Lou Reed (born March 2, 1942) is an influential American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. He first came to prominence as the guitarist and principal singer-songwriter of The Velvet Underground (1965-1973). The band gained little mainstream attention during their career, but in hindsight became one of the most influential of their era.^[1] As the Velvets’ principal songwriter, Reed wrote about subjects of personal experience that rarely had been examined in rock and roll, including bondage and S&M ("Venus in Furs"), transvestites ("Sister Ray" and "Candy Says"), drug culture ("Heroin" and "I'm Waiting for the Man"), and transsexuals undergoing surgery ("Lady Godiva's Operation"). As a guitarist, he was a pioneer in the use of distortion, high volume feedback, and nonstandard tunings.

Reed began a long and eclectic solo career in 1971. He had a hit the following year with "Walk on the Wild Side", though for more than a decade Reed seemed to willfully evade the mainstream commercial success its chart status offered him.^[2] One of rock's most volatile personalities, Reed's work as a solo artist has frustrated critics wishing for a return of The Velvet Underground. The most notable example is 1975's infamous double LP of recorded feedback loops, Metal Machine Music, upon which Reed later commented, "no one is supposed to be able to do a thing like that and survive." By the late 1980s, however, Reed had won wide recognition as an elder statesman of rock.

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Joe Jackson (born David Ian Jackson, 11 August 1954, Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire ^[1]) is an English musician and singer-songwriter, described as a unique and critically acclaimed recording artist, whose five Grammy nominations span 1979 to 2001.^[2] He is probably best-known for the 1979 hit song "Is She Really Going Out with Him?", which still gets extensive FM radio airplay; for his 1982 hit, "Steppin' Out"; and for his 1984 hit, "You Can't Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)".

Along with Elvis Costello and Graham Parker, Jackson was a part of the trio of British-based artists that challenged the punk scene and brought a New Wave sound to the United States in the late 1970s. He was popular for his power-pop and New Wave sound early on before moving to more eclectic, though less commercially successful, pop/jazz/classical musical pieces.

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Elvis Costello (born Declan Patrick MacManus 25 August 1954) is an English musician and singer-songwriter of Irish descent. Costello came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s, and later became associated with the punk rock and New Wave musical genres, before establishing his own unique voice in the 1980s. Steeped in wordplay, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader than that of most popular songs, and his music has drawn on dozens of genres. Critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote, "Costello, the pop encyclopedia, can reinvent the past in his own image".^[1]

Costello and Canadian jazz singer and pianist Diana Krall were married on December 6, 2003 at Elton John's estate outside London. Their first children together, twin sons Dexter Henry Lorcan and Frank Harlan James, were born December 6, 2006 in New York City.

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The B-52's are a New Wave rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976.

The band's name comes from a particular beehive hairdo resembling the nose cone of the airplane of the same name. During their early years, wigs of that style were often worn by the band's female singers Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson.^[1] The correct name for the band has long been "The B-52's," but in 2008 they dropped the apostrophe, with their official website, and Funplex album and single covers reading "The B-52s." However, the file tags on the digital releases of both of these retain the apostrophe. Both spellings could now be considered correct.

Wilson and Pierson formed the band with drummer Keith Strickland, guitarist Ricky Wilson (Cindy's older brother) and vocalist Fred Schneider after a drunken night at a Chinese restaurant and played their first gig in 1977 at a St. Valentine's Day party for friends. The B-52's sound is marked by the vocals and lush harmonies of Wilson and Pierson, and the generally spoken-word or sprechgesang vocals of Schneider.

