Ajaz Khan

Ajaz Khan

Ajaz Khan[4] is an Indian film actor.[5] He has starred in movies such as Rakta Charitra and Allah Ke Banday and acted in several television daily soaps including Rahe Tera Aashirwaad and Kahaani Hamaaray Mahaabhaarat Ki.[6] Khan is known for his appearance in Bigg Boss 7.[7][8] He also appeared on the TV show Comedy Nights with Kapil.[9]

His other films include Lakeer ka Fakeer[10] and the Indian films Dookudu and Naayak. He has appeared in an Academy Awards promotion commercial.

Personal Life

On 21 October 2018, he was arrested by Narcotics Cell of Mumbai police for having drugs in the form of ecstasy tablets.[13] On 18 July 2019, he was arrested for "creating/uploading videos with objectionable content promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, & creating hatred among public at large."[14]

Filmography

Television

2007 Kyaa Hoga Nimmo Kaa

2008 Bollywood Club[15] as Himself (participant-Winner)

2008 Rahe Tera Aashirwaad[6] as Tej Bali

2008 Kahaani Hamaaray Mahaabhaarat Ki[7] as Dushasan

2009 Karam Apna Apna[7] as Arjun

2009 Specials @ 10 - Shaurat, Nafrat aur Showbiz

2013 Bigg Boss 7[7] as Himself (participant) — Entered as wild card - 3rd place on 28 December 2013 (Day 105)[16]

2014 Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi Season 5[17] as Himself (participant)

2014 Comedy Nights with Kapil[7] as Supari Killer

2014 Box Cricket League as Himself (participant)

2014 Bharat ki Shaan Let's Dance (Season 2) as Himself (judge)

2014 Bigg Boss 8[7] as Himself (participant)

2015 Bigg Boss Halla Bol! as Himself — Ejected on Day 2–5 January 2015

2015 Farah Ki Dawat as Himself[18]

2015 Comedy Classes[19]

2015 Savdhaan India as Ajju Bhai[19]

2016 Comedy Nights Bachao[7] as Himself (celebrity guest)

2016 Ek Maa Jo Laakhon Ke Liye Bani Amma as Azhar Yeda

سويسرا

سويسرا

سِوِيسْرَا (بالألمانية:die Schweiz، بالفرنسية:la Suisse، بالإيطالية:Svizzera، بالرومانشية:Svizra) ورسمِيّاً الاِتِّحَاد السُّوَيْسْرِيّ هي جمهورية فيدرالية تتكون من 26 كانتون، مع برن كمقر للسلطات الاتحادية. تقع سويسرا في غرب أوروبا، حيث تحدها ألمانيا من الشمال، فرنسا من الغرب، إيطاليا من الجنوب، والنمسا وليختنشتاين من الشرق. تشكلت الكونفدرالية السويسرية على مدى عدة قرون، لكنها تميّـزت منذ نهاية القرن الثالث عشر بحرصها على الحياد، وابتعادها عن الدخول في حروب مع جيرانها. ومع أنها تقع في قلب القارة الأوروبية، إلا أنها تمتاز عن معظم الدول المجاورة لها بتنوّعها الديني واللغوي وتمسكها بممارسة الديمقراطية المباشرة.

سويسرا هي أيضاً مهد للصليب الأحمر؛ وموطن لعدد كبير من المنظمات الدولية؛ بما في ذلك ثاني أكبر مكتب للأمم المتحدة. وعلى المستوى الأوروبي فهي عضو مؤسس في الرابطة الأوروبية للتجارة الحرة؛ وجزء من منطقة شنغن، وعلى الرغم من أنها ليست عضواً في الاتحاد الأوروبي ولا في المنطقة الاقتصادية الأوروبية إلا أن سويسرا هي واحدة من أغنى البلدان في العالم من حيث الناتج المحلي الإجمالي للفرد، وتحتوي على أعلى ثروة للشخص البالغ (الأصول المالية وغير المالية) من أي بلد في العالم. وقد تم تصنيف زيوريخ وجنيف المدينتين الثانية والثامنة من بين الأعلى في جودة المعيشة في الحياة في العالم. وهي الدولة التاسعة عشر كأكبر اقتصاد في العالم من حيث الناتج المحلي الإجمالي الاسمي ورقم 36 في تعادل القوة الشرائية.

