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Dutch public broadcasting system

The Dutch public broadcasting system (Nederlands publieke omroepbestel) is a group of organizations that are responsible for public service television and radio broadcasting in the Netherlands. It is composed of the Nederlandse Publieke Omroep (NPO) foundation, which acts as its governing body, and a number of public broadcasters. The Dutch Media Act 2008 regulates how air time is divided and puts the administration of the public broadcasting system in the hands of the NPO Board of Directors.

In addition to the national broadcasters, there are also regional and local broadcasters in the Netherlands.

Unlike most other countries' public broadcasting organizations – which are either national corporations (such as the BBC and France Télévisions / Radio France), federations of regional public-law bodies (for example, ARD, SRG SSR) or governmental and member-based institutions with their own channels and facilities (such as PBS) – those in the Netherlands are member-based broadcasting associations that share common facilities. This arrangement has its origins in the system developed in the Netherlands early in the 20th century, known as pillarisation. Under this system the different religious and political streams of Dutch society (Catholics, Protestants, socialists, etc.) all have their own separate associations, newspapers, sports clubs, educational institutions, and also broadcasting organizations.

Their stated aim is to give a voice to each social group in multicultural Dutch society. The number of hours allocated to each broadcaster corresponds roughly to the number of members each organization can recruit (although this does not apply to NOS and NTR – see below). Since 2000, the system has been financed out of general taxation rather than from broadcast receiver licence fees. This is supplemented by a limited amount of on-air advertising (provided by STER), which has been allowed since 1967.

Nearly all viewers in the Netherlands receive most of their linear TV via cable, IPTV (DSL or fiber) or satellite systems. Regional public TV exists in parallel to the national system described below. Commercial television in the Netherlands began in 1989, with the Luxembourg-based RTL 4. In 1992, the government of the Netherlands legalised commercial TV, and many new commercial channels have become established since then.

Finance
Every year, the Dutch public broadcasting system is allocated funds from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. In 2018 the allocation was 794 million Euro with yearly revenues from advertising averaging around 200 million Euro. The cost to each adult Dutch citizen is approximately 45 Euro per year, which is on a similar level to VRT in Flemish Belgium (46 Euro). In comparison, the BBC in the United Kingdom gets its revenue from an annual household licence fee of 159 GBP, approx 188 Euro. As of 2020, the BBC's average annual licence fee income is 3.7 Billion GBP and the UK adult population is about 53 million (total population is 68 million), so the average cost per person is about 70 GBP.

The closed system (1920–1960)
Since the very beginning in the early 1920s, public broadcasting in the Netherlands has been split into different broadcasting associations with their members composed of listeners and viewers. These associations were based on the different ideological sections of Dutch society, called Verzuiling (pillarisation). Catholics, Protestants and Socialists were the first groups to create their own institutions, including schools, hospitals, trades unions and political parties. When radio in the Netherlands started in the 1920s the existing groups quickly created their own broadcasting associations, producing programmes for the primary radio network, Hilversum 1. The first to start was the liberal AVRO, founded as radio broadcaster Hilversumsche Draadlooze Omroep (HDO) by the NSF transmitter factory in Huizen on 8 July 1923. The first regular radio broadcasts started on 21 July 1923. Airtime was rented to the various religious and political radio organisations—the Protestant NCRV, the Roman Catholic KRO, the Socialist VARA and the liberal Protestant VPRO.

Under the system of pillarisation in place at the time, each audience group was faithful to its pillar's broadcasting company. The programmes were funded by the associations' members. KRO and NCRV started their own station in 1927 with a transmitter also located in Huizen and built by the NSF.

In 1930 the government regulated equal airtime for all organisations on the two stations, and the semi-public broadcasting system was born. As a result, AVRO lost most of its airtime then (50%) to VARA and VPRO.

The radio licence fee was introduced by the Nazi occupation during World War II; the different broadcasting groups were urged by the Government to co-operate more with each other, and the Netherlands Radio Union (Nederlandse Radio Unie) was formed, producing joint programmes.

The Netherlands Radio Union was one of 23 founding organisations of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in 1950. (The role of the Dutch representative to the European Broadcasting Union was later inherited by NOS, formed in 1969, and has since September 2002 been the responsibility of NPO.)

1951 saw the introduction of television, and a similar union was founded: the Netherlands Television Foundation (Nederlandse Televisie Stichting), supplying studios and facilities for the associations. These broadcasts would air on the Nederland 1 channel; a second channel, Nederland 2, was launched in 1964.

The closed system opens up (1960–1990)
With the arrival of illegal offshore commercial radio stations, such as Radio Veronica in 1960 and Radio Noordzee in 1964, Hilversum 3 was launched in 1965 to provide a legal alternative and to steer audiences towards the public service channels. Hilversum 3, along with the other two networks, were renamed as Radio 1, Radio 2 and Radio 3 towards the late 1980s.

In 1967 a Broadcasting Act was passed, providing for an official framework to supply the public with information, entertainment, culture and education, with time allocated to appointed broadcasting associations based on the number of members each association had. This allowed other organisations access to the public system, including the former commercial unlicensed broadcasters TROS and Veronica and the evangelical Christian EO to diversify programming. Advertising revenue was added, handled by an independent agency called STER.

The Netherlands Radio Union (NRU) and the Netherlands Television Foundation (NTS) merged to form the NOS, charged with providing news and sport programmes as well as with the general coordination of the public system.

A new Media Act in 1988 meant that broadcasters were no longer obliged to use production facilities supplied by the NOS. These facilities were spun off into a new private company, NOB. Programme quotas were introduced: Associations had to produce:
 * 25% news and information programmes
 * 25% entertainment and general programming
 * 20% cultural
 * 5% educational

A new media regulator (Commissariaat voor de Media) was created to regulate the public and private networks. The regulator could impose fines, with a programming fund designed to encourage cultural broadcasts. New rules for the cable industry were also introduced: the public networks were designated must-carry status.

The start of private media (1990–2000)
In anticipation of the launch of new commercial satellite channels, a third television network, Nederland 3, launched in April 1988. Luxembourg-based RTL-Véronique began broadcasting in October 1989. In 1992, the government of the Netherlands legalised commercial television, and a number of new commercial channels were established. As a result, the market share of public television had fallen from 85% to 50% by 1994. Veronica decided to leave the public system after 20 years to become a commercial broadcaster. By 1996 the arrival of more private channels from RTL and SBS had further reduced the market share of the public networks to 40%.

With the change in the television landscape, changes were made to strengthen the public sector. Its financial revenues were improved by an increase in advertising time and the indexation of the licence fee to the cost of living. In 1995 the programming duties of the Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (Netherlands Broadcasting Foundation, NOS) were split in two, with the creation of the NPS (Netherlands Programming Foundation). NOS was charged with providing news, sport and coverage of important live events, while the NPS provided cultural and children's programming.

The previous NOS management was replaced by a three-person board, charged with developing strategies and responsibility for all public output. Programming co-ordinators were appointed for each of the television and radio networks, and channel identities were created, largely replacing the varying on-air presentation of the pillar broadcasters. The broadcasting associations also have a degree of input through a supervisory board.

The market share of the public networks stabilized in 1999 at 38%, with the entry of a new broadcasting association, the first in 25 years. BNN (Bart's News Network, later Bart's Neverending Network) replaced Veronica as programme supplier to teenagers and young adults.

Diversification, expansion and the creation of the NPO (2000–2010)
Under the new "open system" any company can become a broadcasting company and obtain radio and TV airtime. The only requirement is to request official status from the government and to have enough members. Broadcasting companies in the Netherlands must ensure every year they have enough members to retain their official status, and most of them sell TV guides or other magazines and make every subscriber a member of their organization.

Many people question whether the current system is still appropriate in this age of digital broadcasting. There were plans in the run-up to the 2002 general election to change the way broadcast companies are selected, and to abolish the member-based system completely. Vocal critics included Pim Fortuyn, the assassinated leader of his own right-wing party. However, currently the system is still the way it always has been.

Prior to the 2002 reorganization, the Dutch public broadcasting system was managed by NOS. In 2002, it was put under control of "Nederlandse Publieke Omroep" (Dutch Public Broadcasting foundation), abbreviated as NPO. According to Article 2.2 of the Dutch Media Act of 2008, NPO was appointed as the governing organization of the public broadcasting system of the Netherlands until 2020.

From September 2010, Minister of Culture and Education Ronald Plasterk approved the entry of new broadcasting associations PowNed and Wakker Nederland (WNL) into the public broadcasting system. Another association, MAX, was given full recognition and can increase its broadcasting hours. Conversely, LLiNK was withdrawn and no longer has access. Meanwhile, the NPS, Teleac and the RVU institutions merged into one public broadcaster, the NTR, delivering cultural, educational, current affairs and children's programmes to the public system.

Cuts to the public system (2010–present)
On 18 January 2010, Henk Hagoort, chairman of the NPO Management Board, announced a scaling back of the number of broadcasting associations using the public airwaves to 15 by 2015. He also warned of the threat of political parties which could influence programming in the public broadcasting system.

In September 2010 cuts to the public system took effect, with the existing eleven full-time broadcasting associations facing decisions about their futures. Part-time Islamic broadcasters NMO, NIO and the merged SMON were all withdrawn from the public system.

In March 2012, NPO announced the closure of two of its digital television channels, Geschiedenis 24 (History 24) and Consumenten 24 (Consumer 24) on 1 April. History programmes transferred to Holland Doc 24 and consumer programmes are looked after by VARA via an online portal.

