{"key":"573","name":"Depeche Mode","bio":"Depeche Mode are an English synthpop band, founded in 1980, originally from the town of Basildon, Essex, United Kingdom. They are one of the most enduring and successful bands to have emerged during the 80s, and particularly from the new wave\/new romantic era. The band name is derived from a French fashion magazine, D\u00e9p\u00eache mode, which means \"fashion dispatch.\"The band have been highly influential in the electronic dance music scene, especially synthpop, techno and trance, in part due to their innovative work, recording techniques and use of sampling. Their most successful album is arguably 1990's Violator, which reached the #2 position in the UK, #7 in the US, and sold over 8 million copies worldwide. The band has released a long series of high-charting singles over their three-decades long career. Enjoy the Silence is their most recognized song and is one of the most covered songs in history. The original line-up was Dave Gahan, Martin L. Gore, Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke. In December 1981, Clarke left the band and later went on to form Yazoo, The Assembly and Erasure. Alan Wilder joined the group initially in January 1982 as a live keyboardist but became an official member in December 1982. He left mid-1995 to fully concentrate on his Recoil project and the band continued as a trio. In 2010 Wilder re-joined Depeche Mode on stage after 16 years, for a performance of Somebody during a show at London's Royal Albert Hall in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.Depeche Mode's origins date back to 1977, when Vince Clarke and Andrew Fletcher formed a band called No Romance in China, with Clarke on vocals and guitar and Fletcher on bass. In March 1980, Clarke, Gore and Fletcher formed a band called Composition of Sound, with Clarke on vocals\/guitar, Gore on keyboards and Fletcher on bass. Soon after the formation of Composition of Sound, Clarke and Fletcher switched to synthesizers. Dave Gahan joined the band in 1980 after Clarke heard him perform at a local scout hut jam session, singing to a rendition of David Bowie's \"Heroes\", and Depeche Mode were born. While playing a live gig at the Bridge House in Canning Town, the band were approached by Daniel Miller, the founder of Mute Records, who proposed them a verbal contract. The result was their first single Dreaming of Me, recorded in December 1980 and released in February 1981, reaching number 57 in the UK charts and followed soon by a real contract with Mute.As of 2006, it was estimated that Depeche Mode had sold over 100 million records (60 million albums \/ 40 million singles) worldwide and have had 48 songs in the UK singles chart. They are the best selling band to have never had a UK number 1 single. According to Q Magazine, Depeche Mode is \"the most popular electronic band the world has ever known.\"To date, Depeche Mode have released:13 studio albums: Speak & Spell (1981), A Broken Frame (1982), Construction Time Again (1983), Some Great Reward (1984), Black Celebration (1986), Music For the Masses (1987), Violator (1990), Songs of Faith and Devotion (1993), Ultra (1997), Exciter (2001), Playing the Angel (2005), Sounds of the Universe (2009), and Delta Machine (2013);8 compilations: People Are People (1984), The Singles 81-85 (1985), Catching Up with Depeche Mode (1985), Greatest Hits (1987), The Singles 86>98 (1998), Remixes 81-04 (2004), The Best Of Depeche Mode Volume 1 (2006), The Complete Depeche Mode (2006);4 live albums: 101 (1989), Songs of Faith and Devotion Live (1993), Recording the Angel (a series of live recordings; 2006), Recording the Universe (a series of live recordings; 2009);49 singles: including Just Can't Get Enough, Everything Counts, People Are People, Master and Servant, Shake the Disease, Stripped, A Question of Time, Strangelove, Never Let Me Down Again, Personal Jesus, Enjoy the Silence, World in My Eyes, Policy of Truth, I Feel You, Walking in My Shoes, In Your Room, Barrel of a Gun, It's No Good, Home, Dream On, Freelove, Precious and Wrong;11 video materials (VHS\/DVD\/Blu-ray): The World We Live In and Live in Hamburg (1985), Some Great Videos (1985), Strange (1988), 101 (1989), Strange Too (1990), Devotional (1993), The Videos 86>98 (1998), Some Great Videos 81>85 (1998), One Night in Paris (2002), The Videos 86>98 + (2002), Touring the Angel: Live in Milan (2006), The Best of - Volume 1 (2006), Tour of the Universe : Barcelona 20\/21.11.09 (2009)","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/573_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"200,000 - 350,000"}

