band released Focus 8.5 / Beyond the Horizon. It is credited to "Focus and Friends featuring Marvio Ciribelli", and was recorded during gaps in their 2005 South American tour with Brazilian musicians. In December 2016, Udo Pannekeet replaced Jacobs on bass. Focus performed at their second Cruise to the Edge event in February 2017, third in 2018, and fourth in 2019. The line-up included Dumée on guitar after Gootjes was too ill to perform. From March to October 2017, Focus toured Europe. In November 2018, Focus released their fourteenth studio album Focus 11 to coincide with their 20-date UK tour. The album was available at each venue which was followed by its full release on 25 January 2019, via Cherry Red Records. In November 2020, a box set containing new remasters of the band's albums from 1970 to 1976, with previously unreleased audio and video material, entitled 50 Years: Anthology 1970–1976, was released by Red Bullet Productions to commemorate the band's fiftieth anniversary. This was followed in June 2021 by the release of Focus 50, a set featuring live material recorded in 2017 in Rio de Janeiro and a disc entitled Completely Focused, containing studio re-recordings of "Focus 1" through "Focus 12". In November 2021, during a UK tour, Focus cancelled all scheduled dates after van Leer contracted COVID-19 in hospital while receiving treatment for an unrelated illness. A new studio album is expected in early 2022. Band members Current members Thijs van Leer – keyboards, flute, vocals (1969–1978, 1990, 1993-1995, 1997–1999, 2001–present) Pierre van der Linden – drums, percussion (1971–1973, 1975, 1990, 2004–present) Menno Gootjes – guitar, backing vocals (1997–1999, 2010–present) Udo Pannekeet – bass (2016–present) Discography Studio albums Focus Plays Focus (1970; also known as In and Out of Focus) Focus II (1971; also known as Moving Waves) Focus 3 (1972) Hamburger Concerto (1974) Mother Focus (1975) Ship of Memories (1977) (studio compilation) Focus con Proby (1978) Focus (1985) (as Jan Akkerman & Thijs Van Leer) Focus 8 (2002) Focus 9 / New Skin (2006) Focus X (2012) Golden Oldies (2014) (studio re-recordings) Focus 8.5 / Beyond the Horizon (2016) The Focus Family Album (2017) (studio outtakes from 2012–2017, plus solo tracks) Focus 11 (2018) Completely Focused (2021) (studio re-recordings) References Sources External links Official band website at FocusTheBand.co.uk Fan website at FocusTributeHomepage, since 1996 Atco Records artists Dutch hard rock musical groups Dutch musical groups Dutch progressive rock groups EMI Records artists Instrumental rock musical groups Musical groups established in 1969 Sire Records artists Symphonic rock groups Musical groups from Amsterdam
false
[ "Reunion at Budokan 1981 is a live album by American jazz group the Modern Jazz Quartet featuring performances recorded at their reunion concert at the Nippon Budokan in 1981 and released on the Pablo label.\n\nReception\nThe Allmusic review stated \"the group's two biggest 'hits', \"Bags' Groove\" and \"Django\" are among the highlights of this excellent release\".\n\nTrack listing\nAll compositions by John Lewis except as indicated\n Introduction - 3:01\n \"Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise\" (Oscar Hammerstein II, Sigmund Romberg) - 6:07 \n \"The Cylinder\" (Milt Jackson) - 5:32 \n \"Really True Blues\" (Jackson) - 5:37 \n \"The Golden Striker\" - 5:53 \n \"Odds Against Tomorrow\" - 9:09 \n \"The Jasmin Tree\" - 4:04 \n \"Bags' Groove\" (Jackson) - 5:41 \n \"Django\" - 5:31\n\nPersonnel\nMilt Jackson - vibraphone\nJohn Lewis - piano\nPercy Heath - bass\nConnie Kay - drums\n\nReferences\n\nPablo Records live albums\nModern Jazz Quartet live albums\n1981 live albums\nAlbums recorded at the Nippon Budokan", "The Big Reunion is a British reality-documentary series that began airing on ITV2 on 31 January 2013. The show follows chart-topping groups that have reformed for the show and were big names in the UK pop music scene in the 1990s and early 2000s, and the show follows them through their two weeks of intensive rehearsals before they step back on stage for a comeback performance.\n\nEpisode list\n\nSeries 1 (2013)\n\nThe Big Reunion: On Tour (2013)\n\nThe Big Christmas Reunion (2013)\n\nSeries 2 (2014)\nAll episode directed by:\tMark Drake & Shane Byrne\n\nRatings\n\nSeries 1\nThe first episode was seen by an average of 957,000 UK viewers, though it peaked at 1.2 million, making it ITV2's highest rated new show since 2008. The ratings increased for the second episode, which was watched by over 1.3 million, helping ITV2 finish third in the 9:00pm slot in front of BBC Two, Channel 4 and Channel 5. The overnight audience fell sharply to 670,000 for the third episode (but official figures were 941,000), being beaten in its timeslot by Junior Doctors: Your Life in Their Hands on BBC Three. Ratings continued to slide for episode 4, which overnight viewing figures showed was only watched by 630,000 viewers (less than half the audience of the episode of Celebrity Juice) that followed at 10:00pm, although the official rating was 826,000. The sixth episode brought in 606,000 viewers when up against the series finale of Mayday on BBC One and UEFA Europa League coverage on ITV. 638,000 watched episode 7 and 593,000 watched episode 8. The ratings shot back up for the final episode, as an audience of 974,000 tuned in to watch the highlights and behind-the-scenes action of the Hammersmith Apollo concert. Official ratings show that with the addition of ITV2+1, The Big Reunion averaged over 1 million viewers every week.\n\nThe Big Reunion: On Tour\nThe Big Reunion: On Tour was seen by a relatively low audience compared to its original series. Just 197,000 viewers watched the first episode, whilst episode 2 saw figures dip to 191,000. The third and final episode was seen by an audience of 231,000.\n\nThe Big Christmas Reunion\nRatings for The Big Christmas Reunion are unknown.\n\nSeries 2\nThe first episode of the second series was seen by an audience of 463,000, less than half the audience of the series 1 premiere.\n\nReferences\n\nLists of British non-fiction television series episodes" ]
[ "Focus (band)", "1985-1999: Reunions", "Did the band reunite during this time frame?", "In 1990, the former line-up of van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for the first time since 1975.", "Did anything particular happen during the reunion?", "The four played a 40-minute set at the Americahal in Apeldoorn on 20 April that was broadcast as part of the Oud van Goud television special.", "Was there anything else important happening?", "On 17 May the group, minus Akkerman, mimed a performance of \"House of the King\" on the Service Salon television program on AVRO-TV.", "What were some of their songs?", "Hocus Pocus", "Are there any other songs?", "In the 63 days they spent recording from April to May 1984, around 30 tracks were completed with several additional musicians.", "Did they do any tours during this time frame?", "Focus was released in March 1985 by Vertigo Records which reached number 33 in the Netherlands. The pair followed the album with promotional videos and a local four-date tour.", "Are there any other highlights during their reunion?", "In 1999, van Leer attempted to reform Focus with Cleuver, Ruiter, and Dutch guitarist Menno Gootjes. They performed several live dates in the Netherlands," ]
C_f5c93dc410b34900bc07c020bdf85216_0
Did their band only play in other countries during this time?
8
Besides the Netherlands, did Focus only play in other countries during 1999?
Focus (band)
In mid-1983, both of Akkerman's managers came up with the idea of the guitarist reuniting with van Leer to record new music, to which Akkerman agreed. Van Leer immediately accepted the invitation, and went on to play the synthesiser on "Headbanger" on Akkerman's 1984 solo album From the Basement. After this initial collaboration, one executive at Phonogram Records suggested the pair work with producer Trevor Horn to release an album of re-recorded Focus tracks, but it was dismissed. In the following 15 months, the two wrote, rehearsed, and recorded new music with several additional musicians with engineer Theo Balijob. Their contract required the two to record as a duet, rather under the name Focus. During the recording, producer Ruud Jacobs was brought in to supervise the project due to the length of time taken to put the tracks down. Balijon claimed Jacobs cut corners and pushed for the strongest tracks to be completed quickly to save production costs, which "unintentionally increased the animosity between Jan and Thijs". In the 63 days they spent recording from April to May 1984, around 30 tracks were completed with several additional musicians. Focus was released in March 1985 by Vertigo Records which reached number 33 in the Netherlands. The pair followed the album with promotional videos and a local four-date tour. In 1988, EMI acquired the rights to the band's back catalogue and reissued their albums on compact disc for the first time. In 1990, the former line-up of van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for the first time since 1975. The four played a 40-minute set at the Americahal in Apeldoorn on 20 April that was broadcast as part of the Oud van Goud television special. It came about when producer Frans Meijer asked Akkerman to perform a gig with the group, and the fact that the guitarist's manager had not seen the band play in the 1970s, so "it was swatting two flies with one hit". The other three agreed at the opportunity, and they rehearsed for four hours in Wijchen several days prior to the concert. Ruiter said they "went very well"; van Leer said it was "fantastic". Following the concert, van Leer was keen to formally restart Focus with Akkerman, though the latter felt different though he was happy to reunite with van der Linden. On 17 May the group, minus Akkerman, mimed a performance of "House of the King" on the Service Salon television program on AVRO-TV. Originally the band were to perform "Hocus Pocus" with Akkerman, but the guitarist declined the offer made by the network, stating he reunited with Focus for Meijer and his manager. The appearance went ahead regardless. Van Leer and Akkerman shared the stage once more in 1993, performing Focus songs at the North Sea Jazz Festival. In 1999, van Leer attempted to reform Focus with Cleuver, Ruiter, and Dutch guitarist Menno Gootjes. They performed several live dates in the Netherlands, but disagreements between van Leer and Ruiter over material intended for release effectively split up the group. CANNOTANSWER
CANNOTANSWER
Focus are a Dutch progressive rock band formed in Amsterdam in 1969 by keyboardist, vocalist, and flutist Thijs van Leer, drummer Hans Cleuver, bassist Martijn Dresden, and guitarist Jan Akkerman. The band have undergone numerous formations in its history; since December 2016, it has comprised van Leer, drummer Pierre van der Linden, guitarist Menno Gootjes, and bassist Udo Pannekeet. They have sold one million RIAA-certified albums in the United States. After the addition of Akkerman to van Leer's rock trio in late 1969, the band named themselves Focus and initially worked in the band for a Dutch production of the rock musical Hair. Their debut album Focus Plays Focus (1970) gained little attention but the follow-up, Moving Waves (1971), and its lead single "Hocus Pocus", earned the band international recognition. Their success continued with Focus 3 (1972) and Hamburger Concerto (1974), the former containing their second hit single, "Sylvia". After recording two albums with various musicians, including guitarist Phillip Catherine, singer P. J. Proby, and drummers Colin Allen, David Kemper, and Steve Smith, Focus dissolved in 1978. They briefly reunited in 1990 and 1997. In 2002, van Leer reformed Focus with a new line-up that saw van der Linden rejoining the group in 2004. The albums Focus 8 (2002), Focus 9 / New Skin (2006) and Focus X (2012) were well received, and Focus continue to perform worldwide. Their most recent album is Focus 11 (2018). They received a renewed interest after Nike used "Hocus Pocus" in its 2010 World Cup commercial Write The Future. Focus remain one of the most successful and influential rock bands from the Netherlands. History 1969–1970: Formation Focus formed in mid-1969 by keyboardist, vocalist, and flautist Thijs van Leer, who recruited bass guitarist Martijn Dresden and drummer Hans Cleuver after he met them at sessions for the Jazz and Poetry radio program in Hilversum, Netherlands. The three went on to start a new three-piece band initially known as Thijs van Leer and the Rebaptised, playing a set formed mostly of cover songs by Traffic and original material mostly written by van Leer. In November 1969, during rehearsals at the theatre where van Leer performed as part of Ramses Shaffy's theatre group, they were joined by guitarist Jan Akkerman of the rock band Brainbox after Shaffy invited him to play with the trio. Van Leer later recalled the first try out session: "Jan came in and we jammed for hours, and it was really kicking". They then settled on the name Focus for the new band; Akkerman later said, "Focus is a Latin word that is the same in many languages. It means concentration, which is the meaning of what Focus does". Their first live gig as Focus followed at the Bird's Club in Rembrandtplein, and they soon secured a weekly residency playing two shows a night on two days. Early sets were mainly formed of covers, including "I Shall Be Released" by Bob Dylan, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum and "Nights in White Satin" by The Moody Blues, mixed with original material, including van Leer's first song written with the group in mind, the instrumental "Focus". In their search for more work and a steady income, Focus was chosen to play as part of the pit band for the Dutch production of the rock musical Hair produced by Welsh actor Victor Spinetti. They were invited to audition at the Victoria Ballroom, London after Dutch lyricist Lennaert Nijgh suggested them to Del Newman, the musical's director. Cast member Robin Lent claimed the production was suffering and Focus, taking part only for the money, "were also pretty rusty ... but this changed and everybody got into it". The show, launched in December 1969, involved six nightly performances a week and gave them space to rehearse in the afternoons for free and store their equipment. An album of the soundtrack featuring the band was recorded in February 1970 and released soon after by Polydor Records. After Hair ended its run in June 1970, Focus declined an offer to tour the musical across the Netherlands for a year and a half and become a full time band. They had picked up more local gigs and dates across the country by this time, and had performed their first international gigs in Belgium and Spain. Their weekly earnings from gigs, plus their earnings from Hair, had reached 400 guilders though Akkerman recalled the group failed to appreciate its value and were quick to spend it. To manage their finances more carefully, Cleuver was chosen to oversee their earnings and expenses. 1970–1971: Debut album, "House of the King", and line-up change In 1970, Focus reached contact with Hubert Terheggen, director of Radio-Tele-Music Belgium-Holland, a music publishing division of Radio Luxembourg, through connections with Dresden's father. Terheggen enjoyed their music and signed them to his production company, secured deals with music publishers worldwide, and booked studio time for them to record their first album, which took place in January 1970 at Sound Techniques in Chelsea, London during time off from Hair. The result was Focus Plays Focus, better known as its international release title In and Out of Focus, with Terheggen credited as producer and Jerry Boys the engineer. A mix of pop-oriented songs and instrumentals were recorded for the album; van Leer felt the vocals suffered as a result of singing English lyrics with a foreign accent, which inspired the group to become stronger instrumentally. After recording Focus Plays Focus, the band struggled to find a label willing to release it. Their fortunes changed once they had recorded "House of the King", an instrumental by Akkerman with different accounts of its origin. Focus biographer Peet Johnson gives the general consensus that it was inspired by their appearance at the Barbarela de Conjuntos music contest in Majorca on 11 June 1970, where in the final round, their rendition of Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquín Rodrigo ran over the 15-minute time limit, causing their plugs to be pulled. Focus proceeded to retaliate with van Leer playing the flute to the audience as a distraction while the rest of the group trashed the dressing room, after which they were arrested and spent a night in jail. Van Leer claims Akkerman came up with the track the day after their arrest, but the guitarist said he wrote it "on a mountain, with a beautiful Spanish stewardess ... in about five minutes". Focus recorded it without management's permission in one evening at Heemstede, yet it reached staff at Imperial Records who thought it was strong enough as a hit single and signed the group. Focus Plays Focus was released in September 1970, eight months after it was recorded. "Why Dream" and "Happy Nightmare" were released as their first single in the Netherlands. The album saw an American release in October by Sire Records, who had secured the rights to the band's international distribution, with "House of the King" added to the track listing. Prior to signing Focus, Sire founder Seymour Stein had flown to the Netherlands to see the band perform: "Without a doubt they were the most original band I had ever heard". Though the album received little commercial attention it earned Focus their first Edison Award, and the January 1971 release of "House of the King" went to number 10 on the home chart. Late in 1970, Akkerman had become increasingly unhappy with Cleuver and Dresden as a rhythm section and missed his former Brainbox bandmate, drummer Pierre van der Linden. He thought the pair struggled to incorporate their own identity or musicianship into the music. Akkerman then presented an ultimatum to van Leer by threatening to quit unless he asked Cleuver and Dresden to leave. Van Leer refused to part ways with his co-founders and instead told Akkerman to leave, which increased tension between the two as they were often at odds with each other. Cleuver sensed panic from Imperial as it knew "House of the King" would be a hit and wanted van Leer and Akkerman to stay together. The situation reached Terheggen, who asked Yde de Jong to become Focus's manager if he could reunite the band. After six weeks of driving to both members' homes to negotiate, van Leer agreed to fire Cleuver and Dresden and joined Akkerman, van der Linden, and newcomer bassist Cyril Havermans, who had played on Akkerman's second solo album Profile, on the condition that the group continue as Focus. With the new line-up secured, Stein convinced English producer Mike Vernon to witness the band perform in the Netherlands in late 1970. Vernon was not so impressed with their first album, but enjoyed them as a live act: "I couldn't stop talking or thinking about them! They were formidable ... the power of Jan and Thijs alone gave me heart palpitations". Vernon subsequently agreed to produce their next studio album. 1971–1972: Moving Waves and breakthrough Following rehearsals at Groeneveld Castle in Baarn, the band recorded Focus II, better known as its international title Moving Waves, in April and May 1971 at Sound Techniques and Morgan Studios, London. It showcased the band exploring progressive rock with jazz fusion and classical music elements with extended pieces and lengthy solos. Akkerman changed his sound, moving from a Gretsch White Falcon to a 1957 Gibson Les Paul Custom which enabled him to "'sing' on the guitar" to compensate for the group's weak vocals. Its opening track, "Hocus Pocus", became one of the band's best known tracks, featuring a recognisable rock guitar riff and van Leer's yodelling, whistling, and nonsensical vocals that developed through an improvised jam session. Akkerman wrote "Janis" as a tribute to Janis Joplin, and its closer, "Eruption", is a 23-minute multi-part track inspired by the operas Orfeo ed Euridice by Christoph Willibald Gluck and L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, combining rock, jazz and classical influences. Released in October 1971, Moving Waves became the band's international breakthrough, reaching number 2 in the UK, number 4 in the Netherlands, and number 8 in the US. The album awarded Focus with a Conamus Export Award, their second Edison Award, and gold certifications in the three aforementioned countries; the US award was issued in 1973 for selling 500,000 copies. Its success was helped by the release of "Hocus Pocus" as a single, released in the Netherlands in July 1971 which peaked at number 12 and exposed the band to a new audience. It peaked at number 20 in the UK in January 1973. Between the recording and release of Moving Waves, Focus underwent further line-up changes. Shortly before a tour of France in July 1971, van der Linden temporarily left the band after he found out van Leer and Akkerman would get paid more than himself. He was replaced by Akkerman's younger brother, the 19-year-old Jacob "Cocky" Akkerman, before the rift was sorted and van der Linden resumed on the drums at its conclusion. This was followed by Havermans' departure in September 1971, having handed in his notice in late June. He wished to sing on more tracks but was unable to do so within the confines of the group and pursued a solo career. The remaining members would reunite with the bassist in the US in early 1973 to play on his first solo album, Cyril. Focus found their new bassist in Bert Ruiter, who had previously rehearsed with van der Linden prior to a gig in Texel in June 1971, and went on to see the band live around ten times thereafter. He was invited by the drummer to a tryout session, after which he became a full-time member. Focus resumed as a live act in September 1971; among their first gigs with Ruiter was in Rotterdam as part of the European Newport Jazz Festival on 29 October. Towards the end of the year, de Jong organised the band's first UK tour, a 15-gig trek between 15 February–10 March 1972, to increase exposure and record sales. Van Leer felt insecure about the tour at first and expressed the lack of courage from the group when they compared themselves to other popular UK rock acts. They arrived in the UK during a period of nationwide energy shortages, yet de Jong resolved the issue by having Focus tour with their own power generator. Despite receiving little money for their performances, they received radio airplay on BBC Radio 1, earned positive reviews from critics, and gained new fans. Akkerman recalled the attendance of the gigs "were packed because it was probably the only thing that was going on". On 28 May 1972, Focus were booked to play the Lincoln Festival for an estimated 40,000 people, but the band arrived too late for their spot and were unable to reschedule, leaving them furious at the missed opportunity. Two days later, Focus made their British television debut with a pre-recorded performance of excerpts of "Eruption" and "Hocus Pocus" on the BBC music show The Old Grey Whistle Test. In the following month they were voted Brightest Hope by readers of Melody Maker and Best New Talent by readers of New Musical Express. 1972–1974: Focus 3 and Hamburger Concerto The band spent four days at Olympic Studios in Barnes, London in July 1972 recording their third album, Focus 3. They had written a considerable amount of material by this time which led to the decision to make a double album, mostly by van Leer and Akkerman. Focus 3 saw the group produce short and extended pieces, including the three-minute instrumental "Sylvia" and the group devised, 26-minute "Anonymous II" that devotes a solo spot for each member, and the addition of "House of the King". Upon its release in November 1972, the album went to number one in the Netherlands for one week, number 6 in the UK, and number 35 in the US. "Sylvia" was released as a single and reached number 4 in the UK in January 1973, the week after "Hocus Pocus" reached its peak on the same chart. This marked the first time in a decade that a band had two concurrent songs without lyrics in the UK top 40. To support the album, Focus began their largest tour since their formation with spots at the Reading Festival on 12 August 1972 followed by the Melody Maker Poll Awards show at The Oval, London on 30 September. This was followed by an exhaustive 31-date UK tour in 36 days that included their return appearance on The Old Grey Whistle Test on 12 December which caused a surge in interest for their records; host Bob Harris said the show was inundated with calls and letters about the band and Polydor's record plant printed nothing but Focus for ten days in order to meet demand. A performance of "Sylvia" from the Marquee Club, London aired on the BBC's Top of the Pops show. After a sell out UK tour in January 1973 that spanned 24 days, Focus completed their first of three North American tours in 1973 from February to April, supporting various acts including Gentle Giant, Frank Zappa and Yes. Upon their return, they toured the UK once more which included two sold out shows at the Rainbow Theatre, London in May 1973 which aired on BBC television. In early May 1973, Focus returned to Olympic Studios at Vernon's request and recorded a new cut of "Hocus Pocus" titled "Hocus Pocus II", released exclusively for the American market. Later in the month, the band retreated to Chipping Norton Recording Studios, Oxfordshire to record a fourth studio album. Akkerman had expressed a wish to put down "great ideas" he had written over the past year, but extensive touring had left the band physically and mentally exhausted which reduced their eagerness to write and record new group material. Vernon recalled Akkerman's reluctance to take part in the sessions which to him, "led to the final dissolving of the Akkerman/van Leer partnership". Around 40 minutes of songs was eventually recorded, yet the pair refused to co-operate and recorded their parts without the other present. Vernon later called this period as "probably the worst ten days I've ever spent in a studio". As a new studio album could not be released, Vernon took the recording from the Rainbow Theatre concerts and released it as a live album, At the Rainbow. The album went to number 23 in the UK in October 1973. The band went on to receive a Billboard Trendsetter Award for their success after notching up two gold albums, combining sales of one million copies sold in the US, and one gold single. Recordings from the Chipping Norton sessions remained unreleased, rearranged years later, or included in the collection of previously unreleased Focus studio recordings Ship of Memories, in 1976. Upon their return from their second North American tour from June to September 1973, the band returned to Groeneveld Castle for rehearsals. Van der Linden failed to turn up, and the group soon learned of his decision to quit the band. Van Leer claimed rock music was a step in the wrong direction for the drummer, who wished to pursue jazz. Vernon suggested English players Mitch Mitchell, Aynsley Dunbar, and Colin Allen as replacements. Allen was the only one available as his previous group, Stone the Crows had recently broken up. He flew to the Netherlands to meet the band and after a successful try out session, he joined the group. “It all happened pretty quickly ... I fitted in." His arrival came eight days before the band's upcoming North American tour was to start. From January to March 1974, Focus recorded Hamburger Concerto at Olympic Studios with Vernon. Recording was met with growing tension, with van Leer, Ruiter and Allen working together during the day and Akkerman recording his parts in the evening. The album presents further classical music influences, opening with "Delitæ Musicæ", a lute piece Akkerman adapted from Delitæ Musicæ Cantiones by Dutch composer Joachim van den Hove. It closes with a six-part, 20-minute conceptual title track inspired by Akkerman once eating a hamburger while watching cartoons at his hotel room in New York City and was put down in basic form during the 1973 Chipping Norton sessions. Released in May 1974, Hamburger Concerto peaked at number 5 in the Netherlands and number 20 in the UK. Van Leer claimed it was the band's "First proper work. It has strength and purpose", and Vernon later said the album and Moving Waves were the most rewarding on a second listen. Akkerman later felt the album suffered as his position in the group had weakened with van der Linden gone and claimed van Leer "broke up the tandem I had with Pierre rhythmically". A single version of "Harem Scarem" was released but did not chart in the UK. Focus toured Hamburger Concerto from March 1974, starting with dates across Europe, including two in London that were filmed for broadcast on the BBC2 and US television music series In Concert. They began their first tour of Japan and Australia in June, followed by an appearance at the Reading Festival in August and the start of their fourth North American tour in September. They were featured on the nationally syndicated Don Kirshner's Rock Concert show aired live from Long Beach, California, giving the band widespread exposure. At one concert during the US leg, van Leer and Akkerman noticed a young Michael Jackson sitting in the front row. Upon their return, the band completed a 24-day tour of Europe and two compilation albums were released, The Story of Focus and Masters of Rock. 1975–1978: Mother Focus, Focus con Proby, and disbanding In 1975, the band gathered at Morgan Studios, Brussels to rehearse and record Mother Focus. They reunited with Terheggen to oversee the project as executive producer, but the group found themselves without a collective direction; van Leer put its failure down to the band's recording contract which required them to produce one studio album each year, the pressures of touring had affected the songs, and a lack of overall interest from the band. In addition, Akkerman continued to record parts separately, showing no sign of an improvement in his relationship with van Leer. Ruiter became a more prominent songwriter and contributed more ideas than he had on previous Focus albums; he and Allen, after recording "I Need a Bathroom", began to experiment with a drum machine to aid their ideas, but the drummer recalled Akkerman got angry, shouted at him, and tossed the machine across the room. Allen was fired the next day, not knowing who made the decision. He was required to pay what he owed to the group during his tenure which amounted to roughly £10,000, using his earnings from royalties to pay much of it. Despite the problems, he "will always remain proud to have been a member". In May 1975, at the suggestion of their studio engineer, American drummer David Kemper was brought in to complete the rest of the album. Released in October 1975, Mother Focus saw Focus depart from their classical and jazz-influenced sound towards shorter, commercially accessible songs with middle of the road influences and little room for improvisation and jamming they were known for. Akkerman argued with van Leer and Ruiter over the group's change in musical direction, deeming it "typical American music". The album went to number 23 in the UK, and received mostly negative reviews from critics. During plans for their upcoming tour Akkerman refused to perform the album's music, thinking it was not strong enough. To solve the issue, he and van Leer returned to Morgan Studios and put down "Red Sky at Night" and "Avondrood", the latter featuring the two singing in Dutch. After Kemper left when recording was complete, Akkerman wished van der Linden to return, thinking he was responsible "for at least 40%" of the band's success and said he "wouldn't leave Focus" with him on the drums. However, van Leer and Ruiter did not share the same enthusiasm over van der Linden's return. Nevertheless, Focus returned to Australia and Japan in May and June 1975 for a series of sold out dates, yet reviewers of the gigs noticed the lack of cohesiveness than before. During the Scandinavian tour that followed, a gig at the Ullevaal Stadium, Oslo during the Ragnarok Festival was met with Akkerman and van der Linden jamming with "little adherence to the repertoire" that was taken as a protest to playing the same material night after night. Matters turned for the worse after van Leer and Ruiter refused to have van der Linden re-record the drums for a single release of "Crackers", causing the drummer to quit a second time. With van der Linden gone, Focus cancelled a proposed 34-date UK tour and brought back Kemper during subsequent rehearsals after a desperate plea from de Jong. The "House of the King"/"Avondrood" single was released in 1976; the latter track originally appeared on a Dutch compilation album. The two appear in instrumental form on Ship of Memories. In February 1976, two and a half days before the group's arrival to the UK for a tour, van Leer asked Akkerman to leave Focus over his disagreements with the music they were rehearsing and the decision not to have van der Linden return on the drums. Akkerman had grown tired of playing the same songs on stage, "It felt like I was in a straitjacket. There was still a lot of improvisation but even this had become planned". Van Leer said he wished to write "happy" music and move from "our European minor chords". Rather than have the tour cancelled, van Leer decided to proceed, with Kemper having seven days to arrive from the US and learn the new material and Akkerman at home with illness. In the guitarist's absence, van Leer met Belgian guitarist Philip Catherine and the two played a jam session that van Leer enjoyed. Akkerman disliked a song that the group had rehearsed about him soon after, which led to van Leer asking him to leave the next day. After Catherine agreed to step in, the group rehearsed for fifty hours without sleep; van Leer spent the evening prior the first gig mapping out the guitar parts on paper which Catherine followed on stage. Refunds were offered to concert goers as news of Akkerman's departure was not made public until after the tour had begun, which ended in March 1976. Dutch guitarist Eef Albers later joined Focus. A handful of scattered gigs were performed through 1977 and 1978 with American drummer Richard James on call out whenever they secured a booking. After van Leer signed a deal with EMI in April 1976 to record a new Focus album, work did not begin until late 1977 when the band faced potential legal action if they did not release something. Recording took place in December 1977 at EMI Studios in Haarlem, Amsterdam with van Leer, Ruiter, Albers, and a returning Catherine, who was contractually required to perform. Van Leer turned to ideas that he had developed with his wife Roselie during Focus tours, but felt neither his or Ruiter's voices were strong enough to sing on. In the search for a suitable lead vocalist de Jong, a friend of American singer P. J. Proby, rang his Netherlands-based manager and invited him to the studio, thinking his vocals would replace Akkerman's lyrical playing. Van Leer was sceptical as Proby was not familiar with the band and the singer was going through a period of heavy alcohol abuse. Upon Proby's arrival, Albers recalled: "He drank Four Roses whiskey the whole day, so much so that the nearest liquor store was soon sold out ... he always had the intention to run away". Proby interpreted the jazz-rock influenced songs as he felt, attempting "to meet them half-way between jazz and rock". James's drumming was unsuitable for the lighter material, so van Leer brought in future Journey drummer, American Steve Smith. Following the release of Focus con Proby in February 1978, which ignored the UK market, the album received negative reviews. Cleuver, then van Leer's manager, later called it "simply shameful". After a handful of gigs in the Netherlands, which concluded with a show in Terneuzen in August 1978 with James on the drums, van Leer ended Focus. 1983−1999: Reunions In 1983, Akkerman agreed to the idea of reuniting with van Leer and record new music, as suggested by his management. Van Leer immediately accepted the invitation and went on to play the synthesiser on "Headbanger", a track for Akkerman's solo album From the Basement (1984). After this initial collaboration, an executive at Phonogram Records suggested the pair work on an album of re-recorded Focus songs with English producer Trevor Horn, but it fell through. They subsequently signed a recording contract with Vertigo Records, which required the two to record as a duo, as opposed to Focus. During the recording, producer Ruud Jacobs was brought in to supervise due to the length of time taken to finalise tracks. Engineer Theo Balijon claimed Jacobs cut corners and pushed for the strongest tracks to be completed quickly to save production costs, which "unintentionally increased the animosity between Jan and Thijs". Around 30 tracks were completed with several additional musicians in 1984. Focus was released in March 1985 and reached number 33 in the Netherlands. The pair followed the album with promotional videos and a local four-date tour. In 1988, EMI acquired the rights to the band's back catalogue and reissued their albums on CD for the first time. In 1990, van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for a live gig, marking their first performance together since 1975. The four played a 40-minute set at the Americahal in Apeldoorn on 20 April that was broadcast as part of the Oud van Goud television special. It came about when producer Frans Meijer asked Akkerman to perform a gig with the group, and the fact that the guitarist's manager had not seen the band play in the 1970s. After the group agreed to participate, they rehearsed for four hours in Wijchen several days prior to the concert. Ruiter said they "went very well"; van Leer said it was "fantastic". Following the concert van Leer was keen to formally restart Focus with Akkerman, but the latter resisted. On 17 May 1990 the group, minus Akkerman, mimed a performance of "House of the King" on Service Salon on AVRO-TV. They had planned to perform "Hocus Pocus" with Akkerman, but the guitarist declined to take part. Van Leer and Akkerman shared the stage once more in 1993, performing mostly Akkerman solo songs at the North Sea Jazz Festival. In 1997, van Leer reformed Focus with Cleuver and Ruiter returning on drums and bass, respectively, and 21-year-old Dutch guitarist Menno Gootjes who was studying at the Rotterdam Conservatory. The four made their live debut at the Hockey Club in Mill, Netherlands, on 30 August. They performed additional shows in the Netherlands, but disagreements between van Leer and Ruiter over material intended for an official release effectively split up the group, in 1999. 2001–2009: Reformation, albums, and touring In 2001, van Leer was invited to a try out session by his stepson and bassist Bobby Jacobs, who was rehearsing with guitarist Jan Dumée and drummer Ruben van Roon. Jacobs and van Roon was former members of van Leer's side project Conxi. To van Leer's surprise, he found out the three had been rehearsing Focus songs from the 1970s era. The sessions led to the group's decision to perform live as a Focus tribute band named Hocus Pocus "just for fun, nothing too serious". After some well received gigs in the Netherlands, the group resumed the Focus name and acquired Willem Hubers as their new manager and booking agent which led to several offers to perform worldwide. Focus 8 was recorded between February and July 2002; van Roon left soon after due to personal circumstances. He was replaced by drummer Bert Smaak. Released on Musea Records in late 2002, it received critical praise and was supported with a world tour in 2002 and 2003. In the autumn of 2004, Smaak had left the group and replaced by a returning van der Linden. In July 2006, Dumée was replaced by guitarist Niels van der Steenhoven. This line-up recorded Focus 9 / New Skin, released in September 2006 by Red Bullet Records. 2010–present: Line-up changes, Focus 11 and 50th Anniversary In May 2010, Nike included "Hocus Pocus" as the main theme in its 2010 FIFA World Cup commercial, Write the Future. The advert aired on television worldwide which generated renewed interest in the band and led to "Hocus Pocus" entering the UK Singles Chart at number 57. In late 2010, Gootjes rejoined the band as a replacement to a departing van der Steenhoven. In 2011, American rapper J. Cole sampled "Hocus Pocus" in his song "Blow Up", which is featured in the game MLB 11: The Show. The band released their eleventh studio album Focus X, featuring cover art by Roger Dean, in November 2012. On 14 April 2014, the band released Golden Oldies on their own label, In and Out of Focus Records. It is a collection of re-recorded versions of Focus songs. In 2016, the band released Focus 8.5 / Beyond the Horizon. It is credited to "Focus and Friends featuring Marvio Ciribelli", and was recorded during gaps in their 2005 South American tour with Brazilian musicians. In December 2016, Udo Pannekeet replaced Jacobs on bass. Focus performed at their second Cruise to the Edge event in February 2017, third in 2018, and fourth in 2019. The line-up included Dumée on guitar after Gootjes was too ill to perform. From March to October 2017, Focus toured Europe. In November 2018, Focus released their fourteenth studio album Focus 11 to coincide with their 20-date UK tour. The album was available at each venue which was followed by its full release on 25 January 2019, via Cherry Red Records. In November 2020, a box set containing new remasters of the band's albums from 1970 to 1976, with previously unreleased audio and video material, entitled 50 Years: Anthology 1970–1976, was released by Red Bullet Productions to commemorate the band's fiftieth anniversary. This was followed in June 2021 by the release of Focus 50, a set featuring live material recorded in 2017 in Rio de Janeiro and a disc entitled Completely Focused, containing studio re-recordings of "Focus 1" through "Focus 12". In November 2021, during a UK tour, Focus cancelled all scheduled dates after van Leer contracted COVID-19 in hospital while receiving treatment for an unrelated illness. A new studio album is expected in early 2022. Band members Current members Thijs van Leer – keyboards, flute, vocals (1969–1978, 1990, 1993-1995, 1997–1999, 2001–present) Pierre van der Linden – drums, percussion (1971–1973, 1975, 1990, 2004–present) Menno Gootjes – guitar, backing vocals (1997–1999, 2010–present) Udo Pannekeet – bass (2016–present) Discography Studio albums Focus Plays Focus (1970; also known as In and Out of Focus) Focus II (1971; also known as Moving Waves) Focus 3 (1972) Hamburger Concerto (1974) Mother Focus (1975) Ship of Memories (1977) (studio compilation) Focus con Proby (1978) Focus (1985) (as Jan Akkerman & Thijs Van Leer) Focus 8 (2002) Focus 9 / New Skin (2006) Focus X (2012) Golden Oldies (2014) (studio re-recordings) Focus 8.5 / Beyond the Horizon (2016) The Focus Family Album (2017) (studio outtakes from 2012–2017, plus solo tracks) Focus 11 (2018) Completely Focused (2021) (studio re-recordings) References Sources External links Official band website at FocusTheBand.co.uk Fan website at FocusTributeHomepage, since 1996 Atco Records artists Dutch hard rock musical groups Dutch musical groups Dutch progressive rock groups EMI Records artists Instrumental rock musical groups Musical groups established in 1969 Sire Records artists Symphonic rock groups Musical groups from Amsterdam
false
[ "Plommons were a Swedish, all-female pop rock band formed in 1964. They are considered the first female rock group from Sweden. During their recording career, the band released three singles, and covered several popular songs from the United States before breaking up in 1967. The band sporadically reform, the first reunion being in 1985.\n\nHistory\n\nIn 1964, the band was formed by coincidence when Maud \"Måddan\" Lindqvist (born 1946) met with Eva \"Plommon\" Håkansson (later Soelberg, born 1947) to give guitar lessons in Sundbyberg. Lindqvist knew only three chords at the time and Soelberg was just starting to play. The two met a local news reporter who was looking for a musical group to write an article on. When asked if the two were involved in a band, Lindqvist replied \"Yes sir, you have the honor to meet Sweden's first female pop band\". Lindqvist and Håkansson quickly needed to form a band so they contacted Eva Kroon (later Kroon-Bisenius, born 1947) to play the piano. The article was published and the group decided they needed to take advantage of the exposure. Lindqvist became lead guitarist and lead singer, Håkansson played bass guitar, Kroon switched to drums, and they choose to be known as Plommons. Before their first gig, they added the last piece of the lineup, Ingrid \"Ninni\" Granelli (born 1946), to play keyboards.\n\nThe group learned three songs for their first gig, a battle of the bands contest in Nalen. When the band won the contest, they developed a larger repertoire and played in more concerts. They played at prominent Swedish venues like the Solliden stage at Skansen, and their big breakthrough at the Gröna Lund Hip Pop Show. The pop show resulted in signing a manager, who also managed the Tages and initiated a national tour in the summer of 1965. They were the opening for prominent Swedish acts, even for the British rock band, The Who at Hovet. In November of the same year, they made an appearance on the television program, Drop-in, which was followed by studio recording. The band recorded three singles, the first being \"Last Train to Liverpool\" backed with \"Hungry for Love\". Linqvist composed \"Last Train to Liverpool\" and the rest of the band's original material. Despite the lack of commercial success, the band expanded their touring schedule to other countries including Finland, Denmark, and Germany. For two years, the band conducted successful tours, but in the Summer of 1967 the band disbanded as Håkansson and Kroon left for college.\n\nLindqvist formed a new band called the Sunny Girls who she toured with in the United States. They had long-lasting popularity in Las Vegas, and are the only Swedish pop band to perform in Las Vegas. The Plommons reformed for the first time in 1985 to play on the show, King Creole. The band continues to have reunion tours with the original lineup on several other instances.\n\nReferences\n\nSwedish pop rock music groups\nSwedish rock music groups\nMusical groups from Stockholm County\nMusical groups established in 1964\nMusical groups disestablished in 1967", "American rock band The Rapture has released four studio albums, two extended plays, and thirteen singles.\n\nThe band first released their mini-album Mirror in 1999 under Gravity Records. This project did not chart in any countries. In 2002, the band released the song \"House of Jealous Lovers\", which originally didn't chart in any countries, but due to a re-recorded re-release of the song in 2003, it peaked at 27 on the UK Singles Chart. Later that year, the Rapture released their debut full-length studio album Echoes under DFA Records. After parting ways with the DFA, the band released their second full-length studio album, titled Pieces of the People We Love, in 2006. After a short hiatus, the band signed with DFA again and released In the Grace of Your Love in 2011. The Rapture officially disbanded in 2014.\n\nAlbums\n\nStudio albums\n\nMini-album\n\nExtended plays\n\nSingles\n\nSplit singles\n\nMusic videos\n\nOther appearances\n\nReferences\n\nDiscographies of American artists\nRock music group discographies" ]
[ "Focus (band)", "1985-1999: Reunions", "Did the band reunite during this time frame?", "In 1990, the former line-up of van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for the first time since 1975.", "Did anything particular happen during the reunion?", "The four played a 40-minute set at the Americahal in Apeldoorn on 20 April that was broadcast as part of the Oud van Goud television special.", "Was there anything else important happening?", "On 17 May the group, minus Akkerman, mimed a performance of \"House of the King\" on the Service Salon television program on AVRO-TV.", "What were some of their songs?", "Hocus Pocus", "Are there any other songs?", "In the 63 days they spent recording from April to May 1984, around 30 tracks were completed with several additional musicians.", "Did they do any tours during this time frame?", "Focus was released in March 1985 by Vertigo Records which reached number 33 in the Netherlands. The pair followed the album with promotional videos and a local four-date tour.", "Are there any other highlights during their reunion?", "In 1999, van Leer attempted to reform Focus with Cleuver, Ruiter, and Dutch guitarist Menno Gootjes. They performed several live dates in the Netherlands,", "Did their band only play in other countries during this time?", "I don't know." ]
C_f5c93dc410b34900bc07c020bdf85216_0
Did anything happen that ended their reunion in 1999?
9
Did anything happen that ended Focus' reunion in 1999?
Focus (band)
In mid-1983, both of Akkerman's managers came up with the idea of the guitarist reuniting with van Leer to record new music, to which Akkerman agreed. Van Leer immediately accepted the invitation, and went on to play the synthesiser on "Headbanger" on Akkerman's 1984 solo album From the Basement. After this initial collaboration, one executive at Phonogram Records suggested the pair work with producer Trevor Horn to release an album of re-recorded Focus tracks, but it was dismissed. In the following 15 months, the two wrote, rehearsed, and recorded new music with several additional musicians with engineer Theo Balijob. Their contract required the two to record as a duet, rather under the name Focus. During the recording, producer Ruud Jacobs was brought in to supervise the project due to the length of time taken to put the tracks down. Balijon claimed Jacobs cut corners and pushed for the strongest tracks to be completed quickly to save production costs, which "unintentionally increased the animosity between Jan and Thijs". In the 63 days they spent recording from April to May 1984, around 30 tracks were completed with several additional musicians. Focus was released in March 1985 by Vertigo Records which reached number 33 in the Netherlands. The pair followed the album with promotional videos and a local four-date tour. In 1988, EMI acquired the rights to the band's back catalogue and reissued their albums on compact disc for the first time. In 1990, the former line-up of van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for the first time since 1975. The four played a 40-minute set at the Americahal in Apeldoorn on 20 April that was broadcast as part of the Oud van Goud television special. It came about when producer Frans Meijer asked Akkerman to perform a gig with the group, and the fact that the guitarist's manager had not seen the band play in the 1970s, so "it was swatting two flies with one hit". The other three agreed at the opportunity, and they rehearsed for four hours in Wijchen several days prior to the concert. Ruiter said they "went very well"; van Leer said it was "fantastic". Following the concert, van Leer was keen to formally restart Focus with Akkerman, though the latter felt different though he was happy to reunite with van der Linden. On 17 May the group, minus Akkerman, mimed a performance of "House of the King" on the Service Salon television program on AVRO-TV. Originally the band were to perform "Hocus Pocus" with Akkerman, but the guitarist declined the offer made by the network, stating he reunited with Focus for Meijer and his manager. The appearance went ahead regardless. Van Leer and Akkerman shared the stage once more in 1993, performing Focus songs at the North Sea Jazz Festival. In 1999, van Leer attempted to reform Focus with Cleuver, Ruiter, and Dutch guitarist Menno Gootjes. They performed several live dates in the Netherlands, but disagreements between van Leer and Ruiter over material intended for release effectively split up the group. CANNOTANSWER
disagreements between van Leer and Ruiter over material intended for release effectively split up the group.
Focus are a Dutch progressive rock band formed in Amsterdam in 1969 by keyboardist, vocalist, and flutist Thijs van Leer, drummer Hans Cleuver, bassist Martijn Dresden, and guitarist Jan Akkerman. The band have undergone numerous formations in its history; since December 2016, it has comprised van Leer, drummer Pierre van der Linden, guitarist Menno Gootjes, and bassist Udo Pannekeet. They have sold one million RIAA-certified albums in the United States. After the addition of Akkerman to van Leer's rock trio in late 1969, the band named themselves Focus and initially worked in the band for a Dutch production of the rock musical Hair. Their debut album Focus Plays Focus (1970) gained little attention but the follow-up, Moving Waves (1971), and its lead single "Hocus Pocus", earned the band international recognition. Their success continued with Focus 3 (1972) and Hamburger Concerto (1974), the former containing their second hit single, "Sylvia". After recording two albums with various musicians, including guitarist Phillip Catherine, singer P. J. Proby, and drummers Colin Allen, David Kemper, and Steve Smith, Focus dissolved in 1978. They briefly reunited in 1990 and 1997. In 2002, van Leer reformed Focus with a new line-up that saw van der Linden rejoining the group in 2004. The albums Focus 8 (2002), Focus 9 / New Skin (2006) and Focus X (2012) were well received, and Focus continue to perform worldwide. Their most recent album is Focus 11 (2018). They received a renewed interest after Nike used "Hocus Pocus" in its 2010 World Cup commercial Write The Future. Focus remain one of the most successful and influential rock bands from the Netherlands. History 1969–1970: Formation Focus formed in mid-1969 by keyboardist, vocalist, and flautist Thijs van Leer, who recruited bass guitarist Martijn Dresden and drummer Hans Cleuver after he met them at sessions for the Jazz and Poetry radio program in Hilversum, Netherlands. The three went on to start a new three-piece band initially known as Thijs van Leer and the Rebaptised, playing a set formed mostly of cover songs by Traffic and original material mostly written by van Leer. In November 1969, during rehearsals at the theatre where van Leer performed as part of Ramses Shaffy's theatre group, they were joined by guitarist Jan Akkerman of the rock band Brainbox after Shaffy invited him to play with the trio. Van Leer later recalled the first try out session: "Jan came in and we jammed for hours, and it was really kicking". They then settled on the name Focus for the new band; Akkerman later said, "Focus is a Latin word that is the same in many languages. It means concentration, which is the meaning of what Focus does". Their first live gig as Focus followed at the Bird's Club in Rembrandtplein, and they soon secured a weekly residency playing two shows a night on two days. Early sets were mainly formed of covers, including "I Shall Be Released" by Bob Dylan, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum and "Nights in White Satin" by The Moody Blues, mixed with original material, including van Leer's first song written with the group in mind, the instrumental "Focus". In their search for more work and a steady income, Focus was chosen to play as part of the pit band for the Dutch production of the rock musical Hair produced by Welsh actor Victor Spinetti. They were invited to audition at the Victoria Ballroom, London after Dutch lyricist Lennaert Nijgh suggested them to Del Newman, the musical's director. Cast member Robin Lent claimed the production was suffering and Focus, taking part only for the money, "were also pretty rusty ... but this changed and everybody got into it". The show, launched in December 1969, involved six nightly performances a week and gave them space to rehearse in the afternoons for free and store their equipment. An album of the soundtrack featuring the band was recorded in February 1970 and released soon after by Polydor Records. After Hair ended its run in June 1970, Focus declined an offer to tour the musical across the Netherlands for a year and a half and become a full time band. They had picked up more local gigs and dates across the country by this time, and had performed their first international gigs in Belgium and Spain. Their weekly earnings from gigs, plus their earnings from Hair, had reached 400 guilders though Akkerman recalled the group failed to appreciate its value and were quick to spend it. To manage their finances more carefully, Cleuver was chosen to oversee their earnings and expenses. 1970–1971: Debut album, "House of the King", and line-up change In 1970, Focus reached contact with Hubert Terheggen, director of Radio-Tele-Music Belgium-Holland, a music publishing division of Radio Luxembourg, through connections with Dresden's father. Terheggen enjoyed their music and signed them to his production company, secured deals with music publishers worldwide, and booked studio time for them to record their first album, which took place in January 1970 at Sound Techniques in Chelsea, London during time off from Hair. The result was Focus Plays Focus, better known as its international release title In and Out of Focus, with Terheggen credited as producer and Jerry Boys the engineer. A mix of pop-oriented songs and instrumentals were recorded for the album; van Leer felt the vocals suffered as a result of singing English lyrics with a foreign accent, which inspired the group to become stronger instrumentally. After recording Focus Plays Focus, the band struggled to find a label willing to release it. Their fortunes changed once they had recorded "House of the King", an instrumental by Akkerman with different accounts of its origin. Focus biographer Peet Johnson gives the general consensus that it was inspired by their appearance at the Barbarela de Conjuntos music contest in Majorca on 11 June 1970, where in the final round, their rendition of Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquín Rodrigo ran over the 15-minute time limit, causing their plugs to be pulled. Focus proceeded to retaliate with van Leer playing the flute to the audience as a distraction while the rest of the group trashed the dressing room, after which they were arrested and spent a night in jail. Van Leer claims Akkerman came up with the track the day after their arrest, but the guitarist said he wrote it "on a mountain, with a beautiful Spanish stewardess ... in about five minutes". Focus recorded it without management's permission in one evening at Heemstede, yet it reached staff at Imperial Records who thought it was strong enough as a hit single and signed the group. Focus Plays Focus was released in September 1970, eight months after it was recorded. "Why Dream" and "Happy Nightmare" were released as their first single in the Netherlands. The album saw an American release in October by Sire Records, who had secured the rights to the band's international distribution, with "House of the King" added to the track listing. Prior to signing Focus, Sire founder Seymour Stein had flown to the Netherlands to see the band perform: "Without a doubt they were the most original band I had ever heard". Though the album received little commercial attention it earned Focus their first Edison Award, and the January 1971 release of "House of the King" went to number 10 on the home chart. Late in 1970, Akkerman had become increasingly unhappy with Cleuver and Dresden as a rhythm section and missed his former Brainbox bandmate, drummer Pierre van der Linden. He thought the pair struggled to incorporate their own identity or musicianship into the music. Akkerman then presented an ultimatum to van Leer by threatening to quit unless he asked Cleuver and Dresden to leave. Van Leer refused to part ways with his co-founders and instead told Akkerman to leave, which increased tension between the two as they were often at odds with each other. Cleuver sensed panic from Imperial as it knew "House of the King" would be a hit and wanted van Leer and Akkerman to stay together. The situation reached Terheggen, who asked Yde de Jong to become Focus's manager if he could reunite the band. After six weeks of driving to both members' homes to negotiate, van Leer agreed to fire Cleuver and Dresden and joined Akkerman, van der Linden, and newcomer bassist Cyril Havermans, who had played on Akkerman's second solo album Profile, on the condition that the group continue as Focus. With the new line-up secured, Stein convinced English producer Mike Vernon to witness the band perform in the Netherlands in late 1970. Vernon was not so impressed with their first album, but enjoyed them as a live act: "I couldn't stop talking or thinking about them! They were formidable ... the power of Jan and Thijs alone gave me heart palpitations". Vernon subsequently agreed to produce their next studio album. 1971–1972: Moving Waves and breakthrough Following rehearsals at Groeneveld Castle in Baarn, the band recorded Focus II, better known as its international title Moving Waves, in April and May 1971 at Sound Techniques and Morgan Studios, London. It showcased the band exploring progressive rock with jazz fusion and classical music elements with extended pieces and lengthy solos. Akkerman changed his sound, moving from a Gretsch White Falcon to a 1957 Gibson Les Paul Custom which enabled him to "'sing' on the guitar" to compensate for the group's weak vocals. Its opening track, "Hocus Pocus", became one of the band's best known tracks, featuring a recognisable rock guitar riff and van Leer's yodelling, whistling, and nonsensical vocals that developed through an improvised jam session. Akkerman wrote "Janis" as a tribute to Janis Joplin, and its closer, "Eruption", is a 23-minute multi-part track inspired by the operas Orfeo ed Euridice by Christoph Willibald Gluck and L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, combining rock, jazz and classical influences. Released in October 1971, Moving Waves became the band's international breakthrough, reaching number 2 in the UK, number 4 in the Netherlands, and number 8 in the US. The album awarded Focus with a Conamus Export Award, their second Edison Award, and gold certifications in the three aforementioned countries; the US award was issued in 1973 for selling 500,000 copies. Its success was helped by the release of "Hocus Pocus" as a single, released in the Netherlands in July 1971 which peaked at number 12 and exposed the band to a new audience. It peaked at number 20 in the UK in January 1973. Between the recording and release of Moving Waves, Focus underwent further line-up changes. Shortly before a tour of France in July 1971, van der Linden temporarily left the band after he found out van Leer and Akkerman would get paid more than himself. He was replaced by Akkerman's younger brother, the 19-year-old Jacob "Cocky" Akkerman, before the rift was sorted and van der Linden resumed on the drums at its conclusion. This was followed by Havermans' departure in September 1971, having handed in his notice in late June. He wished to sing on more tracks but was unable to do so within the confines of the group and pursued a solo career. The remaining members would reunite with the bassist in the US in early 1973 to play on his first solo album, Cyril. Focus found their new bassist in Bert Ruiter, who had previously rehearsed with van der Linden prior to a gig in Texel in June 1971, and went on to see the band live around ten times thereafter. He was invited by the drummer to a tryout session, after which he became a full-time member. Focus resumed as a live act in September 1971; among their first gigs with Ruiter was in Rotterdam as part of the European Newport Jazz Festival on 29 October. Towards the end of the year, de Jong organised the band's first UK tour, a 15-gig trek between 15 February–10 March 1972, to increase exposure and record sales. Van Leer felt insecure about the tour at first and expressed the lack of courage from the group when they compared themselves to other popular UK rock acts. They arrived in the UK during a period of nationwide energy shortages, yet de Jong resolved the issue by having Focus tour with their own power generator. Despite receiving little money for their performances, they received radio airplay on BBC Radio 1, earned positive reviews from critics, and gained new fans. Akkerman recalled the attendance of the gigs "were packed because it was probably the only thing that was going on". On 28 May 1972, Focus were booked to play the Lincoln Festival for an estimated 40,000 people, but the band arrived too late for their spot and were unable to reschedule, leaving them furious at the missed opportunity. Two days later, Focus made their British television debut with a pre-recorded performance of excerpts of "Eruption" and "Hocus Pocus" on the BBC music show The Old Grey Whistle Test. In the following month they were voted Brightest Hope by readers of Melody Maker and Best New Talent by readers of New Musical Express. 1972–1974: Focus 3 and Hamburger Concerto The band spent four days at Olympic Studios in Barnes, London in July 1972 recording their third album, Focus 3. They had written a considerable amount of material by this time which led to the decision to make a double album, mostly by van Leer and Akkerman. Focus 3 saw the group produce short and extended pieces, including the three-minute instrumental "Sylvia" and the group devised, 26-minute "Anonymous II" that devotes a solo spot for each member, and the addition of "House of the King". Upon its release in November 1972, the album went to number one in the Netherlands for one week, number 6 in the UK, and number 35 in the US. "Sylvia" was released as a single and reached number 4 in the UK in January 1973, the week after "Hocus Pocus" reached its peak on the same chart. This marked the first time in a decade that a band had two concurrent songs without lyrics in the UK top 40. To support the album, Focus began their largest tour since their formation with spots at the Reading Festival on 12 August 1972 followed by the Melody Maker Poll Awards show at The Oval, London on 30 September. This was followed by an exhaustive 31-date UK tour in 36 days that included their return appearance on The Old Grey Whistle Test on 12 December which caused a surge in interest for their records; host Bob Harris said the show was inundated with calls and letters about the band and Polydor's record plant printed nothing but Focus for ten days in order to meet demand. A performance of "Sylvia" from the Marquee Club, London aired on the BBC's Top of the Pops show. After a sell out UK tour in January 1973 that spanned 24 days, Focus completed their first of three North American tours in 1973 from February to April, supporting various acts including Gentle Giant, Frank Zappa and Yes. Upon their return, they toured the UK once more which included two sold out shows at the Rainbow Theatre, London in May 1973 which aired on BBC television. In early May 1973, Focus returned to Olympic Studios at Vernon's request and recorded a new cut of "Hocus Pocus" titled "Hocus Pocus II", released exclusively for the American market. Later in the month, the band retreated to Chipping Norton Recording Studios, Oxfordshire to record a fourth studio album. Akkerman had expressed a wish to put down "great ideas" he had written over the past year, but extensive touring had left the band physically and mentally exhausted which reduced their eagerness to write and record new group material. Vernon recalled Akkerman's reluctance to take part in the sessions which to him, "led to the final dissolving of the Akkerman/van Leer partnership". Around 40 minutes of songs was eventually recorded, yet the pair refused to co-operate and recorded their parts without the other present. Vernon later called this period as "probably the worst ten days I've ever spent in a studio". As a new studio album could not be released, Vernon took the recording from the Rainbow Theatre concerts and released it as a live album, At the Rainbow. The album went to number 23 in the UK in October 1973. The band went on to receive a Billboard Trendsetter Award for their success after notching up two gold albums, combining sales of one million copies sold in the US, and one gold single. Recordings from the Chipping Norton sessions remained unreleased, rearranged years later, or included in the collection of previously unreleased Focus studio recordings Ship of Memories, in 1976. Upon their return from their second North American tour from June to September 1973, the band returned to Groeneveld Castle for rehearsals. Van der Linden failed to turn up, and the group soon learned of his decision to quit the band. Van Leer claimed rock music was a step in the wrong direction for the drummer, who wished to pursue jazz. Vernon suggested English players Mitch Mitchell, Aynsley Dunbar, and Colin Allen as replacements. Allen was the only one available as his previous group, Stone the Crows had recently broken up. He flew to the Netherlands to meet the band and after a successful try out session, he joined the group. “It all happened pretty quickly ... I fitted in." His arrival came eight days before the band's upcoming North American tour was to start. From January to March 1974, Focus recorded Hamburger Concerto at Olympic Studios with Vernon. Recording was met with growing tension, with van Leer, Ruiter and Allen working together during the day and Akkerman recording his parts in the evening. The album presents further classical music influences, opening with "Delitæ Musicæ", a lute piece Akkerman adapted from Delitæ Musicæ Cantiones by Dutch composer Joachim van den Hove. It closes with a six-part, 20-minute conceptual title track inspired by Akkerman once eating a hamburger while watching cartoons at his hotel room in New York City and was put down in basic form during the 1973 Chipping Norton sessions. Released in May 1974, Hamburger Concerto peaked at number 5 in the Netherlands and number 20 in the UK. Van Leer claimed it was the band's "First proper work. It has strength and purpose", and Vernon later said the album and Moving Waves were the most rewarding on a second listen. Akkerman later felt the album suffered as his position in the group had weakened with van der Linden gone and claimed van Leer "broke up the tandem I had with Pierre rhythmically". A single version of "Harem Scarem" was released but did not chart in the UK. Focus toured Hamburger Concerto from March 1974, starting with dates across Europe, including two in London that were filmed for broadcast on the BBC2 and US television music series In Concert. They began their first tour of Japan and Australia in June, followed by an appearance at the Reading Festival in August and the start of their fourth North American tour in September. They were featured on the nationally syndicated Don Kirshner's Rock Concert show aired live from Long Beach, California, giving the band widespread exposure. At one concert during the US leg, van Leer and Akkerman noticed a young Michael Jackson sitting in the front row. Upon their return, the band completed a 24-day tour of Europe and two compilation albums were released, The Story of Focus and Masters of Rock. 1975–1978: Mother Focus, Focus con Proby, and disbanding In 1975, the band gathered at Morgan Studios, Brussels to rehearse and record Mother Focus. They reunited with Terheggen to oversee the project as executive producer, but the group found themselves without a collective direction; van Leer put its failure down to the band's recording contract which required them to produce one studio album each year, the pressures of touring had affected the songs, and a lack of overall interest from the band. In addition, Akkerman continued to record parts separately, showing no sign of an improvement in his relationship with van Leer. Ruiter became a more prominent songwriter and contributed more ideas than he had on previous Focus albums; he and Allen, after recording "I Need a Bathroom", began to experiment with a drum machine to aid their ideas, but the drummer recalled Akkerman got angry, shouted at him, and tossed the machine across the room. Allen was fired the next day, not knowing who made the decision. He was required to pay what he owed to the group during his tenure which amounted to roughly £10,000, using his earnings from royalties to pay much of it. Despite the problems, he "will always remain proud to have been a member". In May 1975, at the suggestion of their studio engineer, American drummer David Kemper was brought in to complete the rest of the album. Released in October 1975, Mother Focus saw Focus depart from their classical and jazz-influenced sound towards shorter, commercially accessible songs with middle of the road influences and little room for improvisation and jamming they were known for. Akkerman argued with van Leer and Ruiter over the group's change in musical direction, deeming it "typical American music". The album went to number 23 in the UK, and received mostly negative reviews from critics. During plans for their upcoming tour Akkerman refused to perform the album's music, thinking it was not strong enough. To solve the issue, he and van Leer returned to Morgan Studios and put down "Red Sky at Night" and "Avondrood", the latter featuring the two singing in Dutch. After Kemper left when recording was complete, Akkerman wished van der Linden to return, thinking he was responsible "for at least 40%" of the band's success and said he "wouldn't leave Focus" with him on the drums. However, van Leer and Ruiter did not share the same enthusiasm over van der Linden's return. Nevertheless, Focus returned to Australia and Japan in May and June 1975 for a series of sold out dates, yet reviewers of the gigs noticed the lack of cohesiveness than before. During the Scandinavian tour that followed, a gig at the Ullevaal Stadium, Oslo during the Ragnarok Festival was met with Akkerman and van der Linden jamming with "little adherence to the repertoire" that was taken as a protest to playing the same material night after night. Matters turned for the worse after van Leer and Ruiter refused to have van der Linden re-record the drums for a single release of "Crackers", causing the drummer to quit a second time. With van der Linden gone, Focus cancelled a proposed 34-date UK tour and brought back Kemper during subsequent rehearsals after a desperate plea from de Jong. The "House of the King"/"Avondrood" single was released in 1976; the latter track originally appeared on a Dutch compilation album. The two appear in instrumental form on Ship of Memories. In February 1976, two and a half days before the group's arrival to the UK for a tour, van Leer asked Akkerman to leave Focus over his disagreements with the music they were rehearsing and the decision not to have van der Linden return on the drums. Akkerman had grown tired of playing the same songs on stage, "It felt like I was in a straitjacket. There was still a lot of improvisation but even this had become planned". Van Leer said he wished to write "happy" music and move from "our European minor chords". Rather than have the tour cancelled, van Leer decided to proceed, with Kemper having seven days to arrive from the US and learn the new material and Akkerman at home with illness. In the guitarist's absence, van Leer met Belgian guitarist Philip Catherine and the two played a jam session that van Leer enjoyed. Akkerman disliked a song that the group had rehearsed about him soon after, which led to van Leer asking him to leave the next day. After Catherine agreed to step in, the group rehearsed for fifty hours without sleep; van Leer spent the evening prior the first gig mapping out the guitar parts on paper which Catherine followed on stage. Refunds were offered to concert goers as news of Akkerman's departure was not made public until after the tour had begun, which ended in March 1976. Dutch guitarist Eef Albers later joined Focus. A handful of scattered gigs were performed through 1977 and 1978 with American drummer Richard James on call out whenever they secured a booking. After van Leer signed a deal with EMI in April 1976 to record a new Focus album, work did not begin until late 1977 when the band faced potential legal action if they did not release something. Recording took place in December 1977 at EMI Studios in Haarlem, Amsterdam with van Leer, Ruiter, Albers, and a returning Catherine, who was contractually required to perform. Van Leer turned to ideas that he had developed with his wife Roselie during Focus tours, but felt neither his or Ruiter's voices were strong enough to sing on. In the search for a suitable lead vocalist de Jong, a friend of American singer P. J. Proby, rang his Netherlands-based manager and invited him to the studio, thinking his vocals would replace Akkerman's lyrical playing. Van Leer was sceptical as Proby was not familiar with the band and the singer was going through a period of heavy alcohol abuse. Upon Proby's arrival, Albers recalled: "He drank Four Roses whiskey the whole day, so much so that the nearest liquor store was soon sold out ... he always had the intention to run away". Proby interpreted the jazz-rock influenced songs as he felt, attempting "to meet them half-way between jazz and rock". James's drumming was unsuitable for the lighter material, so van Leer brought in future Journey drummer, American Steve Smith. Following the release of Focus con Proby in February 1978, which ignored the UK market, the album received negative reviews. Cleuver, then van Leer's manager, later called it "simply shameful". After a handful of gigs in the Netherlands, which concluded with a show in Terneuzen in August 1978 with James on the drums, van Leer ended Focus. 1983−1999: Reunions In 1983, Akkerman agreed to the idea of reuniting with van Leer and record new music, as suggested by his management. Van Leer immediately accepted the invitation and went on to play the synthesiser on "Headbanger", a track for Akkerman's solo album From the Basement (1984). After this initial collaboration, an executive at Phonogram Records suggested the pair work on an album of re-recorded Focus songs with English producer Trevor Horn, but it fell through. They subsequently signed a recording contract with Vertigo Records, which required the two to record as a duo, as opposed to Focus. During the recording, producer Ruud Jacobs was brought in to supervise due to the length of time taken to finalise tracks. Engineer Theo Balijon claimed Jacobs cut corners and pushed for the strongest tracks to be completed quickly to save production costs, which "unintentionally increased the animosity between Jan and Thijs". Around 30 tracks were completed with several additional musicians in 1984. Focus was released in March 1985 and reached number 33 in the Netherlands. The pair followed the album with promotional videos and a local four-date tour. In 1988, EMI acquired the rights to the band's back catalogue and reissued their albums on CD for the first time. In 1990, van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for a live gig, marking their first performance together since 1975. The four played a 40-minute set at the Americahal in Apeldoorn on 20 April that was broadcast as part of the Oud van Goud television special. It came about when producer Frans Meijer asked Akkerman to perform a gig with the group, and the fact that the guitarist's manager had not seen the band play in the 1970s. After the group agreed to participate, they rehearsed for four hours in Wijchen several days prior to the concert. Ruiter said they "went very well"; van Leer said it was "fantastic". Following the concert van Leer was keen to formally restart Focus with Akkerman, but the latter resisted. On 17 May 1990 the group, minus Akkerman, mimed a performance of "House of the King" on Service Salon on AVRO-TV. They had planned to perform "Hocus Pocus" with Akkerman, but the guitarist declined to take part. Van Leer and Akkerman shared the stage once more in 1993, performing mostly Akkerman solo songs at the North Sea Jazz Festival. In 1997, van Leer reformed Focus with Cleuver and Ruiter returning on drums and bass, respectively, and 21-year-old Dutch guitarist Menno Gootjes who was studying at the Rotterdam Conservatory. The four made their live debut at the Hockey Club in Mill, Netherlands, on 30 August. They performed additional shows in the Netherlands, but disagreements between van Leer and Ruiter over material intended for an official release effectively split up the group, in 1999. 2001–2009: Reformation, albums, and touring In 2001, van Leer was invited to a try out session by his stepson and bassist Bobby Jacobs, who was rehearsing with guitarist Jan Dumée and drummer Ruben van Roon. Jacobs and van Roon was former members of van Leer's side project Conxi. To van Leer's surprise, he found out the three had been rehearsing Focus songs from the 1970s era. The sessions led to the group's decision to perform live as a Focus tribute band named Hocus Pocus "just for fun, nothing too serious". After some well received gigs in the Netherlands, the group resumed the Focus name and acquired Willem Hubers as their new manager and booking agent which led to several offers to perform worldwide. Focus 8 was recorded between February and July 2002; van Roon left soon after due to personal circumstances. He was replaced by drummer Bert Smaak. Released on Musea Records in late 2002, it received critical praise and was supported with a world tour in 2002 and 2003. In the autumn of 2004, Smaak had left the group and replaced by a returning van der Linden. In July 2006, Dumée was replaced by guitarist Niels van der Steenhoven. This line-up recorded Focus 9 / New Skin, released in September 2006 by Red Bullet Records. 2010–present: Line-up changes, Focus 11 and 50th Anniversary In May 2010, Nike included "Hocus Pocus" as the main theme in its 2010 FIFA World Cup commercial, Write the Future. The advert aired on television worldwide which generated renewed interest in the band and led to "Hocus Pocus" entering the UK Singles Chart at number 57. In late 2010, Gootjes rejoined the band as a replacement to a departing van der Steenhoven. In 2011, American rapper J. Cole sampled "Hocus Pocus" in his song "Blow Up", which is featured in the game MLB 11: The Show. The band released their eleventh studio album Focus X, featuring cover art by Roger Dean, in November 2012. On 14 April 2014, the band released Golden Oldies on their own label, In and Out of Focus Records. It is a collection of re-recorded versions of Focus songs. In 2016, the band released Focus 8.5 / Beyond the Horizon. It is credited to "Focus and Friends featuring Marvio Ciribelli", and was recorded during gaps in their 2005 South American tour with Brazilian musicians. In December 2016, Udo Pannekeet replaced Jacobs on bass. Focus performed at their second Cruise to the Edge event in February 2017, third in 2018, and fourth in 2019. The line-up included Dumée on guitar after Gootjes was too ill to perform. From March to October 2017, Focus toured Europe. In November 2018, Focus released their fourteenth studio album Focus 11 to coincide with their 20-date UK tour. The album was available at each venue which was followed by its full release on 25 January 2019, via Cherry Red Records. In November 2020, a box set containing new remasters of the band's albums from 1970 to 1976, with previously unreleased audio and video material, entitled 50 Years: Anthology 1970–1976, was released by Red Bullet Productions to commemorate the band's fiftieth anniversary. This was followed in June 2021 by the release of Focus 50, a set featuring live material recorded in 2017 in Rio de Janeiro and a disc entitled Completely Focused, containing studio re-recordings of "Focus 1" through "Focus 12". In November 2021, during a UK tour, Focus cancelled all scheduled dates after van Leer contracted COVID-19 in hospital while receiving treatment for an unrelated illness. A new studio album is expected in early 2022. Band members Current members Thijs van Leer – keyboards, flute, vocals (1969–1978, 1990, 1993-1995, 1997–1999, 2001–present) Pierre van der Linden – drums, percussion (1971–1973, 1975, 1990, 2004–present) Menno Gootjes – guitar, backing vocals (1997–1999, 2010–present) Udo Pannekeet – bass (2016–present) Discography Studio albums Focus Plays Focus (1970; also known as In and Out of Focus) Focus II (1971; also known as Moving Waves) Focus 3 (1972) Hamburger Concerto (1974) Mother Focus (1975) Ship of Memories (1977) (studio compilation) Focus con Proby (1978) Focus (1985) (as Jan Akkerman & Thijs Van Leer) Focus 8 (2002) Focus 9 / New Skin (2006) Focus X (2012) Golden Oldies (2014) (studio re-recordings) Focus 8.5 / Beyond the Horizon (2016) The Focus Family Album (2017) (studio outtakes from 2012–2017, plus solo tracks) Focus 11 (2018) Completely Focused (2021) (studio re-recordings) References Sources External links Official band website at FocusTheBand.co.uk Fan website at FocusTributeHomepage, since 1996 Atco Records artists Dutch hard rock musical groups Dutch musical groups Dutch progressive rock groups EMI Records artists Instrumental rock musical groups Musical groups established in 1969 Sire Records artists Symphonic rock groups Musical groups from Amsterdam
false
[ "Anything Can Happen is a 1952 comedy-drama film.\n\nAnything Can Happen may also refer to:\n\n Anything Can Happen (album), by Leon Russell, 1994\n \"Anything Can Happen\", a 2019 song by Saint Jhn \n Edhuvum Nadakkum ('Anything Can Happen'), a season of the Tamil TV series Marmadesam\n \"Anything Can Happen in the Next Half Hour\", or \"Anything Can Happen\", a 2007 song by Enter Shikari\n Anything Can Happen in the Next Half Hour (EP), 2004\n\nSee also\n \"Anything Could Happen\", a 2012 song by Ellie Goulding \n Anything Might Happen, 1934 British crime film\n Special Effects: Anything Can Happen, a 1996 American documentary film\n \"Anything Can Happen on Halloween\", a song from the 1986 film The Worst Witch \n Anything Can Happen in the Theatre, a musical revue of works by Maury Yeston\n \"The Anything Can Happen Recurrence\", an episode of The Big Bang Theory (season 7)\n The Anupam Kher Show - Kucch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai ('The Anupam Kher Show — Anything Can Happen') an Indian TV show", "Red, White & Crüe ... Better Live Than Dead Tour was a concert tour by the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. It was rumored by Nikki Sixx in December 2003 that the band would embark on a reunion tour in 2004, but it was officially announced in December 2004 that the reunion tour would happen the next year, and that Tommy Lee had officially rejoined the band after leaving in 1999. It started February 14 in San Juan, Puerto Rico and ended October 16 in Sioux City, Iowa. This is their first tour in five years and since the death of Randy Castillo in 2002.\n\nSet list \n\"Shout At The Devil\"\n\"Too Fast for Love\"\n\"Ten Seconds to Love\"\n\"Red Hot\"\n\"On With the Show\"\n\"Too Young to Fall in Love\"\n\"Looks That Kill\"\n\"Louder Than Hell\"\n\"Live Wire\"\n\"Girls, Girls, Girls\"\n\"Wild Side\"\n\"Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)\"\n\"Primal Scream\"\n\"Glitter / Without You\"\n\"Home Sweet Home\"\n\"Dr. Feelgood\"\n\"Same Ol' Situation (S.O.S.)\"\n\"If I Die Tomorrow\"\n\"Sick Love Song\"\n\"Kickstart My Heart\"\nEncore:\n\"Helter Skelter\" (The Beatles cover)\n\"Anarchy in the U.S.A.\" (Sex Pistols cover)\n\nTour dates\n\nReferences\n\n2005 concert tours\nReunion concert tours\nMötley Crüe concert tours" ]
[ "Focus (band)", "1985-1999: Reunions", "Did the band reunite during this time frame?", "In 1990, the former line-up of van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for the first time since 1975.", "Did anything particular happen during the reunion?", "The four played a 40-minute set at the Americahal in Apeldoorn on 20 April that was broadcast as part of the Oud van Goud television special.", "Was there anything else important happening?", "On 17 May the group, minus Akkerman, mimed a performance of \"House of the King\" on the Service Salon television program on AVRO-TV.", "What were some of their songs?", "Hocus Pocus", "Are there any other songs?", "In the 63 days they spent recording from April to May 1984, around 30 tracks were completed with several additional musicians.", "Did they do any tours during this time frame?", "Focus was released in March 1985 by Vertigo Records which reached number 33 in the Netherlands. The pair followed the album with promotional videos and a local four-date tour.", "Are there any other highlights during their reunion?", "In 1999, van Leer attempted to reform Focus with Cleuver, Ruiter, and Dutch guitarist Menno Gootjes. They performed several live dates in the Netherlands,", "Did their band only play in other countries during this time?", "I don't know.", "Did anything happen that ended their reunion in 1999?", "disagreements between van Leer and Ruiter over material intended for release effectively split up the group." ]
C_f5c93dc410b34900bc07c020bdf85216_0
Did any one else branch out on their own after that?
10
Did anyone else besides van Leer and Ruiter branch out on their own after Focus split?
