Fenomena Mbah Surip

Lagu Tak Gendong yang dilantunkan Mbah Surip mampu mengantarnya menuju gerbang sukses. NSP (nada sambung pribadi) lagu tersebut meraup Rp9 miliar. Pria bergaya Bob Marley itu pun mendapat royalti Rp4,5 miliar.
Mbah Surip yang diwawancara RCTI, Jumat (10/7/2009), mengaku akan menyumbangkan sebagian uang tersebut.
"Sebagian uang itu disimpan dan sebagian untuk yatim piatu. Sedekah ke mana-mana," kata pemilik nama Urip Ariyanto ini sambil tertawa.

Sekilas tak ada yang istimewa dari lagu Tak Gendong. Liriknya pun sederhana, Tak gendong ke mana-mana, tak gendong ke mana-mana. Enak toh. Lantas dapat ide dari mana Mbah Surip dalam menciptakan lagu tersebut?
"Ide awalnya ketika Mbah kerja di pengeboran minyak di Amerika. Kalau liburan saya senang main di bawah jembatan California. Saya lihat kok kerja sama orang-orang di sini dan Indonesia hampir sama. Ada yang gotong royong," cerita penyanyi yang mengawali karier sebagai seniman jalanan ini.
Tampaknya tahun 2009 ini menjadi tahun keberuntungan atau boleh dibilang spesial bagi Mbah Surip. Bagaimana tidak…lagu tak gendong yang dibawakan Mbah Surip mampu menyedot perhatian public Indonesia saat ini. Lewat lagu tersebut kini Mbah Surip boleh dibilang sukses dari segi finansial. Bayangkan saja, NSP dari lagu itu saja telah meraup Rp.9 Miliar. Dan dikabarkan mbah Surip mendapat royalti sebesar 4,5M. Wow….sungguh pencapaian yang fantastis. Padahal, lagu yang diciptakan di akhir tahun 1980 itu pernah ditolak hampir seluruh produser kaset di Indonesia. Mbah Surip memang memberikan fenomena tersendiri dengan gaya penyanyi reggae yang khas dengan rambut gimbal. Dengan single-nya Tak gendong, Mbah surip berhasil mematahkan dominasi publik tentang glamornya dunia entertainment saat ini.
Mbah Surip memang bukan pendatang baru di dunia musik yang mendadak ngetop begitu saja. Dia sebenarnya sudah cukup lama malang-melintang di dunia musik. Hanya saja gaya nyeleneh dan sederhana saat itu dianggap oleh industri musik kurang mempunyai nilai jual yang baik. Mulai dari awal era-90an mbah surip memang sudah menyanyi. Sungguh perjalanan yang panjang sampai saat ini dan akhirnya Mbah Surip memetik buah perjuangannya sejak dulu. Tak Ada Yang Tak Mungkin….mungkin ungkapan itu bisa jg menggambarkan nasib Mbah Surip saat ini. Siapa sangka seorang Mbah Surip yang kesehariannya penuh dengan kesederhanaan dan gaya yang unik atau lebih mirip wong edan (bahasa kasarnya) namun menyimpan potensi serta kharisma yang luar biasa sehingga dapat merebut perhatian publik akhir2 ini. Berawal dari seniman jalanan kini Mbah Surip Jadi penyanyi terkenal. Meskipun kini dia telah sukses namun gaya hidupnya tetap sederhana.


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Eddy Van Halen Mencoret Anggotanya ?

Menanggapi tuduhan bahwa ialah yang bertanggung jawab atas keluarnya personil-personil awal Van Halen, Eddie, sang gitaris mengaku sama sekali tak pernah memberhentikan mereka. Menurut Eddie, Michael Anthony, Sammy Hagar dan David Lee Roth yang mengundurkan diri dari band.

"Lucunya, semua orang yang keluar dari Van Halen mengaku dipecat oleh saya. Jangan jadikan saya kambing hitam. Saat Hagar meninggalkan Van Halen, Mike (Michael Anthony) ikut keluar juga. Lalu kami kembali gabung dengan Dave dan tiba-tiba saja dia mau kembali bergabung," papar Eddie ketika mendengar bahwa Michael Anthony mengatakan bahwa Eddie tak mengundangnya bergabung ketika akan bermain bersama David Lee Roth.
Karena tak menemukan pengganti Anthony Eddie lantas mengganti posisi bassist dengan Wolfgang, putra Eddie, yang baru berusia belasan. Menurut ContactMusic, saat ini Michael Anthony sedang terlibat kerja sama dengan Sammy Hagar dan membentuk band baru yang mereka beri nama Chickenfoot.
yang jelas kami masih menunggu album-album mereka dan masih memakai bendera van Halen.

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Golfshop

Many company officials to play golf to get in contact with famous and powerful individuals in government or ministries. Usually they over the age of 35 years with an economy that is very well established.
Golf is an arena negotiations that situation, feeling, and a different scene for the conference.
They will talk about issues and problems of the company. For them, ideas and the resolution is not stopped at the table meeting that the company merely boring. Perhaps the green and peaceful atmosphere that can provide a more brilliant idea.

Golf is a sport and a game which is very interesting, unique, fun and also menggemaskan, people never take pride in the scores obtained by each of the finished play. Golf game is affected by the stamina, skill, strategy and stick, as is also the effect is big enough factor parcaya self, emotions and concentration. Clear that golf can be used as a medium for communication bertemunya the bisnisman, but can also remove the feeling of relaxation to saturate in the office or company.
But that is not less important is the golf equipment itself, people may not like Tiger Woods using a stick of old, so for the only golfer to hobbi, must also be a good tool to use. The question in the shop where we can buy a good golf equipment? answered in golfshop.
If you can not play golf and want to learn, then you should be able to choose the course that well, so you will not be losers, whether you choose to live in individual or group. Golfreisen is a popular choice for those of you who want a course.
For the more you travel and play golf while Platzreife place is, we do not know season, we will find a beautiful place to play golf.
So if you want golf equipment shop, learn golf, or play golf on the go, is a place here, we wait your coming, thank you.