سويسرا بلد قام على أساس احترام الأقليات وعلى الديمقراطية المباشرة؛ التي أدّت في نهاية المطاف إلى نظام فدرالي يضم 26 إقليمٍ أو كما تُعرف بكانتون، تلتقي على التواؤم والتضامن فيما بينها. ورغم أنها تختلف فيما بينها بالهوية إلا أن المصلحة المشتركة تجمعها. وجدير بالذكر أنه ليس أمام الاتحاد الأوروبي إذا أراد النجاح إلا أن يعتمد التجربة السويسرية. فثمة تماثل بين الفدرالية السويسرية والاتحاد الأوروبي فيما عدا الشأن المالي والدِّفاع والسياسة الخارجية، رغم أن سويسرا الحديثة تشكّلت عام 1848. في سويسرا، لا توجد لغة رسمية واحدة، بل هناك أربع لغات، ولا توجد ثقافة واحدة، بل هناك عدة ثقافات متنوعة وغنية ومتناقضة فيما بينها. فبعض المواطنين لغتهم الأم الفرنسية، ويعيشون ويعملون في مدينة منفتحة مثل جنيف، يوجد فيها أكثر من 200 منظمة دولية. والبعض من سكان الريف، يعيشون في قرى جبلية تقع في كانتون أوري، ويتحدّثون بلهجة ألمانية، وليس بينهم إلا كما بين اليابانيين والبرازيليين، إلا أنهما يرتبطان سويا بتاريخ من النجاحات التي حقّقها وما زال يحقِّـقها هذا البلد، وبديمقراطية يعود تاريخها إلى أكثر من 700 عام.

تضم سويسرا أربع مناطق رئيسية لغوية وثقافية: الألمانية، الفرنسية، الإيطالية والرومانشية، وعلى الرغم من أن الغالبية تتحدث الألمانية، إلا أنها لا تشكل أمة في معنى هوية عرقية أو لغوية مشتركة لكن بينهم شعور قوي بالانتماء إلى البلد الذي تأسس على خلفية تاريخية مشتركة وقيم مشتركة (فدرالية وديمقراطية مباشرة) تتخذ من جبال الألب رمزاً لها. وتحتفل سويسرا بعيدها الوطني في 1 أغسطس من كل عام والذي يوافق تاريخ إنشاء الاتحاد السويسري في 1 أغسطس 1291.

أصل التسمية

أصل كلمة سويسرا الإنجليزية (Switzerland) ألماني وجاء من كلمة schwytz شفايزر ويعني ساكن منطقة شفايز وهي إحدى أقاليم والدستاتين التي شكلت نواة الاتحاد السويسري القديم. ولعل المصطلح مشتق من الكلمة الألمانية سويتس الذي يعني "يحرق" إشارة إلى منطقة حرجية قد تم إحراقها قديماً. وبعد أن وضعت حرب سوابيان في العام 1499 في تلك المنطقة أوزارها أصبح المصطلح يستخدم للإشارة إلى الاتحاد بأكمله.

تاريخيا ان تسمية اتحاد المدن السويسري لم تكن رسمية الا في القرن السابع عشر وان الاسم السائد قبل ذلك " عصبة مدن ألمانيا العليا " وكانت هذه الاراضي تابعة إلى أسرة آل هابسبورغ .

الجغرافيا

تقع سويسرا في قلب القارة الأوروبية وتحيط بها خمس دول، وهي ألمانيا من الشمال وإيطاليا من الجنوب والنمسا وإمارة ليختنشتاين من الشرق وفرنسا من الغرب، وليست لها منافذ بحرية وتبلغ مساحتها حوالي 41300 كيلومترا مربعا. وتتكون سويسرا من ثلاث مناطق جغرافية وهي: سلسلة جبال الألب، التي تمتد في الجنوب وتغطي حوالي ثلثي مساحة البلاد ويبلغ ارتفاع أعلى قممها "Punta Dufour" "بونتا دوفور" 4638م. ثم هناك سلسلة جبال جورا والتي تمتد على شكل هلال في غرب وشمال البلاد، وتمثل الحد الفاصل بين سويسرا وفرنسا وتغطي نحو 12٪ من المساحة الكلية، ويبلغ ارتفاع أعلى قممها Cret de la Neige"كريت دو لا نيج" 1718 م، وبين هاتين المجموعتين من السلاسل الجبلية، تمتد منطقة الهضبة السهلية التي تضم معظم المدن والقرى السويسرية

كان لموقع سويسرا فوق الهضاب "الألبينية" في منطقة هي ملتقى ثلاثة ممرات جبلية (غوتهارد – فوركا – أوبيرآلب) ونقطة وصل هامة تربط بين العديد من بلدان سويسرا، الأثر العظيم في صياغة تاريخ هذا البلد. وينبع في سويسرا عدداً من أكبر أنهار أوروبا: كنهر الراين، الذي يمتد إلى بحر الشمال ونهر الرون، الذي يصب في البحر الأبيض المتوسط، ونهر إن، الذي هو أحد روافد نهر الدانوب وينتهي مساره في البحر الأسود، ونهر تيتشينو، الذي هو أحد روافد نهر البو، ويصب في البحر الادرياتيكي.

Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a country situated in the confluence of Western, Central, and Southern Europe.[10][note 4] It is a federal republic composed of 26 cantons, with federal authorities seated in Bern.[1][2][note 1] Switzerland is a landlocked country bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. It is geographically divided among the Swiss Plateau, the Alps, and the Jura, spanning a total area of 41,285 km2 (15,940 sq mi), and land area of 39,997 km2 (15,443 sq mi). While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, the Swiss population of approximately 8.5 million is concentrated mostly on the plateau, where the largest cities are located, among them the two global cities and economic centres of Zürich and Geneva.

