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Attica: A first batch of 500 migrants are set to return from Greece to Turkey on Monday under the terms of an EU deal reached this month, a European Commission source said Thursday.
“There is a major engagement on the part of Greece and Turkey towards sending 500 people back on April 4, barring a last-minute problem,” the source told.
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Newgen Positioned as a Challenger in Magic Quadrant for Content Services Platforms by Gartner
Zomaland, India’s biggest food carnival is back in Pune this weekend!
Apple Days and OPPO Fantastic Days on Amazon.in
Samsung Innovation Award Recognizes Cutting-Edge Innovations from Students at IIT Indore
NATHEALTH Summit to focus on Collaborations, Innovations & Investments
2014 The Global Indian New Network (TGINN)


Rob Kardashian -- I'm Not a Big Loser ... Yet
Rob Kardashian I'm Not a Big Loser ... Yet
5/16/2013 8:35 AM PT
Kim isn't the only Kardashian with a protruding belly.
Rob Kardashian has been pretty open about his weight struggles and continued on his quest to drop the extra pounds by rockin' some slimming black workout gear during a vigorous hike in Culver City on Wednesday.
In between trying to slim down, Rob is in the midst of a legal battle and recently pled not guilty to allegedly attacking a photographer and stealing her equipment for trying to take a shirtless photo of him.
Luckily, no one was harmed in the taking of this picture.


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Shares of companies in the capital goods segment have seen renewed interest from investors. The sector, among the most beaten down and the subject of persistent negative sentiment, could see a rally as the economic scenario improves, say experts.
So far this financial year, the Bombay Stock Exchange’s capital goods index has beaten the benchmark index by a little over 200 basis points, 8.1 per cent up for the Sensex and 10.4 per cent up for the capital goods counter.
Persistent bad news such as high interest rates, absence of fresh capital expenditure and drying of order inflows had taken the sector off investors' radar. Now, it seems, investor confidence is gradually rising, after a long lull. For instance, foreign institutional investors have been steadily raising their holdings in major companies such as ABB, BHEL, Havells, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Thermax, Siemens, SKF India and in the struggling Thapar group’s Crompton Greaves, too.
Year-on-year growth (in %)
|Larsen & Toubro||21.55||20.67|
|Alstom T&D India#||-22.37||-29.96|
|Lak. Mach. Works||-8.77||-40.03|
|TTM = Trailing 12 months; # TTM ended on June 2012
Source: Capitaline; Compiled by BS Research Bureau
Mutual fund managers, who had drastically cut exposure in this counter, have began to scale up their overall investment here. “Incrementally, the scenario for capital goods looks better, with possible improvement on the execution side,” said Navneet Munot, chief investment officer at SBI MF. He says margins are likely to improve, with input costs going down and rate cuts expected next year.
Agrees Ambareesh Baliga, an independent market expert, “I see a revival, with reform processes taking off and bringing stability to the sector in the near future. If reforms related to the power sector take off, capital goods have to perform."
Barring L&T, several counters in the sector are at lower levels and investors should utilise the opportunity to buy, he adds.
L&T has been an outperformer not only in the sector but also in the overall broader markets, as its shares have risen close to 30 per cent so far in FY13. Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), another heavyweight, which went below Rs 200 in September, has jumped back and is trading at Rs 232. This, though, is still half of where it was two years before.
Apart from L&T, market participants are bullish on BHEL and Thermax. “Capital goods are set for a steady rally. It’s too much of consumption rally now,” explains the equity (institutions) head at a Mumbai-based brokerage firm. According to him, there could be good momentum in the counter, as he expects rate cuts in the first quarter of calendar 2013. “Investors need not do aggressive buying but accumulate on selective counters, at least from a one-year to two-year horizon in their portfolios,” he says.
There’s also a word of caution from a section of market participants. “The sector requires actions from the government. Unless execution happens and investment starts pouring in for expansion, it’s hard to see why the sector would see an upside,” cautions the chief investment officer of a foreign fund house. “The current market movement is a function of global liquidity. Despite bad news, inflows are not letting shares crack. Investors need to be cautious on this sector.”

domain: news


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Mariposa Sheriff To Announce What Killed Family On Hike In Sierra National ForestA California sheriff has scheduled a news conference to announce the causes of death of a Northern California family and their dog who were found in a remote hiking area in a case that has baffled authorities.
San Leandro Police Search For 73-Year-Old Woman Missing For Nearly A WeekA 73-year-old woman went missing last week from San Leandro and police on Tuesday asked the public for help locating her.
Berkeley Police Searching For 65-Year-Old Man Missing Since MondayBerkeley police on Friday asked for the public's help in finding a 65-year-old man reported missing.
Body Of Missing Kayaker From San Francisco Found Near Clearlake OaksThe body of a missing kayaker was found near Clear Lake on Thursday after he went missing over the weekend.
Authorities Search For Missing 17-Year-Old Swimmer North Of Santa CruzAuthorities are searching for a teen who was last seen swimming near a beach north of Santa Cruz on Monday night.
87-Year-Old Woman Found Stabbed In San Francisco's Sunset District Hours After Reported MissingAn elderly San Francisco woman was found stabbed in the city's Sunset District late Thursday night after she was reported missing by her family hours earlier.
UPDATE: Pleasanton Police Announce Body Found Matching Description of Missing Jogger Philip KreycikAuthorities announced Tuesday that a body matching the description of missing jogger Philip Kreycik was found in the Pleasanton park where he had disappeared on July 10.
Pleasanton Searchers Fail To Find Any Trace Of Missing Jogger Philip KreycikSearch teams focusing on the remote areas of Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park Saturday failed to find any new leads in the disappearance of Philip Kreycik, who went missing while jogging in the park on July 10.
Philip Kreycik's Family Holds Out Hope in 2nd Week of Search for Missing JoggerFriends and family of Philip Kreycik are holding out hope in the second week of searching for the missing runner from the East Bay.
Marathoner Goes Missing On Weekend Hike At Yosemite National ParkRangers at Yosemite National Park are asking for the public's help in the search for a marathon runner who went missing on a hike over the weekend.
San Mateo Police Searching For Teenage Mother, 5-Month-Old DaughterThe San Mateo Police asked the public for help Wednesday locating a teenage mother and her infant, both of whom went missing over the weekend.
Body Of Missing Oakland Boater Found In DeltaAuthorities on Monday confirmed the body of an Oakland man who went missing in the Delta after the canoe he was in tipped over this weekend has been found.
Deputies: Missing 5-Year-Old Boy From New Mexico May Be With Mother In Bay AreaAuthorities in New Mexico believe a 5-year-old boy who has been missing for nearly a week may be with his mother in the Bay Area.
Reward Increased For 20-Year-Old Oakland Man Missing for 2 YearsThe family of missing 20-year-old Jonathan Bandabaila announced on Monday, the two-year anniversary of his disappearance, that they increased their reward for information to $10,000.
84-Year-Old San Francisco Woman Missing For Nearly 2 WeeksPolice in San Francisco are searching for an elderly woman deemed at-risk who has been missing for nearly two weeks.


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Pennsylvania's Democratic gubernatorial primary appears to be Tom Wolf's to lose with just six days left to Election Day, a new Franklin and Marshall College poll released Wednesday shows.
The York County businessman leads his closest Democratic challenger, Rep. Allyson Schwartz, 33 percent to 14 percent. Roughly one quarter of respondents remained undecided heading into the final week, but if asked to pick a candidate, Wolf would lead Schwartz 43 percent to 26 percent. Rob McCord and Katie McGinty received 12 percent and three percent of the vote, respectively.
“It would be surprising if anyone else but Wolf won at this point from the latest poll results I have seen,” said Philadelphia-based Democratic strategist Michael Bronstein.
“No gap of this size that I know of in this state has been closed a week out,” pollster Terry Madonna said.
Tom Wolf built an early lead at the beginning of the year by releasing a barrage of television ads across the state months before his challengers did. The Franklin and Marshall poll shows that 83 percent of registered Democrats have seen TV ads and 93 percent of those people have seen ads for Wolf.
The perceived front-runner at the beginning, Schwartz has never been able to make up the ground Wolf gained at the beginning of the year. The poll shows that 61 percent of registered Democrats have seen an ad for Schwartz.
Another reason Wolf has been able to hold onto his sizable lead is because the four Democratic candidates have done little to separate themselves from the pack. All four want to tax the natural gas industry for increased funds for education, increase the state's minimum wage and expand Medicaid.
“They agree on 90 percent of the issues that matter to the voters,” Madonna said. “They have struggled to make distinctions that matter, hence going to personal narratives, their backgrounds and experiences.”
Education still remains the top issue for Pennsylvania Democrats and is shaping up to be the main issue the party can rally around in its attempt to defeat Republican incumbent Gov. Tom Corbett in November.
Corbett, who is continually sinking in the polls, was hurt by his 2011 education cuts that he made shortly after taking office. Democrats have used these cuts as a way to energize the base leading up to the November election.
Corbett "is already airing ads talking about how great he has been" on education, Bronstein said. “He is trying to gloss over his $1 billion in education cuts that is going to sink him."
In what was once seen as a Schwartz vs. Corbett election, state Republicans have since turned their attention to Wolf. The Corbett campaign has already released ads and mailers attacking the York businessman for his 18-month job as the state’s revenue secretary under former Gov. Ed Rendell.
Pennsylvania residents can expect to see a lot of money spent throughout the summer and fall. Wolf has said he’s willing to spend $10 million of his own money to finance his gubernatorial bid, and the Corbett campaign’s latest numbers show the incumbent with more than $6 million cash on hand.


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7 Jan Beginners Origami
12.30pm-2.30pm. A fun origami workshop for ages 7+
- Started 7 JanStarted 7 Jan
- 40 Australian dollars$40
- 296 Hay Street, Subiaco
Suitable for ages 7+, participants will learn the essential folding techniques, tips and experience folding with different sized papers, even decorate their own origami paper. They'll learn the folding techniques to create basic items to practice their skills before progressing on to folding their own paper crane and the very popular spinner! They'll get to take all their creations home, plus keep their very own folder of instructions for items taught during this workshop!
Please note that once booked, tickets are non-refundable. You may however transfer your ticket to another participant. Should a workshop be cancelled due to Covid restrictions your workshop will be rescheduled or you will be given a 12 month credit to rebook when we reopen.
296 Hay Street, Subiaco WA, Australia

domain: hobby


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NEWARK — Police arrested three people on suspicion residential burglary Sunday after an alert neighbor reported lurkers unknown to the neighborhood, authorities said.
About 3 p.m., officers responded to the 6800 block of Cedar Boulevard after neighbors reported three suspicious people hanging around a residence, police said. Officers surrounded the home, and entered after they found the front door open.
Upon entering the home, police discovered David Galvan, 30, Oscar Iniguez, 49, and Lena Faitague, 49, in the middle of burglarizing it, authorities said. All three individuals were arrested on residential burglary charges.
Contact Erin Ivie at 925-847-2122. Follow her at Twitter.com/erin_ivie.


