Artist of the Half Term
At Bournes Green, we believe that all genres of music should be celebrated, and successful artists should be recognised for their contribution to music. Each half-term, we will celebrate and learn about different musicians from around the world. The children will hear the artist's music as they come into and leave assembly. In addition, we share information about the artist on the main screen.
Summer 2 2025 – Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone was born on 16th August 1958 and is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. Madonna is known for pushing the boundaries of lyrical content in mainstream popular music, as well as visual imagery in music videos and on stage. She has frequently reinvented both her music and image while maintaining autonomy within the recording industry.
At 20, Madonna moved to New York to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing as a drummer, guitarist and vocalist in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, Madonna signed with Sire Records in 1982 and released her debut album the next year. She followed it with a series of successful albums which became global bestsellers and Grammy Award winners. Throughout her career, Madonna has written and produced most of her songs, with many of them reaching number one on the record charts, including “Papa Don’t Preach, “Like a Prayer and “Vogue”.
Madonna's popularity was further enhanced by her roles in films such as Desperately Seeking Susan, Dick Tracey, A league of Their Own and Evita. As a businesswoman, Madonna founded her own entertainment company Maverick, including the label Maverick Records, in 1992. Her other ventures include fashion design, writing children's books, opening of health clubs, and filmmaking. She also contributed in various charities and founded the Raising Malawi organization in 2006.
Having sold more than 300 million records worldwide, Madonna is recognized as the best-selling female recording artist of all time by The Guinness World Records. She is also the highest-grossing solo touring artist of all time, earning £1,000,000,000 from her concert tickets!
Summer 1 2025 - James Brown
James Joseph Brown was born on 3rd May 1933 in South Carolina, United States and grew up to become one of the world’s most successful singers, songwriters and producers. He was also a hugely talented dancer and bandleader.
James Brown began his career as a gospel singer in Georgia and soon realised he had a special talent for singing. Soon after, Brown joined a Rhythm and Blues vocal group, the Gospel Starlighters, in which he was the lead singer. The band first became known to the wider public in the late 1950s with the hit ballads “Please, Please, Please” and “Try Me”. Brown built a reputation as a very energetic and lively performer with several bands. His success peaked in the 1960s with the album “Live and the Apollo” and hit singles such as “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag”, “I Got You (I Feel Good)” and “It’s a Man’s World”. During the late 1960s he changes his style of music to incorporate an African influence; this helped him develop a style of music now called funk music. Brown also became noted for songs of social commentary, including the 1968 hit “Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud”. Brown continued to perform and record until his death from on 25th December 2006.
In a career that spanned six decades, he influenced the development of several music genres and was often referred to as the "Godfather of Soul”. Brown recorded 16 singles that reached number one in the Billboard R&B charts. He received honours from many institutions,
including inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame. An analysis of the Billboard R&B charts from 1942 to 2010 ranks James Brown as number one in The Top 500 Artists. He is also ranked seventh on the music magazine Rolling Stone’s
list of its 100 greatest artists of all time.
Spring 2 2025 – Bee Gees
Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb were born on the Isle of Man to English parents. The Gibb brothers lived in Manchester until the late 1950s before the family moved to Queensland, Australia.
In 1958, the brothers formed a band, calling themselves The Bee Gees. The trio were successful for many decades, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a popular music act in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The group sang recognisable three-part tight harmonies; Robin's clear vibrato lead vocals were a hallmark of their earlier hits, while Barry's R&B falsetto became their signature sound during the late 1970s and 1980s. They wrote all of their own hits, as well as writing and producing several major hits for other artists.
They are most famous for their album linked to the film, Saturday Night Fever. It would be the turning point of their career. Three singles, “How Deep Is Your Love”, “Stayin’ Alive” and “Night Fever” charted high in many countries around the world and helped to launch the most popular period of the disco era. The album broke multiple industry records, becoming the highest-selling album in recording history to that point with more than 40 million copies sold.
The Bee Gees have sold more than 220 million records worldwide, making them one of the world’s best-selling music artists of all time and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
Following Maurice's sudden death in January 2003 at the age of 53, Barry and Robin retired the group's name after 45 years of activity. Robin died in May 2012 at the age of 62, leaving Barry as the only surviving member of the group.
Spring 1 2025 – Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was born on 29th August 1958 and was the eighth of ten children in an African-American working-class family who lived in a two-bedroom house in Chicago.