Future plans (from 2016)
From 2015, Netherlands Public Broadcasting will face a budget shortfall of 200 million euro. To address this, the number of broadcasting associations within the public system is to be reduced. Mergers and/or cooperations have been confirmed between existing broadcasting associations:

Member based
There are currently eleven member-based broadcasting associations:
 * AVROTROS (Algemene Vereniging Radio Omroep - Televisie en Radio Omroep Stichting) (General Radio Broadcasting Association - Television and Radio Broadcasting Foundation): A merger between the oldest broadcaster in the system and the most popular general broadcaster, its mission emphasizes its liberal roots by "promoting freedom" and with a focus on entertainment. AVRO was founded as HDO in the 1923. TROS originated from a commercial unlicensed TV station, and was known for platforming Dutch popular music and promoting Dutch artists. From 2010, it took charge of the Dutch participation in the Eurovision Song Contest, until the merger of AVRO and TROS into AVROTROS in September 2014.
 * BNNVARA (Bart's Neverending Network and Vereniging van Arbeiders Radio Amateurs) (Association of Worker Radio Amateurs): BNN is founded by Bart de Graaff, with its programming primarily aimed at a younger audience, often dealing with pop culture and shock value. VARA is a large broadcaster with a left-wing labour oriented background. VARA broadcasts popular programmes such as De Wereld Draait Door.
 * EO (Evangelische Omroep) (Evangelical Broadcasting): A Protestant Christian broadcaster, often broadcasting programs of an evangelical nature.
 * HUMAN (Humanistische Omroep) (Humanist Broadcaster): Broadcasts from a humanist perspective.
 * KRO-NCRV (Katholieke Radio Omroep and Nederlandse Christelijke Radio Vereniging) (Catholic Radio Broadcasting and Dutch Christian Radio Association): KRO is a Catholic broadcaster. Has predominantly non-religious programming and tends to be liberal. NCRV is the main Christian broadcaster.
 * MAX: Airs programming aimed at viewers over 50.
 * POW (Publieke Omroep Weldenkend Nederland en Dergelijke): Launched in 2010, the broadcaster is a spin-off of the inflammatory political blog GeenStijl.nl.
 * VPRO (Vrijzinnig Protestantse Radio Omroep) (Liberal Protestant Radio Broadcasting): Quirky, independently minded broadcaster with a progressive liberal background. Much original intellectual cultural programming.
 * WNL (Wakker Nederland) (Netherlands Awake): Right-wing conservative broadcaster initiated by the De Telegraaf newspaper group.
 * Omroep ZWART (Broadcaster Black): Provisionally recognised as an left-wing, liberal broadcaster since 1 January 2022, also co-operates with BNNVARA on certain programming.
 * Ongehoord Nederland (Unheard of Netherlands): Provisionally recognised as a right-wing broadcaster since 1 January 2022.

Task based
In addition, there are now two official "public service broadcasters" created under the Media Act of 1988:
 * NOS (Nederlandse Omroep Stichting) (Dutch Broadcasting Foundation): Focusing on news, parliamentary reporting, and sports, NOS's stated aim is to be objective. It is responsible for NOS Journaal, the main news bulletins on the public channels. It coordinates the other public broadcasters and creates most of the teletext pages. Until 2002, NOS served as the Dutch representative to the EBU. That role has now been taken over by the NPO.
 * NTR: A new public broadcaster formed in September 2010. Specialising in providing news and information as well as cultural, educational, children's, and ethnic programming. NTR was formed by a merger of the former public broadcasters NPS, Teleac and RVU.

Other

 * Omrop Fryslân (Frisian Broadcasting): Frisian regional broadcaster allocated airtime on the national television channels.
 * Zendtijd voor Politieke Partijen: Airtime for commercials of political parties which are represented in the Dutch parliament.
 * socutera (Stichting ter bevordering van Sociale en Culturele doeleinden door Televisie en Radio): Small broadcaster broadcasting promotions related to culture and charity.
 * Ster (Foundation for Broadcast Advertising): Independent agency handling advertising exclusively on Netherlands Public Broadcasting's television, radio and online outlets. Created by the Broadcasting Act 1967 to prevent commercial influence on programming. Currently, income from advertising forms a third of the annual Media Budget to the public system.

Former broadcasters

 * Concertzender (1998–2009): Classical music. Left the national public system after Netherlands Public Broadcasting stopped financing the station in order to launch Radio 6. It continues to broadcast independently of the NPO.
 * LLiNK (2005–2010): Former broadcaster. Had public access withdrawn in 2010 due to Netherlands Public Broadcasting and the Commission for Media withdrawing financial support and stopped broadcasting at the end of 2010. Made television programmes about subjects such as the environment and human rights.
 * MO (Moslim Omroep) (2013–2015): Small Islamic broadcaster, withdrawn from the public system in October 2015.
 * NIO (Nederlandse Islamitische Omroep) (2005–2010): Small Islamic broadcaster, withdrawn from the public system in March 2010.
 * NMO (Nederlandse Moslim Omroep) (1993–2010): Small Islamic broadcaster, slightly more progressive than the NIO. Withdrawn from the public system in March 2010.
 * NPS (Nederlandse Programma Stichting) (Dutch Programming Foundation) (1995–2010): Merged into NTR. Formerly part of the NOS, but split off in 1995. Produced cultural, factual, youth and minority-oriented programming. Produced the Dutch version of Sesame Street. It was considered to put the NOS and NPS back together in 2008, but that plan was scrapped.
 * RVU (Radio Volks Universiteit) (Popular Radio University) (1930–2010): Was a small educational broadcaster with a non-secular non-ideological nature. Member of Educom, a partnership with Teleac/NOT, merged into NTR.
 * Teleac (Televisie-academie) (Television Academy) (1996–2010): Former larger educational broadcaster, merged into NTR. Produced courses on television and television for schools. Member of Educom, a partnership with RVU.
 * Veronica (1975–1995): Former unlicensed radio broadcaster, entered the public system as a broadcasting association in 1975; its first programme was a classical music show on Hilversum 4. Known for targeting teenagers and young adults. Withdrew in 1995 and became a commercial company as part of the Holland Media Groep. The TV and magazine departments are now owned by Sanoma and Talpa Media Holding. The Radio department is now part of the Sky Radio Group.

Television
The broadcasting organisations produce programmes for three main television channels and eight digital channels. Since 4 July 2009 the three main channels have been simulcast in 1080i high-definition. Most programming in the early stages is upscaled as in time more programmes will become available in native HD. In 2008 a temporary high-definition version of the Nederland 1 channel was created from 2 June to 24 August, to broadcast Euro 2008, the 2008 Tour de France, and the 2008 Summer Olympics in HD before the launch of the permanent HD service.

National

 * NPO 1: News, current affairs, sports and family.
 * NPO 2: Arts, culture, politics, documentaries, news, current affairs and religion.
 * NPO 3: Oriented towards youth and innovative television.
 * NPO Zappelin: Block for children aged 2–6, broadcast on NPO 3.
 * NPO Zapp: Block for children aged 6–12, broadcast on NPO 3.

Digital
Available via digital cable, satellite, and internet.
 * NPO 1 Extra – Entertainment archive channel
 * NPO 2 Extra – Documentaries, Arts and culture
 * NPO Politiek en Nieuws – Parliamentary coverage, current affairs and news

International

 * BVN – (Het Beste van NPO) (The Best of NPO) Entertainment channel, available worldwide by satellite and cable. Programmes are provided from Netherlands Public Broadcasting and the NOS. Before 2021, the channel was jointly run by NPO and the Flemish public broadcaster VRT (The BVN symbolised Het Beste van Vlaanderen en Nederland; or "The best of Flanders and the Netherlands"); programming from Radio Netherlands Worldwide ended in 2012.

National

 * NPO Radio 1 – News, current affairs and sports coverage
 * NPO Radio 2 – Pop music from the 1980s and 1990s (1960s and 1970s hits may also air)
 * NPO 3FM – Pop, rock and dance music for a youth audience
 * NPO Klassiek – Classical music
 * NPO Radio 5 – Pop music from the 1960s to 1980s
 * NPO Soul & Jazz – Soul, Jazz and World music with cultural information
 * FunX – urban and ethnic music for a young audience. Run as a collaboration with local public radio foundations in Amsterdam, Utrecht, The Hague and Rotterdam. Programmes are made by the station (as opposed to the national member system), but is funded by Netherlands Public Broadcasting and takes NOS news bulletins.

Digital and web channels
The following digital and web channels are available via NPO Radioplayer. Channels are themed according to its parent network and/or the broadcasting association. Some of these channels appear on digital cable, on cable FM as well as the national DAB multiplex.

 * NPO SterrenNL
 * NPO 3FM KX Radio
 * NPO 3FM Alternative
 * NPO Radio 4 Concerten
 * NPO FunX Amsterdam Arab
 * NPO FunX Dance
 * NPO FunX Utrecht Latin
 * NPO FunX Rotterdam Reggae
 * NPO FunX Slow Jamz
 * NPO FunX Amsterdam
 * NPO FunX Rotterdam
 * NPO FunX Den Haag
 * NPO FunX Utrecht
 * NPO FunX Den Haag Hip Hop

International

 * Radio Netherlands Worldwide – Destined for international listeners. It is an independent broadcaster and is outside of the Netherlands Public Broadcasting structure, however, like NPO it receives state funding.

NPO Start/NPO Plus
NPO Start is an online video on demand service accessible through the NPO Start website and through the apps for Android, iOS and Smart TV. NPO Start is free of charge and offers a variety of programmes shown on NPO 1, NPO 2 and NPO 3 the past 7 days. There is a subscription premium service as well that is called NPO Plus. This service allows viewers to watch shows and TV series that were broadcast more than 7 days ago. There are also no commercial breaks.

NPO Start launched on 4 July 2017. It replaced Uitzending Gemist launched in 2003.

Regional broadcasters
In addition to the national system, each Dutch province also had a broadcasting corporation supplying its own programming to its television and radio stations from 1989 to 2021.

 * L1 (Limburg)
 * NH (North Holland)
 * Omroep Brabant (North Brabant)
 * Omrop Fryslân (Friesland)
 * Omroep Zeeland (Zeeland)
 * RTV Drenthe (Drenthe)
 * Omroep Flevoland (Flevoland)
 * Omroep Gelderland (Gelderland)
 * RTV Utrecht (Utrecht)
 * RTV Noord (Groningen)
 * AT5 (Amsterdam) (Partly commercial)
 * RTV Oost (Overijssel)
 * RTV Rijnmond (Greater Rotterdam region)
 * Omroep West (South Holland)

title: Dutch public broadcasting system


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Talk:Shkodër

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title: Talk:Shkodër


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Peter Sissons

Peter George Sissons (17 July 1942 – 1 October 2019) was an English journalist and broadcaster. He was a newscaster for ITN, providing bulletins on ITV and Channel 4, before becoming the presenter of the BBC's Question Time between 1989 and 1993, and a presenter of the BBC Nine O'Clock News and Ten O'Clock News between 1993 and 2003. He retired from the BBC in 2009 and died in 2019 from leukaemia at the age of 77.