When someone says they want to kill you, please take them seriously. Everyone in America knows this except for the Obama administration. The community organizer in chief Obama thinks that everyone wants peace and prosperity. No. Sorry Mr. President you couldn’t be more wrong. Sometimes you must listen to what these nut jobs are really saying.
Ayatollah Khamenei’s representative in Esfahan province of Iran, Ayatollah Sayyed Yousef Tabatabaeinejad noted the anniversary of the establishment of Iran’s Organization for Mobilization of the Oppressed (Basij) on the orders of the late Imam Khomeini and stated: “The Basij was established during the [Iran-Iraq] War and it also established a revolutionary spirit for the entire nation and it still has this revolutionary spirit.”
The Supreme Leader’s representative in Esfahan province emphasized the fact that the revolutionary Islam is the same as pure Muhammadan Islam, saying: “Some say our Islam is not revolutionary Islam, but we must say to them that non-revolutionary Islam is the same as American Islam. Islam commands us to be firm against the enemies and be kind and compassionate toward each other and not be afraid of anything.”
Ayatollah Tabatabaeinejad pointed to the false idea among some, who think that in order to survive, we must accept the enemies’ oppression and referred to the message of Imam Husayn’s uprising against the Caliph Yazid, saying: “By saying ‘woe unto the wretched,’ Imam Husayn did not say that in order to improve our living conditions we should accept the enemies’ humiliation. Principally, our Islam is revolutionary and revolutionary Islam has created the Islamic Revolution and this revolutionary spirit must be maintained.” More


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Zetterberg's hat trick keys Red Wings win over Blues
DETROIT -- Henrik Zetterberg did everything but score the winning goal.
Pavel Datsyuk's power-play goal in the third period broke a tie and Zetterberg had three goals and two assists in the Detroit Red Wings' 5-3 win over the St. Louis Blues on Friday night at Joe Louis Arena.
Jonathan Ericsson also scored for Detroit (4-2-1) and Johan Franzen had three assists while Jimmy Howard made 23 saves.
It was a lot different than the first time the two teams met this season. The Blues dominated the Red Wings 6-0 in the season opener in St. Louis on Jan. 19.
"Last game was pretty uncharacteristic. Usually that's what the games are like," Howard said. "Back and forth, up and down, scoring chances, goalies making saves. It's one of those fun games to be a part of."
Kevin Shattenkirk, Matt D'Agostini and Patrik Berglund got St. Louis' goals. Jaroslav Halak made nine saves and Brian Elliott stopped 17 shots.
The Blues, who rallied from a 2-0 first-period deficit to take a 3-2 lead in the second period, are 6-2-0 and had their four-game winning streak snapped.
"We definitely did a good job coming back. From there it was anybody's game," Shattenkirk said.
Datsyuk put Detroit ahead with a power-play goal with 8:05 left in the third period. His third goal came when he beat Elliott high to the short side with a wrist shot.
But Datsyuk preferred to talk about Zetterberg.
"Today was Hank night," he said. "They gave my Fathead (Fans received a Datsyuk Fathead on Friday night), but now it looks like we need to change to Hank."
Zetterberg didn't practice on Thursday because he was ill.
"I felt good. Sometimes it's nice to have two days off and especially like this," Zetterberg said. "Gotta like the rest so can't complain."
Ericsson was certainly impressed.
"Oh my god, if I had been out for a day like that I would be struggling to be skating," he said. "And he was flying out there. I don't know how he does it."
Datsyuk scored during a five-minute power play due to a questionable match penalty on David Backes for a hit on Kent Huskins 9:38 into the third.
"I'm not going to comment on that. It was a big turning point and it turned out being the turning point of the game," St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock said.
Zetterberg, who has five goals on the season, completed his fifth career hat trick with an empty-net, shorthanded goal with 12.6 seconds left on a diving attempt from in front of the net. Zetterberg also matched his career high of five points.
Ericsson tied the game at 3, 4:31 into the third period. He beat Elliott from the right face-off dot, while a penalty was being called on the Blues and the Red Wings had the extra skater. It was Ericsson's first goal.
Berglund's power-play goal 4:30 into the second period gave St. Louis a 3-2 lead. His fifth goal came when Berglund was in front of the net and knocked in Backes' pass from the corner.
The score was tied at 2 after the first period.
Zetterberg's two goals gave the Red Wings a 2-0 lead a little more than eight minutes into the game. His power-play goal opened the scoring at 6:12 when he connected on a one-time slap shot from just inside the right circle.
Zetterberg then scored on a breakaway 1:55 later when he took Ericsson's long breakout pass at the center red line and beat Halak between the pads with a backhand shot after a move.
Shattenkirk's power-play goal got the Blues on the board 9:50 into the game. Shattenkirk beat Howard with a wrist shot from the face-off dot.
D'Agostini tied the game with 6:56 remaining in the opening period when he beat Howard from the right circle on a partial breakaway.
NOTES: St. Louis replaced goalie Halak with Elliott with 3:51 left in the first period because of a lower-body injury, according to Hitchcock. The Blues coach added that Halak will be checked further when the team returns to St. Louis. ... Detroit center Darren Helm missed his third straight game because of back soreness and goalie Jonas Gustavsson remained sidelined with a sore groin. ... St. Louis defenseman Wade Redden returned to the lineup after missing Thursday night's 4-1 win in Columbus because of flulike symptoms. ... Defenseman Brian Lashoff was a healthy scratch for the Red Wings while Scott Nichol, Jamie Langenbrunner and Ian Cole didn't play for the Blues.


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Scholar Praises, Cautions Vatican Dialogue with Al-Azhar University
A leading scholar in the Arab comments on Catholic-Muslim dialogue as Pope visits.
ROME — A leading scholar in the Arab world has applauded the goodwill of both the Vatican and the prestigious Islamic Al-Azhar University Pope Francis will visit for aiming to increase Catholic-Muslim dialogue.
But she also issued a warning that goodwill isn’t enough for things to change.
“Dialogue is good; generally any dialogue is good. Any kind of debate and any steps to show goodwill, to show a commitment, to show a recognition of the other in principle is very good,” Mariz Tadros told CNA in an interview.
However, “the extent to which this will translate into a change in eliminating or reducing the appeal of militant Islam, that’s what I’m questioning.”
Tadros, who spoke over Skype from the U.K., is an author and scholar on persecution in the Arab world. She is currently a fellow at the Institute of Development Studies at Sussex University in the U.K.
She spoke ahead of Pope Francis’ April 28-29 visit to Cairo, where he is set to meet with Coptic Pope Tawadros II and the Grand Imam of the Mosque of al Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed el-Tayyib, as well as Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and the bishops of the local Catholic Church.
His visit comes as the result of a recent thawing in relations between the Vatican and the university, which had been strained since 2011. The imam of Al-Azhar is considered by some Muslims to be the highest authority the 1.5-billion strong Sunni Muslim world and oversees Egypt’s Al-Azhar Mosque and the prestigious university attached to it.
Dialogue picked up between the two after el-Tayyib visited the Vatican in May 2016 with a message condemning the acts of Islamic fundamentalism, culminating a year later in the Pope’s visit to Egypt this weekend.
However, in addition to the heightened prospect for dialogue, the trip will also have an inevitable undertone of the very real risks Christians still face in Egypt, particularly from extremist factions of militant Islam.
While Catholic-Muslim dialogue has picked up over the past year, so have attacks against Coptic Christians.
According to His Grace Bishop Angaelos, general bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom, there have been at least 40 reported murders of Christians in Egypt in the past four months alone.
In February 2015, Egyptian society was shocked by the grisly beheading of 20 Orthodox Coptic faithful in Libya carried out by ISIS, the video of which was circulated online. The extremists have also claimed responsibility for several other high-profile attacks, including a bombing at St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo in December that killed 29 people.
Most recently, ISIS claimed responsibility for twin bombings in Tanta and Alexandria April 9 that left more than 40 people dead. The blasts took place on Palm Sunday, one of the holiest days in the Christian calendar, commemorating Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem before his passion and death.
With these attacks looming closely in the rearview mirror, many are asking whether the Pope’s attention to dialogue with Islam, particularly his relationship with Al-Azhar and his trip to Egypt, will make a difference.
The Debate Surrounding Al-Azhar
According to Tadros, the prospect of any dialogue is good and shouldn’t be discouraged. However, she cautioned that, despite the well-intentioned gesture of meeting with the Pope and cementing good relations with the Holy See, there is still cause for concern regarding Al-Azhar, particularly the university’s curriculum.
“When we look at institutions such as Al-Azhar, there have been many Egyptian non-Islamist Muslims, very progressive Muslims, who have sought to hold Al-Azhar accountable for the duality of its discourse,” she said.
On the one hand, “Al-Azhar will sit with you and say: We love you; we care for you; we’re all one citizenship; we’re all one people.” But on the other hand, “if you look at the syllabi, what they are teaching the generations of scholars that graduate from that university about the religious other is horrendous.”
What they are teaching is “undoubtedly a message that these are infidels, and at best, they should be tolerated; and at worst, killing them is not such a travesty.”
If one actually looks at what comes out of Al-Azhar, “there’s a massive, massive disconnect between the public discourse and what is being taught to people across the country,” she said, explaining that there have been several moderate Muslim activists who have called on the university to reform its syllabi, including a man who was jailed for his activism but who has recently been released.
While Al-Azhar is seen by many militant Islamic groups as lacking legitimacy for not following the “right path” of Islam, others have criticized the university for failing to speak out strongly enough when condemning extremist groups such as ISIS.
Many have asked Al-Azhar to declare ISIS as “un-Islamic.” It’s no longer good enough to simply condemn what they are doing, the professor said, adding that the entity itself must be recognized as not being faithful to the Muslim religion.
“As a Christian you can tell me, ‘If you lie, that is not consistent with Christianity,’ but you are not telling me, ‘For shooting people in the name of Christianity, you no longer belong to Christianity.’ Do you see the difference?” Tadros said.
But when it comes to Al-Azhar, they have “consistently cowed away from declaring ISIS as not part of the Islamic community.”
Although some might say making such a declaration is playing into the game of name-calling and labeling one another as infidels, Tadros stressed that “unless you tell the broader international community that those who kill and maim and commit genocide in the name of Islam no longer are part of the Islamic community, they do not have the right to claim themselves as Muslim,” nothing will change.
That, she said, is “a very different story, and they have cowed away from doing that.”
Tadros clarified that she is “in no way” saying that dialogue between Pope Francis and al- Tayyib isn’t good or that it shouldn’t happen. “All I’m saying is: Let’s not count on that as a way of making militant Islam less appealing.”
She stressed that there are “a lot of Muslims” that have shown solidarity with Christians in Egypt, including speaking out on their behalf after the most recent bombings earlier this month, proving that not all Muslims espouse the radical views of ISIS or other like-minded branches.
However, while not all Muslims are extremists, she said history has proven that no matter how much dialogue is done, fundamentalism will never entirely disappear from Islam.
When asked if she thought this was a realistic eventual outcome of the dialogue between the Vatican and Al-Azhar, she said, “Absolutely not.”
“I think that is the biggest myth that exists in the West, and it’s a myth that history has dispelled, the perpetuation of which only serves to increase the vulnerability of religious minorities in the Middle East. In fact, I would say it directly contributes to it.”
The growing threat of militant Islam “is one that we should not take lightly,” she said, “because they are networked.
“Even though organizationally they follow different leaders, there are links between them, they are well-resourced, they are recruiting people globally from around the world, and they represent an existential threat to Christians and religious pluralism and all kinds of pluralism in the region.”
So while the importance of dialogue as an expression of finding common values and forging friendships across religions should be appreciated, it should only be valued to the extent that true goodwill and respect for the religious other result, she said.
“But I do support those who challenge their effectiveness in making militant Islam more appealing or undermining its power and influence and implications for Christian minorities.”
A History of Persecution
Christian persecution has happened on and off for centuries in Egypt, but this intolerance recently spiked in the 1970s, under President Anwar Sadat, who empowered radical Islamists, but was assassinated by fundamentalist army officers in 1981.
A period of higher tolerance ensued after Sadat’s death, but attacks targeting Christians picked back up during the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.
The 2011 revolution, part of the Arab Spring, had overthrown Hosni Mubarak, a military officer who had been Egypt’s president since 1981. The following year, Morsi, of the Islamist movement called the Muslim Brotherhood, became the first democratically elected Egyptian president.
On July 3, 2013, Egypt’s military ousted Morsi, and in August, it began a crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood. Violence then spread across the country, with Islamists killing hundreds of people from August to October. Churches were vandalized, burned and looted, as were the homes and businesses of Christians.
In January 2014, the interim government approved a new constitution, leading to the May 2014 election of Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi as the country’s new president. The elections were boycotted by the Muslim Brotherhood as well as other political groups.
Tadros explained that part of the chaos after the revolution was due to “a complete breakdown in public safety and law and order,” in which police left the streets, and organized groups of “thugs” took over, meaning public safety was no longer a guarantee.
With a lack of secure borders, given the crisis in Egypt and the collapse of nearby Libya, extremists became emboldened and began smuggling and trading weapons with greater confidence and ease.
Radical Islam also began to take on different forms in this time, Tadros said, explaining that whereas previously terrorists were homegrown and committed smaller acts of violence, the rise of factions such as ISIS looking to impose maximum damage through suicide bombs is new.
“The fact that ISIS is now a player is a game changer,” she said, explaining that with an increase in deadly attacks, there is greater need for security. However, she voiced doubt that the current state of emergency declared by el-Sissi in wake of the April 9 bombings will be effective in terms of protecting Copts.
From a scholarly and historic point of view, emergency law has done nothing, she said, noting that it was implemented by both Mubarak and Morsi when they were in power, “and in both cases, it was not conducive to the well-being of the Egyptian population in general.”
Since his election el-Sissi has been praised for receiving representatives from both the Orthodox and Catholics, as well as Protestants.
However, even though the situation has “officially” improved under el-Sissi, who has said and done the right things, Tadros said the improvement is due not so much to el-Sissi’s efforts as it is to the fact that Morsi was driven from power.
“The situation under el-Sissi is very complicated, because on the one hand there is an improvement in the Copts’ everyday experience: not directly as a consequence of any of el-Sissi’s policies by any stretch of the imagination, but it is an unintended outcome of ousting Morsi,” she said.
“Never in the modern history of the Copts have they been such a target of militant targeting as they are today,” she said, explaining that if fundamentalists want to target Copts, there is realistically little that can be done to stop them.
How Can Christians Be Helped?
With Christians in Egypt increasingly becoming a target of systematic violence and a bleak prospect of effective help from the government, Tadros suggested several things that can be done now to help the 9 million-strong Coptic community in Egypt.
First, “security is crucial,” she said, explaining that the ability to ensure basic protection of schools, places of worship and faith-based organizations “is extremely important.”
Another essential help is “drying out the sources of funding,” Tadros said, noting that currently “we do have a problem with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Arab countries funding Islamist movements.”
“They have to be named and shamed, and even if it goes to the point of economic sanctions against any country that funds Islamist movements, that would significantly help the Christians,” she said, adding that this is “one of those unintended outcomes: If you remove their sources of income, they can’t buy arms, and therefore their ability to strike is significantly decreased.”
A third option Tadros mentioned is the growth and promotion of solidarity among the different churches in the region. As an example, the scholar noted how Pope Francis called Coptic Pope Tawadros personally to offer his sympathies after the April 9 attacks.
“We need to see more of that,” she said, stressing the need for Christians of all rites and practices to band together, because “divided we fall; united we’re strong.”
Finally, she pointed to the importance of raising awareness in international Christian communities of the “existential threat” that Christians in the Middle East face.
“We’re no longer talking about what we saw in Egypt four or five years ago, where it’s a number of Muslim mobs burning a number of houses,” she said. “We are now talking about a broader, new strategic plan to eliminate Christianity from the region.”
The global community, she said, needs to “raise awareness and sensitize their congregations of the need to support the churches in the Middle East” in various ways, such as through prayer and concrete initiatives that will help those who have lost everything to rebuild their lives.
Another important aspect is “strengthening local Christian civil society,” she said, “because sometimes Church leadership, such as in the case of Egypt, finds themselves in a position where they can’t come out and criticize governments; there’s too much at stake.
“So you need Christian civil society that plays the role of monitoring the situation, raising alarm bells when they see signs of genocide and of strengthening local initiatives.”
Holding governments accountable is also part of the equation, she said, sometimes by “criticizing the government and sometimes mobilizing against government policy if it’s not going to be conducive to citizenship.”