Focus (band)
In mid-1983, both of Akkerman's managers came up with the idea of the guitarist reuniting with van Leer to record new music, to which Akkerman agreed. Van Leer immediately accepted the invitation, and went on to play the synthesiser on "Headbanger" on Akkerman's 1984 solo album From the Basement. After this initial collaboration, one executive at Phonogram Records suggested the pair work with producer Trevor Horn to release an album of re-recorded Focus tracks, but it was dismissed. In the following 15 months, the two wrote, rehearsed, and recorded new music with several additional musicians with engineer Theo Balijob. Their contract required the two to record as a duet, rather under the name Focus. During the recording, producer Ruud Jacobs was brought in to supervise the project due to the length of time taken to put the tracks down. Balijon claimed Jacobs cut corners and pushed for the strongest tracks to be completed quickly to save production costs, which "unintentionally increased the animosity between Jan and Thijs". In the 63 days they spent recording from April to May 1984, around 30 tracks were completed with several additional musicians. Focus was released in March 1985 by Vertigo Records which reached number 33 in the Netherlands. The pair followed the album with promotional videos and a local four-date tour. In 1988, EMI acquired the rights to the band's back catalogue and reissued their albums on compact disc for the first time. In 1990, the former line-up of van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for the first time since 1975. The four played a 40-minute set at the Americahal in Apeldoorn on 20 April that was broadcast as part of the Oud van Goud television special. It came about when producer Frans Meijer asked Akkerman to perform a gig with the group, and the fact that the guitarist's manager had not seen the band play in the 1970s, so "it was swatting two flies with one hit". The other three agreed at the opportunity, and they rehearsed for four hours in Wijchen several days prior to the concert. Ruiter said they "went very well"; van Leer said it was "fantastic". Following the concert, van Leer was keen to formally restart Focus with Akkerman, though the latter felt different though he was happy to reunite with van der Linden. On 17 May the group, minus Akkerman, mimed a performance of "House of the King" on the Service Salon television program on AVRO-TV. Originally the band were to perform "Hocus Pocus" with Akkerman, but the guitarist declined the offer made by the network, stating he reunited with Focus for Meijer and his manager. The appearance went ahead regardless. Van Leer and Akkerman shared the stage once more in 1993, performing Focus songs at the North Sea Jazz Festival. In 1999, van Leer attempted to reform Focus with Cleuver, Ruiter, and Dutch guitarist Menno Gootjes. They performed several live dates in the Netherlands, but disagreements between van Leer and Ruiter over material intended for release effectively split up the group. CANNOTANSWER
CANNOTANSWER
Focus are a Dutch progressive rock band formed in Amsterdam in 1969 by keyboardist, vocalist, and flutist Thijs van Leer, drummer Hans Cleuver, bassist Martijn Dresden, and guitarist Jan Akkerman. The band have undergone numerous formations in its history; since December 2016, it has comprised van Leer, drummer Pierre van der Linden, guitarist Menno Gootjes, and bassist Udo Pannekeet. They have sold one million RIAA-certified albums in the United States. After the addition of Akkerman to van Leer's rock trio in late 1969, the band named themselves Focus and initially worked in the band for a Dutch production of the rock musical Hair. Their debut album Focus Plays Focus (1970) gained little attention but the follow-up, Moving Waves (1971), and its lead single "Hocus Pocus", earned the band international recognition. Their success continued with Focus 3 (1972) and Hamburger Concerto (1974), the former containing their second hit single, "Sylvia". After recording two albums with various musicians, including guitarist Phillip Catherine, singer P. J. Proby, and drummers Colin Allen, David Kemper, and Steve Smith, Focus dissolved in 1978. They briefly reunited in 1990 and 1997. In 2002, van Leer reformed Focus with a new line-up that saw van der Linden rejoining the group in 2004. The albums Focus 8 (2002), Focus 9 / New Skin (2006) and Focus X (2012) were well received, and Focus continue to perform worldwide. Their most recent album is Focus 11 (2018). They received a renewed interest after Nike used "Hocus Pocus" in its 2010 World Cup commercial Write The Future. Focus remain one of the most successful and influential rock bands from the Netherlands. History 1969–1970: Formation Focus formed in mid-1969 by keyboardist, vocalist, and flautist Thijs van Leer, who recruited bass guitarist Martijn Dresden and drummer Hans Cleuver after he met them at sessions for the Jazz and Poetry radio program in Hilversum, Netherlands. The three went on to start a new three-piece band initially known as Thijs van Leer and the Rebaptised, playing a set formed mostly of cover songs by Traffic and original material mostly written by van Leer. In November 1969, during rehearsals at the theatre where van Leer performed as part of Ramses Shaffy's theatre group, they were joined by guitarist Jan Akkerman of the rock band Brainbox after Shaffy invited him to play with the trio. Van Leer later recalled the first try out session: "Jan came in and we jammed for hours, and it was really kicking". They then settled on the name Focus for the new band; Akkerman later said, "Focus is a Latin word that is the same in many languages. It means concentration, which is the meaning of what Focus does". Their first live gig as Focus followed at the Bird's Club in Rembrandtplein, and they soon secured a weekly residency playing two shows a night on two days. Early sets were mainly formed of covers, including "I Shall Be Released" by Bob Dylan, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum and "Nights in White Satin" by The Moody Blues, mixed with original material, including van Leer's first song written with the group in mind, the instrumental "Focus". In their search for more work and a steady income, Focus was chosen to play as part of the pit band for the Dutch production of the rock musical Hair produced by Welsh actor Victor Spinetti. They were invited to audition at the Victoria Ballroom, London after Dutch lyricist Lennaert Nijgh suggested them to Del Newman, the musical's director. Cast member Robin Lent claimed the production was suffering and Focus, taking part only for the money, "were also pretty rusty ... but this changed and everybody got into it". The show, launched in December 1969, involved six nightly performances a week and gave them space to rehearse in the afternoons for free and store their equipment. An album of the soundtrack featuring the band was recorded in February 1970 and released soon after by Polydor Records. After Hair ended its run in June 1970, Focus declined an offer to tour the musical across the Netherlands for a year and a half and become a full time band. They had picked up more local gigs and dates across the country by this time, and had performed their first international gigs in Belgium and Spain. Their weekly earnings from gigs, plus their earnings from Hair, had reached 400 guilders though Akkerman recalled the group failed to appreciate its value and were quick to spend it. To manage their finances more carefully, Cleuver was chosen to oversee their earnings and expenses. 1970–1971: Debut album, "House of the King", and line-up change In 1970, Focus reached contact with Hubert Terheggen, director of Radio-Tele-Music Belgium-Holland, a music publishing division of Radio Luxembourg, through connections with Dresden's father. Terheggen enjoyed their music and signed them to his production company, secured deals with music publishers worldwide, and booked studio time for them to record their first album, which took place in January 1970 at Sound Techniques in Chelsea, London during time off from Hair. The result was Focus Plays Focus, better known as its international release title In and Out of Focus, with Terheggen credited as producer and Jerry Boys the engineer. A mix of pop-oriented songs and instrumentals were recorded for the album; van Leer felt the vocals suffered as a result of singing English lyrics with a foreign accent, which inspired the group to become stronger instrumentally. After recording Focus Plays Focus, the band struggled to find a label willing to release it. Their fortunes changed once they had recorded "House of the King", an instrumental by Akkerman with different accounts of its origin. Focus biographer Peet Johnson gives the general consensus that it was inspired by their appearance at the Barbarela de Conjuntos music contest in Majorca on 11 June 1970, where in the final round, their rendition of Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquín Rodrigo ran over the 15-minute time limit, causing their plugs to be pulled. Focus proceeded to retaliate with van Leer playing the flute to the audience as a distraction while the rest of the group trashed the dressing room, after which they were arrested and spent a night in jail. Van Leer claims Akkerman came up with the track the day after their arrest, but the guitarist said he wrote it "on a mountain, with a beautiful Spanish stewardess ... in about five minutes". Focus recorded it without management's permission in one evening at Heemstede, yet it reached staff at Imperial Records who thought it was strong enough as a hit single and signed the group. Focus Plays Focus was released in September 1970, eight months after it was recorded. "Why Dream" and "Happy Nightmare" were released as their first single in the Netherlands. The album saw an American release in October by Sire Records, who had secured the rights to the band's international distribution, with "House of the King" added to the track listing. Prior to signing Focus, Sire founder Seymour Stein had flown to the Netherlands to see the band perform: "Without a doubt they were the most original band I had ever heard". Though the album received little commercial attention it earned Focus their first Edison Award, and the January 1971 release of "House of the King" went to number 10 on the home chart. Late in 1970, Akkerman had become increasingly unhappy with Cleuver and Dresden as a rhythm section and missed his former Brainbox bandmate, drummer Pierre van der Linden. He thought the pair struggled to incorporate their own identity or musicianship into the music. Akkerman then presented an ultimatum to van Leer by threatening to quit unless he asked Cleuver and Dresden to leave. Van Leer refused to part ways with his co-founders and instead told Akkerman to leave, which increased tension between the two as they were often at odds with each other. Cleuver sensed panic from Imperial as it knew "House of the King" would be a hit and wanted van Leer and Akkerman to stay together. The situation reached Terheggen, who asked Yde de Jong to become Focus's manager if he could reunite the band. After six weeks of driving to both members' homes to negotiate, van Leer agreed to fire Cleuver and Dresden and joined Akkerman, van der Linden, and newcomer bassist Cyril Havermans, who had played on Akkerman's second solo album Profile, on the condition that the group continue as Focus. With the new line-up secured, Stein convinced English producer Mike Vernon to witness the band perform in the Netherlands in late 1970. Vernon was not so impressed with their first album, but enjoyed them as a live act: "I couldn't stop talking or thinking about them! They were formidable ... the power of Jan and Thijs alone gave me heart palpitations". Vernon subsequently agreed to produce their next studio album. 1971–1972: Moving Waves and breakthrough Following rehearsals at Groeneveld Castle in Baarn, the band recorded Focus II, better known as its international title Moving Waves, in April and May 1971 at Sound Techniques and Morgan Studios, London. It showcased the band exploring progressive rock with jazz fusion and classical music elements with extended pieces and lengthy solos. Akkerman changed his sound, moving from a Gretsch White Falcon to a 1957 Gibson Les Paul Custom which enabled him to "'sing' on the guitar" to compensate for the group's weak vocals. Its opening track, "Hocus Pocus", became one of the band's best known tracks, featuring a recognisable rock guitar riff and van Leer's yodelling, whistling, and nonsensical vocals that developed through an improvised jam session. Akkerman wrote "Janis" as a tribute to Janis Joplin, and its closer, "Eruption", is a 23-minute multi-part track inspired by the operas Orfeo ed Euridice by Christoph Willibald Gluck and L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, combining rock, jazz and classical influences. Released in October 1971, Moving Waves became the band's international breakthrough, reaching number 2 in the UK, number 4 in the Netherlands, and number 8 in the US. The album awarded Focus with a Conamus Export Award, their second Edison Award, and gold certifications in the three aforementioned countries; the US award was issued in 1973 for selling 500,000 copies. Its success was helped by the release of "Hocus Pocus" as a single, released in the Netherlands in July 1971 which peaked at number 12 and exposed the band to a new audience. It peaked at number 20 in the UK in January 1973. Between the recording and release of Moving Waves, Focus underwent further line-up changes. Shortly before a tour of France in July 1971, van der Linden temporarily left the band after he found out van Leer and Akkerman would get paid more than himself. He was replaced by Akkerman's younger brother, the 19-year-old Jacob "Cocky" Akkerman, before the rift was sorted and van der Linden resumed on the drums at its conclusion. This was followed by Havermans' departure in September 1971, having handed in his notice in late June. He wished to sing on more tracks but was unable to do so within the confines of the group and pursued a solo career. The remaining members would reunite with the bassist in the US in early 1973 to play on his first solo album, Cyril. Focus found their new bassist in Bert Ruiter, who had previously rehearsed with van der Linden prior to a gig in Texel in June 1971, and went on to see the band live around ten times thereafter. He was invited by the drummer to a tryout session, after which he became a full-time member. Focus resumed as a live act in September 1971; among their first gigs with Ruiter was in Rotterdam as part of the European Newport Jazz Festival on 29 October. Towards the end of the year, de Jong organised the band's first UK tour, a 15-gig trek between 15 February–10 March 1972, to increase exposure and record sales. Van Leer felt insecure about the tour at first and expressed the lack of courage from the group when they compared themselves to other popular UK rock acts. They arrived in the UK during a period of nationwide energy shortages, yet de Jong resolved the issue by having Focus tour with their own power generator. Despite receiving little money for their performances, they received radio airplay on BBC Radio 1, earned positive reviews from critics, and gained new fans. Akkerman recalled the attendance of the gigs "were packed because it was probably the only thing that was going on". On 28 May 1972, Focus were booked to play the Lincoln Festival for an estimated 40,000 people, but the band arrived too late for their spot and were unable to reschedule, leaving them furious at the missed opportunity. Two days later, Focus made their British television debut with a pre-recorded performance of excerpts of "Eruption" and "Hocus Pocus" on the BBC music show The Old Grey Whistle Test. In the following month they were voted Brightest Hope by readers of Melody Maker and Best New Talent by readers of New Musical Express. 1972–1974: Focus 3 and Hamburger Concerto The band spent four days at Olympic Studios in Barnes, London in July 1972 recording their third album, Focus 3. They had written a considerable amount of material by this time which led to the decision to make a double album, mostly by van Leer and Akkerman. Focus 3 saw the group produce short and extended pieces, including the three-minute instrumental "Sylvia" and the group devised, 26-minute "Anonymous II" that devotes a solo spot for each member, and the addition of "House of the King". Upon its release in November 1972, the album went to number one in the Netherlands for one week, number 6 in the UK, and number 35 in the US. "Sylvia" was released as a single and reached number 4 in the UK in January 1973, the week after "Hocus Pocus" reached its peak on the same chart. This marked the first time in a decade that a band had two concurrent songs without lyrics in the UK top 40. To support the album, Focus began their largest tour since their formation with spots at the Reading Festival on 12 August 1972 followed by the Melody Maker Poll Awards show at The Oval, London on 30 September. This was followed by an exhaustive 31-date UK tour in 36 days that included their return appearance on The Old Grey Whistle Test on 12 December which caused a surge in interest for their records; host Bob Harris said the show was inundated with calls and letters about the band and Polydor's record plant printed nothing but Focus for ten days in order to meet demand. A performance of "Sylvia" from the Marquee Club, London aired on the BBC's Top of the Pops show. After a sell out UK tour in January 1973 that spanned 24 days, Focus completed their first of three North American tours in 1973 from February to April, supporting various acts including Gentle Giant, Frank Zappa and Yes. Upon their return, they toured the UK once more which included two sold out shows at the Rainbow Theatre, London in May 1973 which aired on BBC television. In early May 1973, Focus returned to Olympic Studios at Vernon's request and recorded a new cut of "Hocus Pocus" titled "Hocus Pocus II", released exclusively for the American market. Later in the month, the band retreated to Chipping Norton Recording Studios, Oxfordshire to record a fourth studio album. Akkerman had expressed a wish to put down "great ideas" he had written over the past year, but extensive touring had left the band physically and mentally exhausted which reduced their eagerness to write and record new group material. Vernon recalled Akkerman's reluctance to take part in the sessions which to him, "led to the final dissolving of the Akkerman/van Leer partnership". Around 40 minutes of songs was eventually recorded, yet the pair refused to co-operate and recorded their parts without the other present. Vernon later called this period as "probably the worst ten days I've ever spent in a studio". As a new studio album could not be released, Vernon took the recording from the Rainbow Theatre concerts and released it as a live album, At the Rainbow. The album went to number 23 in the UK in October 1973. The band went on to receive a Billboard Trendsetter Award for their success after notching up two gold albums, combining sales of one million copies sold in the US, and one gold single. Recordings from the Chipping Norton sessions remained unreleased, rearranged years later, or included in the collection of previously unreleased Focus studio recordings Ship of Memories, in 1976. Upon their return from their second North American tour from June to September 1973, the band returned to Groeneveld Castle for rehearsals. Van der Linden failed to turn up, and the group soon learned of his decision to quit the band. Van Leer claimed rock music was a step in the wrong direction for the drummer, who wished to pursue jazz. Vernon suggested English players Mitch Mitchell, Aynsley Dunbar, and Colin Allen as replacements. Allen was the only one available as his previous group, Stone the Crows had recently broken up. He flew to the Netherlands to meet the band and after a successful try out session, he joined the group. “It all happened pretty quickly ... I fitted in." His arrival came eight days before the band's upcoming North American tour was to start. From January to March 1974, Focus recorded Hamburger Concerto at Olympic Studios with Vernon. Recording was met with growing tension, with van Leer, Ruiter and Allen working together during the day and Akkerman recording his parts in the evening. The album presents further classical music influences, opening with "Delitæ Musicæ", a lute piece Akkerman adapted from Delitæ Musicæ Cantiones by Dutch composer Joachim van den Hove. It closes with a six-part, 20-minute conceptual title track inspired by Akkerman once eating a hamburger while watching cartoons at his hotel room in New York City and was put down in basic form during the 1973 Chipping Norton sessions. Released in May 1974, Hamburger Concerto peaked at number 5 in the Netherlands and number 20 in the UK. Van Leer claimed it was the band's "First proper work. It has strength and purpose", and Vernon later said the album and Moving Waves were the most rewarding on a second listen. Akkerman later felt the album suffered as his position in the group had weakened with van der Linden gone and claimed van Leer "broke up the tandem I had with Pierre rhythmically". A single version of "Harem Scarem" was released but did not chart in the UK. Focus toured Hamburger Concerto from March 1974, starting with dates across Europe, including two in London that were filmed for broadcast on the BBC2 and US television music series In Concert. They began their first tour of Japan and Australia in June, followed by an appearance at the Reading Festival in August and the start of their fourth North American tour in September. They were featured on the nationally syndicated Don Kirshner's Rock Concert show aired live from Long Beach, California, giving the band widespread exposure. At one concert during the US leg, van Leer and Akkerman noticed a young Michael Jackson sitting in the front row. Upon their return, the band completed a 24-day tour of Europe and two compilation albums were released, The Story of Focus and Masters of Rock. 1975–1978: Mother Focus, Focus con Proby, and disbanding In 1975, the band gathered at Morgan Studios, Brussels to rehearse and record Mother Focus. They reunited with Terheggen to oversee the project as executive producer, but the group found themselves without a collective direction; van Leer put its failure down to the band's recording contract which required them to produce one studio album each year, the pressures of touring had affected the songs, and a lack of overall interest from the band. In addition, Akkerman continued to record parts separately, showing no sign of an improvement in his relationship with van Leer. Ruiter became a more prominent songwriter and contributed more ideas than he had on previous Focus albums; he and Allen, after recording "I Need a Bathroom", began to experiment with a drum machine to aid their ideas, but the drummer recalled Akkerman got angry, shouted at him, and tossed the machine across the room. Allen was fired the next day, not knowing who made the decision. He was required to pay what he owed to the group during his tenure which amounted to roughly £10,000, using his earnings from royalties to pay much of it. Despite the problems, he "will always remain proud to have been a member". In May 1975, at the suggestion of their studio engineer, American drummer David Kemper was brought in to complete the rest of the album. Released in October 1975, Mother Focus saw Focus depart from their classical and jazz-influenced sound towards shorter, commercially accessible songs with middle of the road influences and little room for improvisation and jamming they were known for. Akkerman argued with van Leer and Ruiter over the group's change in musical direction, deeming it "typical American music". The album went to number 23 in the UK, and received mostly negative reviews from critics. During plans for their upcoming tour Akkerman refused to perform the album's music, thinking it was not strong enough. To solve the issue, he and van Leer returned to Morgan Studios and put down "Red Sky at Night" and "Avondrood", the latter featuring the two singing in Dutch. After Kemper left when recording was complete, Akkerman wished van der Linden to return, thinking he was responsible "for at least 40%" of the band's success and said he "wouldn't leave Focus" with him on the drums. However, van Leer and Ruiter did not share the same enthusiasm over van der Linden's return. Nevertheless, Focus returned to Australia and Japan in May and June 1975 for a series of sold out dates, yet reviewers of the gigs noticed the lack of cohesiveness than before. During the Scandinavian tour that followed, a gig at the Ullevaal Stadium, Oslo during the Ragnarok Festival was met with Akkerman and van der Linden jamming with "little adherence to the repertoire" that was taken as a protest to playing the same material night after night. Matters turned for the worse after van Leer and Ruiter refused to have van der Linden re-record the drums for a single release of "Crackers", causing the drummer to quit a second time. With van der Linden gone, Focus cancelled a proposed 34-date UK tour and brought back Kemper during subsequent rehearsals after a desperate plea from de Jong. The "House of the King"/"Avondrood" single was released in 1976; the latter track originally appeared on a Dutch compilation album. The two appear in instrumental form on Ship of Memories. In February 1976, two and a half days before the group's arrival to the UK for a tour, van Leer asked Akkerman to leave Focus over his disagreements with the music they were rehearsing and the decision not to have van der Linden return on the drums. Akkerman had grown tired of playing the same songs on stage, "It felt like I was in a straitjacket. There was still a lot of improvisation but even this had become planned". Van Leer said he wished to write "happy" music and move from "our European minor chords". Rather than have the tour cancelled, van Leer decided to proceed, with Kemper having seven days to arrive from the US and learn the new material and Akkerman at home with illness. In the guitarist's absence, van Leer met Belgian guitarist Philip Catherine and the two played a jam session that van Leer enjoyed. Akkerman disliked a song that the group had rehearsed about him soon after, which led to van Leer asking him to leave the next day. After Catherine agreed to step in, the group rehearsed for fifty hours without sleep; van Leer spent the evening prior the first gig mapping out the guitar parts on paper which Catherine followed on stage. Refunds were offered to concert goers as news of Akkerman's departure was not made public until after the tour had begun, which ended in March 1976. Dutch guitarist Eef Albers later joined Focus. A handful of scattered gigs were performed through 1977 and 1978 with American drummer Richard James on call out whenever they secured a booking. After van Leer signed a deal with EMI in April 1976 to record a new Focus album, work did not begin until late 1977 when the band faced potential legal action if they did not release something. Recording took place in December 1977 at EMI Studios in Haarlem, Amsterdam with van Leer, Ruiter, Albers, and a returning Catherine, who was contractually required to perform. Van Leer turned to ideas that he had developed with his wife Roselie during Focus tours, but felt neither his or Ruiter's voices were strong enough to sing on. In the search for a suitable lead vocalist de Jong, a friend of American singer P. J. Proby, rang his Netherlands-based manager and invited him to the studio, thinking his vocals would replace Akkerman's lyrical playing. Van Leer was sceptical as Proby was not familiar with the band and the singer was going through a period of heavy alcohol abuse. Upon Proby's arrival, Albers recalled: "He drank Four Roses whiskey the whole day, so much so that the nearest liquor store was soon sold out ... he always had the intention to run away". Proby interpreted the jazz-rock influenced songs as he felt, attempting "to meet them half-way between jazz and rock". James's drumming was unsuitable for the lighter material, so van Leer brought in future Journey drummer, American Steve Smith. Following the release of Focus con Proby in February 1978, which ignored the UK market, the album received negative reviews. Cleuver, then van Leer's manager, later called it "simply shameful". After a handful of gigs in the Netherlands, which concluded with a show in Terneuzen in August 1978 with James on the drums, van Leer ended Focus. 1983−1999: Reunions In 1983, Akkerman agreed to the idea of reuniting with van Leer and record new music, as suggested by his management. Van Leer immediately accepted the invitation and went on to play the synthesiser on "Headbanger", a track for Akkerman's solo album From the Basement (1984). After this initial collaboration, an executive at Phonogram Records suggested the pair work on an album of re-recorded Focus songs with English producer Trevor Horn, but it fell through. They subsequently signed a recording contract with Vertigo Records, which required the two to record as a duo, as opposed to Focus. During the recording, producer Ruud Jacobs was brought in to supervise due to the length of time taken to finalise tracks. Engineer Theo Balijon claimed Jacobs cut corners and pushed for the strongest tracks to be completed quickly to save production costs, which "unintentionally increased the animosity between Jan and Thijs". Around 30 tracks were completed with several additional musicians in 1984. Focus was released in March 1985 and reached number 33 in the Netherlands. The pair followed the album with promotional videos and a local four-date tour. In 1988, EMI acquired the rights to the band's back catalogue and reissued their albums on CD for the first time. In 1990, van Leer, Akkerman, van der Linden, and Ruiter reunited for a live gig, marking their first performance together since 1975. The four played a 40-minute set at the Americahal in Apeldoorn on 20 April that was broadcast as part of the Oud van Goud television special. It came about when producer Frans Meijer asked Akkerman to perform a gig with the group, and the fact that the guitarist's manager had not seen the band play in the 1970s. After the group agreed to participate, they rehearsed for four hours in Wijchen several days prior to the concert. Ruiter said they "went very well"; van Leer said it was "fantastic". Following the concert van Leer was keen to formally restart Focus with Akkerman, but the latter resisted. On 17 May 1990 the group, minus Akkerman, mimed a performance of "House of the King" on Service Salon on AVRO-TV. They had planned to perform "Hocus Pocus" with Akkerman, but the guitarist declined to take part. Van Leer and Akkerman shared the stage once more in 1993, performing mostly Akkerman solo songs at the North Sea Jazz Festival. In 1997, van Leer reformed Focus with Cleuver and Ruiter returning on drums and bass, respectively, and 21-year-old Dutch guitarist Menno Gootjes who was studying at the Rotterdam Conservatory. The four made their live debut at the Hockey Club in Mill, Netherlands, on 30 August. They performed additional shows in the Netherlands, but disagreements between van Leer and Ruiter over material intended for an official release effectively split up the group, in 1999. 2001–2009: Reformation, albums, and touring In 2001, van Leer was invited to a try out session by his stepson and bassist Bobby Jacobs, who was rehearsing with guitarist Jan Dumée and drummer Ruben van Roon. Jacobs and van Roon was former members of van Leer's side project Conxi. To van Leer's surprise, he found out the three had been rehearsing Focus songs from the 1970s era. The sessions led to the group's decision to perform live as a Focus tribute band named Hocus Pocus "just for fun, nothing too serious". After some well received gigs in the Netherlands, the group resumed the Focus name and acquired Willem Hubers as their new manager and booking agent which led to several offers to perform worldwide. Focus 8 was recorded between February and July 2002; van Roon left soon after due to personal circumstances. He was replaced by drummer Bert Smaak. Released on Musea Records in late 2002, it received critical praise and was supported with a world tour in 2002 and 2003. In the autumn of 2004, Smaak had left the group and replaced by a returning van der Linden. In July 2006, Dumée was replaced by guitarist Niels van der Steenhoven. This line-up recorded Focus 9 / New Skin, released in September 2006 by Red Bullet Records. 2010–present: Line-up changes, Focus 11 and 50th Anniversary In May 2010, Nike included "Hocus Pocus" as the main theme in its 2010 FIFA World Cup commercial, Write the Future. The advert aired on television worldwide which generated renewed interest in the band and led to "Hocus Pocus" entering the UK Singles Chart at number 57. In late 2010, Gootjes rejoined the band as a replacement to a departing van der Steenhoven. In 2011, American rapper J. Cole sampled "Hocus Pocus" in his song "Blow Up", which is featured in the game MLB 11: The Show. The band released their eleventh studio album Focus X, featuring cover art by Roger Dean, in November 2012. On 14 April 2014, the band released Golden Oldies on their own label, In and Out of Focus Records. It is a collection of re-recorded versions of Focus songs. In 2016, the band released Focus 8.5 / Beyond the Horizon. It is credited to "Focus and Friends featuring Marvio Ciribelli", and was recorded during gaps in their 2005 South American tour with Brazilian musicians. In December 2016, Udo Pannekeet replaced Jacobs on bass. Focus performed at their second Cruise to the Edge event in February 2017, third in 2018, and fourth in 2019. The line-up included Dumée on guitar after Gootjes was too ill to perform. From March to October 2017, Focus toured Europe. In November 2018, Focus released their fourteenth studio album Focus 11 to coincide with their 20-date UK tour. The album was available at each venue which was followed by its full release on 25 January 2019, via Cherry Red Records. In November 2020, a box set containing new remasters of the band's albums from 1970 to 1976, with previously unreleased audio and video material, entitled 50 Years: Anthology 1970–1976, was released by Red Bullet Productions to commemorate the band's fiftieth anniversary. This was followed in June 2021 by the release of Focus 50, a set featuring live material recorded in 2017 in Rio de Janeiro and a disc entitled Completely Focused, containing studio re-recordings of "Focus 1" through "Focus 12". In November 2021, during a UK tour, Focus cancelled all scheduled dates after van Leer contracted COVID-19 in hospital while receiving treatment for an unrelated illness. A new studio album is expected in early 2022. Band members Current members Thijs van Leer – keyboards, flute, vocals (1969–1978, 1990, 1993-1995, 1997–1999, 2001–present) Pierre van der Linden – drums, percussion (1971–1973, 1975, 1990, 2004–present) Menno Gootjes – guitar, backing vocals (1997–1999, 2010–present) Udo Pannekeet – bass (2016–present) Discography Studio albums Focus Plays Focus (1970; also known as In and Out of Focus) Focus II (1971; also known as Moving Waves) Focus 3 (1972) Hamburger Concerto (1974) Mother Focus (1975) Ship of Memories (1977) (studio compilation) Focus con Proby (1978) Focus (1985) (as Jan Akkerman & Thijs Van Leer) Focus 8 (2002) Focus 9 / New Skin (2006) Focus X (2012) Golden Oldies (2014) (studio re-recordings) Focus 8.5 / Beyond the Horizon (2016) The Focus Family Album (2017) (studio outtakes from 2012–2017, plus solo tracks) Focus 11 (2018) Completely Focused (2021) (studio re-recordings) References Sources External links Official band website at FocusTheBand.co.uk Fan website at FocusTributeHomepage, since 1996 Atco Records artists Dutch hard rock musical groups Dutch musical groups Dutch progressive rock groups EMI Records artists Instrumental rock musical groups Musical groups established in 1969 Sire Records artists Symphonic rock groups Musical groups from Amsterdam
false
[ "A Backstugusittare (\"hill cottage sitter\") is a historical term of a certain category of the country side population in the history of Sweden. It referred to the inhabitants of a backstuga (hill cottage), who lived on common land or the land of someone else and did not engage in any farming.\n\nIn contrast to the somewhat similar torpare, backstugusittare did not use any land and lived on the charity of the landowner or, if they lived on common land, on the charity of the village. They may grow some potatoes for their own use and have some smaller animals but normally only enough to eat themselves. That category of people were normally among the very poorest of the village community and supported themselves on odd jobs, some handicrafts and charity.\n\nThe phenomenon is confirmed from the early 17th-century. After the land reform of 1827, during which the farmers moved out from the villages and occupied land previously left for the torpare, the category grew larger, as the torpare were often given no other choice than to become backstugusittare. However, during the 19th-century, it also became more common for successful village craftsmen to live temporarily in the backstuga merely to save money, which somewhat raised the status of backstugusittare.\n\nReferences\n Herman Juhlin-Dannfelt, Lantmannens uppslagsbok (1923)\n\nSocial history of Sweden\nAgriculture in Sweden\nHistory of agriculture", "In baseball, a foul tip is defined as \"a batted ball that goes sharp and direct from the bat to the catcher and is legally caught. It is not a foul tip unless caught, and any foul tip that is caught is a strike and the ball is 'in play'.\"\n\nA foul tip is not the same as a foul ball, although many people mistakenly use the term to refer to any pitch at which the batter swings and makes slight contact, regardless of whether it is caught by the catcher. However, the rules are very narrow: it is not a foul tip if the ball touches anything else on the way to the catcher's hand or glove or if it is not legally caught and held. Anything else is technically a foul ball, including if the ball is caught after popping up into foul territory.\n\nThe rules treat a foul tip as equivalent in every respect to a pitch at which the batter swings and misses. \n A foul tip is always a strike, regardless of the existing ball-and-strike count. \n A player with two strikes against him is automatically struck out.\n A player with fewer than two strikes against him is not out.\n The ball remains alive and runners may advance or be thrown out on the bases.\n\nIn contrast, a foul ball counts as a strike only if the batter does not already have two strikes against him/her, and if the batter did not incur the foul ball on a bunt. Runners may not advance and must return to their bases without danger of being tagged out.\n\nReferences\n , see under FOUL TIP.\n\nBaseball rules" ]
[ "Neil Simon", "Characters" ]
C_3cb14ee2e48f460d894c48981ea7ee4b_0
who were the characters?
1
who were Neil Simon's characters?
Neil Simon
Simon's characters are typically portrayed as "imperfect, unheroic figures who are at heart decent human beings", according to Koprince, and she traces Simon's style of comedy to that of Menander, a playwright of ancient Greece. Menander, like Simon, also used average people in domestic life settings, the stories also blending humor and tragedy into his themes. Many of Simon's most memorable plays are built around two-character scenes, as in segments of California Suite and Plaza Suite. Before writing, Simon tries to create an image of his characters. He says that the play, Star Spangled Girl which was a box-office failure, was "the only play I ever wrote where I did not have a clear visual image of the characters in my mind as I sat down at the typewriter." Simon considers "character building" as an obligation, stating that the "trick is to do it skillfully". While other writers have created vivid characters, they have not created nearly as many as Simon: "Simon has no peers among contemporary comedy playwrights," states biographer Robert Johnson. Simon's characters often amuse the audience with sparkling "zingers," believable due to Simon's skill with writing dialogue. He reproduces speech so "adroitly" that his characters are usually plausible and easy for audiences to identify with and laugh at. His characters may also express "serious and continuing concerns of mankind ... rather than purely topical material". McGovern notes that his characters are always impatient "with phoniness, with shallowness, with amorality", adding that they sometimes express "implicit and explicit criticism of modern urban life with its stress, its vacuity, and its materialism." However, Simon's characters will never be seen thumbing his or her nose at society." CANNOTANSWER
Simon's characters are typically portrayed as "imperfect, unheroic figures who are at heart decent human beings",
Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received more combined Oscar and Tony Award nominations than any other writer. Simon grew up in New York City during the Great Depression. His parents' financial difficulties affected their marriage, giving him a mostly unhappy and unstable childhood. He often took refuge in movie theaters, where he enjoyed watching early comedians like Charlie Chaplin. After graduating from high school and serving a few years in the Army Air Force Reserve, he began writing comedy scripts for radio programs and popular early television shows. Among the latter were Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows (where in 1950 he worked alongside other young writers including Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Larry Gelbart and Selma Diamond), and The Phil Silvers Show, which ran from 1955 to 1959. His first produced play was Come Blow Your Horn (1961). It took him three years to complete and ran for 678 performances on Broadway. It was followed by two more successes, Barefoot in the Park (1963) and The Odd Couple (1965). He won a Tony Award for the latter. It made him a national celebrity and "the hottest new playwright on Broadway". From the 1960s to the 1980s he wrote for stage and screen; some of his screenplays were based on his own works for the stage. His style ranged from farce to romantic comedy to more serious dramatic comedy. Overall, he garnered 17 Tony nominations and won three awards. In 1966, he had four successful productions running on Broadway at the same time, and in 1983 he became the only living playwright to have a New York theatre, the Neil Simon Theatre, named in his honor. Early years Neil Simon was born on July 4, 1927, in The Bronx, New York City, to Jewish parents. His father, Irving Simon, was a garment salesman, and his mother, Mamie (Levy) Simon, was mostly a homemaker. Neil had one brother, eight years his senior, television writer and comedy teacher Danny Simon. He grew up in Washington Heights, Manhattan, and graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School when he was sixteen. He was nicknamed 'Doc', and the school yearbook described him as extremely shy. Simon's childhood was marked by his parents' "tempestuous marriage" and the financial hardship caused by the Depression. Sometimes at night he blocked out their arguments by putting a pillow over his ears. His father often abandoned the family for months at a time, causing them further financial and emotional suffering. As a result, the family took in boarders, and Simon and his brother Danny were sometimes forced to live with different relatives. During an interview with writer Lawrence Grobel, Simon said: "To this day I never really knew what the reason for all the fights and battles were about between the two of them ... She'd hate him and be very angry, but he would come back and she would take him back. She really loved him." Simon has said that one of the reasons he became a writer was to fulfill a need to be independent of such emotional family issues, a need he recognized when he was seven or eight: "I'd better start taking care of myself somehow ... It made me strong as an independent person. He was able to do that at the movies, in the work of stars like Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Laurel and Hardy. "I was constantly being dragged out of movies for laughing too loud." Simon acknowledged these childhood films as his inspiration: "I wanted to make a whole audience fall onto the floor, writhing and laughing so hard that some of them pass out." He made writing comedy his long-term goal, and also saw it as a way to connect with people. "I was never going to be an athlete or a doctor." He began writing for pay while still in high school: At the age of fifteen, Simon and his brother created a series of comedy sketches for employees at an annual department store event. To help develop his writing skill, he often spent three days a week at the library reading books by famous humorists such as Mark Twain, Robert Benchley, George S. Kaufman and S. J. Perelman. Soon after graduating from high school, he signed up with the Army Air Force Reserve at New York University. He attained the rank of corporal and was eventually sent to Colorado. During those years in the Reserve, Simon wrote professionally, starting as a sports editor. He was assigned to Lowry Air Force Base during 1945 and attended the University of Denver from 1945 to 1946. Writing career Television Simon quit his job as a mailroom clerk in the Warner Brothers offices in Manhattan to write radio and television scripts with his brother Danny Simon, under the tutelage of radio humorist Goodman Ace, who ran a short-lived writing workshop for CBS. Their work for the radio series The Robert Q. Lewis Show led to other writing jobs. Max Liebman hired the duo for the writing team of his popular television comedy series Your Show of Shows. The program received Emmy Award nominations for Best Variety Show in 1951, 1952, 1953, and 1954, and won in 1952 and 1953. Simon later wrote scripts for The Phil Silvers Show, for episodes broadcast during 1958 and 1959. Simon later recalled the importance of these two writing jobs to his career: "Between the two of them, I spent five years and learned more about what I was eventually going to do than in any other previous experience." "I knew when I walked into Your Show of Shows, that this was the most talented group of writers that up until that time had ever been assembled together." Simon described a typical writing session: Simon incorporated some of these experiences into his play Laughter on the 23rd Floor (1993). A 2001 TV adaptation of the play won him two Emmy Award nominations. Stage His first Broadway experience was on Catch a Star! (1955); he collaborated on sketches with his brother, Danny. In 1961, Simon's first Broadway play, Come Blow Your Horn, ran for 678 performances at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. Simon took three years to create that first play, partly because he was also working on television scripts. He rewrote it at least twenty times from beginning to end: "It was the lack of belief in myself", he recalled. "I said, 'This isn't good enough. It's not right.' ... It was the equivalent of three years of college." Besides being a "monumental effort" for Simon, that play was a turning point in his career: "The theater and I discovered each other." Barefoot in the Park (1963) and The Odd Couple (1965), for which he won a Tony Award, brought him national celebrity, and he was considered "the hottest new playwright on Broadway", according to Susan Koprince. Those successes were followed by others. During 1966, Simon had four shows playing simultaneously at Broadway theatres: Sweet Charity, The Star-Spangled Girl, The Odd Couple and Barefoot in the Park. These earned him royalties of $1 million a year. His professional association with producer Emanuel Azenberg began with The Sunshine Boys and continued with The Good Doctor, God's Favorite, Chapter Two, They're Playing Our Song, I Ought to Be in Pictures, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, Broadway Bound, Jake's Women, The Goodbye Girl and Laughter on the 23rd Floor, among others. His work ranged from romantic comedies to serious drama. Overall, he received seventeen Tony nominations and won three awards. Simon also adapted material originated by others, such as the musical Little Me (1962), based on the novel by Patrick Dennis; Sweet Charity (1966) from the screenplay for the film Nights of Cabiria (1957), written by Federico Fellini and others; and Promises, Promises (1968) a musical version of Billy Wilder's film, The Apartment. By the time of Last of the Red Hot Lovers in 1969, Simon was reputedly earning $45,000 a week from his shows (excluding sale of rights), making him the most financially successful Broadway writer ever. Simon also served as an uncredited "script doctor", helping to hone the books of Broadway-bound plays or musicals under development, as he did for A Chorus Line (1975). During the 1970s, he wrote a string of successful plays; sometimes more than one was playing at the same time, to standing room only audiences. Although he was, by then, recognized as one of the country's leading playwrights, his inner drive kept him writing: Simon drew "extensively on his own life and experience" for his stories. His settings are typically working-class New York City neighborhoods, similar to the ones in which he grew up. In 1983, he began writing the first of three autobiographical plays, Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983), which would be followed by Biloxi Blues (1985) and Broadway Bound (1986). He received his greatest critical acclaim for this trilogy. He received a Pulitzer Prize for his follow-up play, Lost in Yonkers (1991), which starred Mercedes Ruehl and was a success on Broadway. Following Lost in Yonkers, Simon's next several plays did not meet with commercial success. The Dinner Party (2000), which starred Henry Winkler and John Ritter, was "a modest hit". Simon's final play, Rose's Dilemma, premiered in 2003 and received poor reviews. Simon is credited as playwright and contributing writer to at least 49 Broadway plays. Screen Simon chose not to write the screenplay for the first film adaptation of his work, Come Blow Your Horn (1963), preferring to focus on his playwriting. However, he was disappointed with the picture, and thereafter tried to control the conversion of his works. Simon wrote screenplays for more than twenty films and received four Academy Award nominations—for The Odd Couple (1969), The Sunshine Boys (1975), The Goodbye Girl (1977) and California Suite (1978). Other movies include The Out-of-Towners (1970) and Murder by Death (1976). Although most of his films were successful, movies were always of secondary importance to his plays: Many of his earlier adaptations of his own work were very similar to the original plays. Simon observed in hindsight: "I really didn't have an interest in films then. I was mainly interested in continuing writing for the theater ... The plays never became cinematic". The Odd Couple (1968), was one highly successful early adaptation, faithful to the stage play but also opened out, with more scenic variety. Writing style and subject matter The key aspect most consistent in Simon's writing style is comedy, situational and verbal, and presents serious subjects in a way that makes audiences "laugh to avoid weeping". He achieved this with rapid-fire jokes and wisecracks, in a wide variety of urban settings and stories. This creates a "sophisticated, urban humor", says editor Kimball King, and results in plays that represent "middle America". Simon created everyday, apparently simple conflicts with his stories, which became comical premises for problems which needed be solved. Another feature of his writing is his adherence to traditional values regarding marriage and family. McGovern states that this thread of the monogamous family runs through most of Simon's work, and is one he feels is necessary to give stability to society. Some critics have therefore described his stories as somewhat old fashioned, although Johnson points out that most members of his audiences "are delighted to find Simon upholding their own beliefs". And where infidelity is the theme in a Simon play, rarely, if ever, do those characters gain happiness: "In Simon's eyes, adds Johnson, "divorce is never a victory." Another aspect of Simon's style is his ability to combine both comedy and drama. Barefoot in the Park, for example, is a light romantic comedy, while portions of Plaza Suite were written as "farce", and portions of California Suite are "high comedy". Simon was willing to experiment and take risks, often moving his plays in new and unexpected directions. In The Gingerbread Lady, he combined comedy with tragedy; Rumors (1988) is a full-length farce; in Jake's Women and Brighton Beach Memoirs he used dramatic narration; in The Good Doctor, he created a "pastiche of sketches" around various stories by Chekhov; and Fools (1981), was written as a fairy-tale romance similar to stories by Sholem Aleichem. Although some of these efforts failed to win approval from many critics, Koprince claims that they nonetheless demonstrate Simon's "seriousness as a playwright and his interest in breaking new ground." Characters Simon's characters are typically "imperfect, unheroic figures who are at heart decent human beings", according to Koprince, and she traces Simon's style of comedy back to that of Menander, a playwright of ancient Greece. Menander, like Simon, also used average people in domestic life settings, and also blended humor and tragedy into his themes. Many of Simon's most memorable plays are built around two-character scenes, as in segments of California Suite and Plaza Suite. Before writing, Simon tried to create an image of his characters. He said that the play Star Spangled Girl, which was a box-office failure, was "the only play I ever wrote where I did not have a clear visual image of the characters in my mind as I sat down at the typewriter." Simon considered "character building" an obligation, stating that the "trick is to do it skillfully". While other writers have created vivid characters, they have not created nearly as many as Simon did: "Simon has no peers among contemporary comedy playwrights", stated biographer Robert Johnson. Simon's characters often amuse the audience with sparkling "zingers", made believable by Simon's skillful writing of dialogue. He reproduces speech so "adroitly" that his characters are usually plausible and easy for audiences to identify with and laugh at. His characters may also express "serious and continuing concerns of mankind ... rather than purely topical material". McGovern notes that his characters are always impatient "with phoniness, with shallowness, with amorality", adding that they sometimes express "implicit and explicit criticism of modern urban life with its stress, its vacuity, and its materialism." However, Simon's characters are never seen thumbing their noses at society." Themes and genres Theater critic John Lahr believes that Simon's primary theme is "the silent majority", many of whom are "frustrated, edgy, and insecure". Simon's characters are "likable" and easy for audiences to identify with. They often have difficult relationships in marriage, friendship or business, as they "struggle to find a sense of belonging". According to biographer Edythe McGovern, there is always "an implied seeking for solutions to human problems through relationships with other people, [and] Simon is able to deal with serious topics of universal and enduring concern", while still making people laugh. McGovern adds that one of Simon's hallmarks is his "great compassion for his fellow human beings", an opinion shared by author Alan Cooper, who observes that Simon's plays "are essentially about friendships, even when they are about marriage or siblings or crazy aunts ..." Many of Simon's plays are set in New York City, with a resulting urban flavor. Within that setting, Simon's themes include marital conflict, infidelity, sibling rivalry, adolescence, bereavement and fear of aging. Despite the serious nature of these ideas, Simon always manages to tell the stories with humor, embracing both realism and comedy. Simon would tell aspiring comedy playwrights "not to try to make it funny ... try and make it real and then the comedy will come." "When I was writing plays", he said, "I was almost always (with some exceptions) writing a drama that was funny ... I wanted to tell a story about real people." Simon explained how he managed this combination: His comedies often portray struggles with marital difficulties or fading love, sometimes leading to separation, divorce and child custody issues. After many twists in the plot, the endings typically show renewal of the relationships. Politics seldom plays in Simon's stories, and his characters avoid confronting society as a whole, despite their personal problems. "Simon is simply interested in showing human beings as they are—with their foibles, eccentricities, and absurdities." Drama critic Richard Eder noted that Simon's popularity relies on his ability to portray a "painful comedy", where characters say and do funny things in extreme contrast to the unhappiness they are feeling. Simon's plays are generally semi-autobiographical, often portraying aspects of his troubled childhood and first marriages. According to Koprince, Simon's plays also "invariably depict the plight of white middle-class Americans, most of whom are New Yorkers and many of whom are Jewish, like himself." He has said, "I suppose you could practically trace my life through my plays." In Lost in Yonkers, Simon suggests the necessity of a loving marriage (as opposed to his parents'), and how children who are deprived of it in their home, "end up emotionally damaged and lost". According to Koprince, Simon's Jewish heritage is a key influence on his work, although he is unaware of it when writing. For example, in the Brighton Beach trilogy, she explains, the lead character is a "master of self-deprecating humor, cleverly poking fun at himself and at his Jewish culture as a whole." Simon himself has said that his characters are people who are "often self-deprecating and [who] usually see life from the grimmest point of view", explaining, "I see humor in even the grimmest of situations. And I think it's possible to write a play so moving it can tear you apart and still have humor in it." This theme in writing, notes Koprince, "belongs to a tradition of Jewish humor ... a tradition which values laughter as a defense mechanism and which sees humor as a healing, life-giving force." Critical response During most of his career, Simon's work received mixed reviews, with many critics admiring his comedy skills, much of it a blend of "humor and pathos". Other critics were less complimentary, noting that much of his dramatic structure was weak and sometimes relied too heavily on gags and one-liners. As a result, notes Kopince, "literary scholars had generally ignored Simon's early work, regarding him as a commercially successful playwright rather than a serious dramatist." Clive Barnes, theater critic for The New York Times, wrote that like his British counterpart Noël Coward, Simon was "destined to spend most of his career underestimated", but nonetheless very "popular". This attitude changed after 1991, when he won a Pulitzer Prize for drama with Lost in Yonkers. McGovern writes that "seldom has even the most astute critic recognized what depths really exist in the plays of Neil Simon." When Lost in Yonkers was considered by the Pulitzer Advisory Board, board member Douglas Watt noted that it was the only play nominated by all five jury members, and that they judged it "a mature work by an enduring (and often undervalued) American playwright." McGovern compares Simon with noted earlier playwrights, including Ben Jonson, Molière, and George Bernard Shaw, pointing out that those playwrights had "successfully raised fundamental and sometimes tragic issues of universal and therefore enduring interest without eschewing the comic mode." She concludes, "It is my firm conviction that Neil Simon should be considered a member of this company ... an invitation long overdue." McGovern attempts to explain the response of many critics: Similarly, literary critic Robert Johnson explains that Simon's plays have given us a "rich variety of entertaining, memorable characters" who portray the human experience, often with serious themes. Although his characters are "more lifelike, more complicated and more interesting" than most of the characters audiences see on stage, Simon has "not received as much critical attention as he deserves." Lawrence Grobel, in fact, calls him "the Shakespeare of his time", and possibly the "most successful playwright in history." He states: Broadway critic Walter Kerr tries to rationalize why Simon's work has been underrated: Personal life Simon was married five times. For 20 years (1953–73), he was married to Joan Baim, a Martha Graham dancer, and had two daughters, Nancy and Ellen, with her. Simon became a widower in 1973 when Baim died of bone cancer at age 41. Ellen was 16 and her sister Nancy just 10 when they lost their mother. Simon married actress Marsha Mason (1973–1983), actress Diane Lander in two separate marriages (1987–1988 and 1990–1998), and actress Elaine Joyce (1999–2018). He was also the father of Bryn, Lander's daughter from a previous relationship, whom he adopted. Simon's nephew is U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon and his niece-in-law is U.S. Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici. Simon was on the board of selectors of Jefferson Awards for Public Service. In 2004, Simon received a kidney transplant from his long-time friend and publicist Bill Evans. Neil Simon died from pneumonia at New York–Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan on August 26, 2018, while hospitalized for kidney failure. He was 91, and also had Alzheimer's disease. Awards and honors Simon held three honorary degrees: a Doctor of Humane Letters from Hofstra University, a Doctor of Letters from Marquette University and a Doctor of Law from Williams College. In 1983 Simon became the only living playwright to have a New York City theatre named after him. The Alvin Theatre on Broadway was renamed the Neil Simon Theatre in his honor, and he was an honorary board of trustees member of the Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, America's oldest theatre. Also in 1983, Simon was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. In 1965, he won the Tony Award for Best Playwright (The Odd Couple), and in 1975, a special Tony Award for his overall contribution to American theater. Simon won the 1978 Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay for The Goodbye Girl. For Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983), he was awarded the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, followed by another Tony Award for Best Play of 1985, Biloxi Blues. In 1991, he won the Pulitzer Prize along with the Tony Award for Lost in Yonkers (1991). The Neil Simon Festival is a professional summer repertory theatre devoted to preserving the works of Simon and his contemporaries. The Neil Simon Festival was founded by Richard Dean Bugg in 2003. In 2006, Simon received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Bibliography Television Television series Simon, as a member of a writing staff, penned material for the following shows: The Garry Moore Show (1950) Your Show of Shows (1950–54) Caesar's Hour (1954–57) Stanley (1956) The Phil Silvers Show (1958–59) Kibbee Hates Fitch (1965) (pilot for a never-made series; this episode by Simon aired once on CBS on August 2, 1965) Movies made for television The following made-for-TV movies were all written solely by Simon, and all based on his earlier plays or screenplays The Good Doctor (1978) Plaza Suite (1987) Broadway Bound (1992) The Sunshine Boys (1996) Jake's Women (1996) London Suite (1996) Laughter on the 23rd Floor (2001) The Goodbye Girl (2004) Theatre Come Blow Your Horn (1961) Little Me (1962) Barefoot in the Park (1963) The Odd Couple (1965) Sweet Charity (1966) The Star-Spangled Girl (1966) Plaza Suite (1968) Promises, Promises (1968) Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1969) The Gingerbread Lady (1970) The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1971) The Sunshine Boys (1972) The Good Doctor (1973) God's Favorite (1974) California Suite (1976) Chapter Two (1977) They're Playing Our Song (1979) I Ought to Be in Pictures (1980) Fools (1981) Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983) Biloxi Blues (1985) Broadway Bound (1986) Rumors (1988) Lost in Yonkers (1991) Jake's Women (1992) The Goodbye Girl (1993) Laughter on the 23rd Floor (1993) London Suite (1995) Proposals (1997) The Dinner Party (2000) 45 Seconds from Broadway (2001) Rose's Dilemma (2003) In addition to these plays and musicals, Simon has twice rewritten or updated his 1965 play The Odd Couple. Both updated versions have run under new titles: The Female Odd Couple (1985) and Oscar and Felix: A New Look at the Odd Couple (2002). Screenplays After the Fox (with Cesare Zavattini) (1966) Barefoot in the Park (1967) † The Odd Couple (1968) † The Out-of-Towners (1970) Plaza Suite (1971) † Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1972) † The Heartbreak Kid (1972) The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975) † The Sunshine Boys (1975) † Murder by Death (1976) The Goodbye Girl (1977) The Cheap Detective (1978) California Suite (1978) † Chapter Two (1979) † Seems Like Old Times (1980) Only When I Laugh (1981) ‡ I Ought to Be in Pictures (1982) † Max Dugan Returns (1983) The Lonely Guy (1984) (adaptation only; screenplay by Ed. Weinberger and Stan Daniels) The Slugger's Wife (1985) Brighton Beach Memoirs (1986) † Biloxi Blues (1988) † The Marrying Man (1991) Lost in Yonkers (1993) † The Odd Couple II (1998) † Screenplay by Simon, based on his play of the same name. ‡ Screenplay by Simon, loosely adapted from his 1970 play The Gingerbread Lady. Memoirs References External links video: , 6 minutes The Neil Simon Festival PBS article, American Masters 1927 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male dramatists and playwrights American male screenwriters Best Screenplay Golden Globe winners DeWitt Clinton High School alumni Drama Desk Award winners Deaths from pneumonia in New York (state) Jewish American dramatists and playwrights Jewish American screenwriters Jewish American comedians Kennedy Center honorees Kidney transplant recipients Mark Twain Prize recipients Military personnel from New York City Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners Screenwriters from New York (state) Simon family Tisch School of the Arts alumni Tony Award winners Writers from the Bronx Jewish American male comedians United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II United States Army Air Forces non-commissioned officers Deaths from kidney failure United States Army reservists 20th-century American male writers
false
[ "The following is a list of characters that have appeared in the television series The Batman, which ran from September 11, 2004, to March 22, 2008. The animation style bears a strong resemblance to that of Jackie Chan Adventures, since Jeff Matsuda was the chief character designer for both shows. Many of the supervillains who appear in the series, like the Joker, Penguin and Riddler, are very different from those of their comic counterparts (especially through their designs). While many characters adapted from the mainstream DC comics appear, some of them only appeared in the show's tie-in comic called The Batman Strikes. Characters that were planned for a guest appearance but ultimately did not appear were Wonder Woman, Bizarro, Vigilante, and Owlman.\n\nMain characters\n\nSupporting characters\n\nAntagonists\n\nAdditional characters\n\nExternal links\n The Batman at The World's Finest\n\nReferences\n\nCharacters\nBatman\nBatman\nBatman\nBatman", "The following is a list of characters of The Andy Griffith Show, an American sitcom television series, starring Andy Griffith. The series ran for eight seasons on CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Episodes 1–159 (1960–1965) were broadcast in black-and-white, while the last 90 episodes (1965–1968) were in color.\n\nCharacters are listed in order of their initial appearance. Only characters who appeared in 3 or more episodes as the same character are listed. For other characters, see List of The Andy Griffith Show guest stars\n\nLegend\n = Main cast (credited)\n = Recurring cast (3+ episodes per season)\n = Guest cast (1-2 episodes per season)\n\nUnseen regular characters\n\nNotes\n\nLists of American comedy television series characters\nThe Andy Griffith Show" ]
[ "Neil Simon", "Characters", "who were the characters?", "Simon's characters are typically portrayed as \"imperfect, unheroic figures who are at heart decent human beings\"," ]
C_3cb14ee2e48f460d894c48981ea7ee4b_0
what were the names of the characters?
2
what were the names of Neil Simon's characters?
Neil Simon
Simon's characters are typically portrayed as "imperfect, unheroic figures who are at heart decent human beings", according to Koprince, and she traces Simon's style of comedy to that of Menander, a playwright of ancient Greece. Menander, like Simon, also used average people in domestic life settings, the stories also blending humor and tragedy into his themes. Many of Simon's most memorable plays are built around two-character scenes, as in segments of California Suite and Plaza Suite. Before writing, Simon tries to create an image of his characters. He says that the play, Star Spangled Girl which was a box-office failure, was "the only play I ever wrote where I did not have a clear visual image of the characters in my mind as I sat down at the typewriter." Simon considers "character building" as an obligation, stating that the "trick is to do it skillfully". While other writers have created vivid characters, they have not created nearly as many as Simon: "Simon has no peers among contemporary comedy playwrights," states biographer Robert Johnson. Simon's characters often amuse the audience with sparkling "zingers," believable due to Simon's skill with writing dialogue. He reproduces speech so "adroitly" that his characters are usually plausible and easy for audiences to identify with and laugh at. His characters may also express "serious and continuing concerns of mankind ... rather than purely topical material". McGovern notes that his characters are always impatient "with phoniness, with shallowness, with amorality", adding that they sometimes express "implicit and explicit criticism of modern urban life with its stress, its vacuity, and its materialism." However, Simon's characters will never be seen thumbing his or her nose at society." CANNOTANSWER
CANNOTANSWER
Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received more combined Oscar and Tony Award nominations than any other writer. Simon grew up in New York City during the Great Depression. His parents' financial difficulties affected their marriage, giving him a mostly unhappy and unstable childhood. He often took refuge in movie theaters, where he enjoyed watching early comedians like Charlie Chaplin. After graduating from high school and serving a few years in the Army Air Force Reserve, he began writing comedy scripts for radio programs and popular early television shows. Among the latter were Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows (where in 1950 he worked alongside other young writers including Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Larry Gelbart and Selma Diamond), and The Phil Silvers Show, which ran from 1955 to 1959. His first produced play was Come Blow Your Horn (1961). It took him three years to complete and ran for 678 performances on Broadway. It was followed by two more successes, Barefoot in the Park (1963) and The Odd Couple (1965). He won a Tony Award for the latter. It made him a national celebrity and "the hottest new playwright on Broadway". From the 1960s to the 1980s he wrote for stage and screen; some of his screenplays were based on his own works for the stage. His style ranged from farce to romantic comedy to more serious dramatic comedy. Overall, he garnered 17 Tony nominations and won three awards. In 1966, he had four successful productions running on Broadway at the same time, and in 1983 he became the only living playwright to have a New York theatre, the Neil Simon Theatre, named in his honor. Early years Neil Simon was born on July 4, 1927, in The Bronx, New York City, to Jewish parents. His father, Irving Simon, was a garment salesman, and his mother, Mamie (Levy) Simon, was mostly a homemaker. Neil had one brother, eight years his senior, television writer and comedy teacher Danny Simon. He grew up in Washington Heights, Manhattan, and graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School when he was sixteen. He was nicknamed 'Doc', and the school yearbook described him as extremely shy. Simon's childhood was marked by his parents' "tempestuous marriage" and the financial hardship caused by the Depression. Sometimes at night he blocked out their arguments by putting a pillow over his ears. His father often abandoned the family for months at a time, causing them further financial and emotional suffering. As a result, the family took in boarders, and Simon and his brother Danny were sometimes forced to live with different relatives. During an interview with writer Lawrence Grobel, Simon said: "To this day I never really knew what the reason for all the fights and battles were about between the two of them ... She'd hate him and be very angry, but he would come back and she would take him back. She really loved him." Simon has said that one of the reasons he became a writer was to fulfill a need to be independent of such emotional family issues, a need he recognized when he was seven or eight: "I'd better start taking care of myself somehow ... It made me strong as an independent person. He was able to do that at the movies, in the work of stars like Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Laurel and Hardy. "I was constantly being dragged out of movies for laughing too loud." Simon acknowledged these childhood films as his inspiration: "I wanted to make a whole audience fall onto the floor, writhing and laughing so hard that some of them pass out." He made writing comedy his long-term goal, and also saw it as a way to connect with people. "I was never going to be an athlete or a doctor." He began writing for pay while still in high school: At the age of fifteen, Simon and his brother created a series of comedy sketches for employees at an annual department store event. To help develop his writing skill, he often spent three days a week at the library reading books by famous humorists such as Mark Twain, Robert Benchley, George S. Kaufman and S. J. Perelman. Soon after graduating from high school, he signed up with the Army Air Force Reserve at New York University. He attained the rank of corporal and was eventually sent to Colorado. During those years in the Reserve, Simon wrote professionally, starting as a sports editor. He was assigned to Lowry Air Force Base during 1945 and attended the University of Denver from 1945 to 1946. Writing career Television Simon quit his job as a mailroom clerk in the Warner Brothers offices in Manhattan to write radio and television scripts with his brother Danny Simon, under the tutelage of radio humorist Goodman Ace, who ran a short-lived writing workshop for CBS. Their work for the radio series The Robert Q. Lewis Show led to other writing jobs. Max Liebman hired the duo for the writing team of his popular television comedy series Your Show of Shows. The program received Emmy Award nominations for Best Variety Show in 1951, 1952, 1953, and 1954, and won in 1952 and 1953. Simon later wrote scripts for The Phil Silvers Show, for episodes broadcast during 1958 and 1959. Simon later recalled the importance of these two writing jobs to his career: "Between the two of them, I spent five years and learned more about what I was eventually going to do than in any other previous experience." "I knew when I walked into Your Show of Shows, that this was the most talented group of writers that up until that time had ever been assembled together." Simon described a typical writing session: Simon incorporated some of these experiences into his play Laughter on the 23rd Floor (1993). A 2001 TV adaptation of the play won him two Emmy Award nominations. Stage His first Broadway experience was on Catch a Star! (1955); he collaborated on sketches with his brother, Danny. In 1961, Simon's first Broadway play, Come Blow Your Horn, ran for 678 performances at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. Simon took three years to create that first play, partly because he was also working on television scripts. He rewrote it at least twenty times from beginning to end: "It was the lack of belief in myself", he recalled. "I said, 'This isn't good enough. It's not right.' ... It was the equivalent of three years of college." Besides being a "monumental effort" for Simon, that play was a turning point in his career: "The theater and I discovered each other." Barefoot in the Park (1963) and The Odd Couple (1965), for which he won a Tony Award, brought him national celebrity, and he was considered "the hottest new playwright on Broadway", according to Susan Koprince. Those successes were followed by others. During 1966, Simon had four shows playing simultaneously at Broadway theatres: Sweet Charity, The Star-Spangled Girl, The Odd Couple and Barefoot in the Park. These earned him royalties of $1 million a year. His professional association with producer Emanuel Azenberg began with The Sunshine Boys and continued with The Good Doctor, God's Favorite, Chapter Two, They're Playing Our Song, I Ought to Be in Pictures, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, Broadway Bound, Jake's Women, The Goodbye Girl and Laughter on the 23rd Floor, among others. His work ranged from romantic comedies to serious drama. Overall, he received seventeen Tony nominations and won three awards. Simon also adapted material originated by others, such as the musical Little Me (1962), based on the novel by Patrick Dennis; Sweet Charity (1966) from the screenplay for the film Nights of Cabiria (1957), written by Federico Fellini and others; and Promises, Promises (1968) a musical version of Billy Wilder's film, The Apartment. By the time of Last of the Red Hot Lovers in 1969, Simon was reputedly earning $45,000 a week from his shows (excluding sale of rights), making him the most financially successful Broadway writer ever. Simon also served as an uncredited "script doctor", helping to hone the books of Broadway-bound plays or musicals under development, as he did for A Chorus Line (1975). During the 1970s, he wrote a string of successful plays; sometimes more than one was playing at the same time, to standing room only audiences. Although he was, by then, recognized as one of the country's leading playwrights, his inner drive kept him writing: Simon drew "extensively on his own life and experience" for his stories. His settings are typically working-class New York City neighborhoods, similar to the ones in which he grew up. In 1983, he began writing the first of three autobiographical plays, Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983), which would be followed by Biloxi Blues (1985) and Broadway Bound (1986). He received his greatest critical acclaim for this trilogy. He received a Pulitzer Prize for his follow-up play, Lost in Yonkers (1991), which starred Mercedes Ruehl and was a success on Broadway. Following Lost in Yonkers, Simon's next several plays did not meet with commercial success. The Dinner Party (2000), which starred Henry Winkler and John Ritter, was "a modest hit". Simon's final play, Rose's Dilemma, premiered in 2003 and received poor reviews. Simon is credited as playwright and contributing writer to at least 49 Broadway plays. Screen Simon chose not to write the screenplay for the first film adaptation of his work, Come Blow Your Horn (1963), preferring to focus on his playwriting. However, he was disappointed with the picture, and thereafter tried to control the conversion of his works. Simon wrote screenplays for more than twenty films and received four Academy Award nominations—for The Odd Couple (1969), The Sunshine Boys (1975), The Goodbye Girl (1977) and California Suite (1978). Other movies include The Out-of-Towners (1970) and Murder by Death (1976). Although most of his films were successful, movies were always of secondary importance to his plays: Many of his earlier adaptations of his own work were very similar to the original plays. Simon observed in hindsight: "I really didn't have an interest in films then. I was mainly interested in continuing writing for the theater ... The plays never became cinematic". The Odd Couple (1968), was one highly successful early adaptation, faithful to the stage play but also opened out, with more scenic variety. Writing style and subject matter The key aspect most consistent in Simon's writing style is comedy, situational and verbal, and presents serious subjects in a way that makes audiences "laugh to avoid weeping". He achieved this with rapid-fire jokes and wisecracks, in a wide variety of urban settings and stories. This creates a "sophisticated, urban humor", says editor Kimball King, and results in plays that represent "middle America". Simon created everyday, apparently simple conflicts with his stories, which became comical premises for problems which needed be solved. Another feature of his writing is his adherence to traditional values regarding marriage and family. McGovern states that this thread of the monogamous family runs through most of Simon's work, and is one he feels is necessary to give stability to society. Some critics have therefore described his stories as somewhat old fashioned, although Johnson points out that most members of his audiences "are delighted to find Simon upholding their own beliefs". And where infidelity is the theme in a Simon play, rarely, if ever, do those characters gain happiness: "In Simon's eyes, adds Johnson, "divorce is never a victory." Another aspect of Simon's style is his ability to combine both comedy and drama. Barefoot in the Park, for example, is a light romantic comedy, while portions of Plaza Suite were written as "farce", and portions of California Suite are "high comedy". Simon was willing to experiment and take risks, often moving his plays in new and unexpected directions. In The Gingerbread Lady, he combined comedy with tragedy; Rumors (1988) is a full-length farce; in Jake's Women and Brighton Beach Memoirs he used dramatic narration; in The Good Doctor, he created a "pastiche of sketches" around various stories by Chekhov; and Fools (1981), was written as a fairy-tale romance similar to stories by Sholem Aleichem. Although some of these efforts failed to win approval from many critics, Koprince claims that they nonetheless demonstrate Simon's "seriousness as a playwright and his interest in breaking new ground." Characters Simon's characters are typically "imperfect, unheroic figures who are at heart decent human beings", according to Koprince, and she traces Simon's style of comedy back to that of Menander, a playwright of ancient Greece. Menander, like Simon, also used average people in domestic life settings, and also blended humor and tragedy into his themes. Many of Simon's most memorable plays are built around two-character scenes, as in segments of California Suite and Plaza Suite. Before writing, Simon tried to create an image of his characters. He said that the play Star Spangled Girl, which was a box-office failure, was "the only play I ever wrote where I did not have a clear visual image of the characters in my mind as I sat down at the typewriter." Simon considered "character building" an obligation, stating that the "trick is to do it skillfully". While other writers have created vivid characters, they have not created nearly as many as Simon did: "Simon has no peers among contemporary comedy playwrights", stated biographer Robert Johnson. Simon's characters often amuse the audience with sparkling "zingers", made believable by Simon's skillful writing of dialogue. He reproduces speech so "adroitly" that his characters are usually plausible and easy for audiences to identify with and laugh at. His characters may also express "serious and continuing concerns of mankind ... rather than purely topical material". McGovern notes that his characters are always impatient "with phoniness, with shallowness, with amorality", adding that they sometimes express "implicit and explicit criticism of modern urban life with its stress, its vacuity, and its materialism." However, Simon's characters are never seen thumbing their noses at society." Themes and genres Theater critic John Lahr believes that Simon's primary theme is "the silent majority", many of whom are "frustrated, edgy, and insecure". Simon's characters are "likable" and easy for audiences to identify with. They often have difficult relationships in marriage, friendship or business, as they "struggle to find a sense of belonging". According to biographer Edythe McGovern, there is always "an implied seeking for solutions to human problems through relationships with other people, [and] Simon is able to deal with serious topics of universal and enduring concern", while still making people laugh. McGovern adds that one of Simon's hallmarks is his "great compassion for his fellow human beings", an opinion shared by author Alan Cooper, who observes that Simon's plays "are essentially about friendships, even when they are about marriage or siblings or crazy aunts ..." Many of Simon's plays are set in New York City, with a resulting urban flavor. Within that setting, Simon's themes include marital conflict, infidelity, sibling rivalry, adolescence, bereavement and fear of aging. Despite the serious nature of these ideas, Simon always manages to tell the stories with humor, embracing both realism and comedy. Simon would tell aspiring comedy playwrights "not to try to make it funny ... try and make it real and then the comedy will come." "When I was writing plays", he said, "I was almost always (with some exceptions) writing a drama that was funny ... I wanted to tell a story about real people." Simon explained how he managed this combination: His comedies often portray struggles with marital difficulties or fading love, sometimes leading to separation, divorce and child custody issues. After many twists in the plot, the endings typically show renewal of the relationships. Politics seldom plays in Simon's stories, and his characters avoid confronting society as a whole, despite their personal problems. "Simon is simply interested in showing human beings as they are—with their foibles, eccentricities, and absurdities." Drama critic Richard Eder noted that Simon's popularity relies on his ability to portray a "painful comedy", where characters say and do funny things in extreme contrast to the unhappiness they are feeling. Simon's plays are generally semi-autobiographical, often portraying aspects of his troubled childhood and first marriages. According to Koprince, Simon's plays also "invariably depict the plight of white middle-class Americans, most of whom are New Yorkers and many of whom are Jewish, like himself." He has said, "I suppose you could practically trace my life through my plays." In Lost in Yonkers, Simon suggests the necessity of a loving marriage (as opposed to his parents'), and how children who are deprived of it in their home, "end up emotionally damaged and lost". According to Koprince, Simon's Jewish heritage is a key influence on his work, although he is unaware of it when writing. For example, in the Brighton Beach trilogy, she explains, the lead character is a "master of self-deprecating humor, cleverly poking fun at himself and at his Jewish culture as a whole." Simon himself has said that his characters are people who are "often self-deprecating and [who] usually see life from the grimmest point of view", explaining, "I see humor in even the grimmest of situations. And I think it's possible to write a play so moving it can tear you apart and still have humor in it." This theme in writing, notes Koprince, "belongs to a tradition of Jewish humor ... a tradition which values laughter as a defense mechanism and which sees humor as a healing, life-giving force." Critical response During most of his career, Simon's work received mixed reviews, with many critics admiring his comedy skills, much of it a blend of "humor and pathos". Other critics were less complimentary, noting that much of his dramatic structure was weak and sometimes relied too heavily on gags and one-liners. As a result, notes Kopince, "literary scholars had generally ignored Simon's early work, regarding him as a commercially successful playwright rather than a serious dramatist." Clive Barnes, theater critic for The New York Times, wrote that like his British counterpart Noël Coward, Simon was "destined to spend most of his career underestimated", but nonetheless very "popular". This attitude changed after 1991, when he won a Pulitzer Prize for drama with Lost in Yonkers. McGovern writes that "seldom has even the most astute critic recognized what depths really exist in the plays of Neil Simon." When Lost in Yonkers was considered by the Pulitzer Advisory Board, board member Douglas Watt noted that it was the only play nominated by all five jury members, and that they judged it "a mature work by an enduring (and often undervalued) American playwright." McGovern compares Simon with noted earlier playwrights, including Ben Jonson, Molière, and George Bernard Shaw, pointing out that those playwrights had "successfully raised fundamental and sometimes tragic issues of universal and therefore enduring interest without eschewing the comic mode." She concludes, "It is my firm conviction that Neil Simon should be considered a member of this company ... an invitation long overdue." McGovern attempts to explain the response of many critics: Similarly, literary critic Robert Johnson explains that Simon's plays have given us a "rich variety of entertaining, memorable characters" who portray the human experience, often with serious themes. Although his characters are "more lifelike, more complicated and more interesting" than most of the characters audiences see on stage, Simon has "not received as much critical attention as he deserves." Lawrence Grobel, in fact, calls him "the Shakespeare of his time", and possibly the "most successful playwright in history." He states: Broadway critic Walter Kerr tries to rationalize why Simon's work has been underrated: Personal life Simon was married five times. For 20 years (1953–73), he was married to Joan Baim, a Martha Graham dancer, and had two daughters, Nancy and Ellen, with her. Simon became a widower in 1973 when Baim died of bone cancer at age 41. Ellen was 16 and her sister Nancy just 10 when they lost their mother. Simon married actress Marsha Mason (1973–1983), actress Diane Lander in two separate marriages (1987–1988 and 1990–1998), and actress Elaine Joyce (1999–2018). He was also the father of Bryn, Lander's daughter from a previous relationship, whom he adopted. Simon's nephew is U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon and his niece-in-law is U.S. Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici. Simon was on the board of selectors of Jefferson Awards for Public Service. In 2004, Simon received a kidney transplant from his long-time friend and publicist Bill Evans. Neil Simon died from pneumonia at New York–Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan on August 26, 2018, while hospitalized for kidney failure. He was 91, and also had Alzheimer's disease. Awards and honors Simon held three honorary degrees: a Doctor of Humane Letters from Hofstra University, a Doctor of Letters from Marquette University and a Doctor of Law from Williams College. In 1983 Simon became the only living playwright to have a New York City theatre named after him. The Alvin Theatre on Broadway was renamed the Neil Simon Theatre in his honor, and he was an honorary board of trustees member of the Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, America's oldest theatre. Also in 1983, Simon was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. In 1965, he won the Tony Award for Best Playwright (The Odd Couple), and in 1975, a special Tony Award for his overall contribution to American theater. Simon won the 1978 Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay for The Goodbye Girl. For Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983), he was awarded the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, followed by another Tony Award for Best Play of 1985, Biloxi Blues. In 1991, he won the Pulitzer Prize along with the Tony Award for Lost in Yonkers (1991). The Neil Simon Festival is a professional summer repertory theatre devoted to preserving the works of Simon and his contemporaries. The Neil Simon Festival was founded by Richard Dean Bugg in 2003. In 2006, Simon received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Bibliography Television Television series Simon, as a member of a writing staff, penned material for the following shows: The Garry Moore Show (1950) Your Show of Shows (1950–54) Caesar's Hour (1954–57) Stanley (1956) The Phil Silvers Show (1958–59) Kibbee Hates Fitch (1965) (pilot for a never-made series; this episode by Simon aired once on CBS on August 2, 1965) Movies made for television The following made-for-TV movies were all written solely by Simon, and all based on his earlier plays or screenplays The Good Doctor (1978) Plaza Suite (1987) Broadway Bound (1992) The Sunshine Boys (1996) Jake's Women (1996) London Suite (1996) Laughter on the 23rd Floor (2001) The Goodbye Girl (2004) Theatre Come Blow Your Horn (1961) Little Me (1962) Barefoot in the Park (1963) The Odd Couple (1965) Sweet Charity (1966) The Star-Spangled Girl (1966) Plaza Suite (1968) Promises, Promises (1968) Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1969) The Gingerbread Lady (1970) The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1971) The Sunshine Boys (1972) The Good Doctor (1973) God's Favorite (1974) California Suite (1976) Chapter Two (1977) They're Playing Our Song (1979) I Ought to Be in Pictures (1980) Fools (1981) Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983) Biloxi Blues (1985) Broadway Bound (1986) Rumors (1988) Lost in Yonkers (1991) Jake's Women (1992) The Goodbye Girl (1993) Laughter on the 23rd Floor (1993) London Suite (1995) Proposals (1997) The Dinner Party (2000) 45 Seconds from Broadway (2001) Rose's Dilemma (2003) In addition to these plays and musicals, Simon has twice rewritten or updated his 1965 play The Odd Couple. Both updated versions have run under new titles: The Female Odd Couple (1985) and Oscar and Felix: A New Look at the Odd Couple (2002). Screenplays After the Fox (with Cesare Zavattini) (1966) Barefoot in the Park (1967) † The Odd Couple (1968) † The Out-of-Towners (1970) Plaza Suite (1971) † Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1972) † The Heartbreak Kid (1972) The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975) † The Sunshine Boys (1975) † Murder by Death (1976) The Goodbye Girl (1977) The Cheap Detective (1978) California Suite (1978) † Chapter Two (1979) † Seems Like Old Times (1980) Only When I Laugh (1981) ‡ I Ought to Be in Pictures (1982) † Max Dugan Returns (1983) The Lonely Guy (1984) (adaptation only; screenplay by Ed. Weinberger and Stan Daniels) The Slugger's Wife (1985) Brighton Beach Memoirs (1986) † Biloxi Blues (1988) † The Marrying Man (1991) Lost in Yonkers (1993) † The Odd Couple II (1998) † Screenplay by Simon, based on his play of the same name. ‡ Screenplay by Simon, loosely adapted from his 1970 play The Gingerbread Lady. Memoirs References External links video: , 6 minutes The Neil Simon Festival PBS article, American Masters 1927 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male dramatists and playwrights American male screenwriters Best Screenplay Golden Globe winners DeWitt Clinton High School alumni Drama Desk Award winners Deaths from pneumonia in New York (state) Jewish American dramatists and playwrights Jewish American screenwriters Jewish American comedians Kennedy Center honorees Kidney transplant recipients Mark Twain Prize recipients Military personnel from New York City Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners Screenwriters from New York (state) Simon family Tisch School of the Arts alumni Tony Award winners Writers from the Bronx Jewish American male comedians United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II United States Army Air Forces non-commissioned officers Deaths from kidney failure United States Army reservists 20th-century American male writers
false
[ "are a set of 863 Chinese characters known as \"name kanji\" in English. They are a supplementary list of characters that can legally be used in registered personal names in Japan, despite not being in the official list of \"commonly used characters\" (jōyō kanji). \"Jinmeiyō kanji\" is sometimes used to refer to the characters in both the jinmeiyō and jōyō lists.\n\nA ministerial decree of 1946 limited the number of officially sanctioned kanji for public use to the 1,850 tōyō kanji. Only kanji on this list were acceptable as registered names, despite the fact that the list excluded many kanji frequently used in names up to that point. However, on May 25, 1951, the cabinet extended the set of characters usable in names by specifying the first 90 jinmeiyō kanji.\n\nOver the years, the Minister of Justice has increased the number of name kanji, and has a plan for further addition in response to requests from parents. As of April 30, 2009, there were 985 jinmeiyō kanji, but this number was reduced to 861 in late 2010 when 129 jinmeiyō characters were transferred to the jōyō kanji list, and 5 characters were transferred from the jōyō kanji list to jinmeiyō characters. In 2015 and 2017, 2 kanji in total were added to the jinmeiyō list, making the total number 863.\n\nIn Japan, name kanji are taught at the junior-high level.\n\nHistory\nBelow is a list of changes made to the jinmeiyō kanji list since its creation in 1951.\n\nMay 25, 1951\nThe first 92 characters of jinmeiyō kanji were published:\n丑 丞 乃 之 也 亘 亥 亦 亨 亮 伊 匡 卯 只 吾 呂 哉 嘉 圭 奈 宏 寅 巌 巳 庄 弘 弥 彦 悌 敦 昌 晃 晋 智 暢 朋 桂 桐 楠 橘 欣 欽 毅 浩 淳 熊 爾 猪 玲 琢 瑞 睦 磯 祐 禄 禎 稔 穣 綾 惣 聡 肇 胤 艶 蔦 藤 蘭 虎 蝶 輔 辰 郁 酉 錦 鎌 靖 須 馨 駒 鯉 鯛 鶴 鹿 麿 亀\n\nSeven of them were later transferred to the jōyō kanji: \n仙 尚 杉 甚 磨 斉 龍\nWith the last one also being simplified to (dragon).\n\nJuly 30, 1976\n28 kanji were added, for a total of 120 characters.\n\n佑 允 冴 喬 怜 旭 杏 梓 梢 梨 沙 渚 瑠 瞳 紗 紘 絢 翠 耶 芙 茜 藍 那 阿 隼 鮎 葵\n\nOne was later transferred to the jōyō kanji: .\n\nOctober 1, 1981\nIntroduction of the jōyō kanji list, which includes the 8 characters mentioned above; those 8 are thus removed from the jinmeiyō kanji list.\n54 other characters are added for a total of 166 name characters.\n\n伍 伶 侑 尭 孟 峻 嵩 嶺 巴 彬 惇 惟 慧 斐 旦 昂 李 栗 楓 槙 汐 洵 洸 渥 瑛 瑶 璃 甫 皓 眸 矩 碧 笹 緋 翔 脩 苑 茉 莉 萌 萩 蓉 蕗 虹 諒 赳 迪 遥 遼 霞 頌 駿 鳩 鷹\n\nMarch 1, 1990\n118 kanji were added for a total of 284 characters.\n\n伎 伽 侃 倖 倭 偲 冶 凌 凜 凪 捺 於 旺 昴 晏 晟 晨 暉 曙 朔 凱 勁 叡 叶 唄 啄 奎 媛 嬉 宥 崚 嵐 嵯 巽 彗 彪 恕 憧 拳 捷 杜 柊 柚 柾 栞 梧 椋 椎 椰 椿 楊 榛 槻 樺 檀 毬 汀 汰 洲 湧 滉 漱 澪 熙 燎 燦 燿 爽 玖 琳 瑚 瑳 皐 眉 瞭 碩 秦 稀 稜 竣 笙 紬 絃 綜 綸 綺 耀 胡 舜 芹 茄 茅 莞 菖 菫 蒔 蒼 蓮 蕉 衿 袈 裟 詢 誼 諄 邑 醇 采 雛 鞠 颯 魁 鳳 鴻 鵬 麟 黎 黛\n\nDecember 3, 1997\n1 kanji was added, for a total of 285 characters.\n\n琉\n\nFebruary 23, 2004\n1 kanji was added, for a total of 286 characters.\n\n曽\n\nJune 7, 2004\n1 kanji was added, for a total of 287 characters.\n\n獅\n\nJune 11, 2004\nNo addition to the jinmeiyō kanji was made on this date. However, a plan for 578 additions was put forward to the council on jinmeiyō kanji of the legislative council of the Ministry of Justice. The list included certain characters in strong demand by parents for use in their children's names, such as:\n (ichigo, \"strawberry\")\n (haruka, \"distant\", traditional variant)\n (akira, \"scintillating\")\n (kiba, \"fang\")\n\nMany others were included not for their potential uses in names (as is noted), but rather because of their frequent use and being easy to read and write. Examples include:\n\n (kuso, \"excrement\")\n (noroi, \"curse\")\n (shikabane, \"corpse\")\n (gan, \"cancer\")\n\nAt this same council, the decision was made to call for suggestions on characters to be included or excluded via the Ministry of Justice website, until July 9, 2004.\n\nJuly 12, 2004\n3 kanji were added, for a total of 290 characters.\n\n毘 瀧 駕\n\nJuly 23, 2004\nNo additions were made. After sharp protests, the council decided to withdraw nine characters from the 489 whose inclusion had been discussed. These nine characters were:\n (kuso, \"excrement\")\n (noroi, \"curse\")\n (shikabane, \"corpse\")\n (gan, \"cancer\")\n (kansuru, \"rape, seduction\")\n (midara, \"obscene\")\n (urami, \"resentment\")\n (ji, \"hemorrhoids\")\n (mekake, \"concubine\")\n\nThe 480 other characters still remained under consideration for inclusion, with one additional character added to them, namely (kiku, \"to draw up water with one's hands\").\n\nSeptember 27, 2004\n484 characters and variant forms of 209 jōyō kanji were added, bringing the total number of the jinmeiyō kanji to 983.\n\nApril 30, 2009\n2 more characters were added for a total number of 985 characters.\n\n祷 穹\n\nNovember 30, 2010\nIn late 2010, the Japanese government added 196 characters to the jōyō kanji list. The list now includes 129 characters previously classified as jinmeiyō kanji, 11 of which are currently used in Japanese prefectures or nearby countries:\n\n (ibara in , Ibaraki Prefecture)\n (hime in , Ehime Prefecture)\n (oka in , Shizuoka Prefecture)\n (kan in , South Korea)\n (kuma in , Kumamoto Prefecture)\n (sai in , Saitama Prefecture)\n (tochi in , Tochigi Prefecture)\n (na in , Nara Prefecture)\n (nashi in , Yamanashi Prefecture)\n (saka in , Osaka)\n (fu in , Gifu Prefecture)\n\nAt the same time, 5 characters deleted from the jōyō kanji list were added to the jinmeiyō kanji list, making the total number of jinmeiyō kanji 861:\n (shaku, an old unit of measure approx. 18ml in volume, or 0.033m² in area)\n (sui or tsumu, a spindle or weight)\n (sen, pig iron)\n (chō or fuku[reru], to swell or bulge; mostly used in the compound , normally rewritten with instead)\n (momme, a unit of weight approx 3.75g)\n\nJanuary 7, 2015\n1 kanji was added, for a total of 862 characters.\n\n巫\n\nSeptember 25, 2017\n1 kanji was added, for a total of 863 characters.\n\n渾\n\nList of jinmeiyō kanji\nThe list is split into two parts: \n 633 characters which do not appear in the list of jōyō kanji (regular-use kanji). 18 of these have a variant, bringing the number of character forms to 651.\n 212 characters which are traditional forms (kyūjitai) of characters present in the list of jōyō kanji.\n\nJinmeiyō kanji not part of the jōyō kanji\nVariants are given in brackets.\n丑 丞 乃 之 乎 也 云 些 亦 亥 亨 亮 仔 伊 伍 伽 佃 佑 伶 侃 侑 俄 俠 俣 俐 倭 俱 倦 倖 偲 傭 儲 允 兎 兜 其 冴 凌 凧 凪 凰 凱 函 劉 劫 勁 勺 勿 匁 匡 廿 卜 卯 卿 厨 厩 叉 叡 叢 叶 只 吾 吞 吻 哉 哨 啄 哩 喬 喧 喰 喋 嘩 嘉 嘗 噌 噂 圃 圭 坐 坦 埴 堰 堺 堵 塙 壕 壬 夷 奄 奎 套 娃 姪 姥 娩 嬉 孟 宏 宋 宕 宥 寅 寓 寵 尖 尤 屑 峨 峻 崚 嵯 嵩 嶺 巫 已 巳 巴 巷 巽 帖 幌 幡 庄 庇 庚 庵 廟 廻 弘 弛 彗 彦 彪 彬 徠 忽 怜 恢 恰 恕 悌 惟 惚 悉 惇 惹 惺 惣 慧 憐 戊 或 戟 托 按 挺 挽 掬 捲 捷 捺 捧 掠 揃 摑 摺 撒 撰 撞 播 撫 擢 孜 敦 斐 斡 斧 斯 於 旭 昂 昊 昏 昌 昴 晏 晒 晋 晟 晦 晨 智 暉 暢 曙 曝 曳 朋 朔 杏 杖 杜 李 杭 杵 杷 枇 柑 柴 柘 柊 柏 柾 柚 栞 桔 桂 栖 桐 栗 梧 梓 梢 梛 梯 桶 梶 椛 梁 棲 椋 椀 楯 楚 楕 椿 楠 楓 椰 楢 楊 榎 樺 榊 榛 槍 槌 樫 槻 樟 樋 橘 樽 橙 檎 檀 櫂 櫛 櫓 欣 欽 歎 此 殆 毅 毘 毬 汀 汝 汐 汲 沌 沓 沫 洸 洲 洵 洛 浩 浬 淵 淳 淀 淋 渥 渾 湘 湊 湛 溢 滉 溜 漱 漕 漣 澪 濡 瀕 灘 灸 灼 烏 焰 焚 煌 煤 煉 熙 燕 燎 燦 燭 燿 爾 牒 牟 牡 牽 犀 狼 獅 玖 珂 珈 珊 珀 玲 琉 瑛 琥 琶 琵 琳 瑚 瑞 瑶 瑳 瓜 瓢 甥 甫 畠 畢 疋 疏 皐 皓 眸 瞥 矩 砦 砥 砧 硯 碓 碗 碩 碧 磐 磯 祇 禽 禾 秦 秤 稀 稔 稟 稜 穹 穿 窄 窪 窺 竣 竪 竺 竿 笈 笹 笙 笠 筈 筑 箕 箔 篇 篠 簞 簾 籾 粥 粟 糊 紘 紗 紐 絃 紬 絆 絢 綺 綜 綴 緋 綾 綸 縞 徽 繫 繡 纂 纏 羚 翔 翠 耀 而 耶 耽 聡 肇 肋 肴 胤 胡 脩 腔 脹 膏 臥 舜 舵 芥 芹 芭 芙 芦 苑 茄 苔 苺 茅 茉 茸 茜 莞 荻 莫 莉 菅 菫 菖 萄 菩 萊 菱 葦 葵 萱 葺 萩 董 葡 蓑 蒔 蒐 蒼 蒲 蒙 蓉 蓮 蔭 蔣 蔦 蓬 蔓 蕎 蕨 蕉 蕃 蕪 薙 蕾 蕗 藁 薩 蘇 蘭 蝦 蝶 螺 蟬 蟹 蠟 衿 袈 袴 裡 裟 裳 襖 訊 訣 註 詢 詫 誼 諏 諄 諒 謂 諺 讃 豹 貰 賑 赳 跨 蹄 蹟 輔 輯 輿 轟 辰 辻 迂 迄 辿 迪 迦 這 逞 逗 逢 遁 遼 邑 祁 郁 鄭 酉 醇 醐 醍 醬 釉 釘 釧 銑 鋒 鋸 錘 錐 錆 錫 鍬 鎧 閃 閏 閤 阿 陀 隈 隼 雀 雁 雛 雫 霞 靖 鞄 鞍 鞘 鞠 鞭 頁 頌 頗 顚 颯 饗 馨 馴 馳 駕 駿 驍 魁 魯 鮎 鯉 鯛 鰯 鱒 鱗 鳩 鳶 鳳 鴨 鴻 鵜 鵬 鷗 鷲 鷺 鷹 麒 麟 麿 黎 黛 鼎\n\nThe 18 variant characters included in the list, with non-variant forms in parentheses, are:\n\nTraditional variants of jōyō kanji\nThe modern form (shinjitai), which appears in the Jōyō Kanji List, is given in brackets.\n \n\nNote that is merely the closest Wikipedia can come to the form on the official list, where the first (top left) stroke is horizontal rather than vertical.\n\nActual usage in names\nUsage of the Jinmeiyō Kanji in Japanese names varies widely. For example, 之, is used in over 6000 names, and the 53 kanji used most commonly in names are all in over 500 names each.\n\nSee also\n\nInmyongyong chuga hanjapyo (Korean names)\n\nExternal links\n List of Jōyō Kanji (Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs)\n List of Jinmeiyō Kanji (Japanese Ministry of Justice)\n\nReferences\n\nKanji\nJapanese writing system", "A naming taboo is a cultural taboo against speaking or writing the given names of exalted persons, for example in China and within the Chinese cultural sphere. It was enforced by several laws throughout Imperial China, but its cultural and possibly religious origins predate the Qin dynasty. Not respecting the appropriate naming taboos was considered a sign of lacking education and respect, and brought shame both to the offender and the offended person.\n\nTypes\n The naming taboo of the state ( guóhuì) discouraged the use of the emperor's given name and those of his ancestors. For example, during the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shi Huang's given name Zhèng (< B-S: *teŋ-s) was avoided, and the first month of the year, the upright month (; Zhèngyuè) had its pronunciation modified to Zhēngyuè (OC B-S: *teŋ, like \"to go on a long journey, to go on a military campaign\") and then further renamed as the proper/upright month (; Duānyuè < OC, B-S *tˤor]). The strength of this taboo was reinforced by law; transgressors could expect serious punishment for writing an emperor's name without modifications. In 1777, Wang Xihou, in his dictionary, criticized the Kangxi dictionary and wrote the Qianlong Emperor's name without leaving out any stroke as required. This disrespect resulted in his and his family's executions and confiscation of their property. This type of naming taboo is no longer observed in modern China.\n The naming taboo of the clan () discouraged the use of the names of one's own ancestors. Generally, ancestor names going back to seven generations were avoided. In diplomatic documents and letters between clans, each clan's naming taboos were observed.\n The naming taboo of the holinesses () discouraged the use of the names of respected people. For example, writing the name of Confucius was taboo during the Jin Dynasty.\n\nMethods to avoid offense\n\nThere were three ways to avoid using a taboo character:\n Changing the character to another, usually a synonym or one which sounded similar to the character being avoided. For example, the Black Warrior Gate (; Xuanwu Gate) of the Forbidden City was renamed the Gate of Divine Might (神武門; Shenwu Gate) in order to avoid using a character from the Kangxi Emperor's name, Xuanye ().\n Leaving the character as a blank.\n Omitting a stroke in the character, usually the final stroke.\n\nIn history\nThroughout Chinese history, there were emperors whose names contained common characters who would try to alleviate the burden of the populace in practicing name avoidance. For example, Emperor Xuan of Han, whose given name Bingyi (病已) contained two very common characters, changed his name to Xun (詢), a far less common character, with the stated purpose of making it easier for his people to avoid using his name. Similarly, Emperor Taizong of Tang, whose given name Shimin (世民) also contained two very common characters, ordered that name avoidance only required the avoidance of the characters Shi and Min in direct succession and that it did not require the avoidance of those characters in isolation.\n\nHowever, Emperor Taizong's son Emperor Gaozong of Tang effectively made this edict ineffective after his death, by requiring the complete avoidance of the characters Shi and Min, necessitating the chancellor Li Shiji to change his name to Li Ji. In later dynasties, princes were frequently given names that contained uncommon characters to make it easier for the public to avoid them, should they become emperor later in life.\n\nDuring the rule of the Ming Emperor of Han (Liu Zhuang), whose personal name was Zhuang, most people with surname Zhuang (莊) were ordered to change their names to its synonym Yan (). \n\nThe custom of naming taboo had a built-in contradiction: without knowing what the emperors' names were, one could hardly be expected to avoid them, thus somehow the emperors' names had to be informally transmitted to the populace to allow them to take cognizance of and thus avoid using said characters. In one famous incident in 435, during the Northern Wei Dynasty, Goguryeo ambassadors made a formal request that the imperial government issue them a document containing the emperors' names so that they could avoid offending the emperor while submitting their king's petition. Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei agreed and issued them such a document. However, the mechanism of how the regular populace would be able to learn the emperors' names remained generally unclear throughout Chinese history.\n\nThis taboo is important to keep in mind when studying ancient historical texts from the cultural sphere, as historical characters and/or locations may be renamed if they happen to share a name with the emperor in power (or previous emperors of the same dynasty) when the text was written. Thus, the study of naming taboos can also help date an ancient text.\n\nIn other countries \nJapan was also influenced by the naming taboo. In modern Japan, it concerns only the Emperor of Japan, whom people only refer to as Tennō Heika (; his Majesty the Emperor) or Kinjō Heika (; his current Majesty). Historically, it was considered very rude to call someone else's real name, even if it was the lord calling his vassals. Calling someone else's real name was equivalent to picking a fight. Titles or pseudonyms were often used when calling others in place of their real names. However, this does not apply to the Chinese characters in written names.\n\nIn Vietnam, the family name Hoàng (黃) was changed to Huỳnh in the South due to the naming taboo of Lord Nguyễn Hoàng's name. Similarly, the family name \"Vũ\" (武) is known as \"Võ\" in the South.\n\nSee also \n Imperial examination in Chinese mythology, example\n Names of God in Judaism, similar taboo\n Taboo against naming the dead, similar taboo in many cultures\n\nReferences\n\nFurther reading \n陳垣 (Chen Yuan),《史諱舉例》 (Examples of Taboos in History) - the pioneering work in the field, written during the early 20th century, numerous editions\n\nChinese culture\nNaming\nTaboo\nEast Asian traditions" ]
[ "Neil Simon", "Characters", "who were the characters?", "Simon's characters are typically portrayed as \"imperfect, unheroic figures who are at heart decent human beings\",", "what were the names of the characters?", "I don't know." ]
C_3cb14ee2e48f460d894c48981ea7ee4b_0
what were the characters from?
