CHAS DE WHALLEY
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New wave musicNew wave is a music genre that encompasses pop-oriented styles from the 1970s through the 1980s. It is considered a lighter and more melodic "broadening of punk culture". It was originally used as a catch-all for the various styles of music that emerged after punk rock. Later, critical consensus favored "new wave" as an umbrella term involving many contemporary popular music styles, including synth-pop, alternative dance and post-punk. The main new wave movement coincided with late 1970s punk and continued into the early 1980s. The common characteristics of new wave music include a humorous or quirky pop approach, angular guitar riffs, jerky rhythms, the use of electronics, and a distinctive visual style in fashion. In the early 1980s, virtually every new pop and rock act – and particularly those that employed synthesizers – were tagged as "new wave" in the United States. Although new wave shares punk's do-it-yourself philosophy, the musicians were more influenced by the styles of the 1950s along with the lighter strains of 1960s pop and were opposed to the generally abrasive, political bents of punk rock, as well as what was considered to be creatively stagnant "corporate rock". New wave commercially peaked from the late 1970s into the early 1980s with numerous major musicians and an abundance of one-hit wonders. MTV, which was launched in 1981, heavily promoted new-wave acts, boosting the genre's popularity in the United States. In the UK, new wave faded at the beginning of the 1980s with the emergence of the New Romantic movement. In the US, new wave continued into the mid-1980s but declined with the popularity of the New Romantic, new pop, and new music genres. Since the 1990s, new wave resurged several times with the growing nostalgia for several new-wave-influenced musicians.
U2U2 are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1976. The group comprises Bono (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), the Edge (lead guitar, keyboards, and backing vocals), Adam Clayton (bass guitar), and Larry Mullen Jr. (drums and percussion). Initially rooted in post-punk, U2's musical style has evolved throughout their career, yet has maintained an anthemic quality built on Bono's expressive vocals and the Edge's chiming, effects-based guitar sounds. Bono's lyrics, often embellished with spiritual imagery, focus on personal and sociopolitical themes. Popular for their live performances, the group have staged several elaborate tours over their career. The band was formed when the members were teenaged pupils of Mount Temple Comprehensive School and had limited musical proficiency. Within four years, they signed with Island Records and released their debut album, Boy (1980). Works such as their first UK number-one album, War (1983), and singles "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Pride (In the Name of Love)" helped establish U2's reputation as a politically and socially conscious group. Their fourth album, The Unforgettable Fire (1984), was their first collaboration with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, whose influence resulted in a more abstract, ambient sound for the band. By the mid-1980s, U2 had become renowned globally for their live act, highlighted by their performance at Live Aid in 1985. Their fifth album, The Joshua Tree (1987), made them international stars and was their greatest critical and commercial success. One of the world's best-selling albums with 25 million copies sold, it yielded the group's only number-one singles in the US: "With or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". Facing creative stagnation and a backlash to their documentary and double album Rattle and Hum (1988), U2 reinvented themselves in the 1990s. Beginning with their acclaimed seventh album, Achtung Baby (1991), and the multimedia spectacle of the Zoo TV Tour, the band pursued a new musical direction influenced by alternative, industrial, and electronic dance music, and they embraced a more ironic, flippant image. This experimentation continued on Zooropa (1993) and concluded after Pop (1997) and the PopMart Tour, which polarized audiences and critics. The group re-established a more conventional, mainstream sound on All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000) and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004), which were critical and commercial successes. Sales of subsequent albums declined, but the group remained a popular live act. The U2 360° Tour of 2009–2011 held records for the most-attended and highest-grossing concert tour until 2019. Songs of Innocence (2014), the first of two companion albums in the 2010s, was criticised for its pervasive release through the iTunes Store. In 2023, U2 released Songs of Surrender, an album of re-recorded songs, and began the U2:UV Achtung Baby Live concert residency to inaugurate Sphere in the Las Vegas Valley. U2 have released 15 studio albums and are one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold an estimated 150–170 million records worldwide. Their accolades include 22 Grammy Awards, eight Brit Awards, four Ivor Novello Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. They were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. According to Pollstar, they were the second-highest-grossing live music artist from 1980 to 2022, earning US$2.13 billion. Rolling Stone ranked U2 at number 22 on its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Throughout their career, as a band and as individuals, they have campaigned for human rights and social justice causes, working with organisations and coalitions that include Amnesty International, Jubilee 2000, DATA/the ONE Campaign, Product Red, War Child, and Music Rising.
