title: Maple syrup

text: In addition to open pan evaporation methods, many large producers use the more fuel efficient reverse osmosis procedure to separate the water from the sap. Smaller producers can also use batchwise recirculating reverse osmosis, with the most energy-efficient operation taking the sugar concentration to 25% prior to boiling.


title: Maple syrup

text: The higher the sugar content of the sap, the smaller the volume of sap is needed to obtain the same amount of syrup. To yield 1 unit of syrup, sap at 1.5 percent sugar content will require 57 units, while sap at 3.5 percent sugar content only needs 25 units of sap. The sap's sugar content is highly variable and will fluctuate even within the same tree.


title: Maple syrup

text: The filtered syrup is graded and packaged while still hot, usually at a temperature of or greater. The containers are turned over after being sealed to sterilize the cap with the hot syrup. Packages can be made of metal, glass, or coated plastic, depending on volume and target market. The syrup can also be heated longer and further processed to create a variety of other maple products, including maple sugar, maple butter or cream, and maple candy or taffy.


title: Maple syrup

text: Off-flavours can sometimes develop during the production of maple syrup, resulting from contaminants in the boiling apparatus (such as disinfectants), microorganisms, fermentation products, metallic can flavours, and "buddy sap", an off-flavour occurring late in the syrup season when tree budding has begun. In some circumstances, it is possible to remove off-flavours through processing.


title: Maple syrup

text: Maple syrup production is centred in northeastern North America; however, given the correct weather conditions, it can be made wherever suitable species of maple trees grow, such as New Zealand, where there are efforts to establish commercial production.


title: Maple syrup

text: A maple syrup production farm is called a "sugarbush". Sap is often boiled in a "sugar house" (also known as a "sugar shack", "sugar cabin", "sugar shanty", or "cabane à sucre"), a building louvered at the top to vent the steam from the boiling sap.


title: Maple syrup

text: Maples are usually tapped beginning at 30 to 40 years of age. Each tree can support between one and three taps, depending on its trunk diameter. The average maple tree will produce of sap per season, up to per day. This is roughly equal to seven percent of its total sap. Tap seasons typically happen during late winter and spring and usually last for four to eight weeks, though the exact dates depends on the weather, location, and climate. The timing of the season and the region of maximum sap flow are both expected to be significantly altered by climate change by 2100.


title: Maple syrup

text: During the day, starch stored in the roots for the winter rises through the trunk as sugary sap, allowing it to be tapped. Sap is not tapped at night because the temperature drop inhibits sap flow, although taps are typically left in place overnight. Some producers also tap in autumn, though this practice is less common than spring tapping. Maples can continue to be tapped for sap until they are over 100 years old.


title: Maple syrup

text: Until the 1930s, the United States produced most of the world's maple syrup. Today, after rapid growth in the 1990s, Canada produces more than 80 percent of the world's maple syrup, producing about in 2016. The vast majority of this comes from the province of Quebec, which is the world's largest producer, with about 70 percent of global production. Canada exported more than C$362 million of maple syrup in 2016. In 2015, 64 percent of Canadian maple syrup exports went to the United States (a value of C$229 million), 8 percent to Germany (C$31 million), 6 percent to Japan (C$26 million), and 5 percent to the United Kingdom (C$16 million).


title: Maple syrup

text: In 2015, Quebec accounts for 90.83 percent of maple syrup produced in Canada, followed by New Brunswick at 4.83 percent, Ontario at 4.14 percent, and Nova Scotia at 0.2 percent. However, 94.28 percent of exported Canadian maple syrup originated from Quebec, whereas 4.91 percent of exported syrup originated from New Brunswick, and the remaining 0.81 percent from all other provinces. Ontario holds the most maple syrup farms in Canada outside of Quebec, with 2,240 maple syrup producers in 2011. This is followed by New Brunswick, with 191 maple syrup producers; and Nova Scotia, with 152 maple syrup producers.


title: Maple syrup

text: As of 2016, Quebec had some 7,300 producers working with 13,500 farmers, collectively making over of syrup. Production in Quebec is controlled through a supply management system, with producers receiving quota allotments from the government sanctioned Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers ("Fédération des producteurs acéricoles du Québec", FPAQ), which also maintains reserves of syrup, although there is a black-market trade in Quebec product. In 2017, the FPAQ mandated increased output of maple syrup production, attempting to establish Quebec's dominance in the world market.


title: Maple syrup

text: The Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan produce maple syrup using the sap of the box elder or Manitoba maple ("Acer negundo"). In 2011, there were 67 maple syrup producers in Manitoba, and 24 in Saskatchewan. A Manitoba maple tree's yield is usually less than half that of a similar sugar maple tree. Manitoba maple syrup has a slightly different flavour from sugar-maple syrup, because it contains less sugar and the tree's sap flows more slowly. British Columbia is home to a growing maple sugar industry using sap from the bigleaf maple, which is native to the West Coast of the United States and Canada. In 2011, there were 82 maple syrup producers in British Columbia.


title: Maple syrup

text: Vermont has long been the largest US producer, with a record produced in 2022. In 2019 it led with over , followed by New York with and Maine with . Wisconsin, Ohio, New Hampshire, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Connecticut all produced marketable quantities of maple syrup.


title: Maple syrup

text: Maple syrup has been produced on a small scale in some other countries, notably Japan and South Korea. However, in South Korea in particular, it is traditional to consume maple sap, called "gorosoe", instead of processing it into syrup.


title: Maple syrup

text: Under Canadian Maple Product Regulations, containers of maple syrup must include the words "maple syrup", its grade name and net quantity in litres or millilitres, on the main display panel with a minimum font size of 1.6 mm. If the maple syrup is of Canada Grade A level, the name of the colour class must appear on the label in both English and French. Also, the lot number or production code, and either: (1) the name and address of the sugar bush establishment, packing or shipper establishment, or (2) the first dealer and the registration number of the packing establishment, must be labeled on any display panel other than the bottom.


title: Maple syrup

text: Following an effort from the International Maple Syrup Institute (IMSI) and many maple syrup producer associations, both Canada and the United States have altered their laws regarding the classification of maple syrup to be uniform. Whereas in the past each state or province had their own laws on the classification of maple syrup, now those laws define a unified grading system. This had been a work in progress for several years, and most of the finalization of the new grading system was made in 2014. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced in the "Canada Gazette" on 28 June 2014 that rules for the sale of maple syrup would be amended to include new descriptors, at the request of the IMSI.


title: Maple syrup

text: As of 31 December 2014, the CFIA and as of 2 March 2015, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service issued revised standards intended to harmonize Canada-United States regulations on the classification of maple syrup as follows:


title: Maple syrup

text: As long as maple syrup does not have an off-flavour, is of a uniform colour, and is free from turbidity and sediment, it can be labelled as one of the A grades. If it exhibits any problems, it does not meet Grade A requirements, and then must be labelled as Processing Grade maple syrup and may not be sold in containers smaller than . If maple syrup does not meet the requirements of Processing Grade maple syrup (including a fairly characteristic maple taste), it is classified as Substandard.


title: Maple syrup

text: This grading system was accepted and made law by most maple-producing states and provinces, and became compulsory in Canada as of 13 December 2016. Vermont, in an effort to "jump-start" the new grading regulations, adopted the new grading system as of 1 January 2014, after the grade changes passed the Senate and House in 2013. Maine passed a bill to take effect as soon as both Canada and the United States adopted the new grades. In New York, the new grade changes became law on 1 January 2015. New Hampshire did not require legislative approval and so the new grade laws became effective as of 16 December 2014, and producer compliance was required as of 1 January 2016.


title: Maple syrup

text: Golden and Amber grades typically have a milder flavour than Dark and Very dark, which are both dark and have an intense maple flavour. The darker grades of syrup are used primarily for cooking and baking, although some specialty dark syrups are produced for table use. Syrup harvested earlier in the season tends to yield a lighter colour. With the new grading system, the classification of maple syrup depends ultimately on its internal transmittance at 560 nm wavelength through a 10 mm sample. Golden must have 75 percent or more transmittance, Amber must have 50.0 to 74.9 percent transmittance, Dark must have 25.0 to 49.9 percent transmittance, and Very Dark is any product having less than 25.0 percent transmittance.


title: Maple syrup

text: In Canada, maple syrup was classified prior to 31 December 2014, by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) as one of three grades, each with several colour classes:


title: Maple syrup

text: Producers in Ontario or Quebec may have followed either federal or provincial grading guidelines. Quebec's and Ontario's guidelines differed slightly from the federal:


title: Maple syrup

text: A typical year's yield for a maple syrup producer will be about 25 to 30 percent of each of the #1 colours, 10 percent #2 Amber, and 2 percent #3 Dark.


title: Maple syrup

text: The United States used different grading standards — some states still do as they await state regulation. Maple syrup was divided into two major grades:


title: Maple syrup

text: The Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food and Markets used a similar grading system of colour, and is roughly equivalent, especially for lighter syrups, but using letters: "AA", "A", etc. The Vermont grading system differed from the US system in maintaining a slightly higher standard of product density (measured on the Baumé scale). New Hampshire maintained a similar standard, but not a separate state grading scale. The Vermont-graded product had 0.9 percent more sugar and less water in its composition than US-graded. One grade of syrup not for table use, called commercial or Grade C, was also produced under the Vermont system.


title: Maple syrup

text: In Canada, the packing of maple syrup must follow the "Packing" conditions stated in the Maple Products Regulations, or utilize the equivalent Canadian or imported grading system.


title: Maple syrup

text: As stated in the Maple Products Regulations, Canadian maple syrup can be classified as "Canadian Grade A" and "Canadian Processing Grade". Any maple syrup container under these classifications should be filled to at least 90% of the bottle size while still containing the net quantity of syrup product as stated on the label. Every container of maple syrup must be new if it has a capacity of 5 litres or less or is marked with a grade name. Every container of maple sugar must also be new if it has a capacity of less than 5 kg or is either exported out of Canada or conveyed from one province to another.


title: Maple syrup

text: Each maple syrup product must be verified clean if it follows a grade name or if it is exported out of the province in which it was originally manufactured.


title: Maple syrup

text: The basic ingredient in maple syrup is the sap from the xylem of sugar maple or various other species of maple trees. It consists primarily of sucrose and water, with small amounts of the monosaccharides glucose and fructose from the invert sugar created in the boiling process.