The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the late medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria and Burgundy. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The Federal Charter of 1291 is considered the founding document of Switzerland which is celebrated on Swiss National Day. Since the Reformation of the 16th century, Switzerland has maintained a strong policy of armed neutrality; it has not fought an international war since 1815 and did not join the United Nations until 2002. Nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world.[11] Switzerland is the birthplace of the Red Cross, one of the world's oldest and best known humanitarian organisations, and is home to numerous international organisations, including the second largest UN office. It is a founding member of the European Free Trade Association, but notably not part of the European Union, the European Economic Area or the Eurozone. However, it participates in the Schengen Area and the European Single Market through bilateral treaties.

Switzerland occupies the crossroads of Germanic and Romance Europe, as reflected in its four main linguistic and cultural regions: German, French, Italian and Romansh. Although the majority of the population are German-speaking, Swiss national identity is rooted in a common historical background, shared values such as federalism and direct democracy,[12] and Alpine symbolism.[13][14] Due to its linguistic diversity, Switzerland is known by a variety of native names: Schweiz [ˈʃvaɪts] (German);[note 5] Suisse [sɥis(ə)] (French); Svizzera [ˈzvittsera] (Italian); and Svizra [ˈʒviːtsrɐ, ˈʒviːtsʁɐ] (Romansh).[note 6] On coins and stamps, the Latin name, Confoederatio Helvetica – frequently shortened to "Helvetia" – is used instead of the four national languages.

The sovereign state is one of the most developed countries in the world, with the highest nominal wealth per adult[15] and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product.[16][17] It ranks at or near the top in several international metrics, including economic competitiveness and human development. Zürich, Geneva and Basel have been ranked among the top ten cities in the world in terms of quality of life, with Zürich ranked second globally.[18] In 2019, IMD placed Switzerland first in the world in attracting skilled workers.[19] World Economic Forum ranks it the 5th most competitive country globally.

The English name Switzerland is a compound containing Switzer, an obsolete term for the Swiss, which was in use during the 16th to 19th centuries.[20] The English adjective Swiss is a loan from French Suisse, also in use since the 16th century. The name Switzer is from the Alemannic Schwiizer, in origin an inhabitant of Schwyz and its associated territory, one of the Waldstätte cantons which formed the nucleus of the Old Swiss Confederacy. The Swiss began to adopt the name for themselves after the Swabian War of 1499, used alongside the term for "Confederates", Eidgenossen (literally: comrades by oath), used since the 14th century. The data code for Switzerland, CH, is derived from Latin Confoederatio Helvetica (English: Helvetic Confederation).

The toponym Schwyz itself was first attested in 972, as Old High German Suittes, ultimately perhaps related to swedan ‘to burn’ (cf. Old Norse svíða ‘to singe, burn’), referring to the area of forest that was burned and cleared to build.[21] The name was extended to the area dominated by the canton, and after the Swabian War of 1499 gradually came to be used for the entire Confederation.[22][23] The Swiss German name of the country, Schwiiz, is homophonous to that of the canton and the settlement, but distinguished by the use of the definite article (d'Schwiiz for the Confederation,[24] but simply Schwyz for the canton and the town).[25] The long [iː] of Swiss German is historically and still often today spelled ⟨y⟩ rather than ⟨ii⟩, preserving the original identity of the two names even in writing.

The Latin name Confoederatio Helvetica was neologized and introduced gradually after the formation of the federal state in 1848, harking back to the Napoleonic Helvetic Republic, appearing on coins from 1879, inscribed on the Federal Palace in 1902 and after 1948 used in the official seal.[26] (for example, the ISO banking code "CHF" for the Swiss franc, and the country top-level domain ".ch", are both taken from the state's Latin name). Helvetica is derived from the Helvetii, a Gaulish tribe living on the Swiss plateau before the Roman era.

Helvetia appears as a national personification of the Swiss confederacy in the 17th century with a 1672 play by Johann Caspar Weissenbach.[27]

History

Uttar Ramayan

Uttar Ramayan

Lav Kush (originally called Uttar Ramayan) is an Indian-Television series, created, written, produced, and directed by Ramanand Sagar.[2][3] It is a follow-up Ramayan, featuring mostly the same cast and production crew. Lav Kush covers the last book — the Uttara Kanda — of the ancient Indian epic Ramayana, following Rama's coronation, especially focusing on his children, twins Kush and Lav.

Plot

A follow-up series Luv Kush based on the last chapter of Ramayana Uttara Kanda, aired from 1988 to 1989 on DD National

Cast

Arun Govil as Rama

Deepika Chikhalia as Sita

Sunil Lahiri as Lakshman

Dara Singh as Hanuman

Swapnil Joshi as Kusha

Mayuresh Kshetramade as Luv

Vijay Kavish as Valmiki

Sanjay Jog as Bharat

Sameer Rajda as Shatrughna

Vilas Raj as Lavanasura

KL Rahul

KL Rahul

Kannur Lokesh Rahul[1] (born 18 April 1992), commonly known as KL Rahul, is an Indian international cricketer who plays for Karnataka in domestic cricket and captains Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League. He is a right-handed batsman and a wicket-keeper.

