A Flock of Seagulls.

                                                              A Flock of Seagulls. 

A Flock of Seagulls (also known as Flock of Seagulls) are an English new wave band originally formed in Liverpool by brothers Michael "Mike" Score (keyboards, vocals) and Alister "Ali" James Score (drums), with Francis Lee (Frank) Maudsley (bass), and Paul Reynolds (guitar). A Flock of Seagulls were originally assimilated in the batch of new wave Liverpool acts of the late 1970s and early 1980s, led by OMD and also including The Teardrop Explodes, China Crisis, Echo and the Bunnymen and Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

The group had a string of international hit singles including "I Ran (So Far Away)", "Space Age Love Song," "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)" and "The More You Live, the More You Love", and became notable in the 1980s for their video for the song "I Ran (So Far Away)". The band have also won a Grammy Award.

Renowned for Score's unique hairstyle – which was intended to resemble a seagull – thelegacy of A Flock of Seagulls is as something of a joke band, but they have also been hailed as pioneers.

A Flock of Seagulls was started by Michael Score and his brother Ali in 1979 in Liverpool (The name was taken from The Stranglerssong "Toiler on the Sea", according to Mike Score ). Mike, who was previously a hairdresser, played keyboards, guitar, and vocals; Ali played drums; and their friend Francis Maudsley played bass. Original guitarist Willie Woo left and was replaced with Paul Reynolds from the band Cindysbeentrippin. After practising above Score's hair salon,  the band started playing clubs and eventually got a recording contract.

Eventually, under the management of Tommy Crossan and Mick Rossi (Checkmount Limited), they began to release singles through Jive Records. The group released an EP, Telecommunication, and two singles, "It's Not Me Talking" and "Telecommunication" (both produced by Nelson), on Bill Nelson's Cocteau label; the success of the latter single, a club hit, got them a contract with a major label.  In 1982 the group's third single, "I Ran (So Far Away)" (produced by Mike Howlett, formerly the bass player of Gong), became a worldwide hit, reaching number 1 in Australia and the top 10 in the US and New Zealand. The parent album A Flock of Seagulls and another single, "Space Age Love Song", were also successful. In late 1982 the band found major success in their home country with "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)", the first single from their next album, Listen, which reached the top 10.   Later, the band was praised for having broken the ground for other musical acts during the advent of the video music area,  but as it turned out, 1982 was the peak year of their commercial and critical success.

The Beatles and Vox!

                                                              The Beatles and Vox!
Back in early 1962 the band were little more than local heroes, returning back from honing their live performance skills playing night after night in Hamburg for over two years. Soon after they were dazzling punters in Liverpool’s famous Cavern Club with their new songs and incendiary live shows. Up until that point, Paul McCartney and the rest of the group used any gear they could scrape together. It was not until The Beatles were taken under the wing of manager Brian Epstein that they truly begin to hone not just their image but also their live sound. Unheard of in those times, the maverick Epstein quickly managed to strike up an endorsement deal with a small amp company out of Dartford that would come to define the sound of the British Invasion.
In a time when highly desired American brands were rarely imported to the UK, local manufacturers recognised a demand to create their own line of instruments and amplifiers to supply the burgeoning Rock and Pop explosion on the British side of the pond. Back in the early 1960’s VOX was a relatively fresh brand and new to the scene, though known and desired in the UK amongst aspiring guitarists due to emerging guitar hero Hank Marvin of The Shadows. Around the time The Beatles were signed by George Martin’s Parlophone label in 1962, Brian Epstein signed an endorsement deal with VOX for the band to exclusively use VOX gear in their backline. Soon the band started using a combination of VOX AC15 and AC30 amps. Throughout their live career and the majority of their time in the studio, VOX would go on to supply a variety of different amps and equipment to the band. The group pushed VOX engineers to expand the boundaries of their designs with their ever-increasing requirements for more volume and headroom. If you ever had the opportunity to see the Beatles, chances are you were hearing Paul McCartney and the rest of the lads play through VOX gear. From the sweaty gigs in the clubs of the North of England to the Ed Sullivan Show & defining Shea Stadium gig, when you heard The Beatles, you heard VOX. The timeless British VOX tone is there in all of its grandeur in those classic early recordings.

