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St. Vincent (musician)

Anne Erin Clark (born September 28, 1982), known professionally as St. Vincent, is an American musician and singer. Her guitar playing has been praised for its melodic style and use of distortion, and she has been listed among the best guitarists of the 21st century by multiple publications. Rolling Stone named Clark the 26th-greatest guitarist of all time in 2023.

Raised in Dallas, St. Vincent began her music career as a member of the Polyphonic Spree. She was also a member of Sufjan Stevens' touring band before forming her own band in 2006. Her debut solo album, Marry Me, was released in 2007; it was followed by Actor (2009) and Strange Mercy (2011). In 2012, St. Vincent released Love This Giant, an album made in collaboration with David Byrne of Talking Heads. Her fourth studio album, St. Vincent (2014), received widespread acclaim from contemporary critics and was named album of the year by Slant Magazine, NME, The Guardian and Entertainment Weekly. She collaborated with producer and songwriter Jack Antonoff for her albums Masseduction (2017) and Daddy's Home (2021) and self-produced her seventh album All Born Screaming (2024).

St. Vincent produced Sleater-Kinney's 2019 album The Center Won't Hold and co-wrote Taylor Swift's Billboard Hot 100 number-one single "Cruel Summer". She also directed a segment in the 2017 anthology horror film XX, and co-wrote and starred in the psychological thriller film The Nowhere Inn (2020).

Early life
Clark was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on September 28, 1982, to Sharon Christine and Richard "Rick" Clark. Her mother is a social worker and administrator for a nonprofit organization, and her stepfather works in corporate tax administration. Her parents divorced when she was 3, and when she was 7, she moved with her mother and two older sisters to Dallas, Texas. She has said that a 23andMe DNA test revealed her ancestry to be 80% Irish and 20% Ashkenazi Jewish, via one of her grandmothers. Clark was raised Catholic and Unitarian Universalist.

Clark has four brothers and four sisters from her parents' blended families.

As a child, Clark was fond of Ritchie Valens and the movie La Bamba. When she was five, her mother gave her a red plastic guitar from a Target store for Christmas. She began playing her first real guitar at age 12 and worked some of her teenage years as a roadie for her aunt and uncle, the guitar-vocal jazz duo Tuck & Patti. In 2001, she graduated from Lake Highlands High School, where she participated in theater and the school's jazz band, and was a classmate of actor Mark Salling.

She attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, studying with professor Lauren Passarelli. She left after three years, feeling that art institutions such as Berklee were sometimes focused more on the aesthetics of art than the product. In retrospect, she said, "I think that with music school and art school, or school in any form, there has to be some system of grading and measurement. The things they can teach you are quantifiable. While all that is good and has its place, at some point you have to learn all you can and then forget everything that you learned in order to actually start making music."

2003–2007: Career beginnings and Marry Me
In 2003, Clark released an EP with fellow Berklee students entitled Ratsliveonnoevilstar. She also worked with Heavy Rotation Records, where "she revealed a much more private and intimate rendering of 'Count' for Dorm Sessions Vol. 1" and studied with professor of guitar Lauren Passarelli. Shortly after leaving Berklee, she returned home to Texas, where she joined the Polyphonic Spree just before they embarked on a European tour. In 2004, she joined Glenn Branca's 100-guitar orchestra for the Queens performance, and she was also briefly in a noise rock band called the Skull Fuckers. Clark left the Polyphonic Spree and joined Sufjan Stevens' touring band in 2006. During this period, she recorded and released an EP titled Paris Is Burning (2006).

In 2006, she began recording a studio album under the stage name St. Vincent. In an interview on The Colbert Report, she said that she "took [her] moniker from a line in a Nick Cave song" that referred to the hospital where Dylan Thomas died: "And Dylan Thomas died drunk in / St. Vincent's hospital" (from Cave's song "There She Goes, My Beautiful World", from the 2004 album Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus). The name is also a reference to her great-grandmother, whose middle name was St. Vincent. Clark released her debut album, Marry Me, on July 10, 2007, on Beggars Banquet Records. Named after a line from the television sitcom Arrested Development, it features appearances from drummer Brian Teasley (Man or Astro-man?, the Polyphonic Spree), Mike Garson (David Bowie's longtime pianist), and horn player Louis Schwadron (the Polyphonic Spree).

The album was well received by critics, who compared Clark to the likes of Kate Bush and David Bowie and lauded the album for its arrangements, themes and style. In their review, The A.V. Club said: "There's a point where too much happiness turns into madness, and St. Vincent's multi-instrumentalist Annie Clark knows this place well". Pitchfork said, "At every turn Marry Me takes the more challenging route of twisting already twisted structures and unusual instrumentation to make them sound perfectly natural and, most importantly, easy to listen to as she overdubs her thrillingly sui generis vision into vibrant life." The songs on Marry Me were written largely when Clark was 18 and 19, and, she says, "represented a more idealized version of what life was or what love was or anything in the eyes of someone who hadn't really experienced anything." The album yielded one single, "Paris Is Burning", and a music video was produced for "Jesus Saves, I Spend".

2008–2010: Actor and soundtracks
In 2008, Clark was nominated for three PLUG Independent Music Awards: New Artist of the Year, Female Artist of the Year, and Music Video of the Year. On March 6, 2008, she won the PLUG Female Artist of the Year award. After returning to New York from a lengthy tour, Clark began working on her second album. Her inspiration reportedly came from several films, including Disney movies: "Well, the truth is that I had come back from a pretty long — you know, about a year-and-a-half of touring, and so my brain was sort of all circuit boards that were a little bit fried", Clark said. "So I started watching films as sort of a way to get back into being human. And then it started to just really inform the entire record." Clark, who did not have a studio at the time, began writing the album in her apartment on her computer using GarageBand and MIDI, because she had gotten noise complaints from neighbors. The songs were inspired largely by scenes from various children's films. Clark said she imagined soundtracks for certain scenes in films when writing the music and lyrics, including scenes in Snow White (1937) and The Wizard of Oz (1939).

Her second album, Actor, was released by 4AD Records on May 5, 2009. It was also well received and gained more commercial attention than its predecessor. Spin gave the album eight out of ten stars, noting its "[juxtaposition of] the cruel and the kind, and here, the baroque arrangements are even more complex and her voice even prettier, with both only underlining the dark currents running through her songs". Entertainment Weekly said the album "plays up the contrasts, [with Clark] letting her church-choir voice linger on lyrics that hint darkly at themes of violence, sex, and general chaos", and branded it "a uniquely potent cocktail of sounds and moods". Actor charted well for an independent release, peaking at No. 9 on Billboard's Independent Albums chart, No. 5 on the Tastemaker Albums chart, and No. 90 on the Billboard 200. Although it spawned no singles (except in the UK, where "Actor Out of Work" was issued as a 7" vinyl single), music videos for "Marrow" and "Actor Out of Work" were released, and aired on several music channels. A promotional music video for "Laughing with a Mouth of Blood", featuring Portlandia's Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein (then of ThunderAnt), was also filmed.

Two soundtracks for The Twilight Saga have featured Clark's songs. "Rosyln", in collaboration with indie folk band Bon Iver, appeared on the 2009 soundtrack of New Moon; and "The Antidote" was written for and appeared on 2012's Breaking Dawn – Part 2. In November 2010, Clark appeared with American rappers Kid Cudi and Cage on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. They performed "Maniac" from Cudi's Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager, which prominently samples "The Strangers", the opening song on Actor.

2011–2012: Strange Mercy and collaborations
Clark spent much of her time in Seattle writing her third album, Strange Mercy, in October 2010. In an interview with Julie Klausner for Spin magazine, she recalled: "[Death Cab for Cutie drummer] Jason McGerr had an office that was closing. He offered me the space for a month, for all of October. I was alone. I stayed at the Ace Hotel downtown, in one of the rooms with a shared bathroom. I would just get up in the morning and caffeinate, and run, and go to the studio for 12 hours, come back, eat dinner alone with a book, have a glass of wine, and go to bed. And do it all over again." On January 12, 2011, Clark announced via Twitter that she was working on Strange Mercy, a follow-up to Actor. In early March 2011, producer John Congleton, who also worked with Clark on Actor, said that he and Clark were nearly a third of the way through recording it.