domain: sociology


text:
There was an error signing up for restock notifications. Please try again.
A lively blend of traditional Mexican seasonings in a convenient blend for adding authentic Mexican flavor. Frontier® Mexican Seasoning is great for spicing up entrees, beans, grains and veggies. Our bulk Mexican seasoning blend is kosher certified and non-irradiated.

domain: food


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October 25, 2020 10:50:09 am
The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission of Punjab has directed a private hospital of Rajpura and its two doctors to pay Rs 40 lakh in compensation and Rs 33,000 as cost of litigation to a Rajpura woman on account of deficiency in service and medical negligence in diagnosing the disease of her 48-year-old husband, who later died of cancer.
A Bench of Justice Paramjit Singh Dhaliwal (president) has directed Neelam Hospital and its two doctors, Dr Nitin Gupta and Dr Prem Raj Gupta, to pay an amount of Rs 40.33 lakh to complainant Renu Bala, along with an interest at the rate of 7 per cent per annum from the date of filing of this complaint, which is August 6, 2018, till payment.
The complainant, Bala, through her counsel Devinder Soundh had submitted before the commission that in February 2017, her husband Inderjit Singh,48, started complaining of stomach ache. Therefore, he was taken to Neelam Hospital, where she was assured that the patient was in safe hands and there was nothing to worry about. It was said the hospital was one of the finest in the Punjab region and had a team of well-qualified doctors.
According to the complaint, Inderjit was examined by Dr Nitin Gupta and Dr Prem Raj Gupta, who said there was a normal infection in stomach. They prescribed a course of few medicines and asked the patient to come a few days later for further examination. They assured that the prescribed medicines would reduce the patient’s pain. However, even after following the doctors’ instructions, the patient experienced no relief. Rather his condition worsened. Then the doctors recommended an ultrasound and a few more tests, which detected two acrogenic stones in the pelvis of kidney.
The patient’s surgery was conducted by the doctors and he was discharged on April 30, 2017. However, the patient did not get any respite from the pain even after the surgery. Then it was suggested that DJ stent was required to be done immediately without explaining the use of the same. The patient had recently undergone stone surgery, for which the patient’s wife had paid Rs 1.50 lakh in May 2017. Even after the second procedure, the patient’s condition did not improve.
Getting no relief, the patient was then taken to PGIMER, Chandigarh, where it was detected that he was suffering from fourth stage cancer, which is Metastatic Carcinoma Ascending Colon with Perforation. But due to unavailability of the surgeon concerned, the complainant had to take the patient to Max Healthcare Hospital, Mohali, where he remained admitted from May 26 till June 17, 2017. The complainant spent Rs 18 lakh on the patient’s treatment. However, he later died due to cancer on November 22, 2017.
Feeling aggrieved, Bala filed a formal complaint at the commission.
The Neelam Hospital in reply denied any medical negligence and submitted that the doctors have been wrongly implicated in the matter as they had explained the treatment to the complainant.
After hearing the arguments, the commission held that “instead of detecting the root reason of the problem of the patient and while not treating the main disease compelled him to undergo surgeries and medicated with the higher concerted medicines, which intensified the cancer cells that spread (to) all other organs of his body as a result of which he expired on 22.11.2017. Early detection of the cancer could have saved the life of the patient”.
Holding the hospital and its two doctors negligent, the commission held that “the precious time to detect/control the root cause disease i.e. cancer of colon was lost, which subsequently resulted in the demise of the patient”.
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domain: medical


