Music Department

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Pop Music

Information

Booklet

Music Department

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Contents

Page 3 - The Beatles

Page 6 - Blur

Page 8 - The Beach Boys

Page 10 - Michael Jackson

Page 12 - Coldplay

Music Department

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The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band from Liverpool, who became the

most successful act in popular music history. The band was formed in

1957 by singer and guitarist John Lennon, with Paul McCartney on

vocals and bass and George Harrison playing lead guitar. They were

known as ‘The Quarrymen’ before changing their name to ‘The Beatles’.

Drummer Pete Best joined the band before they played in Hamburg,

Germany for two years but was replaced by Ringo Starr in 1962, shortly

before the band was signed to EMI’s record label ‘Parlophone’.

'Love Me Do', the group's first single,

reached number 17 in the charts, while

the follow-up, 'Please Please Me', went

to number 2. The band’s debut album

which was also called ‘Please Please

Me’ was recorded in one day and went

straight to number 1 in the album chart.

The group’s first number 1 single was

their third release ‘From Me To You’ in

1963. The band’s fourth single ‘She Loves You’ sold over a million

copies and became the biggest-selling record in the UK for 15 years.

Single #5 ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ went on to become their biggest-

selling worldwide hit, shifting a staggering 12 million copies.

In 1966, the group played their final live gig at the ‘Candlestick Park’ in

San Francisco and then changed their sound dramatically as they

recorded 3 classic albums over the next 3 years. 1966’s ‘Revolver’, their

most famous album ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ which is

one of the biggest selling albums of all time in 1967 and 1968’s double

album which was widely known as ‘The White Album’.

Music Department

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It was at this time that the classic, ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ was

recorded. This was arguably The Beatles’ finest hour.

The Beatles released three films over their careers, the first ‘A Hard

Day’s Night’ in 1964, ‘Help!’ in 1965 and ‘Let it Be’ in 1969.

Following more success than any band before, The Beatles split up in

1970. Tragically, Lennon was shot dead by a crazed ‘fan’ in 1980.

In total, The Beatles sold an estimated

1 billion records which is more than any

other group or solo artist in history.

They achieved 17 number one singles

and 11 number one studio albums in

just 8 years between 1962 and 1970

which is also more than any other

group. The Beatles are widely

considered to be the most influential

group in popular music history.

Suggested listening:-

‘She Loves You’

‘Can’t Buy Me Love’

‘I Feel Fine’

‘Strawberry Fields Forever’

‘Come Together’

Music Department

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Pop Profile

COPY the following table and complete the answers. Use a pencil and ruler for the

table.

Name

The Beatles

Original Name

Band Members

Record Label

First Single

First Album

Number of ‘Number 1’

singles

Total record sales

The successful 1967 album

Three Beatles’ Films

Interesting fact

Songs I listened to

Music Department

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Blur

Blur is the name of a British rock band. Originally called ‘Seymour’, Blur was

formed in London in 1988 by vocalist/keyboardist Damon Albarn,

guitarist/backing vocalist Graham Coxon, and bassist Alex James, with

drummer Dave Rowntree joining the line-up.

In the mid-'90s, the group emerged as the

most popular band in the U.K., labelled as

part of the ‘Britpop’ style of music. 'She's

So High', the group's first single, made it

into the Top 50 while the follow-up,

'There's No Other Way', went Top Ten.

Both singles were from their 1991 debut

album, ‘Leisure’ which was released on

the record label, ‘Food Records’.

In April 1994, their third album ‘Parklife’ entered the charts at number one and

the band became superstars. The dance-pop single 'Girls and Boys' won the

band the ‘Best Single’ award at the Brits. Blur won a record-breaking four Brits

Awards that year, including Best Band, Best Album and Best Video.

Blur and Britpop music dominated British pop culture in the mid-'90s. In 1995

the group released their fourth album ‘The Great Escape’ and had a chart

battle with rival band Oasis from Manchester, which was dubbed ‘The Battle of

Britpop’. Blur beat Oasis to the number one single spot with their first chart-

topping single ‘Country House’.

Blur continued until 2003 and took a break from the band until 2008, when

they reformed.

Suggested listening:-

‘There’s No Other Way’

‘Girls and Boys’

‘Parklife’

‘Country House’

‘Song 2’

Music Department

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Pop Profile

COPY the following table and complete the answers. Use a pencil and ruler for the

table.

Name

Blur

Original Name

The Year the band formed

Record Label

First Single

First Album

Name of the Lead Guitarist

The Manchester band they

had a chart battle with

The successful 1994 album

Interesting fact

Songs I listened to

Music Department

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The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys were founded in Hawthorne, California in the late 1950s. The

group consisted of brothers Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, their cousin Mike

Love and friend Al Jardine. Eldest brother Brian Wilson was the main

songwriter of the group.