title: Maple syrup

text: In a 100g amount, maple syrup provides 260 calories and is composed of 32 percent water by weight, 67 percent carbohydrates (90 percent of which are sugars), and no appreciable protein or fat (table). Maple syrup is generally low in overall micronutrient content, although manganese and riboflavin are at high levels along with moderate amounts of zinc and calcium (right table). It also contains trace amounts of amino acids which increase in content as sap flow occurs.


title: Maple syrup

text: Maple syrup contains a wide variety of polyphenols and volatile organic compounds, including vanillin, hydroxybutanone, lignans, propionaldehyde, and numerous organic acids. It is not yet known exactly all compounds responsible for the distinctive flavour of maple syrup, although primary flavour-contributing compounds are maple furanone (5-ethyl-3-hydroxy-4-methyl-2(5H)-furanone), strawberry furanone, and maltol. New compounds have been identified in maple syrup, one of which is quebecol, a natural phenolic compound created when the maple sap is boiled to create syrup. Its sweetness derives from a high content of sucrose (99% of total sugars). Its brown colour – a significant factor in the appeal and quality grading of maple syrup – develops during thermal evaporation.


title: Maple syrup

text: One author described maple syrup as "a unique ingredient, smooth- and silky-textured, with a sweet, distinctive flavour – hints of caramel with overtones of toffee will not do – and a rare colour, amber set alight. Maple flavour is, well, maple flavour, uniquely different from any other." Agriculture Canada has developed a "flavour wheel" that details 91 unique flavours that can be present in maple syrup. These flavours are divided into 13 families: vanilla, burnt, milky, fruity, floral, spicy, foreign (deterioration or fermentation), foreign (environment), maple, confectionery, plant (herbaceous), plant (forest, humus or cereals), and plant (ligneous). These flavours are evaluated using a procedure similar to wine tasting. Other culinary experts praise its unique flavour.


title: Maple syrup

text: Maple syrup and its various artificial imitations are widely used as toppings for pancakes, waffles, and French toast in North America. They can also be used to flavour a variety of foods, including fritters, ice cream, hot cereal, fresh fruit, bacon, and sausages. It is also used as sweetener for granola, applesauce, baked beans, candied sweet potatoes, winter squash, cakes, pies, breads, tea, coffee, and hot toddies.


title: Maple syrup

text: In Canada, maple syrup must be made entirely from maple sap, and syrup must have a density of 66° on the Brix scale to be marketed as maple syrup. In the United States, maple syrup must be made almost entirely from maple sap, although small amounts of substances such as salt may be added. Labeling laws prohibit imitation syrups from having "maple" in their names unless the finished product contains 10 percent or more of natural maple syrup.


title: Maple syrup

text: "Maple-flavoured" syrups include maple syrup, but may contain additional ingredients. "Pancake syrup", "waffle syrup", "table syrup", and similarly named syrups are substitutes which are less expensive than maple syrup. In these syrups, the primary ingredient is most often high-fructose corn syrup flavoured with sotolon; they have little genuine maple content, and are usually thickened above the viscosity of maple syrup.


title: Maple syrup

text: Imitation syrups are generally cheaper than maple syrup, with less natural flavour. In the United States, consumers generally prefer imitation syrups, likely because of the significantly lower cost and sweeter flavour; they typically cost about , whereas authentic maple syrup costs as of 2015.


title: Maple syrup

text: In 2016, maple syrup producers from nine US states petitioned the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate labeling of products containing maple syrup or using the word "maple" in manufactured products, indicating that imitation maple products contained insignificant amounts of natural maple syrup. In September 2016, the FDA published a consumer advisory to carefully inspect the ingredient list of products labeled as "maple".


title: Maple syrup

text: Maple products are considered emblematic of Canada, and are frequently sold in tourist shops and airports as souvenirs from Canada. The sugar maple's leaf has come to symbolize Canada, and is depicted on the country's flag. Several US states, including West Virginia, New York, Vermont, and Wisconsin, have the sugar maple as their state tree. A scene of sap collection is depicted on the Vermont state quarter, issued in 2001.


title: Maple syrup

text: Maple syrup and maple sugar were used during the American Civil War and by abolitionists in the years before the war because most cane sugar and molasses were produced by Southern slaves. Because of food rationing during the Second World War, people in the northeastern United States were encouraged to stretch their sugar rations by sweetening foods with maple syrup and maple sugar, and recipe books were printed to help housewives employ this alternative source.


title: Rhombus

text: In plane Euclidean geometry, a rhombus (plural rhombi or rhombuses) is a quadrilateral whose four sides all have the same length. Another name is equilateral quadrilateral, since equilateral means that all of its sides are equal in length. The rhombus is often called a "diamond", after the diamonds suit in playing cards which resembles the projection of an octahedral diamond, or a lozenge, though the former sometimes refers specifically to a rhombus with a 60° angle (which some authors call a calisson after the French sweet – also see Polyiamond), and the latter sometimes refers specifically to a rhombus with a 45° angle.


title: Rhombus

text: Every rhombus is simple (non-self-intersecting), and is a special case of a parallelogram and a kite. A rhombus with right angles is a square.


title: Rhombus

text: The word "rhombus" comes from , meaning something that spins, which derives from the verb , , meaning "to turn round and round." The word was used both by Euclid and Archimedes, who used the term "solid rhombus" for a bicone, two right circular cones sharing a common base.


title: Rhombus

text: The surface we refer to as "rhombus" today is a cross section of the bicone on a plane through the apexes of the two cones.


title: Rhombus

text: A simple (non-self-intersecting) quadrilateral is a rhombus if and only if it is any one of the following:


title: Rhombus

text: Every rhombus has two diagonals connecting pairs of opposite vertices, and two pairs of parallel sides. Using congruent triangles, one can prove that the rhombus is symmetric across each of these diagonals. It follows that any rhombus has the following properties:


title: Rhombus

text: The first property implies that every rhombus is a parallelogram. A rhombus therefore has all of the properties of a parallelogram: for example, opposite sides are parallel; adjacent angles are supplementary; the two diagonals bisect one another; any line through the midpoint bisects the area; and the sum of the squares of the sides equals the sum of the squares of the diagonals (the parallelogram law). Thus denoting the common side as "a" and the diagonals as "p" and "q", in every rhombus


title: Rhombus

text: Not every parallelogram is a rhombus, though any parallelogram with perpendicular diagonals (the second property) is a rhombus. In general, any quadrilateral with perpendicular diagonals, one of which is a line of symmetry, is a kite. Every rhombus is a kite, and any quadrilateral that is both a kite and parallelogram is a rhombus.


title: Rhombus

text: A rhombus is a tangential quadrilateral. That is, it has an inscribed circle that is tangent to all four sides.


title: Rhombus

text: The length of the diagonals "p = AC" and "q = BD" can be expressed in terms of the rhombus side "a" and one vertex angle "α" as


title: Rhombus

text: The inradius (the radius of a circle inscribed in the rhombus), denoted by , can be expressed in terms of the diagonals and as


title: Rhombus

text: As for all parallelograms, the area "K" of a rhombus is the product of its base and its height ("h"). The base is simply any side length "a":


title: Rhombus

text: Another way, in common with parallelograms, is to consider two adjacent sides as vectors, forming a bivector, so the area is the magnitude of the bivector (the magnitude of the vector product of the two vectors), which is the determinant of the two vectors' Cartesian coordinates: "K" = "x""y" – "x""y".


title: Rhombus

text: The sides of a rhombus centered at the origin, with diagonals each falling on an axis, consist of all points ("x, y") satisfying


title: Rhombus

text: The vertices are at formula_12 and formula_13 This is a special case of the superellipse, with exponent 1.


title: Rhombus

text: A rhombohedron (also called a rhombic hexahedron) is a three-dimensional figure like a cuboid (also called a rectangular parallelepiped), except that its 3 pairs of parallel faces are up to 3 types of rhombi instead of rectangles.


title: Rhombus

text: The rhombic triacontahedron is a convex polyhedron with 30 golden rhombi (rhombi whose diagonals are in the golden ratio) as its faces.


title: Rhombus

text: The great rhombic triacontahedron is a nonconvex isohedral, isotoxal polyhedron with 30 intersecting rhombic faces.


title: Rhombus

text: The rhombic hexecontahedron is a stellation of the rhombic triacontahedron. It is nonconvex with 60 golden rhombic faces with icosahedral symmetry.


title: Rhombus

text: The rhombic enneacontahedron is a polyhedron composed of 90 rhombic faces, with three, five, or six rhombi meeting at each vertex. It has 60 broad rhombi and 30 slim ones.


