Latest news with #Hendrix
Elle
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Elle
Bestselling Author Kennedy Ryan Wants Publishing to ‘Let Her Cook'
Every item on this page was chosen by an ELLE editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. In an early chapter from Can't Get Enough, the latest New York Times bestselling romance novel from author Kennedy Ryan, the ambitious businesswoman Hendrix Barry tells an audience of potential investors that 'there's no such thing as Black Girl Magic.' Cue the shock. She continues, 'I know as soon as I said that, many of you inwardly responded the way my grandfather did when I was growing up in the country: The hell you say. I know that for many of you, shoot, for me, there was a time when questioning Black Girl Magic would feel like sacrilege.' But, she finishes, 'We are not magic. We are resilient. It's not a wand. It's work.' Ryan is careful to outline the many differences between herself and her heroine. But, in this instance, Hendrix seems to speak directly from the author's own experience. 'I just said to my husband the other day, 'There's got to be an easier way to make a living,'' Ryan jokes from her office in North Carolina, from which she joins a Zoom call with me mere days before the release of Can't Get Enough. Ryan's success, like Hendrix's, has been a long time coming. Starting out in the '90s as a journalism graduate from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill—go Heels—she spent years writing and ghostwriting for nonprofits, churches, and, really, 'anywhere I could,' she says. When she later gave birth to a son who was eventually diagnosed with autism, she adjusted most of her work to focus on advocacy. She wrote for Chicken Soup for the Soul and parent-focused magazines; she launched an Atlanta-based nonprofit to serve individuals with autism and their families. But the constant intensity of this work, in addition to the personal demands of parenting her son, found her bereft of a creative outlet. Throughout much of her youth, she'd found solace in romance novels. Why not try writing one of her own? Thus Ryan began a draft of the book that would one day become Before I Let Go, the first installment in the Skyland trilogy, now finalized with Can't Get Enough. In 2013, she secured a book deal with Hachette Book Group, and though she (temporarily) put Before I Let Go aside, she rolled out what would become known as the Bennett series, kickstarting her author career. From then on, Ryan became a publishing force to be reckoned with. Over the ensuing years, she built a backlist—and, she's quick to add, a brand—as a hybrid author, straddling the worlds of traditional publishing and self-publishing in the romance genre. In 2019, she became the first Black author, ever, to win the RITA Award in the Best Contemporary Romance: Long category, bestowed by the Romance Writers of America, an organization long mired in controversy thanks to its mishandling of diversity, equity, and inclusion. (The RWA has since filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, though it is still active.) Ryan entered one of her self-published titles, Long Shot, into RITA consideration on something of a dare. 'I remember being on Twitter at the time, and there was this hashtag #RITASoWhite, the same way they had, like, #OscarsSoWhite,' Ryan says. 'And so many people were saying, 'Well, the reason there's never a Black author winning is because they just never enter.' And I was like, 'No…I think it's systemic.'' The RITAs had been handing out awards for nearly 40 years before a Black author won. 'I think there's something else to it,' Ryan deadpans. Even after she made history as a RITA winner herself, Ryan realized she wasn't satisfied with proving her point in only one gatekept space. 'I started looking around and not really seeing Black romance authors very much on the New York Times list,' she says. 'We weren't on shelves. There wasn't much visibility for our books, really, at all. I started thinking about the brand I had built, which was a brand that had something to say. Not that nobody else did, but I had a very clear sense of who I wanted to center and celebrate.' She didn't want to write to fulfill trends or tropes, or to surpass a sales goal. She didn't want to give readers a shiny alternative universe in which to reside, even if, as a requirement of the romance genre, her books had to have happy endings. She wanted to push the 'discourse' further. In the acknowledgments section of Can't Get Enough, Ryan writes, 'No one wonders about weightier issues being broached in literary fiction or crime novels or any other genre. Why must romance remain agnostic on the most urgent issues of the day?' In our interview, I asked Ryan to elaborate on this idea further. How does she think about romance writing, if it's not simply about that all-important Happily Ever After? 'I am not approaching romance from a place of escape,' she tells me. 