Nick Yates

Nick Yates Australia Lavigne married her boyfriend of two years, Sum 41's Deryck Whibley, in July 2006, just one month after the animated film Over the Hedge announced her cinematic debut (Lavigne voiced the part of Heather, a hungry opossum). She also appeared in Richard Linklater's fictional adaptation of Fast Food Nation, which was released that November. Nevertheless, she spent most of the year working on her third album, enlisting former blink-182 drummer Travis Barker to play drums and cherry-picking a variety of producers (including her husband) to helm the recording sessions. The Best Damn Thing appeared in April 2007, and its leadoff single, "Girlfriend," marked a return to the bratty, spunky punk-pop of her first album. "Girlfriend" soon became the subject of controversy as the '70s power pop band the Rubinoos sued Lavigne, claiming that her tune reworked their 1979 song "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend." No amount of bad publicity could hurt the singer, however, as "Girlfriend" became her biggest U.S. single ever and The Best Damn Thing topped album charts worldwide. ~ Andrew Leahey, All Music Guide

Frontman Westmark notes, "It makes the sound a little bit purer."

Starting in the 6th grade, the band -- the sons of carpenters, truck drivers and farmers -- began jamming in one of their grandmother's basements. Luckily, she was hard of hearing. The 12-year-olds began cranking out covers of vintage blues tunes. It was not long before they were crafting their own material inspired by The Small Faces, Cream and The Pretty Things.


Nick Yates Australia : With his distinctive vocals and blue-collar songwriting skills, Canadian icon Bryan Adams' take on rock 'n' roll basics found a niche that has lasted for over 20 years. Adams solo career was launched with the release of his self-titled debut album Bryan Adams in February of 1980 on A&M Records. Adams had already been touring, recording demos and working as a studio musician paying his rent for a few years, but it was when Adams formed a song-writing partnership with drummer Jim Vallance that things started to happen. The first album was not initially released in the U.S. (although "Hiding from Love" was issued as a single and reached No. 43 on the dance chart), so Adams assembled a backup band and embarked on his first Canadian tour as a solo act, spending four months playing clubs and colleges. The tour was to be the foundation for his second album, You Want It, You Got It, which was recorded in NYC in two weeks and released in the spring of 1981. The original album title was Bryan Adams Hasn't Heard Of You Either but that title was rejected by A&M as being too provocative. This 2nd album became Adams' first ‘official' release in the U.S. He toured America for six months, opening for the Kinks and Foreigner and by January of 1982 the album broke into the Billboard charts peaking at No. 118 in 13 weeks. The single "Lonely Nights" became his first Hot 100 entry at No. 84 and peaked at No. 3 on the mainstream rock chart. His third album, Cuts Like a Knife was released in January of 1983, with the single "Straight from the Heart", leading the way. It broke his career open, peaking in the Top Ten of the Hot 100 and setting up the LP, which followed. The album also reached Top Ten, selling platinum and spawning further Top 40 hits with the title song and "This Time". The album's success was stimulated by Adams' extensive touring in support of it, which began in Canada and continued into the U.S., where he opened for Journey. From there he toured Europe followed by dates in Japan and then back to Canada. Adams' fourth album Reckless was released on his 25th birthday, November 5, 1984, and was preceded by the single "Run to You", which reached the Top Ten. It was followed by no less than five Top 20 singles drawn from the album: "Somebody", "Heaven" (which hit number one), "Summer of '69" (Top Ten), "One Night Love Affair", and a duet with Tina Turner, "It's Only Love". Reckless reached No. 1 in the U.S. selling five million copies in America and a reported three million more in the rest of the world.

Adams also earned his first two Grammy nominations, Best Male Rock Performance for the album as a whole, and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group for "It's Only Love". As per usual, Adams toured extensively in support of it. His "World Wide in '85" tour began in December of 1984 finally wrapping in November 1985. One of the highlights that year included being the first artist to open the American side of the Live Aid concert from Philadelphia on July 13th. Into the Fire, followed in March of 1987, prefaced by the single "Heat of the Night," which became Adams' fifth Top Ten hit in the U.S. The album reached the Top Ten in the U.S. and sold a million copies, with another million sold overseas. It also spawned the Top 40 hits "Hearts on Fire" and "Victim of Love". Adams' worldwide tour in support of the album went on for more than a year. One of the final shows, in Werchter, Belgium, was filmed for a television special, "Bryan Adams: Live in Belgium", broadcast in Canada the following year. Live! Live! Live! a concert album drawn from the 1988 Belgium show, was initially released only in Japan but later garnered a wider audience. In a departure from earlier years, Adams did not tour extensively but opted to spend his time in England with writer/producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange, preparing for his next album. In June of 1991, Adams went back on the road in Europe co-headlining with ZZ Top. This coincided with the release of the single "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" which topped the U.S. charts for seven weeks - the longest any song had remained at No. 1 in eight years. Its international success was even greater; spending 16 weeks at No. 1 in the U.K., making it the longest-running chart-topper in the history of the British charts. Waking Up the Neighbours was released in September of 1991, and Adams once again hit the road – this time until July of 1993. The album featured two Top Ten hits "Can't Stop This Thing We Started" and of course, "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You". Before it finished running its course there would be three more Top 40 hits, "There Will Never Be Another Tonight", "Do I Have to Say the Words?" and "Thought I'd Died and Gone to Heaven". Waking Up the Neighbours sold four million copies in the U.S. and another six million in the rest of the world. It also earned Adams a Grammy nomination and his first Academy Award nomination. Adams began to look forward to his next studio album, but in the interim released a hits compilation, So Far So Good, in November 1993 featuring the single "Please Forgive Me," a new Adams/Lange track. The song would also find its way into the Top Ten. Then came the Adams' theme song for the movie The Three Musketeers, "All for Love", recorded with Rod Stewart and Sting, which hit No. 1 in the U.S. in January of 1994. That same month, Adams embarked on an ambitious tour of the Far East, including countries like Vietnam that were rarely visited by Western pop artists. Throughout the better part of 1994, Bryan kept a low profile with the exception of a song called "Rock Steady" written for Bonnie Raitt's live album Road Tested. He performed the song as a duet with her, and the two soon shared a chart single.

That stardom came courtesy of a fateful meeting with Evan Rogers. The New Yorker was vacationing in Barbados with his wife, a native of the island, when he was introduced to Rihanna. Rogers had spent years producing pop hits for such superstars as *NSYNC, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, Kelly Clarkson, Laura Pausini, and Rod Stewart, and he offered the talented Rihanna a chance to record. Along with Rogers' production partner, Carl Sturken (the other half of Syndicated Rhythm Productions), Rihanna recorded several demos that sparked the interest of the Carter Administration -- that is, the newly appointed Def Jam president Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter. This led to an audition, and Rihanna both received and accepted an on-the-spot offer to sign with Def Jam.