RED IS FOR SEXY!

Since the beginning of time, redheads have been the butt of many ginger jokes such as; Q: What’s the difference between a ginger and a brick? A: At least a brick gets laid; and name calling such as carrot top or Annie.  Even South Park had an episode entitled “ginger kids” dedicated to making a mockery out of the fiery hair colour. This list takes a look at some of the hottest, best and sexiest gingers in the celebrity world.

Best known as Doctor Evil’s son Scott Evil in the Austin Powers franchise, Seth Green has continued to build his career. Seth is not only an actor but he is also a voice actor on Family guy, comedian, television producer, television director and screenwriter. As if that wasn’t already enough, he is the creator and executive producer and most-frequent voice on Adult Swim’s Robot Chicken, where he is also a writer and director. Wow! Seth Green we salute you, you hard working man!

Not only is she the lead vocalist for rock band Paramore, but there is a reason Hayley Williams won sexiest female in the Kerrang Readers’ Poll 2012. Man she’s a hottie! We applaud you Hayley for holding it down as a badass front woman for a rock group where you’re the only girl, and for being so damn sexy!

When I look at Lindsay lohan I wonder what happened to the little girl(s) from the Parent trap, where did it go wrong? She now spends more time in the headlines for being a waster and committing felonies rather than her ‘respectable’ acting work. But I feel like Li-Lo needs to be saluted for her contribution as Cady Heron in the most quotable film ever! And of course for being so entertaining. Never a dull moment with this sizzling redhead!

Every time I watched Marcia on desperate housewives in her role as Bree Van de Kamp, I always admired how prim and proper she was. I also thought “for a redhead she’s quite delightful to watch”.  Being a Hollywood mother with a busy schedule isn’t easy but Marcia manages to do it with grace and elegance. There’s something about Marcia.

Well, well, Welch! This gorgeous red head quickly became an English sweetheart when she rose to fame with her band Florence and the machine. Her romantic frocks and style is always bold, daring and alluring. She is a style icon and she has mad street cred for her duet with Dizzee Rascall. I wish she was my friend!

 

The lady is legend. Whitney Houston.

“I like being a woman, even in a man’s world. After all, men can’t wear dresses, but we can wear the pants.”

 

She was one of the world’s best selling artists and sold over 200 million records worldwide. After an active music career from 1985 until 2009 lasting 24 years, Whitney Houston was found dead in the bathtub in her hotel room at The Beverly Hilton on February 11^th 2012 aged 48. The actress/singer/producer and model was the only artist to have seven consecutive number 1 Billboard hot 100 hits.

Her death was believed to be caused by accidental drowning; however there were also traces of cocaine in her system and another contributing factor was believed to be from heart disease.

At 15 years old Whitney, or, ‘the voice’ as she was called because of her exceptional vocal talent, sang backing vocals on Chaka Khan’s 1978 hit song I’m every woman, a song which Whitney would make successful as her own later on in her career. Her first major acting role was in 1992 where she starred in The Bodyguard and the films original soundtrack won a 1994 Grammy, the title song I Will Always Love You became the best selling single by a female artist in music history.

Whitney was praised for her ‘perfect image’ in the 1980s and early 1990s, but her behavior had changed by late 1990s. She was often late for interviews, photo shoots and rehearsals. She also cancelled concerts and talk show appearances and had appeared to have drastically lost weight, sparking rumors of drug use.

In the 1980s Houston broke down the color barrier for black female artists as she was the first female artist to have heavy rotation on MTV. She paved the way for artists like Janet Jackson and has been the inspiration for many singers including Rihanna, Mariah Carey and Ciara.

She is the most awarded female artist of all time, her extensive list includes; 2 Emmy awards, 6 Grammys, 30 Billboard music awards, 22 American music awards and she shared the record with Michael Jackson for most American Music Awards won in a single night. In 2010 Houston had won a total of 415 awards in her career and in 1997 the Franklin School in East Orange, New Jersey where Houston was born, renamed the institution to The Whitney. E. Houston Academy School of Creative and Performing Arts. She is also the first artist to receive a BET Lifetime achievement award.

The biggest record deal in history was recorded in August 2001 when Houston signed a $100 million renewal 6-album contract with Arista/BMG.

