London and Provincial Music

Author Archive

One of my favorite subjects is and has always been music.  I am a particular fan of good music videos. Good meaning they give me the feeling that it is 1982 again and I am watching MTV for the first time – MTV when it really WAS Music TeleVision. 

1.  Steppin Out – Joe Jackson (1982)

This is the very first MTV video I ever saw.  It was 1982 and I didn’t even know what MTV was.  I was a 13-year-old girl babysitting alone for sleeping children in a quiet, dark house in front of the TV.  I had the remote and landed on this new channel “MTV” and there it was — “Steppin’ Out” by Joe Jackson.  I watched this “picture story” and was so enticed and excited that I immediately reached over to the end table, picked up the monstrous cordless phone (I don’t remember the actual size, but based upon the time period, I’m sure it was sizable) and called my mom.  I tried to explain to her in my excitement the true total awesomeness of it all — how I had just watched a “story” played to a song, on “pay tv”.

2.  Black Coffee in Bed – Squeeze (1982)
Black Coffee in Bed – Squeeze

This has to be the second MTV video I ever saw, and as we didn’t have MTV at home yet, I watched it on one of HBO’s half-hour music video shows.  My 33-year-old mom fell in love with it, and actually introduced me to it.  You may know “Tempted” or “Something So Strong” by Squeeze, but if that’s all you know, you’re missing out on their greatest song, and one of the best videos ever.

3.  I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues – Elton John (1983)

I fell in love with song because of the original video.  It’s the story of a young couple separated during WWII because the young man is drafted.  I have always been a vicarious time-traveler, and I especially love the music, clothing, and simpleness of that time period.  My dear grandparents were separated during WWII and corresponded by letters for several years, marrying upon his return in 1946.  When I watched this video as a young teen, I inserted myself into the video, into the most bittersweet, romantic scenario I could imagine.  Today I can watch it and feel the way I felt then.

4.  No Rain – Blind Melon (1992)

The 1990s were one of the best decades ever for music because of the “Seattle Sound” or Grunge.  The first time I heard “No Rain”, my attraction to Blind Melon was immediate.  Their music seemed familiar to me somehow; maybe it was because of their traditional rock sound, or maybe it was just because I felt right at home in all those fields of wildflowers and could relate to The Bee Girl.

5.  Cars – Gary Numan (1979)
Gary Numan – Cars

Way before Emo, there was Gary Numan. Gary Numan was light years ahead of the groups of my childhood.  He introduced synthpop and electronic, a new look, and a new era of music.  He looked good in eyeliner, he looked good without a tan, and he was wearing the quilted, red, casket-lining jacket WAY before Michael Jackson.  He sent messages out to the universe, “Your teenagers of the future WILL LOVE VAMPIRES.”  What exactly was it that he had?  I didn’t know the name for it then, and cannot find the words to describe it now.  All I know is this:  First I loved Dark Shadows and Barnabas Collins, then I loved Video Killed the Radio Star, and THEN I loved Gary Numan.

6.  Waiting On A Friend – Mick Jagger (1981)

“Everything old is new again.” —Peter Allen

“The charm of history and its enigmatic lesson consist in the fact that, from age to age, nothing changes and yet everything is completely different.” —Aldous Huxley

The Mick Jagger of this 1981 video would be completely at home in this day and age of laid-back, skinny jeans, long hair, pumped-up lips, and sweet, soulful jazz-rock.  He wasn’t waiting on a lady; he was just waiting on a friend.

7.  You Got Lucky – Tom Petty (1982)
You Got Lucky – Tom Petty

Back in the infamous ’80s, we never thought we would live to see 25.  I can speak for myself anyway.  It was the age of the Cold War, the Big Bomb, the Wall.  This video seemed so realistic back then.  I’m not quite sure, in reminiscence, what type of world disaster would have left the sky that strange shade of rose,
or just a chosen few males riding around in a dune buggy/go-cart, but I was a believer.  

8.  Gypsy – Fleetwood Mac (1982)

I’m a huge Stevie Nicks fan.  She’s just magical, as are all her songs.  When I used to watch this video, and when I watch it today, I get lost in the story.  She goes up to the attic, looks into a mirror, and becomes “the gypsy that she was”.  The way I always interpreted it was that when she looked into the mirror she started reliving her former life as a gypsy.  But in reading what Stevie says now about how the song was created, I am a little disappointed to find that the “velvet underground” was but a memory of the “poor” days before Fleetwood Mac, when she and Lindsey lived in a room with just a mattress donned with vintage coverlets, and a lone lamp.

9.  Crash Into Me (Dave Matthews Band) – 1996

I’ll never forget the first time I heard this song.  I was rollerblading in Tampa, Florida in 1997, wearing a pair of bad headphones tuned into FM radio, and it came through garbled and distorted, and still I fell in love.  The video is violins, medieval festivals, forests, the smell of rain, and raw romance.

10.  Lay Lady Lay (Magnet and Gemma Hayes) – 2003

This is the best music video I have ever seen.  I like everything about it, and it was a “love at first view”.  Everything works together to touch some special place inside of me that I didn’t even know existed and could never find the way to myself — the trailer park, the windmills, the breakfast truck including overly-fried, brown eggs, the really good-looking-in-an-unassuming-way guy, the “white trash” girl with bleached blond hair and heavy black eyeliner and oh-so-obvious lip liner, the Jesus sticker in the window, the kid with acne, and all the people who pop out of the bed (especially the ones with musical instruments).  When Magnet rides his bike through the trailer park I just want to ride with him.  How can I explain it?  This has got to be The Best Music Video of All Time.

Cool fact: In 1894, sheet music publishers Edward B. Marks and Joe Stern hired electrician George Thomas and various performers to promote sales of their song “The Little Lost Child”.  Using a magic lantern, Thomas projected a series of still images on a screen simultaneous to live performances. This would become a popular form of entertainment known as the illustrated song, the first step toward music video (from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)…

Everyday different music videos are being created and released for the enjoyment of every individual. So whatever type of music you like, rest assured that something is being prepared and all those videos can be viewed and downloaded in all the music sites online. However, not every site can give you a free download option and a crystal clear copy.

At favoritemusicvideo you can get a free copy of the most controversial and best music videos of all time. That is not all, at this site even the oldest and freakiest music videos are available for you to see. The site is a dream comes true for all music lover and video fanatics, a remarkable site that can provide all your need.

The site has all the best music videos from all over the world. From the latest and to the oldest music videos you know, but have not seen can be viewed here. So do not worry, even your mom and dad’s favorite music are just waiting for you. Their collection is simply unbelievable that it can make your head spin just to look at all the titles.

Thus, if you are into dance videos, R&B videos, and the best music videos of the year, then just visit the site and browse through the entire collection of videos all kinds. The most amazing thing with online music, you won’t have to go anywhere to listen to your kind of music. All you have to do is simply click on the site and start downloading your old time favorite music.

That is correct, you have read it right. No need to run to the nearest music store to get a copy of the latest or the best music videos for this year. All you need is your own computer, a good internet connection and then start selecting the music you want to download. Simple, and does not cost you anything because the videos are free.

This is another one of the reason why favoritemusicvideos is truly one of the favorite sites of many music videos fanatics and just plain music lover.  Keep in mind that other online sites charge viewers an arm and a leg for them to download a certain videos, but with this site you can get them for absolutely free.

Even though tons of music is released throughout the day and in every part of the world, as there are many artist creating a songs every day, that it may seem impossible to keep track of all the best music videos all over the world. But at favoritemusicvideos they make sure that you are always updated with the latest and the most controversial videos every day.

The site offers everything and all the music that can be heard all over the world. The songs that you have not heard or seen in the television before or even those privately labeled video collection that has never been released in market. It is all here, under one site all the music of before and the future for your total enjoyment.

<a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackPageview', '/outgoing/article_exit_link/1711873']);” href=”http://favoritemusicvideo.com/”>: best music video </a>

Now let us see where you can find the best music program to keep the music interest of a teenager alive and strong. Then we shall compare the advantages of hiring a private music teacher with those of having many teachers at a music school.

To have an influence on your teenager as parents, first understand that this is the age when kids are fascinated by the outside world and they are more influenced by their friends than by you. The right way in this case is gently directing and guiding them. You need to make full use of the child’s new environment, right now!

If your child’s friends or classmates are learning music as well, this is a big plus. Being in the company of fellow learners is great!

But of course it’s highly unlikely that your kid’s classmates will want to take up music education as an extracurricular activity because it needs years of dedication. But if your child joins a music school, all the benefits come on a platter. There your teenager will have a lot of friends pursuing the same goal – music. The benefits of learning along with “musical” friends and visiting the music school two-three times a week are wonderful. Here your child will develop interests that are totally different from those of other children. The children at music school interact at a higher level – a “musical” level. They learn from each other and keep improving upon their skills and talents. Thus, it is at music schools that your child will get the best music program and sustain and develop his/her interest in music.

Moreover, since there are several levels of music lessons at music schools, grouping of the students is easy and they will be with the same group most of the time. The little world within the music school is greatly beneficial and no private teacher can possibly emulate this setting and claim that his/her program is the best music program.

As your child grows older into a teenager, and you clearly see that he/she is losing interest in music, it is probably too late to enroll him/her in music schools. It is hence vital to begin music education in music schools or academies at a young age and offer the child the best music program possible.

When I was interviewing parents and talking to them about methods of music education and where they can find the best music program, I was surprised to know that some of them had never heard of special music institutes existing in Canada and the US! They only knew of private music teachers.

When I explain to parents what music schools and academies are, some of them ponder and ask whether these music institutes have only pros and no cons at all. Of course not, I tell them. There are cons as well that you should know. Firstly, music institutes are particular about the age of the students. The students’ age must be within the limits set by each existing program. Secondly, and most significantly, the tuition fees are quite high; far higher than those of private music teachers. But of course the higher fees translate into the best music program that gives an absolutely comprehensive music education! Teachers, students and parents are all delighted with the rewards of the child’s efforts.

