Fixed stars

The fixed stars (from the Latin stellae fixae) are celestial objects that do not seem to move in relation to the other stars of the night sky. Hence, a fixed star is any star other than the Sun. A nebula or other starlike object may also be called a fixed star. People in many cultures have imagined that the stars form pictures in the sky called constellations. In Ancient Greek astronomy, the stars were believed to exist on a giant celestial sphere, or firmament, that revolves daily around Earth.

Origin of name

The phrase originated in classical antiquity, when astronomers and natural philosophers divided the lights in the sky into two groups. One group contained the fixed stars, which appear to rise and set but keep the same relative arrangement over time. The other group contained the naked eye planets, which they called wandering stars. (The Sun and Moon were sometimes called planets as well.) The planets seem to move and change their position over short periods of time (weeks or months). They always seem to move within the band of stars called the zodiac by Westerners. The planets can also be distinguished from fixed stars because stars tend to twinkle, while planets appear to shine with a steady light.

Pony Club (band)

Pony Club are a Dublin-based Irish band, primarily a vehicle for Mark Cullen. Other members include his brothers, Darren and Jason, as well as Martin Healy and David Morrissey, both formerly of A House, and Rob Cumiskey of The Kybosh.

History

Bawl and Fixed Stars

Cullen and his brothers moved from Finglas, Dublin to London in the 1990s after having signed to A&M under their then moniker, Bawl (which also featured Stephen McBride on bass). Bawl had released a series of singles on their own label, Dependent Records, and in 1996 released an album, Year Zero on A&M. This attracted critical attention and some "the new Smiths" hype (the Cullens cited their mother singing Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others at the kitchen sink as an influence) but disappointing sales. For legal reasons, the band had to change its name to Fixed Stars and signed on with Mercury. They released several singles as Fixed Stars, but broke up in 2000, having been dropped before releasing their album.

Ian Broudie of the Lightning Seeds had produced some of the Fixed Stars singles, and Mark Cullen continued to work with Broudie, writing songs for the Lightning Seeds album Tilt, and contributing with Broudie to the soundtrack of Purely Belter. Cullen and Broudie continue to collaborate on "songs for other people", and Cullen has written for Kylie Minogue.