'I'm approaching romance from a place of activism. I want to talk about the destigmatization of mental health in marginalized communities. I want to talk about domestic abuse, and I want to talk about it in the context of a patriarchal culture that values paternal right over women's and children's safety. In a romance novel? Yes, in a romance novel.' She wants to deliver the big-picture issues in a package her readers will appreciate. Take Hendrix in Can't Get Enough. This is a protagonist, Ryan argues, with a 'sense of agency, a woman who believes that her body is her own, a woman who has goals and dreams.' She begins the novel as a single 40-something businesswoman, childless by choice, with a substantial income and a group of loyal, adoring friends. When she meets the tech mogul Maverick Bell, she's attracted to him not on account of his money, but because of his respect for her. He sees her. He values her. He shares her commitment to investing—fiscally and emotionally—in Black communities. He empathizes with Hendrix's grief as she struggles with her mother's Alzheimer's diagnosis. And yet Hendrix still hesitates to begin a relationship. She doesn't want to abandon her ambitions to buoy a man's own success; she's seen it happen too many times before. Maverick, ultimately, must convince her he's worthy of her affections—and that he doesn't want her to contort the life she's built. 'When I'm writing all of that, it's not to escape from real life,' Ryan says. 'It's to say, 'This is not too much to ask for in real life.'' The RITA win had presented Ryan with an opportunity: She could broaden her reach (and her message) amongst readers, but do so on her terms. She revisited her draft of Before I Let Go and reestablished her relationship with Hachette, outlining from the jump what she wanted for her next round of traditionally published books: Black women on the cover. 'Natural hair. Pigmentation,' Ryan lists. Her Hachette imprint, Forever, 'listened, which doesn't always happen.' Before I Let Go became a fan favorite after it was published in 2022, and Ryan secured a deal with Peacock to adapt the book—and, by extension, what would become the Skyland series, including the New York Times bestselling follow-ups This Could Be Us and Can't Get Enough—for television. Ryan continues, 'I think it makes a real difference when we as Black artists get to shape things around who we know is our most predictable, reliable reader, which is a Black woman. A lot of times people are like, 'Gosh, why don't Black books sell?' And I'm like, 'No, you don't know how to sell Black books.' And if you would listen to the people who create them, if you would give them aid and creative agency and voice, your bottom line would improve.' When Hachette gave her that agency and that support, Ryan says, she allowed herself to dream big. 'I was like, 'What if this series does what I hope that it could do? I could see Black women on shelves. I could see Black women on billboards. I could see Black women, potentially, one day, on television, thanks to a book I wrote.'' Ryan laughs, delighted. 'And it's so funny, because all of those things have happened or are happening.' Now, Can't Get Enough is a hit; the Skyland saga is in active development at Peacock ('We're still working, and as soon as they say I can announce things, I will,' Ryan teases); and Ryan is at work on the next book in her Hollywood Renaissance series, titled Score. Anyone who has spoken with her for more than a few minutes knows she's the kind of person who practically vibrates with joy—there's a reason she's been dubbed 'Queen of Hugs' amongst fans—but that enthusiasm hasn't made her frustrations with the publishing industry any less acute. She doesn't want to be one of only a handful of Black romance authors who get this level of visibility, especially given that her own visibility pales in comparison to that of many white authors. She continues, 'I am frustrated by the fact that we can't figure out the systems that make it harder for Black women to break through. And it's funny because I hear some readers say, 'Kennedy Ryan is not the only Black romance author! There's a whole bunch of others!' And I get it. Because it's always been this way, not only in publishing but in entertainment in general, only allowing so many of us [Black women] through at a time.' Ryan doesn't want to be an outlier. She wants her success to represent one drop in a sea change. 'We need more Black editors,' she says. 'We need more Black publishers. We need more Black agents. And not just Black—brown, queer, marginalized. We need them in acquisition and editorial roles. When we don't have that, we have people who may not actually know our community making decisions about our art.' She pantomimes a conversation with a publisher. 'You have all these resources, and I respect that. We have this experience and talent and voice. When those two things align, and you give us space?' She grins. 'Like the kids say…'Let her cook.''
