title: Assassination of William McKinley

text: While in Buffalo, McKinley had two days of events: On Thursday, September 5, he was to deliver his address and then tour the fair. The following day, he was to visit Niagara Falls, and, on his return to Buffalo, meet the public at the Temple of Music on the Exposition grounds. Part of the reason for bringing McKinley repeatedly to the fair was to swell the gate receipts; the popular President's visit was heavily advertised. The public reception at the Temple of Music was disliked by his personal secretary, George B. Cortelyou, who, concerned for the President's security, twice tried to remove it from the program. McKinley restored it every time; he wished to support the fair (he agreed with its theme of hemispheric cooperation), enjoyed meeting people, and was not afraid of potential assassins. When Cortelyou asked McKinley a final time to remove the event from the schedule, the President responded, "Why should I? No one would wish to hurt me." Cortelyou warned McKinley that many would be disappointed since the President would not have time to shake hands with all who would line up to meet him. McKinley responded, "Well, they'll know I tried, anyhow." Unable to persuade the President to alter his schedule, Cortelyou telegraphed to authorities in Buffalo, asking them to arrange extra security.


title: Assassination of William McKinley

text: On the morning of Thursday, September 5, the fair gates were opened at 6:00 a.m. to allow the crowds to enter early and seek good spots to witness the President's speech. The Esplanade, the large space near the Triumphal Bridge where the President was to speak, was filled with fairgoers; the crowd overflowed into the nearby Court of the Fountains. Of the 116,000 fairgoers that day, about 50,000 are believed to have attended McKinley's speech. The route between the Milburn House and the site of the speech was packed with spectators; McKinley's progress by carriage to the fair with his wife was accompanied by loud cheering. He ascended to a stand overlooking the Esplanade, and after a brief introduction by Milburn, began to speak.


title: Assassination of William McKinley

text: In his final speech, McKinley urged an end to American isolationism. He proposed trade arrangements which would allow U.S. manufacturers new markets. "The period of exclusiveness is past. The expansion of our trade and commerce is the pressing problem. Commercial wars are unprofitable." The crowd greeted his speech with loud applause; at its conclusion, the President escorted Ida McKinley back to her carriage as she was to return to the Milburn House while he saw the sights at the fair.


title: Assassination of William McKinley

text: McKinley toured the pavilions of other Western Hemisphere nations, attracting crowds and applause wherever he went. He presided over a luncheon at the New York State Building, and attended a by-invitation-only reception at the Government Building. He was heavily guarded by soldiers and police, but still tried to interact with the public, encouraging those who tried to run to him by noticing them, and bowing to a group of loud young popcorn sellers. He made an unscheduled stop for coffee at the Porto Rican Building before returning to the Milburn House in the late afternoon.


title: Assassination of William McKinley

text: Despite a Cortelyou warning to the organizers that she might not attend due to her delicate health, Ida McKinley had been present at a luncheon in her honor by the Exposition's Board of Lady Managers, and after dinner, the President and First Lady returned to the fairgrounds, pausing at the Triumphal Bridge to watch the fair illuminated by electricity as the sun set. They went by boat to the Life Saving Station to view the fireworks from there before returning to the Milburn House.


title: Assassination of William McKinley

text: Czolgosz, gun in his pocket, had arrived early at the fair, and was quite close to the podium before McKinley arrived. He considered shooting the President during his speech, but felt he could not be certain of hitting his target; he was also being jostled by the crowd. Czolgosz had not made up his mind when McKinley concluded his speech and disappeared behind security guards. Nevertheless, he attempted to follow McKinley as the President began his tour of the fair, but was thrust back by officers. Czolgosz saw no further chance at getting close to the President that day, and he returned to his $2/week rented room above a saloon.


title: Assassination of William McKinley

text: On the morning of Friday, September 6, 1901, McKinley dressed formally as usual, then departed the Milburn House for a stroll through the neighborhood. The President nearly slipped away unguarded; when the police and soldiers noticed him leaving, they hurried after him. Czolgosz also rose early with the intent of lining up for the public reception at the Temple of Music; he reached the Exposition gates at 8:30 a.m., in time to see the President pass in his carriage en route to the train station for the visit to Niagara Falls. The McKinleys traveled by train to Lewiston, where they switched to trolleys to view the Niagara Gorge. When the party reached the municipality of Niagara Falls, they transferred to carriages to see the sights. The party rode halfway across the Honeymoon Bridge overlooking the Falls, though McKinley was careful not to enter Canada for reasons of protocol. It was a hot day, and Ida McKinley felt ill due to the heat; she was driven to the International Hotel to await her husband, who toured Goat Island before joining his wife for lunch. After smoking a cigar on the veranda, the President rode with his wife to the train which now awaited them nearby, and saw her settled there before touring the hydroelectric plant at the Falls. The train then returned to Buffalo so McKinley could attend the reception at the Temple of Music. Ida McKinley had originally intended to accompany her husband to the auditorium, but as she was not fully recovered, she decided to return to the Milburn House to rest. As the time allotted for the reception had been pared down to ten minutes, the President did not expect to be separated from his wife for long. As it was only 3:30 p.m., McKinley stopped for refreshments at the Mission Building before proceeding to the Temple of Music.


title: Assassination of William McKinley

text: When given the opportunity to host a public reception for President McKinley, fair organizers chose to site it in the Temple of MusicLouis L. Babcock, grand marshal of the Exposition, regarded the building as ideal for the purpose. The large auditorium was located close to the Esplanade, in the heart of the fair, and had doorways on each of its four sides. In addition to rows of chairs on the floor of the hall, it had spacious galleries. Babcock spent the morning of September 6 making some physical arrangements for the reception. Floor seating was removed to create a broad aisle, running from the east doors through which the public would be admitted, to where McKinley would stand. Once members of the public shook hands with McKinley, they would continue on to exit the building. An American flag was draped behind the President, both to screen him from behind and for decorationseveral potted plants were arrayed around his place to create an attractive scene. Besides its utility for other purposes, the ornate building was one of the architectural features of the fair.


title: Assassination of William McKinley

text: Considerable arrangements had been made for the President's security. Exposition police were stationed at the doors; detectives from the Buffalo police guarded the aisle. In addition to McKinley's usual Secret Service agent, George Foster, two other agents had been assigned to the Buffalo trip because of Cortelyou's security concerns. Babcock was made nervous by a joke at lunch in an Exposition restaurant that the President might be shot during the reception. He had arranged for a dozen artillerymen to attend the reception in full-dress uniform, intending to use them as decoration. Instead, he had them stand in the aisle with instructions to close on any suspicious-looking person who might approach the President. These men were not trained in police work, and served to crowd the area in front of the President and obstruct the views of the detectives and Secret Service. At such events, Foster usually stood just to the left and behind McKinley. Milburn wished to stand to McKinley's left to be able to introduce anyone he knew in the line to the President, and Foster and another agent instead stood across the aisle from McKinley.


title: Assassination of William McKinley

text: Throughout the afternoon, crowds had filled the floor outside the blocked-off aisle, and the galleries as well, wanting to see the President, even if they could not greet him. McKinley arrived just on time, glanced at the arrangements, and walked over to his place, where he stood with Milburn on his left and Cortelyou on his right. The pipe organ began to play "The Star-Spangled Banner" as McKinley ordered the doors open to admit those who had waited to greet him. The police let them in, and McKinley prepared to perform his "favorite part of the job". An experienced politician, McKinley could shake hands with 50 people per minute, gripping their hands first so as to both guide them past him quickly and prevent his fingers from being squeezed. Cortelyou anxiously watched the time; about halfway through the ten minutes allotted, he sent word to Babcock to have the doors closed when the presidential secretary raised his hand. Seeing Cortelyou looking at his watch, Babcock moved towards the doors. As the reception continued, the organist played works by Johann Sebastian Bach. The procession of citizens shaking hands with their President was interrupted when 12-year-old Myrtle Ledger of Spring Brook, New York, who was accompanied by her mother, asked McKinley for the red carnation he always wore on his lapel. The President gave it to her, then resumed work without his trademark good-luck piece. The Secret Service men looked suspiciously on a tall, swarthy man who appeared restless as he walked towards the President, but he shook hands with McKinley without incident and began to move towards the exit. The usual rule that those who approached the President must do so with their hands open and empty was not being enforced, perhaps due to the heat of the day, as several people were using handkerchiefs to wipe their brows; the man who followed the swarthy individual had his right hand wrapped in one, as if injured. Seeing this, McKinley reached for his left hand instead. As the two men's hands touched at 4:07 p.m., Czolgosz shot McKinley twice in the abdomen with a .32 Iver Johnson revolver concealed under the handkerchief.


title: Assassination of William McKinley

text: As onlookers gazed in horror, and as McKinley lurched forward a step, Czolgosz prepared to take a third shot. He was prevented from doing so when James Parker, an American of African and Spanish descent from Georgia who had been behind Czolgosz in line, slammed into the assassin, reaching for the gun. A split second after Parker struck Czolgosz, so did Buffalo detective John Geary and one of the artillerymen, Francis O'Brien. Czolgosz disappeared beneath a pile of men, some of whom were punching or hitting him with rifle butts. He was heard to say, "I done my duty." McKinley staggered backwards and to the right, but was prevented from falling by Cortelyou, Milburn, and Detective Geary; they guided him across some fallen bunting to a chair. The President tried to convince Cortelyou he was not seriously injured, but blood was visible as he tried to expose his injury. Seeing the pummeling being taken by Czolgosz, McKinley ordered it stopped. Czolgosz was dragged away, but not before being searched by Agent Foster. When Czolgosz kept turning his head to watch the President while being searched, Foster struck him to the ground with one punch.


title: Assassination of William McKinley

text: After stopping the beating of Czolgosz, McKinley's next concern was for his wife, urging Cortelyou, "My wife – be careful, Cortelyou, how you tell her – oh, be careful." The initial crowd reaction had been panic, and an attempt to flee the hall, which was frustrated by others surging inwards to see what had occurred. As McKinley was carried out on a stretcher to an electric-powered ambulance, there was a moan from the crowd at the sight of the President's ashen face. Foster rode with him on the way to the fair's hospital. On the way there, McKinley felt in his clothing and came out with a metal object. "I believe that is a bullet." McKinley had been shot twice; one bullet had deflected off a button and only grazed him; the other had penetrated his abdomen.


