The Killers were named after a fictional band that appears in the music video for the New Order song “Crystal.”
Brandon Flowers was originally in another Las Vegas band called Blush, but was forced to leave the group after he refused to move to Los Angeles with the rest of his group members in 2001.
The Killers were started by Brandon Flowers and David Keuning who then recruited Ronnie Vannucci Jr. and Mark Stoermer to join the group.
The band mostly played small clubs in Las Vegas and quickly garnered the attention of Alex Gilbert, a representative for Warner Bros UK. While his label wasn’t interested in the band, he showed the demo to a friend back in England who worked for a label called Lizard King who signed the band. The label is now named Marrakesh Records.
The first album from the band, Hot Fuss, was released in 2004 and the record became a triple platinum hit practically overnight. After about half a year, the band was already making cameos on popular American shows like The O.C.. (Photo Via Sleepin' Beauty [Flickr])
If you’ve heard the line “I’ve got soul but I’m not a soldier,” you can thank The Killers. They first used that line in their song “All of These Things That I’ve Done,” and was quickly borrowed by Robbie Williams, U2 and Coldplay.
When the album Sam’s Town came out, Brandon Flowers put his foot in the mouth before the release by promising it would be “one of the best albums of the past twenty years.” It received very mixed reviews by fans and critics alike. Of course, sales were still good.
In 2007, the band released Sawdust. The first pressing had a demo version of “Move Away,” but it was said to be a mistake by the record label and since then, it was replaced by a different version of the same track.
Brandon Flowers is a practicing Mormon and the group has stayed tied in with their religious beliefs, including the release of three Christmas songs over the last three years.
Throughout the years, the band has worked with such big-name musicians as Lou Reed, Elton John and Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys.
There are some minor controversies between the band and other groups on their US label, Island Records. Flowers accused bands such as Fall Out Boy and The Bravery of riding on his group’s coattails. Since then he has apologized.
The next album the group is coming out with will be all cover tracks, including covers of Tom Waits, Rod Stewart and Genesis.
I’m sure this isn’t the first time you’ve been told that certain members of the ruling classes are weird, but this might be the first time you’ve heard some of these exceptionally strange tales of royal weirdness.
The Cucumber King of Burma
In 931, King Theinhko of Burma ate the cucumbers of a local villager without asking first. The angry farmer murdered Theinhko and then took over the throne as King Nyanng-u Sawrahan. The queen welcomed him, in an effort to prevent political unrest. Nyanng-u was forever after known as ‘The Cucumber King.’ He reigned over Burma for 33 years until he was overthrown.
Nine Months of French Bastards
King Philip Augustus of France was married to his second wife, Ingeborg of Denmark, in 1193. Sadly, Augustus found Ingeborg to be absolutely revolting and filed for a divorce on the grounds that the marriage was not yet consummated. His wife, however, argued that they had consummated the marriage. As a result, Pope Celestine III refused to grant the king a divorce. Philip was not easily defeated. He ignored the decision and went on to marry Agnes of Marania.
The pope ordered him to return to Ineborg and to make his point, he imposed an interdict on December 12, 1199. During this time, all churches were closed and the pope determined that as long as the king wasn’t sleeping with his wife, his subjects were not allowed to sleep with theirs. As a result, all children born in this period were deemed illegitimate. The interdict continued until September 7, 1200 –resulting in nine months of bastards born in France. Augustus eventually did return to Ineborg, but not until 1213.
A Dead Woman Crowned Queen
Ines de Castro was a loving mistress to Dom Pedro, heir of the Portuguese throne. Unfortunately, the current ruler, King Alfonso, was paranoid that the pair was plotting against him and ordered Ines to be assassinated in 1355.
When Pedro was crowned as king in 1357, his love for Ines had not yet faded. He sought revenge on the assassins and made them suffer through horrendous tortures. That wasn’t enough though, Pedro was still determined that Ines should take her seat beside him as queen. He had her body exhumed, dressed in proper royal attire and the entire candlelit coronation ceremony proceeded as usual. Ines’s body was anointed and crowned, the subjects were made to swear allegiance to her, and the nobles were required to kneel and kiss her cold, two-years-dead hand.
The Ghastly Death of Mary Queen of Scots
If you ever played Bloody Mary in the mirror as a youth, you know that it is quite a terrifying ghost story. While there are many proposed “Marys” that could be referenced in the story, Mary Queen of Scots has a terrifying ghost story thanks to her botched execution.