title: Rhombus

text: The rhombic icosahedron is a polyhedron composed of 20 rhombic faces, of which three, four, or five meet at each vertex. It has 10 faces on the polar axis with 10 faces following the equator.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collaborating mostly with lyricists Howard "Howie" Greenfield and Phil Cody.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: After a short-lived tenure as a founding member of the doo-wop group the Tokens, Sedaka achieved a string of hit singles over the late 1950s and early 1960s, including "Oh! Carol" (1959), "Calendar Girl" (1960), "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" (1961) and "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" (1962). His popularity declined by the mid-1960s, but was revived in the mid-1970s, solidified by the 1975 US "Billboard" Hot 100 number ones "Laughter in the Rain" and "Bad Blood". Sedaka maintained a successful career as a songwriter, penning hits for other artists including "Stupid Cupid" (Connie Francis), "(Is This the Way to) Amarillo" (Tony Christie) and "Love Will Keep Us Together" (Captain & Tennille). He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1983 and continues to perform, mounting mini-concerts on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: Sedaka was born in Brooklyn, New York. His father, Mordechai "Mac" Sedaka, was a taxi driver of Sephardi Jewish descent from Turkey. Sedaka's paternal grandparents came to the United States from Istanbul in 1910. Sedaka's mother, Eleanor (née Appel), was an Ashkenazi Jew of Polish and Russian descent. He grew up in Brighton Beach, on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean. His father's cousin, Rachel Gorman (née Cohen), daughter of Isaac Cohen and Calo Cohen (née Sedaca or Sedaka), was married to Morris Gorman (né Garmezano; paternal uncle to singer Eydie Gormé). Gormé's mother was of Lebanese Jewish descent.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: Sedaka demonstrated musical aptitude in his second-grade choral class, and when his teacher sent a note home suggesting he take piano lessons, his mother took a part-time job in an Abraham & Straus department store for six months to pay for a second-hand upright. In 1947, he auditioned successfully for a piano scholarship to the Juilliard School of Music's Preparatory Division for Children, which he attended on Saturdays. His mother had wanted him to become a classical pianist like his contemporary Van Cliburn, and Sedaka continued to show fondness for (and capacity to play) classical music throughout his life.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: At the same time, to his mother's dismay, Sedaka was discovering pop music; his mother eventually acquiesced when Sedaka received a five-figure royalty check for his hit "Calendar Girl" in 1961. When Sedaka was 13, a neighbor heard him playing and introduced him to her 16-year-old son, Howard Greenfield, an aspiring poet and lyricist. They became two of the Brill Building's composers.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: Sedaka and Greenfield wrote songs together throughout much of their young lives. Before rock and roll became popular, Sedaka and Greenfield found inspiration from show tunes. When Sedaka became a major teen pop star, the pair continued writing hits for Sedaka and numerous other artists. When the Beatles and the British Invasion took American music in a different direction, Sedaka was left without a recording career. In the early 1970s, he decided a major change in his life was necessary and moved his family to Britain. Sedaka and Greenfield mutually agreed to end their partnership with "Our Last Song Together". Sedaka began a new composing partnership with lyricist Phil Cody, from Pleasantville, New York.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: After graduating from Abraham Lincoln High School, Sedaka and some of his classmates formed a band called the Linc-Tones. The band had minor regional hits with songs like "While I Dream", "I Love My Baby", "Come Back, Joe", and "Don't Go", before Sedaka launched his solo career and left the group in 1957. The Linc-Tones, later renamed the Tokens near the end of Sedaka's tenure with the group, went on to have four top-40 hits of their own without Sedaka. Sedaka's first three solo singles, "Laura Lee", "Ring-a-Rockin'", and "Oh, Delilah!" failed to become hits (although "Ring-a-Rockin'" earned him the first of many appearances on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand"), but they demonstrated his ability to perform as a solo singer, so RCA Victor signed him to a recording contract.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: His first single for RCA Victor, "The Diary", was inspired by Connie Francis, one of Sedaka and Greenfield's most important clients, while the three were taking a temporary break during their idea-making for a new song. Francis was writing in her diary, Sedaka asked if he could read it, and Connie said no. After Little Anthony and the Imperials passed on the song, Sedaka recorded it himself, and his debut single hit the Top 15 on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 14 in 1958.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: His second single, a novelty tune titled "I Go Ape", just missed the Top 40, peaking at No. 42 but it became a more successful single in the United Kingdom with a No. 9. The third single, "Crying My Heart Out for You", was a commercial failure, missing the Hot 100 entirely, peaking at No. 111 but it reached No. 6 on the pop charts in Italy. RCA Victor had lost money on "I Go Ape" and "Crying My Heart Out For You" and was ready to drop Sedaka from their label; Sedaka feared he was headed for one-hit wonder status. Sedaka and his manager, Al Nevins, persuaded the RCA executives to give him one more chance.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: Sedaka then bought the three biggest hit singles of the time and listened to them repeatedly, studying the song structure, chord progressions, lyrics and harmonies before writing his next songs. "Oh! Carol" delivered Sedaka his first domestic Top 10 hit, reaching No. 9 on the Hot 100 in 1959 and going to No. 1 on the Italian pop charts in 1960, giving Sedaka his first No. 1 ranking. In the UK, the song spent a total of 17 weeks in the top 40, peaking at No. 3 (4 weeks). In addition, the B-side, "One Way Ticket", reached No. 1 on the pop charts in Japan. Sedaka had dated Carole King when he was still at high school, which gave him the idea to use her name in the song. Gerry Goffin – King's husband – took the tune, and wrote the playful response "Oh! Neil", which King recorded and released as an unsuccessful single the same year. Thus, this was the only time the melody of the song was used by a popular artist and a future sensation around the same time.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: After establishing himself in 1958, Sedaka wrote many more hits from 1960 to 1962. His flow of Top 30 hits during this period included: "Stairway to Heaven" (No. 9, 1960); "You Mean Everything to Me" (No. 17, 1960); "Run, Samson, Run" (No. 27, 1960); "Calendar Girl" (No. 4, 1961; also reached No. 1 on the Japanese and Canadian pop charts); "Little Devil" (No. 11, 1961); "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" (No. 6, 1961); his signature song, "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" (No. 1, two weeks: August 11 and 18, 1962); and "Next Door to an Angel" (No. 5, 1962). For several of those songs, Sedaka was paired with Stan Applebaum and His Orchestra. Singles not making the Top 30 during this period included "Sweet Little You" (No. 59, 1961) and "King of Clowns" (No. 45, 1962). RCA Victor issued four LPs of his works in the United States and Great Britain during this period, and also produced "Scopitone" and "Cinebox" videos of "Calendar Girl" in 1961, "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" in 1962, and "The Dreamer" in 1963. His second LP was an album mostly of old standards. He made regular appearances on such TV programs as "American Bandstand" and "Shindig!" during this period.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: When Sedaka was not recording his own songs, he and Howard Greenfield were writing for other performers, most notably in their earliest days Connie Francis. Francis began searching for a new hit after her 1958 single "Who's Sorry Now?". She was introduced to Sedaka and Greenfield, who played every ballad they had written for her. Francis began writing in her diary while the two played the last of their songs. After they finished, Francis told them they wrote beautiful ballads but that they were too intellectual for the young generation. Greenfield suggested that they play a song they had written for the Shepherd Sisters. Sedaka protested that Francis would be insulted by being played such a puerile song, but Greenfield reminded him Francis had not accepted their other suggestions and they had nothing to lose. After Sedaka played "Stupid Cupid", Francis told them they had just played her new hit. Francis' rendition of the song reached No. 14 on the "Billboard" charts, while it topped the UK Singles Chart.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: While Francis was writing in her diary, Sedaka asked her if he could read what she had written. As mentioned earlier, Francis said no. This inspired Sedaka to write "The Diary", his own first hit single. Sedaka and Greenfield wrote many of Connie Francis' hits, such as "Fallin'" and the "Theme from "Where the Boys Are"", the film in which she starred. This hit the Top 5 on the "Billboard" pop singles chart and Francis had several No. 1 singles. "Where the Boys Are" eventually became her signature song.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: Sedaka and Greenfield also wrote some of Jimmy Clanton's hits, such as "Another Sleepless Night", "What Am I Gonna Do?" and "All the Words in the World". Sedaka himself recorded each of these three songs: "Another Sleepless Night" appears on his "Rock With Sedaka" debut album; "What Am I Gonna Do?" was the B-side of "Going Home to Mary Lou" and appeared on his 1961 album "Neil Sedaka Sings "Little Devil" and His Other Hits"; and "All the Words in the World" was recorded but was kept in the RCA Victor vaults until 1977, at the height of Sedaka's return to popularity, when it was released on the album "".


title: Neil Sedaka

text: Sedaka also contributed some work as a session pianist during his heyday as a pop singer-songwriter. His piano playing is heard on "Dream Lover", Bobby Darin's 1959 hit.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: Sedaka was very popular in Italy. Many of his English-language records were released there and proved quite successful, especially "Crying My Heart Out for You" (Italian No. 6, 1959) and "Oh! Carol" (Italian No. 1, 1960).


title: Neil Sedaka

text: In 1961, Sedaka began to record some of his hits in Italian, starting with "Esagerata" and "Un giorno inutile", local versions of "Little Devil" and "I Must Be Dreaming", respectively. Other recordings were to follow, such as "Tu non lo sai" ("Breaking Up Is Hard to Do"), "Il re dei pagliacci" ("King of Clowns"), "I tuoi capricci" ("Look Inside Your Heart"), and "La terza luna" ("Waiting For Never"). "La terza luna" reached No. 1 on the Italian pop charts in April 1963. "Cinebox" videos exist for "La terza luna" and "I tuoi capricci". Sedaka's Italian diction was impressive; his recordings in Italian had very little American accent. RCA Victor's Italiana branch distributed his records in Italy and released three compilation LPs of Sedaka's Italian recordings.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: Sedaka also recorded an album in Yiddish ("Brighton Beach Memories – Neil Sedaka Sings Yiddish"), several songs in Spanish including "Mi Vecinita" ("Next Door to an Angel"), a handful of songs in German, and one single apiece in Hebrew, Japanese, and Canadian French. His English-language recordings were also quite popular internationally; "One-Way Ticket to the Blues" and "Calendar Girl" reached No. 1 on the Japanese pop charts in 1959 and 1961. He also enjoyed popularity in Latin America for his Spanish-language recordings. Many of these were pressed onto 78 rpm discs.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: Sedaka stated in 2020 that he was talked into focusing on the international markets because Elvis Presley, the biggest rock star in America, never toured overseas (largely because of Colonel Tom Parker's desire to avoid immigration officials), and because his publishers and managers considered it a much lower risk for a new performer to not face American audiences that knew him.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: The year 1962 was one of the most important of Sedaka's career, with "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" reaching No. 1 and "Next Door to an Angel" reaching No. 5. After this his popularity began to wane and his 1963 singles enjoyed only moderate success: "Alice In Wonderland" (No. 17), "Let's Go Steady Again" (No. 26), "The Dreamer" (No. 47), and "Bad Girl" (No. 33). "Bad Girl" was Sedaka's last Top 40 hit in the U.S. until 1974.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: In 1964 Sedaka's career began a sharp decline, hastened by The Beatles' arrival on the radio and TV, and the rest of the so-called British Invasion. When describing the Beatles' effect on his career in the mid-1960s, Sedaka put it brusquely: "The Beatles—not good!" From 1964 to 1966, only three of his singles cracked the Hot 100: "Sunny" (No. 86, 1964), "The World through a Tear" (No. 76, 1965), and "The Answer to My Prayer" (No. 89, 1965). His other singles from this era—"The Closest Thing To Heaven", "I Hope He Breaks Your Heart", "Let The People Talk", "The Answer Lies Within" and "We Can Make It If We Try"—all missed the Hot 100, the same fate since Sedaka's third U.S. single for RCA Victor, and became commercial failures.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: To make matters worse, RCA Victor refused to release his new recording, "It Hurts to Be in Love", because he had not recorded at their own studios, as stipulated by his contract. Sedaka attempted another recording of this song in RCA's studios, but the results were unsatisfactory. Howard Greenfield and Helen Miller, the song's co-writers, offered it instead to Gene Pitney. Pitney took the existing musical track, replacing Sedaka's lead vocal track with his own. Everything else was Sedaka, including his own arrangement and backing vocals, piano-playing, and usual female backup singers. Pitney ended up with a No. 7 hit for himself and his record label, Musicor, in 1964.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: For the remainder of his tenure with RCA Victor, Sedaka never fully recovered from the effects of Beatlemania, the loss of "It Hurts to Be in Love" to Pitney, or the failure of his recordings. RCA decided not to renew his contract when it expired in 1966, leaving Sedaka without a recording label. He went into retirement as a performing artist.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: Although Sedaka's stature as a recording artist was at a low ebb in the late 1960s, he was able to maintain his career through songwriting. Because his publisher, Aldon Music, was acquired by Screen Gems, two of his songs were recorded by The Monkees. Other hits Sedaka wrote in this period included The Cyrkle's versions of "We Had a Good Thing Goin'" and "Workin' On a Groovy Thing"; a Top 40 R&B hit for Patti Drew in 1968; and a Top 20 pop hit for The 5th Dimension in 1969. Also, "Make the Music Play" was included on Frankie Valli's charting album "Timeless".