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domain: design


text:
SQUAREPUSHER is the musical vehicle for the Chelmsford-born producer Tom Jenkinson, noted for his drum n bass, breakbeat and jazz techno work.
Signing to Warp Records in 1995, his prolific run of albums have led him to become one of the most acclaimed IDM artists in the UK.
His most recent long playing release being ‘Be Up A Hello’ was described by Uncut magazine as “An impressively wide ranging fusion of twisted synth melodies, knotty beats and sense-rupturing speed-jazz”.
Amongst the speedy tracks on ‘Be Up A Hello’ like ‘Oberlove’ and ‘Nervelevers’ was a more melodic ambient piece entitled ‘Detroit People Mover’. On this new ‘Lamental’ EP, Jenkinson focusses on that lesser-known contemplative side to SQUAREPUSHER.
‘Detroit People Mover’ was a number seeded from a Jean-Michel Jarre aesthetic with glorious synthy swoops and bursts of spacey string machine. But with the ‘Lamental’ opener ‘The Paris Track’, a squelchy accelerated rework of ‘Detroit People Mover’ is presented which despite the frantic building of techno beats, remains gloriously filmic and melodic.
‘Les Mains Dansent’ springs a total surprise as a rather solemn acoustic guitar interlude, but following it is Jenkinson’s own ‘Avec Batterie’ rework of ‘MIDI Sans Frontieres’ which was written in 2016 as a marvellously melancholic response to the EU referendum in the vein of William Orbit. Here, he explores a type of ambient breakbeat which is strangely compelling, with the two styles unexpectedly complimenting one another.
Unlikely to alienate Jenkinson’s loyal fanbase, the reworkings featured on ‘Lamental’ are beat laden but they are also unobtrusive, allowing the cinematic synth aspects to glow.
With great crossover potential, SQUAREPUSHER is likely to draw in previously disinterested parties to listen to his music with this release.
‘Lamental’ is released by Warp Records as a 12 inch vinyl EP and download
Celebrating their 40th Anniversary, OMD are one of the acts from the Synth Britannia era whose creative powers now are as strong as their chart heyday.
Setting a high standard of romantic retro-futurism with lyrical gists ranging from technology and war to deceased religious figures and long distance relationships, OMD released their debut single ‘Electricity’ in 1979, a statement about the environment that would have made today’s young campaigner Greta Thunberg proud.
Those who complain that OMD’s music is not dark enough often forget that within their highly melodic songs, subjects have included the suicide of a charismatic musician, the suicide of a woman who worked as a stripper because she had no other means of supporting herself, the racially motivated massacre of five innocent demonstrators by the Ku Klux Klan, the death of over 140,000 people by nuclear attack and most notably on two hit singles, the brutal execution of a teenage girl!
Founder members Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys began an impressive run of acclaimed albums and hit singles, starting with the Mike Howlett produced ‘Messages’ in 1980. The huge European popularity of the follow-up ‘Enola Gay’ captured the Cold War angst of the times under the spectre of Mutually Assured Destruction, while ‘Maid Of Orleans’ became the biggest selling single of 1982 in West Germany when Der Bundesrepublik was the biggest Western music market after the USA and Japan.
Long-time drummer Mal Holmes and live keyboardist Martin Cooper joined the fray as full band members for 1983’s ‘Dazzle Ships’ album, but things went creatively awry for OMD as McCluskey and Humphreys found themselves in an existential crisis, following journalistic criticism that songs about dead saints were not going to change the world. The more politically charged and experimental album failed to sell, but has since been re-evaluated in the 21st Century as a meisterwerk.
Bruised and under commercial pressure, OMD opted to pursue more conventional ambitions and traditions to stay in the black and scored the Top5 US hit ‘If You Leave’ from the John Hughes movie ‘Pretty In Pink’ in 1986. However a North American tour opening for DEPECHE MODE in 1988 failed to sustain momentum. In the backdrop of the resultant fallout and the inevitable musical differences, Humphreys, Holmes and Cooper departed, leaving McCluskey with the OMD brand name.
However, the split precipitated a number of interesting artistic and creative diversions for McCluskey and Humphreys which despite the triumphant reunion of the classic line-up in 2007 and the success of OMD’s most recent album ‘The Punishment Of Luxury’ in 2017, continue in varying degrees today in parallel with band activities.
In his most recent interview with ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK, Paul Humphreys said: “I still find it utterly amazing and rather fantastic that after 40 years, OMD is still alive and well, selling out big tours and making what even our harshest critics consider to be relevant new records.”
By way of a Beginner’s Guide to showcase the diverse facets of OMD, a hefty 25 tracks of interest have been selected from their career, although largely eschewing those made famous by singular consumption.
But with so many tracks available and the list already being VERY long, links to the OMD family tree like THE ID, as well as work with MARSHEAUX and contributions to the soundtracks of ‘For The Greater Good’, ‘Eddie The Eagle’ and ‘The D-Train’ (which between them saw McCluskey working with notable names such as Danny Boyle, Gary Barlow, Hugh Jackman and Jack Antonoff) have been omitted.
With a restriction of one track per album project, they highlight how two lads from The Wirral have maintained their standing as a creative and cultural force four decades on, despite their numerous ups and downs.
OMD The Messerschmitt Twins (1980)
With their passion for military aircraft and German music, Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys were nicknamed ‘The Messerschmitt Twins’; this mournful Compurhythm driven synth ballad of the same name had mournful if cryptic lyrics which could be seen as the thoughts of aircrew during wartime missions, pondering whether they would return to home. The bleak fatalistic narrative was given further resonance by Andy McCluskey’s resigned vocalisation.
The ‘Organisation’ album saw OMD purchase their first polyphonic synthesizer, a Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 which allowed Paul Humphreys to explore more haunting gothic timbres away from the cheesier chords of the Vox Jaguar organ. Shaped by eerie choir textures and a repeating two note synthbass motif set to Mal Holmes’ simple marching snare pattern, the beauty of ‘2nd Thought’ echoed the third section of KRAFTWERK’s ‘Autobahn’ and displayed a maturity in OMD’s developing sound.
Running at almost eight minutes, the nautical adventure of ‘Sealand’ demonstrated OMD’s mastery of the epic, mysteriously beginning with a ghostly collage of melodica and reed horns before sad synths and progressive sweeps made their presence felt. Featuring just a minute of vocals in the sparse middle section, the penultimate movement collapsed into a fit of industrial noise before a slow misty reprise of the main melodic theme, like a lost ship in the fog.
Like ‘Maid Of Orleans’, the harrowing ‘International’ was musically inspired by the skippy waltz of ‘Back In Judy’s Jungle’ by Brian Eno. The introductory news report about “a young girl from Nicaragua whose hands had been cut off at the wrists by the former Somoza guards…” acted as one of the fuels for Andy McCluskey to express his anger about economic corruption, political hypocrisy and torture in captivity, all topics which are still sadly relevant today.
THE PARTNERSHIP was an unrealised side project of Peter Saville cohort and ex-SPOONS member Brett Wickens with Roger Humphreys (no relation) who recorded as CERAMIC HELLO. Produced by William Orbit, the pulsatingly uptempo ‘Sampling The Blast Furnace’ featured guest vocals from Andy McCluskey alongside vocodered voices and chants by Martha Ladly. While this version remains unreleased, the slower McCluskey-less demo was on the reissue of CERAMIC HELLO’s only album.
Not officially released, alternate version available on the CERAMIC HELLO album ‘The Absence Of A Canary V1.1’ via Vinyl On Demand
After the critical mauling that ‘Dazzle Ships’ received, OMD were in debt to Virgin Records and realised that they would have to sell more records to survive. The commercial pressure led to a trip to the sunnier climes of AIR Studios in Monserrat and the musically diverse ‘Junk Culture’. A song about McCluskey’s intimate liaison with a local girl, the bizarre mix of carnival whistles, soca, Mellotron choir, rhythm guitar and 808 driven electro came over a bit like AZTEC CAMERA produced by Arthur Baker.
1985’s ‘Crush’ was Stephen Hague’s first full album production and opened the doors for OMD’s ambitions in the US. Following the success of ‘If You Leave’, ‘The Pacific Age’ continued the partnership and was intended to reinforce momentum. The opening song ‘Stay’ threw in the kitchen sink from Mal Holmes’ mighty drums to layers of synthetic strings plus the addition of soulful female backing singers, brass and heavy metal guitar. But the esoteric elements that made OMD so appealing were being wiped away.
The suave and sophisticated Etienne Daho was seen as France’s answer to George Michael. While OMD were in Paris recording ‘The Pacific Age’ at Studio de la Grande Armée, they took part in a ‘Les Enfants Du Rock’ French TV special also which also saw their French label mate interviewing his musical influences like Françoise Hardy and Serge Gainsbourg. The DAHOMD duet saw Daho and McCluskey’s low voices blend well over the original Stephen Hague produced single from ‘Crush’.
Available on the ETIENNE DAHO deluxe album ‘Pop Satori’ via Virgin Records
ARTHUR BAKER & THE BACKBEAT DISCIPLES Walkaway (1989)
Producer Arthur Baker gathered a studio collective to make a pop record tracing his love of soul, synthpop, disco, HI-NRG and Europop. His first recording since the fragmentation of OMD, Andy McCuskey contributed lyrics, keyboards and vocals to the electro-reggae of ‘Walkaway’ which threatened to turn into CULTURE CLUB’s ‘Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?’. The vocal cast of the ‘Merge’ album included Al Green, Martin Fry, Jimmy Somerville and Etienne Daho.
Available on the ARTHUR BAKER & THE BACKBEAT DISCIPLES album ‘Merge’ via A&M Records
Going it alone as OMD, Andy McCluskey became open to collaboration. Meeting Stuart Kershaw and Lloyd Massett from pop rap combo RAW UNLTD, the pair set about modernising the rhythmic elements of McCluskey’s new songs. The ghostly ‘Walking On Air’ referenced ‘Statues’ from ‘Organisation’ while the mechanical bossa nova evoked the mellow moods of Bryan Ferry. Kershaw has since taken over the drum stool from Mal Holmes who left OMD in 2014 for health reasons.
Available on the OMD album ‘Sugar Tax’ via Virgin Records
THE LISTENING POOL Where Do We Go From Here? (1993)
With bursts of sampled choir, electric piano and wah-wah guitar, ‘Where Do We Go From Here?’ came from THE LISTENING POOL’s only album ‘Still Life’ released in 1994. Driven by a gently percolating drum machine programmed by Mal Holmes, the understated air reminiscent of CHINA CRISIS was sweetened by Martin Cooper’s soprano sax with Paul Humphreys vocally pondering their creative situation with the threesome having now departed the OMD camp.
Available on the THE LISTENING POOL album ‘Still Life’ via Telegraph Records
Recorded for his ELEKTRIC MUSIC project after leaving KRAFTWERK, Karl Bartos’ collaboration with Andy McCluskey featured one of his best melodies synth melodies. Bartos told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK: “He suggested we do something together and I was up for it… We picked some cassettes and finally I found the opening notes of ‘Kissing The Machine’”. With fabulously surreal lyrics about a love affair with a sexy robot, the song was later resurrected with new backing from Paul Humphreys for ‘English Electric’.
Available on the ELEKTRIC MUSIC album ‘Esperanto’ via SPV Records
On a commercial roll and aiming for a younger pop market, ‘Liberator’ featured lots of busy modern dance effects but saw Andy McCluskey losing his way in the song department. Its confused schizophrenic nature was compounded by the pure genius of darker numbers like ‘King Of Stone’ and ‘Christine’. The symphonic string laden ‘Best Years Of Our Lives’ was another of the better tracks, borrowing its solemn topline from ‘Spanish Harlem’, a song made famous by Ben E King.
Available on the OMD album ‘Liberator’ via Virgin Records
After the muted reception for 1993’s painfully poppy ‘Liberator’, Andy McCluskey brought in a more conventional rock sound for 1996’s ‘Universal’. However, the OASIS sounding ‘Walking On The Milky Way’ failed to get major traction. One of its B-sides ‘The New Dark Age’ gave a haunting nod to ‘Statues’ using the auto-accompaniment on the Elgam Symphony organ and was the last great synth song of the solo era as the OMD vehicle was quietly retired by McCluskey… for now!
When Andy McCluskey joined Stuart Kershaw to make some dysfunctional pop for a girl group, most thought he had lost his marbles. The original project HONEYHEAD was stillborn, but when three girls from Liverpool were recruited to form ATOMIC KITTEN, it eventually led to a UK No1 single with ‘Whole Again’. However, the demo of the first single ‘Right Now’ sounded like disco evergreen ‘Never Can Say Goodbye’ arranged like ‘Sugar Tax’ era OMD, but with female vocals!
Available on the ATOMIC KITTEN single ‘Right Now’ via Innocent Records
Having been ousted from Team AK by a coup d’état, Andy McCluskey licked his wounds and recruited another three local girls to form THE GENIE QUEEN. Featuring soon-to-be WAG / top model Abbey Clancy and future TV presenter Anna Ord, ‘What A Girl Goes Through’ was an appealing pop R ’n’ B number based around samples of ‘Souvenir’. The project disbanded without being signed, but a track intended for THE GENIE QUEEN called ‘Pulse’ appeared on ‘History Of Modern’ featuring the girls.
