title: Ghostwatch

text: Many methods familiar to modern ghost-hunting shows such as "Most Haunted" are demonstrated in the show, some of which were either genuine state-of-the-art technology at the time or simulated to give the idea they were real. The house was allegedly equipped with motion detectors, temperature sensors, and covert cameras. The temperature sensors were referred to as being able to check for dramatic changes in temperature that ghost hunters link to real-life ghost sightings. One major feature of the show was a genuine thermographic camera, which, although it did not pick up any ghosts, came in very handy when all the lights failed at the end of the show.


title: Ghostwatch

text: The programme makers used many examples of allegedly paranormal phenomena. During the course of the programme there are many references to characters being allegedly possessed by a ghost who, whilst doing so, maniacally recites nursery rhymes. This happens in a tape recording of the eldest daughter Suzanne, later in a 'live' section to the same character and eventually Michael Parkinson himself is seen to be possessed. The show references temperature changes being linked to ghosts and claims to be monitoring the temperature in each room of the house to check for this. Mutilated household objects are shown which were purportedly analysed by the Army and found to have been subjected to rapid temperature change. In both alleged recordings and live segments of the show we see objects moving of their own accordwhich, it is claimed, is a result of poltergeist activityalso, a perfectly round patch of water appears on the living room carpet, and animal scratch marks appear on Suzanne's face. Banging noises are intermittently heard during the climax of the show. At one point the producers play on this by exposing Suzanne as the one causing the banging noises, creating a hoax within a hoax. However, this later occurs when both girls are accounted for. Near the end of the programme, when a wind whips through the studio, the cups and plates brought in by Dr. Pascoe as evidence of the poltergeist activity in the house begin to move on their own, and one cup falls onto the studio floor and smashes into pieces. Although the ghost of the story is only heard to speak through the voices of others we hear the disembodied sounds of cats whenever phenomena are taking place.


title: Ghostwatch

text: Although "Ghostwatch" was aired under the "Screen One" drama banner, its documentary style led many viewers to believe the events were real, causing much controversy after the show's airing. The BBC was besieged with 30,000 phone calls from irate and frightened viewers, including Parkinson's elderly mother, and British tabloids and other newspapers criticised the BBC the next day for the disturbing nature of some scenes, such as Greene's final scene where she is locked in an under-stairs cupboard with the howling ghost, and Parkinson's eerie possession scene.


title: Ghostwatch

text: A false rumour persisted that Sarah Greene had advertised the programme on her Saturday morning children's show "Going Live", including a visit to the location of the "haunting," and gave the impression that she was taking part in a "reality show." This rumour was debunked via the "Ghostwatch: Behind the Curtain" blog (which gathered information for a documentary about the show). After acquiring the three most likely episodes of "Going Live" (the week before, the day "Ghostwatch" was shown, and the week after) the blog's editors found no reference to the show. Greene did however appear on the following Monday's Children's BBC strand to reassure younger viewers the show was not real.


title: Ghostwatch

text: The programme has yet to be repeated in full on any UK-based television channel, following its initial broadcast.


title: Ghostwatch

text: Eighteen-year-old factory worker Martin Denham, who suffered from learning difficulties and had a mental age of 13, took his own life five days after the programme aired. The family home had suffered with a faulty central heating system which had caused the pipes to knock; Denham linked this to the activity in the show causing great worry. He left a suicide note reading "if there are ghosts I will be ... with you always as a ghost". His mother and stepfather, April and Percy Denham, blamed the BBC. They claimed that Martin was "hypnotised and obsessed" by the programme. The Broadcasting Standards Commission refused their complaint, along with 34 others, as being outside their remit, but the High Court granted the Denhams' permission for a judicial review requiring the BSC to hear their complaint.


title: Ghostwatch

text: In its ruling, the BSC stated that "The BBC had a duty to do more than simply hint at the deception it was practising on the audience. In Ghostwatch there was a deliberate attempt to cultivate a sense of menace." They ruled that the programme was excessively distressing and graphicreferring to the scratches on the children and the reference to mutilated animalsand that it had aired too soon after the 9pm watershed. They further stated that "the presence in the programme of presenters familiar from children's programmes ... took some parents off-guard in deciding whether their children could continue to view."


title: Ghostwatch

text: The film's producers argued that "Ghostwatch" had aired during a drama slot, that it was recognisable as fiction to a vast majority, and that running disclaimers or other announcements during the programme would have ruined its effectiveness. They also stated that, had they anticipated the audience reaction, they would have made its fictional nature clearer. However, after the BSC ruling, they issued an apology.


title: Ghostwatch

text: Simons and Silveira published a report in the "British Medical Journal" in February 1994, describing two cases of "Ghostwatch"-induced post-traumatic stress disorder in children, both 10-year-old boys. They stated that these were the first reported cases of PTSD caused by a television programme. Responses to the article described a further four cases in children aged between 11 and 14, as well as one case in an eight-year-old that stemmed from watching the pre-watershed medical drama "Casualty". The respondents also noted the potential for similar reactions in elderly people. However, the conclusion of the article states "The rapid resolution of the children's symptoms suggests that the children suffered a brief anxiety reaction to the television programme; although they may have exhibited some of the features of post-traumatic stress disorder, this diagnosis in their cases is inappropriate."


title: Ghostwatch

text: British label 101 Films released a Blu-ray disc in late 2022, including "Do You Believe in Ghosts?", a new 30th anniversary documentary on the "Ghostwatch" phenomenon.


title: Ghostwatch

text: "Ghostwatch" has also been credited for being amongst the direct inspirations for several other successful, contemporary works.


title: Ghostwatch

text: A comment left by writer Stephen Volk on the official "Ghostwatch: Behind the Curtains" homepage claims that British illusionist Derren Brown once told him that the film had at least partially inspired his similarly controversial "TV hoax" "Séance". This was later confirmed by Brown himself whilst being interviewed for the BBC Four documentary "Ghosts in the Machine".


title: Ghostwatch

text: The makers of "The Blair Witch Project" were reported to have seen the film before going on to make their own movie; however, when asked about this on the podcast, Diminishing Returns, the film's director, Eduardo Sanchez, stated that they were not made aware of the film until after "The Blair Witch Project" had been released.


title: Ghostwatch

text: More recently the creative team behind the 2020 British Zoom-based computer screen horror film "Host" have credited "Ghostwatch" as an influence. Co-writer Jed Shepherd, who had appeared on a podcast with Volk prior to working on "Host", stated in an interview that he and his collaborators considered "Host" to be their version of "Ghostwatch", and noted that the film has "a lot of "Ghostwatch" references", including displaying a Zoom caller ID of 31101992, referring to the date of "Ghostwatch"'s broadcast.


title: Ghostwatch

text: As featured in his collection "Dark Corners", screenwriter Stephen Volk wrote a short story entitled "31/10", which is effectively a sequel to "Ghostwatch". The piece was later selected for "The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2007: Twentieth Annual Collection", and nominated for the Horror Writers' Association (HWA) Bram Stoker Award, and British Fantasy Award for Best Short Story 2006.


title: Ghostwatch

text: The story itself centres on Volk taking part in a fictitious, 10th anniversary edition of "Ghostwatch" in 2002. Venturing into the previously sealed-off BBC studio space where the original show took place, he is accompanied by a small team of individuals whose lives were somehow affected by the broadcast, ten years previously.


title: Ghostwatch

text: Ghostwatch: Behind the Curtains is a retrospective documentary, completed in 2012 and released on DVD in 2013, chronicling the making of and reaction to "Ghostwatch".


title: Ghostwatch

text: The "<nowiki>Behind the Curtains</nowiki>" subtitle is derived from where fictitious poltergeist, Pipes, 'hides' in the shared bedroom of characters, Kim and Suzanne Early. It is also one of the chapter headings on the British Film Institute "Ghostwatch" DVD release.


title: Ghostwatch

text: On 21 February 2008, the "GhostwatchBtC" channel was launched on YouTube. All that was initially revealed regarding the project was a notice asking fans of the original film to contribute any "Ghostwatch"-related stories or recollections via the comments boxes provided.


title: Ghostwatch

text: On 31 October 2008 (exactly sixteen years after the original film was originally broadcast), a production blog was launched.


title: Ghostwatch

text: The first article to be published was written by the documentary's creator, Rich Lawden, in which he revealed the idea to make a retrospective first originated at a Cineformation screening held at the Watershed in Bristol.


title: Ghostwatch

text: Subsequent articles have included a special Hallowe'en message from Stephen Volk, and a link to a new "Ghostwatch" article written by lead actor, Sir Michael Parkinson. Between December 2008 and February 2009, a web forum, and Twitter, MySpace and Facebook pages were also added.


title: Ghostwatch

text: On 31 October 2011, the first official production still was uploaded to mark both Hallowe'en Night and the conclusion of "National Séance 2011". The image features cast members, Sarah Greene and Mike Smith sitting with an interviewer, and two additional crew members, in an aircraft hangar. A quote beneath the picture reads, "Stay tuned for 2012, Ghostwatchers".


title: Ghostwatch

text: On 24 October 2012, one week before the show's 20th Anniversary, a teaser trailer for the project was announced on SFX.co.uk. A DVD of the completed film was released by the producers on eBay in March 2013, and within hours, had to be re-listed directly on the Lawman Productions website after quickly selling out. In October 2013, a companion book, written by Lawden, was released on Lulu containing a Foreword by writer Stephen Volk, the sequel story "31/10", new interviews, and an extensive production diary for the documentary itself.


title: Ghostwatch

text: In October 2016, it was announced that the online platform BBC Store was to offer both "Ghostwatch" and the retrospective "Behind the Curtains" documentary as part of the new "Frightmares" collection, in time for Halloween. Shortly thereafter, it was revealed that the documentary had ranked among the best performing titles in the collection, also making the top ten best sellers for the first two weeks, after launch.


title: Ghostwatch

text: To mark the show's 18th anniversary, a "live" event took place in lieu of a full repeat screening on British television. Dubbed "National Séance", fans were asked to simultaneously play their personal recordings of the show at precisely 9.25pm (just as "Ghostwatch" was originally broadcast) and tweet about the screening as it happened on the social networking site Twitter. The event has subsequently become a yearly tradition. The event is known for celebrating the original Drama by the unveiling of special artwork, or occasionally unseen or unheard material relating to its production, and often directly contributes to the hashtag "#ghostwatch" trending on the national leader-boards.


