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Birmingham City University

Birmingham City University (abbrev. BCU) is a university in Birmingham, England. Initially established as the Birmingham College of Art with roots dating back to 1843, it was designated as a polytechnic in 1971 and gained university status in 1992.

The university has two main campuses serving four faculties, and offers courses in art and design, business, the built environment, computing, education, engineering, English, healthcare, law, the performing arts, social sciences, and technology. A £125 million extension to its campus in the city centre of Birmingham, part of the Eastside development of a new technology and learning quarter, is opening in two stages, with the first phase having opened in 2013.

It is the second largest of five universities in the city, the other four being the University of Birmingham (which is the largest), Aston University, University College Birmingham and Newman University. Roughly half of the university's full-time students are from the West Midlands, and a large percentage of these are from ethnic minorities. The university runs access and foundation programmes through an international network of associated universities and further education colleges, and has the highest intake of foreign students in the Birmingham area.

Birmingham Institute of Art and Design
The Birmingham Institute of Art and Design (BIAD) was the art and design faculty of Birmingham City University. It has now been merged into the university's Faculty of Arts, Design and Media, and is based at the Birmingham City University City Centre Campus and the Birmingham School of Art on Margaret Street. The main BIAD campus and library is located at The Parkside Building, just north of Birmingham city centre, and about three-quarters of a mile from both Birmingham New Street station and the Custard Factory. It is adjacent to Aston University.

Institute history
BIAD reached its full maturity in the 1890s, as the Birmingham Municipal School of Art at Margaret Street, under the leadership of Edward R. Taylor. BIAD's archives hold extensive records on the history of art and design in Birmingham, and 20 similar collections have also been deposited with the archives.

School of Art

The Birmingham School of Art was originally a municipal art school but was absorbed by Birmingham Polytechnic in 1971 and then became a part of the BIAD in 1988. Its Grade I listed building located on Margaret Street remains the home of the university's Department of Fine Art and is still commonly referred to by its original title. It currently houses the Centre for Fine Art Research (CFAR).

Birmingham School of Architecture
The Birmingham School of Architecture facility was opened in 1908.

Birmingham Polytechnic
In the 1960s, changes were made to the higher education system creating an expansion of polytechnics as a more vocationally orientated alternative to the typical university.

The City of Birmingham Education Committee was invited to submit a scheme for the establishment of a polytechnic bringing together a number of different colleges in the city in 1967. Late in 1969, the post of director of the polytechnic was advertised. Although the city lagged behind other parts of the country, Birmingham finally gained a polytechnic in 1971—then the 27th in the UK —designated by the Education Secretary Margaret Thatcher as the City of Birmingham Polytechnic. This was the second polytechnic in Birmingham, the first – Birmingham Polytechnic Institution – having existed in the mid-19th century for ten years.

It was formed initially out of five colleges. Some of the colleges' staff fought against the merger but later changed their minds. The colleges were:

 * Birmingham College of Art and Design (originally the Birmingham Government School of Design, founded in October 1843);
 * Birmingham School of Music (developed as a department of the Birmingham and Midland Institute around 1859);
 * Birmingham College of Commerce (established in the early 20th century as a branch school of the Birmingham Central Technical College, which went on to become Aston University);
 * South Birmingham Technical College (opened in 1961);
 * North Birmingham Technical College (formerly Aston Technical College, opened in 1966).

The latter's new Perry Barr campus (which began construction in 1971) became the centre of the new Polytechnic, although the institution continued to have a number of different campuses spread across the city. This has sometimes been seen as a weakness of the polytechnic, with the dispersal of sites considered confusing to visitors.

In the early 1970s, the Perry Barr campus was the site of building work for what later became the centrepiece of the polytechnic: the Attwood and Baker buildings. Later in the 1970s, the campus was increased in size with the building of what later became the Cox, Dawson, Edge, Feeney and Galton buildings. In the early 1980s, the William Kenrick Library was added to the site. Other, smaller buildings were subsequently constructed, and the estate became known as the City North Campus of Birmingham City University.

From its opening, the polytechnic was considered very strong in the field of art and design. As early as 1972, fashion and textile courses were heavily oversubscribed; there were 100 applications for every 30 places. Also in that year, the polytechnic held the Design in a Polytechnic exhibition, which was opened at a reception hosted by Sir Duncan Oppenheim, the chairman of the Council of Industrial Design. Arts courses remained strong at the polytechnic through the 1970s, with twice as many arts students compared to those doing engineering or technology courses.

In 1975, three more colleges were added to the polytechnic:

 * Anstey College of Physical Education (founded as a private college for women in 1897);
 * Bordesley College of Education (founded as a Local Education Authority (LEA) Day Training College for women teachers in 1963);
 * City of Birmingham College of Education (founded as an LEA Emergency Teacher training college in 1948).

In the mid-1970s, the polytechnic's then-chairman, William Kenrick, sparked criticism from politicians for saying his students were "second-class" students. In 1978, a lecturer in law, Francis Reynolds, was convicted and fined £150 for preparing instruments of property conveyance without being a solicitor. He did this to challenge the monopoly solicitors held over conveyancing, which he felt led to higher costs.

By 1979, the polytechnic was one of the biggest in the country, though that did not prevent it from being "starved" of resources and money. There was a concern that without sufficient investment, the quality of its degree courses in areas such as engineering could not be maintained to the desired standard.

In 1988, the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design (BIAD) was established from the merging of the polytechnic's Faculty of Art and Design with Bournville College of Art. The extensive archives from these earlier incarnations, including over 10,000 artworks, were housed at the polytechnic's Margaret Street campus.

Following the UK Government's Education Reform Act in 1989, the polytechnic ceased to be under Birmingham Local Education Authority control and became an independent corporation with charitable status. It was funded by the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council and no longer by the local education authority. The polytechnic continued to have close links to Birmingham City Council, and the Lord Mayor of Birmingham continued to serve as the university's chancellor for many years.

The change in status enabled a tighter union between the polytechnic and industry, and by 1989 it had 30 lecturer's posts sponsored by firms.

University status
The Further and Higher Education Act 1992 allowed all polytechnics to adopt the title of "university". The name University of Central England in Birmingham was approved by the Privy Council on 16 June 1992. The name change took place in time for the new academic year starting later that year. Students who graduated in mid-1992 were given certificates bearing the name University of Central England, even if the entirety of their study had taken place at the polytechnic. The original design was created by Amba Frog Design after a meeting with delegates from university student councils.

In 1995, two more colleges were absorbed—Birmingham and Solihull College of Nursing and Midwifery, and the West Midlands School of Radiography—and the Birmingham School of Jewellery opened on Vittoria Street in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter. The Faculty of Engineering and Computer Technology provided the basis for the creation of the Technology Innovation Centre (TIC) in 2000. The following year, the Faculty of Health incorporated the Defence School of Health Care Studies.

In November 2003, the university pursued a merger between UCE and Aston University-another university in Birmingham, that, according to The Guardian, "would create an institution of 32,000 students with a £200m turnover". The plans were announced by the then Vice-Chancellor Peter Knight, and approved by lecturers. The new institution would use the established Aston University name, and all UCE staff members' jobs and employment conditions would be kept intact, although Vice-Chancellor Knight would not be part of its management team. He estimated a completion date for the merger of August 2006.

Michael Sterling, vice-chancellor of University of Birmingham, welcomed the initiative and said it was time for some creative thinking about higher education in the city. "Clearly, with three very distinct universities in one city, it's sensible to take a hard look at the big picture and how we can best work together, whether separately, in combination, or even as one institution," he said. His intervention provoked a furious reaction from Peter Knight, vice-chancellor of UCE, who made it clear his approach was only to Aston University.

The Aston University Council discussed the proposal during a meeting on 3 December 2003 and concluded that it should be rejected. Aston University said that "Whilst the Council respects UCE's distinctive mission, it does not share UCE's analysis of the potential opportunities that might arise from any merger", and cited influencing factors such as Aston's approach to research and teaching, the "significant differences between the missions and strategies" of Aston and UCE, and the negative impact that prolonged discussions would have on both institutions. Aston suggested that it, UCE and the University of Birmingham should instead begin discussions about the three universities' contribution to the future of local and regional higher education.

In August 2005, the University of Central England rebranded itself as UCE Birmingham for marketing and promotional purposes, though the original name remained for official use. This decision was reversed in March 2007, following the arrival of a new Vice-Chancellor, and the fuller title University of Central England in Birmingham was resurrected for all purposes.

Renaming
In June 2007, it was announced that the university would be renamed from 'UCE Birmingham', with three possible names being proposed: Birmingham City University, Birmingham Chamberlain University, and Birmingham Metropolitan University. Staff and students (both current and alumni) were asked to complete a survey on what they wished the name to be changed to. On 1 October 2007, Vice-Chancellor David Tidmarsh unveiled the name change from UCE Birmingham to Birmingham City University. 48.2% of those who voted on the survey voted for this name, although 62.1% of staff had voted for Birmingham Metropolitan University. The University of Birmingham Council had previously advised UCE that their preferred choice was Birmingham Metropolitan University, and that it considered Birmingham Chamberlain University "unacceptable" because of Joseph Chamberlain's historic involvement and association with the University of Birmingham.

The proposed name change was met with mixed reaction from students and student union officials. A common argument was that money should be spend on facilities and building repair work, and some students felt ignored by the establishment. The rationale for the name change was a perceived confusion of the location of the university and to give a "shorter, more powerful name". The rebranding of the university, which included changing signage and stationery, cost £285,084.

The university's current logo, designed by Birmingham-based BHMG Marketing, is based on the tiger in the crest originally used when it was awarded university status. The crest itself originated from the Birmingham College of Commerce, one of the institutions that formed the polytechnic in 1971. In 2009, the logo was revised to include the word "CITY" in upper-case on the first line instead of in lower-case on the second.