Paul Humphreys and Claudia Brücken released their only album as ONETWO in 2007 and from it was ‘Anonymous’, a song that began life as a demo from the aborted PROPAGANDA reunion and which had also been co-written with Andy McCluskey. The pretty ringing melodies and elegiac atmospheres were very reminiscent of classic OMD. But the collaboration had been unusual as at the time of the song’s conception, as Humphreys had not yet committed to rejoining McCluskey in his old band.
BLANK & JONES featuring BERNARD SUMNER Miracle Cure – Paul Humphreys Onetwo remix (2008)
Having worked with THE CURE’s Robert Smith, trance duo Piet Blank and Jaspa Jones had Bernard Sumner of NEW ORDER high on their list of vocalists for their album ‘The Logic Of Pleasure’, which also featured Claudia Brücken. The German duo remixed ONETWO’s ‘Kein Anschluß’, so naturally the gesture was reciprocated when Paul Humphreys offered his smooth offbeat atmospheric rework of ‘Miracle Cure’ in what could be seen as the nearest thing to a NEW ORDER vs OMD collaboration.
Of this ‘History Of Modern’ highlight, Paul Humphreys said: “It was a song Andy did many, many years ago with Stuart and I think it was done in the 90s. He played it to me and it sounded a bit like a rock ballad. I said ‘I think the vocal tune’s great, but everything else has to go. Give me the vocal stem and I’ll do a whole new track for it’, so I came to my studio and completely reworked it.” – the result was mesmerising and even dropped in ROXY MUSIC’s ‘If There Is Something’ at the close.
Mal Holmes once said that “MIRRORS do OMD better than OMD do OMD!”… originally a ten minute epic split into three movements, ‘Secrets’ closed MIRRORS’ outstanding ‘Lights & Offerings’ long player, driven by an intense percussive tattoo and a shifting octave bass riff that was pure Klingklang. While pushing forward the synthetic claps, Andy McCluskey stripped down and the backing and shortened proceedings, making it much less claustrophobic and militaristic than the original.
Originally on the MIRRORS deluxe album ‘Lights & Offerings’ via Undo Records, currently unavailable
PAUL HUMPHREYS & DOUGLAS COUPLAND Electric Ikebana (2012)
A collaboration between ‘Generation X’ author Douglas Coupland, and Paul Humphreys, ‘Electric Ikebana’ was an audio visual installation to act as the voice of the network for French telecoms company Alcatel-Lucent. The beautiful piece had conceptual hints of KRAFTWERK’s ‘The Voice Of Energy’ while there was also a charming mathematical formula recital “x = [-b +- √(b² -4ac)] / 2a” to the tune of the nursery rhyme ‘Pop Goes The Weasel’ which recalled ‘ABC Auto-Industry’ from ‘Dazzle Ships’.
Of ‘Helen Of Troy’, Andy McCluskey said to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK: “George Geranios and Nick Bitzenis of FOTONOVELA were our label bosses in Greece via their Undo Records and they sent me this track…the demo had Nick going “Helen Of Troy – Helen Of Troy” so I took his vocal off as you do, chopped it all up and rearranged it… it’s gorgeous! I have used some of Nick’s backing vocals… I love it to bits! And ‘Helen Of Troy’ is much more of a metaphor than either of the ‘Joan Of Arcs’ were.”
Andy Bell’s debut solo album ‘Electric Blue’ had been produced by ONETWO’s backing band THE MANHATTAN CLIQUE and featured two duets with Claudia Brücken. ‘The Violet Flame’ album saw ERASURE express an infectious zest for the future with songs beginning as pre-recorded dance grooves from Vince Clarke. But the best number from the sessions was ‘Be The One’ remixed by Paul Humphreys who added some of the beautiful Synthwerk magic that characterised ‘English Electric’.
The avant pop approach of VILE ELECTRODES is reminiscent of early OMD, with ‘Deep Red’ capturing Andy McCluskey’s interest enough to invite the duo to support the German leg of the ‘English Electric’ tour. With its potent drama, ‘The Vanished Past’ came complete with a mighty drum climax like ‘Navigation’. Bleak and wonderful, “not everything is as it seems” as a forlorn stranger joins in after five minutes. As the adventure unfolds like a lost OMD epic, that stranger reveals himself to be Mr McCluskey!
OMD began their recorded career with a KRAFTWERK homage and four decades on, have come full circle. A great grandchild of Klingklang and cousin of ‘Metroland’ from ‘English Electric’ but refined for BBC Radio 2 airplay, ‘Don’t Go’ captures the essence of OMD’s enduring electronic appeal. With crystalline synth melodies from Humphreys and a spirited vocal delivery from McCluskey attached to a hypnotic Synthanorma backdrop, OMD continue to produce quality avant pop tunes.
William Mark Wainwright got his affectionate nickname Orbit from his friends who considered him to be something of a “space cadet”.
As William Orbit, the Hackney born musician and composer became one of the most revered producers, winning Grammys, Ivor Novellos and several other music industry awards, with 200 million recordings involving him sold worldwide.
Despite being a competent guitarist, Orbit considered himself unable to play keyboards well and admitted that it was the advent computers in music that allowed him to fully realise his creative potential.
His portfolio has ranged from electronic acts like KRAFTWERK, OMD, CAMOUFLAGE, ERASURE, THE HUMAN LEAGUE, NITZER EBB and DEPECHE MODE to rock bands like QUEEN, U2 and BLUR.
However, it was within dance-oriented pop that Orbit made his fortune through productions characterised by his trancey soundscapes, sparing fretwork and understated rhythmic construction. He even had a Top5 hit bearing his own name, albeit with a radically different trance remix by Ferry Corsten of ‘Adagio For Strings’ in 2000.
Brought up in a classical music loving family, Orbit shocked his teacher parents by dropping out of school to pursue his more creative inclinations, having tried a synth for the first time at the age of sixteen.
Things came to came to fruition when a friend wanted to start a recording studio. That venture eventually became Guerilla Studios which has now been based in various locations over the past three and a half decades.
These days, Orbit is a very content man, hosting a classical music show on Scala Radio as well as curating occasional lecture and multimedia art events. Showing little concern for the financial aspects of the music industry, his two most recent albums ‘Orbit Symphonic’ and ‘Strange Cargo 5’ were given away as free downloads on Soundcloud in 2014.
With such a vast and varied career, it would be quite tricky to compile eighteen tracks involving Orbit’s magic touch, but ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK will attempt to do that with the restriction of one track per album project. So presented in chronological order, here is a Beginner’s Guide to William Orbit.
TORCH SONG Prepare To Energise (1983)
Comprising Orbit, Laurie Mayer, Grant Gilbert and latterly Rico Conning who subsequently worked with Martin Gore on the ‘Counterfeit’ collection, TORCH SONG were signed by music entrepreneur by Miles Copeland; the advance allowed for Orbit to build up his Guerilla Studios. ‘Prepare To Energise’ is probably still their best known tune, a pulsating cosmic club favourite with robotic voices and synthesized textures which featured in the film ‘Bachelor Party’ that was maybe ahead of its time.
Originally available on the TORCH SONG ‘Wish Thing’ via IRS Records, currently unavailable
THE PARTNERSHIP was an unrealised side project comprising of Peter Saville cohort and ex-SPOONS member Brett Wickens with Roger Humphreys who together recorded as CERAMIC HELLO. Produced by Orbit and heavily influenced by KRAFTWERK, the uptempo ‘Sampling The Blast Furnace’ featured lead vocals by Andy McCluskey of OMD alongside vocodered voices and chants by Martha Ladly. The slower McCluskey-less demo was a bonus on the reissue of CERAMIC HELLO’s only album.
Having artists from Mute Records and their dance subsidiary Rhythm King who included S-EXPRESS being remixed at Guerilla Studios gave Daniel Miller first-hand exposure to William Orbit’s capabilities. So who better to ask to house-up ERASURE’s cover version of Cerrone’s electronic disco landmark? The end result was suitably vibrant while still importantly retaining the core of the tune amongst all the fascinating dance rhythms and interplanetary effects.
From THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s final Virgin album, ‘The Stars Are Going Out’ was a good tune from Oakey and Co that was one of four mixed by William Orbit in a bitty collection that also contained two songs produced by Martin Rushent and one by ex-ZTT cohort Bob Kraushaar. Strangely though, there appeared to be little of Orbit’s distinctive magic audible in the end result. It had been an unhappy time, as Orbit preferred to work without any of the band present, something they had not been prepared for.
Available on THE HUMAN LEAGUE album ‘Romantic?’ via Virgin Records
Combining modern developments in house music and dub with the feel of SOUL II SOUL, Orbit slotted right into the zeitgeist with ‘Fascinating Rhythm’ featuring vocalist Sharon Musgrave and rapper MC Inna One Step with an uplifting club friendly number that had “pulsating action” and was “breaking into heaven”. BASSOMATIC lasted for just two albums but it cemented Orbit’s position as a studio wizard who understood sound as well as the dancefloor.
KRAFTWERK Radioactivity – William Orbit 12″ Remix (1991)
‘The Mix’ was actually supervised by KRAFTWERK themselves, with the most significant makeover being ‘Radioactivity’ and its additional unsettling machine chant of “TSCHERNOBYL – HARRISBURGH – SELLAFIELD – HIROSHIMA” for an anti-nuclear message highlighting recent atomic catastrophes. For the single release, remixes were farmed out externally and Orbit’s version offered a more preferable electro enhancement than François Kevorkian’s house laden rework.
Originally available on the KRAFTWERK single ‘Radioactivity’ via EMI Records, currently unavailable
WILLIAM ORBIT featuring BETH ORTON Water From A Vine Leaf (1993)
If there was a track that could be considered the root of the recognised Orbit signature sound, it probably has to be ‘Water From A Vine Leaf’, his first collaboration with kooky folktronica maiden Beth Orton. Having met at a party and beginning a relationship shortly after, he asked her to contribute spoken word phrases and singing for the third in his ‘Strange Cargo’ series over some looping rhythms, hypnotic bass and chill-out vibes. Orton went on to have a solo career and work with THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS.
Orbit’s concept of adapting classical works came about because he wanted to make a chill-out album that had some good tunes. In his first attempt using a pseudonym, one of the key tracks was ‘Fratres’ by 20th Century Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. Comprising of a six-bar theme, Orbit gave his electronic arrangement a sublime haunting stillness that explored the piece’s rich harmonic space via a slow meditative tempo. However, Pärt objected to its copyright infringement and the album was quickly withdrawn.
Originally on THE ELECTRIC CHAMBER album ‘Pieces In A Modern Style’ via N-Gram Recordings, currently unavailable
With Orbit having remixed ‘Erotica’ in 1992, Ms Ciccone was keen to work with the Englishmen, spending four and a half months at Larrabee Studios in Hollywood. ‘Ray Of Light’ was an interpolation of a little known 1971 song ‘Sepheryn’ by the British folk duo of Dave Curtiss and Clive Maldoon. Despite its frantic pace, Orbit ensured that the rhythmic elements were subtle in their make up to procure an earthy rave quality that was the antithesis of most dance music of the era.
With his new found fame via MADONNA, Orbit was given the opportunity to reissue ‘Pieces In A Modern Style’ and included several new recordings, one of which was Ludwig Van Beethoven’s lesser known ‘Triple Concerto’. With synthetic bells and glistening pentatonics reminiscent of Ryuichi Sakamoto added for a soothing lullaby effect, use was also made of the metallic percussive loop that had been part of his version of Arvo Pärt’s ‘Cantus’ from the original withdrawn album… waste not, want not!
Following MADONNA’s success, next in line for the Orbit treatment were London girl group ALL SAINTS. Having scored a No1 with the sublime ‘Pure Shores’ from ‘The Beach’ soundtrack, the combination did it again with ‘Black Coffee’. Orbit’s dreamy electronic aesthetics, spacey effects and minimal textural guitar worked perfectly for the soulful quartet to produce something that was commercial and accessible yet otherworldly and unconventional.
With his high-public profile thanks to MADONNA and ALL SAINTS, it was no big surprise when U2 came calling. With a suitably airy beginning and heavy on acoustic guitar for the more esoteric sound that the Dubliners had been peddling since working with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, in the end ‘Electrical Storm’ just built up to sound just like U2, albeit with occasionally prominent windy electronic textures. There was also a second Orbit produced tune in ‘The Hands That Built America’.
WILLIAM ORBIT featuring SUGABABES & KENNA Spiral (2006)
Continuing his flirtation with out-and-out pop, Orbit teamed up with the UK pop’s answer to Charlie’s Angels SUGABABES and US/Ethopian artist Kenna on this slice of ambient electro R’n’B. Continuing to collaborate with TORCH SONG bandmates Laurie Mayer and Rico Conning, while the ‘Hello Waveforms’ album continued in the chill-out vein of ‘Pieces In A Modern Style’ and even included ‘The Humming Chorus’ by Puccini, prominent vocals were in the mix as well as real strings and brass.
By the mid-noughties, Robbie Williams was the biggest popstar in the world but strange things were happening in the wake of his split with hit collaborator Guy Chambers. Finding a new collaborator in Stephen ‘Tin Tin’ Duffy, he belatedly went electroclash with their first fruit of labour ‘Radio’. He then went all Synth Britannia on ‘Rudebox’, working with PET SHOP BOYS but also covering his new writing partner’s ‘Kiss Me’ and THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s ‘Louise’ which Orbit produced…
