Adele "19"

19 is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter Adele, released on 28 January 2008 by XL Recordings. Following Adele's graduation from the BRIT School in April 2006, she began publishing songs and recorded a three-song demo for a class project and gave it to a friend, who posted the demo on Myspace, where it became very successful and led to interest from the record label. This led to Adele signing a recording contract at age 17 with the label and providing vocals for Jack Peñate. During this session for Peñate's song she met producer Jim Abbiss, who would go on to produce the majority of her debut album.

Four singles were released from the album, with "Chasing Pavements" and "Make You Feel My Love" reaching the top ten on the UK Singles Chart, while the former became Adele's first entry on the Billboard Hot 100. The album also contains her first song, "Hometown Glory", written when she was 16, which is based on her home suburb of West Norwood in London.

Named after the age of the singer during its release and production, 19 is a blue-eyed soul album with folk rock, indie pop, and jazz influences and lyrics describing heartbreak, nostalgia and relationships. 19 received positive reviews from music critics, who praised Adele's vocal prowess and songwriting talent at such a young age and noted her as having the "potential to become among the most respected and inspiring international artists of her generation." 19 was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize. At the 51st Annual Grammy Awards, Adele won Best New Artist alongside Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Chasing Pavements".

19 became a global success, reaching number one in the United Kingdom, while also reaching the top 10 in fifteen other countries, including the United States. The album has sold over 8.5 million copies worldwide and has also sold over 2.5 million copies in the UK to become one of the best-selling albums of 21st century and was named in top 20 best-selling debut albums of all time in the UK. In support of 19, Adele embarked on concert tour An Evening with Adele across North America and United Kingdom which received critical acclaim.

Adele graduated from the BRIT School for Performing Arts & Technology in Croydon in April 2006, where she was a classmate of Leona Lewis and Jessie J. Adele credits the school with nurturing her talent even though, at the time, she was more interested in going into A&R and hoped to launch other people's careers. Four months after graduation, she published two songs on the fourth issue of the online arts publication PlatformsMagazine.com. She had recorded a three-song demo for a class project and given it to a friend. The friend posted the demo on Myspace, where it became very successful and led to a phone call from Richard Russell, boss of the music label XL Recordings. She doubted if the offer was real because the only record company she knew was Virgin Records, and she took a friend with her to the meeting.

Nick Huggett, at XL, recommended Adele to manager Jonathan Dickins at September Management, and in June 2006, Dickins became her official representative. September was managing Jamie T at the time and this proved a major draw for Adele, a big fan of the British singer-songwriter. Huggett then signed Adele to XL in September 2006. Adele provided vocals for Jack Peñate's song, "My Yvonne", for his debut album Matinée, and it was during this session she first met producer Jim Abbiss, who would go on to produce both the majority of her debut album, 19, and tracks on 21. Adele recorded a cover of Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love" on the recommendation of her manager Jonathan Dickins, who loved the song.

The first single released from 19 was "Chasing Pavements", which Adele wrote in collaboration with Eg White. "Chasing Pavements" was inspired by an incident Adele had with a former boyfriend of six months. After learning he had cheated on her, she went to the bar he was at and punched him in the face. After being thrown out, Adele walked down the street alone and thought to herself, "What is it you're chasing? You're chasing an empty pavement." She sang and recorded it on her mobile phone and arranged the chords when she got home. Adele and White co-wrote two other songs for the album: "Melt My Heart to Stone" and "Tired". She also collaborated with Sacha Skarbek on the single "Cold Shoulder". However, most of the songs were written solely by Adele, including "Best for Last", "Crazy for You", "First Love", and "My Same", as well as her debut single, "Hometown Glory". That song was written by Adele in 10 minutes after her mother tried to persuade her to leave her home town of West Norwood in London for university.

In July 2008, Adele informed noted UK soul writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning Blues & Soul that the reason for naming her debut album '19' was to reflect her age while she was writing it: "I just kinda remember becoming a bit of a woman during that time. And I think that is definitely documented in the songs." The Taiwanese edition was released on 5 March. As well as the standard track list, the album features three bonus tracks: "That's It I Quit I'm Movin' On" ("Chasing Pavements" B-side), "Now and Then" ("Cold Shoulder" B-side) and "Painting Pictures" ("Make You Feel My Love" B-side). The Indonesian special edition was released on 3 March. As well as the standard track list, the album features a bonus video for "Chasing Pavements".

