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Jimmy Young (disc Jockey)

Jimmy Young (disc jockey)

Sir Jimmy Young (born probably September 21, 1921) is a well-known British disc jockey and radio interviewer.

Early life

He was born in Cinderford, Gloucestershire. He joined the RAF in 1942 (lying about his age) and left in 1949.

Singing career

Jimmy Young was signed to the new label Polygon Records in 1950, one of the label's only stars alongside newcomer Petula Clark. He released numerous records on the label, all conducted by Ron Goodwin, the biggest of which was 'Too Young' (1951) a big sheet music seller in the days before the UK Singles Chart had begun. It was a cover of Nat 'King' Cole's American recording. There were also two duets with Miss Clark that year, 'Mariandl' and 'Broken Heart'. In 1952 he was lured away to a contract with record giant Decca, and the big hits really began. Jimmy enjoyed top 10 successes with 'Eternally', 'Chain Gang' and 'More' (with which he beat Perry Como's US original). His most successful year as a recording artist was 1955, when 'Unchained Melody' (from the film 'Unchained') and 'The Man From Laramie' (from the film of the same name) were successive releases and both #1 hits.

Disc jockey

He is best known nowdays as a BBC radio presenter. He joined the BBC as one of the first disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1 presenting the weekday mid-morning show from 1967 - 1973, when he joined BBC Radio 2 where he presented a regular programme (known to listeners as "the JY Prog"), until his retirement from broadcasting in 2002, although he was offered the opportunity to present a weekend current affairs programme in 2003 which he turned down. His radio slot has now been taken over by the former Newsnight presenter, Jeremy Vine. Shortly after leaving the BBC, Jimmy Young wrote a newspaper column attacking his former employer for instances of "brutality", and saying that it had not been his idea to leave. He was knighted in 2001.

External links


- "[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/1763840.stm Sir Jimmy's radio days]" - a BBC News profile dated Friday, 20 December, 2002
- "[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/2628833.stm Sir Jimmy vents anger in column]" - a BBC News article dated Sunday, 5 January, 2003 Young, Jimmy Young, Jimmy Young, Jimmy Young, Jimmy Young, Jimmy Young, Jimmy Young, Jimmy

September 21

September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years). There are 101 days remaining.

Events


- 454 - Roman Emperor Valentinian III assassinates Aëtius in his own throne room.
- 1745 - Battle of Prestonpans: A Hanoverian army under the command of John Cope is defeated, in ten minutes, by the Jacobite forces of Prince Charles Edward Stuart
- 1765 - Antoine de Beauterne announced he had killed the Beast of Gévaudan.
- 1780 - American Revolutionary War: Benedict Arnold gives the British the plans to West Point.
- 1792 - The French National Convention votes to abolish the monarchy.
- 1827 - Joseph Smith, Jr., claims that the angel Moroni gave him a record of gold plates, one-third of which is translated into The Book of Mormon.
- 1860 - In the Second Opium War, an Anglo-French force defeats Chinese troops at the Battle of Baliqiao.
- 1896 - British force under Horatio Kitchener takes Dongola in the Sudan.
- 1897 - The Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus letter is published in the New York Sun.
- 1898 - Empress Dowager Cixi seizes power and ends the Hundred Days' Reform in China.
- 1921 - Oppau explosion, a storage silo at a fertilizer producing plant exploded in Oppau, Germany, 500—600 killed.
- 1937 - J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit is published.
- 1939 - Romanian Prime Minister Armand Calinescu is assassinated by pro-Nazi members of the Iron Guard.
- 1942 - The B-29 Superfortress makes its debut.
- 1950 - George Marshall sworn in as the 3rd Secretary of Defense of United States.
- 1964 - Malta becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
- 1970 - Monday Night Football premieres.
- 1972 - Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos issues Proclamation No. 1081 placing the entire country under martial law.
- 1981 - Belize is granted full independence from the United Kingdom.
- 1991 - Armenia is granted independence from Soviet Union.
- 1993 - Russian President Boris Yeltsin suspends parliament and scraps the then-functioning constitution, thus triggering the Russian constitutional crisis of 1993.
- 1993 - Grunge rock band Nirvana releases its album In Utero.
- 1999 - Chi-Chi earthquake occurs in central Taiwan, leaving about 2,400 people dead.
- 2001 - Deep Space 1 flies within 2,200 km of Comet Borrelly.
-
- 2002 - International Day of Peace recognized by the United Nations as a full day of ceasefire and nonviolence.
- 2003 - Galileo mission terminated by sending the probe into Jupiter's atmosphere, where it is crushed by the pressure at the lower altitudes.
- 2004 - The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) People's War and the Maoist Communist Centre of India merge to form the Communist Party of India (Maoist).
- 2004 - Punk rock band Green Day releases its critically acclaimed album American Idiot.

Births


- 1328 - Hongwu Emperor of China (d. 1398)
- 1411 - Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, claimant to the English throne (d. 1460)
- 1415 - Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1493)
- 1428 - Jingtai Emperor of China (d. 1457)
- 1452 - Girolamo Savonarola, Dominican priest and ruler of Florence (d. 1498)
- 1629 - Philip Cardinal Howard, English Catholic cardinal (d. 1694)
- 1645 - Louis Joliet, Canadian explorer (d. 1700)
- 1756 - John MacAdam, Scottish engineer and road-builder (d. 1836)
- 1840 - Murad V, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1904)
- 1842 - Abd-ul-Hamid II, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1918)
- 1853 - Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, Dutch physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1926)
- 1863 - John Bunny, American film comedian (d. 1915)
- 1866 - H. G. Wells, English writer (d. 1946)
- 1866 - Charles Nicolle, French bacteriologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1936)
- 1873 - Papa Jack Laine, American musician (d. 1966)
- 1874 - Gustav Holst, English composer (d. 1934)
- 1895 - Sergei Yesenin, Russian poet (d. 1925)
- 1902 - Luis Cernuda, Spanish poet (d. 1963)
- 1912 - Chuck Jones, American animator (d. 2002)
- 1919 - Mario Bunge, Argentine philosopher and physicist
- 1919 - Fazlur Rahman, Pakistani scholar (d. 1988)
- 1920 - Jay Ward, American animator (d. 1988)
- 1926 - Donald A. Glaser, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1929 - Bernard Williams, English philosopher (d. 2003)
- 1929 - Sándor Kocsis, Hungarian footballer (d. 1979)
- 1931 - Larry Hagman, American actor
- 1934 - Leonard Cohen, Canadian singer and songwriter
- 1935 - Henry Gibson, American actor
- 1944 - Fannie Flagg, American actress and novelist
- 1944 - Hamilton Jordan, Carter's 1ST Chief of Staff
- 1945 - Jerry Bruckheimer, American film and television producer
- 1946 - Moritz Leuenberger, Swiss Federal Councilor
- 1947 - Stephen King, American author
- 1947 - Marsha Norman, American playwright
- 1949 - Artis Gilmore, American basketball player
- 1950 - Charles Clarke, British politician
- 1950 - Bill Murray, American actor
- 1951 - Aslan Maskhadov, Chechen rebel leader
- 1952 - Neil Peart, Canadian drummer (Rush)
- 1953 - Arie Luyendyk, Dutch race car driver
- 1954 - Shinzo Abe, Japanese politician
- 1955 - Mika Kaurismäki, Finnish director
- 1957 - Ethan Coen, American film director
- 1959 - Dave Coulier, American actor
- 1960 - David James Elliott, Canadian actor
- 1961 - Nancy Travis, American actress
- 1962 - Rob Morrow, American actor
- 1963 - Angus Macfadyen, Scottish actor
- 1963 - Curtly Ambrose, West Indian cricketer
- 1963 - Cecil Fielder, baseball player
- 1965 - Cheryl Hines, American actress
- 1967 - Faith Hill, American singer
- 1967 - Tyler Stewart, Canadian drummer (Barenaked Ladies)
- 1968 - Ricki Lake, American actress and talk show hostess
- 1971 - Luke Wilson, American actor
- 1971 - Alfonso Ribeiro, Dominican-born actor
- 1972 - Liam Gallagher, British singer (Oasis)
- 1972 - Jon Kitna, American football player
- 1972 - David Silveria, American drummer (KoЯn)
- 1974 - Andy Todd, English footballer
- 1975 - Doug Davis, baseball player
- 1979 - Richard Dunne, Irish footballer
- 1979 - Chris Gayle, West Indian cricketer
- 1979 - Julian Gray, English footballer
- 1980 - Kareena Kapoor, Indian actress
- 1981 - Nicole Richie, American actress
- 1983 - Maggie Grace, American actress
- 1983 - Hart Hancock, American musician (Amphoteric)