History

Formation and early years (19851987)

Founding members (from left to right) John Myung, Mike Portnoy, and John Petrucci in 1985.

Dream Theater was formed in September 1985 when guitarist John Petrucci and bassist John Myung decided to form a band in their spare time while studying at the Berklee College of Music. The pair came across drummer Mike Portnoy in one of Berklee’s rehearsal rooms, where he was asked to join the band. The trio started off by covering Rush and Iron Maiden songs in the rehearsal rooms at Berklee.

Myung, Petrucci, and Portnoy settled on the name Majesty for their newly formed group. According to the The Score So Far… documentary, they were waiting in line for tickets to a Rush concert at the Berklee Performance Center while listening to the band on a boom box. Portnoy commented that the ending of the song “Bastille Day” (from the album Caress of Steel) sounded “majestic”. It was then decided that Majesty would be the band’s name.

The trio then set out to fill the remaining positions in the group. Petrucci asked his high school band-mate Kevin Moore to play keyboards. After accepting the position, another friend from home, Chris Collins, was recruited as lead vocalist after band members heard him sing a cover of “Queen of the Reich” by Queensrche. During this time, Portnoy, Petrucci, and Myung’s hectic schedules forced them to abandon their studies to concentrate on their music, as they did not feel they could learn more in college. Moore also left his college, SUNY Fredonia, to concentrate on the band.

“Another Won”

“Another Won” from The Majesty Demos.

Problems listening to this file? See media help.

The beginning months of 1986 were filled with various concert dates in and around the New York City area. During this time, the band recorded a collection of demos, titled The Majesty Demos. The initial run of 1,000 sold out within six months, and dubbed copies of the cassette became popular within the progressive metal scene. The Majesty Demos are still available in their original tape format today, despite being released officially on CD, through Mike Portnoy’s YtseJam Records.

In November 1986, after a few months of writing and performing together, Chris Collins was fired. After a year of trying to find a replacement, Charlie Dominici, who was far older and more experienced than anyone else in the band, successfully auditioned for the group. With the stability that Dominici’s appointment brought to Majesty, they began to increase the number of shows played in the New York City area, gaining a considerable amount of exposure.

Shortly after hiring Dominici, a Las Vegas group also named Majesty threatened legal action for intellectual property infringement related to the use of their name, so the band was forced to adopt a new moniker. Various possibilities were proposed and tested, among them Glasser, Magus, and M1, which were all rejected until Portnoy’s father suggested the name Dream Theater, the name of a movie house in Monterey, California.

When Dream and Day Unite (19881990)

Dream Theater in 1989: John Petrucci, Mike Portnoy, Charlie Dominici, Kevin Moore, John Myung

With their new name and band stability, Dream Theater concentrated on writing more material while playing more concerts in New York and in neighboring states. This eventually attracted the attention of Mechanic Records, a division of MCA. Dream Theater signed their first record contract with Mechanic on June 23, 1988 and set out to record their debut album. The band recorded the album at Kajem Victory Studios in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania. Recording the basic tracks took about 10 days, and the entire album was completed in about 3 weeks.

When Dream and Day Unite was released in 1989 to far less fanfare than the band had anticipated. Mechanic ended up breaking the majority of the financial promises they had made to Dream Theater prior to signing their contract, so the band was restricted to playing around New York City. The promotional tour for the album consisted of just five concerts, all of which were relatively local. Their first show was at Sundance in Bay Shore, New York opening for the classic rock power trio Zebra.

After the fourth show, Dominici was fired because of personal and creative differences. Shortly after, however, the band Marillion asked Dream Theater to open for them at a gig at the Ritz in New York, so Dominici was given the opportunity to perform one last time. It would be another two years before Dream Theater had a replacement vocalist.

Images and Words and Awake (19911994)

“Pull Me Under”

“Pull me Under” from Images and Words.

Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Following Dominici’s firing, Dream Theater fought successfully to be released from their contract with Mechanic, and set about auditioning singers and writing material for their next album. In their search for a new singer, they auditioned over 200 people, among them former Fates Warning front man John Arch; all were turned down. In mid-1990, at a gig in New York, Dream Theater introduced Steve Stone as their new singer. He performed just three songs with the band before he was fired for performing less than adequately. It was five months before Dream Theater played another show, this time all-instrumental (under the name YtseJam). Until 1991, the band remained focused in an attempt to hire another singer and writing additional music. It was during this period that they wrote the majority of what would become the 1992′s Images and Words.

In January 1991, Kevin James LaBrie, of glam metal band Winter Rose, was flown from Canada to New York for an audition. LaBrie jammed on three songs with the band, and was immediately hired to fill the vocalist position. Once recruited, LaBrie decided to drop his first name to avoid confusion with the other Kevin in the band. For the next few months, the band returned to playing live shows (still mostly around NYC), while working on vocal parts for the music written before acquiring LaBrie. Derek Shulman and ATCO Records (now EastWest), a division of Elektra Records, signed Dream Theater to a seven album contract based on a three song demo (later made available as “The ATCO Demos” through the Dream Theater fan club).

The first album to be recorded under their new record contract was 1992′s Images and Words. For promotion, the label released a CD Single and video clip for the song “Another Day,” but neither made significant commercial impact. The song “Pull Me Under”, however, managed to garner a high level of radio airplay without any organized promotion from the band or their label. In response, ATCO produced a video clip for “Pull Me Under”, which saw heavy rotation on MTV. A third video clip was produced for “Take the Time”, but it was not nearly as successful as “Pull Me Under”.

The success of “Pull Me Under”, combined with relentless touring throughout the U.S. and Japan, caused Images and Words to achieve gold record certification in the States and platinum status in Japan. A tour of Europe followed in 1993, which included a show at London’s famed Marquee Club. The show was recorded and released as Live at the Marquee, Dream Theater’s first official live album. Additionally, a video compilation of their Japanese concerts (mixed in with documentary-style footage of the off-stage portion of the tour) was released as Images and Words: Live in Tokyo.

“A Mind Beside Itself: II – Voices”

“Voices” from Awake.

Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Eager to work on fresh material, Dream Theater retreated to the studio in May 1994. Awake, Dream Theater’s third studio album, was released on October 4, 1994 in a hail of controversy among fans. Shortly before the album was mixed, Moore announced to the rest of the band that he was simply no longer interested in touring, nor did he favor the style of music Dream Theater performed and would be quitting Dream Theater to concentrate on his own musical interests. As a result, the band had to scramble to find a replacement keyboardist before a tour could be considered. The album was received very well by both critics and fans. The album has been seen by some as Dream Theater’s darkest album mainly due to lyrical content with many of the songs dealing with internal conflicts. For example, “The Mirror” explores the topic of alcoholism, from which Portnoy was recovering at the time.

Jens Johansson, who would go on to become a member of Stratovarius, was among the biggest names to audition, however the band members were eager to fill the position with keyboardist Jordan Rudess. Portnoy and Petrucci had come across Rudess in Keyboard Magazine, where he was recognized as “best new talent” in the readers’ poll. The two invited him to play a trial gig with the band at the Concrete Foundations Forum in Burbank, California. For the members of Dream Theater, the show went incredibly well, and Rudess was asked to fill the keyboardist position permanently, however Rudess opted to tour with The Dixie Dregs instead, since it granted him more personal latitude. Disappointed, Dream Theater hired fellow Berklee alumnus Derek Sherinian, whose previous work included stints with Alice Cooper and Kiss, to fill in for the Awake promotional tour. By the conclusion of the tour, the band decided to take Sherinian on as Moore’s full-time replacement.

A Change of Seasons and Falling Into Infinity (19951998)

“A Change of Seasons”

“A Change of Seasons” from A Change of Seasons.

Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Once again finding themselves with a new member, Dream Theater did not immediately start working on new material. Fans around the world, united on the YtseJam Mailing List (the most popular form of communication between Dream Theater fans at that point), had started placing pressure on the band to officially release the song “A Change of Seasons”. It had been written in 1989 and was intended to be a part of Images and Words, but at almost 17 minutes, it was deemed too long for studio placement. However, the band did perform it live on occasion while continuing to revise it in the years leading up to 1995.

The petition was successful, and the group entered BearTracks Studios in New York in May 1995 to rewrite and record the 23 minute song with Sherinian contributing significantly to the final product. To disseminate “A Change of Seasons”, the band released it as an EP along with a collection of cover songs recorded live at the Uncovered fan club gig.

After a short run of small concerts to promote A Change of Seasons, Dream Theater took a break for a few months. To keep busy, however, the band released a special Christmas CD through their official fan club, consisting of rare live tracks recorded during the band’s early years. They continued releasing a new CD each Christmas until 2005. Also during the break the individual members set out to write compositions for their upcoming collaborative writing sessions.

Meanwhile, there were several changes at EastWest, and Dream Theater’s main contact within the label was fired. As a result, the new team at the company were unaccustomed to the relationship Dream Theater had with former EastWest personnel, and they pressured Dream Theater to write an album that was more accessible. In mid-1997, they entered the studio to write their next album. In addition to pressuring the band to adopt a more mainstream sound, EastWest recruited writer/producer Desmond Child to work with Petrucci on polishing the lyrics to his song “You Or Me”. The whole band substantially reworked the music to the song, and it appeared on the album as “You Not Me” with a chorus that was barely reminiscent of the original. Child also had a noticeable impact on the album, with a shift towards compositions that were less complex and more radio-friendly.

The band wrote almost two CDs worth of material, including a 20 minute long follow-up to the Images and Words song “Metropolis Part 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper”. The label, however, did not allow the release of a double album because it felt that a 140-minute record would not be digestible by the general public. James LaBrie also felt that the CD should be a single disc. The unused songs were later released in the Ytsejam Records release The Falling Into Infinity Demos.