Available on the ROBBIE WILLIAMS album ‘Rudebox’ via EMI Records
WILLIAM ORBIT featuring SARAH BLACKWOOD White Night (2010)
During the CLIENT hiatus, Sarah Blackwood took time out to work on ‘White Night’, a Rico Conning penned track for Orbit’s ‘My Oracle Lives Uptown’ album which dated back to their TORCH SONG days. Although her version did not appear on the final tracklisting, her take was offered as a free download. More accessible than some of CLIENT’s offerings but more purely electronic than DUBSTAR, this was a priceless pop gem which lyrically expressed her pain during that period.
Originally available as a free download, currently unavailable
Producing a long awaited follow-up to his original electronic classical collection, ‘Pieces In A Modern Style 2’ continued where its predecessor left off, offering another predominantly chill-out album that had some good tunes. But one of the bonuses was an unexpected novelty in a sparkling technopop version of Georges Bizet’s opera standard ‘Carmen’, complete with stabbing synths and dramatic percussive passages to portray the seductive title character as a kind of Barbarella.
A co-write with the one-time princess of pop, ‘Alien’ highlighted Britney’s feelings of loneliness. However, a vocal warm-up recording without her characteristic electronic treatment was leaked onto the internet, prompting Orbit to say in defence of the starlet: “Whomever put this on the internet must have done so in a spirit of unkindness, but it can in no way detract from the fact that Britney is and always will be beyond stellar! She is magnificent! And that’s that.”
Orbit had discussed how becoming a superstar producer had made him unhappy and how he was pleased to have blown his fortune as all he had done was spend it on first class travel and equipment he never used. So when he recorded ‘Did It For Love’ with actress, artist and performer Triana Terry, the sentiment couldn’t have been more poignant in a feisty oddball mixture of electronic, pop and rock dynamics. Together, Orbit and Terry have presented a number of exhibitions combining paintings and music.
Not officially released, only available on YouTube
Born in Halifax, Sarah Blackwood has been a most striking vocal and visual presence since 1995 when DUBSTAR hit the UK singles charts with ‘Not So Manic Now’, a cover of an obscure song by Wakefield band BRICK SUPPLY.
Sarah Blackwood studied Spatial Design at Newcastle University and it was while living in the city that she met Chris Wilkie and Steve Hillier, joining DUBSTAR as lead singer.
Scoring hits under the auspices of OMD, PET SHOP BOYS, ERASURE and NEW ORDER producer Stephen Hague, kitchen sink dramas like ‘Stars’, ‘No More Talk’ and ‘I Will Be Your Girlfriend’ appealed to both electronic music and indie audiences.
DUBSTAR bridged the gap between Synth Britannia and Britpop, opening for ERASURE while also simultaneously being label mates with BLUR, JESUS JONES and SHAMPOO. But after three albums ‘Disgraceful’ ‘Goodbye’ and ‘Make It Better’ on Food Records, with worsening band relations, management tensions and waning audience interest, DUBSTAR disbanded.
In 2002, Blackwood joined multi-instrumentalist Kate Holmes in female synthpop duo TECHNIQUE after original singer Xan Tyler was unavailable for a European tour opening for DEPECHE MODE in Europe. The support slot was a success and led to the pair forming crucial friendships that would help their relaunch as a brand new project.
Morphing into CLIENT and releasing their self-titled debut album in 2003, they initially shunned using their real names, choosing to be mysteriously referred to as Client A and Client B in a ‘1984’ inspired Orwellian twist. Interest in their mysterious allure coincided with the emergence of acts like LADYTRON, MISS KITTIN, BLACK BOX RECORDER and GOLDFRAPP.
A favourite act of Karl Bartos who they opened for at his London ULU gig in 2003, CLIENT became a popular cult draw in Europe and released a further three albums ‘City’, ‘Heartland’ and ‘Command’ before Blackwood officially departed in late 2010, coinciding with a reunion of DUBSTAR.
But despite a well-received 2013 comeback concert at The Lexington in London, things went quiet until Summer 2018 when Blackwood and Wilkie announced they had recorded a new DUBSTAR album as a duo entitled ‘One’. Released in Autumn 2018, it was well-received and considered by some observers to be one of the best albums of the year.
Although best known as the front woman of DUBSTAR and CLIENT, Sarah Blackwood has always been open to collaboration and has lent her charming voice to a number of recordings helmed by artists from Germany, Greece and Canada as well as the UK. Also adept in the art of reinterpretation, among the artists she has covered are TUBEWAY ARMY, PET SHOP BOYS, ADAM & THE ANTS, VISAGE, NEW ORDER, DEPECHE MODE and THE SMITHS.
By way of a Beginner’s Guide to her work, here are eighteen recordings highlighting the varied musical portfolio of Sarah Blackwood, presented in chronological order with a restriction of one track per album project.
DUBSTAR The Day I See You Again (1995)
Possibly one of the standouts from DUBSTAR’s debut long player ‘Disgraceful’, ‘The Day I See You Again’ featured the immortal line “If the man you’ve grown to be is more Morrison than Morrissey”. Blackwood captured a deeply Northern English cynicism which actually transferred abroad, with the song’s American producer Stephen Hague dusting the tune off for the German songstress Claudia Brücken to cover on her reinterpretations album ‘The Lost Are Found’.
Available on the DUBSTAR album ‘Disgraceful’ via Food / EMI Records
One of the B-sides to ‘No More Talk’ and co-written by the late Charles Aznavour, ‘La Bohème’ became the Frenchman’s signature song and an acknowledged chanson classic, telling the tale of a painter recalling his younger years in the Parisian bohemian suburb of Montmartre, hungry yet happy. Applying a wonderful Anglo aesthetic to the translation, Blackwood gave a superb interpretation which more than suited its relocation to West Yorkshire over its icy electronic backdrop.
Available on the DUBSTAR CD single ‘No More Talk’ via Food / EMI Records
DUBSTAR featuring GARY NUMAN Redirected Mail (2000)
Having covered TUBEWAY ARMY’s ‘Everyday I Die’ for the ‘Random’ tribute album, it was now Blackwood’s turn to duet with Gary Numan himself, albeit remotely. “I was in Manchester when we recorded ‘Redirected Mail’” she said, “but Steve and Chris actually went down to Gary’s and sat and had ham and chips with him. They had a right laugh and had a really good time.” As a result of that visit south, Steve Hillier also bought a Roland CP70 electric piano from Numan.
Having secured a deal with Mute Records via Andy Fletcher’s Toast Hawaii imprint, CLIENT’s stark mission statement of “satisfaction guaranteed” also included a striking look which had a distinct element of Cold War chic. “It started because we didn’t know what to wear on tour with DEPECHE MODE” said Blackwood knowing they would be performing in front of some very partisan Devotees, “if they threw anything at us, we wanted it to be something that was sort of disposable so we thought of the uniforms!”
Available on the CLIENT album ‘Client’ via Toast Hawaii
For their second album ‘City’, CLIENT got more ambitious by featuring some guest vocalists which included THE LIBERTINES. But the most notable one was DEPECHE MODE’s Martin Gore in a collaboration that was instigated by Blackwood writing him a letter: “Martin had this newly set-up studio and recorded himself. The thing is, when we mixed the two vocals together, that was a moment! I didn’t know how it was going to work but when you heard it, it was like ‘woo!’…it was a bit spine tingling really!”
Available on the CLIENT album ‘City’ via Toast Hawaii
Of DIE KRUPPS‘ mighty industrialised cover, Ralf Dörper said: “When I first heard ‘The Anvil’ (‘Der Amboss’) by VISAGE, I thought ‘what a perfect song for DIE KRUPPS’ – it just needed more sweat, more steel. And it was not before 2005 when DIE KRUPPS were asked to play a few 25-year anniversary shows that I remembered ‘Der Amboss’… and as I was a big CLIENT fan at that time, I thought it would be a good opportunity to ask Fräulein B for assistance in the vocal department”.
To beef up their concert sound, CLIENT expanded to a trio to include bassist Emily Mann aka Client E and became a gritty live act which exuded an electronic body presence that powerfully complimented Blackwood’s stoic stage persona as Client B. Occasionally and fittingly, they would be joined on drums by Robert Görl from esteemed Industrial Godfathers DEUTSCH AMERIKANISCHE FREUNDSCHAFT and together they would end the set with their seminal EBM classic ‘Der Mussolini’.
Originally on the self-released CLIENT album ‘Live In Porto’, currently unavilable
Of Athens-based female duo MARSHEAUX, Blackwood said: “They sort of copied us but it was the biggest form of flattery because they’re such lovely girls! It’s nice to think I’ve inspired something”. So when the two parties toured Germany together in 2008, it was a most appropriate pairing. On their remix of ‘It’s Not Over’, some Hellenic shine was added to the original’s more dystopian demeanour with additional Eurocentric riffage for a slice of electronic pop perfection.
Described as “one of my favourite Northern folk songs” and arranged by Chris Wilkie on acoustic guitar more or less as such, this live solo performance of this NEW ORDER evergreen formed part of a free download series which also included stripped down versions of CLIENT and DUBSTAR songs as well as THE SMITHS ‘Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before’. “I just think a good song will work if you can do it acoustically” Blackwood would later remark.
Originally on the CLIENT B EP ‘Acoustic At The Club Bar & Dining’, currently unavailable
Having previously tackled new wave pop like ‘White Wedding’ and ‘Xerox’, CLIENT took a diversion and covered Curtis Mayfield’s soultastic and groove laden ‘Make Me Believe In You’. Co-produced by one-time KILLING JOKE bassist Martin Glover aka Youth who added a more rhythmic energy, things were danced up with an icy edge coming from his frenetic guitar work. This approach more than suited their fourth album’s “brazenly bossy” title of ‘Command’.
Available on the CLIENT album ‘Command’ via Out Of Line
DUBSTAR I’m In Love With A German Film Star (2010)
Although at the time Blackwood was still in CLIENT, the newly reformed DUBSTAR were invited to submit a cover of their choice as part of a project for Amnesty International Catalunya. While songs by THE ROLLING STONES and the late Kirsty MacColl were considered, the trio settled on this 1981 cult classic made famous by THE PASSIONS. While there was to be an emotional reunion concert in Spring 2013, the DUBSTAR’s reformation as a trio was not to last…
Originally on the compilation album ‘Peace’ (V/A) via Amnesty International, currently unavailable
WILLIAM ORBIT featuring SARAH BLACKWOOD White Night (2010)
While things had become uncertain within the CLIENT camp, Blackwood took time out to work on a Rico Conning penned track for William Orbit’s album ‘My Oracle Lives Uptown’ which dated back to their TORCH SONG days. Although her version did not appear on the final tracklisting, her take was offered as a free download. More accessible than some of CLIENT’s offerings but more purely electronic than DUBSTAR, this was a priceless pop gem which lyrically expressed her pain during that period.
Originally available as a free download, currently unavailable
SOMAN featuring SARAH BLACKWOOD Blue Monday (2010)
No stranger to cover versions, Blackwood was invited to add her suitably forlorn voice to German producer Kolja Trelle’s version of NEW ORDER’s signature tune. The esteemed musical ears of Stephen Hague always felt that Bernard Sumner and Sarah Blackwood would make a perfect duetting partnership but until that happens, covers are what the public has to make do with for now. Now imagine if she had had sung on ‘Tutti Frutti’ instead of Elly Jackson of LA ROUX?
Available on the SOMAN album ‘Noistyle’ via Trisol Music Group
FOTONOVELA featuring SARAH BLACKWOOD Justice (2013)
The concept of FOTONOVELA’s sophomore offering ‘A Ton Of Love’ was to produce a supreme electronic record featuring vocalists from all stages of classic synthpop. Andy McCluskey was the first on board for the project but the resultant song ‘Helen Of Troy’ turned out so well, it ended up on OMD’s ‘English Electric’! Undeterred, the duo recruited Sarah Blackwood. Halifax’s own Queen of electro took FOTONOVELA onto a cloudier but enjoyable hitchhike through the North West of England with the very personal ‘Justice’.
KOISHII & HUSH featuring SARAH BLACKWOOD Rules & Lies (2015)
Keeping herself busy, Blackwood collaborated with progressive house duo KOISHII & HUSH. “Sarah was one of the vocalists we had always wanted to work with. We managed to get in touch with her and decided to meet in London to discuss the idea.” said Alex Hush, “She was quite keen on the project and after that initial meeting, we sent Sarah a rough backing track which she wrote and recorded vocals for. We then did some tweaks and additional production on ‘Rules & Lies’ and are thrilled with the final version”.
Available on the KOSHII & HUSH single ‘Rules & Lies’ via Grammaton Recordings
VILE ELECTRODES featuring SARAH BLACKWOOD Captivity In Symmetry (2016)
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK initially described VILE ELECTRODES as “Client B born and raised in the Home Counties fronting Dindisc-era ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK”, so a duet with Anais Neon was perhaps inevitable. Blackwood added a nonchalant almost-spoken vocal to a variation of the gorgeous ‘Twin Peaks’ flavoured ‘Captive In Symmetry’ as part of a bonus CD ‘Not Everything Is As It Seems’ which came with the initial run of their second album ‘In The Shadows Of Monuments’.
RADIO WOLF featuring SARAH BLACKWOOD Rock ‘n’ Roll Forever (2017)