WhitesnakeWhitesnake are an English rock band formed in London in 1978. The group were originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own entity, Coverdale is the only constant member throughout their history. Following the EP Snakebite in 1978, Whitesnake released the albums Trouble (1978) and Lovehunter (1979), which included the live staples "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City" and "Walking in the Shadow of the Blues". Whitesnake soon began to make a name for themselves across the UK, Europe and Japan, with their subsequent albums Ready an' Willing (1980), Live... in the Heart of the City (1980), Come an' Get It (1981) and Saints & Sinners (1982) all reaching the top ten on the UK Albums Chart. By the mid-1980s, Coverdale had set his sights on North America, where Whitesnake remained largely unknown. With the backing of American label Geffen Records, Whitesnake released Slide It In in 1984, featuring the singles "Love Ain't No Stranger" and "Slow an' Easy", which furthered the band's exposure through heavy airplay on MTV. In 1987, Whitesnake released their eponymous album, titled 1987 in the UK, their biggest success to date, selling over eight million copies in the United States and spawning the hit singles "Here I Go Again", "Is This Love" and "Still of the Night". Whitesnake also adopted a more contemporary look, akin to the Los Angeles glam metal scene. After releasing Slip of the Tongue in 1989, Coverdale decided to take a break from the music industry. Aside from a few short-lived reunions related to the release of Greatest Hits (1994) and Restless Heart (1997), Whitesnake remained mostly inactive until 2003, when Coverdale put together a new line-up to celebrate the band's 25th anniversary. Since then Whitesnake have released four more studio albums Good to Be Bad (2008), Forevermore (2011), The Purple Album (2015), Flesh & Blood (2019) and toured extensively around the world. Whitesnake's early sound has been characterised by critics as blues rock, but by the mid-1980s the band slowly began moving toward a more commercially accessible hard rock style. Topics such as love and sex are common in Whitesnake's lyrics, which make frequent use of sexual innuendos and double entendres. Whitesnake have been nominated for several awards during their career, including Best British Group at the 1988 Brit Awards. They have also been featured on lists of the greatest hard rock bands of all time by several media outlets, while their songs and albums have appeared on many "best of" lists by outlets, such as VH1 and Rolling Stone.
Three (U2 EP)Three, also known as U2 3, is the debut release by Irish rock band U2. It was released in Ireland on 26 September 1979 through the CBS Ireland record label. Three comprises three songs recorded at Windmill Lane Studios in August 1979, with the label's A&R representative Chas de Whalley serving as producer. "Out of Control" appears on the A-side, with "Stories for Boys" and "Boy/Girl" on the B-side, the result of a listener poll on Dave Fanning's radio programme; the release is variously referred to as a single and an EP. It was the group's first chart success, selling all 1,000 copies of its limited-edition 12-inch vinyl almost immediately. The 7-inch vinyl release of Three reached number 19 on the Irish Singles Chart. "Out of Control" and "Stories for Boys" were re-recorded the following year and included on the band's debut album, Boy. Three was reissued for Record Store Day Black Friday in November 2019 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of its original release.
Out of Control (U2 song)"Out of Control" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It was the A-side of the group's debut release, the EP Three. It was released in September 1979 and charted at number 19 on the Irish Singles Chart. A re-recorded version of the song was included on the band's debut album, Boy, in 1980. The song was reinterpreted in an acoustic arrangement for the band's 2023 album Songs of Surrender.
Spunk (Sex Pistols bootleg album)Spunk is a bootleg demo album by the English punk rock band the Sex Pistols. It was originally released in the United Kingdom during September or October 1977. The album comprises studio demos and talking recorded with Dave Goodman during 1976 and early 1977, while original bass player Glen Matlock was still a member of the band. Most of the songs would later be re-recorded and officially released on the group's album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols.
Chas de WhalleyChas de Whalley (born Charles Stephen de Whalley: 29 June 1953) is an English music journalist and media researcher who wrote the first ever reviews and features on New Wave rock acts such as The Stranglers, The Jam and Elvis Costello and produced internationally renowned Irish band U2’s first two singles ‘U2 -Three’ and ‘Another Day’ for CBS Ireland.
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