Success 2014: Zucchero Fornaciari, an Italian rock singer and Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. His music is largely inspired by gospel, soul and rock music, and alternates between ballads and more rhythmic boogie-like pieces

Adelmo Fornaciari (born 25 September 1955), more commonly known by his stage name Zucchero Fornaciari or simply Zucchero /ˈtsukkero/, is an Italian rock singer and Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. His music is largely inspired by gospel, soul and rock music, and alternates between ballads and more rhythmic boogie-like pieces.

Zucchero is the Italian word for sugar, as his teacher used to call him. In his career, spanning four decades, Fornaciari has sold over 60 million records around the world and has achieved numerous awards, including two World Music Awards, six IFPI Europe Platinum Awards and a Grammy Award nomination.
After the million selling success of Blue's and Oro incenso e birra in Italy, and his collaborations with Joe Cocker, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton and Miles Davis, Fornaciari from 1990 on attempted to conquer the rest of Europe. The album Blue’s was released the following year in the United Kingdom, and in 1990 Zucchero Sings his Hits in English, an album that featured songs from the Blue's and Oro incenso e birra albums, some of which translated to English by Frank Musker, was released worldwide.
Fornaciari's best known hit "Senza una donna" ("Without a Woman"), in a duet with Paul Young, is from this album. The first pressing of the album didn't feature the duet: the song was performed by Fornaciari only. The duet was a great success worldwide, reaching the top 10 in European charts. Other European hit singles from this album include English versions of "Diamante" (of which the original Italian lyrics were written by Francesco De Gregori), and "Wonderful World" (with Eric Clapton). Diamante was later released as a duet with Randy Crawford, a variant not available on any album until the special edition of Zu & Co.
Between 1991 and 1993 Fornaciari continued duetting with some of the world’s most famous artists, such as Sting, Luciano Pavarotti, a young Andrea Bocelli, Peter Maffay, Elton John, Brian May and Eric Clapton. Many of these duets would later be included in the compilation Zu & Co. (2004). 1992 saw Fornaciari perform at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, with the remaining three members of Queen, singing "Las Palabras de Amor". 1991 also saw the release of Fornaciari's first live album Live at the Kremlin, recorded in Moscow and featuring guest appearances by Randy Crawford (on John Lennon's "Imagine") and Toni Childs.

Success 2014: Rezzo Schlauch, a german politician

Rezzo Schlauch (* 4. Oktober 1947 in Gerabronn) ist ein deutscher PolitBündnis 90/Die Grünen) und Rechtsanwalt. Er war von 1998 bis 2002 Vorsitzender der Bundestagsfraktion von Bündnis 90/Die Grünen und von 2002 bis 2005 Parlamentarischer Staatssekretär im Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Arbeit.
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Schlauch ist seit 1980 Mitglied in der Partei Bündnis 90/Die Grünen. Von 1982 bis 1984 war er Beisitzer im Landesvorstand der Grünen in Baden-Württemberg. Von 1984 bis zu seiner Wahl in den Deutschen Bundestag 1994 war er Mitglied des Landtages von Baden-Württemberg. Hier war er von 1990 bis 1992 Vorsitzender der Landtagsfraktion der Grünen. 1994 wurde Schlauch Mitglied des Bundestages. Von 1998 bis 2002 war er gemeinsam mit Kerstin Müller Vorsitzender der Bundestagsfraktion Bündnis 90/Die Grünen.
1996 unterlag er mit 39,3 % der Stimmen bei den Wahlen zum Amt des Oberbürgermeisters von Stuttgart im zweiten Wahlgang gegen Wolfgang Schuster (CDU), der 43,1 % der Stimmen bekam, nur knapp.Bereits sechs Jahre zuvor hatte er gegen Manfred Rommel in Stuttgart 20,7 % und 1982 bei der Oberbürgermeisterwahl in Crailsheim 12 % der Stimmen erzielt.
Im August 2002 kam Schlauch negativ in die Presse, als bekannt wurde, dass er dienstlich erworbene Flugmeilen für einen Urlaub genutzt hatte. Für das gleiche Vergehen hatte er davor Cem Özdemir gescholten. Er versuchte vergeblich, die Affäre zu vertuschen, und musste von der Parteiführung und den Medien Kritik einstecken.
Im Oktober 2002 wurde Schlauch zum Parlamentarischen Staatssekretär beim Bundesminister für Wirtschaft und Arbeit Wolfgang Clement ernannt. Er war außerdem Mittelstandsbeauftragter der Bundesregierung.

Success 2014: Michel Platini, a former French football player and manager, and the president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2007. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, he came sixth in the FIFA Player of the Century vote, and was chosen on the FIFA World Cup Dream Team. He won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1983, 1984 and 1985

Michel François Platini (born 21 June 1955) is a former French football player and manager, and the president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2007. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, he came sixth in the FIFA Player of the Century vote, and was chosen on the FIFA World Cup Dream Team.

