Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

Ministry of Sound

 
Artist: The Ministry of Sound
 
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Artists

Formal Connection With:

John Carter
  • Genres: Rock

Biography

The Ministry of Sound issued just one 1966 single while they were active. But they recorded several albums' worth of material within the space of about a couple of years, eventually bringing them to the notice of those who collect the small British school of '60s sunshine pop. Too, their history was quite complicated considering their small discography, as they were a studio outfit whose personnel included noted songwriter John Carter, although Carter was not the dominant member.

The core of the Ministry of Sound was the duo of singer/songwriters Robin Shaw and Micky Keen, who had first performed together back in the late '50s in Mick Everly & the Prophets. By the mid-'60s they were part of the house band of Southern Music Studios, and signed to Carter's publishing company as songwriters. They also recorded often at Southern Music Studios as Ministry of Sound, with Carter pitching in with songwriting, guitar, and some lead vocals. Songwriter Russ Alquist also sang lead on some tracks, as well as making some contributions as a writer, with Robin Shaw handling some of the lead vocal duties as well. Top British session drummer Clem Cattini and keyboardist Barry Kingston also recorded with them.

At least several dozen songs were recorded by the aggregation between 1966 and 1968, but the only two that found release were issued on the 1966 Decca single "White Collar Worker"/"Back Seat Driver." In common with much of the material with which the prolific John Carter was associated in the mid- to late '60s (with groups such as the Flower Pot Men and the Ivy League), it gave a British spin to the harmony sunshine pop of groups like the Beach Boys, the Turtles, the Association, and the Tokens, perhaps with a bit of the Four Seasons and Motown thrown in. Some of it also drew from psychedelia in the sophisticated production, use of then-advanced instrumentation such as the Mellotron, songs that explored British characters and situations, and lightly trippy lyrics. It wasn't as good as their most obvious influences, but it was very smoothly recorded and sung, with pleasant if not indelible tunesmithery.

Although some of the songs they recorded were covered by British pop group Amen Corner and Australian singer Normie Rowe, the Ministry of Sound didn't get the chance to release any more records while they were active. They came to an end when Robin Shaw joined the touring version of the Flower Pot Men, with Keen, Carter, and Cattini continuing to focus on studio work. In 2005, 35 of the tracks they recorded between 1966 and 1968 were issued on the two-CD set Midsummer Nights Dreaming/Men from the Ministry, most of them previously unreleased, though it did include both sides of their 1966 single. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
Search unanswered questions...

Enter a word or phrase...
All Community Q&A Reference topics

 
Wikipedia: Ministry of Sound
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Ministry of Sound
Type Public
Founded 1991
Headquarters London, England, UK
Key people Jamie Palumbo
Products Dance Music CDs, Nightclubs
Revenue £136m
Website www.ministryofsound.com

Ministry of Sound (London) is one of the most famous and successful nightclubs in the world, most recently ranking sixth in the 2009 DJ Mag top 100 clubs poll 2009[1]. It has evolved into a global dance music lifestyle brand and is part of MSHK Group Limited. Today, Ministry of Sound comprises nightclubs in London and Egypt, offices in London, Sydney, Berlin and New York, a digital media business, a range of branded lifestyle products and one of the largest independent record companies in the world.

The Chairman of MSHK Group is James Palumbo who is also the majority shareholder; a small minority share-holding having been sold to private equity house 3i in 2001. The Chief Executive Officer of MSHK Group is Lohan Presencer. MSHK Group has global sales of £80 million and employs up to 500 personnel worldwide. Its mission statement is “to create the moments that people live for”[2].

MSHK Group now has offices in London, New York, Sydney and Berlin and comprises many brands including Ministry of Sound, Hed Kandi, Euphoria, Global Underground and HARD2BEAT.

Hed Kandi, acquired from Guardian Media Group in 2006, has flourished into a hugely successful and globally recognised music and events business, now encompassing lifestyle products and fashion, with the first Hed Kandi clothing range being launched summer 2009.