On July 4, Clark stated via Twitter that if enough followers tweeted the hashtag "#strangemercy", she would release a track from the album. On July 22, after the threshold was met, she released "Surgeon" for download and streaming on her official website. In August 2011, Clark was interviewed and featured on the cover of Spin magazine. On August 24, 2011, a music video was released for the song "Cruel", and on September 5, the entire album was put up for streaming on NPR Music. On August 25, 2011, she debuted Strange Mercy in the Temple of Dendur room at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, introducing Toko Yasuda (ex-Enon), Matt Johnson, and Daniel Mintseris as members of her live band. The album was released September 13, 2011.

Strange Mercy received widespread acclaim from music critics. It achieved an overall rating of 8.1/10 at AnyDecentMusic? based on 36 reviews. It was St. Vincent's highest-charting album yet, peaking at No. 19 on the US Billboard 200. Clark stated, "I don't think it's the best record I'll ever make, but I think it's a good record." She began touring the US and Europe in support of the record in the fall of 2011 and continued a worldwide tour throughout 2012.

In 2011, Clark composed "Proven Badlands", an instrumental piece based on "The Sequel" from her sophomore release Actor, for ensemble Music's album Beautiful Mechanical. In 2012, Clark was featured on Andrew Bird's album Break It Yourself singing on "Lusitania". On June 14, 2012, "Who", the first single from her collaboration with David Byrne, formerly of Talking Heads, was released. The single came from their album Love This Giant, which was released September 11, 2012. On September 18, 2012, Clark participated in the "30 Songs / 30 Days" campaign to support Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, a multiplatform project inspired by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's bestselling book. Clark also provided guest vocals for the song "What's the Use of Won'drin'" on the album Who Killed Amanda Palmer from Amanda Palmer, formerly of the Dresden Dolls.

2013–2015: St. Vincent
On May 28, 2013, David Byrne and St. Vincent released Brass Tactics, which includes a previously unreleased Love This Giant bonus track, two remixes, and two live tracks. In November 2013, Clark received the Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award for Performing Arts and signed to Loma Vista Recordings. The new label released "Birth in Reverse" the following month, the first single from Clark's fourth album, St. Vincent, The second single, "Digital Witness", was released in January 2014, and the album was released the next month to critical acclaim. A number of publications, including The Guardian, Entertainment Weekly, NME, Gigwise, and MusicOMH, ranked it as the No. 1 album of 2014, while Time put it at No. 2 and Rolling Stone ranked it No. 4. Clark received her first Grammy, as St Vincent won "Best Alternative Music Album" in February 2015.

On April 10, 2014, Clark fronted Nirvana, performing lead vocals on "Lithium" at the 29th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. She also provided vocals on the Swans' album To Be Kind. On August 12 and 13, 2014, Clark filled in for Fred Armisen, who was away filming the fifth season of Portlandia, as band leader for the 8G Band on Late Night with Seth Meyers. Clark toured the United States, Europe, Australia, and Asia throughout 2014, ending the year as the supporting act for the Black Keys. She extended her Digital Witness tour into the summer of 2015, and performed alongside the Pixies and Beck at Boston Calling Music Festival in May 2015.

A demo of "Teenage Talk", a track she had previously recorded but that was not included on her eponymous album, premiered on the HBO series Girls on March 10, 2015. The song was released as a single on April 6. On May 17, 2015, Clark performed with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for the inaugural Soluna: International Music & Arts Festival.

2016–2019: Masseduction
On April 12, 2016, it was announced that Clark would make her film directorial debut helming one of the segments of the women-directed anthology horror film XX.

In June 2017, St. Vincent released "New York", the lead single from her fifth album. The Fear the Future Tour was announced in June 2017, with dates between October 2017 and February 2018. Masseduction, Clark's fifth studio album, was released in October 2017 through Loma Vista Recordings. It was met with "universal acclaim" with an average score of 88 on Metacritic. In the US, Masseduction debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200, becoming St. Vincent's first album to peak in the top ten of the chart, selling 29,000 units in its first week.

Clark was Record Store Day's ambassador for 2017, making her its first female ambassador. In 2018, the singer embarked on the I Am a Lot Like You! Tour, a second tour promoting the album, which took her to perform at Coachella in April. One of her performances, "Slow Disco", inspired the release of a new rendition of the track titled "Fast Slow Disco" in June. She released MassEducation, an acoustic rendition of her previous album. The album was given an 80 on Metacritic and praised by Entertainment Weekly for her versatile lyrics and strong vocals. That same year, St. Vincent collaborated with the American rock band Sleater-Kinney to produce their ninth studio album, The Center Won't Hold, which was released the following year.

In 2019, St. Vincent performed at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, where she joined Dua Lipa for a medley of her own "Masseduction," the late Aretha Franklin's "Respect," and Lipa's Calvin Harris collaboration "One Kiss." The same night, "Masseduction" was awarded the Grammy for Best Rock Song. That summer, St. Vincent was credited as a co-writer on "Cruel Summer" with Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff for Swift's seventh studio album Lover (2019). In December, she released Masseduction Rewired, a collection of remixes curated by Russian techno DJ Nina Kraviz.

2020–2023: Daddy's Home
In 2020, St. Vincent was credited as a guitarist on "Texas Man" and as a co-writer on "Young Man" with the Chicks, Antonoff, and Justin Tranter for the Chicks' eighth studio album Gaslighter. In August 2020, St. Vincent collaborated with Japanese musician Yoshiki to release a classical arrangement of "New York". In October 2020, St. Vincent's online instruction class on Creativity and Songwriting was added to the MasterClass series. In late 2020, St. Vincent was featured on the track "Chalk Tablet Towers" from the first season of the Song Machine project by Gorillaz.

On December 15, 2020, St. Vincent announced she would be releasing her sixth studio album in 2021. On February 25, 2021, street posters revealed the Daddy's Home album would be released on May 14, 2021.

The album's first single "Pay Your Way in Pain" was released March 4, 2021, along with a music video.

The album's second single "The Melting of the Sun" was released April 1, 2021, alongside a lyric video. Two days later St. Vincent was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, performing both "Pay Your Way in Pain" and "The Melting of the Sun".

St. Vincent starred in the 2020 psychological thriller film The Nowhere Inn, featuring a script written by her and Carrie Brownstein, about a fictional attempt to make a documentary on St. Vincent's musical career. Additionally, she wrote the film's soundtrack, releasing on digital streaming services on September 17, 2021, and later on limited vinyl on April 23, 2022, as part of Record Store Day. She contributed a cover of the Metallica song "Sad but True" to the charity tribute album The Metallica Blacklist, released in September 2021.

On April 3, 2022, Daddy's Home won the award for Best Alternative Music Album at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards. On June 3, 2022, St. Vincent released her cover of Lipps Inc.'s "Funkytown" appearing on the soundtrack for Illumination's film Minions: The Rise of Gru. On February 13, 2023, St. Vincent joined Yoshiki on stage at Royal Albert Hall to perform an orchestral version of "New York".

2024–present: All Born Screaming
On February 29, 2024, St. Vincent released "Broken Man", the lead single from her seventh studio album All Born Screaming which was released on April 26, 2024. A second single, "Flea", was released on March 28, same day the All Born Screaming Tour was officially announced. Upon release, the album received critical acclaim, aggregating a weighted average score of 89 on Metacritic.