Moving to the city centre
Since 2011, the university has moved more of its operations to the centre of Birmingham, with teaching at the longstanding Perry Barr site gradually wound down. At the City Centre Campus, the Parkside Building for Design and Media students opened in 2013; the Curzon Building, which houses Business, Law and Social Science courses as well as library, IT and student support facilities opened in 2015; and a new music building for the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire opened in 2017. The university also announced plans to revive the former Belmont Works site nearby as STEAMhouse — a place for small and medium-sized businesses to collaborate with students and academics. This building opened in 2022.

Education courses moved to the City South Campus, where health programmes were already based, leaving the university with two main sites in the city, together with a small number of satellite buildings. Demolition of the Perry Barr campus began in 2018 and was completed by summer 2019.

Campuses
Throughout its history the university has been spread across a number of different sites in Birmingham. As of 2022, the university is at the following campuses:
 * City Centre Campus, located is the home of the Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment inside Millennium Point. The Parkside Building, adjacent to Millennium Point and connected to it via a bridge, opened its doors in 2013, housing Birmingham School of Media and design courses from the Faculty of Arts, Design and Media. The Curzon Building houses the Faculty of Business, Law and Social Sciences and the School of English, as well as the library, Students' Union and other support services. Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, moved to the City Centre Campus in 2017. In 2023, doors opened to STEAMhouse, a £72 million development on the former Belmont Works building - the new home to Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment.
 * City South Campus is based in Edgbaston. The main hub is the Mary Seacole Building on Westbourne Road, home to the university's health, education and life sciences courses, and a moderate amount of student accommodation.
 * Vittoria Street in the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter, home to Birmingham School of Jewellery.
 * Margaret Street, home of the School of Fine Art, formerly home of the Birmingham School of Art.
 * Bournville, home to Birmingham School of Acting.

The university has completed a "flagship" extension to its campus in Birmingham City Centre, next to the existing facilities at Millennium Point. The City Centre Campus is a £150 million scheme, as part of Birmingham's Eastside development, with design and media students moving into Phase 1 of the development in 2013, from the former Gosta Green Campus and City North Campus, respectively. Business, English, law and social sciences followed when Phase 2 of the new building was completed in 2015.

As of September 2017, Birmingham City University invested approximately £220 million into campus infrastructure while moving its campus into the city centre. The university focused on building cutting-edge facilities for students and updating internal systems used for human resources and finance. The university purchased Oracle ERP Butt and HCM Butt to update its IT strategy and standardise employee-facing functions, which became crucial in the institution's efforts to modernise its IT infrastructure.

Facilities
University House (formerly known as the New Technology Institute or NTI) is located close to the City Centre Campus and is home to a number of the university's professional service departments. The International Project Space (IPS) is an art gallery located at the Bournville Centre for Visual Arts.

Moor Lane is a venue for sports, business training and conferences near to City North Campus. Previously, a dedicated sports centre was located behind The Coppice, a student accommodation block next to the former City North Campus, and included tennis courts, bowls, football and rugby pitches, running track and a social club. The university announced a £7 million sports complex would be built on the site, formerly the Ansells Sports Club, with construction to start in mid-2008 for completion in 2009. The Doug Ellis Sports Centre, named after Doug Ellis, opened on 4 January 2010 and includes a fitness suite, workout classes, and a sports hall. Lawyers at Wragge & Co have advised Birmingham City University on the outsourcing of work for the sports centre to international service company Serco. Under a new 10-year agreement, the FTSE 100 company will run both the sports centre and the existing Pavilion sports facility in Perry Barr.

Accommodation
University Locks is a residential halls of residence located adjacent to the City Centre Campus. The university also offers accommodation in a number of privately owned halls of residence, these include Jennens Court, My Student Village: Birmingham (formerly clv Birmingham) and Curzon Gateway in the city centre and Queens Hospital Close near Five Ways.

Chancellors
After the former Birmingham Polytechnic was granted University status it installed the city's Lord Mayor as its Chancellor each year. It was one of only two national institutions to adopt this link with its local region. On 21 July 2016 the university announced that Lenny Henry would become its new Chancellor, for an initial term of five years. In 2024, the university announced that Henry was stepping down from his role.

Faculties and schools
Birmingham City University is a large university and has departments covering a wide range of subjects. The university's system was re-organised into four faculties in September 2014, composed of numerous schools and departments.

Faculty of Arts, Design and Media (ADM)
The faculty was created in 2014 by the merger of the Faculty of Performance, Media and English with the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design. This faculty includes the art and design related courses taught by the School of Art, School of Architecture and Design, School of Fashion and Textiles, School of Jewellery and School of Visual Communication.

It is also home to the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, an international conservatoire and junior school and a major concert venue for many of Birmingham's principal concert promoters and organisations, hosting over 300 events annually. Their Junior Department provides tuition to over 200 young musicians aged 3 to 18 in classical music, chamber music, North Indian music and jazz. Birmingham School of Acting founded in 1936, merged with the university in 2005, and in September 2017 it merged to become part of the Conservatoire. The school is based in purpose-built facilities within the City Centre campus at Millennium Point which include 11 studios. Alongside its undergraduate programmes in Acting, Stage Management and Applied Theatre, the school offers specialist postgraduate programmes in Professional Voice Practice and an MFA in Acting: The British Tradition.

The School of English has undergraduate English programmes specialising across Literature, Language Studies, Drama and Creative Writing; and joint honours programmes in English and Media.

The Birmingham School of Media, was one of the first media schools in the country to teach media as part of the Skillset Academy Network. Its courses have received approval from the Broadcast Journalism Training Council and the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.

The Faculty is currently made up of the following Schools:

 * Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
 * Birmingham Institute of Creative Arts
 * Birmingham Institute of Jewellery, Fashion and Textiles
 * Birmingham Institute of Media and English
 * Birmingham School of Architecture and Design

Faculty of Business, Law and Social Sciences (BLSS)
This faculty includes Birmingham City Business School, a major centre for business and management education. It incorporates three academic departments and two specialist centres: the Department of Accountancy, Finance and Economics (AFE), the Department of Business and Marketing, the Department of Management and Human Resources, the Centre for Leadership and Management Practice, and the Centre for Internal Audit, Governance and Risk Management. The Faculty also includes the university's School of Law and School of Social Sciences.

Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences
The Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences (known as HELS) began in 1995 by a merger of Birmingham and Solihull College of Nursing and Midwifery, West Midlands School of Radiography and the University of Central England. In 2002, the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM) joined the university to offer Ministry of Defence students and nurses better key skills in nurse training. It also provides courses for intending teachers, serving teachers or those simply interested in education issues covering the entire range of school phases from infant to continuing education, at every study level from full-time undergraduate to postgraduate level and PhD.

It is formed of four schools:

 * School of Nursing and Midwifery
 * School of Health Sciences
 * School of Defence Healthcare Education
 * School of Education and Social Work

Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment
The Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment, (known as CEBE) based entirely in Millennium Point until 2023 and later incorporating STEAMhouse as the new home going forward, is a national centre of excellence for learning, innovation and technology transfer. The faculty was temporarily known as the Faculty of Technology, Innovation and Development (TID) from 2008 until 2009, when the university relaunched the faculty through the merger of three of the more successful departments—the Technology Innovation Centre (TIC), School of Computing, and the School of Property Construction. It now has two schools:

 * School of Computing and Digital Technology
 * School of Engineering and the Built Environment:
 * Built Environment
 * Engineering

Libraries and collections
The university has four libraries across Birmingham on all campuses that contain around 950,000 books and 9,000 print and electronic journals:
 * Curzon Library (located at the City Centre Campus and houses the Conservatoire library collection);
 * Mary Seacole Library (located at the City South Campus);
 * Margaret Street Library (School of Art);
 * Vittoria Street Library (School of Jewellery).

Kenrick Library, named after William Kenrick in recognition of his role as the first Chairman of Governors when the Polytechnic was formed in 1971, was located at the City North Campus. The library closed in May 2018 when the remaining schools based at Perry Barr moved to the City South Campus.

Controversy over Mapplethorpe
In 1998, the university was involved in controversy when a book by photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, Mapplethorpe (1992), was confiscated. A final year undergraduate student was writing a paper on Mapplethorpe's work and intended to illustrate the paper with a few photographs. She took the photographs to the local photo-studio to be developed and the photo-studio informed West Midlands Police because of the unusual nature of the images. The police confiscated the library book from the student and informed the university that the book would have to be destroyed. If the university agreed to the destruction, no further action would be taken.

The university Vice-Chancellor, Peter Knight, took the view—supported by the Senate—that the book was a legitimate book for the university library to hold and that the action of the police was a serious infringement of academic freedom. The Vice-Chancellor was interviewed by the police, under caution, with a view to prosecution under the terms of the Obscene Publications Act, which defines obscenity as material that is likely to deprave and corrupt. The police focused on one particular image, 'Jim and Tom, Sausalito 1977', which depicts one man urinating into the mouth of another.

After the interview with the Vice-Chancellor, a file was sent to the Crown Prosecution Service as the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has to take the decision as to whether or not to proceed with a trial. After a delay of about six months, the affair came to an end when the DPP informed Knight that no action would be taken as "there was insufficient evidence to support a successful prosecution on this occasion". The original book was returned, in a slightly tattered state, and restored to the university library.

Partner institutions
The university runs access and foundation programmes through an international network of associated universities and further education colleges.

Research
The university has five Centres of Research Excellence, which are the main focus of its research activity. Following the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise conducted by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the Birmingham Post reported that more than 70 per cent of research work submitted by Birmingham City University—including in business and management studies, education, English, social work and social policy, and town and country planning—was "officially recognised as of an international standard", and 15 per cent of that work was "rated as world leading". Its art and design submission was among the ten highest ranked in the country, and Birmingham Conservatoire was rated one of the top three conservatoires, and the best outside London. The university was ranked sixty-third based on average assessment scores.

Rankings and reputation
The university has a number of courses accredited by Creative Skillset, the government's skills sector council for audio, visual and creative industries. With regard to post-production, the university also has Avid Mentor status, and is the Midlands' accredited training centre for Apple's Final Cut editing software.