Early life
Born at Smithdown Road Hospital in Liverpool on 17 July 1942, Sissons was the third of four brothers, sons of Merchant Navy officer George Robert Percival Sissons and his wife Elsie Emma (Evans). He attended Dovedale Junior School with John Lennon and Jimmy Tarbuck, passed the eleven-plus and attended the Liverpool Institute for Boys from 1953 to 1961 with the theatre producer Bill Kenwright, the politician Steven Norris, and George Harrison and Paul McCartney from the Beatles.

He read philosophy, politics and economics at University College, Oxford, where he was treasurer of the University College Players, with whom he also acted, produced, directed and organised.

ITN
Sissons joined ITN in 1964, working his way up to the role of journalist. He was wounded by gunfire whilst covering the Biafran War in 1968, sustaining severe nerve damage in his left leg. After recovering from his injuries, he became ITN's Industrial Editor, covering many high-profile disputes during the 1970s. On 6 September 1976, Sissons joined the list of presenters of ITN's lunchtime News at One bulletin, alternating with Leonard Parkin. He also co-presented ITN's coverage of the 1983 general election with Sir Alastair Burnet and Martyn Lewis, and again in 1987 with Burnet and Alastair Stewart.

In 1982, Sissons, along with Trevor McDonald and Sarah Hogg, presented the first edition of Channel 4 News. He remained on the programme for seven years, anchoring the only debate between National Union of Mineworkers leader Arthur Scargill and National Coal Board leader Ian MacGregor during the 1984–85 miners' strike. He was also the presenter on the night of the Lockerbie bombing in December 1988. In early 1989, Sissons received a death threat following his interview of an Iranian representative as part of the reaction surrounding the publication of The Satanic Verses, with the fatwa covering Salman Rushdie extended to cover him as well.

Sissons left ITN in 1989 to join the BBC.

BBC
In June 1989, Sissons took over from Sir Robin Day as the presenter of Question Time. He continued until December 1993, when he was succeeded by David Dimbleby. He co-presented the BBC's coverage of the 1992 general election with Dimbleby and Peter Snow.

From 1993, and for some years afterwards, he hosted Breakfast with Frost on Sunday mornings when regular host Sir David Frost was unavailable.

Between 1989-1994, he co-hosted the BBC Six O'Clock News after which he moved to present BBC Nine O'Clock News and he stayed with the programme when it became Ten O'Clock News. He was dropped from this position in January 2003. Sissons reportedly accused the BBC of ageism in response to its decision to remove him from the bulletin.

In 2002, Sissons announced the death of the Queen Mother on the BBC. This broadcast created controversy and criticism from some newspapers as he wore a burgundy tie and not a black one, deemed more appropriate for such news. He later defended his choice and a senior BBC source said: "We thought if the newsreader suddenly rushed off screen to change into a black tie for the announcement it would be a distraction for viewers."

Sissons subsequently presented weekend afternoons on BBC News 24, the corporation's rolling news channel, although until 2004 he still occasionally appeared on the Ten O'Clock News when Huw Edwards, Fiona Bruce and Darren Jordon were unavailable. Sissons also presented News 24 Sunday, the replacement for Andrew Marr's BBC One programme The Andrew Marr Show when it was off air during the summer. He also occasionally presented weekend bulletins on BBC One.

He retired from the BBC in 2009, announcing on 12 June his intention to retire in the summer in order to write his memoirs.

Sissons cited a 2009 interview he conducted with Harriet Harman as the final catalyst for his decision to leave the BBC. He noted how producers seemed "twitchy" about leaving him to interview the Labour politician unsupervised, and that those producers contacting him with advice "seemed to be fully paid-up members of her fan club." Sissons noted his shock at being urged not to raise the issue of a breaking controversy surrounding Gordon Brown failing to invite the Queen to a D-Day commemoration event, because it was "only a campaign being run by the Daily Mail". He asked the question anyhow, and upon arriving home afterwards decided he no longer wished to work for the organisation.

Autobiography
Following his retirement, Sissons published his 2011 autobiography When One Door Closes, in which he was highly critical of his former employer, the BBC. He argued that the organisation had a left-wing mindset "in its very DNA" and that BBC News had a bias towards New Labour, the United Nations, the European Union, environmental groups, Islam, ethnic minorities, and women. He wrote, "I am in no doubt that the majority of BBC staff vote for political parties of the Left". Sissons also highlighted the BBC's corresponding bias towards the Independent and Guardian newspapers, stating "producers refer to them routinely for the line to take on running stories, and for inspiration on which items to cover."

Personal life
Sissons had three children, one of whom, Kate Sissons, is an actress. Sissons lived in Sevenoaks, Kent, with his wife Sylvia (Bennett), and had a second home on the island of Barbados.

Sissons was a Liverpool John Moores University Honorary Fellow and delivered a lecture on 19 June 2008 speaking about the city of Liverpool. He was a lifelong supporter of Liverpool Football Club.

Death
Sissons died at the age of 77 on 1 October 2019 at the Maidstone Hospital in Kent from leukaemia. The Director-General of the BBC, Lord Hall of Birkenhead, hailed him as "one of the great television figures of his time". Other tributes to Sissons were paid by Huw Edwards, Tony Blair, Piers Morgan, Simon McCoy and Jon Snow. Sissons' former classmate Paul McCartney posted a tribute on his website.

title: Peter Sissons


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User talk:JoelKatz

Welcome!

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GA, or General Aviation, is a term used in the United States, to the describe the *non-government*, non-airline fleet of aircraft and their associated operations. Brian J. Dowd, AOPA 00953652 Pvt., Inst., Multi-Engine

Yet I've found dozens of definitions of GA that exclude only military and several that use police as an example of GA. One FAA article comparing GA accident statistics notes that part of the discrepancy among countries is due to their differing definitions of what constitutes GA. The FAA lists categories of aviation as transport, military, and general. This would leave other government aviation with no category.

IMO (and the FAA's), it makes the most sense to group flight operations according to the flight rules under which they fly. This means that things like police and government transport properly belong with GA, since they fly under the same parts (91).

Proposed deletion of Digital Motor Electronics

The article Digital Motor Electronics has been proposed for deletion  because of the following concern:
 * Unreferenced article on a term that's somewhere between WP:MADEUP and an obscure synonym for ECU. There's no content in here worth merging.

While all contributions to Wikipedia are appreciated, content or articles may be deleted for any of several reasons.

You may prevent the proposed deletion by removing the notice, but please explain why in your edit summary or on the article's talk page.

Please consider improving the article to address the issues raised. Removing will stop the proposed deletion process, but other deletion processes exist. The speedy deletion process can result in deletion without discussion, and articles for deletion allows discussion to reach consensus for deletion.   Barkeep  Chat/''' 13:38, 18 November 2011 (UTC)

How could Mark Owen have passed so suddenly?
Okay, he had pneumonia. How is that fatal. If you seen the martial art video of him on Facebook, he was in good health. No obituary out there? 67.175.224.138 (talk) 08:41, 26 October 2019 (UTC).
 * Did you intend to post this on the RD? If not, I'm not sure why you're posting it on some random not very active editor's talk page. If you are JoelKatz, you should login to avoid confusion but in any case, I'm not sure if many people are likely to read questions like this on your talk page. Anyway I have no idea who you are referring to, the only people who come up for someone with that name dying seem to relate to a hoax. But have you read our pneumonia article? While pneumonia is most dangerous in the very old and very young, as well as those who are chronically ill, by no means are deaths restricted to those groups. Our article says "It is a major cause of death among all age groups resulting in 4 million deaths" and while this doesn't directly mention how healthy those people were beforehand I think the article accurately gives the impression that as with most deadly conditions, being healthy beforehand doesn't guarantee you won't die from it. I'd also note your details are unclear. Someone could be healthy, go into hospital for a routine operation, have something go wrong and end up on a ventilator and die from pneumonia. In that case, pneumonia and them being healthy is only part of the story. Finally, if your only indication "he was in good health" is martial art videos, this doesn't seem sufficient to draw that conclusion. I assume the person is clearly not frail and has at least a moderate degree of fitness, but and depending also on what you see in these videos, they could still have significant underlying health conditions. Nil Einne (talk) 09:00, 27 October 2019 (UTC)

I'm not sure who posted that or why. Mark Owen is someone that I used to work for who passed away quite suddenly. All I was know was that he had an unexpected illness and passed away. I got that from his ex-wife's Facebook page. I too wonder exactly what happened, but haven't reconnected with any of the people I know who knew him to ask. JoelKatz (talk) 06:16, 30 October 2019 (UTC)

title: User talk:JoelKatz


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City of London Solicitors' Company

The City of London Solicitors' Company is one of the 111 livery companies of the City of London. The company was formed in 1908; the City granted it Livery status in 1944. The company received a royal charter in 1958. Prior to 1969, when the City of London Law Society was formed, the company functioned as a law society for the city's solicitors. Today, the company mainly functions as a charitable body. The company is not to be confused with the London Solicitors UK legal firm.

The Company ranks seventy-ninth in the order of precedence for livery companies. Its motto is Lex Libertatis Origo, Latin for Law is the Source of Liberty.