He won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1983, 1984 and 1985, a record jointly held with Dutch internationals Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten^. In 2004, Platini was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.
During his professional football career, Platini played for the clubs Nancy, Saint-Étienne, and Juventus, and was a member of the French national team that won the 1984 European Championship, a tournament in which he was the top goalscorer and voted the best player. He also participated in the 1978, 1982 and 1986 World Cups, reaching the semi-finals in the latter two. Platini, Alain Giresse, Luis Fernández and Jean Tigana together made up the "carré magique" (French for "magic square"), the group of midfield players that formed the heart of the French team in the 1980s.
A versatile offensive midfield playmaker renowned for his control, technical ability, and vision, Platini is regarded as one of the best passers in football history, and one of the best penalty kick and free kick specialists.Despite primarily being a creative midfielder who provided assists, Platini was also a prolific goalscorer, renowned for his accurate finishing ability, winning the Serie A capocannoniere award three consecutive times between 1983-1985; he was also the top scorer of Juventus's victorious 1984-85 European Cup campaign. Platini was the record goalscorer of the France national team until striker Thierry Henry surpassed the 41 goals mark in 2007; Platini holds the record for most goals (9) scored in European Championship final tournaments despite only appearing in the victorious 1984 edition. Due to his leadership, as well as his technical and creative attributes, he was given the nickname "Le Roi" ("The King", in French).
Platini was named Chevalier of the Legion of Honour on 29 April 1985 and became Officier in 1988. He was the French national team coach for four years, and was the co-organizer of the 1998 World Cup in France. He has also been the chairman of the FIFA Technical and Development Committee, and vice-president of the French Football Federation.

Denis Law, a Scottish former football player, best known for the 11 years that he spent at United, where he scored 237 goals in 404 appearances. He was nicknamed The King and The Lawman by supporters, and Denis the Menace by opposing supporters. He is the only Scottish player in history to have won the prestigious Ballon d'Or award, in 1964

Denis Law CBE (born 24 February 1940) is a Scottish former football player, who enjoyed a long and successful career as a striker from the 1950s to the 1970s.
Law's career as a football player began at Second Division Huddersfield Town in 1956. After four years at Huddersfield, Manchester City signed him for a transfer fee of £55,000, setting a new British record. Law spent one year there before Torino bought him for £110,000, this time setting a new record fee for a transfer between an English and an Italian club. Although he played well in Italy, he found it difficult to settle there and signed for Manchester United in 1962, setting another British record transfer fee of £115,000.
He is best known for the 11 years that he spent at United, where he scored 237 goals in 404 appearances, second only to Bobby Charlton in the club's goalscoring chart. He was nicknamed The King and The Lawman by supporters, and Denis the Menace by opposing supporters who generally feared and respected him. He is the only Scottish player in history to have won the prestigious Ballon d'Or award, doing so in 1964, and helped his club win the First Division in 1965 and 1967. He missed their European Cup triumph in 1968 through injury.
Law left Manchester United in 1973 to return to Manchester City for a season, and represented Scotland at the 1974 FIFA World Cup. He retired at the start of the 1974–75 season. Law played for Scotland a total of 55 times and jointly holds the Scottish international record goal tally with 30 goals. Law holds a United record for scoring 46 competitive goals in a single season.

Succes 2014: Florin Piersic, one of the best Romanian actors

Florin Piersic (Romanian pronunciation: [floˈrin ˈpjersik]; born 27 January 1936) a Romanian actor.
Piersic's parents were from Bucovina, his mother was born in Valea Seacă, and his father, Ștefan Piersic, a veterinary physician, was originally from Corlata. Piersic spent his childhood years in Corlata, Pojorâta and Cajvana, later, in Cernăuţi, and then his family moved to Cluj, where Florin graduated from the High School for Boys No. 3.
Piersic attended the Caragiale Academy of Theatrical Arts and Cinematography in Bucharest. He joined the regular cast of the Romanian National Theater at 1959 and performed in numerous productions until his retirement in 1989. His first role was as Richard in The Devil's Disciple.
In 1958 he made his debut on screen in the French-Romanian co-production The Thistles of the Bărăgan. He appeared in more than forty movies, most of them in the Ceauşescu era. He often depicted heroic, masculine characters. More recently, he played in a soap opera.
Piersic married thrice: to Tatiana Iekel (their marriage lasted from 1962 to 1974), with whom he had a son, Florin Jr.; To Anna Széles (1975–1985), the mother of another son, Daniel; and from 1993, he is married to Anna Török.
In 2006, he was voted to the 51st place on the 100 greatest Romanians list. At 2008 he became an honorary citizen of Oradea. In 2009, he was bestowed with the lifetime achievement award in the Transilvania International Film Festival.


Florin Piersic (n. 27 ianuarie 1936, Cluj,) este un actor român de teatru și film. A jucat dramă, comedie, tragedie, figuri istorice, haiduci.