Ministry of Sound lights.

Contents

Ministry of Sound London

Inspired by New York’s Paradise Garage, Ministry of Sound’s renowned London nightclub was the brainchild of DJ Justin Berkmann, who set out to create London’s first club devoted to the US house music scenes of New York, Chicago and Detroit, with a room purely dedicated to sound. “My concept for Ministry was purely this: 100% sound system first, lights second, design third – in that order – the reverse of everyone else’s idea.” Justin Berkmann[3]

Berkmann partnered with James Palumbo and Humphrey Waterhouse to bring the concept to life and a site, a disused bus garage, was located in Elephant & Castle in Southwark, South East London. With the now iconic logo designed by Marc Woodhouse, the doors officially opened on 21st September 1991.

With opening sets from US house DJs like Larry Levan, David Morales, C+C Music Factory, Roger Sanchez and Tony Humphries, the UK’s first 24 hour dance license, and a 140dB(A) sound-system designed and installed by Austen Derek, Ministry of Sound London quickly grew in popularity as a clubbing venue, despite the lack of an alcohol license for the first three years and notoriously strict door policies.

Today, the club remains at the forefront of the global dance music scene, with internationally recognised DJs playing mix sets every Friday and Saturday night to a dedicated and discerning crowd. Since April 2008[4], Fridays have been hosted by The Gallery, with sets from leading hard house and trance DJs. Saturdays are Ministry of Sound’s long-standing Saturday Sessions with house, electro and techno sets from popular DJs including Sasha, Erick Morillo, Pete Tong and David Guetta. Ministry of Sound London also hosts a range of other parties and events during the week and is available for private hire.[5]

The club comprises five main areas; the Bar, the Baby Box, the VIP, the Loft and the Box, the latter housing the club’s primary sound-system, with a specially-built roof to contain sound and a sprung floor intended to enable clubbers to dance for many hours without tiring, inspired by the dancefloor at the Paradise Garage.

Record Label

Ministry of Sound’s record label was first established in 1995 with the release of “The Annual”, a compilation album of various dance music tracks mixed by UK DJs Boy George and Pete Tong. The Annual went on to sell over 160,000 units and paved the way for a now-global label with over 50 million dance album and single units sold to date, award winning music videos from artists like Eric Prydz and Benny Benassi and continuing sales of over 4 million units per annum. Ministry of Sound remains an independent label, and continues to deliver albums and singles via its compilation brands including The Annual, Clubbers Guide and Anthems.

Imprint label Data Records, created to house Ministry of Sound’s more commercial dance music single releases, has enjoyed a string of Number 1, Top 5 and Top 10 hits across the globe since its inception in 1999. Recent releases include Eric Prydz “Pjanoo” (2008) and Kid Cudi vs Crookers “Day ‘n’ Nite” (2009), which both hit the #2 spot in the Official UK Singles Chart.

Ministry of Sound has a global network of international affiliate labels including dedicated offices in Australia, Germany and the USA.

Ministry of Sound (Australia) is an affiliated record label based out of Cremorne, NSW Australia. Its music was released through EMI (Australia) until January 2008, when it changed to Universal Music Australia and has been operating since 2000.

In 2008 Ministry of Sound launched its American operations after ending its relationship with Ultra Records. Its first release under the Ministry of Sound America imprint was "Clubber's Guide America."

In January 2006, the company purchased record label Hed Kandi from The Guardian Media Group and plans to continue maintaining the brand.

In 2008 Ministry of Sound launched HARD2BEAT records with Basshunter's "Now You're Gone" as its first single and Bigtunes 2008 as its first compilation.

In 2008 Ministry of Sound won the Music Week Award for "Independent Record Company Label of the Year"[6]

Ministry of Sound has its own customised content channel on Audiotube.

International Tours & Franchised Clubs

Ministry of Sound holds around 800 events across the globe every year, attended by over 900,000 people, in nightclubs, festivals and parties.

