pop

Donna and the Dynamos are a female band formed by Donna Sheridan, along with her friends Tanya Chesham-Leigh and Rosie Mulligan.
The sequel gives us a sneak peek in Donna and the Dynamos in their younger years. The band is already a known group by all their peers at college, as seen during their graduation scene and their performance of When I Kissed the Teacher. Tanya and Rosie follow Donna to Greece to perform in Lazaros and Sophia's tavern, and bring their equipment and costumes along.

Mi-Sex formed in 1977, led by Steve Gilpin (vocals), Kevin Stanton (guitar), Don Martin (bass), and Murray Burns (keys/synth), and Richard Hodgkinson (drums). Within months of releasing the debut single, ‘Straight Laddie’ (1978); an early punk parody that pays homage to Ian Dury, with a snatch of The Stranglers on keys; Mi-Sex were smashing house records right across their native New Zealand. Chasing new horizons, Mi-Sex jumped the ditch to bring their new-found sound, and highly energized theatrical shows, to Australian audiences.

Exploding upon the Sydney live music scene, Mi-Sex quickly caught the eye of record producer Peter Dawkins, who signed the group to CBS. The relationship proved to be a masterstroke, with the release of the group’s debut LP, Graffiti Crimes, and subsequent singles, ‘But You Don’t Care’ and ‘Computer Games’ racing to the top of the charts in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, Austria and South Africa. The LP became the catalyst for an entirely new era in music and fashion – new wave.

ABC’s Double J embraced new wave and Mi-Sex became regular guests on Countdown, which saw the group shoot to #1 with ‘Computer Games’, before Mi-Sex rounding-out the decade with its landmark performance at the Sydney Opera House – revered by those of the era as the ‘Concert of the Decade’. Early the following year, Mi-Sex Graffiti Crimes scooped the 1979 TV WEEK / COUNTDOWN MUSIC AWARDS with 4 gongs: Best New Single (Computer Games), Most Popular Single/Album (Computer Games/Graffiti Crimes), Best New Talent (Mi-Sex), and Best Production (Peter Dawkins/Graffiti Crimes).

Cross-pollinated from the get-go with the collective creativity of a cabaret crooner Steve Gilpin, alongside art-rocker Don Martin on bass, Richard Hodgkinson on drums, Kevin Stanton on guitar, and Murray Burns on keys ‘n’ synth, Stanton and Burns forged a song-writing partnership that anchored Mi-Sex four albums in the early years; Graffiti Crimes (1979), Space Race (1980), Shanghaied (1981), and Where Do They Go? (1983). Produced by Rolling Stones’ Bob Clearmountain, Where Do They Go? and the album’s hit singles – ‘Blue Day’ and ‘Castaway’ – were released to critical acclaim in the US and Canada, shortly before the group disbanded in pursuit of respite from years of almost endless touring, and various solo ventures.

Mi-Sex reformed in the late 1980’s for two more Australian tours, and in the summer of 1990 commenced work on material for a new album. However, the reformation was cut tragically short following a fatal car crash involving Steve Gilpin, who died at Southport Hospital on January 6, 1992. Shortly after Gilpin’s death, the cream of Australian music came together for consecutive concerts in Sydney and Melbourne, to honour the life, achievements and extraordinary contribution of Steve Gilpin to music.

After an almost twenty-year hiatus, Mi-Sex re-emerged yet again, to perform at the Christchurch Earthquake Relief Concert, on this occasion with Noiseworks and Electric Hippies’ bassist and producer, Steve Balbi, out front. Enamoured by the experience, Mi-Sex entered the studio for the first time in 33 years to record a new studio album, Not from Here, which was released in September 2016. One year later, founding member and guitarist, Kevin Stanton, also passed away. Yet the legacy of Mi-Sex lives on.

Now, altogether reimagined to honour and pay legacy to the group’s extraordinary socio-cultural narrative and history, Mi-Sex new wave features the founding member and songwriter Murray Burns (keys ‘n’ synth), Steve Balbi (vocals), James Van Cooper (guitar), Travis New (bass) and Jordan McDonald (drums).

Mariah Carey, (born March 27, 1969/70, Huntington, New York, U.S.), American pop singer, noted for her remarkable vocal range. She was one of the most successful female performers of the 1990s and remained popular into the early 21st century.

Depending on the source, Carey was born in 1969 or 1970. Her mother was a vocal coach and former opera singer, and Carey began performing as a child. After graduating (1987) from high school in Greenlawn, New York, she moved to New York City to pursue a singing career. Carey made a demo tape that led Tommy Mottola, an executive at Columbia Records, to sign her in 1988; the couple married in 1993. Her debut album, Mariah Carey (1990), showcased her incredible vocal range and blended several musical genres, including gospel, pop, and rhythm and blues (R&B). It was a huge success, and in 1991 Carey won Grammy Awards for best new artist and best female pop vocalist. That same year the title track from her follow-up album, Emotions, became her fifth consecutive chart-topping single. Subsequent hit albums included Music Box (1993) and Daydream (1995), both of which sold some 10 million copies in the United States, as well as the holiday-themed Merry Christmas (1994). All the recordings were accompanied by music videos that helped make Carey a fixture on the cable network MTV.

Despite such success, Carey grew tired of the sweet and wholesome image that her label had developed for her. After announcing her separation from Mottola in 1997 (they divorced in 1998), she released Butterfly (1997), which reflected her new independence. The album was heavily influenced by hip-hop and rap, and the related music videos revealed a more sexual Carey. The single “Heartbreaker” (featuring Jay-Z) topped the charts in 1999, making Carey the first artist to hit number one on the Billboard singles chart in each year of a decade. The achievement underscored her status as one of the best-selling vocalists in the world that decade.

In 2001 Carey signed an $80 million contract with Virgin Records that made her the highest-paid recording artist. Her career was soon interrupted, however, when she suffered a breakdown and was hospitalized following erratic behaviour. (Carey revealed in 2018 that she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.) She starred in Glitter (2001), but both the semiautobiographical film and its accompanying album did not fare well. In 2002 Virgin terminated its contract with Carey. Later that year she signed with Island/Def Jam, but her first album for the label, Charmbracelet (2002), was a disappointment. However, her follow-up, The Emancipation of Mimi (2005), was a critical and commercial success, becoming the top-selling album of the year in the United States, with more than six million copies sold. It also earned three Grammy Awards, including best contemporary R&B album. “Touch My Body,” from E=MC2 (2008), became Carey’s 18th number one song on the Billboard singles chart, moving her past Elvis Presley on the all-time list and leaving her just two short of the Beatles’ record. Her later recordings included Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel (2009), a second Christmas album (2010), Me. I Am Mariah…The Elusive Chanteuse (2014), and Caution (2018).

In addition to her recording career, Carey continued to act. After appearing in the drama Tennessee (2008), she earned praise for her portrayal of a social worker in the critically acclaimed Precious (2009). Her later film credits included Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013) and Girls Trip (2017). In 2013 she joined the television talent show American Idol as a judge for its 12th season, and two years later she began a series of residencies in Las Vegas.

Her memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey (written with Michaela Angela Davis), was published in 2020.

Australian singer/songwriter Rick Price has forged an internationally praised and respected career spanning more than three decades.