Rahul made his international debut in 2014 and scored his maiden Test century in his second Test match. He became the first Indian to score a century on One Day International debut,[2] and became the third Indian to score a century in all three formats of international cricket.

Early life

Rahul was born on 18 April 1992 to K. N. Lokesh and Rajeshwari in Mangalore; his father Lokesh is a professor and former director at the National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK) in the city and his mother Rajeshwari is a professor at Mangalore University. Lokesh, who was a fan of the cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, wanted to name his son after Gavaskar's, but mistook Rohan Gavaskar's name as Rahul.[3]

Rahul grew up in Mangalore, completing his high school at NITK English Medium School and pre-university at St. Aloysius College. He started cricket training at the age of 10, and, two years later, started playing matches for both Bangalore United Cricket Club and his club in Mangalore.[4] At age 18 he moved to Bangalore to study at Jain University and pursue his cricket career.[5][6][7]

Domestic career

Rahul made his first-class cricket debut for Karnataka in the 2010–11 season. In the same season he represented his country at the 2010 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, scoring a total of 143 runs in the competition.[8] He made his debut in the Indian Premier League in 2013, for Royal Challengers Bangalore.[9] During the 2013-14 domestic season he scored 1,033 first-class runs, the second highest scorer that season.[8]

Playing for South Zone in the final of the 2014–15 Duleep Trophy against Central Zone, Rahul scored 185 off 233 balls in the first innings and 130 off 152 in the second. He was named the player of the match and selection to the Indian Test squad for the Australian tour followed.

Returning home after the Test series, Rahul became Karnataka's first triple-centurion, scoring 337 against Uttar Pradesh. He went on to score 188 in the 2014–15 Ranji Trophy final against Tamil Nadu and finished the season with an average of 93.11 in the nine matches he played.

International career

Rahul made his Test debut in the 2014 Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. He replaced Rohit Sharma and was presented with his Test cap by MS Dhoni. He batted at number six and made three runs in the first innings; in the second innings, he played at number 3 and made only 1 run but retained his place for the next Test at Sydney where he opened the innings with Murali Vijay and made 110 runs, his maiden international hundred.

He was part of the 15-man squad for the Indian tour of Bangladesh in June 2015 but withdrew due to Dengue fever. He returned to the side for the first Test of the Sri Lankan tour after Murali Vijay was ruled out due to injury, scoring his second Test century and being named player of the match. During the match he kept wicket after Wriddhiman Saha was injured.[10]

He was named in the squad to tour Zimbabwe in 2016 and made his One Day International (ODI) debut against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club, scoring a century on debut - the first Indian cricketer to do so on debut.[11][12] He made his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut later in the same tour.[13]

He was picked in the Indian squad for the four-test tour against West Indies in 2016. Rahul played in the second Test at Jamaica and scored a strokeful 158, his highest Test score then. In the process, he became the first Indian opener to score a century in his debut Test in the West Indies.[14] In the first match of the T20I series in the United States, he scored a century off 46 balls in a losing cause, the second-fastest ever and fastest by an Indian.[15][16] He also set the world record for being the only player to score hundred in first innings as opener in both Tests and ODIs.[17]

Lokesh Rahul set the record for the fastest batsman to have scored centuries in all three formats in just 20 innings surpassing the record of Ahmed Shehzad who took 76 innings.[18] He is the first player in T20I history to score a century when batting at number 4 position or lower (110*). On 3 July 2018, Rahul smashed his second T20 International ton against England.[19] He is also the first Indian batsman to be dismissed hit-wicket in T20Is.[20]

On 11 January 2019, Hardik Pandya and K. L. Rahul were suspended by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) following controversial comments they made on the Indian talk show Koffee with Karan earlier in the month.[21] They were both sent home ahead of the ODI series against Australia and the fixtures of India's tour to New Zealand.[22] On 24 January 2019, after lifting the suspension on Pandya and Rahul, the BCCI announced that Rahul would re-join the squad for India A matches.[23]

In April 2019, he was named in India's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup.[24][25] He scored his maiden hundred for India in the World Cup against Sri Lanka.[26] In December 2019, in the first T20I match against the West Indies, Rahul scored his 1,000th run in T20I cricket.[27]

Indian Premier League

Rahul made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as a wicket-keeper batsman during the 2013 competition. Ahead of the 2014 IPL, he was bought by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 1 crore, before returning to RCB ahead of the 2016 IPL season. He finished the season as the 11th highest run-scorer, and RCB's third, with 397 runs from 14 matches. For his performances in the 2016 IPL season, he was named as wicket keeper in the Cricinfo and Cricbuzz IPL XI.[28][29] Rahul missed the 2017 season due to a shoulder injury.