In 1964, aged 6, Jackson began performing with his elder brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon as a member of The Jackson 5. In 1971, Jackson launched his solo career and over the next four decades, dominated the world of music. So much so, that he was nicknamed the ‘King of Pop’.
The music videos for his songs, including ‘Beat It’, ‘Billie Jean’ and ‘Thriller’ were credited with breaking down racial barriers and for transforming music into a greater art form. The popularity of these videos helped to bring the then relatively new television channel MTV to fame. Through his stage and video performances, Jackson popularized several complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk, to which he gave the name.
Jackson has sold over 400 million records worldwide and earned over $800 million. Thriller is the best-selling album of all time, with approximately 65 million copies sold. His other albums, including Off the Wall, Bad, Dangerous and HIStory also rank among the world's best-selling albums.
Michael Jackson supported many charities and is believed to have donated in excess of $100 million over the course
of his life to try to make the world a better place. Although talented and wealthy, his personal life generated
controversy and he often appeared unhappy.
In June 2009, whilst preparing a series of large concerts, Jackson suffered a heart attack and died.
Autumn 2 2024 – Take That
Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow acts as the group's lead singer and primary songwriter, with Owen and Williams initially providing backing vocals and Donald and Orange serving primarily as dancers.
The group have had 28 top 40 singles and 17 top 5 singles in the United Kingdom, 12 of which have reached number one, as well as having eight number one albums. Internationally, the band have had 56 number one singles and 39 number one albums. They have received eight Brit Awards including for Best British Group and Best British Live Act.
In 2012, the band were announced by Forbes as the fifth highest-earning music stars in the world. In the same year, the Official Charts Company revealed the biggest-selling singles artists in British music chart history with Take That currently placed at 15th overall, making them the most successful boy band in UK chart history with four of their albums listed in the best-selling albums of the millennium.
Take That have produced world tours, sold millions of albums worldwide and raised millions of pounds for a number of charities. These include Breast Cancer Care, Children in Need, Comic Relief, Help for Heroes and The Princes Trust.
Autumn 1 2024 - Abba
ABBA is a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972, comprising of Agnetha Faltskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Anderson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. ABBA is an acronym of the first letters of the band members' first names. The band became one of the most successful acts in the history of popular music, topping the charts worldwide from 1975 to 1982. They also won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974, giving Sweden its first triumph in the history of the contest and being the most successful group ever to take part in the competition.
ABBA has sold almost 400 million albums and singles worldwide, making it one of the best-selling music artists of all time. ABBA was the first group to come from a non-English-speaking country that enjoyed consistent success in the charts of English-speaking countries, including the UK, America, Canada, Australia and South Africa.
During the band’s earlier years, Fältskog and Ulvaeus were married, as were Lyngstad and Andersson, although both couples later divorced. After ABBA broke up in 1982, Andersson and Ulvaeus achieved success writing music for the stage while Lyngstad and Fältskog pursued solo careers. In 1999, ABBA's music was adapted into the successful musical and film called Mamma Mia!
Recently, ABBA reformed, and they have made a number of performances, some of which were as virtual avatars.
Summer 2 2024 - Spice Girls
The Spice Girls were an English pop group formed in 1994. The group consists of Melanie Brown ("Scary Spice"), Melanie Chisholm ("Sporty Spice"), Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"), Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"), and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice").
They were signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single “Wannabe” in 1996, which hit number one in 37 countries and established them as a global phenomenon. Their debut album Spice sold more than 31 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album by a female group in history. Their follow up album Spiceworld sold over 20 million copies worldwide. The Spice Girls have sold over 80 million records worldwide, making them the best-selling female group of all time, one of the best-selling pop groups of all time, and the biggest British pop phenomenon since The Beatles.
At the peak of their success, their international record sales, tours, merchandising and film, Spice World estimated their revenue to be between $500–800 million between 1996 and 1998 alone.
Under the guidance of their mentor and manager Simon Fuller, the Spice Girls embraced merchandising and became a regular feature of the British and global press. Many record journalists recognise the Spice Girls as the most well known group of individuals since John, Paul, George and Ringo.
Since splitting up, the girls have gone on to be very successful in different areas of singing, acting, designing clothes, television and radio broadcasting.
Summer 1 2024 - Status Quo
Status Quo are an English rock band who were formed by schoolboys Francis Rossi and Alan Lancaster in 1962; they were originally called The Spectres. After a number of line-up and band name changes, in 1969 they became known as Status Quo.