{"key":"572","name":"New Order","bio":"New Order are an alternative rock\/electronic dance band which formed in 1980 in Salford, England, United Kingdom by the three remaining members of Joy Division. The band's classic lineup consists of Bernard Sumner (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Peter Hook (bass, electronic percussion), Gillian Gilbert (keyboards, guitar) and Stephen Morris (drums, keyboards). The group effectively disbanded in 1993 but reformed in 1998. Gilbert left in 2001 to look after her and Morris' children and was replaced by guitarist\/keyboardist Phil Cunningham. Hook left acrimoniously in 2007 and declared the band to be defunct. Initially, Sumner, Cunningham and Morris denied the band had split up, but in 2009, following the release of the trio's Bad Lieutenant album, they admitted that that they could not continue on without Hook and officially disbanded. However, the band reformed in 2011 for a pair of charity dates without Hook, with Gilbert returning to the fold and Tom Chapman replacing Hook on bass. Pioneers of dance music in the 1980s and one of the first bands to effectively and popularly synthesize keyboard- and guitar-based music, New Order's members hailed from Salford and Macclesfield, England out of the ashes of Joy Division, are noted as being one of the first bands to bridge the gap between Post-Punk and Dancefloor. They were Factory Records' highest selling artist. They also funded Factory's famous Manchester club, The Ha\u00e7ienda. The band partnered with Quincy Jones's American label Qwest, recorded with legendary hip-hop producer Arthur Baker (on 1983's single \"Confusion\" and 1984's \"Thieves Like Us\"), and they embraced Ibizan club culture on the album, Technique.The band was formed in 1980 by the three surviving members, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris of Joy Division after the lead singer Ian Curtis committed suicide. Morris' girlfriend (and later wife) Gillian Gilbert joined in October 1980 on keyboards and occasional guitar shortly after contributing guitar to the second release of New Order's first single \"Ceremony\". Their early music followed in the same vein as Joy Division, most notably on debut album Movement. This is mostly seen now as a 'transitional' album where the new 4-piece band was trying to find a new identity.They continued to develop their music and their identity with tracks such as \"Procession\" and \"Temptation\" until 1983 when, under the influence of early electro funk and Italo-Disco tracks (most notably Klein & MBO's Dirty Talk), they released \"Blue Monday\", arguably their most famous song and the biggest-selling 12\" single of all time. This came in such a detailed Peter Saville-designed sleeve (replicating a floppy disc) that it is claimed by some that the band's record company, Factory, lost money on every copy sold. The release of \"Blue Monday\" coincided with the album Power, Corruption & Lies which further developed their dance\/rock crossover. Other albums followed in 1985 (Low-Life), 1986 (Brotherhood) and 1989 (Technique, influenced heavily by Ibiza's acid house scene). In 1990 the band scored their sole number 1 hit with a song written by Keith Allen and performed with the England football team, \"World in Motion\", the official England World Cup song. One more album, Republic followed in May 1993, which was released by London Records after the collapse of Factory in November 1992.The band effectively split in 1993 to pursue solo projects, but returned with a triumphant gig at the Reading Festival in 1998. After the recording of 2001's Get Ready album Gillian Gilbert left the band amicably for family reasons - her and Stephen's daughter Grace had been diagnosed with Transverse myelitis and she came to the decision that it would be easier for the band to replace her than her husband. They have since gone on to produce one more album with the help of Phil Cunningham of Marion when they released their last album, Waiting For The Sirens' Call.Hook left acrimoniously in 2007 and according to him, the band has effectively broken up. However, Sumner, Cunningham and Morris repeatedly denied that the band was over, and that if Hook no longer wanted to be in the band, that was his choice. Hook has since threatened to take legal action if they attempt to continue as New Order. In 2009, Sumner, Morris and Cunningham announced that they did not plan on continuing on as New Order without Hook. However, in September 2011 it was announced that they will reform as New Order for two concerts in October (Brussels and Paris), without Hook but with Gillian Gilbert. Hook's replacement is Tom Chapman, who is also in Bad Lieutenant with Sumner, Morris and Cunningham. The charity gigs in Brussels and Paris were very successful and New Order decided to go on tour in 2012. They played various concerts all over the world and also some big festivals in the summer.Discography (studio albums):Movement (1981)Power, Corruption & Lies (1983)Low-Life (1985)Brotherhood (1986)Technique (1989)Republic (1993)Get Ready (2001)Waiting for the Sirens' Call (2005)Lost Sirens (2013)Music Complete (2015) Collaborations and other projects:Shortly after the split, Sumner and Cunningham formed Bad Lieutenant. The band's debut album Never Cry Another Tear, released in 2009, features Morris on drums on several tracks, although he is not an official member of the band and has committed to continue musical projects with Gillian Gilbert. The band's various solo projects understandably seemed to contain elements of the New Order 'sound', and gave some clues as to each member's contribution to the band.Bernard Sumner worked with Johnny Marr (formerly of The Smiths) and Neil Tennant (of The Pet Shop Boys) in the 'supergroup', Electronic. Peter Hook formed the bands Revenge and, later, Monaco. These projects gained some commercial success. Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert recorded two albums of songs as The Other Two, and also did scoring work for film and television. Each of New Order's four original members have, at various times, acted as producers and\/or guest musicians under the moniker of Be Music for a myriad of Factory labelmates and other artists, including: Section 25, A Certain Ratio, Happy Mondays, Paul Haig, The Stockholm Monsters, The Stone Roses, and Stanton Miranda.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/572_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"300,000 - 500,000"}

{"key":"577","name":"Pet Shop Boys","bio":"Pet Shop Boys are a British synthpop\/dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe. They formed in London, UK in 1982. \"Super\", their thirteenth studio album, was released on April 1st 2016.Three-time Brit Award winners and six-time Grammy nominees, they have achieved 42 Top 30 singles and 22 Top 10 hits in the UK Singles Chart, including four number ones: \"West End Girls\", \"It's a Sin\", \"Always on My Mind\" and \"Heart\". Other songs include \"Being Boring\", \"Home and Dry\", \"Rent\", \"Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)\", \"What Have I Done to Deserve This?\" in a duet with Dusty Springfield and \"Thursday (feat. Example)\". Pet Shop Boys are one of the most commercially and critically acclaimed British music artists ever. They have achieved eight platinum, two gold and four silver albums in the UK alone. They have sold 50 million records worldwide and are listed as the most successful duo in UK music history by The Guinness Book of Records. At the 2009 BRIT Awards, Pet Shop Boys received an award for Outstanding Contribution to Music.http:\/\/petshopboys.co.uk","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/577_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"500,000 - 1,000,000"}

{"key":"6931","name":"Blondie","bio":"Blondie is an American rock band founded in New York City in 1974 by singer-songwriter Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American new wave and punk scenes of the mid-70s, developing their sound in famous NYC clubs such as CBGBs. With hits such as \"Atomic\", \"Call Me\". \"Heart of Glass\", and \"Maria\" as well as sales of over 40 million records worldwide, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. Their original lineup consisted of Deborah Harry (vocals), Chris Stein (guitar, bass guitar), Clem Burke (drums, percussion), Jimmy Destri (keyboards), and Gary Valentine (bass guitar, guitar). Band lore states that their name came from both a flippant reference to Adolf Hitler's dog Blondie as well as vocalist Harry's bright blond hair. Previously having been a Playboy Bunny, Harry fronted the early version of the band. initially known as \"Angel and the Snakes\". They built up underground fame in NYC. Blondie released their first album, 'Blondie', in 1976. The album was mildly successful and spawned the Australian hit single \"In The Flesh\". Gary Valentine left the band later that year, and they continued briefly as a foursome, recording 'Plastic Letters' and gaining more airplay with their track \"Denis\". Still in touch with their punk roots, having played in clubs such as CBGBs and hung out with rock artists such as the Ramones, the band broke out into other, more diverse influences such as older dance and pop music, particularly interested in Phil Spector's 'wall of sound' technique.Valentine was replaced by Los Angeles-based musician Frank Infante (guitar, bass guitar) in 1977. Infante had already played guitar on one track on 'Plastic Letters'. The band went out playing live with Infante and Stein swopping between playing guitar and bass guitar throughout each concert. The band also added British born but LA-based Nigel Harrison (bass guitar), making Blondie a six piece group for the first time. Harrison was a former member of the glam rock band Silverhead.In 1978, they released the album that would make them international stars, titled 'Parallel Lines'. The album spawned several hit singles, including the number one hit \"Heart Of Glass\", \"Sunday Girl\", \"Hanging On The Telephone\" (a cover of the famous power pop track by The Nerves), and \"One Way Or Another\". The success of the heavily disco influenced \"Heart of Glass\", a song sometimes censored for its use of strong language for the time and considered by the band as tongue-in-cheek, proved controversial among many fans of the band's punk background, but it managed to break them through at a massive level. They released three more albums (1979's Eat To The Beat, 1980's Autoamerican (containing the number one singles \"The Tide Is High\" and \"Rapture\") and 1982's The Hunter) as well as a number one single \"Call Me\", from