title: Neil Sedaka

text: On a 1965 episode of the quiz show "I've Got a Secret", Sedaka's secret was that he was to represent the United States at the 1966 Tchaikovsky classical piano competition in Moscow. Unaware of Sedaka's secret, panelist Henry Morgan challenged Sedaka with the fact that the Soviet bureaucracy had outlawed rock 'n' roll music, and that any Western music young Russians wanted had to be smuggled into the country. Once Sedaka's secret had been revealed, he impressed the show's panelists with his performance of Frederic Chopin's "Fantaisie Impromptu". Morgan's warning turned out to be prescient, however: despite Sedaka's classical roots, his "other" life as a pop star spurred the Soviet Union to disqualify him from entering the competition.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: Sedaka also made an appearance in the 1968 movie "Playgirl Killer", where he performed a song called "The Waterbug".


title: Neil Sedaka

text: Sedaka worked to revive his solo career in the early 1970s. Despite his waning chart appeal in the US in the late 1960s, he remained very popular as a concert attraction, notably in the UK and Australia. In 2010, as a guest on Australian disc jockey Bob Rogers' radio show, he thanked Rogers and Australian music fans for standing by him during that challenging time: "You know, Bob, in my lean years—I called them 'The Hungry Years'—it was Bob Rogers and Australia who welcomed me." Sedaka made several trips to Australia to play cabaret dates, and his commercial comeback began when the single "Star-Crossed Lovers" became a major hit there. The song went to No. 1 nationally in April 1969—giving Sedaka his first charting single anywhere in four years. It also came in at No. 5 in "Go-Set" magazine's list of the Top 40 Australian singles of 1969. Later that year, with the support of Festival Records, he recorded a new LP of original material entitled "Workin' on a Groovy Thing" (released in the United Kingdom as "Sounds of Sedaka") at Festival Studios in Sydney. It was co-produced by Festival staff producer Pat Aulton, with arrangements by John Farrar (who later achieved international fame for his work with Olivia Newton-John) and backing by Australian session musicians including guitarist Jimmy Doyle (Ayers Rock) and noted jazz musician-composer John Sangster. One of the tracks from the album, "Wheeling, West Virginia", reached No. 20 in Australia in early 1970. The album is also notable because it was Sedaka's first album to include collaborations with writers other than long-time lyricist Howard Greenfield; the title track featured lyrics by Roger Atkins and four other songs were co-written with Carole Bayer Sager.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: In 1971, Sedaka reunited with RCA and released the "Emergence" album. Singles from that album included "I'm A Song (Sing Me)", "Silent Movies", "Superbird", and "Rosemary Blue". Good friend and New York music impresario Don Kirshner attempted to make the U.S. release of "Emergence" a comeback for Sedaka, but the album and single releases had no appreciable success, and RCA showed little interest in promoting the album. After the failure of "Emergence" in the US market, Sedaka left New York and moved to the UK.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: In 1972, Sedaka embarked on a successful British tour and was introduced by Harvey Lisberg to the four future members of 10cc (best known to American audiences for "I'm Not in Love" and "The Things We Do for Love") with whom he recorded the "Solitaire" album at their Strawberry Studios in Stockport issued by RCA in 1972. As well as the title track, "Solitaire", which was successfully covered by Andy Williams (UK Top 5 singles chart) and the Carpenters (US Top 20), it included two UK Top 40 singles, one of which ("Beautiful You") also charted briefly in America, Sedaka's first US chart appearance in ten years. "Solitaire" was the first collaboration between Sedaka and Phil Cody, whom Sedaka felt was an ideal lyricist for writing music in the singer-songwriter period; Sedaka and Cody "clicked" as songwriters and began a prolonged collaboration between the two. Sedaka took a different approach to songwriting with Cody compared to Greenfield, with whom he was arguing frequently near the end of their collaboration; whereas he allowed Greenfield in the studio during recording, he met with Cody off-site to write songs. Cody did not consider Sedaka to be a personal friend; he mainly saw his work with Sedaka as a work project to bring the singer into the modern era.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: A year later he reconvened with the Strawberry team, who had by then charted with their own debut "10cc" album, to record "The Tra-La Days Are Over" for MGM Records, which started the second phase of his career and included his original version of the hit song "Love Will Keep Us Together" (also a US No. 1 hit two years later for Captain & Tennille). This album also marked the effective end of his writing partnership with Greenfield, commemorated by the track "Our Last Song Together" (later the last hit song for Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods, whose version hit No. 95). They reunited, however, and composed together again, before Greenfield's death in 1986. From 1974 onward, Sedaka's records were issued in Europe and around the world on the Polydor label. His first album of new material with Polydor was "Laughter in the Rain" (1974).


title: Neil Sedaka

text: Elton John and Sedaka met at a party in London in 1973. When John learned Sedaka had no American record label, he suggested Sedaka sign with his Rocket Record Company, Limited, and Sedaka accepted the proposition. When John visited Sedaka at his London apartment, they discussed plans for relaunching his career in the United States.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: So the basic plan was as simple as finding out what he wanted to have on his album – which turned out to be a compilation from his British albums. It had been like Elvis coming up and giving us the chance to release his records. We couldn't believe our luck.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: Sedaka returned to the U.S. album charts with the release of "Sedaka's Back", a compilation of songs from three albums he had already recorded in the UK—namely "Solitaire", "The Tra-La Days Are Over", and "Laughter in the Rain". It was only the second Sedaka album ever to chart in the U.S. Sedaka was known principally as a singles artist up to that point in his career; his only other American charting album was "Neil Sedaka Sings His Greatest Hits", a compilation of his early singles. Although the single was released in the autumn of 1974 and was very slow in building in sales and at radio, eventually Sedaka found himself once again topping the "Billboard" Hot 100 singles chart (February 1, 1975) with "Laughter in the Rain". It was Sedaka's second No. 1 single thus far at that point in his career (after 1962's original version of "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do") and solidly reestablished Sedaka's popularity in America. Sedaka followed the success of "Laughter in the Rain" with a more politically motivated song, "The Immigrant", inspired by the songwriters' parents and by John Lennon, then facing immigration issues at the time. "The Immigrant" reached number 22 but topped the easy listening charts.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: In late 1972, producer Stig Anderson approached Sedaka to write the lyrics for a single by a new Swedish pop quartet then known as Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid. Sedaka agreed, on the condition he liked the song. Anderson, who had co-written the Swedish original with lyricist Björn Ulvaeus and composer Benny Andersson, intended to enter "Ring Ring" in the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest and believed with strong English lyrics it had the potential to become an international hit. He sent a tape of the song together with a rough translation to Sedaka, who within days returned original lyrics, co-written with Phil Cody. The song was entered into the Swedish Eurovision selections on February 10, 1973, but placed third. The band, renamed ABBA, made "Ring Ring" the title track of their first album, released on March 26, 1973. The single, credited to Andersson, Ulvaeus, Anderson, Sedaka and Cody, reached number 1 in Sweden and Belgium, and charted in the top 5 in at least four other countries. Sedaka later said that ABBA's "songwriting and production are in a class by themselves."


title: Neil Sedaka

text: Sedaka and Greenfield co-wrote "Love Will Keep Us Together", a No. 1 hit for Captain & Tennille and the biggest hit for the entire year of 1975. Toni Tennille paid tribute to Sedaka's welcome return to music business success with her ad lib of "Sedaka is back" in the outro while she was laying down her own backing vocals for the track. "Captain" Daryl Dragon and Toni also recorded a Spanish-language version of the song the same year that cracked the top half of "Billboard"'s Hot 100 chart ("Por Amor Viviremos", US pop No. 49).


title: Neil Sedaka

text: In late 1975, Sedaka's most successful year of his career continued as he earned yet more chart success with the release of his second Rocket Records album, "The Hungry Years". This album was an American edition of Sedaka's British Polydor album "Overnight Success". The first single, "Bad Blood", hit No. 1 on the Billboard 100 and stayed there for three weeks (October 11, 18 and 25, 1975), was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and was the most commercially successful individual single of his career. Elton John provided uncredited backing vocals for "Bad Blood". Despite their later falling out that resulted in Sedaka moving from Elton's Rocket Records to Elektra, Sedaka has credited John as being responsible for his successful return to the U.S. pop music scene. John has stated, "I only appear on the records of people I really know or like."