In 1992 the singer married Bobby Brown and in 2000 the couple were caught by airport security with marijuana and rumors of the couple’s drug use continued to circulate. The couple separated in 2006 and in her first interview in 7 years, she told Oprah Winfrey ‘By 1996 doing drugs was an everyday thing’ and admitted to using ‘marijuana laced with rock cocaine’. Whitney had one daughter, Bobby Kristina Brown in 1993.

Houston’s funeral service was scheduled to last for 2 hours, however it lasted for 4.  Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys and R Kelly were among those who performed at her funeral. Some of her greatest hits include; I Will Always Love You, Saving all My Love For You, Heartbreak Hotel, Didn’t We Almost Have It All and It’s Not Right But It’s Okay.

Upon the news of her tragic death many celebrities released a statement and Dolly Parton and Aretha Franklin were among those who responded to the singer’s death.

The lady is legend. Amy Winehouse

 

“I only write about stuff that’s happened to me… stuff I can’t get past personally. Luckily, I’m quite self destructive.”

Amy Jade Winehouse only lived for a short 27 years but had more ups and downs in her life than a rollercoaster. The singer’s eclectic mix of musical genres includes jazz, R&B, soul and reggae. She was born in Southgate, London in 1983 and she was found dead at her Camden Square home on July 23 2011 due to accidental alcohol poisoning.

Although she started writing music at 14 years old, Amy musically burst onto the scene in 2003 with her debut album Frank, which was named after one of her musical inspirations Frank Sinatra. The album was nominated for the Mercury Prize and Winehouse co wrote every song on the album.

Her second album, Back to Black released in 2006, won the superstar 5 2008 Grammy awards and she broke two world records; firstly she became the first British female to receive that many Grammy awards and, secondly she had the most wins by any artist in one night. Back to Black also won her Best British female artist at the 2007 BRIT awards.

Everybody knows Amy’s iconic beehive, and we have her love of 1960s girl groups, such as The Ronettes to thank for that. In 2009 after such a large amount of success, the sultry songstress announced the beginning of her own record label, Lioness Records. The first artist she signed was her 13 year old goddaughter Dionne Broomfield, and Amy even made a few surprise appearances at Dionne’s performances. Despite her success and dedicated ever expanding fan base, drug and alcohol problems still continued to threaten Amy’s career. In April 2008, a poll conducted by Sky news revealed that Amy was named 2^nd greatest ultimate heroin by the UK population.

The singer has worked with producer and DJ Mark Ronson on some of her most famous songs such as Valerie and had a very close working relationship as they helped to further each other in their careers. The New York rapper Nas had also collaborated with Amy on projects Like Smoke, Cherry Wine and it is even rumored that Amy’s Me and Mr Jones is about him. Many singers and artists still popular today claim that Amy inspired them with her musical talent. Artists that credit her include; Lana Del Rey, Adele, Lady Gaga and Anthony Hamilton.

Due to her lifestyle, the media was ever increasingly fascinated by Amy and then husband Blake Fielder Civil. The couple was married for two years and during this time, Blake admits that he introduced Amy to heroin. He admits they used to use drugs together, but, he says that Amy continued use after their divorce.

It is a well known fact that The Libertines front man Pete Doherty and Amy Winehouse were friends, but since Amy’s death Pete has revealed that he and Amy were more than that. He claims they were lovers and that he was in fact in love with her.

When the singer died, and even for the anniversaries after her death, fans have been to her former home in Camden Square to pay tributes to her, leaving messages and flowers for her.

Amy’s biggest hits include; Stronger than me, Rehab, Back to Black, Tears dry on Their own, Love is A Losing Game. Amy’s lyrics were always honest and blunt, often including jazz like scat ad-libs. Amy was like no other artist at her time and there has been no other artist since, only imitations. We salute you Amy and you will never be forgotten.

The lady is legend. Nina Simone

“There’s no excuse for the young people not knowing who the heroes and heroines are or were”

With an active musical career from 1954 until her death in 2003 (an amazing 49 years!), our first legend has influenced many artists from all kinds of genres and musical walks of life such as; Christina Aguilera, Mos Def, Kanye West, Alicia Keys, and even John Lennon said Nina’s rendition of I put a spell on you inspired The Beatles song Michelle. Her work has been covered by an array of artists including Muse’s indie-rock version of Feeling good which was well received, and Timbaland putting his familiar bass and beats over Sinner man as the intro for his album Shock value. Nina was influenced by jazz, blues, R&B, folk and gospel and she always tried to keep the classical element to add depth and quality to her music. Her jazz and blues mix with classical undertones was all teamed with her unmistakable contralto voice and proved to be a sound that would inspire in years to come.