Deaths


- 454 - Aëtius, Roman general
- 1217 - Lembitu of Lehola, Estonian soldier
- 1327 - King Edward II of England (b. 1284)
- 1397 - Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel, English military leader (executed) (b. 1346)
- 1542 - Juan Boscán Almogáver, Spanish poet
- 1558 - Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1500)
- 1576 - Gerolamo Cardano, Italian mathematician (b. 1501)
- 1586 - Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle, French church leader (b. 1517)
- 1626 - François de Bonne, duc de Lesdiguières, Constable of France (b. 1543)
- 1719 - Johann Heinrich Acker, German writer (b. 1647)
- 1743 - Jai Singh II, King of Amber-Juiper (b. 1688)
- 1748 - John Balguy, English philosopher (b. 1686)
- 1796 - François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers, French general (b. 1769)
- 1798 - George Read, American lawyer and signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1733)
- 1832 - Sir Walter Scott, Scottish writer (b. 1771)
- 1860 - Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher (b. 1788)
- 1897 - Wilhelm Wattenbach, German historian (b. 1819)
- 1904 - Chief Joseph, Nez Perce leader (b. 1840)
- 1926 - Leon Charles Thevenin, French telegraph engineer (b. 1857)
- 1938 - Ivana Brlic-Mazuranic Croatian writer (b. 1874)
- 1954 - Kokichi Mikimoto, Japanese inventor (b. 1858)
- 1957 - King Haakon VII of Norway (b. 1872)
- 1971 - Bernardo Houssay, Argentine physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887)
- 1974 - Walter Brennan, American actor (b. 1894)
- 1974 - Jacqueline Susann, American novelist (b. 1918)
- 1987 - Jaco Pastorius, American bassist (b. 1951)
- 1995 - Rudy Perpich, American politician (b. 1928)
- 1998 - Florence Griffith Joyner, American athlete (b. 1959)
- 2002 - Robert L. Forward, American physicist and writer (b. 1932)
- 2004 - Barry Noble Wakeman, American naturalist and educator (b. 1939)

Holidays and observances

International


- International Day of Peace of the United Nations, as propagated by Peace One Day
- RC Saints - Matthew the Evangelist Also see September 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

National


- Independence Day in Malta (1964), Belize (1981) & Armenia (1991)
- Philippines - Thanksgiving Day
- Mabon - Neopagan festival of Mabon
- In ancient Greece, the eighth day of the Eleusinian Mysteries, when the secret rites in the Telesterion finish and the feast, Pannychis, begins.

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/21 BBC: On This Day] ----- September 20 · September 22 · August 21 · October 21 · more historical anniversaries ko:9월 21일 ms:21 September ja:9月21日 simple:September 21 th:21 กันยายน

United Kingdom

:For other meanings of the terms "United Kingdom" and "UK" , see United Kingdom (disambiguation) and UK (disambiguation). :For an explanation of terms like England, (Great) Britain and United Kingdom see British Isles (terminology). The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (usually shortened to the United Kingdom or the UK) is a country located off the north-western coast of continental Europe, surrounded by the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea, the Irish Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean. It is composed of four constituent parts: three constituent countries—England, Scotland, and Wales—on the island of Great Britain, and the province of Northern Ireland on the island of Ireland. The border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland forms the United Kingdom's principal international land border, although there is a nominal frontier with France in the middle of the Channel Tunnel. The UK has several overseas territories and the Crown dependencies of the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands come under the UK's sovereignty. The UK also has close relationships with the fifteen other Commonwealth Realms, as they all share the same head of state. The UK is also one of the largest member states of the European Union and a founding partner of both the UN and NATO.

Terminology


- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: The official name for the sovereign state
- United Kingdom: an abbreviation of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- Britain: an informal term that sometimes means United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and sometimes means Great Britain
- British: an informal term that sometimes means from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and sometimes means from Great Britain
- Great Britain (as a geographical term): the largest island of the British Isles
- Great Britain (as a political term): England + Wales + Scotland
- British Isles (as a geographical term): Great Britain + Ireland + many smaller surrounding islands. This term is disputed, please see below.
- Ireland (as a geographical term): the second largest island of the British Isles
- Ireland (as a political term): an abbreviation of the Republic of Ireland, a sovereign state on the island of Ireland
- Northern Ireland: a political region of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- Ulster (as a geographical term): Often used to refer to Northern Ireland. It is derived from the Irish Language term 'Ulad.' It was one of the ancient Irish provinces (the others were Connaught, Leinster and Munster.). Although it is normally used to refer to Northern Ireland, Ulster also (traditionally) includes Counties Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal, which lie in the Republic of Ireland. The term Ulster is often favoured by the Protestant community.