A profile in The New York Times after the album's release noted: "Seven albums and 17 years into an acclaimed solo career, Clark has eked out a singular space in music, occasionally intersecting with the mainstream but for the most part staying uncompromisingly countercultural," labeling tracks from the new release "some of the heaviest, darkest and weirdest St. Vincent music to date. 'That’s what I want from music right now, personally,' Clark said, safe in the shade of the California sun. 'I would like a pummeling. I want something to feel dangerous'".

Musical style and influences
Possessing a mezzo-soprano voice,  Clark's music has been noted for its wide array of instruments and complex arrangements, as well as its polysemous lyrics, which have been described as teetering between "happiness and madness". In response, Clark has said, "I like when things come out of nowhere and blindside you a little bit. I think any person who gets panic attacks or has an anxiety disorder can understand how things can all of a sudden turn very quickly. I think I'm sublimating that into the music." In addition to guitar, Clark also plays bass, piano, organ, and theremin. Her music also often features violins, cellos, flutes, trumpets, clarinets, and other instruments. Her musical style has been characterised as rock, pop, art rock and indie rock,  incorporating a wide range of influences including experimental rock, chamber pop, electropop, soft rock, and cabaret jazz.

Clark mentioned that singers such as David Bowie and Kate Bush had inspired her, as had Jimi Hendrix and Siouxsie and the Banshees. She said in a 2015 lecture she listens to a Bowie track every day, and that "It's No Game (Part One)" was her favorite. Talking Heads, Patti Smith and Pink Floyd are also influences, as well as guitarists Robert Fripp and Adrian Belew (both from King Crimson), Marc Ribot and Tool.

Clark has cited author Lorrie Moore as an inspiration for her eponymous album.

Equipment
Clark has played a 1967 Harmony Bobkat, 1960's Silvertone 1488, 1979 Hagström Super Swede, and Fender Deluxe Nashville Telecaster. In recent years, she has primarily played her signature Ernie Ball Music Man St. Vincent guitar.

Signature guitar
In March 2016, Ernie Ball announced that Clark had designed a signature Music Man guitar. Unique to the guitar was the design, which Welsh singer Cate Le Bon claimed in The Guardian as being made for women's bodies and providing pleasing aesthetic form in support of the guitar's function. However, Clark has since stated that the guitar being specifically for women was not a consideration during the design process.

It was originally released in 2016 as the St. Vincent HHH with three mini-humbuckers in a signature Vincent Blue finish, a paint color which Clark herself had personally hand-mixed and selected, as well as in Black.

In 2017, four additional colors were added to the guitar line, Polaris White, Heritage Red, Tobacco Burst, and Stealth Black. 2017 was also the last year to feature a solid rosewood neck and fingerboard, due to heavy rosewood trade restrictions under CITES, later models would primarily use a roasted maple neck with ebony fingerboard. A St. Vincent HH signature model was released in 2018 featuring two humbuckers in place of the three mini-humbuckers on the original.

In 2021, a new St. Vincent Goldie signature model was released, featuring three gold foil mini-humbucker pickups, a reverse matching finish headstock, redesigned pickguard shape in 3-ply parchment, a roasted maple neck, and stainless steel frets.

Notable users of the guitar include Jack White, who used the three pickup version during every performance of his Boarding House Reach tour in 2018, Todd Tamanend Clark, Tom Morello, J Mascis, Les Priest of LANY, Eva Hendricks of Charly Bliss, Emily Roberts of The Last Dinner Party, and Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade.

Personal life
Clark divides her time between Los Angeles, Dallas, and New York City. A 2014 Village Voice profile describes her as a private person. David Byrne, with whom she collaborated and toured, said of her: "Despite having toured with her for almost a year, I don't think I know her much better, at least not on a personal level... Mystery is not a bad thing for a beautiful, talented young woman (or man) to embrace. And she does it without seeming to be standoffish or distant."

When asked during a 2014 interview with Rolling Stone whether she identified as gay or straight, Clark responded: "I don't think about those words. I believe in gender fluidity and sexual fluidity. I don't really identify as anything. I think you can fall in love with anybody. I don't have anything to hide but I'd rather the emphasis be on music." Later that year, in an interview with the UK's Sunday Times, she elaborated: "I'm not one for gender or sexual absolutism in the main; I fully support and engage in the spectrum."

Clark was in a relationship with actress and fashion model Cara Delevingne from late 2014 until mid-2016.

Clark briefly dated actress Kristen Stewart in late 2016.

In May 2010, Clark's father was convicted of one count of conspiracy, seven counts of wire fraud, five counts of securities fraud, and one count of money laundering. The album Daddy's Home was in part inspired by her father's eventual release.

Discography
Studio albums
 * Marry Me (2007)
 * Actor (2009)
 * Strange Mercy (2011)
 * St. Vincent (2014)
 * Masseduction (2017)
 * Daddy's Home (2021)
 * All Born Screaming (2024)

Collaborative albums
 * Love This Giant (with David Byrne) (2012)

Live band
Current members Past members
 * Jason Falkner – guitar, vocals (2021–present)
 * Mark Guiliana – drums (2021–present)
 * Rachel Eckroth – keyboards (2021–present)
 * Charlotte Kemp Muhl – bass guitar (2024–present)

 * Justin Meldal-Johnsen – bass guitar, keyboards, vocals, music director (2021–2022)
 * Stevvi Alexander – vocals (2021–2022)
 * Nayanna Holley – vocals (2021–2022)
 * Danielle Withers – vocals (2021–2022)
 * Toko Yasuda – guitar, bass guitar, keyboards (2011–2012, 2014–2015, 2018–2019)
 * Daniel Mintseris – keyboards, sequencing (2011–2015, 2018–2019)
 * Matt Johnson – drums (2011–2012, 2014–2015, 2018–2019)
 * Daniel Hart – violin, guitar, vocals (2007–2010)
 * William Flynn – bass guitar, clarinet, vocals (2007–2010)
 * Anthony LaMarca – drums, sampler (2009–2010)
 * Evan Smith – saxophone, clarinet, flute, keyboards, vocals (2009–2010)

Tours

 * Marry Me Tour (2007–08)
 * Actor Tour (2009–10)
 * Strange Mercy Tour (2011–12)
 * Love This Giant Tour (with David Byrne) (2012–13)
 * Digital Witness Tour (2014–15)
 * Fear the Future Tour (2017–18)
 * I Am a Lot Like You! Tour (2018–19)
 * Daddy's Home Tour (2021–22)
 * All Born Screaming Tour (2024)

title: St. Vincent (musician)


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Individual retirement account

An individual retirement account (IRA) in the United States is a form of pension provided by many financial institutions that provides tax advantages for retirement savings. It is a trust that holds investment assets purchased with a taxpayer's earned income for the taxpayer's eventual benefit in old age. An individual retirement account is a type of individual retirement arrangement as described in IRS Publication 590, Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs). Other arrangements include individual retirement annuities and employer-established benefit trusts.

Types
There are several types of IRAs:
 * Traditional IRA – Contributions are mostly tax-deductible (often simplified as "money is deposited before tax" or "contributions are made with pre-tax assets"), no transactions within the IRA are taxed, and withdrawals in retirement are taxed as income (except for those portions of the withdrawal corresponding to contributions that were not deducted). Depending upon the nature of the contribution, a traditional IRA may be a "deductible IRA" or a "non-deductible IRA". Traditional IRAs were introduced with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and made popular with the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981.
 * Roth IRA – Contributions are non-deductible and transactions within the IRA have no tax impact. The contributions may be withdrawn at any time without penalty, and earnings may be withdrawn tax-free in retirement. Named for Senator William V. Roth Jr., the Roth IRA was introduced as part of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997.
 * myRA – a 2014 Obama administration initiative based on the Roth IRA, which can invest only in government bonds; phased out in 2017.
 * SEP IRA – a provision that allows an employer (typically a small business or self-employed individual) to make retirement plan contributions into a Traditional IRA established in the employee's name, instead of to a pension fund in the company's name.
 * SIMPLE IRA – a Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees that requires employer matching contributions to the plan whenever an employee makes a contribution. The plan is similar to a 401(k) plan, but with lower contribution limits and simpler (and thus less costly) administration. Although it is termed an IRA, it is treated separately.
 * Conduit IRA – a traditional IRA funded exclusively with a transfer from a qualified plan, such as a 401(k) plan.