title: Assassination of William McKinley

text: The ambulance carrying McKinley reached the Exposition hospital at 4:25 p.m. Although it usually dealt only with the minor medical issues of fairgoers, the hospital did have an operating theatre. At the time of the shooting, no fully qualified doctor was at the hospital, only nurses and interns. The best surgeon in the city, and the Exposition's medical director, Dr. Roswell Park, was in Niagara Falls, performing a delicate neck operation. When interrupted during the procedure on September 6 to be told he was needed in Buffalo, he responded that he could not leave, even for the President of the United States. He was then told who had been shot. Park, two weeks later, would save the life of a woman who suffered injuries almost identical to McKinley's. The first physician to arrive at the hospital was Dr. Herman Mynter, whom the President had met briefly the previous day; the wounded McKinley (who had a good memory for faces) joked that when he had met Mynter, he had not expected to need his professional services. As McKinley lay on the operating table, he stated of Czolgosz, "He didn't know, poor fellow, what he was doing. He couldn't have known." With Park unavailable and with the fading afternoon light the major source of illumination in the operating room, upon the arrival of another surgeon, Dr. Matthew D. Mann, the decision was made to operate at once to try to remove the remaining bullet. Mynter had given McKinley an injection of morphine and strychnine to ease his pain; Mann (a noted gynecologist without experience in abdominal wounds) administered ether to sedate McKinley as the wounded man murmured the Lord's Prayer.


title: Assassination of William McKinley

text: For hundreds of years, abdominal gunshot wounds had meant death by gangrene or other infection, with doctors able to do little more than ease pain. Only seventeen years previously, Dr. Emil Kocher, a Swiss surgeon, had been the first to successfully operate on a patient who had received such a wound. To increase the lighting, sunlight was reflected onto the wound by another physician; towards the end of the surgery, a better light was rigged. The hospital lacked basic surgical equipment such as retractors. With McKinley in a weakened condition, Mann could do little probing of the wound to try to find the bullet; his work was complicated by the fact that the President was obese. The surgeon made an incision in the President's skin, and found and removed a small piece of cloth which was embedded in the flesh. He probed with his finger and hand, finding damage to the digestive systemthe stomach displayed both an entry and exit wound. Mann sewed up both holes in the organ, but could not find the bullet itself; he concluded it had lodged in the President's back muscles. He later wrote, "A bullet once it ceases to move does little harm." A primitive X-ray machine was on display at the fair but was not used on McKinley; Mann later stated that its use might have disturbed the patient and done little good. He used black silk thread to stitch the incision and wound, without drainage, and covered the area with a bandage. As the operation concluded, Dr. Park arrived from Niagara Falls; he was unwilling to interfere and at 5:20, McKinley was given another shot of painkiller and allowed to awaken. He was taken to the Milburn House by the electric ambulance. The First Lady had not been told of the President's shooting; once the surgery was complete, the presidential physician, Presley M. Rixey, gently told her what had occurred. Ida McKinley took the news calmly; she wrote in her diary, "Went to Niagra Falls this morning. My Dearest was receiving in a public hall on our return, when he was shot by a ... " Leech, in her biography of President McKinley, suggests that the First Lady could not write the word, "anarchist".


title: Assassination of William McKinley

text: Within minutes of the shots, the news was conveyed around the world by telegraph wire, in time for the late newspaper editions in the United States. In the era before radio, thousands stood in cities across the country outside newspaper offices, awaiting the latest bulletin from Buffalo. Fears that McKinley would not survive the day of his shooting were allayed by reassuring bulletins issued by Cortelyou based on information from the doctors. Large, threatening crowds assembled outside Buffalo police headquarters where Czolgosz was brought. Word that he had admitted to being an anarchist led to attacks on others of that belief: one was nearly lynched in Pittsburgh.


title: Assassination of William McKinley

text: At the Milburn House, McKinley seemed to be recovering. On Saturday, September 7, McKinley was relaxed and conversational. His wife was allowed to see him, as was Cortelyou; the President asked his secretary, "How did they like my speech?" and was pleased on hearing of positive reactions. Meanwhile, Vice President Roosevelt (who had been in Vermont), much of the Cabinet, and Senator Hanna hurried to Buffalo. Cortelyou continued to issue encouraging bulletins. The President was permitted few visitors, and complained of loneliness. As the crisis seemed to have passed, dignitaries started to leave on September 9, confident of the President's recovery. Roosevelt left for a vacation in the Adirondack Mountains after expressing outrage that Czolgosz might serve only a few years under New York State law for attempted murder, the maximum penalty for attempted murder in New York at that time being ten years. Attorney General Philander Knox went to Washington, searching for a means to bring Czolgosz under federal law. Secretary of State John Hay had been closely associated with the two presidents to be assassinated: he had been Lincoln's secretary, and a close friend of James Garfield. He arrived on September 10; met at the station by Babcock with an account of the President's recovery, Hay responded that the President would die.


title: Assassination of William McKinley

text: His hearty constitution, everyone said, would see him through. The doctors seemed hopeful, even confident ... It is difficult to understand the cheer with which they viewed their patient. He was nearly sixty years old, overweight, and the wound itself had not been thoroughly cleaned or traced. Precautions against infections, admittedly difficult in 1901, were negligently handled.


title: Assassination of William McKinley

text: According to McKinley biographer Margaret Leech, McKinley's apparent recovery "was merely the resistance of his strong body to the gangrene that was creeping along the bullet's track through the stomach, the pancreas, and one kidney". Another X-ray machine was sent from New Jersey by its inventor, Thomas Edison. It was not used on the President; sources vary on why this wasLeech stated that the machine, which she says was procured by Cortelyou and accompanied by a trained operator, was not used on orders of the doctors in charge of McKinley's case. Miller recounts that doctors attempted to test it on a man of about McKinley's size, but it proved to be missing a crucial part, much to Edison's embarrassment.


title: Assassination of William McKinley

text: McKinley had been given nutritive enemas; on September 11, he took some broth by mouth. When it seemed to do him good, the following morning they allowed him toast, coffee, and chicken broth. His subsequent pain was diagnosed as indigestion; he was given purgatives and most doctors left after their evening consultation. In the early morning of September 13, McKinley suffered a collapse. Urgent word to return to Buffalo was sent to Vice President Roosevelt, from the nearest telegraph or telephone in the Adirondack wilderness; a park ranger was sent to find him. Specialists were summoned; although at first some doctors hoped that McKinley might survive with a weakened heart, by afternoon they knew the case was hopeless. As yet unknown to the doctors, gangrene was growing on the walls of his stomach and toxins were passing into his blood. McKinley drifted in and out of consciousness all day; when awake he was the model patient. By evening, McKinley too knew he was dying, "It is useless, gentlemen. I think we ought to have prayer." His friends and family were admitted, and the First Lady sobbed over him, "I want to go, too. I want to go, too." Her husband replied, "We are all going, we are all going. God's will be done, not ours" and with final strength put an arm around her. He may also have sung part of his favorite hymn, "Nearer, My God, to Thee", although other accounts have her singing it softly to him. Ida McKinley was led away, her place briefly taken by Senator Hanna. Morgan recounts their final encounter, "Sometime that terrible evening, Mark Hanna had approached the bedside, tears standing in his eyes, his hands and head shaking in disbelief that thirty years of friendship could end thus." When a tentative, formal greeting gained no coherent response, Hanna "cried out over the years of friendship, 'William, William, don't you know me?'"


title: Assassination of William McKinley

text: At 2:15 a.m. on Saturday, September 14, 1901, President McKinley died. At the time of McKinley's death, Roosevelt was on his return journey to Buffalo, racing over the mountain roads by carriage to the nearest railroad station, where a special train was waiting. When he reached that station at dawn, he learned of McKinley's death. President Roosevelt took the oath of office at about 3:00 p.m. that afternoon at the Ansley Wilcox House in Buffalo. The oath was administered by U.S. district judge John R. Hazel.


title: Assassination of William McKinley

text: An autopsy was performed later on the morning of McKinley's death; Mann led a team of 14 physicians. They found the bullet had passed through the stomach, then through the transverse colon, and vanished through the peritoneum after penetrating a corner of the left kidney. There was also damage to the adrenal glands and pancreas. Mynter, who participated in the autopsy, later stated his belief that the bullet lodged somewhere in the back muscles, though this is uncertain as it was never found. After four hours, Ida McKinley demanded that the autopsy end. A death mask was taken, and private services took place in the Milburn House before the body was moved to Buffalo City and County Hall for the start of five days of national mourning. McKinley's body was ceremoniously taken from Buffalo to Washington, and then to Canton. On the day of the funeral, September 19, as McKinley was taken from his home on North Market Street for the last time, all activity ceased in the nation for five minutes. Trains came to a halt, telephone and telegraph service was stopped. Leech stated, "the people bowed in homage to the President who was gone".


title: Assassination of William McKinley

text: In addition to the damage done by the bullet, the autopsy also found that the President was suffering from cardiomyopathy (fatty degeneration of the heart muscle). This would have weakened his heart and made him less able to recover from such an injury, and was thought to be related to his overweight frame and lack of exercise. Modern scholars generally believe that McKinley died of pancreatic necrosis, a condition that is difficult to treat today and would have been completely impossible for the doctors of his time.


title: Assassination of William McKinley

text: Czolgosz went on trial for the murder of McKinley in state court in Buffalo on September 23, 1901, nine days after the president died. Prosecution testimony took two days and consisted principally of the doctors who treated McKinley and various eyewitnesses to the shooting. Defense attorney Loran L. Lewis and his co-counsel called no witnesses, which Lewis in his closing argument attributed to Czolgosz's refusal to cooperate with them. In his 27-minute address to the jury, Lewis took pains to praise President McKinley; Miller notes that the closing argument was more calculated to defend the attorney's "place in the community, rather than an effort to spare his client the electric chair". After a bare half-hour of deliberations (which a jury member later remarked would have actually been sooner, if not examining the evidence), the jury convicted Czolgosz; he was subsequently sentenced to death and executed by electric chair on October 29, 1901. Acid was placed in the casket to dissolve his body, before burial in the prison graveyard.