The company is a member of the Financial Services Group of livery companies, the other 11 members of which are the Worshipful Companies of Chartered Accountants, Actuaries, Arbitrators, International Bankers, Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, Insurers, Information Technologists, Management Consultants, Marketors, Tax Advisers, and World Traders.

title: City of London Solicitors' Company


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List of Zionists

People who played important roles in the definition, historical development and growth of the modern Zionist movement:

A–B

 * Sarah Aaronsohn (1890–1917), born and died in Ottoman Syria/Ottoman Empire (now Israel), member of the Nili Jewish spy ring (working for the British)
 * Gershon Agron (1890s–1959), born in the Russian Empire (Ukraine), immigrated to Palestine during the First World War when fighting in the Jewish Legion, founder of The Jerusalem Post
 * Abba Ahimeir (1897–1962), born in the Russian Empire (Belarus), immigrated to Mandatory Palestine, c.1924, active in Revisionist Zionism
 * Sholem Aleichem (1859–1916) born in the Russian Empire (Ukraine), left for New York after witnessing the 1905 pogroms; advocated Zionism in his writings
 * Shulamit Aloni (1928–2014), born in Poland, active in Zionist youth movement, later Israeli politician
 * Chaim Arlosoroff (1899–1933), born in Romny, Russian Empire (Ukraine), leader of the Yishuv during the British Mandate in Palestine
 * David Baazov (1883–1947), born in Tskhinvali, Russian Empire (Georgia/South Ossetia), public and religious figure involved in the Zionist movement in Georgia/Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic
 * Meir Bar-Ilan (1880–1949), born in Volozhin,Russian Empire (Belarus), rabbi and leader of Religious Zionists (National Religious Party)
 * Shulamit Bat-Dori (1904–1985), born in the Russian Empire (Poland), migrated to Mandatory Palestine in 1923, dramatist founded kibbutz theatre
 * Menachem Begin (1913–1992), born in the Russian Empire (Belarus), leader of the militant Irgun group, later prime minister of Israel
 * David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973), born in Congress Poland (then Russian Empire), founder and first prime minister of Israel
 * Mordechai Bentov (1900–1985), born in the Russian Empire (Poland), immigrated to Mandatory Palestine in 1920, one of the founders of the Kibbutz Movement, later an Israeli politician
 * Eliezer Ben-Yehuda (1858–1922) born in the Vilna Governorate (Russian Empire), Hebrew lexicographer and language revivalist
 * Hugo Bergmann (1883–1975) born in Austria-Hungary, immigrated to Palestine in 1920
 * Max Bodenheimer (1865–1940), German-born lawyer and associate of Theodor Herzl, settled in Palestine in 1935
 * Dov Ber Borochov (1881–1917), born in Zolotonosha (Russian Empire/Ukraine), involved in founding Poale Zion party, Yiddish philologist
 * Max Brod (1884–1968), born in Prague (then in Bohemia), Zionist from 1912, settled in Mandatory Palestine in 1939

C–H

 * Rachel Cohen-Kagan (1888–1982), born in Odessa, activist and Israeli politician
 * Abba Eban (1915–2002), born in South Africa, active in the Youth movement and the World Zionist Organization, later Israeli politician
 * Albert Einstein (1879–1955), born in the German Empire, scientist who supported the Zionist movement. Albert Einstein's political views
 * Israel Eldad (1910–1996), Galician-born Revisionist Zionist, follower of Ze'ev Jabotinsky
 * Mary Fels (1863–1953), German-born/American philanthropist, Georgist, suffragist, Zionist
 * Paul Friedmann (1840–c. 1900), German philanthropist, founded the short-lived Midian colony as a safe haven for Russian Jews
 * Nahum Goldmann (1895–1982), born in Vishnevo, Russian Empire, founder and president of the World Zionist Congress
 * Shulamit Goldstein (1914–2011), born in Ukraine, underground militant and member of the Irgun.
 * Romana Goodman (1885–1955), Polish-born, co-founder of the Federation of Women Zionists in 1918
 * A. D. Gordon (Aaron David Gordon, 1856–1922), born in the Russian Empire, Labor/Practical Zionist, founded Hapoel Hatzair
 * Uri Zvi Greenberg (1896–1981), Galician-born in present-day Ukraine poet writing in Yiddish and Hebrew; Labor, later Revisionist Zionist
 * Dov Gruner (1912–1947), Hungarian-born, active in Mandatory Palestine, member of the Irgun paramilitary group
 * Ahad Ha'am (1856–1927), Russian Empire-born, Cultural Zionist
 * Theodor Herzl (1860–1904), born in the Austrian Empire, founding father of modern political Zionist movement
 * Arthur Hertzberg (1921–2006), Polish-born Rabbi, lived in the United States, scholar of Zionism
 * Moses Hess (1812–1875), French-born philosopher, Labor Zionist

J–R

 * Ze'ev Jabotinsky (1880–1940), born in the Russian Empire (now Ukraine) publicist, leader of Revisionist Zionism
 * Senta Josephtal (1912–2007), born in Germany, joined the HaBonim movement in 1933, immigrated to Palestine in 1938, later Israeli politician
 * Zvi Hirsch Kalischer (1795–1874), German (Prussian) Orthodox Rabbi, one of Zionism's earliest pioneers in the country
 * Berl Katznelson (1887–1944), born in present-day Belarus, founder of the Histadrut (Jewish trade union) in Palestine during the British mandate
 * Abraham Isaac Kook (1865–1935), born in the Russian Empire (now Latvia), religious Zionist, Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, later Palestine, during the British Mandate period
 * Saul Raphael Landau (1870–1943), Polish lawyer, journalist and Zionist activist
 * Moshe Leib Lilienblum (1843–1910), born in the Russian Empire (Lithuania) scholar, early advocate of reestablishment of the Jews in Palestine
 * Emma Levine-Talmi (1905–2004), born in the Russian Empire (Poland); moved to Mandatory Palestine in 1924, later an Israeli politician
 * Golda Meir (1898–1978), born in the Russian Empire (Ukraine), moved to Mandatory Palestine in 1921, former prime minister of Israel
 * Samuel Mohilever (1824–1898), born in the Russian Empire (Belarus) Religious Zionist, a founder of the Hovevei Zion
 * Max Nordau (1849–1923), born in the Austrian Empire (Hungary), involved in the foundation of the Zionist Organisation (later World Zionist Organisation)
 * Erna Patak (1871–1955), Austrian social worker and women's activist
 * Leon Pinsker (1821–1891), born in the Russian Empire (Poland), founder/leader of Hovevei Zion
 * Ruth Popkin (1913–2015), led Hadassah and the Jewish National Fund
 * Haviva Reik (1914–1944), parachutist born in the Kingdom of Hungary (Slovakia); member of underground Palmach (Haganah elite force) in Mandatory Palestine
 * Isaac Rülf (1831–1902), Rabbi born in Hesse-Kassel (Germany), advocated a Jewish home in Palestine, became aware of the dangers from German antisemitism
 * Arthur Ruppin (1876–1943), born in the German Empire (Prussia), moved to Palestine in 1907 and organized Jewish immigration
 * Pinhas Rutenberg (1879–1942), born in the Russian Empire (Ukraine), engineer and activist, settled in Mandatory Palestine in 1919

S–Z

 * Solomon Schechter (1847–1915), born in the Principality of Moldavia (now Romania), rabbi, spokesman for Zionism within Conservative Judaism
 * Moshe Sharett (1894–1965), born in the Russian Empire (Ukraine) settled in Ottoman Palestine in 1906, journalist and activist, later an Israeli politician
 * Abraham Stern (1907–1942), born in the Russian Empire (Poland), immigrated to Mandatory Palestine in 1925, one of the leaders of the Irgun and Lehi militant group (sometimes known as the Stern gang)
 * Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925), Chinese revolutionary and politician, founder of the Republic of China, supporter of Zionism
 * Nachman Syrkin (also known as Nahum Syrkin, 1868–1924), born in the Russian Empire (Belarus), founder of Labor Zionism
 * Hannah Szenes (1921–1944), born in Hungary, migrated to Mandatory Palestine, active in the Haganah, parachutist with the British SOE
 * Henrietta Szold (1860–1945), Zionist leader and founder of Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America
 * Bernice Tannenbaum (1913–2015), activist with Hadassah
 * Joseph Trumpeldor (1880–1920), born in the Russian Empire, involved in the organisation of the Zion Mule Corps which assisted in Jewish immigration to Mandatory Palestine
 * Menachem Ussishkin (1863–1941), born in the Russian Empire (Belarus), leader of the Jewish National Fund
 * Chaim Weizmann (1874–1952), born in the Russian Empire (Belarus), biochemist, founder of Synthetic Zionism and first president of Israel
 * Felix Weltsch (1884–1964), born in Bohemia (Czech Republic), librarian, philosopher, author, editor, publisher and journalist involved with the Zionist newspaper Selbstwehr (self-defense)
 * Robert Weltsch (1891–1982), born in Prague (then Austria-Hungary, present-day Czech Republic), journalist and editor active in Brit Shalom
 * Orde Wingate (1903–1944), non-Jewish British army officer who trained the Haganah
 * L. L. Zamenhof (1859–1917), born in Białystok (then in the Russian Empire, now Poland), ophthalmologist and creator of Esperanto, briefly active in Hovevei Zion
 * Israel Zangwill (1864–1926), British author, cultural Zionist involved in the Jewish Territorial Organization
 * A. L. Zissu (1888–1956), Romanian writer and industrialist, Religious Zionist
 * Baruch Zuckerman (1887–1970), American-Israeli Zionist, Yad Vashem proponent

title: List of Zionists


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Postage stamps of the French colonies

"French Colonies" is the name used by philatelists to refer to the postage stamps issued by France for use in the parts of the French colonial empire that did not have stamps of their own. These were in use from 1859 to 1906, and from 1943 to 1945.

First stamps
The first of these were small square stamps issued in 1859, depicting an eagle and crown in a round frame, with the inscription "COLONIES DE L'EMPIRE FRANCAIS". They were imperforate (as were all Colonies stamps until 1881). A total of six values, 1c to 80c, appeared between 1859 and 1865.

Ceres
The next series appeared in 1871 and 1872, and borrowed the contemporaneous designs of France, with profiles of Ceres and Emperor Napoleon III. While some of the nine values can be distinguished from the French stamps by color or value, others are extremely difficult to identify.

Several of an additional series of Ceres heads issued between 1872 and 1877 have a similar problem, and are distinguishable only by being imperforate, as was the Colonies part of the Peace and Commerce issue (Type Sage) of 1877 to 1880.

Commerce series
In 1881, a new series, featuring "Commerce" alone and inscribed "COLONIES", was issued, perforated 14x13.5. The 13 values, ranging from 1c to 1fr, were in colors comparable to those used for France. In 1886 the 25c stamp, previously printed in yellow, was reissued in black on a rose-colored paper. Stocks of the Commerce issue were frequently overprinted by the colonies during the 1880s and 1890s.

Navigation & Commerce series
France began issuing stamps printed with the territory name in 1892 as part of the Navigation and Commerce issue.

A series of common postage due stamps was issued beginning in 1884, with a last one appearing in 1906. Thereafter each colony used only its own stamps.

World War II
The concept was revived by the Free French forces during World War II, who printed eight types of semi-postal stamps in 1943 and 1944. After the Free French landed in Corsica and Southern France, the stamps were used in those areas, and became valid throughout France in November 1944.

Finally, in 1945 a general issue of postage due stamps for the colonies was produced.