Conduit IRAs have fallen in use due to 2001 legislation that allowed for direct transfers between qualified plans without an intermediate IRA, but plan administrators may choose to accept transfers only from conduit IRAs. Transferring funds from a qualified plan to a conduit IRA preserves certain tax and asset protection advantages that apply to the qualified plan.

A self-directed IRA is considered the same by the tax code, but refers to IRAs where the custodian allows the investor wider flexibility in choosing investments, typically including alternative investments. Some examples of these alternative investments are: real estate, private mortgages, private company stock, oil and gas limited partnerships, precious metals, horses, and intellectual property. While the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) has placed a few restrictions on what can be invested in, the IRA custodian may impose additional restrictions on what assets they will custody. Self-directed IRA custodians, or IRA custodians who specialize in alternative investments, are better equipped to handle transactions involving alternative investments.

Some IRA custodians and some investment funds specialize in socially responsible investing, sometimes using public environmental, social and corporate governance ratings.

Starting with the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA), many of the restrictions of what type of funds could be rolled into an IRA and what type of plans IRA funds could be rolled into were significantly relaxed. Additional legislation since 2001 has further relaxed restrictions. Essentially, most retirement plans can be rolled into an IRA after meeting certain criteria, and most retirement plans can accept funds from an IRA. An example of an exception is a non-governmental 457 plan which cannot be rolled into anything but another non-governmental 457 plan.

The tax treatment of the above types of IRAs (except for Roth IRAs) are very similar, particularly for rules regarding distributions. SEP IRAs and SIMPLE IRAs also have additional rules similar to those for qualified plans governing how contributions can and must be made and what employees are qualified to participate.

Custodians
Custodians can include:
 * Banks
 * Credit unions
 * Mutual fund companies, sometimes for the purpose of offering their own mutual funds
 * Brokerage firms, either independent or "captive" (affiliated with a specific mutual fund or insurance company)
 * Life insurance companies

Funding
Individual retirement arrangements were introduced in 1974 with the enactment of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Taxpayers could contribute up to fifteen percent of their annual income or $1,500, whichever is less, each year and reduce their taxable income by the amount of their contributions. The contributions could be invested in a special United States bond paying six percent interest, annuities that begin paying upon reaching age 59, or a trust maintained by a bank or an insurance company.

Initially, ERISA restricted IRAs to workers who were not covered by a qualified employment-based retirement plan. In 1981, the Economic Recovery Tax Act (ERTA) allowed all working taxpayers under the age of 70 to contribute to an IRA, regardless of their coverage under a qualified plan. It also raised the maximum annual contribution to $2,000 and allowed participants to contribute $250 on behalf of a nonworking spouse.

The Tax Reform Act of 1986 phased out the deduction for IRA contributions among workers covered by an employment-based retirement plan who earned more than $35,000 if single or over $50,000 if married filing jointly. Other taxpayers could still make nondeductible contributions to an IRA.

The maximum amount allowed as an IRA contribution was $1,500 from 1975 to 1981, $2,000 from 1982 to 2001, $3,000 from 2002 to 2004, $4,000 from 2005 to 2007, $5,000 from 2008 to 2012, $5,500 from 2013 to 2018, and $6,000 from 2019 to 2022. In tax year 2023, the maximum amount allowed is $6,500. Beginning in tax year 2024, the limit is $7,000. Beginning in 2002, those over 50 years old could make an additional contribution of up to $1,000 called a "catch-up contribution".

Current limitations:
 * The IRS allows an investor to revoke a new IRA, without penalty, for seven calendar days after opening it.
 * An IRA can be funded only with cash or cash equivalents. Attempting to transfer any other type of asset into the IRA is a prohibited transaction and disqualifies the fund from its beneficial tax treatment.
 * Additionally, an IRA (or any other tax-advantaged retirement plan) can be funded only with what the IRS calls "taxable compensation". This in turn means that certain types of income cannot be used to contribute to an IRA; these include but are not limited to:
 * Any unearned taxable income.
 * Any tax-exempt income, apart from military combat pay.
 * Social Security payments, whether retirement pensions or disability payments, may or may not be taxable, but in either case are not eligible.
 * Child support payments received. (On the other hand, alimony and separate maintenance payments, if taxable, are eligible.)
 * Rollovers, transfers, and conversions between IRAs and other retirement arrangements can include any asset.
 * The total contributions a person can make to all of their traditional and Roth IRAs cannot be more than the lesser amount of either their earned income for the year or $6,000 ($7,000 if the contributor is age 50 or older). The latter figure is examined annually to determine if an inflationary adjustment is needed and has been in effect from 2019 to 2021.
 * This limit applies to the total annual contributions to both Roth IRAs and traditional IRAs. For example, a person aged 45, who put $4,000 into a traditional IRA this year so far, can either put $2,000 more into this traditional IRA, or $2,000 in a Roth IRA, or some combination of those.
 * The amount of the traditional IRA contributions that can be deducted is partially reduced for levels of income beyond a threshold, and eliminated beyond another threshold, if the contributor or the contributor's spouse is covered by an employer-based retirement plan. The dollar amounts of the thresholds vary depending on tax filing status (single, married, etc.) and on which spouse is covered at work (see IRS Publication 590-A, "Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)").

Restricted investments
Once money is inside an IRA, the IRA owner can direct the custodian to use the cash to purchase most types of publicly traded securities (traditional investments), and non-publicly traded securities (alternative investments). Specific assets such as collectibles (e.g., art, baseball cards, and rare coins) and life insurance cannot be held in an IRA. The U.S. Internal Revenue Code (IRC) only outlines what is not allowed in an IRA. Some assets are allowed according to the IRC, but the custodians may add additional restrictions for accounts held in their custody. For example, the IRC allows an IRA to own a piece of rental property, but certain custodians may not allow this to be held in their custody.

While there are only a few restrictions on what can be invested inside an IRA, some restrictions pertain to actions which would create a prohibited transaction with those investments. For example, an IRA can own a piece of rental real estate, but the IRA owner cannot receive or provide any immediate benefit from/to this real estate investment. An example of such benefit would be the use of the real estate as the owner's personal residence, allowing a parent to live in the property, or allowing the IRA account owner to fix a leaky toilet. The IRS specifically states that custodians may impose their own policies above the rules imposed by the IRS. Neither custodians nor administrators can provide advice.

Many IRA custodians limit available investments to traditional brokerage accounts such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. Investments in an asset class such as real estate would only be permitted in an IRA if the real estate is held indirectly via a security such as a publicly traded or non-traded real estate investment trust (REIT). Self-directed IRA custodians/administrators can allow real estate and other non-traditional assets held in forms other than a REIT, such as a piece of rental property, raw land, or fishing rights.

Publicly traded securities such as options, futures or other derivatives are allowed in IRAs, but certain custodians or brokers may restrict their use. For example, some options brokers allow their IRA accounts to hold stock options, but others do not. Using certain derivatives or investments that involve leverage may be allowed by the IRC, it may also cause the IRA to pay taxes under the rules of Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT). Self-directed IRAs which hold alternative investments such as real estate, horses, or intellectual property, can involve more complexity than IRAs which only hold stocks or mutual funds.

An IRA may borrow or loan money but any such loan must not be personally guaranteed by the owner of the IRA. Any loan on assets in the IRA would be required to be a non-recourse loan. The loan could not be personally secured by the IRA account owner, or the IRA itself. It can only be secured by the asset in question. The owner of the IRA may not pledge the IRA as security against an outside debt.