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Navitas Semiconductor Announces Corporate Governance Enhancements
Richard Hendrix Appointed Chair of the Board Executive Steering Committee Formed to Advance Growth Strategy TORRANCE, Calif., April 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Navitas Semiconductor (Nasdaq: NVTS), the only pure-play, next-generation power semiconductor company and industry leader in gallium nitride (GaN) power ICs and silicon carbide (SiC) technology, today announced actions by its board of directors to advance the company's growth strategy. These corporate governance enhancements reflect the board's ongoing commitment to stockholder engagement and value creation for all Navitas stakeholders. 'We have taken an important step forward by strengthening our corporate governance and further aligning the board's interests with those of our stockholders,' said Gene Sheridan, Navitas' chief executive officer and co-founder. 'We are confident that we have the right strategy in place to continue delivering disruptive advancements in our target markets. With the updates announced today, our board and leadership team are well positioned to capitalize on Navitas' multi-billion dollar market opportunities and generate value.' Board and Leadership Updates Navitas' board has appointed Richard Hendrix as its chair, effective immediately. Mr. Hendrix joined Navitas' board as an independent director in 2021 and is chair of the audit committee and a member of the compensation committee. He has more than 30 years of capital markets leadership and advisory experience. He succeeds Mr. Sheridan, who will remain on the board as a director and continue as Navitas' chief executive officer. 'I am honored to chair Navitas' board as we work to advance our strategy and continue to enable a revolution in power electronics. Our board remains committed to maintaining strong corporate governance and creating value for our stockholders,' said Mr. Hendrix. Daniel Kinzer, Navitas' chief technology officer, chief operating officer and co-founder, has resigned from his executive roles and as a member of the board. Mr. Kinzer will continue to serve in an advisory role supporting technology and product innovation in the area of GaN technology. Mr. Hendrix continued, 'On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Dan for his invaluable vision and leadership in building Navitas into the only pure-play, next-generation power semiconductor company. We appreciate his continued contributions as we embark on this next chapter of the company's growth.' In connection with Mr. Kinzer's departure from the board, the board intends to appoint an independent director to stand for election as a Class I director at the 2025 annual stockholders' meeting, along with Mr. Sheridan and Ranbir Singh. Additional details will be provided in the Company's definitive proxy statement for the meeting to be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Formation of Executive Steering Committee Navitas also announced the formation of an executive steering committee of the board, which will be responsible for a number of initiatives that include oversight and input on: Expense management and defining an accelerated path to profitability; Acceleration of the company's product and technology roadmap; Enhancement of the company's go-to-market and partnership strategies; and Appointment of operating, sales and technology executives. The committee will work closely with Mr. Sheridan to ensure the effective execution of these strategic priorities. The committee will be chaired by Dr. Singh and include Mr. Hendrix and David Moxam, chair of the compensation committee and a member of the audit committee, as members. In connection with the actions announced today, the company has entered into a cooperation agreement with Dr. Singh following constructive engagement. Details of the agreement will be provided in forthcoming SEC filings. Forward-Looking Statements Statements and information in this press release that are not historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are made pursuant to the 'safe harbor' provisions of such Act. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as 'we expect' or 'are expected to be,' 'estimate,' 'plan,' 'project,' 'forecast,' 'intend,' 'anticipate,' 'believe,' 'seek,' or other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. Forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on by any investor as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions and expectations. The risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ from the events or results predicted or implied by our forward-looking statement include those risk factors discussed in our filings with the SEC, including those disclosed under the caption 'Risk Factors' in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 and subsequent quarterly reports. Navitas may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, but specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. About Navitas Navitas Semiconductor (Nasdaq: NVTS) is the only pure-play, next-generation power-semiconductor company, celebrating 10 years of power innovation, founded in 2014. GaNFast™ power ICs integrate