In the 2018 IPL Auction, he was bought by Kings XI Punjab for INR 11 crore, the joint-third highest price. In the team's first match of the season he scored the fastest 50 in IPL history, taking 14 balls to reach the milestone and breaking the record of Sunil Narine.[30][31] For his performances in the 2018 IPL season, he was named in the Cricinfo and Cricbuzz IPL XI.[32][33] After making scores of 90+ three times during 2018, he reached his maiden IPL century in 2019, scoring 100 not out from 64 against Mumbai Indians. For his performances in the 2019 IPL season, he was named in the Cricinfo IPL XI.[34]

Rahul will captain Kings XI Punjab in the 2020 IPL, after former captain Ravichandran Ashwin was traded to Dehli Capitals.

Fatboy Slim

Fatboy Slim

Norman Quentin Cook[1] (born Quentin Leo Cook; 31 July 1963),[2] also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is an English DJ, musician, and record producer[3] who helped to popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist for the Hull-based indie rock band The Housemartins, who achieved a UK number-one single with their a cappella cover of "Caravan of Love". After the Housemartins split, Norman Cook formed the electronic band Beats International in Brighton, who produced the number-one single "Dub Be Good to Me". Cook then played in Freak Power, Pizzaman, and the Mighty Dub Katz with moderate success.

In 1996, Cook adopted the name Fatboy Slim and released Better Living Through Chemistry to critical acclaim. Follow-up albums You've Come a Long Way, Baby, Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars, and Palookaville, as well as singles such as "The Rockafeller Skank", "Praise You", "Right Here, Right Now", "Weapon of Choice", and "Wonderful Night", achieved commercial and critical success. In 2008, Cook formed The Brighton Port Authority with David Byrne.[4] Cook has been responsible for successful remixes for Cornershop, Beastie Boys, A Tribe Called Quest, Groove Armada, and Wildchild. In 2010, in partnership with Byrne, he released the concept album Here Lies Love. Cook holds the Guinness World Record for the most top 40 hits under different names. As a solo act, he has won ten MTV Video Music Awards and two Brit Awards.

Cook was born in Bromley, Kent. He was raised in Reigate, Surrey, and educated at Reigate Grammar School. He grew up with a love of music. When he was 14, his brother brought home the first album from the punk band The Damned, which turned him onto that genre; he started attending gigs at "the Greyhound" pub in Croydon and playing in punk bands.[5] He played drums in Disque Attack, a British new wave-influenced rock band. When frontman Charlie Alcock was told by his parents that he had to give up the band to concentrate on his O levels, Cook took over as lead vocalist. At The Railway Tavern in Reigate, Cook met Paul Heaton, with whom he formed the Stomping Pondfrogs.

At 18, Cook went to Brighton Polytechnic to read a B.A. in English, politics, and sociology, where he achieved a 2:1 in the British Studies honours course. Although he had begun DJing some years before, it was at this time that he began to develop his skills on the thriving Brighton club scene, regularly appearing at the Brighton Belle and the students' favourite The Basement, where known as DJ Quentox he began laying the base for Brighton's hip hop scene.

1985–1995: The Housemartins to The Mighty Dub Katz

In 1985, Cook's friend Paul Heaton had formed a guitar band called The Housemartins. Their bassist left on the eve of their first national tour, so Cook agreed to move to Hull to join them. The band soon had a hit single with "Happy Hour", and their two albums, London 0 Hull 4 and The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death, peaked in the Top 10 of the UK Albums Chart.[6] They also reached number one just before Christmas 1986 with a version of "Caravan of Love", originally a hit the year before for Isley-Jasper-Isley.[6] However, by 1988 they had split up. Heaton and the band's drummer Dave Hemingway went on to form The Beautiful South, while Cook moved back to Brighton to pursue his interest in the style of music he preferred. It was at this time that he first started working with young studio engineer Simon Thornton, with whom he continues to make records. All of Cook's records released from that point onwards have involved both of them to varying degrees (Thornton is credited in 2004 as "Executive Producer", for example).

Cook achieved his first solo hit in 1989, featuring his future Beats International member MC Wildski, called "Blame It on the Bassline". Credited to "Norman Cook feat. MC Wildski", the song followed the basic template of what was to come in the style of the music of Beats International. It became a modest hit in the UK Singles Chart, reaching number 29.

Cook formed Beats International, a loose confederation of studio musicians including vocalists Lindy Layton and Lester Noel, rappers D.J. Baptiste and MC Wildski, and keyboardist Andy Boucher. Their first album, Let Them Eat Bingo, included the number one single "Dub Be Good to Me", which caused a legal dispute revolving around allegations of infringement of copyright through the liberal use of unauthorised samples: the bassline was a note-for-note lift from "The Guns of Brixton" by The Clash and the lyrics borrowed heavily from "Just Be Good to Me" by The S.O.S. Band. This bankrupted Cook as he lost the case and was ordered to pay back twice the royalties made on the record. The 1991 follow-up album Excursion on the Version, an exploration of dub and reggae music, failed to repeat the success of its predecessor, as it did not chart.

Cook then formed Freak Power with horn player Ashley Slater and singer Jesse Graham. They released their debut album Drive-Thru Booty in 1994, which contained the single "Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out". The cut was picked up by the Levi's company for use in a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign. In 1996, Cook re-joined Freak Power for their second album, More of Everything for Everybody.