Născut din părinți bucovineni (mama originară din Valea Seacă, tatăl, medic veterinar, originar din Corlata), Florin Piersic și-a petrecut copilăria în Corlata, Pojorâta și Cajvana,^[7] apoi în Cernăuți și, ulterior, la Cluj, unde a urmat Liceul de băieți nr.3 (azi, Colegiul Național Emil Racoviță).^[8][9]
A absolvit Institutul de Artă Teatrală și Cinematografică din București (IATC, astăzi UNATC), promoția 1957. La doi ani după absolvire, Florin Piersic a debutat pe scena Teatrului Național din București obținând rolul titular în Discipolul diavolului. Au urmat Tragedia optimistă, Oameni și șoareci sau Orfeu în Infern, piese care au scos în evidență geniul, naturalețea și prospețimea actorului. Are o bogată activitate teatrală la Teatrul Național din București).
În anii '60, Florin Piersic se căsătorește cu actrița Tatiana Iekel^, care i-a dăruit și primul copil, pe Florin Jr. A doua soție a fost tot o actriță, Anna Szeles, alături de care a devenit tată pentru a doua oară. În 1985 Anna Széles a cerut și a obținut divorțul și s-a mutat în Ungaria, luându-l cu ea și pe fiul lor, Daniel. În 1993, după o relație de 7 ani, Florin Piersic s-a căsătorit cu Anna Török, de asemenea originară din Cluj.
În 26 ianuarie 2011, cinematograful „Republica” din Cluj-Napoca a fost redenumit în cinematograful „Florin Piersic”.
De-a lungul timpului, Florin Piersic a primit titlul de „Cetățean de Onoare” al mai multor orașe precum: Bacău, Cluj-Napoca, Caracal, Sighet, Suceava, Baia Mare, Oradea, București sau Galați.
La 10 decembrie 2012, prin decretul președintelui Nicolae Timofti, actorului i s-a acordat cetățenia Republicii Moldova. Florin Piersic a adresat o scrisoare președintelui moldovean motivând solicitarea prin faptul că acolo este primit foarte bine de oameni și se simte iubit, iar tatăl lui a activat, în calitate de medic veterinar, atât în Bucovina cât și în Basarabia (la Cernăuți, respectiv Soroca).
Florin Piersic a fost de 37 de ori în Ierusalim la Mormântul Sfânt.
În anul 2009 Florin Piersic înregistrează un disc de autor la casa de discuri OVO MUSIC: „Florin Piersic Hoinărind printre amintiri în lumea muzicii lui Dan Iagnov”. Toate cele 10 melodii sunt compuse de Dan Iagnov: „O poveste de o zi”, „Latino lasciv”, „Anemone mii”, „Femeia e secretul”, „Și ploua...”, „Pe cărările vieții”, „Poveste cu un saxofon”, „Viața este o poveste”, „Cînd ninge” și „Un pas pe zăpadă”. Versurile cântecelor „Latino lasciv” și „Anemone mii” sunt scrise de Dan Iagnov. Versurile celorlalte cântece sunt scrise de Andreea Andrei.
În anul 2011, noiembrie, are loc GALA OVO MUSIC ediția I-a, „Șlagărele noastre toate”, spectacol organizat de către Ovidiu Komornyik. În acest spectacol Florin Piersic a cântat cântecul „Pe cărările vieții” compozitor Dan Iagnov, textieră Andreea Andrei. Casa de discuri OVO MUSIC a scos în 2012 un DVD intitulat „Șlagărele noastre toate”, DVD care conține și cântecul amintit mai sus.
În anul 2012, noiembrie, în spectacolul „Seara vocilor de aur” din cadrul GALEI OVO MUSIC, Ediția a II-a, organizat de Ovidiu Komornyik, s-a dedicat un moment „In memoriam Dan Iagnov”. Florin Piersic a cântat melodia „O poveste de o zi” compozitor Dan Iagnov, textieră Andreea Andrei.
A fost distins cu Ordinul Meritul Cultural clasa a V-a (1967) „pentru merite deosebite în domeniul artei dramatice”.
Actorul Florin Piersic a fost decorat la 30 mai 2002 cu Ordinul național Steaua României în grad de Cavaler, alături de alți actori, „pentru prestigioasa cariera artistică și talentul deosebit prin care au dat viață personajelor interpretate în filme, dar și pe scenă, cu prilejul celebrării unui veac de film românesc”.
În anul 2013, Florin Piersic primește cetățenia Republicii Moldova, iar în martie 2014 obține actele care să ateste acest lucru.