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George Thorogood

Thorogood's demo Better Than the Rest was recorded in 1974 and released in 1979. In 1976 he recorded his debut album: the eponymous George Thorogood & The Destroyers with his band, The Destroyers (sometimes known as The Delaware Destroyers or simply GT and D) and issued the album in 1977. Thorogood released his next album titled Move It On Over in 1978 with The Destroyers, which included the Hank Williams remake of "Move It On Over". "Please Set a Date" and their remake of the Bo Diddley song "Who Do You Love?" both followed in 1979 (many of Thorogood's songs were remakes of other hit songs). Before devoting himself exclusively to music, Thorogood played semi-pro baseball.[1]In the late 1970s, Thorogood played on a team in Delaware in the Roberto Clemente League which was created in 1976. He was the second baseman and was chosen rookie of the year in the league. Soon after this achievement, The Destroyers forced him to quit playing the sport. In the 1970s, George and the band were based in Boston.
George and the Delaware Destroyers were friends with Jimmy Thackery and the Nighthawks. While touring in the 1970s, the Destroyers and the Nighthawks happened to be playing shows in Georgetown (DC) at venues across the street from each other. The Destroyers were engaged at The Cellar Door, the Nighthawks at Desperados. At midnight, by prior arrangement, while both bands played the same song ("Madison Blues") in the same key (E), George and Jimmy left their clubs, met in the middle of M street, exchanged guitar cables and went on to play with the opposing band.George Thorogood at Fallsview Casino, Niagara Falls, Ontario
George and the Destroyers are also notable for undertaking a rigorous touring schedule[2] after appearing throughout the Rolling Stones tour in 1981. After two shows in Boulder, Colorado, George and his band flew to Hawaii and played for only one night. The next night they appeared in Alaska for one show. The following day the band flew to Washington State, met their roadies who had their Checker car and a truck, and continued a one show per state tour for all fifty states in exactly fifty nights. In addition, they played Washington, DC on the same day that they performed a show in Maryland.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Thorogood recorded some of his most well known works. "Bad to the Bone" was used frequently in television and the big screen. Several appearances include Terminator 2: Judgment Day, the comedy Problem Child, Stephen King'sChristine, and during many episodes of the television sitcom Married with Children. This track also was used during the intro to the movie "Major Payne". The same song is also featured in the game Rock 'n Roll Racing. It is also played during football pregame festivities at Mississippi State University. Quincy Jones once said to Thorogood, "The three things important in a record is the tune, tune, and the tune".
website: http://www.georgethorogood.com/

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Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin was one of the giants of the 1970’s in hard rock.
They were also one of the greatest success stories that ever played
hard rock music. The group was one the more popular hard rock groups
that performed in the seventies, and even had some hits in the 1960’s.
The members of the group are Jimmy Page, born on April 9, 1944,
Robert Plant, born on August 24, 1948, John Paul Jones, born on
January 3, 1946, and John Bonham born on May 31, 1948. Jimmy Page
played guitar, Robert Plant was the vocalist, John Paul Jones played
bass guitar and the keyboard, and John Bonham beat the drums. The
group had the complete set up for a band right off the start. They
produced their first record in thirty hours to complete their deal
with the old Yardbirds. They toured Scandinavia for awhile also to
complete their obligations to the Yardbirds.

When they first came to the United States they supported Vanilla Fudge. They also played in clubs to start their American popularity.
After they played in the clubs they got their first headlining tour and toured again that. They were playing their fifth tour by the March
of 1970. Led Zeppelin the record was released by the Atlantic Records in 1969. Shortly after the record was released it was number eight and stayed in the top twenty for six weeks. When the Led Zeppelin II was
released, it was Atlantic Records’ fastest selling album at 100,000 copies a week.

They broke their own record in 1975 when “Physical
Graffiti” that sold 500 copies an hour. All of their albums have gone
platinum.
They were the first group to heavily tour the United States and
sporadically tour the rest of the world. This occurred because there
was a lack of interest in them Britain. Their success was due to their
manager Peter Grant. Peter was able to keep the group moving from
place to place and kept the people interested in them. Peter thought
that they would work every other year so they would stay in demand.
While they were working on their first movie featuring them. This
movie was of the group playing their music, which was called, “The
Song Remains Playing.”
A representative from their record company called and told Page
that the sales of their new album Houses of the Holy was spectacular.
The record company told Page that the group, Led Zeppelin, was the
biggest selling group in the world and was making the most money at
the time. After Page and Plant heard this they were having a moment of
triumph because their band was making it big. During this time of
popularity that the band was going through, there was a feature on
them in the L.A. Times. They were making music for the adolescence age
group and they were being looked up at as role models.
Led Zeppelin’s manager Peter Grant was an amazing and brilliant
person. Their road manager was also a great person for the band to
have because he promoted them as much as possible. By the summer of
1975, Led Zeppelin was the most popular band in the world. They were
filling football stadiums across the United States. They also filled
the Earl’s Court, which held 20,000 people for five days in London.
It was awesome an show that had an amazing light show, smoke, dry ice,
and laser beams. The concerts were focused on Jimmy Page and Robert
Plant because they were the main guys in the group. On stage they were
opposites and compliments: Plant a golden-ringleted Adonis marvelously
parodying the sexual superstar while singing in a voice of limitless
power.(www.wysiwyg://14/http://www.redrival.com/getled/history.html.)
Page was a dark, fragile guitarist of immense versatility and command
clothed in black velvet and rippling dragons.
The Presence(1976) and In Though the Out Door(1979) proved to be
the last Led Zeppelin albums that were produced. John Bonham was found
dead at the home of Jimmy Page on the 25 of September in 1980.
(www.http://www.led-zeppelin.com/news.html) After this tragic loss the
band announced that they could not play any longer. The album entitled
Coda was an unreleased set of recordings and out takes which was
released in 1982. In the same year, Robert Plant released his own
album, which was called, “Pictures at Eleven.”
Even in to the 1990’s the music that was produced in the early
days of Led Zeppelin is still being played and loved. The music that
they play is very persuasive and as popular as before. Even though
they broke up ten years ago you would not know they broke because of
the way that they are played on the radio. Zeppelin was played for
their fans and followers. For generations of kids, all they needed
were headphones and a decent copy of Led Zeppelin II to keep them
occupied.
Led Zeppelin had their down times but they also had their good
times. People have loved Led Zeppelin for years even today’s kids seem
to have picked up the ear for listening to the band. Twenty-two years
after their formation, the myth still surrounds the group Led
Zeppelin. Few people other then Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John
Paul Jones remember what a truly difficult road Led Zeppelin traveled
in their time. Led Zeppelin in my mind is one of the best bands to
ever happen to the world.



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Queen

1968: Smile
In 1968, Brian May and Tim Staffell, both students at Imperial College, decided they wanted to form a group. Brian placed an advertisement on the college notice board for a "Ginger Baker type" drummer, and a young medical student called Roger Taylor auditioned and got the job. They called the group Smile. Smile were signed to Mercury Records in 1969, and had their first experience of a recording studio in Trident Studios that year. Tim Staffell was at Ealing College of Art with Freddie Bulsara, and introduced him to the band. Freddie soon became a keen fan. Sadly, in 1970 Smile decided to call it a day, as nothing seemed to be happening for them. Tim went off and joined a band called Humpy Bong, and Freddie left his band Wreckage and joined up with Brian and Roger - it had all begun.