On February 8, 1587, Mary was led to the execution block. The executioner, likely drunk, failed to knock off her head on the first blow. Instead, he hit the back of her head, at which time, her servants reported that she muttered “Sweet Jesus.” He managed to remove her head on the second blow and he lifted her head up by the auburn hair on her head, right then, her head fell from his hands, revealing that she actually had short gray hair covered by thick wig. Also strange, her lips continued moving for the next fifteen minutes, likely caused by a nerve damaged during the first execution attempt.
As if all this wasn’t enough, Mary’s dog was discovered to be hiding under her skirts. When the pet was pulled out, it insisted on lying between the shoulders and decapitated head of her body. Eventually, Mary’s servants took the dog, but not until it was thoroughly soaked in its dead master’s blood. Even for the people of the time, jaded from by frequent public executions, Mary’s beheading was full of exceptionally terrifying surprises.
A Strange ‘Divine Right’
Normally a king’s “divine rights” seem to include things like violating virgins and taking food and money, however, in 1627, Charles I decided to declare rights of a much different nature. He ordered all of his subjects to turn in their urine to official collectors once a day in the summer and once every other day in the winter. These collections were to help the country create saltpeter, a component of gunpowder. Charles also claimed rights to all soil loaded with animal waste. The so-called ‘Saltpeter Men’ were permitted to dig up the floors of stables, slaughterhouses and other areas without permission of the property owners.
Imagine trying to hold a conversation with someone receiving an enema. Now imagine that someone was King and he was holding court throughout the experience. King Louis XIV was known for performing this type of activity regularly. The enema was a quite popular medical procedure at this time, but few people seemed to love the activity nearly as much as the king who is said to have received over 2,000 enemas throughout his lifetime – many of them in public.
The King of Debt
King Theodore of Corsica wasn’t much of a king. For one thing, he wasn’t nobility by birth, he was merely a soldier who asked to be king in exchange for helping aid the Corsicans in a revolt. When the revolt had proven to be ineffective and a the Genovese government put a price on his head, Theodore started to lose popularity amongst his people. He decided that he would be better off ruling overseas.
Unfortunately, once he left the country, he was never able to return to his kingdom. Eventually, he ended up in debtors prison in Amsterdam, and later, London. He was freed from Holland’s prison easy enough, but the only way he could earn release from the London jail was by giving Corsica to his creditors.
When he died in London in 1756, his epitaph read:
Theodore this moral learned ere dead: Fate poured its lessons on his living head, Bestowed a kingdom, and denied him bread.
After his death, an opera was made from his tale in 1784. Additionally, ‘King Theodore of Corsica’ started to be used as a nickname for gin, joining the ranks of ‘Cuckold’s Comfort’ as a slang for the drink.
Madness Doth Not A Kingdom Make
Nouvelle France was a South American territory also called the Kingdom of Araucanìa and Patagonia. The area’s first (and only) king, elected in 1860, was Orelie-Antoine de Tounens, a French lawyer. He supported the local people’s efforts to resist takeover by Chile and Argentina. The people of the area, called Mapuche, thought that Tounens may help aid their cause as he was a skilled European negotiator. He helped the locals draft a constitution and mint coins, but Chile largely ignored him. Tounens tried to convince France to come to his aid and after a short investigation, they determined him to be crazy.
He was arrested by the Chilean government within two years of becoming king. France managed to secure his release from prison by convincing his jailers that he was insane. After his release, he was deported back to France and Tounens then spent the rest of his life trying to take over his kingdom again. In 1869, he made it back to the country, but soon returned to France to gather more money. Tounens attempted to return two more times afterward, but both times he was captured by Chilean authorities and deported. He eventually died in squalor in France in 1878.
His relatives periodically continued to claim their rightful place as ruler of the country, although the most recent heir has renounced the claim. Since the establishment of Nouvelle France, no sovereign state has ever recognized the territory as a legitimate country.