Al Jarreau, an American jazz singer that won 7 Grammy Awards

Alwin "Al" Lopez Jarreau (born March 12, 1940) is an American jazz singer.
Jarreau was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the fifth of six children. His website refers to Reservoir Avenue, the name of the street where he lived. His father was a Seventh-day Adventist Church minister and singer, and his mother was a church pianist. He and his family sang together in church concerts and in benefits, and he and his mother performed at PTA meetings.
He was student council president and Badger Boys State delegate for Lincoln High School, going on to Ripon College, where he also sang with a group called the Indigos. Jarreau graduated in 1962 with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology. He went on to earn a master's degree in vocational rehabilitation from the University of Iowa, worked as a rehabilitation counselor in San Francisco, and moonlighted with a jazz trio headed by George Duke.
In 1967, he joined forces with acoustic guitarist Julio Martinez. The duo became the star attraction at a small Sausalito night club called Gatsby's. This success contributed to Jarreau's decision to make professional singing his life and full-time career.
In 1968, Jarreau made jazz his primary occupation. In 1969, Jarreau and Martinez headed south, where Jarreau appeared in such Los Angeles hot spots as Dino's, The Troubadour, and Bitter End West. Television exposure came from Johnny Carson, Mike Douglas, Merv Griffin, Dinah Shore, and David Frost. He expanded his nightclub appearances performing at The Improv between the acts of such rising-star comics as Bette Midler, Jimmie Walker, and John Belushi. During this period, he became involved with the United Church of Religious Science and the Church of Scientology, but he is no longer affiliated with Scientology. Also, roughly at the same time, he began writing his own lyrics, finding that his Christian spirituality began to impact his work.
In 1975, Jarreau was working with pianist Tom Canning when he was spotted by Warner Bros. Records. He sang on the first season of Saturday Night Live episode 13, 1975, hosted by Peter Boyle (Young Frankenstein, Everyone Loves Raymond). Soon thereafter released his critically acclaimed debut album, We Got By, which catapulted him to international fame and garnered him a German Grammy Award. A second German Grammy would follow with the release of his second album, Glow.
One of Jarreau's most commercially successful albums is Breakin' Away (1981), which includes the hit song "We're In This Love Together." He wrote and performed the Grammy-nominated theme to the 1980s American television show Moonlighting. Among other things, he is well known for his scat singing and the ability to imitate conventional guitar, bass, and percussive instrumentation. He was also a featured vocalist on USA for Africa's "We Are the World" in which he sang the line, "...and so we all must lend a helping hand." Another charitable media event, HBO's Comic Relief, featured Al in a duet with Natalie Cole singing the song "Mr. President," written by Joe Sterling, Mike Loveless and Ray Reach.
Jarreau took an extended break from recording in the 1990s. As he explained in an interview with Jazz Review: "I was still touring, in fact, I toured more than I ever had in the past, so I kept in touch with my audience. I got my symphony program under way, which included my music and that of other people too, and I performed on the Broadway production of Grease. I was busier than ever! For the most part, I was doing what I have always done … perform live. I was shopping for a record deal and was letting people know that there is a new album coming. I was just waiting for the right label (Verve), but I toured more than ever."
In 2003, Jarreau and conductor Larry Baird collaborated on symphony shows around the United States, with Baird arranging additional orchestral material for Jarreau's shows.
He has toured and performed with numerous musicians, including Joe Sample, Chick Corea, Kathleen Battle, Miles Davis, David Sanborn, Rick Braun, and George Benson. He also performed the role of the Teen Angel in a 1996 Broadway production of Grease. On March 6, 2001, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 7083 Hollywood Boulevard on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and La Brea Avenue.
Al Jarreau appeared in a duet with American Idol finalist Paris Bennett during the Season 5 finale and on Celebrity Duets singing with actor Cheech Marin.
In 2010, Al Jarreau is a guest on the new Eumir Deodato album, with the song "Double Face" written by Nicolosi/Deodato/Al Jarreau. The song is produced by the Italian company Nicolosi Productions.
On February 16, 2012, he was invited to the famous Italian Festival di Sanremo to sing with the Italian group Matia Bazar.

Jarreau has been married twice. His first marriage, to Phyllis Hall, lasted from 1964 to 1968. His second wife was model Susan Player, whom he married in 1977. Jarreau and Player have one adult son together, Ryan.

It was reported on July 23, 2010 that Jarreau was critically ill at a hospital in France, while in the area to perform a concert at nearby Barcelonnette, and was being treated for respiratory problems and cardiac arrhythmias. He was taken to the intensive-care unit at Gap late on July 22, 2010.Jarreau was conscious, in a stable condition and in the cardiology unit of La Timone hospital in Marseille, the Marseille Hospital Authority said. He was expected to remain there for about a week for tests. In June 2012, Jarreau was diagnosed with pneumonia, which caused him to cancel several concerts in France.
Since then, Jarreau has made a full recovery and continues to tour extensively.
In 2009 children's author Carmen Rubin published the story Ashti Meets Birdman Al, inspired by the music of Al Jarreau. He wrote the foreword for the book and reads from it across the world. Both Al and Carmen work together to promote literacy and the importance of keeping music alive in children. Books are available on iTunes and www.carmenrubin.com

Manu Chao, a Spanish/French singer who sings in French, Spanish, English, Italian, Arabic, Galician, and Portuguese and occasionally in other languages

Manu Chao (born José-Manuel Thomas Arthur Chao; June 21, 1961) is a Spanish/French singer who sings in French, Spanish, English, Italian, Arabic, Galician, and Portuguese and occasionally in other languages. Chao began his musical career in Paris, busking and playing with groups such as Hot Pants and Los Carayos, which combined a variety of languages and musical styles. With friends and his brother Antoine Chao, he founded the band Mano Negra in 1987, achieving considerable success, particularly in Europe. He became a solo artist after its breakup in 1995, and since then tours regularly with his live band, Radio Bemba.

 Chao had Spanish parents. His mother, Felisa Ortega, is from Bilbao, Basque country, and his father, writer and journalist Ramón Chao, is from Vilalba, Galicia. They emigrated to Paris to avoid Francisco Franco's dictatorship—Manu's grandfather had been sentenced to death. Shortly after Manu's birth, the Chao family moved to the outskirts of Paris, and Manu spent most of his childhood in Boulogne-Billancourt and Sèvres. As he grew up he was surrounded by many artists and intellectuals, most of whom were acquaintances of his father. Chao cites much of his childhood experience as inspiration for some songs.