title: Ghostwatch

text: The Tenth Anniversary edition took the form of a live YouTube stream via Zoom hosted by Rich, called "National Séance Live", featuring special guests, Mike Aiton (Soundman/himself), Gillian Bevan (Doctor Pascoe), Richard Drew (Assistant Set Designer), Sarah Greene (Reporter/herself), Lesley Manning (Director), and Stephen Volk (Writer). Producer Ruth Baumgarten was also expected to make an appearance, but ultimately could not. The event was made available to view on the "Behind The Curtains" YouTube page.


title: Ghostwatch

text: The film was met with a positive response from both fans and critics alike. Notably, leading film and TV magazines "SFX" and "Starburst" awarded 4/5 and 8/10 ratings respectively.


title: Ghostwatch

text: The film was subsequently selected for inclusion in the BFI Mediatheque, for the upcoming "Haunted" collection, from December 2013-onwards.


title: Clayton Morris

text: Clayton Morris (born December 31, 1976) is an American real estate investor and former television news anchor. He is also host of the "Investing in Real Estate" podcast along with YouTube channel "Redacted".


title: Clayton Morris

text: After co-hosting "The Daily Buzz" and "Good Day Philadelphia" on Fox's WTXF-TV, he was a co-host of "Fox & Friends Weekend" on Fox News Channel from 2008 to 2017. He covered consumer technology for Fox and hosted weekly technology segments for Fox News Radio and Fox News. On September 4, 2017, he left Fox News. His real estate ventures have been the subject of several lawsuits, including one filed by the state of Indiana.


title: Clayton Morris

text: Morris was born in Philadelphia and attended Wilson High School in Spring Township in Berks County (today West Lawn, Pennsylvania), during which time he briefly hosted a comedy show on the local Berks Community Television public access channel. He graduated with a bachelor's degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1999.


title: Clayton Morris

text: In 2000, Morris appeared in a low-budget thriller film entitled "Deception". His television career began when he was a producer for "Good Day LA" at KTTV, the Fox-owned television station in Los Angeles.


title: Clayton Morris

text: Morris then went on to reporting and anchoring positions at WVVA in Bluefield, West Virginia, and later with the Montana Television Network as a political reporter in the state capital, Helena. He went on to work for "The Daily Buzz", a syndicated television morning show, as news correspondent and later host.


title: Clayton Morris

text: In January 2007, Morris was hired by WTXF-TV, the Fox TV station in Philadelphia, to host its morning show, "Good Day Philadelphia". He announced in October 2007 that he would leave the station at year's end. Morris then co-hosted "Fox & Friends Weekend" for Fox News Channel from 2008 to 2017.


title: Clayton Morris

text: In 2012, Morris won the seventh annual "New York's Funniest Reporter" contest, which benefits the Humane Society of New York.


title: Clayton Morris

text: Morris hosts the "Investing in Real Estate" podcast and Morris Invest YouTube channel, and he developed the Financial Freedom Academy, an online financial planning service. Morris and his wife Natali Morris co-authored a book, "How to Pay Off Your Mortgage in 5 Years". They also co-host a daily YouTube show on their "Redacted" channel.


title: Clayton Morris

text: In March 2019, investors filed more than two dozen lawsuits in Indiana and New Jersey, claiming that Morris was running a Ponzi scheme involving the sales of some houses in C- and D-class neighborhoods that were marketed through his investment company, Morris Invest, in Indianapolis. The investors claimed they were sold rental properties which Morris Invest promised to rehabilitate and rent out, earning them rental income. These properties belonged to Bert Whalen. Some investors claimed that they later discovered the properties they received rental income from for several months were boarded up and vacant, and they began receiving city code and country health department violations. Others found they had purchased vacant lots, small shacks or buildings that were falling down. Morris denied responsibility, asserting he referred investors to Whalen and that Whalen was responsible for managing the properties, even though many investors believed they were dealing directly with Morris. In November 2019, Whalen was indicted by a federal grand jury for defrauding investors; the indictment did not name Morris. Whalen pleaded guilty in March 2022.


title: Clayton Morris

text: Morris sued HoltonWiseTV in federal court in October 2019 for $7.2 million, alleging copyright infringement; the case stemmed from HoltonWiseTV's production of a three-hour documentary investigating the alleged involvement of Morris in various real estate scams. In March 2020, Morris lost the suit.


title: Clayton Morris

text: In May 2020, the state of Indiana filed a civil lawsuit against Clayton Morris, among others, for violating Indiana's deceptive sales and home loan acts in real estate deals involving more than 150 properties in Marion County.


title: Clayton Morris

text: He and his wife, Natali, have three children and lived in Maplewood, New Jersey, until 2019. They initially planned to move to Pennsylvania in early 2019 but moved to Portugal later that year, with Natali Morris citing the "collective soul challenge" in their business as a reason to leave the country. The family at the time had moved to the country on temporary visas to allow their children to attend schools overseas. The move to Portugal drew criticism from investors suing Morris at the time, who worried that his relocation could make it harder for them to retrieve damages if courts found in their favor.


title: Moschino

text: Moschino () is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1983 by Franco Moschino in Milan known for over-the-top, campy designs. The company specializes in ready-to-wear, handbags, and fashion accessories.


title: Moschino

text: Franco Moschino was born February 27, 1950, and raised in Abbiategrasso, Italy. Moschino studied at "Accademia di Belle" in Milan from 1968 to 1971, at the dismay of his father, who hoped Franco would continue his family's work in the iron industry. While a student, Franco freelanced designs and illustrations for magazines and fashion houses. Upon graduation, Franco worked as a design sketcher for Versace from 1971 to 1977 and designed for Italian fashion house Cadette until 1982. The following year, Franco created "Moschino Couture!", owned by Moonshadow, its Milan-based holding company. Franco gained a reputation for implementing innovative, colorful, and witty designs into his apparel, such incorporating a Roy Lichtenstein pop art piece in a suit and designing a t-shirt featuring a TV tuned to “Channel No. 5" (sparking a lawsuit by Chanel due to the reference to its Chanel No. 5 perfume).


title: Moschino

text: By the late 1980s, Moschino's popularity in Europe had begun to replicate in the United States, with US sales accounting for 15 to 20 percent of business. By the 1990s, Franco became known for his social awareness campaigns and his criticism of the fashion industry. In 1994, Franco expressed desire to develop an ecological line “Nature Friendly Garment”, however Franco died later that year from HIV/AIDS-related causes. In recent times, Moschino has made an effort to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic through a partnership with Product Red and Nickelodeon, creating a Moschino x SpongeBob collection, bringing awareness to HIV/AIDS and fundraising by donating the collection's proceeds to Project Red.


title: Moschino

text: After Franco's death in 1994, his friend Rossella Jardini became the brand's creative director. Responsible for the brand's image and style, Jardini's whimsical designs fit in nicely with the brand's established eccentricity. While Jardini was creative director, Moschino created outfits and accessories for artists Madonna and Lady Gaga for their world tours and created the opening ceremony outfits for the 2006 Winter Olympics. In 2009, Moschino opened its hotel concept, Maison Moschino.


title: Moschino

text: In October 2013, Jeremy Scott became Moschino's creative director, debuting his first collection in Fall 2014. Starting in 2014 under Scott's direction, Moschino Cheap and Chic was consolidated into a new women's line—"Boutique Moschino"—established to target a wider array of costumers, with a price-point about 40 percent lower than Moschino's mainline.


title: Moschino

text: In 2014, Jeremy Scott designed a smiley face themed outfit for Katy Perry's world tour and in 2015 designed a black one-piece outfit with Swarovski crystals for Madonna's world tour.


title: Moschino

text: In April 2018, Moschino announced a collaboration with H&M. The following year, Moschino collaborated with EA Games for a "Sims 4" collection. The collection featured clothing with pixelated illusions inspired by the computer game.


title: Moschino

text: With the 2019 Met Gala's theme Camp: Notes on Fashion, Katy Perry wore a gown that looked like a chandelier, created by Moschino, and Kacey Musgraves arrived appearing like a life-size Barbie, also by Moschino.


title: Moschino

text: In 2021, Aeffe S.p.A. gained full control of Moschino, by acquiring the remaining 30 percent stake it did not originally own, at the price of 66.6 million euros ($78.51 million).


title: Moschino

text: In a 2015 lawsuit, New York-based graffiti artist Rime claimed the Moschino dress worn by Katy Perry at the 2015 Met Gala copied his work. The case was settled in 2016.


title: Moschino

text: In 2016, Nordstrom responded to pressure from consumers and pulled Moschino's pill-themed merchandise from its shelves, amid allegations it trivialized the opioid epidemic.


title: Evergreen Marine Corporation

text: Evergreen Marine Corporation () is a Taiwanese container transportation and shipping company that is headquartered in Luzhu District, Taoyuan City, Taiwan. With over 150 container ships, it is part of the Evergreen Group conglomerate of transportation firms and associated companies.


title: Evergreen Marine Corporation

text: Evergreen calls on 240 ports worldwide in about 80 countries, and is the fifth largest company of in the shipping industry.


title: Evergreen Marine Corporation

text: Its principal trading routes are East Asia to North America, Central America and the Caribbean; East Asia to the Mediterranean and northern Europe; Europe to the east coast of North America; East Asia to Australia; East Asia to eastern and southern Africa; East Asia to South America; and an intra Asia service linking ports in East Asia to the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea.


title: Evergreen Marine Corporation

text: The company's activities include: shipping, construction of containers and ships, management of ports, engineering and real estate development. Subsidiaries and divisions include Uniglory Marine Corp. (Taiwan), Evergreen UK Ltd. (UK), and shipping company Italia Marittima S.p.A. (Italy).


title: Evergreen Marine Corporation

text: The majority of Evergreen's shipping containers are painted green with the word "Evergreen" placed on the sides in white letters. Uniglory containers are similarly painted and marked, but those containers are bright orange. Evergreen's refrigerated "reefer" containers have a reverse color scheme (white containers with green lettering).