1970: Queen's birth
Freddie changed his name by deed poll to Mercury, changed the band's name to Queen, and John Deacon was asked to audition as their bass player (they had had three temporary ones so far in their short history). In February 1971, John Deacon was taken on as the fourth member of Queen. The band rehearsed tirelessly and played several small gigs at Imperial College, where they rehearsed for close friends. Then they were offered the chance to test a new recording studio called De Lane Lea. In return for trying out the new equipment, they could also make free demo tapes. They did. No one was interested! They had signed a recording contract and publishing and management agreements with Trident in 1972, and during that year were paid just ?0 per week. Queen were given the 'down time' - or out of hours studio time - at Trident Studios, where they began work on their first album.

1973: a recording deal
In 1973, Trident and EMI signed a contract for a recording deal for Queen, and July of that year saw the release of Queen, their first album. The band were offered a big break - their first major tour as support band to Mott The Hoople. It began in Leeds in November 1973, and it was said by many people during that tour that 'Queen were more than a support act ....' Queen II was finally released in March 1974 - it should have been earlier, but there was a minor printing error on the sleeve that Queen insisted on having corrected! The band embarked on their first headlining tour of Britain, starting in Blackpool in March 1974. In April 1974, the band embarked on their first-ever USA tour as guests to Mott The Hoople. But in May of that year, whilst on tour, Brian collapsed with hepatitis, and the band had to cancel the rest of their dates.

1974: Sheer Heart Attack!
Work on their third album began without Brian and with a lot of help from Roy Thomas Baker. Brian finally felt well enough to go into the studios to record his guitar parts, although he was still ill and spend much time between takes in the studio bathroom being very sick! But eventually, the album was finished, and Sheer Heart Attack was released in November 1974. It was a huge hit both sides of the Atlantic as the world came to realise that Queen were certainly a force to be reckoned with!

1975: the big tour
In January 1975, Queen left for the USA on their very first headlining tour. Ticket sales were phenomenal, and demand was so high that they had to add more shows, doing two shows in one day at some venues, both shows being sold out. Quite a few shows on that tour had to be cancelled, as Freddie had developed a severe throat problem, but he soldiered on and performed as many as possible, although doctors had advised him against it. Also in January 1975, Queen engaged the services of a Music Business lawyer, Jim Beach, to negotiate them out of their Trident agreements, as Trident were no longer being as supportive as they should have been, and the band were unhappy with the situation. Their first Canadian gig was in Edmonton on April 2nd, where they were joined on stage by support act Kansas. April of 1975 saw Queen set to pay their first-ever visit to Japan.

1975: Japan mania
When they arrived at the airport, there were over three thousand fans there to greet them, as Sheer Heart Attack was Number One in Japan at the time. It was a scene reminiscent of Beatlemania in the Sixties, and the band were quite surprised at their 'pop star' welcome! In May 1975, Freddie was presented with an Ivor Novello Award by the Songwriters Guild for Killer Queen.

1975: Bohemian Rhapsody
Queen began work on their new album in June. Links with Trident were finally severed - to the band's great relief - in August, and by September Queen had signed with new management: enter John Reid. When the band decided to release Bohemian Rhapsody in 1975, everyone told them it was far too long and just would not be a hit at 5 minutes and 55 seconds. But Freddie gave a copy of the single to friend and London DJ Kenny Everett, informing him that it was for him personally, and that he must not play it on air. But of course he did - fourteen times in two days!! From then on, every major radio station played the song in full, and not edited versions as was first thought. It was a colossal hit, and really established Queen as th?band of the era. The video for the single, directed by Bruce Gowers using ideas from the band themselves, was considered to be the one that began the whole video craze - they just didn't know what they were starting! The single stayed at Number One for an amazing nine weeks!

1975: A Night At The Opera
The album was, at the time, one of the most expensive ever recorded, but when A Night At The Opera was released in November 1975, it was a massive hit, and gave them their first platinum album. Freddie had designed a Queen logo for the Queen I album, which was re-worked and used as the cover for A Night At The Opera. The now-famous 'crest' features the band's star signs - two fairies for Virgo, a crab for Cancer and two lions for the two Leos. The launch party for the album was held in the exclusive Opera Bar at the London Coliseum Theatre.

1976: touring
In January 1976, Freddie was presented with another Ivor Novello Award, for Bohemian Rhapsody. Also in January, the band set off on their third American tour, which took them all over America and continued until the end of March. They then flew direct to Japan, arriving yet again to a riotous reception. By this time, all four Queen albums were in the UK Top Twenty, which was an unheard-of feat. They undertook an extensive tour of Japan, and then flew on to Austria. Their tour 'Down Under' began at the Perth Entertainment Centre.

1976: another new album
They flew back to the UK to begin work on their next album, A Day At The Races, but recording was halted while the band took off on a short UK tour. On September 18th, 1976, Queen decided they wanted to say thanks to their dedicated fans, and so - in true extravagant style - they staged a huge free concert in London's Hyde Park. The crowds were estimated at between 150 and 200 thousand people - the largest audience Queen had played to up to that time, and to date still the highest-ever attendance record for a concert in Hyde Park.

1976: A Day At The Races
It was September, and the band were hard at work on their new album. A Day At The Races was released in December 1976. The band all attended a special horse race at Kempton Park to promote the album, and in 'A Day At The Races Stakes', a special race sponsored by EMI, they all backed the same horse without telling each other - and it won! Five days before its release, the advance orders for A Day At The Races were in excess of half a million - the highest orders EMI had ever received for any album.

1977: Roger's solo single
1977 had only been around for four days before Queen jetted off to America to rehearse for their forthcoming tour. They were on the road constantly through January, February and most of March in the USA and Canada. Roger decided, at the end of all that, to record a solo single, which he paid for out of his own pocket. I Wanna Testify was released in August. In May of 1977, Queen flew out of Stockholm to begin an extensive European tour. Their concert at Earls Court in London featured the famous 'Crown' lighting rig. It was 54 feet wide, 26 feet tall and weighed in at 5,000 pounds. It cost the band ?0,000.

1977: We Are The Champions, the video
In October 1977, the fan club members were asked for the first time to take part in one of the band's videos. We Are The Champions was filmed at the New London Theatre. After initial filming was finished, the band remained on stage and played an impromptu gig to say thanks to the fans who had turned up and worked so hard. October '77 also saw the band presented with a Britannia Award for the Top British Single: Bohemian Rhapsody, of course!

1977: News Of The World
Queen released News Of The World on October 28th, 1977. The cover was a drawing that Roger had discovered, by Science Fiction artist Kelly Freas. Roger asked him if he would mind adapting his illustration for the album cover, and Freas readily agreed.

1977: another tour
In November they were off to the USA again for rehearsals for the forthcoming tour. For the first time, their finances enabled them to charter a private plane for the tour - it made life on the road that much more comfortable. The tour began on 11th November - their second USA tour that year. They all arrived back in the UK just in time to spend Christmas with their families. That Christmas, We Will Rock You was knocked off the French Number One slot after 12 weeks ...... by We Are The Champions!