Manu Chao sings in Spanish, French, English, Portuguese, Galician, Arabic and Wolof often mixing several languages in the same song. His music has many influences, such as punk, rock, French chanson, Iberoamerican salsa, reggae, ska, and Algerian raï. These influences were obtained from immigrants in France, his Iberian connections, and foremost his travels in Mesoamerica as a nomad following the disbanding of Mano Negra.

Many of Chao's lyrics talk about immigration, love, living in ghettos and drugs and often carry a left-wing message. This reflects Chao's own political leanings—he is very close to the Zapatistas and their public spokesman, Subcomandante Marcos. He has many followers among the European left, the Latin American left and the anti-globalisation and anti-free trade movements^. He is also a founding member of ATTAC.^[14] Punk and reggae historian Vivien Goldman commented of his work, "I was writing about Good Charlotte and The Police. They adopted the trappings of punk. They aren’t bad groups, but the punk aspect is more manifested by somebody like Manu Chao. He's one of the punkiest artists out there I can think of. It's an inclusionary spirit that is punk."

Chao also has a tendency to reuse music or lyrics from previous songs to form new songs. The contemporary hit single in France "Bongo Bong", takes its lyrics from the earlier Mano Negra hit "King of the Bongo", which bears a similar style to that of The Clash. The musical backdrop for "Bongo Bong", in turn, was used in several other Chao songs, including "Je Ne T'Aime Plus" from the same album and "Mr. Bobby" and "Homens" from Próxima Estación: Esperanza. Also, the tune of "La Primavera", a track from that same album, is used in several other songs featured on the LP, while lyrics for a few songs on Sibérie m'était contée are repeated several times with different music, leading the lyrics to be interpreted in various ways depending on the mood of the track. Several musical themes and clips from that album also appear on Amadou & Mariam's Chao-produced Dimanche à Bamako, which were being produced at approximately the same time.
Though Chao is quite well known in Europe and Latin America, he has not had the same success in the English-speaking world. Tours in the United States with Mano Negra were not as successful as elsewhere and Chao seems inclined to focus his efforts in the places where his musical style finds its roots. Though his live performances in the U.S. are infrequent, Chao played a handful of dates there in 2006, including a headlining show at Lollapalooza 2006 in Chicago, IL. His final appearance on his 2006 U.S. tour was a benefit concert in the Prospect Park Bandshell in Brooklyn, New York on August 7. He returned to that venue in the summer of 2007 for two concerts, part of the multicultural "Celebrate Brooklyn" concert series. The crowd was treated to a nearly two-hour performance, including two encores. Manu Chao also appeared at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland to a sellout crowd on June 23, 2007. This was a semi-spontaneous endeavour between Thievery Corporation and Manu Chao facilitated by a new-found friendship developed during Lollapalooza 2006. He was one of the headlining acts at the 2008 Austin City Limits Music Festival and the Outside Lands Music Festival in Golden Gate Park. In January 2012 he was the headline act at the opening night of Sydney Festival, marking his first concert in Australia.

In 2003 he approached Amadou & Mariam and later produced their 2004 album Dimanche à Bamako ("Sunday in Bamako"). His song "Me llaman Calle", written for the 2005 Spanish film Princesas, earned that film a Goya nomination for Best Original Song. It has been released in 2007's La Radiolina. Vocals from the song are included in the Go Lem System song "Calle Go Lem". Time magazine named "Me Llaman Calle" one of The 10 Best Songs of 2007, ranking it at No. 8. Writer Josh Tyrangiel observed,

Chao's warm singing over José Manuel Gamboa and Carlos Herrero's leaping Flamenco counter melody creates a direct emotional line to the core of this mid-tempo ballad. With its easy melody and universal rhythm Me Llaman Calle walks proudly in the shadow of Bob Marley, the last guy who made world music this disarmingly simple.

His song "La Vida Tómbola" was featured in the documentary film Maradona by Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica. The song "La Trampa", recorded with Tonino Carotone for the compilation album Fuerza! was used as the theme song for the short-lived improvisational comedy Drew Carey's Green Screen Show.
The songs "Bongo Bong" and "Je ne t'aime plus", which appear back-to-back on Clandestino, were covered by British singers Robbie Williams and Lily Allen, who recorded them as a single track, "Bongo Bong and Je Ne T'aime Plus" and released it as a single from the album Rudebox.

Success 2014: Jackie Stewart, a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland. Nicknamed the "Flying Scot", he competed in Formula One between 1965 and 1973, winning three World Drivers' Championships

Sir John Young "Jackie" Stewart, OBE (born 11 June 1939) is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland. Nicknamed the "Flying Scot", he competed in Formula One between 1965 and 1973, winning three World Drivers' Championships. He also competed in Can-Am. In 2009 he was ranked fifth of the fifty greatest Formula One drivers of all time by journalist Kevin Eason who wrote: "He has not only emerged as a great driver, but one of the greatest figures of motor racing."
He is well known in the United States as a color commentator (pundit) of racing television broadcasts for ABC's Wide World of Sports and ABC Sports, having worked in that role in the Indianapolis 500 from 1971 to 1981. He has also been a spokesman for Ford, Rolex and Moët.
Between 1997 and 1999, in partnership with his son, Paul, he was team principal of the Stewart Grand Prix Formula One racing team.