3
what were the Neil Simon's characters from?
Neil Simon
Simon's characters are typically portrayed as "imperfect, unheroic figures who are at heart decent human beings", according to Koprince, and she traces Simon's style of comedy to that of Menander, a playwright of ancient Greece. Menander, like Simon, also used average people in domestic life settings, the stories also blending humor and tragedy into his themes. Many of Simon's most memorable plays are built around two-character scenes, as in segments of California Suite and Plaza Suite. Before writing, Simon tries to create an image of his characters. He says that the play, Star Spangled Girl which was a box-office failure, was "the only play I ever wrote where I did not have a clear visual image of the characters in my mind as I sat down at the typewriter." Simon considers "character building" as an obligation, stating that the "trick is to do it skillfully". While other writers have created vivid characters, they have not created nearly as many as Simon: "Simon has no peers among contemporary comedy playwrights," states biographer Robert Johnson. Simon's characters often amuse the audience with sparkling "zingers," believable due to Simon's skill with writing dialogue. He reproduces speech so "adroitly" that his characters are usually plausible and easy for audiences to identify with and laugh at. His characters may also express "serious and continuing concerns of mankind ... rather than purely topical material". McGovern notes that his characters are always impatient "with phoniness, with shallowness, with amorality", adding that they sometimes express "implicit and explicit criticism of modern urban life with its stress, its vacuity, and its materialism." However, Simon's characters will never be seen thumbing his or her nose at society." CANNOTANSWER
his characters are usually plausible and easy for audiences to identify with and laugh at.
Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received more combined Oscar and Tony Award nominations than any other writer. Simon grew up in New York City during the Great Depression. His parents' financial difficulties affected their marriage, giving him a mostly unhappy and unstable childhood. He often took refuge in movie theaters, where he enjoyed watching early comedians like Charlie Chaplin. After graduating from high school and serving a few years in the Army Air Force Reserve, he began writing comedy scripts for radio programs and popular early television shows. Among the latter were Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows (where in 1950 he worked alongside other young writers including Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Larry Gelbart and Selma Diamond), and The Phil Silvers Show, which ran from 1955 to 1959. His first produced play was Come Blow Your Horn (1961). It took him three years to complete and ran for 678 performances on Broadway. It was followed by two more successes, Barefoot in the Park (1963) and The Odd Couple (1965). He won a Tony Award for the latter. It made him a national celebrity and "the hottest new playwright on Broadway". From the 1960s to the 1980s he wrote for stage and screen; some of his screenplays were based on his own works for the stage. His style ranged from farce to romantic comedy to more serious dramatic comedy. Overall, he garnered 17 Tony nominations and won three awards. In 1966, he had four successful productions running on Broadway at the same time, and in 1983 he became the only living playwright to have a New York theatre, the Neil Simon Theatre, named in his honor. Early years Neil Simon was born on July 4, 1927, in The Bronx, New York City, to Jewish parents. His father, Irving Simon, was a garment salesman, and his mother, Mamie (Levy) Simon, was mostly a homemaker. Neil had one brother, eight years his senior, television writer and comedy teacher Danny Simon. He grew up in Washington Heights, Manhattan, and graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School when he was sixteen. He was nicknamed 'Doc', and the school yearbook described him as extremely shy. Simon's childhood was marked by his parents' "tempestuous marriage" and the financial hardship caused by the Depression. Sometimes at night he blocked out their arguments by putting a pillow over his ears. His father often abandoned the family for months at a time, causing them further financial and emotional suffering. As a result, the family took in boarders, and Simon and his brother Danny were sometimes forced to live with different relatives. During an interview with writer Lawrence Grobel, Simon said: "To this day I never really knew what the reason for all the fights and battles were about between the two of them ... She'd hate him and be very angry, but he would come back and she would take him back. She really loved him." Simon has said that one of the reasons he became a writer was to fulfill a need to be independent of such emotional family issues, a need he recognized when he was seven or eight: "I'd better start taking care of myself somehow ... It made me strong as an independent person. He was able to do that at the movies, in the work of stars like Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Laurel and Hardy. "I was constantly being dragged out of movies for laughing too loud." Simon acknowledged these childhood films as his inspiration: "I wanted to make a whole audience fall onto the floor, writhing and laughing so hard that some of them pass out." He made writing comedy his long-term goal, and also saw it as a way to connect with people. "I was never going to be an athlete or a doctor." He began writing for pay while still in high school: At the age of fifteen, Simon and his brother created a series of comedy sketches for employees at an annual department store event. To help develop his writing skill, he often spent three days a week at the library reading books by famous humorists such as Mark Twain, Robert Benchley, George S. Kaufman and S. J. Perelman. Soon after graduating from high school, he signed up with the Army Air Force Reserve at New York University. He attained the rank of corporal and was eventually sent to Colorado. During those years in the Reserve, Simon wrote professionally, starting as a sports editor. He was assigned to Lowry Air Force Base during 1945 and attended the University of Denver from 1945 to 1946. Writing career Television Simon quit his job as a mailroom clerk in the Warner Brothers offices in Manhattan to write radio and television scripts with his brother Danny Simon, under the tutelage of radio humorist Goodman Ace, who ran a short-lived writing workshop for CBS. Their work for the radio series The Robert Q. Lewis Show led to other writing jobs. Max Liebman hired the duo for the writing team of his popular television comedy series Your Show of Shows. The program received Emmy Award nominations for Best Variety Show in 1951, 1952, 1953, and 1954, and won in 1952 and 1953. Simon later wrote scripts for The Phil Silvers Show, for episodes broadcast during 1958 and 1959. Simon later recalled the importance of these two writing jobs to his career: "Between the two of them, I spent five years and learned more about what I was eventually going to do than in any other previous experience." "I knew when I walked into Your Show of Shows, that this was the most talented group of writers that up until that time had ever been assembled together." Simon described a typical writing session: Simon incorporated some of these experiences into his play Laughter on the 23rd Floor (1993). A 2001 TV adaptation of the play won him two Emmy Award nominations. Stage His first Broadway experience was on Catch a Star! (1955); he collaborated on sketches with his brother, Danny. In 1961, Simon's first Broadway play, Come Blow Your Horn, ran for 678 performances at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. Simon took three years to create that first play, partly because he was also working on television scripts. He rewrote it at least twenty times from beginning to end: "It was the lack of belief in myself", he recalled. "I said, 'This isn't good enough. It's not right.' ... It was the equivalent of three years of college." Besides being a "monumental effort" for Simon, that play was a turning point in his career: "The theater and I discovered each other." Barefoot in the Park (1963) and The Odd Couple (1965), for which he won a Tony Award, brought him national celebrity, and he was considered "the hottest new playwright on Broadway", according to Susan Koprince. Those successes were followed by others. During 1966, Simon had four shows playing simultaneously at Broadway theatres: Sweet Charity, The Star-Spangled Girl, The Odd Couple and Barefoot in the Park. These earned him royalties of $1 million a year. His professional association with producer Emanuel Azenberg began with The Sunshine Boys and continued with The Good Doctor, God's Favorite, Chapter Two, They're Playing Our Song, I Ought to Be in Pictures, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, Broadway Bound, Jake's Women, The Goodbye Girl and Laughter on the 23rd Floor, among others. His work ranged from romantic comedies to serious drama. Overall, he received seventeen Tony nominations and won three awards. Simon also adapted material originated by others, such as the musical Little Me (1962), based on the novel by Patrick Dennis; Sweet Charity (1966) from the screenplay for the film Nights of Cabiria (1957), written by Federico Fellini and others; and Promises, Promises (1968) a musical version of Billy Wilder's film, The Apartment. By the time of Last of the Red Hot Lovers in 1969, Simon was reputedly earning $45,000 a week from his shows (excluding sale of rights), making him the most financially successful Broadway writer ever. Simon also served as an uncredited "script doctor", helping to hone the books of Broadway-bound plays or musicals under development, as he did for A Chorus Line (1975). During the 1970s, he wrote a string of successful plays; sometimes more than one was playing at the same time, to standing room only audiences. Although he was, by then, recognized as one of the country's leading playwrights, his inner drive kept him writing: Simon drew "extensively on his own life and experience" for his stories. His settings are typically working-class New York City neighborhoods, similar to the ones in which he grew up. In 1983, he began writing the first of three autobiographical plays, Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983), which would be followed by Biloxi Blues (1985) and Broadway Bound (1986). He received his greatest critical acclaim for this trilogy. He received a Pulitzer Prize for his follow-up play, Lost in Yonkers (1991), which starred Mercedes Ruehl and was a success on Broadway. Following Lost in Yonkers, Simon's next several plays did not meet with commercial success. The Dinner Party (2000), which starred Henry Winkler and John Ritter, was "a modest hit". Simon's final play, Rose's Dilemma, premiered in 2003 and received poor reviews. Simon is credited as playwright and contributing writer to at least 49 Broadway plays. Screen Simon chose not to write the screenplay for the first film adaptation of his work, Come Blow Your Horn (1963), preferring to focus on his playwriting. However, he was disappointed with the picture, and thereafter tried to control the conversion of his works. Simon wrote screenplays for more than twenty films and received four Academy Award nominations—for The Odd Couple (1969), The Sunshine Boys (1975), The Goodbye Girl (1977) and California Suite (1978). Other movies include The Out-of-Towners (1970) and Murder by Death (1976). Although most of his films were successful, movies were always of secondary importance to his plays: Many of his earlier adaptations of his own work were very similar to the original plays. Simon observed in hindsight: "I really didn't have an interest in films then. I was mainly interested in continuing writing for the theater ... The plays never became cinematic". The Odd Couple (1968), was one highly successful early adaptation, faithful to the stage play but also opened out, with more scenic variety. Writing style and subject matter The key aspect most consistent in Simon's writing style is comedy, situational and verbal, and presents serious subjects in a way that makes audiences "laugh to avoid weeping". He achieved this with rapid-fire jokes and wisecracks, in a wide variety of urban settings and stories. This creates a "sophisticated, urban humor", says editor Kimball King, and results in plays that represent "middle America". Simon created everyday, apparently simple conflicts with his stories, which became comical premises for problems which needed be solved. Another feature of his writing is his adherence to traditional values regarding marriage and family. McGovern states that this thread of the monogamous family runs through most of Simon's work, and is one he feels is necessary to give stability to society. Some critics have therefore described his stories as somewhat old fashioned, although Johnson points out that most members of his audiences "are delighted to find Simon upholding their own beliefs". And where infidelity is the theme in a Simon play, rarely, if ever, do those characters gain happiness: "In Simon's eyes, adds Johnson, "divorce is never a victory." Another aspect of Simon's style is his ability to combine both comedy and drama. Barefoot in the Park, for example, is a light romantic comedy, while portions of Plaza Suite were written as "farce", and portions of California Suite are "high comedy". Simon was willing to experiment and take risks, often moving his plays in new and unexpected directions. In The Gingerbread Lady, he combined comedy with tragedy; Rumors (1988) is a full-length farce; in Jake's Women and Brighton Beach Memoirs he used dramatic narration; in The Good Doctor, he created a "pastiche of sketches" around various stories by Chekhov; and Fools (1981), was written as a fairy-tale romance similar to stories by Sholem Aleichem. Although some of these efforts failed to win approval from many critics, Koprince claims that they nonetheless demonstrate Simon's "seriousness as a playwright and his interest in breaking new ground." Characters Simon's characters are typically "imperfect, unheroic figures who are at heart decent human beings", according to Koprince, and she traces Simon's style of comedy back to that of Menander, a playwright of ancient Greece. Menander, like Simon, also used average people in domestic life settings, and also blended humor and tragedy into his themes. Many of Simon's most memorable plays are built around two-character scenes, as in segments of California Suite and Plaza Suite. Before writing, Simon tried to create an image of his characters. He said that the play Star Spangled Girl, which was a box-office failure, was "the only play I ever wrote where I did not have a clear visual image of the characters in my mind as I sat down at the typewriter." Simon considered "character building" an obligation, stating that the "trick is to do it skillfully". While other writers have created vivid characters, they have not created nearly as many as Simon did: "Simon has no peers among contemporary comedy playwrights", stated biographer Robert Johnson. Simon's characters often amuse the audience with sparkling "zingers", made believable by Simon's skillful writing of dialogue. He reproduces speech so "adroitly" that his characters are usually plausible and easy for audiences to identify with and laugh at. His characters may also express "serious and continuing concerns of mankind ... rather than purely topical material". McGovern notes that his characters are always impatient "with phoniness, with shallowness, with amorality", adding that they sometimes express "implicit and explicit criticism of modern urban life with its stress, its vacuity, and its materialism." However, Simon's characters are never seen thumbing their noses at society." Themes and genres Theater critic John Lahr believes that Simon's primary theme is "the silent majority", many of whom are "frustrated, edgy, and insecure". Simon's characters are "likable" and easy for audiences to identify with. They often have difficult relationships in marriage, friendship or business, as they "struggle to find a sense of belonging". According to biographer Edythe McGovern, there is always "an implied seeking for solutions to human problems through relationships with other people, [and] Simon is able to deal with serious topics of universal and enduring concern", while still making people laugh. McGovern adds that one of Simon's hallmarks is his "great compassion for his fellow human beings", an opinion shared by author Alan Cooper, who observes that Simon's plays "are essentially about friendships, even when they are about marriage or siblings or crazy aunts ..." Many of Simon's plays are set in New York City, with a resulting urban flavor. Within that setting, Simon's themes include marital conflict, infidelity, sibling rivalry, adolescence, bereavement and fear of aging. Despite the serious nature of these ideas, Simon always manages to tell the stories with humor, embracing both realism and comedy. Simon would tell aspiring comedy playwrights "not to try to make it funny ... try and make it real and then the comedy will come." "When I was writing plays", he said, "I was almost always (with some exceptions) writing a drama that was funny ... I wanted to tell a story about real people." Simon explained how he managed this combination: His comedies often portray struggles with marital difficulties or fading love, sometimes leading to separation, divorce and child custody issues. After many twists in the plot, the endings typically show renewal of the relationships. Politics seldom plays in Simon's stories, and his characters avoid confronting society as a whole, despite their personal problems. "Simon is simply interested in showing human beings as they are—with their foibles, eccentricities, and absurdities." Drama critic Richard Eder noted that Simon's popularity relies on his ability to portray a "painful comedy", where characters say and do funny things in extreme contrast to the unhappiness they are feeling. Simon's plays are generally semi-autobiographical, often portraying aspects of his troubled childhood and first marriages. According to Koprince, Simon's plays also "invariably depict the plight of white middle-class Americans, most of whom are New Yorkers and many of whom are Jewish, like himself." He has said, "I suppose you could practically trace my life through my plays." In Lost in Yonkers, Simon suggests the necessity of a loving marriage (as opposed to his parents'), and how children who are deprived of it in their home, "end up emotionally damaged and lost". According to Koprince, Simon's Jewish heritage is a key influence on his work, although he is unaware of it when writing. For example, in the Brighton Beach trilogy, she explains, the lead character is a "master of self-deprecating humor, cleverly poking fun at himself and at his Jewish culture as a whole." Simon himself has said that his characters are people who are "often self-deprecating and [who] usually see life from the grimmest point of view", explaining, "I see humor in even the grimmest of situations. And I think it's possible to write a play so moving it can tear you apart and still have humor in it." This theme in writing, notes Koprince, "belongs to a tradition of Jewish humor ... a tradition which values laughter as a defense mechanism and which sees humor as a healing, life-giving force." Critical response During most of his career, Simon's work received mixed reviews, with many critics admiring his comedy skills, much of it a blend of "humor and pathos". Other critics were less complimentary, noting that much of his dramatic structure was weak and sometimes relied too heavily on gags and one-liners. As a result, notes Kopince, "literary scholars had generally ignored Simon's early work, regarding him as a commercially successful playwright rather than a serious dramatist." Clive Barnes, theater critic for The New York Times, wrote that like his British counterpart Noël Coward, Simon was "destined to spend most of his career underestimated", but nonetheless very "popular". This attitude changed after 1991, when he won a Pulitzer Prize for drama with Lost in Yonkers. McGovern writes that "seldom has even the most astute critic recognized what depths really exist in the plays of Neil Simon." When Lost in Yonkers was considered by the Pulitzer Advisory Board, board member Douglas Watt noted that it was the only play nominated by all five jury members, and that they judged it "a mature work by an enduring (and often undervalued) American playwright." McGovern compares Simon with noted earlier playwrights, including Ben Jonson, Molière, and George Bernard Shaw, pointing out that those playwrights had "successfully raised fundamental and sometimes tragic issues of universal and therefore enduring interest without eschewing the comic mode." She concludes, "It is my firm conviction that Neil Simon should be considered a member of this company ... an invitation long overdue." McGovern attempts to explain the response of many critics: Similarly, literary critic Robert Johnson explains that Simon's plays have given us a "rich variety of entertaining, memorable characters" who portray the human experience, often with serious themes. Although his characters are "more lifelike, more complicated and more interesting" than most of the characters audiences see on stage, Simon has "not received as much critical attention as he deserves." Lawrence Grobel, in fact, calls him "the Shakespeare of his time", and possibly the "most successful playwright in history." He states: Broadway critic Walter Kerr tries to rationalize why Simon's work has been underrated: Personal life Simon was married five times. For 20 years (1953–73), he was married to Joan Baim, a Martha Graham dancer, and had two daughters, Nancy and Ellen, with her. Simon became a widower in 1973 when Baim died of bone cancer at age 41. Ellen was 16 and her sister Nancy just 10 when they lost their mother. Simon married actress Marsha Mason (1973–1983), actress Diane Lander in two separate marriages (1987–1988 and 1990–1998), and actress Elaine Joyce (1999–2018). He was also the father of Bryn, Lander's daughter from a previous relationship, whom he adopted. Simon's nephew is U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon and his niece-in-law is U.S. Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici. Simon was on the board of selectors of Jefferson Awards for Public Service. In 2004, Simon received a kidney transplant from his long-time friend and publicist Bill Evans. Neil Simon died from pneumonia at New York–Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan on August 26, 2018, while hospitalized for kidney failure. He was 91, and also had Alzheimer's disease. Awards and honors Simon held three honorary degrees: a Doctor of Humane Letters from Hofstra University, a Doctor of Letters from Marquette University and a Doctor of Law from Williams College. In 1983 Simon became the only living playwright to have a New York City theatre named after him. The Alvin Theatre on Broadway was renamed the Neil Simon Theatre in his honor, and he was an honorary board of trustees member of the Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, America's oldest theatre. Also in 1983, Simon was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. In 1965, he won the Tony Award for Best Playwright (The Odd Couple), and in 1975, a special Tony Award for his overall contribution to American theater. Simon won the 1978 Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay for The Goodbye Girl. For Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983), he was awarded the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, followed by another Tony Award for Best Play of 1985, Biloxi Blues. In 1991, he won the Pulitzer Prize along with the Tony Award for Lost in Yonkers (1991). The Neil Simon Festival is a professional summer repertory theatre devoted to preserving the works of Simon and his contemporaries. The Neil Simon Festival was founded by Richard Dean Bugg in 2003. In 2006, Simon received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Bibliography Television Television series Simon, as a member of a writing staff, penned material for the following shows: The Garry Moore Show (1950) Your Show of Shows (1950–54) Caesar's Hour (1954–57) Stanley (1956) The Phil Silvers Show (1958–59) Kibbee Hates Fitch (1965) (pilot for a never-made series; this episode by Simon aired once on CBS on August 2, 1965) Movies made for television The following made-for-TV movies were all written solely by Simon, and all based on his earlier plays or screenplays The Good Doctor (1978) Plaza Suite (1987) Broadway Bound (1992) The Sunshine Boys (1996) Jake's Women (1996) London Suite (1996) Laughter on the 23rd Floor (2001) The Goodbye Girl (2004) Theatre Come Blow Your Horn (1961) Little Me (1962) Barefoot in the Park (1963) The Odd Couple (1965) Sweet Charity (1966) The Star-Spangled Girl (1966) Plaza Suite (1968) Promises, Promises (1968) Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1969) The Gingerbread Lady (1970) The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1971) The Sunshine Boys (1972) The Good Doctor (1973) God's Favorite (1974) California Suite (1976) Chapter Two (1977) They're Playing Our Song (1979) I Ought to Be in Pictures (1980) Fools (1981) Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983) Biloxi Blues (1985) Broadway Bound (1986) Rumors (1988) Lost in Yonkers (1991) Jake's Women (1992) The Goodbye Girl (1993) Laughter on the 23rd Floor (1993) London Suite (1995) Proposals (1997) The Dinner Party (2000) 45 Seconds from Broadway (2001) Rose's Dilemma (2003) In addition to these plays and musicals, Simon has twice rewritten or updated his 1965 play The Odd Couple. Both updated versions have run under new titles: The Female Odd Couple (1985) and Oscar and Felix: A New Look at the Odd Couple (2002). Screenplays After the Fox (with Cesare Zavattini) (1966) Barefoot in the Park (1967) † The Odd Couple (1968) † The Out-of-Towners (1970) Plaza Suite (1971) † Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1972) † The Heartbreak Kid (1972) The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975) † The Sunshine Boys (1975) † Murder by Death (1976) The Goodbye Girl (1977) The Cheap Detective (1978) California Suite (1978) † Chapter Two (1979) † Seems Like Old Times (1980) Only When I Laugh (1981) ‡ I Ought to Be in Pictures (1982) † Max Dugan Returns (1983) The Lonely Guy (1984) (adaptation only; screenplay by Ed. Weinberger and Stan Daniels) The Slugger's Wife (1985) Brighton Beach Memoirs (1986) † Biloxi Blues (1988) † The Marrying Man (1991) Lost in Yonkers (1993) † The Odd Couple II (1998) † Screenplay by Simon, based on his play of the same name. ‡ Screenplay by Simon, loosely adapted from his 1970 play The Gingerbread Lady. Memoirs References External links video: , 6 minutes The Neil Simon Festival PBS article, American Masters 1927 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male dramatists and playwrights American male screenwriters Best Screenplay Golden Globe winners DeWitt Clinton High School alumni Drama Desk Award winners Deaths from pneumonia in New York (state) Jewish American dramatists and playwrights Jewish American screenwriters Jewish American comedians Kennedy Center honorees Kidney transplant recipients Mark Twain Prize recipients Military personnel from New York City Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners Screenwriters from New York (state) Simon family Tisch School of the Arts alumni Tony Award winners Writers from the Bronx Jewish American male comedians United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II United States Army Air Forces non-commissioned officers Deaths from kidney failure United States Army reservists 20th-century American male writers
true
[ "Tottles was a character from Lewis Carroll's novel Sylvie and Bruno Concluded (1893), the second volume following on from Sylvie and Bruno (1889). It includes a stanza on What Tottles Meant in Chapter 13.\n\nTottles the Bear, with a name derived from the Lewis Carroll character, is a fictional bear who features in children's stories. He was originated by Humphry Bowen. He has a girlfriend called Tutu and a best friend called Tuttles.\n\nA book by Gina Hughes entitled Tommy Tottlebears Days Before Christmas was published in 2000.\n\nSee also\n\n Tootles, one of the lost boys in Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie (1904)\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Chapter 13: What Tottles Meant\n Full text from Archive.org\n\nLiterary characters introduced in 1893\nChildren's short stories\nBears in literature\nFictional bears\nCharacters in children's literature\nLewis Carroll characters", "Pizzaboy or Pizza Boy or variation, may refer to:\n\nPeople\n pizza delivery boy\n Sal Rinauro (pro-wrestler), who wrestled under the ringname \"Pizza Boy\"\n\nFictional characters\n Pizzaboy, a character from the Portuguese comic book The Adventures of Dog Mendonça & Pizzaboy\n Pizza Boy, a character from the webseries Home at Last (web series)\n The Pizza Boy, a character form the British children's stop-motion show Roary the Racing Car\n Pizza Boy (aka Marky), a character from the British soap opera EastEnders, see List of EastEnders characters (2018)\n\nFilm and television\n Pizza Boy (TV episode) 2017 season 1 episode 2 of Room 104\n The Pizza Boy (TV episode) 2002 number 26 season 2 episode 4 of According to Jim, see List of According to Jim episodes\n Pizza Boy (animated short) 1996 animated short film from the anthology series What a Cartoon!\n\nMusic\n Pizza Boy (2012 song), hiphop song from the 2012 mixtape London Boy\n Pizza Boy (2008 song), comedic song with David Cross from the album Awesome Record, Great Songs! Volume One\n Pizza Boy (2007 song), a song by Jim Bob off the album A Humpty Dumpty Thing\n\nOther uses\n Pizza Boy, a fictional pizzeria from Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, see List of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City characters\n\nSee also\n\n \n \n \n \n Pizzaman (disambiguation)\n Pizza Guy (disambiguation)\n Pizza (disambiguation)\n Boy (disambiguation)" ]
[ "Neil Simon", "Characters", "who were the characters?", "Simon's characters are typically portrayed as \"imperfect, unheroic figures who are at heart decent human beings\",", "what were the names of the characters?", "I don't know.", "what were the characters from?", "his characters are usually plausible and easy for audiences to identify with and laugh at." ]
C_3cb14ee2e48f460d894c48981ea7ee4b_0
were these characters from a tv show?
4
were Neil Simon's characters from a tv show?
Neil Simon
Simon's characters are typically portrayed as "imperfect, unheroic figures who are at heart decent human beings", according to Koprince, and she traces Simon's style of comedy to that of Menander, a playwright of ancient Greece. Menander, like Simon, also used average people in domestic life settings, the stories also blending humor and tragedy into his themes. Many of Simon's most memorable plays are built around two-character scenes, as in segments of California Suite and Plaza Suite. Before writing, Simon tries to create an image of his characters. He says that the play, Star Spangled Girl which was a box-office failure, was "the only play I ever wrote where I did not have a clear visual image of the characters in my mind as I sat down at the typewriter." Simon considers "character building" as an obligation, stating that the "trick is to do it skillfully". While other writers have created vivid characters, they have not created nearly as many as Simon: "Simon has no peers among contemporary comedy playwrights," states biographer Robert Johnson. Simon's characters often amuse the audience with sparkling "zingers," believable due to Simon's skill with writing dialogue. He reproduces speech so "adroitly" that his characters are usually plausible and easy for audiences to identify with and laugh at. His characters may also express "serious and continuing concerns of mankind ... rather than purely topical material". McGovern notes that his characters are always impatient "with phoniness, with shallowness, with amorality", adding that they sometimes express "implicit and explicit criticism of modern urban life with its stress, its vacuity, and its materialism." However, Simon's characters will never be seen thumbing his or her nose at society." CANNOTANSWER
Many of Simon's most memorable plays
Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received more combined Oscar and Tony Award nominations than any other writer. Simon grew up in New York City during the Great Depression. His parents' financial difficulties affected their marriage, giving him a mostly unhappy and unstable childhood. He often took refuge in movie theaters, where he enjoyed watching early comedians like Charlie Chaplin. After graduating from high school and serving a few years in the Army Air Force Reserve, he began writing comedy scripts for radio programs and popular early television shows. Among the latter were Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows (where in 1950 he worked alongside other young writers including Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Larry Gelbart and Selma Diamond), and The Phil Silvers Show, which ran from 1955 to 1959. His first produced play was Come Blow Your Horn (1961). It took him three years to complete and ran for 678 performances on Broadway. It was followed by two more successes, Barefoot in the Park (1963) and The Odd Couple (1965). He won a Tony Award for the latter. It made him a national celebrity and "the hottest new playwright on Broadway". From the 1960s to the 1980s he wrote for stage and screen; some of his screenplays were based on his own works for the stage. His style ranged from farce to romantic comedy to more serious dramatic comedy. Overall, he garnered 17 Tony nominations and won three awards. In 1966, he had four successful productions running on Broadway at the same time, and in 1983 he became the only living playwright to have a New York theatre, the Neil Simon Theatre, named in his honor. Early years Neil Simon was born on July 4, 1927, in The Bronx, New York City, to Jewish parents. His father, Irving Simon, was a garment salesman, and his mother, Mamie (Levy) Simon, was mostly a homemaker. Neil had one brother, eight years his senior, television writer and comedy teacher Danny Simon. He grew up in Washington Heights, Manhattan, and graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School when he was sixteen. He was nicknamed 'Doc', and the school yearbook described him as extremely shy. Simon's childhood was marked by his parents' "tempestuous marriage" and the financial hardship caused by the Depression. Sometimes at night he blocked out their arguments by putting a pillow over his ears. His father often abandoned the family for months at a time, causing them further financial and emotional suffering. As a result, the family took in boarders, and Simon and his brother Danny were sometimes forced to live with different relatives. During an interview with writer Lawrence Grobel, Simon said: "To this day I never really knew what the reason for all the fights and battles were about between the two of them ... She'd hate him and be very angry, but he would come back and she would take him back. She really loved him." Simon has said that one of the reasons he became a writer was to fulfill a need to be independent of such emotional family issues, a need he recognized when he was seven or eight: "I'd better start taking care of myself somehow ... It made me strong as an independent person. He was able to do that at the movies, in the work of stars like Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Laurel and Hardy. "I was constantly being dragged out of movies for laughing too loud." Simon acknowledged these childhood films as his inspiration: "I wanted to make a whole audience fall onto the floor, writhing and laughing so hard that some of them pass out." He made writing comedy his long-term goal, and also saw it as a way to connect with people. "I was never going to be an athlete or a doctor." He began writing for pay while still in high school: At the age of fifteen, Simon and his brother created a series of comedy sketches for employees at an annual department store event. To help develop his writing skill, he often spent three days a week at the library reading books by famous humorists such as Mark Twain, Robert Benchley, George S. Kaufman and S. J. Perelman. Soon after graduating from high school, he signed up with the Army Air Force Reserve at New York University. He attained the rank of corporal and was eventually sent to Colorado. During those years in the Reserve, Simon wrote professionally, starting as a sports editor. He was assigned to Lowry Air Force Base during 1945 and attended the University of Denver from 1945 to 1946. Writing career Television Simon quit his job as a mailroom clerk in the Warner Brothers offices in Manhattan to write radio and television scripts with his brother Danny Simon, under the tutelage of radio humorist Goodman Ace, who ran a short-lived writing workshop for CBS. Their work for the radio series The Robert Q. Lewis Show led to other writing jobs. Max Liebman hired the duo for the writing team of his popular television comedy series Your Show of Shows. The program received Emmy Award nominations for Best Variety Show in 1951, 1952, 1953, and 1954, and won in 1952 and 1953. Simon later wrote scripts for The Phil Silvers Show, for episodes broadcast during 1958 and 1959. Simon later recalled the importance of these two writing jobs to his career: "Between the two of them, I spent five years and learned more about what I was eventually going to do than in any other previous experience." "I knew when I walked into Your Show of Shows, that this was the most talented group of writers that up until that time had ever been assembled together." Simon described a typical writing session: Simon incorporated some of these experiences into his play Laughter on the 23rd Floor (1993). A 2001 TV adaptation of the play won him two Emmy Award nominations. Stage His first Broadway experience was on Catch a Star! (1955); he collaborated on sketches with his brother, Danny. In 1961, Simon's first Broadway play, Come Blow Your Horn, ran for 678 performances at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. Simon took three years to create that first play, partly because he was also working on television scripts. He rewrote it at least twenty times from beginning to end: "It was the lack of belief in myself", he recalled. "I said, 'This isn't good enough. It's not right.' ... It was the equivalent of three years of college." Besides being a "monumental effort" for Simon, that play was a turning point in his career: "The theater and I discovered each other." Barefoot in the Park (1963) and The Odd Couple (1965), for which he won a Tony Award, brought him national celebrity, and he was considered "the hottest new playwright on Broadway", according to Susan Koprince. Those successes were followed by others. During 1966, Simon had four shows playing simultaneously at Broadway theatres: Sweet Charity, The Star-Spangled Girl, The Odd Couple and Barefoot in the Park. These earned him royalties of $1 million a year. His professional association with producer Emanuel Azenberg began with The Sunshine Boys and continued with The Good Doctor, God's Favorite, Chapter Two, They're Playing Our Song, I Ought to Be in Pictures, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, Broadway Bound, Jake's Women, The Goodbye Girl and Laughter on the 23rd Floor, among others. His work ranged from romantic comedies to serious drama. Overall, he received seventeen Tony nominations and won three awards. Simon also adapted material originated by others, such as the musical Little Me (1962), based on the novel by Patrick Dennis; Sweet Charity (1966) from the screenplay for the film Nights of Cabiria (1957), written by Federico Fellini and others; and Promises, Promises (1968) a musical version of Billy Wilder's film, The Apartment. By the time of Last of the Red Hot Lovers in 1969, Simon was reputedly earning $45,000 a week from his shows (excluding sale of rights), making him the most financially successful Broadway writer ever. Simon also served as an uncredited "script doctor", helping to hone the books of Broadway-bound plays or musicals under development, as he did for A Chorus Line (1975). During the 1970s, he wrote a string of successful plays; sometimes more than one was playing at the same time, to standing room only audiences. Although he was, by then, recognized as one of the country's leading playwrights, his inner drive kept him writing: Simon drew "extensively on his own life and experience" for his stories. His settings are typically working-class New York City neighborhoods, similar to the ones in which he grew up. In 1983, he began writing the first of three autobiographical plays, Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983), which would be followed by Biloxi Blues (1985) and Broadway Bound (1986). He received his greatest critical acclaim for this trilogy. He received a Pulitzer Prize for his follow-up play, Lost in Yonkers (1991), which starred Mercedes Ruehl and was a success on Broadway. Following Lost in Yonkers, Simon's next several plays did not meet with commercial success. The Dinner Party (2000), which starred Henry Winkler and John Ritter, was "a modest hit". Simon's final play, Rose's Dilemma, premiered in 2003 and received poor reviews. Simon is credited as playwright and contributing writer to at least 49 Broadway plays. Screen Simon chose not to write the screenplay for the first film adaptation of his work, Come Blow Your Horn (1963), preferring to focus on his playwriting. However, he was disappointed with the picture, and thereafter tried to control the conversion of his works. Simon wrote screenplays for more than twenty films and received four Academy Award nominations—for The Odd Couple (1969), The Sunshine Boys (1975), The Goodbye Girl (1977) and California Suite (1978). Other movies include The Out-of-Towners (1970) and Murder by Death (1976). Although most of his films were successful, movies were always of secondary importance to his plays: Many of his earlier adaptations of his own work were very similar to the original plays. Simon observed in hindsight: "I really didn't have an interest in films then. I was mainly interested in continuing writing for the theater ... The plays never became cinematic". The Odd Couple (1968), was one highly successful early adaptation, faithful to the stage play but also opened out, with more scenic variety. Writing style and subject matter The key aspect most consistent in Simon's writing style is comedy, situational and verbal, and presents serious subjects in a way that makes audiences "laugh to avoid weeping". He achieved this with rapid-fire jokes and wisecracks, in a wide variety of urban settings and stories. This creates a "sophisticated, urban humor", says editor Kimball King, and results in plays that represent "middle America". Simon created everyday, apparently simple conflicts with his stories, which became comical premises for problems which needed be solved. Another feature of his writing is his adherence to traditional values regarding marriage and family. McGovern states that this thread of the monogamous family runs through most of Simon's work, and is one he feels is necessary to give stability to society. Some critics have therefore described his stories as somewhat old fashioned, although Johnson points out that most members of his audiences "are delighted to find Simon upholding their own beliefs". And where infidelity is the theme in a Simon play, rarely, if ever, do those characters gain happiness: "In Simon's eyes, adds Johnson, "divorce is never a victory." Another aspect of Simon's style is his ability to combine both comedy and drama. Barefoot in the Park, for example, is a light romantic comedy, while portions of Plaza Suite were written as "farce", and portions of California Suite are "high comedy". Simon was willing to experiment and take risks, often moving his plays in new and unexpected directions. In The Gingerbread Lady, he combined comedy with tragedy; Rumors (1988) is a full-length farce; in Jake's Women and Brighton Beach Memoirs he used dramatic narration; in The Good Doctor, he created a "pastiche of sketches" around various stories by Chekhov; and Fools (1981), was written as a fairy-tale romance similar to stories by Sholem Aleichem. Although some of these efforts failed to win approval from many critics, Koprince claims that they nonetheless demonstrate Simon's "seriousness as a playwright and his interest in breaking new ground." Characters Simon's characters are typically "imperfect, unheroic figures who are at heart decent human beings", according to Koprince, and she traces Simon's style of comedy back to that of Menander, a playwright of ancient Greece. Menander, like Simon, also used average people in domestic life settings, and also blended humor and tragedy into his themes. Many of Simon's most memorable plays are built around two-character scenes, as in segments of California Suite and Plaza Suite. Before writing, Simon tried to create an image of his characters. He said that the play Star Spangled Girl, which was a box-office failure, was "the only play I ever wrote where I did not have a clear visual image of the characters in my mind as I sat down at the typewriter." Simon considered "character building" an obligation, stating that the "trick is to do it skillfully". While other writers have created vivid characters, they have not created nearly as many as Simon did: "Simon has no peers among contemporary comedy playwrights", stated biographer Robert Johnson. Simon's characters often amuse the audience with sparkling "zingers", made believable by Simon's skillful writing of dialogue. He reproduces speech so "adroitly" that his characters are usually plausible and easy for audiences to identify with and laugh at. His characters may also express "serious and continuing concerns of mankind ... rather than purely topical material". McGovern notes that his characters are always impatient "with phoniness, with shallowness, with amorality", adding that they sometimes express "implicit and explicit criticism of modern urban life with its stress, its vacuity, and its materialism." However, Simon's characters are never seen thumbing their noses at society." Themes and genres Theater critic John Lahr believes that Simon's primary theme is "the silent majority", many of whom are "frustrated, edgy, and insecure". Simon's characters are "likable" and easy for audiences to identify with. They often have difficult relationships in marriage, friendship or business, as they "struggle to find a sense of belonging". According to biographer Edythe McGovern, there is always "an implied seeking for solutions to human problems through relationships with other people, [and] Simon is able to deal with serious topics of universal and enduring concern", while still making people laugh. McGovern adds that one of Simon's hallmarks is his "great compassion for his fellow human beings", an opinion shared by author Alan Cooper, who observes that Simon's plays "are essentially about friendships, even when they are about marriage or siblings or crazy aunts ..." Many of Simon's plays are set in New York City, with a resulting urban flavor. Within that setting, Simon's themes include marital conflict, infidelity, sibling rivalry, adolescence, bereavement and fear of aging. Despite the serious nature of these ideas, Simon always manages to tell the stories with humor, embracing both realism and comedy. Simon would tell aspiring comedy playwrights "not to try to make it funny ... try and make it real and then the comedy will come." "When I was writing plays", he said, "I was almost always (with some exceptions) writing a drama that was funny ... I wanted to tell a story about real people." Simon explained how he managed this combination: His comedies often portray struggles with marital difficulties or fading love, sometimes leading to separation, divorce and child custody issues. After many twists in the plot, the endings typically show renewal of the relationships. Politics seldom plays in Simon's stories, and his characters avoid confronting society as a whole, despite their personal problems. "Simon is simply interested in showing human beings as they are—with their foibles, eccentricities, and absurdities." Drama critic Richard Eder noted that Simon's popularity relies on his ability to portray a "painful comedy", where characters say and do funny things in extreme contrast to the unhappiness they are feeling. Simon's plays are generally semi-autobiographical, often portraying aspects of his troubled childhood and first marriages. According to Koprince, Simon's plays also "invariably depict the plight of white middle-class Americans, most of whom are New Yorkers and many of whom are Jewish, like himself." He has said, "I suppose you could practically trace my life through my plays." In Lost in Yonkers, Simon suggests the necessity of a loving marriage (as opposed to his parents'), and how children who are deprived of it in their home, "end up emotionally damaged and lost". According to Koprince, Simon's Jewish heritage is a key influence on his work, although he is unaware of it when writing. For example, in the Brighton Beach trilogy, she explains, the lead character is a "master of self-deprecating humor, cleverly poking fun at himself and at his Jewish culture as a whole." Simon himself has said that his characters are people who are "often self-deprecating and [who] usually see life from the grimmest point of view", explaining, "I see humor in even the grimmest of situations. And I think it's possible to write a play so moving it can tear you apart and still have humor in it." This theme in writing, notes Koprince, "belongs to a tradition of Jewish humor ... a tradition which values laughter as a defense mechanism and which sees humor as a healing, life-giving force." Critical response During most of his career, Simon's work received mixed reviews, with many critics admiring his comedy skills, much of it a blend of "humor and pathos". Other critics were less complimentary, noting that much of his dramatic structure was weak and sometimes relied too heavily on gags and one-liners. As a result, notes Kopince, "literary scholars had generally ignored Simon's early work, regarding him as a commercially successful playwright rather than a serious dramatist." Clive Barnes, theater critic for The New York Times, wrote that like his British counterpart Noël Coward, Simon was "destined to spend most of his career underestimated", but nonetheless very "popular". This attitude changed after 1991, when he won a Pulitzer Prize for drama with Lost in Yonkers. McGovern writes that "seldom has even the most astute critic recognized what depths really exist in the plays of Neil Simon." When Lost in Yonkers was considered by the Pulitzer Advisory Board, board member Douglas Watt noted that it was the only play nominated by all five jury members, and that they judged it "a mature work by an enduring (and often undervalued) American playwright." McGovern compares Simon with noted earlier playwrights, including Ben Jonson, Molière, and George Bernard Shaw, pointing out that those playwrights had "successfully raised fundamental and sometimes tragic issues of universal and therefore enduring interest without eschewing the comic mode." She concludes, "It is my firm conviction that Neil Simon should be considered a member of this company ... an invitation long overdue." McGovern attempts to explain the response of many critics: Similarly, literary critic Robert Johnson explains that Simon's plays have given us a "rich variety of entertaining, memorable characters" who portray the human experience, often with serious themes. Although his characters are "more lifelike, more complicated and more interesting" than most of the characters audiences see on stage, Simon has "not received as much critical attention as he deserves." Lawrence Grobel, in fact, calls him "the Shakespeare of his time", and possibly the "most successful playwright in history." He states: Broadway critic Walter Kerr tries to rationalize why Simon's work has been underrated: Personal life Simon was married five times. For 20 years (1953–73), he was married to Joan Baim, a Martha Graham dancer, and had two daughters, Nancy and Ellen, with her. Simon became a widower in 1973 when Baim died of bone cancer at age 41. Ellen was 16 and her sister Nancy just 10 when they lost their mother. Simon married actress Marsha Mason (1973–1983), actress Diane Lander in two separate marriages (1987–1988 and 1990–1998), and actress Elaine Joyce (1999–2018). He was also the father of Bryn, Lander's daughter from a previous relationship, whom he adopted. Simon's nephew is U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon and his niece-in-law is U.S. Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici. Simon was on the board of selectors of Jefferson Awards for Public Service. In 2004, Simon received a kidney transplant from his long-time friend and publicist Bill Evans. Neil Simon died from pneumonia at New York–Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan on August 26, 2018, while hospitalized for kidney failure. He was 91, and also had Alzheimer's disease. Awards and honors Simon held three honorary degrees: a Doctor of Humane Letters from Hofstra University, a Doctor of Letters from Marquette University and a Doctor of Law from Williams College. In 1983 Simon became the only living playwright to have a New York City theatre named after him. The Alvin Theatre on Broadway was renamed the Neil Simon Theatre in his honor, and he was an honorary board of trustees member of the Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, America's oldest theatre. Also in 1983, Simon was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. In 1965, he won the Tony Award for Best Playwright (The Odd Couple), and in 1975, a special Tony Award for his overall contribution to American theater. Simon won the 1978 Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay for The Goodbye Girl. For Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983), he was awarded the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, followed by another Tony Award for Best Play of 1985, Biloxi Blues. In 1991, he won the Pulitzer Prize along with the Tony Award for Lost in Yonkers (1991). The Neil Simon Festival is a professional summer repertory theatre devoted to preserving the works of Simon and his contemporaries. The Neil Simon Festival was founded by Richard Dean Bugg in 2003. In 2006, Simon received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Bibliography Television Television series Simon, as a member of a writing staff, penned material for the following shows: The Garry Moore Show (1950) Your Show of Shows (1950–54) Caesar's Hour (1954–57) Stanley (1956) The Phil Silvers Show (1958–59) Kibbee Hates Fitch (1965) (pilot for a never-made series; this episode by Simon aired once on CBS on August 2, 1965) Movies made for television The following made-for-TV movies were all written solely by Simon, and all based on his earlier plays or screenplays The Good Doctor (1978) Plaza Suite (1987) Broadway Bound (1992) The Sunshine Boys (1996) Jake's Women (1996) London Suite (1996) Laughter on the 23rd Floor (2001) The Goodbye Girl (2004) Theatre Come Blow Your Horn (1961) Little Me (1962) Barefoot in the Park (1963) The Odd Couple (1965) Sweet Charity (1966) The Star-Spangled Girl (1966) Plaza Suite (1968) Promises, Promises (1968) Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1969) The Gingerbread Lady (1970) The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1971) The Sunshine Boys (1972) The Good Doctor (1973) God's Favorite (1974) California Suite (1976) Chapter Two (1977) They're Playing Our Song (1979) I Ought to Be in Pictures (1980) Fools (1981) Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983) Biloxi Blues (1985) Broadway Bound (1986) Rumors (1988) Lost in Yonkers (1991) Jake's Women (1992) The Goodbye Girl (1993) Laughter on the 23rd Floor (1993) London Suite (1995) Proposals (1997) The Dinner Party (2000) 45 Seconds from Broadway (2001) Rose's Dilemma (2003) In addition to these plays and musicals, Simon has twice rewritten or updated his 1965 play The Odd Couple. Both updated versions have run under new titles: The Female Odd Couple (1985) and Oscar and Felix: A New Look at the Odd Couple (2002). Screenplays After the Fox (with Cesare Zavattini) (1966) Barefoot in the Park (1967) † The Odd Couple (1968) † The Out-of-Towners (1970) Plaza Suite (1971) † Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1972) † The Heartbreak Kid (1972) The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975) † The Sunshine Boys (1975) † Murder by Death (1976) The Goodbye Girl (1977) The Cheap Detective (1978) California Suite (1978) † Chapter Two (1979) † Seems Like Old Times (1980) Only When I Laugh (1981) ‡ I Ought to Be in Pictures (1982) † Max Dugan Returns (1983) The Lonely Guy (1984) (adaptation only; screenplay by Ed. Weinberger and Stan Daniels) The Slugger's Wife (1985) Brighton Beach Memoirs (1986) † Biloxi Blues (1988) † The Marrying Man (1991) Lost in Yonkers (1993) † The Odd Couple II (1998) † Screenplay by Simon, based on his play of the same name. ‡ Screenplay by Simon, loosely adapted from his 1970 play The Gingerbread Lady. Memoirs References External links video: , 6 minutes The Neil Simon Festival PBS article, American Masters 1927 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male dramatists and playwrights American male screenwriters Best Screenplay Golden Globe winners DeWitt Clinton High School alumni Drama Desk Award winners Deaths from pneumonia in New York (state) Jewish American dramatists and playwrights Jewish American screenwriters Jewish American comedians Kennedy Center honorees Kidney transplant recipients Mark Twain Prize recipients Military personnel from New York City Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners Screenwriters from New York (state) Simon family Tisch School of the Arts alumni Tony Award winners Writers from the Bronx Jewish American male comedians United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II United States Army Air Forces non-commissioned officers Deaths from kidney failure United States Army reservists 20th-century American male writers
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[ "Manant or ManAnt or variation, may refer to:\n\nCharacters\n ManAnt (character), a fictional character from The Aquabats! Super Show!; see List of The Aquabats! Super Show! characters\n Manant, a fictional character from 2011 Indian TV drama Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon?\n Manant, a fictional character from 2001 French-Algerian film Inch'Allah Dimanche\n\nOther uses\n \"ManAnt!\" (TV episode), 2012 animated episode of The Aquabats! Super Show!; see List of The Aquabats! Super Show! episodes\n\nSee also\n\n Antman (disambiguation), including ant-man\n Man (disambiguation)\n Ant (disambiguation)", "The depiction of LGBTQ characters in animated series in the 2000s changed significantly from the previous decade. In 1999, Simpsons and The Critic producer Mike Reiss who hoped to do something \"good for the gay audience\" produced Queer Duck, the first animated TV series with homosexuality as a predominant theme. The show became relatively influential after premiering online on Icebox.com, then later shown on Showtime starting in 2000, and was received well by some in the LGBTQ community. While LGBTQ characters appeared in shows such as The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Red vs. Blue, and The Boondocks, the ongoing show, American Dad, which premiered in 2005, had a LGBTQ character as a protagonist, Roger. While the gay news anchors Greg Corbin and Terry Bates were recurring characters in the show, Roger, a space alien who lives with the Smith family, has an ambiguous sexuality.\n\nFor a further understanding of how these LGBTQ characters fit into the overall history of animation, please read the History of LGBTQ characters in animated series: 2000s page.\n\n2000–04 \n\nThe number of animated series with LGBT characters increased from the previous decade. In 2000, Queer Duck premiered, with by Simpsons and The Critic producer Mike Reiss hoping it would do something \"good for the gay audience,\" with the show becoming the first animated TV series to have homosexuality as a predominant theme. Apart from the aforementioned show, Braceface, Drawn Together, bro'Town, The Venture Bros. would include LGBTQ characters. In contrast, anime such as Descendants of Darkness, Gravitation, Inuyasha, Fruits Basket, Cheeky Angel, and Kino's Journey would all feature LGBTQ characters. The shows during this period set the stage for those to come in 2005 to 2009, the latter part of the decade.\n\n2005–09 \n\nThe number of animated series with LGBT characters, from 2005 to 2009, changed from those aired from 2000 to 2004, with the addition of various LGBTQ characters in Western animation. This included a space alien named Roger with an ambiguous sexuality in American Dad, various gay and lesbian characters in Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World and Moral Orel. Additionally, the animated series Lizzy the Lezzy, Superjail!, Sit Down, Shut Up, The Goode Family, The Cleveland Show, Archer included various LGBTQ characters in their stories. Even so, most of the LGBTQ characters still appeared in anime such as Paradise Kiss, My-Otome, Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl, Simoun, Shattered Angels, Macross Frontier, Mnemosyne, Sweet Blue Flowers, and Whispered Words.\n\nReferences\n\nSee also\n List of yuri anime and manga\n List of LGBT-related films by year\n List of animated films with LGBT characters.\n\nLGBT\n2000s-related lists\nAnimated\nLGBT 2000s\n 2000s\n 2000s" ]
[ "Neil Simon", "Characters", "who were the characters?", "Simon's characters are typically portrayed as \"imperfect, unheroic figures who are at heart decent human beings\",", "what were the names of the characters?", "I don't know.", "what were the characters from?", "his characters are usually plausible and easy for audiences to identify with and laugh at.", "were these characters from a tv show?", "Many of Simon's most memorable plays" ]
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what were some of his plays?
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what were some of Neil Simon's plays?
Neil Simon
Simon's characters are typically portrayed as "imperfect, unheroic figures who are at heart decent human beings", according to Koprince, and she traces Simon's style of comedy to that of Menander, a playwright of ancient Greece. Menander, like Simon, also used average people in domestic life settings, the stories also blending humor and tragedy into his themes. Many of Simon's most memorable plays are built around two-character scenes, as in segments of California Suite and Plaza Suite. Before writing, Simon tries to create an image of his characters. He says that the play, Star Spangled Girl which was a box-office failure, was "the only play I ever wrote where I did not have a clear visual image of the characters in my mind as I sat down at the typewriter." Simon considers "character building" as an obligation, stating that the "trick is to do it skillfully". While other writers have created vivid characters, they have not created nearly as many as Simon: "Simon has no peers among contemporary comedy playwrights," states biographer Robert Johnson. Simon's characters often amuse the audience with sparkling "zingers," believable due to Simon's skill with writing dialogue. He reproduces speech so "adroitly" that his characters are usually plausible and easy for audiences to identify with and laugh at. His characters may also express "serious and continuing concerns of mankind ... rather than purely topical material". McGovern notes that his characters are always impatient "with phoniness, with shallowness, with amorality", adding that they sometimes express "implicit and explicit criticism of modern urban life with its stress, its vacuity, and its materialism." However, Simon's characters will never be seen thumbing his or her nose at society." CANNOTANSWER
Star Spangled Girl
Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received more combined Oscar and Tony Award nominations than any other writer. Simon grew up in New York City during the Great Depression. His parents' financial difficulties affected their marriage, giving him a mostly unhappy and unstable childhood. He often took refuge in movie theaters, where he enjoyed watching early comedians like Charlie Chaplin. After graduating from high school and serving a few years in the Army Air Force Reserve, he began writing comedy scripts for radio programs and popular early television shows. Among the latter were Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows (where in 1950 he worked alongside other young writers including Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Larry Gelbart and Selma Diamond), and The Phil Silvers Show, which ran from 1955 to 1959. His first produced play was Come Blow Your Horn (1961). It took him three years to complete and ran for 678 performances on Broadway. It was followed by two more successes, Barefoot in the Park (1963) and The Odd Couple (1965). He won a Tony Award for the latter. It made him a national celebrity and "the hottest new playwright on Broadway". From the 1960s to the 1980s he wrote for stage and screen; some of his screenplays were based on his own works for the stage. His style ranged from farce to romantic comedy to more serious dramatic comedy. Overall, he garnered 17 Tony nominations and won three awards. In 1966, he had four successful productions running on Broadway at the same time, and in 1983 he became the only living playwright to have a New York theatre, the Neil Simon Theatre, named in his honor. Early years Neil Simon was born on July 4, 1927, in The Bronx, New York City, to Jewish parents. His father, Irving Simon, was a garment salesman, and his mother, Mamie (Levy) Simon, was mostly a homemaker. Neil had one brother, eight years his senior, television writer and comedy teacher Danny Simon. He grew up in Washington Heights, Manhattan, and graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School when he was sixteen. He was nicknamed 'Doc', and the school yearbook described him as extremely shy. Simon's childhood was marked by his parents' "tempestuous marriage" and the financial hardship caused by the Depression. Sometimes at night he blocked out their arguments by putting a pillow over his ears. His father often abandoned the family for months at a time, causing them further financial and emotional suffering. As a result, the family took in boarders, and Simon and his brother Danny were sometimes forced to live with different relatives. During an interview with writer Lawrence Grobel, Simon said: "To this day I never really knew what the reason for all the fights and battles were about between the two of them ... She'd hate him and be very angry, but he would come back and she would take him back. She really loved him." Simon has said that one of the reasons he became a writer was to fulfill a need to be independent of such emotional family issues, a need he recognized when he was seven or eight: "I'd better start taking care of myself somehow ... It made me strong as an independent person. He was able to do that at the movies, in the work of stars like Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Laurel and Hardy. "I was constantly being dragged out of movies for laughing too loud." Simon acknowledged these childhood films as his inspiration: "I wanted to make a whole audience fall onto the floor, writhing and laughing so hard that some of them pass out." He made writing comedy his long-term goal, and also saw it as a way to connect with people. "I was never going to be an athlete or a doctor." He began writing for pay while still in high school: At the age of fifteen, Simon and his brother created a series of comedy sketches for employees at an annual department store event. To help develop his writing skill, he often spent three days a week at the library reading books by famous humorists such as Mark Twain, Robert Benchley, George S. Kaufman and S. J. Perelman. Soon after graduating from high school, he signed up with the Army Air Force Reserve at New York University. He attained the rank of corporal and was eventually sent to Colorado. During those years in the Reserve, Simon wrote professionally, starting as a sports editor. He was assigned to Lowry Air Force Base during 1945 and attended the University of Denver from 1945 to 1946. Writing career Television Simon quit his job as a mailroom clerk in the Warner Brothers offices in Manhattan to write radio and television scripts with his brother Danny Simon, under the tutelage of radio humorist Goodman Ace, who ran a short-lived writing workshop for CBS. Their work for the radio series The Robert Q. Lewis Show led to other writing jobs. Max Liebman hired the duo for the writing team of his popular television comedy series Your Show of Shows. The program received Emmy Award nominations for Best Variety Show in 1951, 1952, 1953, and 1954, and won in 1952 and 1953. Simon later wrote scripts for The Phil Silvers Show, for episodes broadcast during 1958 and 1959. Simon later recalled the importance of these two writing jobs to his career: "Between the two of them, I spent five years and learned more about what I was eventually going to do than in any other previous experience." "I knew when I walked into Your Show of Shows, that this was the most talented group of writers that up until that time had ever been assembled together." Simon described a typical writing session: Simon incorporated some of these experiences into his play Laughter on the 23rd Floor (1993). A 2001 TV adaptation of the play won him two Emmy Award nominations. Stage His first Broadway experience was on Catch a Star! (1955); he collaborated on sketches with his brother, Danny. In 1961, Simon's first Broadway play, Come Blow Your Horn, ran for 678 performances at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. Simon took three years to create that first play, partly because he was also working on television scripts. He rewrote it at least twenty times from beginning to end: "It was the lack of belief in myself", he recalled. "I said, 'This isn't good enough. It's not right.' ... It was the equivalent of three years of college." Besides being a "monumental effort" for Simon, that play was a turning point in his career: "The theater and I discovered each other." Barefoot in the Park (1963) and The Odd Couple (1965), for which he won a Tony Award, brought him national celebrity, and he was considered "the hottest new playwright on Broadway", according to Susan Koprince. Those successes were followed by others. During 1966, Simon had four shows playing simultaneously at Broadway theatres: Sweet Charity, The Star-Spangled Girl, The Odd Couple and Barefoot in the Park. These earned him royalties of $1 million a year. His professional association with producer Emanuel Azenberg began with The Sunshine Boys and continued with The Good Doctor, God's Favorite, Chapter Two, They're Playing Our Song, I Ought to Be in Pictures, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, Broadway Bound, Jake's Women, The Goodbye Girl and Laughter on the 23rd Floor, among others. His work ranged from romantic comedies to serious drama. Overall, he received seventeen Tony nominations and won three awards. Simon also adapted material originated by others, such as the musical Little Me (1962), based on the novel by Patrick Dennis; Sweet Charity (1966) from the screenplay for the film Nights of Cabiria (1957), written by Federico Fellini and others; and Promises, Promises (1968) a musical version of Billy Wilder's film, The Apartment. By the time of Last of the Red Hot Lovers in 1969, Simon was reputedly earning $45,000 a week from his shows (excluding sale of rights), making him the most financially successful Broadway writer ever. Simon also served as an uncredited "script doctor", helping to hone the books of Broadway-bound plays or musicals under development, as he did for A Chorus Line (1975). During the 1970s, he wrote a string of successful plays; sometimes more than one was playing at the same time, to standing room only audiences. Although he was, by then, recognized as one of the country's leading playwrights, his inner drive kept him writing: Simon drew "extensively on his own life and experience" for his stories. His settings are typically working-class New York City neighborhoods, similar to the ones in which he grew up. In 1983, he began writing the first of three autobiographical plays, Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983), which would be followed by Biloxi Blues (1985) and Broadway Bound (1986). He received his greatest critical acclaim for this trilogy. He received a Pulitzer Prize for his follow-up play, Lost in Yonkers (1991), which starred Mercedes Ruehl and was a success on Broadway. Following Lost in Yonkers, Simon's next several plays did not meet with commercial success. The Dinner Party (2000), which starred Henry Winkler and John Ritter, was "a modest hit". Simon's final play, Rose's Dilemma, premiered in 2003 and received poor reviews. Simon is credited as playwright and contributing writer to at least 49 Broadway plays. Screen Simon chose not to write the screenplay for the first film adaptation of his work, Come Blow Your Horn (1963), preferring to focus on his playwriting. However, he was disappointed with the picture, and thereafter tried to control the conversion of his works. Simon wrote screenplays for more than twenty films and received four Academy Award nominations—for The Odd Couple (1969), The Sunshine Boys (1975), The Goodbye Girl (1977) and California Suite (1978). Other movies include The Out-of-Towners (1970) and Murder by Death (1976). Although most of his films were successful, movies were always of secondary importance to his plays: Many of his earlier adaptations of his own work were very similar to the original plays. Simon observed in hindsight: "I really didn't have an interest in films then. I was mainly interested in continuing writing for the theater ... The plays never became cinematic". The Odd Couple (1968), was one highly successful early adaptation, faithful to the stage play but also opened out, with more scenic variety. Writing style and subject matter The key aspect most consistent in Simon's writing style is comedy, situational and verbal, and presents serious subjects in a way that makes audiences "laugh to avoid weeping". He achieved this with rapid-fire jokes and wisecracks, in a wide variety of urban settings and stories. This creates a "sophisticated, urban humor", says editor Kimball King, and results in plays that represent "middle America". Simon created everyday, apparently simple conflicts with his stories, which became comical premises for problems which needed be solved. Another feature of his writing is his adherence to traditional values regarding marriage and family. McGovern states that this thread of the monogamous family runs through most of Simon's work, and is one he feels is necessary to give stability to society. Some critics have therefore described his stories as somewhat old fashioned, although Johnson points out that most members of his audiences "are delighted to find Simon upholding their own beliefs". And where infidelity is the theme in a Simon play, rarely, if ever, do those characters gain happiness: "In Simon's eyes, adds Johnson, "divorce is never a victory." Another aspect of Simon's style is his ability to combine both comedy and drama. Barefoot in the Park, for example, is a light romantic comedy, while portions of Plaza Suite were written as "farce", and portions of California Suite are "high comedy". Simon was willing to experiment and take risks, often moving his plays in new and unexpected directions. In The Gingerbread Lady, he combined comedy with tragedy; Rumors (1988) is a full-length farce; in Jake's Women and Brighton Beach Memoirs he used dramatic narration; in The Good Doctor, he created a "pastiche of sketches" around various stories by Chekhov; and Fools (1981), was written as a fairy-tale romance similar to stories by Sholem Aleichem. Although some of these efforts failed to win approval from many critics, Koprince claims that they nonetheless demonstrate Simon's "seriousness as a playwright and his interest in breaking new ground." Characters Simon's characters are typically "imperfect, unheroic figures who are at heart decent human beings", according to Koprince, and she traces Simon's style of comedy back to that of Menander, a playwright of ancient Greece. Menander, like Simon, also used average people in domestic life settings, and also blended humor and tragedy into his themes. Many of Simon's most memorable plays are built around two-character scenes, as in segments of California Suite and Plaza Suite. Before writing, Simon tried to create an image of his characters. He said that the play Star Spangled Girl, which was a box-office failure, was "the only play I ever wrote where I did not have a clear visual image of the characters in my mind as I sat down at the typewriter." Simon considered "character building" an obligation, stating that the "trick is to do it skillfully". While other writers have created vivid characters, they have not created nearly as many as Simon did: "Simon has no peers among contemporary comedy playwrights", stated biographer Robert Johnson. Simon's characters often amuse the audience with sparkling "zingers", made believable by Simon's skillful writing of dialogue. He reproduces speech so "adroitly" that his characters are usually plausible and easy for audiences to identify with and laugh at. His characters may also express "serious and continuing concerns of mankind ... rather than purely topical material". McGovern notes that his characters are always impatient "with phoniness, with shallowness, with amorality", adding that they sometimes express "implicit and explicit criticism of modern urban life with its stress, its vacuity, and its materialism." However, Simon's characters are never seen thumbing their noses at society." Themes and genres Theater critic John Lahr believes that Simon's primary theme is "the silent majority", many of whom are "frustrated, edgy, and insecure". Simon's characters are "likable" and easy for audiences to identify with. They often have difficult relationships in marriage, friendship or business, as they "struggle to find a sense of belonging". According to biographer Edythe McGovern, there is always "an implied seeking for solutions to human problems through relationships with other people, [and] Simon is able to deal with serious topics of universal and enduring concern", while still making people laugh. McGovern adds that one of Simon's hallmarks is his "great compassion for his fellow human beings", an opinion shared by author Alan Cooper, who observes that Simon's plays "are essentially about friendships, even when they are about marriage or siblings or crazy aunts ..." Many of Simon's plays are set in New York City, with a resulting urban flavor. Within that setting, Simon's themes include marital conflict, infidelity, sibling rivalry, adolescence, bereavement and fear of aging. Despite the serious nature of these ideas, Simon always manages to tell the stories with humor, embracing both realism and comedy. Simon would tell aspiring comedy playwrights "not to try to make it funny ... try and make it real and then the comedy will come." "When I was writing plays", he said, "I was almost always (with some exceptions) writing a drama that was funny ... I wanted to tell a story about real people." Simon explained how he managed this combination: His comedies often portray struggles with marital difficulties or fading love, sometimes leading to separation, divorce and child custody issues. After many twists in the plot, the endings typically show renewal of the relationships. Politics seldom plays in Simon's stories, and his characters avoid confronting society as a whole, despite their personal problems. "Simon is simply interested in showing human beings as they are—with their foibles, eccentricities, and absurdities." Drama critic Richard Eder noted that Simon's popularity relies on his ability to portray a "painful comedy", where characters say and do funny things in extreme contrast to the unhappiness they are feeling. Simon's plays are generally semi-autobiographical, often portraying aspects of his troubled childhood and first marriages. According to Koprince, Simon's plays also "invariably depict the plight of white middle-class Americans, most of whom are New Yorkers and many of whom are Jewish, like himself." He has said, "I suppose you could practically trace my life through my plays." In Lost in Yonkers, Simon suggests the necessity of a loving marriage (as opposed to his parents'), and how children who are deprived of it in their home, "end up emotionally damaged and lost". According to Koprince, Simon's Jewish heritage is a key influence on his work, although he is unaware of it when writing. For example, in the Brighton Beach trilogy, she explains, the lead character is a "master of self-deprecating humor, cleverly poking fun at himself and at his Jewish culture as a whole." Simon himself has said that his characters are people who are "often self-deprecating and [who] usually see life from the grimmest point of view", explaining, "I see humor in even the grimmest of situations. And I think it's possible to write a play so moving it can tear you apart and still have humor in it." This theme in writing, notes Koprince, "belongs to a tradition of Jewish humor ... a tradition which values laughter as a defense mechanism and which sees humor as a healing, life-giving force." Critical response During most of his career, Simon's work received mixed reviews, with many critics admiring his comedy skills, much of it a blend of "humor and pathos". Other critics were less complimentary, noting that much of his dramatic structure was weak and sometimes relied too heavily on gags and one-liners. As a result, notes Kopince, "literary scholars had generally ignored Simon's early work, regarding him as a commercially successful playwright rather than a serious dramatist." Clive Barnes, theater critic for The New York Times, wrote that like his British counterpart Noël Coward, Simon was "destined to spend most of his career underestimated", but nonetheless very "popular". This attitude changed after 1991, when he won a Pulitzer Prize for drama with Lost in Yonkers. McGovern writes that "seldom has even the most astute critic recognized what depths really exist in the plays of Neil Simon." When Lost in Yonkers was considered by the Pulitzer Advisory Board, board member Douglas Watt noted that it was the only play nominated by all five jury members, and that they judged it "a mature work by an enduring (and often undervalued) American playwright." McGovern compares Simon with noted earlier playwrights, including Ben Jonson, Molière, and George Bernard Shaw, pointing out that those playwrights had "successfully raised fundamental and sometimes tragic issues of universal and therefore enduring interest without eschewing the comic mode." She concludes, "It is my firm conviction that Neil Simon should be considered a member of this company ... an invitation long overdue." McGovern attempts to explain the response of many critics: Similarly, literary critic Robert Johnson explains that Simon's plays have given us a "rich variety of entertaining, memorable characters" who portray the human experience, often with serious themes. Although his characters are "more lifelike, more complicated and more interesting" than most of the characters audiences see on stage, Simon has "not received as much critical attention as he deserves." Lawrence Grobel, in fact, calls him "the Shakespeare of his time", and possibly the "most successful playwright in history." He states: Broadway critic Walter Kerr tries to rationalize why Simon's work has been underrated: Personal life Simon was married five times. For 20 years (1953–73), he was married to Joan Baim, a Martha Graham dancer, and had two daughters, Nancy and Ellen, with her. Simon became a widower in 1973 when Baim died of bone cancer at age 41. Ellen was 16 and her sister Nancy just 10 when they lost their mother. Simon married actress Marsha Mason (1973–1983), actress Diane Lander in two separate marriages (1987–1988 and 1990–1998), and actress Elaine Joyce (1999–2018). He was also the father of Bryn, Lander's daughter from a previous relationship, whom he adopted. Simon's nephew is U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon and his niece-in-law is U.S. Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici. Simon was on the board of selectors of Jefferson Awards for Public Service. In 2004, Simon received a kidney transplant from his long-time friend and publicist Bill Evans. Neil Simon died from pneumonia at New York–Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan on August 26, 2018, while hospitalized for kidney failure. He was 91, and also had Alzheimer's disease. Awards and honors Simon held three honorary degrees: a Doctor of Humane Letters from Hofstra University, a Doctor of Letters from Marquette University and a Doctor of Law from Williams College. In 1983 Simon became the only living playwright to have a New York City theatre named after him. The Alvin Theatre on Broadway was renamed the Neil Simon Theatre in his honor, and he was an honorary board of trustees member of the Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, America's oldest theatre. Also in 1983, Simon was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. In 1965, he won the Tony Award for Best Playwright (The Odd Couple), and in 1975, a special Tony Award for his overall contribution to American theater. Simon won the 1978 Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay for The Goodbye Girl. For Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983), he was awarded the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, followed by another Tony Award for Best Play of 1985, Biloxi Blues. In 1991, he won the Pulitzer Prize along with the Tony Award for Lost in Yonkers (1991). The Neil Simon Festival is a professional summer repertory theatre devoted to preserving the works of Simon and his contemporaries. The Neil Simon Festival was founded by Richard Dean Bugg in 2003. In 2006, Simon received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Bibliography Television Television series Simon, as a member of a writing staff, penned material for the following shows: The Garry Moore Show (1950) Your Show of Shows (1950–54) Caesar's Hour (1954–57) Stanley (1956) The Phil Silvers Show (1958–59) Kibbee Hates Fitch (1965) (pilot for a never-made series; this episode by Simon aired once on CBS on August 2, 1965) Movies made for television The following made-for-TV movies were all written solely by Simon, and all based on his earlier plays or screenplays The Good Doctor (1978) Plaza Suite (1987) Broadway Bound (1992) The Sunshine Boys (1996) Jake's Women (1996) London Suite (1996) Laughter on the 23rd Floor (2001) The Goodbye Girl (2004) Theatre Come Blow Your Horn (1961) Little Me (1962) Barefoot in the Park (1963) The Odd Couple (1965) Sweet Charity (1966) The Star-Spangled Girl (1966) Plaza Suite (1968) Promises, Promises (1968) Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1969) The Gingerbread Lady (1970) The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1971) The Sunshine Boys (1972) The Good Doctor (1973) God's Favorite (1974) California Suite (1976) Chapter Two (1977) They're Playing Our Song (1979) I Ought to Be in Pictures (1980) Fools (1981) Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983) Biloxi Blues (1985) Broadway Bound (1986) Rumors (1988) Lost in Yonkers (1991) Jake's Women (1992) The Goodbye Girl (1993) Laughter on the 23rd Floor (1993) London Suite (1995) Proposals (1997) The Dinner Party (2000) 45 Seconds from Broadway (2001) Rose's Dilemma (2003) In addition to these plays and musicals, Simon has twice rewritten or updated his 1965 play The Odd Couple. Both updated versions have run under new titles: The Female Odd Couple (1985) and Oscar and Felix: A New Look at the Odd Couple (2002). Screenplays After the Fox (with Cesare Zavattini) (1966) Barefoot in the Park (1967) † The Odd Couple (1968) † The Out-of-Towners (1970) Plaza Suite (1971) † Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1972) † The Heartbreak Kid (1972) The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975) † The Sunshine Boys (1975) † Murder by Death (1976) The Goodbye Girl (1977) The Cheap Detective (1978) California Suite (1978) † Chapter Two (1979) † Seems Like Old Times (1980) Only When I Laugh (1981) ‡ I Ought to Be in Pictures (1982) † Max Dugan Returns (1983) The Lonely Guy (1984) (adaptation only; screenplay by Ed. Weinberger and Stan Daniels) The Slugger's Wife (1985) Brighton Beach Memoirs (1986) † Biloxi Blues (1988) † The Marrying Man (1991) Lost in Yonkers (1993) † The Odd Couple II (1998) † Screenplay by Simon, based on his play of the same name. ‡ Screenplay by Simon, loosely adapted from his 1970 play The Gingerbread Lady. Memoirs References External links video: , 6 minutes The Neil Simon Festival PBS article, American Masters 1927 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male dramatists and playwrights American male screenwriters Best Screenplay Golden Globe winners DeWitt Clinton High School alumni Drama Desk Award winners Deaths from pneumonia in New York (state) Jewish American dramatists and playwrights Jewish American screenwriters Jewish American comedians Kennedy Center honorees Kidney transplant recipients Mark Twain Prize recipients Military personnel from New York City Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners Screenwriters from New York (state) Simon family Tisch School of the Arts alumni Tony Award winners Writers from the Bronx Jewish American male comedians United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II United States Army Air Forces non-commissioned officers Deaths from kidney failure United States Army reservists 20th-century American male writers
true
[ "Lesley Storm was the pen-name of Mabel Cowie (1898–1975), also known by her married name of Mabel Clark.\n\nShe was a Scottish writer, who wrote a number of plays, some of which were filmed. Black Chiffon and Roar Like a Dove were major hits. She also wrote several screenplays, including The Heart of the Matter (1953), based on the novel by Graham Greene, and The Spanish Gardener, based on the 1950 novel of the same name by A.J. Cronin.\n\nShe wrote some novels, the best known was Lady, What of Life? (Cassell, 1928). It depicted London social life in transition from Victorian to modern times.\n\nSelected filmography\n East of Piccadilly (1940)\n Banana Ridge (1942)\n Unpublished Story (1942)\n Alibi (1942)\n Flight from Folly (1945)\n Meet Me at Dawn (1947)\n White Cradle Inn (1947)\n The Fallen Idol (1948)\n Adam and Evelyne (1949)\n Golden Salamander (1950)\n The Ringer (1952)\n Personal Affair (1953)\n The Heart of the Matter (1953)\n The Spanish Gardener (1956)\n\nSelected plays\n Tony Draws a Horse (1938)\n Heart of the City (1942)\n Great Day (1945)\n Black Chiffon (1949)\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nPlays by Lesley Storm (includes premiere details and synopses)\n\n1975 deaths\n1898 births\nScottish women dramatists and playwrights\n20th-century Scottish dramatists and playwrights\n20th-century British women writers\n20th-century Scottish women", "Reza Kamal (1898 – 11 September 1937), better known by the pseudonym Shahrzad or Scheherazade, was an Iranian dramatist and playwright. He was born in Tehran, Iran. From his childhood he liked One Thousand and One Nights and its storyteller Scheherazade and was to choose Shahrzad as his nickname years later. He studied French language and literature in École Saint-Louis in Tehran. An interest in French literature resulted in his translating some French plays into Persian during those years and then he started to adapt plays, to write some original plays and to direct some of his own plays. Since he lived under a very repressive government with a very restrictive censorship, he usually used historical and mythical characters and stories to talk about his times. An important characteristic of his plays was using female characters as his main characters. He committed suicide on 11 September 1937, the same year as several friends' suicides in what is said to have been a suicide pact.\n\nSome of his plays \n Parichehr and Parizad operetta (1920)\n Zoroaster (1920)\n Doctor Has Come Back (1924)\n Alabaster Statues (1929)\n Thousand and First Night \n Queen for One Night (1932)\n\nReferences\n\nIranian dramatists and playwrights\n1898 births\n1937 deaths\n20th-century dramatists and playwrights\n1937 suicides\nSuicides in Iran" ]
[ "Neil Simon", "Characters", "who were the characters?", "Simon's characters are typically portrayed as \"imperfect, unheroic figures who are at heart decent human beings\",", "what were the names of the characters?", "I don't know.", "what were the characters from?", "his characters are usually plausible and easy for audiences to identify with and laugh at.", "were these characters from a tv show?", "Many of Simon's most memorable plays", "what were some of his plays?", "Star Spangled Girl" ]
C_3cb14ee2e48f460d894c48981ea7ee4b_0
did he win any awards for his writing?
6
did Neil Simon win any awards for his writing?