Status Quo have had over 60 UK chart hits, starting with the 1967 song ‘Pictures Of Matchstick Men’. They are particularly well known for ‘Rocking All Over the World’ and ‘Whatever You Want’. These songs have sold all over the world and in their millions. In total, the band have sold over 118,000,000 records and spent over 7 ½ years in the British Singles Charts and have won dozens of musical awards.
Jeff Rich joined the band in 1985 as a drummer. He was part of the famous ‘Rock till you drop’ album which was launched by the band performing four concerts in the space of a single day (11 hours and 11 minutes); this earned them a place in the Guinness Book of Records and raised over £2,000,000 for charities in the process.
Status Quo have loyal fans all over the world. They are particularly famous in the UK, Scandinavia and mainland Europe. It is estimated the band have travelled over 4,000,000 miles to play over 6000 live shows to over 25,000,000 people!
Francis Rossi and Rick Parfett were awarded the OBE in 2010 for their outstanding contribution to music. The band have also worked for a number of charities including The Princes Trust and British Heart Foundation.
Spring 2 2024 - Queen
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1970, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano), Brian May (guitar, vocals), John Deacon (bass guitar), and Roger Taylor (drums, vocals).
Before joining Queen, Brian May and Roger Taylor had been playing together in a band named Smile with bassist Tim Staffell. Freddie Mercury (then known by his birth name of Farrokh "Freddie" Bulsara) was a fan of Smile, and encouraged them to experiment with more elaborate stage and recording techniques after Staffell's departure in 1970. Mercury joined the band shortly after, changed the name of the band to "Queen", and adopted his familiar stage name.
By the early 1980s, Queen were one of the biggest stadium rock bands watched by millions of people around the world. Possibly their most famous performance was in 1985 when they supported Live Aid at Wembley Stadium.
In 1977 Roger Deacon retired and in 1991, Freddie Mercury died of Bronchopneumonia. Since then, May and Taylor have occasionally performed together, including a recent collaboration with Paul Rogers.
Queen have released 18 number one albums, 18 number one singles, and have sold an estimated 300 million records, making them one of the world's best selling music artists.
Spring 1 2024 - Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, actress, record producer and an occasional songwriter. Ross was born on 26th March 1944 in Detroit, America and rose to fame as a founding member and lead singer of the vocal group The Supremes, which, during the 1960s, became Motown’s most successful act and is to this day America's most successful vocal group as well as one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time of all time.
The Supremes set a record scoring twelve number-one hit singles including the hits, “Baby Love”, “Stop! In the Name of Love”, “You Can’t Hurry Love”, and “You Keep Me Hangin’ On”.
Following her departure from the Supremes in 1970, Ross released many solo albums which were hugely popular and sold all over the world. Diana Ross is also well known for her acting and won two prestigious awards, a Golden Globe and Academy Award.
In 1993, the Guinness Book of World Records declared Ross the most successful female music artist in history due to her success in the United States and United Kingdom for having more hits than any female artist in the charts with a career total of 70 hit singles with her work with the Supremes and as a solo artist. Ross has sold more than 100 million records worldwide when her releases with the Supremes and as a solo artist are tallied.
Autumn 2 2023 - David Bowie
David Robert Jones was born on 8th January 1947. He was professionally known as David Bowie and was an English singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century.
Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, particularly for his innovative work during the 1970s. His career was marked by reinvention and visual presentation, and his music and stagecraft had a significant impact on popular music. Bowie's popular records included "Space Oddity", "Heroes", "Ashes to Ashes", "Under Pressure" (a 1981 collaboration with Queen) and Let's Dance.
Bowie was also an accomplished actor and starred in a number of films including Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, Labyrinth, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me and The Prestige.
During his lifetime, his record sales, estimated at over 100 million records worldwide, made him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. In the UK, he was awarded ten platinum, eleven gold and eight silver album certifications, and released 11 number-one albums.
In the US, he received five platinum and nine gold certifications. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Rolling Stone ranked him among the greatest artists in history. As of 2022, Bowie was the best-selling vinyl artist of the 21st century.
Autumn 1 2023 - Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston was born on 9th August 1963 and was part of a famous musical family which included Dionne Warwick, Dee Dee Warwick and Darlene Love.
By the age of 11, Houston started performing as a soloist in the junior gospel choir at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, where she also learned to play the piano. Houston spent some of her teenage years touring clubs where her mother Cissy was performing; occasionally she joined her on stage to perform with her. In 1977, aged 14, she became a backup singer for Michael Zager’s Band; a year later she sang background vocals on Chaka Khan's hit single “I’m Every Woman”.