In 1964 he drove in Formula Three for Tyrrell. His debut, in the wet at Snetterton on 15 March, was dominant, taking an astounding 25 second lead in just two laps before coasting home to a win on a 44 second cushion.Within days, he was offered a Formula One ride with Cooper, but declined, preferring to gain experience under Tyrrell; he failed to win just two races (one to clutch failure, one to a spin) in becoming F3 champion.
After running John Coombs' E-type and practising in a Ferrari at Le Mans, he took a trial in an F1 Lotus 33-Climax, in which he impressed Colin Chapman and Jim Clark. Stewart again refused a ride in F1, but went instead to the Lotus Formula Two team. In his F2 debut, he was second at the difficult Clermont-Ferrand circuit in a Lotus 32-Cosworth.
While he signed with BRM alongside Graham Hill in 1965, a contract which netted him £4,000, his first race in an F1 car was for Lotus, as stand-in for an injured Clark, at the Rand Grand Prix in December 1964; the Lotus broke in the first heat, but he won the second On his F1 debut in South Africa, he scored his first Championship point, finishing sixth. His first major competition victory came in the BRDC International Trophy in the late spring, and before the end of the year he won his first World Championship race at Monza, fighting wheel-to-wheel with teammate Hill's P261.Stewart finished his rookie season with three seconds, a third, a fifth, and a sixth, and third place in the World Drivers' Championship. He also piloted Tyrrell's unsuccessful F2 Cooper T75-BRM, and ran the Rover Company's revolutionary turbine car at Le Mans.
1966 saw him almost win the Indianapolis 500 on his first attempt, in John Mecom's Lola T90-Ford only to be denied by a broken scavenge pump while leading by over a lap with eight laps to go; however, Stewart's performance, having had the race fully in hand and sidelined only by mechanical failure, won him Rookie of the Year honours despite the winner, Graham Hill, also being an Indianapolis rookie. At the start of the 1966 season, Stewart won the Australasian 8 round championship from his BRM teamate Graham Hill in 2 litre BRMs and also raced closely with his great rival and friend Jim Clark who was somewhat disadvantaged by an unreliable Lotus 39 which was let down by old Climax 2.5s.
Also, in 1966, a crash triggered his fight for improved safety in racing. On lap one of the 1966 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, when sudden rain caused many crashes, he found himself trapped in his overturned^[8] BRM, getting soaked by leaking fuel, which can result in a fire. The marshals had no tools to help him, and it took his teammate Hill and Bob Bondurant, who had also crashed nearby, to get him out after borrowing a spanner from a spectator's car. Since then, a main switch to disconnect electrics and a removable steering wheel have become standard. Also, noticing the long and slow transport to a hospital, he brought his own doctor to future races, while BRM supplied a medical truck for the benefit of all. Stewart also began to keep a spanner taped to his steering wheel. It was a poor year all around; the BRMs were notoriously unreliable, although Stewart did win the Monaco Grand Prix. Stewart had some success in other forms of racing during the year, winning the 1966 Tasman Series and the 1966 Rothmans 12 Hour International Sports Car Race.
BRM's fortunes did not improve in 1967, despite closely contesting the Tasman championship with Jim Clark who in a Lotus 33 probably raced closer and harder with Jackie than at any time in their careers, while Clark usually won, Stewart won a classic victory in the NZGP with Clark attempting to run him down in the last laps with bodywork flying off the 33. Stewart came no higher than second at Spa, though he won F2 events for Tyrrell at Karlskoga, Enna, Oulton Park, and Albi in a Matra MS5 or MS7. He also placed 2nd driving a works-entered Ferrari driving with Chris Amon at the BOAC 6 Hours at Brands Hatch, the 10th round of World Sportscar Championship at the time.
In Formula One, he switched to Tyrrell's Matra International team, where he drove a Matra MS10-Cosworth^[8] for the 1968 and 1969 seasons. Skill (and improving tyres from Dunlop) brought a win in heavy rain at Zandvoort. Another win in rain and fog at the Nürburgring, where he won by a margin of four minutes. He also won at Watkins Glen, but missed Jarama and Monaco due to an F2 injury at Jarama. His car failed at Mexico City, and so lost the driving title to Hill.
In 1969, Stewart had a number of races where he completely dominated the opposition, such as winning by over 2 laps at Montjuïc, a whole minute at Clemont-Ferrand and more than a lap at Silverstone. With additional wins at Kyalami, Zandvoort, and Monza, Stewart became world champion in 1969 in a Matra MS80-Cosworth. Until September 2005, when Fernando Alonso in a Renault became champion, he was the only driver to have won the championship driving for a French marque and, as Alonso's Renault was built in the UK, Stewart remains the only driver to win the world championship in a French-built car.
For 1970, Matra insisted on using their own V12 engines, while Tyrrell and Stewart wanted to keep the Cosworths as well as the good connection to Ford. As a consequence, the Tyrrell team bought a chassis from March Engineering; Stewart took the March 701-Cosworth to wins at the Daily Mail Race of Champions and Jarama, but was soon overcome by Lotus' new 72. The new Tyrrell 001-Cosworth, appearing in August,^[8] suffered problems, but Stewart saw better days for it in 1971, and stayed on. Tyrrell continued to be sponsored by French fuel company Elf, and Stewart raced in a car painted French Racing Blue for many years. Stewart also continued to race sporadically in Formula Two, winning at the Crystal Palace and placing at Thruxton. A projected Le Mans appearance, to co-drive the 4.5 litre Porsche 917K with Steve McQueen, did not come off, for McQueen's inability to get insurance.^[8] He also raced Can-Am, in the revolutionary Chaparral 2J. Stewart achieved pole position in 2 events, ahead of the dominant McLarens, but the chronic unreliability of the 2J prevented Stewart from finishing any races.^[8]
Stewart went on to win the Formula One world championship in 1971 using the excellent Tyrrell 003-Cosworth, winning Spain, Monaco, France, Britain, Germany, and Canada. He also did a full season in Can-Am, driving a Carl Haas sponsored Lola T260-Chevrolet. and again in 1973. During the 1971 Can-Am series, Stewart was the only driver able to challenge the McLarens driven by Dennis Hulme and Peter Revson. Stewart won 2 races; at Mont Tremblant and Mid Ohio. Stewart finished 3rd in the 1971 Can-Am Drivers Championship. The stress of racing year round, and on several continents eventually caused medical problems for Stewart. During the 1972 Grand Prix season he missed the Belgian Grand Prix at Nivelles due to gastritis, and had to cancel plans to drive a Can-Am McLaren, but won the Argentine, French, U.S., and Canadian Grands Prix, to come second to Emerson Fittipaldi in the drivers' standings. Stewart also competed in a Ford Capri RS2600 in the European Touring Car Championship, with F1 teammate François Cevert and other F1 pilots, at a time where the competition between Ford and BMW was at a height. Stewart shared a Capri with F1 Tyrrell teammate François Cevert in the 1972 6 hours of Paul Ricard, finishing second. He also received an OBE.
Entering the 1973 season, Stewart had decided to retire. He nevertheless won at South Africa, Belgium, Monaco, Holland, and Austria. His last (and then record-setting) 27th victory came at the Nürburgring with a convincing 1-2 for Tyrrell. "Nothing gave me more satisfaction than to win at the Nürburgring and yet, I was always afraid." Stewart later said. "When I left home for the German Grand Prix I always used to pause at the end of the driveway and take a long look back. I was never sure I'd come home again." After the fatal crash of his teammate François Cevert in practice for the 1973 United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, Stewart retired one race earlier than intended and missed what would have been his 100th Grand Prix. Nevertheless, Stewart still won the drivers' championship for the year.
Stewart held the record for most wins by a Formula One driver (27) for 14 years (broken by Alain Prost in 1987) and the record for most wins by a British Formula One driver for 19 years (broken by Nigel Mansell in 1992).