Neil Simon
Simon's characters are typically portrayed as "imperfect, unheroic figures who are at heart decent human beings", according to Koprince, and she traces Simon's style of comedy to that of Menander, a playwright of ancient Greece. Menander, like Simon, also used average people in domestic life settings, the stories also blending humor and tragedy into his themes. Many of Simon's most memorable plays are built around two-character scenes, as in segments of California Suite and Plaza Suite. Before writing, Simon tries to create an image of his characters. He says that the play, Star Spangled Girl which was a box-office failure, was "the only play I ever wrote where I did not have a clear visual image of the characters in my mind as I sat down at the typewriter." Simon considers "character building" as an obligation, stating that the "trick is to do it skillfully". While other writers have created vivid characters, they have not created nearly as many as Simon: "Simon has no peers among contemporary comedy playwrights," states biographer Robert Johnson. Simon's characters often amuse the audience with sparkling "zingers," believable due to Simon's skill with writing dialogue. He reproduces speech so "adroitly" that his characters are usually plausible and easy for audiences to identify with and laugh at. His characters may also express "serious and continuing concerns of mankind ... rather than purely topical material". McGovern notes that his characters are always impatient "with phoniness, with shallowness, with amorality", adding that they sometimes express "implicit and explicit criticism of modern urban life with its stress, its vacuity, and its materialism." However, Simon's characters will never be seen thumbing his or her nose at society." CANNOTANSWER
CANNOTANSWER
Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received more combined Oscar and Tony Award nominations than any other writer. Simon grew up in New York City during the Great Depression. His parents' financial difficulties affected their marriage, giving him a mostly unhappy and unstable childhood. He often took refuge in movie theaters, where he enjoyed watching early comedians like Charlie Chaplin. After graduating from high school and serving a few years in the Army Air Force Reserve, he began writing comedy scripts for radio programs and popular early television shows. Among the latter were Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows (where in 1950 he worked alongside other young writers including Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Larry Gelbart and Selma Diamond), and The Phil Silvers Show, which ran from 1955 to 1959. His first produced play was Come Blow Your Horn (1961). It took him three years to complete and ran for 678 performances on Broadway. It was followed by two more successes, Barefoot in the Park (1963) and The Odd Couple (1965). He won a Tony Award for the latter. It made him a national celebrity and "the hottest new playwright on Broadway". From the 1960s to the 1980s he wrote for stage and screen; some of his screenplays were based on his own works for the stage. His style ranged from farce to romantic comedy to more serious dramatic comedy. Overall, he garnered 17 Tony nominations and won three awards. In 1966, he had four successful productions running on Broadway at the same time, and in 1983 he became the only living playwright to have a New York theatre, the Neil Simon Theatre, named in his honor. Early years Neil Simon was born on July 4, 1927, in The Bronx, New York City, to Jewish parents. His father, Irving Simon, was a garment salesman, and his mother, Mamie (Levy) Simon, was mostly a homemaker. Neil had one brother, eight years his senior, television writer and comedy teacher Danny Simon. He grew up in Washington Heights, Manhattan, and graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School when he was sixteen. He was nicknamed 'Doc', and the school yearbook described him as extremely shy. Simon's childhood was marked by his parents' "tempestuous marriage" and the financial hardship caused by the Depression. Sometimes at night he blocked out their arguments by putting a pillow over his ears. His father often abandoned the family for months at a time, causing them further financial and emotional suffering. As a result, the family took in boarders, and Simon and his brother Danny were sometimes forced to live with different relatives. During an interview with writer Lawrence Grobel, Simon said: "To this day I never really knew what the reason for all the fights and battles were about between the two of them ... She'd hate him and be very angry, but he would come back and she would take him back. She really loved him." Simon has said that one of the reasons he became a writer was to fulfill a need to be independent of such emotional family issues, a need he recognized when he was seven or eight: "I'd better start taking care of myself somehow ... It made me strong as an independent person. He was able to do that at the movies, in the work of stars like Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Laurel and Hardy. "I was constantly being dragged out of movies for laughing too loud." Simon acknowledged these childhood films as his inspiration: "I wanted to make a whole audience fall onto the floor, writhing and laughing so hard that some of them pass out." He made writing comedy his long-term goal, and also saw it as a way to connect with people. "I was never going to be an athlete or a doctor." He began writing for pay while still in high school: At the age of fifteen, Simon and his brother created a series of comedy sketches for employees at an annual department store event. To help develop his writing skill, he often spent three days a week at the library reading books by famous humorists such as Mark Twain, Robert Benchley, George S. Kaufman and S. J. Perelman. Soon after graduating from high school, he signed up with the Army Air Force Reserve at New York University. He attained the rank of corporal and was eventually sent to Colorado. During those years in the Reserve, Simon wrote professionally, starting as a sports editor. He was assigned to Lowry Air Force Base during 1945 and attended the University of Denver from 1945 to 1946. Writing career Television Simon quit his job as a mailroom clerk in the Warner Brothers offices in Manhattan to write radio and television scripts with his brother Danny Simon, under the tutelage of radio humorist Goodman Ace, who ran a short-lived writing workshop for CBS. Their work for the radio series The Robert Q. Lewis Show led to other writing jobs. Max Liebman hired the duo for the writing team of his popular television comedy series Your Show of Shows. The program received Emmy Award nominations for Best Variety Show in 1951, 1952, 1953, and 1954, and won in 1952 and 1953. Simon later wrote scripts for The Phil Silvers Show, for episodes broadcast during 1958 and 1959. Simon later recalled the importance of these two writing jobs to his career: "Between the two of them, I spent five years and learned more about what I was eventually going to do than in any other previous experience." "I knew when I walked into Your Show of Shows, that this was the most talented group of writers that up until that time had ever been assembled together." Simon described a typical writing session: Simon incorporated some of these experiences into his play Laughter on the 23rd Floor (1993). A 2001 TV adaptation of the play won him two Emmy Award nominations. Stage His first Broadway experience was on Catch a Star! (1955); he collaborated on sketches with his brother, Danny. In 1961, Simon's first Broadway play, Come Blow Your Horn, ran for 678 performances at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. Simon took three years to create that first play, partly because he was also working on television scripts. He rewrote it at least twenty times from beginning to end: "It was the lack of belief in myself", he recalled. "I said, 'This isn't good enough. It's not right.' ... It was the equivalent of three years of college." Besides being a "monumental effort" for Simon, that play was a turning point in his career: "The theater and I discovered each other." Barefoot in the Park (1963) and The Odd Couple (1965), for which he won a Tony Award, brought him national celebrity, and he was considered "the hottest new playwright on Broadway", according to Susan Koprince. Those successes were followed by others. During 1966, Simon had four shows playing simultaneously at Broadway theatres: Sweet Charity, The Star-Spangled Girl, The Odd Couple and Barefoot in the Park. These earned him royalties of $1 million a year. His professional association with producer Emanuel Azenberg began with The Sunshine Boys and continued with The Good Doctor, God's Favorite, Chapter Two, They're Playing Our Song, I Ought to Be in Pictures, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, Broadway Bound, Jake's Women, The Goodbye Girl and Laughter on the 23rd Floor, among others. His work ranged from romantic comedies to serious drama. Overall, he received seventeen Tony nominations and won three awards. Simon also adapted material originated by others, such as the musical Little Me (1962), based on the novel by Patrick Dennis; Sweet Charity (1966) from the screenplay for the film Nights of Cabiria (1957), written by Federico Fellini and others; and Promises, Promises (1968) a musical version of Billy Wilder's film, The Apartment. By the time of Last of the Red Hot Lovers in 1969, Simon was reputedly earning $45,000 a week from his shows (excluding sale of rights), making him the most financially successful Broadway writer ever. Simon also served as an uncredited "script doctor", helping to hone the books of Broadway-bound plays or musicals under development, as he did for A Chorus Line (1975). During the 1970s, he wrote a string of successful plays; sometimes more than one was playing at the same time, to standing room only audiences. Although he was, by then, recognized as one of the country's leading playwrights, his inner drive kept him writing: Simon drew "extensively on his own life and experience" for his stories. His settings are typically working-class New York City neighborhoods, similar to the ones in which he grew up. In 1983, he began writing the first of three autobiographical plays, Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983), which would be followed by Biloxi Blues (1985) and Broadway Bound (1986). He received his greatest critical acclaim for this trilogy. He received a Pulitzer Prize for his follow-up play, Lost in Yonkers (1991), which starred Mercedes Ruehl and was a success on Broadway. Following Lost in Yonkers, Simon's next several plays did not meet with commercial success. The Dinner Party (2000), which starred Henry Winkler and John Ritter, was "a modest hit". Simon's final play, Rose's Dilemma, premiered in 2003 and received poor reviews. Simon is credited as playwright and contributing writer to at least 49 Broadway plays. Screen Simon chose not to write the screenplay for the first film adaptation of his work, Come Blow Your Horn (1963), preferring to focus on his playwriting. However, he was disappointed with the picture, and thereafter tried to control the conversion of his works. Simon wrote screenplays for more than twenty films and received four Academy Award nominations—for The Odd Couple (1969), The Sunshine Boys (1975), The Goodbye Girl (1977) and California Suite (1978). Other movies include The Out-of-Towners (1970) and Murder by Death (1976). Although most of his films were successful, movies were always of secondary importance to his plays: Many of his earlier adaptations of his own work were very similar to the original plays. Simon observed in hindsight: "I really didn't have an interest in films then. I was mainly interested in continuing writing for the theater ... The plays never became cinematic". The Odd Couple (1968), was one highly successful early adaptation, faithful to the stage play but also opened out, with more scenic variety. Writing style and subject matter The key aspect most consistent in Simon's writing style is comedy, situational and verbal, and presents serious subjects in a way that makes audiences "laugh to avoid weeping". He achieved this with rapid-fire jokes and wisecracks, in a wide variety of urban settings and stories. This creates a "sophisticated, urban humor", says editor Kimball King, and results in plays that represent "middle America". Simon created everyday, apparently simple conflicts with his stories, which became comical premises for problems which needed be solved. Another feature of his writing is his adherence to traditional values regarding marriage and family. McGovern states that this thread of the monogamous family runs through most of Simon's work, and is one he feels is necessary to give stability to society. Some critics have therefore described his stories as somewhat old fashioned, although Johnson points out that most members of his audiences "are delighted to find Simon upholding their own beliefs". And where infidelity is the theme in a Simon play, rarely, if ever, do those characters gain happiness: "In Simon's eyes, adds Johnson, "divorce is never a victory." Another aspect of Simon's style is his ability to combine both comedy and drama. Barefoot in the Park, for example, is a light romantic comedy, while portions of Plaza Suite were written as "farce", and portions of California Suite are "high comedy". Simon was willing to experiment and take risks, often moving his plays in new and unexpected directions. In The Gingerbread Lady, he combined comedy with tragedy; Rumors (1988) is a full-length farce; in Jake's Women and Brighton Beach Memoirs he used dramatic narration; in The Good Doctor, he created a "pastiche of sketches" around various stories by Chekhov; and Fools (1981), was written as a fairy-tale romance similar to stories by Sholem Aleichem. Although some of these efforts failed to win approval from many critics, Koprince claims that they nonetheless demonstrate Simon's "seriousness as a playwright and his interest in breaking new ground." Characters Simon's characters are typically "imperfect, unheroic figures who are at heart decent human beings", according to Koprince, and she traces Simon's style of comedy back to that of Menander, a playwright of ancient Greece. Menander, like Simon, also used average people in domestic life settings, and also blended humor and tragedy into his themes. Many of Simon's most memorable plays are built around two-character scenes, as in segments of California Suite and Plaza Suite. Before writing, Simon tried to create an image of his characters. He said that the play Star Spangled Girl, which was a box-office failure, was "the only play I ever wrote where I did not have a clear visual image of the characters in my mind as I sat down at the typewriter." Simon considered "character building" an obligation, stating that the "trick is to do it skillfully". While other writers have created vivid characters, they have not created nearly as many as Simon did: "Simon has no peers among contemporary comedy playwrights", stated biographer Robert Johnson. Simon's characters often amuse the audience with sparkling "zingers", made believable by Simon's skillful writing of dialogue. He reproduces speech so "adroitly" that his characters are usually plausible and easy for audiences to identify with and laugh at. His characters may also express "serious and continuing concerns of mankind ... rather than purely topical material". McGovern notes that his characters are always impatient "with phoniness, with shallowness, with amorality", adding that they sometimes express "implicit and explicit criticism of modern urban life with its stress, its vacuity, and its materialism." However, Simon's characters are never seen thumbing their noses at society." Themes and genres Theater critic John Lahr believes that Simon's primary theme is "the silent majority", many of whom are "frustrated, edgy, and insecure". Simon's characters are "likable" and easy for audiences to identify with. They often have difficult relationships in marriage, friendship or business, as they "struggle to find a sense of belonging". According to biographer Edythe McGovern, there is always "an implied seeking for solutions to human problems through relationships with other people, [and] Simon is able to deal with serious topics of universal and enduring concern", while still making people laugh. McGovern adds that one of Simon's hallmarks is his "great compassion for his fellow human beings", an opinion shared by author Alan Cooper, who observes that Simon's plays "are essentially about friendships, even when they are about marriage or siblings or crazy aunts ..." Many of Simon's plays are set in New York City, with a resulting urban flavor. Within that setting, Simon's themes include marital conflict, infidelity, sibling rivalry, adolescence, bereavement and fear of aging. Despite the serious nature of these ideas, Simon always manages to tell the stories with humor, embracing both realism and comedy. Simon would tell aspiring comedy playwrights "not to try to make it funny ... try and make it real and then the comedy will come." "When I was writing plays", he said, "I was almost always (with some exceptions) writing a drama that was funny ... I wanted to tell a story about real people." Simon explained how he managed this combination: His comedies often portray struggles with marital difficulties or fading love, sometimes leading to separation, divorce and child custody issues. After many twists in the plot, the endings typically show renewal of the relationships. Politics seldom plays in Simon's stories, and his characters avoid confronting society as a whole, despite their personal problems. "Simon is simply interested in showing human beings as they are—with their foibles, eccentricities, and absurdities." Drama critic Richard Eder noted that Simon's popularity relies on his ability to portray a "painful comedy", where characters say and do funny things in extreme contrast to the unhappiness they are feeling. Simon's plays are generally semi-autobiographical, often portraying aspects of his troubled childhood and first marriages. According to Koprince, Simon's plays also "invariably depict the plight of white middle-class Americans, most of whom are New Yorkers and many of whom are Jewish, like himself." He has said, "I suppose you could practically trace my life through my plays." In Lost in Yonkers, Simon suggests the necessity of a loving marriage (as opposed to his parents'), and how children who are deprived of it in their home, "end up emotionally damaged and lost". According to Koprince, Simon's Jewish heritage is a key influence on his work, although he is unaware of it when writing. For example, in the Brighton Beach trilogy, she explains, the lead character is a "master of self-deprecating humor, cleverly poking fun at himself and at his Jewish culture as a whole." Simon himself has said that his characters are people who are "often self-deprecating and [who] usually see life from the grimmest point of view", explaining, "I see humor in even the grimmest of situations. And I think it's possible to write a play so moving it can tear you apart and still have humor in it." This theme in writing, notes Koprince, "belongs to a tradition of Jewish humor ... a tradition which values laughter as a defense mechanism and which sees humor as a healing, life-giving force." Critical response During most of his career, Simon's work received mixed reviews, with many critics admiring his comedy skills, much of it a blend of "humor and pathos". Other critics were less complimentary, noting that much of his dramatic structure was weak and sometimes relied too heavily on gags and one-liners. As a result, notes Kopince, "literary scholars had generally ignored Simon's early work, regarding him as a commercially successful playwright rather than a serious dramatist." Clive Barnes, theater critic for The New York Times, wrote that like his British counterpart Noël Coward, Simon was "destined to spend most of his career underestimated", but nonetheless very "popular". This attitude changed after 1991, when he won a Pulitzer Prize for drama with Lost in Yonkers. McGovern writes that "seldom has even the most astute critic recognized what depths really exist in the plays of Neil Simon." When Lost in Yonkers was considered by the Pulitzer Advisory Board, board member Douglas Watt noted that it was the only play nominated by all five jury members, and that they judged it "a mature work by an enduring (and often undervalued) American playwright." McGovern compares Simon with noted earlier playwrights, including Ben Jonson, Molière, and George Bernard Shaw, pointing out that those playwrights had "successfully raised fundamental and sometimes tragic issues of universal and therefore enduring interest without eschewing the comic mode." She concludes, "It is my firm conviction that Neil Simon should be considered a member of this company ... an invitation long overdue." McGovern attempts to explain the response of many critics: Similarly, literary critic Robert Johnson explains that Simon's plays have given us a "rich variety of entertaining, memorable characters" who portray the human experience, often with serious themes. Although his characters are "more lifelike, more complicated and more interesting" than most of the characters audiences see on stage, Simon has "not received as much critical attention as he deserves." Lawrence Grobel, in fact, calls him "the Shakespeare of his time", and possibly the "most successful playwright in history." He states: Broadway critic Walter Kerr tries to rationalize why Simon's work has been underrated: Personal life Simon was married five times. For 20 years (1953–73), he was married to Joan Baim, a Martha Graham dancer, and had two daughters, Nancy and Ellen, with her. Simon became a widower in 1973 when Baim died of bone cancer at age 41. Ellen was 16 and her sister Nancy just 10 when they lost their mother. Simon married actress Marsha Mason (1973–1983), actress Diane Lander in two separate marriages (1987–1988 and 1990–1998), and actress Elaine Joyce (1999–2018). He was also the father of Bryn, Lander's daughter from a previous relationship, whom he adopted. Simon's nephew is U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon and his niece-in-law is U.S. Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici. Simon was on the board of selectors of Jefferson Awards for Public Service. In 2004, Simon received a kidney transplant from his long-time friend and publicist Bill Evans. Neil Simon died from pneumonia at New York–Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan on August 26, 2018, while hospitalized for kidney failure. He was 91, and also had Alzheimer's disease. Awards and honors Simon held three honorary degrees: a Doctor of Humane Letters from Hofstra University, a Doctor of Letters from Marquette University and a Doctor of Law from Williams College. In 1983 Simon became the only living playwright to have a New York City theatre named after him. The Alvin Theatre on Broadway was renamed the Neil Simon Theatre in his honor, and he was an honorary board of trustees member of the Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, America's oldest theatre. Also in 1983, Simon was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. In 1965, he won the Tony Award for Best Playwright (The Odd Couple), and in 1975, a special Tony Award for his overall contribution to American theater. Simon won the 1978 Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay for The Goodbye Girl. For Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983), he was awarded the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, followed by another Tony Award for Best Play of 1985, Biloxi Blues. In 1991, he won the Pulitzer Prize along with the Tony Award for Lost in Yonkers (1991). The Neil Simon Festival is a professional summer repertory theatre devoted to preserving the works of Simon and his contemporaries. The Neil Simon Festival was founded by Richard Dean Bugg in 2003. In 2006, Simon received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Bibliography Television Television series Simon, as a member of a writing staff, penned material for the following shows: The Garry Moore Show (1950) Your Show of Shows (1950–54) Caesar's Hour (1954–57) Stanley (1956) The Phil Silvers Show (1958–59) Kibbee Hates Fitch (1965) (pilot for a never-made series; this episode by Simon aired once on CBS on August 2, 1965) Movies made for television The following made-for-TV movies were all written solely by Simon, and all based on his earlier plays or screenplays The Good Doctor (1978) Plaza Suite (1987) Broadway Bound (1992) The Sunshine Boys (1996) Jake's Women (1996) London Suite (1996) Laughter on the 23rd Floor (2001) The Goodbye Girl (2004) Theatre Come Blow Your Horn (1961) Little Me (1962) Barefoot in the Park (1963) The Odd Couple (1965) Sweet Charity (1966) The Star-Spangled Girl (1966) Plaza Suite (1968) Promises, Promises (1968) Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1969) The Gingerbread Lady (1970) The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1971) The Sunshine Boys (1972) The Good Doctor (1973) God's Favorite (1974) California Suite (1976) Chapter Two (1977) They're Playing Our Song (1979) I Ought to Be in Pictures (1980) Fools (1981) Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983) Biloxi Blues (1985) Broadway Bound (1986) Rumors (1988) Lost in Yonkers (1991) Jake's Women (1992) The Goodbye Girl (1993) Laughter on the 23rd Floor (1993) London Suite (1995) Proposals (1997) The Dinner Party (2000) 45 Seconds from Broadway (2001) Rose's Dilemma (2003) In addition to these plays and musicals, Simon has twice rewritten or updated his 1965 play The Odd Couple. Both updated versions have run under new titles: The Female Odd Couple (1985) and Oscar and Felix: A New Look at the Odd Couple (2002). Screenplays After the Fox (with Cesare Zavattini) (1966) Barefoot in the Park (1967) † The Odd Couple (1968) † The Out-of-Towners (1970) Plaza Suite (1971) † Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1972) † The Heartbreak Kid (1972) The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975) † The Sunshine Boys (1975) † Murder by Death (1976) The Goodbye Girl (1977) The Cheap Detective (1978) California Suite (1978) † Chapter Two (1979) † Seems Like Old Times (1980) Only When I Laugh (1981) ‡ I Ought to Be in Pictures (1982) † Max Dugan Returns (1983) The Lonely Guy (1984) (adaptation only; screenplay by Ed. Weinberger and Stan Daniels) The Slugger's Wife (1985) Brighton Beach Memoirs (1986) † Biloxi Blues (1988) † The Marrying Man (1991) Lost in Yonkers (1993) † The Odd Couple II (1998) † Screenplay by Simon, based on his play of the same name. ‡ Screenplay by Simon, loosely adapted from his 1970 play The Gingerbread Lady. Memoirs References External links video: , 6 minutes The Neil Simon Festival PBS article, American Masters 1927 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male dramatists and playwrights American male screenwriters Best Screenplay Golden Globe winners DeWitt Clinton High School alumni Drama Desk Award winners Deaths from pneumonia in New York (state) Jewish American dramatists and playwrights Jewish American screenwriters Jewish American comedians Kennedy Center honorees Kidney transplant recipients Mark Twain Prize recipients Military personnel from New York City Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners Screenwriters from New York (state) Simon family Tisch School of the Arts alumni Tony Award winners Writers from the Bronx Jewish American male comedians United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II United States Army Air Forces non-commissioned officers Deaths from kidney failure United States Army reservists 20th-century American male writers
false
[ "The 49th Primetime Emmy Awards were held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California in 1997. They were presented in two ceremonies hosted by Bryant Gumbel, one on Saturday, September 13 and another on Sunday, September 14. The September 14th ceremony was televised on CBS.\n\nFrasier became the first series to win Outstanding Comedy Series four consecutive years, it joined Hill Street Blues which won Outstanding Drama Series four straight years a decade earlier. For the first time since 1979, James Burrows did not receive a Directing nomination, ending his run at 17 consecutive years. Beginning the following year, Burrows would begin a new streak that lasted another six years. In the drama field perennial nominee Law & Order won for its seventh season, the first time a show had won for this specific season. In winning Law & Order became the first drama series that did not have serialized story arcs since Hill Street Blues perfected the formula. Law & Order remains the only non-serialized winner since 1981.\n\nFor the first time, not only did the Fox Network win the Lead Actress, Drama award, with Gillian Anderson, for The X-Files, but hers was also the network's first win in any of the Major Acting categories. (Laurence Fishburne and Peter Boyle won for Fox in only guest performances. The latter of which was for The X-Files just the year before.)\n\nThis ceremony marked the end of a 20-year residency for the Primetime Emmy Awards at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium dating back to the 29th Primetime Emmy Awards in 1977 ceremony.\n\nThis is the most recent year in which the Big Four Networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC) took home the top 14 Emmys (Comedy and Drama Series, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress in Comedy and Drama, and Directing and Writing for Comedy and Drama).\n\nThe Larry Sanders Show had 16 nominations and zero wins, tying the record with Northern Exposure in 1993 and becoming the first (and only to date) comedy series to set the record. These records with later be broken by Mad Men in 2012 with 17 nominations and without a single win and The Handmaid's Tale in 2021 with 21 nominations and without a single win.\n\nWinners and nominees\n\nPrograms\n\nActing\n\nLead performances\n\nSupporting performances\n\nGuest performances\n\nDirecting\n\nWriting\n\nMost major nominations\nBy network \n NBC – 50\n HBO – 41\n CBS – 21\n ABC – 19\n\nBy program\n ER (NBC) – 14\n The Larry Sanders Show (HBO) – 12\n NYPD Blue (ABC) – 8\n Seinfeld (NBC) – 7\n Chicago Hope (CBS) / Frasier (NBC) / Mad About You (NBC) / Miss Evers' Boys (HBO) – 6\n\nMost major awards\nBy network \n NBC – 11\n HBO – 7\n ABC – 6\n CBS – 2\n PBS – 2\n\nBy program\n NYPD Blue (ABC) – 4\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Emmys.com list of 1997 Nominees & Winners\n \n\n049\nPrimetime Emmy Awards\n1997 in California\nEvents in Pasadena, California\nSeptember 1997 events in the United States\n20th century in Pasadena, California", "The Wire is an American crime drama television series created by David Simon and broadcast by the cable network HBO. It premiered on June 2, 2002, and ended on March 9, 2008, comprising sixty episodes over five seasons. Set in Baltimore, Maryland, The Wire follows different institutions within the city, such as the illegal drug trade, the education system, and the media, and their relationships to law enforcement. The series features a diverse ensemble cast of both veteran and novice actors; the large number of black actors was considered groundbreaking for the time.\n\nThe Wire has been widely hailed as one of the greatest television series of all time. Despite the critical acclaim, however, the show received relatively few awards during its run. It was nominated for only two Primetime Emmy Awards – both for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series – and did not win any. Many have called its lack of recognition, especially in the Outstanding Drama Series category, one of the biggest Emmys snubs ever. Some have argued the lack of recognition was due to the show's dense plots and a disconnect between the setting and Los Angeles-based voters.\n\nOutside of the Emmys, The Wire won a Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Dramatic Series in 2008, as well as a Directors Guild of America Award for the episode \"Transitions\" in 2009. It was thrice named one of the top television programs of the year by the American Film Institute and received a Peabody Award in 2004. The series was nominated for sixteen NAACP Image Awards but never won one. It was also nominated for ten Television Critics Association Awards, with its only win coming in 2008 for the group's Heritage Award.\n\nAwards and nominations\n\nNotes\n\nNominees for awards\n\nOther\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\nAwards and nominations\nWire" ]
[ "Brown Eyed Girls", "Debut: Your Story and Leave Ms. Kim" ]
C_c3fd3279648546569f6c717494476825_1
What was it about Your Story That was interesting?
1
What about Your Story was interesting?
Brown Eyed Girls
The group's leader, Jea, was the one responsible of the group's creation and was actively involved in the selection of the other members, picking out Miryo, who was known as a great female rapper from the hip-hop community having previously worked with other fellow rappers, such as Gil Seong-joon from Leessang, and the main female rapper in well-known hip-hop group Honey Family. Narsha was chosen when Jea remembered her as a "talented singer" from her high school days, and Ga-in was selected by the three members after she was eliminated from "Battle Shin Hwa." According to Ga-in, she was crying in the bathroom after failing the audition, was found by composer Ahn Jung Hoon, and then was chosen through the audition in Brown Eyed Girls' company. Singer Yoari trained with the group until 2006, when it was decided she would be the lead singer for Sprinkler. The four members held several small size concerts, and was actually known as "Crescendo" before officially debuting as "Brown Eyed Girls." After more than 3 years of training in singing and holding several small size concerts, the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea on March 2, 2006, with the ballad track, "Come Closer" as their single. Debuting as a "faceless group" they did not appear on any visual media and chose to not even appear in their own music video. The album was well received by critics but did not do as well as expected commercially. The album was later re-released to include "Hold The Line" (which samples "Push The Button" by British girl band Sugababes and "Technologic" by Daft Punk). This song became a hit, further boosting the band's popularity. "Hold the Line" was disclosed across the world because it was included in the list of songs from the game Pump it Up. After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (ddeonara miseugim), which included their R&B title track "You Got Me Fooled" (neoege sogassda). Subsequent singles were "Oasis" (oasiseu) featuring Lee Jae Hoon and "It's Mine" (naeggeoya), a collaboration with fellow group SeeYa. During the break between their debut and second albums, the Brown Eyed Girls released their first digital single entitled "I Am a Summer" (naega yeoreumida), which was later included in their second LP. The first two albums contained typical R&B ballads which had been very popular in the K-pop scene. However, the commercial success was relatively higher in two singles between the first and second albums. Moreover, the second album containing "You Got Me Fooled" (neoege sogassda) was released at nearly the same time as Wonder Girls' "Tell Me" which received a nationwide success in Korea. Therefore, their second album was once again a commercial disappointment. At the same time, the general K-pop scene was changing from R&B ballads to dance music. CANNOTANSWER
the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea on March 2, 2006, with the ballad track, "Come Closer" as their single.
The Brown Eyed Girls (Hangul: 브라운 아이드 걸스, Japanese: ブラウン・アイド・ガールズ), often abbreviated as B.E.G., BG, or 브아걸 (beu-ah-geol), is a South Korean girl group with four members: JeA, Miryo, Narsha, and Gain. They debuted as an R&B/Ballad vocal group with "Come Closer (다가와서)" in 2006 and have since performed in a variety of music genres. They rose to popularity in 2008 with "L.O.V.E" and their retro-dance number "How Come," and cemented their position in the K-pop world in 2009 with "Abracadabra", with its electronica-based genre, pioneering (albeit controversial) concept, along with its iconic and now globally recognized dance entitled 'The Arrogant Dance (시건방춤)'—successfully ingraining themselves into modern popular culture. The group started their venture into the Japanese music market with the release of a Japanese version of their massively successful 3rd Korean album, Sound-G, in late 2010, with full promotions being held throughout early 2011 under Sony Music Japan, where they gained moderate success. They returned to Korea in late 2011, to garner further success and critical acclaim with their 4th album and its title track "Sixth Sense". Other than promoting as a group, all of the members have released solo albums. History Debut: Your Story and Leave Ms. Kim The group's leader, Jea, was responsible for the group's creation and was actively involved in the selection of the other members, picking out Miryo, who was known as a capable female rapper from the hip-hop community having previously worked with other fellow rappers, such as Gil Seong-joon from Leessang, and the main female rapper in well-known hip-hop group Honey Family. Narsha was chosen when Jea remembered her as a "talented singer" from her high school days, and Ga-in was selected by the three members after she was eliminated from "Battle Shin Hwa." According to Ga-in, she was crying in the bathroom after failing the audition, was found by composer Ahn Jung Hoon, and then was chosen through the audition in Brown Eyed Girls' company. Singer Yoari trained with the group until 2006, when it was decided she would be the lead singer for Sprinkler. The four members held several small size concerts, and considered the names "Crescendo" or "Dark Angel" before officially debuting as "Brown Eyed Girls". After more than 3 years of training in singing and holding several small size concerts, the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea on March 2, 2006, with the ballad track, "Come Closer" as their single. Debuting as a "faceless group" they did not appear on any visual media and chose to not even appear in their own music video. The album was well received by critics but did not do as well as expected commercially. The album was later re-released to include "Hold The Line" (which samples "Push The Button" by British girl band Sugababes and "Technologic" by Daft Punk). This song became a hit, further boosting the band's popularity. "Hold the Line" was disclosed across the world because it was included in the list of songs from the game Pump it Up. After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (), which included their R&B title track "You Got Me Fooled" (). Subsequent singles were "Oasis" () featuring Lee Jae Hoon and "It's Mine" (), a collaboration with fellow group SeeYa. During the break between their debut and second albums, the Brown Eyed Girls released their first digital single entitled "I Am a Summer" (), which was later included in their second LP. The first two albums contained typical R&B ballads which had been very popular in the K-pop scene. However, the commercial success was relatively higher in two singles between the first and second albums. Moreover, the second album containing "You Got Me Fooled" () was released at nearly the same time as Wonder Girls' "Tell Me" which received a nationwide success in Korea. Therefore, their second album was once again a commercial disappointment. At the same time, the general K-pop scene was changing from R&B ballads to dance music. 2008: With Love and My Style mini albums In January 2008, Brown Eyed Girls came back with their first mini-album "With L.O.V.E." Their single, "L.O.V.E," was a departure from the B.E.G. sound that people had come to know but it became an instant success and Brown Eyed Girls scored their first No. 1 song and also one of the top hit songs in the first half of 2008. "Love Action" was the second single taken from the mini album. With Love also marked the group's second digital album (after "I Am a Summer"), though it was released in conventional CD format as well. After the release of their first mini-album, they could achieve the commercial success. "Love" was composed by Saint-Binary and Min-Soo Lee. Looking to strengthen their success, Brown Eyed Girls returned again in September and released their second mini-album "My Style." The title song "How Come" is a retro-style dance song that has become a popular trend. 2009–2010: Sound G, Japanese debut and solo activities On July 20, 2009, Brown Eyed Girls released their third full-length album, the double-disc Sound G. Even though "Candy Man" was the first song unveiled from the album, the first heavily promoted single was "Abracadabra," which was composed by Ji-nu and Min-Soo Lee. He composed the first part of "Abracadabra," and tried to compose the refrain part. However, he could not think of a good idea to make the refrain part. Therefore, Min-Soo Lee, who worked with BEG previously, helped and composed the refrain part of "Abracadabra." The release of this album also saw a shift in the image of the group, as the members redefined themselves as independent and mature city girls. Their music video for their title track sparked controversies. As the group is sporting a substantially more provocative visual style, criticism has arisen for the suggestive and erotic themes that the video presents. They later released a "stage version" of the video, which focuses only on the choreography. Nevertheless, even with all the controversies they took the Kpop world by storm, snagging awards at music shows and year end music awards. The sexy hip dance became a national dance with a lot of fellow celebrities doing a parody of it. Later on, the group revealed a repackaged version of the album titled Sign that included a new single, "Sign," along with "Drunk On Sleep" and a remix of their previous hit "Abracadabra." The repackaged album was released along with the music video for "Sign." The music video caused controversy because of its content: it featured scenes of violence and death, including the group members drowning in tanks of water. "Sign" has reached certain success, but it has not matched the success of the band's previous single "Abracadabra." The quartet has been readying for their Japan debut since signing with major record label Sony Music Japan International. In August 2010, the group re-released Sound G in Japanese to promote them in the country, which indeed marks the beginning of their Japanese promotions. After the success of the album, the members concentrated more on their individual activities juggling it with their overseas schedules. In July, Narsha released her first solo album 'NARSHA' to meet certain success, In August, JeA collaborated with Rattpoom, a Thai singer, in his song 'Face to Face'. Later in October, Gain also started her solo activities through her debut album Step 2/4 with a strong interpolation of tango music, featuring 'Irreversible' as the title track. On October 31, she clutched her first win (Mutizen song) in Inkigayo. In December, JeA worked on her ballad single 'Because You Sting' featuring G.O. of MBLAQ. Aside from that they also became part of popular variety shows and sitcom. Ga-in appeared on We Got Married with 2AM's Jo Kwon beginning in September 2009. The couple was very popular in Korea and still is one of the most recognized virtual couples in the country. Regrettably, their virtual marriage came to an end after 15 months in January 2011. She made her acting debut in MBC daily sitcom 'All My Love'. She was the female lead 'Gaumji'. However, owing to schedule conflict, her filming in sitcom ended in May 2011. Narsha has appeared on Invincible Youth (also known as G7) since October 2009. She is known on the show as "Sung In Dol" (Adult idol) due to her age difference with other members and her funny, but naughty reactions on the show. She was also one of the fixed cast member in SBS's variety show 'Heroes'. In April 2010, she DJed on "Pump up the Volume" on KBS Cool FM. Due to Brown Eyed Girls' overseas promotions Narsha decided to leave the show, with her last broadcast on December 28, 2010. The group successfully ended the year with a concert entitled "Hot Winter Party" held in the Ax-Korea Hall in Seoul. 2011: Japanese promotions and return to Korea with Sixth Sense On January 17, the Japanese music video for "Sign" was released. Its content is completely different from the original Korean version of the song, since the new version focuses on choreography while the original version did not feature any. The group started their promotions in Japan in early 2011. The girls originally planned to hold a concert in Japan in April but due to the Tōhoku earthquake in March, the concert was postponed to September instead. The band's first Japanese concert at C.C Lemon Hall in Shibuya took place on September 12. There, they unveiled one of their songs in their fourth album An Inconvenient Truth, which was composed by JeA and KZ. On September 6, NegaNetwork released an official comeback date, marking the end of their two-year hiatus. The group was expected to release a single on September 16 titled, "Hot Shot," followed by their fourth album and music video "Sixth Sense" on September 23. The concept for this album is “Resistance for freedom of expression through music via sixth sense.” Representatives of their agency, NegaNetwork explained, This album focuses not only on their singing and performance. The members hope to convey their thoughts to the public through music. Their title track is an expression of the limitations of experiencing music with only five senses, and it asks people to feel it instead with their sixth sense. The song itself is very free in style. They kicked off their promotional cycle officially with a double stage performance of "Hot Shot" and "Sixth Sense" on September 24 on Music Core. and grabbed the top spot on M! Countdown and Inkigayo. They also broke the jinx of going down a slump after a “big hit” as they won over their famed song Abracadabra, receiving higher digital sales for Sixth Sense. They concluded their "Sixth Sense" promotions after a month but it was immediately followed by the release of a repackage of their fourth studio album. On November 4, their repackage album was released. They followed up promotions with their ballad song 'Cleansing Cream'. They officially concluded their promotional activities on November 18 with a final performance on KBS's ‘Music Bank'. 2012: Solo activities, digital single and Tonight 37.2 °C The members branched out to solo activities once again. Starting with Miryo, releasing her self- produced solo album, MIRYO a.k.a. JOHONEY on February 1. She had a rocky start with two of the songs from her album banned in broadcasting stations. Namely, “Revenger,” which according to SBS officials has lyrics depicting violence and the title track “Dirty” for the lyrics of the song, containing the word, “cross-eyed” which could be perceived as a derogatory term for the disabled thus forcing Miryo to change the lyrics to be able to perform on music shows. On TV, Narsha made her acting debut with MBC's drama "Light and Shadow" playing the role of an aspiring singer Lee Jung Ja and followed by Ooh La La Couple as a goddess. The other members participated on reality programs. Gain became a CEO of a public relations company called ‘Mental Breakdown' particularly for the show, "OnStyle's Launch My Life – Ga In's Fashion King." While Miryo was included in Mnet's hiphop program Show me the Money, collaborating with a rookie rapper to compete against other contestants for the top spot. Jea also became a fixed member of Immortal Songs 2 but she later left the show due to her solo album promotions and was replaced by Narsha which later on left the show also due to her musical "When A Man Loves." On July 17, BEG released their digital single "The Original" of the hybrid soul genre – the genre the girls have originally debuted with. It has two tracks Come with me and the title track “A Midsummer Night's Dream” meant to be a gift to the fans who are still supporting the group despite it not being active at the moment. It was produced and composed by JeA. No promotional activities were done. Gain dropped her second mini-album on October 5 "Talk About S" with the title track Bloom. The title track and won the top spot in M! Countdown. JeA also pre-released the track "Let's Hug" on December 28 from her upcoming solo album. Before the year ended, fans of Brown Eyed Girls were finally able to see all four members up on stage together once again for their 19+ Rated ‘Tonight 37.2 °C‘ concert. 2013: Black Box and sub-unit M&N Member JeA started the year by releasing her solo album "Just JeA," showing her prowess as a vocalist and also a producer. Gain also surprised everyone by releasing a duet album on April 7 with label-mate Cho Hyung Woo, titled "Romantic Spring." The album contains warm, beautiful love songs that perfectly fit the season. On July 4, a teaser image was released via Facebook and Twitter for Brown Eyed Girls' long-awaited comeback. July 9 marked the release of a digital-single: "Recipe (레시피)." Renowned Korean Hip-Hop producer Primary produced the track "Recipe," which served as a pre-release to the upcoming album, with Miryo and Dynamic Duo's Choiza writing the lyrics for the song. After the positive reception of their digital single from the public, they continued by releasing their 5th studio album, Black Box, on July 29, with "KILL BILL" being announced as the title track, being composed by Lee Gyu Hyun and member JeA. The music video teaser for "KILL BILL" was released on July 25, with the actual music video being revealed later, on July 28, followed by a special dance version on August 2. They performed their comeback stage on SBS' Inkigayo on July 28, as the opening act for the episode, performing pre-release single "Recipe (레시피)" before their album title-track later in the show. They continued their promotions for the album throughout various music programmes (with the exception of KBS-run programmes for undisclosed reasons) until August 25 where they brought them to a close. Youngest member Gain also revealed in an interview that she will release another solo album after the Kill Bill promotions. In October 2013, Ga-In also broke onto the CPOP scene, featuring in Show Lo's music video for "愛投羅網 (Cast The Net Of Love)." On November 4, multiple sources in the entertainment field revealed that Miryo and Narsha will be forming a sub-unit and plan on releasing music for the unit in mid-November. While Brown Eyed Girls members have been well known to venture into solo activities, this is the first time in which two members will be working together as one team. On November 11, M&N released their first single, titled "Tonight (오늘밤)," which included two versions of the same track (one Korean, one English version), with the lyrical content to the first version being self-composed between the two members - on a later date during an interview, both members of the sub-unit stated that they had plans to release an album sometime within the next year, with it to feature a strong Hip Hop sound complete with promotional activities. 2014: Special Moments compilation album At the end of January 2014, Gain was revealed to be making a comeback with her 3rd mini album Truth or Dare on February 6, releasing a teaser picture along with the news. On January 22 she released a "mysterious and sexy" teaser still-cut from her pre-release track 'Fxxk U'. She later released a controversial teaser for the song showing two silhouettes behind a shower curtain and Gain saying "Fuck you." Information released with the teaser said the song would feature singer Bumkey and be "simple yet melodious" and feature a classical guitar. The song and music video were released on January 27. The music video portrayed Gain and actor Joo Ji Hoon in a physically and emotionally abusive relationship. The song was created by lyricist Kim Eana and composer Lee Minsoo (who also worked with Gain on her previous solo single "Bloom"). The title song "Truth or Dare" deals with the topic of rumors and their effect on celebrities and their life. On August 6 it was announced that the group would be releasing a "greatest hits" album titled Special Moments, featuring several songs from the group's eight-year career, as well as a new track "Hush," which would serve as the title track to the album. Special Moments has a two-disc format, with the first disc featuring the group's lead singles and promotional tracks, and the second disc focusing mainly on their ballad tracks. The album was released on August 11, 2014. 2015: Departure from Nega Network, contract with Mystic Entertainment and Basic On September 4, 2015, members JeA, Narsha, and Miryo became free agents after deciding not to renew their contracts with Nega Network. On October 1, 2015, all members have signed with Mystic Entertainment. On October 26, Mystic released the first batch of teaser pictures through BEG's official Twitter account. Each girl was shown posing in a desert like landscape, while the concept gave off a futuristic and science fiction feeling. Simultaneously they announced the release date of their upcoming 6th studio album, which was November 5 at midnight. Another batch of teaser pictures was released a day later on the 27th October. The track list was released on October 28 and revealed ten brand new tracks, with Brave New World (신세계) being the title track and Warm Hole (웜홀) the second title track. Moreover, Jea and Miryo took part in the writing and composing several songs of the album. The title track Brave New World is writing by Kim Eana and composed by Lee Minsoo, who have also worked together on previous Brown Eyed Girls songs. The group appeared on the popular smartphone broadcast V App on the 29th where they stated that Brave New World was a choreography heavy song, couldn't actually reveal any more info about the album. During the course of the next few days they revealed teaser videos for non-title tracks, such as Ice Cream Time, Obsession and Wave. The teaser videos for the two title tracks Warm Hole and Brave New World were the last to be released. The girls held their first showcase of their careers called 'Comeback to the Basic' on November 4 where they also performed the side track Ice Cream Time. Youngest member Gain revealed during the showcase that she took part in choreographing Warm Hole and Brave New World, as well as forming the concept for their 6th album. The album and the music video for Brave New World got released on the same day. The reference to Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World became obvious, though the theme of music video and song do not refer to discouragement of critical thinking, abundance of material goods and other plots as the novel does. However, the futuristic theme got picked up through time traveling in the music video as well as the idea of a dystopian state through the lyrics. The Warm Hole MV got released on November 5 and sparked a controversy due to the heavy sexual lyrics and references in the MV to a female's reproductive organ. But still they performed Warm Hole on the 5th November on M!Countdown as well as on the 6th on Music Bank. 2016-present: Hiatus, 10th anniversary, Narsha's departure from APOP Entertainment, RE_vive In 2016, it was reported that Brown Eyed Girls were the first K-pop girl group without any member changes for 10 years. For their 10th anniversary, the group held a concert with Kero One and KRNFX on March 18 at the Feria (now known as Club Bound LA) in Koreatown, Los Angeles, CA. On December 14, 2018, it was announced that Narsha would be leaving Mystic Story and APOP Entertainment. However, she would continue to promote with Brown Eyed Girls in future activities. The statement also revealed the group was preparing for a new comeback. In September 2019, the group set up an official Instagram, where they announced their new album RE_vive released on October 28. Other musical efforts The group members have also been featured on several South Korean drama soundtracks including The Vineyard Man (Loving You), Queen of Games (), Dae Jo Yeong (), The Kingdom of The Winds (), My Fair Lady (I Love You), and The Slave Hunters (Stray Child). JeA also participated in OST songs even before Brown Eyed Girls' debut. Also, Miryo and JeA collaborated for the single "Love Is..." which was released in May 2010. They collaborated with 4minute in 2010 for a World Cup song. Ga-in also participated "4Tomorrow Project" with Kara's Seung Yeon, After School's Uee, and 4minute's Hyuna. She also released digital single "We Fell in Love" (우리 사랑하게 됐어요), composed by Jea, with then We Got Married partner 2AM Jo Kwon. The song was voted No. 1 in several music programs in January 2010 In 2011, Miryo and Sunny of Girls' Generation collaborated for the single "사랑해 사랑해 (I love you, I love you)" the song was released the same year. Ga-in collaborated with Park Jin-young for the song "Someone Else" shortly before his comeback. The music video and the full-length song were pre-released in April 2012. Ga-in featured in IU's "Everyone Has Secrets" from her album "Modern Times" released in October 2013 Brown Eyed Girls influence on PSY On April 13, 2013, hip hop artist PSY released a music video for his single "Gentleman", which featured dance moves borrowed heavily from the Abracadabra music video, as well as featuring Gain in the video. Discography Your Story (2006) Leave Ms. Kim (2007) Sound-G (2009) Sixth Sense (2011) Black Box (2013) Basic (2015) RE_Vive (2019) Awards References External links Official Website Sony Music Entertainment Japan artists Mystic Entertainment artists K-pop music groups South Korean contemporary R&B musical groups South Korean dance music groups South Korean girl groups Musical groups established in 2006 2006 establishments in South Korea Mnet Asian Music Award winners Musical quartets Korean Music Award winners Melon Music Award winners
true
[ "Here's Your Hat What's Your Hurry is a collection of short stories by Elizabeth McCracken first published in 1993 by Random House. It was included on the American Library Association's \"List of Notable Books for 1994.\"\n\nStories\n It's Bad Luck to Die\n Some Have Entertained Angels, Unaware\n Here's Your Hat What's Your Hurry\n The Bar of Our Recent Unhappiness\n Mercedes Kane\n What We Know About the Lost Aztec Children\n June\n Secretary of State\n The Goings-On of the World\n\nReferences\n\n1993 short story collections\nSingle-writer short story collections\nAmerican short story collections\nEnglish-language novels", "\"The House Beyond Your Sky\" is a science fiction short story written in 2006 by American writer Benjamin Rosenbaum.\n\nThe story is about Matthias, a priest of an extremely ancient and highly advanced race of beings, who inhabit a cold and dying universe. Matthias maintains a library of virtual universes, including the one inhabited by humans. However, he has also begun to construct a new, real universe, attracting the attention of one of the most powerful members of his race. So, as he watches a sorrowful little girl with an abusive father in one of his virtual worlds, Matthias prepares for the arrival of this pilgrim, who has an interesting proposal.\n\n\"The House Beyond Your Sky\" was nominated for the 2007 Hugo Award for Best Short Story.\n\nExternal links\nThe House Beyond Your Sky at Strange Horizons\n\nScience fiction short stories\n2006 short stories\nWorks originally published in Strange Horizons\nDomestic violence in fiction" ]
[ "Brown Eyed Girls", "Debut: Your Story and Leave Ms. Kim", "What was it about Your Story That was interesting?", "the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea on March 2, 2006, with the ballad track, \"Come Closer\" as their single." ]
C_c3fd3279648546569f6c717494476825_1
Was Come closer a hit single?
2
Was Come closer a hit single?
Brown Eyed Girls
The group's leader, Jea, was the one responsible of the group's creation and was actively involved in the selection of the other members, picking out Miryo, who was known as a great female rapper from the hip-hop community having previously worked with other fellow rappers, such as Gil Seong-joon from Leessang, and the main female rapper in well-known hip-hop group Honey Family. Narsha was chosen when Jea remembered her as a "talented singer" from her high school days, and Ga-in was selected by the three members after she was eliminated from "Battle Shin Hwa." According to Ga-in, she was crying in the bathroom after failing the audition, was found by composer Ahn Jung Hoon, and then was chosen through the audition in Brown Eyed Girls' company. Singer Yoari trained with the group until 2006, when it was decided she would be the lead singer for Sprinkler. The four members held several small size concerts, and was actually known as "Crescendo" before officially debuting as "Brown Eyed Girls." After more than 3 years of training in singing and holding several small size concerts, the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea on March 2, 2006, with the ballad track, "Come Closer" as their single. Debuting as a "faceless group" they did not appear on any visual media and chose to not even appear in their own music video. The album was well received by critics but did not do as well as expected commercially. The album was later re-released to include "Hold The Line" (which samples "Push The Button" by British girl band Sugababes and "Technologic" by Daft Punk). This song became a hit, further boosting the band's popularity. "Hold the Line" was disclosed across the world because it was included in the list of songs from the game Pump it Up. After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (ddeonara miseugim), which included their R&B title track "You Got Me Fooled" (neoege sogassda). Subsequent singles were "Oasis" (oasiseu) featuring Lee Jae Hoon and "It's Mine" (naeggeoya), a collaboration with fellow group SeeYa. During the break between their debut and second albums, the Brown Eyed Girls released their first digital single entitled "I Am a Summer" (naega yeoreumida), which was later included in their second LP. The first two albums contained typical R&B ballads which had been very popular in the K-pop scene. However, the commercial success was relatively higher in two singles between the first and second albums. Moreover, the second album containing "You Got Me Fooled" (neoege sogassda) was released at nearly the same time as Wonder Girls' "Tell Me" which received a nationwide success in Korea. Therefore, their second album was once again a commercial disappointment. At the same time, the general K-pop scene was changing from R&B ballads to dance music. CANNOTANSWER
The album was well received by critics but did not do as well as expected commercially.
The Brown Eyed Girls (Hangul: 브라운 아이드 걸스, Japanese: ブラウン・アイド・ガールズ), often abbreviated as B.E.G., BG, or 브아걸 (beu-ah-geol), is a South Korean girl group with four members: JeA, Miryo, Narsha, and Gain. They debuted as an R&B/Ballad vocal group with "Come Closer (다가와서)" in 2006 and have since performed in a variety of music genres. They rose to popularity in 2008 with "L.O.V.E" and their retro-dance number "How Come," and cemented their position in the K-pop world in 2009 with "Abracadabra", with its electronica-based genre, pioneering (albeit controversial) concept, along with its iconic and now globally recognized dance entitled 'The Arrogant Dance (시건방춤)'—successfully ingraining themselves into modern popular culture. The group started their venture into the Japanese music market with the release of a Japanese version of their massively successful 3rd Korean album, Sound-G, in late 2010, with full promotions being held throughout early 2011 under Sony Music Japan, where they gained moderate success. They returned to Korea in late 2011, to garner further success and critical acclaim with their 4th album and its title track "Sixth Sense". Other than promoting as a group, all of the members have released solo albums. History Debut: Your Story and Leave Ms. Kim The group's leader, Jea, was responsible for the group's creation and was actively involved in the selection of the other members, picking out Miryo, who was known as a capable female rapper from the hip-hop community having previously worked with other fellow rappers, such as Gil Seong-joon from Leessang, and the main female rapper in well-known hip-hop group Honey Family. Narsha was chosen when Jea remembered her as a "talented singer" from her high school days, and Ga-in was selected by the three members after she was eliminated from "Battle Shin Hwa." According to Ga-in, she was crying in the bathroom after failing the audition, was found by composer Ahn Jung Hoon, and then was chosen through the audition in Brown Eyed Girls' company. Singer Yoari trained with the group until 2006, when it was decided she would be the lead singer for Sprinkler. The four members held several small size concerts, and considered the names "Crescendo" or "Dark Angel" before officially debuting as "Brown Eyed Girls". After more than 3 years of training in singing and holding several small size concerts, the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea on March 2, 2006, with the ballad track, "Come Closer" as their single. Debuting as a "faceless group" they did not appear on any visual media and chose to not even appear in their own music video. The album was well received by critics but did not do as well as expected commercially. The album was later re-released to include "Hold The Line" (which samples "Push The Button" by British girl band Sugababes and "Technologic" by Daft Punk). This song became a hit, further boosting the band's popularity. "Hold the Line" was disclosed across the world because it was included in the list of songs from the game Pump it Up. After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (), which included their R&B title track "You Got Me Fooled" (). Subsequent singles were "Oasis" () featuring Lee Jae Hoon and "It's Mine" (), a collaboration with fellow group SeeYa. During the break between their debut and second albums, the Brown Eyed Girls released their first digital single entitled "I Am a Summer" (), which was later included in their second LP. The first two albums contained typical R&B ballads which had been very popular in the K-pop scene. However, the commercial success was relatively higher in two singles between the first and second albums. Moreover, the second album containing "You Got Me Fooled" () was released at nearly the same time as Wonder Girls' "Tell Me" which received a nationwide success in Korea. Therefore, their second album was once again a commercial disappointment. At the same time, the general K-pop scene was changing from R&B ballads to dance music. 2008: With Love and My Style mini albums In January 2008, Brown Eyed Girls came back with their first mini-album "With L.O.V.E." Their single, "L.O.V.E," was a departure from the B.E.G. sound that people had come to know but it became an instant success and Brown Eyed Girls scored their first No. 1 song and also one of the top hit songs in the first half of 2008. "Love Action" was the second single taken from the mini album. With Love also marked the group's second digital album (after "I Am a Summer"), though it was released in conventional CD format as well. After the release of their first mini-album, they could achieve the commercial success. "Love" was composed by Saint-Binary and Min-Soo Lee. Looking to strengthen their success, Brown Eyed Girls returned again in September and released their second mini-album "My Style." The title song "How Come" is a retro-style dance song that has become a popular trend. 2009–2010: Sound G, Japanese debut and solo activities On July 20, 2009, Brown Eyed Girls released their third full-length album, the double-disc Sound G. Even though "Candy Man" was the first song unveiled from the album, the first heavily promoted single was "Abracadabra," which was composed by Ji-nu and Min-Soo Lee. He composed the first part of "Abracadabra," and tried to compose the refrain part. However, he could not think of a good idea to make the refrain part. Therefore, Min-Soo Lee, who worked with BEG previously, helped and composed the refrain part of "Abracadabra." The release of this album also saw a shift in the image of the group, as the members redefined themselves as independent and mature city girls. Their music video for their title track sparked controversies. As the group is sporting a substantially more provocative visual style, criticism has arisen for the suggestive and erotic themes that the video presents. They later released a "stage version" of the video, which focuses only on the choreography. Nevertheless, even with all the controversies they took the Kpop world by storm, snagging awards at music shows and year end music awards. The sexy hip dance became a national dance with a lot of fellow celebrities doing a parody of it. Later on, the group revealed a repackaged version of the album titled Sign that included a new single, "Sign," along with "Drunk On Sleep" and a remix of their previous hit "Abracadabra." The repackaged album was released along with the music video for "Sign." The music video caused controversy because of its content: it featured scenes of violence and death, including the group members drowning in tanks of water. "Sign" has reached certain success, but it has not matched the success of the band's previous single "Abracadabra." The quartet has been readying for their Japan debut since signing with major record label Sony Music Japan International. In August 2010, the group re-released Sound G in Japanese to promote them in the country, which indeed marks the beginning of their Japanese promotions. After the success of the album, the members concentrated more on their individual activities juggling it with their overseas schedules. In July, Narsha released her first solo album 'NARSHA' to meet certain success, In August, JeA collaborated with Rattpoom, a Thai singer, in his song 'Face to Face'. Later in October, Gain also started her solo activities through her debut album Step 2/4 with a strong interpolation of tango music, featuring 'Irreversible' as the title track. On October 31, she clutched her first win (Mutizen song) in Inkigayo. In December, JeA worked on her ballad single 'Because You Sting' featuring G.O. of MBLAQ. Aside from that they also became part of popular variety shows and sitcom. Ga-in appeared on We Got Married with 2AM's Jo Kwon beginning in September 2009. The couple was very popular in Korea and still is one of the most recognized virtual couples in the country. Regrettably, their virtual marriage came to an end after 15 months in January 2011. She made her acting debut in MBC daily sitcom 'All My Love'. She was the female lead 'Gaumji'. However, owing to schedule conflict, her filming in sitcom ended in May 2011. Narsha has appeared on Invincible Youth (also known as G7) since October 2009. She is known on the show as "Sung In Dol" (Adult idol) due to her age difference with other members and her funny, but naughty reactions on the show. She was also one of the fixed cast member in SBS's variety show 'Heroes'. In April 2010, she DJed on "Pump up the Volume" on KBS Cool FM. Due to Brown Eyed Girls' overseas promotions Narsha decided to leave the show, with her last broadcast on December 28, 2010. The group successfully ended the year with a concert entitled "Hot Winter Party" held in the Ax-Korea Hall in Seoul. 2011: Japanese promotions and return to Korea with Sixth Sense On January 17, the Japanese music video for "Sign" was released. Its content is completely different from the original Korean version of the song, since the new version focuses on choreography while the original version did not feature any. The group started their promotions in Japan in early 2011. The girls originally planned to hold a concert in Japan in April but due to the Tōhoku earthquake in March, the concert was postponed to September instead. The band's first Japanese concert at C.C Lemon Hall in Shibuya took place on September 12. There, they unveiled one of their songs in their fourth album An Inconvenient Truth, which was composed by JeA and KZ. On September 6, NegaNetwork released an official comeback date, marking the end of their two-year hiatus. The group was expected to release a single on September 16 titled, "Hot Shot," followed by their fourth album and music video "Sixth Sense" on September 23. The concept for this album is “Resistance for freedom of expression through music via sixth sense.” Representatives of their agency, NegaNetwork explained, This album focuses not only on their singing and performance. The members hope to convey their thoughts to the public through music. Their title track is an expression of the limitations of experiencing music with only five senses, and it asks people to feel it instead with their sixth sense. The song itself is very free in style. They kicked off their promotional cycle officially with a double stage performance of "Hot Shot" and "Sixth Sense" on September 24 on Music Core. and grabbed the top spot on M! Countdown and Inkigayo. They also broke the jinx of going down a slump after a “big hit” as they won over their famed song Abracadabra, receiving higher digital sales for Sixth Sense. They concluded their "Sixth Sense" promotions after a month but it was immediately followed by the release of a repackage of their fourth studio album. On November 4, their repackage album was released. They followed up promotions with their ballad song 'Cleansing Cream'. They officially concluded their promotional activities on November 18 with a final performance on KBS's ‘Music Bank'. 2012: Solo activities, digital single and Tonight 37.2 °C The members branched out to solo activities once again. Starting with Miryo, releasing her self- produced solo album, MIRYO a.k.a. JOHONEY on February 1. She had a rocky start with two of the songs from her album banned in broadcasting stations. Namely, “Revenger,” which according to SBS officials has lyrics depicting violence and the title track “Dirty” for the lyrics of the song, containing the word, “cross-eyed” which could be perceived as a derogatory term for the disabled thus forcing Miryo to change the lyrics to be able to perform on music shows. On TV, Narsha made her acting debut with MBC's drama "Light and Shadow" playing the role of an aspiring singer Lee Jung Ja and followed by Ooh La La Couple as a goddess. The other members participated on reality programs. Gain became a CEO of a public relations company called ‘Mental Breakdown' particularly for the show, "OnStyle's Launch My Life – Ga In's Fashion King." While Miryo was included in Mnet's hiphop program Show me the Money, collaborating with a rookie rapper to compete against other contestants for the top spot. Jea also became a fixed member of Immortal Songs 2 but she later left the show due to her solo album promotions and was replaced by Narsha which later on left the show also due to her musical "When A Man Loves." On July 17, BEG released their digital single "The Original" of the hybrid soul genre – the genre the girls have originally debuted with. It has two tracks Come with me and the title track “A Midsummer Night's Dream” meant to be a gift to the fans who are still supporting the group despite it not being active at the moment. It was produced and composed by JeA. No promotional activities were done. Gain dropped her second mini-album on October 5 "Talk About S" with the title track Bloom. The title track and won the top spot in M! Countdown. JeA also pre-released the track "Let's Hug" on December 28 from her upcoming solo album. Before the year ended, fans of Brown Eyed Girls were finally able to see all four members up on stage together once again for their 19+ Rated ‘Tonight 37.2 °C‘ concert. 2013: Black Box and sub-unit M&N Member JeA started the year by releasing her solo album "Just JeA," showing her prowess as a vocalist and also a producer. Gain also surprised everyone by releasing a duet album on April 7 with label-mate Cho Hyung Woo, titled "Romantic Spring." The album contains warm, beautiful love songs that perfectly fit the season. On July 4, a teaser image was released via Facebook and Twitter for Brown Eyed Girls' long-awaited comeback. July 9 marked the release of a digital-single: "Recipe (레시피)." Renowned Korean Hip-Hop producer Primary produced the track "Recipe," which served as a pre-release to the upcoming album, with Miryo and Dynamic Duo's Choiza writing the lyrics for the song. After the positive reception of their digital single from the public, they continued by releasing their 5th studio album, Black Box, on July 29, with "KILL BILL" being announced as the title track, being composed by Lee Gyu Hyun and member JeA. The music video teaser for "KILL BILL" was released on July 25, with the actual music video being revealed later, on July 28, followed by a special dance version on August 2. They performed their comeback stage on SBS' Inkigayo on July 28, as the opening act for the episode, performing pre-release single "Recipe (레시피)" before their album title-track later in the show. They continued their promotions for the album throughout various music programmes (with the exception of KBS-run programmes for undisclosed reasons) until August 25 where they brought them to a close. Youngest member Gain also revealed in an interview that she will release another solo album after the Kill Bill promotions. In October 2013, Ga-In also broke onto the CPOP scene, featuring in Show Lo's music video for "愛投羅網 (Cast The Net Of Love)." On November 4, multiple sources in the entertainment field revealed that Miryo and Narsha will be forming a sub-unit and plan on releasing music for the unit in mid-November. While Brown Eyed Girls members have been well known to venture into solo activities, this is the first time in which two members will be working together as one team. On November 11, M&N released their first single, titled "Tonight (오늘밤)," which included two versions of the same track (one Korean, one English version), with the lyrical content to the first version being self-composed between the two members - on a later date during an interview, both members of the sub-unit stated that they had plans to release an album sometime within the next year, with it to feature a strong Hip Hop sound complete with promotional activities. 2014: Special Moments compilation album At the end of January 2014, Gain was revealed to be making a comeback with her 3rd mini album Truth or Dare on February 6, releasing a teaser picture along with the news. On January 22 she released a "mysterious and sexy" teaser still-cut from her pre-release track 'Fxxk U'. She later released a controversial teaser for the song showing two silhouettes behind a shower curtain and Gain saying "Fuck you." Information released with the teaser said the song would feature singer Bumkey and be "simple yet melodious" and feature a classical guitar. The song and music video were released on January 27. The music video portrayed Gain and actor Joo Ji Hoon in a physically and emotionally abusive relationship. The song was created by lyricist Kim Eana and composer Lee Minsoo (who also worked with Gain on her previous solo single "Bloom"). The title song "Truth or Dare" deals with the topic of rumors and their effect on celebrities and their life. On August 6 it was announced that the group would be releasing a "greatest hits" album titled Special Moments, featuring several songs from the group's eight-year career, as well as a new track "Hush," which would serve as the title track to the album. Special Moments has a two-disc format, with the first disc featuring the group's lead singles and promotional tracks, and the second disc focusing mainly on their ballad tracks. The album was released on August 11, 2014. 2015: Departure from Nega Network, contract with Mystic Entertainment and Basic On September 4, 2015, members JeA, Narsha, and Miryo became free agents after deciding not to renew their contracts with Nega Network. On October 1, 2015, all members have signed with Mystic Entertainment. On October 26, Mystic released the first batch of teaser pictures through BEG's official Twitter account. Each girl was shown posing in a desert like landscape, while the concept gave off a futuristic and science fiction feeling. Simultaneously they announced the release date of their upcoming 6th studio album, which was November 5 at midnight. Another batch of teaser pictures was released a day later on the 27th October. The track list was released on October 28 and revealed ten brand new tracks, with Brave New World (신세계) being the title track and Warm Hole (웜홀) the second title track. Moreover, Jea and Miryo took part in the writing and composing several songs of the album. The title track Brave New World is writing by Kim Eana and composed by Lee Minsoo, who have also worked together on previous Brown Eyed Girls songs. The group appeared on the popular smartphone broadcast V App on the 29th where they stated that Brave New World was a choreography heavy song, couldn't actually reveal any more info about the album. During the course of the next few days they revealed teaser videos for non-title tracks, such as Ice Cream Time, Obsession and Wave. The teaser videos for the two title tracks Warm Hole and Brave New World were the last to be released. The girls held their first showcase of their careers called 'Comeback to the Basic' on November 4 where they also performed the side track Ice Cream Time. Youngest member Gain revealed during the showcase that she took part in choreographing Warm Hole and Brave New World, as well as forming the concept for their 6th album. The album and the music video for Brave New World got released on the same day. The reference to Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World became obvious, though the theme of music video and song do not refer to discouragement of critical thinking, abundance of material goods and other plots as the novel does. However, the futuristic theme got picked up through time traveling in the music video as well as the idea of a dystopian state through the lyrics. The Warm Hole MV got released on November 5 and sparked a controversy due to the heavy sexual lyrics and references in the MV to a female's reproductive organ. But still they performed Warm Hole on the 5th November on M!Countdown as well as on the 6th on Music Bank. 2016-present: Hiatus, 10th anniversary, Narsha's departure from APOP Entertainment, RE_vive In 2016, it was reported that Brown Eyed Girls were the first K-pop girl group without any member changes for 10 years. For their 10th anniversary, the group held a concert with Kero One and KRNFX on March 18 at the Feria (now known as Club Bound LA) in Koreatown, Los Angeles, CA. On December 14, 2018, it was announced that Narsha would be leaving Mystic Story and APOP Entertainment. However, she would continue to promote with Brown Eyed Girls in future activities. The statement also revealed the group was preparing for a new comeback. In September 2019, the group set up an official Instagram, where they announced their new album RE_vive released on October 28. Other musical efforts The group members have also been featured on several South Korean drama soundtracks including The Vineyard Man (Loving You), Queen of Games (), Dae Jo Yeong (), The Kingdom of The Winds (), My Fair Lady (I Love You), and The Slave Hunters (Stray Child). JeA also participated in OST songs even before Brown Eyed Girls' debut. Also, Miryo and JeA collaborated for the single "Love Is..." which was released in May 2010. They collaborated with 4minute in 2010 for a World Cup song. Ga-in also participated "4Tomorrow Project" with Kara's Seung Yeon, After School's Uee, and 4minute's Hyuna. She also released digital single "We Fell in Love" (우리 사랑하게 됐어요), composed by Jea, with then We Got Married partner 2AM Jo Kwon. The song was voted No. 1 in several music programs in January 2010 In 2011, Miryo and Sunny of Girls' Generation collaborated for the single "사랑해 사랑해 (I love you, I love you)" the song was released the same year. Ga-in collaborated with Park Jin-young for the song "Someone Else" shortly before his comeback. The music video and the full-length song were pre-released in April 2012. Ga-in featured in IU's "Everyone Has Secrets" from her album "Modern Times" released in October 2013 Brown Eyed Girls influence on PSY On April 13, 2013, hip hop artist PSY released a music video for his single "Gentleman", which featured dance moves borrowed heavily from the Abracadabra music video, as well as featuring Gain in the video. Discography Your Story (2006) Leave Ms. Kim (2007) Sound-G (2009) Sixth Sense (2011) Black Box (2013) Basic (2015) RE_Vive (2019) Awards References External links Official Website Sony Music Entertainment Japan artists Mystic Entertainment artists K-pop music groups South Korean contemporary R&B musical groups South Korean dance music groups South Korean girl groups Musical groups established in 2006 2006 establishments in South Korea Mnet Asian Music Award winners Musical quartets Korean Music Award winners Melon Music Award winners
true
[ "\"Come a Little Closer\" is a song by the American country rock band The Desert Rose Band, which was released in 1991 as the second and final single from their first compilation album A Dozen Roses – Greatest Hits. It was written by Chris Hillman and Steve Hill, and produced by Ed Seay and Paul Worley.\n\n\"Come a Little Closer\" marked a continuation of the band's commercial decline on both the American and Canadian Country Singles Chart. Earlier in 1991, \"Will This Be the Day\" had entered the US Top 40, but \"Come a Little Closer\" was the band's first single not to reach the Top 40 in either America or Canada. It peaked at No. 65 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart and No. 67 on the Canadian RPM Country Singles Chart.\n\nRelease\n\"Come a Little Closer\" was released by Curb Records in America and Canada only, on 7\" vinyl and as a one-track promotional CD. For release as a single, the album version of \"Come a Little Closer\" was edited and reduced by almost a minute in duration. It was dubbed the \"Edited Version\". The B-side on the 7\" vinyl, \"Everybody's Hero\", was taken from the band's Pages of Life album.\n\nPromotion\nNo music video was created to promote the single, however a live performance of the song would later be professionally filmed in Aspecta, Kumamoto, Japan, on October 18, 1992.\n\nCritical reception\nUpon release, Cash Box listed the single as one of their \"feature picks\" during May 1991. They commented: \"What a band, what a sound, what a song! The Desert Rose Band has successfully managed to create its own recognizable sound, and with its latest release, the sound undoubtedly sparks a best yet! With a driving hit-n-go pulse and a plead-of-love theme, the band delivers an unusual \"live\" approach with \"Come a Little Closer\". In addition to an expected fire-tinged harmony blend, this spicy number lends time for a commanding instrumental performance.\" In a review of True Love, they said the song had a \"traditional country sound with a modern day attitude\". Billboard commented: \"Desert Rose Band leans in the direction of pop/rock with this crisply sung number. Rock guitar licks are showered throughout.\"\n\nIn a review of A Dozen Roses – Greatest Hits, CD Review said: \"\"Come a Little Closer\" ranks as one of Hillman and Hill's best compositions. Crafty and commercial, the Desert Rose Band offers a seamless blend of country and rock styles...\" Randy Lewis of the Los Angeles Times described the song as a \"driving rocker\", but added \"\"Come a Little Closer,\" teeters too close to rock cliche for comfort, something this group avoids for the most part.\" The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel described the track as a \"country rock/reggae fusion tune.\" The Fresno Bee, said of the compilation album: \"The best of the bunch on this collection are \"Come a Little Closer\" and \"Price I Pay\".\"\n\nTrack listing\n7\" Single\n\"Come a Little Closer\" - 3:10\n\"Everybody's Hero\" - 3:17\n\nCD Single (American promo)\n\"Come a Little Closer\" - 3:10\n\nChart performance\n\nPersonnel \nThe Desert Rose Band\n Chris Hillman - Lead vocals, acoustic guitar\n Herb Pedersen - Acoustic guitar, backing vocals\n John Jorgenson - Lead guitar, backing vocals\n Bill Bryson - Bass guitar\n Steve Duncan - Drums\n Tom Brumley - Pedal steel guitar\n\nAdditional personnel\n Paul Worley, Ed Seay - producers\n\nReferences\n\n1991 singles\nThe Desert Rose Band songs\nCurb Records singles\nSongs written by Chris Hillman\nSong recordings produced by Paul Worley\n1991 songs", "\"Closer than Close\" is a 1986 R&B ballad by former Norman Connors vocalist, Jean Carne. The single was a number-one hit on the U.S. R&B chart for two weeks. \"Closer than Close\" was written by Terry Price and Brandi Wells and produced by Grover Washington Jr.\n\nReferences\n\n1986 singles\n1986 songs\nJean Carn songs\nContemporary R&B ballads" ]
[ "Brown Eyed Girls", "Debut: Your Story and Leave Ms. Kim", "What was it about Your Story That was interesting?", "the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea on March 2, 2006, with the ballad track, \"Come Closer\" as their single.", "Was Come closer a hit single?", "The album was well received by critics but did not do as well as expected commercially." ]
C_c3fd3279648546569f6c717494476825_1
Was Leave Ms. Kim another album?
3
Was Leave Ms. Kim another album besides Your Story?
Brown Eyed Girls
The group's leader, Jea, was the one responsible of the group's creation and was actively involved in the selection of the other members, picking out Miryo, who was known as a great female rapper from the hip-hop community having previously worked with other fellow rappers, such as Gil Seong-joon from Leessang, and the main female rapper in well-known hip-hop group Honey Family. Narsha was chosen when Jea remembered her as a "talented singer" from her high school days, and Ga-in was selected by the three members after she was eliminated from "Battle Shin Hwa." According to Ga-in, she was crying in the bathroom after failing the audition, was found by composer Ahn Jung Hoon, and then was chosen through the audition in Brown Eyed Girls' company. Singer Yoari trained with the group until 2006, when it was decided she would be the lead singer for Sprinkler. The four members held several small size concerts, and was actually known as "Crescendo" before officially debuting as "Brown Eyed Girls." After more than 3 years of training in singing and holding several small size concerts, the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea on March 2, 2006, with the ballad track, "Come Closer" as their single. Debuting as a "faceless group" they did not appear on any visual media and chose to not even appear in their own music video. The album was well received by critics but did not do as well as expected commercially. The album was later re-released to include "Hold The Line" (which samples "Push The Button" by British girl band Sugababes and "Technologic" by Daft Punk). This song became a hit, further boosting the band's popularity. "Hold the Line" was disclosed across the world because it was included in the list of songs from the game Pump it Up. After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (ddeonara miseugim), which included their R&B title track "You Got Me Fooled" (neoege sogassda). Subsequent singles were "Oasis" (oasiseu) featuring Lee Jae Hoon and "It's Mine" (naeggeoya), a collaboration with fellow group SeeYa. During the break between their debut and second albums, the Brown Eyed Girls released their first digital single entitled "I Am a Summer" (naega yeoreumida), which was later included in their second LP. The first two albums contained typical R&B ballads which had been very popular in the K-pop scene. However, the commercial success was relatively higher in two singles between the first and second albums. Moreover, the second album containing "You Got Me Fooled" (neoege sogassda) was released at nearly the same time as Wonder Girls' "Tell Me" which received a nationwide success in Korea. Therefore, their second album was once again a commercial disappointment. At the same time, the general K-pop scene was changing from R&B ballads to dance music. CANNOTANSWER
After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (ddeonara miseugim),
The Brown Eyed Girls (Hangul: 브라운 아이드 걸스, Japanese: ブラウン・アイド・ガールズ), often abbreviated as B.E.G., BG, or 브아걸 (beu-ah-geol), is a South Korean girl group with four members: JeA, Miryo, Narsha, and Gain. They debuted as an R&B/Ballad vocal group with "Come Closer (다가와서)" in 2006 and have since performed in a variety of music genres. They rose to popularity in 2008 with "L.O.V.E" and their retro-dance number "How Come," and cemented their position in the K-pop world in 2009 with "Abracadabra", with its electronica-based genre, pioneering (albeit controversial) concept, along with its iconic and now globally recognized dance entitled 'The Arrogant Dance (시건방춤)'—successfully ingraining themselves into modern popular culture. The group started their venture into the Japanese music market with the release of a Japanese version of their massively successful 3rd Korean album, Sound-G, in late 2010, with full promotions being held throughout early 2011 under Sony Music Japan, where they gained moderate success. They returned to Korea in late 2011, to garner further success and critical acclaim with their 4th album and its title track "Sixth Sense". Other than promoting as a group, all of the members have released solo albums. History Debut: Your Story and Leave Ms. Kim The group's leader, Jea, was responsible for the group's creation and was actively involved in the selection of the other members, picking out Miryo, who was known as a capable female rapper from the hip-hop community having previously worked with other fellow rappers, such as Gil Seong-joon from Leessang, and the main female rapper in well-known hip-hop group Honey Family. Narsha was chosen when Jea remembered her as a "talented singer" from her high school days, and Ga-in was selected by the three members after she was eliminated from "Battle Shin Hwa." According to Ga-in, she was crying in the bathroom after failing the audition, was found by composer Ahn Jung Hoon, and then was chosen through the audition in Brown Eyed Girls' company. Singer Yoari trained with the group until 2006, when it was decided she would be the lead singer for Sprinkler. The four members held several small size concerts, and considered the names "Crescendo" or "Dark Angel" before officially debuting as "Brown Eyed Girls". After more than 3 years of training in singing and holding several small size concerts, the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea on March 2, 2006, with the ballad track, "Come Closer" as their single. Debuting as a "faceless group" they did not appear on any visual media and chose to not even appear in their own music video. The album was well received by critics but did not do as well as expected commercially. The album was later re-released to include "Hold The Line" (which samples "Push The Button" by British girl band Sugababes and "Technologic" by Daft Punk). This song became a hit, further boosting the band's popularity. "Hold the Line" was disclosed across the world because it was included in the list of songs from the game Pump it Up. After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (), which included their R&B title track "You Got Me Fooled" (). Subsequent singles were "Oasis" () featuring Lee Jae Hoon and "It's Mine" (), a collaboration with fellow group SeeYa. During the break between their debut and second albums, the Brown Eyed Girls released their first digital single entitled "I Am a Summer" (), which was later included in their second LP. The first two albums contained typical R&B ballads which had been very popular in the K-pop scene. However, the commercial success was relatively higher in two singles between the first and second albums. Moreover, the second album containing "You Got Me Fooled" () was released at nearly the same time as Wonder Girls' "Tell Me" which received a nationwide success in Korea. Therefore, their second album was once again a commercial disappointment. At the same time, the general K-pop scene was changing from R&B ballads to dance music. 2008: With Love and My Style mini albums In January 2008, Brown Eyed Girls came back with their first mini-album "With L.O.V.E." Their single, "L.O.V.E," was a departure from the B.E.G. sound that people had come to know but it became an instant success and Brown Eyed Girls scored their first No. 1 song and also one of the top hit songs in the first half of 2008. "Love Action" was the second single taken from the mini album. With Love also marked the group's second digital album (after "I Am a Summer"), though it was released in conventional CD format as well. After the release of their first mini-album, they could achieve the commercial success. "Love" was composed by Saint-Binary and Min-Soo Lee. Looking to strengthen their success, Brown Eyed Girls returned again in September and released their second mini-album "My Style." The title song "How Come" is a retro-style dance song that has become a popular trend. 2009–2010: Sound G, Japanese debut and solo activities On July 20, 2009, Brown Eyed Girls released their third full-length album, the double-disc Sound G. Even though "Candy Man" was the first song unveiled from the album, the first heavily promoted single was "Abracadabra," which was composed by Ji-nu and Min-Soo Lee. He composed the first part of "Abracadabra," and tried to compose the refrain part. However, he could not think of a good idea to make the refrain part. Therefore, Min-Soo Lee, who worked with BEG previously, helped and composed the refrain part of "Abracadabra." The release of this album also saw a shift in the image of the group, as the members redefined themselves as independent and mature city girls. Their music video for their title track sparked controversies. As the group is sporting a substantially more provocative visual style, criticism has arisen for the suggestive and erotic themes that the video presents. They later released a "stage version" of the video, which focuses only on the choreography. Nevertheless, even with all the controversies they took the Kpop world by storm, snagging awards at music shows and year end music awards. The sexy hip dance became a national dance with a lot of fellow celebrities doing a parody of it. Later on, the group revealed a repackaged version of the album titled Sign that included a new single, "Sign," along with "Drunk On Sleep" and a remix of their previous hit "Abracadabra." The repackaged album was released along with the music video for "Sign." The music video caused controversy because of its content: it featured scenes of violence and death, including the group members drowning in tanks of water. "Sign" has reached certain success, but it has not matched the success of the band's previous single "Abracadabra." The quartet has been readying for their Japan debut since signing with major record label Sony Music Japan International. In August 2010, the group re-released Sound G in Japanese to promote them in the country, which indeed marks the beginning of their Japanese promotions. After the success of the album, the members concentrated more on their individual activities juggling it with their overseas schedules. In July, Narsha released her first solo album 'NARSHA' to meet certain success, In August, JeA collaborated with Rattpoom, a Thai singer, in his song 'Face to Face'. Later in October, Gain also started her solo activities through her debut album Step 2/4 with a strong interpolation of tango music, featuring 'Irreversible' as the title track. On October 31, she clutched her first win (Mutizen song) in Inkigayo. In December, JeA worked on her ballad single 'Because You Sting' featuring G.O. of MBLAQ. Aside from that they also became part of popular variety shows and sitcom. Ga-in appeared on We Got Married with 2AM's Jo Kwon beginning in September 2009. The couple was very popular in Korea and still is one of the most recognized virtual couples in the country. Regrettably, their virtual marriage came to an end after 15 months in January 2011. She made her acting debut in MBC daily sitcom 'All My Love'. She was the female lead 'Gaumji'. However, owing to schedule conflict, her filming in sitcom ended in May 2011. Narsha has appeared on Invincible Youth (also known as G7) since October 2009. She is known on the show as "Sung In Dol" (Adult idol) due to her age difference with other members and her funny, but naughty reactions on the show. She was also one of the fixed cast member in SBS's variety show 'Heroes'. In April 2010, she DJed on "Pump up the Volume" on KBS Cool FM. Due to Brown Eyed Girls' overseas promotions Narsha decided to leave the show, with her last broadcast on December 28, 2010. The group successfully ended the year with a concert entitled "Hot Winter Party" held in the Ax-Korea Hall in Seoul. 2011: Japanese promotions and return to Korea with Sixth Sense On January 17, the Japanese music video for "Sign" was released. Its content is completely different from the original Korean version of the song, since the new version focuses on choreography while the original version did not feature any. The group started their promotions in Japan in early 2011. The girls originally planned to hold a concert in Japan in April but due to the Tōhoku earthquake in March, the concert was postponed to September instead. The band's first Japanese concert at C.C Lemon Hall in Shibuya took place on September 12. There, they unveiled one of their songs in their fourth album An Inconvenient Truth, which was composed by JeA and KZ. On September 6, NegaNetwork released an official comeback date, marking the end of their two-year hiatus. The group was expected to release a single on September 16 titled, "Hot Shot," followed by their fourth album and music video "Sixth Sense" on September 23. The concept for this album is “Resistance for freedom of expression through music via sixth sense.” Representatives of their agency, NegaNetwork explained, This album focuses not only on their singing and performance. The members hope to convey their thoughts to the public through music. Their title track is an expression of the limitations of experiencing music with only five senses, and it asks people to feel it instead with their sixth sense. The song itself is very free in style. They kicked off their promotional cycle officially with a double stage performance of "Hot Shot" and "Sixth Sense" on September 24 on Music Core. and grabbed the top spot on M! Countdown and Inkigayo. They also broke the jinx of going down a slump after a “big hit” as they won over their famed song Abracadabra, receiving higher digital sales for Sixth Sense. They concluded their "Sixth Sense" promotions after a month but it was immediately followed by the release of a repackage of their fourth studio album. On November 4, their repackage album was released. They followed up promotions with their ballad song 'Cleansing Cream'. They officially concluded their promotional activities on November 18 with a final performance on KBS's ‘Music Bank'. 2012: Solo activities, digital single and Tonight 37.2 °C The members branched out to solo activities once again. Starting with Miryo, releasing her self- produced solo album, MIRYO a.k.a. JOHONEY on February 1. She had a rocky start with two of the songs from her album banned in broadcasting stations. Namely, “Revenger,” which according to SBS officials has lyrics depicting violence and the title track “Dirty” for the lyrics of the song, containing the word, “cross-eyed” which could be perceived as a derogatory term for the disabled thus forcing Miryo to change the lyrics to be able to perform on music shows. On TV, Narsha made her acting debut with MBC's drama "Light and Shadow" playing the role of an aspiring singer Lee Jung Ja and followed by Ooh La La Couple as a goddess. The other members participated on reality programs. Gain became a CEO of a public relations company called ‘Mental Breakdown' particularly for the show, "OnStyle's Launch My Life – Ga In's Fashion King." While Miryo was included in Mnet's hiphop program Show me the Money, collaborating with a rookie rapper to compete against other contestants for the top spot. Jea also became a fixed member of Immortal Songs 2 but she later left the show due to her solo album promotions and was replaced by Narsha which later on left the show also due to her musical "When A Man Loves." On July 17, BEG released their digital single "The Original" of the hybrid soul genre – the genre the girls have originally debuted with. It has two tracks Come with me and the title track “A Midsummer Night's Dream” meant to be a gift to the fans who are still supporting the group despite it not being active at the moment. It was produced and composed by JeA. No promotional activities were done. Gain dropped her second mini-album on October 5 "Talk About S" with the title track Bloom. The title track and won the top spot in M! Countdown. JeA also pre-released the track "Let's Hug" on December 28 from her upcoming solo album. Before the year ended, fans of Brown Eyed Girls were finally able to see all four members up on stage together once again for their 19+ Rated ‘Tonight 37.2 °C‘ concert. 2013: Black Box and sub-unit M&N Member JeA started the year by releasing her solo album "Just JeA," showing her prowess as a vocalist and also a producer. Gain also surprised everyone by releasing a duet album on April 7 with label-mate Cho Hyung Woo, titled "Romantic Spring." The album contains warm, beautiful love songs that perfectly fit the season. On July 4, a teaser image was released via Facebook and Twitter for Brown Eyed Girls' long-awaited comeback. July 9 marked the release of a digital-single: "Recipe (레시피)." Renowned Korean Hip-Hop producer Primary produced the track "Recipe," which served as a pre-release to the upcoming album, with Miryo and Dynamic Duo's Choiza writing the lyrics for the song. After the positive reception of their digital single from the public, they continued by releasing their 5th studio album, Black Box, on July 29, with "KILL BILL" being announced as the title track, being composed by Lee Gyu Hyun and member JeA. The music video teaser for "KILL BILL" was released on July 25, with the actual music video being revealed later, on July 28, followed by a special dance version on August 2. They performed their comeback stage on SBS' Inkigayo on July 28, as the opening act for the episode, performing pre-release single "Recipe (레시피)" before their album title-track later in the show. They continued their promotions for the album throughout various music programmes (with the exception of KBS-run programmes for undisclosed reasons) until August 25 where they brought them to a close. Youngest member Gain also revealed in an interview that she will release another solo album after the Kill Bill promotions. In October 2013, Ga-In also broke onto the CPOP scene, featuring in Show Lo's music video for "愛投羅網 (Cast The Net Of Love)." On November 4, multiple sources in the entertainment field revealed that Miryo and Narsha will be forming a sub-unit and plan on releasing music for the unit in mid-November. While Brown Eyed Girls members have been well known to venture into solo activities, this is the first time in which two members will be working together as one team. On November 11, M&N released their first single, titled "Tonight (오늘밤)," which included two versions of the same track (one Korean, one English version), with the lyrical content to the first version being self-composed between the two members - on a later date during an interview, both members of the sub-unit stated that they had plans to release an album sometime within the next year, with it to feature a strong Hip Hop sound complete with promotional activities. 2014: Special Moments compilation album At the end of January 2014, Gain was revealed to be making a comeback with her 3rd mini album Truth or Dare on February 6, releasing a teaser picture along with the news. On January 22 she released a "mysterious and sexy" teaser still-cut from her pre-release track 'Fxxk U'. She later released a controversial teaser for the song showing two silhouettes behind a shower curtain and Gain saying "Fuck you." Information released with the teaser said the song would feature singer Bumkey and be "simple yet melodious" and feature a classical guitar. The song and music video were released on January 27. The music video portrayed Gain and actor Joo Ji Hoon in a physically and emotionally abusive relationship. The song was created by lyricist Kim Eana and composer Lee Minsoo (who also worked with Gain on her previous solo single "Bloom"). The title song "Truth or Dare" deals with the topic of rumors and their effect on celebrities and their life. On August 6 it was announced that the group would be releasing a "greatest hits" album titled Special Moments, featuring several songs from the group's eight-year career, as well as a new track "Hush," which would serve as the title track to the album. Special Moments has a two-disc format, with the first disc featuring the group's lead singles and promotional tracks, and the second disc focusing mainly on their ballad tracks. The album was released on August 11, 2014. 2015: Departure from Nega Network, contract with Mystic Entertainment and Basic On September 4, 2015, members JeA, Narsha, and Miryo became free agents after deciding not to renew their contracts with Nega Network. On October 1, 2015, all members have signed with Mystic Entertainment. On October 26, Mystic released the first batch of teaser pictures through BEG's official Twitter account. Each girl was shown posing in a desert like landscape, while the concept gave off a futuristic and science fiction feeling. Simultaneously they announced the release date of their upcoming 6th studio album, which was November 5 at midnight. Another batch of teaser pictures was released a day later on the 27th October. The track list was released on October 28 and revealed ten brand new tracks, with Brave New World (신세계) being the title track and Warm Hole (웜홀) the second title track. Moreover, Jea and Miryo took part in the writing and composing several songs of the album. The title track Brave New World is writing by Kim Eana and composed by Lee Minsoo, who have also worked together on previous Brown Eyed Girls songs. The group appeared on the popular smartphone broadcast V App on the 29th where they stated that Brave New World was a choreography heavy song, couldn't actually reveal any more info about the album. During the course of the next few days they revealed teaser videos for non-title tracks, such as Ice Cream Time, Obsession and Wave. The teaser videos for the two title tracks Warm Hole and Brave New World were the last to be released. The girls held their first showcase of their careers called 'Comeback to the Basic' on November 4 where they also performed the side track Ice Cream Time. Youngest member Gain revealed during the showcase that she took part in choreographing Warm Hole and Brave New World, as well as forming the concept for their 6th album. The album and the music video for Brave New World got released on the same day. The reference to Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World became obvious, though the theme of music video and song do not refer to discouragement of critical thinking, abundance of material goods and other plots as the novel does. However, the futuristic theme got picked up through time traveling in the music video as well as the idea of a dystopian state through the lyrics. The Warm Hole MV got released on November 5 and sparked a controversy due to the heavy sexual lyrics and references in the MV to a female's reproductive organ. But still they performed Warm Hole on the 5th November on M!Countdown as well as on the 6th on Music Bank. 2016-present: Hiatus, 10th anniversary, Narsha's departure from APOP Entertainment, RE_vive In 2016, it was reported that Brown Eyed Girls were the first K-pop girl group without any member changes for 10 years. For their 10th anniversary, the group held a concert with Kero One and KRNFX on March 18 at the Feria (now known as Club Bound LA) in Koreatown, Los Angeles, CA. On December 14, 2018, it was announced that Narsha would be leaving Mystic Story and APOP Entertainment. However, she would continue to promote with Brown Eyed Girls in future activities. The statement also revealed the group was preparing for a new comeback. In September 2019, the group set up an official Instagram, where they announced their new album RE_vive released on October 28. Other musical efforts The group members have also been featured on several South Korean drama soundtracks including The Vineyard Man (Loving You), Queen of Games (), Dae Jo Yeong (), The Kingdom of The Winds (), My Fair Lady (I Love You), and The Slave Hunters (Stray Child). JeA also participated in OST songs even before Brown Eyed Girls' debut. Also, Miryo and JeA collaborated for the single "Love Is..." which was released in May 2010. They collaborated with 4minute in 2010 for a World Cup song. Ga-in also participated "4Tomorrow Project" with Kara's Seung Yeon, After School's Uee, and 4minute's Hyuna. She also released digital single "We Fell in Love" (우리 사랑하게 됐어요), composed by Jea, with then We Got Married partner 2AM Jo Kwon. The song was voted No. 1 in several music programs in January 2010 In 2011, Miryo and Sunny of Girls' Generation collaborated for the single "사랑해 사랑해 (I love you, I love you)" the song was released the same year. Ga-in collaborated with Park Jin-young for the song "Someone Else" shortly before his comeback. The music video and the full-length song were pre-released in April 2012. Ga-in featured in IU's "Everyone Has Secrets" from her album "Modern Times" released in October 2013 Brown Eyed Girls influence on PSY On April 13, 2013, hip hop artist PSY released a music video for his single "Gentleman", which featured dance moves borrowed heavily from the Abracadabra music video, as well as featuring Gain in the video. Discography Your Story (2006) Leave Ms. Kim (2007) Sound-G (2009) Sixth Sense (2011) Black Box (2013) Basic (2015) RE_Vive (2019) Awards References External links Official Website Sony Music Entertainment Japan artists Mystic Entertainment artists K-pop music groups South Korean contemporary R&B musical groups South Korean dance music groups South Korean girl groups Musical groups established in 2006 2006 establishments in South Korea Mnet Asian Music Award winners Musical quartets Korean Music Award winners Melon Music Award winners
false
[ "Ms. G.O.A.T., an acronym for \"Greatest Of All Time\", is the debut mixtape by American rapper Lil' Kim. It was officially released on June 3, 2008 and was produced by Mister Cee and DJ Whoo Kid, DJs from New York City. The title references the 2000 album G.O.A.T. by American rapper LL Cool J.\n\nBackground\nAfter claiming the desire to possess creative control and a subsequent departure from her previous major record label, Atlantic, Lil Kim began working on Ms. G.O.A.T. in October 2006. This also marked her first musical endeavor since her incarceration, and she was released in July 2006.\n\nLil Kim had never made a mix tape before, and in an MTV interview, she stated \"I always wanted to do a mixtape... I used to see how 50 (Cent) used to do it so hard... Damn, it's not a lot of girls doing it.\" Ms. G.O.A.T. was her first independent release. Prior to the album's release, \"Chillin' Tonight\" received airplay on the radio. The album showcased new songs from Lil Kim, as well as several remixes she was working on. There are skits intermittently, and the album features collaborations with 50 Cent, Maino, a Brooklyn based rapper and Britney Spears, as well as several other Hip Hop stars. Lil' Kim also retaliates to Remy Ma on the track \"I Get It\", as part of a continuation of rivalry, and she pays homage to her heroes Lauryn Hill and MC Lyte through samples or thematics of \"Mis-Education of Lil' Kim\", which features the beat of \"Lost Ones\", a song off of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, and \"Hood News\", respectively.\n\nLil' Kim performed the song \"Chillin' Tonight\" on a 2007 comedy-drama, The Game, in the episode Media Blitz, which she also starred in as herself. As part of promotion, Lil' Kim offered signed copies of Ms. G.O.A.T. in a contest, where fans would submit requests on who they would like to see her work with, as well as why she is the \"Greatest of All Time\".\n\nReviews\nAmong critics, the mixtape has received generally positive reviews. It has been called a representation of Lil' Kim's return to the streets. Tito Salinas of All Hip Hop says \"Lil' Kim shows that her time behind bars didn't rust all of her swag away\" on Ms. G.O.A.T. On the other hand, Ehren Gresehover of New York Mag says that although one of the tracks \"The Miseducation of Lil' Kim\" is not bad, he wished that it was Lauryn Hill who was making a comeback instead.\n\nTrack listing\n\nReferences\n\nSources\n\n.\n\nLil' Kim albums\n2008 mixtape albums", "The 1998 Ms. Olympia contest was an IFBB professional bodybuilding competition held October 2, 1999, in Secaucus, New Jersey, alongside the 1999 Women's Pro Extravaganza. It was the 20th Ms. Olympia competition held.\n\nPrizes\n 1st $25,000\n 2nd $10,000\n 3rd $7,000\n 4th $4,000\n 5th $3,000\n 6th $1,000\nTotal: $50,000\n\nCompetitors weight\n Lesa Lewis - \n Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia - \n Brenda Raganot - \n Tazzie Colomb - \n Kim Chizevsky-Nicholls - \n Iris Kyle - \n Laura Binetti- \n Vickie Gates - \n Valentina Chepiga - \n Laura Creavalle - \n Andrulla Blanchette - \n Gayle Moher -\n\nPre-judging\n\nSymmetry round\nIn this round the judges are looking for the overall muscle balance; that the proportion of muscle is distributed evenly over the bodybuilder's frame.\n\n Brenda Ragonot, Laura Binetti, Andrulla Blanchette, Vickie Gates, Laura Creavalle, Tazzie Colomb, Valentina Chepiga, Gayle Moher, Yaxeni Oriquen, Lesa Lewis, Iris Kyle, Kim Chizevsky\n Kim Chizevsky, Iris Kyle, Lesa Lewis, Yaxeni Oriquen, Gayle Moher, Valentina Chepiga, Tazzie Colomb, Laura Creavalle, Vickie Gates, Andrlla Blanchette, Laura Binetti, and Brenda Ragonot\n\nResults\n 1st - Kim Chizevsky-Nicholls\n 2nd - Vickie Gates\n 3rd - Laura Creavalle\n 4th - Iris Kyle\n 5th - Lesa Lewis\n 6th - Tazzie Colomb\n 7th - Andrulla Blanchette\n 8th - Laura Binetti\n 9th - Brenda Raganot\n 10th - Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia\n 11th - Gayle Moher\n 12th - Valentina Chepiga\n\nScorecard\n\nAttended\n12th Ms. Olympia attended - Laura Creavalle\n6th Ms. Olympia attended - Kim Chizevsky-Nicholls\n5th Ms. Olympia attended - Laura Binetti\n4th Ms. Olympia attended - Vickie Gates\n3rd Ms. Olympia attended - Lesa Lewis, Gayle Moher, and Andrulla Blanchette\n2nd Ms. Olympia attended - Tazzie Colomb, Valentina Chepiga, and Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia\n1st Ms. Olympia attended - Iris Kyle and Brenda Raganot\nPrevious year Olympia attendees who did not attend - Dayana Cadeau, Yolanda Hughes, Chris Bongiovanni, Zdenka Turda, Jacqueline De Gennaro, Jitka Harazimova, Beate Drabing, and Sipka Berska\n\nNotable Events\nThis was Kim Chizevsky's 4th overall and consecutive Olympia win. This was also Kim's last Olympia before she retired from bodybuilding.\nThis was Iris Kyle's first Olympia she attended.\n\n1999 Ms. Olympia controversy \nThe 1999 Ms. Olympia was originally scheduled to be held on 9 October in Santa Monica, California. However, one month before the scheduled date, the IFBB announced that the contest had been cancelled. The main cause was the withdrawal of promoter Jarka Kastnerova (who promoted the 1998 contest in Prague) for financial reasons, including a low number of advance ticket sales for the 1999 event. The backlash following the announcement led to a flurry of activity, with the contest being rescheduled as part of the Women's Extravaganza (promoted by Kenny Kassel and Bob Bonham) in Secaucus, New Jersey, on 2 October. Last minute sponsorship came from several sources, most significantly in the form of $50,000 from Flex magazine.\n\nSee also\n Women's Pro Extravaganza\n 1999 Mr. Olympia\n\nReferences\n\n 1999 Ms. Olympia held in Secaucus, New Jersey on October 2nd\n 1999 Ms Olympia Results\n\nExternal links\n Competitor History of the Ms. Olympia\n\nMs Olympia, 1999\n1999 in bodybuilding\nMs. Olympia\nMs. Olympia\nHistory of female bodybuilding" ]
[ "Brown Eyed Girls", "Debut: Your Story and Leave Ms. Kim", "What was it about Your Story That was interesting?", "the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea on March 2, 2006, with the ballad track, \"Come Closer\" as their single.", "Was Come closer a hit single?", "The album was well received by critics but did not do as well as expected commercially.", "Was Leave Ms. Kim another album?", "After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (ddeonara miseugim)," ]
C_c3fd3279648546569f6c717494476825_1
did Leave Ms. Kim have any singles released?