gallium nitride (GaN) power and drive, with control, sensing, and protection to enable faster charging, higher power density, and greater energy savings. Complementary GeneSiC™ power devices are optimized high-power, high-voltage, and high-reliability silicon carbide (SiC) solutions. Focus markets include data centers, EV, solar, energy storage, home appliance / industrial, mobile, and consumer. Over 300 Navitas patents are issued or pending. Navitas was the world's first semiconductor company to be CarbonNeutral®-certified. Navitas, GaNFast, GaNSense, GaNSafe, GeneSiC and the Navitas and GeneSiC logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Navitas Semiconductor Limited or affiliates. All other brands, product names and marks are or may be trademarks or registered trademarks used to identify products or services of their respective owners. Contact Information Lori BarkerThe Blueshirt Groupir@
Fox News
20-05-2025
- Fox News
Rewarding racism: How tribal politics is tearing America apart
I have seen much in my time on this earth. Never did I imagine that I would see a White woman call a Black child a racial epithet on a playground and be rewarded with hundreds of thousands of dollars. But, then again, should I have been surprised?Over the last several decades I have witnessed how Black people exploited race from the O.J. Simpson case to Michael Brown in Ferguson and George Floyd in Minnesota. They used race as their catch-all to subvert justice and/or to advance certain racial ideologies. In all of these cases, tribal loyalty trumped everything even if O.J. was a stone-cold killer who nearly decapitated Nicole Simpson or Michael Brown was high on marijuana when he indisputably charged Officer Darren Wilson. Race was the only thing that saw that again recently when Karmelo Anthony, a Black teen, received hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations — after allegedly stabbing a White teen to death at a Texas track meet. I watched in horror as Black people began creating a narrative around this teen and began throwing money at him – all before due process. This was nothing but pure racial tribalism and I could see how it would be an affront to those outside the race. So when Shiloh Hendrix of Rochester, Minn., called a Black boy — of Somali heritage and autistic — a racial epithet for the crime of going through her diaper bag, she reacted in a manner that revealed more about her low quality of character than anything. I have kids and anyone who goes to the playground knows that kids are always getting into other people's stuff. Never once have I heard any decent person insult a kid. You either educate the kid or let the parent know what happened. That's how you civilize Shiloh instead spewed racism. When she was being recorded, she doubled down, flipping the camera off and repeated the racial epithet and said, "I don't give a sh**."The video has been spread across social media platforms like X and TikTok. The NAACP held a town hall, urging authorities to charge Hendrix with a hate crime. The Rochester Police Department investigated but as of now no charges have been filed against was at this point that Hendrix flipped the script and decided to make herself the victim here. She launched an online fundraiser called, "Help Me Protect My Family," and said she needed to relocate due to "threats." Many conservatives, outraged at the perceived racial double-standard, decided to reward Shiloh's despicable behavior. These tribal conservatives framed Hendrix as a victim of "cancel culture" and said if Blacks can raise money for a black teen charged with murder, then we can support a White lady and her racism. As of May 8, 2025, she had raised $750,000 — all for calling a child a racial epithet. Some call this "vice signaling" as opposed to "virtue signaling."Now we have those on the right saying the racial epithet loudly and proudly on social media. We have seemingly endless social media battles where videos featuring the worst attributes of each race are thrown at each other's face. Is America better off? of us have been fighting for a better America. With Trump in office, we finally have the chance to push back at the racial essentialism that has divided our nation for the last 60 years and even more profoundly so since the death of George Floyd. Engaging in vice signaling costs us the high moral ground and gives ammunition to the Left — "See, we told you all along the Right was racist and look at how they uplift a racist."Anyone who knows the left knows that the Shiloh debacle is not going to impact or convince them in any way. The left will just exploit this incident as evidence of racism to fuel its long let me tell you what I know. I know there is a better America out there. There is a better America out there where people are beyond sick and tired of this racial tribalism that gets us nowhere. There is a better America where people want to return to the land of individualism, merit and brotherhood across all class, race, and religious lines. There is a better America out there where people want to surround themselves with like-minded people who realize the great gift they have been given by being born in this country and want to use this gift to make themselves