Ilie Balaci, fost jucător de fotbal din România și actual antrenor. Supranumit și „Minunea blondă”, Balaci este unul dintre cei mai mari jucători români de fotbal

Ilie Balaci (n. 13 septembrie 1956, Bistreț, județul Dolj), este un fost jucător de fotbal din România și actual antrenor. Supranumit și „Minunea blondă”, Balaci este unul dintre cei mai mari jucători români de fotbal. Cariera sa de fotbalist se leagă de marile succese obținute de Universitatea Craiova la începutul anilor 1980. 

Din păcate, a avut un final prematur de carieră, din cauza deselor accidentări. 

Cea mai gravă dintre ele, care practic a pus punct carierei de fotbalist a lui Balaci, a fost provocată de fundașul băimărean Vasile Arezanov, într-un meci de campionat, jucat la Baia Mare, la 21 februarie 1984.

Ca antrenor, deși nu a avut aceleași succese ca și jucător, a avut totuși performanțe notabile cu echipe din Africa de nord și zona țărilor arabe.

Performanțe

Ca jucător

• Campion național: 3 titluri, în 1974, 1980 și 1981
• Cupa României: 4 victorii, în 1977, 1978, 1981 și 1983
• Fotbalistul nr.1 în România: 2 titluri, în 1981 și 1982
• 347 prezențe în Divizia A, 84 de goluri
• Debut în Divizia A: 12 august 1973: Jiul Petroșani - Universitatea 1-1
• 69 prezențe în echipa națională, 8 goluri
• 38 prezențe în cupele europene, 7 goluri
• Debut în echipa națională: 23 martie 1974, Franța - România 1-0 (este cel mai tânăr debutant în echipa națională; avea numai 17 ani și 6 luni!)

Ca antrenor

• 

• Cupa Campionilor Africii, în 1992, cu Club Africain Tunis (Tunisia)
• Cupa Cupelor țărilor arabe, în 1993 și 1994, cu Olimpique Casablanca (Maroc)
• Cupa Campionilor Golfului, în 1997, cu Al Nassr Riad, și 1998, cu Al Hilal (ambele din Arabia Saudită)
• Cupa Cupelor țărilor arabe, în 2000, cu Al Ain (Emiratele Arabe Unite)
• Supercupa Asiei, în 2000, cu Al Ain
• Cupa Cupelor țărilor arabe, în 2000, cu Al Sadd (Qatar)

Ilie Balaci ( born 13 September 1956 in Bistreţ, Dolj County) is a retired Romanian football midfielder.

He is considered one of the greatest Romanian footballers of all time, along with Gheorghe Hagi, Nicolae Dobrin, Gica Popescu and Florea Dumitrache.

Balaci is a product of Universitatea Craiova's youth system. He made his first team debut in 1973, at the age of 16, and won the league titlein his first season. He soon managed to become one of the youngest players ever to score in the Romanian League. Balaci went on to play twelve seasons with Craiova, helping them to win two consecutive league titles in 1980 and 1981. He also won the Romanian Cup four times, in the years 1977, 1978, 1981 and 1983. He became an integral part of the team helping them reach the 1982–83 UEFA Cup semi-finals, before moving to Olt Scorniceşti in the winter of 1984. In December 1982, he signed a pre-contract with Italian side AC Milan, but the transfer did not materialize because of the communist regime in Romania.

In the 1986–87 season, he jointed Bucharest rivals Dinamo Bucureşti together with Craiova teammate Rodion Cămătaru. He spent two seasons at the club, under the leadership of Mircea Lucescu. However, Balaci did not win any major trophies whilst he was playing for them.

Balaci made his full international debut on 23 March 1974 in a friendly match against France at the age of 17. He earned 65 caps and scored 8 goals for the Romanian national team between 1974 and 1986.

He also became captain of the national team during the UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying campaign, but he was unable to play for Romania atUEFA Euro 84 due to an injury.

