The Hitmen

Hitmen are an Australian Hard rock band. The group went through a large number of lineup changes in its short late 1970s and early 1980s run, then regrouped under a new name, Hitmen DTK, between 1989 and 1992. They reformed in 2007 and continue to play.

History

Radio Birdman backup singer Johnny Kannis first formed the group as Johnny and the Hitmen in 1977. They recorded three songs and released two of them as a 7" under Johnny's name in 1978. When Radio Birdman's European tour went awry in 1978, some of its members joined Kannis' band. The group began touring, and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1979, releasing their first single in July of that year. A second single followed the next year, and in December 1980, the band entered the studio. The result was 1981's self-titled full length, released in July, and the group supported Steppenwolf on an Australian tour.

In 1982, the group left Warner Bros. Records and signed to RCA Records, quickly releasing a follow-up LP that ended up selling poorly. When Iggy Pop toured Australia in 1983, three of The Hitmen and one member of The Celibate Rifles were selected as a backing band to Radio Birdman singer Rob Younger, who was picked as the opening act (as The New Christs). Kannis went on the road with a new band, Johnny Kannis and the Night Train, during this hiatus. Kannis was injured in a car accident on tour and was out of commission for over a year; the group broke up shortly after a farewell tour once Kannis was well again. Following this was a live album, Tora Tora DTK, for which the band did a few one-off shows in 1985.

Sean Combs

Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, Puffy, Diddy, and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. Combs was born in Harlem and grew up in Mount Vernon, New York. He worked as a talent director at Uptown Records before founding Bad Boy Records in 1993. He released his debut album No Way Out in 1997, which has been certified seven times platinum and was followed by successful albums such as Forever (1999), The Saga Continues... (2001) and Press Play (2006). In 2009 Combs formed the musical group Diddy – Dirty Money and released the critically well-reviewed and commercially successful album Last Train to Paris (2010).

Combs has won two Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and is the producer of MTV's Making the Band. His non-music business ventures include the clothing lines Sean John and "Sean by Sean Combs" – for which he earned a Council of Fashion Designers of America award – a movie production company, and two restaurants. In 2015 Forbes estimated Combs' net worth at $735 million.

Big Love

Big Love is an American television drama that aired on HBO between March 2006 and March 2011. The show is about a fictional fundamentalist Mormon family in Utah that practices polygamy. Big Love stars Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin, as well as a large supporting cast.

The series premiered in the United States on March 12, 2006 following the sixth-season premiere of the HBO series The Sopranos. The show was a success for HBO, running for five seasons before concluding its run on March 20, 2011.

Big Love received widespread critical acclaim, and earned several major awards and nominations throughout its run. The third season was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, and the first three were nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series - Drama. For acting, Chloë Sevigny won a Golden Globe Award for her supporting role, and Bill Paxton was nominated three times for his leading role. At the Emmys, Ellen Burstyn, Bruce Dern, Mary Kay Place and Sissy Spacek were all nominated for their recurring roles. Creators Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer won the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Drama.

Big Love (Simply Red album)

Big Love is the eleventh studio album by British pop group Simply Red. The album was released on 29 May 2015 by East West Records. It is their first studio album since Stay (2007), and the first album to only feature original material since Life (1995).Big Love is also the first album to be released under a new recording contract with East West Records, a label Simply Red previously were signed to until April 2000.

Background

On 3 November 2014, Simply Red announced they would be reforming in Autumn 2015 for a 30th anniversary European tour, the "Big Love Tour 2015".

On 19 April 2015, on their official Facebook page, the band announced that they would be releasing a new studio album containing 12 new tracks.

Lead singer Mick Hucknall said of the album: "Once I began wondering how Simply Red were going to sound, I started writing songs. With ‘Stay’ I was running away from Simply Red. But now I'm comfortable with the notion of us as a blue-eyed soul group. I had to stop myself fighting that idea. Our sound is original too. I honestly don't know of another band that has pulled so many musical strands together". Hucknall has said he wanted to make an album like Stars with a consistent theme: "And the theme here is life from a family viewpoint. It’s an album that deals with birth, love, death, and all the stuff in between".

Big Love (Fleetwood Mac song)

"Big Love" is a song by Fleetwood Mac, that appeared on their 1987 album Tango in the Night. The song was the first single to be released from the album, reaching #5 on the U.S. charts, and number nine in the UK. The single was also a hit on the American dance charts, where the song peaked at #7.

A 12-inch version featured an extended dance mix, with added vocals by Stevie Nicks. While the 12-inch version included "You & I, Part II" from the Tango in the Night album, the 7-inch version included a non-album track, "You & I, Part I". A limited edition 12-inch picture disc was released in the UK, as well as a double 7-inch pack, which contained the "Big Love" single, and an exclusive 7-inch featuring "The Chain" as an A-side.

Background

"Big Love" was written by Lindsey Buckingham, and was originally going to be part of his third solo album which he began working on in 1985, but the project became a Fleetwood Mac album instead. The song epitomised the stylised production techniques used on the album, with its provocative "oh - ahh" male/female vocal exchange. Though many assumed the female "ahh" to be Stevie Nicks, it was actually Lindsey Buckingham performing both, created by way of his voice being sampled and altered in the studio to mimic that of a woman. The sample was aired several times on Late Night with David Letterman, where Letterman told viewers they were hearing the sounds of CPR.