From about 1800, the town changed as the Industrial revolution took place. It is on the shortest route between London and the Birmingham. As trade between these two cities increased, a canal and a railway were built that passed very close to the town. Some of its water mills were changed from grinding grain to places where paper was made by machine. Some of these grew into giant paper making factories.
After the Second World War, the government in London wanted to build many new homes for people who had had their homes destroyed by bombs in the war. It decided to build some new towns where houses could be built in an very good environment. Hemel Hempstead was chosen to be one of these towns. Many new districts were built during the 1950s and 1960s all around the old town of Hemel Hempstead. It grew into a middle size town of over 80,000 people.
Many new industries came to the town helped by money from the government and because it is where important motorways cross each other.
Hemel Hempstead became world famous for a brief time in 2005 when an oil depot in the town at Buncefield exploded. It caused a big toxic smoke cloud to cover all the surrounding areas. Millions of pounds in damage was done, but no one was killed.
Shock wave
A shock wave is when lots of energy comes from a very small spot and shakes the material around it. The energy makes the material around the spot move very quickly, and very hard. This is a special type of vibration, and it is very strong.
The shock wave can be so powerful that it can knock things over. For example, bombs create shock waves. A shock wave can be destructive because it vibrates the material around the point in an extremely hard and fast wave, which causes other things that the material touches to vibrate too, and even make them explode. Shock waves make bombs more dangerous and sometimes are the most dangerous part of an explosion. However, the shock wave moves much faster than the rest of the bomb's energy, and fades away quickly. It is called a shock "wave", and not simply a shock, because the force goes up and down, like an ocean wave.
A shock wave can move through any material. An earthquake is a shockwave traveling through the ground. Shock waves can also be felt in water. A shock wave is affected by the materials it travels through, and different materials have different effects. A thick material, like water, might help the shock wave travel further, where as a thin material, like air, would not. This is similar to the way that sound waves are affected by what they move through, but sound waves and shock waves are not the same.
A sound wave is similar to a shock wave in the way it looks, but the two are not the same. While a sound wave can be described as the ripples created when you drop a small rock in a bucket of water, a shock wave is faster and not as smooth. If you were to draw a picture of a perfect sound wave, it would be a smooth line, up and down by the same amount. If you were to draw a picture of a shock wave, it would be like many big bumps on a road - the line goes up very quickly, but it does not go down as much. Some of the words people use to talk about sound waves and shock waves are the same, like amplitude or frequency, but this does not mean that they are the same.
Intimacy (album)
Intimacy is the third studio album by British indie rock band Bloc Party. It was recorded in two weeks in different places around London and Kent in the UK. Bloc Party liked the idea of releasing their album by download over the Internet, so on 21 August 2008, people could buy it online.
A Compact Disc version was released a few days later on 24 August 2008. It got to number 8 on the UK Albums Chart and to number 18 on the Billboard 200 Chart in the USA.
Wichita Recordings
Wichita Recordings is a London-based independent record label. They are home to Bloc Party, Peter, Bjorn and John and other United Kingdom-based bands.
The label's first release was the Bright Eyes album, "Fevers and Mirrors", released in 2000.
Shoreditch
Shoreditch is area in Central, East, and North East London, England. It is in the London Borough of Hackney and Tower Hamlets.
Believe (song)
"Believe" is a song by English electronica duo The Chemical Brothers.
The song was on the album "Push the Button". The single released in early May 2005. It peaked at #18 in the UK Singles Chart.
The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers are a British electronica duo based in Manchester. They have released nine albums, five of which reached number one on the UK album charts. They are part of the big beat genre, along with the likes of The Prodigy, The Crystal Method and Fatboy Slim.
Drowned in Sound
Drowned in Sound is an independent music webzine based in the United Kingdom.
Music session
A music session (also called a jam session or simply session) is a gathering of musicians to make music together. It can be a social gathering, or a live performance where the music is played for an audience. A suitable venue might be a local hotel, public bar or private home.
Trash Aesthetics
Trash Aesthetics is a British independent record label. It was started in 2004 by Rob Fawkes and Claire Hewitson. The company is based in South London.
So Here We Are
"So Here We Are" is a single by British indie rock band Bloc Party. It appeared on their debut album, "Silent Alarm".
Designer
A designer is someone who designs things. Some things they might design are:
Push the Button
Push the Button is an album by British electronica duo The Chemical Brothers.
Silent Alarm Remixed
Silent Alarm Remixed is a collection of remixes of "Silent Alarm", the debut album by British indie rock band Bloc Party. It was released in August 2005.
Paul Epworth
Paul Epworth (born 25 July 1974) is an English music producer and songwriter. He produced Bloc Party's debut album, "Silent Alarm". He also produced the UK number one album "Made of Bricks" by Kate Nash. In 2013, he and Adele won the Academy and Golden Globe Awards for Best Original Song for the song "Skyfall" from the movie "Skyfall". He won 4 Grammy Awards in 2012. These included Record, Album and Song of the Year with Adele as well as "Producer of the Year".
War Child
War Child is a British charity aiding child victims of war. It was started in 1993 by British filmmakers Bill Leeson and David Wilson. In 2013 it got the Special Recognition BRIT Award.
The Streets
The Streets are an rap/garage band whose lead singer, multi-instrumentalist & record producer was Mike Skinner, a British rapper. Born in Birmingham, Skinner has often been criticised for using a "mockney" accent during interviews and in many songs.
They released their first album, "Original Pirate Material", in 2002, The album's singles were "Has It Come To This", "Let's Push Things Forward", "Don't Mug Yourself", "The Irony Of It All" and "Weak Become Heroes. His next album, called "A Grand Don't Come For Free" came out in 2004 and is their most successful album. All the songs on the album help tell a story about a man with a broken TV who lost £1000, with other things happening while trying to get the TV repaired. The album includes his most successful singles "Fit But You Know It" and "Dry Your Eyes" which became number 1 in the charts. The album afterwards was named "The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living" which was released in 2006. The album is mostly about the good and bad things of being famous. The album after that, called "Everything Is Borrowed" came out in 2008. He is going to bring out one last album, called "Computers And Blues", but it's release date is unknown. And the reunion in 2017.
Jacknife Lee
Garret "Jacknife" Lee is a guitarist and music producer from Dublin, Ireland. He has worked with U2, R.E.M., Snow Patrol, Bloc Party and Taylor Swift.
The Prayer
"The Prayer" is a single by British indie rock band Bloc Party. It appeared on "A Weekend in the City".
I Still Remember (song)