By 2008, Adele had become the headliner and performed an acoustic set, in which she was supported by Damien Rice. She embarked on a short North American tour in the same month, and 19 was released in the US in June. Billboard magazine stated of it: "Adele truly has potential to become among the most respected and inspiring international artists of her generation." The An Evening with Adele world tour began in May 2008 and ended in June 2009.

She later cancelled the 2008 US tour dates to be with a former boyfriend. She said in Nylon magazine in June 2009, "I'm like, 'I can't believe I did that.' It seems so ungrateful.... I was drinking far too much and that was kind of the basis of my relationship with this boy. I couldn't bear to be without him, so I was like, 'Well, OK, I'll just cancel my stuff then.'" By the middle of October 2008, Adele's attempt to break in America appeared to have failed. But then she was booked as the musical guest on the 18 October 2008 episode of NBC's Saturday Night Live. The episode, which included an expected appearance by then US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, earned the program its best ratings in 14 years with 17 million viewers. Adele performed "Chasing Pavements" and "Cold Shoulder", and the following day, 19 topped the iTunes charts and ranked at number five at Amazon.com while "Chasing Pavements" rose into the top 25. The album reached number 11 on the Billboard 200 as a result, a jump of 35 places over the previous week.

Track listing

19 – Standard edition

1. "Daydreamer" Adele Adkins 3:41
2. "Best for Last" Adkins 4:19
3. "Chasing Pavements" Adkins/Eg White   3:31
4. "Cold Shoulder" Adkins/Sacha Skarbek  3:12
5. "Crazy for You" Adkins 3:28
6. "Melt My Heart to Stone" Adkins/White   3:24
7. "First Love" Adkins 3:10
8. "Right as Rain" Adkins/Leon Michels/Jeff Silverman/Nick Movshon/Clay Holley  3:17
9. "Make You Feel My Love" Bob Dylan 3:32
10. "My Same" Adkins 3:16
11. "Tired" AdkinsWhite   4:19
12. "Hometown Glory" Adkins 4:31

Total length: 43:40

A Flock Of Seagulls "The Best of A Flock of Seagulls (Japan Edition, Jive Records, ALCB-196)"

The Best of A Flock of Seagulls is a compilation album by new wave band A Flock of Seagulls, released in 1986 by Jive Records. It is the first official compilation album released by the band.

Track listing

All tracks written by M. Score, A. Score, F. Maudsley, and P. Reynolds; except where indicated

1. "I Ran (So Far Away)" 4:55
2. "Space Age Love Song" 3:45
3. "Telecommunication" 2:29
4. "The More You Live, the More You Love" 4:09
5. "Nightmares" 4:36
6. "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)" 5:30
7. "(It's Not Me) Talking" 5:00
8. "Transfer Affection" 5:20
9. "Who's That Girl (She's Got It)" (M. Score, A Flock of Seagulls) 4:17
10. "D.N.A." 2:30
11. "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You) (Extended Version)" (CD bonus track) 9:36
12. "The More You Live, The More You Love (Full Moon Mix)" (CD bonus track) 6:12

Writing for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that the albums proves "they did do some good new nomantic [sic] synth pop" and that the album "contain[s] all of the group's best material...while new wave fetishists will likely go for the actual albums anyway, most listeners will be more than satisfied with this."

1927 "The Other Side (Japan Edition, WEA Japan, WMC5-267)"

The Other Side is the second studio album by the Australian pop rock band 1927, which was released in July 1990. It peaked at number three on the ARIA Albums chart and reached No. 50 on its Australian Year End Albums Chart for 1990.

The Other Side is the second studio album by Australian pop rock group, 1927. Founder Garry Frost had left early in 1990. The band recorded the album with Eric Weideman (lead vocals and guitar) as principal songwriter, and Charles Fisher producing and Frost co-producing. The line-up was Weidman joined by James Barton on drums and backing vocals, Charlie Cole on keyboards and backing vocals, and Garry's brother Bill Frost on bass guitar and backing vocals.

The Other Side peaked at No. 3 in July 1990 on the ARIA Albums chart and was preceded by their Top 20 hit single, "Tell Me a Story" (May). Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane described the album as "full of lush, ambitious arrangements and well-crafted pop, but it lacked the charm and rousing choruses" of their debut album, ...Ish (1989). According to The Canberra Times' Cherie Marriott, "it comprises a strong selection of rock tracks and ballads whose subject matter range from love and friendship to thought provoking global issues."