Originally, known as ‘The Pendletones’,

the group played local gigs in

Hawthorne, before releasing their debut

single ‘Surfin’’ in 1961 which was the

start of the ‘California Sound’ style of

music, which the band created. This

was further established on their debut

album ‘Surfin’ Safari’ in 1962.

It was in 1964 when the group achieved their first number one hit, ‘I Get

Around’. There was clear evidence that the vocals had been inspired by

Brian’s favourite band ‘The Four Freshmen’.

Early in 1965 Brian Wilson suffered a nervous breakdown and decided to quit

touring, though he continued writing, recording, and producing. During this

year the group recorded their landmark album ‘Pet Sounds’ which was

released in 1966. This album is considered the Beach Boys’ masterpiece.

This work was followed that same year by their third number one single. ‘Good

Vibrations’, one of the greatest songs of all time. In 1988 the band were

inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and achieved their fourth

number one ‘Kokomo’. They sold an estimated 100 million records worldwide.

In June 2000, Brian was inducted into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame.

Suggested listening:-

‘I Get Around’

‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’

‘God Only Knows’

‘Good Vibrations’

‘Heroes and Villains’

Music Department

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Pop Profile

COPY the following table and complete the answers. Use a pencil and ruler for the

table.

Name

The Beach Boys

Original Name

Decade the band formed

Band Members

First Single

Band who inspired them

First Album

Name of the song writer

Style of music they created

Landmark 1966 album

Song considered one of the

best of all time

Interesting fact

Songs I listened to

Music Department

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Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana, on August 29, 1958. As a

child, he performed as the lead singer of his family group, the Jackson 5.

Jackson has sold approximately 400 million records worldwide which

makes him one of the most successful singers of all time.

At the age of 13, Jackson launched a solo career with Motown Records, in addition to his work with the Jackson 5. He made the charts in 1971 with his first single ‘Got to Be There’. A year later his single ‘Ben’ became his first solo No. 1 single.

In 1975, Jackson worked with famous

producer Quincy Jones, on his 1979

album, ‘Off the Wall’. His biggest selling

album though was 1982’s ‘Thriller’ which became the best-selling album

in history. The album contained the No. 1 hits ‘Billie Jean’ and ‘Beat It’.

In the music video to ‘Billie Jean’, Jackson created his famous dance

move ‘The Moonwalk’.

Jackson became a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and co-wrote the charity single ‘We Are the World,’ which he sang with stars such as Lionel Ritchie, Bob Dylan and Tina Turner.

Jackson died in 2009 from a suspected medical overdose. A year later, he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award, taking his total number to 19.

Suggested listening:-

‘Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough’

‘Thriller’

‘Beat It’

‘Billie Jean’

‘Black and White’

‘Earth Song’

Music Department

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Pop Profile

COPY the following table and complete the answers. Use a pencil and ruler for the

table.

Name

Michael Jackson

Date of birth

Record label

First solo single

First number one solo single

Biggest selling album

Two other number one singles

Famous dance move

Famous producer he worked with

Number of Grammy Awards won

Number of records sold

Interesting fact

Songs I listened to

Music Department

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Coldplay

Coldplay formed in 1996, when members Chris Martin, Jon Buckland, Will

Champion and Guy Berryman met whilst they were university in London.

The group was originally named ‘Starfish’ and signed to the record label

‘Parlophone’ in 1999. The band have sold approximately 95 million records.

The band’s first single was called

‘Shiver’ and came from their first

album 'Parachutes' which won best

album at the Brit Awards in 2001.

Their 2005 album, 'X&Y', became the

best-selling album of 2005. It

included the singles 'Speed of

Sound', ‘Fix You’ and ‘Talk’. ‘X&Y’

won Coldplay Best Album at the Brit

Awards for a second time in 2006.

The band spent 2007 recording their fourth studio album 'Viva La Vida' or

'Death And All His Friends' with producer Brian Eno. The single 'Viva la Vida'

was the band's first UK No.1 single and the album became one of the fastest-

selling records in UK history.

In 2010, the band only released one single called 'Christmas Lights' in

December and spent the rest of the year touring and recording their next

album. The 2011 single ‘Paradise’ was Coldplay’s second No.1 hit.

In 2013 Coldplay recorded the song ‘Atlas’ for the film soundtrack for ‘The

Hunger Games: Catching Fire’. In February 2016 the band performed at the

Super Bowl, with guest appearances by Bruno Mars and Beyoncé.

Suggested Listening:

Yellow

Clocks

The Scientist

Speed of Sound

Viva La Vida

Music Department

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Pop Profile

COPY the following table and complete the answers. Use a pencil and ruler for the

table.

Name

Coldplay

Band members

Record label

First single

First album

Where did the band meet?

First number one single

Producer of Viva La Vida

Film that they played the soundtrack for

Two artists who performed with Coldplay

at the Superbowl

Number of records sold

Interesting fact

Songs I listened to