The material that made it onto the album proper was released as Falling Into Infinity, which received a mixed reception from fans who were more familiar with the band’s earlier sound. While the album was moderately progressive-sounding, tracks such as “Hollow Years” and “You Not Me” prompted some to believe it was the dawn of a new, mainstream-sounding Dream Theater. Overall, the album was both a critical and commercial disappointment. Although Portnoy didn’t speak out publicly at the time, many years later, in the 2004 DVD commentary for 5 Years in a Livetime, he revealed that he had been so discouraged during this period he’d considered disbanding Dream Theater altogether.

During the European leg of the Touring Into Infinity world tour, two shows were recorded for a live album entitled Once in a LIVEtime, in France and The Netherlands. The album was released at around the same time as the video 5 Years in a Livetime, which chronicled the time from when Kevin Moore left the band up to the Falling Into Infinity promotional tour.

Scenes from a Memory and Metropolis 2000 (19992001)

In 1997, Magna Carta Records’ Mike Varney invited Portnoy to assemble a progressive ‘supergroup’ to work on an album, which would become the first in a long string of side-projects for the members of Dream Theater. The lineup consisted of Portnoy on drums, Petrucci on guitar, Tony Levin on bass, and keyboardist Jordan Rudess, who had finished with the Dixie Dregs. The band assumed the name Liquid Tension Experiment, and would act as a medium through which Portnoy and Petrucci could once again court Rudess to join Dream Theater. In 1999, he accepted an offer to become the third full-time Dream Theater keyboardist, replacing Sherinian.

With yet another new member, Dream Theater entered BearTracks Studio once again to write and record their next album. As a result of an ultimatum from Portnoy, the label gave the band complete creative control. The follow-up to “Metropolis Part 1″, which was written during the Falling Into Infinity sessions (but not used on that album), was taken off the shelf for reworking. They decided to expand the 20-minute song into a complete concept album, with a story revolving around themes such as reincarnation, murder and betrayal. To avoid stirring up the fan base, a tight veil of secrecy enveloped the writing and recording process. The only things fans were privy to prior to its release were a track list that had been leaked against the band’s wishes, and a release date. In 1999, Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory was released to high critical acclaim. It was hailed as Dream Theater’s masterpiece by many fans and critics alike, despite only reaching #73 on the US album chart.

The album was mixed by David Bottrill, but only a few of his mixes made it on the final album. The bulk was remixed by Kevin Shirley. The rest of the mixes can be heard in the band’s official bootleg “The Making of Scenes from a Memory”.

A massive world tour followed recording the album, taking over a year to complete, by far their largest to that point. The concerts reflected the theatrical aspect of the album. They played the entire Scenes From a Memory album from start to finish, with a video screen on the back wall of the stage showing a narrative companion to the story of the album. In addition to playing the album in its entirety, the band also played a second set of Dream Theater songs, as well as a few covers and improvisations of old Dream Theater material. For one extra special show, at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City, actors were hired to play characters in the story, and a gospel choir was enlisted to perform in some sections of the performance.

This show, the last North American date of the tour, was recorded for the band’s first DVD release. After many technical delays, the DVD, titled Metropolis 2000, was released in early 2001. Shortly after, the band announced that an audio version of the concert, with the entire four-hour long set-list (most of which had to be cut from the DVD to save space), would be released.

The cover for the CD version of the concert, titled Live Scenes from New York, depicted one of Dream Theater’s early logos (the Images and Words-era burning heart, modeled on the Sacred Heart of Christ) modified to show an apple (as in “Big Apple”) instead of the heart, and the New York skyline, including the twin towers of the World Trade Center, in the flame above it. In an unfortunate coincidence, the album was released on the same date as the September 11 attacks. The album was quickly recalled by the band and was re-released with revised artwork later.

Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (2002)

“Overture”

“Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence” from Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence.

Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Putting the whole ordeal behind them, Dream Theater once again entered BearTracks Studios to record their sixth studio album. Four years after they first petitioned EastWest to allow them to release a double album, they finally got their chance with Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence. The first disc consisted of five tracks of 713 minutes in length, and the second disc was devoted entirely to the 42-minute title track, which is to date the longest song Dream Theater has written. The genesis of that song came when Rudess wrote what would become the “Overture” section of “Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence”, and the band took some different melodies and ideas contained within it and expanded them into chapters of a complete story.

Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence ended up being received very well by critics and the press. It was the most publicized of Dream Theater’s albums since Awake, debuting on the Billboard charts at #46 and the Billboard Internet charts at #1. Throughout the next year and a half they toured the world once more, with an expanded live show including a select few special “album cover” gigs (see Cover songs section, below), in which they played Metallica’s Master of Puppets and Iron Maiden’s The Number of the Beast in their entirety.

Train of Thought and Live at Budokan (20032004)

During 2003, Dream Theater entered the studio to write and record another album. Since Scenes from a Memory was written and recorded simultaneously in the studio, in the spirit of change, the band took a different approach by setting aside three weeks for writing prior to recording. In the middle of the recording sessions for the album, a special tour with two other progressive metal bands, Queensrche and Fates Warning, was undertaken in North America. The “Escape from the Studio American tour”, as it was referred to in Dream Theater’s promotional material, featured Queensrche and Dream Theater as co-headlining acts with Fates Warning performing supporting act duties. As a finale for each concert there was an extended encore in which both Dream Theater and Queensrche performed together on stage simultaneously, often playing cover songs.

At the completion of the tour, Dream Theater returned to the studio to finish the recording of their seventh album, Train of Thought. They concentrated more on writing a great song-oriented album, a mindset inspired by covering Master of Puppets and Number of the Beast on a previous concert tour. As a result, the more straight-forward metal sound of those two albums seemed to creep into Train of Thought. The album was a critical success, but it alienated a fair proportion of Dream Theater’s fans[who?] who preferred traditional progressive rock, such as Yes or King Crimson. Regardless, it seemed to expand Dream Theater’s fan base into new territory, capturing many more metal fans.

Another world tour followed, during which Dream Theater performed support act duties for one of their major influences, Yes. A modest North American tour was completed by the two bands, after which Dream Theater continued to tour the world with their so-called “An Evening With Dream Theater” shows.

Their next move was to release another live CD/DVD combination, this time recorded at the famous Nippon Budokan Hall in Tokyo, Japan on their Train of Thought world tour. Live at Budokan was released on October 5, 2004, and further propelled Dream Theater’s reputation as one of the premier live acts in progressive metal.

Octavarium and Score (20052006)

“I Walk Beside You”

“I Walk Beside You” from Octavarium.

Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Dream Theater after concert in Paris (2005). Left to right: Portnoy, Petrucci, LaBrie, Myung, Rudess

Upon the completion of their Train of Thought promotional tour, Dream Theater entered the Hit Factory studios in NYC to record their eighth album. As it turned out, they would be the last group ever to record in that famous studio, and after they wrapped up their final session, the lights were turned off at the studio forever.

Octavarium was released on June 7, 2005, and took the band’s sound in yet another new direction. Among its eight songs is a continuation of Portnoy’s “Twelve-step” saga (“The Root of All Evil”, steps 6-7 in the 12-step plan), as well as the title track, a musically versatile 24 minute epic rivaling “A Change of Seasons”. Octavarium received mixed reviews from fans and has been the subject of spirited debate. Octavarium was the last album under their seven-album deal with Elektra Records, which had inherited the contract upon its absorption of EastWest Records.

Dream Theater toured extensively throughout 2005 and 2006 to celebrate their 20th Anniversary as a band, including a headlining spot on Gigantour. During a show on August 2, 2005 in Dallas, the band paid tribute to Pantera’s late guitarist Dimebag Darrell by performing the song “Cemetery Gates” as an encore. In addition was the unexpected appearance of fellow musicians Russell Allen, Burton C. Bell and Dave Mustaine, who joined the band on stage to perform parts of the song.

Dream Theater later departed from Gigantour and continued on with their own series of concerts. Several concerts were recorded and released for the Fanclubs. The 20th anniversary tour concluded with a show at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 1, 2006. Though the show had minimal promotion, it was sold out days after tickets were made available. This show, which was recorded for a CD/DVD called Score released on August 29, 2006 through Rhino Records, was the band’s first concert accompanied by an orchestra (the “Octavarium Orchestra”).

Systematic Chaos, Greatest Hit and Chaos in Motion (2007-2008)

Dream Theater’s next album Systematic Chaos was released on June 5, 2007. The record marked their first with new label Roadrunner Records, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records. Roadrunner implemented increased promotion for the album, and as a result, Systematic Chaos reached number 19 on the Billboard 200. It also saw the release of a video for “Constant Motion” on July 14, the band’s first music video since Hollow Years in 1997. An authorized book entitled Lifting Shadows, detailing their first twenty years, was also released in 2007, with an updated and expanded edition released in 2009 Systematic Chaos contains eight tracks, but technically only seven songs. The album contains an epic titled “In the Presence of Enemies”, bookending the album as tracks 1 and 8, Portnoy’s continuing AA Saga with the song “Repentance”, and a song of political nature, “Prophets of War”.

The 2007/2008 Chaos In Motion World Tour started off in Italy. Dream Theater played in the Gods of Metal concert on June 3, 2007. Dream Theater also appeared at the Fields Of Rock Festival in the Netherlands on June 17, 2007. They also played at various other European festivals including the UK’s Download Festival and the French festival Hellfest Summer Open Air with other bands such as Megadeth, Korn, Mastodon and Slayer.

Dream Theater returned to perform the North American leg of the tour on July 24 in San Diego, California and wrapped up on August 26 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They played with opening acts Redemption and Into Eternity. The “Chaos In Motion” tour continued for the rest of the year and into 2008, playing shows in Asia, South America and, for the first time, Australia.