title: Neil Sedaka

text: Another highlight from "The Hungry Years" was Sedaka's new version of "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do". His 1962 original, a No. 1 hit single, was upbeat; the remake was a slow ballad, which Sedaka had arranged for Lenny Welch five years prior. Sedaka's version hit No. 8 on the Hot 100 in early 1976, making him the only artist to ever record an entirely reinterpreted version of a song where both versions reached the Billboard Top 10. (Welch's version had reached No. 34.) The 1976 ballad version also hit No. 1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: Later in 1976, Sedaka released a third and final album with Elton John's label The Rocket Record Company, "Steppin' Out". The first single, "Love in the Shadows," was an uncharacteristically solid rock song featuring a scorching guitar solo. While it peaked at No. 16 on the Hot 100, it was the first of his three "comeback" albums' debut singles not to hit No. 1—or even the Top 10. The second single was the album's title track, once again featuring Elton on uncredited backing vocals. While it cracked the Top 40 (peaking at No. 36), it also marked the beginning of a slowdown in Sedaka's music sales and radio play, not unlike what he experienced in 1964 when The Beatles and the British Invasion arrived.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: Sedaka met John again several times after his departure from Rocket, and he described their meetings as "cordial, but cold". The ice eventually thawed, however, and in the foreword to Sedaka's 2013 biography, John wrote of their friendship in glowing and positive terms.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: Sedaka recorded four albums for Elektra Records: "A Song" (which produced the adult contemporary hits "Alone at Last" and a recording of "Amarillo"), "All You Need Is the Music", "In the Pocket" and "". The only top-40 pop hit to emerge from the Elektra records, as well as Sedaka's last to date, was "Should've Never Let You Go", a duet between Sedaka and his daughter Dara, which had appeared on "In the Pocket" in 1980.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: Throughout the 1970s, Sedaka's former record company, RCA, reissued his 1960s-era songs on compilation LPs on the RCA Victor and RCA Camden labels. Sedaka released a final album of new material with RCA, consisting of a live concert he gave in Sydney. The album was released on the RCA International label in Australia and Europe as "Neil Sedaka On Stage" in 1974.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: Mac Sedaka, Neil's father, died on June 6, 1981, of metastatic colon cancer; Neil was at his bedside singing his father's favorite song, Sedaka's 1965 song "Pictures From The Past", when his father briefly awoke from his coma before his death. Sedaka re-recorded the song that same year.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: Sedaka left Elektra and signed with Curb Records. Sedaka recorded two albums on the Curb label – "Come See About Me", a covers album, in 1983 and "The Good Times" in 1986. Neither of these albums fared well on the charts or in terms of sales, with only modest success for the singles that were released from them (another duet with Dara, a cover of "Your Precious Love", reached the adult contemporary charts); Sedaka left Curb in 1986.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: American singer-songwriter Ben Folds credited Sedaka on his "iTunes Originals" album as an inspiration for his own song-publishing career. When Folds heard that Sedaka had a song published by the age of 13, Folds set a similar goal, despite the fact that Sedaka did not actually publish until he was 16.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: In 1985, songs composed by Sedaka were adapted for the Japanese anime television series "Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam". These included the two opening themes "Zeta-Toki wo Koete" (based on Sedaka's "Better Days Are Coming") and "Mizu no Hoshi e Ai wo Komete" (originally in English as "For Us to Decide", but the English version was never recorded), as well as the end theme "Hoshizora no Believe" (based on Sedaka's "Bad and Beautiful"). Due to copyright restrictions, the songs were replaced for the North American DVD, as well as for Japanese online releases of the series until 2017.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: In 1994, Sedaka provided the voice for Neil Moussaka, a parody of himself in Food Rocks, an attraction at Epcot from 1994 to 2006.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: A musical comedy based on the songs of Sedaka, "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do", was written in 2005 by Erik Jackson and Ben H. Winters; it is now under license to Theatrical Rights Worldwide.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: A biographical musical, "Laughter in the Rain", produced by Bill Kenwright and Laurie Mansfield and starring Wayne Smith as Sedaka, had its world premiere at the Churchill Theatre in the London borough of Bromley on March 4, 2010. Sedaka attended the opening and joined the cast onstage for an impromptu curtain call of the title song.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: Sedaka was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1983, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was an October 2006 inductee of the Long Island Music Hall of Fame. On November 15, 2013, Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters in Los Angeles gave him their Art Gilmore Career Achievement Award at a luncheon in his honor.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: In May 2003, near the end of the second season of the Fox TV series "American Idol", Sedaka appeared as a guest judge and mentor to the five remaining finalists. Third-place finalist Kimberley Locke sang the Sedaka/Greenfield composition "Theme from "Where the Boys Are"".


title: Neil Sedaka

text: Season 2 runner-up Clay Aiken chose Sedaka's 1972 song "Solitaire" for his performance. As Aiken explained to the studio and TV audiences, host Ryan Seacrest, and the four regular judges, "Solitaire" had long been one of his mother's all-time favorite songs. When she learned that Sedaka was going to be a guest judge and that the finalists would be singing Sedaka's songs, she begged Clay to sing "Solitaire". The performance was uniformly given extraordinarily high praise by the judges. Sedaka told Aiken that he officially passed ownership of the performance of "Solitaire" to Clay, offering to record and produce a single of the song or an entire CD with him.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: Although it did not appear on his debut CD itself, Aiken recorded and added "Solitaire" as the B-side to the single "The Way", whose sales were faltering. "Solitaire" was quickly moved to the A-side, and radio airplay and single and download sales responded immediately. "Solitaire" hit No. 1 on the "Billboard" Hot Singles Sales chart and was, in fact, the top-selling single for all of 2004. It also hit the Top 5 on "Billboard"s Hot 100. Sedaka was invited back to "American Idol" to celebrate the success of "Solitaire" several times, as it continued to reach new milestones. Since then, Aiken has mined the Sedaka songbook again, recording a cover of probably Sedaka's best-known song, "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do", on the "deluxe version" of his 2010 CD release, "Tried and True".


title: Neil Sedaka

text: On a business trip to New York in mid-1971, Harvey Lisberg, who was a longtime fan of Sedaka, asked Don Kirshner if he'd written anything new. Kirshner took Lisberg to a small room with a piano where Sedaka was already seated, and he tapped out a few songs. One of these was the Sedaka/Greenfield composition "(Is This the Way to) Amarillo?" which Lisberg loved and placed with his artist Tony Christie who recorded and released it in 1971. The song did relatively well on the UK Singles Chart, reaching the Top 20.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: Sedaka released the song in the U.S. in 1977 as the shortened "Amarillo", but it was only a mid-chart entry, peaking just shy of the Top 40.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: When interviewed for an "extras" feature for a DVD set of a concert filmed in London on April 7, 2006 (see below), Sedaka jokingly said that he had heard that Christie had retired and was "golfing in Spain." The sudden revival of "Amarillo" summoned Christie back to the UK for an unexpected return to fame. In early 2006, the song received new life yet again when a dance beat was added and the lyrics were revised to become a novelty hit, released as "Is This the Way to the (England) World Cup?", to mark the appearance of the England football team at that summer's FIFA World Cup finals.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: On April 7, 2006, Sedaka was appearing at the Royal Albert Hall and filming for the aforementioned CD/DVD package, when he was interrupted mid-concert by a gentleman who walked onstage from the wings. The planned scenario was that Sedaka was to begin performing "Amarillo", and after one verse, the audience was to be surprised by the appearance of Christie for an eventual duet. At the interruption, a confused Sedaka asked, "What is this?" The interloper was a representative from Guinness World Records, and he was there to present Sedaka with an award from "Guinness World Records: British Hit Singles and Albums" for composing "(Is This the Way to) Amarillo?", the most successful UK single of the 21st century (up to that date). After the presentation, Sedaka proceeded into "Amarillo", Christie entered onstage to an eruption of cheers from the audience, and after the successful duet performance, the two men walked offstage together, triumphantly arm in arm, as the first half of Sedaka's concert came to a close.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: Since Sedaka had lost his recording contract in the mid-1980s, he had used his own business, Neil Sedaka Music, to finance the recording, production, and distribution of new CDs and repackaging of his existing catalog of music. Because of ongoing disputes with RCA Records over the ownership of Sedaka's original late 1950s/early 1960s hits, in 1991, Sedaka re-recorded those early recordings.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: In early 2007, Sedaka signed his first recording contract in nearly two decades with Razor and Tie Records, a small-but-growing, New York-based independent label with a talent roster that also includes Joan Baez, Vanessa Carlton, Foreigner, Joe Jackson, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The first release was "The Definitive Collection", a life-spanning compilation of his hits, along with outtakes and songs previously released but unavailable in CD or download format. It debuted in the Top 25 on "Billboard"'s Top 200 Albums chart in May 2007, one of the highest-charting albums of his entire career. It also includes "It Hurts to Be in Love", Sedaka's version of the Gene Pitney hit.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: "Waking Up Is Hard to Do" was Sedaka's next release with Razor and Tie, hitting the albums chart in May 2009. The CD was a children's album that used the melodies of many of Sedaka's best-known songs but changed the lyrics to fit the everyday lives of babies and toddlers, along with their parents, grandparents, babysitters, and other caregivers. The CD title is an example. Lastly, "The Music of My Life" entered the albums chart in February 2010 and comprised almost all new material. "Right or Wrong", co-written with original music partner Howard Greenfield, was done in traditional street-corner, layered doo-wop vocal harmonies with Sedaka overlaying his own voice to achieve the effect for which he was well known in his "early" heyday of the late 1950s and early 1960s. The final track, "You", has been previously released, but was remastered for this project and is one of several titles dedicated to his wife and career guide of over 50 years, Leba.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: A concert performance on October 26, 2007, at the Lincoln Center in New York City paid homage to the 50th anniversary of Sedaka's debut in show business. Music impresario (and producer for "The Music of My Life" track "Do You Remember?") David Foster served as emcee. Other guests included The Captain and Tennille; Natalie Cole; Connie Francis; recording legend and decades-long Sedaka friend and former manager Don Kirshner; and new "Solitaire" "owner" Clay Aiken, among many others. Also in 2007, Donny Osmond released a CD, "Love Songs of the '70s", which included a cover of Sedaka's 1975 No. 1 hit "Laughter in the Rain".


title: Neil Sedaka

text: During his 2008 Australian tour, Sedaka premiered a new classical orchestral composition entitled "Joie de Vivre" (Joy of Life). Sedaka also toured the Philippines for his May 17, 2008, concert at the Araneta Coliseum.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: On September 11, 2010, Sedaka performed to a TV audience at the Hyde Park, London, venue of the "Proms in the Park" for the BBC.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: In early 2011, Sedaka recorded two duets ("Brighton" and "The Immigrant") with singer Jim Van Slyke for Van Slyke's Neil Sedaka tribute album, "The Sedaka Sessions". LML Records released this album in August 2011.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: In 2010, Sedaka duetted with West End (London) and Broadway theatre legend Elaine Paige, on their cover of "Make It With You", from Ms. Paige's UK CD release "Elaine Paige and Friends". The track was originally a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 pop charts for the soft-rock group Bread in 1970. In 2014, Sedaka duetted with Engelbert Humperdinck. The pair recorded the title song from Sedaka's 1975 album "The Hungry Years". The track is from Engelbert's UK/USA CD release "Engelbert Calling".


