IN: Starsailor are an English post-Britpop band, formed in 2000. Since its formation the band has included guitarist and vocalist James Walsh, drummer Ben Byrne, bassist James Stelfox and keyboardist Barry Westhead. The band has released five studio albums, and have scored ten Top 40 hit singles in the UK.

For their second album, Silence Is Easy, which was recorded in Los Angeles, Starsailor teamed up with Phil Spector. The collaboration came about following Spector's daughter Nicole attending one of the band's American concerts in the winter of 2002. Spector was reported to have been fascinated by "Lullaby", the band's fourth single. After meeting the producer, the band agreed to work with him on their second album. However, the collaboration was short-lived; sessions at London's Abbey Road proved difficult. Spector is said to have dismissed Ben Byrne's drumming, and proved difficult to work with. Only two tracks made the band's second album: the title track, "Silence Is Easy", and "White Dove". The band co-produced seven of the other tracks with Danton Supple and former The Stone Roses and Radiohead producer John Leckie was brought in to oversee the recording of "Shark Food". The first single was "Silence Is Easy", which made the Top Ten (#9, the band's highest placing). The album spawned just three singles; the second of which, "Born Again" had evolved from a B-side to "Poor Misguided Fool", released in early 2002. The song was re-recorded for the album, and cut down for a radio edit. "Four to the Floor", which was remixed by Thin White Duke, became a popular club hit. Walsh wanted the track to become the band's "I Am the Resurrection", something to be played in "indie discos everywhere". The album charted well, but sales were sluggish in comparison to the band's first album. The release dropped out of the Top 40 soon thereafter. A full UK Tour began in Autumn 2003 shortly after the release of the album, culminating at London's Brixton Academy. The show featured the only performance before their American tour in 2006 of "Restless Heart", the closing track on the Silence Is Easy album. Mark Collins, from The Charlatans joined Starsailor for all dates between August 2003 to December 2004, playing additional and lead guitar.

Was there anything notable about the tour?

OUT: The Charlatans joined Starsailor for all dates between August 2003 to December 2004,

IN: Keane was born into a working class family in Ballinderry Park, Mayfield, Cork. His father, Maurice, took work wherever he could find, which led to jobs at a local knitwear company and at Murphy's Irish Stout brewery, among others. His family were keen on sport, football especially, and many of his relatives had played for junior clubs in Cork, including Rockmount. Keane took up boxing at the age of nine and trained for a number of years, winning all of his four bouts in the novice league.

Keane made headlines again in the 2001 Manchester derby, when five minutes from the final whistle, he was sent off for a blatant knee-high foul on Alf-Inge Haland in what was seen by many as an act of revenge. He initially received a three-match suspension and a PS5,000 fine from The Football Association (FA), but further punishment was to follow after the release of Keane's autobiography in August 2002, in which he stated that he intended "to hurt" Haland. Keane's account of the incident was as follows: I'd waited long enough. I fucking hit him hard. The ball was there (I think). Take that you cunt. And don't ever stand over me sneering about fake injuries. An admission that the tackle was in fact a premeditated assault, it left the FA with no choice but to charge Keane with bringing the game into disrepute. He was banned for a further five matches and fined PS150,000 in the ensuing investigation. Despite widespread condemnation, he later maintained in an interview that he had no regrets about the incident: "My attitude was, fuck him. What goes around comes around. He got his just rewards. He fucked me over and my attitude is an eye for an eye", and said he would probably do the same thing again. Haland later implied that the tackle effectively finished his playing career as he never played a full game afterwards. However, Haland did complete the match and played 68 minutes of the following game. He also played a friendly for Norway in between both matches. It was, in fact, a long-standing injury to his left knee that ended his career rather than his right.

What was the punishment?

OUT: He initially received a three-match suspension and a PS5,000 fine from The Football Association (FA), but further punishment was to follow

IN: Thalia was born on 26 August 1971, in Mexico City, Mexico. She is the youngest of five daughters of Yolanda Miranda Mange (d. 2011), a painter who was Thalia's manager from 1980 to 1999; and Ernesto Sodi Pallares (d. 1977), a scientist, doctor of pathology, criminologist, and writer. Her four sisters are Laura Zapata (daughter of Guillermo Zapata Perez de Utrera), Federica, Gabriela, and Ernestina Sodi. When she turned one, Thalia appeared in her first TV commercial in Mexico.

In 1990, Thalia returned to Mexico and released her first studio album as a solo artist, self-titled Thalia, which was produced by Alfredo Diaz Ordaz, and published by Fonovisa, Televisa's record label. From that album, she released a total of four singles that became huge radio hits : "Amarillo Azul", "Pienso en Ti", "Un Pacto Entre Los Dos" and "Saliva". The last two tracks were co-written by her and Diaz Ordaz and they were considered as provocative at the time ("Un Pacto Entre Los Dos" was even labeled as a song with occult Satan-worship lyrics by various far-right parties). In September 1991, Thalia released her second studio album, Mundo de cristal, which marks Thalia's last project in collaboration with Alfredo Diaz Ordaz. Four songs became radio singles from the album, and all of them had big radio impact in Mexico. Due to the success of the singles, the album was certified as double gold in Thalia's native country, Mexico. In the same year, Thalia was co-presenter of the late Spanish show VIP Noche, along with Spanish presenter Emilio Aragon, produced by Telecinco. In October 1992, she released her third studio album and her last under the same label, entitled Love, which was recorded in Spain and it was produced by Luis Carlos Esteban. The album spread six singles, that had huge radio impact: "Sangre", "Love", "No Trates de Enganarme", "Flor de Juventud", "Maria Mercedes" (official theme of the TV series), and "La Vida en Rosa" (La vie en rose), the last one being a Spanish-French cover of the classic French song originally performed by Edith Piaf. Thalia wrote the song "Sangre" inspired in Diaz Ordaz, with whom she had broken up her sentimental relation. The album was praised by the critics, as it was an artistic evolution for Thalia, who experimented for the first time in different music genres, especially electronic music. The album reached number 15 on Billboard's Latin Pop Albums in 1993. In Mexico, it sold over 200,000 copies in the first month upon its release and very soon it reached the platinum and gold certification, while it was a commercial success all over Latin America.

When was the second album released?

OUT:
Due to the success of the singles, the album was certified as double gold in Thalia's native country, Mexico.