On April 1, 2008, a two-disc compilation album entitled Greatest Hit (…and 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs) was released by the band. The title jokingly references the song “Pull Me Under”, the band’s only significant radio hit. It also includes three song re-mixes from their second album, Images and Words, five edited versions of previously released songs, and a track from a single B-side. Unlike most Greatest Hits compilations, Dream Theater was actively involved with the album, coming up with the tracklisting that they felt best represented their musical careers.

Mike Portnoy, after the release of Greatest Hit, organized a new tour called Progressive Nation 2008. Unlike previous Dream Theater tours, performances were held in cities that they had not visited before in the past (such as Vancouver, Canada) or cities they hadn’t played in for several years. This tour also marked the first time, since the release of Images and Words, where the group performed in small venues and performance halls.

After this tour, the band released a DVD set called Chaos in Motion 20072008, a compilation of songs from the tour supporting their 9th album, Systematic Chaos. There were two sets of DVDs released. One was a regular two disk set while the Special Edition set contained three CDs of music that went along with the DVDs. It was released on September 30, 2008.

Black Clouds & Silver Linings and God of War: Blood & Metal EP (2008resent)

Mike Portnoy announced on June 2, 2008 that the band would be entering the studio to record a new album. On October 7, 2008, Dream Theater began work on their 10th album. The album, which is titled Black Clouds & Silver Linings, was released on June 23, 2009. In addition to the standard CD, the album is available on vinyl LP, as well as a 3-disc Special Edition CD that includes the full album, a CD of instrumental mixes of the album and a CD of six cover songs.

On May 1, Mike Portnoy spoke to Metal Hammer about the new album for their podcast saying that while ‘The Shattered Fortress’ was the last in a series of songs about his 12 Steps recovery from alcoholism, ‘The Best of Times’ “is a real heavy personal subject about my dad who passed away during the making of the album,” adding, “He was battling cancer throughout its making.” The band has also announced a second Progressive Nation tour, including the tour’s first performances in Europe. Opeth, Bigelf and Unexpect supported Dream Theater in Europe, while Zappa Plays Zappa and Scale the Summit played the North American leg.

On June 22, 2009, Mike Portnoy announced, on his forum, that there was a lineup change for the Progressive Nation 2009 tour in North America. Pain of Salvation and Beardfish were unable to tour with Dream Theater and Zappa Plays Zappa due to financial troubles within their respective record labels. He also announced two bands that will be filling the vacated slots for the Progressive Nation 2009 tour in North America, Bigelf and Scale The Summit. On this tour Dream Theater has often done an extended jam on Six Degrees of Inner Turbulance’s “Solitary Shell,” making it around thirteen minutes in length. Similarly, they also did an extended jam on “Surrounded” during the Chaos In Motion tour.

On July 1, 2009, the album debuted at #6 on Billboard’s Top 200 album chart, with first week sales totalling 40,285. On November 12, 2009, Mike Portnoy announced that Dream Theater would enter the studio right after New Year’s to write and record a brand new instrumental track for inclusion on the upcoming PS3 game God of War III soundtrack. Titled “Raw Dog” (an anagram of “War God”), the instrumental was sent to Roadrunner Records January 8, 2010. This marked the first time that the band has written and recorded an exclusive track for an outside project.

In December 2009, during their Black Clouds & Silver Linings tour whilst visiting Australia Dream Theater appeared with one support act, Pain of Salvation, who apparently sorted out enough of their financial difficulties with their record label. In March 2010, they will tour South America with Bigelf.

On February 17, 2010, Avenged Sevenfold stated that they had entered the studio, along with Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, to drum for the record, in place of The Rev.

Logo and imagery

Dream Theater wordmark and “Majesty” symbol

Despite the band being forced to change their name, Dream Theater adopted a custom logo (known as the Majesty symbol) and wordmark which has appeared on the vast majority of their promotional material and on the front cover of every Dream Theater studio album. The Majesty symbol is derived from Mary, Queen of Scots’ mark, which was re-worked by Charlie Dominici for use on the album artwork for When Dream and Day Unite. It consists of a capital Phi, a capital Mu, and a capital Lambda.

Live performances

Throughout their career, Dream Theater’s live shows have gradually become bigger, longer, and more diverse. The most obvious example of this is their rotational set list policy. That is, every single night of every tour has its set list devised by Portnoy using a meticulous process that ensures its uniqueness. Factors such as set lists from previous cities are taken into account to ensure that people who see Dream Theater multiple times within the same area will not see the same songs performed twice, and even the set list from the last time the band was in a particular city is taken into account for the benefit of fans who see the band on successive tours.

Rudess and Petrucci dueling in Buenos Aires, Argentina (2008).

For this to be possible, the band prepares to play the majority of its catalogue at any performance, depending on what Portnoy decides to program for that night. This process also requires the employment of a complex lighting system to load pre-configured lighting cues based on the individual songs.

Some of Dream Theater’s more notable touring partners include Deep Purple, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Iron Maiden, Joe Satriani, King’s X, Marillion, Megadeth, In Flames, Pain of Salvation, Porcupine Tree, Opeth, Queensrche, Riverside, Spock’s Beard, Fear Factory, Enchant, Symphony X, and Yes. In 2005, Dream Theater toured North America with the Gigantour festival, co-headlining with Megadeth, and have played with Megadeth and Iron Maiden physically on stage.

The band’s full world tours, since Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, have predominantly been so-called “Evening with…” tours, in which the band performs for at least three hours with an intermission and no opening act. The show that was recorded for Live Scenes From New York was nearly four hours in length, and resulted in Portnoy almost being hospitalized after acquiring severe food poisoning from the food he ate before the show.

“Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”

“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”, live at Nagoya, Japan.

Problems listening to this file? See media help.

There is also a significant amount of humor, casualness, and improvisation attached to a Dream Theater concert. In the midst of “A Change of Seasons” it is quite common for themes such as those for Major League Baseball and The Simpsons to be quoted, and Rudess routinely modifies his solo section in the song and others, often playing the ragtime section of “When the Water Breaks” from Liquid Tension Experiment 2. Several songs included on Once in a LIVETime include snippets of others’ pieces, such as Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird” and Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Flight of the Bumblebee.” Other quotations include “Mary Had a Little Lamb” during “Endless Sacrifice” on the Gigantour, a calliope-inspired break between verses of “Under a Glass Moon”, a quote of “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina”‘s main melody played by Petrucci while performing the intro solo of “Through Her Eyes” in Buenos Aires, the Turkish March at a concert in Istanbul, and the opening riff of Rush’s “A Passage to Bangkok” at a show in Bangkok, Thailand. On the most recent “20th Anniversary World Tour” Rudess has even thrown in a short “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” theme in a break during “Endless Sacrifice”, and during a concert in Israel he started a spontaneous “Hava-Nagilla” later accompanied by the rest of the band.

Occasionally, a member of the audience is picked at random to perform on stage, an example of which can be seen during Portnoy’s drum solo on the Live at Budokan DVD. There have also been many impromptu renditions of “Happy Birthday” when a member of the band or crew has a birthday corresponding to a tour date, which normally results in a birthday cake being thrown at the subject.

Perhaps the best example of Dream Theater’s unpredictable concert structure is that during Derek Sherinian’s time with the band. At selected shows the band members all swapped instruments and performed an encore as the fictitious band dubbed Nightmare Cinema. They usually performed a cover of Deep Purple’s “Perfect Strangers”, and, on one occasion, Ozzy Osbourne’s “Suicide Solution”. At some shows, Sherinian, Petrucci and Portnoy would take the stage together under the name “Nicky Lemons and the Migraine Brothers”. Sherinian, wearing a feather boa and novelty sunglasses, would perform a pop-punk song entitled “I Don’t Like You” with Petrucci and Portnoy backing. In Chaos in Motion tour, in several concerts before “Trial of Tears”, Portnoy and Petrucci would change positions and play Van Halen’s “Eruption”.

Dream Theater’s largest audience as a headlining act was 20,000 in Santiago, Chile on December 6, 2005. This was during their first tour of South American countries other than Brazil (which they had visited in 1997 and 1998). The show was released on DVD through Portnoy’s YtseJam Records.

In the Score and Chaos in Motion DVDs, an animation has accompanied certain parts of the songs, showing the band playing along to the music as cartoon characters. On the Score DVD, during the song Octavarium, the band is seen performing in an octagonal shaped maze. As the animation continues Jordan Rudess spontaneously turns into Santa Claus and John Petrucci catches fire. In “The Dark Eternal Night” from the Chaos in Motion DVD, the band battles against a monster by shooting fireballs from guitars, throwing drum sticks, and screaming.

In 2008 Dream Theater started the “Progressive Nation ’08″ tour, along with Opeth, Between the Buried and Me, and 3. The tour is the brainchild of Mike Portnoy, who stated, “I’ve been wanting to assemble a package tour like this for many years now. With all of the festivals and package tours that go through America, I’ve been talking with our manager and agent for over 10 years now about doing something that focuses on the more progressive, musician-oriented side of hard rock and metal. I decided it was time to stop talking the talk, lace up and finally walk the walk.”

On February 13, 2009, Dream Theater announced the official line up for their Progressive Nation 2009 tour. The tour was originally set to feature bands including Swedish bands Beardfish and Pain of Salvation, as well as Zappa plays Zappa. On June 22, 2009, Mike Portnoy announced that Pain of Salvation and Beardfish would not be touring the North American leg of the Progressive Nation 2009 tour due to record label complications. In the same announcement, Portnoy stated that the bands Scale the Summit and Bigelf would replace Pain of Salvation and Beardfish on the tour. This lineup change has put Bigelf on both the North American and European legs of the Progressive Nation 2009 tour. The tour’s North American leg ran throughout July and August 2009. On March 26, 2009 it was announced that Dream Theater would take the Progressive Nation tour to Europe for the first time alongside Opeth, Bigelf and Unexpect. The tour ran throughout September and October 2009.