Cook enlisted help from producer friends Tim Jeffery and JC Reid to create a house music album as Pizzaman. The 1995 Pizzamania album spawned three UK Top 40 hits: "Trippin' on Sunshine", "Sex on the Streets", and "Happiness". "Happiness" was picked up by the Del Monte Foods corporation for use in a UK fruit juice ad. The music videos for the three singles were all directed by Michael Dominic.

Cook also formed the group The Mighty Dub Katz along with Gareth Hansome (aka GMoney), Cook's former flatmate. Together they started the Boutique Nightclub in Brighton, formerly known as the Big Beat Boutique. Their biggest song together was "Magic Carpet Ride".

1996–2008: Fatboy Slim

Cook adopted the pseudonym Fatboy Slim in 1996. Cook says of the name: "It doesn't mean anything. I've told so many different lies over the years about it I can't actually remember the truth. It's just an oxymoron – a word that can't exist. It kind of suits me – it's kind of goofy and ironic."[7]

The Fatboy Slim album and Cook's second solo album, Better Living Through Chemistry (released through Skint Records in the UK and through Astralwerks in the US), contained the Top 40 UK hit "Everybody Needs a 303". Fatboy Slim's next work was the single "The Rockafeller Skank", released prior to the album You've Come a Long Way, Baby, both of which were released in 1998. "Praise You", also from this album, was Cook's first UK solo number one. Its music video, starring Spike Jonze, won numerous awards.[8] On 9 September 1999, he performed "Praise You" at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards in New York City, and won three awards, including the award for Breakthrough Video.[9]

In 2000, Fatboy Slim released his third studio album, Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars, and featured two collaborations with Macy Gray and "Weapon of Choice", which also was made into an award-winning music video, starring Christopher Walken.[10] The album also included "Sunset (Bird of Prey)," whose socially significant video sampled the 1964 "Daisy Girl" campaign ad.[citation needed] At the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards in New York, Fatboy Slim won six awards for "Weapon of Choice", the most awards at the ceremony.[11][12]

In 2003, he produced "Crazy Beat" and "Gene by Gene" from the Blur album Think Tank, and in 2004, Palookaville was Cook's first studio album for four years.

Fatboy Slim's greatest hits album, Why Try Harder, was released on 19 June 2006. It comprises eighteen tracks, including ten Top 40 singles, a couple of Number Ones and two exclusive new tracks – "Champion Sound" and "That Old Pair of Jeans".

In 2006, Cook travelled to Cuba, and wrote and produced two original Cuban crossover tracks for the album The Revolution Presents: Revolution, which was released by Studio ! K7 and Rapster Records in 2009. The tracks were called "Shelter" (which featured long term collaborator Lateef); and "Siente Mi Ritmo", featuring Cuba's top female vocal group Sexto Sentido. The recordings took place in Cuba's legendary EGREM Studios, home of the Buena Vista Social Club, and featured a band made up of Cuba's top young musicians, including Harold Lopez Nussa. Another track recorded during these sessions entitled "Guaguanco" was released separately under the Mighty Dub Katz moniker in 2006.

2008–2012: The Brighton Port Authority

The Brighton Port Authority debuted in 2008 with a collaboration with David Byrne and Dizzee Rascal titled "Toe Jam", along with a music video featuring nude dancers with censor bars on them, making pictures and words with them.

The soundtrack album for the TV series Heroes also includes The Brighton Port Authority's track "He's Frank (Slight Return)" (a cover of a song by The Monochrome Set), with Iggy Pop as vocalist. The video for this track features a near life size puppet of Iggy Pop. An alternative club version was released under the "He's Frank (Washing Up)" title with the video featuring some footage of Iggy Pop acting and saying lyrics.

The band's debut album, I Think We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat, is the first to be co-produced by Cook's longtime engineer Simon Thornton, who also sings on one track. The album was released 6 January 2009 exclusively at Amazon.com on CD, with downloadable format and other stores scheduled for a month later on 3 February.

Cook released a mix album in 2010 titled The Legend Returns as a covermount album in the June 2010 issue of Mixmag. Cook returned as Fatboy Slim when performing at Ultra Music Festival in Miami in March 2012.

On 12 August 2012 he performed Rockefeller Skank and Right Here, Right Now at the 2012 Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony, and on 1 September Cook performed at Brighton Pride.[13]

Russell Howard

Russell Howard

Russell Joseph Howard (born 23 March 1980)[1] is an English comedian, television presenter, radio presenter and actor, best known for his TV shows Russell Howard's Good News and The Russell Howard Hour and his appearances on the topical panel TV show Mock the Week. He won "Best Compère" at the 2006 Chortle Awards and was nominated for an if.comedy award for his 2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe show. Howard cited comedians Lee Evans, Richard Pryor and Frank Skinner as influences

Early life

Russell was born in Bristol, England to Dave and Ninette Howard. He has two younger siblings, twins Kerry and Daniel (born 1982).[3] Daniel has epilepsy, to which Howard sometimes refers during his act.