title: Assassination of William McKinley

text: After McKinley's murder, newspaper editorials across the country heavily criticized the lack of protection afforded to American presidents. Though it still lacked any legislative mandate, by 1902, the Secret Service (a unit of the Treasury) was protecting President Theodore Roosevelt full-time. This did not settle the debate. Some in Congress recommended the United States Army be charged with protecting the President. In 1906, Congress passed legislation officially designating the Secret Service as the agency in charge of presidential security.


title: Assassination of William McKinley

text: The aftermath of the assassination saw a backlash against anarchists; the Buffalo police announced soon after the shooting that they believed Czolgosz had not acted alone, and several anarchists were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the attack. Czolgosz mentioned his contacts with Emma Goldman during the interrogation; authorities arrested her family to give her incentive to turn herself in, which she did on September 10. She spent nearly three weeks in jail; she, like all other arrestees thought to have conspired with Czolgosz, was released without charge. Anarchist colonies and newspapers were attacked by vigilantes; although no one was killed, there was considerable property damage. Fear of anarchists led to surveillance programs which were eventually consolidated in 1908 as the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Anti-anarchist laws passed in the wake of the assassination lay dormant for some years before being used during and after World War I, alongside newly passed statutes, against non-citizens whose views were deemed a threat. Among those deported in December 1919 was Goldman, who did not have United States citizenship.


title: Assassination of William McKinley

text: The new President was in office. The republic still lived. Yet, for a space, Americans turned from the challenge and the strangeness of the future. Entranced and regretful, they remembered McKinley's firm, unquestioning faith, his kindly, frock-coated dignity; his accessibility and dedication to the people: the federal simplicity that would not be seen again in Washington ... [After McKinley's death,] old men came to the [White House] on errands of state and politics, but their primacy was disputed by the young men crowding forward. The nation felt another leadership, nervous, aggressive, and strong. Under command of a bold young captain, America set sail on the stormy voyage of the twentieth century.


title: Simply Red

text: Simply Red are a British soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. The lead vocalist of the band is singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall, who, by the time the band initially disbanded in 2010, was the only original member left. Since the release of their debut studio album "Picture Book" (1985), they have had ten songs reach top 10 in the UK Singles Chart, including "Holding Back the Years" and "If You Don't Know Me by Now", both of which reached number one on the US "Billboard" Hot 100. They have had five number one albums in the UK, with their 1991 album, "Stars", being one of the best-selling albums in UK chart history.


title: Simply Red

text: At the 1992 and 1993 Brit Awards, they received the award for Best British Group. They received three Grammy Award nominations: for Best New Artist in 1987, and "Holding Back the Years" and "If You Don't Know Me by Now" for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. The band re-formed in 2015. Simply Red have sold over 50 million albums.


title: Simply Red

text: Hucknall was in a punk group called The Frantic Elevators, whose seven-year run produced limited releases on local labels and ended in 1984 upon critical acclaim for their final single, "Holding Back the Years".


title: Simply Red

text: After the demise of The Frantic Elevators, Hucknall linked up with manager Elliot Rashman. By early 1985, Hucknall and Rashman had assembled a band of local session musicians and begun to attract record-company attention. The group went under a number of names: "World Service", "Red And The Dancing Dead", "Just Red" (after Hucknall's nickname "Red", denoting his hair colour) but Hucknall decided it would sound better with the addition of the word 'Simply'. The band's name is also linked to Hucknall's allegiance to being a supporter of Manchester United, as the club's home shirt colour is red.


title: Simply Red

text: The initial Simply Red line-up consisted of Mick Hucknall (vocals), David Fryman (guitar), Tony Bowers (bass), Fritz McIntyre (keyboards and vocals), Tim Kellett (brass and live backing vocals) and Chris Joyce (drums). Bowers and Joyce had both previously been members of post-punk bands The Durutti Column and The Mothmen; Kellett had also been a member of The Durutti Column, though not at the same time as Bowers and Joyce.


title: Simply Red

text: Simply Red signed a contract with Elektra in 1985, but after recording one track ("Red Box"), Fryman left the group and was replaced by guitarist Sylvan Richardson, billed as 'Sylvan'.


title: Simply Red

text: "Red Box" would eventually see release in 1985 as a B-side to the group's first single, "Money's Too Tight (to Mention)", a cover of a soul song originally recorded by The Valentine Brothers. "Money's Too Tight (to Mention)" gained international success, reaching the UK and Irish Top 20, then later the American, French and Dutch Top 30, and the Italian Top 5. It was included on their debut album, "Picture Book", also released in 1985.


title: Simply Red

text: Several low-charting singles would follow for the band. Among the comparative flops was a re-recording of the Frantic Elevators' "Holding Back the Years", done up in a new soul-ballad style arrangement. Released as Simply Red's third single in 1985, the track initially placed outside the UK Top 50. However, upon being re-released in 1986, "Holding Back the Years" became a major hit, peaking at #1 in Ireland, #2 in the UK, #3 in the Netherlands, #20 in Italy and later #1 in the United States.


title: Simply Red

text: Simply Red's second album, 1987's "Men and Women", saw the band adopting bowler hats and colourful suits instead of their earlier ragamuffin look. As well, the introspection and social commentary of their debut album was replaced by a blue-eyed soul sound with funk influences. Veteran Motown songwriter Lamont Dozier co-authored two tracks with Hucknall for the album—these tracks were credited to 'Hucknall/Dozier/Hucknall' in the original album credits, in homage to the famous Motown writing team of Holland/Dozier/Holland.


title: Simply Red

text: The album's lead single "The Right Thing" was another international hit, charting in the top 40 throughout Europe and North America. Several follow-up singles also met with modest success in the UK and elsewhere.


title: Simply Red

text: Guitarist Richardson left after the release of "Men and Women" and was replaced by Brazilian Heitor Pereira (billed as Heitor TP). Saxophonist Ian Kirkham, who joined the group during the "Picture Book" tour in 1986 and played on "Men and Women", became an official member.


title: Simply Red

text: With their third album "A New Flame" in 1989, Simply Red adopted a yet more mainstream popular sound aimed for commercial rather than critical success, typified by their cover of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes' pop classic "If You Don't Know Me by Now", which became their second U.S. #1 hit, and one of the biggest singles of the year internationally; and their greatest success to that point.


title: Simply Red

text: Hucknall was by this time an international superstar, being photographed with models and Hollywood celebrities. This seemed to harm the band's coherence as a unit, with Hucknall declaring in 1991 that Simply Red was "essentially a solo project". The rhythm section of Bowers and Joyce left around this time; they were replaced by bassist Shaun Ward (ex-Floy Joy and Everyday People) and drummer Gota Yashiki (often billed as just Gota).


title: Simply Red

text: The band's career peaked in late 1991 with the release of "Stars", which became the best-selling album for two years running in Europe and the UK (though notably had less chart success in the US than their previous albums, still earning however a gold certification). The album spun off five top 40 singles in the UK, and the singles "Something Got Me Started" and "Stars" were also significant chart hits throughout all of Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. After the tour, Tim Kellett left to form dance band Olive.


title: Simply Red

text: After touring and promoting "Stars" for two years, Simply Red returned in 1995 with "Fairground", a dance-influenced track prominently featuring a sample from Zki & Dobri's Goodmen project. A massive radio hit, "Fairground" went on to become the band's first and only UK #1. Its parent album "Life" sold more than a million copies in the UK alone, making it the fourth-biggest seller of the year. By this time, the band was officially Hucknall, McIntyre, Pereira, Kirkham, and new backing vocalist Dee Johnson. Guest musicians (including Sly & Robbie) filled in on drums and bass. For the subsequent live shows, Simply Red were joined by new recruits' Steve Lewinson on bass, Velroy Bailey on drums, and second backing vocalist Sarah Brown.


title: Simply Red

text: McIntyre, the only original remaining band member aside from lead singer Hucknall, left the group after the "Life" album, as did Pereira. From that time in 1996, Simply Red was essentially a trade name for Hucknall and a bevy of session musicians, which would vary from track to track (and gig to gig) as needed, although all post-1996 Simply Red albums and live shows did include contributions from sax player Ian Kirkham. Returning drummer Gota Yashiki (co-producing several album tracks) and backing vocalist Dee Johnson were also frequently involved with the band's later recordings and shows, as was new keyboardist/co-producer Andy Wright.


title: Simply Red

text: East West Records issued the compilation album "Greatest Hits" in 1996, reportedly against Hucknall's wishes. The album featured one new track, a cover of the 1973 Aretha Franklin hit "Angel" which was co-produced with The Fugees (who also served as backing musicians). Released as a single, "Angel" reached #4 in the UK.


title: Simply Red

text: 1998 saw the release of the cover-heavy "Blue", which produced four UK top 40 singles, including the top 10 hits "Say You Love Me" and "The Air That I Breathe". The follow-up album, 1999's "Love and the Russian Winter", was a relative disappointment, spawning two minor hits that failed to break the top 10.


title: Simply Red

text: Simply Red were dropped from their label, East West Records in April 2000. Hucknall subsequently set up the website Simplyred.com to handle releases of new recordings; the new label/website venture proved to be quite successful, many of the band's Simplyred.com releases selling and charting almost as well as their earlier recordings.


title: Simply Red

text: Between 2003 and its disbandment in 2010, the band's official line-up for live performances was Mick Hucknall (vocals), Ian Kirkham (saxophone/keyboards), Dave Clayton (keyboards), Kenji Suzuki (guitar), Kevin Robinson (trumpet/flugelhorn/percussion), Steve Lewinson (bass guitar) and Pete Lewinson (drums). These musicians featured on Simply Red's albums as well, though they were often augmented or replaced by session musicians. From 2003 to 2008, John Johnson (trombone), Dee Johnson (vocals), Sarah Brown (vocals) and Chris De Margary (saxophone) also appeared on both albums and tours.


title: Simply Red

text: On 24 March 2003, the band released "Home", a mixture of original songs and covers, including a version of The Stylistics' "You Make Me Feel Brand New", which hit UK #7. The album went Double Platinum in the United Kingdom, Gold in Canada, and Platinum in Europe. It featured two other hit singles: "Sunrise" (#7 UK) and "Fake" (#21 UK).