For health and social care, Birmingham City University was awarded national recognition as a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. The university has an on-site virtual operating suite for health students, the first at a university in England. In the Smithers-Robinson League Table, for initial teacher training, Birmingham City University and three other institutions are consistently ranked top ten. Ofsted inspection scores for teacher education courses are frequently among the best.

Student life
Roughly half of the university's full-time students are from the West Midlands, and a large percentage of these are from ethnic minorities. The university runs access and foundation programmes through an international network of associated universities and further education colleges, and it has the highest intake of international students in the Birmingham area. For 2009 entry, applications rose by 37 per cent from 2008, one of the biggest increases at any university. There are almost six applications per place and a typical entry tariff of 112 UCAS points for honours degree programmes; other courses' requirements vary.

Students' Union
Birmingham City University Students' Union (abbreviated to BCUSU) has its main offices at the city centre campus. There are several reception offices located at other campuses. BCUSU is affiliated with the National Union of Students, and all students are automatically members of the union.

Student media at the Union comprises a student magazine; Polygon, which originally went into publication in the 1980s and, after a short period under other names, was brought back to life in 2019, and the award-winning student radio station; Scratch Radio, which is housed in the Curzon Building at the City Centre Campus and broadcasts on DAB in the city and online.

The student union of Birmingham Polytechnic was condemned in November 1974 when its council passed a resolution supporting IRA terrorism. The polytechnic's student radio station, then known as Radio G, was the runner-up in the 1989 Guardian/NUS Student Media Awards.

Now Birmingham City Students' Union, it holds elections every year to elect the five full-time Sabbatical Officers who run the union and act as its Company Directors.

Notable staff and alumni
Current and former staff of the university and its former entities include novelists Jim Crace and Stephen Booth, nurse-author Bethann Siviter, journalist Paul Bradshaw, Nigerian researcher and pollster Bell Ihua, scientist Kevin Warwick, environmentalist Chris Baines, politicians Khalid Mahmood (MP for Perry Barr) and Lynne Jones (former MP for Selly Oak), former Member of the European Parliament David Hallam, HSBC CEO Noel Quinn and former Chief Inspector of Probation for England and Wales Paul McDowell.

Notable graduates of the university and its predecessor institutions working in broadcasting include children's television presenter Kirsten O'Brien, sports TV presenter Mary Rhodes, radio and TV presenters Fiona Phillips and Margherita Taylor, investigative journalist Mark Williams-Thomas and Yemisi Akinbobola, founder of IQ4News and African Women in the Media. Several work in broadcast journalism, such as Sky News news presenter Marverine Cole, and BBC news presenter Charlie Stayt.

Art and design alumni include cartoonist Alex Hughes, artist Barbara Walker, fashion designer Betty Jackson, photographer Ravi Deepres, artists Jack Skinner and Rob Pepper, industrial product designer Hans Ramzan, British-born architect Laurie Baker (1917–2007), former Renault chief designer Patrick le Quément, and Saiman Miah, designer of the £5 Olympic coins for the 2012 Olympic Games.

Graduates in the performing arts include musicians Roy Priest (formerly of Sweet Jesus) and Nick Duffy, singer-songwriter Stephen Duffy, actors Jimi Mistry, Catherine Tyldesley and Tom Lister, comedian Frank Skinner, singer and The X Factor contestant Rhydian Roberts, and bass guitarist John Taylor, founder of Duran Duran.

title: Birmingham City University


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Shirley Porter

Dame Shirley, Lady Porter DBE (née Cohen; born 29 November 1930), is a British politician who led Westminster City Council in London from 1983 to 1991, representing the Conservative Party. She is the daughter and heiress of Sir Jack Cohen, the founder of Tesco supermarkets. She was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1991 by John Major after delivering victory in Westminster for the Conservatives in the 1990 local elections. While leader of Westminster City Council, Porter oversaw the "Building Stable Communities" policy — later described as the "homes for votes scandal" — and was consequently accused of gerrymandering. The policy was judged illegal by the district auditor, and a surcharge of £27m levied on her in 1996. This was later raised to £42 million with interest and costs. She eventually settled in 2004, paying a final settlement of £12.3 million.

Porter moved to Herzliya Pituah in Israel in 1994 during the inquiry into homes for votes. She bought a flat in London in 2006, but continued to spend most of her time in Israel. She has been a governor of Tel Aviv University and, through the Porter Foundation, funded buildings and projects at the university.

Background and political career
Porter was born Shirley Cohen in Upper Clapton, London, on 29 November 1930. Her father, Jacob Edward "Jack" Cohen, was the founder and owner of Tesco, and her mother was Sarah "Cissie" (née Fox), the daughter of a master tailor. Jack Cohen opened the first two Tesco stores in 1931 and by 1939 owned over 100 stores across the country. The family lived at 7 Gunton Road, Hackney, a former council house in the East End of London that Jack had purchased from Hackney Council with the help of a £1,000 council loan.

Between 1939 and 1945 Porter boarded at Warren School For Girls in Worthing, Sussex. She then spent a year at La Ramée, a finishing school in Lausanne, Switzerland, followed by a year at St. Godric's Secretarial and Language School in Hampstead, London. She married Leslie Porter (10 July 1920 – 20 March 2005) on 26 June 1949 at the New West End Synagogue, Paddington, London. The couple had a daughter, Linda, and a son, John, who died in 2021. Leslie Porter joined the board of Tesco and became chairman in 1973. He was awarded a knighthood in 1983, with Porter becoming Lady Porter.

As a young married woman, Porter became involved with Jewish charities and played golf. In 1960, she was involved in the exposure of ten golf clubs in north London for discriminating against Jews.

Porter became a magistrate before entering local politics. Looking back at that time, she said "I remember my great lack of confidence, that I came in there and for the first time and I wasn't somebody's daughter, somebody's wife, somebody's mother. That's a very very mind-boggling feeling." In 1974, she was elected to Westminster City Council as a Conservative councillor for Hyde Park Ward and soon became involved in anti-litter campaigns.

In 1983, she was elected leader of Westminster City Council. Her initiatives and policies included, as well as the anti-litter campaign, the say no to drugs campaign and the plain English campaign, and she was also involved in the abolition of the Greater London Council. After delivering victory in Westminster for the Conservatives in the 1990 local elections, she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1991 New Year Honours by prime minister John Major for "political and public service". In February 1991 she stood down as leader of the council and later that year became Lord Mayor of Westminster.

Litter
Early in her career, Porter garnered national attention for her involvement and implementation of anti-litter campaigns in Westminster. In a 1985 interview with The Times' Shirley Lowe, Porter explained that litter was the reason why she had first entered local politics in 1974. She said: "I was walking along the street with a friend one day and it was filthy and I said, 'My God, somebody ought to do something about this,' and my friend said 'Why don't you?'" Despite sitting on the Highways and Works Committee, which was responsible for street cleaning and refuse collection, Porter did not mention litter again until late 1976 following a visit to Leningrad and Moscow. On her return she told the Paddington Mercury of her distaste for the Soviet regime but continued "one thing they must be given credit for is the cleanliness you find everywhere... I should hate to think that we need such a repressive regime to get our cities cleaned to their standards."

She soon joined the "Clean Up London" campaign. She encouraged hoteliers to join forces to attack the squalor that was affecting their businesses. Her enthusiasm also aided her election as vice-chairman of Highways and Works Committee on 28 June 1977. Her anti-litter activities within the CUL campaign continued. The Paddington Mercury described Porter as "fast winning a reputation as Paddington's Mrs Mops". She also mobilised schoolchildren in her campaign, raising brooms over their shoulders like rifles at the Lord Mayor's Show and singing "Pick up your litter and put it in the bin". By 1978, Porter had been elected as chairman of the Highways and Works Committee, in the same year she launched the "Mr Clean Up" anti-litter campaign.

In January 1979, a series of strikes began to unfold as part of the "Winter of Discontent". Rubbish collectors in Westminster went on strike and there was mounting waste in the streets. In response, Porter opened 33 emergency rubbish dumps across the borough. Porter told press reporters that they would privatise rubbish collection if the strikers did not return to work. This practice was installed later on.

Porter's successive litter campaigns included the "Cleaner London Campaign", followed by the "Cleaner City Initiative" in 1980. Activities included the deployment of additional street sweepers in particularly squalor-ridden areas of Westminster for a 2–3 week period. Porter also increased the regularity of rubbish collections and convinced local businesses to sponsor litter bins.

She threatened to resign in September 1980 when her department of Highways and Works faced a £1 million budget cut; "I will resign in the event that they cut our basic services and that means keeping our frontline services and a clean and litter-free city." In 1981, Porter launched "Operation Spring Clean", a cleaning blitz of the West End.

In a 1991 appearance on Desert Island Discs, Porter said: "I really just feel so strongly that it isn't right for people to live in a dirty environment, and in an unpleasant environment. And it isn't just litter: I’m talking about the whole quality of life. When you live in pleasant surroundings, I think you are a better person."

Soho sex trade
In the late 1970s, Soho residents were troubled by the growing sex industry. Between 1965 and 1982, the number of sex shops had risen from 31 to 65. In 1982 Porter became Chairman of the General Purposes Committee and set to work in alleviating the issue. Porter and her aides soon proceeded with a fact-finding mission. The Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 stipulated that Westminster could shut down any pornographer that did not hold a licence. Porter soon decided that the number of sex shops in Soho would be limited to 20. The legislation also ensured that any successful applicants would require a minimum of six months residency in the UK as well as a clean police record. It was also legislated that sex shops would have to conceal their practice with blinds. Other measures included the requirement of business owners to keep a register of their staff. By February 1983, just 13 sex shops remained in Soho.