1978: a new management
In February 1978, Queen decided they should set up their own management structure. They parted company with John Reid more amicably than their split with Trident - this severance agreement was actually signed in the back of Freddie's Rolls Royce during a break in filming We Will Rock You in the back garden of Roger's house in Surrey! A short (by Queen standards!) tour of Europe began in April 1978 - again in Stockholm. In July, the band started work on their new album. They recorded it in Montreux and France - the first time they had ever recorded outside Great Britain.

1978: Bicycle Race
As publicity for the forthcoming single Bicycle Race, the band hired Wimbledon Stadium, and fifty naked girls had their own bicycle race. The original cover of the single featured the rear view of one of those naked girls, but due to public outcry in some countries, panties had to be drawn on! More touring in the USA and Canada began in October. November 10th saw the release of Jazz, the band's seventh album. The sleeve was packed to contain a fold-out poster of the naked bicycle race. The Americans banned it from the actual album sleeve, and inserted an application form instead so that fans could send away for their poster. The launch party for Jazz was held in New Orleans, and has since gone down in history!

1978: the party
The band hosted the party themselves in order to invite both EMI, their American record company, and Elektra, their USA representatives. It was the first time that both companies' executives had met, and they both ensured that ALL of their directors attended, each to try to outnumber the other! The party was a completely over-the-top affair, featuring mud wrestlers, midgets, topless waitresses, and a host of other weird and wonderful characters.

1979: buying a studio
The North American tour finished in late December, and the band flew back to the UK for Christmas, but they didn't get too much time to rest, as by January 1979 they were off to Europe yet again. The tour kicked off in Hamburg, and by March were ensconced in Mountain Studios in Montreux, working on their 'live' album. The band enjoyed the peace of Montreux and liked the studio there, so they decided to buy it (the studio, not the town!) When Freddie was asked by resident engineer David Richards why they had bought it and what they intended to do with it, Freddie quipped '...dump it in the lake, dear'!!

1979: Live Killers
The band flew out to Japan for yet more touring in April 1979. In June, they approached the All England Lawn Tennis Club and asked if they could use the Centre Court at Wimbledon (after the tournament, of course!) for a concert. Permission was refused. The band's first live album (and their only double album to date), Live Killers, was released in June 1979. It was an album released by very popular demand. Queen were approached to write the musical score for the science fiction film Flash Gordon. When the idea was first discussed with producer Dino de Laurentis, he simply asked '...but who are the queens?'!! The band agreed to work on the score, and started work during June in Munich.

1979: Crazy Tour
The end of 1979 found Queen embarking on 'The Crazy Tour'. It included such illustrious venues as Tiffany's in Purley, the Lewisham Odeon, Alexandra Palace, and finally, the Hammersmith Odeon. They were one of many bands who performed at the venue to raise money for the starving people of Kampuchea. During that Crazy Tour, the bands' tour manager, Gerry Stickells, collapsed backstage and had to be rushed to hospital. Gerry had been with Queen on every tour since 1976 (and has done very one since!)

1980: synths
At the start of 1980, the band were working hard on their new album, The Game - it was the first album to use the electronic wizardry of synthesisers. In June they were off to tour North America - again! Roger also started work on his first solo album in 1980. The Game was released in June of that year, and it went five times platinum in Canada alone! Another One Bites The Dust became the band's biggest-ever, worldwide-selling single to date. It became a huge 'crossover' hit in the USA, topping the charts in Rock, Soul and Disco. The band received a 'Dick Clarke' award as best band; a top Billboard award for 'Top Crossover Single'; and was nominated for various other awards including Grammys and Canadian 'Juno' awards.

1981: touring
On December 8th 1980, the soundtrack album for Flash Gordon was released. At the end of 1980, Queen had sold over 45,000,000 albums worldwide. In February 1981, after another Far East tour, the band flew to Rio de Janeiro for the start of their first tour of South America. Queen were the first rock band to undertake a stadium tour of South America, paving the way for many more bands to follow. The band's equipment had to be flown in a privately hired 'Flying Tiger' 747 cargo plane from Tokyo - the flight between Tokyo and Buenos Aires is the longest air route between capital cities in the world.

1981: more touring
Their first South American gig was Buenos Aires, on February 28th 1981. They then filled three more Argentinean World Cup soccer stadiums, playing five sold-out stadium gigs in just eight days. They then played two nights at the massive Morumbi Stadium in Sao Paolo. On the first night, 131,000 people attended, and Queen created rock & roll history as it was the largest paying audience for a single band anywhere in the world. During those two nights at the Morumbi Stadium, 251,000 people saw the Queen spectacle - that's a larger audience than most bands can expect in their whole career! Every single one of Queen's albums was in the Top Ten in Argentina during their tour - a first for any band.

1981: Roger's solo album
Whilst they were in Sao Paulo, the band celebrated the fact that the single, Love Of My Life, had been in the Sao Paulo singles chart for over 12 consecutive months. In April 1981, Roger released his first solo album, titled Fun In Space. Queen were back in South America - it was a return trip, being hailed as 'The Gluttons For Punishment Tour'! Unfortunately, their last two Venezuelan gigs in Caracas had to be cancelled, as the ex-President of the country had died. So the band moved on to play in Mexico, in Monterrey and Puebla - just outside Mexico City. Whilst there, the band's promoter, Jose Rota, was arrested and jailed. Jim Beach had to pay over $25,000 bail money to release him so the tour could continue!

1981: Hits, Flix and Pix
Greatest Hits, Greatest Flix and Greatest Pix were released simultaneously in October 1981. Greatest Hits - the album - entered the charts as soon as it was released, and has rarely been out of the British charts since! Greatest Flix - the video - was the first real collection of promo videos released commercially by any band. Greatest Pix - the book - was compiled by Jacques Lowe, who was President Kennedy's personal biographer during his term of office. It was Jacques' personal selection of the greatest Queen pictures of the previous decade.

1982: Hot Space
The band's twelfth album, Hot Space, was released on May 21st, 1982 whilst the band was in the middle of an extensive European tour. On June 5th that year, they played the huge open-air Milton Keynes Bowl. The whole show was filmed by Tyne Tees Television, under the direction of Gavin Taylor, to be shown on Channel Four's The Tube programme at a later date. In September 1982, the Japanese company, Mercury Records (nothing to do with Freddie!) released an album called Gettin' Smile. It was at first thought to be a bootleg, but after listening to the album, Roger and Brian declared it to be the REAL Smile, although neither of them recalled having recorded so much with that band! In December 1982, Queen made it into the Guinness Book of Records as Britain's highest-paid executives.

1983: solo recordings
In January 1983, Freddie began work on a solo album, and Roger began work on his second solo album. During the early part of the year, Brian had flown out to Los Angeles and gathered together a few close friends in the Record Plant studios there. Brian had some basic ideas to work on, but it was generally a lengthy jam session. However, Brian had no intention of wasting the talents of Edward Van Halen, Alan Gratzer, Phil Chen and Fred Mandel - and so kept the tapes rolling throughout the whole session. The result was the mini album Star Fleet Project, which was released in October 1983.

