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(Vocal group, 1993–2000, 2007–08) If Bikini Kill were one extreme of Grrrl Power then The Spice Girls were the most successful. With each girl adopting a defined image – Posh Spice (Victoria Adams), Scary Spice (Melanie Brown), Baby Spice (Emma Bunton), Sporty Spice (Melanie Chisholm) and Ginger Spice (Geri Halliwell, went solo 1998) – they were unstoppable after ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley

(Vocal group, 1930s) The Girls Of The Golden West were Millie (1913–93) and Dolly (1915–67) Good (real name Goad). They starred during the 1930s on Chicago’s WLS and recorded for Bluebird and ARC. Regionally popular and influential – they inspired Pee Wee King, among others – they were particularly renowned for their close harmony and harmonized yodelling. Marrying, ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Music, consultant editor Bob Allen

(Vocal group, 2002–present) Girls Aloud have managed to sustain a career after forming on a UK TV talent show (Popstars: The Rivals) where many have faltered before. The five girls (Nadine Coyle, Cheryl Tweedy, Nicola Roberts, Kimberley Walsh and Sarah Harding) all have individual followings, Tweedy and Coyle forging solo careers, while strong releases such ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley

Across the centuries and around the globe, many different forms of music have enjoyed mass appeal for a limited period of time. None, however, have been able to match the widespread influence of the popular music that erupted in America during the mid-1950s and, by the second half of the decade, was exerting its grip over ...

Source: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music, general editor Paul Du Noyer

(Singer-songwriter, b. 1959) This Canadian singer-songwriter first found US success with his third album Cuts Like A Knife (1984). With material ranging from pleasing orthodox rock to lung-sucking ballads, the rest of the 1980s were fertile soil especially for rousing singles like ‘Summer Of ‘69’. Adams began the 1990s with the theme song from Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley

(Vocal/instrumental group, 1984–97, 2010–present) Like Mudhoney, Soundgarden were another early signing to the Seattle-based Sub Pop label. Chris Cornell (vocals, guitar), Kim Thayil (guitar), Hiro Yamamoto (bass) and Matt Cameron (drums) came on like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath chewing metal on early releases like Badmotorfinger (1991) and gained success. When Nirvana broke into the big league ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley

If you ask a young music consumer what kind of acts represent pop music, they will undoubtedly reel off a list of teen-orientated, manufactured bands. Pop has come to represent a narrowly focused genre, as far away from the initial, revolutionary rock-meets-pop appeal of Elvis Presley and The Beatles as can be. Since the 1950s, pop ...

Source: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music, general editor Paul Du Noyer

Although boy bands and girl bands held sway over anglo-American pop for much of the 1990s, the end of the decade witnessed the return of the individual artist. While the likes of *NSYNC, Blue and Sugababes continued to fly the flag for groups, artists such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Pink emerged as arena-filling soloists. The ...

Source: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music, general editor Paul Du Noyer

Adele was just three years old when she attended her first live gig with her mother: a Cure concert in London’s Finsbury Park. It was the same year her father, a Welsh plumber, left her mother, practically severing all ties with his daughter in the process. After that first gig, the tot took to the music straight ...

Source: Adele: Songbird, by Alice Hudson

As a schoolgirl, Adele had music constantly on the brain. She even persuaded her mother to make her a sequined eye patch to wear to school so she could channel pop star Gabrielle. Adele’s natural musicality saw her take up clarinet and guitar, but her ultimate devotion was reserved for vocals. She used to queue for hours to get ...

Source: Adele: Songbird, by Alice Hudson

West-coast city Seattle was the unanticipated epicentre of 1990s music as grunge, the biggest ‘back to basics’ movement since punk, shook traditional American rock – Nirvana was to enjoy iconic status for a spell until Kurt Cobain’s death. In the UK, the dance-rock of The Stone Roses, a holdover from the late 1980s, put Manchester briefly ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley

Opera began as an elite art. The first operas were created and performed for small, select audiences at wealthy courts in such cultural centres as Florence, Mantua, Parma and Rome. However, in 1637 the first public theatre in Venice, the Teatro San Cassiano opened, and the ‘invitation only’ nature of opera changed.  The Venetian ...

Source: Definitive Opera Encyclopedia, founding editor Stanley Sadie

Carmen is the opera that has ensured Bizet’s lasting fame but which, somewhat uniquely, was partly fashioned by pressures from the directorate of the commissioning theatre, the Opéra-Comique. The revenue from this theatre was largely dependent on attracting the bourgeoisie, providing an evening out for chaperoned couples with an eye on marriage. Thus a setting including a ...

Source: Definitive Opera Encyclopedia, founding editor Stanley Sadie

‘The Flying Dutchman’ Initially a one-act opera, Der Fliegende Holländer was later expanded to three. Wagner was anxious to make sure it was performed in the way he wished, and wrote detailed production notes for the directors and singers. He also conducted the first performance at the Hofoper or Court Opera in Dresden on 2 January 1843. Although Wagner ...

Source: Definitive Opera Encyclopedia, founding editor Stanley Sadie

Eugene Onegin was written after the disaster of Tchaikovsky’s marriage in 1877, and was also influenced by his platonic relationship with his admirer and patron Nadezhda von Meck. Tchaikovsky began Eugene Onegin by writing the famous ‘letter scene’ from Act I, in which the heroine Tat’yana spends the night writing to Onegin, telling him of her love for ...

Source: Definitive Opera Encyclopedia, founding editor Stanley Sadie
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An extensive music information resource, bringing together the talents and expertise of a wide range of editors and musicologists, including Stanley Sadie, Charles Wilson, Paul Du Noyer, Tony Byworth, Bob Allen, Howard Mandel, Cliff Douse, William Schafer, John Wilson...

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Classical, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country and more. Flame Tree has been making encyclopaedias and guides about music for over 20 years. Now Flame Tree Pro brings together a huge canon of carefully curated information on genres, styles, artists and instruments. It's a perfect tool for study, and entertaining too, a great companion to our music books.

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