title: Guanches

text: The geographic accounts of Pliny the Elder and of Strabo mention the Fortunate Isles but do not report anything about their populations. An account of the Guanche population may have been made around AD 1150 by the Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi in the "Nuzhatul Mushtaq", a book he wrote for King Roger II of Sicily, in which al-Idrisi reports a journey in the Atlantic Ocean made by the Mugharrarin ("the adventurers"), a family of Andalusian seafarers from Lisbon. The only surviving version of this book, kept at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, and first translated by Pierre Amédée Jaubert, reports that, after having reached an area of "sticky and stinking waters", the Mugharrarin moved back and first reached an uninhabited Island (Madeira or Hierro), where they found "a huge quantity of sheep, which its meat was bitter and inedible" and, then, "continued southward" and reached another island where they were soon surrounded by barks and brought to "a village whose inhabitants were often fair haired with long and flaxen hair and the women of a rare beauty". Among the villagers, one did speak Arabic and asked them where they came from. Then the king of the village ordered them to bring them back to the continent where they were surprised to be welcomed by Berbers. Apart from the marvelous and fanciful content of this history, this account would suggest that Guanches had sporadic contacts with populations from the mainland. Al-Idrisi also described the Guanche men as tall and of a reddish-brown complexion.


title: Guanches

text: During the 14th century, the Guanches are presumed to have had other contacts with Balearic seafarers from Spain, suggested by the presence of Balearic artifacts found on several of the Canary Islands.


title: Guanches

text: The Castilian conquest of the Canary Islands began in 1402, with the expedition of Jean de Béthencourt and Gadifer de la Salle to the island of Lanzarote. Gadifer invaded Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.


title: Guanches

text: The other five islands fought back. El Hierro and the "Bimbache" population were the next to fall, then La Gomera, Gran Canaria, La Palma and in 1496, Tenerife.


title: Guanches

text: In the First Battle of Acentejo (31 May 1494), called "La Matanza" (the slaughter), Guanches ambushed the Castilians in a valley and killed many. Only one in five of the Castilians survived, including the leader of the expedition, Alonso Fernandez de Lugo.


title: Guanches

text: Lugo later returned to the island with the alliance of the kings of the southern part of the island, and defeated the Guanches in the Battle of Aguere. The northern Menceyatos or provinces fell after the Second Battle of Acentejo with the defeat of the successor of Bencomo, Bentor, Mencey of Taoro—what is now the Orotava Valley—in 1496.


title: Guanches

text: The native Guanche language is now known only through a few sentences and individual words, supplemented by several placenames. Many modern linguists propose that it belongs to the Berber branch of the Afroasiatic languages.


title: Guanches

text: However, while there are recognizable Berber words (particularly with regards to agriculture) within the Guanche language, no Berber grammatical inflections have been identified; there is a large stock of vocabulary that does not bear any resemblance to Berber whatsoever.


title: Guanches

text: Little is known of the religion of the Guanches. There was a general belief in a supreme being, called Achamán in Tenerife, Acoran in Gran Canaria, Eraoranhan in Hierro, and Abora in La Palma. The women of Hierro worshipped a goddess called Moneiba. According to tradition, the male and female gods lived in mountains, from which they descended to hear the prayers of the people. On other islands, the natives venerated the sun, moon, earth and stars. A belief in an evil spirit was general. The demon of Tenerife was called Guayota and lived at the peak of Teide volcano, which was the hell called Echeyde; in Tenerife and Gran Canaria, the minor demons took the form of wild black woolly dogs called Jucanchas in the first and Tibicenas in the latter, which lived in deep caves of the mountains, emerging at night to attack livestock and human beings.


title: Guanches

text: In Tenerife, Magec (god of the Sun) and Chaxiraxi (the goddess mother) were also worshipped. In times of drought, the Guanches drove their flocks to consecrated grounds, where the lambs were separated from their mothers in the belief that their plaintive bleating would melt the heart of the Great Spirit. During the religious feasts, hostilities were held in abeyance, from war to personal quarrels.


title: Guanches

text: Idols have been found in the islands, including the Idol of Tara (Museo Canario, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria) and the Guatimac (Museum Archaeological of Puerto de la Cruz in Tenerife). But many more figures have been found in the rest of the archipelago.


title: Guanches

text: Most researchers agree that the Guanches performed their worship in the open, under sacred trees such as pine or drago, or near sacred mountains such as Mount Teide, which was believed to be the abode of the devil Guayota. Mount Teide was sacred to the aboriginal Guanches and since 2007 is a World Heritage Site. But sometimes the Guanches also performed worship in caves, as in "Cave of Achbinico" in Tenerife. Until the 20th century, there were in the Canary Islands (especially in northern Tenerife) individuals called "Animeros". They were similar to healers and mystics with a syncretic beliefs combining elements of the Guanche religion and Christianity. As in other countries close to the islands (e.g. marabouts from the Maghreb), the Animeros were considered "persons blessed by God".


title: Guanches

text: Beñesmen or Beñesmer was a festival of the agricultural calendar of the Guanches (the Guanche new year) to be held after the gathering of crops devoted to Chaxiraxi (on August 15). In this event the Guanches shared milk, gofio, sheep or goat meat. At the present time, this coincides with the pilgrimage to the Basilica of the Virgin of Candelaria (Patron of Canary Islands).


title: Guanches

text: Among the cultural events are significant traces of aboriginal traditions at the holidays and in the current Romería Relief in Güímar (Tenerife) and the lowering of the Rama, in Agaete (Gran Canaria).