Postal stationery
Various items of postal stationery, in addition to postage stamps, were also produced for general issue to the French Colonies. A total of three postcards were issued in 1876, followed by two different cards in 1880 and two in 1885. One reply postcard was issued in 1885. Six different letter cards were issued in 1885 and two in 1890. Two postal stationery envelopes were produced and issued in 1889. Five different values of newspaper wrappers made available to the colonies in 1889.

title: Postage stamps of the French colonies


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Jean-Louis Roux

Jean-Louis Roux (May 18, 1923 – November 28, 2013) was a Canadian politician, entertainer and playwright who was briefly the 26th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec.

Biography
Born in Montreal, Quebec, he originally studied medicine at the Université de Montréal, but gave it up to pursue acting. After travelling and performing in New York City and Paris he returned to Montreal and helped create the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde and became a frequent actor in and director of its productions for the next several years. He also turned to writing and wrote successful plays, radio dramas, and television shows.

His greatest fame comes from his role on La famille Plouffe, a very successful Quebec situation comedy. Roux served as President of the Canadian Conference of the Arts from 1968 through 1970.

Public life and L’Affaire Jean-Louis Roux
A staunch federalist, Jean-Louis Roux was appointed to the Senate by his longtime friend Jean Chrétien in 1994. During the 1995 Quebec referendum campaign, Roux was arguably the best-known personality in the area of art and culture to campaign for the "no". His public statement that Quebec intellectuals should not remain passively on the sideline as German intellectuals had done during the rise of Nazism in their country provoked an uproar.

The following year, Prime Minister Chrétien appointed him as the new lieutenant governor of Quebec, a move that was seen as a provocation by many since it was customary to appoint to that ceremonial function uncontroversial figures who had never, or long ceased to be politically active. He resigned abruptly and spectacularly barely two months into his five-year mandate shortly after the publication of a cover story titled L'Affaire Jean-Louis Roux in the magazine L'Actualité on 1 November 1996. Adding to what former federal cabinet minister Gérard Pelletier had already disclosed to L'Actualité journalist Luc Chartrand regarding his longtime friend Jean-Louis Roux having drawn a swastika on the sleeve of this lab coat during his World War II medical school days, Roux revealed during his pre-publication interview with Chartrand that he had taken part, and had even been once in the front-line of anti-conscription protests in 1942 during which the windows of Jewish-owned stores had been smashed, and that he had even held pro-Mussolini, pro-Franco and pro-Pétain sympathies during those years. There were rapidly increasing calls coming from all quarters that he resign as lieutenant governor, which he did on 5 November. Jean Chrétien angrily accused "the separatists" of having engineered the whole thing in order to discredit a man of honor but Roux himself did not support that accusation and there was general agreement that it was Gérard Pelletier’s swastika leak during the L’Actualité interview that was at the origin of the scandal.

Roux tearfully told a news conference the day after his resignation that "the carefree attitude of youth may be an explanation, but it can't in any way serve as an excuse and especially not as a justification; I committed a mistake by yielding to the anti-Semitic feelings that poisoned our minds at the time."

Chair of the Canada Council
On May 31, 1997 Roux returned to public life when the federal government appointed him to be chair of the Canada Council.

In 1971 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and was promoted to Companion in 1987. In 1989, he was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec. Roux received a Governor General's Performing Arts Award for his lifetime contributions to Canadian theatre in 2004.

He died in Montreal on November 28, 2013.

Filmography

 * La famille Plouffe (1953)
 * Adventures in Rainbow Country (1969)
 * The Pyx (1973)
 * Duplessis (1978)
 * Two Solitudes (1978)
 * Riel (1979)
 * Chocolate Eclair (Éclair au chocolat) (1979)
 * Cordélia (1980)
 * The Hotel New Hampshire (1984)
 * The Revolving Doors (Les portes tournantes) (1988)
 * Salut Victor (1989)
 * My Friend Max (Mon amie Max) (1994)
 * Black List (Liste noire) (1995)
 * The Third Miracle (1999)
 * The Courage to Love (2000)
 * Battle of the Brave (Nouvelle-France) (2004)
 * C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005)

title: Jean-Louis Roux


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Talk:Postage stamps of the French colonies

The following comments appeared when this page was entitled "French Colonies"
Although "French Colonies" is the traditional term, it could be confused with French colonies; "stamps issued for the French colonies without their own stamps" is unambiguous, but massively awkward. Suggestions welcome... Stan

How about adding "(stamps)"?
Or perhaps (philately)?

I'm trying to work on French colonialism in West Africa, and I keep coming across stamp work (which is evidence of what a good job people with that interest are doing). We need to disentangle somehow, and I'm open to any suggestions.T L Miles 16:38, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

Moving this page.
It seems that the standard disambiguation is "Postage stamps and postal history of X". See Category:Postage stamps by country. T L Miles (talk) 23:46, 29 January 2008 (UTC)


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Blackheath, West Midlands

Blackheath is a town in the Sandwell Metropolitan Borough, in the county of West Midlands, England.

History
Before 1841, Bleak Heath or Blake Heath was a small group of farm houses and inns on the turnpike road from Oldbury to Halesowen, within Rowley Regis. The changes brought about by the industrial revolution led to a Private Act in June that year that allowed the sale of the Rowley Regis glebe lands in order to finance the building of a new vicarage.

The land was purchased by developers who, throughout the remainder of the 19th century, expanded Blackheath as a dormitory town for the surrounding industries, in particular, the coal mine at Coombes Wood and the Hailstone quarry. Workers migrated to Blackheath from across England and particularly from Wales until the town and its neighbours grew to form the existing conurbation with nearby Birmingham.

Churches
The parish of St Paul was established in 1865 as a distinct entity from that of Rowley Regis and the new church consecrated in 1869. There has also been a long tradition of nonconformism with many Methodist and Baptist chapels.

Manufacturing, railways, and industrialisation
A market was established and an extension of the Great Western Railway linking Birmingham and Worcester opened a Rowley Regis in the town in 1867.

Into the 20th century, manufacturing grew and extractive industries declined with the last coal mine closing in 1919. Major employers were the fasteners business at the Excelsior Works of Thomas William Lench and the electrical engineering business of British Thomson-Houston (BTH). Manufacturing remained the main source of income up to the start of the 21st century with the BTH works still in operation though in the intervening years it has worked under the successive names of AEI, GEC, GEC-ALSTHOM, Hawker Siddeley, BTR and Electrodrives.

Borough and county membership
Blackheath was part of the borough of Rowley Regis until 1966, when it became part of the county borough of Warley. Since 1974 it has formed part of the metropolitan borough of Sandwell.

It was historically part of Staffordshire until 1966, when the boundaries were altered to incorporate the new borough of Warley into Worcestershire. Since 1974, it has been part of the West Midlands metropolitan county.

Economy
Blackheath has always been a predominantly working class area dominated by modest housing. The town was hard hit by the economic slow-down of the 1970s and unemployment of the early 1980s. However, in the 1990s the town became more prosperous with improving housing stock and some substantial development in town centre stores and improvement in the road network. A J Sainsbury supermarket opened in the town centre around this time.

Blackheath has many transport links with buses travelling throughout the borough and Rowley Regis railway station is nearby.

Other information
Blackheath Primary School is located in the area, and was originally built by Rowley Regis urban district council on Powke Lane during the late 19th century, incorporating a 5-7 infant school and 7-11 junior school and later including a nursery unit for 3 and 4 year olds. The schools merged in September 1990 to form Blackheath Primary School. It relocated to a site on Britannia Road, previously occupied by Britannia High School, in September 2005.

Football team Blackheath Town F.C. played in the West Midlands (Regional) League Division One (South) but are now just a youth development squad.

On 6 April 1959, the town was the scene of the first major racially motivated incident in the West Midlands when some 30 Teddy Boys clashed with a group of black people.

With rising traffic on local roads after the Second World War, Blackheath became a congestion hotspot. Things improved slightly with the construction of a new road around the north of the town centre towards the end of the 1970s, but this was only of use to traffic coming to and from Cradley Heath and Brierley Hill. Motorists travelling from Quinton still had to negotiate the original route that was little better than it had been in the days before cars. This problem was solved in 2006 with a new relief road that circles the eastern half of the town centre and diverts traffic coming from Halesowen, Quinton and Oldbury.

Blackheath has some of the strongest public transport links in the Black Country. It has direct bus and rail links with Birmingham, while the extensive bus network gives locals a direct route to Oldbury, Halesowen, Dudley, Cradley Heath, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton, Merry Hill Shopping Centre and Walsall.

Notable people

 * Tommy Smart, professional footballer for England and Aston Villa
 * Glenn Tipton, guitarist with Judas Priest was born in Blackheath in 1947
 * Samuel Page (fl. 1925), professional football goalkeeper

title: Blackheath, West Midlands


text:
God Save the Queen (Sex Pistols song)

"God Save the Queen" is a song by the English punk rock band the Sex Pistols. It was released as the band's second single and was later included on their only studio album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols. The song was released during Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee in 1977.

The record's lyrics, as well as the cover, were controversial at the time; both the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the Independent Broadcasting Authority refused to play the song, including a total ban of its airing by the BBC. The original title for the song was "No Future", with the lyrics themselves being a general expression of the band's view of the monarchy or any individual or establishment commanding general obligation.

The song reached No. 1 on the NME charts in the United Kingdom, and made it to No. 2 on the official UK Singles Chart as used by the BBC. This led to accusations by some that the charts had been "fixed" to prevent the song from reaching No. 1.

Background
The song's title is taken directly from the British national anthem. At the time, the song was highly controversial for its equation of Queen Elizabeth with a "fascist regime" and for the lyric "there is no future in England's dreaming". According to Glen Matlock, who had co-written the song — although he was no longer a member of the band by the time it was released — the bass was inspired by the Move's "Fire Brigade". Guitarist Steve Jones stated that when Matlock first played him the song, it did not sound like 'God Save the Queen': "It was like 'Love Me Do' or something".

Although many believe it was created because of the Silver Jubilee, the band has denied it, with Paul Cook saying that "it wasn't written specifically for the Queen's Jubilee. We weren't aware of it at the time. It wasn't a contrived effort to go out and shock everyone." Johnny Rotten has explained the lyrics as follows: "You don't write 'God Save the Queen' because you hate the English race. You write a song like that because you love them, and you're fed up with them being mistreated." He intended to evoke sympathy for the English working class and a general resentment towards the monarchy.

