Marty Willson-Piper (Born: May 7, 1958) is a guitarist and was a long-time member of Australian independent rock band The Church. While he was not a founding member of the band (he joined in 1980 after seeing an early gig where they were performing as a three-piece), he was regarded as an integral member for many years.
Willson-Piper travelled around the world as a street performer, before he arrived in Australia in his early twenties.
Following his arrival in Australia, Willson-Piper soon joined The Church on guitar, vocals and bass guitar—alongside Steve Kilbey, Peter Koppes and Nick Ward—in 1980. Willson-Piper's sound was influenced by guitarists such as Tom Verlaine and Bill Nelson.
Willson-Piper contributed to most of the Church's studio releases and was a member almost continuously, from 1980 to 2013. One exception is the 1997 album Pharmakoi: Distance Crunching Honchos with Echo Units, which only featured Kilbey, Koppes and drummer Tim Powles. Willson-Piper's last recording with the Church is the 2010 EP Deadman's Hand, released after the band's 2009 album Untitled #23.
Kilbey announced on the band's Facebook page that former Powderfinger guitarist Ian Haug replaced Willson-Piper, who Kilbey explained is "not available" for the recording of a new album, and subsequent touring, in 2014. Entitled Further/Deeper, the Church's 25th album was released on 17 October 2014.
Ian Stephen McCulloch (born 5 May 1959) is an English musician and singer-songwriter, born in Liverpool and best known as the frontman for the rock group Echo & the Bunnymen.
In October 1978 McCulloch founded Echo & the Bunnymen with Will Sergeant (guitar), Les Pattinson (bass), and a drum machine (allegedly named Echo), making their live début at Eric's in November that year. In October 1979 the Bunnymen exchanged the drum machine for Pete de Freitas on drums. With their line up solidified, the Bunnymen played in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating with the release of Ocean Rain in 1984. Shortly before the album was released, McCulloch described "Ocean Rain" as "the greatest album ever made". McCulloch later said: "When I sing 'The Killing Moon' I know there isn't a band in the world who's got a song anywhere near that."
In 1988, McCulloch left the group to pursue a solo career under the impression the Bunnymen would be laid to rest, if only temporarily. When the remaining Bunnymen continued using the name with new singer Noel Burke, the split became permanent with McCulloch referring to the band as "Echo & the Bogusmen".
In 1997, Echo & the Bunnymen reformed and released the album Evergreen to positive reviews and chart success. Evergreen made the Top 10 of the UK Albums Chart and the single Nothing Lasts Forever reached No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart. The reformed Bunnymen have since released four further albums, the most recent being The Fountain which was released in late 2009.
Marco Francesco Andrea Pirroni (born 27 April 1959, London, England) is an English guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He has worked with Adam Ant, Sinéad O'Connor, Siouxsie and the Banshees and many others from the late 1970s to the present day.
Born in Archway, he lived with his Italian parents in Camden Town until 15 years old, when they moved to Harrow. He attended art school briefly but truanted to hang out at Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren's famous boutique SEX in the King's Road.
A lynchpin of the UK punk scene, Pirroni's first appearance on stage was with Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was their début gig and at 1976's 100 Club Punk Festival, with Pirroni on guitar and Sid Vicious on drums.
Pirroni then formed The Models (who recorded the single, "Freeze", in 1977) and then Rema-Rema, whose "Wheel in the Roses" EP appeared on the 4AD record label the following year. In those days he formed part of Cowboys International but it was for a short time. He then teamed up with then cult punk outfit – Adam and the Ants – in 1980 and within a year the band was on the brink of worldwide acclaim.
An integral part of the band, Pirroni acted as lead guitarist and co-songwriter, penning two UK number one singles and a further four Top Ten hits, with Ant. The two albums he co-wrote for Adam and the Ants – Kings of the Wild Frontier and Prince Charming – both made the Top 10 in the UK Albums Chart ("Kings" #1; "Prince Charming" #2) .
When Adam and the Ants disbanded in 1982, Pirroni was retained as Adam Ant's co-writer and they produced another number one single ("Goody Two Shoes") and the album (Friend or Foe), followed by nine more Top 20 hits. Adam and Pirroni won two shared Ivor Novello Awards for "Stand and Deliver".
Adam Ant, working with Pirroni, left an indelible commercial and creative stamp across the 1980s and pop music in general. Adam Ant sold more than eighteen million records worldwide, scoring number ones in Australia, Germany, Greece, Sweden, Israel, Japan as well as in the UK. Their partnership's success was not just confined to the 1980s, with Ant's solo hits going Top 10 in the US and Top 20 in the UK in 1990, plus a further Top 40 hits in the UK and the US in 1995.
In early 1987, Marco Pirroni featured on Sinéad O'Connor's début album The Lion and the Cobra. Then in 1990 he worked with her again, on her second album I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got. In 1994 he worked with her to record her fourth album, Universal Mother. He co-wrote and played guitar on a number of tracks on her latest album, How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?, released in March 2012.
Roger Andrew Taylor (born 26 April 1960) is an English musician, best known as the drummer of the rock band Duran Duran from their inception until 1985, and again from 2001 onwards, the band selling in excess of 70 million records in the process.