For a woman who is so widely credited in the industry, it is surprising to learn that with dreams of becoming a concert pianist at the beginning of her career, Nina Simone was turned down for a scholarship at the Curtis institute of music in Philadelphia. This decision was not because of her musical ability, but the soon to be megastar was discriminated against because she was black. However, this did not get in the way of her dreams and like any absolute legend would, she carried on fighting until she got the colorful music career and a supportive fan base spanning through generations.

Nina recorded more than 40 albums over her career and her music has been featured in many film soundtracks including The Big Lebowski, Notting Hill and Sex and the City. But our Nina wasn’t just a singer/songwriter/pianist and arranger, she was also a civil rights activist and her music was highly influential in the fight for equal rights in America in the early 1960s. Our multi-talented first legend won a Grammy Hall of Fame award in 2000 for her contribution to the industry and throughout her career, Nina was nominated for a staggering 15 Grammy awards. She was given two honorary degrees in music from colleges she never even attended, and even the Curtis institute of music in Philadelphia realized their mistake rejecting her decades ago and also awarded her with one.

There is a statue of this amazing woman in her birthplace, North Carolina and in 2009 she was entered into the music hall of fame. This woman is so great that Nijmegen in the Netherlands, where she lived from 1988-1990 named a street after her. A documentary made by French filmmakers titled La Legend (The legend) made in 1990 features live footage at different times in her career. Her biggest and well known hits include; Feeling good, I put a spell on you, Sinner man, Ain’t got no, I got life and her debut record I loves you porgy.

The lady is a legend

Legends we love

Saluting a few legends. 

There are many artists throughout all generations that have made an impact on the music scene and have shaped the way music is today; either by being a huge influence to current artists who want to mirror their legends sound, or having one of the bestselling albums of all times. While some females in the spotlight will be remembered as icons because of their voices and mad respect gained from others in the industry, others will be remembered for that performance at the VMAs, twerking very badly with barely any clothes on and humping giant teddy bears. But unfortunately for Miley we only salute the classy ladies, sorry!

It’s always a sad event when a much loved artist passes away, especially when it is at a young age or, when they have been around for decades gaining such a loyal, loving fan base. This article will celebrate the lives of some female artists that have been successful in their careers, influenced many and are nothing less than absolute legends of the industry. You go girls!

PLAYAZ+FABRIC=FUN!

PLAY ON PLAYAZ 

Calling students, drum and bass heads and those looking for a guaranteed fun start to the weekend look no further! Be sure to putFriday 29th November in your diary as Fabric is hosting another mental monthly session with Playaz. DJ Hype headlines room one with a two hour set sure to ‘hype’ you up nicely for a night of energetic D&B. In the main room he is joined by TC, Radio 1xtra’s Chrissy Chris,

Hazard, 2shy and Playaz co founder, resident DJ and label manager Pascal.

The second room Bukem in session is headlined by London drum and bass musician, producer and DJ LTJ Bukem. Bukem is joined by Moose, Blade and Rowpieces, a drum and bass producer hailing from Munich.

The third and final room is hosted by infamous dub step/bass record label Chestplate. The DJs spinning the tunes in this room include record label boss Distance, J Kenzo, LX One, Tunnidge and Razor Rector.

I know it sounds like a lot to take in and you think you might not get time to see all these amazing DJs during the night but calm down! Fabric is open from 10pm until 6am which means 8 solid hours of raving away. And if you think that a night out in Farringdon’s hottest spot won’t be easy on your bank account fear not! Prices aren’t too shoddy for you dedicated D&B heads; it’s £19 on the door if you haven’t got the £23 advance ticket and CD, or if you’re a student or have a fabric first membership then you’ll get 8 hours of one of the best parties of the month for a mere £13. Aren’t you lucky!

For more previews on some of the upcoming best parties in London, check out http://www.guestlist.net