After retiring as a footballer, Balaci went on to coach lower league sides Pandurii Târgu Jiu and Drobeta-Turnu Severin. In 1991, he coached clubs in North Africa and the Arab world, he become one of the most successful managers there having won over 22 major trophies domestic and international.^[

He took charge of Tunisia’s Club Africain and Moroccan club Olympique Casablanca in the early 1990s. He then managed UAE, Qatari and Saudi Arabian clubs Al Shabab, Al Nassr, Al-Hilal, Al Ain and Al Sadd. In June 2003, he was appointed manager of Al Ahli until January 2005. He then went on to join Qatari side Al-Arabi in the 2005–06 season, before moving to the United Arab Emirates club Al Shabab for a second spell. In August 2007, Balaci was hired as general manager of Universitatea Craiova whom he also coached in two periods, and remained there for two seasons. On 22 July 2009, Balaci was named head coach of Kuwait club Kazma. He had an impressive start with the Kuwaiti side at the 2010 AFC Cup.

On 11 July 2011, he returned to Morocco signing for Raja Casablanca but was sacked in September after just two months. Raja appointedBertrand Marchand as his replacement.

On 4 June 2013, Balaci signed a contract with newly promoted Saudi Premier League side Al-Nahda.In September 2013, he resigned his contract with the club.

Success 2014: Linda Evans, an American actress known primarily for her roles on television. She became famous for the role of Krystle Carrington in the 1980s Dynasty

Linda Evans (born on November 18, 1942) is an American actress known primarily for her roles on television. In the 1960s, she first gained fame after playing Audra Barkley in the Western television series, The Big Valley (1965–1969). However Krystle Carrington in the 1980s ABC prime time soap opera Dynasty, a role she played from 1981 to 1989.
She is most prominently known for the role of Evans' first guest-starring role was on a 1960 episode of Bachelor Father, which starred her future screen husband, John Forsythe. She would co-star with him twenty years later on Dynasty. After several guest roles in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet between 1960–62, and guest appearances on television series such as Wagon Train and Outlaws, Evans gained her first regular role in 1965 in The Big Valley. Playing Audra Barkley, daughter of Victoria Barkley (played by Barbara Stanwyck), Evans was credited in the series until it ended in 1969, though she was only a semi-regular castmember during the last two seasons.
On December 31, 1967, John Derek recruited his wife to operate one of his cameras after he had been commissioned by daredevil Evel Knievel to film his motorcycle jump of the fountains at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. It was Evans who captured the iconic images of Knievel's devastating crash as the jump failed.^[1]
Throughout the 1970s, Evans continued to appear on television largely in guest roles. She appeared in a slew of detective shows such as The Rockford Files, Mannix, Harry O, Banacek, McCloud and McMillan & Wife. In 1976, she starred with James Franciscus in the espionage drama series Hunter, though the show lasted for only 13 episodes.
In 1980, Evans was cast as John Forsythe's wife, Krystle Carrington, in Aaron Spelling's opulent new primetime soap opera, Dynasty. Intended as ABC Television's answer to the hit CBS series Dallas, the show first aired in January 1981. Although initially sluggish in the ratings, audience figures improved after the show was revamped and British actress Joan Collins was brought in to play opposite Evans and Forsythe as the evil Alexis Carrington. By the 1984-85 season, Dynasty was the number one show on American television, even outranking Dallas. Audiences became enthralled by the onscreen rivalry and infamous catfights between Krystle and Alexis, and Evans and Collins became two of the most celebrated television stars of the decade. Evans was nominated five times for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a TV Drama series (every year from 1982 to 1986), winning in 1982 in a tie with Barbara Bel Geddes of rival soap Dallas. Evans also won five People's Choice Awards as Favorite Actress in a Drama Series in 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, and 1986, and was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead actress in a Drama Series in 1983. Due to her character's name on Dynasty, Evans appeared in an ad campaign for Crystal Light beverages, starting in 1984.
After she left Dynasty in 1989 (only months before the series came to an end), Evans semi-retired from acting and made only occasional television appearances. Instead, she devoted her time to fitness issues and set up a small chain of fitness centers. In the 1990s, Evans hosted infomercials for Rejuvenique, a mask for toning facial muscles. She had previously written the "Linda Evans Beauty and Exercise" book in 1983.
In 1991, she returned to the role of Krystle Carrington for the television miniseries Dynasty: The Reunion. Following this, she appeared in three made-for-TV movies in the 1990s, but then retired from screen acting altogether in 1997.
In 2005, actress Melora Hardin portrayed Evans in Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure, a fictionalized television movie based on the creation and behind the scenes production of Dynasty.
In 2006, Evans reunited with her Dynasty castmates for the non-fiction reunion special Dynasty: Catfights and Caviar. She then starred in the stage play Legends opposite her former Dynasty rival Collins. In 2009, Evans appeared in and won the British TV program Hell's Kitchen, working under Michelin-starred chef Marco Pierre White.
Evans has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6834 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.