History

Protestant Today's state is the latest of several unions formed over the last 1000 years. Scotland and England have existed as separate unified entities since the 10th century. Wales, under English control since the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284, became part of the Kingdom of England by the Laws in Wales Act 1535. With the Act of Union 1707, the separate kingdoms of England and Scotland, having shared the same monarch since 1603, agreed to a permanent union as the Kingdom of Great Britain. The Act of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland, which had been gradually brought under English control between 1169 and 1691, to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was formed in 1922, after bitter fighting which echoes down to the current political strife, the Anglo-Irish Treaty partitioned Ireland into the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland, with the latter remaining part of the United Kingdom. As provided for in the treaty, Northern Ireland, which consists of six of the nine counties of the Irish province of Ulster, immediately opted out of the Free State and to remain in the UK. The nomenclature of the UK was changed in 1927 to recognise the departure of most of Ireland, with the current name being adopted. 1927 The United Kingdom, the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, played a leading role in developing Western world ideas of property, liberty, capitalism and parliamentary democracy - to say nothing of its part in advancing world literature and science. At its zenith, the British Empire stretched over one quarter of the Earth's surface and encompassed a third of its population. The first half of the 20th century saw the UK's strength seriously depleted from the effects of World War I and World War II. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous nation. The UK has been a member of the European Union since 1973. Its attitude towards further integration is conservative, and there is significant Euroscepticism in UK politics. It has not chosen to adopt the Euro, owing to internal political considerations and the government's judgement of the prevailing economic conditions.

Government and politics

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy, with executive power exercised on behalf of the Queen by the Prime Minister and other cabinet ministers who head departments. The cabinet, including the Prime Minister, and other ministers collectively make up Her Majesty's Government. These ministers are drawn from and are responsible to Parliament, the legislative body, which is traditionally considered to be "supreme" (that is, able to legislate on any matter and not bound by decisions of its predecessors). The UK is one of the few countries in the world today that does not have a codified constitution, relying instead on customs and separate pieces of constitutional law. While the monarch is Head of State and holds all executive power, it is the Prime Minister who is the head of government. The government is answerable chiefly to the House of Commons and the Prime Minister is drawn from this chamber of Parliament by constitutional convention. The majority of cabinet members will be from the House of Commons, the rest from the House of Lords. Ministers do not, however, legally have to come from Parliament, though that is the modern day custom. The British system of government has been emulated around the world - a legacy of the United Kingdom's colonial past - most notably in the other Commonwealth Realms. The Prime Minister is chosen as the MP who can command a majority in the House of Commons - usually the leader of the largest party or, if there is no majority party, the largest coalition. The current Prime Minister is Tony Blair of the Labour Party, who has been in office since 1997. In the United Kingdom the monarch has extensive theoretical powers, but his or her role is mainly, though not exclusively, ceremonial. The monarch is an integral part of Parliament (as the "Crown-in-Parliament") and theoretically gives Parliament the power to meet and create legislation. An Act of Parliament does not become law until it has been signed by the Queen (being given Royal Assent), although no monarch has refused to assent to a bill that has been approved by Parliament since Queen Anne in 1708. Although the abolition of the monarchy has been suggested several times, the popularity of the monarchy remains strong in spite of recent controversies. Support for a British republic usually fluctuates between 15% and 25% of the population, with roughly 10% undecided or indifferent [http://www.mori.com/mrr/2000/c000616.shtml]. The current monarch is Queen Elizabeth II who acceded to the throne in 1952 and was crowned in 1953. Parliament is the national legislature of the United Kingdom. It is the ultimate legislative authority in the United Kingdom, according to the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty. It is bicameral, composed of the elected House of Commons and the unelected House of Lords, whose members are mostly appointed. The House of Commons is the more powerful of the two houses. The House of Commons has 646 members who are directly elected from single-member constituencies based on population. The House of Lords has 724 members (though this number is not fixed): hereditary peers, life peers, and bishops of the Church of England. The Church of England is the established church of the state in England. established church]] The two largest political parties are the Labour Party and Conservative Party. The UK has long had a two-party system, but in the last 20 years the Liberal Democrats have re-emerged as a large third party. The electoral system used for general elections is first-past-the-post. The constitution of the United Kingdom is un-codified and partially unwritten, which means that no single document regulates how the government works, and unwritten constitutional conventions are used extensively. The constitution is based on the principle that Parliament is the ultimate sovereign body in the country. There has long been a widespread sense of national identity in the Celtic nations. Throughout the late 19th century the UK debated giving Ireland home rule. The Scottish National Party was founded in 1934, and Plaid Cymru (Party of Wales) in 1925. Referenda for devolution succeeded in 1997 for Scotland and Wales and in 1998 for Northern Ireland. In 1999, the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales were established, the former having primary legislative power. Proportional representation is used for the elections, which has resulted in a Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition government in Scotland. Due to internal disagreements, the Northern Ireland Assembly has been suspended since 2002.

Subdivisions

The United Kingdom is a country that is divided into four constituent parts:
- England
- Scotland
- Northern Ireland
- Wales The constituent parts of the United Kingdom have administrative subdivisions as follows:
- The regions and administrative counties of England
- The council areas of Scotland
- The counties and county boroughs of Wales
- The districts of Northern Ireland The Laws in Wales Act 1535 incorporated Wales and England into England and Wales for legal purposes. Although all four have historically been divided into counties, England's population is an order of magnitude larger than the others so in recent years it has for some purposes been divided into nine intermediate-level Government Office Regions. Each region is made up of counties and unitary authorities, apart from London, which consists of London boroughs. Although at one point it was intended that each or some of these regions would be given its own regional assembly, the plan's future is uncertain, as of 2004, after the North East region rejected its proposed assembly in a referendum. Scotland consists of 32 Council Areas. Wales consists of 22 Unitary Authorities, styled as 10 County Boroughs, 9 Counties, and 3 Cities. Northern Ireland is divided into 26 Districts. Also sometimes associated with the United Kingdom, though not constitutionally part of the United Kingdom itself, are the Crown dependencies (the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey, and the Isle of Man) as self-governing possessions of the Crown, and a number of overseas territories under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom.

Military

The armed forces of the United Kingdom are known as the British Armed Forces or Her Majesty's Armed Forces, officially the Armed Forces of the Crown. Their Commander-in-Chief is the Queen and they are managed by the Ministry of Defence. Ministry of Defence The British Armed Forces are charged with protecting the United Kingdom and its overseas territories, promoting the United Kingdom's wider security interests, and supporting international peacekeeping efforts. They are active and regular participants in NATO and other coalition operations. The United Kingdom fields one of the most powerful and comprehensive military forces in the World. Its global power projection capabilities are second only to those of the United States Armed Forces. The British Army had a reported strength of 112,700 in 2004, including 7,600 women, and the Royal Air Force a strength of 53,400. The 40,900-member Royal Navy is in charge of the United Kingdom's independent strategic nuclear arm, which consists of four Trident Ballistic Missile Submarines, while the Royal Marines provide infantry units for amphibious assault and for specialist reinforcement forces in and beyond the NATO area. This puts total active duty military troops in the 210,000 range, currently deployed in over 80 countries. The UK's special forces, principally the SAS, provides elite commandos trained for quick, mobile, military responses; often where secrecy or covert operations are required. The Royal Navy is the second largest navy in the World in terms of gross tonnage. Despite the United Kingdom's wide ranging capabilities, recent pragmatic defence policy has a stated assumption that any large operation would be undertaken as part of a coalition. Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq (Granby, No-Fly-Zones, Desert Fox and Telic) may all be taken as precedent - indeed the last true war in which the British military fought alone was the Falklands War of 1982, in which military action was initiated by Argentina and the UK was fighting a defensive, rather than offensive, campaign. The British army has been actively involved in the Troubles in Northern Ireland. However, a programme of demilitarisation is being gradually implemented.