In recent years, Ministry of Sound has also expanded its network of own-brand venues with nightclub franchises in Egypt and Asia:

Ministry of Sound Egypt (Papas Beach Club, Sekalla, Hurghada, Egypt), opened in 2005

Euphoria by Ministry of Sound in Petaling Jaya (Sunway Lagoon Resort Hotel), Malaysia launched July 2, 2008

Digital Media

Websites
MinistryofSound.com is the main web portal for Ministry of Sound containing multimedia content from Ministry of Sound TV and Ministry of Sound Radio and a shop stocking the range of Ministry of Sound music and lifestyle products. Local websites also exist for Ministry of Sound Australia, Germany and USA.

Ministry of Sound also has an extensive range of both official and unofficial fan pages on social networking sites Facebook, MySpace and Bebo.

Ministry of Sound TV (MoSTV)
Launched in November 2006, Ministry of Sound TV (MoSTV) is an IPTV content offering. The channel is dedicated to dance music programming, featuring music videos, mini-documentaries, interviews with DJs and exclusive global event coverage.

Ministry of Sound TV is also syndicated on IPTV Platforms including Joost, Vuze, Muzu and Audiotube with dedicated channels showcasing the best MoSTV content. There is a full in-house production team at Ministry of Sound who produce the packages as well as TV ads and music videos. MoSTV also makes content for Hed Kandi and Global Underground.

Ministry of Sound Radio
Started life as a syndicated programme in 1996, then graduated to an audio stream on the Ministry of Sound website in 1999. It was also broadcast as a DAB station via the Switch Digital consortium in 2000 and ran on FM via a Restricted Service License in October 2001.

In 2002 Ministry of Sound Radio reverted to an online audio stream and ceased broadcasting on DAB. It launched a new schedule in January 2009, featuring a mix of programming linked in to Ministry of Sound’s leading album brands such as Anthems, to specialist shows with DJ’s such as Mark Knight. It is available at www.ministryofsound.com/radio .

Ministry of Sound Radio also produces several syndicated radio shows from its London studios that are broadcast on radio stations all over the world. There will be new syndicated programmes available for broadcast later in the year.

Mobile

Ministry of Sound is the UK’s biggest independent label on mobile, selling content to all the major operators and direct-to-consumer stores. There are Ministry of Sound branded channels on Vodafone, 3 Mobile, O2 and T-Mobile and a Ministry of Sound direct-to-consumer WAP site.

Ministry of Sound also recently launched their first iPhone applications via Apple Inc’s iTunes store. The first - “iDrum” - is an application that allows the user to create their own electronic drum patterns.

Branded Lifestyle Products

The Ministry of Sound name has been licensed for use on a range of lifestyle products including electronic goods sold by Alba (including MP3 players, home audio systems, DVD players, DAB players and in-car entertainment systems), mobile handsets, festival camping gear, vodka, clothing, luggage and fragrance.

References

  1. ^ 2009 DJ Mag Top 100 Club Poll Results[1]
  2. ^ James Palumbo's opening statement on MSHK corporate site [2]
  3. ^ Brewster, B. and Broughton F. (1998). The Manual: The who, the where, the why of clubland. Headline Book Publishing. pp.95
  4. ^ Gallery marks 1st Birthday at Ministry of Sound[3]
  5. ^ Ministry of Sound Corporate Hire[4]
  6. ^ http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=1033778

External links

v • d • e
Major London nightclub venues
Astoria · Astoria 2 · Electric Ballroom · The End · Fabric · The Fridge · KOKO · Marquee Club · Ministry of Sound · Scala · Turnmills · matter

Coordinates: 51°29′52″N 0°5′57″W / 51.49778°N 0.09917°W / 51.49778; -0.09917


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
Shopping: Ministry of Sound
Top
ministry of soundministry of sound usa
 
 

 

Copyrights:

Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Ministry of Sound".  Read more

Related answers
» More
 
Answer these
» More

Mentioned in

» More» More