All by Myself

"All by Myself" is a power ballad by American artist Eric Carmen released in 1975. The verse is based on the second movement (Adagio sostenuto) of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Opus 18. The chorus is borrowed from the song "Let's Pretend", that Carmen had recorded with the Raspberries in 1972.

The song was the first released on Carmen's first solo LP after leaving the power pop group the Raspberries and was released as the first single in December 1975, to great acclaim. It reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 1 on Cash Box Top 100 Singles and number 3 in Canada. The single sold more than one million copies in the United States and was certified gold by the RIAA in April 1976. "All By Myself" was Carmen's first of eight U.S. Top 40 hits. In the UK, however, this was his only Top 40 success, peaking at number 12. In a 2006 poll for UK's Five programme Britain's Favourite Break-up Songs, Eric Carmen's version of this song was voted seventeenth.

Goodnight Vienna

Goodnight Vienna is the fourth studio album by Ringo Starr. It was recorded in the summer of 1974 in Los Angeles, and released later that year. Goodnight Vienna followed the commercially successful predecessor Ringo, and Starr used many of the same players, including Billy Preston, Klaus Voormann, Robbie Robertson, Harry Nilsson, and producer Richard Perry. The title is a Liverpool slang phrase meaning "it's all over".

Background and recording

While all three other former Beatles had contributed to Ringo (1973), only John Lennon contributed to Goodnight Vienna as Paul McCartney was busy with his band Wings promoting the album Band on the Run and George Harrison was recording Dark Horse.

On 17 June 1974, Starr called Lennon, who was about to record his Walls and Bridges album, and asked him to write a song he could include on his next album. Lennon wrote what became the title track, "Goodnight Vienna". A demo of "(It's All Down to) Goodnight Vienna" was recorded by Lennon on 28 June, with the session musicians from Walls & Bridges and sent to Starr in advance of the sessions. Besides writing and playing piano on the title track, Lennon suggested Starr cover The Platters' hit "Only You (And You Alone)" playing acoustic guitar and providing a guide vocal for Starr to follow. Starr's versions of both "Only You (And You Alone)" and "(It's All Down to) Goodnight Vienna" were recorded at a session produced by Lennon.Elton John also contributed a track, "Snookeroo", co-written with Bernie Taupin.Harry Nilsson gave Starr the track "Easy for Me", which he later recorded his own version of for his Duit on Mon Dei album.

All by Myself (Shirley Bassey album)

All by Myself is a 1982 album by Shirley Bassey. Having ended her contract with United Artists around 1980 (around the time that label was sold to Bassey's former home EMI), Bassey took a break from recording, and then began releasing albums on various labels. All by Myself was the first of these, issued on the Applause label. 1982 was the dawn of the CD era, and this was her first-ever album to be issued on CD. The album was also issued on LP and cassette. In the UK and some other countries, the album was titled Love Songs, with identical cover art, and under that name it charted for five weeks on the UK albums chart, on the K-tel label, peaking at #48. The original CD has since become scarce, though the songs have appeared on many compilations.

Track listing

The La's

The La's were an English rock band from Liverpool, originally active from 1983 until 1992. Fronted by singer, songwriter and guitarist Lee Mavers, the group are best known for their hit single "There She Goes". The band was formed by Mike Badger in 1983 and Mavers joined the next year, although for most of the group's history, the frequently changing line-up revolved around the core duo of Lee Mavers (vocals, guitar) and John Power (bass, backing vocals) along with numerous other guitarists and drummers including Paul Hemmings, John "Timmo" Timson, Peter "Cammy" Cammell, Iain Templeton, John "Boo" Byrne, Chris Sharrock, Barry Sutton, and Neil Mavers.

After the departure of Badger in late 1986, the band signed to Go! Discs in 1987 and commenced recording of their debut album. Following the release of singles "Way Out" (1987), "There She Goes" (1988) and "Timeless Melody" (1990) and having aborted several recording sessions with different producers, the band released their debut album The La's in 1990 to critical acclaim and modest commercial success. John Power left The La's to form Cast and the group entered a prolonged hiatus in 1992 which lasted almost two decades. The group later reformed briefly in the mid-1990s, 2005 and 2011. However, no new recordings have been released.

The La's (album)

The La's, the self-titled album by The La's, was the only studio release from the Liverpudlian four piece, released in 1990. It included "There She Goes," the group's biggest hit, and "Timeless Melody". A deluxe edition of The La's was released on 7 April 2008.

Writing and recording

All of the songs on The La's were written by Lee Mavers between 1986 and 1987 and after signing to Go! Discs in 1987 and for the next three years The La's worked with several producers to record their debut album, including John Porter, Gavin MacKillop, John Leckie, Bob Andrews, Jeremy Allom and Mike Hedges. The final sessions for the album were recorded December 1989 – February 1990 at the Eden Studios, London with producers Steve Lillywhite and Mark Wallis. "There She Goes" is a remixed version of the original single recording produced by Bob Andrews in 1988.

Release and reception

The album was released in 1990 on Go! Discs in the United Kingdom and in 1991 on London Records in the United States. The album was praised by critics and embraced by fans. It was the result of nearly three years in the studio with a string of acclaimed producers. Each attempted to capture the sound sought by Lee Mavers, the lead singer and principal songwriter of the band.

Laàs

Laàs (Lars in Occitan) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France.

Neighbouring villages include Orriule to the north, Andrein to the north-west, Narp to the east, Barraute-Camu to the west, and Montfort to the south.

The town is notable for it's self-declared secession from France as the Principality of Laàs en Béarn.

Principality of Laàs

The Principality of Laàs en Béarn is an initiative of the mayor of Laàs, Jacques Pédehontaà. He first proposed the idea in August 2011 to protest against the administrative reforms of the French government.

As of May 2014, the principality is registered as a non-profit association in the Prefecture of Pau. In August 2014 it presents three animation projects including a Hollywood Walk of Fame-like boulevard.

The Principality officially declared it's independence on January 1, 2015.

See also

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Laüs

Laüs or Laus (Ancient Greek: Λᾶος; Italian: Laos) was an ancient city of Magna Graecia on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. It was a colony of Sybaris at the mouth of the Lao River, which formed the boundary between Lucania and Bruttium in ancient times. The river and the city have the same name in Ancient Greek. Today the archaeological site of the city can be found at a short distance to the east of Marcellina, a frazione of the comune of Santa Maria del Cedro in Calabria.

History

Little is known about its foundation or history. Herodotus states that the inhabitants of Sybaris who had survived the destruction of their city in 510 BCE took refuge in Laüs and Scidrus.Diodorus Siculus seems to imply that that city had been captured by the Lucanians before or during 390 BCE. He writes that the army of Thurii had repelled a force of the Lucanians which had attacked their territory in 390 BCE. The Lucanians then withdrew to their own territory and Thurians pursued them to lay siege to the "prosperous" town of Laüs. On the way to Laüs the Thurians were ambushed and crushed by the Lucanians.