Howard attended Bedford Modern School,[4] Perins School in New Alresford and Alton College. He later studied economics at the University of the West of England in Bristol.[5]

Career

TV and radio work

In 2004 he was commissioned by BBC Radio 1 to write, sing and perform on the comedy series The Milk Run. Howard has also appeared on the shows Banter (hosted by Andrew Collins) and Political Animal for BBC Radio 4.[6]

Until 2010, Howard was a regular panellist on Mock the Week. He has also appeared on 8 Out of 10 Cats, Would I Lie to You?, Live at the Apollo, The Secret Policeman's Ball 2008, Law of the Playground and Never Mind the Buzzcocks (Series 18, Episode 2 and Series 20, Episode 4).[7]

He was one of several comedians picked as the best comedy talent from the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe that recorded 10–15-minute spots for the "Edinburgh and Beyond" show which was aired on Paramount Comedy 1 in the autumn of 2006. The show was filmed at the Bloomsbury Theatre. From 2009, he took over as compère of this show from Al Murray.[8]

From November 2006 to July 2008, Russell co-hosted The Russell Howard Show on BBC 6 Music with fellow comedian Jon Richardson in a Sunday morning slot previously hosted by Russell Brand.[9][10] The show continued to air, without Howard, until March 2010. He has since explained that his main reason for leaving the show was that he finds radio "really restrictive" and "I gorge off the audience as a performer, but you can't gauge a reaction on the radio."[11]

Russell was commissioned to make a comedy show called Russell Howard's Good News, aimed at under-25s, for BBC Three. The first episode aired on 22 October 2009 and the show ran for seven episodes as well as a "best of" show and a Christmas Special. It went on to become BBC Three's highest ever rating entertainment series.[12][13] In the show, he gave his take on the week's major news stories, as well as giving attention to some of the more light-hearted stories of the week. Two more series of the show were commissioned, with the second series starting on 25 March 2010.[14] A seventh series began on 27 September 2012 on BBC Three. Series 8 began on 25 April 2013 on BBC Three, and series 9 started broadcast in its new home on BBC Two in October 2014.

Russell Howard's Good News was voted the Best Ever BBC Three show on 9 February 2013[15] as part of the channel's 10th birthday celebrations.[16]

Howard made his United States television debut on the 3 August 2011 episode of Conan. Howard guest-hosted the second episode of the 27th series of Never Mind the Buzzcocks on 30 September 2013.

In November 2013 Howard made a surprise appearance in the North East market town Barnard Castle to preview his latest tour show, Wonderbox.[17]

From 2015 to 2016, Howard presented a show called Russell Howard's Stand Up Central which broadcasts on Comedy Central. However, in 2017 due to tour commitments, Howard was unable to present the show's third series and was replaced by Chris Ramsey.[18] In 2015 he appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon where he performed some stand-up.

In December 2015, Howard made his acting debut in BBC Two's hour-long comedy-drama A Gert Lush Christmas, which he also co-wrote. In the film, Howard played Dan Colman, who takes his girlfriend to meet his family in Bristol for Christmas. The film also co-starred Howard's sister Kerry, who played Dan's sister Julie. On 10 March 2016, Howard appeared on the BBC 1 panel show Room 101.

In March 2016 Howard attacked Conservative MP Philip Davies on his BBC show calling him an "arsehole", "windbag", "wanker" and a "toad-faced hypocrite", accusing the MP of filibustering (talking out a bill). Davies complained on the grounds of "inaccuracy" and "misrepresentation" and the BBC was forced to publish in the Clarifications and Corrections section of the BBC website stating "Davies did not personally use up all the time available for the debate and that almost three hours remained after he sat down". Howard was also found to have misrepresented Davies' views on the disabled and the BBC noted "that the programme did not fully represent his comments, which were, that it would be in the best interests of disabled people, and others, to be allowed to offer to work for less than the minimum wage, if the alternative were no employment at all". The broadcaster also agreed not to air the episode again due to their misrepresentation of Davies' position.[19] The BBC Trust later rejected a further escalation of the complaint by Davies[20]

Starting in October 2016, Howard presented a travel documentary series for Comedy Central called Russell Howard & Mum: USA Road Trip which involved him and his mother Ninette travelling through America.[21]

On 29 November 2016, it was announced that Howard would write and star in a 14-part weekly comedy series entitled The Russell Howard Hour on Sky One in 2017, as part of a two-year deal with Sky.[22] The series began on 21 September 2017.

Live comedy

A show from his 2007 Adventures tour was released on DVD on 17 November 2008,[23] under the title "Russell Howard Live". The show on the DVD was recorded at The Bloomsbury Theatre.[24]

Howard started touring for his show Dingledodies in September 2008 and played various dates through to December. Due to overwhelming demand he further extended the tour twice into 2009. It sold in excess of 125,000 tickets,[25] including three sell-out shows at the Hammersmith Apollo as well as several large arenas such as Wembley Arena and Manchester's MEN Arena. The DVD of this tour was released on 9 November 2009[26] and features a recording of the show from the Brighton Dome.[25]

Howard was named "Best Theatre Show" at the 2009 Chortle Comedy Awards.[27] Howard appeared in UK dates in December 2009 for his "Big Rooms and Belly Laughs" tour.[28] Right Here Right Now, his 2011 arena tour, sold out.