title: Evergreen Marine Corporation

text: The company was founded 1 September 1968 by Yung-Fa Chang. Services began with a single cargo vessel named "Central Trust", which operated a "go-anywhere" service. A second vessel was added in 1969, and used on Middle East services. Additional vessels were acquired through the 1970s, and routes to East Asia and Central America were added. Service to the U.S. began in 1974, with the establishment of Evergreen Marine Corporation (New York) Ltd.


title: Evergreen Marine Corporation

text: In 1981, the parent company changed its name to Evergreen International S.A. (EIS), as the company increased its global expansion efforts. Evergreen Marine began its first circumnavigation shipping services in 1984. This service is bi-directional, covering both westbound and eastbound routings.


title: Evergreen Marine Corporation

text: In 1992, almost 29,000 rubber ducks called "Friendly Floatees" were unintentionally dumped into the Pacific Ocean from a container lost overboard by the Evergreen ship "Ever Laurel".


title: Evergreen Marine Corporation

text: Since then, Evergreen Marine has expanded to include other shipping companies such as the Uniglory Marine Corp. (Taiwan) in 1984, the Hatsu Marine Ltd. (U.K.) in 2002, and the Italian shipping company Italia Marittima (previously Lloyd Triestino, and founded as "Österreichischer Lloyd" in 1835) in 1993. Uniglory was made a division of the company in 1999. Evergreen Marine has also become a partner of EVA Airways, founded in 1989, and Uni Air, founded in 1998.


title: Evergreen Marine Corporation

text: In 2002, Evergreen Marine operated 61 container vessels, with a total fleet size totaling 130 vessels with 400,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units). By 2008, Evergreen Marine operated 178 container vessels. In 2009, the company announced plans to build 100 additional vessels, in anticipation of a global economic recovery by 2012.


title: Evergreen Marine Corporation

text: On 23 March 2021, the container ship "Ever Given" became stuck in the Suez Canal, leading to a significant impediment in marine shipping world-wide. After nearly a week, tugboats and heavy machinery managed to re-float and free the ship.


title: Evergreen Marine Corporation

text: On 13 March 2022, the container ship "Ever Forward" ran aground in the Chesapeake Bay, near Baltimore, Maryland. The ship left the dredged navigation channel and became stuck. On 31 March 2022, Evergreen declared General Average after two attempts to refloat the vessel had failed. Containers were removed from the ship to lighten the load, and dredging was also underway to allow the ship to be freed. On the morning of 17 April, coinciding with the rising tide, the vessel was finally refloated.


title: Evergreen Marine Corporation

text: The shipping line's busiest routings are in the first category, East Asia to North America and Central America. Within this area, common traffic is between Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and China with the U.S. West Coast, along with routings to the East Caribbean via Panama.


title: Evergreen Marine Corporation

text: Evergreen Marine (including Uniglory, Lloyd Triestino & Hatsu) operated 153 container ships with on 1 May 2005. In total, Evergreen Marine operated 178 container ships in 2008.


title: Evergreen Marine Corporation

text: The following are vessels transferred between Evergreen Marine and Uniglory Marine (Taiwanese or Panamanian flag) and subsidiaries:


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: Songs of Experience is the fourteenth studio album by Irish rock band U2. Released on 1 December 2017, it was produced by Jacknife Lee and Ryan Tedder with Steve Lillywhite, Andy Barlow, Jolyon Thomas, Brent Kutzle, Paul Epworth, Danger Mouse, and Declan Gaffney. The album is intended to be a companion piece to U2's previous record, "Songs of Innocence" (2014). Whereas its predecessor explored the group members' adolescence in Ireland in the 1970s, "Songs of Experience" thematically is a collection of letters written by lead vocalist Bono to people and places closest to his heart. The album features guest appearances from several musical acts, including Haim, Kendrick Lamar, and Lady Gaga.


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: "Songs of Experience" was first conceived during the "Songs of Innocence" sessions and initially started with Bono writing songs while recuperating from a serious November 2014 bicycle accident. U2 began work on the album in earnest during the 2015 Innocence + Experience Tour, with the band members individually collaborating with the producers while on the road. The sessions continued into 2016 and mostly wrapped up by the end of the year. The group had planned to release the album in the fourth quarter, but after the shift of global politics in a conservative direction, highlighted by the UK's Brexit referendum and the 2016 US presidential election, they chose to put the record on hold and reassess its tone. With the extra time, U2 re-recorded many of the songs as a group while remixing and exploring different production techniques. Bono rewrote his lyrics to reflect the political climate as well as a "brush with mortality" that he experienced in late 2016. The album was ultimately completed during the Joshua Tree Tour 2017.


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: Compared to "Songs of Innocence"s pervasive no-cost release through the iTunes Store, promotion for "Songs of Experience" was more traditional and understated. Several postal letters were mailed to fans to tease the album, while exclusive content was produced for digital platforms such as Amazon Music, Spotify, and Apple Music. Numerous promotional singles and remixes of tracks were released, including the lead single "You're the Best Thing About Me". The album received generally mixed reviews from critics, many of whom believed it trod old ground for the band. Due in part to bundling with ticket purchases for the 2018 Experience + Innocence Tour, the album debuted at number one in the United States, making U2 the first group to top the country's chart in four consecutive decades. In the United Kingdom, it peaked at number five. "Songs of Experience" was the sixth-best-selling album globally in 2017, selling 1.3 million copies. U2 supported the album with the Experience + Innocence Tour, a sequel to their 2015 tour.


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: On 9 September 2014, U2 announced their thirteenth studio album, "Songs of Innocence", at an Apple product launch event, and released it digitally the same day to all iTunes Store customers at no cost. The release made the album available to over 500 million iTunes customers in what Apple CEO Tim Cook called "the largest album release of all time." Apple reportedly paid Universal Music Group and U2 a lump sum for a five-week exclusivity period in which to distribute the album and spent US$100 million on a promotional campaign. Produced by Danger Mouse with Paul Epworth, Ryan Tedder, Declan Gaffney, and Flood, "Songs of Innocence" recalls the group members' youth in Ireland, touching on childhood experiences, loves and losses, while paying tribute to their musical inspirations. Lead vocalist Bono described it as "the most personal album we've written". The record received mixed reviews and drew criticism for its digital release strategy; it was automatically added to users' iTunes libraries, which, for many, triggered an unprompted download to their electronic devices. Chris Richards of "The Washington Post" called the release "rock-and-roll as dystopian junk mail". Within a few hours of "Songs of Innocence"s release, Bono posted a note on U2's website indicating a companion release would follow: "If you like "Songs of Innocence", stay with us for "Songs of Experience". It should be ready soon enough... although I know I've said that before."


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: U2 embarked on the Innocence + Experience Tour in May 2015, visiting arenas in North America and Europe from May through December. The band originally began the tour with the intent to stage it in two phases, one with material primarily taken from "Songs of Innocence" and one with material that would eventually be from "Songs of Experience". The group structured their concerts around a loose autobiographical narrative of "innocence" passing into "experience", with a fixed set of songs for the first half of each show and a varying second half, separated by an intermission—a first for U2 concerts. The stage spanned the length of the venue floor and comprised three sections: a rectangular main stage, a smaller circular B-stage, and a connecting walkway. The centerpiece of the set was a double-sided video screen that featured an interior catwalk, allowing the band members to perform amidst the video projections. U2's sound system was moved to the venue ceilings and arranged in an oval array, in hopes of improving acoustics by evenly distributing sound throughout the arena. In total, the tour grossed US$152.2 million from 1.29 million tickets sold.


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: According to guitarist the Edge, the band realised early during the "Songs of Innocence" sessions that they were working on what would become two separate albums. In a 12 October 2014 interview with "The Observer", Bono recited lyrics to an in-progress song called "The Morning After Innocence" (which later became "The Little Things That Give You Away"), in which the song's protagonist asks his younger self for help.


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: On 16 November 2014, Bono was injured in a "high energy bicycle accident" in Central Park in New York City. He suffered fractures of his shoulder blade, humerus, orbit, and pinky finger, requiring five hours of surgery at NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center's Emergency Department. Bono said he was uncertain that he would ever be able to play guitar again. During his recuperation, he wrote new songs, sometimes using another guitarist to play chords he was unable to. Bono said his accident benefited "Songs of Experience", explaining, "The gift of it was that I had time to write while in the mentality that you get to at the end of an album," referring to the period following the completion of "Songs of Innocence". The Edge said, "At the very end of an album you're at the height of your powers in terms of writing, arranging and performing. It's a shame that you have to stop then and start the other phase of what we do, which is playing live. This time we haven't really stopped. Bono is trying to capitalize on that momentum and that sharpness."


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: While touring in Russia with his electronic music duo Lamb, musician Andy Barlow received an offer to produce for U2. The following week, he flew to Monaco to join the group for what he described as a "two-week tryout". Barlow was surprised by how receptive the band members were to his ideas and how quickly they trusted him, particularly Bono. One of the first tasks that Barlow was given was helping the band advance "The Little Things That You Give You Away" past the idea stage, something that numerous producers before him had failed to do. After the session in Monaco, Barlow was asked to join the group in Vancouver for six weeks from April–May 2015 for another trial period as they rehearsed for the Innocence + Experience Tour at the Pacific Coliseum. Producer Jolyon Thomas also joined them as the band used a mobile recording studio. Among the in-progress songs previewed to "The New York Times" during rehearsals were "Red Flag Day", "Civilisation", and "Instrument Flying". Prior to the tour's opening show on 14 May, the Edge speculated that the band could complete the album by the end of the year if they committed themselves during their limited downtime after the tour. Comparing the group's in-progress material to their 1993 album "Zooropa", which was recorded between legs of their Zoo TV Tour, the Edge said the "Songs of Experience" songs were "a lot more developed".


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: After his time with U2 in Vancouver, Barlow was officially given the job of producer. The group continued to work on the album in their free time on the Innocence + Experience Tour. Whereas Bono usually favoured waiting until the conclusion of a tour to work on an album, this time he wanted to write and record in small increments on the road; he theorised that by doing this, they would already have "the shape and feel" of the album when it came time to dedicate themselves to completing it, thereby reducing the pressure they faced. Barlow mostly collaborated with the band members individually for minutes at a time due to their schedules and because the size of the dressing rooms on tour did not afford the band enough space to work together. The producer described the process as "piecing individual pieces of a jigsaw puzzle". Ultimately, Barlow spent two years working with U2 in approximately ten countries, sometimes for months at a time. By his estimation, only 10 percent of his work took place in actual recording studios—most of it was done in dressing rooms, hotel rooms, and mansions.