title: Neil Sedaka

text: Also in 2014, Sedaka duetted with up-and-coming Nashville star Mary Sarah (Gross) on Connie Francis' classic, "Theme from "Where the Boys Are"", on her all-duets CD "Bridges". Mary Sarah was also a Season 10 (spring 2016) contestant on NBC's "The Voice", and once again relied on Sedaka's "Where the Boys Are" for her blind audition. She turned all four chairs around, and ultimately placed seventh in the competition. In 2015, Sedaka duetted on his No. 1 hit from 1974 to 1975, "Laughter in the Rain", with Steve Tyrell, on Tyrell's 2015 album "That Lovin' Feeling". In 2014, BBC Four broadcast the documentary, "Neil Sedaka: King of Song", telling the story of the two distinct periods of success in his career.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: On February 1, 2016, Sedaka performed to a sold-out audience in The Villages. Then, on August 12, 2016, Sedaka released his new acoustic album, "I Do It for Applause", which includes 11 new tracks and a bonus of his first symphony that was debuted in Australia in 2008, "Joie de Vivre (Joy of Life)"; the recording features the London Philharmonia Orchestra.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: In April 2020, Sedaka launched a series of free mini-concerts, released through his social media channels, as a method of entertaining his fans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Each daily concert features three songs from Sedaka's discography. Sedaka paused the series in December due to contracting COVID-19 himself, but resumed on a reduced schedule January 4, 2021, after recovering with no symptoms.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: Sedaka attended Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, from which he graduated at the age of 17 in 1956.


title: Neil Sedaka

text: He married Leba Strassberg in 1962. The couple have a daughter (Dara) and a son (Marc). Dara is a recording artist and vocalist for television and radio commercials who sang the female part on the Sedaka Billboard Top 20 hit duet, "Should've Never Let You Go" from 1980, and "Angel Queen" on the "Queen Millennia" soundtrack. Marc is a Los Angeles-based screenwriter who has three children with his wife, Samantha.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: Christopher James Evans (born 1 April 1966) is an English television presenter, radio DJ and producer for radio and television. He started his broadcasting career working for Piccadilly Radio, Manchester, as a teenager, before moving to London as a presenter for the BBC's BBC Radio London and then Channel 4 television, where "The Big Breakfast" made him a star. Soon he was able to dictate highly favourable terms, allowing him to broadcast on competing radio and TV stations. Slots like "Radio 1 Breakfast" and "TFI Friday" provided a mix of celebrity interviews, music and comic games, delivered in an irreverent style that attracted high ratings, though often also generated significant numbers of complaints. By 2000 he was the UK's highest paid entertainer, according to the "Sunday Times" Rich List. In the tax year to April 2017, he was the BBC's highest-paid presenter, earning between £2.2m and £2.25m annually.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: In 2005, he started a new career on BBC Radio 2, hosting his long-running Drivetime programme in April 2006, before moving in 2010 to host "The Chris Evans Breakfast Show" every weekday morning. He previously presented "The One Show" on Fridays between 2010 and 2015. Between 2011 and 2018, he co-hosted Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: In 2015, Evans signed a three-year deal to lead a new "Top Gear" line-up and presented a revival series of "TFI Friday". On 4 July 2016, he announced that he would be stepping down as presenter of "Top Gear".


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: On 3 September 2018, he announced that he would be leaving "The Radio 2 Breakfast Show" on Christmas Eve, and would be going to Virgin Radio UK to present its breakfast show. He moved from BBC Radio 2 with most of his regular team.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: Evans was born in Warrington, England, the youngest child of bookmaker and health authority wages clerk Martin Joseph Evans (12 November 1921 – 25 April 1979), and Minnie Beardsall (1926–2018), who managed a corner shop. His siblings are brother David (born 1953) and sister Diane (born 1963). He started his schooling at St Margaret's Church of England Infants and Junior School, and later the Junior School in Orford, Warrington. Evans' father died of colorectal cancer, and his mother was a breast cancer survivor.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: He passed the Eleven-Plus exam and started at Boteler Grammar School, Warrington. After the death of his father on 25 April 1979, the 13-year-old Evans took part-time work at an outlet of T. J. & B. McLoughlin's newsagent–tobacconist in Woolston, and ran an alternative tuck-shop at Padgate High School, which was a comprehensive school he attended for the final three years of his secondary education. Evans left secondary school aged 16 after moving into the sixth form, and then had a number of dead-end jobs in and around Warrington, including at a private detective agency and, notoriously, as a "Tarzan-ogram".


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: Evans began his professional career at Piccadilly Radio, Manchester, in 1983, where he had previously had unpaid schoolboy work. Until 1984 Evans had three jobs: as an assistant to Timmy Mallett, and playing a character on his show called 'Nobby Nolevel' ('No 'O' Level'); acting as a disc jockey in the evenings at local pubs when he was not at Piccadilly Radio; and still working at the newsagents, opening up daily at 5 am to sort out the newspaper deliveries.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: Evans switched to a full-time position at the station in 1984, his new role including being driven around the Manchester area in the radio car to turn up at listeners' houses. In addition he was producer to presenter James H. Reeve. Following this he presented a weekday graveyard slot with competitions and segments where listeners had opportunities to sell their belongings on air.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: After working as a producer on Richard Branson's service "The Superstation", where he produced material for Jonathan Ross, Evans went on to work at the newly launched BBC Greater London Radio, first as a producer on Emma Freud's mid-morning show, then on "Weekend Breakfast" with Danny Baker.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: Owing to his success working on both shows, Evans was offered a producer role at BBC Radio 1, but was persuaded to stay at GLR after station controller Matthew Bannister gave him the chance to present his own show, taking over Saturday afternoons in early 1990. Three months later, he started presenting "The Greenhouse", a Monday-to-Thursday evening show; he remained in this slot until the end of 1990.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: In early 1991, as a result of his first regular TV hosting work presenting the "Power Up" breakfast show on The Power Station for British Satellite Broadcasting, Evans moved to presenting "Round at Chris's", every Saturday morning from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, which he continued to present until April 1993.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: In addition to his Saturday morning show on GLR, in March 1992 Evans began presenting a Sunday afternoon show on BBC Radio 1, replacing Phillip Schofield. His show, "Too Much Gravy", was broadcast from 14:30 to 16:00 and ended in September 1992. His move to Radio 1 was short-lived but seen as a huge success, with controller Johnny Beerling later admitting he wished he'd offered Evans a full-time show there and then. At the time, however, Evans objected that Radio 1 had attempted to constrain his style, preventing him from using the "zoo" format, allegedly because Steve Wright was already doing that on the station.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: Evans' departure from radio was in part so he could devote his time to the new Channel 4 breakfast television show, "The Big Breakfast", from 28 September 1992. He co-hosted the show with Gaby Roslin.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: Evans left "The Big Breakfast" on 29 September 1994 and formed his own television production company, Ginger Productions. Its first major programme, "Don't Forget Your Toothbrush", was broadcast between 1994 and 1995. The original concepts proved to be lucrative for Evans as its format was sold to numerous foreign broadcasters.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: In April 1995, Evans returned to radio to host the flagship "Radio 1 Breakfast Show". Evans negotiated into his contract with Radio 1 a clause allowing him to still make television programmes, and specifically an option to make a Friday night programme for Channel 4. A further clause required the "Breakfast Show" to be produced independently by Evans' Ginger company, rather than in-house by BBC Radio.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: Allowed to create the "zoo" format he had previously been disallowed from performing on Radio 1, Evans was given a free rein by his friend, the station's controller Matthew Bannister. Critics hated innuendo-laden features like Honk Your Horn and in Bed with Your Girlfriend, but Evans put on 600,000 new listeners over Steve Wright – one for every £5 spent on salary and advertising. The effect also flowed through into the listening figures for later programmes. The audience grew as the breakfast format became more outrageous: humiliating assistant Holly Samos by repeatedly asking her about her sex life (Evans and Samos were reportedly in a relationship at periods through their time working together), and encouraging two female guests to perform a strip show on live radio. The show's highest listening figure reached 7.5 million.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: Evans began making editions of Channel 4's "TFI Friday" from 1996. The show – devised, produced and hosted by Evans through his Ginger Media company – combined celebrity interviews, musical guests and daft games and competitions. Largely based on the successful formula of his radio show, it was initially a big success. However, as the success of both shows peaked, combined with a string of celebrity relationships and highly publicised nights drinking with friends Danny Baker and Paul Gascoigne, the strain began to show, and a model emerged described as a "template for his approach to all his subsequent projects – an abundance of enthusiasm at the beginning which eventually falls prey to boredom and shiftlessness."