Distribution of funds
Although funds can be distributed from an IRA at any time, there are limited circumstances when money can be distributed or withdrawn from the account without penalties. Unless an exception applies, money can typically be withdrawn penalty-free as taxable income from an IRA once the owner reaches age 59 years and 6 months. Also, non-Roth owners must begin taking distributions of at least the calculated minimum amounts by April 1 of the year after reaching age 72. If the required minimum distribution (RMD) is not taken the penalty is 50% of the amount that should have been taken. The amount that must be taken is calculated based on a factor taken from the appropriate IRS table and is based on the life expectancy of the owner and possibly his or her spouse as beneficiary if applicable. Withdrawals are taxable unless paid to a charity after age 72; this cutoff has changed over time. Payments to charities are called Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCD). At the death of the owner, distributions must continue and if there is a designated beneficiary, distributions can be based on the life expectancy of the beneficiary.

There are several exceptions to the rule that penalties apply to distributions before age 59$1/2$. Each exception has detailed rules that must be followed to be exempt from penalties. This group of penalty exemptions are popularly known as hardship withdrawals. The exceptions include:
 * The portion of unreimbursed medical expenses that are more than 7.5% of adjusted gross income
 * Distributions that are not more than the cost of medical insurance while unemployed
 * Disability (defined as not being able to engage in any substantial gainful activity)
 * Amounts distributed to beneficiaries of a deceased IRA owner
 * Distributions in the form of an annuity (see substantially equal periodic payments)
 * Distributions that are not more than the qualified higher education expenses of the owner or their children or grandchildren
 * Distributions to buy, build, or rebuild a first home ($10,000 lifetime maximum)
 * Distribution due to an IRS levy of the plan

There are a number of other important details that govern different situations. For Roth IRAs with only contributed funds the basis can be withdrawn before age 59 without penalty (or tax) on a first in first out basis, and a penalty would apply only on any growth (the taxable amount) that was taken out before 59 where an exception didn't apply. Amounts converted from a traditional to a Roth IRA must stay in the account for a minimum of 5 years to avoid having a penalty on withdrawal of basis unless one of the above exceptions applies.

If the contribution to the IRA was nondeductible or the IRA owner chose not to claim a deduction for the contribution, distributions of those nondeductible amounts are tax and penalty free.

Bankruptcy status
In the case of Rousey v. Jacoway, the United States Supreme Court ruled unanimously on April 4, 2005, that under section 522(d)(10)(E) of the United States Bankruptcy Code, a debtor in bankruptcy can exempt his or her IRA, up to the amount necessary for retirement, from the bankruptcy estate. The Court indicated that because rights to withdrawals are based on age, IRAs should receive the same protection as other retirement plans. Thirty-four states already had laws effectively allowing an individual to exempt an IRA in bankruptcy, but the Supreme Court decision allows federal protection for IRAs.

The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 expanded the protection for IRAs. Certain IRAs (rollovers from SEP or Simple IRAs, Roth IRAs, individual IRAs) are exempt up to at least $1,000,000 (adjusted periodically for inflation) without having to show necessity for retirement. The law provides that "such amount may be increased if the interests of justice so require." Other IRAs (rollovers from most employer sponsored retirement plans (401(k)s, etc.) and non-rollover SEP and SIMPLE IRAs) are entirely exempt.

The 2005 BAPCPA also increased the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insurance limit for IRA deposits at banks.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has ruled that if an IRA engages in a "prohibited transaction" under Internal Revenue Code sections 408(e)(2) and 4975(c)(1), the assets in the IRA will no longer qualify for bankruptcy protection.

With respect to inherited IRAs, the United States Supreme Court ruled, in the case of Clark v. Rameker in June 2014, that funds in an inherited IRA do not qualify as "retirement funds" within the meaning of the federal bankruptcy exemption statute, 11 U.S.C. section 522(b)(3)(C).

Protection from creditors
There are several options of protecting an IRA: (1) roll it over into a qualified plan like a 401(k), (2) take a distribution, pay the tax and protect the proceeds along with the other liquid assets, or (3) rely on the state law exemption for IRAs. For example, the California exemption statute provides that IRAs and self-employed plans' assets "are exempt only to the extent necessary to provide for the support of the judgment debtor when the judgment debtor retires and for the support of the spouse and dependents of the judgment debtor, taking into account all resources that are likely to be available for the support of the judgment debtor when the judgment debtor retires". What is reasonably necessary is determined on a case-by-case basis, and the courts will take into account other funds and income streams available to the beneficiary of the plan. Debtors who are skilled, well-educated, and have time left until retirement are usually afforded little protection under the California statute as the courts presume that such debtors will be able to provide for retirement.

Many states have laws that prohibit judgments from lawsuits to be satisfied by seizure of IRA assets. For example, IRAs are protected up to $500,000 in Nevada from Writs of Execution. However, this type of protection does not usually exist in the case of divorce, failure to pay taxes, deeds of trust, and fraud.

In accordance with the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, IRAs are protected from creditors during bankruptcy up to $1,000,000 (the act requires the IRS to adjust this limit for inflation every three years; the most recent adjustment was $1,362,800 in 2019). An exception is that inherited IRAs do not qualify for an exemption from the bankruptcy estate and thus federal law does not protect them from creditors in bankruptcy. Some state laws, however, may protect inherited IRAs from creditors in bankruptcy.

Borrowing
An IRA owner may not borrow money from the IRA except for a 60-day period in a calendar year. Any borrowing in excess of 60 days in a calendar year disqualifies the IRA from special tax treatment. An IRA may incur debt or borrow money secured by its assets, but the IRA owner may not guarantee or secure the loan personally. An example of this is a real estate purchase within a self-directed IRA along with a non-recourse mortgage.

Income from debt-financed property in an IRA may generate unrelated business taxable income in the IRA.

The rules regarding IRA rollovers and transfers allow the IRA owner to perform an "indirect rollover" to another IRA. An indirect rollover can be used to temporarily "borrow" money from the IRA, once in a twelve-month period. The money must be placed in an IRA arrangement within 60 days, or the transaction will be deemed an early withdrawal (subject to the appropriate withdrawal taxes and penalties) and may not be replaced.

Double taxation
Double taxation still occurs within these tax-sheltered investment arrangements. For example, foreign dividends may be taxed at their point of origin, and the IRS does not recognize this tax as a creditable deduction. There is some controversy over whether this violates tax treaties, such as the Convention Between Canada and the United States of America With Respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital.

Inheriting
If the IRA owner dies, different rules are applied depending on who inherits the IRA (spouse or other eligible designated beneficiary, other beneficiary, multiple beneficiaries, and so on).

In case of spouse inherited IRAs, the owner's spouse has the following options: In case of non-spouse inherited IRAs, the beneficiary cannot choose to treat the IRA as his or her own, but the following options are available: In case of multiple beneficiaries the distribution amounts are based on the oldest beneficiary's age. Alternatively, multiple beneficiaries can split the inherited IRA into separate accounts, in which case the RMD rules will apply separately to each separate account.
 * treat the IRA account as his or her own, which means that he or she can name a beneficiary for the assets, continue to contribute to the IRA and avoid having to take distributions. This avoids paying the extra 10% tax on early distributions from an IRA.
 * rollover the IRA funds into another plan and take distributions as a beneficiary. Distributions will be determined by the required minimum distribution rules based on the surviving spouse's life expectancy.
 * disclaim up to 100% of the IRA assets, which, besides avoiding extra taxable income, enables their children to inherit the IRA assets
 * take all of the IRA assets out in one lump-sum, which can subject the spouse to federal taxes if particular requirements are not met
 * take out all of the assets within 10 years of the owners death (10-year rule); withdrawals may be subject to federal taxes.
 * disclaim all or part of the assets in the IRA for up to 9 months after the IRA owner's death.
 * if the beneficiary is older than the IRA owner, he or she can take distributions from the account based on the IRA owner's age.