Success 2014: Lorella Cuccarini, an Italian dancer, singer, television host and actress

Lorella Cuccarini (born August 10, 1965) is an Italian dancer, singer, television host and actress.

Born in Rome, at nine years old Cuccarini started to attend the dance school of Enzo Paolo Turchi^(it) (coreographer and husband of Carmen Russo). After some experiences as a a chorus girl, Cuccarini made her television debut at twenty years old alongside Pippo Baudo in the sixth edition of Fantastico, then she worked for RAI and Mediaset in many successful variety shows, including Festivalbar, seven editions of Paperissima and of Trenta ore per la vita, three editions of Buona Domenica

Cuccarini is also a singer, with several top-ten charting singles and albums; in 1995 she entered the competition at the Sanremo Music Festival (she had hosted two years earlier), ranking tenth.

Discography

Albums

• Lorel (1987)
• Voci (1993)
• Voglia di fare (1995)
• Le più belle canzoni (2002)

Singles

• "Sugar Sugar" (1985)
• "Kangarù" (1986)
• "Tutto matto" (1987)
• "L'amore è" (1987; with Alessandra Martines)
• "Io ballerò" (1987)
• "La notte vola" (1988)
• "Magic" (1990; English version of "La notte vola")
• "Ascolta il cuore" (1991)
• "Liberi liberi" (1991)
• "Un altro amore no" (1995)
• "Uno di noi" (2002)
• "Un'onda d'amore" (2008)

Success 2014: Frank Roeder, Master of Wine

Frank  Roeder, Master of Wine, is founder and chief executive of VIF Weinhandel, a wine distribution company based in Saar, Germany, and since 2004, the sole distributor of Cortes de Cima wines in Germany. VIF have 8 franchise partners spread throughout Germany, as well as their own Online shop. However running VIF is only a spare time hobby for Frank. His main job is as a long distant air pilot captain for Lufthansa!

What is a Master of Wine

Master of Wine is recognized as the highest achievement in the global wine community and equips those that have attained the qualification with a unique understanding and set of skills for dealing with all aspects of the business of wine. For more than 50 years the Institute of Masters of Wine has been promoting professional excellence and the highest educational standards in the art, science and business of wine: leading to the qualification of Master of Wine. 

Success 2014: Jane Masters, Master of Wine

 Jane Masters, MW is a fresh face with a different perspective on wine. A graduate of Bordeaux’s famous Institut d’Oenologie, Jane Masters was elected to the Institute of Masters of Wine in 1997. In the United Kingdom, Jane worked for Marks & Spencer, with responsibility for the technical management of wine supply and quality assurance. Having almost single-handedly managed a purchasing budget equal to that of most of the Liquor Boards, Jane knows about pressure.

Jane is currently the Deputy Vice Chair of the Council of the Institute of Masters of Wine; she regularly speaks at industry seminars and finds time to be a Panel Chair for the International Wine Challenge, all of which she fits seamlessly into her busy social life living close to London and in the south of France.

What is a Master of Wine

Master of Wine is recognized as the highest achievement in the global wine community and equips those that have attained the qualification with a unique understanding and set of skills for dealing with all aspects of the business of wine. For more than 50 years the Institute of Masters of Wine has been promoting professional excellence and the highest educational standards in the art, science and business of wine: leading to the qualification of Master of Wine. 

source: opim.ca 

There are currently 314 MWs in the world. 