title: Simply Red

text: On 13 October 2005, followed "Simplified", mainly an album of stripped-down versions of their classic hits. The single "Perfect Love" made it to number 30 on the UK chart, the band's final top 30 placing.


title: Simply Red

text: On 12 March 2007, the band released its tenth (and, at that time, proclaimed final) studio album, "Stay". This was preceded by the single from that album, "So Not Over You", released on 5 March 2007, which would peak at #34 in the UK. Follow-up single "Stay" (released on 28 May 2007) peaked at #36 UK, and was the band's final placing in the UK top 100 (although they would release several non-charting singles in the following years).


title: Simply Red

text: On 19 May 2008, Hucknall released his first solo album, "Tribute to Bobby". The backing musicians on the solo album were virtually the same group of musicians he had been working with as "Simply Red" for the last few years.


title: Simply Red

text: Hucknall announced that the name Simply Red would be retired after a farewell tour which started in early 2009 and ended in 2010.


title: Simply Red

text: Simply Red's final concert took place at the O2 Arena in London on 19 December 2010. The concert was shown live at cinemas throughout the UK.


title: Simply Red

text: On 3 November 2014, Simply Red announced that they would be reforming in Autumn 2015 for a 30th anniversary European tour, the "Big Love Tour 2015". The tour debuted on 20 October 2015 in Odense, Denmark, went on in 2016 as the "Big Love Tour 2016" and ended on 26 August 2016 at the Summerdays Festival in Arbon, Switzerland, performing the following month an ultimate show on 10 September 2016 at the BMW Festival Night in Munich, Germany. The line-up for the reunion tour was the same as Simply Red's last formation with the exception of Roman Roth replacing Pete Lewinson as drummer.


title: Simply Red

text: On 19 April 2015, the band announced that they would be releasing a new studio album (also) named "Big Love", containing 12 new tracks. The new album was released on 29 May 2015.


title: Simply Red

text: On 11 November 2016, Simply Red embarked in Dublin, Ireland on the "25 Years of Stars Live" tour, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the release in September 1991 of "Stars" by playing live on stage the entire album in its original running order (while the second half of the show featured hits and classic Simply Red songs). The debut date in Ireland was followed by a 10-date UK leg starting on 13 November in Liverpool, England, and ending on 27 November at The O2 in London.


title: Simply Red

text: The band's twelfth studio album, "Blue Eyed Soul", was released on 8 November 2019. It debuted at number six on the UK Albums Chart, selling nearly 10,000 copies in its first week.


title: Pilou Asbæk

text: Johan Philip "Pilou" Asbæk (; born 2 March 1982) is a Danish actor. He is known for his role as troubled spin doctor Kasper Juul in the Danish television political drama "Borgen", and as Euron Greyjoy in the television series "Game of Thrones".


title: Pilou Asbæk

text: Asbæk was born in Copenhagen, the son of gallery owners Maria Patricia ("née" Tonn) and Jacob A. Asbæk, who run Galerie Asbæk in Copenhagen. His mother was born in Casablanca, Morocco, to a Danish father and a French mother. His father is from Hammel. He has two older brothers, Thomas Asbæk, an art consultant at Asbæk Art Consulting, and Martin Asbæk, a gallery owner at Martin Asbæk Gallery.


title: Pilou Asbæk

text: Asbæk went to boarding school at Herlufsholm School, where he was active in drama productions. He graduated from Denmark's Danish National School of Performing Arts in the summer of 2008.


title: Pilou Asbæk

text: In 2009, Asbæk played soldier David Grüner in an episode of the second season of the Danish TV series "The Killing" (Danish: "Forbrydelsen").


title: Pilou Asbæk

text: From 2010 to 2013, Asbæk played spin-doctor Kasper Juul in the critically lauded Danish TV series "Borgen", written by Tobias Lindholm, about the politics of a female prime minister of Denmark. Asbæk's performance was uniformly praised by critics. In 2014, the Danish public-funded DR cast Asbæk as Didrich, a landowner suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, in a big-budget period TV series called "1864."


title: Pilou Asbæk

text: In 2011, Asbæk starred in another piece by Tobias Lindholm, in the film "R," as a Danish convict, portraying a harrowing prison experience. The film was shot in the Dogme 95–inspired style. The next year, in 2012, Asbæk starred in another Tobias Lindholm film called "A Hijacking," about Somalian piracy, for which he transformed himself physically, gaining weight to imbue the role with method acting.


title: Pilou Asbæk

text: In 2013, Asbæk portrayed a flamboyant Danish tycoon named Simon Spies in the movie "Sex, Drugs & Taxation" (Danish: "Spies & Glistrup"). In this film, Asbæk co-stars opposite his wife's cousin, the actor Nicolas Bro, who plays the other main character, Mogens Glistrup.


title: Pilou Asbæk

text: In 2014, Asbæk starred opposite Scarlett Johansson in the Luc Besson film "Lucy." Also in 2014, Asbæk appeared in the Bille August film "Silent Heart" (Danish: "Stille Hjerte"), in which his mother-in-law, Danish actress Vigga Bro, plays the character Lisbeth.


title: Pilou Asbæk

text: In 2015, Asbæk again collaborated with director Tobias Lindholm in the film "A War" (Danish: "Krigen"), playing a soldier in Afghanistan. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival.


title: Pilou Asbæk

text: Asbæk co-starred in the 2016 remake of "Ben-Hur", starring Jack Huston and Morgan Freeman. He portrayed Pontius Pilate.


title: Pilou Asbæk

text: Asbaek plays the lead role as police investigator Anders Olsen in "Murderous Trance", opposite Josh Lucas. Written and directed by Arto Halonen, the movie is based on actual events. The plot revolves around the bizarre case of the hypnosis murders, which took place in Copenhagen in 1951.


title: Pilou Asbæk

text: In April 2021, he joined the cast of the upcoming superhero film "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" in an undisclosed role.


title: Pilou Asbæk

text: In September 2021, Asbaek joined the cast of the Stephen King adaptation of "Salem's Lot" as Richard Straker.


title: Pilou Asbæk

text: On 10 May 2014, Asbæk co-hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen, with Lise Rønne and Nikolaj Koppel. Some critics commented adversely on the obscure jokes shared by the presenters throughout the televised show.


title: Pilou Asbæk

text: Asbæk's wife is playwright Anna Bro, who had been his domestic partner since 2008. They have a daughter Agnes Bro Asbæk, born 31 December 2012. Anna is the daughter of the actors Hans Henrik Clemensen and Vigga Bro and comes from an extended family of actors.


title: Pilou Asbæk

text: The nickname Pilou came from his mother's French ancestry and is a French version of the word "Pip." The nickname is because Asbæk was the youngest son, in French, "le plus petit" for littlest, "Little Philip." Pilou is an abbreviation of Petit Philip.


title: Pilou Asbæk

text: After having criticised what he considered too harsh refugee policies by the Danish government led by Social Democratic prime minister Mette Frederiksen, Asbæk joined the Danish Social Democratic Party in January 2022 to "speak up against it from within".


title: Liu Yifei

text: Crystal Liu (born An Feng; August 25, 1987), better known by her stage name Liu Yifei (), is a Chinese-American actress, singer, and model. She has appeared multiple times on "Forbes" China Celebrity 100 list and was named one of the New Four Dan actresses of China in 2009. She is widely known as "Fairy Sister" in China.


title: Liu Yifei

text: In 2020, Yifei became known to international audiences for starring as the titular character in the Disney live-action film "Mulan". The role earned her nominations for a Critics' Choice Super Award, a Kids' Choice Award and a Saturn Award.


title: Liu Yifei

text: Liu was born in Tongji Hospital in Wuhan, Hubei as An Feng (). She is an only child. Her father is An Shaokang (), a 1st Secretary in the Chinese Embassy in France and a French language university professor from Beijing, and her mother is Liu Xiaoli (), a dancer and stage performer from Hubei. Her parents divorced when she was 10 years old, and she was raised solely by her mother. That same year, she adopted her mother's surname and changed her name to "Liu Ximeizi" (). Her godfather is Chen Jinfei (), the Chairman of Beijing Tongchan Investment Group.


title: Liu Yifei

text: In 1997, when Liu was 10 years old, she and her mother immigrated to the United States. She lived in Queens, New York City where she attended Louis Pasteur Middle School 67. In 2002, she returned to China to pursue an acting career and took the stage name "Liu Yifei" (). Several weeks after returning to China, Liu was accepted into the Performance Institute of Beijing Film Academy at age 15 and graduated in 2006.


title: Liu Yifei

text: Immediately after her admittance into the Beijing Film Academy, Liu received offers to star in various television series. Her first television appearance in 2003 was in the period romance drama "The Story of a Noble Family" (金粉世家), based on Zhang Henshui's novel of the same name. The series achieved the highest ratings on CCTV, and positive reviews from audience. The same year, she was chosen by Zhang Jizhong to play Wang Yuyan in "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils", an adaptation of Louis Cha's wuxia novel of the same title. The series was broadcast in Taiwan and achieved a rating of 5.69, becoming the highest-rated Chinese drama in Taiwan. Liu's role as the beautiful Wang Yuyan earned her the nickname of "Fairy Sister" by the media and fans.


title: Liu Yifei

text: In 2005, Liu starred in "Chinese Paladin", a fantasy action drama adapted from the role-playing game "The Legend of Sword and Fairy". The drama earned a cult following, and solidified her popularity in China.


title: Liu Yifei

text: After the drama aired, Liu gained acclaim for her performance and swiftly experienced a surge in popularity. The same year, she was chosen as the "Golden Eagle Goddess" at the 6th China Golden Eagle TV Art Festival.


title: Liu Yifei

text: After achieving success in television, Liu then ventured onto the big screen. In 2007, she joined William Morris Agency (WMA) and was subsequently cast in her first Hollywood production, "The Forbidden Kingdom". She played Golden Sparrow, an orphan seeking revenge against her parents' killer. Thereafter, she starred in romantic-comedy "Love in Disguise" (2010) opposite Taiwanese singer-actor Wang Leehom.


title: Liu Yifei

text: In 2011, she starred in fantasy supernatural film "A Chinese Ghost Story", adapted from "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio"; The same year, she was cast as Wu Qing (Emotionless) in Gordon Chan's wuxia film "The Four", adapted from Woon Swee Oan's novel series "The Four Great Constables". She subsequently reprised her role in two other installments of the film series.