Geography

Troubles World Factbook Map of the United Kingdom]] Most of England consists of rolling lowland terrain, divided east from west by more mountainous terrain in the Northwest (Cumbrian Mountains of the Lake District) and north (the upland moors of the Pennines) and limestone hills of the Peak District by the Tees-Exe line. The lower limestone hills of the Isle of Purbeck, Cotswolds, Lincolnshire and chalk downs of the Southern England Chalk Formation. The main rivers and estuaries are the Thames, Severn and the Humber Estuary. The largest urban area is Greater London. Near Dover, the Channel Tunnel links the United Kingdom with France. There is no peak in England that is 1000 metres (3,300 ft) or greater. Wales is mostly mountainous, the highest peak being Snowdon at 1085 metres (3,560 ft) above sea level. North of the mainland is the island of Anglesey. The largest and capital city is Cardiff, located in South Wales. Scotland's geography is varied, with lowlands in the south and east and highlands in the north and west, including Ben Nevis, the UK's highest mountain at 1343 metres (4,406 ft). There are many long and deep-sea arms, firths, and lochs. A multitude of islands west and north of Scotland are also included, notably the Hebrides, Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands. The largest city is Glasgow. Northern Ireland, making up the north-eastern part of Ireland, is mostly hilly. The main cities are Belfast ('Beal Feirste' in Irish) and Londonderry / Derry ('Doire' in Irish). The province is home to one of the UK’s World Heritage Sites, the Giant's Causeway, which consists of more than 40,000 six-sided basalt columns up to 40 feett (12 m) high. In total it is estimated that the UK includes around 1098 small islands, some being natural and some being crannogs, a type of artificial island which was built in past times using stone and wood, gradually enlarged by natural waste building up over time.

Economy

artificial island The United Kingdom, a leading trading power and financial centre, has an essentially capitalist economy, the fourth largest in the world in terms of market exchange rates and the sixth largest by purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rates. Over the past three decades, the government has greatly reduced public ownership by means of privatisation programmes, and has contained the growth of the Welfare State. Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanised, and efficient by European standards, producing about 60% of food needs with only 1% of the labour force. The UK has large coal, natural gas, and oil reserves; primary energy production accounts for 10% of GDP, one of the highest shares of any industrial state. Services, particularly banking, insurance and business services, account for by far the largest proportion of GDP. Industry continues to decline in importance, although the UK is still Europe's largest manufacturer of armaments, petroleum products, personal computers, televisions, and mobile telephones. Tourism is also important: with over 24 million tourists a year, between China (33) and Austria (19.1), the United Kingdom is ranked as the sixth major tourist destination in the world. The Blair government has put off the question of participation in the Euro system, citing five economic tests that would need to be met before they recommend that the UK adopts the Euro, and hold a referendum.

Society

Demographics

At the April 2001 census, the United Kingdom's population was 58,789,194, the third-largest in the European Union (behind Germany and metropolitan France) and the twenty-first largest in the world. Its overall population density is one of the highest in the world. Almost one-third of the population lives in England's prosperous south-east and is predominantly urban and suburban--with about 7.2 million in the capital of London. The United Kingdom's high literacy rate (99%) is attributable to universal public education introduced for the primary level in 1870 and secondary level in 1900 (except in Scotland where it was introduced in 1696). Education is mandatory from ages five through sixteen. referendum The Church of England and the Church of Scotland function as the official national religions in their respective countries, but most religions found in the world are represented in the United Kingdom. Anglicanism is the state religion that has been established in England since 1534 during the reign of King Henry VIII. During his reign, England broke ties with the Roman Catholic church and established the Church of England as the offical religion of England. Reforms to the nature of the church's relationship to the state have been ongoing, especially concerning the nature of the House of Lords and the appointment of a fixed amount of the lordships going to Lords Temporal, bishops of the Church of England. A group of islands close to continental Europe, the British Isles have been subject to many invasions and migrations, especially from Scandinavia and the continent, including Roman occupation for several centuries. Contemporary Britons are descended mainly from the varied ethnic stocks that settled there before the eleventh century. The pre-Celtic, Celtic, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Norse influences were blended on Great Britain under the Normans, Scandinavian Vikings who had lived in Northern France. Although Celtic languages persist in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, the predominant language is English, which is a West Germanic language descended from Old English, featuring a large amount of borrowings from Norman French.The other indigenous languages include the Celtic languages; Welsh, the closely related Irish and Scots Gaelic, and the Cornish language; as well as Lowland Scots, which is closely related to English; Romany; and British Sign Language (Northern Ireland Sign Language is also used in Northern Ireland). Celtic dialectal influences from Cumbric persisted in Northern England for many centuries, most famously in a unique set of numbers used for counting sheep. Recent immigrants, especially from the Commonwealth, speak many other languages, including Bengali, Cantonese, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu. The United Kingdom has the largest number of Hindi speaking peoples outside of the Indian sub continent.

Culture

Urdu The United Kingdom contains many of the world's leading universities, including the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford and the University of London (which incorporates, amongst others, Imperial College and University College London), and has produced many great scientists and engineers including Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and Isambard Kingdom Brunel; the nation is credited with many inventions including the locomotive, vaccination, television, vacuum, and both the internal combustion and the jet engine. The English language has spread to all corners of the world (primarily because of the country’s empire) and is referred to as a ‘global language’. It is now taught as a second language more than any other around the world. Over the next few decades, it is estimated that approximately half the world’s population will be proficient in the language. Playwright William Shakespeare is arguably the most famous writer in the history of the English language; other well-known writers from the United Kingdom include the Brontë sisters (Charlotte, Emily, and Anne), Jane Austen, William Thackeray, J. R. R. Tolkien, John Milton, H. G. Wells and Charles Dickens. Important poets include Lord Byron, Robert Burns, Lord Tennyson and William Blake. Notable composers from the United Kingdom have included William Byrd, John Taverner, William Lawes, John Dowland, Thomas Tallis, and Henry Purcell from the 16th and early 17th centuries, and, more recently, Sir Edward Elgar, Sir Arthur Sullivan (most famous for working with librettist Sir W. S. Gilbert), Ralph Vaughan Williams and Benjamin Britten in the 19th and 20th. George Frideric Handel spent most of his composing life in England. The BBC is the oldest and perhaps the most respected broadcasting network on the globe, with the BBC World Service radio channel and its news output held in particularly high regard. The other main television networks are ITV, Channel 4, five (TV) and Sky Television. Popular programmes in the UK include the three soaps Eastenders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale, as well as the comedy news quiz Have I Got News For You and Reality TV shows Big Brother and The X Factor. Various British TV formats have been exported to other nations, notably Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, The Weakest Link and The Office. The UK was, with the US, one of the two main contributors in the development of rock and roll, and the UK has provided some of the most famous rock stars, including the Beatles, Queen, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, The Who and many others. The UK was at the forefront of punk rock music in the 1970s with bands such as the Sex Pistols and The Clash, and the subsequent rebirth of heavy metal with bands such as Motörhead and Iron Maiden. In mid to late '90s, the Britpop phenomenon has seen bands such as Oasis, Blur, Radiohead and Coldplay gain international fame. The UK is also at the forefront of electronica, with British artists such as Aphex Twin, Talvin Singh, Nitin Sawhney and Lamb at the cutting edge. The United Kingdom was also associated with music from the Caribbean, with a large number of Jamaicans and other Caribbean nationals being present in the UK.