RADIO WOLF is Canadian musician and producer Oliver Blair who remixed ‘It’s Now Over’ and ‘Can You Feel’ under his KINDLE moniker as well as playing guitar on ‘Command’. Now performing with PARALLELS as well as recording in his own right, his debut EP combining electronic music with rock ‘n’ roll featured a stellar cast of female vocalists including his bandmate Holly Dodson, Marika Gauci from his previous combo HOTEL MOTEL, Kelli Ali ex-SNEAKER PIMPS and on the title song, Sarah Blackwood.
Just when it looked like that was it over for DUBSTAR, Sarah Blackwood and Chris Wilkie snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with ‘One’. While Wilkie took on prime songwriting duties, the classic bittersweet aura remained, albeit within a more organic setting. Produced by Youth, the most electronic number on ‘One’ was the gorgeous ‘Locked Inside’ with elements of KRAFTWERK creeping in and even TEARS FOR FEARS while Blackwood poignantly reflected on how “my hands are tied”.
Available on the DUBSTAR album ‘One’ via Northern Writes
Ever bought an album on the strength of a single, only to find that “this is not the single I am looking for”??
As long as there has been a music business, artists and producers have been forever tinkering with their work. Sometimes it is to improve an album track for single release by remixing or even re-recording it. Or it is vice-versa to create a new vision for a song or just to make it sound more like the material on a latterly recorded long player.
But in many cases, it’s the version that was made for mass consumption through radio play that remains superior and best loved. This list celebrates the frustration of being stuck with the wrong version and the dilemma of whether to shell out extra cash to go out and buy the proper version.
Restricted to one single per artist and presented in chronological and then alphabetical order, here are 25 Single Versions That Are Better Than The Album Versions…
JOHN FOXX No-One Driving (1980)
While ‘Metamatic’ is an iconic long player and includes ‘Underpass’, its second single opted for a reworking of ‘No-One Driving’, rather than the more obvious ‘A New Kind Of Man’. Much busier and expansive than the comparatively tame album version, it provided JOHN FOXX with another Top40 hit, something which had eluded him in ULTRAVOX who interestingly also produced a better single version with ‘Quiet Man’ from ‘Systems Of Romance’ while he was in the band.
Available on the JOHN FOXX boxed set ‘Metamatic’ via Edsel Records
On OMD’s debut self-titled album, ‘Messages’ just a song with potential as a single. Utilising a pulsing repeat function on a Korg Micro-Preset shaped by hand twisting the octave knob, it was decided to re-record ‘Messages’ for its single release. Produced by Mike Howlett, the new version included the addition of separately recorded drums for a cleaner snap alongside the basic primary chord structures and one fingered melodies to produce a magnificent UK chart hit that reached No13.
Despite being alongside DEPECHE MODE, SOFT CELL, BLANCMANGE and THE THE on the now iconic ‘Some Bizarre Album’, B-MOVIE were unable to secure a Top40 chart entry with the poignant magnificence of the Mike Thorne produced ‘Remembrance Day’. The struggle for success coupled with internal tensions led to the band fragmenting by 1983. Finally releasing an album in 1985 on Sire Records entitled ‘Forever Running’, it featured an inferior re-recording of ‘Remembrance Day’.
The combination of obscure lyrics from Ian Burden like “Stroke a pocket with a print of a laughing sound” and a screaming chant gave THE HUMAN LEAGUE their breakthrough hit. Produced by the late Martin Rushent, bursts of Roland System 700 white noise were trigged from an MC8 Micro-composer for the rhythm track. But for the subsequent ‘Dare’ album, ‘The Sound Of The Crowd’ was reworked with a Linn Drum and with the chant also pushed back, it lost much of its dystopian tension.
More muscular and dynamic, ‘The Art Of Parties’ explored a funkier template was a move away from the mannered Roxy muzak that JAPAN had been associated with. Originally produced by John Punter, when it came to the album ‘Tin Drum’, new producer Steve Nye smoothed off some of the track’s tribal weirdness and muted its brassy punch. While the end result was tighter, synthier and had more melody, the band preferred to play the original single version live…
The first track on side two of the last two JEAN-MICHEL JARRE albums provided the trailer singles for radio and ‘Magnetic Fields’ was no different. But in a new approach, the French Maestro offered up a toughed up remix where the klanky lightweight tones of the Korg Rhythm KR55 were replaced by bangier drum samples while the synth stabs on the bridge were turned up. But as Jarre’s audience preferred albums, this superior remix got lost over the years and missed inclusion on his many compilations.
Everyone knows the wonderful hit single version of this Northern Soul cover with its hypnotic Roland Compurhythm running all the way through it. But for the ‘Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret’ album, ‘Tainted Love’ was shortened by 2 seconds while the second phrase became the first, thus strangely muting the emotive impact of the original single. Annoyingly, this inferior version crept onto the first SOFT CELL compilation ‘The Singles’ and the more recent ‘Keychains & Snowstorms’ collection.
With its iconic honky tonk piano line, ‘Party Fears Two’ was a magnificent song about dealing with the perils of schizophrenia. It also kick started a brief period when ASSOCIATES subverted the UK charts with an avant pop approach that fitted in with the Synth Britannia template of the times. A Top10 hit and emotive to the nth degree, the original single version is still the best and total perfection, while the longer album remix with its ambient intro and stop ending lost some of the magic.
The original ‘Height Of The Fighting’ from the second side of ‘Penthouse & Pavement’ was sonically an extension of ‘Travelogue’, Martyn Ware’s last album as a member of THE HUMAN LEAGUE. The more commercial single version took the funkier approach of the first side of ‘Penthouse & Pavement’, adding synthetic drums and a meatier bass synth attack. Also featuring the BEGGAR & CO brass section who had already played on records by SPANDAU BALLET, it was a glorious electronic soul hybrid.
Led by Iva Davies, the song which got Australian combo ICEHOUSE noticed by a wider audience in the UK during their tenure opening for SIMPLE MINDS was a slight reworking of the chilling synth laden ‘Icehouse’, the title track of their debut album from when the band were called FLOWERS. Featuring a strange offbeat and the mannerisms of GARY NUMAN before blitzing out for the song’s flanged guitar climax, ‘Icehouse’ was easily as good as anything on VISAGE’s eponymous debut.
Having been outflanked by DURAN DURAN in the New Romantic debut album stakes, SPANDAU BALLET explored Britfunk with ‘Chant No1′, but then took a strange about turn with their next album ‘Diamond’ featuring a number of ethnic art pieces. Fresh from working with ABC, Trevor Horn reworked Richard James Burgess’ understated production of ‘Instinction’ from the album. Throwing in extra synths played by Anne Dudley and extra bombastic percussion; it effectively saved SPANDAU BALLET’s career.
Still Matt Johnson’s finest five minutes as THE THE, ‘Uncertain Smile’ on its single release featured a wonderfully rigid TR808 pattern, lovely layers of synths and a variety of woodwinds including flute and sax. Produced by Mike Thorne, this fuller sounding and more emotive take far outstripped the bland and overlong ‘Soul Mining’ album cut produced by Paul Hardiman which included the extended boogie-woogie piano of Jools Holland tagged onto the end…
Inspired by the burgeoning New York club scene, Rusty Egan brought in John Luongo to remix ‘Night Train’ from ‘The Anvil’ album much to Midge Ure’s dismay; it lead to the diminutive Glaswegian ending his tenure with VISAGE. But Luongo’s rework was sharper and more rigid, pushing forward the female backing vocals to soulful effect in particular and replacing the clumpier snare sounds of the original album version with cleaner AMS samples.
Extended version available on the compilation boxed set ’12”/80s – Volume 2′ (V/A) via Family Recordings
At over eight and a half minutes, the album version of ‘Sister Surprise’ on the ‘Mad Max’ inspired ‘Warriors’ was far too long, plus something was missing. For its single release, this slice of synthetic funk rock was shortened and sharpened, while a new vocal hook was added over Numan’s now ubiquitous “woah-oh-oh” refrains which provided a much better chorus. Despite this improvement and an appearance of ‘Top Of The Pops’, it was the lowest charting GARY NUMAN single to date…
“Somebody’s fooling around…” – the ‘Seven & The Ragged Tiger’ album sessions had not been a happy experience for DURAN DURAN with the prolonged mixing leading to a fall out between bassist John Taylor and producer Alex Sadkin. ‘The Reflex’ had potential but this was not fully realised. Enter Nile Rodgers who gave the track a rhythmic lift and played around with the then-new innovation of sampling, using various vocals to create new hooks and phrases for a monster international hit.
Available on the DURAN DURAN album ‘Greatest’ via EMI Records
Comedian Lenny Henry summed things up best in a sketch where he entered a record shop to buy a single and was then offered a plethora of versions by the assistant:”I JUST WANT THE VERSION THEY GOT RIGHT!” – ZTT’s marketing exploits with 12 inch mixes are well known, but they played around with album versions too and with the version of ‘Two Tribes’ on ‘Welcome To The Pleasure Dome’, they got it wrong and took out the piper call middle eight!
Available on the FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD album ‘Frankie Said’ via Union Square
There once was a time when it was not cool to like ABBA but BLANCMANGE changed all that with their version of ‘The Day Before You Came’, a song many regard as the last ABBA song. Combining that noted Swedish melancholy and melodicism with the artful quirkiness of Synth Britannia, the more compact single version produced by Peter Collins considered improved on the ‘Mange Tout’ album version helmed by John Luongo and made more of Neil Arthur’s deep melodramatics.
The collective strength of A-HA over the years has been to produce great melancholic pop in that classic Nordic tradition, but also add a contrasting glorious optimism. The photogenic trio have offered many great ballads over the years such as ‘Stay On These Roads’ and ‘Summer Moved On’, but their best known one is ‘Hunting High & Low’. Originally produced by Tony Mansfield, it was dramatically remixed for single release by Alan Tarney with the addition of orchestrations by Anne Dudley.
Originally produced by Stephen Hague, ‘Suburbia’ was a good if slightly underwhelming album track from ‘Please’ that got transformed into a more fully realised epic in a re-recording produced by Sarm West graduate Julian Mendelson. Complete with barking dogs, widescreen synths and thundering rhythms, the more aggressive overtones in the single version of PET SHOP BOYS‘ clever social commentary made ‘Suburbia’ a big hit, particularly in West Germany.
With DEPECHE MODE’s Trans-Atlantic breakthrough album ‘Music For The Masses’, the good but meandering track heading side two never realised its potential. But with PET SHOP BOYS, NEW ORDER, DURAN DURAN, ERASURE and MADONNA remixer Shep Pettibone ‘Behind The Wheel’, a funkier bassline and syncopated rhythms were added to the much better single version, giving the song a far more accessible groove that could fill alternative club dancefloors in America.
‘Republic’ produced by Stephen Hague was not the finest hour of NEW ORDER, so it was something of a surprise when London Records chose to release the underwhelming ‘Spooky’ as the fourth single from it. But it was remixed by FLUKE, a house dance trio who had already worked with BJÖRK and were influenced by CABARET VOLTAIRE and GIORGIO MORODER. Rhythmically more spacious, this superior ‘Minimix’ allowed the best elements of the song to shine.
Available on the NEW ORDER single ‘Spooky’ via London Records
Listen to the ‘So Tough’ album version of ‘You’re In A Bad Way’ and it is far too understated. With a brighter punchier recording helmed by A-HA producer Alan Tarney for the single version, the acoustic guitar was pushed back while vintage synths and a lovely ‘Telstar’ motif was added for a vastly superior rendition of the song. Sometimes more can mean more and this slice of HERMAN’S HERMITS inspired pop brilliance gave SAINT ETIENNE a well-deserved No12 hit single.
Orbit’s concept of adapting classical works was because he wanted to make a chill-out album that had some good tunes. But trance enthusiasts who loved Dutch producer Ferry Corsten’s blinding remix of Samuel Barber’s ‘Adagio For Strings’ will have been shocked if they had bought its virtually beatless parent long player. Sounding not unlike JEAN-MICHEL JARRE set to a 4/4 dance beat, this single version actually reached No4 in the UK charts.
In a poor period for Andy and Vince, the ‘Loveboat’ album’s problem wasn’t just the emphasis on guitar driven dynamics, but it also lacked the usual ERASURE charm despite production by Flood. Even the album’s one potentially great song ‘The Moon & The Sky’ was missing an uplifting chorus, something which was only fixed with the Heaven Scent Radio Rework version by Jason Creasey that was later released as an extended play single.
With vocals by KINGS OF CONVENIENCE vocalist Erlend Øye, ‘Remind Me’ was one of the highlights of RÖYKSOPP’s excellent debut album ‘Melody AM’ which fitted in with dance music culture’s penchant for chill-out. But for single release, the track was given a more rhythmic KRAFTWERK styled feel via ‘Someone Else’s Radio Remix’ by Marisa Jade Marks. The track drew in new listeners, although they would have had a major shock to the system on hearing the album original…
Available on the RÖYKSOPP download single ‘Remind Me’ via Wall Of Sound