Statistics
Detailed statistics on IRAs have been collected by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, in its EBRI IRA Database (Center for Research on IRAs), and various analyses performed. An overview is given in. Some highlights from the 2008 data follow: The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report on IRAs in November 2014. This report gives the GAO's estimate on the number of taxpayers with IRAs as well as the estimated account balances. Here are some highlights from the report:
 * The average and median IRA account balance was $54,863 and $15,756, respectively, while the average and median IRA individual balance (all accounts from the same person combined) was $69,498 and $20,046. The average is significantly higher than the median (over three times higher), reflecting significant positive skew – very large balances increase the average.
 * Average and median balances increased with age, reaching a maximum in the 65–69 age group, before leveling off for 70 and over.
 * Rollovers overwhelm contributions – the overwhelming majority of IRA contributions, in dollar terms, were from rollovers, rather than new contributions – over 10 times as much is added to IRAs from rollovers than new contributions.
 * While many rollovers were small (28.5% were less than $5,000, and 53.1% were less than $25,000), a significant number of rollovers were quite large, with 20.2% being more than $100,000.
 * IRAs were divided by type as 33.6% traditional IRAs, 33.4% rollover IRAs (combined with the traditional IRAs, 67 percent), 23.4% Roth IRAs, and 9.6% SEPs and SIMPLEs.
 * Excluding SEPs and SIMPLEs (i.e., concerning traditional, rollover, and Roth IRAs), 15.1% of individuals holding an IRA contributed to one. The percentage was much higher for Roth IRAs: 7.2% of owners of traditional or rollover IRAs (same for contribution purposes) contributed, while 29.5% of owners of Roth IRAs contributed.
 * Contributions are concentrated at the maximum amount – of those contributing to an IRA, approximately 40% contributed the maximum (whether contributing to traditional or Roth), and 46.7% contributed close to the maximum (in the $5,000–$6,000 range).
 * For tax year 2011 (the most recent year available), an estimated 43 million taxpayers had individual retirement accounts (IRAs) with a total reported fair market value (FMV) of $5.2 trillion.
 * Few taxpayers had aggregated balances exceeding $5 million as of 2011. Generally, taxpayers with IRA balances greater than $5 million tend to have adjusted gross incomes greater than $200,000, be joint filers, and are age 65 or older.
 * In 2014, the federal government will forgo an estimated $17.45 billion in tax revenue from IRAs, which Congress created to ensure equitable tax treatment for those not covered by employer-sponsored retirement plans.
 * 98.5% of taxpayers have IRA account balances at $1,000,000 or less.
 * 1.2% of tax payers have IRA account balances at $1,000,000 to $2,000,000.
 * 0.2% (or 83,529) taxpayers have IRA account balances of $2,000,000 to $3,000,000
 * 0.1% (or 36,171) taxpayers have IRA account balances of $3,000,000 to $5,000,000
 * <0.1% (or 7,952) taxpayers have IRA account balances of $5,000,000 to $10,000,000
 * <0.1% (or 791) taxpayers have IRA account balances of $10,000,000 to $25,000,000
 * <0.1% (or 314) taxpayers have IRA account balances of $25,000,000 or more

Retirement savings
While the average (mean) and median IRA individual balance in 2008 were approximately $70,000 and $20,000 respectively, higher balances are not rare. 6.3% of individuals had total balances of $250,000 or more (about 12.5 times the median), and in rare cases, individuals own IRAs with very substantial balances, in some cases $100 million or above (about 5,000 times the median individual balance). This can occur when IRA owners invest in shares of private companies, and the share value subsequently rises substantially.

In November 2014, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report that stated there were an estimated 314 taxpayers with IRA account balances of greater than $25,000,000. Also that there are an estimate of 791 taxpayers with IRA account balances between $10,000,000 and $25,000,000. The purpose of this report was to study individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and the account valuations. There were concerns raised about whether the tax incentives encourage new or additional saving. Congress is reexamining retirement tax incentives as part of tax reform. GAO was asked to measure IRA balances and assess IRS enforcement of IRA laws.

The Joint Committee on Taxation reported that as of the end of 2019, there were 28,615 taxpayers with traditional and Roth IRA assets in excess of $5 million and an aggregate value totaling almost $280 billion. An investigative report in 2021 highlighted Peter Thiel, who built a Roth IRA worth $5 billion by investing in startups on terms unavailable to most taxpayers. The owners of such high-value IRAs constituted less than one tenth of a percent of the more than 65 million IRA owners at the end of 2018, and policy proposals have been advanced to limit such accumulation.

According to a 2015 study done by the National Institute on Retirement Security, titled "The Continuing Retirement Savings Crisis", 45% of working Americans do not own any retirement account assets, whether in an employer-based 401(k) type plan or an IRA. Furthermore, the typical working household has virtually no retirement savings - the median retirement account balance is $2,500 for all working-age households and $14,500 for near-retirement households. In 2020, half of American adults had less than $6,500 in the combination of their IRAs and defined contribution plans, such as 401(k).

While inflation-adjusted stock market values generally rose from 1978 to 1997, in March 2013, they were lower than during the period 1998 through 2007. This has caused IRAs to perform substantially more poorly than expected when current retirees were investing the bulk of their savings in them. In 2010, Duncan Black wrote in an opinion column in USA Today that the median household retirement account balance for workers aged 55 to 64 was $120,000, which "will provide only a trivial supplement to Social Security", but a third of households had no retirement savings at all.

Similar policies in other countries

 * Registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) and tax-free savings account (TFSA) (Canada)
 * Superannuation in Australia (Australia) – Australia and New Zealand have a reciprocal agreement allowing Australians moving to New Zealand to transfer their Australian superannuation scheme to an approved KiwiSaver funds, and vice versa.
 * KiwiSaver (New Zealand) – Australia and New Zealand have a reciprocal agreement allowing New Zealanders moving to Australia to transfer their KiwiSaver funds to an approved Australian superannuation scheme, and vice versa.
 * Mandatory Provident Fund (Hong Kong)
 * Vanuatu National Provident Fund (Vanuatu) - a compulsory savings scheme for employees who receive a salary of Vt3, 000 or more a month, to help them financially at retirement.
 * Central Provident Fund (Singapore)
 * Employees Provident Fund (Malaysia)
 * Pensions in Chile
 * Individual savings account (ISA) (United Kingdom)
 * Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA) (Ireland)
 * Nippon individual savings account (NISA) (Japan)

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

title: Individual retirement account


text:
Dave Dobbyn

Sir David Joseph Dobbyn (born 3 January 1957) is a New Zealand musician, singer–songwriter and record producer. In his early career he was a member of the rock group Th' Dudes and was the main creative force in pop band DD Smash. Since then he has released the majority of his recordings as a solo performer.

Early life
Dave Dobbyn was born on 3 January 1957 in the working class area of Glen Innes, (Auckland), the third of five children to tour-bus driver Terry Dobbyn and Molly. He was influenced by music from a young age, ranging from the Irish songs his father listened to, to the music of the church across the road, to the various radio stations he was able to pick up on the family radiogram.

While his family had a piano at home, he was the only member to not receive piano lessons, something he was grateful for in retrospect as it meant he was able to come to it without memories of strict lessons. He, along with his three brothers, attended the local Catholic college Sacred Heart College, where he would meet Ian Morris and Peter Urlich.

While Sacred Heart actively encouraged music, Dobbyn was too shy to be involved, and on graduating high school worked nine months as a bank teller, and applied to teachers' college twice, to be accepted on the second try. As he started teachers' college he was asked by Morris and Urlich to join the band that would become Th' Dudes.

Th' Dudes (1975–1980)
Dobbyn's first success came with rock band, Th' Dudes, which he joined as guitarist. After performing with the band for a year, Dobbyn quit teachers' college to focus on the band full-time. Dobbyn suffered extreme stage fright and played early performances standing at the back with his eyes closed. However, he took on the role of frontman for the song "Be Mine Tonight" (1978). The song won single of the year in 1979 in New Zealand and led to many critics seeing him as the breakout star of the band. The band's 1980 song "Bliss" (1980) has become an iconic New Zealand drinking song.