In 2009, The Guinness World Records cited her as the most awarded female act of all time. Houston is one of pop music's best-selling music artists of all-time, with an estimated 180–200 million records sold worldwide.
Houston is the only artist to chart seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits and her 1985 debut album "Whitney Houston" became the best-selling debut album by a woman in history.
Houston's first acting role was as the star of the film The Bodyguard; one particular track, "I will always love you", became the best-selling single by a woman in music history. Houston continued to star in several successful films throughout the 1990's.
Sadly, in February 2012, Houston tragically died aged 49.
Summer 2 2023 - The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960 and consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
The Beatles built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool but quickly gained popularity in the United Kingdom after their first hit, “Love Me Do", in late 1962. Their enormous popularity was named “Beatlemania” and the group were given the nickname the "Fab Four“.
From 1965 on, the Beatles produced what many critics consider their finest material, including the hugely popular Sargent Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club (1967), The Beatles (1968) and Abbey Road (1969).
After their breakup, in 1970, they each enjoyed successful musical careers. Sadly, John Lennon was shot and killed in December 1980, and George Harrison died of lung cancer in November 2001. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr still make music and appear in concerts.
Records show that the Beatles are the best-selling bands in the United States, with 177 million record sales. They have had more number-one albums on the British charts and sold more singles in the UK than any other act.
Summer 1 2023 - Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris was born in Michigan, USA, in 1950, the third of six children to Calvin Judkins and Lula Mae Hardaway. He was born six weeks premature, which, along with a problem with the hospital incubator, resulted in a condition which caused the retinas to detach from the eye; this meant he became blind.
Wonder began playing instruments at an early age, including the piano, harmonica, drums and bass. He formed a singing partnership with a friend; calling themselves Stevie and John, they played on street corners, and occasionally at parties and dances. In 1961, when aged 11, Wonder was signed by the famous record label, Motown. Before signing, producer Clarence Paul gave him the name Little Stevie Wonder.
Among Wonder's works are singles such as “Superstition", “Sir Duke", “You Are the Sunshine of My Life" and “I Just Called to Say I Love You”. He has recorded more than thirty U.S. top ten hits and received twenty-two Grammy Awards, the most ever awarded to a male solo artist. Wonder has sold over 100 million albums and singles, making him one of the top 60 best-selling
music artists.
Wonder has been married twice: to Motown singer/songwriter Syreeta Wright from 1970 until 1972. Wonder later married fashion designed Kai Morris in 2001 although separated in 2009. He has seven children.
Spring 2 2023 - Elton John
Elton John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25th March 1947, the eldest child of Stanley and only child of Sheila Dwight. He was raised in Pinner, Middlesex in a small council house and attended Pinner Wood Junior School, Reddiford School and Pinner County Grammar School. He left school at 17 to pursue a career in the music industry.
Elton is a hugely successful singer, composer, pianist, record producer, and occasional actor. He has worked with lyricist Bernie Taupin as his songwriter partner since 1967 and have collaborated on over 30 albums.
In his six-decade career, Elton has sold over 300 million records. He has more than fifty top 40 hits, including seven consecutive No. 1 US albums. His single “Candle in the Wind" sold over 33 million copies worldwide and is the best-selling single of all time. He has received many awards for his music (Grammy Awards, Brit Awards, an Academy Award, Golden Globe Award and Tony Award).
In 1998, Elton received a knighthood from the Queen Elizabeth for "services to music and charitable services".
Over the last 30 years, Elton John has raised over $200,000,000 for different charities. He is especially famous for hosting the annual Academy Award Party, which is a party for rich and famous people after the Oscar ceremony.
Spring 1 2023 - Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra was born on 12th December 1915. He was an American singer and film actor. Sinatra found huge success as a solo artist from the early to mid-1940s after being signed by
Columbia Records in 1943. He released his first album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra in 1946. His professional career had stalled by the early 1950s, but it was reborn in 1953 after he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film From Here to Eternity.
By 1961, Sinatra had created his own record label, (Reprise Records) and was singing all over the world. He was a founding member of the ’Rat Pack’ and spent lots of time with famous celebrities and politicians (other famous actors in the Rat Pack included Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Junior).
With sales of his music dwindling and after appearing in several poorly received films, Sinatra retired for the first time in 1971. Two years later, however, he came out of retirement and in 1973 recorded several very successful albums.
Sinatra is one of the most famous artists of all time, selling over 50,000,000 records!
Frank Sinatra died on 14th May 1998 as one of the world’s most famous singers.