the score of the 1980 film \"American Gigolo\".In 1980, Harrison contributed several unused Blondie songs to ex-Silverhead singer Michael Des Barres solo album I'm Only Human. In 1981, Harry released a solo album Koo Koo, Destri released a solo album Heart On A Wall. Burke recorded and played live with the Eurythmics, and Stein started a record label named Animal Records.In 1982, health problems for Stein, declining sales and inter-band tension caused the band to split. Harry kept a low profile for a few years while she nursed (now former) boyfriend Stein through a serious illness, but then continued a solo career as an actress\/singer.Reformation plans begun in 1997 with a line-up that included Harry, Stein, Destri, Burke, Valentine, and Harrison. Infante was not invited to the reunion. Valentine and Harrison were eventually (and unceremoniously, they claim) replaced by Paul Carbonara (guitar) and Leigh Foxx (bass).The band released No Exit in 1998, which did quite well in both US and UK charts and contained the number one hit single \"Maria\".The album did not include any song contributions from Valentine or Harrison, despite them recording early sessions for the album and Valentine being assured by Stein that they would use his already recorded song \"Amor Fati\". Harrison and Infante later filed an unsuccessful lawsuit claiming breach of contract for not including them in the reunion.The Curse Of Blondie was released in 2003 and, while not matching its predecessor in sales, was critically acclaimed and spawned the global dance hit \"Good Boys\".Destri retired from touring in 2004, but is still listed as a band member on their official web site. Kevin Patrick (keyboards), Destri's former keyboard tech and assistant, replaced him soon followed by Matt Katz-Bohen in 2008. The band's 2006 induction ceremony into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame was the scene of an awkward moment between Infante and Harry, during which he asked that the former members be allowed to play along with fellow inductees Harry, Stein and Burke during the band's set, since it was the original band that was being inducted. Harry replied \"Can't you see my band is up there?\" prompting Infante to counter \"I thought it was Blondie that was being inducted.\"In 2006, the band toured as the opening act for The New Cars on the \"Road Rage Tour.\" Although Harry was more than 60 years old, the band still managed incendiary versions of their old hits, while playing with enough fire to remind the audience of their punk roots.In 2007, the band embarked on a tour of Europe, to coincide with the DVD release of the first ever music video album \"Eat To The Beat\".Harry has since resumed her solo career, releasing 2007's Necessary Evil. On June 5, 2008, Blondie commenced a world tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Parallel Lines with a concert at Ram's Head Live in Baltimore, Maryland. The tour covered some Eastern and Midwestern US cities throughout the month of June. In July, the tour took the band overseas to Israel, the UK, Russia, Europe and Scandinavia, wrapping up on August 2, 2008 at Rockefeller in Oslo, Norway.Clem Burke and Paul Carbonara both recently told interviewers that the band is working on another record, which would be their first new album since the release of The Curse of Blondie in 2003. Carbonara described it as \"a real Blondie record.Blondie undertook a North American tour of mid-sized venues with Pat Benatar and The Donnas in the summer of 2009. Following the tour, in October, the band began recording sessions for their ninth studio album with producer Jeff Saltzman in Woodstock, New York. In December 2009, the band released the song \"We Three Kings\" to coincide with the Christmas holiday. The new album, to be titled Panic of Girls, which was being mixed at the time, was said to follow in 2010. Chris Stein stated that Dutch artist Chris Berens will provide the cover art. In April 2010, it was announced that guitarist Paul Carbonara had amicably left Blondie to pursue other projects and was replaced by Tommy Kessler. Panic of Girls is tentatively set to be released in 2010\/2011.In June 2010, Blondie began the first leg of a world tour named \"Endangered Species Tour\", which covered the United Kingdom and Ireland, supported by UK band Little Fish. The set lists featured both classics and new material from the forthcoming Panic of Girls. After a break in July the tour will resume in August and cover the United States and Canada over a course of six weeks. Blondie is then set to take the \"Endangered Species Tour\" to Australia and New Zealand in November and December. It was revealed that the bands album will be released on the Australian Sony label in November 2010, and elsewhere in January 2011.Songfacts reports that Mother, the first single from Panic of Girls received its global premiere on BBC Radio on March 17th, 2011 and was made available for purchase on May 23, 2011.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/6931_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"200,000 - 350,000"}