Bootleg culture

This section needs additional citations for verification.

Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2009)

Mike Portnoy started an official bootlegs series in response to Dream Theater fans’ affinity for live versions of their concerts. Dream Theater is one of the most actively bootlegged bands in the progressive metal genre. Since their very first shows in New York as Majesty, fans have recorded almost every single show that Dream Theater have played (occasionally there are three or four versions of a single concert), and some very elaborate and professional recordings have been released.

However, not every member in the band condones the release of Dream Theater bootlegs. Portnoy is the most pro-bootlegging member, since he was an avid collector of many bootlegs in his younger days and keeps his own personal archive of Dream Theater material in his basement. Petrucci and LaBrie have voiced opposition to people recording their concerts. Petrucci takes issue with bootleggers because he prefers audience members to concentrate on the musicians on stage, and not the level adjustments on their recording device. LaBrie, on the other hand, argues that bootlegging takes ownership and control over Dream Theater’s performances away from the band themselves and into the hands of the public. Myung has expressed mild opposition to bootlegging, but in some interviews has mentioned that he does not particularly take great issue with it.

Dream Theater have released a series of official bootlegs, demos and other rarities through YtseJam Records, headed by Portnoy. They include demos the band put out before official albums, as well as many live shows, including shows where the band has covered a particular album. Albums covered include The Dark Side of the Moon, Made in Japan, Master of Puppets, and Number of the Beast.

Cover songs

Dream Theater has been known for covering other artists’ work throughout their career. They took this practice to a new level during the promotional tour for Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence. At three special gigs, one each in Barcelona, Chicago and New York City, they covered Metallica’s Master of Puppets album in its entirety after a full set of Dream Theater material. This came as a surprise to fans, as there was no sign that this was to occur, other than it being announced that the gigs involved, which were on the second night of a two-night stand in each city, would be “extra special”. This tradition can most likely be traced back to one of Mike Portnoy’s favorite bands, Phish, who began a series of performing “musical costumes” of entire albums from other artists each Halloween beginning in 1994. Portnoy devised this “album cover” as the first in a series of gigs to be played as tributes to bands that had been influential in the formation and development of Dream Theater. The covers set divided many fans who attended the shows, with some people saying that they went to a Dream Theater concert to see original music and not another artist’s work. Others, however, said that it was a bonus and not a replacement for a normal Dream Theater concert, since an ordinary gig had been played the night before.

On the next leg of the tour they covered Iron Maiden’s The Number of the Beast and received a similar reaction to Master of Puppets, although it was already known that a cover was to be performed that night because the tour itinerary included two successive gigs in a single city. On October 11, 2005, Dream Theater covered Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon. Dream Theater’s official webpage stated that the second sets of the second nights in Amsterdam, London, Buenos Aires, So Paulo and Tokyo (October 11, October 25, December 4, December 11 and January 13 respectively), and also the second set of the January 15 show in Osaka, would be a classic album covered in its entirety. The Dark Side of the Moon was played again on October 25 in London. However, in Buenos Aires (December 4) and So Paulo (December 11) the ‘classic album’ played was Dream Theater’s own Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory, to make up for not having visited Argentina and Brazil in their Metropolis 2000 tour. On January 13, 2006 (Tokyo) and on the 15th (Osaka), Dream Theater covered Deep Purple’s live album Made in Japan. Portnoy says that he has one more cover show planned, but refuses to reveal when it will occur, or what album will be covered.

During Gigantour 2005, Dream Theater did a cover of Pantera’s “Cemetery Gates” as a tribute to “Dimebag” Darrel Lance Abbott. As an added bonus, they had Burton C. Bell of Fear Factory, and Russell Allen of Symphony X do guest vocals and Dave Mustaine of Megadeth, do the main solo for the song.

In March 2006, Dream Theater played the rare Rush song “Jacob’s Ladder” at a show in Toronto. John Petrucci said a few days later in Asbury Park, New Jersey, prior to the night’s show, that “Rush wouldn’t play it, so we thought we’d play it for them.”

In addition, Dream Theater released several live cover songs on their EP A Change of Seasons, including songs from Elton John, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Journey, Kansas, and Dixie Dregs.

In 2008, they recorded a version of Iron Maiden’s “To Tame a Land” for a Kerrang magazine compilation entitled Maiden Heaven. This song was later included on the special edition of Black Clouds and Silver Linings

Dream Theater also recorded a number of cover songs for their 2009 album Black Clouds & Silver Linings. The songs came as a bonus disc in the special editions version of the album.

Dream Theater played “Hava Nagila”, the traditional Jewish song, during “Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper” at a sold-out concert in Tel Aviv, Israel on June 16, 2009.

On August 14, 2009 during a Toronto show, Dream Theater played the Rush song “The Camera Eye”, which was originally released on Rush’s Moving Pictures album.

Discography

Main article: Dream Theater discography

When Dream and Day Unite (1989)

Images and Words (1992)

Awake (1994)

A Change Of Seasons (1995)

Falling into Infinity (1997)

Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory (1999)

Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (2002)

Train of Thought (2003)

Octavarium (2005)

Systematic Chaos (2007)

Black Clouds & Silver Linings (2009)

In addition to the above official albums, the members of Dream Theater, past and present, have contributed to hundreds of bootleg albums, both official and unofficial, side projects, collaborations with other artists, and guest appearances.

Band members

Main article: List of Dream Theater band members

Current members

James LaBrie – Lead vocals, Percussion (1991-present)

John Myung – Bass guitar, Chapman stick (1985-present)

John Petrucci – Guitars, Backing vocals (1985-present)

Mike Portnoy – Drums, Percussion, Backing vocals (1985-present)

Jordan Rudess – Keyboards, Continuum, Lap steel guitar (1999-present)

Former members

Chris Collins – Lead vocals (1986)

Charlie Dominici – Lead vocals (1987-1989)

Kevin Moore – Keyboards (1986-1994)

Derek Sherinian – Keyboards, Backing vocals (1994-1998)

Awards and certificates

RIAA gold and platinum certification

Images and Words (Gold) – February 2, 1995

Metropolis 2000: Live Scenes From New York (Gold) – November 8, 2002

Live at Budokan (DVD) (Platinum) – January 26, 2005

Live in Tokyo/5 Years in a Livetime (Platinum) – March 22, 2006

Score (DVD) (Platinum) – October 11, 2006

Keyboard Magazine

Jordan Rudess was awarded the following Keyboard Magazine Reader’s Poll award’:

Best New Talent (1994)

Burrn magazine’s best keyboards player of the year (2007)

Modern Drummer

Mike Portnoy won the following Modern Drummer magazine Reader’s Poll awards:

Best Up & Coming Talent (1994)

Best Progressive Rock Drummer (1995-2006)

Best Recorded Performance (1995 for Awake, 1996 for A Change of Seasons, 1998 for Falling Into Infinity, 2000 for Metropolis, Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory, 2002 for Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, and 2007 for Score)

Best Clinician (2000, 2002)

Best Educational Video/DVD (2000, 2002)

Hall of Fame Inductee (2004)

Guitar World

The album Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory was ranked #95 on the magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Albums of All Time.

Total Guitar

John Petrucci won Guitarist of the year award (2007).

Other recognitions

At Dream Theater’s Salt Lake City show, Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. signed a proclamation making July 30, 2007 “Dream Theater Day”.

In December 2007, Dream Theater was chosen as Xbox Live’s artist of the month.

Dream Theater’s music video “Constant Motion” was voted second in the Headbanger’s Ball 2007 competition.

Dream Theater’s music video “Forsaken” was voted fifth in the Headbanger’s Ball 2008 competition.

Dream Theater’s song “Panic Attack” off of their album Octavarium is featured in the video game Rock Band 2. Additionally, the song “Constant Motion” is downloadable content for the Rock Band series.

The song “Pull Me Under” from the album Images and Words is also featured on Guitar Hero: World Tour.

Since August 12, 2008 (Xbox 360) and August 14, 2008 (PS3), Dream Theater’s song “Constant Motion” has been available for download for Rock Band. For the first month, it was available for a promotional price equivalent to .99 USD, but later reverted to a normal .99 cost for Rock Band downloadable content.

Dream Theater played twice on Xbox 360s Game With Fame event. They played Halo 3 in December 2007 and Call of Duty: World at War in June 2009.

Notes

^ a b c d Billboard Chart history for Dream Theater can be seen at Billboard.com.

^ “February 9, 2007″. Nielsen Soundscan News. 2007. http://www.marketingtomenconference.com/marketingtomen/bb_article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003544204. Retrieved 2007-02-11. 

^ “When Dream Theater and Roadrunner Records Unite!”. dreamtheater.net. 2007. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/artists/DreamTheater/video.aspx. Retrieved 2007-02-12. 

^ a b c d e This was referenced in the documentary “The Score so Far”, on the second disc of the Score DVD.

^ Portnoy, Mike (2003). “The Majesty Demos 1985-1986″ [CD Liner Notes]. New York: Ytsejam Records.

^ “The Dream Theater FAQ – Graphic Version”. Gabbo.net. http://www.gabbo.net/dt/faq/. Retrieved 2009-01-02. 

^ a b Portnoy, Mike (2004). And Nathan Edmonds help produce “When Dream and Day Unite Demos” 1987-1989 [CD Liner Notes]. New York: YtseJam Records.

^ Dominici, Charlie. When Dream And Day Unite liner notes (2004 re-release).

^ a b c d Please see MikePortnoy.com tourography for more information on this tourdate.

^ Portnoy’s tourography: June 9, 1990 tour date

^ EastWest Records Press Release.

^ Nine Christmas CDs were released through Dream Theater’s fan club before it was closed down in 2005. See DTIFC on Dream Theater.net.

