easy listening

Ricky Valance was born David Spencer in Ynysddu, in the Sirhowy Valley in South Wales, UK, the eldest of seven children. He joined the RAF, aged 17, and after his discharge he decided to pursue a career singing. He was signed up by EMI and recorded his hit song Tell Laura I Love Her. It sold over a million copies and went to number one in 1960.

Brendan Croker is described as a sympathetic, maybe rough, pubrocker with big ears, one of the most pleasant musicians to come out of England (as described by a German folk magazine). He came to professional music rather late in the mid 80s, most prominently known for his work with Dire Straits offshot Notting Hillbillies. Brendan Croker was born in 1953 in Bradford (near Leeds), where the Mekons met and were found.

It all began as a playful side project. Leilani Hermiasih was just a little bored with her daily life. Her background in classical piano (which she had learned in some lessons with a superbly nice and patient old lady since she was about 7) gave her a little idea in what kind of game she wanted to play. She wanted to play the game of fun music. It was never that hard. All of the melodies would come out of outer space, and magically place themselves into her fingers as she then tried to put them all together into a proper song. Lyrics were added, and voila! It was done. Ding!

Read more about Frau on Last.fm.

Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra is a project by multi-instrumentalist Shawn Lee. Shawn grew up in a rural area on the outskirts of Wichita, Kansas. His mother is half Lebanese, half American Indian, his father Irish-American. While his peers got off on cheesy corporate rock and the kind of line-dancing tunes recently fashionable in Gap ads, Shawn was groovin to the blaxploitation funk Sly and the Isleys.