4
did Leave Ms. Kim have any singles released?
Brown Eyed Girls
The group's leader, Jea, was the one responsible of the group's creation and was actively involved in the selection of the other members, picking out Miryo, who was known as a great female rapper from the hip-hop community having previously worked with other fellow rappers, such as Gil Seong-joon from Leessang, and the main female rapper in well-known hip-hop group Honey Family. Narsha was chosen when Jea remembered her as a "talented singer" from her high school days, and Ga-in was selected by the three members after she was eliminated from "Battle Shin Hwa." According to Ga-in, she was crying in the bathroom after failing the audition, was found by composer Ahn Jung Hoon, and then was chosen through the audition in Brown Eyed Girls' company. Singer Yoari trained with the group until 2006, when it was decided she would be the lead singer for Sprinkler. The four members held several small size concerts, and was actually known as "Crescendo" before officially debuting as "Brown Eyed Girls." After more than 3 years of training in singing and holding several small size concerts, the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea on March 2, 2006, with the ballad track, "Come Closer" as their single. Debuting as a "faceless group" they did not appear on any visual media and chose to not even appear in their own music video. The album was well received by critics but did not do as well as expected commercially. The album was later re-released to include "Hold The Line" (which samples "Push The Button" by British girl band Sugababes and "Technologic" by Daft Punk). This song became a hit, further boosting the band's popularity. "Hold the Line" was disclosed across the world because it was included in the list of songs from the game Pump it Up. After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (ddeonara miseugim), which included their R&B title track "You Got Me Fooled" (neoege sogassda). Subsequent singles were "Oasis" (oasiseu) featuring Lee Jae Hoon and "It's Mine" (naeggeoya), a collaboration with fellow group SeeYa. During the break between their debut and second albums, the Brown Eyed Girls released their first digital single entitled "I Am a Summer" (naega yeoreumida), which was later included in their second LP. The first two albums contained typical R&B ballads which had been very popular in the K-pop scene. However, the commercial success was relatively higher in two singles between the first and second albums. Moreover, the second album containing "You Got Me Fooled" (neoege sogassda) was released at nearly the same time as Wonder Girls' "Tell Me" which received a nationwide success in Korea. Therefore, their second album was once again a commercial disappointment. At the same time, the general K-pop scene was changing from R&B ballads to dance music. CANNOTANSWER
which included their R&B title track "You Got Me Fooled" (neoege sogassda). Subsequent singles were "Oasis
The Brown Eyed Girls (Hangul: 브라운 아이드 걸스, Japanese: ブラウン・アイド・ガールズ), often abbreviated as B.E.G., BG, or 브아걸 (beu-ah-geol), is a South Korean girl group with four members: JeA, Miryo, Narsha, and Gain. They debuted as an R&B/Ballad vocal group with "Come Closer (다가와서)" in 2006 and have since performed in a variety of music genres. They rose to popularity in 2008 with "L.O.V.E" and their retro-dance number "How Come," and cemented their position in the K-pop world in 2009 with "Abracadabra", with its electronica-based genre, pioneering (albeit controversial) concept, along with its iconic and now globally recognized dance entitled 'The Arrogant Dance (시건방춤)'—successfully ingraining themselves into modern popular culture. The group started their venture into the Japanese music market with the release of a Japanese version of their massively successful 3rd Korean album, Sound-G, in late 2010, with full promotions being held throughout early 2011 under Sony Music Japan, where they gained moderate success. They returned to Korea in late 2011, to garner further success and critical acclaim with their 4th album and its title track "Sixth Sense". Other than promoting as a group, all of the members have released solo albums. History Debut: Your Story and Leave Ms. Kim The group's leader, Jea, was responsible for the group's creation and was actively involved in the selection of the other members, picking out Miryo, who was known as a capable female rapper from the hip-hop community having previously worked with other fellow rappers, such as Gil Seong-joon from Leessang, and the main female rapper in well-known hip-hop group Honey Family. Narsha was chosen when Jea remembered her as a "talented singer" from her high school days, and Ga-in was selected by the three members after she was eliminated from "Battle Shin Hwa." According to Ga-in, she was crying in the bathroom after failing the audition, was found by composer Ahn Jung Hoon, and then was chosen through the audition in Brown Eyed Girls' company. Singer Yoari trained with the group until 2006, when it was decided she would be the lead singer for Sprinkler. The four members held several small size concerts, and considered the names "Crescendo" or "Dark Angel" before officially debuting as "Brown Eyed Girls". After more than 3 years of training in singing and holding several small size concerts, the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea on March 2, 2006, with the ballad track, "Come Closer" as their single. Debuting as a "faceless group" they did not appear on any visual media and chose to not even appear in their own music video. The album was well received by critics but did not do as well as expected commercially. The album was later re-released to include "Hold The Line" (which samples "Push The Button" by British girl band Sugababes and "Technologic" by Daft Punk). This song became a hit, further boosting the band's popularity. "Hold the Line" was disclosed across the world because it was included in the list of songs from the game Pump it Up. After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (), which included their R&B title track "You Got Me Fooled" (). Subsequent singles were "Oasis" () featuring Lee Jae Hoon and "It's Mine" (), a collaboration with fellow group SeeYa. During the break between their debut and second albums, the Brown Eyed Girls released their first digital single entitled "I Am a Summer" (), which was later included in their second LP. The first two albums contained typical R&B ballads which had been very popular in the K-pop scene. However, the commercial success was relatively higher in two singles between the first and second albums. Moreover, the second album containing "You Got Me Fooled" () was released at nearly the same time as Wonder Girls' "Tell Me" which received a nationwide success in Korea. Therefore, their second album was once again a commercial disappointment. At the same time, the general K-pop scene was changing from R&B ballads to dance music. 2008: With Love and My Style mini albums In January 2008, Brown Eyed Girls came back with their first mini-album "With L.O.V.E." Their single, "L.O.V.E," was a departure from the B.E.G. sound that people had come to know but it became an instant success and Brown Eyed Girls scored their first No. 1 song and also one of the top hit songs in the first half of 2008. "Love Action" was the second single taken from the mini album. With Love also marked the group's second digital album (after "I Am a Summer"), though it was released in conventional CD format as well. After the release of their first mini-album, they could achieve the commercial success. "Love" was composed by Saint-Binary and Min-Soo Lee. Looking to strengthen their success, Brown Eyed Girls returned again in September and released their second mini-album "My Style." The title song "How Come" is a retro-style dance song that has become a popular trend. 2009–2010: Sound G, Japanese debut and solo activities On July 20, 2009, Brown Eyed Girls released their third full-length album, the double-disc Sound G. Even though "Candy Man" was the first song unveiled from the album, the first heavily promoted single was "Abracadabra," which was composed by Ji-nu and Min-Soo Lee. He composed the first part of "Abracadabra," and tried to compose the refrain part. However, he could not think of a good idea to make the refrain part. Therefore, Min-Soo Lee, who worked with BEG previously, helped and composed the refrain part of "Abracadabra." The release of this album also saw a shift in the image of the group, as the members redefined themselves as independent and mature city girls. Their music video for their title track sparked controversies. As the group is sporting a substantially more provocative visual style, criticism has arisen for the suggestive and erotic themes that the video presents. They later released a "stage version" of the video, which focuses only on the choreography. Nevertheless, even with all the controversies they took the Kpop world by storm, snagging awards at music shows and year end music awards. The sexy hip dance became a national dance with a lot of fellow celebrities doing a parody of it. Later on, the group revealed a repackaged version of the album titled Sign that included a new single, "Sign," along with "Drunk On Sleep" and a remix of their previous hit "Abracadabra." The repackaged album was released along with the music video for "Sign." The music video caused controversy because of its content: it featured scenes of violence and death, including the group members drowning in tanks of water. "Sign" has reached certain success, but it has not matched the success of the band's previous single "Abracadabra." The quartet has been readying for their Japan debut since signing with major record label Sony Music Japan International. In August 2010, the group re-released Sound G in Japanese to promote them in the country, which indeed marks the beginning of their Japanese promotions. After the success of the album, the members concentrated more on their individual activities juggling it with their overseas schedules. In July, Narsha released her first solo album 'NARSHA' to meet certain success, In August, JeA collaborated with Rattpoom, a Thai singer, in his song 'Face to Face'. Later in October, Gain also started her solo activities through her debut album Step 2/4 with a strong interpolation of tango music, featuring 'Irreversible' as the title track. On October 31, she clutched her first win (Mutizen song) in Inkigayo. In December, JeA worked on her ballad single 'Because You Sting' featuring G.O. of MBLAQ. Aside from that they also became part of popular variety shows and sitcom. Ga-in appeared on We Got Married with 2AM's Jo Kwon beginning in September 2009. The couple was very popular in Korea and still is one of the most recognized virtual couples in the country. Regrettably, their virtual marriage came to an end after 15 months in January 2011. She made her acting debut in MBC daily sitcom 'All My Love'. She was the female lead 'Gaumji'. However, owing to schedule conflict, her filming in sitcom ended in May 2011. Narsha has appeared on Invincible Youth (also known as G7) since October 2009. She is known on the show as "Sung In Dol" (Adult idol) due to her age difference with other members and her funny, but naughty reactions on the show. She was also one of the fixed cast member in SBS's variety show 'Heroes'. In April 2010, she DJed on "Pump up the Volume" on KBS Cool FM. Due to Brown Eyed Girls' overseas promotions Narsha decided to leave the show, with her last broadcast on December 28, 2010. The group successfully ended the year with a concert entitled "Hot Winter Party" held in the Ax-Korea Hall in Seoul. 2011: Japanese promotions and return to Korea with Sixth Sense On January 17, the Japanese music video for "Sign" was released. Its content is completely different from the original Korean version of the song, since the new version focuses on choreography while the original version did not feature any. The group started their promotions in Japan in early 2011. The girls originally planned to hold a concert in Japan in April but due to the Tōhoku earthquake in March, the concert was postponed to September instead. The band's first Japanese concert at C.C Lemon Hall in Shibuya took place on September 12. There, they unveiled one of their songs in their fourth album An Inconvenient Truth, which was composed by JeA and KZ. On September 6, NegaNetwork released an official comeback date, marking the end of their two-year hiatus. The group was expected to release a single on September 16 titled, "Hot Shot," followed by their fourth album and music video "Sixth Sense" on September 23. The concept for this album is “Resistance for freedom of expression through music via sixth sense.” Representatives of their agency, NegaNetwork explained, This album focuses not only on their singing and performance. The members hope to convey their thoughts to the public through music. Their title track is an expression of the limitations of experiencing music with only five senses, and it asks people to feel it instead with their sixth sense. The song itself is very free in style. They kicked off their promotional cycle officially with a double stage performance of "Hot Shot" and "Sixth Sense" on September 24 on Music Core. and grabbed the top spot on M! Countdown and Inkigayo. They also broke the jinx of going down a slump after a “big hit” as they won over their famed song Abracadabra, receiving higher digital sales for Sixth Sense. They concluded their "Sixth Sense" promotions after a month but it was immediately followed by the release of a repackage of their fourth studio album. On November 4, their repackage album was released. They followed up promotions with their ballad song 'Cleansing Cream'. They officially concluded their promotional activities on November 18 with a final performance on KBS's ‘Music Bank'. 2012: Solo activities, digital single and Tonight 37.2 °C The members branched out to solo activities once again. Starting with Miryo, releasing her self- produced solo album, MIRYO a.k.a. JOHONEY on February 1. She had a rocky start with two of the songs from her album banned in broadcasting stations. Namely, “Revenger,” which according to SBS officials has lyrics depicting violence and the title track “Dirty” for the lyrics of the song, containing the word, “cross-eyed” which could be perceived as a derogatory term for the disabled thus forcing Miryo to change the lyrics to be able to perform on music shows. On TV, Narsha made her acting debut with MBC's drama "Light and Shadow" playing the role of an aspiring singer Lee Jung Ja and followed by Ooh La La Couple as a goddess. The other members participated on reality programs. Gain became a CEO of a public relations company called ‘Mental Breakdown' particularly for the show, "OnStyle's Launch My Life – Ga In's Fashion King." While Miryo was included in Mnet's hiphop program Show me the Money, collaborating with a rookie rapper to compete against other contestants for the top spot. Jea also became a fixed member of Immortal Songs 2 but she later left the show due to her solo album promotions and was replaced by Narsha which later on left the show also due to her musical "When A Man Loves." On July 17, BEG released their digital single "The Original" of the hybrid soul genre – the genre the girls have originally debuted with. It has two tracks Come with me and the title track “A Midsummer Night's Dream” meant to be a gift to the fans who are still supporting the group despite it not being active at the moment. It was produced and composed by JeA. No promotional activities were done. Gain dropped her second mini-album on October 5 "Talk About S" with the title track Bloom. The title track and won the top spot in M! Countdown. JeA also pre-released the track "Let's Hug" on December 28 from her upcoming solo album. Before the year ended, fans of Brown Eyed Girls were finally able to see all four members up on stage together once again for their 19+ Rated ‘Tonight 37.2 °C‘ concert. 2013: Black Box and sub-unit M&N Member JeA started the year by releasing her solo album "Just JeA," showing her prowess as a vocalist and also a producer. Gain also surprised everyone by releasing a duet album on April 7 with label-mate Cho Hyung Woo, titled "Romantic Spring." The album contains warm, beautiful love songs that perfectly fit the season. On July 4, a teaser image was released via Facebook and Twitter for Brown Eyed Girls' long-awaited comeback. July 9 marked the release of a digital-single: "Recipe (레시피)." Renowned Korean Hip-Hop producer Primary produced the track "Recipe," which served as a pre-release to the upcoming album, with Miryo and Dynamic Duo's Choiza writing the lyrics for the song. After the positive reception of their digital single from the public, they continued by releasing their 5th studio album, Black Box, on July 29, with "KILL BILL" being announced as the title track, being composed by Lee Gyu Hyun and member JeA. The music video teaser for "KILL BILL" was released on July 25, with the actual music video being revealed later, on July 28, followed by a special dance version on August 2. They performed their comeback stage on SBS' Inkigayo on July 28, as the opening act for the episode, performing pre-release single "Recipe (레시피)" before their album title-track later in the show. They continued their promotions for the album throughout various music programmes (with the exception of KBS-run programmes for undisclosed reasons) until August 25 where they brought them to a close. Youngest member Gain also revealed in an interview that she will release another solo album after the Kill Bill promotions. In October 2013, Ga-In also broke onto the CPOP scene, featuring in Show Lo's music video for "愛投羅網 (Cast The Net Of Love)." On November 4, multiple sources in the entertainment field revealed that Miryo and Narsha will be forming a sub-unit and plan on releasing music for the unit in mid-November. While Brown Eyed Girls members have been well known to venture into solo activities, this is the first time in which two members will be working together as one team. On November 11, M&N released their first single, titled "Tonight (오늘밤)," which included two versions of the same track (one Korean, one English version), with the lyrical content to the first version being self-composed between the two members - on a later date during an interview, both members of the sub-unit stated that they had plans to release an album sometime within the next year, with it to feature a strong Hip Hop sound complete with promotional activities. 2014: Special Moments compilation album At the end of January 2014, Gain was revealed to be making a comeback with her 3rd mini album Truth or Dare on February 6, releasing a teaser picture along with the news. On January 22 she released a "mysterious and sexy" teaser still-cut from her pre-release track 'Fxxk U'. She later released a controversial teaser for the song showing two silhouettes behind a shower curtain and Gain saying "Fuck you." Information released with the teaser said the song would feature singer Bumkey and be "simple yet melodious" and feature a classical guitar. The song and music video were released on January 27. The music video portrayed Gain and actor Joo Ji Hoon in a physically and emotionally abusive relationship. The song was created by lyricist Kim Eana and composer Lee Minsoo (who also worked with Gain on her previous solo single "Bloom"). The title song "Truth or Dare" deals with the topic of rumors and their effect on celebrities and their life. On August 6 it was announced that the group would be releasing a "greatest hits" album titled Special Moments, featuring several songs from the group's eight-year career, as well as a new track "Hush," which would serve as the title track to the album. Special Moments has a two-disc format, with the first disc featuring the group's lead singles and promotional tracks, and the second disc focusing mainly on their ballad tracks. The album was released on August 11, 2014. 2015: Departure from Nega Network, contract with Mystic Entertainment and Basic On September 4, 2015, members JeA, Narsha, and Miryo became free agents after deciding not to renew their contracts with Nega Network. On October 1, 2015, all members have signed with Mystic Entertainment. On October 26, Mystic released the first batch of teaser pictures through BEG's official Twitter account. Each girl was shown posing in a desert like landscape, while the concept gave off a futuristic and science fiction feeling. Simultaneously they announced the release date of their upcoming 6th studio album, which was November 5 at midnight. Another batch of teaser pictures was released a day later on the 27th October. The track list was released on October 28 and revealed ten brand new tracks, with Brave New World (신세계) being the title track and Warm Hole (웜홀) the second title track. Moreover, Jea and Miryo took part in the writing and composing several songs of the album. The title track Brave New World is writing by Kim Eana and composed by Lee Minsoo, who have also worked together on previous Brown Eyed Girls songs. The group appeared on the popular smartphone broadcast V App on the 29th where they stated that Brave New World was a choreography heavy song, couldn't actually reveal any more info about the album. During the course of the next few days they revealed teaser videos for non-title tracks, such as Ice Cream Time, Obsession and Wave. The teaser videos for the two title tracks Warm Hole and Brave New World were the last to be released. The girls held their first showcase of their careers called 'Comeback to the Basic' on November 4 where they also performed the side track Ice Cream Time. Youngest member Gain revealed during the showcase that she took part in choreographing Warm Hole and Brave New World, as well as forming the concept for their 6th album. The album and the music video for Brave New World got released on the same day. The reference to Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World became obvious, though the theme of music video and song do not refer to discouragement of critical thinking, abundance of material goods and other plots as the novel does. However, the futuristic theme got picked up through time traveling in the music video as well as the idea of a dystopian state through the lyrics. The Warm Hole MV got released on November 5 and sparked a controversy due to the heavy sexual lyrics and references in the MV to a female's reproductive organ. But still they performed Warm Hole on the 5th November on M!Countdown as well as on the 6th on Music Bank. 2016-present: Hiatus, 10th anniversary, Narsha's departure from APOP Entertainment, RE_vive In 2016, it was reported that Brown Eyed Girls were the first K-pop girl group without any member changes for 10 years. For their 10th anniversary, the group held a concert with Kero One and KRNFX on March 18 at the Feria (now known as Club Bound LA) in Koreatown, Los Angeles, CA. On December 14, 2018, it was announced that Narsha would be leaving Mystic Story and APOP Entertainment. However, she would continue to promote with Brown Eyed Girls in future activities. The statement also revealed the group was preparing for a new comeback. In September 2019, the group set up an official Instagram, where they announced their new album RE_vive released on October 28. Other musical efforts The group members have also been featured on several South Korean drama soundtracks including The Vineyard Man (Loving You), Queen of Games (), Dae Jo Yeong (), The Kingdom of The Winds (), My Fair Lady (I Love You), and The Slave Hunters (Stray Child). JeA also participated in OST songs even before Brown Eyed Girls' debut. Also, Miryo and JeA collaborated for the single "Love Is..." which was released in May 2010. They collaborated with 4minute in 2010 for a World Cup song. Ga-in also participated "4Tomorrow Project" with Kara's Seung Yeon, After School's Uee, and 4minute's Hyuna. She also released digital single "We Fell in Love" (우리 사랑하게 됐어요), composed by Jea, with then We Got Married partner 2AM Jo Kwon. The song was voted No. 1 in several music programs in January 2010 In 2011, Miryo and Sunny of Girls' Generation collaborated for the single "사랑해 사랑해 (I love you, I love you)" the song was released the same year. Ga-in collaborated with Park Jin-young for the song "Someone Else" shortly before his comeback. The music video and the full-length song were pre-released in April 2012. Ga-in featured in IU's "Everyone Has Secrets" from her album "Modern Times" released in October 2013 Brown Eyed Girls influence on PSY On April 13, 2013, hip hop artist PSY released a music video for his single "Gentleman", which featured dance moves borrowed heavily from the Abracadabra music video, as well as featuring Gain in the video. Discography Your Story (2006) Leave Ms. Kim (2007) Sound-G (2009) Sixth Sense (2011) Black Box (2013) Basic (2015) RE_Vive (2019) Awards References External links Official Website Sony Music Entertainment Japan artists Mystic Entertainment artists K-pop music groups South Korean contemporary R&B musical groups South Korean dance music groups South Korean girl groups Musical groups established in 2006 2006 establishments in South Korea Mnet Asian Music Award winners Musical quartets Korean Music Award winners Melon Music Award winners
false
[ "\"House of Salome\" is the third and final single from the Kim Wilde album Catch as Catch Can.\n\nIt was not released in the UK, but was issued in several other European countries, though did not meet with success. The single would mark her last original release with RAK Records. It features Gary Barnacle on saxophone and flute.\n\n\"House of Salome\" is also one of only two commercially released Kim Wilde singles not to be issued in any country on the 12\" format (the other being \"Water on Glass\").\n\nSong\nThe track is strong with a driving beat and intense lyrics. It deals with a mysterious figure by the name of Salome.\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\nKim Wilde songs\n1983 songs\nSongs written by Marty Wilde\nSongs written by Ricky Wilde\nRAK Records singles", "\"Magic Stick\" is a song performed by American hip hop recording artist Lil' Kim, released on April 8, 2003, as the second single from her third studio album La Bella Mafia (2003). The song features fellow American rapper 50 Cent and was produced by Carlos \"Fantom of the Beat\" Evans. Despite not having a physical release or music video, the song performed well on the charts, peaking at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.\n\nBackground\nThe song samples \"It Be's That Way Sometimes\" by Joe Simon. The song was originally intended for 50 Cent's album Get Rich or Die Tryin' and featured rapper Trina. After Trina sent her verse back to 50 Cent, he decided that she wasn't suited well for the song. 50 Cent then sent the song to Lil' Kim. Lil' Kim failed to send the song back to 50 Cent in time to make the deadline for his record, so he let her use it for La Bella Mafia. A sequel to \"Magic Stick\", titled \"Wanna Lick (Magic Stick, Pt. 2)\", was recorded by the pair and released on Lil' Kim's 2008 mixtape Ms. G.O.A.T.\n\nThe song is featured in the films King's Ransom and Now You See Me 2 and the animated series The Cleveland Show episode Brown Magic.\n\nChart performance\nThe song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 on April 26, 2003 at number 75 peaking at number two behind Beyoncé and Jay-Z's \"Crazy in Love\". A video was scheduled to be shot, but problems between Lil' Kim and 50 Cent caused the shoot to be canceled. The song did, however, receive massive radio airplay, peaking at number one on the airplay chart. It spent a total of 24 weeks on the Hot 100. It became Kim's 2nd highest charting single as a lead artist and her second highest overall, behind \"Lady Marmalade\". It also became 50 Cent's second overall top-ten and top-three single.\n\nLive performance\nLil' Kim performed the song in 2011 at the latter's show in Australia.\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nCertifications\n\nReferences \n\n2003 singles\nLil' Kim songs\n50 Cent songs\nSongs written by 50 Cent\nDirty rap songs\nSongs written by Lil' Kim\n2002 songs\nAtlantic Records singles\nAftermath Entertainment singles" ]
[ "Brown Eyed Girls", "Debut: Your Story and Leave Ms. Kim", "What was it about Your Story That was interesting?", "the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea on March 2, 2006, with the ballad track, \"Come Closer\" as their single.", "Was Come closer a hit single?", "The album was well received by critics but did not do as well as expected commercially.", "Was Leave Ms. Kim another album?", "After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (ddeonara miseugim),", "did Leave Ms. Kim have any singles released?", "which included their R&B title track \"You Got Me Fooled\" (neoege sogassda). Subsequent singles were \"Oasis" ]
C_c3fd3279648546569f6c717494476825_1
Was there any other singles released from that album?
5
Besides "You Got Me Fooled" and "Oasis", were there any singles released from Leave Ms. Kim?
Brown Eyed Girls
The group's leader, Jea, was the one responsible of the group's creation and was actively involved in the selection of the other members, picking out Miryo, who was known as a great female rapper from the hip-hop community having previously worked with other fellow rappers, such as Gil Seong-joon from Leessang, and the main female rapper in well-known hip-hop group Honey Family. Narsha was chosen when Jea remembered her as a "talented singer" from her high school days, and Ga-in was selected by the three members after she was eliminated from "Battle Shin Hwa." According to Ga-in, she was crying in the bathroom after failing the audition, was found by composer Ahn Jung Hoon, and then was chosen through the audition in Brown Eyed Girls' company. Singer Yoari trained with the group until 2006, when it was decided she would be the lead singer for Sprinkler. The four members held several small size concerts, and was actually known as "Crescendo" before officially debuting as "Brown Eyed Girls." After more than 3 years of training in singing and holding several small size concerts, the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea on March 2, 2006, with the ballad track, "Come Closer" as their single. Debuting as a "faceless group" they did not appear on any visual media and chose to not even appear in their own music video. The album was well received by critics but did not do as well as expected commercially. The album was later re-released to include "Hold The Line" (which samples "Push The Button" by British girl band Sugababes and "Technologic" by Daft Punk). This song became a hit, further boosting the band's popularity. "Hold the Line" was disclosed across the world because it was included in the list of songs from the game Pump it Up. After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (ddeonara miseugim), which included their R&B title track "You Got Me Fooled" (neoege sogassda). Subsequent singles were "Oasis" (oasiseu) featuring Lee Jae Hoon and "It's Mine" (naeggeoya), a collaboration with fellow group SeeYa. During the break between their debut and second albums, the Brown Eyed Girls released their first digital single entitled "I Am a Summer" (naega yeoreumida), which was later included in their second LP. The first two albums contained typical R&B ballads which had been very popular in the K-pop scene. However, the commercial success was relatively higher in two singles between the first and second albums. Moreover, the second album containing "You Got Me Fooled" (neoege sogassda) was released at nearly the same time as Wonder Girls' "Tell Me" which received a nationwide success in Korea. Therefore, their second album was once again a commercial disappointment. At the same time, the general K-pop scene was changing from R&B ballads to dance music. CANNOTANSWER
and "It's Mine" (naeggeoya), a collaboration with fellow group SeeYa.
The Brown Eyed Girls (Hangul: 브라운 아이드 걸스, Japanese: ブラウン・アイド・ガールズ), often abbreviated as B.E.G., BG, or 브아걸 (beu-ah-geol), is a South Korean girl group with four members: JeA, Miryo, Narsha, and Gain. They debuted as an R&B/Ballad vocal group with "Come Closer (다가와서)" in 2006 and have since performed in a variety of music genres. They rose to popularity in 2008 with "L.O.V.E" and their retro-dance number "How Come," and cemented their position in the K-pop world in 2009 with "Abracadabra", with its electronica-based genre, pioneering (albeit controversial) concept, along with its iconic and now globally recognized dance entitled 'The Arrogant Dance (시건방춤)'—successfully ingraining themselves into modern popular culture. The group started their venture into the Japanese music market with the release of a Japanese version of their massively successful 3rd Korean album, Sound-G, in late 2010, with full promotions being held throughout early 2011 under Sony Music Japan, where they gained moderate success. They returned to Korea in late 2011, to garner further success and critical acclaim with their 4th album and its title track "Sixth Sense". Other than promoting as a group, all of the members have released solo albums. History Debut: Your Story and Leave Ms. Kim The group's leader, Jea, was responsible for the group's creation and was actively involved in the selection of the other members, picking out Miryo, who was known as a capable female rapper from the hip-hop community having previously worked with other fellow rappers, such as Gil Seong-joon from Leessang, and the main female rapper in well-known hip-hop group Honey Family. Narsha was chosen when Jea remembered her as a "talented singer" from her high school days, and Ga-in was selected by the three members after she was eliminated from "Battle Shin Hwa." According to Ga-in, she was crying in the bathroom after failing the audition, was found by composer Ahn Jung Hoon, and then was chosen through the audition in Brown Eyed Girls' company. Singer Yoari trained with the group until 2006, when it was decided she would be the lead singer for Sprinkler. The four members held several small size concerts, and considered the names "Crescendo" or "Dark Angel" before officially debuting as "Brown Eyed Girls". After more than 3 years of training in singing and holding several small size concerts, the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea on March 2, 2006, with the ballad track, "Come Closer" as their single. Debuting as a "faceless group" they did not appear on any visual media and chose to not even appear in their own music video. The album was well received by critics but did not do as well as expected commercially. The album was later re-released to include "Hold The Line" (which samples "Push The Button" by British girl band Sugababes and "Technologic" by Daft Punk). This song became a hit, further boosting the band's popularity. "Hold the Line" was disclosed across the world because it was included in the list of songs from the game Pump it Up. After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (), which included their R&B title track "You Got Me Fooled" (). Subsequent singles were "Oasis" () featuring Lee Jae Hoon and "It's Mine" (), a collaboration with fellow group SeeYa. During the break between their debut and second albums, the Brown Eyed Girls released their first digital single entitled "I Am a Summer" (), which was later included in their second LP. The first two albums contained typical R&B ballads which had been very popular in the K-pop scene. However, the commercial success was relatively higher in two singles between the first and second albums. Moreover, the second album containing "You Got Me Fooled" () was released at nearly the same time as Wonder Girls' "Tell Me" which received a nationwide success in Korea. Therefore, their second album was once again a commercial disappointment. At the same time, the general K-pop scene was changing from R&B ballads to dance music. 2008: With Love and My Style mini albums In January 2008, Brown Eyed Girls came back with their first mini-album "With L.O.V.E." Their single, "L.O.V.E," was a departure from the B.E.G. sound that people had come to know but it became an instant success and Brown Eyed Girls scored their first No. 1 song and also one of the top hit songs in the first half of 2008. "Love Action" was the second single taken from the mini album. With Love also marked the group's second digital album (after "I Am a Summer"), though it was released in conventional CD format as well. After the release of their first mini-album, they could achieve the commercial success. "Love" was composed by Saint-Binary and Min-Soo Lee. Looking to strengthen their success, Brown Eyed Girls returned again in September and released their second mini-album "My Style." The title song "How Come" is a retro-style dance song that has become a popular trend. 2009–2010: Sound G, Japanese debut and solo activities On July 20, 2009, Brown Eyed Girls released their third full-length album, the double-disc Sound G. Even though "Candy Man" was the first song unveiled from the album, the first heavily promoted single was "Abracadabra," which was composed by Ji-nu and Min-Soo Lee. He composed the first part of "Abracadabra," and tried to compose the refrain part. However, he could not think of a good idea to make the refrain part. Therefore, Min-Soo Lee, who worked with BEG previously, helped and composed the refrain part of "Abracadabra." The release of this album also saw a shift in the image of the group, as the members redefined themselves as independent and mature city girls. Their music video for their title track sparked controversies. As the group is sporting a substantially more provocative visual style, criticism has arisen for the suggestive and erotic themes that the video presents. They later released a "stage version" of the video, which focuses only on the choreography. Nevertheless, even with all the controversies they took the Kpop world by storm, snagging awards at music shows and year end music awards. The sexy hip dance became a national dance with a lot of fellow celebrities doing a parody of it. Later on, the group revealed a repackaged version of the album titled Sign that included a new single, "Sign," along with "Drunk On Sleep" and a remix of their previous hit "Abracadabra." The repackaged album was released along with the music video for "Sign." The music video caused controversy because of its content: it featured scenes of violence and death, including the group members drowning in tanks of water. "Sign" has reached certain success, but it has not matched the success of the band's previous single "Abracadabra." The quartet has been readying for their Japan debut since signing with major record label Sony Music Japan International. In August 2010, the group re-released Sound G in Japanese to promote them in the country, which indeed marks the beginning of their Japanese promotions. After the success of the album, the members concentrated more on their individual activities juggling it with their overseas schedules. In July, Narsha released her first solo album 'NARSHA' to meet certain success, In August, JeA collaborated with Rattpoom, a Thai singer, in his song 'Face to Face'. Later in October, Gain also started her solo activities through her debut album Step 2/4 with a strong interpolation of tango music, featuring 'Irreversible' as the title track. On October 31, she clutched her first win (Mutizen song) in Inkigayo. In December, JeA worked on her ballad single 'Because You Sting' featuring G.O. of MBLAQ. Aside from that they also became part of popular variety shows and sitcom. Ga-in appeared on We Got Married with 2AM's Jo Kwon beginning in September 2009. The couple was very popular in Korea and still is one of the most recognized virtual couples in the country. Regrettably, their virtual marriage came to an end after 15 months in January 2011. She made her acting debut in MBC daily sitcom 'All My Love'. She was the female lead 'Gaumji'. However, owing to schedule conflict, her filming in sitcom ended in May 2011. Narsha has appeared on Invincible Youth (also known as G7) since October 2009. She is known on the show as "Sung In Dol" (Adult idol) due to her age difference with other members and her funny, but naughty reactions on the show. She was also one of the fixed cast member in SBS's variety show 'Heroes'. In April 2010, she DJed on "Pump up the Volume" on KBS Cool FM. Due to Brown Eyed Girls' overseas promotions Narsha decided to leave the show, with her last broadcast on December 28, 2010. The group successfully ended the year with a concert entitled "Hot Winter Party" held in the Ax-Korea Hall in Seoul. 2011: Japanese promotions and return to Korea with Sixth Sense On January 17, the Japanese music video for "Sign" was released. Its content is completely different from the original Korean version of the song, since the new version focuses on choreography while the original version did not feature any. The group started their promotions in Japan in early 2011. The girls originally planned to hold a concert in Japan in April but due to the Tōhoku earthquake in March, the concert was postponed to September instead. The band's first Japanese concert at C.C Lemon Hall in Shibuya took place on September 12. There, they unveiled one of their songs in their fourth album An Inconvenient Truth, which was composed by JeA and KZ. On September 6, NegaNetwork released an official comeback date, marking the end of their two-year hiatus. The group was expected to release a single on September 16 titled, "Hot Shot," followed by their fourth album and music video "Sixth Sense" on September 23. The concept for this album is “Resistance for freedom of expression through music via sixth sense.” Representatives of their agency, NegaNetwork explained, This album focuses not only on their singing and performance. The members hope to convey their thoughts to the public through music. Their title track is an expression of the limitations of experiencing music with only five senses, and it asks people to feel it instead with their sixth sense. The song itself is very free in style. They kicked off their promotional cycle officially with a double stage performance of "Hot Shot" and "Sixth Sense" on September 24 on Music Core. and grabbed the top spot on M! Countdown and Inkigayo. They also broke the jinx of going down a slump after a “big hit” as they won over their famed song Abracadabra, receiving higher digital sales for Sixth Sense. They concluded their "Sixth Sense" promotions after a month but it was immediately followed by the release of a repackage of their fourth studio album. On November 4, their repackage album was released. They followed up promotions with their ballad song 'Cleansing Cream'. They officially concluded their promotional activities on November 18 with a final performance on KBS's ‘Music Bank'. 2012: Solo activities, digital single and Tonight 37.2 °C The members branched out to solo activities once again. Starting with Miryo, releasing her self- produced solo album, MIRYO a.k.a. JOHONEY on February 1. She had a rocky start with two of the songs from her album banned in broadcasting stations. Namely, “Revenger,” which according to SBS officials has lyrics depicting violence and the title track “Dirty” for the lyrics of the song, containing the word, “cross-eyed” which could be perceived as a derogatory term for the disabled thus forcing Miryo to change the lyrics to be able to perform on music shows. On TV, Narsha made her acting debut with MBC's drama "Light and Shadow" playing the role of an aspiring singer Lee Jung Ja and followed by Ooh La La Couple as a goddess. The other members participated on reality programs. Gain became a CEO of a public relations company called ‘Mental Breakdown' particularly for the show, "OnStyle's Launch My Life – Ga In's Fashion King." While Miryo was included in Mnet's hiphop program Show me the Money, collaborating with a rookie rapper to compete against other contestants for the top spot. Jea also became a fixed member of Immortal Songs 2 but she later left the show due to her solo album promotions and was replaced by Narsha which later on left the show also due to her musical "When A Man Loves." On July 17, BEG released their digital single "The Original" of the hybrid soul genre – the genre the girls have originally debuted with. It has two tracks Come with me and the title track “A Midsummer Night's Dream” meant to be a gift to the fans who are still supporting the group despite it not being active at the moment. It was produced and composed by JeA. No promotional activities were done. Gain dropped her second mini-album on October 5 "Talk About S" with the title track Bloom. The title track and won the top spot in M! Countdown. JeA also pre-released the track "Let's Hug" on December 28 from her upcoming solo album. Before the year ended, fans of Brown Eyed Girls were finally able to see all four members up on stage together once again for their 19+ Rated ‘Tonight 37.2 °C‘ concert. 2013: Black Box and sub-unit M&N Member JeA started the year by releasing her solo album "Just JeA," showing her prowess as a vocalist and also a producer. Gain also surprised everyone by releasing a duet album on April 7 with label-mate Cho Hyung Woo, titled "Romantic Spring." The album contains warm, beautiful love songs that perfectly fit the season. On July 4, a teaser image was released via Facebook and Twitter for Brown Eyed Girls' long-awaited comeback. July 9 marked the release of a digital-single: "Recipe (레시피)." Renowned Korean Hip-Hop producer Primary produced the track "Recipe," which served as a pre-release to the upcoming album, with Miryo and Dynamic Duo's Choiza writing the lyrics for the song. After the positive reception of their digital single from the public, they continued by releasing their 5th studio album, Black Box, on July 29, with "KILL BILL" being announced as the title track, being composed by Lee Gyu Hyun and member JeA. The music video teaser for "KILL BILL" was released on July 25, with the actual music video being revealed later, on July 28, followed by a special dance version on August 2. They performed their comeback stage on SBS' Inkigayo on July 28, as the opening act for the episode, performing pre-release single "Recipe (레시피)" before their album title-track later in the show. They continued their promotions for the album throughout various music programmes (with the exception of KBS-run programmes for undisclosed reasons) until August 25 where they brought them to a close. Youngest member Gain also revealed in an interview that she will release another solo album after the Kill Bill promotions. In October 2013, Ga-In also broke onto the CPOP scene, featuring in Show Lo's music video for "愛投羅網 (Cast The Net Of Love)." On November 4, multiple sources in the entertainment field revealed that Miryo and Narsha will be forming a sub-unit and plan on releasing music for the unit in mid-November. While Brown Eyed Girls members have been well known to venture into solo activities, this is the first time in which two members will be working together as one team. On November 11, M&N released their first single, titled "Tonight (오늘밤)," which included two versions of the same track (one Korean, one English version), with the lyrical content to the first version being self-composed between the two members - on a later date during an interview, both members of the sub-unit stated that they had plans to release an album sometime within the next year, with it to feature a strong Hip Hop sound complete with promotional activities. 2014: Special Moments compilation album At the end of January 2014, Gain was revealed to be making a comeback with her 3rd mini album Truth or Dare on February 6, releasing a teaser picture along with the news. On January 22 she released a "mysterious and sexy" teaser still-cut from her pre-release track 'Fxxk U'. She later released a controversial teaser for the song showing two silhouettes behind a shower curtain and Gain saying "Fuck you." Information released with the teaser said the song would feature singer Bumkey and be "simple yet melodious" and feature a classical guitar. The song and music video were released on January 27. The music video portrayed Gain and actor Joo Ji Hoon in a physically and emotionally abusive relationship. The song was created by lyricist Kim Eana and composer Lee Minsoo (who also worked with Gain on her previous solo single "Bloom"). The title song "Truth or Dare" deals with the topic of rumors and their effect on celebrities and their life. On August 6 it was announced that the group would be releasing a "greatest hits" album titled Special Moments, featuring several songs from the group's eight-year career, as well as a new track "Hush," which would serve as the title track to the album. Special Moments has a two-disc format, with the first disc featuring the group's lead singles and promotional tracks, and the second disc focusing mainly on their ballad tracks. The album was released on August 11, 2014. 2015: Departure from Nega Network, contract with Mystic Entertainment and Basic On September 4, 2015, members JeA, Narsha, and Miryo became free agents after deciding not to renew their contracts with Nega Network. On October 1, 2015, all members have signed with Mystic Entertainment. On October 26, Mystic released the first batch of teaser pictures through BEG's official Twitter account. Each girl was shown posing in a desert like landscape, while the concept gave off a futuristic and science fiction feeling. Simultaneously they announced the release date of their upcoming 6th studio album, which was November 5 at midnight. Another batch of teaser pictures was released a day later on the 27th October. The track list was released on October 28 and revealed ten brand new tracks, with Brave New World (신세계) being the title track and Warm Hole (웜홀) the second title track. Moreover, Jea and Miryo took part in the writing and composing several songs of the album. The title track Brave New World is writing by Kim Eana and composed by Lee Minsoo, who have also worked together on previous Brown Eyed Girls songs. The group appeared on the popular smartphone broadcast V App on the 29th where they stated that Brave New World was a choreography heavy song, couldn't actually reveal any more info about the album. During the course of the next few days they revealed teaser videos for non-title tracks, such as Ice Cream Time, Obsession and Wave. The teaser videos for the two title tracks Warm Hole and Brave New World were the last to be released. The girls held their first showcase of their careers called 'Comeback to the Basic' on November 4 where they also performed the side track Ice Cream Time. Youngest member Gain revealed during the showcase that she took part in choreographing Warm Hole and Brave New World, as well as forming the concept for their 6th album. The album and the music video for Brave New World got released on the same day. The reference to Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World became obvious, though the theme of music video and song do not refer to discouragement of critical thinking, abundance of material goods and other plots as the novel does. However, the futuristic theme got picked up through time traveling in the music video as well as the idea of a dystopian state through the lyrics. The Warm Hole MV got released on November 5 and sparked a controversy due to the heavy sexual lyrics and references in the MV to a female's reproductive organ. But still they performed Warm Hole on the 5th November on M!Countdown as well as on the 6th on Music Bank. 2016-present: Hiatus, 10th anniversary, Narsha's departure from APOP Entertainment, RE_vive In 2016, it was reported that Brown Eyed Girls were the first K-pop girl group without any member changes for 10 years. For their 10th anniversary, the group held a concert with Kero One and KRNFX on March 18 at the Feria (now known as Club Bound LA) in Koreatown, Los Angeles, CA. On December 14, 2018, it was announced that Narsha would be leaving Mystic Story and APOP Entertainment. However, she would continue to promote with Brown Eyed Girls in future activities. The statement also revealed the group was preparing for a new comeback. In September 2019, the group set up an official Instagram, where they announced their new album RE_vive released on October 28. Other musical efforts The group members have also been featured on several South Korean drama soundtracks including The Vineyard Man (Loving You), Queen of Games (), Dae Jo Yeong (), The Kingdom of The Winds (), My Fair Lady (I Love You), and The Slave Hunters (Stray Child). JeA also participated in OST songs even before Brown Eyed Girls' debut. Also, Miryo and JeA collaborated for the single "Love Is..." which was released in May 2010. They collaborated with 4minute in 2010 for a World Cup song. Ga-in also participated "4Tomorrow Project" with Kara's Seung Yeon, After School's Uee, and 4minute's Hyuna. She also released digital single "We Fell in Love" (우리 사랑하게 됐어요), composed by Jea, with then We Got Married partner 2AM Jo Kwon. The song was voted No. 1 in several music programs in January 2010 In 2011, Miryo and Sunny of Girls' Generation collaborated for the single "사랑해 사랑해 (I love you, I love you)" the song was released the same year. Ga-in collaborated with Park Jin-young for the song "Someone Else" shortly before his comeback. The music video and the full-length song were pre-released in April 2012. Ga-in featured in IU's "Everyone Has Secrets" from her album "Modern Times" released in October 2013 Brown Eyed Girls influence on PSY On April 13, 2013, hip hop artist PSY released a music video for his single "Gentleman", which featured dance moves borrowed heavily from the Abracadabra music video, as well as featuring Gain in the video. Discography Your Story (2006) Leave Ms. Kim (2007) Sound-G (2009) Sixth Sense (2011) Black Box (2013) Basic (2015) RE_Vive (2019) Awards References External links Official Website Sony Music Entertainment Japan artists Mystic Entertainment artists K-pop music groups South Korean contemporary R&B musical groups South Korean dance music groups South Korean girl groups Musical groups established in 2006 2006 establishments in South Korea Mnet Asian Music Award winners Musical quartets Korean Music Award winners Melon Music Award winners
false
[ "(, also being the Italian title for Rebel Without a Cause) is the debut studio album by Italian singer-songwriter Mahmood. The album was released on Island Records on 22 February 2019. The album peaked at number one on the Italian Albums Chart. The album includes the singles \"Uramaki\", \"Milano Good Vibes\", \"\", \"\" and \"\". was first released as an extended play on 21 September 2018.\n\nSingles\n\"Uramaki\" was released as the lead single from the album on 27 April 2018. The song peaked at number 86 on the Italian Singles Chart. \"Milano Good Vibes\" was released as the second single from the album on 31 August 2018. \"Asia occidente\" was released as the third single from the album on 26 October 2018. \"\" was released as the fourth single from the album on 7 December 2018. The song peaked at number 40 on the Italian Singles Chart.\n\n\"\" was released as the fifth and final single from the album on 6 February 2019. The song peaked at number 1 on the Italian Singles Chart, becoming his first number one single in any country. The song won the 69th Sanremo Musical Festival and represented Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv, Israel, where it reached second place.\n\nTrack listing\n\nCharts\n\nAlbum\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nExtended play\n\nCertifications\n\nRelease history\n\nReferences\n\n2019 debut albums", "English electronic music duo Disclosure has released three studio albums, eight extended plays, six DJ mixes, 24 singles and six promotional singles.\n\nTheir debut studio album, Settle, was released in June 2013, peaking at number one on the UK Albums Chart. The duo scored their first UK hit in October 2012 with \"Latch\", featuring vocals from English singer Sam Smith. The song peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart. \"White Noise\" was released as the second single from the album in February 2013, reaching number two on the UK Singles Chart. \"You & Me\" was released as the third single from the album in April 2013, peaking at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart. \"F for You\" was released as the fourth single from the album in August 2013. The single was re-released in February 2014 with Mary J. Blige providing guest vocals. \"Help Me Lose My Mind\" was released as the album's fifth single in October 2013. \"Voices\" was released as the album's sixth single on in December 2013.\n\nThe duo's second studio album, Caracal, was released in September 2015. \"Bang That\" was released as a promotional single in May 2015; however, the song appears on the deluxe edition of the album instead of the standard edition. \"Holding On\", featuring American jazz musician Gregory Porter, was released as the album's lead single. The song peaked at number 46 in the UK Singles Chart. Disclosure's second collaboration with Smith, \"Omen\", was released as the second single from the album in July 2015, reaching number 13 on the UK Singles Chart.\n\nAlbums\n\nStudio albums\n\nRemix albums\n\nExtended plays\n\nDJ mixes\n\nSingles\n\nPromotional singles\n\nOther charted songs\n\nRemixes\n\nSongwriting and production credits\n\nOther tracks\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\nDiscographies of British artists\nElectronic music discographies\nHouse music discographies" ]
[ "Brown Eyed Girls", "Debut: Your Story and Leave Ms. Kim", "What was it about Your Story That was interesting?", "the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea on March 2, 2006, with the ballad track, \"Come Closer\" as their single.", "Was Come closer a hit single?", "The album was well received by critics but did not do as well as expected commercially.", "Was Leave Ms. Kim another album?", "After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (ddeonara miseugim),", "did Leave Ms. Kim have any singles released?", "which included their R&B title track \"You Got Me Fooled\" (neoege sogassda). Subsequent singles were \"Oasis", "Was there any other singles released from that album?", "and \"It's Mine\" (naeggeoya), a collaboration with fellow group SeeYa." ]
C_c3fd3279648546569f6c717494476825_1
did they go on tour with any of these two albums?
6
Did Brown Eyed Girls go on tour with Your Story or Leave Ms. Kim?
Brown Eyed Girls
The group's leader, Jea, was the one responsible of the group's creation and was actively involved in the selection of the other members, picking out Miryo, who was known as a great female rapper from the hip-hop community having previously worked with other fellow rappers, such as Gil Seong-joon from Leessang, and the main female rapper in well-known hip-hop group Honey Family. Narsha was chosen when Jea remembered her as a "talented singer" from her high school days, and Ga-in was selected by the three members after she was eliminated from "Battle Shin Hwa." According to Ga-in, she was crying in the bathroom after failing the audition, was found by composer Ahn Jung Hoon, and then was chosen through the audition in Brown Eyed Girls' company. Singer Yoari trained with the group until 2006, when it was decided she would be the lead singer for Sprinkler. The four members held several small size concerts, and was actually known as "Crescendo" before officially debuting as "Brown Eyed Girls." After more than 3 years of training in singing and holding several small size concerts, the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea on March 2, 2006, with the ballad track, "Come Closer" as their single. Debuting as a "faceless group" they did not appear on any visual media and chose to not even appear in their own music video. The album was well received by critics but did not do as well as expected commercially. The album was later re-released to include "Hold The Line" (which samples "Push The Button" by British girl band Sugababes and "Technologic" by Daft Punk). This song became a hit, further boosting the band's popularity. "Hold the Line" was disclosed across the world because it was included in the list of songs from the game Pump it Up. After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (ddeonara miseugim), which included their R&B title track "You Got Me Fooled" (neoege sogassda). Subsequent singles were "Oasis" (oasiseu) featuring Lee Jae Hoon and "It's Mine" (naeggeoya), a collaboration with fellow group SeeYa. During the break between their debut and second albums, the Brown Eyed Girls released their first digital single entitled "I Am a Summer" (naega yeoreumida), which was later included in their second LP. The first two albums contained typical R&B ballads which had been very popular in the K-pop scene. However, the commercial success was relatively higher in two singles between the first and second albums. Moreover, the second album containing "You Got Me Fooled" (neoege sogassda) was released at nearly the same time as Wonder Girls' "Tell Me" which received a nationwide success in Korea. Therefore, their second album was once again a commercial disappointment. At the same time, the general K-pop scene was changing from R&B ballads to dance music. CANNOTANSWER
CANNOTANSWER
The Brown Eyed Girls (Hangul: 브라운 아이드 걸스, Japanese: ブラウン・アイド・ガールズ), often abbreviated as B.E.G., BG, or 브아걸 (beu-ah-geol), is a South Korean girl group with four members: JeA, Miryo, Narsha, and Gain. They debuted as an R&B/Ballad vocal group with "Come Closer (다가와서)" in 2006 and have since performed in a variety of music genres. They rose to popularity in 2008 with "L.O.V.E" and their retro-dance number "How Come," and cemented their position in the K-pop world in 2009 with "Abracadabra", with its electronica-based genre, pioneering (albeit controversial) concept, along with its iconic and now globally recognized dance entitled 'The Arrogant Dance (시건방춤)'—successfully ingraining themselves into modern popular culture. The group started their venture into the Japanese music market with the release of a Japanese version of their massively successful 3rd Korean album, Sound-G, in late 2010, with full promotions being held throughout early 2011 under Sony Music Japan, where they gained moderate success. They returned to Korea in late 2011, to garner further success and critical acclaim with their 4th album and its title track "Sixth Sense". Other than promoting as a group, all of the members have released solo albums. History Debut: Your Story and Leave Ms. Kim The group's leader, Jea, was responsible for the group's creation and was actively involved in the selection of the other members, picking out Miryo, who was known as a capable female rapper from the hip-hop community having previously worked with other fellow rappers, such as Gil Seong-joon from Leessang, and the main female rapper in well-known hip-hop group Honey Family. Narsha was chosen when Jea remembered her as a "talented singer" from her high school days, and Ga-in was selected by the three members after she was eliminated from "Battle Shin Hwa." According to Ga-in, she was crying in the bathroom after failing the audition, was found by composer Ahn Jung Hoon, and then was chosen through the audition in Brown Eyed Girls' company. Singer Yoari trained with the group until 2006, when it was decided she would be the lead singer for Sprinkler. The four members held several small size concerts, and considered the names "Crescendo" or "Dark Angel" before officially debuting as "Brown Eyed Girls". After more than 3 years of training in singing and holding several small size concerts, the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea on March 2, 2006, with the ballad track, "Come Closer" as their single. Debuting as a "faceless group" they did not appear on any visual media and chose to not even appear in their own music video. The album was well received by critics but did not do as well as expected commercially. The album was later re-released to include "Hold The Line" (which samples "Push The Button" by British girl band Sugababes and "Technologic" by Daft Punk). This song became a hit, further boosting the band's popularity. "Hold the Line" was disclosed across the world because it was included in the list of songs from the game Pump it Up. After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (), which included their R&B title track "You Got Me Fooled" (). Subsequent singles were "Oasis" () featuring Lee Jae Hoon and "It's Mine" (), a collaboration with fellow group SeeYa. During the break between their debut and second albums, the Brown Eyed Girls released their first digital single entitled "I Am a Summer" (), which was later included in their second LP. The first two albums contained typical R&B ballads which had been very popular in the K-pop scene. However, the commercial success was relatively higher in two singles between the first and second albums. Moreover, the second album containing "You Got Me Fooled" () was released at nearly the same time as Wonder Girls' "Tell Me" which received a nationwide success in Korea. Therefore, their second album was once again a commercial disappointment. At the same time, the general K-pop scene was changing from R&B ballads to dance music. 2008: With Love and My Style mini albums In January 2008, Brown Eyed Girls came back with their first mini-album "With L.O.V.E." Their single, "L.O.V.E," was a departure from the B.E.G. sound that people had come to know but it became an instant success and Brown Eyed Girls scored their first No. 1 song and also one of the top hit songs in the first half of 2008. "Love Action" was the second single taken from the mini album. With Love also marked the group's second digital album (after "I Am a Summer"), though it was released in conventional CD format as well. After the release of their first mini-album, they could achieve the commercial success. "Love" was composed by Saint-Binary and Min-Soo Lee. Looking to strengthen their success, Brown Eyed Girls returned again in September and released their second mini-album "My Style." The title song "How Come" is a retro-style dance song that has become a popular trend. 2009–2010: Sound G, Japanese debut and solo activities On July 20, 2009, Brown Eyed Girls released their third full-length album, the double-disc Sound G. Even though "Candy Man" was the first song unveiled from the album, the first heavily promoted single was "Abracadabra," which was composed by Ji-nu and Min-Soo Lee. He composed the first part of "Abracadabra," and tried to compose the refrain part. However, he could not think of a good idea to make the refrain part. Therefore, Min-Soo Lee, who worked with BEG previously, helped and composed the refrain part of "Abracadabra." The release of this album also saw a shift in the image of the group, as the members redefined themselves as independent and mature city girls. Their music video for their title track sparked controversies. As the group is sporting a substantially more provocative visual style, criticism has arisen for the suggestive and erotic themes that the video presents. They later released a "stage version" of the video, which focuses only on the choreography. Nevertheless, even with all the controversies they took the Kpop world by storm, snagging awards at music shows and year end music awards. The sexy hip dance became a national dance with a lot of fellow celebrities doing a parody of it. Later on, the group revealed a repackaged version of the album titled Sign that included a new single, "Sign," along with "Drunk On Sleep" and a remix of their previous hit "Abracadabra." The repackaged album was released along with the music video for "Sign." The music video caused controversy because of its content: it featured scenes of violence and death, including the group members drowning in tanks of water. "Sign" has reached certain success, but it has not matched the success of the band's previous single "Abracadabra." The quartet has been readying for their Japan debut since signing with major record label Sony Music Japan International. In August 2010, the group re-released Sound G in Japanese to promote them in the country, which indeed marks the beginning of their Japanese promotions. After the success of the album, the members concentrated more on their individual activities juggling it with their overseas schedules. In July, Narsha released her first solo album 'NARSHA' to meet certain success, In August, JeA collaborated with Rattpoom, a Thai singer, in his song 'Face to Face'. Later in October, Gain also started her solo activities through her debut album Step 2/4 with a strong interpolation of tango music, featuring 'Irreversible' as the title track. On October 31, she clutched her first win (Mutizen song) in Inkigayo. In December, JeA worked on her ballad single 'Because You Sting' featuring G.O. of MBLAQ. Aside from that they also became part of popular variety shows and sitcom. Ga-in appeared on We Got Married with 2AM's Jo Kwon beginning in September 2009. The couple was very popular in Korea and still is one of the most recognized virtual couples in the country. Regrettably, their virtual marriage came to an end after 15 months in January 2011. She made her acting debut in MBC daily sitcom 'All My Love'. She was the female lead 'Gaumji'. However, owing to schedule conflict, her filming in sitcom ended in May 2011. Narsha has appeared on Invincible Youth (also known as G7) since October 2009. She is known on the show as "Sung In Dol" (Adult idol) due to her age difference with other members and her funny, but naughty reactions on the show. She was also one of the fixed cast member in SBS's variety show 'Heroes'. In April 2010, she DJed on "Pump up the Volume" on KBS Cool FM. Due to Brown Eyed Girls' overseas promotions Narsha decided to leave the show, with her last broadcast on December 28, 2010. The group successfully ended the year with a concert entitled "Hot Winter Party" held in the Ax-Korea Hall in Seoul. 2011: Japanese promotions and return to Korea with Sixth Sense On January 17, the Japanese music video for "Sign" was released. Its content is completely different from the original Korean version of the song, since the new version focuses on choreography while the original version did not feature any. The group started their promotions in Japan in early 2011. The girls originally planned to hold a concert in Japan in April but due to the Tōhoku earthquake in March, the concert was postponed to September instead. The band's first Japanese concert at C.C Lemon Hall in Shibuya took place on September 12. There, they unveiled one of their songs in their fourth album An Inconvenient Truth, which was composed by JeA and KZ. On September 6, NegaNetwork released an official comeback date, marking the end of their two-year hiatus. The group was expected to release a single on September 16 titled, "Hot Shot," followed by their fourth album and music video "Sixth Sense" on September 23. The concept for this album is “Resistance for freedom of expression through music via sixth sense.” Representatives of their agency, NegaNetwork explained, This album focuses not only on their singing and performance. The members hope to convey their thoughts to the public through music. Their title track is an expression of the limitations of experiencing music with only five senses, and it asks people to feel it instead with their sixth sense. The song itself is very free in style. They kicked off their promotional cycle officially with a double stage performance of "Hot Shot" and "Sixth Sense" on September 24 on Music Core. and grabbed the top spot on M! Countdown and Inkigayo. They also broke the jinx of going down a slump after a “big hit” as they won over their famed song Abracadabra, receiving higher digital sales for Sixth Sense. They concluded their "Sixth Sense" promotions after a month but it was immediately followed by the release of a repackage of their fourth studio album. On November 4, their repackage album was released. They followed up promotions with their ballad song 'Cleansing Cream'. They officially concluded their promotional activities on November 18 with a final performance on KBS's ‘Music Bank'. 2012: Solo activities, digital single and Tonight 37.2 °C The members branched out to solo activities once again. Starting with Miryo, releasing her self- produced solo album, MIRYO a.k.a. JOHONEY on February 1. She had a rocky start with two of the songs from her album banned in broadcasting stations. Namely, “Revenger,” which according to SBS officials has lyrics depicting violence and the title track “Dirty” for the lyrics of the song, containing the word, “cross-eyed” which could be perceived as a derogatory term for the disabled thus forcing Miryo to change the lyrics to be able to perform on music shows. On TV, Narsha made her acting debut with MBC's drama "Light and Shadow" playing the role of an aspiring singer Lee Jung Ja and followed by Ooh La La Couple as a goddess. The other members participated on reality programs. Gain became a CEO of a public relations company called ‘Mental Breakdown' particularly for the show, "OnStyle's Launch My Life – Ga In's Fashion King." While Miryo was included in Mnet's hiphop program Show me the Money, collaborating with a rookie rapper to compete against other contestants for the top spot. Jea also became a fixed member of Immortal Songs 2 but she later left the show due to her solo album promotions and was replaced by Narsha which later on left the show also due to her musical "When A Man Loves." On July 17, BEG released their digital single "The Original" of the hybrid soul genre – the genre the girls have originally debuted with. It has two tracks Come with me and the title track “A Midsummer Night's Dream” meant to be a gift to the fans who are still supporting the group despite it not being active at the moment. It was produced and composed by JeA. No promotional activities were done. Gain dropped her second mini-album on October 5 "Talk About S" with the title track Bloom. The title track and won the top spot in M! Countdown. JeA also pre-released the track "Let's Hug" on December 28 from her upcoming solo album. Before the year ended, fans of Brown Eyed Girls were finally able to see all four members up on stage together once again for their 19+ Rated ‘Tonight 37.2 °C‘ concert. 2013: Black Box and sub-unit M&N Member JeA started the year by releasing her solo album "Just JeA," showing her prowess as a vocalist and also a producer. Gain also surprised everyone by releasing a duet album on April 7 with label-mate Cho Hyung Woo, titled "Romantic Spring." The album contains warm, beautiful love songs that perfectly fit the season. On July 4, a teaser image was released via Facebook and Twitter for Brown Eyed Girls' long-awaited comeback. July 9 marked the release of a digital-single: "Recipe (레시피)." Renowned Korean Hip-Hop producer Primary produced the track "Recipe," which served as a pre-release to the upcoming album, with Miryo and Dynamic Duo's Choiza writing the lyrics for the song. After the positive reception of their digital single from the public, they continued by releasing their 5th studio album, Black Box, on July 29, with "KILL BILL" being announced as the title track, being composed by Lee Gyu Hyun and member JeA. The music video teaser for "KILL BILL" was released on July 25, with the actual music video being revealed later, on July 28, followed by a special dance version on August 2. They performed their comeback stage on SBS' Inkigayo on July 28, as the opening act for the episode, performing pre-release single "Recipe (레시피)" before their album title-track later in the show. They continued their promotions for the album throughout various music programmes (with the exception of KBS-run programmes for undisclosed reasons) until August 25 where they brought them to a close. Youngest member Gain also revealed in an interview that she will release another solo album after the Kill Bill promotions. In October 2013, Ga-In also broke onto the CPOP scene, featuring in Show Lo's music video for "愛投羅網 (Cast The Net Of Love)." On November 4, multiple sources in the entertainment field revealed that Miryo and Narsha will be forming a sub-unit and plan on releasing music for the unit in mid-November. While Brown Eyed Girls members have been well known to venture into solo activities, this is the first time in which two members will be working together as one team. On November 11, M&N released their first single, titled "Tonight (오늘밤)," which included two versions of the same track (one Korean, one English version), with the lyrical content to the first version being self-composed between the two members - on a later date during an interview, both members of the sub-unit stated that they had plans to release an album sometime within the next year, with it to feature a strong Hip Hop sound complete with promotional activities. 2014: Special Moments compilation album At the end of January 2014, Gain was revealed to be making a comeback with her 3rd mini album Truth or Dare on February 6, releasing a teaser picture along with the news. On January 22 she released a "mysterious and sexy" teaser still-cut from her pre-release track 'Fxxk U'. She later released a controversial teaser for the song showing two silhouettes behind a shower curtain and Gain saying "Fuck you." Information released with the teaser said the song would feature singer Bumkey and be "simple yet melodious" and feature a classical guitar. The song and music video were released on January 27. The music video portrayed Gain and actor Joo Ji Hoon in a physically and emotionally abusive relationship. The song was created by lyricist Kim Eana and composer Lee Minsoo (who also worked with Gain on her previous solo single "Bloom"). The title song "Truth or Dare" deals with the topic of rumors and their effect on celebrities and their life. On August 6 it was announced that the group would be releasing a "greatest hits" album titled Special Moments, featuring several songs from the group's eight-year career, as well as a new track "Hush," which would serve as the title track to the album. Special Moments has a two-disc format, with the first disc featuring the group's lead singles and promotional tracks, and the second disc focusing mainly on their ballad tracks. The album was released on August 11, 2014. 2015: Departure from Nega Network, contract with Mystic Entertainment and Basic On September 4, 2015, members JeA, Narsha, and Miryo became free agents after deciding not to renew their contracts with Nega Network. On October 1, 2015, all members have signed with Mystic Entertainment. On October 26, Mystic released the first batch of teaser pictures through BEG's official Twitter account. Each girl was shown posing in a desert like landscape, while the concept gave off a futuristic and science fiction feeling. Simultaneously they announced the release date of their upcoming 6th studio album, which was November 5 at midnight. Another batch of teaser pictures was released a day later on the 27th October. The track list was released on October 28 and revealed ten brand new tracks, with Brave New World (신세계) being the title track and Warm Hole (웜홀) the second title track. Moreover, Jea and Miryo took part in the writing and composing several songs of the album. The title track Brave New World is writing by Kim Eana and composed by Lee Minsoo, who have also worked together on previous Brown Eyed Girls songs. The group appeared on the popular smartphone broadcast V App on the 29th where they stated that Brave New World was a choreography heavy song, couldn't actually reveal any more info about the album. During the course of the next few days they revealed teaser videos for non-title tracks, such as Ice Cream Time, Obsession and Wave. The teaser videos for the two title tracks Warm Hole and Brave New World were the last to be released. The girls held their first showcase of their careers called 'Comeback to the Basic' on November 4 where they also performed the side track Ice Cream Time. Youngest member Gain revealed during the showcase that she took part in choreographing Warm Hole and Brave New World, as well as forming the concept for their 6th album. The album and the music video for Brave New World got released on the same day. The reference to Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World became obvious, though the theme of music video and song do not refer to discouragement of critical thinking, abundance of material goods and other plots as the novel does. However, the futuristic theme got picked up through time traveling in the music video as well as the idea of a dystopian state through the lyrics. The Warm Hole MV got released on November 5 and sparked a controversy due to the heavy sexual lyrics and references in the MV to a female's reproductive organ. But still they performed Warm Hole on the 5th November on M!Countdown as well as on the 6th on Music Bank. 2016-present: Hiatus, 10th anniversary, Narsha's departure from APOP Entertainment, RE_vive In 2016, it was reported that Brown Eyed Girls were the first K-pop girl group without any member changes for 10 years. For their 10th anniversary, the group held a concert with Kero One and KRNFX on March 18 at the Feria (now known as Club Bound LA) in Koreatown, Los Angeles, CA. On December 14, 2018, it was announced that Narsha would be leaving Mystic Story and APOP Entertainment. However, she would continue to promote with Brown Eyed Girls in future activities. The statement also revealed the group was preparing for a new comeback. In September 2019, the group set up an official Instagram, where they announced their new album RE_vive released on October 28. Other musical efforts The group members have also been featured on several South Korean drama soundtracks including The Vineyard Man (Loving You), Queen of Games (), Dae Jo Yeong (), The Kingdom of The Winds (), My Fair Lady (I Love You), and The Slave Hunters (Stray Child). JeA also participated in OST songs even before Brown Eyed Girls' debut. Also, Miryo and JeA collaborated for the single "Love Is..." which was released in May 2010. They collaborated with 4minute in 2010 for a World Cup song. Ga-in also participated "4Tomorrow Project" with Kara's Seung Yeon, After School's Uee, and 4minute's Hyuna. She also released digital single "We Fell in Love" (우리 사랑하게 됐어요), composed by Jea, with then We Got Married partner 2AM Jo Kwon. The song was voted No. 1 in several music programs in January 2010 In 2011, Miryo and Sunny of Girls' Generation collaborated for the single "사랑해 사랑해 (I love you, I love you)" the song was released the same year. Ga-in collaborated with Park Jin-young for the song "Someone Else" shortly before his comeback. The music video and the full-length song were pre-released in April 2012. Ga-in featured in IU's "Everyone Has Secrets" from her album "Modern Times" released in October 2013 Brown Eyed Girls influence on PSY On April 13, 2013, hip hop artist PSY released a music video for his single "Gentleman", which featured dance moves borrowed heavily from the Abracadabra music video, as well as featuring Gain in the video. Discography Your Story (2006) Leave Ms. Kim (2007) Sound-G (2009) Sixth Sense (2011) Black Box (2013) Basic (2015) RE_Vive (2019) Awards References External links Official Website Sony Music Entertainment Japan artists Mystic Entertainment artists K-pop music groups South Korean contemporary R&B musical groups South Korean dance music groups South Korean girl groups Musical groups established in 2006 2006 establishments in South Korea Mnet Asian Music Award winners Musical quartets Korean Music Award winners Melon Music Award winners
false
[ "The Show Must Go is Canadian pop rock group Hedley's third studio album and was released on November 17, 2009, in Canada. The album was successful, producing three top 20 singles, with \"Cha-Ching\" and \"Perfect\" both hitting the top 10. The album was later released in the US on December 7, 2010.\n\nTrack listing\n\nPersonnel\n\nCharts and certifications\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nCertifications\n\nRelease history\n\nTours\n\nThe Show Must Go... on the Road Tour\n\nHedley announced a tour across Canada in support of the album. Fefe Dobson and Stereos were supporting acts for the entire tour, while Boys Like Girls supported the dates from March 28 to April 10, and Faber Drive supported the other eight dates. A live album called Go With the Show was released in a CD/DVD pack on November 9, 2010. The CD contains tracks from the three final destinations of the tour, as well as a documentary and bonus features on the DVD.\n\nA second leg was announced on May 25, 2010. The opening acts touring with the band are San Sebastian, These Kids Wear Crowns, and Lights.\n\nSetlist\n \"Cha-Ching\"\n \"On My Own\"\n \"Shelter\"\n \"She's So Sorry\"\n \"Perfect\"\n \"Old School\"\n \"Amazing\"\n \"Saturday\"\n \"Gunnin'\"\n \"Don't Talk to Strangers\"\n \"Friends\"\n \"Beautiful\"\n \"321\"\n \"Never Too Late\"\nEncore:\n \"For the Nights I Can't Remember\"\n \"Trip\"\n\nTour dates\n\nReferences\n\n2009 albums\nHedley (band) albums\nUniversal Music Canada albums\nIsland Records albums\nAlbums produced by John Feldmann", "Recorded live at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco, California on May 31, 2003, this video features the Trey Anastasio Band (TAB) with Carlos Santana sitting in for a number of covers and Anastasio originals. It was released under the name Live at the Warfield. It features the entire second set of the show, with Santana sitting in on every song. Each of the four songs in the second set segued into one another. In addition, a bonus track, \"The Way I Feel\", was taken from the first set of the show and also includes Santana sitting in. Santana also sat in for the song \"Last Tube\" during the first set, but that was not included on the DVD.\n\nHighlights include a 27-minute \"Mr. Completely\" and an experimental version of Duke Ellington's \"Caravan.\" Trey's main band, Phish, covered Caravan frequently between 1990 and 1996, after which time it was dropped from their repertoire. This was the first time that TAB had covered Caravan.\n\nAll proceeds from the sale of the DVDs of this show were distributed to the Waterwheel Foundation and the Milagro Foundation.\n\nThis show was part of the brief tour TAB did in between Phish's winter and summer tours in 2003. Other guests during this tour included Mike Gordon and Warren Hayes. This show was also one of the few times during this tour that Trey did not perform any solo acoustic songs. For the encore, TAB played \"Root Down\" by the Beastie Boys for the first time. Santana did not sit in for the song.\n\nIn the summer of 1992, Phish was the opening act for Santana and the two often collaborated. In July 1996, Phish was booked as the opening act for Santana for three shows in Europe. Phish's opening set was rained out during the first of these shows, however Phish joined Santana for part of his headlining set later that night. Phish would also come on stage during Santana's set during the subsequent two shows, along with playing their own opening sets. Trey and Phish keyboardist Page Mcconnell sat in with Santana's band in April 1999 in San Francisco. The next time any member of Phish and Santana collaborated was at the TAB show at the Warfield in 2003. This is also the last time they have collaborated.\n\nTrack listing\n Mr. Completely> - 27:00\n John The Revelator> - 8:22\n Night Speaks To A Woman> - 12:33\n Caravan - 4:43\n The Way I Feel - 3:02\n\nReferences \n\n2003 live albums\nTrey Anastasio albums\n2003 video albums\nCollaborative albums\nLive video albums\nSantana (band) live albums" ]
[ "Brown Eyed Girls", "Debut: Your Story and Leave Ms. Kim", "What was it about Your Story That was interesting?", "the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea on March 2, 2006, with the ballad track, \"Come Closer\" as their single.", "Was Come closer a hit single?", "The album was well received by critics but did not do as well as expected commercially.", "Was Leave Ms. Kim another album?", "After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (ddeonara miseugim),", "did Leave Ms. Kim have any singles released?", "which included their R&B title track \"You Got Me Fooled\" (neoege sogassda). Subsequent singles were \"Oasis", "Was there any other singles released from that album?", "and \"It's Mine\" (naeggeoya), a collaboration with fellow group SeeYa.", "did they go on tour with any of these two albums?", "I don't know." ]
C_c3fd3279648546569f6c717494476825_1
is there any interesting fact that you found interesting in this article?
7
is there any interesting fact that you found interesting in this article?