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: Through October 2015, the band had written approximately 18 songs, from which they planned to select 12. Around this time, the Edge wrote a new song provisionally titled "Tightrope". A cover story in "Q" that month also mentioned the tracks "Much More Better" and "The Little Things That Give You Away". In November 2015, the Edge told "Hot Press" that the group hoped to complete the album in early 2016 and release it by the end of that year.


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: After finishing the Innocence + Experience Tour in December 2015, the band dedicated themselves to working on "Songs of Experience" throughout 2016. The group convened with Barlow in Los Angeles at the recording studio of producer Rick Rubin, marking their first opportunity to record together as a group for the album, aside from time spent together in Dublin during the tour. In a February 2016 issue of "Q", the Edge estimated that their existing songs could be completed in four-to-six weeks but said that they needed to write additional material. In the story, Bono discussed two new songs, "Landlady" and "Where the Shadows Fall". In March, the group worked on the record with Thomas in a rented Victorian mansion in Killiney, an affluent seaside suburb of Dublin. They outfitted the house with a makeshift recording studio and jammed in the parlour overlooking the bay. Mullen used a second drum kit positioned in an echoing stairwell.


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: However, while working on the album in Los Angeles late that month, the Edge indicated that it was not near completion: "It's really hard to say at this point when it will be done. We're definitely still in the weeds here. We're not booking the pressing plant, so to speak, just yet." He said that he had worked on 50 pieces of music individually, 20 of which the group were excited to pursue. He further added, "We are trying to really be brutal with the material and only focus on the things that we're really convinced are the best ideas. I would say we're now at the point of starting to really edit down to the core collection of songs that will make the record. Things are still in their rough state, but sounding really great." The guitarist said that "80 percent of [the record] was started before 2016, but most of it was written in the early part of 2016".


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: In May, musician Ryan Tedder, reprising his role as co-producer of "Songs of Innocence", said, "I've never seen them this focused," while describing their in-progress material as their most exciting since 2000's "All That You Can't Leave Behind". Tedder also mentioned that the album was mostly new material and that only one or two songs from the "Innocence" sessions had survived. The following month, the Edge said the band were "busting [their] ass" to release the album by the end of 2016.


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: While attending a wedding in Valencia in August 2016, the band spoke to fans about the album's progress; bassist Adam Clayton told fans to expect something within six months, while Bono, when asked about the Innocence + Experience Tour, said, "the second part of the tour is for 2017. You might see a few things in September or October though." "The Irish Times" picked up on these comments and reported that an album launch in September or October 2016 was possible to coincide with the band's 40th anniversary, and that the Innocence + Experience Tour would resume in March 2017. At the end of August, a new U2 song, "You're the Best Thing About Me", debuted in the form of an electronic dance remix by Norwegian DJ Kygo during his performance at the Cloud 9 Festival.


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: The group had planned to release "Songs of Experience" in the fourth quarter of 2016, but they ultimately decided to delay it. After the shift of global politics in a conservative direction, highlighted by the UK's Brexit referendum and the 2016 US presidential election, the band wanted to reassess the tone of the album. The Edge said, "we suddenly realized that the world we were about to release it into had changed. So we gave ourselves a moment to reflect if this was a good idea, and concluded it might be better to wait for a minute. To pause, see what was going on in the world, see if the album we had just finished was what we wanted to say." Bono said, "It is a very personal album, and it's not gonna become a political album overnight. But it has to now go through the filter of what's happened in the rest of the world." According to the Edge, most of the resulting changes to the songs were lyrical and some were very subtle, emphasising or better expressing an idea. Barlow indicated that the band also dropped some songs from the album while writing a few new ones.


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: U2 were interested in exploring different production techniques and arrangements for their songs. Clayton said they wanted to tweak the mixes after the group's dissatisfaction with those from "Songs of Innocence": "There wasn't clarity to some of the mixes and we needed to be a little bit more inventive sonically. I mean, that record, when we performed it live, the songs became very, very masculine and very tough and we didn't really capture that on the record." Bono echoed these sentiments, saying that "Songs of Innocence" lacked "coherence in production". As a result, in autumn 2016, the Edge, Clayton, and Mullen (and Bono for the final few days) convened in a rehearsal space to perform the songs together "with half an eye and ear to how they might be performed in a live concert setting". The group were hoping to find arrangements that would work live and on record, so as to avoid their habit of recording, releasing, and ultimately rearranging songs when preparing for a tour.


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: In an interview with Charlie Rose in September, Bono affirmed a tour would take place in 2017 but was non-committal on a release date for the album. In October 2016, Tedder mentioned that he had been working with U2 on the record for a year, and said that there would be "really good remixes that are going to kick an entirely new door wide open for U2 fans". In a video released on Christmas in December, the band announced that "Songs of Experience" would be released in 2017.


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: As the sessions continued, Bono had what the Edge called a "brush with mortality". "The Irish Times" reported that sometime in late 2016 between Christmas and New Year's Day, Bono had a near-death experience. Other than clarifying that it was a physical health scare, he declined to elaborate any further on what happened. As a result of the episode, he decided to rework the album's lyrics. He admitted later that mortality was already going to be a theme on the album before his health scare, as the subject was not often covered and he thought it was naturally suited for an album called "Songs of Experience". However, he said the incident affected the overall mood of the album and made him realize "Not surrendering to melancholy is the most important thing if you are going to fight your way out of whatever corner you are in." As a result, he prioritised finding the right tempo for certain songs to ensure they were upbeat.


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: U2 felt that their chemistry was not adequately represented on the album's recordings to that point. Many of the individual parts, particularly Mullen's drums and Clayton's bass parts, had been recorded separately, and in the band's opinion, they lacked the energy that could be captured from a single band take. Having re-rehearsed the songs, in March 2017, U2 entered Electric Lady Studios in New York with their long-time producer Steve Lillywhite to re-record them as a group. Bono called Lillywhite the "best guy for recording us in the studio with the band playing live". The group were satisfied with the results, as they found a synthesis of their "raw band performances" with overdubs from previous recorded versions. The Edge called it "the best of the band chemistry mixed in with the best of the 21st-century production technology."


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: In an April 2017 cover story for "Mojo", Clayton said there were 15 or 16 songs that were contenders for the album, which they still hoped to whittle down to 12. The story mentioned new songs titled "The Showman", "Summer of Love", and "The Best Thing About You Is Me". After embarking on the Joshua Tree Tour 2017 in May 2017, U2 debuted "The Little Things That Give You Away" live. During an interview with "Hot Press" on the second date of the tour, Bono mentioned a new song entitled "American Soul". Later that month, when asked about "Songs of Experience", Bono remained non-committal on a release date, saying, "I thought it was done last year." He admitted that spending additional time working on the album had improved it, but said that "if you left it to Edge he'd still be remixing it next year." He later said that by putting the finishing touches on the album while touring, the music was imbued with a directness that would have been missing if they had been working in the studio non-stop for three years.


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: In September 2017, the Edge said the band had agreed upon the album's track listing, running order, and mixes, indicating that it was "absolutely ready to go beside the last polish", such as small mixing tweaks or lyrical changes. Barlow said that Bono was making lyric changes up to the last second before mastering.


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: The lyrics of "Songs of Experience" reflect the "political and personal apocalypse" that Bono felt had occurred in his life in 2016, referring to his "brush with mortality" and the global events that occurred around the rise of conservatism. After his near-death experience, he followed the advice of Irish poet Brendan Kennelly to write as if he were dead, which the Edge said "frees you of having to... be delicate or be anything other than a pure expression of your essence". As a result, Bono wrote the lyrics as a series of letters to people and places closest to his heart. He said, "I know U2 go into every album like it's their last one but even more this time I wanted the people around me that I loved to know exactly how I felt." He also borrowed an idea from poet William Blake to compare oneself as an innocent person to who they become through experience. Accordingly, many of the lyrics contain a dialogue between innocence and experience. Musically, the band sought to use "joy as an act of defiance".


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: The opening song, "Love Is All We Have Left", was described by Bono as "Sinatra singing on the moon, a sci-fi torch song". Singing over a "sparse" arrangement of "trembling strings and synths" with his voice Auto-Tuned, he speaks from the perspective of his innocent self admonishing his experienced self. The guitar riff from "Lights of Home" is based on the bass breakdown from the Haim track "My Song 5"; the Haim sisters provide backing vocals in the chanting coda. Bono's lyrics in the song directly address his near-death experience, opening with "I shouldn't be here 'cause I should be dead / I can see lights in front of me". "You're the Best Thing About Me" originated from the band's attempt to write a song in the spirit of Motown, combining rhythmic music with a joyful mood. The lyrics were written by Bono as a love song for his wife, Ali, after he had a nightmare that he had destroyed their relationship. "Get Out of Your Own Way" is lyrically addressed to Bono's daughters, with words of encouragement to not be one's own worst enemy. The lyrics also reference the US political crisis, mentioning Liberty receiving a "smack in the mouth". Musically, the song was compared to the band's 2000 single "Beautiful Day". Seguing between the end of "Get Out of Your Own Way" and the beginning of "American Soul" is a spoken word segment by rapper Kendrick Lamar; playing what Bono called a "cracked preacher", Lamar gives an ironic take on the Beatitudes. Lamar previously sampled "American Soul" for his song "XXX". "American Soul" is Bono's letter to America; over "fuzzed-out guitar riffs", he takes a supportive stance on immigration and refugees while "calling the US... to account for its lapses in idealism". "Summer of Love", featuring Lady Gaga on backing vocals, was described as a "slinky Zombies pastiche" by "The Boston Globe". The lyrics were inspired by the story of a gardener in Aleppo who grew flowers during the Syrian Civil War as an "act of defiance" before being killed by an air raid. A line in the chorus, "I've been thinking 'bout the west coast / Not the one that everyone knows", references the west coast of Syria. "Red Flag Day" was musically compared to songs from the band's 1983 album "War" as well as the Police. The lyrics contrast a romantic encounter on the beach with Syrian refugees attempting to escape via the Mediterranean Sea.