The Long-Lasting Legacy of Nobility
In 1888, Charles-Marie David de Mayrena elected himself Marie the First, King of the Sedang. Marie was an eccentric French adventurer and he arranged his kingdom to rule over a number of small tribes. King Marie declared the official religion of the country to be Roman Catholic although most of its residents were Muslims and he later adopted the Islamic faith himself. He awarded titles of nobility to his supporters during his two-year rule. He attempted to trade his kingdom to the French, English and Belgium governments in exchange for a trading monopoly, but he received little interest. When he tried to return to his kingdom though, the French prevented him from entering any port in Indochina. He died in 1890, and the details of this death remain a mystery –some sources claim it was by duel, others say it was poison and yet other reports argue he was bitten by a snake.
Over 100 years later, the Assembly for the Restoration of the Sedang Nobility was established in Montreal in 1995. This group consisted of descendants of those who bestowed with titles of nobility by King Marie. The organization claims it seeks to “re-establish and promote the social institutions of monarchy and nobility and practice their principles in a world which has largely forgotten them: chivalry, honor, duty, loyalty, respect, enlightenment, tolerance.” At the same time, they are glad to renounce their claims to the territory, admitting it is undisputedly part of Vietnam. Three years later, they changed their name to the Sedang Royalist Assembly. Although genealogists helped the group find an heir of King Marie, the descendant was uninterested in claiming his title. This organization is still around and is headquartered in Montreal.
Technicalities Galore
What happens when your country’s official constitution and other historical documents fail to mention one small town? If that unmentioned village happens to be Seborga (flag shown above), you may end up with an “independent principality” smack dab in the middle of your country. The area, that should be part of Italy, declared its independence in 1967 and elected the head of the flower growing collective, Giorgio Carbone, to be the country’s head of state or “Giorgio I, Prince of Seborga.” Giorgio is officially addressed as “Your Tremendousness” by his followers.
Giorgio and other members of the village claim that Seborga was never incorporated into Italy. Although it was sold to the king of Savoy and Sardinia in 1729, the sale was not registered. On top of that, the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the 1861 Act of Unification and the constitution written in 1946 all fail to mention Seborga. Scholars have proven that regardless, the area is still part of Italy, but Seborgians defy this logic.
The principality mints its own currency, the luigino, currently valued at $6 - meaning if it were recognized as a legitimate legal tender, it would be the most valuable currency in the world. Regardless of the area’s claim to independence, most of the residents follow the laws of Italy, pay taxes and vote in national elections.
In 2006, a woman named Yasmine von Hohenstaufen Anjou Plantagenet, who claims to be heir to Roman Emperor Fredrick II and the rightful ruler of Seborga, tried to return the ‘country’ to Italy. The majority of villagers were notably upset and Prince Giorgio commented “The girl cannot give away something she does not own.”
Sources #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9 All Images come from listed sources unless otherwise noted.
David Byrne, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth attended art school together in Providence, Rhode Island. It was there that the three formed their first music group called “The Artistics” in 1974. This first band fell apart within a year, but when the three moved to New York City together, they continued to be work on music and even shared an apartment together.
Chris and Tina were dating at the time and married in 1977. They are still together to this day.
June 8, 1975 the group played their first show together as the Talking Heads. They opened up for the Ramones and the performance took place at the legendary club CBGBs.
The name “Talking Heads” cam from a friend of Tina’s, who found the name in the TV Guide, where it was used to describe “a head-and-shoulder shot of a person talking as 'all content, no action,'” Weymouth explained, “It fit.”
A year later, the group added their forth and final member, Jerry Harrison. He previously played with The Modern Lovers.
Sire Records signed the band in 1977 and group soon released their first single, "Love ? Building on Fire.” Interestingly, their first album, Talking Heads: 77, did not contain this single.
Many music fans recognize the name Brian Eno as a famous producer that worked with Roxy Music, David Bowie and U2. He also is known for his long relationship with the Talking Heads and David Byrne. He met the group when he began working with them on their second album, More Songs About Buildings and Food. Eno recorded a song in 1977 called “King’s Lead Hat,” which is actually an anagram of “Talking Heads.”
If you’ve ever used the phrase “This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco,” you have the band’s single “Life During Wartime” to thank.
In 1980, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz began working on a separate project, the popular alternative band, Tom Tom Club. At this same time, both David Byrne and Jerry Harrison decided to release solo albums.