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: Beginning to think he was indispensable at Radio 1, the first big falling-out with management came in December 1995 after taking his crew out on a 17-hour pub-crawl which ended two hours before they were due on air: Evans was fined one day's pay, £7,000. In 1996, broadcasting watchdogs investigated a continual trail of complaints against the show: Radio 1 refused to comment, Evans never said sorry. Evans also made increasing public demands of the Radio 1 management: after taking an extra week of unplanned holiday, Evans chose to turn up half an hour late for his 06:30 show and then demanded that his hours were changed so that it was a permanent fixture – this request was accepted.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: However, following the summer break things got decidedly worse. Criticised by the broadcasting watchdog for a tasteless joke about Holocaust victim Anne Frank, Evans countered with an item about haemorrhoids. Asked by Bannister to watch the rules, Evans the next day branded Bannister "The Fat Controller". In November, Evans announced on air that he was medically unfit to be on the radio – Bannister re-negotiated his contract to double his holiday to twice that of other Radio 1 DJs. After more publicised public drinking and self-confessed illness, Evans' spell at the station ended in January 1997 when he quit after his demand not to host the show on Friday (to have a full day getting ready for his TV show) was not accepted.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: "The Radio 1 Breakfast Show" was taken over by Mark and Lard (Mark Radcliffe and Marc Riley). When Evans found out that they were a ratings disaster, he quickly got in touch with BBC Radio 1 management to ask whether he could take back the show again. Station management declined but did offer him a weekend slot, which he turned down. In response to the falling ratings, bosses decided to replace its presenters with the relatively unknown Kevin Greening and the well-known children's TV presenter Zoe Ball. Their tenure started on 13 October 1997.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: During a holiday in Killarney, Evans listened to the Irish broadcaster Gerry Ryan on the radio. Evans claims the variety on Ryan's show made him want to return to radio. Evans was then hired by Virgin Radio to host its breakfast show, prompting an immediate upsurge in station listening figures of 1.8 million to 2.6 million. His first show was on 13 October 1997, the same day as Kevin Greening and Zoë Ball on Radio 1. Starting at 7:00 am, Evans' crew presented the show from Monday to Friday, but without Evans on a Friday.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: As Richard Branson had decided to reduce his media holding, he began talks to sell the station to Capital Radio in a deal that would have given him 10% of holding company Capital Group. As this became public knowledge, Evans, who did not want to work for Capital, publicly dismissed them as "a bleating, blowing asthmatic dog." On 9 December, with the assistance of investors, Evans' vehicle Ginger Media Group bought Virgin Radio from Branson for £85m, to control the interests both of Ginger Productions and Virgin Radio. Both Apax Partners and Branson each owned 20% of Ginger Media Group, while Evans and his investors owned the remaining 60%. The group later engaged in the prospect of buying the "Daily Star" newspaper, but decided against from commercial angles.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: On 14 March 2000, Evans agreed the sale of Ginger Media Group to Scottish Media Group for £225m. The sale made Evans the highest-paid entertainer in the UK in 2000, estimated by the "Sunday Times" Rich List to have been paid around £35.5million. Following poor reviews of "TFI Friday", and Evans himself handing over presentation of the last series of the show to a series of "friends", the show was cancelled in December 2000.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: Evans continued to host the station's breakfast show, but echoes of his earlier dismissal from Radio 1 began to emerge. In May 2000, the station was fined £75,000 (then the largest penalty imposed by the Radio Authority) for his repeated on-air endorsement of Ken Livingstone in the London mayoral elections.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: Virgin Radio's new programme controller Paul Jackson, in light of audience figures which had dropped from a peak of 2.7 million to 1.7 million, had pruned Evans's "zoo" team and installed a music policy which replaced more eclectic choices with a strict diet of chart pop. As a result, on 20 June Evans was followed throughout the day by tabloid newspaper photographers, and undertook an "18-hour bender" which started after his show at 9.30 in the morning, and ended – after numerous pints of Kronenbourg and Guinness, plus five bottles of Dom Pérignon – with Evans asleep in front of a lap-dancer at Stringfellows. Later photographed by the tabloids that week with new wife Billie Piper in the nearest pub to their home in Hascombe, Surrey while claiming he was too ill to present his show, he was dismissed on 28 June 2001 for repeatedly failing to arrive at work. Evans was replaced by the older Steve Penk, whom Evans criticised for his age – 39 versus Evans's then 35.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: Evans attempted to sue Virgin Radio, claiming that he was unfairly dismissed and denied share options worth £8.6 million. On 26 June 2003, in the judgement of "Evans v SMG Television Ltd. & Ors" 2003 EWHC 1423 (Ch), Justice Lightman found that he had been fairly dismissed and was not entitled to the share options. Giving his ruling at the High Court, Evans was publicly criticised for his attitude by the judge, who said of Evans: "He has the temperament of a prima donna." Virgin Radio/SMG later countersued, with Evans ordered to pay £1m towards their legal costs.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: In his autobiography, Evans writes that shortly after the sale of Virgin Radio he was offered £56m for his SMG shares by Goldman Sachs. He declined the offer and eventually sold them for £250,000.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: In August 2002 Chris Evans set up a radio and television production company, UMTV, with the aim of specialising in live, cutting-edge, entertainment programming. Over the next 3 years UMTV produced more than 375 hours of television, with mixed success. TV shows included "Boys and Girls" hosted by Vernon Kay for Channel 4, "Johnny Vegas: 18 Stone of Idiot" for Channel 4 / E4; "OFI Sunday" for ITV; "Live with Christian O'Connell" and "Live with Chris Moyles" for Five; and the BAFTA award-winning "School of Hard Knocks" for 4 Learning.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: Following two high-profile shows which failed to perform in the ratings, UMTV hired Terry Wogan and Evans' former "Big Breakfast" co-host Gaby Roslin to host a weekday morning magazine show, "The Terry and Gaby Show." Evans said publicly that if this show failed he would set up a market stall. Despite critical acclaim the audience numbers never took off and Channel 5 axed the show after its year-long run, citing its high cost as a reason. True to his word, Evans was pictured at the end of the final show with a market stall and later he opened it for real at Stables Market, Camden.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: Evans re-entered public life in early 2005, presenting the breakfast slot of UK Radio Aid's day of programming for the victims of the Asian tsunami, which was aired on most of the UK's commercial radio stations, and also The BRIT Awards in 2005 and 2006. From April 2005, Evans presented a number of one-off Bank holiday shows for BBC Radio 2, including coverage of the Live 8 concert in London.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: Evans then joined Radio 2 on a permanent basis in September 2005, presenting a weekly Saturday afternoon show from 14:00 to 17:00. His first show featured singer Robbie Williams, and accompanied by a posse including friend "Big" Pete Winterbottom and newsreader Andrew Peach. Evans told listeners to his first show: "We've had a couple of test drives over the summer and we've decided to take it. Yes, we like this vehicle."


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: The show was well received by listeners and critics, and Evans was announced as the successor to Radio 2's "Drive time" show on 2 March 2006, succeeding long-time host Johnnie Walker, beginning on 18 April. RAJAR audience figures published in August 2006 showed Evans had 150,000 fewer listeners than his predecessor's last show but was on par with previous years. The second set of RAJAR's published in October 2006 showed his audience was up by 109,000-year-on-year, and up by 33,000 compared with the previous quarter. Figures showed he was drawing an average audience of 4.9 million a day on his drivetime show. By the end of 2007, the show was averaging over five million listeners. On 7 September 2009 it was announced that Evans would take over breakfast show from Sir Terry Wogan after Wogan announced his intention to leave the show at the end of the year. Evans hosted his final drivetime show on Christmas Eve 2009.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: Evans took over the Radio 2 breakfast show on 11 January 2010, succeeding Sir Terry Wogan. The show was originally 30 minutes longer than the Wogan incarnation and began at 07:00 am, but following the departure of Sarah Kennedy from early breakfast, the show was extended by another 30 minutes and began at 06:30 am. The show always ended with a handover to Ken Bruce at 09:30 am. While Evans replaced Wogan owing to his long-planned retirement, supporters of Kennedy alleged there was a deliberate intention to force her out so that Evans' show could be lengthened. His first three songs were The Beatles' "All You Need Is Love" and "Got to Get You into My Life"; and Frank Sinatra's "Come Fly with Me". His co-presenters included ex-BBC TV newsreader Moira Stuart, sports presenter Jonny Saunders (who was replaced in June 2011 by Vassos Alexander), and travel reporter Lynn Bowles. Features included The Gobsmackers (two songs selected by a listener that sound good played back-to-back).