On 7 June 1977, the Jubilee holiday, the band attempted to play the song from a boat named the Queen Elizabeth on the River Thames, near the Palace of Westminster. After a scuffle involving attendee Jah Wobble and a camera man, 11 people, including Malcolm McLaren, the man who organized the concert, and several other members of the band's entourage, were arrested when the boat docked.

Release and reception
The single was released on 27 May 1977, and was regarded by many of the general public as an assault on Queen Elizabeth and the monarchy. During the media furore over the single, Lydon and producers Bill Price and Chris Thomas were subject to a razor attack outside a pub in Highbury, London.

Agreeing with the apparent anti-Windsor message, American postmodern author William S. Burroughs sent a congratulatory letter to the Sex Pistols following the release of the song.

Before the group signed to Virgin, a small number of copies of "God Save the Queen" had been pressed on the A&M label. These are now among the most valuable records ever pressed in the UK, with a resale value as of 2006 of between £500 and £13,000 a copy, depending on condition of the disc. The B-side of the A&M single was "No Feeling", an early rough mix or performance of "No Feelings". (A later version was released on the Pistols' debut album.) Record Collector named the A&M single the most collectable record of all time. On July 5th 2024 a new record sale price of £24,320 (over $31,000) was set at specialist vinyl auction house Wessex Auction Rooms in the UK by auctioneer Martin Hughes. 'Sex Pistols single fetches record price at auction'

Censorship and chart controversy
Upon its release, the song was banned from both the BBC and radio stations regulated by the Independent Broadcasting Authority with Radio 2 controller Charles McLelland saying the song was "in gross bad taste". Additionally, the major retailers Boots, WHSmith, and Woolworths all declined to sell the record. Nevertheless, it peaked at No. 2 (below Rod Stewart's "I Don't Want to Talk About It" released as a double A-side budget single along with "The First Cut Is the Deepest") on the official UK Singles Chart used by the BBC; it did so during the week of the Silver Jubilee's official observation. On the singles chart displayed in branches of WH Smith, the single's position at No. 2 was represented by a blank line.

However, various sources state that it was indeed the highest-selling single of the week, and it has been suggested that the song was deliberately blocked from reaching the top spot on the "official" BMRB chart. According to a 1998 article in The Independent, for one week compilers "decreed that shops which sold their own records could not have those records represented in the chart", and thus sales from Virgin Megastores were not counted. Virgin had few doubts that theirs was the higher-selling single; the company's sales total out of stock exceeded the officially cited sales for the Rod Stewart single. The NME magazine chart did in fact place the single at number-one during the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II. In 2001, the BBC described the song as having "reached number one in the UK".

Legacy
"God Save the Queen" was included on Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, the band's only album, and several subsequent compilation albums.

Rolling Stone ranked "God Save the Queen" number 175 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and it is also one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. It was Sounds magazine's Single of the Year in 1977. In 1989, it was eighteenth in the list of NME writers' all-time top 150 singles. Q magazine in 2002 ranked it first on its list of "The 50 Most Exciting Tunes Ever..." and third on its list of "100 Songs That Changed the World" in 2003. In 2007, NME launched a campaign to get the song to number 1 in the British charts and encouraged readers to purchase or download the single on 8 October. However, it only made number 42. In 2010, the New Statesman listed it as one of the "Top 20 Political Songs".

In 2010, the song was ranked among the top 10 most controversial songs of all time in a poll conducted by PRS for Music.

In 2002, the song was re-released to coincide with the Queen's Golden Jubilee, whereupon the single charted in the top 20. In 2012, it was announced that the single would be re-released on 28 May 2012, coinciding with the 35th anniversary of the original release and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Lydon has voiced his disapproval over the re-release and the campaign, saying in a statement: "I would like to very strongly distance myself from the recent stories and campaign to push 'God Save the Queen' for the number one spot... this campaign totally undermines what The Sex Pistols stood for." The 2012 re-release peaked at no. 80 in the singles chart. Rights holder UMC re-released the record for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in 2022, with 1,977 vinyl copies having the same tracks as the original A&M version and the rest labelled as a Virgin release. The record sold 5,712 vinyl copies and became the number one single on the Official Physical Singles Chart Top 100 of 10 June 2022 to 16 June 2022, with a chart placing of number 57 in the main chart when the 279 downloads were added.

In recent years, Lydon has moderated his views on the royal family. In 2001, he stated: "Is the Queen a moron? I probably think so. That women has her precious little to do with her so-called subjects, other than ignore the hell out of us.... We're just there to prop up her tiara". The following year, he denied he was an anti-monarchy in an interview on Richard & Judy: "I was never pro them or anti them. I just think if we're going to have a monarchy it may as well work properly. I mean, we pay for it, after all". Despite his previous 2001 comments about the Queen, Lydon stated on Piers Morgan Live in 2015: "I never said I didn't [love the Queen], I just don't like the institution". In another interview with Piers Morgan on Piers Morgan Uncensored in 2022, the year of Platinum Jubilee, Lydon further expressed his respect for the Queen: "I'm [not] completely dead against The Royal Family as human beings. I'm actually really really proud of the Queen for surviving and doing so well. I applaud her for that. That is a fantastic achievement. I'm not a curmudgeon about that. I just think that if I'm paying my tax money to support this system, I should have a say so on how it's spent". Guitarist Steve Jones and bassist Glen Matlock also expressed their views on the monarchy in 2022. Jones stated: "I’ve never had any connection to the monarchy, to be honest. It meant nothing to me, still doesn't. So to me ['God Save the Queen'] was just a laugh, it was a giggle". While Matlock stated in an interview with Good Morning Britain: "I've nothing personal against the queen, lots of people love and respect her, but I do think she's a bit of a sop to what's going on".

With the death of Elizabeth II in September 2022 and the accession of King Charles III, Matlock began to perform a modified version of the song which reflects the royal succession.

Use in other media
The song could be heard during Journey Along the Thames, a two-minute film directed by Danny Boyle and played at the beginning of the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, an event opened by the queen Elizabeth II, and held during her Diamond Jubilee. A camera traverses the route the band took in the boat the Queen Elizabeth, between Tower Bridge and Westminster, as the song plays.

On 3 November 2016, Andrew Rosindell, a Conservative MP, argued in an early day motion for a return to the broadcasting of the national anthem at the end of BBC One transmissions each day (the practice had been dropped in 1997, due to BBC One adopting 24-hour broadcasting by simulcasting BBC News 24 overnight, rendering closedown obsolete), to commemorate the Brexit vote and Britain's subsequent withdrawing from the European Union. At the evening of the same day, BBC Two's Newsnight programme ended its nightly broadcast with host of that night Kirsty Wark saying that they were "incredibly happy to oblige" Rosindell's request, and then played a clip of the Sex Pistols' similarly named song, much to Rosindell's discontent.

Cover artwork
The single's picture sleeve, featuring a defaced image of Queen Elizabeth II, was designed by Jamie Reid and in 2001 was ranked No. 1 in a list of the 100 greatest record covers of all time by Q magazine. A photograph of the image is held by the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Motörhead version
A cover version by the English heavy metal band Motörhead was released as a single in 2000 to promote their album, We Are Motörhead. It also appears on their covers album Under Cöver (2017).

The cover art gives further reference to the Sex Pistols by using the same cut-out words to form the title as the Sex Pistols' single cover.

A performance of the song recorded during the band's twenty-fifth anniversary concert at Brixton Academy, on 22 October 2000, appears on their 25 & Alive Boneshaker DVD.

Single track listing

 * 1) "God Save the Queen" (Paul Cook, Steve Jones, John Lydon, Glen Matlock)
 * 2) "One More Fucking Time" (Lemmy, Phil Campbell, Mikkey Dee)
 * 3) God Save the Queen (Enhanced Video)" (Cook, Jones, Lydon, Matlock)

Personnel

 * Phil "Wizzö" Campbell – guitar, vocals
 * Mikkey Dee – drums
 * Lemmy – bass, lead vocals

The SCTV satire
On the 18 March 1983 episode of SCTV in the Mel's Rock Pile segment, Mel Slirrup (Eugene Levy) has a tribute to punk rock featuring a number by the band the Queenhaters—Martin Short (lead singer), Andrea Martin (lead guitarist/back-up vocals), Eugene Levy (rhythm guitarist), Joe Flaherty (bass), and John Candy (drummer)—performing "I Hate the Bloody Queen", a sound-alike song that almost matches the original it is spoofing, with references to the Falklands War ("I'd like to drown the Queen/Off the coast of Argentine/Throw her off a battleship/With her Falkland war machine!") and the problems that Princess Diana was, and would be soon having with her in-laws ("I feel sorry for you, Lady Di/Having a mother-in-law like that!"). This spoof of the Sex Pistols "God Save the Queen" even has its own cover version by Mudhoney on the tribute album ''Oh Canaduh! 2''.

Billy Idol performed this song with Generation Sex at Glastonbury 2023 }} }}

title: God Save the Queen (Sex Pistols song)


text:
Eric Burdon

Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer and songwriter. He was previously the lead vocalist of the R&B and rock band the Animals and the funk band War. He is regarded as one of the British Invasion's most distinctive singers with his deep, powerful blues-rock voice. Burdon is also known for his intense stage performances.

In 2008, he was ranked 57th in Rolling Stone ' s list of "The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time".

Early life
Eric Burdon was born in 1941 in Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne, England. His father, Matt, was originally from Tyneside. His mother, Rene, was originally from Ireland and moved to Scotland before settling in Newcastle in the 1930s. He also had a younger sister, Irene. Burdon's middle name, "Victor", resulted from a reward of £25 offered by the Lord Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne to mothers who give their newly born children suitably patriotic names.

Burdon was born to a working class family. Burdon describes his early school years as a "dark nightmare" that "should've been penned by Charles Dickens". Due to the river pollution and humidity in Newcastle he suffered asthma attacks daily. During primary school, he was "stuck at the rear of the classroom of around 40 to 50 kids and received constant harassment from kids and teachers alike." He goes on to say his primary school was "jammed between a slaughterhouse and a shipyard on the banks of the Tyne. Some teachers were sadistic – others pretended not to notice – and sexual molestation and regular corporal punishment with a leather strap was the order of the day."