{"key":"10430","name":"Duran Duran","bio":"Duran Duran (named after a character in Roger Vadim's sci-fi classic, Barbarella) is an electronic pop rock band that was part of the New Wave movement of the 80s and 90s. Created by Nick Rhodes (keyboards) and John Taylor (bass) in Birmingham, England in 1978, it later add took in Roger Taylor (drums), Andy Taylor (guitar), and Simon Le Bon (lead vocals). The band has sold more than 70 million records over their more than 35 years of existence, making them one of the best-selling groups in history.Their songs are often vivid, hook-laden pieces dance pop that have fared well on the radio, but what many remember best about Duran Duran is their iconic music videos. Though many of the videos were tongue-in-cheek, the band has never quite escaped the glamorous and decadent 'jet set' image that their early videos projected. Their flashy outfits and strident, art rock influenced music showed an immense debt to 70s English glam artists such as David Bowie and Roxy Music, yet the band grasped a sense of their own identity and became one of the keystones of the new romantic movement.Their first singer and one of their original founding members was Stephen Duffy, and their original bassist was Simon Colley. Several drummers and guitarists were subsequently tried, as well as a handful of vocalists, after Duffy left Duran Duran early in 1979. The band felt that they had something special with vocalist Simon Le Bon, and the group smashed into the pop scene shortly afterwards when \"Planet Earth\", their debut single, was released on 2 February 1981.\"Planet Earth\" became an immediate hit in the band's native U.K., reaching #12 on the U.K. Singles Chart on 21 February, and it did even better in Australia, hitting #8 there. Being Duran Duran's first Top 10 hit anywhere in the world, the song showed the group's interest in international stardom. The band's eponymous debut album came out promptly afterwards in June 1981. 'Duran Duran' hit #3 on the album charts and remained in the U.K. Top 100 for 117 weeks, achieving platinum status by December 1982. The initial United States release failed to generate much interest at first, but the group was a British sensation due to their strident mix of pop rock and electronic music.Music videos for hit singles \"Planet Earth\" and \"Careless Memories\" were filmed in December 1980. As they also experienced considerable success with \"Girls on Film\", which hit #5 on the UK Singles Chart and #11 on the Australian Singles Chart, the group firmly grasped the opportunity to make a name for themselves in musical television. As their fame grew, some fans worried that Duran Duran could have peaked too early. They headed into AIR Studios in London in early 1982 anxious to somehow top themselves.Band member John Taylor came up with the new album's title, 'Rio', as a product of his fascination with the flaunting sexuality and diverse atmosphere of Brazil. He later said, \"Rio, to me, was shorthand for the truly foreign, the exotic, a cornucopia of earthly delights, a party that would never stop.\" The band had their own plans and ambitions for promotion and reunited with director Russell Mulcahy (who was behind the video for \"Planet Earth\") to plan out the release of a full length 'video album'\u2014 eleven videos in total. Totally dedicated to on-site filming, guitarist Andy Taylor even contracted a tropical virus and ended up hospitalized, thankfully getting better relatively quickly.'Rio' was, simply, a commercial juggernaut. The band's second studio album, originally released worldwide on 10 May 1982, reached #2 in the UK and #1 in Australia. Massively popular in the U.S., it earned a gold disc on 1 March 1983 and went platinum on 26 April 1983, eventually reaching double-platinum status. As songs such as \"Hungry Like the Wolf\" and \"Rio\" received considerable airplay, critical acclaim also grew for the release. With MTV heavily playing the band's music videos, the album is still held as one of the best new wave albums ever. In April 2013, 'Rio' was even voted #3 in BBC Radio 2's 'Top 100 Favourite Albums of all time' list.In 1985, Duran Duran performed \"A View To A Kill\" for the the James Bond film of the same name. The song appeared in the movie's title sequence and was also a best-selling single in its own right. In 1987, \"Out Of My Mind\" was featured at the end credits of the drama film 'The Saint' as well.Like Depeche Mode, Duran Duran was among the earliest bands to work on their own remixes. From the very beginning, the band had a keen sense of style, and worked with stylist Perry Haines and fashion designers such as Kahn & Bell and Antony Price to build a sharp and elegant image, soon growing beyond the ruffles and sashes of the pirate-flavoured New Romantic look.Although the group never disbanded, it went through several line-up changes over the years - American guitarist Warren Cuccurullo (formerly of Missing Persons) was also a member of the band from 1989 to 2001, and drummer Sterling Campbell was a member from 1989 to 1991. John Taylor, Roger Taylor