Westminster cemeteries scandal
In January 1987, Westminster City Council sold three out-of-borough cemeteries (Hanwell Cemetery, East Finchley Cemetery and Mill Hill Cemetery) for £1 in order to save on maintenance costs. As well as the three cemeteries, the sale included three lodge-houses, a flat, a crematorium and 12 acres of prime development land. Within weeks of the sale it became apparent that the new owners had no interest in the upkeep of the cemeteries, leading to complaints from relatives about the condition of the cemeteries, and investigations by the district auditor John Magill and local government ombudsman David Yardley. Both reports were critical of the council, with the local government ombudsman finding the council guilty of maladministration. In 1992 the Council agreed to buy back the cemeteries for over £4 million, not including the valuable land and buildings that had been part of the original sale.

Building Stable Communities
The Conservatives were narrowly re-elected in Westminster in the 1986 local council elections with a majority that dropped from 26 to four. Fearing that they would eventually lose control unless there was a permanent change in the social composition of the borough, Porter instituted a policy known as Building Stable Communities as a cover for implementing secretive projects designed to bring more Conservative voters into marginal wards in Westminster. The eight wards selected as key wards were Bayswater, Little Venice, Millbank, St James's, Victoria, Cavendish, West End and Hamilton Terrace. The aim of the Building Stable Communities policy was to sell 250 designated council homes a year in the key wards in the belief that home-owners would be more likely to vote Conservative than council tenants. The properties were sold at discounted prices.

Another vital part of Building Stable Communities policy was the removal of homeless voters and others who lived in hostels and were perceived less likely to vote Conservative, such as students and nurses, from the City of Westminster. As the City Council found it more and more difficult to move homeless people outside Westminster, the Building Stable Communities programme switched to moving homeless people to safe wards in the city, where their votes would have less impact. In 1989 over 100 homeless families were removed from hostels in marginal wards and placed in the Hermes and Chantry Point tower blocks in the safe Labour ward of Harrow Road. These blocks contained a dangerous form of asbestos, and should have either been cleaned up or demolished a decade before, but had remained in place due to funding disputes between the City Council and the by now abolished Greater London Council. Many of the flats had had their heating and sanitation systems destroyed by the council to prevent their use as drug dens, others had indeed been taken over by heroin users and still others had pigeons making nests out of asbestos, with the level in flats in Hermes and Chantry Points well above safe norms. One former homeless refuge was sold off at a discounted price to private developers and converted into private flats for young professional people at a cost to the ratepayer of £2.6 million.

Labour councillors and members of the public referred the key wards policy to the district auditor to check on its legality. In 1990, the Conservatives were re-elected in Westminster in a landslide election victory in which they won all but one of the wards targeted by Building Stable Communities.

Porter stood down as Leader of the council in 1991, and served in the ceremonial position of Lord Mayor of Westminster in 1991–92. She resigned from the council in 1993, and retired to live in Israel with her husband.

Court cases and surcharge
In May 1996, after legal investigation work, the district auditor finally concluded that the Building Stable Communities policy had been illegal, and ordered Porter and five others to pay the costs of the illegal policy, which were calculated as £31.6 million. This judgment was upheld by the High Court in 1997 with liability reduced solely to Porter and her Deputy Leader, David Weeks. After the judgment, the scandal and its effects were discussed in Parliament on 14 May 1996.

In 1998, BBC Two screened a documentary, Looking for Shirley, which profiled Westminster City Council's efforts to recover the surcharge and Porter's efforts to move her estimated £70m assets into offshore accounts and overseas investments.

The Court of Appeal overturned the judgment by a majority decision in 1999, but the House of Lords unanimously reinstated it in 2001, with a surcharge of £27m levied on Porter. Including interest, the surcharge now stood at £43.3 million. In Israel, Porter transferred substantial parts of her great wealth to other members of her family and into secret trusts in an effort to avoid the charge, and subsequently claimed assets of only £300,000.

After the judgment in the House of Lords, Porter submitted an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. The appeal was ruled inadmissible in April 2003.

Final agreement
In 2004, the still Conservative controlled Westminster City Council and the Audit Commission announced that an agreement had been reached with Porter for a payment of £12.3 million in settlement of the debt. The decision was appealed by Labour members on the council and district auditor Les Kidner began another investigation. The ensuing report, issued in March 2007, accepted the position of the council that further action would not be cost effective and stated that "'Overall, the council acted reasonably in the recovery action that it took."

In November 2009, ahead of a BBC radio play, Shirleymander, dramatising the principal events of Shirley Porter's time as leader at Westminster City Council, council leader Colin Barrow apologised unreservedly to all those affected by the "gerrymandering" policy. He criticised Shirley Porter by name for the first time and added that her actions were "the opposite of the council's policies today".

Following reports in 2006 that Porter had bought a £1.5m flat in Mayfair, the then Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, asked Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney General, to commence an investigation into whether or not Porter committed perjury or other offences during the conduct of the homes for votes case.

Residence
Porter moved to Herzliya Pituah, Israel in 1994 during the inquiry into homes for votes. After the final settlement she bought a flat in Mayfair in 2006 but continued to spend most of her time in Israel.

Philanthropy
In 1970 Porter and her husband used family money to set up the Porter Foundation, which has funded projects in Israel and the UK. Tel Aviv University has received funds to establish buildings and projects including the Porter Institute for Poetics and Semiotics, the Shirley and Leslie Porter School of Cultural Studies and the Porter School of Environmental Studies. Other projects funded in Israel include a day-care centre for elderly people and a nautical sports centre. In the UK, beneficiaries of the Porter Foundation include the National Portrait Gallery, where a small room is named the Porter Gallery, and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Porter has served as a governor of Tel Aviv University. She has also been involved with various environmental projects in Israel.

Public image and portrayals
In a review for The Guardian of Nothing Like a Dame, Porter's biography by journalist Andrew Hosken, Nicholas Lezard described her in the following terms: "She remains, by a considerable margin, the most corrupt British public figure in living memory, with the possible exception of Robert Maxwell". In the London Review of Books review of the same book Jenny Diski called the Homes for Votes scandal Porter's "biggest, stupidest and most cynical act of corruption". Diski, without justifying Porter's behaviour, accused many of Porter's critics of "snobbery and an undeclared racism". She cited the "echo of something more than simple class snobbery in the judgments made of her voice and decor".

In November 2009, BBC Radio 4 broadcast the radio play Shirleymander, which dramatised the events of Porter's time as leader of Westminster City Council, with the role of Porter played by Tracy Ann Oberman. In 2018, a stage adaptation of the play starred Jessica Martin as Porter and had a brief run at the Playground Theatre in North Kensington, west London.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Shirley Porter


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Simon Ammann

Simon Ammann (born 25 June 1981) is a Swiss ski jumper. He is one of the most successful athletes in the history of the sport, having won four individual Winter Olympic gold medals in 2002 and 2010. His other achievements include winning the 2007 Ski Jumping World Championships, the 2010 Ski Flying World Championships, the 2010 Nordic Tournament, and the 2010 Ski Jumping World Cup overall title.

Career
Ammann made his debut at the age of 16 during the 1997–98 FIS Ski Jumping World Cup season. He qualified for the 1998 Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan, where he finished 35th.

Before the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Ammann crashed and suffered injuries during training in Willingen. Despite this, he won a gold medal in both the individual normal hill and large hill competitions, being only the second athlete to accomplish this feat (Matti Nykänen having done so in 1988). During the Olympics, Ammann gained international attention not only for his victories but also for his youthful and bespectacled appearance on the podium that many compared to Harry Potter. In addition to acquiring Swiss stardom he also made appearances on American talk shows, such as the Late Show with David Letterman (on 20 February 2002).

Ammann also won the ski jumping event at the Holmenkollen Ski Festival in 2002 and 2007. This earned him the Holmenkollen medal in 2007 (shared with Frode Estil, Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset, King Harald V, and Queen Sonja of Norway).

He made his third Olympic appearance in 2006 in Turin, Italy.

On 24 February 2007, he won his first medal at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships with a victory in the individual large hill in Sapporo, Japan. Ammann would follow this with a silver medal in the individual normal hill the following week. Ammann would complete his set of medals with a bronze medal in the individual normal hill event at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec, Czech Republic.

In 2010, competing in his fourth Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, Ammann won the gold medal in the individual normal hill event, becoming the first athlete in Olympic history to win gold medals in the individual normal hill event at two Olympic Games. He also won a gold medal in the individual large hill event, thus becoming the first athlete to win gold medals in both individual ski jumping events at two Olympic Games, as well as the most decorated Swiss Olympic athlete of all time.

In March 2010, Ammann became the overall winner of the 2009–10 FIS Ski Jumping World Cup, winning all four events at the Nordic Tournament and nine World Cup events in one season overall. He finished the season by becoming the ski flying World Champion in Planica. His 236.5 m fourth round jump was the longest jump of the event, and also the second longest jump in history at the time.

At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, he was selected as flag-bearer for the Switzerland Winter Olympics team.

On 6 January 2015, Ammann was injured on his second-round jump in Bischofshofen during the final stage of the 2014–15 Four Hills Tournament. His representation has since stated that his condition is stable, with most of the damage being on his face.

Ammann also competed in the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics, with his best finish being eleventh place in the normal hill event in 2018.

In February 2024, in Lake Placid, he made his 500th individual start in the World Cup.

title: Simon Ammann


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User talk:Canyonrat

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title: User talk:Canyonrat


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Macroscopic scale

The macroscopic scale is the length scale on which objects or phenomena are large enough to be visible with the naked eye, without magnifying optical instruments. It is the opposite of microscopic.

Overview
When applied to physical phenomena and bodies, the macroscopic scale describes things as a person can directly perceive them, without the aid of magnifying devices. This is in contrast to observations (microscopy) or theories (microphysics, statistical physics) of objects of geometric lengths smaller than perhaps some hundreds of micrometres.

A macroscopic view of a ball is just that: a ball. A microscopic view could reveal a thick round skin seemingly composed entirely of puckered cracks and fissures (as viewed through a microscope) or, further down in scale, a collection of molecules in a roughly spherical shape (as viewed through an electron microscope). An example of a physical theory that takes a deliberately macroscopic viewpoint is thermodynamics. An example of a topic that extends from macroscopic to microscopic viewpoints is histology.