Success 2014: Petula Clark, an English singer, actress, and composer that sold more than 68 million records. During the 1960s she became known globally for her popular upbeat hits, including "Downtown", "I Know a Place", "My Love", "Colour My World", "A Sign of the Times", and "Don't Sleep in the Subway"

Petula Sally Olwen Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.
Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II. During the 1950s she started recording in French and having international success in both French and English, with such songs as "The Little Shoemaker", "Baby Lover", "With All My Heart", and "Prends Mon Cœur". During the 1960s she became known globally for her popular upbeat hits, including "Downtown", "I Know a Place", "My Love", "Colour My World", "A Sign of the Times", and "Don't Sleep in the Subway". She has sold more than 68 million records throughout her career.

Clark was born to an English father, Leslie Norman Clark, and a Welsh mother, Doris (Phillips) Clark. Both were nurses at Long Grove Hospital, in Epsom, Surrey, England. Her father invented her first name and joked it was a combination of the names of two former girlfriends, Pet and Ulla.
As a child, Clark sang in the chapel choir and showed a talent for mimicry, impersonating Vera Lynn, Carmen Miranda and Sophie Tucker for her family and friends. Her father introduced her to theatre when he took her to see Flora Robson in a 1938 production of Mary Tudor; she later recalled that after the performance "I made up my mind then and there I was going to be an actress ... I wanted to be Ingrid Bergman more than anything else in the world." However, her first public performances were as a singer, performing with an orchestra in the entrance hall of Bentall's Department Store in Kingston upon Thames for a tin of toffee and a gold wristwatch, in 1939.
Career start
From a chance beginning as a nine-year-old, Clark would appear on radio, film, print, television and recordings by the time she turned seventeen.
In October 1942, nine-year-old Clark made her radio debut while attending a BBC broadcast with her father. Attending in the hope of sending a message to an uncle stationed overseas, the broadcast was delayed by an air raid. During the bombing, the producer requested that someone perform to settle the jittery theatre audience, and she volunteered a rendering of "Mighty Lak' a Rose" to an enthusiastic response. She then repeated her performance for the broadcast audience, launching a series of some 500 appearances in programmes designed to entertain the troops.[5] In addition to radio work, Clark frequently toured the United Kingdom with fellow child performer Julie Andrews. Nicknamed the "Singing Sweetheart", she performed for George VI, Winston Churchill and Bernard Montgomery. Clark also became known as "Britain's Shirley Temple," and was considered a mascot by the British Army, whose troops plastered her photos on their tanks for good luck as they advanced into battle.
In 1944, while performing at London's Royal Albert Hall, Clark was discovered by film director Maurice Elvey, who cast her as precocious orphaned waif Irma in his weepy war drama Medal for the General. In quick succession, she starred in Strawberry Roan, I Know Where I'm Going!, London Town, and Here Come the Huggetts, the first in a series of Huggett Family films based on a British radio series. Although some of the films she made in the UK during the 1940s and 1950s were B-films,[citation needed] she worked with Anthony Newley in Vice Versa (directed by Peter Ustinov) and Alec Guinness in The Card as well as the aforementioned I Know Where I'm Going! which is a Powell and Pressburger feature film now generally regarded as a masterpiece (Clark's part was small).
In 1945, Clark was featured in the comic strip Radio Fun, in which she was billed as "Radio's Merry Mimic".
In 1946, Clark launched her television career with an appearance on a BBC variety show, Cabaret Cartoons, which led to her being signed to host her own afternoon series, titled simply Petula Clark. A second, Pet's Parlour, followed in 1949.
In 1947, Clark met Joe "Mr Piano" Henderson at the Maurice Publishing Company. The two collaborated musically, and were linked romantically over the coming decade. In 1949, Henderson introduced Clark to Alan A. Freeman, who, together with her father Leslie, formed Polygon Records, for which she recorded her earliest hits. Clark had recorded her first release that year, "Put Your Shoes On, Lucy," for EMI. Because neither EMI nor Decca, for whom she also had recorded, were keen to sign her to a long-term contract, her father, whose own theatrical ambitions had been thwarted by his parents, teamed with Freeman to form the Polygon record label in order to better control and facilitate her singing career.[citation needed] This project was financed with Clark's earnings. She scored a number of major hits in the UK during the 1950s, including "The Little Shoemaker" (1954), "Majorca" (1955), "Suddenly There's a Valley" (1955) and "With All My Heart" (1956).'The Little Shoemaker' was an international hit reaching the coveted No 1 position in Australia, giving her the first of many No 1 records in her career. Although Clark released singles in the United States as early as 1951 (the first was "Tell Me Truly" b/w "Song Of The Mermaid" on the Coral label),[citation needed] it would take thirteen years before the American record-buying public would discover her.[citation needed]
Near the end of 1955, Polygon Records was sold to Nixa Records, then part of Pye Records, which led to the establishment of Pye Nixa Records (subsequently simply Pye). This turn of events effectively signed Clark to the Pye label in the UK, for whom she would record for the remainder of the 1950s, throughout the 1960s, and early into the 1970s.[citation needed]
During this period, Clark showed a keen interest for encouraging new talent. She suggested Henderson be allowed to record his own music, and he enjoyed five chart hits on Polygon/Pye between 1955 and 1960.