and Andy Taylor all returned in 2001 and created a stir among music media and the band's fans. Duran Duran released the first album from the reunited line-up, Astronaut, in 2004, which was in turn followed up by many sold out shows in England, most notably Wembley Arena, where a live DVD of the tour was filmed in 2004\/2005.In October of 2006, it was announced on Duran Duran's website that Andy Taylor had left the band. The band's latest album, 'Red Carpet Massacre' was released in November 2007. They performed the album live in New York City on Broadway at the Barrymore Theater, for what was originally scheduled as an unprecedented 10-night run. A stage hand union strike shortened the run by a few nights, but Duran Duran were able to re-schedule the shows elsewhere. They went on to tour the world, ending their successful run in December of 2008. 2008 also saw the release of a new DVD that documents the making of their now-classic \"Rio\" album (called \"Classic Albums: Rio (Collector's Edition)\"), and a book called \"Would Someone Please Explain?\"- a compilation of questions from the \"Ask Katy\" area of their popular website. Duran Duran returned at the end of 2010 with their 13th album, the digital and self-released album All You Need Is Now which debuted at number one on the iTunes charts in many countries (including the USA). The physical version of the album will be released with bonus tracks in February 2011. The album was produced by Mark Ronson. 2015 saw the band return with the album Paper Gods, which was led by the single \"Pressure Off\" featuring Janelle Monae and Nile Rodgers. The album was the band's first top 10 chart success in the U.S. in over 20 years, and also reached number 5 in the U.K.Official Websites:http:\/\/www.duranduran.comhttp:\/\/twitter.com\/duranduranhttp:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Duran-Duranhttp:\/\/www.youtube.com\/DuranDuranhttp:\/\/www.youtube.com\/07duranduranhttp:\/\/www.myspace.com\/duranduran","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/10430_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"500,000 - 1,000,000"}

{"key":"10434","name":"a-ha","bio":"a-ha is a Norwegian new wave band. The trio, composed of lead vocalist Morten Harket, guitarist Paul Waaktaar-Savoy and keyboardist Magne Furuholmen, formed in 1982 and left Oslo, Norway for London in order to make a career in the music business. The origin of the name a-ha comes from the lyric of an early song. After checking dictionaries in several languages, they found out that 'a-ha' was an international way of expressing recognition, with positive connotations. It was short, a-ha was easy to say and somewhat unusual.The first song to break through into the mainstream culture was Take On Me, which was featured on the album Hunting High And Low; a main reason for its popularity was the music video that came some time later after the song's release.\"Take on Me\" was the first song Morten Harket heard Magne Furuholmen and Paul Waaktaar-Savoy play. At that time the song was called \"Lesson One.\" After multiple re-recordings and two failed releases, \"Take on Me\" became a hit on both sides of the Atlantic in 1985. Although their first release of the song in 1984 was not a major success, it was remixed by producer Alan Tarney a year later, and sold 1.5 million copies worldwide in one week. Eventually the single \"Take on Me\" is estimated to have sold 7-9 million copies worldwide; it peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number two in the UK Singles Chart. Sales were aided in the U.S. by a music video on MTV that mimicked the truck chase from Terry Gilliam's movie Brazil and the climactic scene from the Ken Russell film Altered States. The video used a sketchy animation \/ live action combination called \"Rotoscoping\" that tells a fantasy thriller story to the song. At the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards \"Take on Me\" won in six categories. It was also nominated for Best Video of the Year at 1986 American Music Awards.The follow-up single to \"Take on Me\" was \"The Sun Always Shines on T.V.\". In the U.S., the song peaked at number twenty on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number seventeen on Radio & Records airplay chart. In addition, the music video for the song won in two categories at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards. a-ha's American success culminated in their 1986 Grammy nomination in a coveted Best New Artist category which was eventually won by Sade.