Not quite by the distinction between macroscopic and microscopic, classical and quantum mechanics are theories that are distinguished in a subtly different way. At first glance one might think of them as differing simply in the size of objects that they describe, classical objects being considered far larger as to mass and geometrical size than quantal objects, for example a football versus a fine particle of dust. More refined consideration distinguishes classical and quantum mechanics on the basis that classical mechanics fails to recognize that matter and energy cannot be divided into infinitesimally small parcels, so that ultimately fine division reveals irreducibly granular features. The criterion of fineness is whether or not the interactions are described in terms of the Planck constant. Roughly speaking, classical mechanics considers particles in mathematically idealized terms even as fine as geometrical points with no magnitude, still having their finite masses. Classical mechanics also considers mathematically idealized extended materials as geometrically continuously substantial. Such idealizations are useful for most everyday calculations, but may fail entirely for molecules, atoms, photons, and other elementary particles. In many ways, classical mechanics can be considered a mainly macroscopic theory. On the much smaller scale of atoms and molecules, classical mechanics may fail, and the interactions of particles are then described by quantum mechanics. Near the absolute minimum of temperature, the Bose–Einstein condensate exhibits effects on macroscopic scale that demand description by quantum mechanics.

In the quantum measurement problem the issue of what constitutes macroscopic and what constitutes the quantum world is unresolved and possibly unsolvable. The related correspondence principle can be articulated thus: every macroscopic phenomena can be formulated as a problem in quantum theory. A violation of the correspondence principle would thus ensure an empirical distinction between the macroscopic and the quantum.

In pathology, macroscopic diagnostics generally involves gross pathology, in contrast to microscopic histopathology.

The term "megascopic" is a synonym. "Macroscopic" may also refer to a "larger view", namely a view available only from a large perspective (a hypothetical "macroscope"). A macroscopic position could be considered the "big picture".

High energy physics compared to low energy physics
Particle physics, dealing with the smallest physical systems, is also known as high energy physics. Physics of larger length scales, including the macroscopic scale, is also known as low energy physics. Intuitively, it might seem incorrect to associate "high energy" with the physics of very small, low mass–energy systems, like subatomic particles. By comparison, one gram of hydrogen, a macroscopic system, has ~ $6$ times the mass–energy of a single proton, a central object of study in high energy physics. Even an entire beam of protons circulated in the Large Hadron Collider, a high energy physics experiment, contains ~ $3.23$ protons, each with $6.5 eV$ of energy, for a total beam energy of ~ $2.1 eV$ or ~ 336.4 MJ, which is still ~ $2.7$ times lower than the mass–energy of a single gram of hydrogen. Yet, the macroscopic realm is "low energy physics", while that of quantum particles is "high energy physics".

The reason for this is that the "high energy" refers to energy at the quantum particle level. While macroscopic systems indeed have a larger total energy content than any of their constituent quantum particles, there can be no experiment or other observation of this total energy without extracting the respective amount of energy from each of the quantum particles – which is exactly the domain of high energy physics. Daily experiences of matter and the Universe are characterized by very low energy. For example, the photon energy of visible light is about 1.8 to 3.2 eV. Similarly, the bond-dissociation energy of a carbon-carbon bond is about 3.6 eV. This is the energy scale manifesting at the macroscopic level, such as in chemical reactions. Even photons with far higher energy, gamma rays of the kind produced in radioactive decay, have photon energy that is almost always between $eV$ and $eV$ – still two orders of magnitude lower than the mass–energy of a single proton. Radioactive decay gamma rays are considered as part of nuclear physics, rather than high energy physics.

Finally, when reaching the quantum particle level, the high energy domain is revealed. The proton has a mass–energy of ~ $9.4 eV$; some other massive quantum particles, both elementary and hadronic, have yet higher mass–energies. Quantum particles with lower mass–energies are also part of high energy physics; they also have a mass–energy that is far higher than that at the macroscopic scale (such as electrons), or are equally involved in reactions at the particle level (such as neutrinos). Relativistic effects, as in particle accelerators and cosmic rays, can further increase the accelerated particles' energy by many orders of magnitude, as well as the total energy of the particles emanating from their collision and annihilation.

title: Macroscopic scale


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Craig Thomas (author)

David Craig Owen Thomas (24 November 1942 – 4 April 2011) was a Welsh author of thrillers, most notably the Mitchell Gant and Kenneth Aubrey series of novels.

Background
Thomas was the son of the Western Mail rugby union writer JBG Thomas. He was educated at Cardiff High School. He graduated from University College, Cardiff in 1967, obtaining his M.A. after completing a thesis on Thomas Hardy. Thomas became an English teacher, working at Stafford Girl’s High School, Shire Oak Grammar School in Walsall Wood, where he was Head of the English Department, as well as King Edward VI Grammar School in Lichfield and other grammar schools in the West Midlands.

Writing career
After unsuccessfully trying script writing for radio, Thomas wrote part-time, with his wife as editor, in two fields: philosophical thoughts in books of essays; and techno-thrillers, a genre whose invention is often attributed to the better-known Tom Clancy, though many fans feel that Thomas was its true originator. Most of Thomas's novels are set within MI6 and feature the characters of Sir Kenneth Aubrey and Patrick Hyde.

His best-known novel was Firefox, which brought him to global prominence and spawned a successful film adaptation, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. After publishing his third novel, the Cold War espionage thriller Wolfsbane, he left teaching altogether, in 1977. His later books include Snow Falcon and A Different War. Shortly before his death he finished a two-volume commentary on German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.

Thomas and his wife Jill had lived in Whittington near Lichfield, Staffordshire for over 25 years, but moved to Somerset in 2010. He died at age 68 on 4 April 2011 from pneumonia, following a short battle with acute myeloid leukemia.

Publications

 * Rat Trap – Michael Joseph, London (1976)
 * Firefox – Michael Joseph, London (1977)
 * Wolfsbane – Michael Joseph, London (1978)
 * Moscow 5000 – Michael Joseph, London (1979) (as David Grant)
 * Snow Falcon – Michael Joseph, London (1980)
 * Emerald Decision – Michael Joseph, London (1980) (as David Grant)
 * Sea Leopard – Michael Joseph, London (1981)
 * Jade Tiger – Michael Joseph, London (1982)
 * Firefox Down – Michael Joseph, London (1983)
 * The Bear's Tears – Michael Joseph, London (1985) (published in the United States as Lion's Run)
 * Winter Hawk – Collins, London (1987)
 * All the Grey Cats – Collins, London (1988) (published in the United States as Wildcat (1989))
 * The Last Raven – Collins, London (1990)
 * A Hooded Crow – HarperCollins, London (1992)
 * Playing with Cobras – HarperCollins, London (1993)
 * A Wild Justice – HarperCollins, London (1995)
 * A Different War – Little Brown, (1997)
 * Slipping into Shadow – Little Brown (1998)

 * Non-fiction

 * There to Here: Ideas of Political Society – HarperPerennial, London (1991)

title: Craig Thomas (author)


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John Densmore

John Paul Densmore (born December 1, 1944) is an American musician. He is best known as the drummer of the rock band the Doors and as such is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He appeared on every recording made by the band, with drumming inspired by jazz and world music as much as by rock and roll. The many honors he shares with the other Doors include a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Densmore is also noted for his veto of attempts by the other two Doors members, in the wake of singer Jim Morrison's 1971 death, to accept offers to license the rights to various Doors songs for commercial purposes as well as his objections to their use in the 21st century of the Doors name and logo. Densmore's lengthy court battles to gain compliance with his veto, based on a 1960s contract requiring unanimity among Doors members to use the band's name or music, ended with total victory for him and his allies in the Morrison estate.

Densmore has also worked in the performing arts as a dancer and actor and written successfully as both a playwright and the author of two books on the topic of the Doors and a third book, The Seekers (2020), about a selection of notable people he has worked with and encountered.

Early life
Densmore was born in Los Angeles on December 1, 1944, to a Catholic family, the son of Margaret Mary (née Walsh) and Ray Blaisdell Densmore. He grew up playing piano and later took up drums/percussion for the marching band at his school. He also played timpani in orchestra. Densmore attended Santa Monica City College and California State University, Northridge; at the latter he studied ethnic music under jazz cellist Fred Katz.

Densmore's drumming influences included hard jazz figures Elvin Jones (drummer for John Coltrane), whom he referred to as his idol, and Art Blakey.

The Doors
In the mid-1960s Densmore joined guitarist Robby Krieger in a band called the Psychedelic Rangers; shortly thereafter he began rehearsals with keyboardist Ray Manzarek, Manzarek's two brothers and Jim Morrison in the group Rick & the Ravens. On the brothers' departure from the band, Densmore recommended Krieger join them, thus forming the Doors in 1965.

In 2010 Modern Drummer magazine referred to his ride cymbal work as some of the most distinctive in classic rock, and noted "Working without a regular bass-playing foil... Densmore favored a lean, crisp, clear style in feel-good rhythmic explorations that, like the band's songs, gathered together ideas from blues, pop, jazz, classical, and Latin, Eastern, and African music. There are many reasons to love this slyly inventive, often underrated drummer." Together with Krieger, Densmore studied under Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar at the latter's Kinnara School of Music in Los Angeles.

The quartet, after two years of work, became star attractions in 1967, and released six studio and several live albums, eventually selling over 100 million units.

According to Densmore's autobiography, he had quit the band on one occasion in reaction to Morrison's increasingly self-destructive behavior, although Densmore returned the next day. Densmore repeatedly suggested that the band stop touring, but Krieger and Manzarek were resistant to this notion. After the Doors' disastrous performance with a gibberish-spouting Morrison in New Orleans on December 12, 1970, the band agreed to stop performing live, and the concert was the Doors' last public appearance as a quartet.

When Morrison died in 1971, the surviving trio recorded two more albums of songs and an instrumental backdrop for the late singer's recorded poetry. Densmore remained a member until the band's dissolution in 1973.