Brown Eyed Girls
The group's leader, Jea, was the one responsible of the group's creation and was actively involved in the selection of the other members, picking out Miryo, who was known as a great female rapper from the hip-hop community having previously worked with other fellow rappers, such as Gil Seong-joon from Leessang, and the main female rapper in well-known hip-hop group Honey Family. Narsha was chosen when Jea remembered her as a "talented singer" from her high school days, and Ga-in was selected by the three members after she was eliminated from "Battle Shin Hwa." According to Ga-in, she was crying in the bathroom after failing the audition, was found by composer Ahn Jung Hoon, and then was chosen through the audition in Brown Eyed Girls' company. Singer Yoari trained with the group until 2006, when it was decided she would be the lead singer for Sprinkler. The four members held several small size concerts, and was actually known as "Crescendo" before officially debuting as "Brown Eyed Girls." After more than 3 years of training in singing and holding several small size concerts, the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea on March 2, 2006, with the ballad track, "Come Closer" as their single. Debuting as a "faceless group" they did not appear on any visual media and chose to not even appear in their own music video. The album was well received by critics but did not do as well as expected commercially. The album was later re-released to include "Hold The Line" (which samples "Push The Button" by British girl band Sugababes and "Technologic" by Daft Punk). This song became a hit, further boosting the band's popularity. "Hold the Line" was disclosed across the world because it was included in the list of songs from the game Pump it Up. After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (ddeonara miseugim), which included their R&B title track "You Got Me Fooled" (neoege sogassda). Subsequent singles were "Oasis" (oasiseu) featuring Lee Jae Hoon and "It's Mine" (naeggeoya), a collaboration with fellow group SeeYa. During the break between their debut and second albums, the Brown Eyed Girls released their first digital single entitled "I Am a Summer" (naega yeoreumida), which was later included in their second LP. The first two albums contained typical R&B ballads which had been very popular in the K-pop scene. However, the commercial success was relatively higher in two singles between the first and second albums. Moreover, the second album containing "You Got Me Fooled" (neoege sogassda) was released at nearly the same time as Wonder Girls' "Tell Me" which received a nationwide success in Korea. Therefore, their second album was once again a commercial disappointment. At the same time, the general K-pop scene was changing from R&B ballads to dance music. CANNOTANSWER
The first two albums contained typical R&B ballads which had been very popular in the K-pop scene. However, the commercial success was relatively higher
The Brown Eyed Girls (Hangul: 브라운 아이드 걸스, Japanese: ブラウン・アイド・ガールズ), often abbreviated as B.E.G., BG, or 브아걸 (beu-ah-geol), is a South Korean girl group with four members: JeA, Miryo, Narsha, and Gain. They debuted as an R&B/Ballad vocal group with "Come Closer (다가와서)" in 2006 and have since performed in a variety of music genres. They rose to popularity in 2008 with "L.O.V.E" and their retro-dance number "How Come," and cemented their position in the K-pop world in 2009 with "Abracadabra", with its electronica-based genre, pioneering (albeit controversial) concept, along with its iconic and now globally recognized dance entitled 'The Arrogant Dance (시건방춤)'—successfully ingraining themselves into modern popular culture. The group started their venture into the Japanese music market with the release of a Japanese version of their massively successful 3rd Korean album, Sound-G, in late 2010, with full promotions being held throughout early 2011 under Sony Music Japan, where they gained moderate success. They returned to Korea in late 2011, to garner further success and critical acclaim with their 4th album and its title track "Sixth Sense". Other than promoting as a group, all of the members have released solo albums. History Debut: Your Story and Leave Ms. Kim The group's leader, Jea, was responsible for the group's creation and was actively involved in the selection of the other members, picking out Miryo, who was known as a capable female rapper from the hip-hop community having previously worked with other fellow rappers, such as Gil Seong-joon from Leessang, and the main female rapper in well-known hip-hop group Honey Family. Narsha was chosen when Jea remembered her as a "talented singer" from her high school days, and Ga-in was selected by the three members after she was eliminated from "Battle Shin Hwa." According to Ga-in, she was crying in the bathroom after failing the audition, was found by composer Ahn Jung Hoon, and then was chosen through the audition in Brown Eyed Girls' company. Singer Yoari trained with the group until 2006, when it was decided she would be the lead singer for Sprinkler. The four members held several small size concerts, and considered the names "Crescendo" or "Dark Angel" before officially debuting as "Brown Eyed Girls". After more than 3 years of training in singing and holding several small size concerts, the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea on March 2, 2006, with the ballad track, "Come Closer" as their single. Debuting as a "faceless group" they did not appear on any visual media and chose to not even appear in their own music video. The album was well received by critics but did not do as well as expected commercially. The album was later re-released to include "Hold The Line" (which samples "Push The Button" by British girl band Sugababes and "Technologic" by Daft Punk). This song became a hit, further boosting the band's popularity. "Hold the Line" was disclosed across the world because it was included in the list of songs from the game Pump it Up. After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (), which included their R&B title track "You Got Me Fooled" (). Subsequent singles were "Oasis" () featuring Lee Jae Hoon and "It's Mine" (), a collaboration with fellow group SeeYa. During the break between their debut and second albums, the Brown Eyed Girls released their first digital single entitled "I Am a Summer" (), which was later included in their second LP. The first two albums contained typical R&B ballads which had been very popular in the K-pop scene. However, the commercial success was relatively higher in two singles between the first and second albums. Moreover, the second album containing "You Got Me Fooled" () was released at nearly the same time as Wonder Girls' "Tell Me" which received a nationwide success in Korea. Therefore, their second album was once again a commercial disappointment. At the same time, the general K-pop scene was changing from R&B ballads to dance music. 2008: With Love and My Style mini albums In January 2008, Brown Eyed Girls came back with their first mini-album "With L.O.V.E." Their single, "L.O.V.E," was a departure from the B.E.G. sound that people had come to know but it became an instant success and Brown Eyed Girls scored their first No. 1 song and also one of the top hit songs in the first half of 2008. "Love Action" was the second single taken from the mini album. With Love also marked the group's second digital album (after "I Am a Summer"), though it was released in conventional CD format as well. After the release of their first mini-album, they could achieve the commercial success. "Love" was composed by Saint-Binary and Min-Soo Lee. Looking to strengthen their success, Brown Eyed Girls returned again in September and released their second mini-album "My Style." The title song "How Come" is a retro-style dance song that has become a popular trend. 2009–2010: Sound G, Japanese debut and solo activities On July 20, 2009, Brown Eyed Girls released their third full-length album, the double-disc Sound G. Even though "Candy Man" was the first song unveiled from the album, the first heavily promoted single was "Abracadabra," which was composed by Ji-nu and Min-Soo Lee. He composed the first part of "Abracadabra," and tried to compose the refrain part. However, he could not think of a good idea to make the refrain part. Therefore, Min-Soo Lee, who worked with BEG previously, helped and composed the refrain part of "Abracadabra." The release of this album also saw a shift in the image of the group, as the members redefined themselves as independent and mature city girls. Their music video for their title track sparked controversies. As the group is sporting a substantially more provocative visual style, criticism has arisen for the suggestive and erotic themes that the video presents. They later released a "stage version" of the video, which focuses only on the choreography. Nevertheless, even with all the controversies they took the Kpop world by storm, snagging awards at music shows and year end music awards. The sexy hip dance became a national dance with a lot of fellow celebrities doing a parody of it. Later on, the group revealed a repackaged version of the album titled Sign that included a new single, "Sign," along with "Drunk On Sleep" and a remix of their previous hit "Abracadabra." The repackaged album was released along with the music video for "Sign." The music video caused controversy because of its content: it featured scenes of violence and death, including the group members drowning in tanks of water. "Sign" has reached certain success, but it has not matched the success of the band's previous single "Abracadabra." The quartet has been readying for their Japan debut since signing with major record label Sony Music Japan International. In August 2010, the group re-released Sound G in Japanese to promote them in the country, which indeed marks the beginning of their Japanese promotions. After the success of the album, the members concentrated more on their individual activities juggling it with their overseas schedules. In July, Narsha released her first solo album 'NARSHA' to meet certain success, In August, JeA collaborated with Rattpoom, a Thai singer, in his song 'Face to Face'. Later in October, Gain also started her solo activities through her debut album Step 2/4 with a strong interpolation of tango music, featuring 'Irreversible' as the title track. On October 31, she clutched her first win (Mutizen song) in Inkigayo. In December, JeA worked on her ballad single 'Because You Sting' featuring G.O. of MBLAQ. Aside from that they also became part of popular variety shows and sitcom. Ga-in appeared on We Got Married with 2AM's Jo Kwon beginning in September 2009. The couple was very popular in Korea and still is one of the most recognized virtual couples in the country. Regrettably, their virtual marriage came to an end after 15 months in January 2011. She made her acting debut in MBC daily sitcom 'All My Love'. She was the female lead 'Gaumji'. However, owing to schedule conflict, her filming in sitcom ended in May 2011. Narsha has appeared on Invincible Youth (also known as G7) since October 2009. She is known on the show as "Sung In Dol" (Adult idol) due to her age difference with other members and her funny, but naughty reactions on the show. She was also one of the fixed cast member in SBS's variety show 'Heroes'. In April 2010, she DJed on "Pump up the Volume" on KBS Cool FM. Due to Brown Eyed Girls' overseas promotions Narsha decided to leave the show, with her last broadcast on December 28, 2010. The group successfully ended the year with a concert entitled "Hot Winter Party" held in the Ax-Korea Hall in Seoul. 2011: Japanese promotions and return to Korea with Sixth Sense On January 17, the Japanese music video for "Sign" was released. Its content is completely different from the original Korean version of the song, since the new version focuses on choreography while the original version did not feature any. The group started their promotions in Japan in early 2011. The girls originally planned to hold a concert in Japan in April but due to the Tōhoku earthquake in March, the concert was postponed to September instead. The band's first Japanese concert at C.C Lemon Hall in Shibuya took place on September 12. There, they unveiled one of their songs in their fourth album An Inconvenient Truth, which was composed by JeA and KZ. On September 6, NegaNetwork released an official comeback date, marking the end of their two-year hiatus. The group was expected to release a single on September 16 titled, "Hot Shot," followed by their fourth album and music video "Sixth Sense" on September 23. The concept for this album is “Resistance for freedom of expression through music via sixth sense.” Representatives of their agency, NegaNetwork explained, This album focuses not only on their singing and performance. The members hope to convey their thoughts to the public through music. Their title track is an expression of the limitations of experiencing music with only five senses, and it asks people to feel it instead with their sixth sense. The song itself is very free in style. They kicked off their promotional cycle officially with a double stage performance of "Hot Shot" and "Sixth Sense" on September 24 on Music Core. and grabbed the top spot on M! Countdown and Inkigayo. They also broke the jinx of going down a slump after a “big hit” as they won over their famed song Abracadabra, receiving higher digital sales for Sixth Sense. They concluded their "Sixth Sense" promotions after a month but it was immediately followed by the release of a repackage of their fourth studio album. On November 4, their repackage album was released. They followed up promotions with their ballad song 'Cleansing Cream'. They officially concluded their promotional activities on November 18 with a final performance on KBS's ‘Music Bank'. 2012: Solo activities, digital single and Tonight 37.2 °C The members branched out to solo activities once again. Starting with Miryo, releasing her self- produced solo album, MIRYO a.k.a. JOHONEY on February 1. She had a rocky start with two of the songs from her album banned in broadcasting stations. Namely, “Revenger,” which according to SBS officials has lyrics depicting violence and the title track “Dirty” for the lyrics of the song, containing the word, “cross-eyed” which could be perceived as a derogatory term for the disabled thus forcing Miryo to change the lyrics to be able to perform on music shows. On TV, Narsha made her acting debut with MBC's drama "Light and Shadow" playing the role of an aspiring singer Lee Jung Ja and followed by Ooh La La Couple as a goddess. The other members participated on reality programs. Gain became a CEO of a public relations company called ‘Mental Breakdown' particularly for the show, "OnStyle's Launch My Life – Ga In's Fashion King." While Miryo was included in Mnet's hiphop program Show me the Money, collaborating with a rookie rapper to compete against other contestants for the top spot. Jea also became a fixed member of Immortal Songs 2 but she later left the show due to her solo album promotions and was replaced by Narsha which later on left the show also due to her musical "When A Man Loves." On July 17, BEG released their digital single "The Original" of the hybrid soul genre – the genre the girls have originally debuted with. It has two tracks Come with me and the title track “A Midsummer Night's Dream” meant to be a gift to the fans who are still supporting the group despite it not being active at the moment. It was produced and composed by JeA. No promotional activities were done. Gain dropped her second mini-album on October 5 "Talk About S" with the title track Bloom. The title track and won the top spot in M! Countdown. JeA also pre-released the track "Let's Hug" on December 28 from her upcoming solo album. Before the year ended, fans of Brown Eyed Girls were finally able to see all four members up on stage together once again for their 19+ Rated ‘Tonight 37.2 °C‘ concert. 2013: Black Box and sub-unit M&N Member JeA started the year by releasing her solo album "Just JeA," showing her prowess as a vocalist and also a producer. Gain also surprised everyone by releasing a duet album on April 7 with label-mate Cho Hyung Woo, titled "Romantic Spring." The album contains warm, beautiful love songs that perfectly fit the season. On July 4, a teaser image was released via Facebook and Twitter for Brown Eyed Girls' long-awaited comeback. July 9 marked the release of a digital-single: "Recipe (레시피)." Renowned Korean Hip-Hop producer Primary produced the track "Recipe," which served as a pre-release to the upcoming album, with Miryo and Dynamic Duo's Choiza writing the lyrics for the song. After the positive reception of their digital single from the public, they continued by releasing their 5th studio album, Black Box, on July 29, with "KILL BILL" being announced as the title track, being composed by Lee Gyu Hyun and member JeA. The music video teaser for "KILL BILL" was released on July 25, with the actual music video being revealed later, on July 28, followed by a special dance version on August 2. They performed their comeback stage on SBS' Inkigayo on July 28, as the opening act for the episode, performing pre-release single "Recipe (레시피)" before their album title-track later in the show. They continued their promotions for the album throughout various music programmes (with the exception of KBS-run programmes for undisclosed reasons) until August 25 where they brought them to a close. Youngest member Gain also revealed in an interview that she will release another solo album after the Kill Bill promotions. In October 2013, Ga-In also broke onto the CPOP scene, featuring in Show Lo's music video for "愛投羅網 (Cast The Net Of Love)." On November 4, multiple sources in the entertainment field revealed that Miryo and Narsha will be forming a sub-unit and plan on releasing music for the unit in mid-November. While Brown Eyed Girls members have been well known to venture into solo activities, this is the first time in which two members will be working together as one team. On November 11, M&N released their first single, titled "Tonight (오늘밤)," which included two versions of the same track (one Korean, one English version), with the lyrical content to the first version being self-composed between the two members - on a later date during an interview, both members of the sub-unit stated that they had plans to release an album sometime within the next year, with it to feature a strong Hip Hop sound complete with promotional activities. 2014: Special Moments compilation album At the end of January 2014, Gain was revealed to be making a comeback with her 3rd mini album Truth or Dare on February 6, releasing a teaser picture along with the news. On January 22 she released a "mysterious and sexy" teaser still-cut from her pre-release track 'Fxxk U'. She later released a controversial teaser for the song showing two silhouettes behind a shower curtain and Gain saying "Fuck you." Information released with the teaser said the song would feature singer Bumkey and be "simple yet melodious" and feature a classical guitar. The song and music video were released on January 27. The music video portrayed Gain and actor Joo Ji Hoon in a physically and emotionally abusive relationship. The song was created by lyricist Kim Eana and composer Lee Minsoo (who also worked with Gain on her previous solo single "Bloom"). The title song "Truth or Dare" deals with the topic of rumors and their effect on celebrities and their life. On August 6 it was announced that the group would be releasing a "greatest hits" album titled Special Moments, featuring several songs from the group's eight-year career, as well as a new track "Hush," which would serve as the title track to the album. Special Moments has a two-disc format, with the first disc featuring the group's lead singles and promotional tracks, and the second disc focusing mainly on their ballad tracks. The album was released on August 11, 2014. 2015: Departure from Nega Network, contract with Mystic Entertainment and Basic On September 4, 2015, members JeA, Narsha, and Miryo became free agents after deciding not to renew their contracts with Nega Network. On October 1, 2015, all members have signed with Mystic Entertainment. On October 26, Mystic released the first batch of teaser pictures through BEG's official Twitter account. Each girl was shown posing in a desert like landscape, while the concept gave off a futuristic and science fiction feeling. Simultaneously they announced the release date of their upcoming 6th studio album, which was November 5 at midnight. Another batch of teaser pictures was released a day later on the 27th October. The track list was released on October 28 and revealed ten brand new tracks, with Brave New World (신세계) being the title track and Warm Hole (웜홀) the second title track. Moreover, Jea and Miryo took part in the writing and composing several songs of the album. The title track Brave New World is writing by Kim Eana and composed by Lee Minsoo, who have also worked together on previous Brown Eyed Girls songs. The group appeared on the popular smartphone broadcast V App on the 29th where they stated that Brave New World was a choreography heavy song, couldn't actually reveal any more info about the album. During the course of the next few days they revealed teaser videos for non-title tracks, such as Ice Cream Time, Obsession and Wave. The teaser videos for the two title tracks Warm Hole and Brave New World were the last to be released. The girls held their first showcase of their careers called 'Comeback to the Basic' on November 4 where they also performed the side track Ice Cream Time. Youngest member Gain revealed during the showcase that she took part in choreographing Warm Hole and Brave New World, as well as forming the concept for their 6th album. The album and the music video for Brave New World got released on the same day. The reference to Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World became obvious, though the theme of music video and song do not refer to discouragement of critical thinking, abundance of material goods and other plots as the novel does. However, the futuristic theme got picked up through time traveling in the music video as well as the idea of a dystopian state through the lyrics. The Warm Hole MV got released on November 5 and sparked a controversy due to the heavy sexual lyrics and references in the MV to a female's reproductive organ. But still they performed Warm Hole on the 5th November on M!Countdown as well as on the 6th on Music Bank. 2016-present: Hiatus, 10th anniversary, Narsha's departure from APOP Entertainment, RE_vive In 2016, it was reported that Brown Eyed Girls were the first K-pop girl group without any member changes for 10 years. For their 10th anniversary, the group held a concert with Kero One and KRNFX on March 18 at the Feria (now known as Club Bound LA) in Koreatown, Los Angeles, CA. On December 14, 2018, it was announced that Narsha would be leaving Mystic Story and APOP Entertainment. However, she would continue to promote with Brown Eyed Girls in future activities. The statement also revealed the group was preparing for a new comeback. In September 2019, the group set up an official Instagram, where they announced their new album RE_vive released on October 28. Other musical efforts The group members have also been featured on several South Korean drama soundtracks including The Vineyard Man (Loving You), Queen of Games (), Dae Jo Yeong (), The Kingdom of The Winds (), My Fair Lady (I Love You), and The Slave Hunters (Stray Child). JeA also participated in OST songs even before Brown Eyed Girls' debut. Also, Miryo and JeA collaborated for the single "Love Is..." which was released in May 2010. They collaborated with 4minute in 2010 for a World Cup song. Ga-in also participated "4Tomorrow Project" with Kara's Seung Yeon, After School's Uee, and 4minute's Hyuna. She also released digital single "We Fell in Love" (우리 사랑하게 됐어요), composed by Jea, with then We Got Married partner 2AM Jo Kwon. The song was voted No. 1 in several music programs in January 2010 In 2011, Miryo and Sunny of Girls' Generation collaborated for the single "사랑해 사랑해 (I love you, I love you)" the song was released the same year. Ga-in collaborated with Park Jin-young for the song "Someone Else" shortly before his comeback. The music video and the full-length song were pre-released in April 2012. Ga-in featured in IU's "Everyone Has Secrets" from her album "Modern Times" released in October 2013 Brown Eyed Girls influence on PSY On April 13, 2013, hip hop artist PSY released a music video for his single "Gentleman", which featured dance moves borrowed heavily from the Abracadabra music video, as well as featuring Gain in the video. Discography Your Story (2006) Leave Ms. Kim (2007) Sound-G (2009) Sixth Sense (2011) Black Box (2013) Basic (2015) RE_Vive (2019) Awards References External links Official Website Sony Music Entertainment Japan artists Mystic Entertainment artists K-pop music groups South Korean contemporary R&B musical groups South Korean dance music groups South Korean girl groups Musical groups established in 2006 2006 establishments in South Korea Mnet Asian Music Award winners Musical quartets Korean Music Award winners Melon Music Award winners
true
[ "Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region", "\"May you live in interesting times\" is an English expression that is claimed to be a translation of a traditional Chinese curse. While seemingly a blessing, the expression is normally used ironically; life is better in \"uninteresting times\" of peace and tranquility than in \"interesting\" ones, which are usually times of trouble.\n\nDespite being so common in English as to be known as the \"Chinese curse\", the saying is apocryphal, and no actual Chinese source has ever been produced. The most likely connection to Chinese culture may be deduced from analysis of the late-19th-century speeches of Joseph Chamberlain, probably erroneously transmitted and revised through his son Austen Chamberlain.\n\nOrigins\nDespite being widely attributed as a Chinese curse, there is no known equivalent expression in Chinese. The nearest related Chinese expression translates as \"Better to be a dog in times of tranquility than a human in times of chaos.\" () The expression originates from Volume 3 of the 1627 short story collection by Feng Menglong, Stories to Awaken the World.\n\nEvidence that the phrase was in use as early as 1936 is provided in a memoir written by Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen, the British Ambassador to China in 1936 and 1937, and published in 1949. He mentions that before he left England for China in 1936, a friend told him of a Chinese curse, \"May you live in interesting times.\"\n\nThe phrase is again described as a \"Chinese curse\" in an article published in Child Study: A Journal of Parent Education in 1943.\n\nFrederic René Coudert Jr. also recounts having heard the phrase at the time:\n\nSome years ago, in 1936, I had to write to a very dear and honoured friend of mine, who has since died, Sir Austen Chamberlain, brother of the present Prime Minister, and I concluded my letter with a rather banal remark \"that we were living in an interesting age\". Evidently he read the whole letter, because by return mail he wrote to me and concluded as follows: \"Many years ago I learned from one of our diplomats in China that one of the principal Chinese curses heaped upon an enemy is, 'May you live in an interesting age. \"Surely\", he said, \"no age has been more fraught with insecurity than our own present time.\" That was three years ago.\n\n\"Chamberlain curse\" theory\nResearch by philologist Garson O'Toole shows a probable origin in the mind of Austen Chamberlain's father Joseph Chamberlain dating around the late-19th and early 20th centuries. Specifically, O'Toole cites the following statement Joseph made during a speech in 1898:\n\nI think that you will all agree that we are living in most interesting times. (Hear, hear.) I never remember myself a time in which our history was so full, in which day by day brought us new objects of interest, and, let me say also, new objects for anxiety. (Hear, hear.) [emphasis added]\n\nOver time, the Chamberlain family may have come to believe that the elder Chamberlain had not used his own phrase, but had repeated a phrase from Chinese.\n\n\"U-Turn\" by Eric Frank Russell \nThe supposed curse was described in a science-fiction story titled \"U-Turn\", credited to \"Duncan Munro\", in the April 1950 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. The text from the story is as follows:\n\nFor centuries the Chinese used an ancient curse: \"May you live in interesting times!\" It isn't a curse any more. It's a blessing. We're scientific and civilized. We've got so many rights and liberties and freedoms that one can yearn for chains for the sheer pleasure of busting them and shaking them off. Reckon life would be more livable if there were any chains left to bust.\n\n\"Duncan Munro\" was a pseudonym of Eric Frank Russell, Over the years since this has led many people to believe, almost certainly incorrectly, that Russell originated the myth.\n\nSee also\nChinese word for \"crisis\"\nInteresting Times, a Terry Pratchett novel\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n \n\nEnglish words and phrases\nUrban legends\nChinese folklore\nChinese words and phrases\nFakelore" ]
[ "Brown Eyed Girls", "Debut: Your Story and Leave Ms. Kim", "What was it about Your Story That was interesting?", "the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea on March 2, 2006, with the ballad track, \"Come Closer\" as their single.", "Was Come closer a hit single?", "The album was well received by critics but did not do as well as expected commercially.", "Was Leave Ms. Kim another album?", "After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (ddeonara miseugim),", "did Leave Ms. Kim have any singles released?", "which included their R&B title track \"You Got Me Fooled\" (neoege sogassda). Subsequent singles were \"Oasis", "Was there any other singles released from that album?", "and \"It's Mine\" (naeggeoya), a collaboration with fellow group SeeYa.", "did they go on tour with any of these two albums?", "I don't know.", "is there any interesting fact that you found interesting in this article?", "The first two albums contained typical R&B ballads which had been very popular in the K-pop scene. However, the commercial success was relatively higher" ]
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any other interesting facts?
8
Besides the commercial success of the R&B ballads in Your Story and Leave Ms. Kim, any other interesting facts from this article?
Brown Eyed Girls
The group's leader, Jea, was the one responsible of the group's creation and was actively involved in the selection of the other members, picking out Miryo, who was known as a great female rapper from the hip-hop community having previously worked with other fellow rappers, such as Gil Seong-joon from Leessang, and the main female rapper in well-known hip-hop group Honey Family. Narsha was chosen when Jea remembered her as a "talented singer" from her high school days, and Ga-in was selected by the three members after she was eliminated from "Battle Shin Hwa." According to Ga-in, she was crying in the bathroom after failing the audition, was found by composer Ahn Jung Hoon, and then was chosen through the audition in Brown Eyed Girls' company. Singer Yoari trained with the group until 2006, when it was decided she would be the lead singer for Sprinkler. The four members held several small size concerts, and was actually known as "Crescendo" before officially debuting as "Brown Eyed Girls." After more than 3 years of training in singing and holding several small size concerts, the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea on March 2, 2006, with the ballad track, "Come Closer" as their single. Debuting as a "faceless group" they did not appear on any visual media and chose to not even appear in their own music video. The album was well received by critics but did not do as well as expected commercially. The album was later re-released to include "Hold The Line" (which samples "Push The Button" by British girl band Sugababes and "Technologic" by Daft Punk). This song became a hit, further boosting the band's popularity. "Hold the Line" was disclosed across the world because it was included in the list of songs from the game Pump it Up. After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (ddeonara miseugim), which included their R&B title track "You Got Me Fooled" (neoege sogassda). Subsequent singles were "Oasis" (oasiseu) featuring Lee Jae Hoon and "It's Mine" (naeggeoya), a collaboration with fellow group SeeYa. During the break between their debut and second albums, the Brown Eyed Girls released their first digital single entitled "I Am a Summer" (naega yeoreumida), which was later included in their second LP. The first two albums contained typical R&B ballads which had been very popular in the K-pop scene. However, the commercial success was relatively higher in two singles between the first and second albums. Moreover, the second album containing "You Got Me Fooled" (neoege sogassda) was released at nearly the same time as Wonder Girls' "Tell Me" which received a nationwide success in Korea. Therefore, their second album was once again a commercial disappointment. At the same time, the general K-pop scene was changing from R&B ballads to dance music. CANNOTANSWER
Moreover, the second album containing "You Got Me Fooled" (neoege sogassda) was released at nearly the same time as Wonder Girls' "
The Brown Eyed Girls (Hangul: 브라운 아이드 걸스, Japanese: ブラウン・アイド・ガールズ), often abbreviated as B.E.G., BG, or 브아걸 (beu-ah-geol), is a South Korean girl group with four members: JeA, Miryo, Narsha, and Gain. They debuted as an R&B/Ballad vocal group with "Come Closer (다가와서)" in 2006 and have since performed in a variety of music genres. They rose to popularity in 2008 with "L.O.V.E" and their retro-dance number "How Come," and cemented their position in the K-pop world in 2009 with "Abracadabra", with its electronica-based genre, pioneering (albeit controversial) concept, along with its iconic and now globally recognized dance entitled 'The Arrogant Dance (시건방춤)'—successfully ingraining themselves into modern popular culture. The group started their venture into the Japanese music market with the release of a Japanese version of their massively successful 3rd Korean album, Sound-G, in late 2010, with full promotions being held throughout early 2011 under Sony Music Japan, where they gained moderate success. They returned to Korea in late 2011, to garner further success and critical acclaim with their 4th album and its title track "Sixth Sense". Other than promoting as a group, all of the members have released solo albums. History Debut: Your Story and Leave Ms. Kim The group's leader, Jea, was responsible for the group's creation and was actively involved in the selection of the other members, picking out Miryo, who was known as a capable female rapper from the hip-hop community having previously worked with other fellow rappers, such as Gil Seong-joon from Leessang, and the main female rapper in well-known hip-hop group Honey Family. Narsha was chosen when Jea remembered her as a "talented singer" from her high school days, and Ga-in was selected by the three members after she was eliminated from "Battle Shin Hwa." According to Ga-in, she was crying in the bathroom after failing the audition, was found by composer Ahn Jung Hoon, and then was chosen through the audition in Brown Eyed Girls' company. Singer Yoari trained with the group until 2006, when it was decided she would be the lead singer for Sprinkler. The four members held several small size concerts, and considered the names "Crescendo" or "Dark Angel" before officially debuting as "Brown Eyed Girls". After more than 3 years of training in singing and holding several small size concerts, the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea on March 2, 2006, with the ballad track, "Come Closer" as their single. Debuting as a "faceless group" they did not appear on any visual media and chose to not even appear in their own music video. The album was well received by critics but did not do as well as expected commercially. The album was later re-released to include "Hold The Line" (which samples "Push The Button" by British girl band Sugababes and "Technologic" by Daft Punk). This song became a hit, further boosting the band's popularity. "Hold the Line" was disclosed across the world because it was included in the list of songs from the game Pump it Up. After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (), which included their R&B title track "You Got Me Fooled" (). Subsequent singles were "Oasis" () featuring Lee Jae Hoon and "It's Mine" (), a collaboration with fellow group SeeYa. During the break between their debut and second albums, the Brown Eyed Girls released their first digital single entitled "I Am a Summer" (), which was later included in their second LP. The first two albums contained typical R&B ballads which had been very popular in the K-pop scene. However, the commercial success was relatively higher in two singles between the first and second albums. Moreover, the second album containing "You Got Me Fooled" () was released at nearly the same time as Wonder Girls' "Tell Me" which received a nationwide success in Korea. Therefore, their second album was once again a commercial disappointment. At the same time, the general K-pop scene was changing from R&B ballads to dance music. 2008: With Love and My Style mini albums In January 2008, Brown Eyed Girls came back with their first mini-album "With L.O.V.E." Their single, "L.O.V.E," was a departure from the B.E.G. sound that people had come to know but it became an instant success and Brown Eyed Girls scored their first No. 1 song and also one of the top hit songs in the first half of 2008. "Love Action" was the second single taken from the mini album. With Love also marked the group's second digital album (after "I Am a Summer"), though it was released in conventional CD format as well. After the release of their first mini-album, they could achieve the commercial success. "Love" was composed by Saint-Binary and Min-Soo Lee. Looking to strengthen their success, Brown Eyed Girls returned again in September and released their second mini-album "My Style." The title song "How Come" is a retro-style dance song that has become a popular trend. 2009–2010: Sound G, Japanese debut and solo activities On July 20, 2009, Brown Eyed Girls released their third full-length album, the double-disc Sound G. Even though "Candy Man" was the first song unveiled from the album, the first heavily promoted single was "Abracadabra," which was composed by Ji-nu and Min-Soo Lee. He composed the first part of "Abracadabra," and tried to compose the refrain part. However, he could not think of a good idea to make the refrain part. Therefore, Min-Soo Lee, who worked with BEG previously, helped and composed the refrain part of "Abracadabra." The release of this album also saw a shift in the image of the group, as the members redefined themselves as independent and mature city girls. Their music video for their title track sparked controversies. As the group is sporting a substantially more provocative visual style, criticism has arisen for the suggestive and erotic themes that the video presents. They later released a "stage version" of the video, which focuses only on the choreography. Nevertheless, even with all the controversies they took the Kpop world by storm, snagging awards at music shows and year end music awards. The sexy hip dance became a national dance with a lot of fellow celebrities doing a parody of it. Later on, the group revealed a repackaged version of the album titled Sign that included a new single, "Sign," along with "Drunk On Sleep" and a remix of their previous hit "Abracadabra." The repackaged album was released along with the music video for "Sign." The music video caused controversy because of its content: it featured scenes of violence and death, including the group members drowning in tanks of water. "Sign" has reached certain success, but it has not matched the success of the band's previous single "Abracadabra." The quartet has been readying for their Japan debut since signing with major record label Sony Music Japan International. In August 2010, the group re-released Sound G in Japanese to promote them in the country, which indeed marks the beginning of their Japanese promotions. After the success of the album, the members concentrated more on their individual activities juggling it with their overseas schedules. In July, Narsha released her first solo album 'NARSHA' to meet certain success, In August, JeA collaborated with Rattpoom, a Thai singer, in his song 'Face to Face'. Later in October, Gain also started her solo activities through her debut album Step 2/4 with a strong interpolation of tango music, featuring 'Irreversible' as the title track. On October 31, she clutched her first win (Mutizen song) in Inkigayo. In December, JeA worked on her ballad single 'Because You Sting' featuring G.O. of MBLAQ. Aside from that they also became part of popular variety shows and sitcom. Ga-in appeared on We Got Married with 2AM's Jo Kwon beginning in September 2009. The couple was very popular in Korea and still is one of the most recognized virtual couples in the country. Regrettably, their virtual marriage came to an end after 15 months in January 2011. She made her acting debut in MBC daily sitcom 'All My Love'. She was the female lead 'Gaumji'. However, owing to schedule conflict, her filming in sitcom ended in May 2011. Narsha has appeared on Invincible Youth (also known as G7) since October 2009. She is known on the show as "Sung In Dol" (Adult idol) due to her age difference with other members and her funny, but naughty reactions on the show. She was also one of the fixed cast member in SBS's variety show 'Heroes'. In April 2010, she DJed on "Pump up the Volume" on KBS Cool FM. Due to Brown Eyed Girls' overseas promotions Narsha decided to leave the show, with her last broadcast on December 28, 2010. The group successfully ended the year with a concert entitled "Hot Winter Party" held in the Ax-Korea Hall in Seoul. 2011: Japanese promotions and return to Korea with Sixth Sense On January 17, the Japanese music video for "Sign" was released. Its content is completely different from the original Korean version of the song, since the new version focuses on choreography while the original version did not feature any. The group started their promotions in Japan in early 2011. The girls originally planned to hold a concert in Japan in April but due to the Tōhoku earthquake in March, the concert was postponed to September instead. The band's first Japanese concert at C.C Lemon Hall in Shibuya took place on September 12. There, they unveiled one of their songs in their fourth album An Inconvenient Truth, which was composed by JeA and KZ. On September 6, NegaNetwork released an official comeback date, marking the end of their two-year hiatus. The group was expected to release a single on September 16 titled, "Hot Shot," followed by their fourth album and music video "Sixth Sense" on September 23. The concept for this album is “Resistance for freedom of expression through music via sixth sense.” Representatives of their agency, NegaNetwork explained, This album focuses not only on their singing and performance. The members hope to convey their thoughts to the public through music. Their title track is an expression of the limitations of experiencing music with only five senses, and it asks people to feel it instead with their sixth sense. The song itself is very free in style. They kicked off their promotional cycle officially with a double stage performance of "Hot Shot" and "Sixth Sense" on September 24 on Music Core. and grabbed the top spot on M! Countdown and Inkigayo. They also broke the jinx of going down a slump after a “big hit” as they won over their famed song Abracadabra, receiving higher digital sales for Sixth Sense. They concluded their "Sixth Sense" promotions after a month but it was immediately followed by the release of a repackage of their fourth studio album. On November 4, their repackage album was released. They followed up promotions with their ballad song 'Cleansing Cream'. They officially concluded their promotional activities on November 18 with a final performance on KBS's ‘Music Bank'. 2012: Solo activities, digital single and Tonight 37.2 °C The members branched out to solo activities once again. Starting with Miryo, releasing her self- produced solo album, MIRYO a.k.a. JOHONEY on February 1. She had a rocky start with two of the songs from her album banned in broadcasting stations. Namely, “Revenger,” which according to SBS officials has lyrics depicting violence and the title track “Dirty” for the lyrics of the song, containing the word, “cross-eyed” which could be perceived as a derogatory term for the disabled thus forcing Miryo to change the lyrics to be able to perform on music shows. On TV, Narsha made her acting debut with MBC's drama "Light and Shadow" playing the role of an aspiring singer Lee Jung Ja and followed by Ooh La La Couple as a goddess. The other members participated on reality programs. Gain became a CEO of a public relations company called ‘Mental Breakdown' particularly for the show, "OnStyle's Launch My Life – Ga In's Fashion King." While Miryo was included in Mnet's hiphop program Show me the Money, collaborating with a rookie rapper to compete against other contestants for the top spot. Jea also became a fixed member of Immortal Songs 2 but she later left the show due to her solo album promotions and was replaced by Narsha which later on left the show also due to her musical "When A Man Loves." On July 17, BEG released their digital single "The Original" of the hybrid soul genre – the genre the girls have originally debuted with. It has two tracks Come with me and the title track “A Midsummer Night's Dream” meant to be a gift to the fans who are still supporting the group despite it not being active at the moment. It was produced and composed by JeA. No promotional activities were done. Gain dropped her second mini-album on October 5 "Talk About S" with the title track Bloom. The title track and won the top spot in M! Countdown. JeA also pre-released the track "Let's Hug" on December 28 from her upcoming solo album. Before the year ended, fans of Brown Eyed Girls were finally able to see all four members up on stage together once again for their 19+ Rated ‘Tonight 37.2 °C‘ concert. 2013: Black Box and sub-unit M&N Member JeA started the year by releasing her solo album "Just JeA," showing her prowess as a vocalist and also a producer. Gain also surprised everyone by releasing a duet album on April 7 with label-mate Cho Hyung Woo, titled "Romantic Spring." The album contains warm, beautiful love songs that perfectly fit the season. On July 4, a teaser image was released via Facebook and Twitter for Brown Eyed Girls' long-awaited comeback. July 9 marked the release of a digital-single: "Recipe (레시피)." Renowned Korean Hip-Hop producer Primary produced the track "Recipe," which served as a pre-release to the upcoming album, with Miryo and Dynamic Duo's Choiza writing the lyrics for the song. After the positive reception of their digital single from the public, they continued by releasing their 5th studio album, Black Box, on July 29, with "KILL BILL" being announced as the title track, being composed by Lee Gyu Hyun and member JeA. The music video teaser for "KILL BILL" was released on July 25, with the actual music video being revealed later, on July 28, followed by a special dance version on August 2. They performed their comeback stage on SBS' Inkigayo on July 28, as the opening act for the episode, performing pre-release single "Recipe (레시피)" before their album title-track later in the show. They continued their promotions for the album throughout various music programmes (with the exception of KBS-run programmes for undisclosed reasons) until August 25 where they brought them to a close. Youngest member Gain also revealed in an interview that she will release another solo album after the Kill Bill promotions. In October 2013, Ga-In also broke onto the CPOP scene, featuring in Show Lo's music video for "愛投羅網 (Cast The Net Of Love)." On November 4, multiple sources in the entertainment field revealed that Miryo and Narsha will be forming a sub-unit and plan on releasing music for the unit in mid-November. While Brown Eyed Girls members have been well known to venture into solo activities, this is the first time in which two members will be working together as one team. On November 11, M&N released their first single, titled "Tonight (오늘밤)," which included two versions of the same track (one Korean, one English version), with the lyrical content to the first version being self-composed between the two members - on a later date during an interview, both members of the sub-unit stated that they had plans to release an album sometime within the next year, with it to feature a strong Hip Hop sound complete with promotional activities. 2014: Special Moments compilation album At the end of January 2014, Gain was revealed to be making a comeback with her 3rd mini album Truth or Dare on February 6, releasing a teaser picture along with the news. On January 22 she released a "mysterious and sexy" teaser still-cut from her pre-release track 'Fxxk U'. She later released a controversial teaser for the song showing two silhouettes behind a shower curtain and Gain saying "Fuck you." Information released with the teaser said the song would feature singer Bumkey and be "simple yet melodious" and feature a classical guitar. The song and music video were released on January 27. The music video portrayed Gain and actor Joo Ji Hoon in a physically and emotionally abusive relationship. The song was created by lyricist Kim Eana and composer Lee Minsoo (who also worked with Gain on her previous solo single "Bloom"). The title song "Truth or Dare" deals with the topic of rumors and their effect on celebrities and their life. On August 6 it was announced that the group would be releasing a "greatest hits" album titled Special Moments, featuring several songs from the group's eight-year career, as well as a new track "Hush," which would serve as the title track to the album. Special Moments has a two-disc format, with the first disc featuring the group's lead singles and promotional tracks, and the second disc focusing mainly on their ballad tracks. The album was released on August 11, 2014. 2015: Departure from Nega Network, contract with Mystic Entertainment and Basic On September 4, 2015, members JeA, Narsha, and Miryo became free agents after deciding not to renew their contracts with Nega Network. On October 1, 2015, all members have signed with Mystic Entertainment. On October 26, Mystic released the first batch of teaser pictures through BEG's official Twitter account. Each girl was shown posing in a desert like landscape, while the concept gave off a futuristic and science fiction feeling. Simultaneously they announced the release date of their upcoming 6th studio album, which was November 5 at midnight. Another batch of teaser pictures was released a day later on the 27th October. The track list was released on October 28 and revealed ten brand new tracks, with Brave New World (신세계) being the title track and Warm Hole (웜홀) the second title track. Moreover, Jea and Miryo took part in the writing and composing several songs of the album. The title track Brave New World is writing by Kim Eana and composed by Lee Minsoo, who have also worked together on previous Brown Eyed Girls songs. The group appeared on the popular smartphone broadcast V App on the 29th where they stated that Brave New World was a choreography heavy song, couldn't actually reveal any more info about the album. During the course of the next few days they revealed teaser videos for non-title tracks, such as Ice Cream Time, Obsession and Wave. The teaser videos for the two title tracks Warm Hole and Brave New World were the last to be released. The girls held their first showcase of their careers called 'Comeback to the Basic' on November 4 where they also performed the side track Ice Cream Time. Youngest member Gain revealed during the showcase that she took part in choreographing Warm Hole and Brave New World, as well as forming the concept for their 6th album. The album and the music video for Brave New World got released on the same day. The reference to Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World became obvious, though the theme of music video and song do not refer to discouragement of critical thinking, abundance of material goods and other plots as the novel does. However, the futuristic theme got picked up through time traveling in the music video as well as the idea of a dystopian state through the lyrics. The Warm Hole MV got released on November 5 and sparked a controversy due to the heavy sexual lyrics and references in the MV to a female's reproductive organ. But still they performed Warm Hole on the 5th November on M!Countdown as well as on the 6th on Music Bank. 2016-present: Hiatus, 10th anniversary, Narsha's departure from APOP Entertainment, RE_vive In 2016, it was reported that Brown Eyed Girls were the first K-pop girl group without any member changes for 10 years. For their 10th anniversary, the group held a concert with Kero One and KRNFX on March 18 at the Feria (now known as Club Bound LA) in Koreatown, Los Angeles, CA. On December 14, 2018, it was announced that Narsha would be leaving Mystic Story and APOP Entertainment. However, she would continue to promote with Brown Eyed Girls in future activities. The statement also revealed the group was preparing for a new comeback. In September 2019, the group set up an official Instagram, where they announced their new album RE_vive released on October 28. Other musical efforts The group members have also been featured on several South Korean drama soundtracks including The Vineyard Man (Loving You), Queen of Games (), Dae Jo Yeong (), The Kingdom of The Winds (), My Fair Lady (I Love You), and The Slave Hunters (Stray Child). JeA also participated in OST songs even before Brown Eyed Girls' debut. Also, Miryo and JeA collaborated for the single "Love Is..." which was released in May 2010. They collaborated with 4minute in 2010 for a World Cup song. Ga-in also participated "4Tomorrow Project" with Kara's Seung Yeon, After School's Uee, and 4minute's Hyuna. She also released digital single "We Fell in Love" (우리 사랑하게 됐어요), composed by Jea, with then We Got Married partner 2AM Jo Kwon. The song was voted No. 1 in several music programs in January 2010 In 2011, Miryo and Sunny of Girls' Generation collaborated for the single "사랑해 사랑해 (I love you, I love you)" the song was released the same year. Ga-in collaborated with Park Jin-young for the song "Someone Else" shortly before his comeback. The music video and the full-length song were pre-released in April 2012. Ga-in featured in IU's "Everyone Has Secrets" from her album "Modern Times" released in October 2013 Brown Eyed Girls influence on PSY On April 13, 2013, hip hop artist PSY released a music video for his single "Gentleman", which featured dance moves borrowed heavily from the Abracadabra music video, as well as featuring Gain in the video. Discography Your Story (2006) Leave Ms. Kim (2007) Sound-G (2009) Sixth Sense (2011) Black Box (2013) Basic (2015) RE_Vive (2019) Awards References External links Official Website Sony Music Entertainment Japan artists Mystic Entertainment artists K-pop music groups South Korean contemporary R&B musical groups South Korean dance music groups South Korean girl groups Musical groups established in 2006 2006 establishments in South Korea Mnet Asian Music Award winners Musical quartets Korean Music Award winners Melon Music Award winners
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[ "1,227 QI Facts To Blow Your Socks Off is the sixth in a series of books based on the intellectual British panel game QI, written by series-creator John Lloyd, director of research John Mitchinson, and chief researcher James Harkin. Published on 1 November 2012 (9 September 2013 in the US), it is a trivia book containing 1,227 facts collected during the making of the series, which had been ten years in the making at the time of publication.\n\nPublication history\nLloyd said in an interview with The Daily Telegraph: \"This book is like a set of haiku. I think it's the best thing we've ever done. It has purity and simplicity.\"\n\nStructure\nThe book contains lists of facts, normally four per page. All the sources for the facts are listed online on the QI website. Other than Lloyd, Mitchinson and Harkin, credit for authorship is also given to QI researchers (also known as \"Elves\") Anne Miller, Andy Murray and Alex Bell.\n\nThe reason for the number of facts being 1,227, according to Lloyd and Mitchinson, was that they had originally planned to have 1,000 facts and when they wrote down the list containing all the facts that would go in the book, they discovered that they had gone past the number, to 1,227.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nQI homepage - List of sources\n US edition of 1,227 Quite Interesting Facts to Blow Your Socks Off\n\nBooks based on QI\nTrivia books\nBritish books\nBooks by John Lloyd (producer)\n2012 non-fiction books\nFaber and Faber books", "Attorney General v Edison Telephone Co of London Ltd (1880–81) LR 6 QBD 244 is an interesting English law case on the application of the old Telegraph Act 1869. It held that the monopoly of the Post Office under the statute extended to telephone companies.\n\nFacts\nThe Attorney General claimed the company, formed in 1879 to produce telephones according to two new patents, would be breaching the Postmaster General’s monopoly on the telegraph.\n\nJudgment\nStephen J and Pollock B gave judgment. They held the Act covered ‘communications by any wire and apparatus connected therewith used for telegraphic communication, or by any other apparatus for transmitting messages or other communications by means of electric signals’ (249) This meant that the telephone companies were subject to the licensing and monopoly provisions of the Act. It effectively allowed the Post Office to take over the businesses, which had acted without an authority.\n\nSee also\nUK enterprise law\nTelegraph Act 1868\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\nUnited Kingdom administrative case law\n1880 in case law\n1880 in British law\nCourt of King's Bench (England) cases" ]
[ "Brown Eyed Girls", "Debut: Your Story and Leave Ms. Kim", "What was it about Your Story That was interesting?", "the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea on March 2, 2006, with the ballad track, \"Come Closer\" as their single.", "Was Come closer a hit single?", "The album was well received by critics but did not do as well as expected commercially.", "Was Leave Ms. Kim another album?", "After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (ddeonara miseugim),", "did Leave Ms. Kim have any singles released?", "which included their R&B title track \"You Got Me Fooled\" (neoege sogassda). Subsequent singles were \"Oasis", "Was there any other singles released from that album?", "and \"It's Mine\" (naeggeoya), a collaboration with fellow group SeeYa.", "did they go on tour with any of these two albums?", "I don't know.", "is there any interesting fact that you found interesting in this article?", "The first two albums contained typical R&B ballads which had been very popular in the K-pop scene. However, the commercial success was relatively higher", "any other interesting facts?", "Moreover, the second album containing \"You Got Me Fooled\" (neoege sogassda) was released at nearly the same time as Wonder Girls' \"" ]
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what was your favorite fact of the article?
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what was your favorite fact of the article?
Brown Eyed Girls
The group's leader, Jea, was the one responsible of the group's creation and was actively involved in the selection of the other members, picking out Miryo, who was known as a great female rapper from the hip-hop community having previously worked with other fellow rappers, such as Gil Seong-joon from Leessang, and the main female rapper in well-known hip-hop group Honey Family. Narsha was chosen when Jea remembered her as a "talented singer" from her high school days, and Ga-in was selected by the three members after she was eliminated from "Battle Shin Hwa." According to Ga-in, she was crying in the bathroom after failing the audition, was found by composer Ahn Jung Hoon, and then was chosen through the audition in Brown Eyed Girls' company. Singer Yoari trained with the group until 2006, when it was decided she would be the lead singer for Sprinkler. The four members held several small size concerts, and was actually known as "Crescendo" before officially debuting as "Brown Eyed Girls." After more than 3 years of training in singing and holding several small size concerts, the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea on March 2, 2006, with the ballad track, "Come Closer" as their single. Debuting as a "faceless group" they did not appear on any visual media and chose to not even appear in their own music video. The album was well received by critics but did not do as well as expected commercially. The album was later re-released to include "Hold The Line" (which samples "Push The Button" by British girl band Sugababes and "Technologic" by Daft Punk). This song became a hit, further boosting the band's popularity. "Hold the Line" was disclosed across the world because it was included in the list of songs from the game Pump it Up. After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (ddeonara miseugim), which included their R&B title track "You Got Me Fooled" (neoege sogassda). Subsequent singles were "Oasis" (oasiseu) featuring Lee Jae Hoon and "It's Mine" (naeggeoya), a collaboration with fellow group SeeYa. During the break between their debut and second albums, the Brown Eyed Girls released their first digital single entitled "I Am a Summer" (naega yeoreumida), which was later included in their second LP. The first two albums contained typical R&B ballads which had been very popular in the K-pop scene. However, the commercial success was relatively higher in two singles between the first and second albums. Moreover, the second album containing "You Got Me Fooled" (neoege sogassda) was released at nearly the same time as Wonder Girls' "Tell Me" which received a nationwide success in Korea. Therefore, their second album was once again a commercial disappointment. At the same time, the general K-pop scene was changing from R&B ballads to dance music. CANNOTANSWER
The group's leader, Jea, was the one responsible of the group's creation and was actively involved in the selection of the other members, picking out Miryo,
The Brown Eyed Girls (Hangul: 브라운 아이드 걸스, Japanese: ブラウン・アイド・ガールズ), often abbreviated as B.E.G., BG, or 브아걸 (beu-ah-geol), is a South Korean girl group with four members: JeA, Miryo, Narsha, and Gain. They debuted as an R&B/Ballad vocal group with "Come Closer (다가와서)" in 2006 and have since performed in a variety of music genres. They rose to popularity in 2008 with "L.O.V.E" and their retro-dance number "How Come," and cemented their position in the K-pop world in 2009 with "Abracadabra", with its electronica-based genre, pioneering (albeit controversial) concept, along with its iconic and now globally recognized dance entitled 'The Arrogant Dance (시건방춤)'—successfully ingraining themselves into modern popular culture. The group started their venture into the Japanese music market with the release of a Japanese version of their massively successful 3rd Korean album, Sound-G, in late 2010, with full promotions being held throughout early 2011 under Sony Music Japan, where they gained moderate success. They returned to Korea in late 2011, to garner further success and critical acclaim with their 4th album and its title track "Sixth Sense". Other than promoting as a group, all of the members have released solo albums. History Debut: Your Story and Leave Ms. Kim The group's leader, Jea, was responsible for the group's creation and was actively involved in the selection of the other members, picking out Miryo, who was known as a capable female rapper from the hip-hop community having previously worked with other fellow rappers, such as Gil Seong-joon from Leessang, and the main female rapper in well-known hip-hop group Honey Family. Narsha was chosen when Jea remembered her as a "talented singer" from her high school days, and Ga-in was selected by the three members after she was eliminated from "Battle Shin Hwa." According to Ga-in, she was crying in the bathroom after failing the audition, was found by composer Ahn Jung Hoon, and then was chosen through the audition in Brown Eyed Girls' company. Singer Yoari trained with the group until 2006, when it was decided she would be the lead singer for Sprinkler. The four members held several small size concerts, and considered the names "Crescendo" or "Dark Angel" before officially debuting as "Brown Eyed Girls". After more than 3 years of training in singing and holding several small size concerts, the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea on March 2, 2006, with the ballad track, "Come Closer" as their single. Debuting as a "faceless group" they did not appear on any visual media and chose to not even appear in their own music video. The album was well received by critics but did not do as well as expected commercially. The album was later re-released to include "Hold The Line" (which samples "Push The Button" by British girl band Sugababes and "Technologic" by Daft Punk). This song became a hit, further boosting the band's popularity. "Hold the Line" was disclosed across the world because it was included in the list of songs from the game Pump it Up. After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (), which included their R&B title track "You Got Me Fooled" (). Subsequent singles were "Oasis" () featuring Lee Jae Hoon and "It's Mine" (), a collaboration with fellow group SeeYa. During the break between their debut and second albums, the Brown Eyed Girls released their first digital single entitled "I Am a Summer" (), which was later included in their second LP. The first two albums contained typical R&B ballads which had been very popular in the K-pop scene. However, the commercial success was relatively higher in two singles between the first and second albums. Moreover, the second album containing "You Got Me Fooled" () was released at nearly the same time as Wonder Girls' "Tell Me" which received a nationwide success in Korea. Therefore, their second album was once again a commercial disappointment. At the same time, the general K-pop scene was changing from R&B ballads to dance music. 2008: With Love and My Style mini albums In January 2008, Brown Eyed Girls came back with their first mini-album "With L.O.V.E." Their single, "L.O.V.E," was a departure from the B.E.G. sound that people had come to know but it became an instant success and Brown Eyed Girls scored their first No. 1 song and also one of the top hit songs in the first half of 2008. "Love Action" was the second single taken from the mini album. With Love also marked the group's second digital album (after "I Am a Summer"), though it was released in conventional CD format as well. After the release of their first mini-album, they could achieve the commercial success. "Love" was composed by Saint-Binary and Min-Soo Lee. Looking to strengthen their success, Brown Eyed Girls returned again in September and released their second mini-album "My Style." The title song "How Come" is a retro-style dance song that has become a popular trend. 2009–2010: Sound G, Japanese debut and solo activities On July 20, 2009, Brown Eyed Girls released their third full-length album, the double-disc Sound G. Even though "Candy Man" was the first song unveiled from the album, the first heavily promoted single was "Abracadabra," which was composed by Ji-nu and Min-Soo Lee. He composed the first part of "Abracadabra," and tried to compose the refrain part. However, he could not think of a good idea to make the refrain part. Therefore, Min-Soo Lee, who worked with BEG previously, helped and composed the refrain part of "Abracadabra." The release of this album also saw a shift in the image of the group, as the members redefined themselves as independent and mature city girls. Their music video for their title track sparked controversies. As the group is sporting a substantially more provocative visual style, criticism has arisen for the suggestive and erotic themes that the video presents. They later released a "stage version" of the video, which focuses only on the choreography. Nevertheless, even with all the controversies they took the Kpop world by storm, snagging awards at music shows and year end music awards. The sexy hip dance became a national dance with a lot of fellow celebrities doing a parody of it. Later on, the group revealed a repackaged version of the album titled Sign that included a new single, "Sign," along with "Drunk On Sleep" and a remix of their previous hit "Abracadabra." The repackaged album was released along with the music video for "Sign." The music video caused controversy because of its content: it featured scenes of violence and death, including the group members drowning in tanks of water. "Sign" has reached certain success, but it has not matched the success of the band's previous single "Abracadabra." The quartet has been readying for their Japan debut since signing with major record label Sony Music Japan International. In August 2010, the group re-released Sound G in Japanese to promote them in the country, which indeed marks the beginning of their Japanese promotions. After the success of the album, the members concentrated more on their individual activities juggling it with their overseas schedules. In July, Narsha released her first solo album 'NARSHA' to meet certain success, In August, JeA collaborated with Rattpoom, a Thai singer, in his song 'Face to Face'. Later in October, Gain also started her solo activities through her debut album Step 2/4 with a strong interpolation of tango music, featuring 'Irreversible' as the title track. On October 31, she clutched her first win (Mutizen song) in Inkigayo. In December, JeA worked on her ballad single 'Because You Sting' featuring G.O. of MBLAQ. Aside from that they also became part of popular variety shows and sitcom. Ga-in appeared on We Got Married with 2AM's Jo Kwon beginning in September 2009. The couple was very popular in Korea and still is one of the most recognized virtual couples in the country. Regrettably, their virtual marriage came to an end after 15 months in January 2011. She made her acting debut in MBC daily sitcom 'All My Love'. She was the female lead 'Gaumji'. However, owing to schedule conflict, her filming in sitcom ended in May 2011. Narsha has appeared on Invincible Youth (also known as G7) since October 2009. She is known on the show as "Sung In Dol" (Adult idol) due to her age difference with other members and her funny, but naughty reactions on the show. She was also one of the fixed cast member in SBS's variety show 'Heroes'. In April 2010, she DJed on "Pump up the Volume" on KBS Cool FM. Due to Brown Eyed Girls' overseas promotions Narsha decided to leave the show, with her last broadcast on December 28, 2010. The group successfully ended the year with a concert entitled "Hot Winter Party" held in the Ax-Korea Hall in Seoul. 2011: Japanese promotions and return to Korea with Sixth Sense On January 17, the Japanese music video for "Sign" was released. Its content is completely different from the original Korean version of the song, since the new version focuses on choreography while the original version did not feature any. The group started their promotions in Japan in early 2011. The girls originally planned to hold a concert in Japan in April but due to the Tōhoku earthquake in March, the concert was postponed to September instead. The band's first Japanese concert at C.C Lemon Hall in Shibuya took place on September 12. There, they unveiled one of their songs in their fourth album An Inconvenient Truth, which was composed by JeA and KZ. On September 6, NegaNetwork released an official comeback date, marking the end of their two-year hiatus. The group was expected to release a single on September 16 titled, "Hot Shot," followed by their fourth album and music video "Sixth Sense" on September 23. The concept for this album is “Resistance for freedom of expression through music via sixth sense.” Representatives of their agency, NegaNetwork explained, This album focuses not only on their singing and performance. The members hope to convey their thoughts to the public through music. Their title track is an expression of the limitations of experiencing music with only five senses, and it asks people to feel it instead with their sixth sense. The song itself is very free in style. They kicked off their promotional cycle officially with a double stage performance of "Hot Shot" and "Sixth Sense" on September 24 on Music Core. and grabbed the top spot on M! Countdown and Inkigayo. They also broke the jinx of going down a slump after a “big hit” as they won over their famed song Abracadabra, receiving higher digital sales for Sixth Sense. They concluded their "Sixth Sense" promotions after a month but it was immediately followed by the release of a repackage of their fourth studio album. On November 4, their repackage album was released. They followed up promotions with their ballad song 'Cleansing Cream'. They officially concluded their promotional activities on November 18 with a final performance on KBS's ‘Music Bank'. 2012: Solo activities, digital single and Tonight 37.2 °C The members branched out to solo activities once again. Starting with Miryo, releasing her self- produced solo album, MIRYO a.k.a. JOHONEY on February 1. She had a rocky start with two of the songs from her album banned in broadcasting stations. Namely, “Revenger,” which according to SBS officials has lyrics depicting violence and the title track “Dirty” for the lyrics of the song, containing the word, “cross-eyed” which could be perceived as a derogatory term for the disabled thus forcing Miryo to change the lyrics to be able to perform on music shows. On TV, Narsha made her acting debut with MBC's drama "Light and Shadow" playing the role of an aspiring singer Lee Jung Ja and followed by Ooh La La Couple as a goddess. The other members participated on reality programs. Gain became a CEO of a public relations company called ‘Mental Breakdown' particularly for the show, "OnStyle's Launch My Life – Ga In's Fashion King." While Miryo was included in Mnet's hiphop program Show me the Money, collaborating with a rookie rapper to compete against other contestants for the top spot. Jea also became a fixed member of Immortal Songs 2 but she later left the show due to her solo album promotions and was replaced by Narsha which later on left the show also due to her musical "When A Man Loves." On July 17, BEG released their digital single "The Original" of the hybrid soul genre – the genre the girls have originally debuted with. It has two tracks Come with me and the title track “A Midsummer Night's Dream” meant to be a gift to the fans who are still supporting the group despite it not being active at the moment. It was produced and composed by JeA. No promotional activities were done. Gain dropped her second mini-album on October 5 "Talk About S" with the title track Bloom. The title track and won the top spot in M! Countdown. JeA also pre-released the track "Let's Hug" on December 28 from her upcoming solo album. Before the year ended, fans of Brown Eyed Girls were finally able to see all four members up on stage together once again for their 19+ Rated ‘Tonight 37.2 °C‘ concert. 2013: Black Box and sub-unit M&N Member JeA started the year by releasing her solo album "Just JeA," showing her prowess as a vocalist and also a producer. Gain also surprised everyone by releasing a duet album on April 7 with label-mate Cho Hyung Woo, titled "Romantic Spring." The album contains warm, beautiful love songs that perfectly fit the season. On July 4, a teaser image was released via Facebook and Twitter for Brown Eyed Girls' long-awaited comeback. July 9 marked the release of a digital-single: "Recipe (레시피)." Renowned Korean Hip-Hop producer Primary produced the track "Recipe," which served as a pre-release to the upcoming album, with Miryo and Dynamic Duo's Choiza writing the lyrics for the song. After the positive reception of their digital single from the public, they continued by releasing their 5th studio album, Black Box, on July 29, with "KILL BILL" being announced as the title track, being composed by Lee Gyu Hyun and member JeA. The music video teaser for "KILL BILL" was released on July 25, with the actual music video being revealed later, on July 28, followed by a special dance version on August 2. They performed their comeback stage on SBS' Inkigayo on July 28, as the opening act for the episode, performing pre-release single "Recipe (레시피)" before their album title-track later in the show. They continued their promotions for the album throughout various music programmes (with the exception of KBS-run programmes for undisclosed reasons) until August 25 where they brought them to a close. Youngest member Gain also revealed in an interview that she will release another solo album after the Kill Bill promotions. In October 2013, Ga-In also broke onto the CPOP scene, featuring in Show Lo's music video for "愛投羅網 (Cast The Net Of Love)." On November 4, multiple sources in the entertainment field revealed that Miryo and Narsha will be forming a sub-unit and plan on releasing music for the unit in mid-November. While Brown Eyed Girls members have been well known to venture into solo activities, this is the first time in which two members will be working together as one team. On November 11, M&N released their first single, titled "Tonight (오늘밤)," which included two versions of the same track (one Korean, one English version), with the lyrical content to the first version being self-composed between the two members - on a later date during an interview, both members of the sub-unit stated that they had plans to release an album sometime within the next year, with it to feature a strong Hip Hop sound complete with promotional activities. 2014: Special Moments compilation album At the end of January 2014, Gain was revealed to be making a comeback with her 3rd mini album Truth or Dare on February 6, releasing a teaser picture along with the news. On January 22 she released a "mysterious and sexy" teaser still-cut from her pre-release track 'Fxxk U'. She later released a controversial teaser for the song showing two silhouettes behind a shower curtain and Gain saying "Fuck you." Information released with the teaser said the song would feature singer Bumkey and be "simple yet melodious" and feature a classical guitar. The song and music video were released on January 27. The music video portrayed Gain and actor Joo Ji Hoon in a physically and emotionally abusive relationship. The song was created by lyricist Kim Eana and composer Lee Minsoo (who also worked with Gain on her previous solo single "Bloom"). The title song "Truth or Dare" deals with the topic of rumors and their effect on celebrities and their life. On August 6 it was announced that the group would be releasing a "greatest hits" album titled Special Moments, featuring several songs from the group's eight-year career, as well as a new track "Hush," which would serve as the title track to the album. Special Moments has a two-disc format, with the first disc featuring the group's lead singles and promotional tracks, and the second disc focusing mainly on their ballad tracks. The album was released on August 11, 2014. 2015: Departure from Nega Network, contract with Mystic Entertainment and Basic On September 4, 2015, members JeA, Narsha, and Miryo became free agents after deciding not to renew their contracts with Nega Network. On October 1, 2015, all members have signed with Mystic Entertainment. On October 26, Mystic released the first batch of teaser pictures through BEG's official Twitter account. Each girl was shown posing in a desert like landscape, while the concept gave off a futuristic and science fiction feeling. Simultaneously they announced the release date of their upcoming 6th studio album, which was November 5 at midnight. Another batch of teaser pictures was released a day later on the 27th October. The track list was released on October 28 and revealed ten brand new tracks, with Brave New World (신세계) being the title track and Warm Hole (웜홀) the second title track. Moreover, Jea and Miryo took part in the writing and composing several songs of the album. The title track Brave New World is writing by Kim Eana and composed by Lee Minsoo, who have also worked together on previous Brown Eyed Girls songs. The group appeared on the popular smartphone broadcast V App on the 29th where they stated that Brave New World was a choreography heavy song, couldn't actually reveal any more info about the album. During the course of the next few days they revealed teaser videos for non-title tracks, such as Ice Cream Time, Obsession and Wave. The teaser videos for the two title tracks Warm Hole and Brave New World were the last to be released. The girls held their first showcase of their careers called 'Comeback to the Basic' on November 4 where they also performed the side track Ice Cream Time. Youngest member Gain revealed during the showcase that she took part in choreographing Warm Hole and Brave New World, as well as forming the concept for their 6th album. The album and the music video for Brave New World got released on the same day. The reference to Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World became obvious, though the theme of music video and song do not refer to discouragement of critical thinking, abundance of material goods and other plots as the novel does. However, the futuristic theme got picked up through time traveling in the music video as well as the idea of a dystopian state through the lyrics. The Warm Hole MV got released on November 5 and sparked a controversy due to the heavy sexual lyrics and references in the MV to a female's reproductive organ. But still they performed Warm Hole on the 5th November on M!Countdown as well as on the 6th on Music Bank. 2016-present: Hiatus, 10th anniversary, Narsha's departure from APOP Entertainment, RE_vive In 2016, it was reported that Brown Eyed Girls were the first K-pop girl group without any member changes for 10 years. For their 10th anniversary, the group held a concert with Kero One and KRNFX on March 18 at the Feria (now known as Club Bound LA) in Koreatown, Los Angeles, CA. On December 14, 2018, it was announced that Narsha would be leaving Mystic Story and APOP Entertainment. However, she would continue to promote with Brown Eyed Girls in future activities. The statement also revealed the group was preparing for a new comeback. In September 2019, the group set up an official Instagram, where they announced their new album RE_vive released on October 28. Other musical efforts The group members have also been featured on several South Korean drama soundtracks including The Vineyard Man (Loving You), Queen of Games (), Dae Jo Yeong (), The Kingdom of The Winds (), My Fair Lady (I Love You), and The Slave Hunters (Stray Child). JeA also participated in OST songs even before Brown Eyed Girls' debut. Also, Miryo and JeA collaborated for the single "Love Is..." which was released in May 2010. They collaborated with 4minute in 2010 for a World Cup song. Ga-in also participated "4Tomorrow Project" with Kara's Seung Yeon, After School's Uee, and 4minute's Hyuna. She also released digital single "We Fell in Love" (우리 사랑하게 됐어요), composed by Jea, with then We Got Married partner 2AM Jo Kwon. The song was voted No. 1 in several music programs in January 2010 In 2011, Miryo and Sunny of Girls' Generation collaborated for the single "사랑해 사랑해 (I love you, I love you)" the song was released the same year. Ga-in collaborated with Park Jin-young for the song "Someone Else" shortly before his comeback. The music video and the full-length song were pre-released in April 2012. Ga-in featured in IU's "Everyone Has Secrets" from her album "Modern Times" released in October 2013 Brown Eyed Girls influence on PSY On April 13, 2013, hip hop artist PSY released a music video for his single "Gentleman", which featured dance moves borrowed heavily from the Abracadabra music video, as well as featuring Gain in the video. Discography Your Story (2006) Leave Ms. Kim (2007) Sound-G (2009) Sixth Sense (2011) Black Box (2013) Basic (2015) RE_Vive (2019) Awards References External links Official Website Sony Music Entertainment Japan artists Mystic Entertainment artists K-pop music groups South Korean contemporary R&B musical groups South Korean dance music groups South Korean girl groups Musical groups established in 2006 2006 establishments in South Korea Mnet Asian Music Award winners Musical quartets Korean Music Award winners Melon Music Award winners
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[ "Cookie Cutter is the fourth official studio album by recording artist Jim Bianco.\n\nReleased October 1, 2013, this album was created as a pledge sponsored gift for fans participating in Bianco's 2010 Kickstarter campaign. Over the course of the 45-day campaign, Bianco was able to raise $31,500 to launch the release of his 2011 album LOUDMOUTH. Bianco's campaign success was featured in an article by Shanna Schwarze at CNN.com.\nFans that pledged $500 or more to Bianco's Kickstarter campaign were given a questionnaire, which Bianco used to personalize a song about that person. \"Cookie Cutter\" is the result of this campaign gift, with proceeds of the sale given to charity benefiting veterans.\n\nBianco hosted a live concert performance at the Hudson Theater in Hollywood, CA in honor of the release on October 1, 2014. \nOn October 2, 2013, Audie Cornish of NPR’s All Things Considered featured Bianco and his process of creating Cookie Cutter.\n\nTrack listing\nAll songs written by Jim Bianco\n\"Apache\"–4:10\n\"Kilpatrick Man\"– 2:50\n\"California\"– 3:08\n\"BTO\" –5:28\n\"Jane\"–4:10\n\"Blue Subaru\"– 4:18\n\"Indiana Ballerina\"–3:17\n\"Hey Princess\"– 4:23\n\"Golden Rule\"– 4:04\n\"I’ll Be There for You\"–4:08\n\"Billy Baker\"– 4:03\n\"Miracle\"– 5:14\n\"Good to Have You Home\" –4:12\n\"Single Malt Scotch\"–2:48\n\"Breaking Your Heart\"– 4:04\n\"It’s Gonna Be OK\"–3:52\n\"That’s What She Said (Intro)\"–1:36\n\"That’s What She Said\"– 3:05\n\nPersonnel\nJames Babson\nJillian Bianco\nJim Bianco–lead vocals,\nMaureen Bianco\nStarla Coco Bolle\nLelia Broussard\nTim Davies\nPetra Haden\nRoger Hayden\nJordan Katz\nJulia Kole\nKevin Margulis\nCaesar Mattachiera\nAllie Moss\nSabriena Simon\nLenny Simon\nSarah Simon\nJon Svensong\n\nAdditional production information\nMixed by Nathanael Boone and Kenny Lyon\nMastered by D James Gordon\nAll introductions written by Jim Bianco and Sarah Simon\nProduced by Jim Bianco and Sarah Simon\n\nStudio information\nRecorded at Steady Studios. Additional tracking at Boulevard Recording.\n\nThe 69 Questions\n1) Your full name? \n2) Nicknames?\n3) Are you over the age of 10?\n4) Over the age of 20? \n5) Town and county and state/province and street and zip code where you live? \n6) Your current occupation? \n7) Are both your parents still alive? \n8) Your parents’ full names: \n9) Your parents’ occupation when you were born: \n10) What was the name of the street you grew up on? \n11) Childhood hobbies?\n12) Do you have any childhood memories from a vacation?\n13) How about any childhood fascinations? (i.e. Firetrucks, Outer space, Mary Lou Retton, etc....) \n14) Any albums/music from your childhood that stuck with you? \n15) What was the name of your elementary school, middle school and high school? \n16) What was the name of your first boyfriend/girlfriend? \n17) What was the color, year, make and model of you first car (if any)? \n18) What is the color, year, make and model of current car? \n19) What was your most memorable childhood pet? \n20) What was its name and what kind of animal? \n21) How did it die? \n22) Do you currently have pets? \n23) Current pet names? What kind of animal?\n24) Who were your neighbors growing up? \n25) Who are your current neighbors? \n26) Any tattoos? \n27) Where? \n28) Of what? \n29) When did you get them? \n30) Why? \n31) Piercings? \n32) Scars? \n33) Where on your body? \n34) When did you get it? \n35) How? \n36) Five favorite songs? \n37) Five favorite albums? \n38) Five favorite movies? \n39) Favorite book?\n40) Favorite Actor/Actress? \n41) Favorite Color? \n42) Current Hobbies? \n43) History of places that you lived and ages you were there \n(i.e. Portland: 22-25, NYC 26-33, Charlotte, NC 33- 36) \n44) Fears/phobias? (i.e. Clowns, spiders, rollercoasters, etc....) \n45) Favorite Flavor Ice Cream? \n46) Drinker? \n47) Favorite libation(s)? \n48) Smoker? \n49) Brand of cigarettes? \n50) Partaker of the occasional doobie? \n51) Have you ever stolen anything? \n52) When?\n53) Where?\n54) Why?\n55) Who was the first person you slept with? \n56) Do you have any allergies of any kind? \n57) Eye color? \n58) Any sayings/quotes that were passed down from your parents? (for example, my father has always said ‘Any port in a foreign storm’, and for some reason it stuck with me.) \n59) Any favorite quotes, in general? \n60) Do you live in an apartment or a house? \n61) When was your first kiss? \n62) With who? \n63) Do you remember if it was good or bad? \n64) Do you have children? (Boys? Girls? How many? ) \n65) What are their full names?\n66) Currently Married, single, divorced or ‘in a relationship’? \n67) Saddest event(s) in your life? \n68) Happiest event(s) in your life? \n69) What is your best summer memory?\n\nVideos\n\nKickstarter Movie (2010)\n (2010)\n\nJim Bianco on Cookie Cutter\n\"I really tried to capture the experiences that unite and define us as people, so that not only would someone’s answer be relevant to them, obviously, but to someone listening who wasn’t that person.\" \n\"My father is a Brooklyn-born weight-lifting Italian Roman Catholic who wields a pompadour and only drives a Cadillac. My mother is a kind, classic, 1950’s Brooklyn Jew who quit high school to work in a pencil factory. It’s pretty obvious where my obsession with eccentric characters comes from.\"\n\"Centuries ago it was common for the church or the aristocracy to commission composers to create a piece of work for them. Whether it was for a royal wedding or a religious holiday, composers crafted the music for specific people or events.’Cookie Cutter’ is the modern version of that.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nJim Bianco on NPR’s All Things Considered October 2, 2013\nCookie Cutter at iTunes\nLOUDMOUTH Record Release Campaign at Kickstarter.com\nAirForTimes Article August 12, 2012\n\nJim Bianco albums\n2013 albums\nKickstarter-funded albums", "\"I Don't Want to Be Your Friend\" is a pop/R&B song written and composed by Diane Warren. It was first recorded by singer Cyndi Lauper for her 1989 album A Night To Remember. The song was meant to be the second commercial single released in the U.S. from that album, but after the second radio single \"A Night to Remember\" failed to chart highly, the label scrapped the idea. Famed songwriter Desmond Child also recorded a version for his only album Discipline (1991). \"I Don't Want to Be Your Friend\" was eventually a single by Filipino singer Nina, and also recorded by Dutch female singer Do in her eponymous debut album.\n\nNina version\n\n\"I Don't Want to Be Your Friend\" was covered by Filipino singer Nina as a single from Diane Warren's 2004 love songs compilation, Diane Warren Presents Love Songs. The song was produced by Neil C. Gregorio, and published by Warner Music Philippines. It was included as a bonus track on Nina's best-selling 2005 album Nina Live!, and has since been considered as a single from that album. It later appeared on her 2008 album, Nina Sings the Hits of Diane Warren. The song talks about a woman who was left and hurt by her past lover. She admits being uncool with what happened to their relationship, expressing that \"she doesn't want to be his friend\".\n\nUpon release, the song was met with positive reviews, being included by music critics as one of the favorite tracks in Nina's albums. Titik Pilipino complimented the simplicity of the song, saying \"it's one song where [Nina] didn't have to shout and be a vocal Chinese acrobat.\" The song was nominated for Favorite Female Video on the 2005 MTV Pilipinas Music Awards, but lost the award to Rachelle Ann Go's \"Love of My Life\". On January 15, 2007, the song was released to digital download via iTunes and Amazon.com.\n\nBackground and release\n\"I Don't Want to Be Your Friend\" was initially released by Nina in November 2004 under Warner Music for the promotion of Diane Warren's compilation Diane Warren Presents Love Songs. The song was released together with her rendition of \"The Christmas Song\" for the label's All Star Christmas Collection album, and became very popular in the Philippines. The song has since been considered as a Nina Live! single after it was included in the album's track list.\n\nCritical reception\nThe song was well received by critics, becoming one of the most favorite Nina hits. It was also often confused to be a Nina original, since she was the one who popularized the song. Ginnie Faustino-Galgana of Titik Pilipino picked the song as one of her favorites on Nina Live! together with \"Steep\" and \"Love Moves in Mysterious Ways\". Another Titik Pilipino review by Resty Odon praised the song, saying \"What I positively enjoyed, though, is 'I Don't Want to Be Your Friend'. I think Nina should study with intent the reasons why this song clicked with her and with almost everyone. Clue: It's one song where she didn't have to shout and be a vocal Chinese acrobat.\"\n\nMusic video\n\nA music video accompanied the release of the song. The video was directed by Chi de Jesus. It was shot at a beach called Puerto del Sol in Pangasinan. The video features the sexy side of Nina, wearing bikini and portraying a model with a complicated relationship with the shoot photographer.\n\nTitik Pilpino stated \"Those who saw Nina's sexy video for 'I Don't Want to Be Your Friend' may be a bit shocked at the songstress' transformation, but Nina's clearly not afraid to express herself, be it in her videos or her music. In fact, it was Nina who revived the whole video trend by the end of 2002.\" The video was nominated for Favorite Female Video on the 2005 MTV Pilipinas Music Awards, but Nina lost the award to Rachelle Ann Go's \"Love of My Life\".\n\nOfficial versions\n\nReferences\n\n1989 songs\n2004 singles\nCyndi Lauper songs\nNina Girado songs\nSongs written by Diane Warren\nSongs about heartache" ]
[ "Brown Eyed Girls", "Debut: Your Story and Leave Ms. Kim", "What was it about Your Story That was interesting?", "the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea on March 2, 2006, with the ballad track, \"Come Closer\" as their single.", "Was Come closer a hit single?", "The album was well received by critics but did not do as well as expected commercially.", "Was Leave Ms. Kim another album?", "After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (ddeonara miseugim),", "did Leave Ms. Kim have any singles released?", "which included their R&B title track \"You Got Me Fooled\" (neoege sogassda). Subsequent singles were \"Oasis", "Was there any other singles released from that album?", "and \"It's Mine\" (naeggeoya), a collaboration with fellow group SeeYa.", "did they go on tour with any of these two albums?", "I don't know.", "is there any interesting fact that you found interesting in this article?", "The first two albums contained typical R&B ballads which had been very popular in the K-pop scene. However, the commercial success was relatively higher", "any other interesting facts?", "Moreover, the second album containing \"You Got Me Fooled\" (neoege sogassda) was released at nearly the same time as Wonder Girls' \"", "what was your favorite fact of the article?", "The group's leader, Jea, was the one responsible of the group's creation and was actively involved in the selection of the other members, picking out Miryo," ]
C_c3fd3279648546569f6c717494476825_1
did the band do good with the new members?
10
Did the Brown Eyed Girls do good with the new members?
Brown Eyed Girls
The group's leader, Jea, was the one responsible of the group's creation and was actively involved in the selection of the other members, picking out Miryo, who was known as a great female rapper from the hip-hop community having previously worked with other fellow rappers, such as Gil Seong-joon from Leessang, and the main female rapper in well-known hip-hop group Honey Family. Narsha was chosen when Jea remembered her as a "talented singer" from her high school days, and Ga-in was selected by the three members after she was eliminated from "Battle Shin Hwa." According to Ga-in, she was crying in the bathroom after failing the audition, was found by composer Ahn Jung Hoon, and then was chosen through the audition in Brown Eyed Girls' company. Singer Yoari trained with the group until 2006, when it was decided she would be the lead singer for Sprinkler. The four members held several small size concerts, and was actually known as "Crescendo" before officially debuting as "Brown Eyed Girls." After more than 3 years of training in singing and holding several small size concerts, the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea on March 2, 2006, with the ballad track, "Come Closer" as their single. Debuting as a "faceless group" they did not appear on any visual media and chose to not even appear in their own music video. The album was well received by critics but did not do as well as expected commercially. The album was later re-released to include "Hold The Line" (which samples "Push The Button" by British girl band Sugababes and "Technologic" by Daft Punk). This song became a hit, further boosting the band's popularity. "Hold the Line" was disclosed across the world because it was included in the list of songs from the game Pump it Up. After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (ddeonara miseugim), which included their R&B title track "You Got Me Fooled" (neoege sogassda). Subsequent singles were "Oasis" (oasiseu) featuring Lee Jae Hoon and "It's Mine" (naeggeoya), a collaboration with fellow group SeeYa. During the break between their debut and second albums, the Brown Eyed Girls released their first digital single entitled "I Am a Summer" (naega yeoreumida), which was later included in their second LP. The first two albums contained typical R&B ballads which had been very popular in the K-pop scene. However, the commercial success was relatively higher in two singles between the first and second albums. Moreover, the second album containing "You Got Me Fooled" (neoege sogassda) was released at nearly the same time as Wonder Girls' "Tell Me" which received a nationwide success in Korea. Therefore, their second album was once again a commercial disappointment. At the same time, the general K-pop scene was changing from R&B ballads to dance music. CANNOTANSWER
The four members held several small size concerts, and was actually known as "Crescendo" before officially debuting as "Brown Eyed Girls.