1983: USA recordings
The band went back into the studios in August 1983 to start work on their next album. Work commenced at the Record Plant in LA - the first time the band had recorded in America. After a number of months, recording switched from LA to Munich - a city that the band spent so much time in during that recording session that they almost thought of it as home!

1984: The Works
In February 1984, the band released their thirteenth album - The Works. Radio Ga Ga, taken from that album, became a worldwide hit, reaching Number One in nineteen different countries. The video for the single, directed by David Mallett, featured fan club members again. The handclapping chorus became a favourite with live audiences all over the world. Another single from The Works was I Want To Break Free, and that had an even more outrageous video also featuring members of the fan club. It featured the band dressed as the characters of a popular British television soap opera - Coronation Street. When asked why, Roger said he had become bored with serious epic videos, and thought it was about time they had some fun and proved they could still laugh at themselves. MTV in America refused to show the video.

1984: Strange Frontier
In June 1984, Roger released his second solo album, Strange Frontier. Also in June, a company called Guild Guitars launched a special copy of Brian's home-made Red Special guitar. It was called the BHM1, and Brian had been closely involved in all the aspects of its production. Sadly, about a year later, Brian and Guild had some discussions about the design of the instrument which resulted in Guild ceasing production.

1984: tour problems
In August, Queen flew out to Belgium to start The Works tour in that country. October saw them in Bophuthatswana, South Africa, and a series of gigs at the famous Sun City Superbowl. The gigs themselves were fraught with problems, as Freddie had serious voice complications resulting in cancellations. But the problems were mild compared to what the band returned to. Their visit caused much public outcry, although the band defended their actions, saying they were a non-political band and that they had gone out to play music for the people, and for no other reason.

1984: first full-length video
Queen's first-ever full-length video was released in September 1984. We Will Rock You was filmed during the band's 1981 Montreal concerts. During September, Queen had no fewer than nine albums in the UK Top 200.

1985: Rock In Rio
1985 was the year of 'Rock In Rio'. It was billed as the biggest rock festival to be held anywhere in the world, and Queen were headlining the event. (Remember that bit about 'not being a support act for long...'?) The whole festival was recorded for broadcast throughout South America, but Queen were the only band able to obtain the rights to release their performance on video. Live in Rio was released in May 1985.

1985: Spandau Ballet?
The band performed their first-ever concert in New Zealand on April 13th, 1985 in Auckland. The band were met outside their hotel on arrival by a group of chanting anti-apartheid demonstrators. Tony Hadley, singer with British band Spandau Ballet, flew over from Australia where his band was on tour to see the Queen show, and was honoured to be asked to join Queen on stage for their encore.

1985: Mr. Bad Guy
Freddie's first solo album, Mr. Bad Guy, was released on April 19th whilst the band was on tour in Australia. The gig in Melbourne had to be played with no lighting rig at all, as the whole computer system that controlled the lights had broken down. After an Australian tour peppered with problems - not least being the incessant rain - the band flew across to Japan. Their concert at the Tokyo Olympic swimming pool was filmed by NHK to be shown on network Japanese television.

1985: Live Aid
July 13th 1985, was a day that went down in history as the Live Aid Global Jukebox took the world by storm from London's vast Wembley Stadium and from Philadelphia in the USA. Queen were just one of a multitude of top bands who all performed a short, 20-minute set. The world was watching, and Queen were unanimously voted - by press and public alike - as the band that stole the show. That event was a turning point for Queen.

1985: One Vision
They had decided some time previously to take a break from each other, but that day brought them together with renewed vigour and enthusiasm. One Vision was the first release to come from that new inspiration.

1986: Highlander
Queen were approached by Russell Mulcahy to record the soundtrack to his first feature film - a fantasy tale about an immortal Scotsman - called Highlander. In an interview, Mulcahy stated that Queen had been the first band he had thought of for the score.

1986: A Kind Of Magic
In March 1986, John formed a new band, called The Immortals, to write and record some of the music for a forthcoming film called Biggles. They recorded just one track - No Turning Back - and the band folded. On June 2nd, Queen released their fourteenth album, the soundtrack to Highlander, entitled A Kind Of Magic. The album entered the UK chart at Number One and remained in the top five for thirteen consecutive weeks.

1986: Magic Tour
On June 7th, the Queen machine was in action again as the band embarked on their 'Magic Tour of Europe'. The first UK gig was Newcastle's St James Park football stadium. The band, and promoter Harvey Goldsmith, donated all the proceeds from that concert to the International Save The Children Fund. On July 11th, the 'Queen Tornado' - as Freddie had dubbed it - hit London and two sold-out shows at the vast Wembley Stadium. During the set, four enormous inflatables, modelled on the characters from the Kind of Magic album, were released from amongst the audience into the night. The following night's show was filmed by Tyne Tees Television, again directed by Gavin Taylor, to be shown on TV at a later date.

1986: Queen on the tele
When that concert was finally shown on television, it became the first-ever simulcast between Channel Four and the Independent Radio network in Britain. This feat has never since been repeated - possibly because, in order to achieve this, a satellite dish had to be delivered to every single independent radio station in the UK so that they could receive the sound by satellite whilst receiving the pictures by the normal land lines.

1986: the Budapest performance
On 27th July, Queen made history again (something of a habit with this band!) when they played the beautiful Nepstadion in Budapest, Hungary. It was the first time a major rock band had played a stadium date in the Eastern Bloc, and it was completely sold out well in advance. The concert was filmed by the Hungarian State Film Agency, MAFILM, in connection with Queen Films - they had to commandeer every 35mm camera in Hungary to film it!

1986: Knebworth
On August 9th, the band flew into Knebworth Park, Hertfordshire, in a specially repainted helicopter featuring the characters from the Kind of Magic album cover. It was the final date on the Magic Tour, and the biggest audience so far - estimated at well over 120,000 people. It caused one of the biggest traffic jams in history as everyone tried to arrive in plenty of time! Over one million people saw Queen on that European Magic Tour - in excess of 400,000 in the UK alone.

1986: CD releases
In November 1986, EMI Records released the entire Queen catalogue of albums on the Compact Disc format - the first time any band's complete collection had been made available simultaneously. In December, Queen's fifteenth album - and their second live album - was released. Entitled Live Magic, it entered the British chart at Number Three. On 13th December, the band's film Live In Budapest opened in Budapest at 9 a.m., and proceeded to play to nine sold-out houses in that one day. Seven completely full screenings were shown each day for a week.

1987: The Great Pretender
During 1986, in the UK alone, Queen sold a staggering 1,774,991 albums. On February 3rd, Freddie released a cover version of the great old Platters song, The Great Pretender. In the video to accompany the song, Freddie recreated many scenes from his own and Queen videos, and actor Peter Starker, Roger Taylor and Freddie all donned wigs, made up their faces, and became the female backing singers! It was an expensive video!