Later career
Densmore formed a musical group with fellow ex-Doors member Krieger in 1973 called the Butts Band. The group released two albums with two different lineups, and disbanded in 1975. Densmore left rock and roll in the 1980s, moving to the world of dance as he performed with Bess Snyder and Co., touring the United States for two years.

In 1984, at La Mama Theatre in New York, he made his stage acting debut in Skins, a one-act play he had written. In 1985, he won the LA Weekly Theater Award for music with Methusalem, directed by Tim Robbins. The play Rounds, which he co-produced, won the NAACP award for theatre in 1987. In 1988, he played a feature role in Band Dreams and Bebop at the Gene Dynarski Theatre. He developed and performed a one-man piece from the Donald Barthelme short story, The King of Jazz, at the Wallenboyd Theatre in 1989. With Adam Ant, he co-produced Be Bop A Lula at Theatre Theatre in 1992. He has acted in numerous TV shows, most memorably as himself in the show Square Pegs, working as a drummer for Johnny Slash's band Open 24 Hours, and in an episode of Beverly Hills 90210 in 1992, in Series 2, Episode 23, where he plays Ben, Dylan's sponsor.

He also produced and co-scored the feature film, Window of Opportunity, a dark comedy about corporate greed written and directed by Samuel Warren Joseph. His other film credits include Get Crazy with Malcolm McDowell, Dudes directed by Penelope Spheeris, and The Doors directed by Oliver Stone. In the Stone film, he appeared as the recording engineer to Morrison’s solo sessions, which would eventually become An American Prayer, while his younger self was portrayed by actor Kevin Dillon, who also worked with Stone on Platoon (1986).

Densmore wrote his best-selling autobiography, Riders on the Storm (1990), about his life and the time he spent with Morrison and the Doors. In the first chapter Densmore describes the solemn day on which he and the band finally visited Morrison's grave around three years after Morrison's death.

Densmore's other books include The Seekers (2020), in which he discusses notable people in his life who have made a great impact on him and others.

Densmore appears alongside Krieger and Manzarek in 2012's RE:GENERATION, a documentary directed by Amir Bar-Lev. It features Densmore collaborating on a new song with Skrillex entitled "Breakn' A Sweat".

Stand against commercialization
Densmore, Manzarek and Krieger, after Jim Morrison's death, allowed "Riders on the Storm" to be used to sell Pirelli Tyres, but in the United Kingdom only. Densmore later stated that he "heard Jim's voice" in his ears and ended up donating his share of the money earned to charity. In 2003, Densmore vetoed an offer by Cadillac of $15 million for "Break On Through (To the Other Side)" citing Morrison's historic and vehement opposition to licensing the Doors' music, notably their best-selling single "Light My Fire" for a Buick television commercial, as well as Densmore's strong negative views on the subject of commercially licensing Doors songs and recordings. Densmore also objected to Manzarek and Krieger touring using the name "Doors of the 21st Century."

In a subsequent court case, in which Densmore was joined by the Morrison estate, opposing lawyers attempted to portray Densmore as un-American, a communist and an eco-terrorist. Notable musicians who testified in support of Densmore included Bonnie Raitt, Randy Newman, Neil Young, Tom Petty, Eddie Vedder, and Tom Waits. Former drummer for the Police, Stewart Copeland, who had performed with Krieger and Manzarek in 2002 and 2003, also testified in Densmore's and the Morrison estate's behalf.

In 2013, Densmore released The Doors Unhinged, a book covering his lengthy but victorious legal battle with Krieger and Manzarek over their use of the Doors' name and logo in their touring and Densmore's veto of the Cadillac commercial offer. Manzarek and Densmore reconciled shortly before Manzarek's death in 2013. Densmore and Krieger have occasionally appeared together on stage again.

Honors
As a member of the Doors, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. Along with his 1993 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Densmore, as a member of the Doors, was recognized in 2007 with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Also in 2007, Densmore and his band mates were awarded a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame webpage on the Doors observes that "As a drummer, Densmore had a creative, dynamic flair that lent itself to the Doors' surreal, kaleidoscopic music."

He and the Doors have been saluted twice by the City of Los Angeles, which in 2017 issued a proclamation at a public gathering in Venice Beach observing January 4 as the 'Day of the Doors' in honor of the 50th anniversary of the group's self-titled album release on that date in 1967. At the event, Los Angeles Councilmember Mike Bonin introduced Densmore and Krieger who ceremonially lit a Doors logo beneath the famed 'Venice' letters. A year later, on January 4, 2018, Densmore accepted a second proclamation from Los Angeles Council member Paul Koretz at the junction of Densmore Avenue and Morrison Street in Encino, Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley in which honorary street signs were unveiled.

Personal life
Densmore has married four times. He married his first wife Julia Brose in 1970 with Robby and Lynn Krieger as best man and bridesmaid. They separated in 1972. A few years after their divorce he married Debbie Fife but they divorced a few years later. He then married actress Leslie Neale in 1990 and they had one daughter together. They subsequently separated in 2006 due to irreconcilable differences and divorced. Since 2012 he has been in a relationship with Ildiko Von Somogyi, whom he married in 2020.

title: John Densmore


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René Harris

René Reynaldo Harris (11 November 1947 – 5 July 2008) was President of the Republic of Nauru four times between 1999 and 2004. He was a Member of Parliament from 1977 to 2008.

Background and early career
Rene Reynaldo Harris was born on 11 November 1947 in Aiwo, Nauru. He was a member of the Emea tribe.

He obtained his secondary education from Geelong College in Victoria, Australia. Prior to his election to parliament, Harris worked for the Nauru Phosphate Corporation (NPC) and was the Manager of the Nauru Pacific Line.

He was first elected as an MP for Aiwo in 1977 as a replacement for Samuel Tsitsi. His first term lasted only seven days as he had to resign following a court conviction for assault. However, he won the resultant by-election with a convincing majority. Harris was elected Deputy Speaker of the Parliament in 1978. He resigned his seat in 1981, but was re-elected in the subsequent by-election five days later. and Speaker of the Parliament in December 1986. In 1992 he was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of the NPC.

In 1998, Harris was convicted of assault and jail-breaking by forcibly freeing three of his relatives from the Nauru Police lock-up with the help of two accomplices. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation television program "Foreign Correspondent" also claimed that as Chairman of the NPC, Harris spent more than A$231,000 on luxury items, holidays and a property in Melbourne. Harris maintained a luxury penthouse suite on the 51st floor of Nauru House in Melbourne.

Presidential terms of office
Harris first became president on 27 April 1999 and remained in that post until 20 April 2000 when he was replaced by Bernard Dowiyogo, who retained that office until Harris resumed the presidency on 29 March 2001 following a vote of no-confidence in Dowiyogo. The situation assumed farcical proportions in January 2003, when both men held the office twice. Dowiyogo eventually retained the presidency, although his death in March 2003 prompted another round of uncertainty. Harris was finally reelected President on 15 August 2003.

Harris was quoted as saying he was re-elected by the nation's parliament because the MPs "didn't see the light" with his predecessor, Ludwig Scotty. Harris broke the Nauruan government's deadlock when he was able to pass legislation through parliament in 2003.

His government was responsible for the housing of Australian asylum seekers on the island and also Nauru's admission to the United Nations and full membership in the Commonwealth of Nations. Mr. Harris was criticized by the Nauruan opposition party (Naoero Amo) and the international community for corruption and violations of human rights.

Harris received monthly kidney dialysis treatment for his diabetes in Melbourne. His health was a major concern for at least the last 5 years of his life because diabetes ended the life of one of his political opponents, Bernard Dowiyogo, at the age of 57 in early 2003. In December 2003, Harris collapsed in Nauru's parliament building and was revived by Dr. Kieren Keke.

On 22 June 2004, due to a political defection, he was ousted as president, and Ludwig Scotty succeeded him.

Post-Presidency and controversies
In parliamentary elections later in 2004, Scotty's supporters won a majority of the seats and Harris made no further attempts to be reelected president. In the parliamentary election held on 25 August 2007, Harris was the only opposition member of parliament to be re-elected; Scotty's supporters won an even larger victory and it was believed that Harris might have no political supporters in Parliament.

After Nauru's main police station was burned on 7 March 2008 by protesters in Harris' Aiwo constituency who were upset by phosphate dust, the government accused Harris of instigating the protesters.

Harris's periods as President of Nauru were sometimes owing to his alliance with the influential Kinza Clodumar, himself a former president, but also exercising considerable negotiating weight in the Parliament of Nauru.

April 2008 election and loss of parliamentary seat
In the parliamentary election held on 26 April 2008, Harris stood again but lost his seat; supporters of President Marcus Stephen won a majority. After 31 years in Parliament, this was the first time he lost his seat.

Death
Harris suffered a heart attack on 4 July 2008 and died in Denigomodu as a result on the morning of 5 July. A state funeral was held for him later on the same day. He was aged 60 at the time of his death, and although relatively young, his political generation had been to some extent superseded by a government ministerial team about 20 years younger than him.

title: René Harris


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Edward Dmytryk

Edward Dmytryk (September 4, 1908 – July 1, 1999) was a Canadian-born American film director and editor. He was known for his 1940s noir films and received an Oscar nomination for Best Director for Crossfire (1947). In 1947, he was named as one of the Hollywood Ten, a group of blacklisted film industry professionals who refused to testify to the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in their investigations during the McCarthy-era Red Scare. They all served time in prison for contempt of Congress. In 1951, however, Dmytryk testified to the HUAC and named individuals, including Arnold Manoff, whose careers were then destroyed for many years, to rehabilitate his own career. First hired again by independent producer Stanley Kramer in 1952, Dmytryk is likely best known for directing The Caine Mutiny (1954), a critical and commercial success. The second-highest-grossing film of the year, it was nominated for Best Picture and several other awards at the 1955 Oscars. Dmytryk was nominated for a Directors Guild Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures.