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: "The Showman (Little More Better)" features a "jaunty" acoustic arrangement that Bono described as "Beatles-in-Hamburg". Written as a letter to the group's audience, the lyrics are self-deprecating and warn of the ridiculousness and untrustworthiness of performers. "The Little Things That Give You Away" was described by "Slant Magazine" as a "sprawling slow burn that builds to a cascading eruption of guitar". The song's lyrics are framed as a conversation between an innocent self and their experienced self, with the latter having a breakdown towards the end of the song and admitting their deepest fears. "Landlady" is a tribute to Ali from Bono for supporting him during the group's early days and for being his motivation to return home. On "The Blackout", the band combine distorted guitars with a bassy, danceable groove, a result that "The Telegraph" said recalled the "audacious cyberpunk energy of "Achtung Baby"". Ruminating on the state of democracy as well as Bono's mortality, the lyrics mention natural disasters and extinction events in lines such as "Dinosaur wonders why it still walks the earth / A meteor promises it's not gonna hurt". "Love Is Bigger Than Anything in Its Way", described as "grandiose" by "USA Today" and as an "anthem" by "Mojo", features Andrew Taggart of the Chainsmokers on keyboards. Bono wrote the lyrics as reassurance to his sons as if they were his last words to them. His message was that love has the power to overcome any obstacles and can help them reach their full potential. The closing song, "13 (There is a Light)", is a piano-based "lullaby" addressed to all of Bono's children, "urging them to summon the strength to face uncertain times".


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: "Songs of Experience", as a companion piece to "Songs of Innocence", contains a number of callbacks to its predecessor:


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: The album's packaging was designed by Shaughn McGrath, with the firm AMP Visual handling the album's design, art direction, and marketing. The photo on the album cover, taken by the band's long-time photographer Anton Corbijn, depicts Bono's son Eli and the Edge's daughter Sian holding hands. The Edge said that it was difficult to find a cover idea that could represent an album they consider to be both very personal and very universal. They ultimately decided to focus it on something other than the band members and to continue the family theme from the cover of "Songs of Innocence", which depicted Mullen with his son, Elvis. Eli and Sian are barefoot in the photo, which was meant to signify "youthful innocence". Contrasting with this, Sian is wearing a US M1 military helmet, which was meant to symbolise the harsh realities of the world they must face. The album art was first shown in May 2017 during the opening concert of the Joshua Tree Tour 2017, when it was displayed on the stage's video screen after a performance of "The Little Things That Give You Away". The silhouette of Eli and Sian was subsequently used as a logo in promotional materials and on the band's merchandising.


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: The album's title, along with that of "Songs of Innocence", are taken from William Blake's collection of poems "Songs of Innocence and of Experience". In lieu of using a graphic framework or printing the album title on the cover, the designers represented the album's themes through the typography, Corbijn's photography, and the use of cyan in the packaging.


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: U2 collaborated with their label Island Records for the release of "Songs of Experience", marking the first time since "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" in 2004 that the label contributed to one of the band's albums. Island managing director Jon Turner said the label worked towards the album release for an estimated 18 months. After the no-cost iTunes release of "Songs of Innocence" that generated negative press, promotion of "Songs of Experience" was more traditional, with an emphasis on "embracing all digital platforms".


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: On 23 May 2017, U2 appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and performed "The Little Things That Give You Away". At stops across the Joshua Tree Tour 2017, the band previewed the album for music and radio industry journalists and insiders with backstage listening sessions.


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: On 21 August 2017, several U2 fans in the United States received cryptic letters via postal mail teasing a new release from the band. The letters contained text mentioning Blake's "Songs of Innocence and of Experience", with a silhouette of Bono's son and the Edge's daughter from the album cover blocking out most of the text except for a few words, revealing the message, "Blackout ... It's ... clear ... who ... you are ... will ... appear ... U2.com". The bottom of the letters said "U2 will announce" but blacked out the release title and date. Many of the recipients of the letter were in the path of that day's solar eclipse. On 30 August, after posting a teaser online the day prior, the band unveiled a video on Facebook Live showing a live performance of the new song "The Blackout". The video was part of a strategy to energise U2's core fans on social media by reaching them with new music first. "The Blackout" video was viewed more than 2 million times in 24 hours and 11 million in over a week.


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: The following week, on 6 September, "You're the Best Thing About Me" was released as the album's lead single, and "The New York Times" published an article on the album, stating it would be released on 1 December. On 7 September, the band performed "You're the Best Thing About Me" on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" before debuting it live at a concert in Indianapolis three days later on the Joshua Tree Tour 2017. Island said that performances of the new single during the tour generated excitement for the album among commercial and media partners in attendance.


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: In late October, fans once again received mysterious postal mail letters, this time containing the "Songs of Experience" track listing blacked out except for one song. On 1 November, the band officially announced details of the album's release: a 1 December release date was confirmed, the album artwork was unveiled, and the release formats were announced; additionally, the tracks "Get Out of Your Own Way" and "The Blackout" were released on streaming services, and 2018 North American tour dates for the Experience + Innocence Tour were announced. The tour used Ticketmaster's Verified Fan platform for combating ticket reselling, making U2 the first group to do so for an entire tour. Every ticket purchased for the tour included a copy of "Songs of Experience". Those who pre-ordered the album received "instant grat downloads" of "You're the Best Thing About Me", "Get Out of Your Own Way", and "The Blackout". The group performed at Trafalgar Square in London on 11 November prior to them receiving the Global Icon Award for the MTV Europe Music Awards. On 17 November, the song "American Soul" was released.


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: "Songs of Experience" was released on 1 December on several formats: compact disc, vinyl record, digital download, and streaming. Deluxe editions include up to four bonus tracks. The Extra Deluxe edition contains the album pressed on two 180-gram translucent cyan-coloured vinyl LPs along with a CD copy of the album with four bonus tracks. Also included are a digital download card, a fold-out poster, and a 16-page newspaper-style lyric sheet. The album was promoted in several ways upon release. Amazon Music produced online radio programming about the band called "The U2 Experience". The content, which was available for the two days prior to the album's release date, included songs from across the band's career, interviews, and live recordings from the Joshua Tree Tour 2017. Spotify produced a mini-documentary about the group called "U2 in America" that was made available as part of a playlist of their songs, while the band also recorded a "Spotify Singles" session. Apple Music subscribers were given access to an eight-minute video of Bono narrating the album's liner notes. On the day of release, Bono made an appearance on the American football television program "Good Morning Football", and the band briefly performed on a sidewalk underneath the High Line in New York City. U2 was the musical guest on the 2 December episode of American comedy television series "Saturday Night Live"; fellow countryperson Saoirse Ronan hosted the episode. Five days after the album's release, Bono and the Edge traveled the Berlin subway line sharing the band's namesake and gave a short performance on a station platform. On 19 December, BBC One aired "U2 at the BBC", an hour-long television special that featured performances by the band and interview segments with Cat Deeley.


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: "Get Out of Your Own Way" was released as the album's second single on 16 January 2018, with the song's music video following two days later. Members of U2 appeared in two performances at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards: Bono and the Edge participated in Kendrick Lamar's performance of "XXX", while the band pre-recorded a performance of "Get Out of Your Own Way" on a barge in front of the Statue of Liberty. A performance of "American Soul" was also filmed at the location and used as part of the song's promotional tie-in with the 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament; the song was used as "secondary theme" music accompanying television coverage by CBS Sports and Turner Sports, playing at the beginning of broadcasts of the games, before and after commercial breaks, and in television advertisements. ESPN also used the song in television coverage of Opening Day of the 2018 Major League Baseball season. "Love Is Bigger Than Anything in Its Way" was released to Triple A radio as the album's third single on 23 April.


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: Several promotional singles and remixes of the album's songs were released. Kygo's dance remix of "You're the Best Thing About Me" was released on 15 September 2017. On 24 November, U2 issued a 12-inch vinyl single of "The Blackout" for Record Store Day Black Friday. Released in partnership with Third Man Records, the single includes the album version of the song and a remix by Jacknife Lee. The band released a second Record Store Day single on 21 April 2018, comprising a limited-edition 12-inch vinyl single of "Lights of Home" on picture disc that contains Beck's "Free Yourself" remix of the song. After the single release of "Get Out of Your Own Way", several remixes of the song were issued by Afrojack and Switch. Similarly, the single "Love Is Bigger Than Anything in Its Way" was remixed by many artists, including Beck, Cheat Codes, Will Clarke, the Funk Hunters, and Daybreakers. On 20 July 2018, an EP containing three remixes of the song by HP Hoeger and Rusty Egan was released by the band. The remixes of "Love Is Bigger Than Anything in Its Way" helped the song reach number one on the "Billboard" Dance Club Songs chart. On 10 August, the band released a four-song EP containing remixes of "Summer of Love" by Robin Schulz, TILT, Howie B, and HP Hoeger and Rusty Egan. "Landlady" was released as a promotional single in Italy on 19 October.


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: "Songs of Experience" received generally mixed reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 63 based on 28 reviews. Mark Beaumont of "NME" found that the band are "old masters at pomping up whatever the kids are buying", comparing portions of the album to songs by Bastille and Kanye West. The review concluded, "U2 have built a stadium rock cruise liner they've zero interest in rocking, and '...Experience' is 50 minutes of very plain sailing indeed." David Sackllah of "Consequence of Sound" said the album too often "finds the band retreading well-worn material". He said that the lyrical rewrites to reflect the political climate resulted in the album being "full of references that can feel shoehorned in". Calum Marsh of "Pitchfork" said that "Songs of Experience" is "the shameless effort of four men in their late 50s to muster a contemporary, youthful sound." The review criticized Bono's lyrics for their platitudes and attempts to tackle political subjects, saying, "Despite the blatant bid to sound modish and rejuvenated, U2 cannot help in certain respects but sound the same." Andy Gill of "The Independent" said, "Rarely has a band of such stature sounded quite so enervated and bereft of inspiration as U2 do here". The review said the band had been "reduced to hackneyed cheap tricks and tired old truisms barely worth the chords they're strung on – which are themselves the limpest melodies of their career." Terence Cawley of "The Boston Globe" said the album rarely deviates from the formula that U2 has followed since their 2000 album "All That You Can't Leave Behind", in that it combines musical crescendos with uninsightful motivational lyrics. He assessed that "the band rarely builds up enough momentum to achieve lift-off, instead slowing to an adult contemporary-friendly gait for much of the album's second half."