The Hindenburg Disaster Collection: 26 signed photos, 2 letters

One year after I started The Hindenburg Disaster Collection, the photos are finally on the wall. It took 3 months to have back 4 of the 6 letters I wrote to the last survivors. I received back 26 signed photos, 2 letters. Total amount of money invested: $40. But then it took me more time to find two newspapers (8 pages each) from the next day of the disaster (May 7th, 1937) and an original list o wines served on a previous transatlantic flight of the zeppelin (in german language). 

The Hindenburg disaster took place on Thursday, May 6, 1937, as the German passenger airship LZ 129 Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed during its attempt to dock with its mooring mast at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station, which is located adjacent to the borough of Lakehurst, New Jersey. Of the 97 people on board (36 passengers and 61 crewmen), there were 35 fatalities. There was also one death of a ground crewman.
The disaster was the subject of spectacular newsreel coverage, photographs, and Herbert Morrison's recorded radio eyewitness reports from the landing field, which was broadcast the next day. A variety of hypotheses have been put forward for both the cause of ignition and the initial fuel for the ensuing fire. The incident shattered public confidence in the giant, passenger-carrying rigid airship and marked the end of the airship era.
The disaster is well recorded due to the significant extent of newsreel coverage and photographs, as well as Herbert Morrison's eyewitness radio report for station WLS in Chicago, which was broadcast the next day. Heavy publicity about the first transatlantic passenger flight of the year by Zeppelin to the United States attracted a large number of journalists to the landing. (The airship had already made one round trip from Germany to Brazil that year.)

Morrison's broadcast remains one of the most famous in history. Parts of it were later dubbed onto the newsreel footage, giving the impression that the words and film were recorded together. His plaintive "Oh, the humanity!" has been widely used in popular culture. Part of the poignancy of his commentary is due to its being recorded at a slightly slower speed, so that when it is played back at normal speed, it seems to have a faster delivery and higher pitch. When corrected, his account is less frantic sounding, though still impassioned.

The spectacular film footage and Morrison's passionate reporting shattered public and industry faith in airships and marked the end of the giant passenger-carrying airships. Also contributing to the Zeppelins' downfall was the arrival of international passenger air travel and Pan American Airlines.^{[N 3]} Aircraft regularly crossed the Atlantic and Pacific oceans much faster than the 130 km/h (80 mph) speed of the Hindenburg. The one advantage that the Hindenburg had over aircraft was the comfort that she afforded her passengers, much like that of an ocean liner.
There had been a series of other airship accidents, prior to the Hindenburg fire; many were caused by bad weather. The Graf Zeppelin had flown safely for more than 1.6 million kilometers (1.0 million miles), including the first circumnavigation of the globe by an airship. The Zeppelin company's promotions had prominently featured the fact that no passenger had been injured on any of its airships.