One of the band’s most popular songs “Once in a Lifetime,” was not a hit initially, but grew in popularity due to a very strong and interesting music video. You may recognize the song as the one that says “And you may tell yourself ‘This is not my beautiful house!’ And you may tell yourself ‘This is not my beautiful wife!’” While I couldn't find a quality video version of it, I did find this Muppets version that is strikingly close (and perhaps even more fun):
The group’s 1983 album Speaking in Tongues was followed up with their last tour, which was captured in the documentary Stop Making Sense. The film is largely regarded as one of the top music documentaries ever created.
The film True Stories was created by David Byrne and features all of the band members. The group covered all the songs in the film and released them as an album with the same name.
Radiohead got together in 1985 and decided to name themselves after the Talking Head’s song “Radio Head.”
Although the Talking Heads stopped working together after their last album, Naked, was released in 1988, it took an additional three years before the band officially announced their break up. Within the same year as the band’s end, they did get back together one last time to record a single for the movie Until the End of the World. The video only featured two of the band’s members though. In 1996, David refused to get back together for another album, but the other members were interested and they released No Talking, Just Head under the band name The Heads. This record featured guest vocals from Debbie Harry of Blondie, Andy Partridge of XTC, Gordon Gano or Violent Femmes, Michael Hutchence of INXS, Richard Hell and more.
A tour followed the release of this album and Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde performed vocals during these live performances.
David Byrne was displeased with the group’s abbreviation of the name “Talking Heads” and opted to sue the group for acting on "a pretty obvious attempt to cash in on the Talking Heads name." (Photo: David Byrne)
In the years since, David Byrne has continued to work on soundtracks and solo albums, often with the help of Brian Eno. He also works as a visual artist and his work has been displayed in a number of art galleries around the world. Many of his public art installations have been anonymous though.
In 2005, he began working on a disco opera with Fatboy Slim. It will be based around the life of the former First Lady of the Phillipines, Imelda Marcos.
Last year, Byrn turned the entire Battery Maritime Building in Manhattan into a giant musical instrument. He hooked the pipes, heaters and other pieces of the structure electronically to a pipe organ.
Jerry Harrison has become an important producer who has worked with bands such as the Violent Femmes, the Fine Young Cannibals, General Public, Live and No Doubt.
Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth continued to record as the Tom Tom Club up until last year. Their singles have been sampled by Grandmaster Flash and Mariah Carey.
Photo Via Tom Tom Club Website [http://www.tomtomclub.net/]
While the Talking Heads did perform together for their 2002 induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a reunion remains unlikely. David Byrne says his refusal to reunite comes down to differences in musical tastes and some bad blood between the group members. However, Tina is critical of David and has publicly referred to him as “a man incapable of returning friendship.”
These are a great idea and are certain to get children to play with their food -of course, that may not really help get them to eat their veggies. They will be availible on April 10th and are a reasonable $10.
The Melvins were named after a much-despised Thriftway supervisor of band member Buzz Osborne. The group started in the early 80’s by the members who attended school together in Montesano, Washington.
Throughout the years, the group has had trouble finding and keeping a permanent bass player. As a result, Buzz Ozborne and Dale Crover have been the only consistent members. Least you worry though, the bass players do not spontaneously combust like the drummers in Spinal Tap.
Many people have heard the group being credited as a huge influence of the Seattle grunge scene, but fewer people know that Kurt Cobain actually tried out to play bass in the group but he failed after forgetting all the songs because he was so nervous.
Kurt stayed good friends with the group, particularly drummer Dale Crover, and even worked as a roadie for them at a few shows. Later, he produced and played on two songs on the group’s album Houdini.
Aside from bands in the grunge scene, The Melvins have influenced a lot of other bands, including Tool, Crowbar, Mastodon, Eyehategod and Boris, the last of which were named after a Melvin’s song.
Dale Crover helped out Kurt Cobain in 1988, by playing drums for Nirvana on their ten song demo. Later this demo became part of their first album, Bleach. Dale later introduced Kurt to Dave Grohl, who would become the group’s long-term drummer.
Also in ’88, Osborne and Crover moved to San Francisco. This is when they lost their first bass player, Matt Lukin, who decided to stay in Washington. Matt later formed the band Mudhoney.
In 1992, The Melvins released three EPs based on the idea of the four Kiss albums each featuring a member of the group. Later in the year, the group tried to release a full-length album called Lysol, but the album had to be renamed Melvins because “Lysol” was trademarked.