By the time he got to secondary school, a teacher by the name of Bertie Brown was responsible for getting him into art school and changing his life forever. There he first met John Steel, the original drummer for the Animals. He also met a lot of other "young rebels" who shared his interest in jazz, folk, and movies.

Burdon started out his young adult life as one of a group of people who hung out at the local jazz club, The Downbeat. He describes his friends as "like a motorcycle gang ... without the motorcycles" – they were tough, hard-drinking, and listened to American music. Burdon and fellow rocker and guitarist, American Jimi Hendrix, became very close friends in the mid sixties and remained so up until Hendrix's death in 1970. Burdon was the person Hendrix's girlfriend called when she found him overdosed on drugs.

Burdon was also a good friend of John Lennon and, claims Burdon, was mentioned in one of their songs, "I Am the Walrus" as "the eggman". Burdon states, "The nickname stuck after a wild experience I'd had at the time with a Jamaican girlfriend called Sylvia. I was up early one morning cooking breakfast, naked except for my socks, and she slid up beside me and slipped an amyl nitrite capsule under my nose. As the fumes set my brain alight and I slid to the kitchen floor, she reached to the counter and grabbed an egg, which she cracked into the pit of my belly. The white and yellow of the egg ran down my naked front and Sylvia began to show me one Jamaican trick after another. I shared the story with John at a party at a Mayfair flat one night with a handful of others." According to Burdon, Lennon, finding the story hilarious, replied, "Go on, go get it, Eggman", incorporating the incident into his song in tribute to the unique experience.

The Animals
Burdon was lead vocalist of the Animals, formed during 1962 in Newcastle upon Tyne. The original band was the Alan Price Rhythm and Blues Combo, which formed in 1958; they became the Animals shortly after Burdon joined the band. The Animals combined electric blues with rock; in the US they were considered one of the leading bands of the British Invasion. Along with the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Hollies, the Dave Clark Five, and the Kinks, the group introduced contemporary British music and fashion to American audiences. Burdon's powerful voice can be heard on the Animals' singles "The House of the Rising Sun", "Baby Let Me Take You Home", "I'm Crying", "Boom Boom", "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", "Bring It On Home to Me", "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", "It's My Life", "Don't Bring Me Down", "See See Rider", "Help Me Girl", "Monterey", and "Sky Pilot".

The Animals' keyboardist Alan Price left the band in May 1965, and drummer John Steel followed in April 1966. Burdon has often attributed the disintegration of the band to conflict with Price, specifically that Price had claimed sole rights and ownership to "House of the Rising Sun". Burdon and drummer Barry Jenkins reformed the group as Eric Burdon and the Animals. Their first studio album was Eric Is Here, which featured the hit single "Help Me Girl", released in December 1966, in which Burdon and drummer Jenkins teamed up with Animals' keyboardist Dave Rowberry, Animals' original bassist Chas Chandler, and Animals' original guitarist Hilton Valentine, and session musicians arranged and conducted by Horace Ott.

According to Peter Dunbavan, "Help Me Girl" included Hammond organ and brass with great effect and is too often overlooked today. Then followed a more psychedelic incarnation of the group that featured future Family member John Weider and was sometimes called Eric Burdon and the New Animals. Keyboardist Zoot Money joined during 1968 until the band broke up in 1969. This group's hits included the ballad "San Franciscan Nights", the grunge–heavy metal-pioneering "When I Was Young", "Monterey", the anti-Vietnam anthem "Sky Pilot", "White Houses" and the progressive cover of "Ring of Fire".

In 1975, the original Animals reunited and recorded a studio album called Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted, released in 1977. In May 1983, the Animals reunited with their original line-up and released the studio album Ark on 16 June 1983, along with the singles "The Night" and "Love Is for All Time". A world tour followed, and the concert at Wembley Arena, London, recorded on 31 December 1983, was released in 1984 as Greatest Hits Live (Rip It to Shreds). Their concert at the Royal Oak Theatre in April 1984 was released in 2008 as Last Live Show; the band members were augmented by Zoot Money, Nippy Noya, Steve Gregory and Steve Grant. The original Animals broke up for the last time at the end of 1984.

Although the band Burdon formed in the late 1960s was sometimes called Eric Burdon and the New Animals, it was not until 1998 that the name Eric Burdon and the New Animals was officially adopted. The 1998 band had bassist Dave Meros, guitarist Dean Restum, drummer Aynsley Dunbar and keyboard guitarist Neal Morse. They recorded Live at the Coach House on 17 October 1998, released on video and DVD in December that year. In 1999 they released The Official Live Bootleg No. 2 and in August 2000 The Official Live Bootleg 2000, with Martin Gerschwitz on keyboards.

In June 2003, he formed another Eric Burdon and the Animals, with keyboardist Martin Gerschwitz, bassist Dave Meros, guitarist Dean Restum, and drummer Bernie Pershey. They broke up in 2005. During 2008 Burdon toured again as Eric Burdon and the Animals with a variable line-up of backing musicians.

On 13 December 2008 Burdon lost a three-year legal battle to use the name "the Animals" in the UK, with drummer John Steel owning the rights, in the UK only, as a result. Steel was a member in the band's heyday and left in 1966, before the band broke up three years later; he later played in various reunion versions of the band with Burdon. Burdon still toured as Eric Burdon and the Animals, but was prevented from using the name "the Animals" in Britain while the case was under appeal. On 9 September 2013 Burdon's appeal was allowed, with him then entitled to use the band name in the UK.

In 2016, Burdon formed the current line-up of the Animals, including Johnzo West (guitar and vocals), Davey Allen (keyboards and vocals), Dustin Koester (drums and vocals), Justin Andres (bass guitar and vocals), Ruben Salinas (saxophone and flute), and Evan Mackey (trombone).

War
In 1969, while living in San Francisco, Burdon joined forces with California funk rock band War. In April 1970, the resulting studio album was titled Eric Burdon Declares "War" which produced the singles "Spill the Wine" and "Tobacco Road". A two-disc set entitled The Black-Man's Burdon was released in September 1970. The singles from their double album, "Paint It Black" and "They Can't Take Away Our Music", had moderate success during 1971. During this time Burdon collapsed on the stage during a concert, caused by an asthma attack, and War continued the tour without him.

In 1976, a compilation album, Love Is All Around, released by ABC Records, included recordings of Eric Burdon with War doing a live version of "Paint It Black" and a cover of the Beatles' song "A Day in the Life". The band also featured ex-NFL star Deacon Jones who coined the term "quarterback sack" and sang on the band's 1975 song "Why Can't We Be Friends?"

Eric Burdon and War were reunited for the first time in 37 years, to perform an Eric Burdon & War reunion at the concert at the Royal Albert Hall London on 21 April 2008. The concert coincided with a major reissue campaign by Rhino Records (UK), which released all the War albums including Eric Burdon Declares "War" and The Black-Man's Burdon.

The version of the band that performed alongside Burdon in 2008 at the Royal Albert Hall was not the original band but a reformed one led by the only original member, keyboardist Lonnie Jordan. This was due to a court injunction. The remaining surviving members of WAR perform as "The LowRider Band".

Solo career
Burdon began a solo career in 1971 with the Eric Burdon Band, continuing with a hard rock–heavy metal–funk style. In August 1971, he recorded the studio album Guilty!, which featured the blues shouter Jimmy Witherspoon and Ike White of the San Quentin Prison Band. In 1973, the band performed at the Reading Festival. At the end of 1974, the band released the album Sun Secrets followed by the album Stop in 1975. Burdon moved to Germany in 1977 and recorded the album Survivor with a line-up including guitarist Alexis Korner and keyboardist Zoot Money; the album also had a line-up of four guitarists and three keyboardists and is known for its interesting album cover, which depicts Burdon screaming. The album was produced by former Animals bassist Chas Chandler. The original release included a booklet of illustrated lyrics done in ink by Burdon himself.

In May 1978, he recorded the studio album Darkness Darkness at the Roundwood House in County Laois, Ireland, using Ronnie Lane's Mobile Studio and featuring guitarist and vocalist Bobby Tench from the Jeff Beck Group, who had left Streetwalkers a few months before. The album was eventually released in 1980. During January 1979, Burdon changed his band for a tour taking in Hamburg, Germany and the Netherlands.

On 28 August 1982, the "Eric Burdon Band" including Red Young (keyboards) performed at the Rockpalast Open Air Concert at the Lorelei, Germany. Following this Burdon toured heavily with his solo project from March 1984 to March 1985, taking in UK, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Canada and Australia. In 1986, Burdon published his autobiography titled I Used to Be an Animal, but I'm Alright Now.

In March 1979, he played a concert in Cologne and changed the band's name to Eric Burdon's Fire Department, whose line-up included backing vocalist Jackie Carter of Silver Convention, Bertram Engel of Udo Lindenberg's "Panik Orchester" and Jean-Jaques Kravetz. In mid 1980, they recorded the album The Last Drive. "Eric Burdon's Fire Department" toured Europe with this line-up and Paul Millns and Louisiana Red made special appearances in Spain and Italy. By December 1980, the band had broken up.

In April 1981, Christel Buschmann began to film Comeback with Burdon as the star. They created a new Eric Burdon Band whose line-up included Louisiana Red, Tony Braunagle, John Sterling and Snuffy Walden. This band recorded live tracks in Los Angeles. They also recorded in Berlin with another line-up, the only remaining member being John Sterling. In September 1981, the final scenes of Comeback were shot in the Berlin Metropole and Burdon and his band continued to tour through Australia and North America. A studio album titled Comeback was released in 1982. The 1983 album Power Company also included songs recorded during the Comeback project.

In 1988, he put together a band with 15 musicians including Andrew Giddings – keyboards, Steve Stroud – bass, Adrian Sheppard – drums, Jamie Moses – guitar and four backing vocalists to record the studio album I Used to Be an Animal in Malibu, in the United States. In 1990, Eric Burdon's cover version of "Sixteen Tons" was used for the film Joe Versus the Volcano. The song, which played at the beginning of the film, was also released as a single. He also recorded the singles "We Gotta Get out of this Place" with Katrina and the Waves and "No Man's Land" with Tony Carey and Anne Haigis. Later in 1990, he had a small line-up of an Eric Burdon Band featuring Jimmy Zavala (saxophone and harmonica), Dave Meros (bass guitar), Jeff Naideau (keyboards), Thom Mooney (drums) and John Sterling (guitar) before he began a tour with the Doors guitarist Robby Krieger and they appeared at a concert from Ventura Beach, California, which was released as a DVD on 20 June 2008.