^ LaBrie, James. (Summer ’97) Images & Words No. 14, pg. 5

^ Falling Into Infinity Demos

^ Portnoy, Mike (1998). “Liquid Tension Experiment” [CD Liner Notes]. New York: Magna Carta Records.

^ “Mike Portnoy FAQ”. http://www.mikeportnoy.com/aboutmike/faq/answers/12.aspx#213. 

^ DreamTheater.net reported that Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence had reached #1 on the Billboard Internet Charts.

^ Mike Portnoy (2007) “In Constant Motion” Instructional DVD, Train of Thought album analysis.

^ http://digitalprosound.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=45690

^ “Lifting Shadows – The Authorised Story Of Dream Theater”. Dreamtheaterbook.com. http://www.dreamtheaterbook.com/. Retrieved 2009-01-02. 

^ Gods of Metal official website

^ “DREAM THEATER Begins Recording New Album, Seeks New Label Home”. Blabbermouth.net

^ “.”

^

^ http://www.metalhammer.co.uk/news/dream-theater’s-mike-portnoy-pens-tribute-to-late-father/

^ Holy Shit, Dream Theater debut’s at 6 on Billboard Top 200, The Gauntlet

^ http://www.mikeportnoy.com/forum/m2443312.aspx

^ http://www.dreamtheater.net/tourdates.php#dtnzaustralia

^ The mark used by Mary, Queen of Scots, is available on DreamTheater.net.

^ An embroidery showing the Mary, Queen of Scots, symbol in use

^ Dixon, Brad et al. “What is the ‘symbol’ DT use?”.

^ Campbell, Courtney. “Mike Portnoy – Dream Theater”. Earplugs Required.

^ See the Metropolis 2000: Scenes From New York DVD

^ Hansen, Scott & Portnoy, Mike. “What this I hear about Mike being really sick after the Roseland (DVD) show? What happened?”. MP FAQ.

^ Voices UK: Dream Theater Fan Club “Dream Theater News: Record crowd”

^ Octavarium animation

^ NADS Animation By: Mika Tyyska

^ “Progressive Nation 2008 – Press Release”. dreamtheater.net (Dream Theater). 2007-11-05. http://www.dreamtheater.net/news_dreamtheater.php#prognation. Retrieved 2008-05-11. 

^ http://www.dreamtheater.net/news_dreamtheater.php#pnlineup

^ http://www.dreamtheater.net/tourdates.php Progressive Nation Tour Dates

^ “YtseJam Records – The Official Dream Theater Bootlegs”. Ytsejamrecords.com. http://www.ytsejamrecords.com. Retrieved 2009-01-02. 

^ Hansen, Scott & Portnoy, Mike. “What are all the aspects involved in covering an entire album by another band? What does Mike take into consideration when picking an album?”. MP FAQ.

^ http://www2.kerrang.com/2008/06/maiden_heaven_track_listing_re.html

^ http://whiplash.net/materias/news_874/091017-dreamtheater.html

^ http://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/discography/page4.html

^ “RIAA”. Riaa.com. http://www.riaa.com. Retrieved 2009-01-02. 

^ Jordan Rudess biography

^ http://rateyourmusic.com/list/Boggs1027/guitar_worlds_100_greatest_guitar_albums_of_all_time

References

Bredius, Mark. Dream Theater – The Official Site. (Retrieved February-April, 2005.)

Dixon, Brad et al. Official Dream Theater FAQ. (Retrieved February-April, 2005, moved c. 2007.)

Hansen, Scott & Portnoy, Mike. Dream Theater Tourography. (Retrieved February-April, 2005.)

King, Brian. (2003). “JaM Progductions! Interview with John Petrucci and Mike Portnoy”. Theater of Dreams 29, pp. 1420.

Hansen, Scott. (2003). “James LaBrie: As this man thinks”. Theater of Dreams 27/28, pp. 2630.

Hale, Mark (1993). “1731 Majesty”. Headbangers (First edition, second printing ed.). Ann Arbor, Michigan: Popular Culture, Ink. ISBN 1-56075-029-4. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dream Theater

Official website

Official English speaking fan club

HOME Dream Theater Official Turkish Fan Club

Video interview of Mike Portnoy, subbed in French

Photo Gallery: Dream Theater @ Brisbane Convention Centre 3 December 2009 – LifeMusicMedia.com

v  d  e

Dream Theater

James LaBrie  John Petrucci  John Myung  Jordan Rudess  Mike Portnoy

Chris Collins  Charlie Dominici  Kevin Moore  Derek Sherinian

Studio albums

When Dream and Day Unite  Images and Words  Awake  Falling into Infinity  Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory  Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence  Train of Thought  Octavarium  Systematic Chaos  Black Clouds & Silver Linings

Live releases

Live at the Marquee  Once in a LIVEtime  Live Scenes from New York  Live at Budokan  Score  Chaos in Motion 20072008

Compilations

Greatest Hit (…and 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs)

EPs

A Change of Seasons  Wither

Videos

Images and Words: Live in Tokyo  5 Years in a Livetime  Metropolis 2000: Scenes from New York  Live at Budokan  Score  Chaos in Motion 20072008

Singles

“Another Day”  “Pull Me Under”  “Take the Time”  “Caught in a Web”  “Lie”  “The Silent Man”  “Hollow Years”  “Through Her Eyes”  “Home”  “As I Am”  “Constant Motion”  “Forsaken”  “A Rite of Passage”  “Wither”

Suites

A Mind Beside Itself  Twelve-step Suite

Associated acts

Dominici  Explorers Club  The Jelly Jam  Liquid Tension Experiment  MullMuzzler  Nightmare Cinema  OSI  Platypus  Transatlantic  True Symphonic Rockestra  Winterspell  Chroma Key

Related articles

Discography  Band members  Songs by lyricist  Majesty Demos  Lifting Shadows  G3  Gigantour  Roadrunner Records  YtseJam Records

Categories: Dream Theater | Musical groups established in 1985 | New York heavy metal musical groups | Berklee College of Music alumni | American progressive metal musical groups | Long Island musical groups | Atlantic Records artists | Musical quintets | 1980s music groups | 1990s music groups | 2000s music groups | 2010s music groupsHidden categories: All articles with specifically-marked weasel-worded phrases | Articles with specifically-marked weasel-worded phrases from November 2009 | Articles needing additional references from November 2009 | All articles needing additional references

London nightlife is vibrant and full of activities for young and old. London has an enormous variety of night entertainment to please everyone.

London’s theatres in the West End and on the South Bank are world famous. There is a healthy, innovative fringe theatre scene too, plus world-class ballet and opera in venues such as Sadler’s Wells, the Royal Opera House and the Coliseum.

London offers a wide range of theatrical entertainment including musical, drama, thriller and comedy.

In London you will be able to hear the best music, ranging from classical, jazz and rock to rhythm and blues. There are excellent indoor arenas like the O2 Arena and the Royal Albert Hall to stage top-class concerts. Concerts in London</a> are well organised and attract top international artists.

London nightlife for the dedicated movie buffs means there are hundreds of different films, both in large, multi-screen complexes and excellent small independent cinemas.

London Pubs and Bars play an important role in London nightlife. Apart from serving good food and drinks, pubs also provide excellent entertainment. Some pubs have live music, like modern jazz at the Bull’s Head in Barnes, and the Golden Eagle in Marylebone is a central London piano pub with nostalgic singalongs a few times a week.

Sports bars are popular as well. The Sports Cafe at 80 Haymarket, Piccadilly, has four bars over two floors, a dance stage and 120 television sets showing global sporting events.

Nightclubs and cabarets are hot again. These are scattered from Soho to Shoreditch and most of them have restaurants serving great food. They also cater for stag nights and hen parties. Notable nightclubs include Egg Nightclub in Kings Cross, Cargo Nightclub in Shoreditch and Pacha located in Victoria.

You can also go on a London nightlife bus tour of the West End night clubs. They also cater for comedy nights at one of London’s infamous comedy bars.</div>

Renowned as the world’s dining capital, London thrives on an extraordinary culinary diversity. With lots of Chinese, Indian, Italian and French restaurants, eating out in London restaurants enable you try out different cuisines from around the world.

The broadest choice of restaurants are scattered around Covent Garden, Piccadilly, Leicester Square, Soho and Mayfair. There are also plenty of great restaurants in Bayswater, Notting Hill Gate and Kensington.</div>

Many people are taking up dancing in London, both to keep fit as well as for fun. From jazz to hip hop, ballet to ballroom, pole dancing to tap, you can do it all in London.

Dance Attic Studios in Fulham host dance classes including hip hop, ballet, jazz, salsa and Bollywood. Danceworks in Mayfair offer an array of classes including Broadway tap, flamenco and burlesque. Marylebone Dance Studio in Marylebone has classes in ballet, belly dance, swing and folk as well as general fitness and martial arts.

 

The Thames enters London at Hampton Court and passes under the Hampton Court Bridge. Built in 1933 to the design of Sir Edwin Lutyens, this elegant bridge connects Hampton Court with East Molesley. To the north of the bridge is Hampton Green, where there is a splendid group of mainly 18th-century buildings. Amongst these is Old Court House, which was the home of Sir Christopher Wren for a while, and the Royal Mews, which comprise a 16th-century barn and an earlier building. On the other side of the Green is Hampton Court House, an imposing structure dating from the middle of the 18th century.