Succes 2014: Leon Vreme, unul dintre cei mai importanți artiști români contemporani

Leon Vreme s-a născut în 1930, la Noul Caragaci.
Studii: Institutul de Arte Plastice Ion Andreescu Cluj-Napoca, Promoţia 1957
Din 1957 participa la saloanele oficiale din Timişoara, precum şi la saloanele republicane şi expoziţiile reprezentative ale filialei UAP din Timişoara la Bucureşti.





Expoziții:
20 personale în ţară
10  personale în străinătate
50 internaţionale
45 colective şi de grup în străinătate

Arta monumentală:
În colaborare cu pictorul Luca Adalbert, 1959 Cugir, Fresca, Palatul Culturii, 1968 Băile Herculane, Fresca, Gara Oraşului, 1973 Timişoara, Mozaic, holul Universităţii de Vest

Premii şi distincţii:
2003 Timişoara, „Diploma de Excelenţă pentru merite deosebite în domeniul creaţiei şi al promovării valorilor culturale”, Facultatea de Arte din Timişoara, 2003 Premiul UAP din România pentru pictura pe anul 2002, 2003 Bucureşti, Premiul Naţional pentru Pictura, Uniunea Artiştilor Plastici
2004 Bucureşti, Ordinul „Meritul Cultural în grad de ofiţer”, 2005 Timişoara, Premiul „Pro Cultura Timisiensis” pentru întreaga activitate, Consiliul Jude]ean Timiş, 2007 Arad, Premiul de excelenta „Sever Frentiu” – Bienala 2007
2013 Premiul “Formă” pentru Excelentă în artele plastice, Deva

Lucrări în colecţii publice şi particulare din ţară şi străinătate:
Muzeul de Artă din Timişoara, Bucureşti, Bistriţa, Sofia, Reşita şi Targu-Mures, Recanati – Italia; Colecţia Elisabeta şi Gheorghe David ˆ Targu-Mures; Colecţia de artă contemporană „Artea”, Varna/Bulgaria, colecţia Muresan-Boca, Dej; colecţia Gerhard Modjesch Karsruhe, precum şi în colecţii particulare din Austria, Franţa, Germania, Anglia, Elveţia, Norvegia, Belgia, Olanda, Bulgaria, Grecia şi S.U.A., Centrul de artă „Forcalquier” Franţa. Muzeul de Artă Contemporană „Recanati” ˆ Italia.