The Brown Eyed Girls (Hangul: 브라운 아이드 걸스, Japanese: ブラウン・アイド・ガールズ), often abbreviated as B.E.G., BG, or 브아걸 (beu-ah-geol), is a South Korean girl group with four members: JeA, Miryo, Narsha, and Gain. They debuted as an R&B/Ballad vocal group with "Come Closer (다가와서)" in 2006 and have since performed in a variety of music genres. They rose to popularity in 2008 with "L.O.V.E" and their retro-dance number "How Come," and cemented their position in the K-pop world in 2009 with "Abracadabra", with its electronica-based genre, pioneering (albeit controversial) concept, along with its iconic and now globally recognized dance entitled 'The Arrogant Dance (시건방춤)'—successfully ingraining themselves into modern popular culture. The group started their venture into the Japanese music market with the release of a Japanese version of their massively successful 3rd Korean album, Sound-G, in late 2010, with full promotions being held throughout early 2011 under Sony Music Japan, where they gained moderate success. They returned to Korea in late 2011, to garner further success and critical acclaim with their 4th album and its title track "Sixth Sense". Other than promoting as a group, all of the members have released solo albums. History Debut: Your Story and Leave Ms. Kim The group's leader, Jea, was responsible for the group's creation and was actively involved in the selection of the other members, picking out Miryo, who was known as a capable female rapper from the hip-hop community having previously worked with other fellow rappers, such as Gil Seong-joon from Leessang, and the main female rapper in well-known hip-hop group Honey Family. Narsha was chosen when Jea remembered her as a "talented singer" from her high school days, and Ga-in was selected by the three members after she was eliminated from "Battle Shin Hwa." According to Ga-in, she was crying in the bathroom after failing the audition, was found by composer Ahn Jung Hoon, and then was chosen through the audition in Brown Eyed Girls' company. Singer Yoari trained with the group until 2006, when it was decided she would be the lead singer for Sprinkler. The four members held several small size concerts, and considered the names "Crescendo" or "Dark Angel" before officially debuting as "Brown Eyed Girls". After more than 3 years of training in singing and holding several small size concerts, the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea on March 2, 2006, with the ballad track, "Come Closer" as their single. Debuting as a "faceless group" they did not appear on any visual media and chose to not even appear in their own music video. The album was well received by critics but did not do as well as expected commercially. The album was later re-released to include "Hold The Line" (which samples "Push The Button" by British girl band Sugababes and "Technologic" by Daft Punk). This song became a hit, further boosting the band's popularity. "Hold the Line" was disclosed across the world because it was included in the list of songs from the game Pump it Up. After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (), which included their R&B title track "You Got Me Fooled" (). Subsequent singles were "Oasis" () featuring Lee Jae Hoon and "It's Mine" (), a collaboration with fellow group SeeYa. During the break between their debut and second albums, the Brown Eyed Girls released their first digital single entitled "I Am a Summer" (), which was later included in their second LP. The first two albums contained typical R&B ballads which had been very popular in the K-pop scene. However, the commercial success was relatively higher in two singles between the first and second albums. Moreover, the second album containing "You Got Me Fooled" () was released at nearly the same time as Wonder Girls' "Tell Me" which received a nationwide success in Korea. Therefore, their second album was once again a commercial disappointment. At the same time, the general K-pop scene was changing from R&B ballads to dance music. 2008: With Love and My Style mini albums In January 2008, Brown Eyed Girls came back with their first mini-album "With L.O.V.E." Their single, "L.O.V.E," was a departure from the B.E.G. sound that people had come to know but it became an instant success and Brown Eyed Girls scored their first No. 1 song and also one of the top hit songs in the first half of 2008. "Love Action" was the second single taken from the mini album. With Love also marked the group's second digital album (after "I Am a Summer"), though it was released in conventional CD format as well. After the release of their first mini-album, they could achieve the commercial success. "Love" was composed by Saint-Binary and Min-Soo Lee. Looking to strengthen their success, Brown Eyed Girls returned again in September and released their second mini-album "My Style." The title song "How Come" is a retro-style dance song that has become a popular trend. 2009–2010: Sound G, Japanese debut and solo activities On July 20, 2009, Brown Eyed Girls released their third full-length album, the double-disc Sound G. Even though "Candy Man" was the first song unveiled from the album, the first heavily promoted single was "Abracadabra," which was composed by Ji-nu and Min-Soo Lee. He composed the first part of "Abracadabra," and tried to compose the refrain part. However, he could not think of a good idea to make the refrain part. Therefore, Min-Soo Lee, who worked with BEG previously, helped and composed the refrain part of "Abracadabra." The release of this album also saw a shift in the image of the group, as the members redefined themselves as independent and mature city girls. Their music video for their title track sparked controversies. As the group is sporting a substantially more provocative visual style, criticism has arisen for the suggestive and erotic themes that the video presents. They later released a "stage version" of the video, which focuses only on the choreography. Nevertheless, even with all the controversies they took the Kpop world by storm, snagging awards at music shows and year end music awards. The sexy hip dance became a national dance with a lot of fellow celebrities doing a parody of it. Later on, the group revealed a repackaged version of the album titled Sign that included a new single, "Sign," along with "Drunk On Sleep" and a remix of their previous hit "Abracadabra." The repackaged album was released along with the music video for "Sign." The music video caused controversy because of its content: it featured scenes of violence and death, including the group members drowning in tanks of water. "Sign" has reached certain success, but it has not matched the success of the band's previous single "Abracadabra." The quartet has been readying for their Japan debut since signing with major record label Sony Music Japan International. In August 2010, the group re-released Sound G in Japanese to promote them in the country, which indeed marks the beginning of their Japanese promotions. After the success of the album, the members concentrated more on their individual activities juggling it with their overseas schedules. In July, Narsha released her first solo album 'NARSHA' to meet certain success, In August, JeA collaborated with Rattpoom, a Thai singer, in his song 'Face to Face'. Later in October, Gain also started her solo activities through her debut album Step 2/4 with a strong interpolation of tango music, featuring 'Irreversible' as the title track. On October 31, she clutched her first win (Mutizen song) in Inkigayo. In December, JeA worked on her ballad single 'Because You Sting' featuring G.O. of MBLAQ. Aside from that they also became part of popular variety shows and sitcom. Ga-in appeared on We Got Married with 2AM's Jo Kwon beginning in September 2009. The couple was very popular in Korea and still is one of the most recognized virtual couples in the country. Regrettably, their virtual marriage came to an end after 15 months in January 2011. She made her acting debut in MBC daily sitcom 'All My Love'. She was the female lead 'Gaumji'. However, owing to schedule conflict, her filming in sitcom ended in May 2011. Narsha has appeared on Invincible Youth (also known as G7) since October 2009. She is known on the show as "Sung In Dol" (Adult idol) due to her age difference with other members and her funny, but naughty reactions on the show. She was also one of the fixed cast member in SBS's variety show 'Heroes'. In April 2010, she DJed on "Pump up the Volume" on KBS Cool FM. Due to Brown Eyed Girls' overseas promotions Narsha decided to leave the show, with her last broadcast on December 28, 2010. The group successfully ended the year with a concert entitled "Hot Winter Party" held in the Ax-Korea Hall in Seoul. 2011: Japanese promotions and return to Korea with Sixth Sense On January 17, the Japanese music video for "Sign" was released. Its content is completely different from the original Korean version of the song, since the new version focuses on choreography while the original version did not feature any. The group started their promotions in Japan in early 2011. The girls originally planned to hold a concert in Japan in April but due to the Tōhoku earthquake in March, the concert was postponed to September instead. The band's first Japanese concert at C.C Lemon Hall in Shibuya took place on September 12. There, they unveiled one of their songs in their fourth album An Inconvenient Truth, which was composed by JeA and KZ. On September 6, NegaNetwork released an official comeback date, marking the end of their two-year hiatus. The group was expected to release a single on September 16 titled, "Hot Shot," followed by their fourth album and music video "Sixth Sense" on September 23. The concept for this album is “Resistance for freedom of expression through music via sixth sense.” Representatives of their agency, NegaNetwork explained, This album focuses not only on their singing and performance. The members hope to convey their thoughts to the public through music. Their title track is an expression of the limitations of experiencing music with only five senses, and it asks people to feel it instead with their sixth sense. The song itself is very free in style. They kicked off their promotional cycle officially with a double stage performance of "Hot Shot" and "Sixth Sense" on September 24 on Music Core. and grabbed the top spot on M! Countdown and Inkigayo. They also broke the jinx of going down a slump after a “big hit” as they won over their famed song Abracadabra, receiving higher digital sales for Sixth Sense. They concluded their "Sixth Sense" promotions after a month but it was immediately followed by the release of a repackage of their fourth studio album. On November 4, their repackage album was released. They followed up promotions with their ballad song 'Cleansing Cream'. They officially concluded their promotional activities on November 18 with a final performance on KBS's ‘Music Bank'. 2012: Solo activities, digital single and Tonight 37.2 °C The members branched out to solo activities once again. Starting with Miryo, releasing her self- produced solo album, MIRYO a.k.a. JOHONEY on February 1. She had a rocky start with two of the songs from her album banned in broadcasting stations. Namely, “Revenger,” which according to SBS officials has lyrics depicting violence and the title track “Dirty” for the lyrics of the song, containing the word, “cross-eyed” which could be perceived as a derogatory term for the disabled thus forcing Miryo to change the lyrics to be able to perform on music shows. On TV, Narsha made her acting debut with MBC's drama "Light and Shadow" playing the role of an aspiring singer Lee Jung Ja and followed by Ooh La La Couple as a goddess. The other members participated on reality programs. Gain became a CEO of a public relations company called ‘Mental Breakdown' particularly for the show, "OnStyle's Launch My Life – Ga In's Fashion King." While Miryo was included in Mnet's hiphop program Show me the Money, collaborating with a rookie rapper to compete against other contestants for the top spot. Jea also became a fixed member of Immortal Songs 2 but she later left the show due to her solo album promotions and was replaced by Narsha which later on left the show also due to her musical "When A Man Loves." On July 17, BEG released their digital single "The Original" of the hybrid soul genre – the genre the girls have originally debuted with. It has two tracks Come with me and the title track “A Midsummer Night's Dream” meant to be a gift to the fans who are still supporting the group despite it not being active at the moment. It was produced and composed by JeA. No promotional activities were done. Gain dropped her second mini-album on October 5 "Talk About S" with the title track Bloom. The title track and won the top spot in M! Countdown. JeA also pre-released the track "Let's Hug" on December 28 from her upcoming solo album. Before the year ended, fans of Brown Eyed Girls were finally able to see all four members up on stage together once again for their 19+ Rated ‘Tonight 37.2 °C‘ concert. 2013: Black Box and sub-unit M&N Member JeA started the year by releasing her solo album "Just JeA," showing her prowess as a vocalist and also a producer. Gain also surprised everyone by releasing a duet album on April 7 with label-mate Cho Hyung Woo, titled "Romantic Spring." The album contains warm, beautiful love songs that perfectly fit the season. On July 4, a teaser image was released via Facebook and Twitter for Brown Eyed Girls' long-awaited comeback. July 9 marked the release of a digital-single: "Recipe (레시피)." Renowned Korean Hip-Hop producer Primary produced the track "Recipe," which served as a pre-release to the upcoming album, with Miryo and Dynamic Duo's Choiza writing the lyrics for the song. After the positive reception of their digital single from the public, they continued by releasing their 5th studio album, Black Box, on July 29, with "KILL BILL" being announced as the title track, being composed by Lee Gyu Hyun and member JeA. The music video teaser for "KILL BILL" was released on July 25, with the actual music video being revealed later, on July 28, followed by a special dance version on August 2. They performed their comeback stage on SBS' Inkigayo on July 28, as the opening act for the episode, performing pre-release single "Recipe (레시피)" before their album title-track later in the show. They continued their promotions for the album throughout various music programmes (with the exception of KBS-run programmes for undisclosed reasons) until August 25 where they brought them to a close. Youngest member Gain also revealed in an interview that she will release another solo album after the Kill Bill promotions. In October 2013, Ga-In also broke onto the CPOP scene, featuring in Show Lo's music video for "愛投羅網 (Cast The Net Of Love)." On November 4, multiple sources in the entertainment field revealed that Miryo and Narsha will be forming a sub-unit and plan on releasing music for the unit in mid-November. While Brown Eyed Girls members have been well known to venture into solo activities, this is the first time in which two members will be working together as one team. On November 11, M&N released their first single, titled "Tonight (오늘밤)," which included two versions of the same track (one Korean, one English version), with the lyrical content to the first version being self-composed between the two members - on a later date during an interview, both members of the sub-unit stated that they had plans to release an album sometime within the next year, with it to feature a strong Hip Hop sound complete with promotional activities. 2014: Special Moments compilation album At the end of January 2014, Gain was revealed to be making a comeback with her 3rd mini album Truth or Dare on February 6, releasing a teaser picture along with the news. On January 22 she released a "mysterious and sexy" teaser still-cut from her pre-release track 'Fxxk U'. She later released a controversial teaser for the song showing two silhouettes behind a shower curtain and Gain saying "Fuck you." Information released with the teaser said the song would feature singer Bumkey and be "simple yet melodious" and feature a classical guitar. The song and music video were released on January 27. The music video portrayed Gain and actor Joo Ji Hoon in a physically and emotionally abusive relationship. The song was created by lyricist Kim Eana and composer Lee Minsoo (who also worked with Gain on her previous solo single "Bloom"). The title song "Truth or Dare" deals with the topic of rumors and their effect on celebrities and their life. On August 6 it was announced that the group would be releasing a "greatest hits" album titled Special Moments, featuring several songs from the group's eight-year career, as well as a new track "Hush," which would serve as the title track to the album. Special Moments has a two-disc format, with the first disc featuring the group's lead singles and promotional tracks, and the second disc focusing mainly on their ballad tracks. The album was released on August 11, 2014. 2015: Departure from Nega Network, contract with Mystic Entertainment and Basic On September 4, 2015, members JeA, Narsha, and Miryo became free agents after deciding not to renew their contracts with Nega Network. On October 1, 2015, all members have signed with Mystic Entertainment. On October 26, Mystic released the first batch of teaser pictures through BEG's official Twitter account. Each girl was shown posing in a desert like landscape, while the concept gave off a futuristic and science fiction feeling. Simultaneously they announced the release date of their upcoming 6th studio album, which was November 5 at midnight. Another batch of teaser pictures was released a day later on the 27th October. The track list was released on October 28 and revealed ten brand new tracks, with Brave New World (신세계) being the title track and Warm Hole (웜홀) the second title track. Moreover, Jea and Miryo took part in the writing and composing several songs of the album. The title track Brave New World is writing by Kim Eana and composed by Lee Minsoo, who have also worked together on previous Brown Eyed Girls songs. The group appeared on the popular smartphone broadcast V App on the 29th where they stated that Brave New World was a choreography heavy song, couldn't actually reveal any more info about the album. During the course of the next few days they revealed teaser videos for non-title tracks, such as Ice Cream Time, Obsession and Wave. The teaser videos for the two title tracks Warm Hole and Brave New World were the last to be released. The girls held their first showcase of their careers called 'Comeback to the Basic' on November 4 where they also performed the side track Ice Cream Time. Youngest member Gain revealed during the showcase that she took part in choreographing Warm Hole and Brave New World, as well as forming the concept for their 6th album. The album and the music video for Brave New World got released on the same day. The reference to Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World became obvious, though the theme of music video and song do not refer to discouragement of critical thinking, abundance of material goods and other plots as the novel does. However, the futuristic theme got picked up through time traveling in the music video as well as the idea of a dystopian state through the lyrics. The Warm Hole MV got released on November 5 and sparked a controversy due to the heavy sexual lyrics and references in the MV to a female's reproductive organ. But still they performed Warm Hole on the 5th November on M!Countdown as well as on the 6th on Music Bank. 2016-present: Hiatus, 10th anniversary, Narsha's departure from APOP Entertainment, RE_vive In 2016, it was reported that Brown Eyed Girls were the first K-pop girl group without any member changes for 10 years. For their 10th anniversary, the group held a concert with Kero One and KRNFX on March 18 at the Feria (now known as Club Bound LA) in Koreatown, Los Angeles, CA. On December 14, 2018, it was announced that Narsha would be leaving Mystic Story and APOP Entertainment. However, she would continue to promote with Brown Eyed Girls in future activities. The statement also revealed the group was preparing for a new comeback. In September 2019, the group set up an official Instagram, where they announced their new album RE_vive released on October 28. Other musical efforts The group members have also been featured on several South Korean drama soundtracks including The Vineyard Man (Loving You), Queen of Games (), Dae Jo Yeong (), The Kingdom of The Winds (), My Fair Lady (I Love You), and The Slave Hunters (Stray Child). JeA also participated in OST songs even before Brown Eyed Girls' debut. Also, Miryo and JeA collaborated for the single "Love Is..." which was released in May 2010. They collaborated with 4minute in 2010 for a World Cup song. Ga-in also participated "4Tomorrow Project" with Kara's Seung Yeon, After School's Uee, and 4minute's Hyuna. She also released digital single "We Fell in Love" (우리 사랑하게 됐어요), composed by Jea, with then We Got Married partner 2AM Jo Kwon. The song was voted No. 1 in several music programs in January 2010 In 2011, Miryo and Sunny of Girls' Generation collaborated for the single "사랑해 사랑해 (I love you, I love you)" the song was released the same year. Ga-in collaborated with Park Jin-young for the song "Someone Else" shortly before his comeback. The music video and the full-length song were pre-released in April 2012. Ga-in featured in IU's "Everyone Has Secrets" from her album "Modern Times" released in October 2013 Brown Eyed Girls influence on PSY On April 13, 2013, hip hop artist PSY released a music video for his single "Gentleman", which featured dance moves borrowed heavily from the Abracadabra music video, as well as featuring Gain in the video. Discography Your Story (2006) Leave Ms. Kim (2007) Sound-G (2009) Sixth Sense (2011) Black Box (2013) Basic (2015) RE_Vive (2019) Awards References External links Official Website Sony Music Entertainment Japan artists Mystic Entertainment artists K-pop music groups South Korean contemporary R&B musical groups South Korean dance music groups South Korean girl groups Musical groups established in 2006 2006 establishments in South Korea Mnet Asian Music Award winners Musical quartets Korean Music Award winners Melon Music Award winners
false
[ "Victim to Villain is the second full-length album by American rock band New Years Day, released on June 11, 2013, through Century Media Records, their first and only for the label. This is the first official full-length from New Years Day in six years.\n\nThis album continues the departure from the pop-punk sound of the band's first album, into a darker, heavier sound that began with the preceding EP, The Mechanical Heart. The first single from the album, \"Do Your Worst\" was released in January 2013 with a lyric video featuring Ashley in a grave, followed by \"I'm No Good\" on May 6, 2013, also with a lyric video with scenes of all the band members. \"Death of The Party\" was released as the third single with a lyric video and \"Angel Eyes\" was released as the fourth and final single of the album with an accompanying music video.\n\nTrack listing\nAll songs written by New Years Day and Erik Ron, except where noted\n\"Do Your Worst\" - 3:16\n\"I'm No Good\" - 3:45\n\"Bloody Mary\" - 3:13\n\"Victims\" - 3:58\n\"Hello Darkness\" - 3:21\n\"Death of the Party\" - 3:14\n\"The Arsonist\" (New Years Day, Erik Ron and Jason Evigan) - 3:24\n\"Angel Eyes\" (feat. Chris Motionless of Motionless in White)(New Years Day, Erik Ron and Joel Faviere) - 2:57\n\"Any Last Words?\" - 2:50\n\"Tombstone\" - 1:45\n\"Last Great Love Story\" - 3:17\n\nPersonnel\nAsh Costello - lead vocals\nNikki Misery - lead guitar\nJake Jones - rhythm guitar\nAnthony Barro - bass, backing vocals\nRussell Dixon - drums\n\nAdditional Personnel\n Chris Motionless - guest vocals on \"Angel Eyes\"\n\nAlbum information\nProduced, recorded, and mixed by Erik Ron\nRecorded at Grey Area Studios, North Hollywood, CA\nEngineered by Adrian Alvarado\nMastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Music, New Windsor, NY\n\nReferences\n\n2013 albums\nNew Years Day (band) albums", "Fred Thomas is an American bassist best known for his work with singer James Brown for over thirty years. He performed on many R&B hits of the 1970s. His last recording is on the 2018 album We Came to Play.\n\nCareer\nThomas grew up in the US state of Georgia. He moved to New York City in 1965 and co-founded his own band with guitarist Hearlon \"Cheese\" Martin. He was the bassist as well as the lead vocalist of the group. He said: \"I did my own thing, which is to keep a nice bottom in the pocket. I never bothered with any fancy stuff because I always did the singing in my bands, and you can't be fancy and sing\".\n\nIn 1971 James Brown saw the band at Smalls Paradise club in Harlem. Brown was in search of new musicians for his own band. He did an impromptu performance with the band and decided to hire the whole group. Thomas said his band used to cover Brown's songs and that joining Brown was a smooth transition for them. He recorded on Brown's releases during 1970s. The first album titled Hot Pants was in 1971. He also recorded on releases by The J.B.'s. Many of these recordings were later sampled in hip hop music, such as \"Pass the Peas\", \"Gimme Some More\", and \"Escape-ism\".\n\nThomas performed with Brown for more than thirty years, longer than other bassists in that position. He recorded on several R&B number one hits such as \"Hot Pants\", \"Make It Funky\", and \"Papa Don't Take No Mess\". In a 2005 interview he expressed satisfaction with his work, stating: \"I've been involved in one of the biggest, most legendary acts in the world. It's gone on for a long time – 33 years, on and off – and I feel good about the musicians I've played with\".\n\nAfter Brown's death in 2006, Thomas transitioned back to fronting his own group and collaborating with various bands. His later recordings are with Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens in 2014 and The J.B.'s in 2018.\n\nDiscography\nCredits adapted in part from AllMusic.\n\nWith James Brown\nRevolution of the Mind (1971)\nHot Pants (1971)\nGet on the Good Foot (1972)\nThe Payback (1973)\nHell (1974)\n\nWith The J.B.'s\nFood for Thought (1972)\nDoing It to Death (1973)\nFunky Good Time: The Anthology (1995)\nPass the Peas: The Best of the J.B.'s (2000)\nBring the Funk on Down (2002)\nThe Lost Album (2011)\nWe Came to Play (2018)\n\nWith Culture\nGood Things (1989)\n\nWith Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens\nCold World (2014)\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nFred Thomas at MusicRadar by Rob Power, 2017\nThe J.B.'s members 2019 at archive.org\n\nLiving people\nAmerican funk bass guitarists\nAmerican male bass guitarists\nAmerican rhythm and blues bass guitarists\nJames Brown Orchestra members\nAmerican male guitarists\nMusicians from Georgia (U.S. state)\nGuitarists from Georgia (U.S. state)\nMusicians from New York City\n20th-century American guitarists\n20th-century bass guitarists\nYear of birth unknown\nYear of birth missing (living people)" ]
[ "Sérgio Mendes", "Early career" ]
C_bb7e626fb3cc46159c5006e7a70787f7_1
When did his career begin?
1
When did Sérgio Mendes' career begin?
Sérgio Mendes
Mendes was born in Niteroi, Brazil, the son of a physician. He attended the local conservatory with hopes of becoming a classical pianist. As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging. Mendes played with Antonio Carlos Jobim (regarded as a mentor) and many U.S. jazz musicians who toured Brazil. Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961. Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played Carnegie Hall. Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 group name with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records. Sergio became full partners with Richard Adler, a Brooklyn-born American who had previously brought Bossa Tres plus two dancers, Joe Bennett and a Brazilian partner, to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, in 1963. He was also accompanied by Jobim; Flavio Ramos, and Aloisio Olivera, a record and TV producer from Rio. The Musicians Union only allowed this group to appear on one TV show and one club appearance (Basin Street East) before ordering them to leave the U.S. When the new group, Brasil '65 was formed, Shelly Manne, Bud Shank and other West Coast musicians got Sergio and the others into the local musicians union. Adler and Mendes formed Brasil '65, which consisted of Wanda Sa and Rosinha de Valenca, as well as the Sergio Mendes Trio. The group recorded albums for Atlantic and Capitol. CANNOTANSWER
As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging.
Sérgio Santos Mendes (; born February 11, 1941) is a Brazilian musician. He has over 55 releases, and plays bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song in 2012 as co-writer of the song "Real in Rio" from the animated film Rio. Mendes is a unique example of a Brazilian musician primarily known in the United States, where his albums were recorded and where most of his touring took place. Mendes is married to Gracinha Leporace, who has performed with him since the early 1970s. Mendes has also collaborated with many artists through the years, including The Black Eyed Peas, with whom he re-recorded in 2006 a version of his breakthrough hit "Mas que Nada". Biography Early career Mendes was born in Niterói, Brazil, the son of a physician. He attended the local conservatory with hopes of becoming a classical pianist. As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging. Mendes played with Antônio Carlos Jobim (regarded as a mentor) and many U.S. jazz musicians who toured Brazil. Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961. Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played at the Carnegie Hall. Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 group name with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records. Mendes became full partners with Richard Adler, a Brooklyn-born American who had previously brought Bossa Trés plus two dancers, Joe Bennett and a Brazilian partner, to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1963. He was also accompanied by Jobim; Flavio Ramos, and Aloísio de Oliveira, a record and TV producer from Rio who used to be a member of Carmen Miranda's backing group Bando da Lua. The Musicians Union only allowed this group to appear on one TV show and make one club appearance (Basin Street East) before ordering them to leave the U.S. When the new group Brasil '65 was formed, Shelly Manne, Bud Shank and other West Coast musicians got Mendes and the others into the local musicians union. Adler and Mendes formed Brasil '65, which consisted of Wanda Sá and Rosinha de Valença, as well as the Sergio Mendes Trio. The group recorded albums for Atlantic and Capitol. Brasil '66 All of Mendes' jazz albums for Atlantic Records, through Nesuhi and Ahmet Ertegun, had low sales. Richard Adler suggested that Mendes and the group sing in English, as well as Portuguese as Mendes had demanded, and Adler sought new English-based material such as "Goin' Out of My Head" by Teddy Randazzo and Bobby Weinstein. In order to sing these songs properly in English, Adler suggested that the group find two American girl singers who would sing in both English and Portuguese. Adler called his friend Jerry Dennon and A&M Records founders Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, and arranged for an audition for Mendes' new group, which was dubbed "Brasil '66.'" Alpert and Moss signed Mendes and his group to A&M Records. Adler then went to the Ertegun Brothers at Atlantic Records and sought to have them release Mendes from his Atlantic Jazz contract. Ahmet agreed to allow him to record albums under the name "Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66" with A&M. Mendes was not at this meeting, only Adler and Ahmet Ertegun. Alpert took over as producer for the A&M albums, and the group became a huge success with their first single, "Mas que Nada", by writer Jorge Ben. The first album on A&M was Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66, an album that went platinum based largely on the success of the single "Mas que Nada" (a Jorge Ben cover) and the personal support of Alpert, with whom Mendes toured. The original lineup of Brasil '66 was Mendes (piano), vocalists Lani Hall (later Alpert's wife) and Sylvia Dulce Kleiner (Bibi Vogel) (1942 - 2004), Bob Matthews (bass), José Soares (percussion) and João Palma (1943 - 2016) (drums). John Pisano (1931 - ) played guitar. This new line-up then recorded two more albums between 1966 and 1968 (including the best-selling Look Around LP), before there was a major personnel change for their fourth album Fool on the Hill. Mendes often changed the lineup. Vocalist Kleiner (Bibi Vogel) was replaced by Janis Hansen, who in turn was replaced by Karen Philipp. Veteran drummer Dom Um Romão teamed with Rubens Bassini to assume percussionist duties. Claudio Slon joined the group as drummer in 1969, and went on to play with Mendes for nearly a decade. Sebastião Neto took over on bass and Oscar Castro-Neves took on guitar. These changes gave the group a more orchestral sound than before. In the early 1970s, lead singer Hall pursued a solo career and became Alpert's second wife. Some accounts claim that Mendes was upset with Alpert for years for "stealing" Hall away from his group. Though his early singles with Brasil '66 (most notably "Mas que Nada") met with some success, Mendes really burst into mainstream prominence when he performed the Oscar-nominated "The Look of Love" on the Academy Awards telecast in April 1968. Brasil '66's version of the song quickly shot into the top 10, peaking at No. 4 and eclipsing Dusty Springfield's version from the soundtrack of the movie Casino Royale. Mendes spent the rest of 1968 enjoying consecutive top 10 and top 20 hits with his follow-up singles "The Fool on the Hill" and "Scarborough Fair". From 1968 on, Mendes was arguably the biggest Brazilian star in the world and enjoyed immense popularity worldwide, performing in venues as varied as stadium arenas and the White House, where he gave concerts for presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon. The Brasil '66 group appeared at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan in June 1970. Middle career Mendes' career in the U.S. stalled in the mid-1970s, but he remained popular in South America and Japan. His two albums with Bell Records in 1973 and 1974 followed by several for Elektra from 1975 on, found Mendes continuing to mine the best in American pop music and post-Bossa writers of his native Brazil, while forging new directions in soul with collaborators like Stevie Wonder, who wrote Mendes' R&B-inflected minor hit "The Real Thing". In 1983, he rejoined Alpert's A&M records and enjoyed success with a self-titled album and several follow-up albums, all of which received considerable adult contemporary airplay with charting singles. "Never Gonna Let You Go", featuring vocals by Joe Pizzulo and Leeza Miller, equalled the success of his 1968 single "The Look of Love" by reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; it also spent four weeks atop the Billboard adult contemporary chart. In 1984, he recorded the Confetti album, which had the hit songs "Olympia", which was also used as a theme song for the Olympic Games that year and "Alibis" which reached #5 on the A/C chart and #29 on the Hot 100. The 1980s also saw Mendes working with singer Lani Hall again on the song "No Place to Hide" from the Brasil '86 album, and as producer of her vocals on the title song for the James Bond film Never Say Never Again. By the time Mendes released his Grammy-winning Elektra album Brasileiro in 1992, he was the undisputed master of pop-inflected Brazilian jazz. The late-1990s lounge music revival brought retrospection and respect to Mendes' oeuvre, particularly the classic Brasil '66 albums. Later career Timeless features a wide array of neo-soul and alternative hip hop guest artists, including The Black Eyed Peas, Erykah Badu, Black Thought, Jill Scott, Chali 2na of Jurassic 5, India.Arie, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Q-Tip, Stevie Wonder and Pharoahe Monch. It was released February 14, 2006 by Concord Records. The 2006 re-recorded version of "Mas que Nada" with The Black Eyed Peas had additional vocals by Gracinha Leporace (Mendes' wife); this version is included on Timeless. In Brazil, the song is also well known for being the theme song for the local television channel Globo's Estrelas. The Black Eyed Peas' version contains a sample of their 2004 hit "Hey Mama". The re-recorded song became popular on many European charts. On the UK Singles Chart, the song entered at No. 29 and rose to and peaked at No. 6 on its second week on the chart. He makes an appearance dancing along for one of the segments Pharrell Williams' 24 hour of happy. Mendes served as co-producer on the soundtrack albums for two animated films about his homeland: 2011's Rio and its 2014 sequel. Discography 1961: Dance Moderno (Philips) 1962: Cannonball's Bossa Nova (Riverside/Capitol Records) 1963: Você Ainda Não Ouviu Nada! (a.k.a., The Beat of Brazil) (Philips) 1964: The Swinger from Rio (a.k.a., Bossa Nova York) (Atlantic) 1965: In Person at El Matador (Atlantic) 1965: Brasil '65 (a.k.a. In The Brazilian Bag) (Capitol) 1965: The Great Arrival (Atlantic) 1966: Herb Alpert Presents: Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 (A&M) 1967: Equinox (A&M) 1967: Quiet Nights (Philips) 1967: Look Around (A&M) 1968: Fool on the Hill (A&M) 1968: Sergio Mendes' Favorite Things (Atlantic) 1969: Crystal Illusions (A&M) 1969: Ye-Me-Lê (A&M) 1969: The Story of... Sérgio Mendes and Brasil '77 (a.ka., Italia - Brazil (A&M) 1970: Live at the Expo (A&M) 1970: Stillness (A&M) 1971: País Tropical (A&M) 1971: Giorno (A&M) 1972: Four Sider (A&M, double compilation album) 1972: Primal Roots (a.k.a., Raízes - Brazil) (A&M) 1973: Love Music (Bell) 1974: Vintage 74 (Bell) 1975: Sérgio Mendes (a.k.a., I Believe - Brazil) (Elektra) 1976: Homecooking (Elektra) 1977: Sergio Mendes and the New Brasil '77 (Elektra) 1977: Pelé (Atlantic) 1978: Brasil '88 (Elektra) 1979: Alegria (a.k.a., Horizonte Aberto - Brazil) (WEA) 1979: Magic Lady (Elektra) 1980: The Beat Of Brazil (Atlantic) 1983: Sérgio Mendes (A&M) 1984: Confetti (A&M) 1986: Brasil '86 (A&M) 1989: Arara (A&M) 1992: Brasileiro (Elektra) 1993: Oceano (Verve) 1999: Matrix (Concord) 2006: Timeless (Concord) 2007: Encanto (Concord) 2009: Bom Tempo (Concord) 2014: Magic (Okeh) 2020: In the Key of Joy (Concord) Awards Academy Awards Grammy Awards Latin Grammy Awards References External links Official website Sergio Mendes interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' July 2008 "Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66/'77/etc. The Sérgio Mendes Discography." brasil66.com, 2006. The Sounds and Colours of Brazil: An Interview with Sergio Mendes 'Sounds and Colours' June 25, 2012. "Sérgio Mendes." The Brazilian Sound: Brazil's Music & Culture, July 13, 2008. July 2009 Interview with L.A. Record 1941 births Living people 20th-century Brazilian musicians 20th-century pianists 21st-century Brazilian musicians 21st-century pianists A&M Records artists Atlantic Records artists Bossa nova pianists Brazilian jazz composers Brazilian jazz musicians Brazilian jazz pianists Brazilian male composers Brazilian record producers Brazilian songwriters Capitol Records artists Concord Records artists Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Latin jazz pianists Latin music composers Latin music record producers Latin pop pianists Música Popular Brasileira pianists Musicians from Rio de Janeiro (city) People from Niterói Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 members 20th-century jazz composers 21st-century jazz composers
true
[ "Gypsy: A Memoir is a 1957 autobiography of renowned striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee, which inspired the 1959 Broadway musical Gypsy: A Musical Fable. The book tells Lee's true life story in three acts beginning with her early childhood days in theatre when she toured with her sister, June Havoc. The book ends just as Gypsy has gotten on a train and is headed to Hollywood to begin her career in the movies. Her Hollywood career was short lived and she did not get many roles. The roles she did get were so small that at one point she wanted to be billed under her birth name, Louise Hovick.\n\nThe first edition was published by Harper in 1957. It is now available in a 1999 paperback reprint.\n\n1957 non-fiction books\nAmerican memoirs", "Ze'ev Binyamin \"Benny\" Begin, (; born 1 March 1943) is an Israeli geologist and politician. He is a member of the Knesset for New Hope, having previously served as a member for Likud and Herut – The National Movement. He is the son of former Prime Minister of Israel Menachem Begin.\n\nBiography\nZe'ev Binyamin (Benny) Begin was born in Jerusalem to Aliza and Menachem Begin. He studied geology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. After completing his undergraduate and graduate studies, he worked for the Geological Survey of Israel. He completed his doctorate in geology at Colorado State University in 1978.\n\nPolitical career\nFirst elected to the Knesset in 1988 as a Likud MK, Begin ran in the Likud primary in 1993 to succeed Yitzhak Shamir as party leader but was defeated by Benjamin Netanyahu. Under Netanyahu's government (1996–1999), Begin served as Science Minister until 1997 when he resigned in protest against the Hebron Agreement.\n\nHe subsequently led hardliners out of the Likud with the hope of reviving the Herut political party founded by his father. With full support from former Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, Herut – The National Movement departed from the Likud and joined other right-wing parties to form the National Union, an alliance opposing the Oslo Accords. Owing to the National Union's poor showing in the 1999 elections, Begin resigned his seat and quit politics. He resumed his career in science and education, and was appointed Director of the Geological Survey of Israel.\n\nBegin announced on 2 November 2008 his return to politics and the Likud party, as well as his intention to seek a place on the Likud list for the 2009 elections. He ultimately won fifth place on the party's list, and returned to the Knesset with Likud winning 27 seats. Netanyahu had promised Begin a ministerial position if Likud won the election and honored that promise by appointing Begin a Minister without Portfolio in the new government.\n\nBegin did not run in the 2013 elections, but returned to politics in the 2015 elections running on the 11th place on the Likud party list, the spot reserved for a candidate appointed by party leader Netanyahu. Following the elections, he was appointed Minister without Portfolio in the new government. His term with the government lasted only eleven days. After Prime Minister Netanyahu convinced Gilad Erdan to join the government as Minister of Public Security, Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy, Begin was forced to resign as Likud's coalition agreement limited the party to 13 ministers.\n\nBenny Begin officially left Likud and joined Gideon Sa'ar's New Hope party on 21 January 2021. Begin was placed sixth on New Hope's list for the 2021 elections. He gained a seat in the 24th Knesset as New Hope won six seats.\n\nViews and opinions\nIn an interview with Haaretz in 2009, Begin explained his opposition to a Palestinian state, proposing instead an Arab autonomy under Israeli control, since \"without security control in Samaria, Judea and Gaza there will be no security in Tel Aviv, either.\" He concluded with his belief that we must \"live together with people who do not want us...[and] behave humanely and decently both with the Israeli citizens who are not Jews and with those who are not citizens. Is there a contradiction between my nationalism and my liberalism? I believe that this is a day-to-day effort to which I and he is obligated.\"\n\nOn 3 March 2019, Begin said that he was \"deeply troubled\" after reading the Israeli attorney general's 57-page document detailing the suspicions against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Begin was one of the few members of the then governing coalition to support the attorney general.\n\nPersonal life\nBegin is married, and had six children. One son, Yonatan, was a fighter pilot with the Israeli Air Force who was killed when his F-16 fighter jet crashed in 2000. Another son,\nAvinadav is a writer, and has become a social activist, out of a general anti-nationalist ideology. He was engaged in pro-Palestinian demonstrations.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nThoughts of a National Liberal: an interview with Benny Begin - Fathom Journal\n\n1943 births\nLiving people\nChildren of prime ministers of Israel\nColorado State University alumni\nHebrew University of Jerusalem alumni\nHerut – The National Movement politicians\nIsraeli geologists\nIsraeli Jews\nJewish Israeli politicians\nJews in Mandatory Palestine\nLeaders of political parties in Israel\nLikud politicians\nMembers of the 12th Knesset (1988–1992)\nMembers of the 13th Knesset (1992–1996)\nMembers of the 14th Knesset (1996–1999)\nMembers of the 18th Knesset (2009–2013)\nMembers of the 20th Knesset (2015–2019)\nMembers of the 24th Knesset (2021–present)\nNew Hope (Israel) politicians\nPoliticians from Jerusalem" ]
[ "Sérgio Mendes", "Early career", "When did his career begin?", "As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging." ]
C_bb7e626fb3cc46159c5006e7a70787f7_1
What was his first recording?
2
What was Sérgio Mendes' first recording?
Sérgio Mendes
Mendes was born in Niteroi, Brazil, the son of a physician. He attended the local conservatory with hopes of becoming a classical pianist. As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging. Mendes played with Antonio Carlos Jobim (regarded as a mentor) and many U.S. jazz musicians who toured Brazil. Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961. Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played Carnegie Hall. Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 group name with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records. Sergio became full partners with Richard Adler, a Brooklyn-born American who had previously brought Bossa Tres plus two dancers, Joe Bennett and a Brazilian partner, to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, in 1963. He was also accompanied by Jobim; Flavio Ramos, and Aloisio Olivera, a record and TV producer from Rio. The Musicians Union only allowed this group to appear on one TV show and one club appearance (Basin Street East) before ordering them to leave the U.S. When the new group, Brasil '65 was formed, Shelly Manne, Bud Shank and other West Coast musicians got Sergio and the others into the local musicians union. Adler and Mendes formed Brasil '65, which consisted of Wanda Sa and Rosinha de Valenca, as well as the Sergio Mendes Trio. The group recorded albums for Atlantic and Capitol. CANNOTANSWER
Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961.
Sérgio Santos Mendes (; born February 11, 1941) is a Brazilian musician. He has over 55 releases, and plays bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song in 2012 as co-writer of the song "Real in Rio" from the animated film Rio. Mendes is a unique example of a Brazilian musician primarily known in the United States, where his albums were recorded and where most of his touring took place. Mendes is married to Gracinha Leporace, who has performed with him since the early 1970s. Mendes has also collaborated with many artists through the years, including The Black Eyed Peas, with whom he re-recorded in 2006 a version of his breakthrough hit "Mas que Nada". Biography Early career Mendes was born in Niterói, Brazil, the son of a physician. He attended the local conservatory with hopes of becoming a classical pianist. As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging. Mendes played with Antônio Carlos Jobim (regarded as a mentor) and many U.S. jazz musicians who toured Brazil. Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961. Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played at the Carnegie Hall. Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 group name with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records. Mendes became full partners with Richard Adler, a Brooklyn-born American who had previously brought Bossa Trés plus two dancers, Joe Bennett and a Brazilian partner, to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1963. He was also accompanied by Jobim; Flavio Ramos, and Aloísio de Oliveira, a record and TV producer from Rio who used to be a member of Carmen Miranda's backing group Bando da Lua. The Musicians Union only allowed this group to appear on one TV show and make one club appearance (Basin Street East) before ordering them to leave the U.S. When the new group Brasil '65 was formed, Shelly Manne, Bud Shank and other West Coast musicians got Mendes and the others into the local musicians union. Adler and Mendes formed Brasil '65, which consisted of Wanda Sá and Rosinha de Valença, as well as the Sergio Mendes Trio. The group recorded albums for Atlantic and Capitol. Brasil '66 All of Mendes' jazz albums for Atlantic Records, through Nesuhi and Ahmet Ertegun, had low sales. Richard Adler suggested that Mendes and the group sing in English, as well as Portuguese as Mendes had demanded, and Adler sought new English-based material such as "Goin' Out of My Head" by Teddy Randazzo and Bobby Weinstein. In order to sing these songs properly in English, Adler suggested that the group find two American girl singers who would sing in both English and Portuguese. Adler called his friend Jerry Dennon and A&M Records founders Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, and arranged for an audition for Mendes' new group, which was dubbed "Brasil '66.'" Alpert and Moss signed Mendes and his group to A&M Records. Adler then went to the Ertegun Brothers at Atlantic Records and sought to have them release Mendes from his Atlantic Jazz contract. Ahmet agreed to allow him to record albums under the name "Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66" with A&M. Mendes was not at this meeting, only Adler and Ahmet Ertegun. Alpert took over as producer for the A&M albums, and the group became a huge success with their first single, "Mas que Nada", by writer Jorge Ben. The first album on A&M was Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66, an album that went platinum based largely on the success of the single "Mas que Nada" (a Jorge Ben cover) and the personal support of Alpert, with whom Mendes toured. The original lineup of Brasil '66 was Mendes (piano), vocalists Lani Hall (later Alpert's wife) and Sylvia Dulce Kleiner (Bibi Vogel) (1942 - 2004), Bob Matthews (bass), José Soares (percussion) and João Palma (1943 - 2016) (drums). John Pisano (1931 - ) played guitar. This new line-up then recorded two more albums between 1966 and 1968 (including the best-selling Look Around LP), before there was a major personnel change for their fourth album Fool on the Hill. Mendes often changed the lineup. Vocalist Kleiner (Bibi Vogel) was replaced by Janis Hansen, who in turn was replaced by Karen Philipp. Veteran drummer Dom Um Romão teamed with Rubens Bassini to assume percussionist duties. Claudio Slon joined the group as drummer in 1969, and went on to play with Mendes for nearly a decade. Sebastião Neto took over on bass and Oscar Castro-Neves took on guitar. These changes gave the group a more orchestral sound than before. In the early 1970s, lead singer Hall pursued a solo career and became Alpert's second wife. Some accounts claim that Mendes was upset with Alpert for years for "stealing" Hall away from his group. Though his early singles with Brasil '66 (most notably "Mas que Nada") met with some success, Mendes really burst into mainstream prominence when he performed the Oscar-nominated "The Look of Love" on the Academy Awards telecast in April 1968. Brasil '66's version of the song quickly shot into the top 10, peaking at No. 4 and eclipsing Dusty Springfield's version from the soundtrack of the movie Casino Royale. Mendes spent the rest of 1968 enjoying consecutive top 10 and top 20 hits with his follow-up singles "The Fool on the Hill" and "Scarborough Fair". From 1968 on, Mendes was arguably the biggest Brazilian star in the world and enjoyed immense popularity worldwide, performing in venues as varied as stadium arenas and the White House, where he gave concerts for presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon. The Brasil '66 group appeared at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan in June 1970. Middle career Mendes' career in the U.S. stalled in the mid-1970s, but he remained popular in South America and Japan. His two albums with Bell Records in 1973 and 1974 followed by several for Elektra from 1975 on, found Mendes continuing to mine the best in American pop music and post-Bossa writers of his native Brazil, while forging new directions in soul with collaborators like Stevie Wonder, who wrote Mendes' R&B-inflected minor hit "The Real Thing". In 1983, he rejoined Alpert's A&M records and enjoyed success with a self-titled album and several follow-up albums, all of which received considerable adult contemporary airplay with charting singles. "Never Gonna Let You Go", featuring vocals by Joe Pizzulo and Leeza Miller, equalled the success of his 1968 single "The Look of Love" by reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; it also spent four weeks atop the Billboard adult contemporary chart. In 1984, he recorded the Confetti album, which had the hit songs "Olympia", which was also used as a theme song for the Olympic Games that year and "Alibis" which reached #5 on the A/C chart and #29 on the Hot 100. The 1980s also saw Mendes working with singer Lani Hall again on the song "No Place to Hide" from the Brasil '86 album, and as producer of her vocals on the title song for the James Bond film Never Say Never Again. By the time Mendes released his Grammy-winning Elektra album Brasileiro in 1992, he was the undisputed master of pop-inflected Brazilian jazz. The late-1990s lounge music revival brought retrospection and respect to Mendes' oeuvre, particularly the classic Brasil '66 albums. Later career Timeless features a wide array of neo-soul and alternative hip hop guest artists, including The Black Eyed Peas, Erykah Badu, Black Thought, Jill Scott, Chali 2na of Jurassic 5, India.Arie, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Q-Tip, Stevie Wonder and Pharoahe Monch. It was released February 14, 2006 by Concord Records. The 2006 re-recorded version of "Mas que Nada" with The Black Eyed Peas had additional vocals by Gracinha Leporace (Mendes' wife); this version is included on Timeless. In Brazil, the song is also well known for being the theme song for the local television channel Globo's Estrelas. The Black Eyed Peas' version contains a sample of their 2004 hit "Hey Mama". The re-recorded song became popular on many European charts. On the UK Singles Chart, the song entered at No. 29 and rose to and peaked at No. 6 on its second week on the chart. He makes an appearance dancing along for one of the segments Pharrell Williams' 24 hour of happy. Mendes served as co-producer on the soundtrack albums for two animated films about his homeland: 2011's Rio and its 2014 sequel. Discography 1961: Dance Moderno (Philips) 1962: Cannonball's Bossa Nova (Riverside/Capitol Records) 1963: Você Ainda Não Ouviu Nada! (a.k.a., The Beat of Brazil) (Philips) 1964: The Swinger from Rio (a.k.a., Bossa Nova York) (Atlantic) 1965: In Person at El Matador (Atlantic) 1965: Brasil '65 (a.k.a. In The Brazilian Bag) (Capitol) 1965: The Great Arrival (Atlantic) 1966: Herb Alpert Presents: Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 (A&M) 1967: Equinox (A&M) 1967: Quiet Nights (Philips) 1967: Look Around (A&M) 1968: Fool on the Hill (A&M) 1968: Sergio Mendes' Favorite Things (Atlantic) 1969: Crystal Illusions (A&M) 1969: Ye-Me-Lê (A&M) 1969: The Story of... Sérgio Mendes and Brasil '77 (a.ka., Italia - Brazil (A&M) 1970: Live at the Expo (A&M) 1970: Stillness (A&M) 1971: País Tropical (A&M) 1971: Giorno (A&M) 1972: Four Sider (A&M, double compilation album) 1972: Primal Roots (a.k.a., Raízes - Brazil) (A&M) 1973: Love Music (Bell) 1974: Vintage 74 (Bell) 1975: Sérgio Mendes (a.k.a., I Believe - Brazil) (Elektra) 1976: Homecooking (Elektra) 1977: Sergio Mendes and the New Brasil '77 (Elektra) 1977: Pelé (Atlantic) 1978: Brasil '88 (Elektra) 1979: Alegria (a.k.a., Horizonte Aberto - Brazil) (WEA) 1979: Magic Lady (Elektra) 1980: The Beat Of Brazil (Atlantic) 1983: Sérgio Mendes (A&M) 1984: Confetti (A&M) 1986: Brasil '86 (A&M) 1989: Arara (A&M) 1992: Brasileiro (Elektra) 1993: Oceano (Verve) 1999: Matrix (Concord) 2006: Timeless (Concord) 2007: Encanto (Concord) 2009: Bom Tempo (Concord) 2014: Magic (Okeh) 2020: In the Key of Joy (Concord) Awards Academy Awards Grammy Awards Latin Grammy Awards References External links Official website Sergio Mendes interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' July 2008 "Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66/'77/etc. The Sérgio Mendes Discography." brasil66.com, 2006. The Sounds and Colours of Brazil: An Interview with Sergio Mendes 'Sounds and Colours' June 25, 2012. "Sérgio Mendes." The Brazilian Sound: Brazil's Music & Culture, July 13, 2008. July 2009 Interview with L.A. Record 1941 births Living people 20th-century Brazilian musicians 20th-century pianists 21st-century Brazilian musicians 21st-century pianists A&M Records artists Atlantic Records artists Bossa nova pianists Brazilian jazz composers Brazilian jazz musicians Brazilian jazz pianists Brazilian male composers Brazilian record producers Brazilian songwriters Capitol Records artists Concord Records artists Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Latin jazz pianists Latin music composers Latin music record producers Latin pop pianists Música Popular Brasileira pianists Musicians from Rio de Janeiro (city) People from Niterói Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 members 20th-century jazz composers 21st-century jazz composers
true
[ "TG Now is an album by English industrial band Throbbing Gristle. It was released in 2004 through the band's own record label Industrial Records and was their first album of original material since 1982's Journey Through a Body.\n\nRelease \n\nThe album's 12\" vinyl version was limited to 500 copies and the CD version was limited to 3,000 copies.\n\nCritical reception\nPopMatters called the album \"an appetizing return from a band that had toyed significantly with the idea of what an artistically valid record release might be.\"\n\nTrack listing\n\nPersonnel \n Throbbing Gristle\n\n Genesis P-Orridge – uncredited performance, recording\n Cosey Fanni Tutti – uncredited performance, recording\n Peter Christopherson – uncredited performance, recording\n Chris Carter – uncredited performance, recording\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n\n \n\nThrobbing Gristle albums\n2004 albums", "William M. \"Wild Bill\" Moore (June 13, 1918 – August 1, 1983) was an American R&B and jazz tenor saxophone player. Moore earned a modest hit on the Hot R&B charts with \"We're Gonna Rock, We're Gonna Roll\", which also was one of the earliest rock and roll records.\n\nMoore was born in Detroit Michigan and began playing the alto saxophone at an early age. However, prior to his musical career, he was an amateur boxer, winning Michigan's Golden Gloves light heavyweight championship in 1937, before briefly turning professional. By the early 1940s, Moore abandoned his boxing career in favor of music, and was inspired by musicians Chu Berry and Illinois Jacquet to switch to tenor saxophone. In 1944, he made his recording debut, accompanying Christine Chatman, the wife of Memphis Slim, for Decca Records. Between 1945 and 1947, Moore was performing and recording in Los Angeles with Slim Gaillard, Jack McVea, Big Joe Turner, Dexter Gordon, and played on Helen Humes’ hit recording, \"Be-Baba-Leba\".\n\nIn 1947 he moved back to Detroit and began recording with his own band, which included baritone player Paul Williams, later famous for \"The Hucklebuck\". In December of that year, he recorded \"We're Gonna Rock, We're Gonna Roll\" for the Savoy label which was a modest hit and is remembered today as one of many candidates for the first rock and roll record. It was one of the first records played by Alan Freed on his \"Moondog\" radio shows in 1951. However, by the standards of its time it was quite a primitive recording, notable mainly for the juxtaposition of the words “rock” and “roll”, and the battling saxophones of Moore and Williams. In 1949, he cut \"Rock And Roll\", reportedly featuring Scatman Crothers on vocals.\n\nMoore continued recording and playing in clubs in and around Detroit. In this period he also recorded several jazz albums for the Jazzland label. In 1971, he was sought out by Marvin Gaye to play saxophone on the album What's Going On, notably the track \"Mercy Mercy Me\".\n\nEventually he returned to Los Angeles, California and lived there until his death, aged 65.\n\nIn their 1992 book, What Was the First Rock 'n' Roll Record?, Jim Dawson and Steve Propes dedicated a chapter to Moore and his influential \"We're Gonna Rock, We're Gonna Roll.\"\n\nDiscography\nWild Bill's Beat (Jazzland), 1961\nBottom Groove (Jazzland), 1961\nThings That I Used To Do, (Big Joe Turner), (Pablo), 1977\nWith Houston Person\nThe Real Thing (Eastbound, 1973)\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nRockabilly.nl\n\nRhythm and blues saxophonists\n1918 births\n1983 deaths\n20th-century American musicians\n20th-century saxophonists\n20th-century African-American musicians" ]
[ "Sérgio Mendes", "Early career", "When did his career begin?", "As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging.", "What was his first recording?", "Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961." ]
C_bb7e626fb3cc46159c5006e7a70787f7_1
Where did he do his first tour?
3
Where did Sérgio Mendes do his first tour?
Sérgio Mendes
Mendes was born in Niteroi, Brazil, the son of a physician. He attended the local conservatory with hopes of becoming a classical pianist. As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging. Mendes played with Antonio Carlos Jobim (regarded as a mentor) and many U.S. jazz musicians who toured Brazil. Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961. Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played Carnegie Hall. Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 group name with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records. Sergio became full partners with Richard Adler, a Brooklyn-born American who had previously brought Bossa Tres plus two dancers, Joe Bennett and a Brazilian partner, to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, in 1963. He was also accompanied by Jobim; Flavio Ramos, and Aloisio Olivera, a record and TV producer from Rio. The Musicians Union only allowed this group to appear on one TV show and one club appearance (Basin Street East) before ordering them to leave the U.S. When the new group, Brasil '65 was formed, Shelly Manne, Bud Shank and other West Coast musicians got Sergio and the others into the local musicians union. Adler and Mendes formed Brasil '65, which consisted of Wanda Sa and Rosinha de Valenca, as well as the Sergio Mendes Trio. The group recorded albums for Atlantic and Capitol. CANNOTANSWER
Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played Carnegie Hall.
Sérgio Santos Mendes (; born February 11, 1941) is a Brazilian musician. He has over 55 releases, and plays bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song in 2012 as co-writer of the song "Real in Rio" from the animated film Rio. Mendes is a unique example of a Brazilian musician primarily known in the United States, where his albums were recorded and where most of his touring took place. Mendes is married to Gracinha Leporace, who has performed with him since the early 1970s. Mendes has also collaborated with many artists through the years, including The Black Eyed Peas, with whom he re-recorded in 2006 a version of his breakthrough hit "Mas que Nada". Biography Early career Mendes was born in Niterói, Brazil, the son of a physician. He attended the local conservatory with hopes of becoming a classical pianist. As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging. Mendes played with Antônio Carlos Jobim (regarded as a mentor) and many U.S. jazz musicians who toured Brazil. Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961. Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played at the Carnegie Hall. Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 group name with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records. Mendes became full partners with Richard Adler, a Brooklyn-born American who had previously brought Bossa Trés plus two dancers, Joe Bennett and a Brazilian partner, to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1963. He was also accompanied by Jobim; Flavio Ramos, and Aloísio de Oliveira, a record and TV producer from Rio who used to be a member of Carmen Miranda's backing group Bando da Lua. The Musicians Union only allowed this group to appear on one TV show and make one club appearance (Basin Street East) before ordering them to leave the U.S. When the new group Brasil '65 was formed, Shelly Manne, Bud Shank and other West Coast musicians got Mendes and the others into the local musicians union. Adler and Mendes formed Brasil '65, which consisted of Wanda Sá and Rosinha de Valença, as well as the Sergio Mendes Trio. The group recorded albums for Atlantic and Capitol. Brasil '66 All of Mendes' jazz albums for Atlantic Records, through Nesuhi and Ahmet Ertegun, had low sales. Richard Adler suggested that Mendes and the group sing in English, as well as Portuguese as Mendes had demanded, and Adler sought new English-based material such as "Goin' Out of My Head" by Teddy Randazzo and Bobby Weinstein. In order to sing these songs properly in English, Adler suggested that the group find two American girl singers who would sing in both English and Portuguese. Adler called his friend Jerry Dennon and A&M Records founders Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, and arranged for an audition for Mendes' new group, which was dubbed "Brasil '66.'" Alpert and Moss signed Mendes and his group to A&M Records. Adler then went to the Ertegun Brothers at Atlantic Records and sought to have them release Mendes from his Atlantic Jazz contract. Ahmet agreed to allow him to record albums under the name "Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66" with A&M. Mendes was not at this meeting, only Adler and Ahmet Ertegun. Alpert took over as producer for the A&M albums, and the group became a huge success with their first single, "Mas que Nada", by writer Jorge Ben. The first album on A&M was Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66, an album that went platinum based largely on the success of the single "Mas que Nada" (a Jorge Ben cover) and the personal support of Alpert, with whom Mendes toured. The original lineup of Brasil '66 was Mendes (piano), vocalists Lani Hall (later Alpert's wife) and Sylvia Dulce Kleiner (Bibi Vogel) (1942 - 2004), Bob Matthews (bass), José Soares (percussion) and João Palma (1943 - 2016) (drums). John Pisano (1931 - ) played guitar. This new line-up then recorded two more albums between 1966 and 1968 (including the best-selling Look Around LP), before there was a major personnel change for their fourth album Fool on the Hill. Mendes often changed the lineup. Vocalist Kleiner (Bibi Vogel) was replaced by Janis Hansen, who in turn was replaced by Karen Philipp. Veteran drummer Dom Um Romão teamed with Rubens Bassini to assume percussionist duties. Claudio Slon joined the group as drummer in 1969, and went on to play with Mendes for nearly a decade. Sebastião Neto took over on bass and Oscar Castro-Neves took on guitar. These changes gave the group a more orchestral sound than before. In the early 1970s, lead singer Hall pursued a solo career and became Alpert's second wife. Some accounts claim that Mendes was upset with Alpert for years for "stealing" Hall away from his group. Though his early singles with Brasil '66 (most notably "Mas que Nada") met with some success, Mendes really burst into mainstream prominence when he performed the Oscar-nominated "The Look of Love" on the Academy Awards telecast in April 1968. Brasil '66's version of the song quickly shot into the top 10, peaking at No. 4 and eclipsing Dusty Springfield's version from the soundtrack of the movie Casino Royale. Mendes spent the rest of 1968 enjoying consecutive top 10 and top 20 hits with his follow-up singles "The Fool on the Hill" and "Scarborough Fair". From 1968 on, Mendes was arguably the biggest Brazilian star in the world and enjoyed immense popularity worldwide, performing in venues as varied as stadium arenas and the White House, where he gave concerts for presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon. The Brasil '66 group appeared at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan in June 1970. Middle career Mendes' career in the U.S. stalled in the mid-1970s, but he remained popular in South America and Japan. His two albums with Bell Records in 1973 and 1974 followed by several for Elektra from 1975 on, found Mendes continuing to mine the best in American pop music and post-Bossa writers of his native Brazil, while forging new directions in soul with collaborators like Stevie Wonder, who wrote Mendes' R&B-inflected minor hit "The Real Thing". In 1983, he rejoined Alpert's A&M records and enjoyed success with a self-titled album and several follow-up albums, all of which received considerable adult contemporary airplay with charting singles. "Never Gonna Let You Go", featuring vocals by Joe Pizzulo and Leeza Miller, equalled the success of his 1968 single "The Look of Love" by reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; it also spent four weeks atop the Billboard adult contemporary chart. In 1984, he recorded the Confetti album, which had the hit songs "Olympia", which was also used as a theme song for the Olympic Games that year and "Alibis" which reached #5 on the A/C chart and #29 on the Hot 100. The 1980s also saw Mendes working with singer Lani Hall again on the song "No Place to Hide" from the Brasil '86 album, and as producer of her vocals on the title song for the James Bond film Never Say Never Again. By the time Mendes released his Grammy-winning Elektra album Brasileiro in 1992, he was the undisputed master of pop-inflected Brazilian jazz. The late-1990s lounge music revival brought retrospection and respect to Mendes' oeuvre, particularly the classic Brasil '66 albums. Later career Timeless features a wide array of neo-soul and alternative hip hop guest artists, including The Black Eyed Peas, Erykah Badu, Black Thought, Jill Scott, Chali 2na of Jurassic 5, India.Arie, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Q-Tip, Stevie Wonder and Pharoahe Monch. It was released February 14, 2006 by Concord Records. The 2006 re-recorded version of "Mas que Nada" with The Black Eyed Peas had additional vocals by Gracinha Leporace (Mendes' wife); this version is included on Timeless. In Brazil, the song is also well known for being the theme song for the local television channel Globo's Estrelas. The Black Eyed Peas' version contains a sample of their 2004 hit "Hey Mama". The re-recorded song became popular on many European charts. On the UK Singles Chart, the song entered at No. 29 and rose to and peaked at No. 6 on its second week on the chart. He makes an appearance dancing along for one of the segments Pharrell Williams' 24 hour of happy. Mendes served as co-producer on the soundtrack albums for two animated films about his homeland: 2011's Rio and its 2014 sequel. Discography 1961: Dance Moderno (Philips) 1962: Cannonball's Bossa Nova (Riverside/Capitol Records) 1963: Você Ainda Não Ouviu Nada! (a.k.a., The Beat of Brazil) (Philips) 1964: The Swinger from Rio (a.k.a., Bossa Nova York) (Atlantic) 1965: In Person at El Matador (Atlantic) 1965: Brasil '65 (a.k.a. In The Brazilian Bag) (Capitol) 1965: The Great Arrival (Atlantic) 1966: Herb Alpert Presents: Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 (A&M) 1967: Equinox (A&M) 1967: Quiet Nights (Philips) 1967: Look Around (A&M) 1968: Fool on the Hill (A&M) 1968: Sergio Mendes' Favorite Things (Atlantic) 1969: Crystal Illusions (A&M) 1969: Ye-Me-Lê (A&M) 1969: The Story of... Sérgio Mendes and Brasil '77 (a.ka., Italia - Brazil (A&M) 1970: Live at the Expo (A&M) 1970: Stillness (A&M) 1971: País Tropical (A&M) 1971: Giorno (A&M) 1972: Four Sider (A&M, double compilation album) 1972: Primal Roots (a.k.a., Raízes - Brazil) (A&M) 1973: Love Music (Bell) 1974: Vintage 74 (Bell) 1975: Sérgio Mendes (a.k.a., I Believe - Brazil) (Elektra) 1976: Homecooking (Elektra) 1977: Sergio Mendes and the New Brasil '77 (Elektra) 1977: Pelé (Atlantic) 1978: Brasil '88 (Elektra) 1979: Alegria (a.k.a., Horizonte Aberto - Brazil) (WEA) 1979: Magic Lady (Elektra) 1980: The Beat Of Brazil (Atlantic) 1983: Sérgio Mendes (A&M) 1984: Confetti (A&M) 1986: Brasil '86 (A&M) 1989: Arara (A&M) 1992: Brasileiro (Elektra) 1993: Oceano (Verve) 1999: Matrix (Concord) 2006: Timeless (Concord) 2007: Encanto (Concord) 2009: Bom Tempo (Concord) 2014: Magic (Okeh) 2020: In the Key of Joy (Concord) Awards Academy Awards Grammy Awards Latin Grammy Awards References External links Official website Sergio Mendes interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' July 2008 "Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66/'77/etc. The Sérgio Mendes Discography." brasil66.com, 2006. The Sounds and Colours of Brazil: An Interview with Sergio Mendes 'Sounds and Colours' June 25, 2012. "Sérgio Mendes." The Brazilian Sound: Brazil's Music & Culture, July 13, 2008. July 2009 Interview with L.A. Record 1941 births Living people 20th-century Brazilian musicians 20th-century pianists 21st-century Brazilian musicians 21st-century pianists A&M Records artists Atlantic Records artists Bossa nova pianists Brazilian jazz composers Brazilian jazz musicians Brazilian jazz pianists Brazilian male composers Brazilian record producers Brazilian songwriters Capitol Records artists Concord Records artists Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Latin jazz pianists Latin music composers Latin music record producers Latin pop pianists Música Popular Brasileira pianists Musicians from Rio de Janeiro (city) People from Niterói Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 members 20th-century jazz composers 21st-century jazz composers
false
[ "Dicky Thompson (born June 13, 1957) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour.\n\nThompson joined the Nationwide Tour in 1990. He won the Ben Hogan Baton Rouge Open and the Ben Hogan Elizabethtown Open en route to an 8th-place finish on the money list which earned him his PGA Tour card for 1991. He did not perform well enough on his rookie year on Tour to retain his card but got his Tour card for 1992 through qualifying school. After another poor year on the PGA Tour, he took a hiatus until earning his PGA Tour card for 1995 through qualifying school. He did not do well enough to retain his card but did record his best finish on the PGA Tour of his career, finishing in a tie for fourth at the Deposit Guaranty Golf Classic. He took another hiatus from Tour and rejoined the Nationwide Tour in 1999 where he recorded five top-10 finishes. He played on the Nationwide Tour again in 2000, his last season on Tour.\n\nThompson played on the NGA Hooters Tour in 1989, 1994 and from 1996 to 1999. He won six tournaments during that time.\n\nProfessional wins (10)\n\nBen Hogan Tour wins (2)\n\nBen Hogan Tour playoff record (1–0)\n\nOther wins (8)\n1998 Georgia Open\n1999 Georgia Open\n6 wins on the NGA Hooters Tour\n\nResults in major championships\n\nCUT = missed the half-way cut\nNote: Thompson never played in the Masters Tournament or the PGA Championship.\n\nSee also\n1990 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates\n1991 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates\n1994 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates\n\nExternal links\n\nAmerican male golfers\nGeorgia Bulldogs men's golfers\nPGA Tour golfers\nGolfers from Atlanta\n1957 births\nLiving people", "Ed Humenik (born June 29, 1959) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour.\n\nHumenik joined the PGA Tour in 1989, gaining his Tour card through qualifying school. After struggling on his rookie year on Tour, he joined the Nationwide Tour in 1990. He won two events, the Ben Hogan Macon Open and the Ben Hogan Santa Rosa Open en route to a 5th-place finish on the money list which earned him his PGA Tour card for 1991. In 1991, he finished 121st on the money list, just good enough to retain his Tour card, he recorded two top-10 finishes. He bettered his performance in 1992, finishing 100th on the money list, including finishing in a tie for fourth at the Buick Southern Open. He finished 105th on the money list in 1993 and recorded three top-10 finishes. In 1994 he finished 108th on the money list, with the highlight of his year coming at the Greater Greensboro Open where he finished in a tie for second. He did not do as well in 1995 and failed to retain his Tour card. He did not play full-time on Tour again until 1999 when he played on the Nationwide Tour, his final season on Tour. He played in the U.S. Senior Open in 2009 and missed the cut.\n\nProfessional wins (3)\n\nBen Hogan Tour wins (2)\n\nOther wins (1)\n1988 Michigan Open\n\nResults in major championships\n\nCUT = missed the half-way cut\n\"T\" = tied\nNote: Humenik only played in the U.S. Open.\n\nSee also\n1988 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates\n1990 Ben Hogan Tour graduates\n\nExternal links\n\nAmerican male golfers\nMichigan Wolverines men's golfers\nPGA Tour golfers\nKorn Ferry Tour graduates\nGolfers from Detroit\n1959 births\nLiving people" ]
[ "Sérgio Mendes", "Early career", "When did his career begin?", "As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging.", "What was his first recording?", "Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961.", "Where did he do his first tour?", "Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played Carnegie Hall." ]
C_bb7e626fb3cc46159c5006e7a70787f7_1
What was his first album named?
4
What was Sérgio Mendes' first album named?
Sérgio Mendes
Mendes was born in Niteroi, Brazil, the son of a physician. He attended the local conservatory with hopes of becoming a classical pianist. As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging. Mendes played with Antonio Carlos Jobim (regarded as a mentor) and many U.S. jazz musicians who toured Brazil. Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961. Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played Carnegie Hall. Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 group name with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records. Sergio became full partners with Richard Adler, a Brooklyn-born American who had previously brought Bossa Tres plus two dancers, Joe Bennett and a Brazilian partner, to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, in 1963. He was also accompanied by Jobim; Flavio Ramos, and Aloisio Olivera, a record and TV producer from Rio. The Musicians Union only allowed this group to appear on one TV show and one club appearance (Basin Street East) before ordering them to leave the U.S. When the new group, Brasil '65 was formed, Shelly Manne, Bud Shank and other West Coast musicians got Sergio and the others into the local musicians union. Adler and Mendes formed Brasil '65, which consisted of Wanda Sa and Rosinha de Valenca, as well as the Sergio Mendes Trio. The group recorded albums for Atlantic and Capitol. CANNOTANSWER
Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 group name with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records.
Sérgio Santos Mendes (; born February 11, 1941) is a Brazilian musician. He has over 55 releases, and plays bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song in 2012 as co-writer of the song "Real in Rio" from the animated film Rio. Mendes is a unique example of a Brazilian musician primarily known in the United States, where his albums were recorded and where most of his touring took place. Mendes is married to Gracinha Leporace, who has performed with him since the early 1970s. Mendes has also collaborated with many artists through the years, including The Black Eyed Peas, with whom he re-recorded in 2006 a version of his breakthrough hit "Mas que Nada". Biography Early career Mendes was born in Niterói, Brazil, the son of a physician. He attended the local conservatory with hopes of becoming a classical pianist. As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging. Mendes played with Antônio Carlos Jobim (regarded as a mentor) and many U.S. jazz musicians who toured Brazil. Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961. Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played at the Carnegie Hall. Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 group name with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records. Mendes became full partners with Richard Adler, a Brooklyn-born American who had previously brought Bossa Trés plus two dancers, Joe Bennett and a Brazilian partner, to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1963. He was also accompanied by Jobim; Flavio Ramos, and Aloísio de Oliveira, a record and TV producer from Rio who used to be a member of Carmen Miranda's backing group Bando da Lua. The Musicians Union only allowed this group to appear on one TV show and make one club appearance (Basin Street East) before ordering them to leave the U.S. When the new group Brasil '65 was formed, Shelly Manne, Bud Shank and other West Coast musicians got Mendes and the others into the local musicians union. Adler and Mendes formed Brasil '65, which consisted of Wanda Sá and Rosinha de Valença, as well as the Sergio Mendes Trio. The group recorded albums for Atlantic and Capitol. Brasil '66 All of Mendes' jazz albums for Atlantic Records, through Nesuhi and Ahmet Ertegun, had low sales. Richard Adler suggested that Mendes and the group sing in English, as well as Portuguese as Mendes had demanded, and Adler sought new English-based material such as "Goin' Out of My Head" by Teddy Randazzo and Bobby Weinstein. In order to sing these songs properly in English, Adler suggested that the group find two American girl singers who would sing in both English and Portuguese. Adler called his friend Jerry Dennon and A&M Records founders Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, and arranged for an audition for Mendes' new group, which was dubbed "Brasil '66.'" Alpert and Moss signed Mendes and his group to A&M Records. Adler then went to the Ertegun Brothers at Atlantic Records and sought to have them release Mendes from his Atlantic Jazz contract. Ahmet agreed to allow him to record albums under the name "Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66" with A&M. Mendes was not at this meeting, only Adler and Ahmet Ertegun. Alpert took over as producer for the A&M albums, and the group became a huge success with their first single, "Mas que Nada", by writer Jorge Ben. The first album on A&M was Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66, an album that went platinum based largely on the success of the single "Mas que Nada" (a Jorge Ben cover) and the personal support of Alpert, with whom Mendes toured. The original lineup of Brasil '66 was Mendes (piano), vocalists Lani Hall (later Alpert's wife) and Sylvia Dulce Kleiner (Bibi Vogel) (1942 - 2004), Bob Matthews (bass), José Soares (percussion) and João Palma (1943 - 2016) (drums). John Pisano (1931 - ) played guitar. This new line-up then recorded two more albums between 1966 and 1968 (including the best-selling Look Around LP), before there was a major personnel change for their fourth album Fool on the Hill. Mendes often changed the lineup. Vocalist Kleiner (Bibi Vogel) was replaced by Janis Hansen, who in turn was replaced by Karen Philipp. Veteran drummer Dom Um Romão teamed with Rubens Bassini to assume percussionist duties. Claudio Slon joined the group as drummer in 1969, and went on to play with Mendes for nearly a decade. Sebastião Neto took over on bass and Oscar Castro-Neves took on guitar. These changes gave the group a more orchestral sound than before. In the early 1970s, lead singer Hall pursued a solo career and became Alpert's second wife. Some accounts claim that Mendes was upset with Alpert for years for "stealing" Hall away from his group. Though his early singles with Brasil '66 (most notably "Mas que Nada") met with some success, Mendes really burst into mainstream prominence when he performed the Oscar-nominated "The Look of Love" on the Academy Awards telecast in April 1968. Brasil '66's version of the song quickly shot into the top 10, peaking at No. 4 and eclipsing Dusty Springfield's version from the soundtrack of the movie Casino Royale. Mendes spent the rest of 1968 enjoying consecutive top 10 and top 20 hits with his follow-up singles "The Fool on the Hill" and "Scarborough Fair". From 1968 on, Mendes was arguably the biggest Brazilian star in the world and enjoyed immense popularity worldwide, performing in venues as varied as stadium arenas and the White House, where he gave concerts for presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon. The Brasil '66 group appeared at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan in June 1970. Middle career Mendes' career in the U.S. stalled in the mid-1970s, but he remained popular in South America and Japan. His two albums with Bell Records in 1973 and 1974 followed by several for Elektra from 1975 on, found Mendes continuing to mine the best in American pop music and post-Bossa writers of his native Brazil, while forging new directions in soul with collaborators like Stevie Wonder, who wrote Mendes' R&B-inflected minor hit "The Real Thing". In 1983, he rejoined Alpert's A&M records and enjoyed success with a self-titled album and several follow-up albums, all of which received considerable adult contemporary airplay with charting singles. "Never Gonna Let You Go", featuring vocals by Joe Pizzulo and Leeza Miller, equalled the success of his 1968 single "The Look of Love" by reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; it also spent four weeks atop the Billboard adult contemporary chart. In 1984, he recorded the Confetti album, which had the hit songs "Olympia", which was also used as a theme song for the Olympic Games that year and "Alibis" which reached #5 on the A/C chart and #29 on the Hot 100. The 1980s also saw Mendes working with singer Lani Hall again on the song "No Place to Hide" from the Brasil '86 album, and as producer of her vocals on the title song for the James Bond film Never Say Never Again. By the time Mendes released his Grammy-winning Elektra album Brasileiro in 1992, he was the undisputed master of pop-inflected Brazilian jazz. The late-1990s lounge music revival brought retrospection and respect to Mendes' oeuvre, particularly the classic Brasil '66 albums. Later career Timeless features a wide array of neo-soul and alternative hip hop guest artists, including The Black Eyed Peas, Erykah Badu, Black Thought, Jill Scott, Chali 2na of Jurassic 5, India.Arie, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Q-Tip, Stevie Wonder and Pharoahe Monch. It was released February 14, 2006 by Concord Records. The 2006 re-recorded version of "Mas que Nada" with The Black Eyed Peas had additional vocals by Gracinha Leporace (Mendes' wife); this version is included on Timeless. In Brazil, the song is also well known for being the theme song for the local television channel Globo's Estrelas. The Black Eyed Peas' version contains a sample of their 2004 hit "Hey Mama". The re-recorded song became popular on many European charts. On the UK Singles Chart, the song entered at No. 29 and rose to and peaked at No. 6 on its second week on the chart. He makes an appearance dancing along for one of the segments Pharrell Williams' 24 hour of happy. Mendes served as co-producer on the soundtrack albums for two animated films about his homeland: 2011's Rio and its 2014 sequel. Discography 1961: Dance Moderno (Philips) 1962: Cannonball's Bossa Nova (Riverside/Capitol Records) 1963: Você Ainda Não Ouviu Nada! (a.k.a., The Beat of Brazil) (Philips) 1964: The Swinger from Rio (a.k.a., Bossa Nova York) (Atlantic) 1965: In Person at El Matador (Atlantic) 1965: Brasil '65 (a.k.a. In The Brazilian Bag) (Capitol) 1965: The Great Arrival (Atlantic) 1966: Herb Alpert Presents: Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 (A&M) 1967: Equinox (A&M) 1967: Quiet Nights (Philips) 1967: Look Around (A&M) 1968: Fool on the Hill (A&M) 1968: Sergio Mendes' Favorite Things (Atlantic) 1969: Crystal Illusions (A&M) 1969: Ye-Me-Lê (A&M) 1969: The Story of... Sérgio Mendes and Brasil '77 (a.ka., Italia - Brazil (A&M) 1970: Live at the Expo (A&M) 1970: Stillness (A&M) 1971: País Tropical (A&M) 1971: Giorno (A&M) 1972: Four Sider (A&M, double compilation album) 1972: Primal Roots (a.k.a., Raízes - Brazil) (A&M) 1973: Love Music (Bell) 1974: Vintage 74 (Bell) 1975: Sérgio Mendes (a.k.a., I Believe - Brazil) (Elektra) 1976: Homecooking (Elektra) 1977: Sergio Mendes and the New Brasil '77 (Elektra) 1977: Pelé (Atlantic) 1978: Brasil '88 (Elektra) 1979: Alegria (a.k.a., Horizonte Aberto - Brazil) (WEA) 1979: Magic Lady (Elektra) 1980: The Beat Of Brazil (Atlantic) 1983: Sérgio Mendes (A&M) 1984: Confetti (A&M) 1986: Brasil '86 (A&M) 1989: Arara (A&M) 1992: Brasileiro (Elektra) 1993: Oceano (Verve) 1999: Matrix (Concord) 2006: Timeless (Concord) 2007: Encanto (Concord) 2009: Bom Tempo (Concord) 2014: Magic (Okeh) 2020: In the Key of Joy (Concord) Awards Academy Awards Grammy Awards Latin Grammy Awards References External links Official website Sergio Mendes interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' July 2008 "Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66/'77/etc. The Sérgio Mendes Discography." brasil66.com, 2006. The Sounds and Colours of Brazil: An Interview with Sergio Mendes 'Sounds and Colours' June 25, 2012. "Sérgio Mendes." The Brazilian Sound: Brazil's Music & Culture, July 13, 2008. July 2009 Interview with L.A. Record 1941 births Living people 20th-century Brazilian musicians 20th-century pianists 21st-century Brazilian musicians 21st-century pianists A&M Records artists Atlantic Records artists Bossa nova pianists Brazilian jazz composers Brazilian jazz musicians Brazilian jazz pianists Brazilian male composers Brazilian record producers Brazilian songwriters Capitol Records artists Concord Records artists Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Latin jazz pianists Latin music composers Latin music record producers Latin pop pianists Música Popular Brasileira pianists Musicians from Rio de Janeiro (city) People from Niterói Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 members 20th-century jazz composers 21st-century jazz composers
true
[ "What If is an album by former Styx guitarist Tommy Shaw, released in 1985. It was his second solo release. The album received somewhat favorable reviews. The album peaked at #87 on the Billboard 200.\n\nThe album is named after the track \"Remo's Theme (What If)\", which is the theme song for the character Remo Williams in the movie Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins. The song was not released on a soundtrack and was first made available on What If.\n\nTrack listing\nAll words and music by Tommy Shaw, except as indicated. The track \"Friendly Advice\" was moved to the end for the reissue.\n\n \"Jealousy\" - 4:43\n \"Remo's Theme (What If)\" (Shaw, Richie Cannata) - 4:23\n \"Reach for the Bottle\" - 5:44\n \"Friendly Advice\" - 3:29\n \"This Is Not a Test\" - 3:26\n \"See Me Now\" - 3:45\n \"True Confessions\" (Shaw, Cannata) - 3:27\n \"Count on You\" - 6:09\n \"Nature of the Beast\" - 4:04\n \"Bad Times\" - 2:44\n\nPersonnel\nTommy Shaw: Guitars, Keyboards, Lead Vocals, Background Vocals\nRichie Cannata: Saxophone, Keyboards\nBrian Stanley: Bass Guitar\nSteve Holley: Drums, Percussion\nMark Marshall: Drums on \"Bad Times\"\nGary Myrick: Electric Guitar on \"Count On You\" and \"Friendly Advice\"\n\nReferences\n\n1986 albums\nTommy Shaw albums\nA&M Records albums", "Jamie Warren, born April 8, 1961, in Hanover, Ontario, Canada, is a country music singer-songwriter, and the most awarded independent male artist in the Canadian country music industry.\n\nBiography\nJamie Warren took piano lessons when he was 5 years old, and guitar lessons at 8. When he was 14, he wrote his first song. After high school, he did airshifts local radio stations, but maintained his interest in singing. He won the Youth Talent Search at London's Western Fair, and was sent to Memphis, Tennessee to compete with other North American winners. This led Warren to a year performing at Libertyland amusement park in Memphis.\n\nWhen Warren returned to Ontario, he began working with producer J. Richard \"Rick\" Hutt. His first single, \"World of a Child,\" was released in 1984. Independently, he released six more singles in the 1980s, including \"Take Me Home Mississippi,\" which peaked at No. 10 in 1985. Later that year, Warren won the RPM Big Country Award for Best New Artist. When his career slowed down, he took time off to start a family, writing and playing in his spare time.\n\nIn 1993, Warren began work on his first album release on his own record label, TooHip Music. The first single, \"Ready to Run,\" was released in 1995 and peaked at No. 50 on the Canadian Country Singles chart. Warren wasn't originally planning to include the song on his album. Fallen Angel was released in 1996 in both Canada and the United States. While the album didn't perform well in the US, it was a success in Canada. Singles released from the album include \"What Goes Around (Comes Around),\" \"Watching Her Sleep,\" and the 1996 top 5 hit \"One Step Back.\"\n\nWarren began work on his second album, Just Not the Same, in 1997. The album was released the following year on the heels of his top 10 single, \"Cried All the Way Home.\" Four more singles from the album reached the Canadian top 20, including the top 10 singles \"The Way Love Goes\" and \"What a Woman Wants to Hear.\" Country Magazine named Just Not the Same the Best Album of 1999. When the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) awards were handed out in 1999, Warren was named Independent Male Vocalist of the Year, and \"Cried All the Way Home\" was named Independent Single of the Year. Warren swept the 1999 Ontario Country Music Awards (OCMA), winning every award he was nominated for, including Male Artist of the Year, Single Release of the Year (\"Cried All the Way Home\"), Video of the Year (\"Cried All the Way Home\"), CD Release of the Year (Just Not the Same), and Songwriter of the Year. He also received nominations at the 1999 RPM Big Country Awards (Male Vocalist of the Year) and the Juno Awards (Best Country Male Vocalist).\n\n2000 was another big year for Warren, with the top 20 single \"Sunny Day in the Park.\" He was named Male Vocalist of the Year by the OCMA for the second year, and the Ontario Country Performer and Fan Association (OCPFA) awarded Warren Single of the Year for \"Cried All the Way Home\" and Songwriter of the Year for \"Words You Can't Take Back.\" He was also nominated for Male Vocalist of the Year by the CCMA, the Junos and RPM. Warren won two awards, Single of the Year (\"Sunny Day in the Park\") and Songwriter of the Year (\"Sunny Day in the Park\") at the 2002 OCPFA Awards.\n\nWarren's third album, Really, was released in 2003. Four singles were released from the project, \"Without You,\" \"What More Can You Say,\" \"Reanne\" and \"Where's the Love,\" but they all missed the Canadian top 30. Warren released his greatest hits collection, Make Me Believe, in October 2005. The album included 14 of Warren's most successful singles, along with five new tracks. Four of those songs received airplay on Canadian country radio, \"She Kissed Me,\" \"I Saw Her Standing There,\" \"You're My Everything\" and the title track.\n\nWarren's fourth studio album, Right Here Right Now, was released in April 2008.\n\nDiscography\n\nStudio albums\n\nCompilation albums\n\nSingles\n\n1984–2000\n\n2001–present\n\nMusic videos\n\nReferences and footnotes\n\nExternal links\nJamie Warren Official Site\nJamie Warren Interview\n\n1961 births\nLiving people\nCanadian country singer-songwriters\nCanadian male singer-songwriters" ]
[ "Sérgio Mendes", "Early career", "When did his career begin?", "As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging.", "What was his first recording?", "Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961.", "Where did he do his first tour?", "Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played Carnegie Hall.", "What was his first album named?", "Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 group name with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records." ]
C_bb7e626fb3cc46159c5006e7a70787f7_1
Who was his record producer?
5
Who was Sérgio Mendes' record producer?
Sérgio Mendes
Mendes was born in Niteroi, Brazil, the son of a physician. He attended the local conservatory with hopes of becoming a classical pianist. As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging. Mendes played with Antonio Carlos Jobim (regarded as a mentor) and many U.S. jazz musicians who toured Brazil. Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961. Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played Carnegie Hall. Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 group name with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records. Sergio became full partners with Richard Adler, a Brooklyn-born American who had previously brought Bossa Tres plus two dancers, Joe Bennett and a Brazilian partner, to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, in 1963. He was also accompanied by Jobim; Flavio Ramos, and Aloisio Olivera, a record and TV producer from Rio. The Musicians Union only allowed this group to appear on one TV show and one club appearance (Basin Street East) before ordering them to leave the U.S. When the new group, Brasil '65 was formed, Shelly Manne, Bud Shank and other West Coast musicians got Sergio and the others into the local musicians union. Adler and Mendes formed Brasil '65, which consisted of Wanda Sa and Rosinha de Valenca, as well as the Sergio Mendes Trio. The group recorded albums for Atlantic and Capitol. CANNOTANSWER
Capitol Records and Atlantic Records.