The group was always a big fan of Kiss, so they were honored when Gene Simons played bass with them at Lollapalooza in ’93 and ’94. He also played on the song "Goin’ Blind" with them at a Primus concert in 1993. This track was a Kiss song that The Melvins covered on Houdini.
Atlantic refused to release the group’s highly experimental album Prick, so they released it under Amphetamine Reptile Records. Because they were still limited to releases under Atlantic, Prick was released with the band’s name in reverse.
A picture on the Tool website shows The Melvins in an image covered by lunchmeat that spells out “Melvins say…Tool Sux!”
In 1999, the group released three new albums and one of the highlights of these albums was a cover of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” sung by Leif Garrett.
There was originally going to be a European tour supporting the group's album with Dead Kennedy's singer Jello Biafra, Never Breathe What You Can’t See, but it was canceled due to some problems with bassist-of-the-time, Kevin Rutmanis. Later, Dale Crover and Buzz Osborne admitted that their bassist had “disappeared.” He returned for a short time in 2005, but then officially quit the band.
In 2006, The Melvins became a four piece by adding a second drummer, Coady Willis, from the band Big Business. Dale Crover said, "we want to do this 'mirror image' type of thing. We've kind of fused our two drum sets together, and we're going to try and do some crazy thing with it."
Dieting. Personally, I suck at it, as do many people throughout the world. But it doesn't mean we don't try. Of course, some of us try to eat less and exercise more and some people jump on the bandwagon of any fad diets, always hoping to find a miracle that leads to quick weight loss with little effort. As a result, there's been quite a few crazy diet ideas in the last few centuries, here are the top ten weirdest diet methods we've ever heard of.
The chewing diet was popularized in the Edwardian Era by Horace Fletcher. He believed that chewing allowed food to be properly absorbed into the body. Insufficient chewing would lead to constipation and clog up the digestive tract, said Fletcher. He lost 40 pounds in just four months using the diet he created. Dr. Kellogg was a friend and fan of Fletcher and he required patients at his sanatorium to participate in the chewing diet as well as a variety of other weight loss methods.
To properly implement the chewing diet, a person must chew each bite over 32 times, which takes approximately 30 seconds. After chewing is done, the person then tilts his or her head back and allows the food to trickle down their throat. Anything that is still too big to swallow must be spit out. The desire to eat things likely diminishes after a period on this diet, so it does work as you begin to eat less food.
Possible Side Effects May Include: A sore jaw. Much longer meal times. Annoyed and disgusted friends.
Source
The Tapeworm Diet
If you eat for two and aren’t pregnant, maybe it’s time to get a second mouth in your belly. A tapeworm can sure help eat all of that excess food. Around the turn of the century, these little parasites were sold in a simple pill form claiming to help you shed inches from your waist. It’s uncertain whether these pills actually had live tapeworms or if they were just another “snake oil” product, but what is certain is that people have intentionally used tapeworms as a weight loss method. Jockeys are amongst the many people purported to have used tapeworms as a diet.
Possible Side Effects May Include: Well for one, having a worm inside your stomach, which might cause nausea, headaches, infections and diarrhea. Some people’s organs are blocked by the eggs and this can result in death. There is no evidence that tapeworms actually help people lose much of weight, so the whole experience may be for nothing.
You can’t eat while you sleep. So naturally, if you sedate yourself for days and neglect to eat as a result, this starvation diet may actually work for you. Elvis was a proponent of this weight loss method around the end of his life and the dieting method was also made popular in Valley of the Dolls.
Possible Side Effects May Include: A severe pill hangover can leave you with a headache, nausea and fatigue. Additionally, improper sedation might actually kill you and so might starvation.
If your food looks disgusting, you’re less likely to eat it. While this is certainly true, it’s not enough to make the vision-dieter glasses any less silly. From the testimonials I’ve read, the glasses make you feel relaxed while going on your day to day routine, but they don’t help you lose much weight. Johnny Depp is a big fan of blue glasses, although it’s hard to say if he just likes their look or if he actually feels the effects from the lens color.
Possible Side Effects May Include: Looking like a geek in big blue glasses. Possible vision problems after prolonged exposure to the glasses.
If you’re showering everyday, you might as well lose weight while doing it, right? That’s the theory behind Aoqili diet soaps. These soaps contain seaweed that will penetrate skin and breakdown fat. There seems to be no evidence that this product works though, not even faked testimonials.