\"The Sun Always Shines on TV\" turned out to be A-ha's last Billboard Top 40 single, and to this day in the United States a-ha is mostly remembered by the general public only because of the singularly huge success of \"Take on Me\". Hunting High and Low (1985), which contained \"The Sun Always Shines on TV\" and \"Take on Me,\" was a worldwide bestseller. In the U.S., it sold more than a million copies and acquired platinum certification by RIAA. As of 2005, Hunting High and Low has sold 8 million copies worldwide.a-ha's second album was Scoundrel Days (1986) and represented a move towards alternative rock as synthpop began to fall out of style. In 1987, they provided the title song for the James Bond film The Living Daylights. Stay on These Roads (1988) received more mixed reviews than the previous albums. In spite of a drastic decline in sales in the next few years, a-ha continued to record two more albums, East of the Sun, West of the Moon (1990) and Memorial Beach (1993). East of the Sun, West of the Moon featured a cover version of The Everly Brothers 1963 single, \"Crying in the Rain\".Because of apparent internal conflicts between the band members and conflict with the record label at the time, A-ha split in 1994 and their members started focusing on solo activities, but came together in 1994 to perform for the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. This performance included their song composed for the Winter Paralympics, \"Shapes That Go Together\".After a very well-received performance of \"The Sun Always Shines on TV\" and a new song, \"Summer Moved On\", at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in 1998, the band returned to the studio and recorded 2000's Minor Earth Major Sky, which resulted in a new tour, and a videocast performance of a-ha (with Briskeby) opening the new Vallhall stadium in Oslo. Sales of this album and 2002's Lifelines showed that their fanbase was still there, and also that they were able to attract new audiences, especially in Central Europe and Scandinavia, where the albums sold extremely well. They appeared again at the Nobel Peace Prize concert in 2001. a-ha's music video for the song, \"I Wish I Cared\" was the first fully web-based animated flash music video to be made available.A live album (from their 2002 tour) with the title How Can I Sleep With Your Voice in My Head? was released in March of 2003, preceded by a live single of the 1986 classic \"The Sun Always Shines on TV\".In 2004, an in-depth book entitled \"The Swing Of Things\" was published, also featuring a CD of early demo material. In 2004, a-ha celebrated their twentieth anniversary with the release of a new singles collection: The Definitive Singles Collection 1984-2004. This compilation brought them back into the UK Top 20 Album Charts, where they reached number thirteen. Over their career, a-ha have officially released 32 singles. 13 of these became top ten singles in the UK, and 14 singles have been number one on the radio lists over the world. The compilation included some of the highlights from a-ha\u2019s last 20 years.In September, a-ha returned to the U.S. (at Irving Plaza in New York City) for the band's first concert on American soil since 1986. A short impromptu performance of \"Take on Me\" occurred on September 11 in Times Square. On August 27, 2005, the band played a concert for 120,000 people in Frognerparken in Oslo, the largest concert ever in Norway.On November 4, 2005, the band released its new studio album, Analogue. The first single \"Celice\" was released on October 4 in mainland Europe. Later that same month, a tour followed, with concerts in Brussels, France, Germany and the UK. The release of the track, \"Analogue (All I Want)\" followed in the UK in January 2006, giving a-ha its first top ten hit in the UK since 1988. The third single in Europe (second in the UK) from the album was the Magne Furuholmen penned \"Cosy Prisons\", already a live-staple in the band's set.On the 30 October 2006 in London a-ha received the prestigious Q Inspiration Award for its long contribution to music and for inspiring many of their younger colleagues in the business.In 2007 a-ha recorded a cover of John Lennon's \"#9 Dream\" for Amnesty International.A ninth studio album, Foot Of The Mountain, was released in the summer of 2009. This more synth oriented album got a number five position in the UK in August 2009, and was No. 11 on the European album charts.\"Norway's most successful band through the years is splitting up for good!After 9 studio albums with over 35 million albums sold, it`s over for the band.\"A-ha had a press conference in Cologne 26.10.09, the day before their last world tour kick-off in Lanxess Arena. The last concert was in Oslo Norway. The concert ion 4 December 2010 at the Oslo Spektrum. On March 21, 2015, it was confirmed in national Norwegian newspapers that a-ha has reunited for a two-year period and are currently writing new material. a-ha's tenth studio album, Cast in Steel, is scheduled to be released on September 4, 2015.Photo galleries and additional information can be viewed at the official site, www.a-ha.com.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/10434_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"40,000 - 75,000"}