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: James McNair of "Mojo" called "Songs of Experience" an "infinitely more satisfying beast than its patchy predecessor" and "U2's strongest album this century". He praised the record for its hooks and for its final songs, on which he felt Bono was at his most vulnerable. Andrew Perry of "Q" said the album "will likely go down as a late-career classic". The review lauded the group for their ability to evoke a range of moods and sounds: "U2 have dug deep, yet they remain both postmodern and unpredictable. Able to assume many sounds and voices; to invoke their early-'80s innocence, but also none-more-experienced, masters of every inch of their game". Neil McCormick of "The Daily Telegraph" said that the album is filled with "big meaty hooks matched by singalong aphorisms". He was complimentary of the group for melding their personal conflict with the positivity of their music, saying the album demonstrates them at "their most mature and assured, playing songs of passion and purpose, shot through and enlivened with a piercing bolt of desperation". David Fricke of "Rolling Stone" said the group's reflection on their mortality provides an "urgency [that] binds and propels the mosaic jump of "Experience"". Fricke praised the group for offering glimpses of their past work, saying, "The mounting effect is a charge of dynamic moods and a still-certain mission". Alexis Petridis of "The Guardian" said that despite some awkward attempts to sound contemporaneous, the album was better than either of its predecessors and was "frequently fantastic". He singled out the moments dealing with Bono's "brush with mortality" as highlights, calling them the "most natural and enjoyable, as if concerns about their frontman's potential demise caused everyone to stop worrying about U2's place within the contemporary scheme of things and focus on the music".


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: In their end-of-year rankings, "Rolling Stone" named "Songs of Experience" the third-best album and "Lights of Home" the fifth-best song of 2017. "The Blackout" appeared on "The New York Times" list of the 54 best songs of the year. For the 2017 Pazz & Jop end-of-year critics poll compiled by "The Village Voice", "Songs of Experience" tied for 98th place on the list of best albums. For the 2018 "Billboard" Music Awards, it was nominated for Top Rock Album.


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: "Songs of Experience" debuted at number one on the US "Billboard" 200 with 186,000 album-equivalent units earned in its first week, 180,000 of which were sales. The record's debut benefited from the bundling promotion that included copies with tickets purchased for the Experience + Innocence Tour. "Songs of Experience" was the band's eighth number-one album in the US, the third-most of any group, and made them the first group to attain number-one albums in the US in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s. It was the largest sales week of any rock album in the US in 2017. The album charted for nine weeks on the "Billboard" 200.


title: Songs of Experience (U2 album)

text: The record entered the Canadian Albums Chart at number one with 24,000 copies sold among 25,000 album-equivalent units, making it U2's sixth album to top the country's chart during the Nielsen SoundScan era. On the UK Albums Chart, the record opened at number five with 40,669 copies sold in its first week, before falling to number 20 the following week. It remained on the chart for 10 weeks. In the group's native Ireland, the record debuted at number one, making them the first band to have 12 number-one albums in the country. It also reached number one in the Netherlands, their 12th album to do so. "Songs of Experience" was the sixth-best-selling album globally in 2017, selling 1.3 million copies.


title: The Wiz

text: The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's children's novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" (1900) in the context of contemporary African-American culture. It opened on October 21, 1974, at the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre in Baltimore, and moved to Broadway's Majestic Theatre with a new cast on January 5, 1975.


title: The Wiz

text: The 1975 Broadway production won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. It was an early example of Broadway's mainstream acceptance of works with an all-Black cast. It has had revivals in New York, London, San Diego, and the Netherlands, and a limited-run revival was presented by "Encores!" at New York City Center in June 2009. A big-budget film adaptation of the same name was released in 1978, with Ted Ross and Mabel King reprising their roles. A live television production of the stage version, "The Wiz Live!", was broadcast on NBC on December 3, 2015, with an encore presentation on December 19 of the same year.


title: The Wiz

text: The idea for the musical originated with producer Ken Harper. He replaced the original director, Gilbert Moses, with Geoffrey Holder in Detroit during out-of-town tryouts. As cast member André De Shields, who played the title role, later wrote, "It was Geoffrey's masterful people skills and embrace of magical realism that metamorphosed "The Wiz" from caterpillar to butterfly."


title: The Wiz

text: The original Baltimore cast included Stephanie Mills as Dorothy, Stu Gilliam as the Scarecrow, Tiger Haynes as the Tin Man, Ted Ross as the Cowardly Lion, and Butterfly McQueen as the Queen of the Field Mice, but in a much smaller role. Renee C. Harris stayed on as understudy for the role of Dorothy, as did McQueen for the role of Addaperle.


title: The Wiz

text: The production was choreographed by George Faison, with scenic designer Tom H. John, costumes by Geoffrey Holder, lighting by Tharon Musser, and orchestrations by Harold Wheeler. Faison and Holder both won Tony Awards for choreography and costume design, respectively in 1975.


title: The Wiz

text: The show had a pre-Broadway tryout at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit in November 1974, and at the Forrest Theatre in Philadelphia from December 11, 1974, through December 21, 1974. After drawing mixed critical reviews, producer Ken Harper considered closing the musical after its Broadway opening night. One source attributes its turnaround success to a publicity campaign that included a TV commercial featuring the cast singing "Ease On Down the Road," a song that proved so popular that it was released as a single recorded by the disco group Consumer Rapport; The single hit the "Billboard" Soul Singles chart, peaking at #19 and the Hot 100, peaking at #42.


title: The Wiz

text: William F. Brown, who wrote the book, gave a more specific explanation in 1993: "20th Century-Fox, the musical's major investor, put in another $100,000 to keep it going and everyone agreed to royalty cuts until the production's cost—about $1.1 million—was recouped...By the eighth week, we were selling out."


title: The Wiz

text: The Broadway production moved to The Broadway Theatre on May 25, 1977, and closed on January 28, 1979, after four years and 1,672 performances.


title: The Wiz

text: Along with other musicals including "Purlie" (1971) and "Raisin" (1974), "The Wiz" was a breakthrough for Broadway, a large-scale big-budget musical featuring an all-Black cast. It laid the foundation for later African-American hits such as "Bubbling Brown Sugar", "Dreamgirls" and "Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies".


title: The Wiz

text: The musical toured the US in 1976 and during the tour, Kenneth Kamal Scott (then billed as "Kamal") replaced Andre DeShields as the Wiz, Renn Woods was cast as Dorothy but departed the tour after playing only a couple of cities because during the show's engagement at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, the 19-year-old performer was recruited for a featured part in the movie production of "Hair". Renee C. Harris (who was in her very early 20s) took over as the tour's Dorothy and continued leading that company for a couple of years playing many engagements in cities across the country. At this time, the production also featured Ben Harney as the Tin Man and Ken Prymus as the Lion. Prymus was known to audiences for his featured role in the movie "MASH" (1970) for singing "Suicide is Painless." Both men were subsequently featured in other Broadway shows and were as replacements in the Broadway production of "Ain't Misbehavin". Harney also originated the leading role of Curtis in the Broadway debut of "Dreamgirls". When Harris eventually departed the company, the tour continued with Deborah Malone in the role of Dorothy. There was also a second national touring company which was a scaled down production. This second tour opened with Malone reprising her role as Dorothy, who was later replaced by Lillias White.


title: The Wiz

text: A revival ran on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre from May 24, 1984, through June 3, 1984, closing after 13 performances and 7 previews. Directed by Geoffrey Holder, the cast featured Stephanie Mills as Dorothy. It then ran in London at the Lyric Hammersmith from December 11, 1984, through February 2, 1985. A planned 2004 Broadway revival was not produced.


title: The Wiz

text: In August 2015, George Faison presented "The Wiz: A Celebration in Dance and Music," performances of the original songs and choreography in honor of the Broadway hits 40th Anniversary at Summerstage in New York City.


title: The Wiz

text: A number of members of the original Broadway cast returned for this celebratory run. Actress Phylicia Rashad, a munchkin and swing in the original production, co-hosted the performance with George Faison. André De Shields reprised his original role as the Wiz; Dee Dee Bridgewater, Tony Award winner for her role as Glinda, reprised this original role; Evelyn Thomas reprised her original role as the Tornado and Ebony Jo-Ann, who played Addaperle in the Broadway revival of the production reprised her role as well. Singer-songwriter Wallace Gary joined the cast as the Scarecrow. Damien L. Sneed acted as the musical director and conductor of The Wiz: A Celebration in Dance and Music.


title: The Wiz

text: From 1996 to 1997 there was a US concert version tour with Tasha Scott as Dorothy, Grace Jones (Evillene), Peabo Bryson (The Wiz), and CeCe Peniston as Glinda. The cast also featured Tony Terry as the Tin Man. Romelda Benjamin also played Aunt Em.


title: The Wiz

text: An Australian production for J. C. Williamson Theatres Limited played in Melbourne and Sydney from January–October 1976; starring Andrea Frierson (Dorothy), Victor Willis (Tin Man), Freddie Paris (Lion), Chuck McKinney (The Wiz) and Robert Ellis (Scarecrow). Upon his return from Australia in late 1976, Victor Willis joined the cast of the original Broadway production.


title: The Wiz

text: Flymonkey Productions (London, UK) ran two shows. The first one was in 2000 which received great reviews and a second was run the following year in 2001 receiving exceptional reviews from the London press. Both productions were run at the Hackney Empire. The 2001 show was particularly notable because it was the last show to be performed at the Hackney Empire before the theatre closed its doors for refurbishment. Both shows were directed by Jamie Hinde; musical director Steve White (both shows); production manager Andy Barnes (both shows); choreography by Suzannah Howlett (2000) and Juliet Vibert (2001, also appeared as a dancer in both shows). The production starred Tamsier Joof (both shows); Rustie Lee (both shows); Sharon D. Clarke (2000), Victoria Wilson-James (2001), and Kat of MTV (both shows).


title: The Wiz

text: A production ran at the La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego, from September 26, 2006, through November 12, 2006, receiving good reviews and extending its run by three weeks. It was directed by Des McAnuff, who, with Harold Wheeler, orchestrator of the original Broadway version, revised the musical for contemporary audiences. It starred Nikki M. James (Dorothy), E. Faye Butler (Evelline) and David Alan Grier (The Wiz), and featured sets by Robert Brill.