Sport

A great number of major sports originated in the United Kingdom, including football, golf, cricket, rugby, tennis and boxing. The national sport of the UK is association football, but the UK does not compete as a nation in any major football tournament. Instead, the home nations compete individually as England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It is because of this unique four-team arrangement that the UK currently does not compete in football events at the Olympic Games. However, a united team will probably take part in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, as these are hosted in London. The English and Northern Irish football associations have confirmed participation in this team while the Scottish FA and the Welsh FA have declined to participate. The UK also hosts many world-renowned football clubs, such as Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal in England and Rangers and Celtic in Scotland. Clubs compete in national leagues and competitions and some go on to compete in European competitions. Both forms of rugby are national sports. Rugby League originates from and is generally played in the North of England, whilst Rugby Union is played all over Britain. In Rugby League the UK plays as one nation - Great Britain - whilst in union it is represented by the four nations. England are the current holders of the Rugby Union World Cup. Every four years the British and Irish Lions (comprising the best players from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland) tour other countries. Cricket is also played in the UK, although it is focussed in England. The Wimbledon Championships are an international tennis event held in Wimbledon in south London every summer and are seen as the most prestigious of the tennis calendar. Golf is one of the most popular participation sports played in the UK and St Andrews in Scotland is the sport's home course.

Miscellaneous topics

External links


- [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/state/nations/ BBC Nations] History of the nations within the UK.
- [http://www.bbc.co.uk British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)]
- [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/uk.html CIA World Factbook: UK.]
- [http://www.direct.gov.uk Gateway to UK governmental services and websites.]
- [http://www.number-10.gov.uk Number 10 Downing Street]
- [http://www.statistics.gov.uk Office of National Statistics]
- [http://www.opsi.gov.uk Office of Public Sector Information] Source for all UK legislation 1987-present (successor to Her Majesty's Stationery Office).
- [http://www.macs.hw.ac.uk/britishisles/ The British Isles] Independent view of the UK.
- [http://www.royal.gov.uk The British Monarchy]
- [http://www.parliament.uk/ The United Kingdom Parliament]
- [http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=5703&Pos=&ColRank=1&Rank=272 Official Yearbook of the UK] factbook produced by the Office for National Statistics (years 2000 to 2005 available online).
- [http://www.ukcities.co.uk UK Cities] lists a variety of useful resources for every city in the UK.
- [http://www.justuk.org UK travel guide] United Kingdom for travellers.
- [http://www.world66.com/europe/unitedkingdom World66 Guide to United Kingdom] A travel guide written by its users.
- [http://www.multimap.co.uk www.multimap.co.uk] provides online maps and aerial photographs of the UK.
- [http://www.streetmap.co.uk www.streetmap.co.uk] an alternative to multimap.
- [http://www.freeworldmaps.net/europe/united-kingdom/map.html Physical map of United Kingdom.]
- [http://www.upmystreet.com www.upmystreet.com] detailed localised information about places in the United Kingdom.
- [http://www.parks.it/world/UK/Eindex.html UK Parks] National parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and other protected areas. ----
Category:British Isles Category:European countries Category:European Union member states Category:Members of the Commonwealth of Nations Category:Monarchies A als:Grossbritannien und Nordirland zh-min-nan:Liân-ha̍p Ông-kok ko:영국 ms:United Kingdom ja:イギリス simple:United Kingdom th:สหราชอาณาจักร

Disc jockey

:For other meanings of DJ, see DJ (disambiguation). DJ (disambiguation) A disc jockey (also called DJ, or deejay) is an individual who selects and plays prerecorded music for an intended audience.

Origin of term

The term was first used to describe radio announcers who would introduce and play popular gramophone records, but today there are a number of factors, including the selected music, the intended audience, the performance setting, the preferred medium, and the development of sound manipulation, that have led to different types of deejays.

Job description

The physical act of selecting and playing sound recordings is called deejaying, or DJing, and ranges in sophistication from simply playing a series of recordings (referred to as programming, or composing a playlist), to the manipulating of recordings, using techniques such as audio mixing, cueing, phrasing, cutting, scratching, and beatmatching, often to the point of creating original musical compositions.

Equipment

The most basic equipment that is necessary for a standard disc jockey to perform consists of the following: 1. sound recordings in preferred medium (eg. vinyl records, compact discs, mp3s) 2. at least two devices for playback of sound recordings, for the purpose of alternating back and forth to create continuous playback (eg. record players, compact disc players, mp3 players) 3. a sound system for amplification of the recordings (eg. portable audio system, radio wave broadcaster) The addition of a mixer (used to mix the sound of the two playback devices), a microphone (used to amplify the human voice), and headphones (used to listen to one recording while the other is playing, without outputting the sound to the audience) is strongly recommended, but not required. Other types of equipment can also be added, including samplers, drum machines, effects processors, slipmats, and laptop computers.

Techniques

There are several techniques that can be applied by the disc jockey as a means to manipulate the prerecorded music. These include audio mixing, cueing, slip-cueing, phrasing, cutting, beat juggling, scratching, beatmatching, needle drops, phase shifting, and more.

DJ control and economics

Throughout the 1950s, payola was an ongoing problem. Part of the fallout from that payola scandal was tighter control of the music by station management. The Top 40 format also emerged, where popular songs are played repeatedly. Today, very few DJs in the United States have any control over what is played on the air. Playlists are very tightly regulated, and the DJ is often not allowed to make any changes or additions. The songs to be played are usually determined by computerized algorithms, and automation techniques such as voice tracking have allowed single DJs to send announcements across many stations. Even song requests are sometimes co-opted into this system—a song might be announced as a request by a DJ even though it was already set to appear in the playlist. Economically, this formula has been successful across the country. However, music aficionados look upon such practices with disgust and either seek out freeform stations that put the DJs back in control, or end up dumping terrestrial radio in favor of satellite radio services or portable music players like iPods. College radio stations and other public radio outlets are the most common places for freeform playlists in the U.S.