1987: the meeting
One of Freddie's all-time heroines was opera diva Montserrat Caballe, and in March 1987, he met with her in her home city of Barcelona. An astonishing partnership was forged with Montserrat agreed to record an album with Freddie. He penned a song about Barcelona for her, and the two began to write and record that album. Freddie and Montserrat appeared on stage together for the first time in May 1987 at the Ibiza '92 festival, held at the famous Ku Club on the holiday island. They performed Barcelona.

1987: the forming of The Cross
In August 1987, Roger advertised for, auditioned and chose musicians to form a new band, The Cross. He wanted a band he could write with and, more importantly, tour with during Queen's increasingly lengthy 'quiet' periods.

1987: Barcelona, the single
The single Barcelona was released in Spain in September 1987, and 10,000 copies were sold in just three hours. The Spanish Olympic Committee adopted the song as the theme for the Olympic Games being held in the city in 1992 - then decided against it, which caused much anger amongst the fans.

1987: The Magic Years
Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher are an Austrian director/producer team who followed Queen all over Europe during the Magic Tour, filming them on stage, back stage, resting, playing and generally 'touring'. They then searched the archives for footage of live shows, interviews or out-takes from videos. After that, they interviewed the band, their friends, their fans and other 'stars'. Finally, in November 1987, a trilogy of documentary-style videos was released, called The Magic Years. The trilogy received numerous awards, including the famous Silver Screen award in the USA (the biggest film and TV festival in the world) and the IMMC award at the Montreux Golden Rose TV festival. Also during 1987, Queen were presented with the prestigious Ivor Novello award for their 'Outstanding Contribution to British Music'.

1988: Shove It!
In January 1988, Queen went into the studios to start work on their next album. On January 25th, The Cross released their debut album called Shove It. The Cross also embarked on their first European tour, playing club and university dates throughout the UK, then clubs in Germany.

1988: solo releases
Freddie and Montserrat appeared together again on October 8th at the huge La Nit event staged in Barcelona, which was held to celebrate the arrival of the Olympic Flag from Seoul. Freddie and Montserrat closed the event, held in the presence of the King and Queen of Spain, with Barcelona, The Golden Boy and How Can I Go On - tracks taken from their forthcoming album.

1988: Barcelona, the album
Barcelona, the duet album from Freddie and Montserrat, was released on October 10th, 1988. The launch party was a typically extravagant affair held in the Crush Bar of the beautiful Covent Garden Opera House - a fitting venue!

1988: The Cross - live
On December 4th, The Cross played a one-off gig at London's Hammersmith Palais, at a party held exclusively for fan club members. Special guests on stage were Brian and John.

1989: The Miracle
Queen released their sixteenth album on May 22nd 1989, entitled The Miracle. It entered the UK chart at Number One and went on to become a massive worldwide success, reaching Number One in most European countries. To promote the release, the four members of the band gathered in a Radio One studio and allowed themselves to be interviewed by DJ Mike Reid - a scoop for him, as the band had not given a joint interview in many years.

1989: best of the 80's
As it was the end of a decade, there were numerous 'Best of the Eighties' style programmes on television, especially in the UK, and Queen were voted the 'Best Band of the Eighties' by the viewers of Independent Television and readers of its magazine TV Times. It was an accolade they were immensely pleased with, and they all appeared together on the show to collect it.

1989: Queen in the studios
In late November 1989, Queen were already back in studios working on the next album - they had felt so inspired by the huge success of The Miracle.

1990: awards
On February 18th, 1990, Queen were honoured yet again when they were recognised by the British Phonographic Industry (at last!), and presented with an award for their 'Outstanding Contribution to British Music'. They all collected the award, and went on to host a huge star-studded party at London's Groucho Club.

1990: The Cross' second album
The Cross released their second album on March 26th, called Mad: Bad: And Dangerous To Know, a title taken from a quote used to describe the eccentric Lord Byron! The Cross also undertook a short German tour.

1990: Macbeth
Brian, meanwhile, wrote and produced the haunting music for a version of Shakespeare's Macbeth, performed at London's Riverside Theatre.

1990: Hollywood Records
In November 1990, Queen signed a major new recording deal in North America with the Disney-financed Hollywood Records. Hollywood immediately began the task of pushing Queen back up the popularity ladder, and plans were laid to re-master and re-release the entire back catalogue on CD - up till then, the collection had not been available on CD in North America.

1990: live performances
On December 7th, The Cross played their only UK date for some time at London's Astoria Theatre, at yet another Queen fan club party. Brian joined them on stage for the encore.

1991: Innuendo as a single
On January 14th 1991, the band released the six-and-a-half-minute long epic Innuendo as a single. It was a massive success, giving the band their third UK Number One single and ensuring them the Number One slot throughout Europe. The album of the same name was released on February 4th, and crashed straight into the UK chart at Number One, hitting the high spot again throughout Europe - and it even charted top thirty in America.

1991: Blue Rock
In March 1991, The Cross went into studios to start work on their third album, and Brian flew out to Montreux in July to continue work on his long-awaited solo album. The Cross album was completed in July, and release was schedule for early September for a great third album, entitled Blue Rock. The album was only ever released in Germany, on Electrola records. Queen went into the studios in London to begin work on their next album in late April.

1991: the final video
On May 30th, 1991, Freddie filmed what was to become his final video for Queen - the haunting Days of Our Lives. A version featuring Disney animation was made for the USA.

1991: Seville Guitar Legends
Brian organised the Rock section of the Seville Guitar Legends festival, and amongst those chosen by Brian to perform their music were Nuno Bettencourt, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Joe Walsh - to name but a few. The concerts were performed live in October on the site of the Seville Expo '92 exhibition.

1991: the second Hits album
Greatest Hits Two was released in October 1991, a double album featuring 17 tracks. They also repeated their earlier success by releasing Greatest Flix II and Greatest Pix II - this time compiled by Richard Gray. A special box was also released called Box of Flix, featuring Flix One and Two plus four bonus tracks. Needless to say, both Hits II and Flix II were Number One!

1991: Freddie's farewell
On November 23rd, Freddie announced to the world that he had AIDS. Just the next day, his fight was over, and he died peacefully at his home surrounded by friends and family. The world was in shock. Freddie had kept his illness very private, and only those closest to him had been aware of just how close to the end he really was. Fans from all over the world sent flowers and cards, and many even travelled to London to be at Freddie's house. A quiet family cremation service was held three days after his death, conducted in the Zoroastrian faith that Freddie's parents followed so strictly.

1991: Driven By You
In April, Brian had been commissioned by a London advertising agency to write a piece of music for an advertising campaign for Ford cars. The resulting track, Driven by You, was so good (and proved so popular) that Brian released it as his first solo single on November 25th. It made the top ten in the UK charts.