title: Liu Yifei

text: Liu won the Best Actress award at the fifth Macau International Movie Festival for her role as Lingju and Diaochan in the historical film "The Assassins" (2012).


title: Liu Yifei

text: In 2014, Liu collaborated with Korean actor-singer Rain for the romance film "For Love or Money", based on Hong Kong novelist Amy Cheung's 2006 novel of the same name. Though it did reasonably well at the box office, the film was criticized for its storyline and production.


title: Liu Yifei

text: Liu starred in "The Third Way of Love" (2015) Her performance in the film led to her win for the Most Anticipated Actress award at the 16th Chinese Film Media Awards. The same year, she was named the first Chinese ambassador of Dior Prestige and became the global ambassador of Tissot.


title: Liu Yifei

text: In 2016, Liu starred in romance film "Night Peacock", a Chinese-France co-production directed by Dai Sijie. She then starred in the youth romance film "So Young 2: Never Gone".


title: Liu Yifei

text: In 2017, Liu starred in romantic fantasy film "Once Upon a Time" by award-winning director Anthony LaMolinara and Zhao Xiaoding. She also starred in the historical film "The Chinese Widow" directed by Bille August. The film premiered at the Shanghai International Film Festival as the opening film, and Liu was nominated as Best Actress. The same year, Liu reunited with "White Vengeance" co-star Feng Shaofeng in the fantasy comedy film "Hanson and the Beast".


title: Liu Yifei

text: In November 2017, Liu was cast as Mulan in the live action adaptation of the 1998 Disney animated film, which was released in 2020 to mixed reviews.


title: Liu Yifei

text: In December 2017, it was announced that Liu will star in the upcoming fantasy mystery television series, "The Love of Hypnosis". This marks her first small-screen comeback in 12 years.


title: Liu Yifei

text: In August 2019, Liu reshared an image posted by Chinese newspaper "People's Daily", an official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. The image included a quote from Chinese reporter Fu Guohao who worked for "People's Daily"-owned tabloid "Global Times" and was subsequently assaulted by protesters after stating during the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests: "I support Hong Kong police. You can beat me now. What a shame for Hong Kong." This sparked international controversy, with Liu being accused of supporting police brutality. Following this, the hashtag #BoycottMulan started trending supporting a boycott of the movie. In response to the controversy, Liu was not present at the 2019 D23 Expo, which gave fans an exclusive sneak peek of "Mulan". When asked about the controversy in February 2020, Liu stated: "I think it's just a very sensitive situation."


title: Liu Yifei

text: During an interview with "Variety" magazine at the premiere of "Mulan" on March 10, 2020, Liu described herself as "Asian" instead of "Chinese", which caused anger among some Chinese social media netizens, who threatened to boycott the movie and accused her of forgetting her roots, as well as questioning why a non-Chinese national was playing the "legendary Chinese icon".


title: Liu Yifei

text: In March 2021, Liu cut ties with clothing brand Adidas over its support for the Better Cotton Initiative - a group funded by the United States government via USAID - after the trade body pulled out of Xinjiang, China citing concerns of forced labour involving Uighur Muslims. The move was echoed by other Chinese celebrities as part of a broader campaign by the Chinese Government to pressure Western brands and consumers into continuing their purchase of cotton produced in the region.


title: Liu Yifei

text: Liu signed with Sony Music Entertainment Japan in 2005. She released her first Japanese single "Mayonaka no Door" with Sony Music on July 19, 2006. Her debut album "Liu Yifei" was released the next month in various parts of Asia such as mainland China, Hong Kong and throughout Southeast Asia, featuring a diverse music repertoire including rap and soft rock. In the same year, Liu also released her Japanese album in which the single, "Mayonaka no Door" was chosen to be an ending theme for the anime series "Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z" by TV Tokyo.