Mircea Cărtărescu, a Romanian poet, novelist and essayist

Mircea Cărtărescu (born 1 June 1956) is a Romanian poet, novelist and essayist.Born in Bucharest, he graduated from the University of Bucharest's Faculty of Letters, Department of Romanian Language And Literature, in 1980. Between 1980 and 1989 he worked as a Romanian language teacher, and then he worked at the Writers Union and as an editor at the Caiete Critice magazine. In 1991 he became a lecturer at the Chair of Romanian Literary History, part of the University of Bucharest Faculty of Letters. As of 2010, he is an associate professor. Between 1994-1995 he was a visiting lecturer at the University of Amsterdam

 .
His debut as a writer was in 1978 in România Literară magazine.

Poetry

• Faruri, vitrine, fotografii..., ("Headlights, shop windows, photographs...") Cartea Românească, 1980 - Writers Union Prize, 1980
• Poeme de amor ("Love Poems"), Cartea Românească, 1982.
• Totul ("Everything"), Cartea Românească, 1984.
• Levantul (The Levant), Cartea Românească, 1990 - Writers Union Prize, 1990, republished by Humanitas in 1998.
• Dragostea ("Love"), Humanitas, 1994.
• 50 de sonete de Mircea Cărtărescu cu cincizeci de desene de Tudor Jebeleanu ("50 Sonnets by Mircea Cărtărescu With Fifty Drawings by Tudor Jebeleanu"), Brumar, 2003

Prose

• Desant '83 (volum colectiv/collection), Cartea Românească, 1983.
• Visul ("The Dream"), Cartea Românească, 1989 - Romanian Academy Prize, 1989; translated into French and Spanish; Latin Union Prize nominee.
  • Le rêve, Climats, 1992, ISBN 2-907563-55-6 - nominated for the Medicis prize (Best foreign book).
• Nostalgia ("Nostalgia"), full edition of "Visul", Humanitas, 1993.
  • New Directions Publishing Corporation, Translation by Julian Semilian, Introduction by Andrei Codrescu 2005, ISBN 0-8112-1588-1
• Travesti, Humanitas, 1994 - Writers Union Prize 1994; ASPRO Prize 1994; translated into French, Dutch and Spanish
• Orbitor (Blinding), vol. 1, Aripa stângă (Volume 1, "The Left Wing"), Humanitas, 1996
  
  • Gallimard, Translation (French) by Alain Paruit, 2002, ISBN 2-07-042265-8
• Jurnal ("Diary"), Humanitas, 2001, ISBN 973-50-0095-4
  • Jurnal I, 1990-1996, Humanitas, 2005, 2nd Ed., ISBN 973-50-0985-4
• Orbitor (Blinding), vol. 2, Corpul (Volume 2, "The Body"), Humanitas, 2002
• Enciclopedia zmeilor (The Encyclopedia of Dragons), Humanitas, 2002
• De ce iubim femeile (Why We Love Women), Humanitas, 2004, ISBN 973-50-0869-6
• Jurnal II, 1997-2003, ("Diary II, 1997-2003"), Humanitas, 2005, ISBN 973-50-0986-2
• Orbitor (Blinding), vol. 3, Aripa dreaptă (Volume 3, "The Right Wing"), Humanitas, 2007
• Frumoasele străine (Beautiful Strangers), Humanitas, 2010

Essays

• Visul chimeric (subteranele poeziei eminesciene) ("Chimerical Dream - The Underground of Eminescu's Poetry"), Litera, 1991
• Postmodernismul românesc ("Romanian postmodernism"), Ph.D. thesis, Humanitas, 1999
• Pururi tânăr, înfăşurat în pixeli ("Forever young, wrapped up in pixels"), Humanitas, 2003
• Baroane! ("You Baron!"), Humanitas, 2005

Audiobooks

• Parfumul aspru al ficţiunii ("The Rough Fragrance of Fiction"), Humanitas, 2003

Awards and honours

• 1980 Romanian Writers' Union Prize
• 1989 Romanian Academy's Prize
• 1990 Romanian Writer's Unions Prize, Flacăra magazine Prize, Ateneu magazine Prize, Tomis magazine Prize, Cuvântul magazine Prize
• 1992 Le Rêve nominee for: Prix Mèdicis, Prix Union Latine, Le meilleur livre étranger
• 1994 Romanian Writer's Union Prize, ASPRO Prize, Moldavian Writers' Union Prize
• 1996 ASPRO Prize, Flacăra magazine Prize, Ateneu magazine Prize, Tomis magazine Prize, Cuvântul magazine Prize
• 1997 Flacăra magazine Prize, Ateneu magazine Prize, Tomis magazine Prize, Cuvântul magazine Prize
• 1999 Orbitor's French translation nominee for Prix Union Latine
• 2000 Romanian Writers Association Prize
• 2002 ASPRO Prize, AER Prize
• 2006 Grand Officer of the Cultural Merit Order (Ordinul "Meritul cultural" în grad de mare ofiţer), awarded by Romanian Presidency
• 2011 Vilenica Prize
• 2014 Best Translated Book Award, shortlisted for Blinding, translated from the Romanian into English by Sean Cotter
• 2014 Premio Euskadi de Plata to the Best Book of 2014 for Las Bellas Extranjeras (Frumoasele străine), translated from the Romanian into Spanish by Marian Ochoa de Eribe (Editorial Impedimenta)