On 13 April 2004, he released a "comeback" album, My Secret Life, which was his first album with new recordings for 16 years. When John Lee Hooker died in 2001, Burdon had written the song "Can't Kill the Boogieman" the co-writers of the songs, on the album, were Tony Braunagel and Marcelo Nova. In 2005, they released a live album, Athens Traffic Live, with special DVD bonus material and a bonus studio track and disbanded in November 2005. He began a short touring as the "Blues Knights".

On 27 January 2006, he released his blues–R&B album Soul of a Man. This album was dedicated to Ray Charles and John Lee Hooker. The cover of the album was a picture which was sent to Burdon a few years before. Burdon then formed a new band, with the following members: Red Young (keyboards), Paula O'Rourke (bass), Eric McFadden (guitar), Carl Carlton (guitar) and Wally Ingram (drums). They also performed at the Lugano Festival and in 2007 he toured as the headlining act of the "Hippiefest" line-up, produced and hosted by Country Joe McDonald.

Burdon, at 71, recorded an EP with Cincinnati garage band the Greenhornes called, simply, Eric Burdon & the Greenhornes. The album was recorded at an all-analogue recording studio, and released on 23 November 2012 as part of Record Store Day's "Black Friday".

In 2013, Eric Burdon came out with a new album called, Til Your River Runs Dry. The lead single off the album was called "Water" and was inspired by a conversation he had with former Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev.

Other associations
In 1991, Burdon and Brian Auger formed the "Eric Burdon – Brian Auger Band" with the following line-up: Eric Burdon – vocals, Brian Auger – keyboards, vocals, Dave Meros – bass guitar, vocals, Don Kirkpatrick – guitar, vocals and Paul Crowder – drums, vocals. By 1992, Larry Wilkins replaced Kirkpatrick and Karma Auger (Brian's son) replaced Crowder and in 1993 they added Richard Reguria (percussion). The live album Access All Areas was then released. In 1994 the "Eric Burdon – Brian Auger Band" disbanded. Burdon then formed the "Eric Burdon's i Band". The line-up included Larry Wilkins, Dean Restum (guitar), Dave Meros (bass) and Mark Craney (drums).

In 1995, Burdon made a guest appearance with Bon Jovi, singing "It's My Life"/"We Gotta Get out of This Place" medley at the Hall of Fame. He also released the album Lost Within the Halls of Fame, with past tracks and re-recordings of some songs from I Used to Be an Animal. In October 1996, Aynsley Dunbar replaced Craney on drums. The Official Live Bootleg was recorded in 1997 and in May that year Larry Wilkins died of cancer. He also released the compilation albums Soldier of Fortune and I'm Ready which featured recordings from the 1970s and 1980s.

In 1996, the lead singer of Brazilian rock band Camisa de Vênus, the vocalist Marcelo Nova worked in partnership with the former lead singer of the Animals. Burdon and Nova composed the song "Black & White World" and sang in a duet on "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" on the Camisa de Venus album Quem É Você?, produced by Burdon.

In 2000, he recorded the song "Power to the People" together with Ringo Starr and Billy Preston for the motion picture Steal This Movie!. On 11 May 2001, the Animals were inducted into the Rock Walk of Fame on Burdon's 60th birthday. On 3 March 2002, the live album Live in Seattle was recorded. Ex-War member Lee Oskar made a guest appearance on the album. In 2003 he made a guest appearance on the album Joyous in the City of Fools by the Greek rock band Pyx Lax, singing lead vocals on "Someone Wrote 'Save me' On a Wall".

In 2001, his second critically acclaimed memoir, Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood, written with author and filmmaker J. Marshall Craig, was released in the US, followed by editions in Greece, Germany and Australia; it covers the British Invasion, moving to Los Angeles and Palm Springs, and various anecdotes about Rock and Roll stardom.

In 2004, in his studio album My Secret Life, besides presenting the song composed in partnership with the Brazilian rocker Marcelo Nova "Black & White World", Eric Burdon shed to the English and re-recorded two songs of Marcelo Nova: "A Garota da Motocicleta" turned "Motorcycle Girl" while "Coração Satânico" became "Devil's Slide".

On 7 June 2008, Burdon performed at the memorial service of Bo Diddley in Gainesville, Florida. During July and August 2008, Burdon appeared as the headline act of the "Hippiefest". He also recorded the single "For What It's Worth" with Carl Carlton and Max Buskohl.

In 2008, Rolling Stone ranked Eric Burdon No. 57 on the list of the 100 Greatest Singers of all Time.

On 22 January 2009 he first performed with his new band, including keyboardist Red Young, guitarist Rick Hirsch, bassist Jack Bryant and drummer Ed Friedland. For a few months he was sick and did not perform except in the United States. On 26 June, he began his European tour. The band included Red Young (keyboards), Billy Watts (guitar), Terry Wilson (bass), Brannen Temple (drums) and Georgia Dagaki (cretan lyra).

On 28 January 2013, Burdon performed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, backed by the Roots. Fallon hyped Burdon's current album, Til Your River Runs Dry. On 23 July 2013, he guested onstage with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at Cardiff Millennium Stadium, performing "We Gotta Get Out of This Place". In August 2013, he toured with Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo.

On 29 September 2021, Burdon performed on the Greek TV show Mousiko kouti hosted by Nikos Portokaloglou and Rena Morfi.

Ownership of Animals name
In 2008, an adjudicator determined that John Steel owned "The Animals" name in Britain by virtue of a trademark registration Steel had made in relation to the name. Eric Burdon had objected to the trademark registration, arguing that Burdon personally embodied any goodwill associated with the Animals name. Burdon's argument was rejected, in part based on the fact that he had billed himself as Eric Burdon and the Animals as early as 1967, thus separating the goodwill associated with his own name from that of the band. In 2013 Burdon won an appeal, making him the owner of the Animals name.

Film career
Burdon wanted to act in the film Blowup (1966). Director Michelangelo Antonioni wanted to use him as a musician in a club scene, but Burdon turned the role down because he had acted in films before in which he sang songs. He disbanded the Animals and went to California, where he met Jim Morrison of the Doors and decided he wanted to go into acting. Later, he turned down major roles in Zabriskie Point and Performance (both 1970).

In 1973, he formed the Eric Burdon Band and recorded the soundtrack for his own film project, Mirage. He spent much money to make this film, produced as a film for Atlantic. The film and the soundtrack were to be released in July 1974, but somehow they never were. The soundtrack was released in 2008.

In 1979, he acted in the TV film The 11th Victim, then in the German film Gibbi Westgermany (1980). In 1982, he starred in another German film, Comeback, again as a singer. In 1991, he made a cameo appearance in The Doors.

In 1998, he played himself in the Greek film My Brother and I, followed by a bigger role in the German film Snow on New Year's Eve (1999).

In the following years, he was credited in many documentaries and in an independent film called Fabulous Shiksa in Distress (2003), along with Ned Romero and Ted Markland. In 2007, he performed the traditional "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" in the drama festival film The Blue Hour and in a documentary about Joshua Tree, called Nowhere Now (2008).

Personal life
In 1967 Burdon married Angela "Angie" King, an Anglo-Indian hippie and model connected to the music scene. The next year she left him for Jimi Hendrix and they divorced in 1969. She was killed in 1992 by an estranged boyfriend.

In 1972 Burdon married Rose Marks, with whom he has a daughter, Alex. They divorced in 1978.

In 1999, he married Marianna Proestou, a Greek lawyer.

Discography
The Animals
 * The Animals (1964; US)/The Animals (1964; UK)
 * The Animals on Tour (1965; US)
 * Animal Tracks (1965; UK)/Animal Tracks (1965; US)
 * Animalisms (1966; UK)/Animalization (1966; US)
 * Animalism (1966; US)
 * Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted (1977; as the Original Animals)
 * Ark (1983)
 * Greatest Hits Live (Rip It to Shreds) (1984)

Eric Burdon & the Animals
 * Eric Is Here (1967; US)
 * Winds of Change (1967)
 * The Twain Shall Meet (1968)
 * Every One of Us (1968; US)
 * Love Is (1968)

Eric Burdon and War
 * Eric Burdon Declares "War" (1970)
 * The Black-Man's Burdon (1970)
 * Love Is All Around (1976)

Solo
 * Guilty! (1971)
 * Survivor (1977)
 * Darkness Darkness (1980)
 * Comeback (1982)
 * I Used to Be an Animal (1988)
 * Lost Within the Halls of Fame (1995)
 * My Secret Life (2004)
 * Soul of a Man (2006)
 * Mirage (2008)
 * Eric Burdon & The Greenhornes (2012)
 * 'Til Your River Runs Dry (2013)

Eric Burdon Band
 * Sun Secrets (1974)
 * Stop (1975)
 * Power Company (1983)
 * That's Live (1985)

Eric Burdon's Fire Dept.
 * Last Drive (1980)

Books

 * I Used to Be an Animal But I'm All Right Now, Faber and Faber, 1986, 978-0571134922

Filmography

 * 1964: Get Yourself a College Girl
 * 1964: Whole Lotta Shakin'
 * 1965: Pop Gear
 * 1965: The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood
 * 1967: World of the Animals
 * 1967: The War (short)
 * 1967: It's a Bikini World
 * 1967: Tonite Let's All Make Love in London
 * 1968: All My Loving
 * 1968: Monterey Pop
 * 1973: Mirage (never filmed)
 * 1975: Hu-Man (French)
 * 1979: 11th Victim
 * 1980: Gibbi Westgermany
 * 1982: Comeback
 * 1991: The Doors
 * 1999: Snow on New Year's Eve
 * 2001: Plaster Caster
 * 2001: Screamin' Jay Hawkins: I Put a Spell on Me
 * 2003: Fabulous Shiksa in Distress
 * 2003: Yes, You Can Go Home
 * 2007: The Blue Hour
 * 2008: Nowhere Now: The Ballad of Joshua Tree
 * 2010: Remembering Nigel
 * 2010: Forever Young: How Rock 'n' Roll Grew Up (BBC Documentary)
 * 2020: Eric Burdon: Rock ‘n’ Roll – Animal (BBC Documentary)

title: Eric Burdon