title: Liu Yifei

text: In 2020, she performed the Mandarin and English version of the song "Reflection" for the live-action Mulan.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: Kerala Blasters Football Club (), commonly referred to as The Blasters, is an Indian professional football club based in Kochi, Kerala, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top tier of football in India. The club was established in May 2014 during the inaugural season of the Indian Super League.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: The club played their inaugural match on 13 October 2014, losing 1–0 to NorthEast United. The Blasters are the three time runners up of the Indian Super League. They first entered the final in 2014, where they lost 1–0 to ATK after an injury time goal from them. In 2016, they were again defeated 4–3 by ATK, this time through penalties in the final. The club entered the final for the third time in 2022, where they were defeated 3–1 by Hyderabad FC through penalties. The Blasters plays home games at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi. In most of the seasons since the club's founding, Kerala Blasters have held the record for the highest league attendance, regularly attracting audiences of over 40,000 per game. The Blasters shares rivalry with fellow South Indian neighbours Bengaluru FC and Chennaiyin FC, with whom they contest in the South Indian Derby.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: The Blasters are one of the most widely supported clubs in Asia and has one of the largest social media following among the football clubs from the continent. The club is also known for their fan base, including the supporters' group called Manjappada, which has gained a reputational for being one of the most vocal and passionate fan clubs in Asia. The club's crest features an elephant holding a football with its trunk, denoting Kerala's deep connection with the sport. The club's traditional kit consist of yellow and blue colours scheme, with yellow being the primary colour and identity of the club ever since the beginning.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: In early 2014, the All India Football Federation—the governing body of association football in India, announced they would accept bids for the ownership of eight franchises from selected cities for the inaugural season of Indian Super League (ISL). On 13 April 2014, it was announced the rights to the Kochi franchise had been won by former India national cricket team captain Sachin Tendulkar and entrepreneur Prasad V Potluri. On 27 May 2014, the club's official name, Kerala Blasters FC, was announced.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: Indian international Mehtab Hossain was the first player signed by the club, as he was the first one to be picked up by the Blasters during the first domestic draft. The management also selected seven other Indian players for their inaugural season. On 13 August 2014, former England international goalkeeper David James was chosen as the first head coach and marquee player of the team. On 21 August 2014, the club participated in the international draft; the management selected seven foreign players for the team. Michael Chopra, Iain Hume, Pulga, Erwin Spitzner, Pedro Gusmão, Cedric Hengbart and Raphaël Romey were the seven foreign players drafted to Kerala Blasters. Along with them, the club directly signed Penn Orji, Jamie McAllister, Andrew Barisic, Stephen Pearson and Colin Falvey in the remaining foreign players slots.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: Kerala Blasters played their first game on 13 October 2014 against NorthEast United at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium; they lost the game 1–0 after Koke scored in the 45th minute. On 21 October, the club's first-ever goal was scored by Iain Hume during their second match, which was against Chennaiyin. Despite Hume's goal, the Blasters lost the game 2–1. The Blasters first win came in their fourth game, which was played against Pune City; Chinadorai Sabeeth and Penn Orji scored the club's goals, leading to a 2–1 victory. After playing their first five matches away from home, Kerala Blasters hosted their first home match on 6 November 2014 against Goa. A goal by Milagres Gonsalves led to a 1–0 victory in front of 49,517 fans at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Kochi). The Blasters qualified for the playoffs on 9 December 2014 with a 1–0 victory over Pune City.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: After finishing in fourth place during the regular season, the side played their first semi-finals match on 13 December 2014 against Chennaiyin. Despite not being considered the favourite to win the two-legged tie, they won the first leg at home 3–0 with goals from Ishfaq Ahmed, Iain Hume, and Sushanth Mathew. During the second leg in Chennai, the Blasters were about to suffer a massive setback. Despite entering the second leg with a three-goal advantage, Chennaiyin drew the tie level by winning in regular time 3–0. In extra time, however, Stephen Pearson scored the decisive goal in the 117th minute to win the tie 4–3 to enter the final.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: In the final, Kerala Blasters played ATK at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai. Hume should have given Blasters the lead after 55 minutes, but he took too long alone in front of the goalkeeper, allowing the defenders to eventually block his shot. The match was destined to go to extra time until ATK were given a corner kick in the last minute, and headed the ball at the near post. As a result, the Blasters lost the match 1–0 despite dominating it throughout the 90 minutes.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: After the 2014 season, the club announced David James would not return to the club as the head coach and marquee player, and on 12 May 2015, it was confirmed that former England Under-20 head coach Peter Taylor would take over the manager role at the club. The club signed a new roster of foreign players, which includes Carlos Marchena as the marquee signing.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: The first match of the season was played at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium against NorthEast United where the Blasters won 3–1 with goals from Josu, Mohammed Rafi, and Sanchez Watt. They drew their next match against Mumbai City and then lost their next four matches, which led to the dismissal of Peter Taylor as head coach. Assistant coach Trevor Morgan was in charge for one match before Terry Phelan was named as the head coach for the rest of the season. The Blasters ended their second season in the last place of the league table.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: In an effort to rebuild the team after failing to qualify for the semi-finals in the previous season, the Blasters announced the signing of Steve Coppell as their head coach on 21 June 2016. A week later, the club announced the signing of Northern Ireland international Aaron Hughes as their marquee player for the season.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: The season began with a 1–0 defeat away from home against NorthEast United. The Blasters struggled early in the season, as they failed to score goals. After the return of C.K. Vineeth from his loan-spell with Bengaluru FC, Blasters solved their goal-scoring issue. He scored four goals from his first five matches which includes a winner against FC Goa and a brace over Chennaiyin FC. In order to qualify for semi-final, Blasters needed to avoid a defeat against North East United FC. Vineeth's only goal in the 66th minute helped Blasters to beat North East United 1-0 to seal the second place behind Mumbai City FC in the league table.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: After finishing in second place during the regular season, the Blasters played third-placed Delhi Dynamos in the first leg of the semi-finals, which took place in Kochi. The Blasters won the match 1–0 through Kervens Belfort's 65th-minute goal. During the second leg in Delhi, the Dynamos won in extra time 2–1, which meant the scores became tie on aggregate and the match went to penalty shootout where the Blasters won it 3–0 to enter the final. In the final, the Blasters played host to ATK and got the lead early through Mohammed Rafi before ATK equalized soon after and the match went into a penalty shootout. Despite taking the lead early in the shootout, the Blasters lost 4–3; it was their second finals defeat in three seasons.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: After losing in the previous season's finals, Steve Coppell rejected a new contract extension so the club appointed former Manchester United assistant manager René Meulensteen as their new manager. Blasters released all of their foreign players and signed some more, including former Manchester United players Dimitar Berbatov and Wes Brown. Sandesh Jhingan was appointed as the captain and the club re-signed their leading goalscorer from the first season Iain Hume. The Blasters won only one of their first eight games that season, leading to the sacking of Meulensteen. Fan-favourite manager David James returned to the squad as caretaker. The Blasters won five of the remaining ten matches and finished sixth in the 2017-18 Indian Super League season. They were eliminated in the first round of the Super Cup.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: Having failed to qualify for the previous season's semi-finals, the Blasters signed a three-year deal with manager David James. With a new roster, Kerala Blasters had one of their worst seasons ever, won only one and drawn six of their twelve fixtures, leading to the sacking of James. This was the season that witnessed the club's rising star Sahal Abdul Samad's emergence as Blasters' mainstay in midfield. After the international mid-season break, the Blasters appointed Nelo Vingada as their new manager for the remaining six matches. Of the remaining games, the team had only one win and three draws and finished ninth in the league. They were eliminated from the Super Cup in the qualifying round of the tournament.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: After a disappointing season, the Blasters appointed Eelco Schattorie as their new manager. The club released all of their foreign players and signed a new roster that included Cameroon-born Raphaël Messi Bouli and former Nigeria international Bartholomew Ogbeche as forwards. Blasters beat their arch-rivals ATK on the season's first day. Throughout the season, the team was hit by injury concerns. Defender Sandesh Jhingan, who captained the club for the last two seasons, was out of action with an ACL injury and newly signed Brazilian defender Jairo Rodrigues was also injured. Both defenders missed the entire season and Rodrigues played a few matches in the start. Gianni Zuiverloon and Mario Arqués and other players were also hit by minor injuries in the season; they missed some of the crucial fixtures. The Blasters finished the season in seventh place in the table.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: From the 2020-21 season onwards, the management decided to build a new strategy at the club. As a part of this, the Blasters appointed Karolis Skinkys as their new sporting director on 15 March 2020. On 22 April 2020, the club officially announced the appointment of Kibu Vicuña as their new manager. Fan-favourite defender Sandesh Jhingan left the club on 21 May 2020 by mutual consent, ending his six-year association with the Blasters.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: The Blasters decided to rely more upon young Indian players and extended the contracts of Sahal and Rahul KP until 2025. They signed Nishu Kumar on a four-year deal from Bengaluru FC. The Blasters only extended the contract of Sergio Cido among the foreign players and signed a new roster of them under the supervision of the new sporting director.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: Due to COVID-19 pandemic, the seventh season of ISL was decided to take place in 3 venues in Goa behind closed doors. Same as in the previous season, the team suffered an early setback, with this time, captain Sergio Cidoncha suffering a ligament injury on his right ankle during their third match against Chennaiyin FC, ruling out for the remainder of the season. It took the Blasters seven games to register their first victory of the season, winning against Hyderabad FC 2–0. The team were affected by injuries, lesser compared to the previous season. They lost 18 points from winning position, which includes 4 losses after taking the early lead. The club had the worst defensive performance in their history conceding 33 goals in 18 games and had only 3 wins. On 17 February 2021, after a 4–0 loss against Hyderabad FC on 16 February, Kibu Vicuna and the management decided to part ways on mutual consent. Assistant manager Ishfaq Ahmed was appointed as the interim head coach for the remaining 2 games of the season. The club's fortunes remained largely unchanged in the season as they finished tenth place in the league table.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: After another disappointing season, the club appointed Ivan Vukomanović as their head coach on 17 June 2021. The Blasters started their pre-season camp in July 2021, and played the most number of friendlies across all ISL clubs prior to the season. In August, the club confirmed their participation in the 2021 Durand Cup, thus competing in the tournament for the first time in its history. After three league stage matches, they were knocked out of the tournament, following their defeat over Delhi FC on 22 September. On 19 November, the Blasters played their first match of the 2021–22 Indian Super League season against ATK Mohun Bagan, which they lost 4–2. The club won their first match of the season by defeating Odisha on 5 December by 2–1. This victory was Kerala Blasters' first ISL victory in 11 months. After their defeat in the opening match of the season, the Blasters remained unbeaten for the next 10 games, until they were beaten by the southern rivals Bengaluru on 30 January. In between the unbeaten run, the Blasters moved to the top spot in league table for the first time in 7 years during the middle of the season. After Mumbai City's defeat against Hyderabad on 6 March, the Blasters qualified for the playoffs for the first time since the 2016 season. When the regular phase of the season ended, Vukomanović's Blasters side broke many club records in terms of the number of wins, total number of goals and clean-sheets, points-per-game, and achieved a positive goal difference for the first time in the club's history.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: With the Blasters winning 2–1 on aggregate against Jamshedpur from both the semi-finals, they qualified for the finals of the ISL for the third time in their history. They faced Hyderabad in the final on 20 March, which they lost in the penalty shoot-out. It was the club's third defeat in an Indian Super League final.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: On 4 April 2022, the club announced a three-year contract extension of head coach Ivan Vukomanović till 2025. It was the first time that the club has renewed the contract of a first-team head coach in its history.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: The crest and colours for Kerala Blasters were announced at the club's official launch on 15 September 2014.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: The club's crest is designed around the elephant, one of Kerala's main symbols, to reflect its place in Kerala's culture and festivities, and to represent the state's sporting legacy. The elephant holds a football with its trunk, denoting the state's deep connection with the sport. The elephant is a symbol of unity, power, and pride; it also symbolises the heritage, culture, spirit, and passion of Kerala, and its love for football.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: Since its inception, the club colours have been yellow and blue. Yellow is the club's primary colour as well as its main identity. According to former co-owner Sachin Tendulkar, yellow stands for determination and faith. During their inaugural season, the club wore yellow shirts and blue shorts and this was used until the 2016 season. For the 2017–18 season, the Blasters introduced an all-yellow kit with a different shade of yellow. Here the blue remained as the secondary colour that flows across the side of the shirt. This kit was used for the 2018–19 season, after which the team returned to its traditional yellow and blue kit with the same shades as the previous season. In 2020, a new jersey in the club's customary yellow and blue colours was launched, with this time, the blue coming in the arms. The kit which pays homage to the state of Kerala also had horizontal lines that run along the breadth of the jersey.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: The club's away colours for the first three seasons were yellow shirts and white shorts. For the 2017–18 season, the club introduced the all-black jersey with yellow stripe on the bottom of arms and shorts and this was used until the 2019–20 season. In 2020, the Blasters launched a new blue away kit with a distinctive pattern. This kit was launched by the club as a dedication to their fans, who were missed at the stands due to COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: In 2020, the Blasters launched a contest for the fans to design the club's first-ever third kit for the 2020–21 season. The third kit which had a white and gold colour scheme, designed by one of the fan was released by the club as an honour to the sacrifices and contribution of the frontline workers, who have been relentlessly working to win the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: Kerala Blasters play their home matches at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in the city of Kochi. The stadium is multipurpose but is mostly used for football. It has hosted games of both the Indian national football and cricket teams, and has hosted National Football League and I-League clubs FC Kochin and Chirag United Club Kerala. The stadium was also a venue for the Indian Premier League side Kochi Tuskers Kerala and was selected as a venue for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup. As a part of the FIFA event, the stadium was renovated and new seats were fitted and its capacity was reduced to 50,000 and later to 41,000, taking into account security issues. The stadium received the Best Pitch of the Season Award of the League in the 2018-19 season of Indian Super League. In 2019, Greater Cochin Development Authority proposed the installation of solar panels in the stadium, which would make it the first such venue in Kerala and the third in the country to be powered by solar energy.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: Kerala Blasters are known in the ISL for their fanatical supporters. Averaging over 55,000 fans a game, the Blasters had the highest average attendance in most of the seasons they have played and it fell to 37,500 in 2017 because safety regulations reduced the stadium's capacity to 41,000 as a part of 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup where Kochi was a venue. According to former India international player Pappachen Pradeep, "In Kerala, the people support football tirelessly. It doesn't matter if the team wins or loses, they are always there in high numbers. I've played at places like Kolkata, where if the team loses two-three matches on the spin, the numbers in the stadium diminish. There is nothing like that in Kerala." However Kerala Blasters have seen reduction in the average attendance below 30,000 on two seasons. During 2018–19 season, the Blasters had an average attendance of 16,432 and it became 17,500 in 2019–20 season.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: According to Fox Asia, , the Blasters are the fifth most-popular Asian club on social media, becoming so in 2018 within the four years of its existence and were the youngest club among the list. They are also the most followed Indian club on social media. In February 2021, Kerala Blasters became the first Indian club to attain two million followers on Instagram. According to a research in 2021, the club has the joint-fastest growing social media account on Instagram in Asia and sixth across the world in terms of fans interaction among all the football clubs.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: The Blasters are also known for having one of the most vocal and passionate supporters group known as Manjappada. Founded in 2014, they are one of the largest and most active supporters group in the country. The group has also won the award for the 'Best Fan Club' at the Indian Sports Honours for two times in 2017 and 2020.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: Kerala Blasters have developed a rivalry with fellow southern club Chennaiyin FC from the inaugural season of the Indian Super League itself. Former Chennaiyin head coach and player Marco Materazzi was sent off when the clubs played each other in the 2014 semi-final and was then given a one-match suspension in 2016 after he was involved in a scuffle between a Chennaiyin player and a Kerala Blasters player. This incident led Kerala Blasters fans to wear masks of Zinedine Zidane at the return leg in Kochi, intensifying the rivalry between the clubs. The meetings between the two clubs later came to be known as the South Indian Derby. Bengaluru FC became a part of the South Indian Derby, when they joined Indian Super League in 2017.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: The Blasters have also developed a rivalry with Karnataka-based club Bengaluru FC, which started in 2017 before Bengaluru began playing in the ISL. The rivalry stems from the competition between both clubs fan bases; Manjappada of the Blasters and Bengaluru's West Block Blues. The South Indian Derby between the Blasters and Bengaluru is often known as the "Real South Indian Derby".