Sérgio Santos Mendes (; born February 11, 1941) is a Brazilian musician. He has over 55 releases, and plays bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song in 2012 as co-writer of the song "Real in Rio" from the animated film Rio. Mendes is a unique example of a Brazilian musician primarily known in the United States, where his albums were recorded and where most of his touring took place. Mendes is married to Gracinha Leporace, who has performed with him since the early 1970s. Mendes has also collaborated with many artists through the years, including The Black Eyed Peas, with whom he re-recorded in 2006 a version of his breakthrough hit "Mas que Nada". Biography Early career Mendes was born in Niterói, Brazil, the son of a physician. He attended the local conservatory with hopes of becoming a classical pianist. As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging. Mendes played with Antônio Carlos Jobim (regarded as a mentor) and many U.S. jazz musicians who toured Brazil. Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961. Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played at the Carnegie Hall. Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 group name with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records. Mendes became full partners with Richard Adler, a Brooklyn-born American who had previously brought Bossa Trés plus two dancers, Joe Bennett and a Brazilian partner, to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1963. He was also accompanied by Jobim; Flavio Ramos, and Aloísio de Oliveira, a record and TV producer from Rio who used to be a member of Carmen Miranda's backing group Bando da Lua. The Musicians Union only allowed this group to appear on one TV show and make one club appearance (Basin Street East) before ordering them to leave the U.S. When the new group Brasil '65 was formed, Shelly Manne, Bud Shank and other West Coast musicians got Mendes and the others into the local musicians union. Adler and Mendes formed Brasil '65, which consisted of Wanda Sá and Rosinha de Valença, as well as the Sergio Mendes Trio. The group recorded albums for Atlantic and Capitol. Brasil '66 All of Mendes' jazz albums for Atlantic Records, through Nesuhi and Ahmet Ertegun, had low sales. Richard Adler suggested that Mendes and the group sing in English, as well as Portuguese as Mendes had demanded, and Adler sought new English-based material such as "Goin' Out of My Head" by Teddy Randazzo and Bobby Weinstein. In order to sing these songs properly in English, Adler suggested that the group find two American girl singers who would sing in both English and Portuguese. Adler called his friend Jerry Dennon and A&M Records founders Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, and arranged for an audition for Mendes' new group, which was dubbed "Brasil '66.'" Alpert and Moss signed Mendes and his group to A&M Records. Adler then went to the Ertegun Brothers at Atlantic Records and sought to have them release Mendes from his Atlantic Jazz contract. Ahmet agreed to allow him to record albums under the name "Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66" with A&M. Mendes was not at this meeting, only Adler and Ahmet Ertegun. Alpert took over as producer for the A&M albums, and the group became a huge success with their first single, "Mas que Nada", by writer Jorge Ben. The first album on A&M was Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66, an album that went platinum based largely on the success of the single "Mas que Nada" (a Jorge Ben cover) and the personal support of Alpert, with whom Mendes toured. The original lineup of Brasil '66 was Mendes (piano), vocalists Lani Hall (later Alpert's wife) and Sylvia Dulce Kleiner (Bibi Vogel) (1942 - 2004), Bob Matthews (bass), José Soares (percussion) and João Palma (1943 - 2016) (drums). John Pisano (1931 - ) played guitar. This new line-up then recorded two more albums between 1966 and 1968 (including the best-selling Look Around LP), before there was a major personnel change for their fourth album Fool on the Hill. Mendes often changed the lineup. Vocalist Kleiner (Bibi Vogel) was replaced by Janis Hansen, who in turn was replaced by Karen Philipp. Veteran drummer Dom Um Romão teamed with Rubens Bassini to assume percussionist duties. Claudio Slon joined the group as drummer in 1969, and went on to play with Mendes for nearly a decade. Sebastião Neto took over on bass and Oscar Castro-Neves took on guitar. These changes gave the group a more orchestral sound than before. In the early 1970s, lead singer Hall pursued a solo career and became Alpert's second wife. Some accounts claim that Mendes was upset with Alpert for years for "stealing" Hall away from his group. Though his early singles with Brasil '66 (most notably "Mas que Nada") met with some success, Mendes really burst into mainstream prominence when he performed the Oscar-nominated "The Look of Love" on the Academy Awards telecast in April 1968. Brasil '66's version of the song quickly shot into the top 10, peaking at No. 4 and eclipsing Dusty Springfield's version from the soundtrack of the movie Casino Royale. Mendes spent the rest of 1968 enjoying consecutive top 10 and top 20 hits with his follow-up singles "The Fool on the Hill" and "Scarborough Fair". From 1968 on, Mendes was arguably the biggest Brazilian star in the world and enjoyed immense popularity worldwide, performing in venues as varied as stadium arenas and the White House, where he gave concerts for presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon. The Brasil '66 group appeared at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan in June 1970. Middle career Mendes' career in the U.S. stalled in the mid-1970s, but he remained popular in South America and Japan. His two albums with Bell Records in 1973 and 1974 followed by several for Elektra from 1975 on, found Mendes continuing to mine the best in American pop music and post-Bossa writers of his native Brazil, while forging new directions in soul with collaborators like Stevie Wonder, who wrote Mendes' R&B-inflected minor hit "The Real Thing". In 1983, he rejoined Alpert's A&M records and enjoyed success with a self-titled album and several follow-up albums, all of which received considerable adult contemporary airplay with charting singles. "Never Gonna Let You Go", featuring vocals by Joe Pizzulo and Leeza Miller, equalled the success of his 1968 single "The Look of Love" by reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; it also spent four weeks atop the Billboard adult contemporary chart. In 1984, he recorded the Confetti album, which had the hit songs "Olympia", which was also used as a theme song for the Olympic Games that year and "Alibis" which reached #5 on the A/C chart and #29 on the Hot 100. The 1980s also saw Mendes working with singer Lani Hall again on the song "No Place to Hide" from the Brasil '86 album, and as producer of her vocals on the title song for the James Bond film Never Say Never Again. By the time Mendes released his Grammy-winning Elektra album Brasileiro in 1992, he was the undisputed master of pop-inflected Brazilian jazz. The late-1990s lounge music revival brought retrospection and respect to Mendes' oeuvre, particularly the classic Brasil '66 albums. Later career Timeless features a wide array of neo-soul and alternative hip hop guest artists, including The Black Eyed Peas, Erykah Badu, Black Thought, Jill Scott, Chali 2na of Jurassic 5, India.Arie, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Q-Tip, Stevie Wonder and Pharoahe Monch. It was released February 14, 2006 by Concord Records. The 2006 re-recorded version of "Mas que Nada" with The Black Eyed Peas had additional vocals by Gracinha Leporace (Mendes' wife); this version is included on Timeless. In Brazil, the song is also well known for being the theme song for the local television channel Globo's Estrelas. The Black Eyed Peas' version contains a sample of their 2004 hit "Hey Mama". The re-recorded song became popular on many European charts. On the UK Singles Chart, the song entered at No. 29 and rose to and peaked at No. 6 on its second week on the chart. He makes an appearance dancing along for one of the segments Pharrell Williams' 24 hour of happy. Mendes served as co-producer on the soundtrack albums for two animated films about his homeland: 2011's Rio and its 2014 sequel. Discography 1961: Dance Moderno (Philips) 1962: Cannonball's Bossa Nova (Riverside/Capitol Records) 1963: Você Ainda Não Ouviu Nada! (a.k.a., The Beat of Brazil) (Philips) 1964: The Swinger from Rio (a.k.a., Bossa Nova York) (Atlantic) 1965: In Person at El Matador (Atlantic) 1965: Brasil '65 (a.k.a. In The Brazilian Bag) (Capitol) 1965: The Great Arrival (Atlantic) 1966: Herb Alpert Presents: Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 (A&M) 1967: Equinox (A&M) 1967: Quiet Nights (Philips) 1967: Look Around (A&M) 1968: Fool on the Hill (A&M) 1968: Sergio Mendes' Favorite Things (Atlantic) 1969: Crystal Illusions (A&M) 1969: Ye-Me-Lê (A&M) 1969: The Story of... Sérgio Mendes and Brasil '77 (a.ka., Italia - Brazil (A&M) 1970: Live at the Expo (A&M) 1970: Stillness (A&M) 1971: País Tropical (A&M) 1971: Giorno (A&M) 1972: Four Sider (A&M, double compilation album) 1972: Primal Roots (a.k.a., Raízes - Brazil) (A&M) 1973: Love Music (Bell) 1974: Vintage 74 (Bell) 1975: Sérgio Mendes (a.k.a., I Believe - Brazil) (Elektra) 1976: Homecooking (Elektra) 1977: Sergio Mendes and the New Brasil '77 (Elektra) 1977: Pelé (Atlantic) 1978: Brasil '88 (Elektra) 1979: Alegria (a.k.a., Horizonte Aberto - Brazil) (WEA) 1979: Magic Lady (Elektra) 1980: The Beat Of Brazil (Atlantic) 1983: Sérgio Mendes (A&M) 1984: Confetti (A&M) 1986: Brasil '86 (A&M) 1989: Arara (A&M) 1992: Brasileiro (Elektra) 1993: Oceano (Verve) 1999: Matrix (Concord) 2006: Timeless (Concord) 2007: Encanto (Concord) 2009: Bom Tempo (Concord) 2014: Magic (Okeh) 2020: In the Key of Joy (Concord) Awards Academy Awards Grammy Awards Latin Grammy Awards References External links Official website Sergio Mendes interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' July 2008 "Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66/'77/etc. The Sérgio Mendes Discography." brasil66.com, 2006. The Sounds and Colours of Brazil: An Interview with Sergio Mendes 'Sounds and Colours' June 25, 2012. "Sérgio Mendes." The Brazilian Sound: Brazil's Music & Culture, July 13, 2008. July 2009 Interview with L.A. Record 1941 births Living people 20th-century Brazilian musicians 20th-century pianists 21st-century Brazilian musicians 21st-century pianists A&M Records artists Atlantic Records artists Bossa nova pianists Brazilian jazz composers Brazilian jazz musicians Brazilian jazz pianists Brazilian male composers Brazilian record producers Brazilian songwriters Capitol Records artists Concord Records artists Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Latin jazz pianists Latin music composers Latin music record producers Latin pop pianists Música Popular Brasileira pianists Musicians from Rio de Janeiro (city) People from Niterói Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 members 20th-century jazz composers 21st-century jazz composers
true
[ "All American Records was a record label, originally based in Chicago and ultimately owned by Bill Holmes, who was also the manager and producer of Strawberry Alarm Clock.\n\nAmong its artists was Lenny LaCour, who later became a manager, producer and record label owner in his own right. The label included the band Birmingham Sunday, whose sole album, A Message from Birmingham Sunday is a highly sought after item by record collectors.\n\nReferences\n\nAmerican record labels\nDefunct record labels of the United States\nRecord labels established in 1966", "Bernd Spier (6 April 1944 – 30 December 2017) was a German schlager singer and record producer. He later was a real estate broker.\n\nBiography \nSpier was born in Ludwigslust, Mecklenburg and is the son of Robby Spier, who was the conductor of the Hessischer Rundfunk orchestra in Frankfurt. Spier started his first band with two friends at the age of 15. Because of his father, he became a frequent guest on a popular radio program in Frankfurt, which then led to his discovery by CBS. His first record was released in 1963.\n\nHe sang easy listening schlager music until the Beatles and other rock 'n roll groups began to gain in popularity, threatening the careers of older artists. In 1966, he was made CBS Schallplatten's youngest record producer and as his first record as producer, he recorded his brother, Uwe.\n\nSpier made a brief comeback in 1969 with longer hair and German versions of \"Pretty Belinda\", by Chris Andrews and \"Knock Three Times\" by Tony Orlando and Dawn. They were two of his biggest hits. With his singing career in decline, Spier became a real estate broker in Rödermark. Spier died on 30 December 2017.\n\nReferences \n\nGerman male singers\n1944 births\n2017 deaths\nSchlager musicians" ]
[ "Sérgio Mendes", "Early career", "When did his career begin?", "As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging.", "What was his first recording?", "Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961.", "Where did he do his first tour?", "Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played Carnegie Hall.", "What was his first album named?", "Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 group name with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records.", "Who was his record producer?", "Capitol Records and Atlantic Records." ]
C_bb7e626fb3cc46159c5006e7a70787f7_1
Did he perform any on television?
6
Did Sérgio Mendes perform any songs on television?
Sérgio Mendes
Mendes was born in Niteroi, Brazil, the son of a physician. He attended the local conservatory with hopes of becoming a classical pianist. As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging. Mendes played with Antonio Carlos Jobim (regarded as a mentor) and many U.S. jazz musicians who toured Brazil. Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961. Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played Carnegie Hall. Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 group name with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records. Sergio became full partners with Richard Adler, a Brooklyn-born American who had previously brought Bossa Tres plus two dancers, Joe Bennett and a Brazilian partner, to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, in 1963. He was also accompanied by Jobim; Flavio Ramos, and Aloisio Olivera, a record and TV producer from Rio. The Musicians Union only allowed this group to appear on one TV show and one club appearance (Basin Street East) before ordering them to leave the U.S. When the new group, Brasil '65 was formed, Shelly Manne, Bud Shank and other West Coast musicians got Sergio and the others into the local musicians union. Adler and Mendes formed Brasil '65, which consisted of Wanda Sa and Rosinha de Valenca, as well as the Sergio Mendes Trio. The group recorded albums for Atlantic and Capitol. CANNOTANSWER
The Musicians Union only allowed this group to appear on one TV show and one club appearance (Basin Street East) before ordering them to leave the U.S.
Sérgio Santos Mendes (; born February 11, 1941) is a Brazilian musician. He has over 55 releases, and plays bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song in 2012 as co-writer of the song "Real in Rio" from the animated film Rio. Mendes is a unique example of a Brazilian musician primarily known in the United States, where his albums were recorded and where most of his touring took place. Mendes is married to Gracinha Leporace, who has performed with him since the early 1970s. Mendes has also collaborated with many artists through the years, including The Black Eyed Peas, with whom he re-recorded in 2006 a version of his breakthrough hit "Mas que Nada". Biography Early career Mendes was born in Niterói, Brazil, the son of a physician. He attended the local conservatory with hopes of becoming a classical pianist. As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging. Mendes played with Antônio Carlos Jobim (regarded as a mentor) and many U.S. jazz musicians who toured Brazil. Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961. Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played at the Carnegie Hall. Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 group name with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records. Mendes became full partners with Richard Adler, a Brooklyn-born American who had previously brought Bossa Trés plus two dancers, Joe Bennett and a Brazilian partner, to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1963. He was also accompanied by Jobim; Flavio Ramos, and Aloísio de Oliveira, a record and TV producer from Rio who used to be a member of Carmen Miranda's backing group Bando da Lua. The Musicians Union only allowed this group to appear on one TV show and make one club appearance (Basin Street East) before ordering them to leave the U.S. When the new group Brasil '65 was formed, Shelly Manne, Bud Shank and other West Coast musicians got Mendes and the others into the local musicians union. Adler and Mendes formed Brasil '65, which consisted of Wanda Sá and Rosinha de Valença, as well as the Sergio Mendes Trio. The group recorded albums for Atlantic and Capitol. Brasil '66 All of Mendes' jazz albums for Atlantic Records, through Nesuhi and Ahmet Ertegun, had low sales. Richard Adler suggested that Mendes and the group sing in English, as well as Portuguese as Mendes had demanded, and Adler sought new English-based material such as "Goin' Out of My Head" by Teddy Randazzo and Bobby Weinstein. In order to sing these songs properly in English, Adler suggested that the group find two American girl singers who would sing in both English and Portuguese. Adler called his friend Jerry Dennon and A&M Records founders Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, and arranged for an audition for Mendes' new group, which was dubbed "Brasil '66.'" Alpert and Moss signed Mendes and his group to A&M Records. Adler then went to the Ertegun Brothers at Atlantic Records and sought to have them release Mendes from his Atlantic Jazz contract. Ahmet agreed to allow him to record albums under the name "Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66" with A&M. Mendes was not at this meeting, only Adler and Ahmet Ertegun. Alpert took over as producer for the A&M albums, and the group became a huge success with their first single, "Mas que Nada", by writer Jorge Ben. The first album on A&M was Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66, an album that went platinum based largely on the success of the single "Mas que Nada" (a Jorge Ben cover) and the personal support of Alpert, with whom Mendes toured. The original lineup of Brasil '66 was Mendes (piano), vocalists Lani Hall (later Alpert's wife) and Sylvia Dulce Kleiner (Bibi Vogel) (1942 - 2004), Bob Matthews (bass), José Soares (percussion) and João Palma (1943 - 2016) (drums). John Pisano (1931 - ) played guitar. This new line-up then recorded two more albums between 1966 and 1968 (including the best-selling Look Around LP), before there was a major personnel change for their fourth album Fool on the Hill. Mendes often changed the lineup. Vocalist Kleiner (Bibi Vogel) was replaced by Janis Hansen, who in turn was replaced by Karen Philipp. Veteran drummer Dom Um Romão teamed with Rubens Bassini to assume percussionist duties. Claudio Slon joined the group as drummer in 1969, and went on to play with Mendes for nearly a decade. Sebastião Neto took over on bass and Oscar Castro-Neves took on guitar. These changes gave the group a more orchestral sound than before. In the early 1970s, lead singer Hall pursued a solo career and became Alpert's second wife. Some accounts claim that Mendes was upset with Alpert for years for "stealing" Hall away from his group. Though his early singles with Brasil '66 (most notably "Mas que Nada") met with some success, Mendes really burst into mainstream prominence when he performed the Oscar-nominated "The Look of Love" on the Academy Awards telecast in April 1968. Brasil '66's version of the song quickly shot into the top 10, peaking at No. 4 and eclipsing Dusty Springfield's version from the soundtrack of the movie Casino Royale. Mendes spent the rest of 1968 enjoying consecutive top 10 and top 20 hits with his follow-up singles "The Fool on the Hill" and "Scarborough Fair". From 1968 on, Mendes was arguably the biggest Brazilian star in the world and enjoyed immense popularity worldwide, performing in venues as varied as stadium arenas and the White House, where he gave concerts for presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon. The Brasil '66 group appeared at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan in June 1970. Middle career Mendes' career in the U.S. stalled in the mid-1970s, but he remained popular in South America and Japan. His two albums with Bell Records in 1973 and 1974 followed by several for Elektra from 1975 on, found Mendes continuing to mine the best in American pop music and post-Bossa writers of his native Brazil, while forging new directions in soul with collaborators like Stevie Wonder, who wrote Mendes' R&B-inflected minor hit "The Real Thing". In 1983, he rejoined Alpert's A&M records and enjoyed success with a self-titled album and several follow-up albums, all of which received considerable adult contemporary airplay with charting singles. "Never Gonna Let You Go", featuring vocals by Joe Pizzulo and Leeza Miller, equalled the success of his 1968 single "The Look of Love" by reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; it also spent four weeks atop the Billboard adult contemporary chart. In 1984, he recorded the Confetti album, which had the hit songs "Olympia", which was also used as a theme song for the Olympic Games that year and "Alibis" which reached #5 on the A/C chart and #29 on the Hot 100. The 1980s also saw Mendes working with singer Lani Hall again on the song "No Place to Hide" from the Brasil '86 album, and as producer of her vocals on the title song for the James Bond film Never Say Never Again. By the time Mendes released his Grammy-winning Elektra album Brasileiro in 1992, he was the undisputed master of pop-inflected Brazilian jazz. The late-1990s lounge music revival brought retrospection and respect to Mendes' oeuvre, particularly the classic Brasil '66 albums. Later career Timeless features a wide array of neo-soul and alternative hip hop guest artists, including The Black Eyed Peas, Erykah Badu, Black Thought, Jill Scott, Chali 2na of Jurassic 5, India.Arie, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Q-Tip, Stevie Wonder and Pharoahe Monch. It was released February 14, 2006 by Concord Records. The 2006 re-recorded version of "Mas que Nada" with The Black Eyed Peas had additional vocals by Gracinha Leporace (Mendes' wife); this version is included on Timeless. In Brazil, the song is also well known for being the theme song for the local television channel Globo's Estrelas. The Black Eyed Peas' version contains a sample of their 2004 hit "Hey Mama". The re-recorded song became popular on many European charts. On the UK Singles Chart, the song entered at No. 29 and rose to and peaked at No. 6 on its second week on the chart. He makes an appearance dancing along for one of the segments Pharrell Williams' 24 hour of happy. Mendes served as co-producer on the soundtrack albums for two animated films about his homeland: 2011's Rio and its 2014 sequel. Discography 1961: Dance Moderno (Philips) 1962: Cannonball's Bossa Nova (Riverside/Capitol Records) 1963: Você Ainda Não Ouviu Nada! (a.k.a., The Beat of Brazil) (Philips) 1964: The Swinger from Rio (a.k.a., Bossa Nova York) (Atlantic) 1965: In Person at El Matador (Atlantic) 1965: Brasil '65 (a.k.a. In The Brazilian Bag) (Capitol) 1965: The Great Arrival (Atlantic) 1966: Herb Alpert Presents: Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 (A&M) 1967: Equinox (A&M) 1967: Quiet Nights (Philips) 1967: Look Around (A&M) 1968: Fool on the Hill (A&M) 1968: Sergio Mendes' Favorite Things (Atlantic) 1969: Crystal Illusions (A&M) 1969: Ye-Me-Lê (A&M) 1969: The Story of... Sérgio Mendes and Brasil '77 (a.ka., Italia - Brazil (A&M) 1970: Live at the Expo (A&M) 1970: Stillness (A&M) 1971: País Tropical (A&M) 1971: Giorno (A&M) 1972: Four Sider (A&M, double compilation album) 1972: Primal Roots (a.k.a., Raízes - Brazil) (A&M) 1973: Love Music (Bell) 1974: Vintage 74 (Bell) 1975: Sérgio Mendes (a.k.a., I Believe - Brazil) (Elektra) 1976: Homecooking (Elektra) 1977: Sergio Mendes and the New Brasil '77 (Elektra) 1977: Pelé (Atlantic) 1978: Brasil '88 (Elektra) 1979: Alegria (a.k.a., Horizonte Aberto - Brazil) (WEA) 1979: Magic Lady (Elektra) 1980: The Beat Of Brazil (Atlantic) 1983: Sérgio Mendes (A&M) 1984: Confetti (A&M) 1986: Brasil '86 (A&M) 1989: Arara (A&M) 1992: Brasileiro (Elektra) 1993: Oceano (Verve) 1999: Matrix (Concord) 2006: Timeless (Concord) 2007: Encanto (Concord) 2009: Bom Tempo (Concord) 2014: Magic (Okeh) 2020: In the Key of Joy (Concord) Awards Academy Awards Grammy Awards Latin Grammy Awards References External links Official website Sergio Mendes interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' July 2008 "Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66/'77/etc. The Sérgio Mendes Discography." brasil66.com, 2006. The Sounds and Colours of Brazil: An Interview with Sergio Mendes 'Sounds and Colours' June 25, 2012. "Sérgio Mendes." The Brazilian Sound: Brazil's Music & Culture, July 13, 2008. July 2009 Interview with L.A. Record 1941 births Living people 20th-century Brazilian musicians 20th-century pianists 21st-century Brazilian musicians 21st-century pianists A&M Records artists Atlantic Records artists Bossa nova pianists Brazilian jazz composers Brazilian jazz musicians Brazilian jazz pianists Brazilian male composers Brazilian record producers Brazilian songwriters Capitol Records artists Concord Records artists Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Latin jazz pianists Latin music composers Latin music record producers Latin pop pianists Música Popular Brasileira pianists Musicians from Rio de Janeiro (city) People from Niterói Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 members 20th-century jazz composers 21st-century jazz composers
false
[ "India's Best Dancer 2 also known as India's Best Dancer: Best Ka Next Avatar is the second season of the Indian reality TV series India's Best Dancer. It premiered on 16 October 2021 on Sony Entertainment Television. This season hosted by Manish Paul. The Grand Finale was aired on 09 January 2022 and winner was Saumya Kamble.\n\nConcept \nIndia's Best Dancer will showcase the people of some of the best dancing talent, who with their solo performances, will compete to win the show. In the Grand Premiere, the judges announced the Top 12 contestants who will have a respective mentor in the journey ahead. Week-on-week these 12 contestants will have to impress the judges and audience alike to move closer to winning the most coveted title of India's Best Dancer.\n\nTop 12 contestants\n\nScore chart\n\nColor key\n indicates the contestant was eliminated.\n indicates the contestants in bottom.\n indicates the contestants got the full score.\n indicates the contestants did not perform.\n indicates the winner of the season.\n indicates the runner-up of the season.\n indicates the contestant quit the show.\n indicates the finalists of the season.\n\nNotes \n : On 16th,17th,23rd & 24th October the episodes aired were auditions rounds only.\n : Initially Rajendra Bishnoi is in top 12 but due his injury Stand-By contestant Dibbay Das join Best 12.\n : On 30th & 31st October the episodes were Mega Auditions and selected the top 12 contestants.\n : On 6th & 7th November the episodes were Grand Premiere there contestants were not scored by judges.\n : On 18th & 19th December, the contestants performed twice (one with their choreographer and the other with the contestant) and the contestants got scores from the judges twice.\n: On 25th & 26th December, Sanket did not perform due to the demise of his father and hence did not receive the score.\n: On 1st January, Dibbay Das did not perform as he got injured while practicing and hence did not receive the score.\n\nBattle of the best\n\nEpisodes\n\nGuests\n\nSee also\nDance Plus\nDance India Dance\nDance Deewane\nSuper Dancer\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n\n India's Best Dancer 2 on Sony Liv\n\n2022 Indian television seasons\nIndia's Best Dancer seasons", "Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 7 is the seventh season of the dance reality show, Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. It premiered on June 7, 2014 on Colors. The series was hosted by Ranvir Shorey and Drashti Dhami but later got replaced by Manish Paul. Madhuri Dixit, Karan Johar and Remo D'Souza were the three judges. The finale took place on September 20, 2014 and was won by Ashish Sharma and Shampa Gopikrishna.\n\nContestants\n Ashish Sharma and Shampa Gopikrishna, winners on September 20, 2014\n Karan Tacker and Elena/Bhawna, second place on September 20, 2014\n Shakti Mohan and Tushar Kalia, third place on September 20, 2014\n Mouni Roy and Punit Pathak, fourth place on September 20, 2014\n Akshat Singh and Vaishnavi, eliminated on September 13, 2014\n Sophie Choudry and Deepak Singh, eliminated on August 30, 2014\nTara Jean Popowich and Jack, eliminated on August 23, 2014\n Kiku Sharda as Palak and Kruti Mahesh, eliminated on August 16, 2014\n Malishka Mendonsa, and Diwakar, eliminated on August 9, 2014\n Kushal Punjabi and Mohena, eliminated on August 2, 2014\n Puja Banerjee and Rajit Dev, eliminated on July 27, 2014\n Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and Sneha Kapoor, eliminated on July 12, 2014\n Sukhwinder Singh and Bhawna Khanduja, eliminated on July 6, 2014\n Kritika Kamra and Savio Barnes, eliminated on June 29, 2014\n Purab Kohli and Mohena Kumari Singh, eliminated on June 22, 2014\n VJ Andy and Bhavini Mishra, eliminated on June 15, 2014\n\nScoring chart\n\n In week 12, Sophie did not get any scores as she was in the face-off round before she got eliminated\n In week 10, Kiku did not get any scores as she was in the face-off round before she got eliminated\n Due to the health condition and Shakti being hospitalized, the duo Shakti and Tushar were unable to perform in week 13. Hence, no marks were given to them that week.\n\ngreen numbers indicates the highest score.\nred numbers indicates the lowest score.\n indicates the winning couple.\n indicates the runner-up couple.\n indicates the second runner-up couple\n indicates the fourth-place couple\n indicates the couple eliminated that week.\n indicates the returning couple that finished in the bottom three.\nn/a indicates the couple did not get any scores\n\nCelebrity guests\n\nReferences\n\nDance competition television shows\nIndian dance television shows\nJhalak Dikhhla Jaa seasons" ]
[ "Sérgio Mendes", "Early career", "When did his career begin?", "As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging.", "What was his first recording?", "Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961.", "Where did he do his first tour?", "Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played Carnegie Hall.", "What was his first album named?", "Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 group name with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records.", "Who was his record producer?", "Capitol Records and Atlantic Records.", "Did he perform any on television?", "The Musicians Union only allowed this group to appear on one TV show and one club appearance (Basin Street East) before ordering them to leave the U.S." ]
C_bb7e626fb3cc46159c5006e7a70787f7_1
Why were they ordered to leave the US?
7
Why was Sérgio Mendes ordered to leave the US?
Sérgio Mendes
Mendes was born in Niteroi, Brazil, the son of a physician. He attended the local conservatory with hopes of becoming a classical pianist. As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging. Mendes played with Antonio Carlos Jobim (regarded as a mentor) and many U.S. jazz musicians who toured Brazil. Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961. Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played Carnegie Hall. Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 group name with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records. Sergio became full partners with Richard Adler, a Brooklyn-born American who had previously brought Bossa Tres plus two dancers, Joe Bennett and a Brazilian partner, to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, in 1963. He was also accompanied by Jobim; Flavio Ramos, and Aloisio Olivera, a record and TV producer from Rio. The Musicians Union only allowed this group to appear on one TV show and one club appearance (Basin Street East) before ordering them to leave the U.S. When the new group, Brasil '65 was formed, Shelly Manne, Bud Shank and other West Coast musicians got Sergio and the others into the local musicians union. Adler and Mendes formed Brasil '65, which consisted of Wanda Sa and Rosinha de Valenca, as well as the Sergio Mendes Trio. The group recorded albums for Atlantic and Capitol. CANNOTANSWER
CANNOTANSWER
Sérgio Santos Mendes (; born February 11, 1941) is a Brazilian musician. He has over 55 releases, and plays bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song in 2012 as co-writer of the song "Real in Rio" from the animated film Rio. Mendes is a unique example of a Brazilian musician primarily known in the United States, where his albums were recorded and where most of his touring took place. Mendes is married to Gracinha Leporace, who has performed with him since the early 1970s. Mendes has also collaborated with many artists through the years, including The Black Eyed Peas, with whom he re-recorded in 2006 a version of his breakthrough hit "Mas que Nada". Biography Early career Mendes was born in Niterói, Brazil, the son of a physician. He attended the local conservatory with hopes of becoming a classical pianist. As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging. Mendes played with Antônio Carlos Jobim (regarded as a mentor) and many U.S. jazz musicians who toured Brazil. Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961. Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played at the Carnegie Hall. Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 group name with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records. Mendes became full partners with Richard Adler, a Brooklyn-born American who had previously brought Bossa Trés plus two dancers, Joe Bennett and a Brazilian partner, to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1963. He was also accompanied by Jobim; Flavio Ramos, and Aloísio de Oliveira, a record and TV producer from Rio who used to be a member of Carmen Miranda's backing group Bando da Lua. The Musicians Union only allowed this group to appear on one TV show and make one club appearance (Basin Street East) before ordering them to leave the U.S. When the new group Brasil '65 was formed, Shelly Manne, Bud Shank and other West Coast musicians got Mendes and the others into the local musicians union. Adler and Mendes formed Brasil '65, which consisted of Wanda Sá and Rosinha de Valença, as well as the Sergio Mendes Trio. The group recorded albums for Atlantic and Capitol. Brasil '66 All of Mendes' jazz albums for Atlantic Records, through Nesuhi and Ahmet Ertegun, had low sales. Richard Adler suggested that Mendes and the group sing in English, as well as Portuguese as Mendes had demanded, and Adler sought new English-based material such as "Goin' Out of My Head" by Teddy Randazzo and Bobby Weinstein. In order to sing these songs properly in English, Adler suggested that the group find two American girl singers who would sing in both English and Portuguese. Adler called his friend Jerry Dennon and A&M Records founders Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, and arranged for an audition for Mendes' new group, which was dubbed "Brasil '66.'" Alpert and Moss signed Mendes and his group to A&M Records. Adler then went to the Ertegun Brothers at Atlantic Records and sought to have them release Mendes from his Atlantic Jazz contract. Ahmet agreed to allow him to record albums under the name "Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66" with A&M. Mendes was not at this meeting, only Adler and Ahmet Ertegun. Alpert took over as producer for the A&M albums, and the group became a huge success with their first single, "Mas que Nada", by writer Jorge Ben. The first album on A&M was Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66, an album that went platinum based largely on the success of the single "Mas que Nada" (a Jorge Ben cover) and the personal support of Alpert, with whom Mendes toured. The original lineup of Brasil '66 was Mendes (piano), vocalists Lani Hall (later Alpert's wife) and Sylvia Dulce Kleiner (Bibi Vogel) (1942 - 2004), Bob Matthews (bass), José Soares (percussion) and João Palma (1943 - 2016) (drums). John Pisano (1931 - ) played guitar. This new line-up then recorded two more albums between 1966 and 1968 (including the best-selling Look Around LP), before there was a major personnel change for their fourth album Fool on the Hill. Mendes often changed the lineup. Vocalist Kleiner (Bibi Vogel) was replaced by Janis Hansen, who in turn was replaced by Karen Philipp. Veteran drummer Dom Um Romão teamed with Rubens Bassini to assume percussionist duties. Claudio Slon joined the group as drummer in 1969, and went on to play with Mendes for nearly a decade. Sebastião Neto took over on bass and Oscar Castro-Neves took on guitar. These changes gave the group a more orchestral sound than before. In the early 1970s, lead singer Hall pursued a solo career and became Alpert's second wife. Some accounts claim that Mendes was upset with Alpert for years for "stealing" Hall away from his group. Though his early singles with Brasil '66 (most notably "Mas que Nada") met with some success, Mendes really burst into mainstream prominence when he performed the Oscar-nominated "The Look of Love" on the Academy Awards telecast in April 1968. Brasil '66's version of the song quickly shot into the top 10, peaking at No. 4 and eclipsing Dusty Springfield's version from the soundtrack of the movie Casino Royale. Mendes spent the rest of 1968 enjoying consecutive top 10 and top 20 hits with his follow-up singles "The Fool on the Hill" and "Scarborough Fair". From 1968 on, Mendes was arguably the biggest Brazilian star in the world and enjoyed immense popularity worldwide, performing in venues as varied as stadium arenas and the White House, where he gave concerts for presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon. The Brasil '66 group appeared at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan in June 1970. Middle career Mendes' career in the U.S. stalled in the mid-1970s, but he remained popular in South America and Japan. His two albums with Bell Records in 1973 and 1974 followed by several for Elektra from 1975 on, found Mendes continuing to mine the best in American pop music and post-Bossa writers of his native Brazil, while forging new directions in soul with collaborators like Stevie Wonder, who wrote Mendes' R&B-inflected minor hit "The Real Thing". In 1983, he rejoined Alpert's A&M records and enjoyed success with a self-titled album and several follow-up albums, all of which received considerable adult contemporary airplay with charting singles. "Never Gonna Let You Go", featuring vocals by Joe Pizzulo and Leeza Miller, equalled the success of his 1968 single "The Look of Love" by reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; it also spent four weeks atop the Billboard adult contemporary chart. In 1984, he recorded the Confetti album, which had the hit songs "Olympia", which was also used as a theme song for the Olympic Games that year and "Alibis" which reached #5 on the A/C chart and #29 on the Hot 100. The 1980s also saw Mendes working with singer Lani Hall again on the song "No Place to Hide" from the Brasil '86 album, and as producer of her vocals on the title song for the James Bond film Never Say Never Again. By the time Mendes released his Grammy-winning Elektra album Brasileiro in 1992, he was the undisputed master of pop-inflected Brazilian jazz. The late-1990s lounge music revival brought retrospection and respect to Mendes' oeuvre, particularly the classic Brasil '66 albums. Later career Timeless features a wide array of neo-soul and alternative hip hop guest artists, including The Black Eyed Peas, Erykah Badu, Black Thought, Jill Scott, Chali 2na of Jurassic 5, India.Arie, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Q-Tip, Stevie Wonder and Pharoahe Monch. It was released February 14, 2006 by Concord Records. The 2006 re-recorded version of "Mas que Nada" with The Black Eyed Peas had additional vocals by Gracinha Leporace (Mendes' wife); this version is included on Timeless. In Brazil, the song is also well known for being the theme song for the local television channel Globo's Estrelas. The Black Eyed Peas' version contains a sample of their 2004 hit "Hey Mama". The re-recorded song became popular on many European charts. On the UK Singles Chart, the song entered at No. 29 and rose to and peaked at No. 6 on its second week on the chart. He makes an appearance dancing along for one of the segments Pharrell Williams' 24 hour of happy. Mendes served as co-producer on the soundtrack albums for two animated films about his homeland: 2011's Rio and its 2014 sequel. Discography 1961: Dance Moderno (Philips) 1962: Cannonball's Bossa Nova (Riverside/Capitol Records) 1963: Você Ainda Não Ouviu Nada! (a.k.a., The Beat of Brazil) (Philips) 1964: The Swinger from Rio (a.k.a., Bossa Nova York) (Atlantic) 1965: In Person at El Matador (Atlantic) 1965: Brasil '65 (a.k.a. In The Brazilian Bag) (Capitol) 1965: The Great Arrival (Atlantic) 1966: Herb Alpert Presents: Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 (A&M) 1967: Equinox (A&M) 1967: Quiet Nights (Philips) 1967: Look Around (A&M) 1968: Fool on the Hill (A&M) 1968: Sergio Mendes' Favorite Things (Atlantic) 1969: Crystal Illusions (A&M) 1969: Ye-Me-Lê (A&M) 1969: The Story of... Sérgio Mendes and Brasil '77 (a.ka., Italia - Brazil (A&M) 1970: Live at the Expo (A&M) 1970: Stillness (A&M) 1971: País Tropical (A&M) 1971: Giorno (A&M) 1972: Four Sider (A&M, double compilation album) 1972: Primal Roots (a.k.a., Raízes - Brazil) (A&M) 1973: Love Music (Bell) 1974: Vintage 74 (Bell) 1975: Sérgio Mendes (a.k.a., I Believe - Brazil) (Elektra) 1976: Homecooking (Elektra) 1977: Sergio Mendes and the New Brasil '77 (Elektra) 1977: Pelé (Atlantic) 1978: Brasil '88 (Elektra) 1979: Alegria (a.k.a., Horizonte Aberto - Brazil) (WEA) 1979: Magic Lady (Elektra) 1980: The Beat Of Brazil (Atlantic) 1983: Sérgio Mendes (A&M) 1984: Confetti (A&M) 1986: Brasil '86 (A&M) 1989: Arara (A&M) 1992: Brasileiro (Elektra) 1993: Oceano (Verve) 1999: Matrix (Concord) 2006: Timeless (Concord) 2007: Encanto (Concord) 2009: Bom Tempo (Concord) 2014: Magic (Okeh) 2020: In the Key of Joy (Concord) Awards Academy Awards Grammy Awards Latin Grammy Awards References External links Official website Sergio Mendes interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' July 2008 "Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66/'77/etc. The Sérgio Mendes Discography." brasil66.com, 2006. The Sounds and Colours of Brazil: An Interview with Sergio Mendes 'Sounds and Colours' June 25, 2012. "Sérgio Mendes." The Brazilian Sound: Brazil's Music & Culture, July 13, 2008. July 2009 Interview with L.A. Record 1941 births Living people 20th-century Brazilian musicians 20th-century pianists 21st-century Brazilian musicians 21st-century pianists A&M Records artists Atlantic Records artists Bossa nova pianists Brazilian jazz composers Brazilian jazz musicians Brazilian jazz pianists Brazilian male composers Brazilian record producers Brazilian songwriters Capitol Records artists Concord Records artists Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Latin jazz pianists Latin music composers Latin music record producers Latin pop pianists Música Popular Brasileira pianists Musicians from Rio de Janeiro (city) People from Niterói Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 members 20th-century jazz composers 21st-century jazz composers
false
[ "On October 24, 2018, the bodies of 16 year old Tala and 23 year old Rotana Farea were found along rocky banks of the Hudson River. The bodies were bound with duct tape and the NYPD concluded there was no foul play. Police determined that their deaths were part of a suicide pact. Both of the sisters were last seen by their family in Virginia on November 30, 2017. Before disappearing, the sisters lived in a \"shelter-like\" facility due to abuse allegations in their district. A witness claimed he saw the two sisters 30 feet apart with their heads in their hands and that they appeared to be praying.\n\nThe sisters had been missing from their home for several weeks.\n\nThe medical examiner ruled that the sisters killed themselves.\n\nConnection to Saudi Arabia \nNew York Police have sources that the sisters would \"Rather kill themselves than return to Saudi Arabia\" The sisters' mother told local media that the Saudi embassy in Washington had ordered the family to leave the U.S. But Saudi Arabia refuted that stating \"Reports that we ordered anyone related to the Saudi sisters, Tala and Rotana Farea, God rest their souls, (who recently died tragically in NY), to leave the US for seeking asylum; are absolutely false. Details are still under investigation and will be shared in due course.''\n\nSee also\nList of solved missing person cases\n\nReferences \n\n2010s missing person cases\n2018 in New York (state)\n2018 suicides\nFarea, Tala and Rotana\nFormerly missing people\nFarea, Tala and Rotana\nMissing person cases in Virginia\nOctober 2018 events in the United States\nSisters\nFarea, Tala and Rotana\nWomen in New York City", "The 2011 Botswana Population and Housing Census was the latest national census of Botswana. The enumeration was managed by the Statistics Botswana (formerly Central Statistics Office) and took place over ten days starting on 22 August 2011. The census counted a total population of 2,024,787, a 20.5% increase from the 2001 Census.\n\nCost\nThe total budget for the 2011 Census was 243,575,993 pula (US$35.3 million as of August 2011) with the Botswana government funding all the costs. Over P100,000,000 was planned to pay for personnel.\n\nControversy\nBushmen living in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve boycotted the census in response to an earlier situation where the Bushmen were not provided polling stations in the 2009 election. Jumanda Gakelebone spoke on behalf of the Bushmen, saying that \"the government does not recognise us [the Bushmen] as a people. So why count us? They should count their own people and leave us alone.\"\n\nSee also\nCensus in Botswana\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nResults of the 2011 Census (PDF)\nSample questionnaire (PDF)\n\nCensuses in Botswana\n2011 in Botswana\nBotswana" ]
[ "Sérgio Mendes", "Early career", "When did his career begin?", "As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging.", "What was his first recording?", "Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961.", "Where did he do his first tour?", "Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played Carnegie Hall.", "What was his first album named?", "Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 group name with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records.", "Who was his record producer?", "Capitol Records and Atlantic Records.", "Did he perform any on television?", "The Musicians Union only allowed this group to appear on one TV show and one club appearance (Basin Street East) before ordering them to leave the U.S.", "Why were they ordered to leave the US?", "I don't know." ]
C_bb7e626fb3cc46159c5006e7a70787f7_1
Where was he born?
8
Where was Sérgio Mendes born?
Sérgio Mendes
Mendes was born in Niteroi, Brazil, the son of a physician. He attended the local conservatory with hopes of becoming a classical pianist. As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging. Mendes played with Antonio Carlos Jobim (regarded as a mentor) and many U.S. jazz musicians who toured Brazil. Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961. Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played Carnegie Hall. Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 group name with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records. Sergio became full partners with Richard Adler, a Brooklyn-born American who had previously brought Bossa Tres plus two dancers, Joe Bennett and a Brazilian partner, to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, in 1963. He was also accompanied by Jobim; Flavio Ramos, and Aloisio Olivera, a record and TV producer from Rio. The Musicians Union only allowed this group to appear on one TV show and one club appearance (Basin Street East) before ordering them to leave the U.S. When the new group, Brasil '65 was formed, Shelly Manne, Bud Shank and other West Coast musicians got Sergio and the others into the local musicians union. Adler and Mendes formed Brasil '65, which consisted of Wanda Sa and Rosinha de Valenca, as well as the Sergio Mendes Trio. The group recorded albums for Atlantic and Capitol. CANNOTANSWER
Mendes was born in Niteroi, Brazil, the son of a physician.
Sérgio Santos Mendes (; born February 11, 1941) is a Brazilian musician. He has over 55 releases, and plays bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song in 2012 as co-writer of the song "Real in Rio" from the animated film Rio. Mendes is a unique example of a Brazilian musician primarily known in the United States, where his albums were recorded and where most of his touring took place. Mendes is married to Gracinha Leporace, who has performed with him since the early 1970s. Mendes has also collaborated with many artists through the years, including The Black Eyed Peas, with whom he re-recorded in 2006 a version of his breakthrough hit "Mas que Nada". Biography Early career Mendes was born in Niterói, Brazil, the son of a physician. He attended the local conservatory with hopes of becoming a classical pianist. As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging. Mendes played with Antônio Carlos Jobim (regarded as a mentor) and many U.S. jazz musicians who toured Brazil. Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961. Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played at the Carnegie Hall. Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 group name with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records. Mendes became full partners with Richard Adler, a Brooklyn-born American who had previously brought Bossa Trés plus two dancers, Joe Bennett and a Brazilian partner, to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1963. He was also accompanied by Jobim; Flavio Ramos, and Aloísio de Oliveira, a record and TV producer from Rio who used to be a member of Carmen Miranda's backing group Bando da Lua. The Musicians Union only allowed this group to appear on one TV show and make one club appearance (Basin Street East) before ordering them to leave the U.S. When the new group Brasil '65 was formed, Shelly Manne, Bud Shank and other West Coast musicians got Mendes and the others into the local musicians union. Adler and Mendes formed Brasil '65, which consisted of Wanda Sá and Rosinha de Valença, as well as the Sergio Mendes Trio. The group recorded albums for Atlantic and Capitol. Brasil '66 All of Mendes' jazz albums for Atlantic Records, through Nesuhi and Ahmet Ertegun, had low sales. Richard Adler suggested that Mendes and the group sing in English, as well as Portuguese as Mendes had demanded, and Adler sought new English-based material such as "Goin' Out of My Head" by Teddy Randazzo and Bobby Weinstein. In order to sing these songs properly in English, Adler suggested that the group find two American girl singers who would sing in both English and Portuguese. Adler called his friend Jerry Dennon and A&M Records founders Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, and arranged for an audition for Mendes' new group, which was dubbed "Brasil '66.'" Alpert and Moss signed Mendes and his group to A&M Records. Adler then went to the Ertegun Brothers at Atlantic Records and sought to have them release Mendes from his Atlantic Jazz contract. Ahmet agreed to allow him to record albums under the name "Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66" with A&M. Mendes was not at this meeting, only Adler and Ahmet Ertegun. Alpert took over as producer for the A&M albums, and the group became a huge success with their first single, "Mas que Nada", by writer Jorge Ben. The first album on A&M was Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66, an album that went platinum based largely on the success of the single "Mas que Nada" (a Jorge Ben cover) and the personal support of Alpert, with whom Mendes toured. The original lineup of Brasil '66 was Mendes (piano), vocalists Lani Hall (later Alpert's wife) and Sylvia Dulce Kleiner (Bibi Vogel) (1942 - 2004), Bob Matthews (bass), José Soares (percussion) and João Palma (1943 - 2016) (drums). John Pisano (1931 - ) played guitar. This new line-up then recorded two more albums between 1966 and 1968 (including the best-selling Look Around LP), before there was a major personnel change for their fourth album Fool on the Hill. Mendes often changed the lineup. Vocalist Kleiner (Bibi Vogel) was replaced by Janis Hansen, who in turn was replaced by Karen Philipp. Veteran drummer Dom Um Romão teamed with Rubens Bassini to assume percussionist duties. Claudio Slon joined the group as drummer in 1969, and went on to play with Mendes for nearly a decade. Sebastião Neto took over on bass and Oscar Castro-Neves took on guitar. These changes gave the group a more orchestral sound than before. In the early 1970s, lead singer Hall pursued a solo career and became Alpert's second wife. Some accounts claim that Mendes was upset with Alpert for years for "stealing" Hall away from his group. Though his early singles with Brasil '66 (most notably "Mas que Nada") met with some success, Mendes really burst into mainstream prominence when he performed the Oscar-nominated "The Look of Love" on the Academy Awards telecast in April 1968. Brasil '66's version of the song quickly shot into the top 10, peaking at No. 4 and eclipsing Dusty Springfield's version from the soundtrack of the movie Casino Royale. Mendes spent the rest of 1968 enjoying consecutive top 10 and top 20 hits with his follow-up singles "The Fool on the Hill" and "Scarborough Fair". From 1968 on, Mendes was arguably the biggest Brazilian star in the world and enjoyed immense popularity worldwide, performing in venues as varied as stadium arenas and the White House, where he gave concerts for presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon. The Brasil '66 group appeared at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan in June 1970. Middle career Mendes' career in the U.S. stalled in the mid-1970s, but he remained popular in South America and Japan. His two albums with Bell Records in 1973 and 1974 followed by several for Elektra from 1975 on, found Mendes continuing to mine the best in American pop music and post-Bossa writers of his native Brazil, while forging new directions in soul with collaborators like Stevie Wonder, who wrote Mendes' R&B-inflected minor hit "The Real Thing". In 1983, he rejoined Alpert's A&M records and enjoyed success with a self-titled album and several follow-up albums, all of which received considerable adult contemporary airplay with charting singles. "Never Gonna Let You Go", featuring vocals by Joe Pizzulo and Leeza Miller, equalled the success of his 1968 single "The Look of Love" by reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; it also spent four weeks atop the Billboard adult contemporary chart. In 1984, he recorded the Confetti album, which had the hit songs "Olympia", which was also used as a theme song for the Olympic Games that year and "Alibis" which reached #5 on the A/C chart and #29 on the Hot 100. The 1980s also saw Mendes working with singer Lani Hall again on the song "No Place to Hide" from the Brasil '86 album, and as producer of her vocals on the title song for the James Bond film Never Say Never Again. By the time Mendes released his Grammy-winning Elektra album Brasileiro in 1992, he was the undisputed master of pop-inflected Brazilian jazz. The late-1990s lounge music revival brought retrospection and respect to Mendes' oeuvre, particularly the classic Brasil '66 albums. Later career Timeless features a wide array of neo-soul and alternative hip hop guest artists, including The Black Eyed Peas, Erykah Badu, Black Thought, Jill Scott, Chali 2na of Jurassic 5, India.Arie, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Q-Tip, Stevie Wonder and Pharoahe Monch. It was released February 14, 2006 by Concord Records. The 2006 re-recorded version of "Mas que Nada" with The Black Eyed Peas had additional vocals by Gracinha Leporace (Mendes' wife); this version is included on Timeless. In Brazil, the song is also well known for being the theme song for the local television channel Globo's Estrelas. The Black Eyed Peas' version contains a sample of their 2004 hit "Hey Mama". The re-recorded song became popular on many European charts. On the UK Singles Chart, the song entered at No. 29 and rose to and peaked at No. 6 on its second week on the chart. He makes an appearance dancing along for one of the segments Pharrell Williams' 24 hour of happy. Mendes served as co-producer on the soundtrack albums for two animated films about his homeland: 2011's Rio and its 2014 sequel. Discography 1961: Dance Moderno (Philips) 1962: Cannonball's Bossa Nova (Riverside/Capitol Records) 1963: Você Ainda Não Ouviu Nada! (a.k.a., The Beat of Brazil) (Philips) 1964: The Swinger from Rio (a.k.a., Bossa Nova York) (Atlantic) 1965: In Person at El Matador (Atlantic) 1965: Brasil '65 (a.k.a. In The Brazilian Bag) (Capitol) 1965: The Great Arrival (Atlantic) 1966: Herb Alpert Presents: Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 (A&M) 1967: Equinox (A&M) 1967: Quiet Nights (Philips) 1967: Look Around (A&M) 1968: Fool on the Hill (A&M) 1968: Sergio Mendes' Favorite Things (Atlantic) 1969: Crystal Illusions (A&M) 1969: Ye-Me-Lê (A&M) 1969: The Story of... Sérgio Mendes and Brasil '77 (a.ka., Italia - Brazil (A&M) 1970: Live at the Expo (A&M) 1970: Stillness (A&M) 1971: País Tropical (A&M) 1971: Giorno (A&M) 1972: Four Sider (A&M, double compilation album) 1972: Primal Roots (a.k.a., Raízes - Brazil) (A&M) 1973: Love Music (Bell) 1974: Vintage 74 (Bell) 1975: Sérgio Mendes (a.k.a., I Believe - Brazil) (Elektra) 1976: Homecooking (Elektra) 1977: Sergio Mendes and the New Brasil '77 (Elektra) 1977: Pelé (Atlantic) 1978: Brasil '88 (Elektra) 1979: Alegria (a.k.a., Horizonte Aberto - Brazil) (WEA) 1979: Magic Lady (Elektra) 1980: The Beat Of Brazil (Atlantic) 1983: Sérgio Mendes (A&M) 1984: Confetti (A&M) 1986: Brasil '86 (A&M) 1989: Arara (A&M) 1992: Brasileiro (Elektra) 1993: Oceano (Verve) 1999: Matrix (Concord) 2006: Timeless (Concord) 2007: Encanto (Concord) 2009: Bom Tempo (Concord) 2014: Magic (Okeh) 2020: In the Key of Joy (Concord) Awards Academy Awards Grammy Awards Latin Grammy Awards References External links Official website Sergio Mendes interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' July 2008 "Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66/'77/etc. The Sérgio Mendes Discography." brasil66.com, 2006. The Sounds and Colours of Brazil: An Interview with Sergio Mendes 'Sounds and Colours' June 25, 2012. "Sérgio Mendes." The Brazilian Sound: Brazil's Music & Culture, July 13, 2008. July 2009 Interview with L.A. Record 1941 births Living people 20th-century Brazilian musicians 20th-century pianists 21st-century Brazilian musicians 21st-century pianists A&M Records artists Atlantic Records artists Bossa nova pianists Brazilian jazz composers Brazilian jazz musicians Brazilian jazz pianists Brazilian male composers Brazilian record producers Brazilian songwriters Capitol Records artists Concord Records artists Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Latin jazz pianists Latin music composers Latin music record producers Latin pop pianists Música Popular Brasileira pianists Musicians from Rio de Janeiro (city) People from Niterói Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 members 20th-century jazz composers 21st-century jazz composers
false
[ "Miguel Skrobot (Warsaw, 1873 – Curitiba, February 20, 1912) was a businessman Brazilian of Polish origin.\n\nMiguel Skrobot was born in 1873, in Warsaw, Poland, to José Skrobot and Rosa Skrobot. When he was 18 he migrated to Brazil and settled in Curitiba as a merchant.\n\nHe married Maria Pansardi, who was born in Tibagi, Paraná, to Italian immigrants, and she bore him three children. He kept a steam-powered factory where he worked on grinding and toasting coffee beans under the \"Rio Branco\" brand, located on the spot where today stands the square called Praça Zacarias (square located in the center of Curitiba). He also owned a grocery store near Praça Tiradentes (also a square in the center of Curitiba, where the city was born). He died an early death, when he was 39, on February 20, 1912.\n\nReferences\n\n1873 births\n1912 deaths\nBrazilian businesspeople\nPeople from Curitiba\nPolish emigrants to Brazil", "Adolf von Rauch (22 April 1798 - 12 December 1882) was a German paper manufacturer in Heilbronn, where he was born and died and where he was a major builder of social housing.\n\nPapermakers\n1798 births\n1882 deaths\nPeople from Heilbronn" ]
[ "Sérgio Mendes", "Early career", "When did his career begin?", "As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging.", "What was his first recording?", "Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961.", "Where did he do his first tour?", "Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played Carnegie Hall.", "What was his first album named?", "Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 group name with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records.", "Who was his record producer?", "Capitol Records and Atlantic Records.", "Did he perform any on television?", "The Musicians Union only allowed this group to appear on one TV show and one club appearance (Basin Street East) before ordering them to leave the U.S.", "Why were they ordered to leave the US?", "I don't know.", "Where was he born?", "Mendes was born in Niteroi, Brazil, the son of a physician." ]
C_bb7e626fb3cc46159c5006e7a70787f7_1
Did he always want to play jazz?
9
Did Sérgio Mendes always want to play jazz?
Sérgio Mendes
Mendes was born in Niteroi, Brazil, the son of a physician. He attended the local conservatory with hopes of becoming a classical pianist. As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging. Mendes played with Antonio Carlos Jobim (regarded as a mentor) and many U.S. jazz musicians who toured Brazil. Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961. Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played Carnegie Hall. Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 group name with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records. Sergio became full partners with Richard Adler, a Brooklyn-born American who had previously brought Bossa Tres plus two dancers, Joe Bennett and a Brazilian partner, to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, in 1963. He was also accompanied by Jobim; Flavio Ramos, and Aloisio Olivera, a record and TV producer from Rio. The Musicians Union only allowed this group to appear on one TV show and one club appearance (Basin Street East) before ordering them to leave the U.S. When the new group, Brasil '65 was formed, Shelly Manne, Bud Shank and other West Coast musicians got Sergio and the others into the local musicians union. Adler and Mendes formed Brasil '65, which consisted of Wanda Sa and Rosinha de Valenca, as well as the Sergio Mendes Trio. The group recorded albums for Atlantic and Capitol. CANNOTANSWER
He attended the local conservatory with hopes of becoming a classical pianist.
Sérgio Santos Mendes (; born February 11, 1941) is a Brazilian musician. He has over 55 releases, and plays bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song in 2012 as co-writer of the song "Real in Rio" from the animated film Rio. Mendes is a unique example of a Brazilian musician primarily known in the United States, where his albums were recorded and where most of his touring took place. Mendes is married to Gracinha Leporace, who has performed with him since the early 1970s. Mendes has also collaborated with many artists through the years, including The Black Eyed Peas, with whom he re-recorded in 2006 a version of his breakthrough hit "Mas que Nada". Biography Early career Mendes was born in Niterói, Brazil, the son of a physician. He attended the local conservatory with hopes of becoming a classical pianist. As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging. Mendes played with Antônio Carlos Jobim (regarded as a mentor) and many U.S. jazz musicians who toured Brazil. Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961. Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played at the Carnegie Hall. Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 group name with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records. Mendes became full partners with Richard Adler, a Brooklyn-born American who had previously brought Bossa Trés plus two dancers, Joe Bennett and a Brazilian partner, to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1963. He was also accompanied by Jobim; Flavio Ramos, and Aloísio de Oliveira, a record and TV producer from Rio who used to be a member of Carmen Miranda's backing group Bando da Lua. The Musicians Union only allowed this group to appear on one TV show and make one club appearance (Basin Street East) before ordering them to leave the U.S. When the new group Brasil '65 was formed, Shelly Manne, Bud Shank and other West Coast musicians got Mendes and the others into the local musicians union. Adler and Mendes formed Brasil '65, which consisted of Wanda Sá and Rosinha de Valença, as well as the Sergio Mendes Trio. The group recorded albums for Atlantic and Capitol. Brasil '66 All of Mendes' jazz albums for Atlantic Records, through Nesuhi and Ahmet Ertegun, had low sales. Richard Adler suggested that Mendes and the group sing in English, as well as Portuguese as Mendes had demanded, and Adler sought new English-based material such as "Goin' Out of My Head" by Teddy Randazzo and Bobby Weinstein. In order to sing these songs properly in English, Adler suggested that the group find two American girl singers who would sing in both English and Portuguese. Adler called his friend Jerry Dennon and A&M Records founders Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, and arranged for an audition for Mendes' new group, which was dubbed "Brasil '66.'" Alpert and Moss signed Mendes and his group to A&M Records. Adler then went to the Ertegun Brothers at Atlantic Records and sought to have them release Mendes from his Atlantic Jazz contract. Ahmet agreed to allow him to record albums under the name "Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66" with A&M. Mendes was not at this meeting, only Adler and Ahmet Ertegun. Alpert took over as producer for the A&M albums, and the group became a huge success with their first single, "Mas que Nada", by writer Jorge Ben. The first album on A&M was Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66, an album that went platinum based largely on the success of the single "Mas que Nada" (a Jorge Ben cover) and the personal support of Alpert, with whom Mendes toured. The original lineup of Brasil '66 was Mendes (piano), vocalists Lani Hall (later Alpert's wife) and Sylvia Dulce Kleiner (Bibi Vogel) (1942 - 2004), Bob Matthews (bass), José Soares (percussion) and João Palma (1943 - 2016) (drums). John Pisano (1931 - ) played guitar. This new line-up then recorded two more albums between 1966 and 1968 (including the best-selling Look Around LP), before there was a major personnel change for their fourth album Fool on the Hill. Mendes often changed the lineup. Vocalist Kleiner (Bibi Vogel) was replaced by Janis Hansen, who in turn was replaced by Karen Philipp. Veteran drummer Dom Um Romão teamed with Rubens Bassini to assume percussionist duties. Claudio Slon joined the group as drummer in 1969, and went on to play with Mendes for nearly a decade. Sebastião Neto took over on bass and Oscar Castro-Neves took on guitar. These changes gave the group a more orchestral sound than before. In the early 1970s, lead singer Hall pursued a solo career and became Alpert's second wife. Some accounts claim that Mendes was upset with Alpert for years for "stealing" Hall away from his group. Though his early singles with Brasil '66 (most notably "Mas que Nada") met with some success, Mendes really burst into mainstream prominence when he performed the Oscar-nominated "The Look of Love" on the Academy Awards telecast in April 1968. Brasil '66's version of the song quickly shot into the top 10, peaking at No. 4 and eclipsing Dusty Springfield's version from the soundtrack of the movie Casino Royale. Mendes spent the rest of 1968 enjoying consecutive top 10 and top 20 hits with his follow-up singles "The Fool on the Hill" and "Scarborough Fair". From 1968 on, Mendes was arguably the biggest Brazilian star in the world and enjoyed immense popularity worldwide, performing in venues as varied as stadium arenas and the White House, where he gave concerts for presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon. The Brasil '66 group appeared at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan in June 1970. Middle career Mendes' career in the U.S. stalled in the mid-1970s, but he remained popular in South America and Japan. His two albums with Bell Records in 1973 and 1974 followed by several for Elektra from 1975 on, found Mendes continuing to mine the best in American pop music and post-Bossa writers of his native Brazil, while forging new directions in soul with collaborators like Stevie Wonder, who wrote Mendes' R&B-inflected minor hit "The Real Thing". In 1983, he rejoined Alpert's A&M records and enjoyed success with a self-titled album and several follow-up albums, all of which received considerable adult contemporary airplay with charting singles. "Never Gonna Let You Go", featuring vocals by Joe Pizzulo and Leeza Miller, equalled the success of his 1968 single "The Look of Love" by reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; it also spent four weeks atop the Billboard adult contemporary chart. In 1984, he recorded the Confetti album, which had the hit songs "Olympia", which was also used as a theme song for the Olympic Games that year and "Alibis" which reached #5 on the A/C chart and #29 on the Hot 100. The 1980s also saw Mendes working with singer Lani Hall again on the song "No Place to Hide" from the Brasil '86 album, and as producer of her vocals on the title song for the James Bond film Never Say Never Again. By the time Mendes released his Grammy-winning Elektra album Brasileiro in 1992, he was the undisputed master of pop-inflected Brazilian jazz. The late-1990s lounge music revival brought retrospection and respect to Mendes' oeuvre, particularly the classic Brasil '66 albums. Later career Timeless features a wide array of neo-soul and alternative hip hop guest artists, including The Black Eyed Peas, Erykah Badu, Black Thought, Jill Scott, Chali 2na of Jurassic 5, India.Arie, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Q-Tip, Stevie Wonder and Pharoahe Monch. It was released February 14, 2006 by Concord Records. The 2006 re-recorded version of "Mas que Nada" with The Black Eyed Peas had additional vocals by Gracinha Leporace (Mendes' wife); this version is included on Timeless. In Brazil, the song is also well known for being the theme song for the local television channel Globo's Estrelas. The Black Eyed Peas' version contains a sample of their 2004 hit "Hey Mama". The re-recorded song became popular on many European charts. On the UK Singles Chart, the song entered at No. 29 and rose to and peaked at No. 6 on its second week on the chart. He makes an appearance dancing along for one of the segments Pharrell Williams' 24 hour of happy. Mendes served as co-producer on the soundtrack albums for two animated films about his homeland: 2011's Rio and its 2014 sequel. Discography 1961: Dance Moderno (Philips) 1962: Cannonball's Bossa Nova (Riverside/Capitol Records) 1963: Você Ainda Não Ouviu Nada! (a.k.a., The Beat of Brazil) (Philips) 1964: The Swinger from Rio (a.k.a., Bossa Nova York) (Atlantic) 1965: In Person at El Matador (Atlantic) 1965: Brasil '65 (a.k.a. In The Brazilian Bag) (Capitol) 1965: The Great Arrival (Atlantic) 1966: Herb Alpert Presents: Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 (A&M) 1967: Equinox (A&M) 1967: Quiet Nights (Philips) 1967: Look Around (A&M) 1968: Fool on the Hill (A&M) 1968: Sergio Mendes' Favorite Things (Atlantic) 1969: Crystal Illusions (A&M) 1969: Ye-Me-Lê (A&M) 1969: The Story of... Sérgio Mendes and Brasil '77 (a.ka., Italia - Brazil (A&M) 1970: Live at the Expo (A&M) 1970: Stillness (A&M) 1971: País Tropical (A&M) 1971: Giorno (A&M) 1972: Four Sider (A&M, double compilation album) 1972: Primal Roots (a.k.a., Raízes - Brazil) (A&M) 1973: Love Music (Bell) 1974: Vintage 74 (Bell) 1975: Sérgio Mendes (a.k.a., I Believe - Brazil) (Elektra) 1976: Homecooking (Elektra) 1977: Sergio Mendes and the New Brasil '77 (Elektra) 1977: Pelé (Atlantic) 1978: Brasil '88 (Elektra) 1979: Alegria (a.k.a., Horizonte Aberto - Brazil) (WEA) 1979: Magic Lady (Elektra) 1980: The Beat Of Brazil (Atlantic) 1983: Sérgio Mendes (A&M) 1984: Confetti (A&M) 1986: Brasil '86 (A&M) 1989: Arara (A&M) 1992: Brasileiro (Elektra) 1993: Oceano (Verve) 1999: Matrix (Concord) 2006: Timeless (Concord) 2007: Encanto (Concord) 2009: Bom Tempo (Concord) 2014: Magic (Okeh) 2020: In the Key of Joy (Concord) Awards Academy Awards Grammy Awards Latin Grammy Awards References External links Official website Sergio Mendes interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' July 2008 "Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66/'77/etc. The Sérgio Mendes Discography." brasil66.com, 2006. The Sounds and Colours of Brazil: An Interview with Sergio Mendes 'Sounds and Colours' June 25, 2012. "Sérgio Mendes." The Brazilian Sound: Brazil's Music & Culture, July 13, 2008. July 2009 Interview with L.A. Record 1941 births Living people 20th-century Brazilian musicians 20th-century pianists 21st-century Brazilian musicians 21st-century pianists A&M Records artists Atlantic Records artists Bossa nova pianists Brazilian jazz composers Brazilian jazz musicians Brazilian jazz pianists Brazilian male composers Brazilian record producers Brazilian songwriters Capitol Records artists Concord Records artists Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Latin jazz pianists Latin music composers Latin music record producers Latin pop pianists Música Popular Brasileira pianists Musicians from Rio de Janeiro (city) People from Niterói Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 members 20th-century jazz composers 21st-century jazz composers
true
[ "\"Seven Steps to Heaven\" is a 1963 jazz composition by Victor Feldman and Miles Davis. Different lyrics to it were written much later by Cassandra Wilson and Jon Hendricks. This iconic jazz standard was introduced in 1963 by the Miles Davis Quintet. Although Feldman played and recorded with Davis in Los Angeles on Seven Steps to Heaven, and he appears on half of the tracks of the album, the West Coast-based pianist did not want to follow Davis to New York, where the album version of the composition was finally recorded with Herbie Hancock on piano.\n\nComposition\nSeven Steps to Heaven is a 32-bar composition in AABA form; it has an intro, an interlude and an ending - but these are the same. It was originally played in an up-tempo swing style.\n\nSee also\nList of post-1950 jazz standards\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nlearn to play it\n\n1963 songs\n1960s jazz standards\nCompositions by Miles Davis\nSongs with lyrics by Jon Hendricks", "Straight Up with a Twist is the fifth full-length album and the first jazz album from Kristine W, released on September 14, 2010. The first single sent to radio, \"Feel What You Want\", was released to jazz stations on August 6, 2010 and was ranked number 1 on Billboards Dance/Club Play Songs since 1994.\n\nTrack listing\n\nDisc One: Live Studio Sessions\nFeel What You Want\nStairway To Heaven\nOn The Radio\nSave My Soul\nWhat I Like About You\nSome Lovin\nWindow To Your World\nStronger\nWonder Of It All\nDream On\nTake It To The Limit\nRiver Divides\nWho Knows\nWe Well Meet Again\nFeel What You Want (Instrumental)\n\nDisc Two: Electro-Lounge Remixes\nRiver Divides\nFeel What You Want\nStairway To Heaven\nSome Lovin\nThe Boss\nSave My Soul\nStronger\nOn The Radio\nWindow To Your World\nDream On\nWhat I Like About You\nWonder Of It All\nWho Knows\nMeet Again\nFirst Time I Ever Saw Your Face\nFeel What You Want Electro Jazz Radio\nFeel What You Want Live Sessions Radio\n\nReferences\n\n2010 albums" ]
[ "Sérgio Mendes", "Early career", "When did his career begin?", "As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging.", "What was his first recording?", "Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961.", "Where did he do his first tour?", "Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played Carnegie Hall.", "What was his first album named?", "Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 group name with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records.", "Who was his record producer?", "Capitol Records and Atlantic Records.", "Did he perform any on television?", "The Musicians Union only allowed this group to appear on one TV show and one club appearance (Basin Street East) before ordering them to leave the U.S.", "Why were they ordered to leave the US?", "I don't know.", "Where was he born?", "Mendes was born in Niteroi, Brazil, the son of a physician.", "Did he always want to play jazz?", "He attended the local conservatory with hopes of becoming a classical pianist." ]
C_bb7e626fb3cc46159c5006e7a70787f7_1
How many albums did he cut or release?
10
How many albums did Sérgio Mendes cut or release?
Sérgio Mendes
Mendes was born in Niteroi, Brazil, the son of a physician. He attended the local conservatory with hopes of becoming a classical pianist. As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging. Mendes played with Antonio Carlos Jobim (regarded as a mentor) and many U.S. jazz musicians who toured Brazil. Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961. Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played Carnegie Hall. Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 group name with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records. Sergio became full partners with Richard Adler, a Brooklyn-born American who had previously brought Bossa Tres plus two dancers, Joe Bennett and a Brazilian partner, to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, in 1963. He was also accompanied by Jobim; Flavio Ramos, and Aloisio Olivera, a record and TV producer from Rio. The Musicians Union only allowed this group to appear on one TV show and one club appearance (Basin Street East) before ordering them to leave the U.S. When the new group, Brasil '65 was formed, Shelly Manne, Bud Shank and other West Coast musicians got Sergio and the others into the local musicians union. Adler and Mendes formed Brasil '65, which consisted of Wanda Sa and Rosinha de Valenca, as well as the Sergio Mendes Trio. The group recorded albums for Atlantic and Capitol. CANNOTANSWER
The group recorded albums for Atlantic and Capitol.
Sérgio Santos Mendes (; born February 11, 1941) is a Brazilian musician. He has over 55 releases, and plays bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song in 2012 as co-writer of the song "Real in Rio" from the animated film Rio. Mendes is a unique example of a Brazilian musician primarily known in the United States, where his albums were recorded and where most of his touring took place. Mendes is married to Gracinha Leporace, who has performed with him since the early 1970s. Mendes has also collaborated with many artists through the years, including The Black Eyed Peas, with whom he re-recorded in 2006 a version of his breakthrough hit "Mas que Nada". Biography Early career Mendes was born in Niterói, Brazil, the son of a physician. He attended the local conservatory with hopes of becoming a classical pianist. As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was emerging. Mendes played with Antônio Carlos Jobim (regarded as a mentor) and many U.S. jazz musicians who toured Brazil. Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961. Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played at the Carnegie Hall. Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 group name with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records. Mendes became full partners with Richard Adler, a Brooklyn-born American who had previously brought Bossa Trés plus two dancers, Joe Bennett and a Brazilian partner, to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1963. He was also accompanied by Jobim; Flavio Ramos, and Aloísio de Oliveira, a record and TV producer from Rio who used to be a member of Carmen Miranda's backing group Bando da Lua. The Musicians Union only allowed this group to appear on one TV show and make one club appearance (Basin Street East) before ordering them to leave the U.S. When the new group Brasil '65 was formed, Shelly Manne, Bud Shank and other West Coast musicians got Mendes and the others into the local musicians union. Adler and Mendes formed Brasil '65, which consisted of Wanda Sá and Rosinha de Valença, as well as the Sergio Mendes Trio. The group recorded albums for Atlantic and Capitol. Brasil '66 All of Mendes' jazz albums for Atlantic Records, through Nesuhi and Ahmet Ertegun, had low sales. Richard Adler suggested that Mendes and the group sing in English, as well as Portuguese as Mendes had demanded, and Adler sought new English-based material such as "Goin' Out of My Head" by Teddy Randazzo and Bobby Weinstein. In order to sing these songs properly in English, Adler suggested that the group find two American girl singers who would sing in both English and Portuguese. Adler called his friend Jerry Dennon and A&M Records founders Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, and arranged for an audition for Mendes' new group, which was dubbed "Brasil '66.'" Alpert and Moss signed Mendes and his group to A&M Records. Adler then went to the Ertegun Brothers at Atlantic Records and sought to have them release Mendes from his Atlantic Jazz contract. Ahmet agreed to allow him to record albums under the name "Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66" with A&M. Mendes was not at this meeting, only Adler and Ahmet Ertegun. Alpert took over as producer for the A&M albums, and the group became a huge success with their first single, "Mas que Nada", by writer Jorge Ben. The first album on A&M was Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66, an album that went platinum based largely on the success of the single "Mas que Nada" (a Jorge Ben cover) and the personal support of Alpert, with whom Mendes toured. The original lineup of Brasil '66 was Mendes (piano), vocalists Lani Hall (later Alpert's wife) and Sylvia Dulce Kleiner (Bibi Vogel) (1942 - 2004), Bob Matthews (bass), José Soares (percussion) and João Palma (1943 - 2016) (drums). John Pisano (1931 - ) played guitar. This new line-up then recorded two more albums between 1966 and 1968 (including the best-selling Look Around LP), before there was a major personnel change for their fourth album Fool on the Hill. Mendes often changed the lineup. Vocalist Kleiner (Bibi Vogel) was replaced by Janis Hansen, who in turn was replaced by Karen Philipp. Veteran drummer Dom Um Romão teamed with Rubens Bassini to assume percussionist duties. Claudio Slon joined the group as drummer in 1969, and went on to play with Mendes for nearly a decade. Sebastião Neto took over on bass and Oscar Castro-Neves took on guitar. These changes gave the group a more orchestral sound than before. In the early 1970s, lead singer Hall pursued a solo career and became Alpert's second wife. Some accounts claim that Mendes was upset with Alpert for years for "stealing" Hall away from his group. Though his early singles with Brasil '66 (most notably "Mas que Nada") met with some success, Mendes really burst into mainstream prominence when he performed the Oscar-nominated "The Look of Love" on the Academy Awards telecast in April 1968. Brasil '66's version of the song quickly shot into the top 10, peaking at No. 4 and eclipsing Dusty Springfield's version from the soundtrack of the movie Casino Royale. Mendes spent the rest of 1968 enjoying consecutive top 10 and top 20 hits with his follow-up singles "The Fool on the Hill" and "Scarborough Fair". From 1968 on, Mendes was arguably the biggest Brazilian star in the world and enjoyed immense popularity worldwide, performing in venues as varied as stadium arenas and the White House, where he gave concerts for presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon. The Brasil '66 group appeared at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan in June 1970. Middle career Mendes' career in the U.S. stalled in the mid-1970s, but he remained popular in South America and Japan. His two albums with Bell Records in 1973 and 1974 followed by several for Elektra from 1975 on, found Mendes continuing to mine the best in American pop music and post-Bossa writers of his native Brazil, while forging new directions in soul with collaborators like Stevie Wonder, who wrote Mendes' R&B-inflected minor hit "The Real Thing". In 1983, he rejoined Alpert's A&M records and enjoyed success with a self-titled album and several follow-up albums, all of which received considerable adult contemporary airplay with charting singles. "Never Gonna Let You Go", featuring vocals by Joe Pizzulo and Leeza Miller, equalled the success of his 1968 single "The Look of Love" by reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; it also spent four weeks atop the Billboard adult contemporary chart. In 1984, he recorded the Confetti album, which had the hit songs "Olympia", which was also used as a theme song for the Olympic Games that year and "Alibis" which reached #5 on the A/C chart and #29 on the Hot 100. The 1980s also saw Mendes working with singer Lani Hall again on the song "No Place to Hide" from the Brasil '86 album, and as producer of her vocals on the title song for the James Bond film Never Say Never Again. By the time Mendes released his Grammy-winning Elektra album Brasileiro in 1992, he was the undisputed master of pop-inflected Brazilian jazz. The late-1990s lounge music revival brought retrospection and respect to Mendes' oeuvre, particularly the classic Brasil '66 albums. Later career Timeless features a wide array of neo-soul and alternative hip hop guest artists, including The Black Eyed Peas, Erykah Badu, Black Thought, Jill Scott, Chali 2na of Jurassic 5, India.Arie, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Q-Tip, Stevie Wonder and Pharoahe Monch. It was released February 14, 2006 by Concord Records. The 2006 re-recorded version of "Mas que Nada" with The Black Eyed Peas had additional vocals by Gracinha Leporace (Mendes' wife); this version is included on Timeless. In Brazil, the song is also well known for being the theme song for the local television channel Globo's Estrelas. The Black Eyed Peas' version contains a sample of their 2004 hit "Hey Mama". The re-recorded song became popular on many European charts. On the UK Singles Chart, the song entered at No. 29 and rose to and peaked at No. 6 on its second week on the chart. He makes an appearance dancing along for one of the segments Pharrell Williams' 24 hour of happy. Mendes served as co-producer on the soundtrack albums for two animated films about his homeland: 2011's Rio and its 2014 sequel. Discography 1961: Dance Moderno (Philips) 1962: Cannonball's Bossa Nova (Riverside/Capitol Records) 1963: Você Ainda Não Ouviu Nada! (a.k.a., The Beat of Brazil) (Philips) 1964: The Swinger from Rio (a.k.a., Bossa Nova York) (Atlantic) 1965: In Person at El Matador (Atlantic) 1965: Brasil '65 (a.k.a. In The Brazilian Bag) (Capitol) 1965: The Great Arrival (Atlantic) 1966: Herb Alpert Presents: Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 (A&M) 1967: Equinox (A&M) 1967: Quiet Nights (Philips) 1967: Look Around (A&M) 1968: Fool on the Hill (A&M) 1968: Sergio Mendes' Favorite Things (Atlantic) 1969: Crystal Illusions (A&M) 1969: Ye-Me-Lê (A&M) 1969: The Story of... Sérgio Mendes and Brasil '77 (a.ka., Italia - Brazil (A&M) 1970: Live at the Expo (A&M) 1970: Stillness (A&M) 1971: País Tropical (A&M) 1971: Giorno (A&M) 1972: Four Sider (A&M, double compilation album) 1972: Primal Roots (a.k.a., Raízes - Brazil) (A&M) 1973: Love Music (Bell) 1974: Vintage 74 (Bell) 1975: Sérgio Mendes (a.k.a., I Believe - Brazil) (Elektra) 1976: Homecooking (Elektra) 1977: Sergio Mendes and the New Brasil '77 (Elektra) 1977: Pelé (Atlantic) 1978: Brasil '88 (Elektra) 1979: Alegria (a.k.a., Horizonte Aberto - Brazil) (WEA) 1979: Magic Lady (Elektra) 1980: The Beat Of Brazil (Atlantic) 1983: Sérgio Mendes (A&M) 1984: Confetti (A&M) 1986: Brasil '86 (A&M) 1989: Arara (A&M) 1992: Brasileiro (Elektra) 1993: Oceano (Verve) 1999: Matrix (Concord) 2006: Timeless (Concord) 2007: Encanto (Concord) 2009: Bom Tempo (Concord) 2014: Magic (Okeh) 2020: In the Key of Joy (Concord) Awards Academy Awards Grammy Awards Latin Grammy Awards References External links Official website Sergio Mendes interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' July 2008 "Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66/'77/etc. The Sérgio Mendes Discography." brasil66.com, 2006. The Sounds and Colours of Brazil: An Interview with Sergio Mendes 'Sounds and Colours' June 25, 2012. "Sérgio Mendes." The Brazilian Sound: Brazil's Music & Culture, July 13, 2008. July 2009 Interview with L.A. Record 1941 births Living people 20th-century Brazilian musicians 20th-century pianists 21st-century Brazilian musicians 21st-century pianists A&M Records artists Atlantic Records artists Bossa nova pianists Brazilian jazz composers Brazilian jazz musicians Brazilian jazz pianists Brazilian male composers Brazilian record producers Brazilian songwriters Capitol Records artists Concord Records artists Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Latin jazz pianists Latin music composers Latin music record producers Latin pop pianists Música Popular Brasileira pianists Musicians from Rio de Janeiro (city) People from Niterói Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 members 20th-century jazz composers 21st-century jazz composers
true
[ "Homeland is an album by Neal Morse. It is a piece that was written for a musical theater production in the early 1990s. Many of the musical themes from this production would later appear on some of the Spock's Beard albums. This is the twelfth release in the Neal Morse Inner Circle series.\n\nBand\n Neal Morse - Vocals, guitar, keyboards, piano, bass\n\nTrack listing\n \"Set up for Overture/Son of Mine\"\n \"Overture/Son of Mine\"\n \"Set up for Where Will I Go Now\"\n \"Where Will I Go Now\"\n \"Set up for Lord of the Flies\"\n \"Lord of the Flies\"\n \"Set up for Cut Throat Island/Mother\"\n \"Cut Throat Island\"\n \"Mother\"\n \"Set up for Haiti Rise\"\n \"Haiti Rise\"\n \"Set up for What Do They Know?\"\n \"What Do They Know?\"\n \"Set up for We Will Better the World\"\n \"We Will Better the World\"\n \"Set up for How Can You Love That Man?\"\n \"How Can You Love That Man?\"\n \"Set up for The Greatest of Them All\"\n \"The Greatest of Them All\"\n \"Set up for Rise Again\"\n \"Rise Again\"\n \"Set up for the End Of Homeland\"\n \"The End Of Homeland\"\n \"Rise Again Reprise\"\n \"End Talk\"\n\nNeal Morse albums\n2007 albums", "And Who Shall Go to the Ball? And What Shall Go to the Ball? is the fourteenth album by singer and composer Scott Walker, and his second release for 4AD. The album was originally commissioned as a contemporary dance piece for disabled and non-disabled dance company CandoCo, choreographed by Rafael Bonachela. A video with excerpts from the performance can be found at the CandoCo website\n\nIn a press release from his record label, Walker describes the music in the following way: \"Apart from a slow movement given over to solitude, the music is full of edgy and staccato shapes or cuts, reflecting how we cut up the world around us as a consequence of the shape of our bodies. How much of a body does an intelligence need to be potentially socialised in an age of ever-developing AI ? This is but one of many questions that informed the approach to the project.\"\n\nThe album was issued in just 2500 copies and will, according to the label, never be re-pressed.\n\nTrack listing\n\nPersonnel \n London Sinfonietta – orchestra\n Philip Sheppard – cello\n Alasdair Malloy – percussion\n Bradley Grant – saxophone, flute\n Andy Findon – saxophone, flute\n Steven Price – recording\n Matt Paul – engineer\n Mick Taylor – engineer\n Peter Walsh – programming, effects, sound manipulation\n Mark Warman – orchestration, programming, effects\n\nReferences \n\n2007 albums\n4AD albums\nScott Walker (singer) albums" ]
[ "Ron \\Pigpen\\\" McKernan\"", "Personal life" ]
C_d12c63824d724f908e4c7e8e66b6c146_0
what year was he born
1
what year was Ron McKernan born?
Ron \Pigpen\" McKernan"
McKernan was close friends with American singer-songwriter Janis Joplin due to common musical influences and lifestyles, particularly a shared love of alcohol over other drugs; a poster from the early 1970s showed them together at 710 Ashbury. Joplin joined McKernan on stage at the Fillmore West on June 7, 1969, with the Grateful Dead to sing his signature "Turn On Your Love Light," reprising this duet on July 16, 1970, at the Euphoria Ballroom in San Rafael, California. He developed a close friendship with fellow keyboardist Tom Constanten based on their mutual aversion to psychedelics and eventually served as best man at Constanten's first wedding. While his bandmates and friends were using cannabis, LSD, and other hallucinogenic drugs, McKernan preferred alcoholic beverages such as Thunderbird and Southern Comfort. Ironically, McKernan was arrested and fined after the cannabis bust on November 9, 1967, at 710 Ashbury Street, the Dead's communal home, even though he did not use the drug. The event was covered in the first issue of Rolling Stone, where the reporter noted McKernan had a substantial rifle collection and McKernan's picture appeared on a contemporary report in the San Francisco Chronicle. Because neither took illegal drugs, McKernan and Constanten were the only members of the band not arrested on the January 31, 1970, bust that inspired the lyrics of the band's song "Truckin'". In the early years of the Grateful Dead, McKernan was easily recognisable by his biker image, making him a minor celebrity. In 1969, the band's record company, Warner Bros., ran a "Pigpen Look-Alike Contest". CANNOTANSWER
CANNOTANSWER
false
[ "William Zeiman was a Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. Zeiman was a member during the 1877 session from the 1st District of Dodge County, Wisconsin. He was born on March 31, 1846, in what is now North Prairie, Wisconsin in what is now Waukesha County, Wisconsin.\n\nReferences\n\nPeople from North Prairie, Wisconsin\nPeople from Dodge County, Wisconsin\nWisconsin Democrats\nMembers of the Wisconsin State Assembly\n1846 births\nYear of death missing", "John R. Hofstatter was a member of the Assembly during the 1911 session. Additionally, he was a Baraboo, Wisconsin alderman (similar to city councilman). He was a Democrat. Hofstatter was born in what is now Sumpter, Wisconsin in 1858.\n\nReferences\n\nPeople from Baraboo, Wisconsin\nPeople from Sumpter, Wisconsin\nMembers of the Wisconsin State Assembly\nWisconsin city council members\nWisconsin Democrats\n1858 births\nYear of death missing", "Fred N. Comdohr was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1883. Additionally, he was an alderman of Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1878 to 1881. He was a Republican. Comdohr was born on April 22, 1839, in what is now Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.\n\nReferences\n\nGerman emigrants to the United States\nMembers of the Wisconsin State Assembly\nMilwaukee City Council members\nWisconsin Republicans\n1839 births\nYear of death missing" ]
[ "Ron \\Pigpen\\\" McKernan\"", "Personal life", "what year was he born", "I don't know." ]
C_d12c63824d724f908e4c7e8e66b6c146_0
Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?
2
Besides Ron McKernan's birth, are there any other interesting aspects about this article?
Ron \Pigpen\" McKernan"
McKernan was close friends with American singer-songwriter Janis Joplin due to common musical influences and lifestyles, particularly a shared love of alcohol over other drugs; a poster from the early 1970s showed them together at 710 Ashbury. Joplin joined McKernan on stage at the Fillmore West on June 7, 1969, with the Grateful Dead to sing his signature "Turn On Your Love Light," reprising this duet on July 16, 1970, at the Euphoria Ballroom in San Rafael, California. He developed a close friendship with fellow keyboardist Tom Constanten based on their mutual aversion to psychedelics and eventually served as best man at Constanten's first wedding. While his bandmates and friends were using cannabis, LSD, and other hallucinogenic drugs, McKernan preferred alcoholic beverages such as Thunderbird and Southern Comfort. Ironically, McKernan was arrested and fined after the cannabis bust on November 9, 1967, at 710 Ashbury Street, the Dead's communal home, even though he did not use the drug. The event was covered in the first issue of Rolling Stone, where the reporter noted McKernan had a substantial rifle collection and McKernan's picture appeared on a contemporary report in the San Francisco Chronicle. Because neither took illegal drugs, McKernan and Constanten were the only members of the band not arrested on the January 31, 1970, bust that inspired the lyrics of the band's song "Truckin'". In the early years of the Grateful Dead, McKernan was easily recognisable by his biker image, making him a minor celebrity. In 1969, the band's record company, Warner Bros., ran a "Pigpen Look-Alike Contest". CANNOTANSWER
He developed a close friendship with fellow keyboardist Tom Constanten based on their mutual aversion to psychedelics and
false
[ "Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region", "Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts", "This article is about the demographic features of the population of Saint Mary's, including population density, internet access, crime rate, and other aspects of the population.\n\nPopulation \nAccording to the 2011 census the population of Saint Mary was 7,341.\n\nOther demographics statistics (2011)\n\nCensus Data (2011)\n\nIndividual\n\nHousehold \nThere are 2,512 households in Saint Mary Parish.\n\nSee also\nDemographics of Antigua and Barbuda\n\nReferences\n\nAntigua and Barbuda Christians\nDemographics of Antigua and Barbuda" ]