The first time visitor to Hampton Court will be amazed at the magnificence and sheer size the Palace. Built of red brick, it is nearly 700 ft long by 400 ft wide and contains over a thousand rooms. Cardinal Wolsey began the palace in 1514 during a phenomenal rise to power which had begun when he was made Chaplain to Henry VII. After Henry VIII had come to the throne Wolsey’s ascent became meteoric and he decided to build for himself a home that was to be the finest private dwelling in the Kingdom. By this time the Cardinal’s vast wealth was attracting suspicion and jealousy, and in 1529 he attempted to regain Henry’s favour by presenting the palace and its contents to the King as a gift. Henry, however, had made up his mind, and the following year Wolsey was imprisoned for high treason. Hampton Court became Henry’s favourite palace and he spent large sums of money improving and enlarging it. For the visitor there are a great many attractions including the world famous maze, a number of different gardens and the Palace itself which is a must for all visitors to London.

From Hampton Court the River flows south and passes a small but pretty village called Thames Ditton which has a number of picturesque old houses. The River then does a dog leg turn to the north and then passes a small river island called Ravens Ait, which is a centre for local functions. The River then passes Kingston upon Thames. Kingston has a history that goes back to the 9th century. It had the first ever bridge across the Thames, known as the clattern bridge and the visitor can still see part of the brickwork that was used. Kingston was the coronation place of Anglo Saxon Kings and has the stone on which they were crowned. Kingston is an important market town and a significant shopping centre and along with Croydon are the two largest shopping centres in London outside of Oxford Street.

Passing under Kingston Bridge, built between 1825 and 1928 and further widened in the late 1990′s, the River then flows northward on its way to Teddington passing through the Teddington Weir. This is the point at which the tidal part of the Thames meets the non-tidal part. The weir was built in 1811 and was fully mechanized in 1912. Duing the second world war the weir was bombed and before it could be repaired the tidal waters reached much further up the River. Just past the weir is Teddington Lock which is the largest lock on the Thames. Beyond the lock is Teddington itself which lays to the left of the River. Of note are the television studios which overlook the River and were once a hive of activity making and transmitting television programmes for Thames Television. Now it is used as a film studio. Next to the studios is the Lensbury Club once an exclusive club owned by Shell but is now a private sports club.

Beyond Teddington the River veers to the right and passes the river island called Eel Pie Island. This is one of the largest islands on the Thames and was famous in 1960′s and 70′s and a magnet for all lovers of jazz, having a hotel providing popular modern music. The River then flows onto Richmond, having passed by the English Heritage, Marble Hill House and the National Trust Ham House.

Sitting above Richmond itself is Richmond Hill. This has amazing views of the whole of the west of London and for aeroplane spotters an excellent viewing platform as this sits on a direct flight path into Heathrow airport, where the aeroplanes are very low as they prepare to land. Before arriving at Richmond the River passes under Richmond Bridge which was built in 1777.  Richmond is a particularly pretty town, having a large number of attractive buildings and charming riverside walks. Nearby is London’s largest Royal Park – Richmond Park with spectacular views of London.

Our journey along the river is contained in the following parts:

Part 1 Introduction
Part 2 Hampton Court Bridge to Richmond Bridge
Part 3 Richmond Bridge to Battersea Bridge
Part 4 Albert Bridge to Lambeth Bridge
Part 5 Westminster Bridge to Hungerford Bridge
Part 6 Waterloo Bridge to London Bridge
Part 7 London Bridge to Queen Elizabeth II Bridge

For more details on London’s River and all other London attractions goto

The Definitive Guide to London

London being a cosmopolitan town, always welcomed people from different walks of life. The Chinese are no exception!

The Chinese language and culture have succeeded in capturing our psyche with its unique and mysterious blend of tradition and modernity.

It’s little wonder that many of us Londoners are constantly in search of Chinese mysteries, be it yin-yang, feng-shui, Chinese schools in London or Chinese medicinal miracles.

Events and Places of interest

Chinatown

Your quest for a delightful Chinese ambience would eventually lead you to Chinatown. Chinatown has a number of surprises in store for you! With Chinese restaurants, shops, hypermarkets, pastry shops and bakeries galore, one is sure to derive a wholesome Chinese milieu by taking a trip down these streets of Chinatown.

Chinese New Year/China in London Festival

An event to look forward to, Chinese New Year celebrations are all the rage among the Chinese and the others alike. The Chinese New Year in London is a kaleidoscope of Chinese art, culture, music, cuisine and literature.

Where else in London would you catch a sparkling view of cultural events like martial arts, acrobatics, dance, drama and music?

The capital city is adorned with vibrant embellishments and breathtaking fireworks that are a feast for your eyes. The celebration is seen in all its grandeur at the Trafalgar Squareand Leicester Squarewith Chinese dance and drama troupes performing the traditional lion and dragon dance.

For the ones seeking exclusive Chinese Cultural performances, Shaftsbury Avenue offers you much entertainment and a wealth of knowledge on Chinese culture.

Chinese Restaurants/Cuisine

Are you in a mood to relish Chinese dishes? Apart from the routine Chinese cuisine, it wouldn’t hurt to taste a few staggering dishes and delicacies with interesting names…

Peking Duck
Xiao Long Bao
Zha Jiang Mian
Buddha’s Delight
Mapo Dofu
Sachima

Here’s a where you can barge in to set your taste buds on fire!

Tamarai
Alisan
Ba Shan
China Tang
Dragon Castle

Exhibitions on Chinese Art and Culture

With the popularity of East- Asian art reaching an all time high, exhibitions abound in a number of venues. A delightful treat for art lovers adorn the walls of:

National Maritime Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
Horniman Museum
Royal Geographic Society

Community/Cultural Meets

Community meets are a great way to stay in touch with Chinese expatriates and also to meet people from other countries.

London Chinese Community Network is a social network helping to hold community activities, community research, conferences and organizational capacity building.

London Chinese Community Centre hosts events and activities for the Chinese community in London.

With no dearth of activities for the Chinese in London, let’s hope your exploration for Chinese pleasantries meet with enormous victory.

A wedding should be the most special and memorable event ever to be remembered in one’s life. Individuals always strive to make their wedding day as the most glamorous and unique as possible. To make your wedding enchanting and one of a kind, you should give time for the preparations especially the things that are needed to implement the wedding plans. It is quite important to take heed even to the smallest details of the plan since it is still plays a role for this event that is about to take place. You can apply wedding ideas that are much unique from the others without having to spend much for it. If you’re thinking about ways to make your big day to be perfect, more memorable, and romantic, paying close attention to important factors that would make your big day an extraordinary one is very significant.

For most people, they would invest much on the wedding dress, as they say that the bride would be the center of attraction of this event and the groom of course. For some others, they would prefer to focus more in spending for the wedding venue. But what are really the things that always make a wedding special?

At the wedding ceremony, the right music is sometimes disregarded but one must know that this will give a romantic touch to your special event so this should not be taken for granted only. Since music adds flavor that enhances the wedding ceremony and take it to the highest level, you must chose one carefully and make sure that it blends well with the occasion and not just any music that you know. You should discuss your music preferences to the person in charge of your wedding preparations because usually music selection comes at the last part of the plan especially when the time left for the preparation is just so limited. The best way to ensure that everything would be perfect for that big day of your life is to plan ahead couple of months before the exact wedding date arrives. The nice thing about planning things ahead before the exact month and date of the occasion arrives is that you can easily work things out especially making decisions about how many people that you would want to be a part of the wedding ceremony, the wedding venue, and the perfect kind of music that will always be a part of your wedding memories.

Deciding about the kind of music for your wedding day would be very great to make the wedding rites astonishing. Why don’t you give the environment of your wedding a new spark by making it more exceptional by enhancing it with harp music at the background? Music that comes from harp is just so refreshing, calming and most of all; the music it gives is very angelic that everyone would love to hear it over and over again. Harp music is very dominant that it can change the plain wedding event into an elegant and extraordinary one. What’s unique about harp music is that since it is a solo instrument, it still creates a wonderful sound even if it is not combined with other musical instruments in order to achieve a fuller music. The best option for you is to hire a wedding harpist on your wedding to make your special day dreamy and a fairytale-like event.

Harpist for wedding will give you the kind of music that will always leave a mark to all your guests because of the kind of music it creates just like the way group of musicians can offer. Instead of spending much for your music entourage by hiring group of musicians just to lift the mood of the event, hiring a wedding harpist won’t make you cost much and you are assured that you have the good value for your money.

Skilled harpist are not hard to find because when we talk about experienced harpists, they are the type that are sought after by many reputable clients so it won’t be difficult for you to fine one. Hire a harpist in London that is not only known for her good music but also to her excellent reputation performing for many well-known people in the society like Her Royal Highness The Queen, Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Eddie George, the Duke of Edinburgh and many others. Famous places like Windsor Castle, Kensington Palace, Lambeth Palace and Saint James’ Palace has made this harpist to perform and present her glorious expertise in harp playing. This wonderful harpist will make the setting of your wedding more dramatic and worth to be remembered by offering you and your guests the best harp music that only she can create.

 

The city of London has changed in terms of the London singles approach and attitude on relationships. It is something that anybody can miss easily, but the single in this spectacular city know better. If you want a place to make the most of dating and change your life with, you can start by believing in yourself and letting issues take the right course towards making it in relationships. It is very important for anybody in a dating relationship in London to enjoy the ambience of the city with his or her partner and cement their relationships, rather than be left in the middle of issues that fail to make sense as they lose the grip of their relationship. The best thing or the best news for singles in this city is that there are many ways if making it in relationships.

For the better part of relationships in ones life, you can state changing your attitude and heading right to what makes you the kind of person who knows where you are headed, and what you want. It is the best thing that can happen to anybody and it comes from determining what makes your life make the necessary meaning. It is very important to know the hub where the number of singles is never going down, where you can always meet singles and start a good relationship that promises a lot. You must not forget what makes your life into what you want, and wherever you are in London, you can get it.

The first place to meet singles is arguably in the place where men and women go to make merry and forget the stress of the day. London offers you one of the most trendy and wholesome bars and clubs in England, Europe and arguably in the world. Many celebrities are always going to London to enjoy the best in the capital of one of the most famous nations in the world. From the world of music, film and art, celebrities flock the London clubs for a good time with such impunity as to make you think twice in terms of relationships. If you want to meet singles who have class and have a good taste of the good things in life, it is a high time you started making amend in your intimate sac and start living.