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: The Blasters shares an intense rivalry with the Kolkata based club ATK Mohun Bagan. Even before the inception of Indian Super League, the states of Kerala and West Bengal had a long lasting rivalry in the Santosh Trophy. The club's rivalry with ATK started at the 2014 final, which ATK won in extra time. Both clubs once again met at the final in 2016, which the Blasters lost on penalties. In 2020, ATK merged with the football section of multi-sport club Mohun Bagan to form ATK Mohun Bagan.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: In April 2014, it was announced that the former India cricket captain Sachin Tendulkar, along with PVP Ventures, won the bidding for the Kochi franchise in Indian Super League. A consortium named Blasters Sports Ventures Private Limited (BSVPL) was established to oversee the administration and operations of the club. Tendulkar said that he took a stake in the club because he wanted to help popularise football in India and to see Kerala return to its former glory as a footballing state. In May 2014, he said; "People used to call me Master Blaster. I'm supporting Kerala, Kochi team. I hope the entire Kerala will be behind our football team. That's why we thought of naming it as Kerala Blasters FC." PVP group owned 60 percent of the club. In October 2015, Securities and Exchange Board of India, imposed a fine of ₹30 crore on PVP Group for not complying with diclosure terms, pushing the club into financial uncertainty. To overcome the financial crisis, Tendulkar partnered with the club's main sponsor Muthoot Group, bought 40 percent from PVP Group's stake and acquired the majority stake at the club.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: In June 2016, it was confirmed that a consortium led by industrialist Nimmagadda Prasad, Telugu film actors Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna and film producer Allu Aravind have purchased 80 percent stake at the club. The 20 percent stake of the club remained with Tendulkar. In September 2018, Tendulkar sold his remaining stake at the club to its majority shareholders for personal reasons, stating; "A piece of my heart will always beat for Kerala Blasters". In January 2021, the consortium was renamed as Magnum Sports Private Limited. The consortium also includes Anil Yerramreddy, the global CEO of MOURI Tech. Nikhil Bhardwaj, son of the majority shareholder Nimmagadda Prasad is the director of the club.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: Magnum Sports Private Limited also owns the Pro Kabaddi League team Tamil Thalaivas and in 2020, entered in a partnership with Serbian volleyball club Radnicki Belgrade to form Radnicki Blasters, which plays in the Serbian First Division tournaments.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: On 29 September 2014, it was announced Kerala-based Muthoot Pappachan Group would be the title sponsor for Kerala Blasters. Under the original agreement, the company would sponsor the Blasters for one season with the option to extend the sponsorship. On 24 October that year, a month later, the Blasters announced the German sports manufacturer Puma would be the kit sponsors for the 2014 season. Both sponsorships continued in 2015 and Muthoot remained as title sponsor into the 2016 season. In June 2019, the Blasters signed a five-year deal with Jain University to be the presenting sponsor of the club. In September 2020, the club signed a long-term deal with Statsports as their performance partner. On 7 November 2020, the Blasters announced its association with BYJU'S, the world's largest EdTech company, as their new title sponsor on a five-year deal. In December 2021, the Blasters announced its association with MOURI Tech, an enterprise solutions provider as official partners ahead of the 2021–22 season.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: On 20 February 2018, the All India Football Federation, the organising body for Indian football announced the Kerala Blasters and six other ISL sides would field a reserve team in the I-League 2nd Division, India's second division football league. The team began playing in March 2018, when it was coached by Renjith TA. The team's best performance came out in 2020 as they won the 2019–20 Kerala Premier League after defeating the reserve side of Gokulam Kerala FC in a Penalty shootout.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: The Kerala Blasters youth system, which is known as KBFC Young Blasters, consists of three teams from the under-18, under-15 and under-13 age groups.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: Kerala Blasters were featured in the Manorama's programme 'Blasting out with Blasters', which shared in-depth interviews with the players and behind-the-scenes footages from the club's camp during the 2017–18 season. On 19 November 2020, a day ahead of the 2020–21 ISL season, the Blasters released Yennum Yellow, a musical album inspired by the passionate fanbase of the club across the globe. The album consists of six songs that shows the importance of yellow to its fans and it was the first time in India that a football club released an album as a dedication to their fans. A week later, the Blasters also launched the Yennum Yellow comic book envisioned to provide the fans with a fun way to learn more about the club, its history, the squad and the activities being carried out by the club. This was also a first of its kind project in Indian Football.


title: Kerala Blasters FC

text: The organizers of ISL introduced eISL, a FIFA video game tournament, for the ISL playing clubs, each represented by two players. Kerala Blasters hosted a series of qualifying games for all the participants wanting to represent the club in eISL. On 20 November 2021, the club announced the signing of the two players.


title: Little Saint James, U.S. Virgin Islands

text: Little Saint James is a small private island in the United States Virgin Islands, located southeast of neighboring Great Saint James, both off the southern coast of the larger St. Thomas island and belonging to the subdistrict East End, St. Thomas. The 70- to 78-acre (28 to 32 ha) island was owned by American convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein from 1998 until his 2019 death. During Epstein's ownership, the island acquired local nicknames such as "Island of Sin" and "Pedophile Island."


title: Little Saint James, U.S. Virgin Islands

text: In 1997, Little St. James was owned by venture capitalist Arch Cummin and was for sale for $10.5 million. In April 1998, a company called L.S.J. LLC purchased the island for $7.95 million, and documents showed that Jeffrey Epstein was the sole member of L.S.J. In 2019, the island was valued at $63,874,223. The island was Epstein's primary residence, and he called the island "Little St. Jeff". The main house on the island was renovated by Edward Tuttle, a designer of the Aman Resorts. In 2008, Epstein's estate on Little Saint James had 70 staff. According to a former staffer, Epstein insisted on discretion and confidentiality from his employees.


title: Little Saint James, U.S. Virgin Islands

text: In March 2022, Little Saint James and the neighboring Great Saint James were listed at $125 million. A lawyer for Epstein's estate stated that the money obtained from the sale would be used to settle a number of lawsuits. Bespoke Real Estate, the agency jointly overseeing the sale, stated that further information on the listing was only available to prospective buyers.


title: Little Saint James, U.S. Virgin Islands

text: In 1997, the island had a main house, three guest cottages, a caretaker's cottage, a private desalination system, a helipad, and a dock. In addition, there is a blue-striped, boxlike building that initially was topped by a golden dome. The purpose of this construction is unclear, as it deviates in substantial ways from the plans for the music pavilion that had been submitted for approval in 2010 by Epstein's architects. The original building in the plans was of an octagonal footprint, rectangular in cross-section, and had two side rooms extending from the outside walls. It was also much lower in perspective, and the dome extended from the octagon over onto the roofs of the side buildings. The building that was eventually constructed was much taller, in the shape of a cube, and without any side rooms. The dome was also well within the footprint of the cube, and the building did not have any of the proposed finishes applied to the walls, nor was it constructed out of materials in those plans—namely, stone.


title: Little Saint James, U.S. Virgin Islands

text: Victoria's Secret models were among the guests a former employee saw there, and Les Wexner visited the island at least once.Prince Andrew, Duke of York paid at least one visit aboard Epstein's private jet to the island, although former staff claimed he visited Little St. James several times.


title: Little Saint James, U.S. Virgin Islands

text: Bill Clinton is widely reported to have visited Little St. James. Clinton flew on Epstein's private jet to Little St. James on multiple occasions between 2002 and 2005. Virginia Roberts, later known as Virginia Giuffre, claims in a lawsuit that while working at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort she was lured into a sex-trafficking ring run by Epstein and while traveling with Epstein she saw Clinton on the island. In a 2011 conversation with her lawyers, Roberts claimed Clinton traveled to Epstein's retreat on Little St. James in 2002. A Freedom of Information Act request for United States Secret Service records of visits Clinton may have made to Little St. James produced no such evidence. According to Epstein's flight logs, Clinton never flew near the U.S. Virgin Islands. In July 2019, a Clinton spokesperson issued a statement saying Clinton never visited the island.


title: Little Saint James, U.S. Virgin Islands

text: David Copperfield proposed to Claudia Schiffer on Little St. James, three months after meeting her in 1993.


title: Little Saint James, U.S. Virgin Islands

text: According to "The Independent", "Epstein's island developed a reputation for depravity, and it is alleged that underage girls were gang raped on Little St. James." It has acquired such nicknames as "Island of Sin", "Pedophile Island", and "Orgy Island".


title: Little Saint James, U.S. Virgin Islands

text: According to attorneys for Epstein's alleged victims, Little St. James is where many of the crimes against minors were committed by Epstein and friends who traveled there with him. Court documents allege that the then 17-year-old Virginia Roberts was forced by Epstein to have sex with Prince Andrew on several occasions, including as part of an orgy on Little St. James. Buckingham Palace has denied this allegation. A lawyer for Epstein has described the allegations of orgies by Roberts as "old and discredited".


title: Little Saint James, U.S. Virgin Islands

text: According to locals, Epstein continued to bring underage girls to the island in 2019, after he was registered as a sex offender. In August 2019, following Epstein's death, FBI agents searched his residence on Little St. James.


title: Igneous rock

text: Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word "ignis" meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava.


title: Igneous rock

text: The magma can be derived from partial melts of existing rocks in either a planet's mantle or crust. Typically, the melting is caused by one or more of three processes: an increase in temperature, a decrease in pressure, or a change in composition. Solidification into rock occurs either below the surface as intrusive rocks or on the surface as extrusive rocks. Igneous rock may form with crystallization to form granular, crystalline rocks, or without crystallization to form natural glasses.


title: Igneous rock

text: Igneous rocks occur in a wide range of geological settings: shields, platforms, orogens, basins, large igneous provinces, extended crust and oceanic crust.


title: Igneous rock

text: Igneous and metamorphic rocks make up 90–95% of the top of the Earth's crust by volume. Igneous rocks form about 15% of the Earth's current land surface. Most of the Earth's oceanic crust is made of igneous rock.