The band's quirky take on the New Wave sound of their era was a combination of dance and surf music set apart by the unusual guitar tunings used by Ricky Wilson. Their costume thrift-store chic set them apart as well. During the Mesopotamia tour, the band's famous wigs were under the care of Jackie Slayton, one of Athens's leading artists and long-time friend of the band.^[2]

Their first single, "Rock Lobster", recorded for DB Records in 1978 (see 1978 in music), was an underground success that led to the B-52's performing at CBGB's and Max's Kansas City in New York City. "52 Girls" was the B-side. Two versions of the single were released in the UK that featured the B-side "Running Around". The buzz created by the record in the UK, meant their first show in London at the Lyceum was packed in anticipation, with many UK popstars such as Green from Scritti Politti, Joe Jackson and others in attendance.

Their debut album, The B-52's, contained re-recorded versions of "Rock Lobster" and "52 Girls", along with six more originals and a remake of Petula Clark's classic "Downtown". It was eventually certified platinum.

The album had greater success overseas, especially in Australia, where it hit #7 on the back of three hit singles: "Planet Claire" (#43), "Rock Lobster" (#3) and "Dance This Mess Around". "Rock Lobster" gave the band its first entry on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

The follow-up, Wild Planet, reached the Top 20 on the Billboard 200 in 1980 and was certified gold. "Private Idaho" became their second Hot 100 entry; on January 26, 1980 the B-52's performed a breakout set on Saturday Night Live and were featured at the Heatwave festival in August 1980.

Party Mix! was released next, a remix album that took tracks from the first two LPs and presented them in extended forms.

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Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1974 in New York City who were active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison. Auxiliary musicians also frequently made appearances in concert and on the group's albums.

The music of Talking Heads combined elements of punk rock, new wave pop, funk, world music and art rock. Frontman and songwriter David Byrne contributed whimsical, esoteric lyrics to the band's songs, and emphasized their showmanship through various multimedia projects and performances. Critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine describes Talking Heads as being "one of the most critically acclaimed bands of the '80s, while managing to earn several pop hits."^[1]

In 2002, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Four of the band's albums appeared on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and the Channel 4 100 Greatest Albums poll listed one album (Fear of Music) at number 76. DigitalDreamDoor.com ranked them as the greatest new wave band of all time and ranked them #26 in its list of greatest rock/pop artists of the 80s. Their concert film Stop Making Sense is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of the genre.^[2]

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David Byrne (born May 14, 1952, in Dumbarton, Scotland) is an American musician and artist. He is perhaps best known as a founding member and the principal songwriter of the new wave band Talking Heads, who were active between 1974 and 1991. Since then, Byrne has released his own solo projects on record, and worked in a variety of media, including film, photography, opera, and internet-based projects. His achievements have been recognized by Grammy, Oscar and Golden Globe awards. He currently lives in New York City.

Byrne was born in Dumbarton, Scotland, on May 14, 1952. Two years later, his parents moved to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and then to Arbutus, Maryland, when he was 8 or 9 years old. He graduated from Lansdowne High School in southwest Baltimore County. He then attended the Rhode Island School of Design for one year before dropping out and forming Talking Heads in 1974 with fellow RISD students Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth, later joined by Jerry Harrison. He also attended the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland, for one year.

During his time in the band, Byrne took on outside projects, collaborating with Brian Eno in 1981 on the album My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, which attracted considerable critical acclaim and featured a groundbreaking use of sampling.

Byrne has a daughter, Malu Abeni Valentine Byrne, with Adelle Lutz. Byrne and Lutz divorced in 2004.

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999 are an English punk band which formed in London in 1976. Founded by singer/guitarist Nick Cash, 999's original lineup also included Guy Days (vocals/guitar), Jon Watson (bass) and Pablo LaBritain (drums). Ed Case served temporarily as drummer following LaBritain's injury in 1978, while Watson has since been replaced by Danny Palmer (1986-1991) and former Lurkers member Arturo Bassick (1991-present).

999 became a popular act within the London punk circuit, releasing its first single ("I'm Alive") in 1977 under its own label. The band soon found chart success, attaining five top 100 UK hits under the United Artists label. However, 999's popularity began to wane in the early 1980s. 999 disbanded in the mid-1980s only to reform soon afterward. They have since released several albums and continue to tour.

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