Types of disc jockeys

By definition, the role of selecting and playing prerecorded music for an intended audience is the same for every disc jockey. The selected music, the audience, the setting, the preferred medium, and the level of sophistication of sound manipulation are factors that create a number of different types of deejays. The following is a list of the most common types of disc jockeys, along with notable examples of each, listed in chronological order by birth.

Radio DJs

A radio disc jockey is one that selects and plays music that is broadcast across radio waves.

Notable Radio DJs


- Christopher Stone (1882–1965), became the first disc jockey in the United Kingdom in 1927.
- Martin Block (1901-1967), the first radio disc jockey to become a star, inspired the term "disc jockey".
- Alan Freed (1922-1965), became internationally known for promoting African-American Rhythm and Blues music in the United States and Europe under the name of Rock and Roll.
- Murray "The K" Kaufman (1922-1982), influential rock and roll disc jockey, for a time was billed as the "Fifth Beatle".
- Jimmy Savile (born 1926), British DJ and television personality, best known for his BBC television show Jim'll Fix It where he made the wishes of members of the public (mainly children) come true. In 1947 he was the first ever DJ to use twin turntables for continuous play after he paid a local metal worker to weld two domestic record decks together.
- Dick Clark (born 1929), host of American Bandstand, television's longest-running music/variety program, as well as a number of nationally syndicated radio shows.
- Casey Kasem (born 1932), disc jockey and music historian, host of the long-running radio series American Top 40.
- Wolfman Jack (1938-1995), drew upon his love of horror movies and rock and roll to create his raspy-voiced, howling persona, one of radio’s most distinctive voices.
- John Peel (1939-2004), one of the original DJs of UK's Radio 1 in 1967, known for the extraordinary range of his taste in music, and for championing unknown musical artists.
- Jim Ladd (born 1948), the last remaining freeform rock DJ in United States commercial radio.
- Johnny Rabbitt (1935-1997), midwest radio icon of the "Johnny Rabbitt and Bruno J. Grunion Show" which broadcast from 1963-1969 on KXOK- St. Louis. See also: :Category:Radio DJs

Rave/Club DJs

A rave/club disc jockey is one that selects and plays music in a club setting. The setting can range anywhere from a small club, a neighborhood party, a disco, a rave, or even a stadium.

Notable Rave/Club DJs


- David Mancuso (born 1944), founder of New York City's first underground party called the Loft.
- Francis Grasso (1948-2001), popularized several new disc jockey techniques, including beatmatching and slip-cueing.
- Larry Levan (1954-1992), leader of New York Garage music.
- Frankie Knuckles (born 1955), the godfather of house music.
- Paul Oakenfold (born 1963), British record producer, remixer, and one of the best-known DJs worldwide, referred to as a Superstar DJ.
- Frankie Bones, one of the early originators of the "rave" sound in the United States.
- Tiesto (born 1969), one of world's leading trance music DJs, voted DJ Magazines 'No. 1 DJ in the World' for the third consecutive year in 2004.
- Keoki (born 1969), famous techno musician, portrayed in the 2003 film Party Monster.
- DJ Digga Denver, Colorado hard house and hard trance DJ See also: :Category:Club DJs

Hip Hop DJs

A hip hop disc jockey is one that selects, plays and creates music as a hip hop artist and/or performer, often backing up one or more MCs.

Notable Hip Hop DJs


- U-Roy (born 1942), pioneer of the Jamaican sound system scene.
- DJ Kool Herc (born 1955), inventor of breakbeat technique, "the father of hip hop culture".
- Grandmaster Flash (born 1958), one of the early pioneers of hip-hop DJing, cutting, and scratching. Created the Quick Mix Technique which allowed a DJ to precisely extend a break using two copies of the same record; essentially invented modern turntablism.
- Afrika Bambaataa (born 1960), instrumental in the development of hip hop from its birth in the South Bronx to its international success. Created first hip hop track to feature synthesizers; "The godfather of Hip Hop"
- Jam Master Jay (1965-2002), founder and DJ of Run-DMC, one of the most innovative hip hop groups of all time.
- Eric B. (born 1965), one half of duo Eric B. & Rakim, popularized the James Brown-sampled funky hip hop of the late 1980s.
- Terminator X (born 1966), DJ of the highly infuential hip hop group Public Enemy.
- DJ Qbert (born 1969), founding member of the turntablism group the Invisibl Skracth Piklz and three-time winner of the International DMC Award.
- Mix Master Mike (born 1970), skilled DJ of hip hop group Beastie Boys, three-time winner of the International DMC Turntablism Award. See also: :Category:Hip hop DJs