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: On 3 September 2018, Evans announced live on air that he would be leaving the show and the station in December for Virgin Radio. On 11 September the BBC Director General Lord Tony Hall told the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee that, as well as wanting a new challenge, releasing the salaries of those at the BBC earning more than £150,000 had been a contributing factor in Evans' leaving. A month later, Evans confirmed live on air that Zoe Ball would replace him on the show from January 2019. The show officially ended on 24 December 2018. Evans moved to Virgin with most of his Radio 2 team including sports reporter Vassos Alexander and Rachel Horne who provides regular news bulletins expanded her role as the show's travel expert. Ellie Davis leads the show as Executive Producer and producer Meera Depala is also part of the team. Supporting Davis are David Brain (Producer) and Jayne Cheeseman (Assistant Producer) who produced the previous breakfast show on Virgin Radio.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: In May 2006, Evans was named Music Radio Personality of the Year at the annual Sony Radio Academy Awards, defeating rivals Jamie Theakston, Lauren Laverne, Marc Riley and Tim Lovejoy to win. When accepting the award, Evans thanked the BBC for giving him "a second chance." Evans won 'music radio personality' the following year, while his show won the Entertainment award. "I didn't expect this," he said. "I wouldn't have minded if I didn't win, but I really love the fact I have won." Evans was voted the 82nd most influential media personality in "The Guardian" newspaper's 2007 poll.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: Following his success in the 1990s, Evans' attempts at a TV comeback in the 21st century have been mixed with a record of poor ratings and cancellations, including falling viewing figures for his recent role as co-host of Friday editions of "The One Show". In November and December 2005 Evans presented "OFI Sunday" on ITV. In a move described by Private Eye as "Partridgean", ex-wife Billie Piper was the first guest on the programme. "OFI Sunday" was cancelled after just five shows following poor reviews and low viewing figures. Its cancellation led Evans to complain on air during his Saturday BBC Radio 2 slot that he no longer knew how to be successful on television. In 2009 Evans narrated the CBeebies Christmas pantomime.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: In 2010, it was announced that Evans would be replacing Adrian Chiles as the Friday co-presenter of "The One Show" on BBC One. Chiles and then co-host Christine Bleakley left the show to join ITV. Evans presented the show on Fridays with Alex Jones, and occasionally covered other weekdays. Matt Baker presented and still presents (as of 2018) the show on a regular Monday to Thursday basis.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: In January 2011 Evans returned to Channel 4 to present a new reality show "Famous and Fearless", in which eight celebrities were arranged into two teams, 'Boys' and 'Girls'. The celebrities taking part on the boys' team were: Rufus Hound, Charley Boorman, Sam Branson (son of Richard Branson) and Jonah Lomu. On the girls' team were Jenny Frost, Kacey Ainsworth, Sarah Jayne Dunn and Dame Kelly Holmes. Holmes won the girls'; Boorman won the boys' and the show outright. In February 2011, it was reported that the show had been axed after one series due to poor ratings.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: On 16 June 2015, the BBC announced that Evans had signed a three-year deal to be the main presenter on the BBC Two motoring show "Top Gear", following the departure of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: On his radio show the next morning he confirmed his acceptance and explained the offer came after James May and Richard Hammond had confirmed to the BBC they would not be returning to the show. Before the announcement, he sent texts to May, Hammond and Clarkson and received supportive replies from all three.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: In February 2016, it was confirmed that Matt LeBlanc, Rory Reid, Sabine Schmitz, Chris Harris and Eddie Jordan would also be joining Evans for the twenty third series of "Top Gear". It was also revealed that the new series would begin airing in May 2016.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: The first episode of the new series of six episodes was broadcast 29 May 2016. In June 2016 it was reported that fellow presenter LeBlanc had threatened to quit the show unless Evans was sacked, because of inappropriate behaviour on set. The source alleged that Evans had become jealous of the attention the other presenters were getting and had become distanced from the group.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: On 4 July 2016 Evans announced that he had stepped down as presenter of the show and cutting his contract with "Top Gear" short by two years.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: Throughout the duration of the new series, Evans had received strong criticism due to his presenting style.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: In the tax year to April 2017, he was the BBC's highest paid presenter, earning between £2.2m and £2.25m.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: Evans has a daughter, Jade (born 1986), by former fiancée Alison Ward. In 1998, after a long-running dispute, the couple reached an out-of-court arrangement whereby Evans provided a home for his daughter and an allowance to Ward. On 7 September 2013, Evans walked Jade down the aisle when she married her boyfriend Callum. On 9 January 2015, Evans became a grandfather when Jade gave birth to her son.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: Evans married Carol McGiffin in 1991. Their 1993 break up was not amicable and McGiffin has been scathing about Evans in newspaper articles in the years since. The two divorced in 1998. During his time at BBC Radio 1 and Virgin, Evans had well publicised relationships with Kim Wilde, model Rachel Tatton-Brown (whose sister was a researcher on "The Big Breakfast"), assistant producer Suzi Aplin, Anthea Turner, Geri Halliwell, and Melanie Sykes.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: In May 2000, Evans met teenage pop star Billie Piper, whom he dated for a while. As a present to him, she proposed on his 35th birthday, and the couple married in a £200 ceremony at the Little Church of the West in Las Vegas, Nevada on 6 May 2001, in a ceremony attended by six guests including best man Danny Baker. In September 2004, news stories circulated regarding a trial separation; Evans at the time had a stall at Camden Market, where he was found selling furniture and paintings from his London and Los Angeles homes, commenting: "I just want to get rid of it all, it's just a headache." In 2005, it was confirmed that Evans and Piper would divorce, with Piper publicly stating that she would take no money from Evans. Almost three years after they had separated, Evans and Piper divorced in May 2007.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: A keen golfer who plays with a handicap of 15, Evans met professional golfer, part-time model and columnist for "Golf Punk" magazine Natasha Shishmanian when they became golf partners in the All*Star Cup celebrity tournament in Newport – Evans gave his 17-year-old caddy at the 2005 event, Natalie Harrison, a £10,000 Russian Kristall Smolensk diamond he won for the quality of his play. Evans and Shishmanian married in August 2007, and held a reception in Faro, Portugal the following weekend that was attended by Evans's former wife Piper. The couple have four children. Their two eldest sons have appeared a number of times on their father's Breakfast Radio show.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: In March 2008, Evans said in his Radio 2 blog that he had taken "magic mushrooms" two days before attending a Meat Loaf concert at the Royal Albert Hall. He said: "I thought I was chronicling the Albert Hall moving sideways on the back of a giant rock and roll crab, something I didn't think the world should miss." A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said the force would investigate any reports of class A drug-taking.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: A fan of fast cars, and particularly Ferraris, Evans was banned from driving for 56 days in 2001 and fined £600 after admitting to a speeding charge at Staines Magistrates' Court after being stopped by Surrey Police when driving at on the A3 road in Esher in January 2001. In 2005 Evans crashed his silver 575M Maranello into a verge near his then Surrey home. On 18 May 2008, Evans attended RM Auctions/Sotheby's Ferrari auction in Maranello, Italy, and bought a 1961 250 GT Spyder California SWB formerly owned by US actor James Coburn for the then world record price of 6.4 million euros. In May 2010 he bought a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO, one of only thirty-six built, for £12 million. Reportedly he sold three Ferraris from his collection to pay for it. He sold it three years later for $25 million to a Swiss collector.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: In August 2002, Evans was a member of crew aboard the sailing yacht "Nausicaa" with six other people, when James Ward – landlord of the White Horse in Hascombe, Surrey, which was then Evans' local pub – drowned in an accident in The Solent. In September 2007, Evans and Shishmanian started taking helicopter lessons at Shoreham Airport.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: Evans is a first cousin of the father of former Scottish Rugby internationals Max Evans and Thom Evans.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: Evans is a supporter of the Labour Party; he also donated £100,000 to former Labour MP Ken Livingstone's mayoral campaign when he stood as an independent candidate in 2000. Evans is also an ambassador for The Scout Association.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: On 15 November 2016, Evans was awarded an honorary degree from York St John's University, he was presented this by university's chancellor Archbishop Dr John Sentamu at York Minster.


title: Chris Evans (presenter)

text: On 3 May 2018, Evans' mother Minnie died, at the age of 92. His Radio 2 Breakfast show was presented, until 8.30, by regular co-presenter Vassos Alexander.


title: Damian Wayne

text: Damian Wayne, also known as Damian al Ghul (Arabic: دميان الغول), is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, created by Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert, commonly in association with Batman. He is the son of Batman and Talia al Ghul, and thus the grandson of Batman villain Ra's al Ghul and the potential inheritor of Wayne Enterprises. With the al Ghuls citing Bruce Wayne as the optimal successor to their empire, after faking a miscarriage to his father and calling off their marriage, Talia has kept his existence hidden from Batman until "Batman" #656 (2006). In turn, the character is revealed to have originally been intended to "kill and replace his famous father," as well as serving as a host body for Ra's al Ghul, thus, in theory, unifying the Wayne and Demon factions as intended by the al Ghuls. A prototype of the character originally appeared as an unnamed infant in the 1987 story "", which at the time was not considered canon. Following this, various alternate universe stories dealt with the character's life, giving him various names. In 2006, the character was reinterpreted as Damian Wayne by Grant Morrison, and introduced into the main continuity in "Batman" #655, the first issue of the "Batman and Son" story arc. Damian Wayne is the fifth character to assume the role of Robin, Batman's vigilante partner.


title: Damian Wayne

text: Damian, as a preadolescent, was left by his mother in the care of his father, who had been unaware of his existence. He is violent, self-important, and was trained by the League of Assassins, learning to kill at a young age, which troubles the relationship with his father who refuses to kill. However, the Dark Knight does care for his lost progeny. After the events of "Batman R.I.P." and "", he takes the role of Robin at ten years of age, becoming the fifth person to use the Robin persona. He first worked with Dick Grayson before going to work alongside his father, upon the original's return to the role of Batman.


title: Damian Wayne

text: The child from "" was used as a backup character in various stories before appearing as Damian Wayne.


title: Damian Wayne

text: In the Elseworlds story, "The Brotherhood of the Bat" (1995), a version named Tallant Wayne appears, who crusades against his grandfather Ra's al Ghul. "Brotherhood of the Bat" features a future in which Ra's al Ghul discovers the Batcave following Bruce Wayne's death, and outfits the League of Assassins in variant Batman costumes based on . Talia and Bruce's son joins the Brotherhood in his father's costume, to destroy it from within.


title: Damian Wayne

text: In "Kingdom Come" (1996) by Mark Waid and Alex Ross, which functioned as a possible future to the canon of the time, the child of Batman and Talia is named Ibn al Xu'ffasch (Arabic: ابن الخفّاش), literally "Son of the Bat", and is a member of Lex Luthor's inner circle. He falls in love with Nightstar, the daughter of Dick Grayson and Starfire. He works as a double agent for Batman in Luthor's organization, and thus aligned with his father instead of his maternal grandfather. In the Elliot S! Maggin novelization of "Kingdom Come", al Xu'ffasch tells Bruce that his mother Talia is still alive and working as a Mother Superior in Cairo, one of Mother Teresa's successors. al Xu'ffasch reappears in Waid's 1999 sequel "The Kingdom".


title: Damian Wayne

text: "The Kingdom: Son of the Bat" shows flashbacks that shed new insights into Ibn al Xu'ffasch's history: that he was reared by Ra's al Ghul to be the heir to his empire, that he eventually murdered his grandfather (cutting off his head to prevent yet another regeneration), and that he sought therapy from psychiatrist Dr. Gibson. He was eventually recruited by Rip Hunter to try to stop a madman named Gog from altering his history. He works with several other heroes of his generation – Kid Flash, the daughter of the Flash (Wally West); Nightstar and Offspring, the son of Plastic Man.


title: Damian Wayne

text: In "League of Batmen" (2001), the sequel to "Brotherhood of the Bat", Tallant leads his own team of variant Batmen to combat the plague that was al Ghul's legacy. During the battle, Tallant discovers that his grandfather is the one who murdered his father and then cloned him. Ra's even sent the clone to murder his own daughter. Because of the deaths of his parents at Ra's's hands, Tallant has completed following his father's tragic path as Batman. The new Dark Knight desires justice for his parents along with trying to stop his grandfather while having to battle his father's murderous double.


title: Damian Wayne

text: Grant Morrison's story titled "Batman and Son" (2006) expands upon the "Son of the Demon" storyline as part of a remodeling of Batman's personality after the events of "Infinite Crisis". In Morrison's version, the child Damian Wayne is the result of a tryst between Batman and Talia, during which the Dark Knight claims he was drugged when they were at the Tropic of Cancer, though Morrison later admitted the claim of drugging was a canonical error on their part. Since then however in issues of the Morrison penned "Batman Incorporated", the drugging is reaffirmed and is once again part of Damian's origin. However, Batman and Talia's tryst was later shown as consensual in Peter Tomasi's "Batman and Robin", thus the circumstances of Damian's conception can vary depending on the writers.


title: Damian Wayne

text: The final issue of "52" (2008) designates the "Kingdom Come" alternate universe as Earth-22, thus making the Ibn al Xu'ffasch version part of the DC Multiverse and Damian Wayne's parallel universe counterpart. "Justice Society of America" vol. 3 #22 (2009) reveals that he would eventually marry Nightstar with whom he would have a daughter and son, and his family has inherited the Wayne Estates after Batman's death.


title: Damian Wayne

text: Damian's origin was unknown to Batman. Damian was genetically perfected and grown in an artificial womb to be the perfect warrior. He is raised by his mother Talia al Ghul and the League of Assassins. He becomes a talented martial artist before his teenage years, at which time Talia reveals Damian's existence to Bruce Wayne and leaves him in his custody in an effort to disrupt his work.