1991: BoRhap, the sequel
As a tribute to Freddie, and to raise funds for the Terence Higgins Trust to continue the fight against AIDS - as Freddie's last wishes requested - Bohemian Rhapsody/These Are The Days of Our Lives was released as a double A-sided single. It entered the UK chart at Number One, where it remained for five weeks, raising over one million pounds for the AIDS charity.

1991: popular than ever
In December 1991, Queen had no fewer than 10 albums in the UK top 100.

1992: award for Freddie
In February 1992, the annual BritAwards recognised Freddie with a special posthumous award for 'Outstanding Contribution to British Music', and - out of three Queen nominations - Days Of Our Lives won the Best Single of 1991 award. At that awards ceremony, Roger and Brian announced plans for a massive open-air concert at London's Wembley Stadium to celebrate Freddie's life and give him a send-off to remember.

1992: ticket sales
The tickets went on sale the next day, with no announcement of who was going to play apart from Brian, Roger and John, and all 72,000 tickets sold out in just six hours.

1992: Tribute Concert
On Easter Monday, April 20th 1992, many of the world's top stars joined Roger, John and Brian on stage at Wembley Stadium to pay an emotional tribute to Freddie. The stadium was packed to capacity, and it was televised live to over one billion people.

1992: more awards
In April 1992, Queen were awarded an Ivor Novello award for Best Single with 'Days Of Our Lives', and Brian also won an award for Driven By You for Best TV Commercial Music.

1992: Back To The Light
September 1992 saw the release of the long-awaited Brian May solo album, called Back To The Light. The album went into the UK charts at number 6 and achieved double gold status.

1992: Brian's tour
The Brian May Band was then formed. Having warmed up in Chile, Argentina and Brazil in November 1992. The Brian May Band embarked upon a World Tour, beginning in the USA and Europe as special guests to Guns N'Roses. They then went on to headline their own sell-out tour of North America, Japan and Europe, finishing in Portugal in December 1993.

1992: Mercury Phoenix Trust
In the summer of 1992 The Mercury Phoenix Trust was founded to distribute the money raised by the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS awareness. It is a registered charity.

1992: the results
Funds generated in the U.S.A. through Fox Television's prime time broadcast of the concert and the re-release of Bohemian Rhapsody as a single (a sum in excess of $1 million) were distributed to AIDS charities all over the United States. In the UK over ? million was donated to The Terence Higgins Trust from the re-release of Bohemian Rhapsody. In addition another ?.2 million has been distributed to date to over 100 different established charities and body Positive self-help groups in the UK, the rest of Europe and Africa.

1992: a Tribute on video
Prior to Christmas 1992, a double video of the Freddie Tribute Concert was released, with all proceeds being donated to the Mercury Phoenix Trust.

1992: The Great Pretender
The Freddie Mercury Album was released in November 1992 with the first single In My Defence on 30 November 1992. This single was followed by 'The Great Pretender' in January 1993 and Living On My Own in Spring 1993. This latter single won a posthumous Ivor Novello Award as the 1993 International Hit of the Year.

1993: Five Live
1993 saw the release of the George Michael / Lisa Stansfield / Queen mini album Five Alive. This mini album and the single Somebody To Love were released worldwide in aid of the Trust. They reached the top ten in 31 countries worldwide and the single reached number one in the UK on 22nd April.

1993: Live At The Brixton Academy
In February 1994 EMI released 'The Brian May Band Live At Brixton Academy' on album and video, the first live recordings of the band.

1994: Happiness?
In September 1994, Roger Taylor released his solo album Happiness?. This was preceded by the May 3rd release of a single, Nazis 1994, which addresses the issue of Europe's increasing rise of Neo-Nazism. The second single Foreign Sands was released throughout Europe at the end of September 1994. Roger Taylor's band toured the UK and Italy in November 1994 - January 1995.

1995: Made In Heaven!
After four years in the making, November 6, 1995 saw the worldwide release of Made In Heaven, Queen's twentieth and final album. Begun in April 1991, the album was the last work to be recorded by the band with Freddie Mercury, recording continuing through to the last months of Freddie's life.

1995: the dedication
The album, much of the finishing work undertaken by John, Brian and Roger after Freddie's death, carries a dedication to the 'immortal spirit of Freddie Mercury', in recognition of his request that the material be completed and be heard by the public.

1995: the songs
The finality of the album is underlined in two particular tracks, A Winter's Tale, the last song written by Freddie, and Mother Love a Brian and Freddie song which features the last vocal track Freddie laid down.

1995: Montreux
Much of the recording on Made In Heaven was carried out at Queen's studio in Montreux, Switzerland, the town where Freddie was also living at the time. This landmark point in the history of Queen is immortalised in the album sleeve - a landscape view across the lake which Freddie's home overlooked.

1995: personal album
To many, Made In Heaven represents not only Queen's most personal album, but also the band's finest.

1995: BFI project
Always recognised for their innovative music videos, Queen wanted to look at an entirely new way of presenting the tracks of the album in a visual form. This was achieved by joining forces with the British Film Institute in a unique venture to produce a series of short films based around each of the album tracks using the talent of new young directors working with the BFI. The first of these was Evolution, a film made by director Simon Pummell inspired by Heaven For Everyone. As well as being seen on television, the film is expected to be seen also on cinema screens. Under the BFI project, a further six-eight films are anticipated to be made.

1995: 20CD set
The release of the album also provided a fitting occasion to reflect on the highlights and achievements of Queen's 25 years. A week after its release, November 13, comes the release of Ultimate Queen, a deluxe box set of 20 Queen albums presented in a wall mounted presentation case. Available as a limited edition, Ultimate Queen contains the complete studio work of the group with the classic live albums Live Killers, Live Magic and Live At Wembley. Individually numbered, each case presents the album collection on high quality litho printed picture CDs accompanied by an embossed 12-page colour booklet.

1995: Champions Of The World
As a companion to the box set, Queen also released the definitive video documentary, Champions of the World. In two hours of film and music, the video contains a wealth of material not previously available. More than simply re-telling the band's history, Champions of the World also provides a rare insight into the lives of John, Brian, Freddie and Roger.

1995: Queen Phenomenon
The release of the album is also celebrated on television with two Channel 4 specials on Queen: a new one-hour documentary, The Queen Phenomenon, to air on December 4 at 10pm, and Queen At Wembley, a live recording of one of the highlights of the group's 1986 Magic Tour, to be screened on December 6 at 11:00pm.

1995: the website
On November 6 Queen fans worldwide were able for the first time to communicate with each other and connect with the band with the launch of the Queen web site on the internet. Considered one of the most advanced sites available, it incorporates seven locations offering audio samples, video clips, stills artwork, communication and information centres, as well as a shopping mall. The site address is: http://www.queenonline.com/

1995: the statue
On November 8 sculptor Irena Sedlecka commenced work on the full size version of the statue of Freddie Mercury to be unveiled in 1996.

