Paddy McAloon

Born Patrick Joseph McAloon, 15 July 1957, in Durham, England, PM is a guitarist and singer who was a founder member, and principal songwriter, of 80’s pop rock band Prefab Sprout. Formed in 1978 in Newcastle, UK, the band debuted in 1982 with their self-released single Lions In My Own Garden (Exit Someone). Their debut album Swoon was released in 1984, followed by the critically-acclaimed Steve McQueen (1985). PM’s songs have been covered by numerous artists e.g. Cher, Kylie Minogue and Sondre Lerche.

Born James Joseph McGuinn III in Chicago, Illinois on 13 July 1942. Known professionally as Roger McGuinn and previously as Jim McGuinn. RM is a singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as being lead singer and lead guitarist on many of The Byrds’ hit records. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Katie Melua

Born Ketevan “Ketino” Melua, 16 September 1984, in Kutaisi, Georgia, KM is a Georgian-British singer and songwriter. She moved to the UK at the age of eight in the aftermath of the Georgian Civil War – first to Belfast, and then to London. In 2003, aged 19, Melua released her first album, Call Off the Search, which reached #1 on the UK album charts and sold 1.8 million copies in its first five months of release. Her second album. Piece by Piece, released in September 2005, has to date gone quadruple platinum (4 x 1m sold in the UK). In 2006, she was the UK's best-selling female artist and Europe's highest selling European female artist.

Born James Russell Mercer, 26 December 1970, in Honolulu, Hawaii, JM is a founding member, multi-instrumentalist and principal songwriter of the Grammy-nominated indie rock group The Shins. They released their critically acclaimed debut album, Oh, Inverted World, in 2001. In 2009, Mercer and producer Danger Mouse formed the side project Broken Bells, for which they released a self-titled album in March 2010.

Born Farrokh Bulsara, in Zanzibar, East Africa, 5 Sept., 1946 (died London, 24 Nov., 1991), FM was a British singer, songwriter and record producer, known as the lead vocalist of rock band Queen. He was known for his flamboyant stage persona and four-octave vocal range. He learned piano, aged 7 and, later, rudimentary guitar. FM wrote several of Queen’s hits and played piano on recordings and on stage. In 1992, Mercury was posthumously awarded the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. As a member of Queen, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003, and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004. He is consistently voted one of the greatest singers in the history of popular music.

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