Success 2014: Marco van Basten, Dutch football manager and former football player. Winner of the Ballon d'Or. He was named FIFA World Player of the Year in 1992, and European Footballer of the Year three times (1988, 1989 and 1992)

Marcel "Marco" van Basten is a Dutch football manager and former football player, who played for Ajax and A.C. Milan, as well as the Netherlands national team, in the 1980s and early 1990s. He is regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time and has scored 277 goals in a high-profile career, but played his last game in 1993 at the age of 28 due to an injury which caused his retirement two years later. He was later the head coach of Ajax and the Netherlands national team.
Playing for the Netherlands, Van Basten won Euro 1988 where he was the player of the tournament, scoring five goals, including a memorable volley in the final against the Soviet Union.At club level he won three Eredivisie titles and the UEFA Cup Winners Cup with Ajax, and three Serie A titles and two European Cups with Milan.
Known for his strength on the ball, tactical awareness and spectacular strikes and volleys, Van Basten was named FIFA World Player of the Year in 1992, and European Footballer of the Year three times (1988, 1989 and 1992). In 1999, Van Basten was ranked sixth in the FIFA Player of the Century internet poll, tenth in the European player of the Century election held by the IFFHS, and he was voted twelfth in the IFFHS' World Player of the Century election.He was also voted eighth in a poll organised by the French magazine France Football consulting their former

Ballon d'Or winners to elect the Football Player of the Century. In 2004, he was named by Pelé as one of the 125 greatest living footballers at a FIFA awards ceremony. In 2004, a nationwide poll in the Netherlands was held for the 100 greatest Dutch people (De Grootste Nederlander) and Van Basten was number 25, the second highest for a football player, behind Johan Cruyff. In 2007, Sky Sports ranked Van Basten first on its list of great athletes who had their careers cut short.

Van Basten's talent was already noticed at a young age and he was called up for the 1983 FIFA World Youth Championship. He made his senior debut that same year. At the UEFA Euro 1988, Van Basten scored a total of five goals, including a hat trick against England, the winning goal in the semi-final against West Germany, and a spectacular volley in the final against the Soviet Union. He finished top scorer and was named player of the tournament.
The Dutch national team exited early in the World Cup in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, losing to West Germany in the second round. Van Basten never scored in the World Cup Finals.
The Netherlands reached the semi-final of UEFA Euro 1992 when they lost to Denmark in a penalty shootout, with Peter Schmeichel saving a penalty shot from Van Basten.

Success 2014: Caro Emerald, a Dutch pop and jazz singer. Her debut album Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor set a new all-time Dutch chart record on 20 August 2010

Caroline Esmeralda van der Leeuw (born 26 April 1981), best known by her stage name of Caro Emerald, is a Dutch pop and jazz singer. She debuted on 6 July 2009 with her single "Back It Up". Her 2009 single "A Night Like This" reached the number 1 position in the Netherlands.
Her debut album Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor set a new all-time Dutch chart record on 20 August 2010, spending its 30th week at number one on the country's albums chart, beating the previous record set by Michael Jackson's Thriller by one week. The album became the biggest selling album of 2010 in the Netherlands and has sold over 300,000 copies so far. In total more than a million copies have been sold. On 3 October 2010, Van der Leeuw was awarded the Dutch music prize "Edison Award" for Best Female Artist.
In April 2013, her second studio album The Shocking Miss Emerald went to No. 1 in the UK album chart, becoming her first UK No. 1 album.
Caroline Esmeralda van der Leeuw was born on 26 April 1981 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands to a Dutch father and an Aruban mother. She started singing lessons at age 12 with James Gilloffo in Amsterdam and joined a girl vocal group, Les Elles, under his guidance. Following high school she trained as a jazz vocalist at the Amsterdam Conservatory, graduating in 2005.
In early 2007 Dutch producer Jan van Wieringen invited van der Leeuw to sing the vocal on a demo track he was co-producing with songwriter and producer David Schreurs. The song, "Back It Up", had been written by Schreurs together with Canadian songwriter Vince Degiorgio and was based on a hip-hop beat created by Jan and Robin Veldman. Caro's jazzy vocal style was considered a "perfect match" for the new song.
The song demo was pitched to various publishers and labels but although the reaction was positive they struggled to imagine it suiting any particular artist and didn't believe it had a strong enough chart potential.  In the meantime, however, the song was posted on YouTube reaching public notice around the world. Radio stations picked it up and the song gained popularity.