domain: artistic


text:
|Related Sections:||High Shoals||Gaston County|
Briarcreek Golf ClubCherry St
High Shoals, NC 28077
Phone: (704)922-4208Fax: (704)827-2199
This course was built on rolling terrain and has water hazards that come into play on the back nine.
|Holes: 18||Greens: Bent Grass||Fairways: Bermuda Grass|
|Greens Fees:||$20 or Less|
|Dress Code:||Collared shirt, no cutoffs, denim OK|
|Season:||Open all year|
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domain: agronomy


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Wonder what the King is doing tonight? Or the Princess? And who knows what mischief the court’s wizard is up to. A concert sure to please young audiences with music from Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and more.
Norman Huynh, conductor
Pam Mahon, narrator
Pacific Youth Choir
Jamey Hampton & Ashley Roland, BodyVox Dance
Kids Concerts last approximately one hour.
S O L D O U T
We're Sorry! Tickets are no longer available
for this event. Please contact our box office
to get up-to-the-minute ticket availability
Kids Series Concert
in this Season Ticket package:
Kids Sunday matinee
All concerts are held at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.

domain: entertainment


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When I started out (as a student) with my very first budget, I created it in the simplest way possible, and it was the only way I knew how at the time. I didn’t have a computer, so I took out a small notebook and worked out how much money I had (or didn’t). Underneath that, I wrote down a list of all the things I needed to spend money on during the month. As I spent money, I wrote it down in the book and then deducted the spend from the corresponding category.
If you are a total budgeting beginner like I was then, I recommend that you keep it very simple indeed to start with. It is totally fine to start with just a pen and paper. Or, if you are feeling a little more tech-savvy, a simple Google Sheet will be perfectly fine.
Whichever method you choose for your budget the best budget planners for beginners are always those that get used. However simple your budget system might be, if you use it, it is infinitely better than an all singing/dancing one that does 101 calculations you will never use.
With that in mind, I have for you five simple and, in my view, the best budget planners for beginners to get you started on your budgeting journey today!
Heads up: I sometimes use affiliate links. When you click these links and make a purchase, I may get a small commission. It won’t cost you anything but it helps me to run this site.
Best budget planners for beginners
#1 The DIY budget planner
The great thing about this one is it gives you a starting point, but you can easily adapt it to your own needs, and of course, it is totally free!
#2 Printable budget planner
If you already have a diary in a binder or love using a pen and paper as I do then you will love this printable finance planner. I think it looks gorgeous and of course, you can use it over and over again, just reprint when you are ready to start over.
This one isn’t free but it is much cheaper than buying a ready-printed one at the newsagents, plus you can edit it to suit your needs.
#3 Budget planner book by Clever Fox
If you don’t want to print anything out I quite understand (printer ink is so expensive!). This budget planner book from Clever Fox is just gorgeous. It lasts for one year, and you can begin at any point in the year. You will find space to plan your budget for the month, track your expenses and also a review page, so you can track how well you did at the end of each month. It comes in a multitude of colours too and even has stickers to liven things up, plus space to store your receipts.
#4 Excel Template
If you have Microsoft Excel, there are several templates available for different kinds of budgets, i.e. personal, college expenses and food budget.
To use premade templates, open up Excel and click on More templates to bring up the full list of available templates. Type in budget and you should see a list of different budget templates to choose from.
If you prefer to use Google Sheets, check out this article which recommends several free budgeting templates.
#5 The Money Charity Budget Builder
If you like to use an app to track your budget, check out this free one from the Money Charity. It has a desktop and a mobile app too so you can always keep it handy. I think the screens are very simple and well laid out, perfect for beginner budgeteers.
Wrapping up the best budget planners for beginners
If you are a total non-tech I recommend you go for a DIY version first, or if you prefer a template, buy a printable or a dedicated budgeting notebook. If you have a computer and aren’t afraid to use it, the Excel or Google templates would suit you well.
As time goes on, and you start to feel more confident, you may well find (as I did eventually) that you need something more. When that time comes I thoroughly recommend the app I currently use now – You Need A Budget. It’s excellent at getting you laser focussed on financial goals and ‘giving every dollar a job’. I can guarantee that when you start using it you will be asking your boss for a raise!