title: Igneous rock

text: Intrusive igneous rocks make up the majority of igneous rocks and are formed from magma that cools and solidifies within the crust of a planet. Bodies of intrusive rock are known as "intrusions" and are surrounded by pre-existing rock (called "country rock"). The country rock is an excellent thermal insulator, so the magma cools slowly, and intrusive rocks are coarse-grained ("phaneritic"). The mineral grains in such rocks can generally be identified with the naked eye. Intrusions can be classified according to the shape and size of the intrusive body and its relation to the bedding of the country rock into which it intrudes. Typical intrusive bodies are batholiths, stocks, laccoliths, sills and dikes. Common intrusive rocks are granite, gabbro, or diorite.


title: Igneous rock

text: The central cores of major mountain ranges consist of intrusive igneous rocks. When exposed by erosion, these cores (called "batholiths") may occupy huge areas of the Earth's surface.


title: Igneous rock

text: Intrusive igneous rocks that form at depth within the crust are termed plutonic (or "abyssal") rocks and are usually coarse-grained. Intrusive igneous rocks that form near the surface are termed "subvolcanic" or "hypabyssal" rocks and they are usually much finer-grained, often resembling volcanic rock. Hypabyssal rocks are less common than plutonic or volcanic rocks and often form dikes, sills, laccoliths, lopoliths, or phacoliths.


title: Igneous rock

text: Extrusive igneous rock, also known as volcanic rock, is formed by the cooling of molten magma on the earth's surface. The magma, which is brought to the surface through fissures or volcanic eruptions, rapidly solidifies. Hence such rocks are fine-grained (aphanitic) or even glassy. Basalt is the most common extrusive igneous rock and forms lava flows, lava sheets and lava plateaus. Some kinds of basalt solidify to form long polygonal columns. The Giant's Causeway in Antrim, Northern Ireland is an example.


title: Igneous rock

text: The molten rock, which typically contains suspended crystals and dissolved gases, is called magma. It rises because it is less dense than the rock from which it was extracted. When magma reaches the surface, it is called lava. Eruptions of volcanoes into air are termed "subaerial", whereas those occurring underneath the ocean are termed "submarine". Black smokers and mid-ocean ridge basalt are examples of submarine volcanic activity.


title: Igneous rock

text: The volume of extrusive rock erupted annually by volcanoes varies with plate tectonic setting. Extrusive rock is produced in the following proportions:


title: Igneous rock

text: The behaviour of lava depends upon its viscosity, which is determined by temperature, composition, and crystal content. High-temperature magma, most of which is basaltic in composition, behaves in a manner similar to thick oil and, as it cools, treacle. Long, thin basalt flows with pahoehoe surfaces are common. Intermediate composition magma, such as andesite, tends to form cinder cones of intermingled ash, tuff and lava, and may have a viscosity similar to thick, cold molasses or even rubber when erupted. Felsic magma, such as rhyolite, is usually erupted at low temperature and is up to 10,000 times as viscous as basalt. Volcanoes with rhyolitic magma commonly erupt explosively, and rhyolitic lava flows are typically of limited extent and have steep margins because the magma is so viscous.


title: Igneous rock

text: Felsic and intermediate magmas that erupt often do so violently, with explosions driven by the release of dissolved gases—typically water vapour, but also carbon dioxide. Explosively erupted pyroclastic material is called tephra and includes tuff, agglomerate and ignimbrite. Fine volcanic ash is also erupted and forms ash tuff deposits, which can often cover vast areas.


title: Igneous rock

text: Because volcanic rocks are mostly fine-grained or glassy, it is much more difficult to distinguish between the different types of extrusive igneous rocks than between different types of intrusive igneous rocks. Generally, the mineral constituents of fine-grained extrusive igneous rocks can only be determined by examination of thin sections of the rock under a microscope, so only an approximate classification can usually be made in the field. Although classification by mineral makeup is preferred by the IUGS, this is often impractical, and chemical classification is done instead using the TAS classification.


title: Igneous rock

text: Igneous rocks are classified according to mode of occurrence, texture, mineralogy, chemical composition, and the geometry of the igneous body.


title: Igneous rock

text: The classification of the many types of igneous rocks can provide important information about the conditions under which they formed. Two important variables used for the classification of igneous rocks are particle size, which largely depends on the cooling history, and the mineral composition of the rock. Feldspars, quartz or feldspathoids, olivines, pyroxenes, amphiboles, and micas are all important minerals in the formation of almost all igneous rocks, and they are basic to the classification of these rocks. All other minerals present are regarded as nonessential in almost all igneous rocks and are called "accessory minerals". Types of igneous rocks with other essential minerals are very rare, but include carbonatites, which contain essential carbonates.


title: Igneous rock

text: In a simplified classification, igneous rock types are separated on the basis of the type of feldspar present, the presence or absence of quartz, and in rocks with no feldspar or quartz, the type of iron or magnesium minerals present. Rocks containing quartz (silica in composition) are "silica-oversaturated". Rocks with feldspathoids are "silica-undersaturated", because feldspathoids cannot coexist in a stable association with quartz.


title: Igneous rock

text: Igneous rocks that have crystals large enough to be seen by the naked eye are called phaneritic; those with crystals too small to be seen are called aphanitic. Generally speaking, phaneritic implies an intrusive origin; aphanitic an extrusive one.


title: Igneous rock

text: An igneous rock with larger, clearly discernible crystals embedded in a finer-grained matrix is termed porphyry. Porphyritic texture develops when some of the crystals grow to considerable size before the main mass of the magma crystallizes as finer-grained, uniform material.


title: Igneous rock

text: Igneous rocks are classified on the basis of texture and composition. Texture refers to the size, shape, and arrangement of the mineral grains or crystals of which the rock is composed.


title: Igneous rock

text: Texture is an important criterion for the naming of volcanic rocks. The texture of volcanic rocks, including the size, shape, orientation, and distribution of mineral grains and the intergrain relationships, will determine whether the rock is termed a tuff, a pyroclastic lava or a simple lava. However, the texture is only a subordinate part of classifying volcanic rocks, as most often there needs to be chemical information gleaned from rocks with extremely fine-grained groundmass or from airfall tuffs, which may be formed from volcanic ash.


title: Igneous rock

text: Textural criteria are less critical in classifying intrusive rocks where the majority of minerals will be visible to the naked eye or at least using a hand lens, magnifying glass or microscope. Plutonic rocks also tend to be less texturally varied and less prone to showing distinctive structural fabrics. Textural terms can be used to differentiate different intrusive phases of large plutons, for instance porphyritic margins to large intrusive bodies, porphyry stocks and subvolcanic dikes. Mineralogical classification is most often used to classify plutonic rocks. Chemical classifications are preferred to classify volcanic rocks, with phenocryst species used as a prefix, e.g. "olivine-bearing picrite" or "orthoclase-phyric rhyolite".


title: Igneous rock

text: The IUGS recommends classifying igneous rocks by their mineral composition whenever possible. This is straightforward for coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock, but may require examination of thin sections under a microscope for fine-grained volcanic rock, and may be impossible for glassy volcanic rock. The rock must then be classified chemically.


title: Igneous rock

text: Mineralogical classification of an intrusive rock begins by determining if the rock is ultramafic, a carbonatite, or a lamprophyre. An ultramafic rock contains more than 90% of iron- and magnesium-rich minerals such as hornblende, pyroxene, or olivine, and such rocks have their own classification scheme. Likewise, rocks containing more than 50% carbonate minerals are classified as carbonatites, while lamprophyres are rare ultrapotassic rocks. Both are further classified based on detailed mineralogy.


title: Igneous rock

text: In the great majority of cases, the rock has a more typical mineral composition, with significant quartz, feldspars, or feldspathoids. Classification is based on the percentages of quartz, alkali feldspar, plagioclase, and feldspathoid out of the total fraction of the rock composed of these minerals, ignoring all other minerals present. These percentages place the rock somewhere on the QAPF diagram, which often immediately determines the rock type. In a few cases, such as the diorite-gabbro-anorthite field, additional mineralogical criteria must be applied to determine the final classification.


title: Igneous rock

text: Where the mineralogy of an volcanic rock can be determined, it is classified using the same procedure, but with a modified QAPF diagram whose fields correspond to volcanic rock types.


title: Igneous rock

text: When it is impractical to classify a volcanic rock by mineralogy, the rock must be classified chemically.


title: Igneous rock

text: There are relatively few minerals that are important in the formation of common igneous rocks, because the magma from which the minerals crystallize is rich in only certain elements: silicon, oxygen, aluminium, sodium, potassium, calcium, iron, and magnesium. These are the elements that combine to form the silicate minerals, which account for over ninety percent of all igneous rocks. The chemistry of igneous rocks is expressed differently for major and minor elements and for trace elements. Contents of major and minor elements are conventionally expressed as weight percent oxides (e.g., 51% SiO, and 1.50% TiO). Abundances of trace elements are conventionally expressed as parts per million by weight (e.g., 420 ppm Ni, and 5.1 ppm Sm). The term "trace element" is typically used for elements present in most rocks at abundances less than 100 ppm or so, but some trace elements may be present in some rocks at abundances exceeding 1,000 ppm. The diversity of rock compositions has been defined by a huge mass of analytical data—over 230,000 rock analyses can be accessed on the web through a site sponsored by the U. S. National Science Foundation (see the External Link to EarthChem).


title: Igneous rock

text: The single most important component is silica, SiO, whether occurring as quartz or combined with other oxides as feldspars or other minerals. Both intrusive and volcanic rocks are grouped chemically by total silica content into broad categories.


title: Igneous rock

text: The percentage of alkali metal oxides (NaO plus KO) is second only to silica in its importance for chemically classifying volcanic rock. The silica and alkali metal oxide percentages are used to place volcanic rock on the TAS diagram, which is sufficient to immediately classify most volcanic rocks. Rocks in some fields, such as the trachyandesite field, are further classified by the ratio of potassium to sodium (so that potassic trachyandesites are latites and sodic trachyandesites are benmoreites). Some of the more mafic fields are further subdivided or defined by normative mineralogy, in which an idealized mineral composition is calculated for the rock based on its chemical composition. For example, basanite is distinguished from tephrite by having a high normative olivine content.


title: Igneous rock

text: In older terminology, silica oversaturated rocks were called "silicic" or "acidic" where the SiO was greater than 66% and the family term "quartzolite" was applied to the most silicic. A normative feldspathoid classifies a rock as silica-undersaturated; an example is nephelinite.