The Independent reported that Howard earned £4 million in 2009 alone,[29] which he denies.[30]

On 23 April 2013 Howard confirmed that he would be performing a stand-up tour called Wonderbox starting in February 2014 with dates in Britain, Ireland, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.[31] The tour was released on DVD in November 2014. This was further extended to include more UK dates in December 2014.

In November 2015, Howard announced that he would be doing a fifth stand-up tour in February to July 2017 called Round The World where he would tour the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and America. In advance of the tour, Howard planned to memorise the capital city of every country in the world alphabetically, in order to recite the full list at the start of each performance.[32]

From September 2019 to September 2020, Howard will do his sixth stand-up tour Respite where he will tour the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe, Canada, America, Australia and New Zealand.[33]

Personal life

When Howard’s career began to take off, he took up residence in Leamington Spa.[34][35][36][37] Howard now lives in Camden, London with his wife Cerys, a doctor, and their dog, a Jack Russell Terrier named Archie.[38][39] On Alan Carr's Christmas Cracker on Christmas Day 2018, Howard confirmed that he would be getting married in 2019; the wedding took place in June 2019.

Howard appeared at Friends of the Earth's LIVEstock comedy and music event at the Hammersmith Apollo in support of the green campaign group's Food Chain Campaign for planet-friendly farming, on 12 November 2009.

Since he was ten, Howard has supported Liverpool F.C..[40] He has said that he is "deadly serious" about football.[41] "I still go down the pub and play football with my mates", he commented in 2010.[41]

In April 2010, Howard ran the London Marathon for the first time with both his brother and sister, to raise money for Epilepsy Society. He completed the 26-mile course in 4 hours and 15 minutes, beating his target time of 5 hours. Sponsorship has raised over £7,000 to date.[42]

For Sport Relief 2010 he took part in the BT Sport Relief Million Pound Bike Ride with David Walliams, Jimmy Carr, Fearne Cotton, Miranda Hart, Patrick Kielty and Davina McCall. They cycled from John o'Groats in Scotland to Land's End in England in 4 days trying to raise £1 million.[12]

In November 2011 whilst filming a Mystery Guest segment for Good News, Howard broke his left hand when attempting to do press ups on a stunt chair.[43]

Russell was voted Heat Magazine's "Weird Crush of the Year 2013",[44] with his friend and former flatmate Jon Richardson coming second.

Credits

Mock the Week – BBC Two (2006–2010) – Panelist

Never Mind the Buzzcocks – BBC Two (2006, 2007) – Panelist; (2013) – Guest Host

Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive – BBC Three (2007)

Would I Lie to You? – BBC One (2007) – Panelist

Live at the Apollo – BBC One (2007, 2009)

Law of the Playground – Channel 4 (2008)

The Secret Policeman's Ball 2008 – Channel 4 (2008)

8 Out of 10 Cats – Channel 4 (2008) – Panelist

Russell Howard's Good News – BBC Three/Two (2009–2015) – Presenter

The Graham Norton Show – BBC One (2010)

Conan – TBS (2011)

Children in Need 2011 – BBC One (2011)

Jon Richardson: A Little Bit OCD – Channel 4 (2012)

The Jonathan Ross Show – ITV (2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)

The Big Fat Quiz of the Year – Channel 4 (2012) – Panelist

Red Nose Day 2013 – BBC One (2013)

A League of Their Own – Sky 1 (2014) – Panelist

Gadget Man – Channel 4 (2014)

Russell Howard's Stand Up Central – Comedy Central (2015–2016) – Presenter

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon – NBC (2015) – Guest Performer

The Last Leg: Stand Up to Cancer Special – Channel 4 (2015) – Guest

Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled – Dave (2015) (Series 3, Episode 4)

A Gert Lush Christmas – BBC Two (2015) – Dan Colman (Also co-writer)

Room 101 – BBC One (2016) – Guest/Panelist

Dara O Briain's Go 8 Bit – Dave (2016) – Guest (Series 1 Episode 4)

Russell Howard & Mum: USA Road Trip – Comedy Central (2016–present)

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown – Channel 4 (2016, 2017) – Contestant (Series 10 episode 7, 2016 Christmas Special, Series 11 Episode 2)

Michael McIntyre's Big Show – BBC One (2016) – Guest Performer (Series 2 episode 2)

The Late Late Show with James Corden – CBS (2017) – Guest

Saturday Kitchen – BBC One (2017) – Guest

The Russell Howard Hour – Sky 1 (2017–present) – Presenter

Taskmaster (2018) – Contestant, Series 6

Sunday Brunch (2018) - Guest (Series 7 episode 38)

Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier - Guest (Series 2 episode 3)

Russell Howard's Home Time - Sky 1 (2020) - Presenter