into somebodies. CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINIONI saw this better America for myself several years ago when I stayed on a rooftop for 346 days to raise money for my new community center on the South Side of Chicago. I had no help from the government and I knew my community didn't have the funds to build this center. And I'm just a pastor who doesn't know much outside of my faith. All I did was follow the path of Jesus and put my faith in America. What I didn't experience was the lowdown racism of Shiloh Hendrix. Instead, what I experienced was something so beautiful that I will never forget as long as I walk this earth. As I began doing my Rooftop Revelations series, releasing an article and video every day, I started hearing from Americans from all over. Florida. Alabama. Alaska. California. Maine. Rhode Island. Many from places I have never been to. They wrote me letters saying that my stories touched them and they wanted to help. A woman who cleans house wrote that she doesn't make much but wanted to donate her earrings for a day: $85 dollars. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPWhat touched me was how they believed in my community. They knew how the policies of post-60s liberalism had made so many people in my community dependent on the government. They wanted to help me help these people restore themselves to the path of the American Dream where they can be somebodies. That's the America I know and love. I will never let racial tribalism — the work of the devil -- distract me from the greater purpose that is America.
Egypt Independent
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Egypt Independent
Supreme Court blocks Trump from restarting Alien Enemies Act deportations
CNN — The Supreme Court on Friday blocked President Donald Trump from moving forward with deportations under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act for a group of immigrants in northern Texas, siding with Venezuelans who feared they were poised for imminent removal under the sweeping wartime authority. The decision is a significant loss for Trump, who wants to use the law to speed deportations – and avoid the kind of review normally required before removing people from the country. But the decision is also temporary and the underlying legal fight over the president's invocation will continue in multiple federal courts across the country. The justices sent the case at issue back to an appeals court to decide the underlying questions in the case, including whether the president's move is legal and, if it is, how much notice the migrants targeted under the act should receive. Two conservative justices – Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito – publicly noted their dissent. The court's unsigned opinion was notably pointed about how the government was attempting to handle the removals and also how US District Judge James Hendrix had dealt with the case at an earlier stage. The court referenced another case that had reached it previously, that of the Maryland man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly removed to El Salvador. The court noted that the Trump administration has represented that it is 'unable to provide for the return of an individual deported in error to a prison in El Salvador.' Given that, the court said, 'the detainees' interests at stake are accordingly particularly weighty.' In other words, the court was saying it is important to get the legal questions correct before people are removed, potentially, forever. The court added that the way the Trump administration was handling the removals did not 'pass muster.' Specifically, the justices pointed to notice of only 24 hours that was 'devoid of information about how to exercise due process rights to contest that removal.' The Supreme Court sent the case back to the New Orleans-based 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals for further review, saying in its order that the appeals court erred in dismissing the detainees' appeal. 'Today's ruling effectively extends the temporary freeze that the justices put on Alien Enemies Act removals from the Northern District of Texas back on April 19,' said Steve Vladeck, CNN Supreme Court analyst and professor at Georgetown Law. 'Because lower courts have blocked use of the act in every other district in which the president has sought to invoke it, that means it's effectively pausing all removals under the act until the 5th Circuit – and, presumably, the Supreme Court itself – conclusively resolves whether they're legal and how much process is due if so.' The court also appeared to criticize how Hendrix, whom Trump nominated to the bench in his first term, had handled the case. Hendrix declined to halt the removals and argued in his opinion that the ACLU was attempting to rush the district court to act. 'Here the District Court's inaction – not for 42 minutes but for 14 hours and 28 minutes – had the practical effect of refusing an injunction to detainees facing an imminent threat of severe, irreparable harm,' the court wrote. Alito, in a 14-page dissent joined by Thomas, said that the high court had wrongly intervened at this time and sharply criticized it for telling the appeals court how to handle the case before it was fully handled by the district court. The court, he wrote, 'has blazed a new trail. It has plucked a case from a district court and decided important issues in the first instance. To my eyes, that looks far too much like an expansion of our original jurisdiction.' Alito had initially dissented when the court first issued interim relief to the migrants last month. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in a brief concurrence, said he agreed with the court's decision but would have taken up the case in full now. 'The circumstances call for a prompt and final resolution, which likely can be provided only by this Court,' he wrote. 'Rather, consistent with the executive branch's request for expedition – and as the detainees themselves urge – I would grant certiorari, order prompt briefing, hold oral argument soon thereafter, and then resolve the legal issues.' The comments from Kavanaugh come a day after the high court grappled with whether it should consider the merits of another one of Trump's controversial immigration policies – his bid to end birthright citizenship – that had only landed before it on an emergency basis. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump claimed in a social media post Friday that the Supreme Court 'WON'T ALLOW US TO GET CRIMINALS OUT OF OUR COUNTRY' after the court's decision. Lower courts wrestle with key legal questions The decision came as lower courts across the country are wrestling with Trump's implementation of the Alien Enemies Act, a result of an earlier Supreme Court order that required the cases to be filed in separate district courts rather than on a nationwide basis. Federal courts in Texas, Nevada, Colorado and other states have issued orders that block the administration from relying on the law – at least in the short term – while judges consider a host of lawsuits that have popped up from targeted migrants. Several courts have also entered more permanent orders against the law's use, and a Trump-appointed judge in Southern Texas ruled on May 2 that the president had unlawfully invoked the Alien Enemies Act. Following through on a campaign pledge, Trump invoked the act in mid-March as a way to speed the deportation of alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Perhaps sensing the imminent litigation, the administration moved quickly to load hundreds of Venezuelans onto planes bound for El Salvador, where they remain today. After lower courts temporarily blocked the government from carrying out additional deportations, the Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court in late March, citing 'sensitive national-security-related operations' and asking to resume the removals. In a murky, unsigned order on April 7, the Supreme Court technically allowed Trump to continue using the law, and it blocked a legal pathway civil rights groups were attempting to use to challenge Trump's invocation of the law so they could shut down its use wholesale. But the court also ruled that migrants subject to deportation under the Alien Enemies Act were entitled to notice and an opportunity to challenge their removal through federal habeas corpus petitions – suits brought by people who claim they are being detained by the government unlawfully – marking a partial win for migrants. The American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing the migrants, filed a series of habeas lawsuits seeking to protect identified migrants as well as 'similarly situated' Venezuelans who could potentially be targeted under the Alien Enemies Act. Several lower courts – including one in New York and another in Texas – issued new temporary orders blocking the administration from deporting people under the act while it considers those cases. Importantly, those orders only covered the geographic regions over which the specific federal courts had jurisdiction. In mid-April, immigrant rights groups said a number of Venezuelan detainees in northern Texas not covered by those earlier orders began receiving notices from the government that they were subject to deportation under the act. Some of those immigrants, being held at the Bluebonnet Detention Center in Anson, Texas, were told they might be removed in less than 24 hours. Those notices 'cannot by any stretch be said to comply with this court's order that notice must be sufficient to permit individuals actually to seek habeas review,' the American Civil Liberties Union said in a brief. Two immigrants filed a habeas petition in a federal district court in Abilene, Texas, seeking a temporary order blocking their deportation and the removal of 'similarly situated' people held at Bluebonnet. Hendrix denied the request for the two migrants, noting the government had 'answered unequivocally' that it did not intend to remove them, so they were not at immediate risk of deportation. The issue of Alien Enemies Act enforcement then returned to the Supreme Court. In an early morning order on April 19, a majority of justices temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting any of the Venezuelans in Texas who could potentially be targeted under the act so that it could look more closely at the case. This story has been updated with additional details.