Possible Side Effects May Include: Some people have had allergic reactions to the soap’s ingredients.
Source
Ear Stapling
Ear stapling is exactly what its name implies, you pierce the cartilage of your inner ear and it supposedly suppresses your appetite. You can only leave it in for six weeks to three months because once your body gets used to the staple it will lose its effectiveness. While many people claim this weight loss method is highly effective, even its proponents can’t agree why. The most common explanation involves the piercing’s similarity to acupuncture.
Ear stapling is illegal in Florida and other states have regulated the practice to help decrease the number of infections it has caused.
Possible Side Effects May Include: Well, for one, you will have a staple in your ear, which may be a little painful. Secondly, you could get an infection, which could make you severely sick. Also, it is possible to receive nerve damage when the procedure is preformed improperly.
The cotton ball diet is exactly what it sounds like, you eat cotton balls. Some people eat them dry and others soak them in gelatin first. Obviously the idea is that cotton balls are low in calories but very filling, so you won’t want to eat anything that is fattening. The cotton balls are also high in fiber, which is thought to be good for you –until you realize it’s not the kind of fiber you need in your diet.
Possible Side Effects May Include: Exceptionally boring, dry and disgusting meals. A lack of needed vitamins and other nutrients. Major digestive problems.
The theory of the blood type diet is that every blood type has a set of foods best suited to it and if you eat according to your blood type, you will lose weight. Supposedly, a person with type A blood should be vegetarian and meditate, while those with type O blood should eliminate grains from their diet and do aerobics.
Possible Side Effects May Include: This diet may seem harmless, but depending on which blood type you have, your recommended diet may center around food that is bad for you. For example, many people are lactose intolerant, but anyone with type B blood is recommended to intake a lot of dairy –this could cause a lot of problems. Additionally, people with type A blood are told to eat a lot of wheat, but if someone has gluten intolerance, this could be dangerous.
The Hallelujah diet requires eating foods specifically mentioned in Genesis Chapter 1, Verse 29. These foods are all-natural, vegan, raw foods. Of course, in Genesis Chapter 9, Verse 3, God lifts these restrictions, but the hallelujah diet overlooks this.
In the diet, only 15% of a person’s daily intake of food is allowed to be cooked. Aside from the basic diet, the plan recommends exercise, rest, sunshine and elimination of stress. It seems pretty natural that anyone exercising, relaxing and eating vegan will be losing weight, regardless of whether God dictated it or not.
Possible Side Effects May Include: Like all vegan diets, a person must be very careful to get their daily intake of protein, vitamins and minerals. Other than that, this diet is mostly healthy, although it may annoy your friends.
Source
The Caveman Diet
This diet is also called the Paleolithic diet because the focus is based on food available to cavemen during the Paleolithic Era, around 10,000 years ago. This time period was prior to the development of agriculture, so the plants available to these dieters are mostly ones available to gatherers and hunters. Food can be cooked though because it was common practice in that era. Most participants will be limited to lean meat, fish, veggies, fruit, roots and nuts. Grains, dairy, salt, refined sugar, oils and legumes are all strictly prohibited.
Possible Side Effects May Include: Dieters may have a hard time getting their daily calcium intake, but other than that, it is not dangerous. Most restaurants do offer food that would fit into this dietary plan –steaks, salads, etc.
Before you get upset, know that the little guy isn't drinking wine, just apple cranberry juice. You have to admit the glass seems to be just the right size for his nose.
The B-52s are from Athens, Georgia and was formed in 1976. The group was named after a beehive hairstyle resembling a jet nose. The girls in the group would frequently wear beehive wigs during the early period of their performances.
The origin of the group started after the original members, Ricky Wilson, Kate Pierson, Keith Strickland and Fred Schneider, shared a giant cocktail called a Flaming Volcano at a Chinese restaurant. After sharing their drink, they set up a jam session that night and soon played their first gig at a Valentine’s Day party.
There are actually two official spellings of the B-52’s, one with the apostrophe and one without. Up until last year, the apostrophe was required, but they dropped it for the release of their album Funplex. Now both forms are considered correct.
By 1978, the group released their first single, “Rock Lobster,” which helped them develop an underground following. They were soon performing at CBGB’s and Max’s Kansas City in New York City.
Their first album proved to be quite successful in the UK and the group performed in to a packed audience in London the next year. Among those in attendance were Joe Jackson and the members of Scritti Politti.