DD Smash (1980–1986)
After Th' Dudes disbanded in 1980, Dobbyn formed a pop group DD Smash. The band's first release was the single "Lipstick Power", followed by "Bull by the Horns" (1981), thought to be about Dobbyn overcoming the stage fright he sometimes experienced while performing with Th' Dudes. Their first album Cool Bananas (1982) debuted in the New Zealand charts at number one.

After Treavaun, DD smash released Deep in the Heart of Taxes (1983), an album recorded live at Auckland's popular eighties venue Mainstreet. Their final album, The Optimist (1984), although slicker sounding production-wise than its predecessor, showed signs of compromise with the dominant commercial, blue-eyed soul inflected, synth-pop sound of the post-new wave era of British and Australian music which was flooding the New Zealand charts at the time. Dobbyn apparently had his eye on the larger Australian market and it was not long before he had a number one solo hit there.

In December 1984, DD Smash was playing an outdoor concert in Aotea Square in Auckland. During their set, a power failure led sections of the crowd to become restless. Some of the crowd started throwing beer bottles and police arrested them. The situation escalated and the riot squad was called in. Dobbyn made negative remarks about the police which allegedly spurred on the crowd. The concert was stopped by the police and sections of the crowd rioted, smashing shop windows along Queen Street. Prime Minister David Lange called a commission of inquiry and as a result, Dobbyn was charged with inciting a riot. The criminal prosecution against Dobbyn began in June 1985. His lawyer successfully defended him and he was acquitted on the charge of "behaving in a manner likely to cause violence against person or property and using insulting language".

When DD Smash eventually disbanded, partially to make room for the commercially expanding vision of Dobbyn, they left behind them the hit singles "Outlook for Thursday" (1983) and the violin-tinged, hi perennial classic "Whaling" (1984).

Solo career (1986–present)
When DD Smash folded, Dobbyn began a successful solo career, by writing the soundtrack music for the animated feature film Footrot Flats: The Dog's Tale in 1986. The film yielded two hit singles: "You Oughta Be In Love" (1986) and the chart-topping "Slice of Heaven" (1986) recorded with the band Herbs. After the release of the film, "Slice of Heaven" became one of Dobbyn's best-known songs, frequently used in tourism advertisements aired on Australian television that encouraged people to visit New Zealand. With the success of the song in Australia, Dobbyn settled in Australia.

In April 1987, a re-worked version of Dobbyn's song "Slice of Heaven" featured in a number of television commercials in Australia. Funded by the Australian Meat Industry Council (AMIC), the commercials promoted the Devon meat product by substituting the word "Heaven" for "Devon" in the chorus.

Dobbyn released his debut solo album Loyal, a personal celebration of love and loyalty, in 1988. His follow-up was the Mitchell Froom-produced Lament for the Numb (1993), which included members of Elvis Costello's one-time backing band. The album was called "un-releasable" by Dobbyn's record label at the time and was shelved for a year until its eventual release. After nearly a decade in Australia, Dobbyn moved back to Auckland in the early 1990s, and made 1994's Twist with fellow New Zealander and recently returned singer–songwriter Neil Finn, whose contribution Dobbyn stated "was crucial to the sound of that record". Twist is also notable for its inclusion of the Māori singer Emma Paki, who was popular in the country at the time of the album's release.

In 1995 Dobbyn became one of the first musical performers in the world to simulcast a performance on the Internet. However, it was hindered by technical problems.

Dobbyn took on the role of producer in fourth solo album, The Islander. The album received widespread popular and critical acclaim, reaching number 1 on the New Zealand charts.

In 1999 Dobbyn joined Jan Hellriegel and Toi Iti to co-write "Read About It", the theme song of the Duffy Books in Homes programme which is still performed by 100,000 children annually.

Dobbyn's hit song "Loyal" (1988) from his debut solo album Loyal (1988) was used as an anthem for Team New Zealand's failed 2003 America's Cup defence. He has also produced albums for Australian singer Grant McLennan and contributed to albums by Jenny Morris, Gyan Evans, Wayne Gillespie and Bic Runga. In 2000 Dobbyn toured New Zealand with Runga and Tim Finn. The tour was recorded and the live album, Together in Concert: Live (2000) was released soon after. The tour also included the lead off song "Just Add Water" from his 2000 album Hopetown, a record Dobbyn has since referred to as "a cartoon album".

In 2005, Dobbyn released his sixth solo album; Available Light. The album received popular and critical acclaim. In the same year Dobbyn performed the lead single from Available Light, "Welcome Home" (2005) at the New Zealand Music Awards ceremony. During the performance, Ahmed Zaoui, who was appealing a security certificate issued due to alleged links to terrorist groups, appeared on stage with Dobbyn.

2008 saw Dobbyn release Anotherland. The album entered the NZ Top 40 Album Charts at Number 2 and remained in the charts for 6 weeks, eventually attaining Gold status.

In 2009 Dobbyn released a second greatest hits album, including re-recorded versions of "Devil You Know", "Shaky Isles" and "Whaling". The second CD includes less known songs. A limited edition version also included a DVD tracking his three decades in music, and included interviews with former bandmates and collaborators.

In 2012 Dobbyn was part of the all-star lineup for the Flight of the Conchords charity single "Feel Inside (And Stuff Like That)". The song debuted at number 1 on the New Zealand music chart and remained there for two weeks.

Singles
Notes

Awards and nominations
Dobbyn has received numerous musical awards from both the New Zealand Music Awards and the APRA Silver Scroll Awards. In the 2003 New Year Honours, he was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to music. In the 2021 New Year Honours, Dobbyn was promoted to Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to music.

RIANZ Awards
The New Zealand Music Awards are awarded annually by the RIANZ in New Zealand. As of 2012, Dobbyn has won 23 awards.

APRA Awards
As of 2013, Dobbyn has won four Silver Scroll Awards: three for the Silver Scroll Awards for songwriting, and one for the most performed work in New Zealand. He received a Lifetime Achievement award in 2001 at the NZ Music Awards. As of 2013 he is the only musician to win the Silver Scroll award three times (1987, 1993, 1998).

In 2001, a vote by members of APRA to find New Zealand's Top 100 songs (what would eventually become the Nature's Best series) included ten Dobbyn songs. These were:

 * 3: Dave Dobbyn – "Loyal"
 * 7: Dave Dobbyn with Herbs – "Slice of Heaven"
 * 12: DD Smash – "Whaling"
 * 27: Th' Dudes – "Be Mine Tonight"
 * 29: Dave Dobbyn – "Beside You"
 * 31: DD Smash – "Outlook For Thursday"
 * 35: Dave Dobyyn – "Language"
 * 50: Th' Dudes – "Bliss"
 * 70: Dave Dobbyn – "You Oughta Be in Love"
 * 100: Dave Dobbyn – "Naked Flame"

ARIA Music Awards
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987.

 * Ref.
 * rowspan="4"| 1988
 * Dave Dobbyn
 * Best New Talent
 * Nominated
 * rowspan="4"|
 * rowspan="3"| "Slice of Heaven"
 * Single of the Year
 * Nominated
 * Song of the Year
 * Nominated
 * Highest Selling Single
 * Nominated
 * Nominated
 * Highest Selling Single
 * Nominated
 * Nominated

Lifetime Achievement Award
In 2001 the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) awarded Dobbyn a rare Lifetime Achievement Award as part of the 2001 New Zealand Music Awards. The award presenter Michael Glading, the managing director of Sony New Zealand, chose to forego a speech and instead read out the titles of the long list of Dobbyn's hit songs.

Personal life
Dobbyn met his future wife, Anneliesje, at a Whangamata Th' Dudes New Year's show. They married in 1983.

Dobbyn does not drink alcohol.