Track listing

1. "Tell Me a Story" (Garry Frost) 4:10
2. "Don't Forget Me" (Eric Weideman) 4:40
3. "Doin' It Wrong" (Weideman) 4:03
4. "The Other Side" (Weideman) 5:28
5. "Africa" (Weideman) 4:12
6. "A World Without You" (Phillip Frost, G. Frost) 3:17
7. "A Day Like Today" (Weideman, P. Frost) 3:30
8. "Call on Me" (P. Frost, Weideman) 3:55
9. "Why?" (G. Frost) 4:14
10. "It's Gonna Get Better" (G. Frost) 3:41

Don Bartley – mastering

Jim Bonnefond – engineer, remixer (tracks 1–5, 7)

Oki Doke – photography

Charles Fisher – producer, remixer (tracks 1–5, 7)

Trudi Fletcher – art direction

Garry Frost – co-producer (tracks 1, 6, 9, 10)

David Mackie – assistant engineer

Philip Mortlock – cover concept

1927 "...Ish (Japan Edition, Warner-Pioneer 22P2-2958)"

...ish is the debut album by Australian pop rock band 1927, released on 14 November 1988, which peaked at number one for four weeks in early 1989 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The album remained in the top 50 for 46 weeks and reached No. 2 on the 1989 ARIA Year End Albums Chart. The album was awarded 5× platinum certification – for shipment of more than 350,000 copies. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1989, 1927 won 'Breakthrough Artist – Single' for "That's When I Think of You" and 'Breakthrough Artist – Album' for ...ish. At the 1990 ceremony the group won 'Best Video' for "Compulsory Hero", which was directed by Geoff Barter. In 1999 rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, described the album as "brimful of stirring, stately pop rock anthems". As of 2002, it was in the top 10 of the most successful debut albums by Australian artists.

1927 formed in Melbourne in 1987 as a pop, rock band with James Barton on drums, Bill Frost on bass guitar, his brother Garry Frost (ex-Moving Pictures) on guitar and keyboards, and Eric Weideman on lead vocals and guitar. After a year of vainly seeking a recording contract, 1927 were signed by Charles Fisher for his label, Trafalgar Productions. With Fisher producing the group recorded their debut single, "That's When I Think of You", which entered the ARIA Singles Chart in September 1988 and peaked at No. 6. It is co-written by Garry Frost and Weideman. In 2011 former Hi-5 member, Nathan Foley, covered "That's When I Think of You" on his live album, Acoustic Rhythms. In November 1988 the band released their second single, "If I Could", which peaked at No. 4. It was co-produced by Fisher with Jim Bonneford (their engineer), and was written by Garry Frost. In mid-November their debut album, ...ish, largely produced by Fisher (except "If I Could"), followed. Rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, described it as "brimful of stirring, stately pop rock anthems". It peaked at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart for four weeks and stayed in the Top 100 for 71 weeks. It was awarded 5× platinum certification – for shipment of more than 350,000 copies. As of 2002, it was in the top 10 of the most successful debut albums by Australian artists.

Two more top 20 singles from the album followed, "You'll Never Know" (February 1989) and "Compulsory Hero" (April). A fifth single, "To Love Me", was issued in June but did not reach the top 50. In 1989 "That's When I Think of You" was released internationally, it peaked in the Top 50 on the United Kingdom Singles Chart, and just reached the United States Billboard Hot 100. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1989, 1927 won 'Breakthrough Artist – Single' for "That's When I Think of You" and 'Breakthrough Artist – Album' for ...ish. On the 1989 ARIA End of Year Top 50 Albums Chart it reached No. 2. At the 1990 ceremony the group won 'Best Video' for "Compulsory Hero", which was directed by Geoff Barter. The band added Charlie Cole on keyboards (ex-Moving Pictures) and toured Australia in support of the album and associated singles. By late 1989, they started work for their second album, The Other Side, when Garry Frost announced he was leaving the band early the following year.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Garry Frost, unless otherwise indicated.

1. "To Love Me" (Eric Weideman, Garry Frost) 4:21
2. "That's When I Think of You" (Weideman, G Frost) 4:13
3. "If I Could" 3:40
4. "You'll Never Know" (Armondo Hurley, G Frost) 3:40
5. "Compulsory Hero" 4:34
6. "All the People" (Weideman, G Frost) 3:53
7. "Nothing in the Universe" 4:05
8. "Propaganda Machine" (E Weideman, P Frost, G Frost) 3:25
9. "Give the Kid a Break" 3:35
10. "The Mess" 2:43

Producer – Charles Fisher, Jim Bonneford (on "If I Could")

Engineer – David Hemming, Jim Bonneford