When Degiorgio, Schreurs and van Wieringen discovered van der Leeuw's sound had such potential, they set about working on a full album presenting Emerald as the star in the summer of 2008 and used "Back It Up"'s mix of 40s–50s jazz, easy listening, orchestral Latin, combined with infectious beats as a model. Adopting a sample based approach but with live instrumentation, the writing sessions drew from a wide range of influences including jazz organist Jackie Davis, exotica composer Martin Denny, mambo king Perez Prado, 20s/30s jazz and van der Leeuw's own vocal inspirations of The Andrews Sisters, Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan. The usual method would be for Schreurs to produce the backing tracks at home and then get together with top line writer and lyricist Degiorgio to write the song. Van der Leeuw would occasionally pitch in her own melody and lyrical ideas, and Van Wieringen co-created the tracks for "The Other Woman" and "Dr Wanna Do".
After the record labels they approached failed to sign van der Leeuw, Schreurs, van Wieringen and van der Leeuw created their own label Grandmono Records and released "Back It Up" as the first single on 6 July 2009. It was an instant hit and listed in the Dutch Top 40 for 12 weeks, peaking at No. 12. Kraak & Smaak provided a remix of the song. "Back It Up" was the most played song on Dutch radio station 3FM in 2009.Follow up A Night Like This became a No. 1 hit in The Netherlands.
In 2011 Emerald recorded a version of Brook Benton's 1963 hit "You're All I Want for Christmas", sampling the original song to produce a duet with Benton, who died in 1988. The song was released in December 2011.
On New Year's Eve 2011/2012 Emerald appeared on BBC Two television on Jools Holland's Hootenanny show backed by the Jools Holland Rhythm & Blues Orchestra.
In early 2012, Emerald won two German awards: a Goldene Kamera for Best Musik International and an Echo Award for Best Newcomer International, beating out other Echo nominees who included Lana Del Rey, Gotye, and LMFAO. She made her American debut in January 2013, performing in Los Angeles and New York.
In April 2013, her 2nd studio album The Shocking Miss Emerald was released it went to No1 in the UK album chart, becoming her first UK No1 album. She performed in the UK at The BBC Radio Theatre it was broadcast on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Red Button.

Success 2014: Tony Blair, a British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007

Anthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British Labour Party politician who served as the  Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. Blair led Labour to a landslide victory in the 1997 general election, winning 418 seats, the most the party has ever held. The party went on to win two more elections under his leadership, in 2001 and 2005, with a significantly reduced majority in the latter.


Blair was elected Labour Party leader in the leadership election of July 1994, following the sudden death of his predecessor, John Smith. Under his leadership, the party used the phrase "New Labour" to distance it from previous Labour policies. Blair declared opposition to the traditional conception of socialism, and declared support for a new conception that he referred to as "social-ism", involving politics that recognised individuals as socially interdependent, and advocated social justice, cohesion, equal worth of each citizen, and equal opportunity.Critics of Blair denounced him for having the Labour Party abandon genuine socialism and accepting capitalism.
At 43 years old, Blair became the youngest Prime Minister since Lord Liverpool in 1812. In the first years of the New Labour government, Blair's government implemented a number of 1997 manifesto pledges, introducing the National Minimum Wage Act, Human Rights Act and Freedom of Information Act, and carrying out devolution, establishing the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Blair's role as Prime Minister was particularly visible in foreign and security policy, including in Northern Ireland, where he was involved in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. From the start of the War on Terror in 2001, Blair strongly supported the foreign policy of US President George W. Bush, notably by participating in the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan and 2003 invasion of Iraq. Blair is the Labour Party's longest-serving Prime Minister, the only person to have led the Labour Party to more than two consecutive general election victories, and the only Labour Prime Minister to serve consecutive terms more than one of which was at least four years long.
He was succeeded as Leader of the Labour Party on 24 June 2007 and as Prime Minister on 27 June 2007 by Gordon Brown. On the day he resigned as Prime Minister, he was appointed the official Envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East. In May 2008, Blair launched his Tony Blair Faith Foundation.^[5] This was followed in July 2009 by the launching of the Faith and Globalisation Initiative with Yale University in the US, Durham University in the UK and the National University of Singapore in Asia to deliver a postgraduate programme in partnership with the Foundation