Background
Dmytryk was born on September 4, 1908, in Grand Forks, British Columbia, Canada. His Ukrainian immigrant parents were Frances (Berezowski) and Michael Dmytryk, a severe disciplinarian who bounced among jobs as truck driver, smelter worker, and motorman. The family moved to San Francisco, California, and then to Los Angeles. After his mother died, his father remarried.

Career
Dmytryk worked as a messenger at Famous Players–Lasky (forerunner of Paramount Pictures) for $6 per week while attending Hollywood High School. He progressed to projectionist, film editor, and by age 31, a director and a naturalized citizen of the United States.

1930–1940s
Dmytryk worked in the editing department on films such as The Dance of Life (1929), Only Saps Work (1930), The Royal Family of Broadway (1930), Make Me a Star (1932), The Phantom President (1932), and If I Had a Million (1932). He helped edit two Leo McCarey movies: Duck Soup (1933) and Six of a Kind (1934). He edited College Rhythm (1934), followed by Leo McCarey's Ruggles of Red Gap (1935).

Dmytryk made his directorial debut with The Hawk (1935), a low-budget, independent Western. He returned to editing duties at Paramount, but was assigned to B films:Too Many Parents (1936), Three Cheers for Love (1936), Three Married Men (1936), Easy to Take (1936), Murder Goes to College (1937), Turn Off the Moon (1937), Double or Nothing (1937) with Bing Crosby, and That Navy Spirit (1937). Dmytryk also edited Bulldog Drummond's Peril (1938) and Prison Farm (1938). He moved his way to A movies with Zaza (1938), directed by George Cukor. McCarey asked him over to RKO to edit Love Affair (1939). He returned to Paramount to edit the Bob Hope comedy Some Like It Hot (1939).

Dmytryk did some uncredited directing on Million Dollar Legs (1939) with Betty Grable. This encouraged Paramount to allow him to direct Television Spy (1939). He followed it with Emergency Squad (1940), Golden Gloves (1940), and Mystery Sea Raider (1940) with Carole Landis.

Dmytryk went to Monogram Pictures to direct the musical Her First Romance (1940).

He went over to Columbia to direct for its B picture unit: The Devil Commands (1941) with Boris Karloff, Under Age (1941), Broadway Ahead (1941), Hot Pearls (1941), Secrets of the Lone Wolf (1941), Confessions of Boston Blackie (1941), and Counter-Espionage (1942), a "Lone Wolf" movie.

Dmytryk signed a contract to RKO, where he continued to direct B movies, starting with Seven Miles from Alcatraz (1942). However, he then made Hitler's Children (1943), which turned out to be a massive "sleeper" hit, earning over $3 million.

The one-time success did not immediately change his career, and he remained in B movies such as The Falcon Strikes Back (1943), and then went to Universal for Captive Wild Woman (1943). Back at RKO, he directed Behind the Rising Sun (1943), a Hitler's Children-style thriller about the Japanese. It was another box-office sensation, and Dmytryk was promoted to A films.

Dmytryk directed Ginger Rogers, RKO's biggest star, in the melodrama Tender Comrade (1943), which was a huge hit. He followed it with the popular film noir Murder, My Sweet (1944), adapted from Raymond Chandler's novel Farewell, My Lovely by John Paxton and produced by Adrian Scott; the star was Dick Powell, whose performance as Philip Marlowe completely revitalized Powell's career. Dymtryk did Back to Bataan (1945), a war film starring John Wayne, then he was reunited with Powell, Paxton, and Scott for another film noir, Cornered (1945). He did Till the End of Time (1946), a drama about soldiers coming back from the war, which was a big hit, and went to England to make So Well Remembered (1947) with Paxton and Scott.

Dmytryk, Scott, and Paxton then collaborated on the hugely successful thriller Crossfire (1947), for which Dmytryk received a Best Director Oscar nomination. The success of his pictures and recognition from his peers established him as RKO's leading director.

Hollywood Ten
Dmytryk was among those called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1947. Dmytryk briefly had been a Communist Party member in 1944 and 1945. He was persuaded by his former party associates to join nine other Hollywood figures in a public refusal to testify. The Hollywood Ten were cited for contempt of Congress and sentenced to prison terms. Dmytryk was fired from RKO.

Dmytryk fled to England and unofficially was ostracized by the American film industry and his former friends in it. In England, he made two films for producer Nat Bronstein: a thriller Obsession (1949), and Give Us This Day (1949), a neo-realistic movie sympathetic to the working man, based on the novel Christ in Concrete. The latter movie, which was successful in Europe, was released as Christ in Concrete in the United States and quickly suppressed. When his U.S. passport expired, Dmytryk returned to the United States, where he was arrested and imprisoned. He served four months and 17 days in Millspoint Prison, West Virginia.

On April 25, 1951, Dmytryk appeared before HUAC for the second time and answered all questions. He spoke of his own brief party membership in 1945 and named party members, including seven film directors: Arnold Manoff, Frank Tuttle, Herbert Biberman, Jack Berry, Bernard Vorhaus, Jules Dassin, and Michael Gordon, and 15 others. He said that he was prompted to change his mind by the Alger Hiss case, the discovery of spies in the U.S. and Canada, and the invasion of South Korea. He said that John Howard Lawson, Adrian Scott, Albert Maltz, and others had pressured him to include communist elements in his films. His testimony damaged several court cases that others of the "Ten" had filed.

He recounted his experiences of the period in his 1996 book, Odd Man Out: A Memoir of the Hollywood Ten (see bibliography).

1950s–1980s

Dmytryk's first film after his testimony was Mutiny (1952) from the King Brothers. Independent American producer Stanley Kramer then hired Dmytryk to direct a trio of low-budget films for Kramer's company, which were released through Columbia: The Sniper (1952), Eight Iron Men (1952) and The Juggler (1953) with Kirk Douglas. In between, he directed Three Lives (1953), a short film for the United Jewish Appeal.

Kramer then selected Dmytryk to direct Humphrey Bogart and Van Johnson in Columbia's The Caine Mutiny (1954), a World War II naval drama adapted from Herman Wouk's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. It proved to be a great critical and commercial success, ranking second among high-grossing films of the year, and in 1955, received Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Actor.

Dmytryk went over to 20th Century Fox, where he directed Spencer Tracy and Robert Wagner in Broken Lance (1954). He went to England to do The End of the Affair (1955) with Deborah Kerr and Van Johnson for Columbia, then returned to Fox to make Soldier of Fortune (1955) with Clark Gable, The Left Hand of God (1955) with Bogart, and The Mountain (1956) with Tracy and Wagner. Dmytryk produced the latter.

He went to MGM, then under his old RKO boss Dore Schary, to make Raintree County (1957) with Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor. At Fox, he did The Young Lions (1958), a popular war film with Clift and Marlon Brando, then the Western Warlock (1959) (which he produced), and a flop remake of The Blue Angel (1959).

Dmytryk made Walk on the Wild Side (1962) for producer Charles Feldman. He produced and directed The Reluctant Saint (1962). He had a huge hit with The Carpetbaggers (1964) from the novel by Harold Robbins for producer Joseph E. Levine. He was given Where Love Has Gone (1964), another Robbins adaptation by Levine. This was followed by the Gregory Peck thriller Mirage (1965), the William Holden Western Alvarez Kelly (1966), a war film Anzio, (1968) and Shalako (1968), a Western with Sean Connery and Brigitte Bardot.

Dmytryk wrote and directed Bluebeard (1972) with Richard Burton. He did the little-seen He Is My Brother (1975) and The 'Human' Factor (1975). His last film was Not Only Strangers (1979).

In the 1980s, Dmytryk entered academic life. He taught about film and directing at the University of Texas at Austin and at the University of Southern California film school. He wrote several books on the art of film-making (such as On Film Editing and On Screenwriting). He also appeared on the lecture circuit, speaking at various colleges and theaters, such as the Orson Welles Cinema.

Personal life and death
Dmytryk married his second wife, actress Jean Porter, on May 12, 1948. He died at age 90 on July 1, 1999, in Encino, California, from heart and kidney failure. He was the penultimate survivor of the Hollywood Ten. The tenth, Ring Lardner, Jr., died on October 31, 2000. Dmytryk was buried at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park, in Hollywood.

Legacy and honors

 * 1948: Best Director (Oscar nomination) for Crossfire
 * 1955: Best Picture (Oscars nomination) for The Caine Mutiny
 * 1955: Directors Guild Award (nomination) for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures

Filmography
This filmography lists all the feature films directed by Dmytryk and may be complete:

 * The Hawk (1935)
 * Million Dollar Legs (uncredited; 1939)
 * Television Spy (1939)
 * Emergency Squad (1940)
 * Golden Gloves (1940)
 * Mystery Sea Raider (1940)
 * Her First Romance (1940)
 * The Devil Commands (1941)
 * Under Age (1941)
 * Sweetheart of the Campus (1941)
 * The Blonde from Singapore (1941)
 * Secrets of the Lone Wolf (1941)
 * Confessions of Boston Blackie (1941)
 * Counter-Espionage (1942)
 * Seven Miles from Alcatraz (1942)
 * Hitler's Children (1943)
 * The Falcon Strikes Back (1943)
 * Captive Wild Woman (1943)
 * Behind the Rising Sun (1943)
 * Tender Comrade (1943)
 * Murder, My Sweet (1944)
 * Back to Bataan (1945)
 * Cornered (1945)
 * Till the End of Time (1946)
 * So Well Remembered (1947)
 * Crossfire (1947)
 * Obsession (1949)
 * Give Us This Day (1949)
 * Mutiny (1952)
 * The Sniper (1952)
 * Eight Iron Men (1952)
 * The Juggler (1953)
 * The Caine Mutiny (1954)
 * Broken Lance (1954)
 * The End of the Affair (1954)
 * Soldier of Fortune (1955)
 * The Left Hand of God (1955)
 * The Mountain (1956)
 * Raintree County (1957)
 * The Young Lions (1958)
 * Warlock (1959)
 * The Blue Angel (1959)
 * Walk on the Wild Side (1962)
 * The Reluctant Saint (1962)
 * The Carpetbaggers (1964)
 * Where Love Has Gone (1964)
 * Mirage (1965)
 * Alvarez Kelly (1966)
 * Anzio (1968)
 * Shalako (1968)
 * Bluebeard (1972)
 * He Is My Brother (1975)
 * The "Human" Factor (1975)

title: Edward Dmytryk


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Morrison Hotel

Morrison Hotel is the fifth studio album by American rock band the Doors, released on February 9, 1970, by Elektra Records. After the use of brass and string arrangements recommended by producer Paul A. Rothchild on their previous album, The Soft Parade (1969), the Doors returned to their blues rock style and this album was largely seen as a return to form for the band. The group entered Elektra Sound Recorders in Los Angeles in November 1969 to record the album which is divided into two separately titled sides, namely: "Hard Rock Café" and "Morrison Hotel". Blues rock guitar pioneer Lonnie Mack and Ray Neapolitan also contributed to the album as session bassists.