title: The Wiz

text: Dodger Productions holds U.S. rights to revive the musical, while Joop Van den Ende's Stage Entertainment holds the European rights. Stage Entertainment mounted a full-scale production at the Beatrix Theater in Utrecht, Netherlands, in 2006. The production was directed by Glenn Casale and choreographed by Anthony Van Laast and featured sets by David Gallo.


title: The Wiz

text: City Center's "Encores!" Summer Stars series production ran June 12 through July 5, 2009. The production was directed by Thomas Kail and choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler. It starred Ashanti as Dorothy, Tichina Arnold as Evillene, Dawnn Lewis as Addapearl, Joshua Henry as the Tin Man, James Monroe Iglehart as the Lion, Orlando Jones (succeeded by Colman Domingo) as The Wiz, and LaChanze as Aunt Em and Glinda.


title: The Wiz

text: A major British revival of the musical was produced in 2011 by the Birmingham Repertory Theatre (however performed at the New Alexandra Theatre due to The REP's refurbishment) in a co-production with the West Yorkshire Playhouse, re-locating Kansas to present day Birmingham This production was directed by Josette Bushell-Mingo, with choreography by Paul J. Medford.


title: The Wiz

text: The first German-speaking production will be produced in Linz/Austria in the new Musiktheater Linz. The production will be directed and choreographed by Kim Duddy.


title: The Wiz

text: The Fiddlehead Theatre Company, in the historic Strand Theatre in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, mounted a production, directed by Stacey Stephens, Fiddlehead Theatre Company's Associate Producing Artistic Director, in February 2015.


title: The Wiz

text: A production ran at The Muny from June 19-25 2018. It starred Nathan Lee Graham as The Wiz, James T. Lane as Tinman, Darius de Haas as Lion, Demetria McKinney as Glinda, and newcomers Danyel Fulton and Jared Grimes as Dorothy and Scarecrow, respectively. It was directed by Denis Jones and choreographed by Camille A. Brown.


title: The Wiz

text: The Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester mounted a production that ran from November 24th 2021 till January 16th 2022, with the cast including Tarik Frimpong as The Scarecrow. The production was recorded and streamed as an encore production, and performances from it were broadcast by the BBC as part of Big Night of Musicals by the National Lottery.


title: The Wiz

text: A North American tour, directed by Schele Williams with new material by Amber Ruffin, is scheduled to launch in the fall of 2023 in Baltimore with plans to transfer to Broadway for a limited engagement in Spring 2024.


title: The Wiz

text: Teenaged Dorothy Gale lives with her Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, and dog, Toto, on their farm in Kansas. Though her work there keeps her busy, she often gets distracted in her boredom with farm life, choosing instead to play with Toto and dream of someday seeing far-off lands. Aunt Em, however, has little patience for her daydreaming, believing that dawdling is contrary to their way of life. After an argument, Aunt Em apologizes to her for an unintentionally hurtful remark. She explains that she only scolds because she wants Dorothy to be the best she can be, and fears that she will not be prepared for the responsibilities life will soon put upon her. Aunt Em loves her dearly and hopes they will always be as close as they were when she was younger ("The Feeling We Once Had").


title: The Wiz

text: When an approaching storm turns out to be a tornado, Dorothy takes shelter in the farmhouse as Aunt Em and Uncle Henry do so in the storm cellar. As the tornado hits the farm, the house, with Dorothy inside, is lifted into the air and flies for miles, with the wind represented by dancers ("Tornado"). The house finally comes to rest with a bump in the middle of a field covered with flowers. There Dorothy is met by the Munchkins, all of whom are dressed in blue, and Addaperle, the Good Witch of the North, who tells her that she is in the Land of Oz. Furthermore, her house has fallen on Evamean, the Wicked Witch of the East, and killed her, freeing the Munchkins from her evil powers. Dorothy, distressed and confused, wants only to return home. With her magic unable to take Dorothy beyond the country boundaries, Addaperle decides Dorothy's best chance for assistance is to follow the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City in the centre of Oz, to see the great and powerful Wizard of Oz, or "The Wiz" for short ("He's the Wizard"). She gives her Evamean's silver shoes, and tells her not to take them off before she reaches home, for they hold a mysterious, but very powerful charm that will keep her safe.


title: The Wiz

text: Dorothy sets off down the Yellow Brick Road, full of doubt and fear at what lies ahead ("Soon As I Get Home"). Stopping to rest by a cornfield, she is startled when a scarecrow hanging on a pole strikes up a conversation with her ("I Was Born on the Day Before Yesterday"). He tells her of his longing for brains so that he can be like other people, and she invites him to accompany her to see if the Wizard can help him. ("Ease On Down the Road #1").


title: The Wiz

text: The Yellow Brick Road leads them into a great forest where they discover a man made of tin, rusted solid. They oil his joints ("Slide Some Oil To Me") and he tells them how, to prevent him from marrying a servant girl, Evamean put a spell on his axe so that it began to cut off parts of his body. Each time it happened, a tinsmith replaced each missing part with one made of tin until he was entirely made of it. The one thing the tinsmith forgot was a heart, and he has longed for one ever since. Dorothy and the Scarecrow invite him on their journey to see the Wizard with the hope that he may give him one ("Ease On Down the Road #2").


title: The Wiz

text: They continue following the Yellow Brick Road deeper into the forest, where they are attacked by a large lion ("I'm a Mean Ole Lion"). However, he is quickly revealed to be a coward hiding behind bravado as Dorothy stands up for her friends. When he learns where they are going, he apologizes and asks if he may accompany them to ask the Wizard for some courage. They agree and the trio becomes a quartet ("Ease On Down the Road #3"), but face a new danger when they are attacked by half-tiger, half-bear creatures called Kalidahs ("Kalidah Battle"). After a great fight and harrowing escape, they stop by the road to rest. The Lion is embarrassed by his cowardice in the battle, but is comforted by Dorothy's kind words ("Be a Lion").


title: The Wiz

text: Seeing a green glow in the distance, they continue their journey to the Emerald City, and wander into a field of poppies who blow opium dust on them. Not being made of flesh, the Scarecrow and Tin Man are unaffected, but Dorothy and the Lion begin to become disoriented and drowsy. Dorothy recalls that the Munchkins warned her of these poppies, and runs from the field as fast as she can with the Scarecrow and Tin Man behind her. The Lion is overcome by the dust and begins to hallucinate ("Lion's Dream"). He is dragged from the field and returned to his friends by the Field Mice who police the area.


title: The Wiz

text: Marching up to the gates of the Emerald City, they are met by the Gatekeeper who insists they must all be fitted with a pair of green tinted glasses that are locked on to prevent them being blinded by the dazzling sights. They enter the city and look about in awe at the richly dressed people that inhabit it ("Emerald City Ballet"). The haughty and condescending people laugh and ridicule this odd group for wanting to see the Wizard until they see that Dorothy is wearing Evamean's silver shoes. They are promptly shown right into his palace.


title: The Wiz

text: Once in the throne room, they are assaulted by a great show of lights, smoke, and pyrotechnics as the Wizard appears in several forms before them ("So You Wanted To Meet the Wizard"). They each plead their case to him, the Tin Man doing so in song ("What Would I Do If I Could Feel?"). He agrees on one condition: they must kill Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West. With their goals seeming further out of reach than ever before, they sink to the floor in tears.


title: The Wiz

text: Evillene rules over the yellow land of the west, enslaving its people, the Winkies. She is evil, power hungry, and ruthlessly determined to get her hands on her sister's silver shoes, so that she may increase her power and rule over all of Oz ("Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News"). Receiving word of Dorothy and her friends approaching, she sends her Winged Monkeys to kill them ("Funky Monkeys"). Catching up to them in the forest surrounding her castle, the monkeys dash the Tin Man against rocks until he falls apart, and rip the straw out of the Scarecrow, leaving both of them helpless. Seeing Dorothy's silver shoes, however, they dare not harm her. Instead, they carry her to Evillene's castle along with the Lion. While searching for a way to get the shoes from Dorothy, Evillene forces her and the Lion to do menial chores around her castle. She takes delight in torturing the Lion before Dorothy, threatening to have him skinned unless she hands over the silver shoes. Angered by this, she picks up a bucket of water and throws it over Evillene, who melts until only her magic golden cap remains. Her spell on the Winkies is lifted, and they show their thanks by restoring the Scarecrow and Tin Man to top condition, and reuniting the group ("Everybody Rejoice/A Brand New Day").


title: The Wiz

text: Returning to the Emerald City, they see the Wizard (now a booming voice that seems to come from the very air). He reneges on his promise, and the Lion knocks over a screen in anger. Behind it stands a bewildered man who claims to be the Wizard. He shows them the elaborate mechanical effects used to create his illusions, and tells them that he is really a balloonist from Omaha named Herman Smith who traveled to Oz by accident when his hot air balloon drifted off course. The Ozians had never seen such a sight and proclaimed him Wizard. Not wanting to disappoint them, he assumed the role and had a great city built. He then had everyone in it wear green glasses, and in time, they came to believe it was green.


title: The Wiz

text: Furious, the group confronts the Wizard on his deceptions ("Who Do You Think You Are?"), but he points out that the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion already have the things they seek as shown in their behavior on the journeys they have made ("Believe In Yourself"). They remain unconvinced, so he creates physical symbols of their desires and they are satisfied. He proposes that Dorothy can return to Kansas the way he came, and offers to pilot her in his hot air balloon. He addresses the citizens of the Emerald City in person for the first time in many years, telling them of his imminent journey, and leaving the Scarecrow in charge ("Y'all Got It!"). Just as his speech reaches its climax, the balloon comes free from its moorings and rises quickly into the air, taking Dorothy's hopes of getting home with it.