In October 2022, he revealed that he has Parkinson's disease. Dobbyn said that this diagnosis, received in July 2022, has given him a 'wider appreciation of life'.

title: Dave Dobbyn


text:
Type 23

Type 23 may refer to:
 * Bristol Type 23 Badger, a British fighter aircraft
 * Nieuport Type 23, a French fighter aircraft
 * Norinco Type 23-1 and Type 23-2, the Chinese versions of the Soviet autocannon Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23
 * Peugeot Type 23, motor vehicle by the French auto-maker Peugeot
 * Type 23 frigate, a Royal Navy frigate class
 * Type 23 pillbox, a British WW II defence structure
 * Type 23 torpedo boat, a class of torpedo boat built for the German Navy

title: Type 23


text:
Richard Edgcumbe, 1st Baron Edgcumbe

Richard Edgcumbe, 1st Baron Edgcumbe, (23 April 1680 – 22 November 1758) of Mount Edgcumbe in Cornwall, was an English Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1701 until 1742 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Edgcumbe. He is memorialised by Edgecombe County, North Carolina.

Origins
He was the son of Sir Richard Edgcumbe and Lady Anne Montagu, daughter of Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich.

Career
In 1694, at the age of 14, Edgcumbe succeeded his brother, Piers Edgcumbe, in the family estates. He was admitted at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1697 and travelled abroad in 1699.

Edgcumbe was returned unopposed as MP for Cornwall at a by-election on 25 June 1701 but never took his seat as Parliament had been prorogued. At the general election later in 1701, he was returned unopposed as MP for St Germans. Edgcumbe was elected MP for Plympton Erle at the 1702 English general election, probably on the Treby interest. He was re-elected at the 1705 English general election in a contest, and voted for the Court candidate as Speaker on 25 October 1705. Edgcumbe was returned as a Whig at the 1708 British general election, and was several times a teller for the Whigs. Although absent from the vote on the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell, he was attacked by the mob supporting Dr Sacheverell in Cornwall. Edgcumbe was returned again at the 1710 British general election but his behaviour in parliament appears contradictory. He was however to be one of the leaders of the great Whig procession through the City of London, which was banned by the government. Edgcumbe voted for the motion ‘No Peace Without Spain’ on 7 December 1712 and divided against the French commerce bill on 18 June 1713. He was returned again at the 1713 British general election, and voted against the expulsion of Richard Steele.

At the 1715 British general election, Edgecombe was returned unopposed as MP for Plympton Erle. He was appointed lord of the treasury in 1716. Edgcumbe surrendered the post when he went into opposition with Walpole in 1717, but was re-instated in 1720. He was returned again for Plympton Erle at the 1722 British general election. Edgcumbe held his post at the Treasury until 1724 when he was appointed Vice-Treasurer of Ireland, a post he held until 1742. He was returned again at the 1727 British general election, and was appointed a Privy Councillor for Ireland on 28 November 1727. At the 1734 British general election, Edgcumbe was returned as MP for Plympton Erle and Lostwithiel and chose to sit for Lostwithiel. He was Lord Warden of the Stannaries from 1734 to 1747. Edgcumbe was elected again for Plympton Erle at the 1741 general election and sat until he was raised to the peerage in 1742 and vacated his seat in the House of Commons. Edgcumbe was a faithful follower of Sir Robert Walpole, in whose interests he managed the elections for the Cornish boroughs, and his elevation to the peerage was designed to prevent him from giving evidence about Walpole's expenditure of the secret service money. In 1742, Edgcumbe was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, which posts he held for the rest of his life. He became a colonel of a regiment of foot in 1745 and became major-general in 1755. He was appointed Chief Justice in Eyre, north of Trent in January 1758.

Marriage and children
Edgcumbe married Matilda Furnese (d.1721), a daughter of Sir Henry Furnese, 1st Baronet (c.1658-1712), of Waldershare in Kent, by whom he had four children, including:
 * Henry Edgcumbe, eldest son, died in infancy,
 * Richard Edgcumbe, 2nd Baron Edgcumbe (1716–1761) eldest surviving son and heir, who died unmarried;
 * George Edgcumbe, 1st Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, 3rd Baron Edgcumbe (1720–1795), who succeeded his brother and was created Earl of Mount Edgcumbe in 1789.

title: Richard Edgcumbe, 1st Baron Edgcumbe


text:
Safi

Safi may refer to:

People

 * Safi (given name), an Arabic name
 * Safi (Pashtun tribe)
 * Safi of Persia (1611–1642), a Safavid shah of Iran
 * Omid Safi, an Iranian-American writer

Places

 * Ghor as-Safi or as-Safi, a town in Jordan; see Zoara

 * Safi, Malta
 * Safi, Morocco
 * Olympic Club de Safi, an association football club
 * Safi Subdivision, Mohmand District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Other uses

 * Safi Airways, an Afghan Airline based in Dubai
 * Safi (medicine), an Unani herbal medicine
 * Pasta Zara-Cogeas, an UCI women's cycling team formerly named Safi-Pasta Zara and variations
 * SS Safi, a German cargo ship in service 1956-60
 * Southeast Asia Food Inc., a former name of NutriAsia

title: Safi


text:
Type 42

Type 42 may refer to:
 * Bristol Type 42 Grampus II, British prototype biplane passenger aircraft
 * Peugeot Type 42, motor vehicle by the French auto-maker Peugeot
 * Type 42 destroyer, light guided missile destroyers used by the Royal Navy and the Argentine Navy
 * Type 42, a font format, see PostScript fonts

title: Type 42


text:
Tiznit

Tiznit or Tiznet (تزنيت) is a town in the west coast of the Moroccan region of Souss-Massa, founded in 1881 by the Sultan Hassan I. It is the capital of Tiznit Province and recorded a population of 74,699 in the 2014 Moroccan census. Jewish silversmiths moved into the town and established its reputation as the center of gold and silver handicraft in Morocco. Tiznit is well known for its silver jewelry, mint, daggers and sabres.

The province of Tiznit is in the western side of the Anti-Atlas. Tiznit, some 80 km south of Agadir, is a place full of Imazighn ( isoussin).

Historically speaking, Tiznit was the starting point of the famous dynasty of Almoravides who came to rule Morocco from Madrasa El Ouaggaguia in Aglou (a coastal village 14 km from Tiznit). The history of the city is also linked to the particular importance the Alawite Sultans granted to the city. Sultan Moulay Hassan I visited Tiznit twice, the first time in 1882 and the second time in 1886.

Among the monuments that characterize the city of Tiznit are Khalifa Palace, El Méchouar Place and the Grand Mosque. The old Medina of Tiznit is enclosed by a wall of five historic gates: Bab Aglou, Bab el Khemis, Bab Targa, Bab el Maader and Bab Oulad Jerrar. All of these gates are of Alawite tradition and strongly resemble those of the city of Essaouira.

Tiznit is the place of manufacture of the finest jewels of the South of Morocco. There are daggers, horse saddles, Fantasia rifles, anklets, pendants that women attach to their chests or foreheads all decorated with semi-precious stones and enamels.

What distinguishes the city of Tiznit is its dynamic civil society. There are more than 200 associations working in a number of areas, particularly development, education, culture, philanthropy, sport, and music; a fact which makes the city the center of a remarkable cultural radiation in the south of Morocco.

Also, Tiznit has a number of public facilities; there are five socio-cultural centers in the city, Mokhtar Soussi Multimedia Library, 10 sport fields for proximity, Almassira Stadium with good grass, Olympic Swimming Pool, Cinema Hall Bahia, road station, Museum of Heritage, Handicraft Complex, 4 rated hotels etc.

The city council of Tiznit is highly hailed by people for the efforts it invests to keep the city a tourist attraction.

Twin towns – Sister cities
Tiznit is twinned with:

 * 🇺🇸 Somerville, Massachusetts, United States (2010)
 * 🇫🇷 Saint-Denis, France
 * 🇹🇷 İzmit, Turkey

title: Tiznit