Mobile DJs

Mobile disc jockeys are an extension of the original radio disc jockeys. Unlike their radio counterparts, mobile DJing is primarily seen as a part-time or second career. Mobile DJs travel or tour with their own sound systems and play from an extensive collection of pre-recorded music, on various media, for a targeted audience. Mobile DJs tend to work for hire at private functions such as wedding receptions, bar and bat mitzvah receptions, school dances, and so on, but they can occasionally be seen in bars, nightclubs, or even block parties. Unlike many club/rave DJs, mobile DJs often play more mainstream selections of music from multiple genres, they often take requests, and for mobile DJs, producing a continuous, beat-matched mix is rarely a priority. The definition and responsibilities of a mobile disc jockey have changed since Bob Casey's first two-turntable system for continuous playback was utilized for sock-hops in 1955. Bands had long dominated the wedding entertainment industry, but with the advent of the less expensive mobile DJ, the demand for live performers dwindled. Even so, in the early years, the mobile DJ industry was seen as a last-resort choice for entertainment, as the DJs were reputed to frequently be unreliable and unprofessional. Mobile DJs companies came and went. However, a few companies of this era did establish themselves as competent businesses and thrived; some even still exist today. During the Disco era of the 1970s, demand for mobile DJs (called mobile discos in the UK) soared. Top mobile DJs in this era would have hundreds of vinyl records and/or cassette tapes to play from. The equipment used in this era was enormous and usually required roadies (similar to those who work for bands) to set up. Because of the high demand for mobile DJs, many people from all facets of life jumped into the industry, hoping to make a few extra dollars on the weekends. These "Weekend Warriors", as they are called by many, helped enhance the negative stereotype of the mobile DJ; many of the same complaints from the earlier era continued. Some tried to improve this image by forming professional associations. The Canadian Disc Jockey Association (CDJA) was one of the original associations formed in 1976 as a not-for-profit trade association for disc jockeys across Canada. It was joined by a much broader online association called the Canadian Online Disc Jockey Association (CODJA), founded by Canadian mobile DJs Glenn Miller (not the famous bandleader) and Dennis Hampson. United States Disc Jockeys were reluctant to form anything similar until 1992 when the American Disc Jockey Association (ADJA) was incorporated. The original Board of Directors were Bruce Keslar, Maureen Keslar, John Roberts, and Lori Jesse. In 1996, after being removed from the ADJA Board from a financial dispute, Keslar then went on to form the for-profit National Association of Mobile Entertainers (NAME), based in the Philadelphia area. Both associations thrive today, with an estimated 5,000 members combined as of November 2005. As the late 1980s turned into the 1990s, new technologies emerged. Compact disc collections were becoming the standard to play music from. Many equipment manufacturers realized the potential market that existed for mobile DJs and raced to make equipment that was smaller, easier to use, and of better quality. Dedicated mobile disc jockey trade publications such as DJ Times magazine and Mobile Beat magazine were founded in this era. These publications helped to spread the word about the emerging technologies and published informational articles that were helpful to the mobile disc jockey. This is also the era when mobile disc jockeys became the top entertainment choice for most private parties including wedding receptions. In the mid-1990s, computers and the Internet had a profound impact on the mobile DJ industry. Professor Jam, a Tampa Bay, Florida disc jockey already known in the industry for having performed for many celebrities and television networks, became one of the first mobile DJs in the United States to regularly use computer technology to play music at his shows, and was the first professionally endorsed computer disc jockey internationally. CODJA cofounder Glenn Miller became the first licensed MP3 DJ under new music licensing agreement that was introduced to Canada in 2000 by the AVLA, and had already pioneered online networking for mobile disc jockeys by starting the first bulletin board system for mobile DJs from all over North America (and eventually the world).[http://web.archive.org/web/19980125231124/www.glenn-miller.com/wwwboard/wwwboard.html] In the 21st Century, the role of the mobile disc jockey has expanded. While there are still many conventional, "human jukebox" mobile DJs, many others have assumed more reponsibilities to ensure the success of the events where they perform. These responsibilities include emceeing, event coordination, lighting direction, and sound engineering. The number of resources available for mobile DJs has also expanded. Aside from the many online community forums, there are now annual conventions, regional conferences, and many local seminars for mobile disc jockeys to attend.

Notable Mobile DJs


- In 1955, Bob Casey (born 1941), a well-known sock hop DJ, introduced the first two-turntable system for the purpose of alternating back and forth between records, creating continuous playback.