title: The Wiz

text: Just as the group despairs of finding help, Addaperle reappears in a flash of light, suggesting that Dorothy ask Glinda, the Good Witch of the South, for assistance. She transports them to Glinda's castle in the red land of the south, where they are warmly welcomed and invited to rest after their many trials ("A Rested Body Is a Rested Mind"). Glinda is a beautiful and gracious sorceress, surrounded by a court of pretty girls. She tells Dorothy that the silver shoes have always had the power to take her home, but like her friends, she needed to believe in their magic and in herself before it was possible ("If You Believe"). She bids a tearful goodbye to her friends, and as their faces fade into the darkness, she thinks about what she has gained, lost, and learned throughout her journey through Oz ("Home"). Clicking her heels together three times, she finds herself transported back to Kansas in an instant. As an overjoyed Aunt Em and Toto appear, and she runs to hug them, she knows that she is back home at last.


title: The Wiz

text: Motown Productions acquired the film rights to "The Wiz" in 1977 and signed Stephanie Mills in anticipation of having her star as Dorothy in the film adaptation. Motown singer and actress Diana Ross asked Motown CEO Berry Gordy to cast her instead, but he declined, feeling that the then-33-year-old Ross was far too old for the part. However, she contacted Rob Cohen of Universal Pictures, who offered to have them finance the film if she were to play Dorothy, at which point he acquiesced.


title: The Wiz

text: The resulting film version of "The Wiz" also starred former Motown star Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow, Nipsey Russell as the Tin Man, Richard Pryor as the Wizard, jazz singer Thelma Carpenter as Miss One (the name "Addapearle" was not used for this production) and Lena Horne as Glinda. Ross and King reprised their roles of the Lion and Evillene from the Broadway production respectively. Sidney Lumet served as director, working with screenwriter Joel Schumacher (who used none of Brown's stage script) and music supervisor Quincy Jones. The film was a critical and commercial failure, performing poorly at the box office and severely panned by critics, who branded the casting of Ross instead of Mills as Dorothy a disastrous blunder.


title: The Wiz

text: In 1998, following their TV-movie production of "Cinderella" (1997), producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron began pre-production on a TV-movie adaptation of "The Wiz" for "The Wonderful World of Disney", which was to star a then-unknown Anika Noni Rose as Dorothy. The project fell through due to Universal still having the film rights to adaptations of "The Wiz", and the production was shelved. "The O.Z.", a hip-hop re-adaptation of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" with an all-Black cast that was to use original music rather than adapt "The Wiz", was then planned by FOX and director Chris Stokes in the early 2000s. With Brandy, Queen Latifah, Patti LaBelle, Busta Rhymes, and Little Richard among its planned cast, the telefilm ultimately went un-produced; FOX instead became a co-producer on "The Muppets' Wizard of Oz" (2005), starring Ashanti as Dorothy and Latifah as Aunt Em.


title: The Wiz

text: Eleven years later, following the production of two live musicals for NBC – "The Sound of Music Live!" (2013) and "Peter Pan Live!" (2014), Zadan and Meron announced "The Wiz Live!" as their next production (NBC, by this point, having purchased Universal Studios). NBC's live performance of the stage show aired on December 3, 2015. Stephanie Mills, who originated the role of Dorothy on Broadway, played Aunt Em. An open casting call for the role of Dorothy took place on June 6, 2015. In July 2015, Queen Latifah was cast as the Wiz and Mary J. Blige was confirmed to play the role of Evillene. In addition, Beyoncé was offered to play Glinda, but no deal was made. The following month, David Alan Grier was cast as the Cowardly Lion, and newcomer Shanice Williams was chosen to play Dorothy. Uzo Aduba played Glinda and Amber Riley portrayed Addaperle, the Good Witch of the North. Other principal cast-members included Elijah Kelley as the Scarecrow, Ne-Yo as the Tin Man, and Common as the Bouncer, the gatekeeper of the entrance to Emerald City.


title: The Wiz

text: The orchestra calls for 2 keyboards, 2 guitars, electric bass, drums, percussion, 2 trumpets, trombone, 2 woodwinds and a 5-piece chorus (4 male and 1 female). The first keyboard is played by the conductor. The female guitarist plays lead while the male guitarist plays rhythm. The first woodwind player doubles on tenor and alto saxophones and flute while the second one doubles on tenor, alto and baritone saxophones and flute.


title: The Wiz

text: Dorothy: Renée Harris (u/s), Arnetia Walker (u/s); Scarecrow: Gregg Burge; Tin Man: Ben Harney, Ralph Wilcox (u/s), Victor Willis (u/s); Lion: Michael Leslie, Ken Page, James Wigfall, Victor Willis (u/s); Aunt Em: Dee Dee Bridgewater (u/s); Glinda: Phylicia Rashad (u/s); The Wiz: Carl Hall, Victor Willis (u/s); Evillene: Theresa Merritt (Aunt Em in the 1978 film), Ella Mitchell, Irene Reid, Tasha Thomas (u/s); Addaperle: Butterfly McQueen (u/s)


title: The Wiz

text: All numbers composed by Charlie Smalls save for the following: "Tornado" is composed by Timothy Graphenreed and Harold Wheeler. "Emerald City Ballet (Psst)" is composed by Graphenreed and George Faison. "Everybody Rejoice/A Brand New Day" is composed by Luther Vandross. The song "Wonder, Wonder, Why" was added for the 1984 Broadway revival, but is not part of the current licensed score.


title: The Wiz

text: In his review of the 1984 revival, Frank Rich wrote: "What made "The Wiz" surprisingly moving the first time around was that its creators found a connection between Baum's Kansas fantasy and the pride of urban Black Americans. When Glinda, the good witch, musically instructed Dorothy to 'believe in herself,' she seemed to be delivering a broader inspirational message. "The Wiz" was hardly a great musical in 1975, but it had something to say, and it said it with verve and integrity. It's depressing to watch a once-fervent expression of Black self-respect and talent be spilled on the stage as if it were a trunkload of marked-down, damaged goods."


title: The Wiz

text: In their review of the 2006 La Jolla production, "Variety" wrote: "'The Wiz' remains a collage of contemporary slang and imagery, but La Jolla's is a multicultural collage in which Baum's themes speak to the broadest possible audience. Unquestionably, the humor and the heartbeat of the piece remain African-American at their source, but the overall effect is pluralistic and inclusive. In the truest and most positive sense of the phrase, McAnuff's show is color-blind. Every alteration from the 1975 original, inspired by the central multicultural concept, is salutary. Brown's almost wholly rewritten script is tart and funny at last. Smalls' score—supervised by musical director Ron Melrose and original orchestrator Harold Wheeler—sounds fresh and contemporary".


title: The Wiz

text: As critic Peter Filichia wrote in 2015, “ Arguably more impressive is Stephen Sondheim’s opinion. Whenever he’s asked for a favorite show that he didn’t write, he immediately says "The Wiz." What?! With all its false rhymes?! ‘Because,’ he always says, ‘it’s the one show which makes you feel better when you come out of it than you did when you walked in.’”


title: The Wiz

text: The Original Cast Recording for "The Wiz" was released in 1975 on the Atlantic label, produced by Jerry Wexler. While well received, the album omits several key songs from the musical that were not recorded for the album- such as the show's overture, dance and accompaniment music. The "Tornado" instrumental was released as both a 7" single and a 12" extended single, while the show's musical arranger Harold Wheeler co-produced a cover of "Ease on Down the Road" with studio group Consumer Rapport that became a charting single in 1975, peaking at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100.


title: The Wiz

text: In 2017, the original Broadway cast recording of "The Wiz" was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or artistically significant."


title: Painted turtle

text: The painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) is the most widespread native turtle of North America. It lives in slow-moving fresh waters, from southern Canada to northern Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. They have been shown to prefer large wetlands with long periods of inundation and emergent vegetation. This turtle is a member of the genus "Chrysemys", which is part of the pond turtle family Emydidae. Fossils show that the painted turtle existed 15 million years ago. Three regionally based subspecies (the eastern, midland, and western) evolved during the last ice age. The southern painted turtle ("C. dorsalis") is alternately considered the only other species in "Chrysemys", or another subspecies of "C. picta".


title: Painted turtle

text: The adult painted turtle is 13–25 cm (5–10 in) long; the male is smaller than the female. The turtle's top shell is dark and smooth, without a ridge. Its skin is olive to black with red, orange, or yellow stripes on its extremities. The subspecies can be distinguished by their shells: the eastern has straight-aligned top shell segments; the midland has a large gray mark on the bottom shell; the western has a red pattern on the bottom shell.


title: Painted turtle

text: The turtle eats aquatic vegetation, algae, and small water creatures including insects, crustaceans, and fish. Painted turtles primarily feed while in water and are able to locate and subdue prey even in heavily clouded conditions. Although they are frequently consumed as eggs or hatchlings by rodents, canines, and snakes, the adult turtles' hard shells protect them from most predators. Reliant on warmth from its surroundings, the painted turtle is active only during the day when it basks for hours on logs or rocks. During winter, the turtle hibernates, usually in the mud at the bottom of water bodies. The turtles mate in spring and autumn. Females dig nests on land and lay eggs between late spring and mid-summer. Hatched turtles grow until sexual maturity: 2–9 years for males, 6–16 for females.


title: Painted turtle

text: In the traditional tales of Algonquian tribes, the colorful turtle played the part of a trickster. In modern times, four U.S. states (Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, and Vermont) have named the painted turtle their official reptile. While habitat loss and road killings have reduced the turtle's population, its ability to live in human-disturbed settings has helped it remain the most abundant turtle in North America. Adults in the wild can live for more than 55 years.


title: Painted turtle

text: The painted turtle ("C. picta") is the only species in the genus "Chrysemys". The parent family for "Chrysemys" is Emydidae: the pond turtles. Emydidae is split into two sub families; "Chrysemys" is part of the Deirochelyinae (Western Hemisphere) branch. The four subspecies of the painted turtle are the eastern ("C. p. picta"), midland ("C. p. marginata"), southern ("C. p. dorsalis"), and western ("C. p. bellii").


title: Painted turtle

text: The painted turtle's generic name is derived from the Ancient Greek words for "gold" ("chryso") and "freshwater tortoise" ("emys"); the species name originates from the Latin for "colored" ("pictus"). The subspecies name, "marginata", derives from the Latin for "border" and refers to the red markings on the outer (marginal) part of the upper shell; "dorsalis" is from the Latin for "back", referring to the prominent dorsal stripe; and "bellii" honors English zoologist Thomas Bell, a collaborator of Charles Darwin. An alternate East Coast common name for the painted turtle is "skilpot", from the Dutch for turtle, "schildpad".