Success 2014: Petr Čech, footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Czech Republic as a goalkeeper

Petr Čech is a Czech footballer, who plays for Chelsea and the Czech Republic as a goalkeeper. Čech previously played for Chmel Blšany, Sparta Prague, and Rennes. He was voted into the all-star team of Euro 2004 after helping his country reach the semi-finals. Čech also received the individual award of Best Goalkeeper in the 2004–05, 2006–07 and 2007–08 seasons of the UEFA Champions League. In addition, he was named in the FIFPro and UEFA Champions League teams of the season in 2006. He is considered to be one of the best and most respected goalkeepers of all time.
Čech holds a number of goalkeeping records, including the Premier League record for fewest appearances required to reach 100 clean sheets, having done so in 180 league appearances. He also holds a Czech professional league record of not conceding a goal in 903 competitive minutes. In addition, he has a club record at his former club Sparta Prague, having gone 928 minutes unbeaten in all competitions in 2001–02, when his unbeaten run in Czech league competition was combined with his performances in the UEFA Champions League. During the 2004–05 season, Čech went 1,025 minutes without conceding a goal – a Premier League record, until it was surpassed by Edwin van der Sar of Manchester United on 27 January 2009. Čech also won the Golden Glove in both the 2004–05 and 2009–10 seasons as the Premier League goalkeeper with the most clean sheets. As of 11 January 2014, Čech has kept a club record 209 clean sheets for Chelsea in all competitions.

Čech trialled with Chelsea in 2003. Their then-manager, Claudio Ranieri, wanted Čech to be understudy to Carlo Cudicini, and made a transfer bid for Čech in January 2004. Although an initial bid was rejected, Rennes agreed to Čech's move to Chelsea for £7 million in February. Čech signed a five-year contract, to commence in July 2004, becoming the most expensive goalkeeper in Chelsea's history. Čech's was one amongst many British club transfers that came under the spotlight in the 2006 football corruption investigation for being potentially in breach of transfer regulations. The Stevens inquiry report, published in June 2007, found no evidence of illegal payments.

Success 2014: Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, the president of South Africa

Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, (born 12 April 1942) is the President of South Africa, elected by parliament following his party's victory in the 2009 general election.

Zuma is the President of the African National Congress (ANC), the governing political party, and was Deputy President of South Africa from 1999 to 2005. Zuma is also referred to by his initials JZ and his clan name Msholozi.Zuma became the President of the ANC on 18 December 2007 after defeating incumbent Thabo Mbeki at the ANC conference in Polokwane. He was re-elected as ANC leader at the ANC conference in Manguang on 18 December 2012, defeating challenger Kgalema Motlanthe by a large majority. Zuma was also a member of the South African Communist Party (SACP), briefly serving on the party's Politburo until he left the party in 1990. On 20 September 2008, Thabo Mbeki announced his resignation after being recalled by the African National Congress's National Executive Committee. The recall came after South African High Court Judge Christopher Nicholson ruled that Mbeki had improperly interfered with the operations of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), including the prosecution of Jacob Zuma for corruption.
Zuma has faced significant legal challenges. He was charged with rape in 2005, but was acquitted. In addition, he fought a long legal battle over allegations of racketeering and corruption, resulting from his financial advisor Schabir Shaik's conviction for corruption and fraud. On 6 April 2009, the National Prosecuting Authority decided to drop the charges, citing political interference.
He officially announced the death of the anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first democratically elected president, in a press conference on December 5th, 2013.