Timeline of events related to the disc jockey


- 1857 - Leon Scott invents the phonoautograph, the first device to record arbitrary sound, in France.
- 1877 - Thomas Alva Edison invents the phonograph cylinder, the first device to playback recorded sound, in the United States.
- 1887 - German-American Emile Berliner invents the gramophone, a lateral disc device to record and playback sound.
- 1889 - Coin-slot phonograph machines, the general public's first encounter with recorded sound, begin to be mass produced. The earliest versions played only a single record, but multiple record devices, called jukeboxes, were soon developed.
- 1892 - Emile Berliner begins commercial production of his gramophone records, the first disc record to be offered to the public.
- mid-1890s to early 1920s - Cylinder and disc recordings, and the machines to play them on, are widely mass marketed and sold. The disc system gradually becomes more popular due to its cheaper price and better marketing.
- 1906 - Reginald Fessenden transmits the first audio radio broadcast in history when he plays Christmas music from Brant Rock, Massachusetts.
- 1910s - Regular radio broadcasting begins, using "live" as well as prerecorded sound. In the early radio age, content typically includes comedy, drama, news, music, and sports reporting. The on-air announcers and programmers would later be known as disc jockeys.
- 1920s - "Juke-joints" become popular as a place for dancing and drinking to jukebox music.
- 1927 - Christopher Stone becomes the first radio announcer and programmer in the United Kingdom, on the BBC radio station.
- 1929 - Thomas Edison ceases phonograph cylinder manufacture, ending the disc and cylinder rivalry.
- 1934 - American commentator Walter Winchell coins the term "disc jockey" (the combination of "disc", referring to the disc records, and "jockey", which is an operator of a machine) as a description of radio announcer Martin Block, the first announcer to become a star in his own right. While his audience was awaiting developments in the Lindbergh kidnapping, Block played records and created the illusion that he was broadcasting from a ballroom, with the nation’s top dance bands performing live. The show, which he called Make Believe Ballroom, was an instant hit.
- 1940s - Musique concrète composers utilize portions of sound recordings to create new compositions. This is the first occurrence of sampling.
- 1943 - Jimmy Savile launches the world's first DJ dance party by playing jazz records in the upstairs function room of the Loyal Order of Ancient Shepherd's in Otley, England. in 1947 he paid a local metal worker to weld two domestic record decks together and became the first DJ to use twin turntables for continuous play.
- 1947 - The "Whiskey-A-Go-Go" nightclub opens in Paris, France, considered to be the world's first discothèque, or disco (deriving its name from the French word, meaning a nightclub where the featured entertainment is recorded music rather than an on-stage band). Discos began appearing across Europe and the United States.
- late 1940s to early 1950s - The introduction of television erodes the popularity of radio's early format, causing it to take on the general form it has today, with a strong focus on music, news and sports.
- 1950s - American radio DJs would appear live at "sock hops" and "platter parties" and assume the role of a human jukebox. They would usually play 45-rpm records featuring hit singles on one turntable, while talking between songs. In some cases, a live drummer was hired to play beats between songs to maintain the dance floor.
- 1955 - Bob Casey, a well-known sock hop DJ, introduces the first two-turntable system for the purpose of alternating back and forth between records, creating continuous playback.
- late 1950s - Jamaican sound systems, a new form of public entertainment, are developed in the ghettos of Kingston, Jamaica. Promotors, who called themselves DJs, would throw large parties in the streets that centered around the disc jockey, called the "selector". These parties quickly became profitable for the promoters, who would sell admission, food and alcohol, leading to fierce competition between DJs for the biggest sound systems and newest records.
- mid-1960s - Nightclubs and discotheques continue to grow in Europe and the United States. However, by 1968, the number of dance clubs started to decline.
- 1969 - American club DJ Francis Grasso popularizes beatmatching at New York's Sanctuary nightclub. Beatmatching is the technique of creating seamless transitions between back-to-back records with matching beats, or tempos. Grasso also perfected slip-cueing, the technique of holding a record still while the turntable is revolving underneath, releasing it at the desired moment to create a sudden transition from the previous record.
- late 1960s - Most American discos either closed or were transformed into clubs featuring live bands. Neighborhood block parties that are modeled after Jamaican sound systems gain popularity in Europe and in the boroughs of New York City.
- early 1970s - The Vietnam War, oil crisis, and economic recession has a negative impact on dance clubs and disc jockeys. The total number of clubs and DJs dropped substantially, and most of the dance clubs were underground gay discos. It should also be noted that electronics company Technics released a series of direct-drive DJ turntables during this period.
- 1974 - Jamaican-born DJ Kool Herc - who is widely regarded as the "godfather of hip hop culture" - develops a technique called breakbeat while performing block parties in his Bronx neighborhood. He would mix back and forth between two identical records to extend the rhythmic instrumental segment, or break. Turntablism, the art of using turntables not only to play music, but to manipulate sound and create original music, is considered to begin at this time.
- 1974 - Technics releases the first SL-1200 turntable, which evolves into the SL-1200 MK2 in 1979, currently the industry standard for deejaying.
- 1974 - German electronic music band Kraftwerk releases the 22-minute single "Autobahn", which is the precursor to the 12" single. Years later, Kraftwerk would become a significant influence on hip hop artists such as Afrika Bambaataa and house music pioneer Frankie Knuckles.
- mid 1970s - Hip hop music and culture begins to emerge, originating among urban African Americans and Latinos in New York City. The four main elements of hip hop culture are MCing (rapping), DJing, graffiti, and breakdancing.
- 1975 - Disco music takes off in the mainstream pop charts in the United States and Europe, causing discotheques to experience a rebirth.
- 1975 - Record pools begin, enabling disc jockeys access to newer music from the industry in an efficient method.
- 1976 - American DJ and producer Walter Gibbons remixes and releases "Ten Percent" by Double Exposure, the world's first 12" single (aka "maxi-single").
- 1977 - Hip hop DJ Grand Wizard Theodore invents the scratching technique by accident.
- 1977 - New York's Studio 54 nightclub grosses $7 million in its first year of business (which is roughly $21 million in today's dollars after adjusting for inflation). In the same year, the motion picture Saturday Night Fever popularizes discotheques and becomes one of the top-10 grossing films in history (at the time).
- 1979 - The Sugar Hill Gang release "Rapper's Delight", the first hip hop record to become a hit. It was also the first real breakthrough for sampling, as the bassline of Chic's "Good Times" laid the foundation for the song.
- 1979 - An anti-disco protest in Chicago's Comiskey Park marks the major backlash against disco amongst rock music fans, who preferred guitars and live drums over electronically generated sounds and beats. This is considered to be the year that disco "died", although the music remained popular for several more years, particularly in underground clubs and in Europe, where the subgenres Euro Disco and Italo Disco were created.
- 1981 - Cable television network MTV is launched, originally devoted to music videos, especially popular rock music. The term "video jockey", or VJ, was used to describe the fresh faced youth who introduced the music videos.
- 1982 - The demise of disco in the mainstream by the summer of 1982 forces many nightclubs to either close or to change entertainment styles, such as by providing MTV style video dancing or live bands.
- 1982 - "Planet Rock" by DJ Afrika Bambaataa is the first hip hop song to feature synthesizers. The song melded electronic hip hop beats with the melody from Kraftwerk's "Trans-Europe Express".
- 1982 - The compact disc reached the public market in Asia and early the following year in other markets. This event is often seen as the "Big Bang" of the digital audio revolution.
- 1983 - House music emerges. The name was derived from the Warehouse club in Chicago, where the resident DJ, Frankie Knuckles, mixed old disco classics and Eurosynth pop. House music is essentially disco music with electronic beats. The common element of most house music is a 4/4 beat generated by a drum machine or other electronic means (such as a sampler), together with a solid (usually also electronically generated) bassline.
- 1983 - Jesse Saunders releases the first house music track, "On & On".
- mid-1980s - New York Garage emerges at DJ Larry Levan's Paradise Garage nightclub in New York. The style was a result of the club DJs who would unsuccessfully try to duplicate the Chicago house sound, for example, leaving out the accentuated high-hats.
- mid-1980s - Techno music emerges from the Detroit club scene. Being geographically located between Chicago and New York, Detroit techno combined elements of Chicago house and New York garage along with European imports. Techno distanced itself from disco's roots by becoming almost purely electronic with synthesized beats.
- 1986 - "Walk This Way", a rap-rock collaboration by Run DMC and Aerosmith, becomes the first hip hop song to reach the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. This song is the first exposure of hip hop music, as well as the concept of the disc jockey as band member and artist, to many mainstream audiences.
- 1988 - The acid house scene emerges in the UK. Originally called "acid parties" for a select few, the events grew in size and popularity, eventually spreading throughout England, Europe, the United States, and the rest of the world.
- early 1990s - The rave scene grows out of the acid-house scene. Many elements of the rave scene, such as baggy pants and breakdancing, appear to be inherited from the Northern Soul scene of the UK approximately 15 years earlier. The notion of "trainspotting," for example, derives from Northern Soul's emphasis on researching and collecting rare & obscure records; while preventing other DJs from stealing titles via "white labels". The rave scene forever changed dance music, the image of DJs, and the nature of promoting. The innovative marketing surrounding the rave scene created the first superstar DJs.
- early 1990s - The compact disc surpasses the gramophone record in popularity, but gramophone records continue to be made (although in very limited quantities) into the 21st century, particularly for club DJs and for local acts recording on small regional labels.
- mid-1990s - Trance music emerges as a result of producers who wanted to transform repetitive, instrumental rave music into commercially accessible pop songs with vocals. Trance was central to the success of commercial dance music and superstar DJs such as Paul Oakenfold.
- 1992 - MPEG which stands for the "Moving Pictures Experts Groups, releases The MPEG-1 standard, designed to produce reasonable sound at low bit rates. MPEG-1 Layer-3 popularly known as MP3 (a Lossy format) will revolutionize the digital music domain.
- 1993 - The first Internet "radio station", Internet Talk Radio, was developed by Carl Malamud. Because the radio signal is relayed over the Internet, it is possible to access internet radio stations from anywhere in the world. This makes it a popular service for both amateur and professional disc jockeys operating from a personal computer.
- 1995 - The first full-time, Internet-only radio station, Radio HK, begins broadcasting the music of independent bands.
- late 1990s - Nu metal bands such as KoЯn, Limp Bizkit, and Linkin Park reach the height of popularity. This new subgenre of alternative rock bears some influence from hip-hop, because rhythmic innovation and syncopation are primary, often featuring DJs as bandmembers.
- late 1990s - Various DJ and Video_jockey VJ_software VJ software programs are developed, allowing personal computer users to deejay or veejay using his or her personal music or video files.
- 1998 - The first MP3 digital audio player is released, the Eiger Labs MPMan F10.
- 1998 - Final Scratch is announced by Amsterdam based N2IT. This program "mapped" digital music files onto timecoded vinyl records that were then played on a traditional DJ setup. This was the first product of it's kind, and later spawned a slew of competing products (including Serato Scratch Live, Ms. Pinky, and Mixvibes). Final Scratch was later bought by Stanton Magnetics, and its software development is now handled by Native Instrum