The Herald Scotland
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
This Scottish rock trio shared a dressing room with Hendrix
The band's two Sunday shows there, on the evening of May 7, 1967, saw Hendrix, who had already tasted UK Top Ten chart success with Hey Joe and Purple Haze, assaulting his amplifier with his guitar while, out of sight of the cheering audience, a diminutive roadie struggled to keep the speakers upright. Sharing the bill – and Jimi's dressing-room – that night was a powerhouse trio from Scotland, called 1-2-3. They consisted of Billy Ritchie on Hammond organ and guitar, Harry Hughes on drums, and Ian Ellis on bass guitar. Ritchie and Hughes were just 20, Ellis a year older. For a band that had made its debut at Falkirk's La Bamba only the previous November, 1-2-3 had made stunning progress. In London, they had impressed the manager of the Marquee venue after playing a mere half of one song at an audition. The venue's newsletter remarked that the band had created 'an entirely new sound in 'pop group music''. Jimi Hendrix was supported by 1-2-3 in 1967 (Image: PA) Their subsequent residency at the Marquee was a series of riotous affairs, with half of the audience loving them and the other half taking an active dislike. Fellow musicians such as Greg Lake, Robert Fripp and Keith Emerson watched them play, however, and were impressed. Epstein was, too, to the point that he signed them to his NEMS Enterprises management company. The Saville Theatre gigs in May 1967, then, were another step forward for 1-2-3. The concert programme (copies of which are for sale online at eyebrow-raising prices) noted that they had a wide-ranging repertoire dominated by standards arranged in modern jazz style" and that NEMS would shortly be releasing plans for a debut album release). Not everyone shared such upbeat assessments of 1-2-3, however. Derek Boltwood, a writer on the Record Mirror music weekly, wrote in a review: 'It seems to be all the rage for groups to have a line-up of only three people. There were two such groups at the Saville last week — The 1-2-3, and the Jimi Hendrix Experience — the 1-2-3 should take a lesson from Jimi Hendrix — you've got to be very good musicians if there are only three of you to make the sound'. Someone who took umbrage at this was a young man named David Bowie, who was about to release his debut album. He had been friends with Billy for a while, having heard their adventurous version of one of his earliest songs, I Dig Everything. And it was Billy who introduced him to Hendrix at the Saville. Not long after Boltwood's review appeared, Bowie bumped into the band at the Marquee and told them that he had written an indignant reply to Record Mirror. His letter spoke of 'three thistle- and haggis-voiced bairns who had the audacity to face a mob of self-opinionated with a brand of unique pop music which, because of its intolerance of mediocrity, floated as would a Hogarth cartoon in the Beano …' The story of 1-2-3 would evolve further – a change of name to Clouds, the release of three albums, and high-profile tours, but for a variety of reasons the trio never received the acclaim their musicianship and ambitions deserved. In later years. however, they have been rediscovered and favourably reassessed. Ellis and Hughes had been in a Bathgate-based group, The Premiers, when they first came across Ritchie, who was already renowned as an expert on the Hohner organ and was capable of playing front and centre rather than on the side of the stage – a decidedly unusual arrangement for the time. At length, the three formed 1-2-3. The first rehearsal, as Billy wrote in his revealing memoir, The ABC of 1-2-3: The True Story, 'was the best musical experience of my life. We all knew we had hit on something special. '1-2-3 was, I believe, one of the finest bands ever to emerge in popular music. It was a tragedy that the band, in that form, never recorded. 