The album reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200, and performed better overseas than the preceding album (it was the group's highest-charting studio album in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at No. 12). The accompanying "You Make Me Real" / "Roadhouse Blues" single peaked at No. 50 in May 1970 on the Billboard 100 chart. The cover photo was taken by Henry Diltz.

Background
On March 1, 1969, Jim Morrison performed while intoxicated at the Dinner Key Auditorium in Coconut Grove, Florida, in front of a crowd of nearly 12,000; he was charged for his performance and behavior with indecent exposure, on April 4. The incident negatively reflected on the band's publicity, sparking a "March for Decency" at the Miami Orange Bowl.

Consequently, twenty-five dates on the band's next tour were cancelled, and their records were blacklisted from radio airplay, resulting in the band abandoning the rest of their potential tour, costing what John Densmore characterized as "a million dollars in gigs." Nevertheless, the band gradually regained momentum by playing concerts throughout the rest of the year, including the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival; they played alongside John Lennon, among others, who later said, "supposedly the Doors were top of the bill." In July, the Doors released their fourth album, The Soft Parade, a heavily orchestrated affair that augmented the band's sound with horns and strings. Around early 1969, Morrison traded in his stage leathers for more conventional attire, grew a beard and gained weight as he attempted to live down his "Lizard King" image; however, his worsening alcoholism often undermined his efforts.

In November, a drunken Morrison caused such a disturbance on a flight to Phoenix, Arizona, to see a Rolling Stones concert that he was charged with a new skyjacking law that carried up to a $10,000 fine and a ten-year prison sentence.

Recording and composition
Morrison Hotel's back-to-basics approach largely stemmed from the group's dismay over the protracted sessions for The Soft Parade, which took nine months to record and cost $86,000 (equal to $0 today), far more expensive than any previous Doors record. The band had also been stung by the critical reception to the record. On Morrison Hotel, there is a slight steer toward blues, which would be fully explored by the band on their next album L.A. Woman. Morrison Hotel was recorded between November 1969 and January 1970, with the exception of "Indian Summer", which was recorded on August 19, 1966 for The Doors, while "Waiting for the Sun" actually originated during the sessions for the band's third album.

Although Morrison Hotel contains no major hit singles, it features some of the band's most popular songs, including "Roadhouse Blues" and "Peace Frog", which would go on to become staples of classic rock radio. "Roadhouse Blues" took two days to record (November 4–5, 1969) with Paul Rothchild striving for perfection. Several takes from these sessions were included on the 2006 remastered album, with Morrison repeating the phrase "Money beats soul" over and over again. The sessions only took off on the second day, when distinguished blues guitarist Lonnie Mack (also signed to Elektra Records) joined in on bass and former Lovin' Spoonful bandleader John Sebastian (appearing under the pseudonym G. Puglese due to the constraint of his Reprise Records recording contract) joined in on harmonica. Over the course of the session, keyboardist Ray Manzarek switched from his Wurlitzer electric piano to a tack piano.

The hook of "Peace Frog" is a distorted G5 chord played three times by Krieger, followed by a brief percussive wah-wah effect. Morrison, who took the words from a notebook entitled Abortion Stories, begins nearly every line with the word "blood", often referring to "Blood in the streets", which is perhaps "addressing the civic unrest then gripping the nation". A brief musical interlude is next, followed by a guitar solo, and a spoken word verse ("Indians scattered on dawn's highway bleeding / Ghosts crowd the young child's fragile eggshell mind"). The song ends with a final chord as it segues into the next track, "Blue Sunday".

"The Spy" and "Queen of the Highway" celebrate Morrison's intense but troubled relationship with longtime girlfriend Pamela Courson. Originally "The Spy" was called "Spy in the House of Love", as shown on the Master Reel Control File, a line borrowed from A Spy in the House of Love, a novel by Anaïs Nin published in 1954. Both songs are tinged with ambivalence; on "The Spy," Morrison cautions, "I know your deepest, secret fears", while on "Queen of the Highway" he sardonically concludes, "I hope it can continue a little while longer". According to the 1980 Doors biography No One Here Gets Out Alive, it was during the Morrison Hotel sessions that Morrison and Courson had a violent argument after she drank his bottle of liquor so he could not drink it, with engineer Bruce Botnick recalling: "So here were the two of them, completely out of their minds and crying. He started shaking her violently. I think he was putting me on. She was crying out of control, telling him he shouldn't drink anymore and that's why she drank it. And I'm cleaning up and I said, 'Hey man, it's pretty late.' He looked up, stopped shaking her, said, 'Yeah, right', hugged her and they walked out arm in arm... he'd always give you a funny look afterward, to see your reaction."

Album cover
The cover photo was taken by Henry Diltz at the Morrison Hotel on South Hope Street in Downtown Los Angeles. The band were not given permission to photograph, so they did it while the clerk was called away from the desk. The band jumped right behind the windows and hit their places without shuffling as Diltz took the shot. The rear cover features a photograph of the Hard Rock Café at nearby 300 East 5th Street. The building is now home to a convenience store. It has been vacant for years. However, a new development plan to restore the building was announced in 2018, which happened for the annual "Day of the Doors" fan event in 2019. In early 1983, thirteen years after the album's release, parts of Michael Jackson's music video for the song "Beat It" were filmed inside the former Hard Rock Café on 5th Street.

Initial release
Upon its release, Morrison Hotel was seen by many as a comeback for the Doors following the mixed critical reception of The Soft Parade. Although the accompanying "You Make Me Real" / "Roadhouse Blues" single only peaked at No. 50 in May 1970 despite strong FM radio play of the latter song, the album was immediately certified gold by RIAA in February 1970 (the band's fifth consecutive big album certification) before reaching No. 4 on the Billboard album chart in March during a 27-week stay. Additionally, it became the band's highest-charting studio album in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at No. 12.

Dave Marsh, the editor of Creem magazine, called the album "the most horrifying rock and roll I have ever heard. When they're good, they're simply unbeatable. I know this is the best record I've listened to... so far", while Rock Magazine called it "without any doubt their ballsiest (and best) album to date". Circus praised it as "possibly the best album yet from the Doors" and "good, hard, evil rock... and one of the best albums released this decade". Bruce Harris of Jazz & Pop lauded it as "one of the major musical events of Rock '70". On the other hand, Rolling Stone critic Lester Bangs was mixed, who praised some of the tracks, especially the "powerful blast of raw funk" opener "Roadhouse Blues" and "the buoyant catchiness" of "Land Ho!", but found the remainder of the album to be uneven and unsatisfying.

During this period, the de facto blacklisting continued to persist in more socially conservative markets, particularly the Deep South; consequently, the band's 1970 American tour itinerary was largely confined to the Northeast, West Coast and more progressive Midwestern cities amid ongoing (albeit more sporadic) cancellations, including planned concerts in Salt Lake City and at the Jesuit-operated Fairfield University.

Retrospective reviews
In his 1981 retrospective review, Robert Christgau rated Morrison Hotel "B+" on an A+ to F scale. He expressed his preference of the A side (Hard Rock Café) over the B side (Morrison Hotel), both lyrically and musically. He noted that the "band is rocking tighter than it ever has, Robbie Krieger's phrasing keeps things moving, and Morrison's gliding vocal presence–arty and self-absorbed though it may be–provides focus." The Rolling Stone Album Guide gave a perfect rating of five stars out of five, and considered it to be the Doors' "most cohesive record," adding that aside "from the throwaway grunter", "Maggie M'Gill", all the other songs were "masterful—and the band swings tougher and easier than they ever had before."

In more recent reviews, Thom Jurek of AllMusic expressed that the Doors employed blues and R&B "to some degree on all of their albums, but never as consistently, adeptly, or provocatively as they did on Morrison Hotel, with absolutely stunning results." Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine gave the record three stars out of five; he praised Morrison's vocals as "cleaner and clearer" than before, and hailed particularly "Peace Frog" as one of the greatest songs in the Doors catalogue. Morrison Hotel holds currently a 78/100 approval rating based on 5 critic reviews on Metacritic.

Original album
Details are taken from the 1970 Elektra Records album and may differ from other sources.

Personnel
Details are taken from the 2007 Rhino Records CD 40th Anniversary Edition liner notes with Bruce Botnick's and David Fricke's accompanying essays, which may differ from other sources.

The Doors
 * Jim Morrison – vocals
 * Ray Manzarek – piano, organ, tack piano on "Roadhouse Blues" and "You Make Me Real", guitar on "Maggie M'Gill"
 * Robby Krieger – guitar
 * John Densmore – drums; with brushes on "The Spy"

Additional musicians
 * Ray Neopolitan – bass guitar
 * Lonnie Mack – bass guitar on "Roadhouse Blues" and "Maggie M'Gill"
 * John Sebastian (credited as "G. Puglese") – harmonica on "Roadhouse Blues"
 * Paul Beaver – Moog synthesizer programming on "Waiting for the Sun"

Technical
 * Paul A. Rothchild – production
 * Bruce Botnick – engineering
 * Gary Burden – art direction, sleeve design
 * Henry Diltz – sleeve photography

title: Morrison Hotel