Once you have started visiting these places, you will not believe how much you have been missing and you might curse yourself so much. Clubs and bars could make you lose your single hood within no time, and you will not be disappointed any more. Try to live your life in the best of ways as you make the most out of your relationship. Try as much as you can to live complete and jolly. You will notice that a happy man or woman attracts people in his or her stride, as well as changing the life of others. Start being jolly and happy as you go for some good times in the city of London’s bars and clubs, where the world is awaiting you.

Whitney Houston is an American recording artist, actress, and former fashion model. Whitney Houston is one of the world’s best-selling music artists, having sold over 140 million albums and 50 million singles, worldwide. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Whitney Houston is ranked as the 4th best-selling female artist in U.S.A, with 54 million certified albums. Whitney Houston is also known as “The Voice” for her powerful and penetrating pop-gospel vocals. Whitney stood at No. 3rd on MTV’s 22 Greatest Voices list, at No. 6th on COVE’s list of the 100 Best Pop Vocalists with a score of 48.5/50, and 34th on Rolling Stone 100 Greatest Singers list. Houston has been listed by Rolling Stone magazine as one of The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.

Whitney Houston’s coming debut is currently listed as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by the Rolling Stone magazine. Whitney is also on Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Definitive 200 list. Whitney Houston’s entrance into the music industry is considered one of the 25 musical milestones of the last 25 years, according to USA Today. In 2001, Whitney Houston was awarded the first annual Lifetime Achievement Award by BET.

Whitney Houston is a mezzo-soprano. Whitney released her 1st album namely; “Whitney Huston” in the year 1985, which was Whitney Houston’ best-selling debut album by any female artist until a decade.  Whitney 2nd second studio album released in the year 1987, which was also # 1 album on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Whitney Houston’s crossover appeal on the popular music charts as well as her prominence on MTV enabled several other African-American women to follow in her success.

Whitney Elizabeth Houston was born on 9 August, 1963, in the New Jersey. Whitney Houston is at No 3rd youngest child of John and gospel singer Cissy Houston. Whitney Houston belongs to, a family of to several prominent soul singers, including her mother Cissy Houston, Cousins Dee Dee and Dionne Warwick, and godmother Aretha Franklin. . Whitney Elizabeth Houston was raised up as a Baptist. After the 1967 Newark riots, Whitney Houston’s family moved to a middle class area in West Orange, New Jersey. Elizabeth Houston began singing at her New Jersey church as a member of a junior gospel choir at age 11years old.

Whitney Houston’s first solo performance in the church was “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah”, when Houston was a teenager. Whitney Houston belongs to a broken family, her parents got divorced when Whitney was quite young. Then Whitney Elizabeth began to live with her mother. While living with her mother, Whitney Houston followed her mother’s footsteps and started performing as a soloist in the junior gospel choir at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, where she also learned to play piano. Soon, Whitney Houston began performing alongside her mother at night clubs in the New York.

Whitney Houston’s vocal style has had a significant impact on the music industry. According to The New York Times, Whitney Houston had “revitalized the tradition of strong gospel-oriented pop-soul singing”.  A number of artists have acknowledged Whitney Houston as an influence. Mariah Carey, who was often, compared to Houston, said, “Whitney Houston has been a big influence on me.”

In 1977, at age 14, Whitney Houston was the lead vocalist on the Michael Zager Band’s single “Life’s a Party”. In these days, Whitney Houston had been offered several recording agencies namely; Michael Zager in 1980 and Elektra Records in 1981.

In 1983, Gerry Griffith, an A&R representative from Arista Records, saw Whitney Houston’s performing with her mother in a New York City nightclub and was impressed very much. Gerry Griffith then offered Whitney Houston to work with him. Gerry Griffith convinced Clive Davis, Arista’s label head, to take time to see Houston perform. Although, Houston signed with Arista in 1983 but did not begin work on Arista’s album, as Whitney Houston’ turned towards modeling and in the early 1980s; Whitney Houston started working as a fashion model.

In 1998, after the release of her 4th studio album namely; “My Love Is Your Love” Whitney Houston renewed her recording contract with Arista Records, for a historic 0 million dollars and in 2003; she subsequently released her 5th studio album, “The Holiday”.

In 1996, Whitney Houston took part in the holiday comedy namely; “The Preacher’s Wife” with Denzel Washington and earned million for her this amazing role and after that Whitney Houston became the one of the highest paid actress in Hollywood and the highest earning actress among the African American actress in Hollywood. Whitney Houston’s this comic movie, with its all African-American cast was moderately successful with, approximately million earning at the U.S. box offices.

Whitney Houston also recorded a duet with Teddy Pendergrass namely; “Hold Me”, which appeared on his album’s as “Love Language”. Whitney Houston’s this single was released in 1984, which gave Houston, a great taste of success, by making it a Top 5 R&B hit. Whitney Houston’s this single was also appear on her debut album when released in 1985.

Whitney Houston won her first Grammy award for ‘Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female’ for “Saving All My Love for You” in 1984. Later on she won her an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program. Whitney won 7th American Music Awards in 1986, and an MTV Video Music Award.

In the era of 1987–1991, Whitney Houston became the first female artist in music history due to her top hit singles, I’m Your Baby Tonight, and “The Star Spangled Banner” which remained at number one on the US and UK album chart. Whitney Houston these songs were also remained popular as number-one hit in several other countries around the world.

Throughout the 1980s, Whitney was romantically linked to American football star Randall Cunningham and actor Eddie Murphy, whom she dated. But later on Whitney Houston met R&B singer Bobby Brown and in the end of 2006 Houston got married to with him. After a three year courtship, Houston gave birth to their daughter Bobbi Kristina Houston Brown, on 4 March.

After getting married with a singer Bobby Brown, Whitney Houston appeared in her first starring role in the feature film The Bodyguard in 1992. In original soundtrack of this film, Whitney Houston won a Grammy Award in 1994, and became the world’s best-selling soundtrack.  Whitney Houston lead single, “I Will Always Love You”, also became one of the best-selling singles in music history.

Whitney Houston’s first studio album namely; My Love Is Your Love, was released in November 1998. On August 2001, Whitney also signed the biggest record deal in music history with Arista /BMG. Whitney Houston renewed her contract for 0 million to deliver six new albums, on which she would also earn royalties. Later on Whitney made her appearance on Michael Jackson’s 30th Anniversary Special.

In December 2002, Whitney Houston released her 5th studio album, Just Whitney. In March 2007, Clive Davis of Arista Records announced that Whitney Houston would begin her recording for a new album. In October 2007, Whitney Houston released her super hit song, “I Look to You”, which ranked as No. 1, at the Billboard. Whitney Houston sold its 305,000 copies and later on it proved as Houston’s first number one album.

In the year 2009, Rolling Stone listed Whitney Houston as one of the 100 greatest singers of the rock era. Now this The International chart topping artist Whitney Houston has announced her eagerly anticipated concert in UK. In this show Whitney would return to the stage with wonderful performing and her all classic hits including in order to giving her fans a taste of her latest collection. So, never miss your chance of buying your Whitney Houston tickets online, from some 100% guaranteed and reliable online Whitney Houston concert tickets market place.

Yourticketmarket.com is such a 100% guaranteed and authorized online Whitney Houston concert tickets’ market place and is the world’s top leading online Whitney Houston concert tickets supplier; from where Whitney Houston fans can buy Whitney Houston tickets and sell Whitney Houston concert tickets, with great confidence!

Yourticketmarket’s  dedicated and specialized team is always available for providing you, all necessary information related to Whitney Houston, Whitney Houston concert tickets, affordable Whitney Houston concert tickets, advance booking of Whitney Houston concert tickets, price of Whitney Houston concert tickets and available Whitney Houston concert tickets etc.

Yourticketmarket also deals with other UK’s important event tickets like; UK’ live concert tickets, U2 Tickets, Killers Tickets, Michael Jackson the tribute tickets, O2 Arena Tickets, American football tickets, Royal Opera House Tickets, sports tickets, Champions League tickets, rugby tickets, Six Nations tickets, London theatre tickets, David Haye next fight tickets, WWE Raw or SmackDown tickets, Rugby World Cup Tickets, Rugby Union tickets, Autumn Internationals 2010 tickets, Ricky Hatton tickets and many other Uk’ exclusive event tickets etc.

Thus, get ready and never miss to buy you Whitney Houston tickets, which are always, sell out very fast before the start of Whitney Houston’ music show. So be there, in order to see Whitney Houston, who has the amazing ability to capture the audience’s attention with her unmistakably powerful voice, and with her dazzling persona. This is your chance to see the pop icon Whitney Houston to perform live. Following is the schedule of Whitney Houston’s 2010 live concerts in United Kingdom..

4-08-2010, Thursday 8:00 PM at Manchester Evening News Arena in Manchester, Unite Kingdom 4-11-2010, Sunday 7:00 PM at Scottish Exhibition & Conference Center in Glasgow, United Kingdom 4-13-2010, Tuesday, 7:00 PM at the NEC Birmingham in Birmingham, United Kingdom 4-22-2010, Thursday, 7:00 PM at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom 4-25-2010, Sunday, 7:00 PM at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom

So, grab your Whitney Houston tickets now, and see how the artist has honed her craft even more with the passing of time. You will spend a few unforgettable hours listening to the awesome, powerful voice melodies that only Whitney can deliver

For buying your Whitney Houston tickets, from yourticketmarket.com, you just need to click on “Buy and sell” button while visiting this site and get your Whitney Houston concert tickets. For further information, please call on its hotline numbers that are available on the Yourticketmarket.com websites.