B movie

A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not an arthouse film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature. Although the U.S. production of movies intended as second features largely ceased by the end of the 1950s, the term B movie continued to be used in the broader sense it maintains today. In its post–Golden Age usage, there is ambiguity on both sides of the definition: on the one hand, the primary interest of many inexpensive exploitation films is prurient; on the other, many B movies display a high degree of craft and aesthetic ingenuity.

In either usage, most B movies represent a particular genre—the Western was a Golden Age B movie staple, while low-budget science-fiction and horror films became more popular in the 1950s. Early B movies were often part of series in which the star repeatedly played the same character. Almost always shorter than the top-billed films they were paired with, many had running times of 70 minutes or less. The term connoted a general perception that B movies were inferior to the more handsomely budgeted headliners; individual B films were often ignored by critics.

Gil Scott-Heron

Gilbert "Gil" Scott-Heron (April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011) was an American soul and jazz poet, musician, and author, known primarily for his work as a spoken word performer in the 1970s and 1980s. His collaborative efforts with musician Brian Jackson featured a musical fusion of jazz, blues, and soul, as well as lyrical content concerning social and political issues of the time, delivered in both rapping and melismatic vocal styles by Scott-Heron. His own term for himself was "bluesologist", which he defined as "a scientist who is concerned with the origin of the blues". His music, most notably on Pieces of a Man and Winter in America in the early 1970s, influenced and helped engender later African-American music genres such as hip hop and neo soul.

Scott-Heron remained active until his death, and in 2010 released his first new album in 16 years, entitled I'm New Here. A memoir he had been working on for years up to the time of his death, The Last Holiday, was published, posthumously in January 2012.

B-Movie (band)

B-Movie are a new wave band from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England, active in the first half of the 1980s. Their 1982 single "Nowhere Girl" became an international club hit, earning the band a worldwide fan base.

History

The band's original lineup included vocalist/bassist Steve Hovington, guitarist Paul Statham, keyboardist Rick Holliday and drummer Graham Boffey.

B-Movie's initial 1980 EP releases, the Take Three 7" and Nowhere Girl 12", were issued on the small UK indie label Dead Good Records. They were eventually signed to the Some Bizzare label, and their song "Moles" was featured on the original 1981 Some Bizzare Album.

In 1981, B-Movie signed with Phonogram imprint Deram, and had their biggest UK commercial success with the single "Remembrance Day", which reached No. 61 on the UK Singles Chart. The follow-up single, "Marilyn Dreams", failed to chart.

In 1982, they re-released "Nowhere Girl" as a single, which made the Top 10 in many European countries and reached No. 68 in the UK, but there was no immediate follow-up or full-length album. The popular webcomic Nowhere Girl was named after this single.