The group has performed twice on Saturday Night Live. Once in 1980 with host Teri Garr and once ten years later with host Alec Baldwin.
In 1982, the band released an EP with David Byrne of the Talking Heads. A full album was planned, but never was completed, so the Mesopotamia EP featured the songs that were recorded all the way. The record Whammy! was initially released with the song “Don’t Worry,” however the song had to be removed from further pressings due to copyright issues with Yoko Ono.
Fred Schneider released a solo album in 1984, featuring band members Kate Pierson and Ricky Wilson. This album featured a song called “Monster” about the creature living in his pants. The video for “Monster” contained appearances by RuPaul, Keith Haring and Tina Weymouth of the Talking Heads. He released a second solo album in 1996.
In 1985, the B-52’s were working on a new album called Bouncing Off the Satellites, when Ricky Wilson, the group’s guitarist and brother to singer Cindy Wilson, died. The death was originally said to be caused by cancer, but was actually AIDS-related. Everyone in the group was severely affected by the death, particularly his sister, Cindy. As a result, everyone temporarily parted ways to deal with the loss.
When the group re-formed three years later, they began working on the album Cosmic Thing, which ended up being their most commercially successful album.
The song “(Shake That) Cosmic Thing” was the first single on Cosmic Thing and was used as one of the main songs on the movie Earth Girls Are Easy.
The second single from that album, “Love Shack,” has become the group’s most famous tune. RuPaul was in the video for the song. Later they re-recorded the song with slightly different lyrics (“Glove Slap”) for The Simpsons.
The video for the song “Deadbeat Club” featured an appearance by Michael Stipe of R.E.M., who was from Athens, Georgia like the rest of the group.
Kate Pierson sang in Iggy Pop’s song “Candy” and the track was his only commercial success. She also sang on R.E.M.’s songs “Shiny Happy People” and “Me in Honey.”
Cindy Wilson also lent her vocals to a few songs from the group Martini Ranch who was headed by the actor Bill Paxton.
In the early 1990’s Cindy Wilson took time away from the band to be with her family and the group released the album, Good Stuff, as a trio. This album was one of the band’s most political albums although the members had dedicated time and energy to a variety of causes throughout their career.
Frank Schneider lent his vocal stylings to the song “Bride of Frankenstein” on Elvira’s 1994 album Elvira Presents, Monster Hits. Later on, he performed with Sleater-Kinney on a cover of the song “Angry Inch” from the movie Hedwig And The Angry Inch.
In 1994, the group appeared in the live-action movie of The Flintstones, acting as the BC-52’s, and they also sang the title track, “Meet The Flintstones.” The same year, they also recorded the theme for Nickelodeon’s Rocko’s Modern Life.
The group recorded the song “The Chosen One” for the Pokemon 2000 movie, the theme for Scooby-Doo and The Cyber Chase and later played the song “Orange You Glad It’s Summer” for a Target commercial.
The Maryland Ensemble Theatre of Fredrick, MD, created a musical based on the B-52’s music. The piece is called Planet Claire and involves a girl named Claire being transported to Planet Topaz where she meets aliens very similar to people she knows back on Earth. The first performance occurred in 2002 and it was quite a success, leading to a second production by the Baltimore Theatre Project in 2004.
Last year, the group released Funplex, their first full album in over sixteen years. Exclusive, limited-edition copies signed by the group were sold at Newbury Comics and FYE.
A crocodile who received major facial damage after being hit by a car got facial reconstructive surgery to treat his injuries. The vets at the Miami Metrozoo used metal rods to put the animals face back together and they are now referring to the animal lovingly as "Robo Croc."
"The vets installed four steel plates with 41 screws into the crocodile's skull in a procedure that's amazing zoo professionals.
"I've been at the zoo 30 years and it's one of the most incredible procedures I've ever been a part of," said Ron Magill, spokesman for Miami MetroZoo.
That's because the 250-pound American Crocodile measuring 10-feet, 2-inches long had been left for dead in the Keys on Dec. 19, 2008, with traumatic injuries: its skull crushed and fractures throughout its body."
This bear knows how to "Get Down On It." I hope he at least finally gets that scratch taken care of for all the embarrassment he's sure to get out of it.
Am I the only one that sees this being used in some kind of commercial soon?