Roger Andrew Taylor was born into a modest family and was brought up in the Shard End area of Birmingham up until the age of 11, and a then a small suburban house in Castle Bromwich (15 Hawthorne Rd). His father worked in the car industry. He began drumming at around the age of twelve, teaching himself by playing along with his favourite records. His first ambition was to be a goalkeeper for English football club Aston Villa, and as a child he was taken to every home match by his father. He would eventually "play" at Villa Park but as Duran Duran's drummer for their 1983 charity concert there. Taylor has cited drummers Paul Thompson of Roxy Music, Charlie Watts of The Rolling Stones and Tony Thompson of Chic as his key musical influences growing up.
Before joining Duran Duran, he performed with several school (Park Hall School in Castle Bromwich, Warwickshire) and local club bands. After being inspired by the punk bands playing at Barbarellas club in Birmingham, he formed the new wave/punk outfit Scent Organs, who became regional finalists in the 'Melody Maker' young band of the year in 1978. After the band split in 1979, he joined Duran Duran and became one of the 'fab five' as they were called in the US. Roger became known as 'the quiet one'.
Taylor became an international star with the other members of Duran Duran as they rose to fame in the early 1980s. Taylor played drums on the band's first three studio albums (Duran Duran, Rio, and Seven and the Ragged Tiger) and the live album Arena. In 1985, the band recorded the theme to the James Bond film A View To A Kill, which became their second US No. 1 hit and the only Bond theme in history to do so. However, the intense schedule of recording and touring, coupled with the pressures of fame, left Taylor unhappy with being in the band. His final performance with the original line-up of Duran Duran was in July 1985 at the Live Aid benefit concert in Philadelphia, which reached a global audience of 2 billion people. Taylor and the band had each picked up two Grammy awards during this period.
Prior to leaving the band, he worked with Duran Duran bandmates Simon Le Bon and Nick Rhodes on the album So Red The Rose for their side project Arcadia in 1985. The album featured Sting, David Gilmour, Herbie Hancock and Grace Jones. Taylor also contributed percussion to the other Duran Duran splinter group Power Station's version of Some Like It Hot from their self-titled album. He then purchased a remote farm estate in the hills of Gloucestershire to live a quiet life away from the music world. The Sun newspaper tracked him down and devoted a whole page to his departure dubbing him 'the hermit of pop'. Initially his hiatus was expected to be for a year, but in 1986 the remaining members of the band issued a statement saying that he was leaving Duran Duran.
In 1994, while visiting a friend in Paris, he temporarily joined Duran Duran to play drums on three tracks for the covers album Thank You (although only two ended up on the album), later appearing in the video for "Perfect Day" and on the band's Top of the Pops performance of the song.
In 1997, Taylor regained his appetite for the music industry. He briefly formed the electro/dance band Freebass, which produced a single, "Love Is Like Oxygen", (a cover of a song by The Sweet) on underground dance label Cleveland City Records. The record reached the top ten of the Music Week UK Dance Chart. Taylor also produced electro house tracks with Freebass member Jake Roberts under the name Funkface. Lost This Feeling and Shine were released on Taylor's own label Rt Music.
In 2001, Taylor rejoined Duran Duran, as all five of the original members reunited to record new material and perform as a quintet again. This culminated in five sold-out nights at Wembley Arena, playing Madison Square Garden again, and signing with Epic Records in New York. The band delivered a worldwide hit single '(Reach Up For The) Sunrise' and a multi-million-selling album Astronaut.
In 2003, he began a long-running DJ residency at London's Met Bar playing a mix of house and hip-hop and he has gone on to become a renowned DJ over recent years, performing sets at Cielo New York and Pacha Ibiza.
The All You Need Is Now album was released on 21 December 2010 to worldwide critical acclaim. It immediately reached the number 1 spot on the iTunes pop chart in 15 different countries. Duran Duran commenced a supporting tour running well into 2012 reaching far and wide across the world. The band also played to an audience of 70,000 people in Hyde Park to coincide with the opening of the 2012 London Olympic Games. Taylor is currently working with his bandmates on the 14th Duran Duran album with producers Mark Ronson, Ben Hudson & Nile Rodgers. Described by John Taylor as an 'epic'. Due for release in spring 2015
Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (born 26 April 1940 in Urtijëi) is an Italian record producer, songwriter, performer and DJ. Moroder is frequently credited with pioneering synth disco and electronic dance music.
When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records. He produced huge hits for Donna Summer during the late-1970s disco era, including "Bad Girls", "Last Dance", "Love to Love You Baby", "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)", "Dim All the Lights", "MacArthur Park", "Hot Stuff", "On the Radio", and "I Feel Love", and is the founder of the former Musicland Studios in Munich, a recording studio used by many renowned artists including Electric Light Orchestra, Led Zeppelin, Queen and Elton John.
In addition to producing several hits with Donna Summer, Moroder produced a number of electronic disco hits for The Three Degrees, two albums for Sparks, a handful of songs on Bonnie Tyler's album Bitterblue as well as her 1985 single "Here She Comes". Moroder also created a score of songs for performers including David Bowie, Kylie Minogue, Irene Cara, Madleen Kane, Melissa Manchester, Blondie, Japan, and France Joli.