1-2-3 wasn't as polished or as powerful as Clouds later became, but what it lacked in experience, it more than made up for in soul and inspiration… Clouds at the 1971 Reading Festival. Photo courtesy of Billy Ritchie (Image: unknown) 'The band', he added, 'was rooted in blues and jazz and pop principles that were not only musical gold dust, but a godsend to all who took from it, and that band would still sound unique today… there really hasn't been a band like 1-2-3 before or since'. A good example of their boundary-stretching work is their version of Paul Simon's song, America, before it had even been released on Simon and Garfunkel's 1968 studio album, Bookends. Rewritten by Billy to include new time signatures 'and as much scope as possible for the three of us to express the song in every way', it showed what the trio were capable of; it was 'Prog before there was such a thing' They also reworked a very early Bowie song, I Dig Everything, even dropping a snippet of Bach into the middle section. A recording made at the Marquee can be listened to on YouTube. Epstein certainly liked 1-2-3, but his sudden death at the age of 32 in late August 1967, just a few months after he had signed them, rendered their immediate future uncertain. Impresario Robert Stigwood, who had just merged his own company with NEMS, took control of their career, but his priority was the career of a promising young act, the Bee Gees. His relationship with 1-2-3 did not last long, and the band and NEMS parted company. Soon, however, they came into contact with Terry Ellis, of the Ellis-Wright agency, who became their manager and agent. When Clouds's debut album, The Clouds Scrapbook, was released in August 1969, tracks such as The Carpenter, I'll Go Girl, Scrapbook and Waiter, There's Something in My Soup all played superbly to the band's individual and collective musical gifts. Today, writes Billy, Scrapbook is regarded as a really good album, one that attracted rave reviews at the time; 'it was', he observes, 'a strange mixture of pop songs, muso playing, and flashes of what would become progressive rock. For me, Waiter … is the best piece of work on there, as close to the bridge between Beatles pop and progressive rock as you will ever hear'. Promotional material by Island Records, issued in advance of the album's release, said: "It would be nice if we could just tell people that Clouds are an extraordinarily talented group playing exciting music in a totally original style". However, it continued, "mental barriers are thrown up against anything new and uncategorised and we are forced to be sneaky and use an easily accepted superhype method of attracting attention to Clouds and their album 'Scrapbook' - again, not what one would expect to hear. Clouds have successfully utilised all their talents to present a varied piece off aural entertainment. Presenting something new, which you believe in, is always something of a crusade, although always most rewarding. So watch Clouds tonight, listen to their album and well ... JOIN THE CRUSADE". Clouds on tour, pictured with friends. Photo courtesy of Billy Ritchie (Image: unknown) Clouds now began to enjoy to a new level of public exposure. They gigged around Europe with the Island Records Tour alongside Jethro Tull and Ten Years After (including a memorable gig at the Royal Albert Hall in May 1969), and the Bath Festival of Blues the following month, headlined by Led Zeppelin, The Nice and others. They played prestigious venues in the States, including the Fillmore West in San Francisco, New York's Fillmore East and (alongside the Stooges) Los Angeles' Whisky-a-Go-Go. In Montreal, they shared the bill with Van Morrison and Johnny Winter. Every time, they delivered a storming set that often put other acts in the shade. In June 1970 Billboard magazine, reviewing a gig at Chicago's Aragon Ballroom noted enthusiastically: 'On the basis of its showing here June 5, Clouds will be a giant. The group is a trio from Scotland that drew a standing ovation on the basis of its hard-driving sound that never lets up ... The group is young, talented ..." There was a second Clouds album, Up Above Our Heads (1970), which was issued only in the States, and finally, that same year, Watercolour Days – 'a beautiful piece of rock orchestration with piano, organ, harpsichord, guitars, mouth organ, drums and violins', said Florida's St Petersburg Evening Independent. But Chrysalis – the record label eventually established by Ellis – was, in Billy's telling, more concerned with Jethro Tull, another band on their roster, and made little or no attempt to promote Watercolour Days. Disillusioned, Clouds broke up in October 1971. Discussions continue to this day after the effect that 1-2-3 had on music at the time. Many fans take the view that 'prog' – progressive rock – was influenced at the outset by 1-2-3. As one fan argues on the progarchives site: 'Many British musicians would strongly argue that UK Prog began with Billy Ritchie and his band 1-2-3. Their residency in late '66 and early '67 at the Marquee introduced musicians as diverse as Jon Anderson, Jeff Lynne, Deep Purple, David Bowie and Keith Emerson to the idea of complex orchestrations played in extended works'.