1995: more broadcastings
December will see Queen back on the airwaves in a major way with a two hour documentary radio series being produced by Unique Broadcasting for broadcast on Radio One FM during the month.

1996: radio series
This will be followed in January by an even more extensive radio series of five hours to be broadcast across the Independent Radio Network.

1996: Freddie in a museum
November will also see Freddie's image on display at the Museum of the Moving Image on London's Southbank with the installation of a holographic movie created from his likeness; in essence, a 3-D image on film.

1997: Queen Rocks
1997 saw the release of Queen's third compilation album Queen Rocks. It became a big succes in many countries and featured a new song written by Brian and recorded by Roger, Brian and John.

1998: Another World
Another World saw the release in 1998. Brian's long awaited solo album. This became the last album with Cozy Powell; he died after a car accident just after the recordings had been completed. While On My Way Up got released in Europe, the UK had Business as a single. Business featured a special Cozy mix and a small message by Brian for Cozy. In August Why Don't We Try Again got released as a single in the UK, Holland released Another World as a single in September.

1998: Electric Fire
Right after this release Roger released his forth solo album Electric Fire. Two singles were taken from the album: Pressure On and Surrender. The latter got released in 1999 and featured a special Radio Mix. A short UK tour followed after this release.

1999: Hits three
The end of 1999 saw the release of Greatest Hits III and Greatest Flix III of Queen. A new mix was included on the compilation: Under Pressure, the Rah Mix and a unique live performance with Elton John and the three remaining Queen members.

2000: Furia
Brian released his own soundtrack album in August 2000 for the French movie Furia. It got later released in the UK, Japan and all over Europe.

2000: th?box set
The Solo Collection, a 10 CD and 2 DVD box set got released in October 2000 of Freddie. The box featured the three solo albums, two discs with single tracks, three CD's with rarities such as demos, unreleased takes and instrumental tracks. An interview and instrumental CD was also included plus 2 DVD's featuring all of Freddie's video clips plus a new documentary. A single was released in Holland and Italy to promote the box set.

2001: .....
2001 will hopefully see the first Queen rarities box set and perhaps some other surprising things, such as a live performance of Brian and Roger (and maybe even John) somewhere on the globe...

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Stevie Ray Vaughan

HE PERFORMED AS HE ALWAYS HAD, as if the song of the moment would be his last. During the blistering, 20-minute rendition of "Sweet Home Chicago" that closed the show at the Alpine Valley Music Theater near East Troy, Wisconsin, guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan was onstage with fellow bluesmen Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray and Vaughan's older brother, Jimmie. Said Guy later: "It was one of the most incredible sets I ever heard Stevie play. I had goose bumps."
Shortly afterward, at 12:15 A.M. on Aug. 27, the exhilarated musicians left the stage through a rear exit. Vaughan, 35, had planned to make the two-hour drive back to his Chicago hotel with his brother and sister-in-law, Connie, but at the last minute he chose to board a Bell 206B Jet Ranger, one of four helicopters waiting nearby. According to his New York City publicist, Charles Comer, Vaughan had learned from Clapton's manager that there were seats enough to accommodate all three in his party. When he found only one place was actually available, Vaughan said to Connie and Jimmie, "Do you mind if I take the seat? I really need to get back."


The helicopter took off in fog around 12:40 A.M. with Vaughan and four others aboard. Sweet Chicago would never be reached. Moments later the chopper's remains lay spread across more than 200 feet of a man-made ski slope in a field dotted with bittersweet and Queen Anne's lace. All on board were killed instantly in what National Transportation Safety Board investigator William Bruce later described as "a high-energy, high-velocity impact at a shallow angle."
Fans leaving the noisy concert site did not hear the crash, which occurred on the far side of the nearby hill. In fact a search for the lost copter wasn't begun until 5 A.M. -- more than four hours later -- after an orbiting search-and-rescue satellite picked up the craft's emergency-locator transmitter signal. At 7 A.M. searchers found the bodies of Vaughan; Bobby Brooks, Clapton's Hollywood agent; pilot Jeff Brown (who may have been unfamiliar with the hilly site's tricky take-off procedures); Clapton's assistant tour manager, Colin Smythe; and Clapton's bodyguard, Nigel Browne. Later that morning Clapton and Jimmie Vaughan were summoned by the Walworth County coroner to identify the bodies.
The crash stilled the music of a man that many had considered on the lip of true stardom. Vaughan's last album, In Step, had gone gold and won a Grammy, and a new LP had already been recorded for release later this month. The latter, titled Family Style, was a pet project of Vaughan and brother Jimmie, 38, who had quit his job as lead guitarist with the Fabulous Thunderbirds to work on the LP.
A promising guitar player by the time he was 8, Stevie Ray grew up in Dallas, the son of an asbestos plant worker and a secretary at a ready-mix cement factory. He abandoned high school at 17 and, with his brother, began haunting the all-night blues clubs of Austin, where his trademark bandito hat, tar-paper voice and potent playing became as familiar as the clubs' watered-down drinks. A videotape of one performance, sent to Mick Jagger, led to a New York City nightclub appearance at Jagger's request, but it was Vaughan's stunning set at the 1982 Montreux Jazz Festival that brought him both a record contract and the wider recognition he deserved.
Vaughan had been plagued for years by severe alcohol and drug dependency, and he chronicled his successful struggle to kick the twin sins with his album In Step. "He just went straight in the last four years," says a friend. "Since then he wouldn't even drink tea with caffeine. It's such a shame. He was such a sweet man."
Five albums, countless tours and guest appearances -- live and in the studio -- with a pantheon of blues and rock performers like B.B. King and David Bowie had established the goateed musician as one of the reigning kings of his genre. "He did a lot for us blues players, keeping the blues happening," says guitarist Albert Collins, who remembers seeing Vaughan play in Austin's bars when the latter was still a teenager. "He was attractive to younger kids, and he always had this fire in him. He made the blues a young and old thing to listen to." Grammy-winning blues singer Koko Taylor echoes Collins's view. "People didn't pay attention to the blues," says Taylor. "Vaughan was one of the musicians who changed that."
Vaughan had bought a home in the Highland Park section of Dallas about nine months ago; killed four years to the day after the death of his father, he will now be buried nearby. His death is a sad new addition to a series of similar air-crash tragedies that over the years have claimed such stars as Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly, Otis Redding, Jim Croce, Rick Nelson and others. But to Vaughan's friends and fans, the latest loss is far more than a sad statistic.
Last summer Vaughan had come to Chicago on another mission, to help Buddy Guy, whom he had known for a decade, open his new South Side nightclub. Hours before the crash the pair teamed up again for the last song Vaughan would ever perform. "Stevie is the best friend I've ever had, the best guitarist I ever heard and the best person anyone will ever want to know," a choked-up Guy said the day after his friend's death. "He will be missed a lot."



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