{"key":"8201","name":"The Sounds","bio":"There are multiple artists that have used this name:1) A Swedish New Wave group2) A Finnish instrumental rock band in the early 1960s3) A 1950's doo wop group on the Cascade label4) A danish pigtraad group5) A popular Greek band of the 60s with the big hits \"To mathima\" (\"The lesson\") and \"Apopse se thelo\" (\"Tonight I want you\").1) The Sounds are a New Wave group which formed in Helsingborg, Sweden in 1999. They consist of Maja Ivarsson (vocals) Felix Rodriguez (guitar), Johan Bengtsson (bass), Jesper Anderberg (keyboards) and Fredrik Nilsson (drums). The band has released four albums to date: 2002's Living In America, 2006's Dying To Say This To You, 2009's Crossing the Rubicon and 2011's Something To Die For on Original Signal Recordings and Side One Dummy Records.www.the-sounds.com2) The Sounds were a Finnish instrumental and pop group from Helsinki. Their most famous record is an instrumental version of \"Emma\" which was recorded in January 1963. The Sounds are still one of the most significant and influential Finnish instrumental rock bands. Their other instrumental record \"Mandshurian Beat\" is known to be the first Finnish record which sold over one million copies abroad. The Sounds were active between 1962 and 1965. Johnny Liebkind played drums in the first line-up of the band. (Source of information: Finnish Wikipedia)","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/8201_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"20925","name":"Elvis Costello","bio":"Declan Patrick MacManus, OBE, better known by his stage name Elvis Costello, is an English pop\/rock musician, singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, author, television presenter, and occasional actor. He began his career as part of London's pub rock scene in the early 1970s and later became associated with the first wave of the British punk and new wave movement that emerged in the mid-to-late 1970s. His critically acclaimed debut album My Aim Is True was released in 1977. Shortly after recording it, he formed the Attractions as his backing band. His second album, This Year's Model, was released in 1978 and was ranked #11 by Rolling Stone on its list of the best albums from 1967 to 1987. His third album, Armed Forces, was released in 1979 and features his highest-charting single, \"Oliver's Army\" (#2 in the UK). His first three albums all appeared on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Costello and the Attractions toured and recorded together for the better part of a decade, though differences between them caused a split by 1986. Much of Costello's work since has been as a solo artist, though reunions with members of the Attractions have been credited to the group over the years. Costello's lyrics employ a wide vocabulary and frequent wordplay. His music has drawn on many diverse genres; one critic described him as a \"pop encyclopedia\" able to \"reinvent the past in his own image.\" He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award and has twice been nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Male Artist. In 2003, Costello and the Attractions were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Costello #80 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Costello has co-written several original songs for motion pictures, including \"God Give Me Strength\" from Grace of My Heart and \"The Scarlet Tide\" from Cold Mountain (2003, with T-Bone Burnett). For the latter, Elvis was nominated along with Burnett for the Academy Award for Best Original Song and the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/20925_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"300,000 - 500,000"}

{"key":"8219","name":"She Wants Revenge","bio":"She Wants Revenge is a post-punk\/darkwave duo hailing from Los Angeles, California who formed in 2005. The band is comprised of Justin Warfield (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Adam Bravin (bass, keyboards). Accompaniment members Thomas Froggatt (guitar) and Scott Ellis (drums) join them on stage. The band have released three albums: \"She Wants Revenge\" (2006), \"This is Forever\" (2007) and \"Valleyheart\" (2011)She Wants Revenge's music is hard to emcompass into a single genre or sound. It draws inspiration from several alternative rock and new wave artists. The band blends their influences with ever-present electronics (eg. synths and drum machines) in a style most accurately labeled under the umbrella term, \"darkwave\", a style of music reminiscent of the New Wave and Gothic Rock sounds of the 1980s.She Wants Revenge have stated that they make \"dance music\" on numerous occasions setting them aside from the contemporary rock bands often falsely linked with the band in the music press.HistoryTheir self-titled debut, was released in 2006. They contributed a cover of 'Kindnap the Sandy Claws' to the soundtrack of the \"The Nightmare Before Christmas\" re-release. Their next LP release, 'This Is Forever' was released in 2007. They also were featured on a track 'Time', with Timbaland.On Feb. 27th, 2008, She Wants Revenge parted ways with Geffen\/Interscope to run their own record label called Perfect Kiss Records, from which they released an EP titled 'Save Your Soul'. A second EP followed in 2009, titled \"Up and Down\", which was released on the 22nd of September.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/8219_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}