THE EARLY DAYS

In the early days the band plugged straight into AC30s and as a result it is the amplifier most identified with the British invasion and early Beatles sound. In late 1962 Paul transitioned to the all-new VOX T-60 bass amp, which was one of the world’s first musical transistor amplifiers (did not need valves/tubes). George and Johns AC30s were soon modified to sport the new 'top-boost' unit, which enabled the band to drive the amps harder for a more cutting and saturated tone. Pushing his T-60 harder and harder night after night, Paul eventually replaced it in favour of an AC30 head and a new vertical bass cabinet loaded with combo of 12 & 15 inch Celestion speakers. As the Beatles started acclimating themselves to the recording studio, much of the character of those early records came from George Martin’s approach to capturing the band playing live in the room through their VOX amps with minimal overdubs, The opening riff of 'Day Tripper', the jangly intro to 'I Feel Fine' and the raucous rhythm to 'All My Loving' all provide great examples of the classic 1960’s VOX tone, not to mention the genius of Lennon and McCartney’s songwriting.

THE BEATLES RISE TO STARDOM

As The Beatles rose to stardom it was clear that they were going to need even more power to be heard over the deafening screams of crazed teenage fans going to their shows in even greater numbers. In the days before the modern multi channel high-powered PA systems taken for granted today, VOX would again have to answer the band’s call for more volume with more powerful amps. VOX’s answer was to construct a single channel 50 watt head which would be paired with a 'closed back' 2 x 12" speaker cabinet. These cabinets also uniquely featured an additional Midax Horn to accentuate the high frequencies. In development since late 1963, VOX further beefed up the head design to 80 watts with the AC80/100. This powerful new head, coupled with larger speaker cabinets provided more power and projection onstage. The increase in power proved to be a revelation for Paul who quickly upgraded to the AC100 head and had VOX construct a vertical 2 x 15" closed back bass cabinet. Paul’s bass lines would now have more presence and was a great partner for his Hofner 'Violin' Bass. As demand for the band increased it saw their performances move away from medium sized gigs to concert halls, outdoor shows and eventually stadiums. From late 1964 the entire band would all eventually adopt AC100’s for maximum headroom and power on stage. The band found however that the weak PA systems of the time simply could not match the increasingly deafening screams directed at them by thousands of adoring fans. Tired of the incessant touring and frequently complaining of the inability to hear themselves on stage they eventually made the decision to stop touring and focus on work in the studio after their final public show at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park in 1966.

http://www.theoompahroundabout.com/

The Beatles, PT 1....

                                                         The Beatles, PT 1........

"Fab Four" redirects here. For other uses, see The Beatles (disambiguation) and Fab Four (disambiguation).

The Beatles
The Beatles in 1964 Top: Lennon, McCartney Bottom: Harrison, Starr
Background information
Origin	Liverpool, England
Genres	Rock, pop
Years active	1960–70
Labels	Parlophone, Swan, Vee-Jay,Capitol, United Artists, Apple
Associated acts	The Quarrymen, Billy Preston,Plastic Ono Band
Website	thebeatles.com
Past members	Principal John Lennon Paul McCartney George Harrison Ringo Starr Other Stuart Sutcliffe Pete Best

The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. Their best-known lineup, consisting of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, became considered by many as the greatest and most influential act of the rock era.^[1]Rooted in skiffle and 1950s rock and roll, the Beatles later utilized several genres, ranging from pop ballads to psychedelic rock, often incorporating classical elements in innovative ways. In the early 1960s, their enormous popularity first emerged as "Beatlemania", but as their songwriting grew in sophistication, they came to be perceived by fans and cultural observers as an embodiment of the ideals shared by the era's sociocultural revolutions.

Starting in 1960, the Beatles built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburgover a three-year period. Manager Brian Epstein moulded them into a professional act and producer George Martin enhanced their musical potential. They gained popularity in the United Kingdom after their first modest hit, "Love Me Do", in late 1962. They acquired the nickname the "Fab Four" as Beatlemania grew in Britain over the following year, and by early 1964 they had become international stars, leading the "British Invasion" of the United States pop market. From 1965 on, the Beatles produced what many critics consider their finest material, including the innovative and widely influential albums Rubber Soul (1965),Revolver (1966), Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), The Beatles (1968), andAbbey Road (1969). After their break-up in 1970, they each enjoyed successful musical careers. Lennon was shot and killed in December 1980, and Harrison died of lung cancer in November 2001. McCartney and Starr remain musically active.

According to the RIAA, the Beatles are the best-selling band in the United States, with 177 million certified units. They have had more number-one albums on the British charts and sold more singles in the UK than any other act. In 2008, the group topped Billboardmagazine's list of the all-time most successful "Hot 100" artists. As of 2013, they hold the record for most number-one hits on the Hot 100 chart with 20. They have received 7Grammy Awards, an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score and 15 Ivor Novello Awards. Collectively included in Time magazine's compilation of the 20th century's 100 most influential people, the Beatles are the best-selling band in history, with EMI Recordsestimating sales of over one billion units. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the Beatles as the best artist of all-time.