title: Guanches

text: Mummification was not commonly practiced throughout the islands but was highly developed on Tenerife in particular. In Gran Canaria there is currently a debate on the true nature of the mummies of the ancient inhabitants of the island, as researchers point out that there was no real intention to mummify the deceased and that the good conservation of some of them is due rather to environmental factors. In La Palma they were preserved by these environmental factors and in La Gomera, and El Hierro the existence of mummification is not verified. In Lanzarote and Fuerteventura this practice is ruled out.


title: Guanches

text: The Guanches embalmed their dead; many mummies have been found in an extreme state of desiccation, each weighing not more than . Two almost inaccessible caves in a vertical rock by the shore from Santa Cruz on Tenerife are said still to contain remains. The process of embalming seems to have varied. In Tenerife and Gran Canaria, the corpse was simply wrapped up in goat and sheep skins, while in other islands a resinous substance was used to preserve the body, which was then placed in a cave difficult to access, or buried under a tumulus. The work of embalming was reserved for a special class, with women tending to female corpses, and men for the male ones. Embalming seems not to have been universal, and bodies were often simply hidden in caves or buried.


title: Guanches

text: In the Museo de la Naturaleza y el Hombre (Santa Cruz de Tenerife) mummies of original inhabitants of the Canary Islands are displayed.


title: Guanches

text: In 1933, the largest Guanche necropolis of the Canary Islands was found, at Uchova in the municipality of San Miguel de Abona in the south of the island of Tenerife. This cemetery was almost completely looted; it is estimated to have contained between 60 and 74 mummies.


title: Guanches

text: Although little is known about this practice among them, it has been shown that they performed both animal sacrifices and human sacrifices.


title: Guanches

text: In Tenerife during the summer solstice, the Guanches were accustomed to kill livestock and throw them into a fire as an offering to the gods. Bethencourt Alfonso has claimed that goat kids were tied by the legs, alive, to a stake so that they could be heard bleating by the gods. It is likely that animals were also sacrificed on the other islands.


title: Guanches

text: As for human sacrifices, in Tenerife it was the custom to throw the "Punta de Rasca" a living child at sunrise at the summer solstice. Sometimes these children came from all parts of the island, even from remote areas of "Punta de Rasca". It follows that it was a common custom of the island. On this island sacrificing other human victims associated with the death of the king, where adult men rushed to the sea are also known. Embalmers who produced the Guanche mummies also had a habit of throwing into the sea one year after the king's death.


title: Guanches

text: Bones of children mixed with lambs and kids were found in Gran Canaria, and in Tenerife amphorae have been found with remains of children inside. This suggests a different kind of ritual infanticide to those who were thrown overboard.


title: Guanches

text: Child sacrifice has been seen in other cultures, especially in the Mediterranean—Carthage (now Tunisia), Ugarit in the current Syria, Cyprus and Crete.


title: Guanches

text: The political and social institutions of the Guanches varied. In some islands like Gran Canaria, hereditary autocracy by matrilineality prevailed, in others the government was elective. In Tenerife all the land belonged to the kings who leased it to their subjects. In Gran Canaria, suicide was regarded as honourable, and whenever a new king was installed, one of his subjects willingly honoured the occasion by throwing himself over a precipice. In some islands, polyandry was practised; in others they were monogamous. Insult of a woman by an armed man was allegedly a capital offense. Anyone accused of a crime had to attend a public trial in Tagoror, a public court where those prosecuted were sentenced after a trial.


title: Guanches

text: The island of Tenerife was divided into nine small kingdoms ("menceyatos"), each ruled by a king or "Mencey". The Mencey was the ultimate ruler of the kingdom, and at times, meetings were held between the various kings. When the Castilians invaded the Canary Islands, the southern kingdoms joined the Castilian invaders on the promise of the richer lands of the north; the Castilians betrayed them after ultimately securing victory at the Battles of Aguere and Acentejo.


title: Guanches

text: In Tenerife the grand Mencey Tinerfe and his father Sunta governed the unified island, which afterwards was divided into nine kingdoms by the children of Tinerfe.


title: Guanches

text: Guanches wore garments made from goat skins or woven from plant fibers called Tamarcos, which have been found in the tombs of Tenerife. They had a taste for ornaments and necklaces of wood, bone and shells, worked in different designs. Beads of baked earth, cylindrical and of all shapes, with smooth or polished surfaces, mostly colored black and red, were fairly common. Dr. René Verneau suggested that the objects the Castilians referred to as "pintaderas", baked clay seal-shaped objects, were used as vessels for painting the body in various colours. They manufactured rough pottery, mostly without decorations, or ornamented by making fingernail indentations.


title: Guanches

text: Guanche weapons adapted to the insular environment (using wood, bone, obsidian and stone as primary materials), with later influences from medieval European weaponry. Basic armaments in several of the islands included javelins of 1 to 2 m in length (known as "Banot" on Tenerife); round, polished stones; spears; maces (common in Gran Canaria and Tenerife, and known as "Magado" and "Sunta", respectively); and shields (small in Tenerife and human-sized in Gran Canaria, where they were known as "Tarja", made of Drago wood and painted with geometric shapes). After the arrival of the Europeans, Guanche nobility from Gran Canaria were known to wield large wooden swords (larger than the European two-handed type) called "Magido", which were said to be very effective against both infantrymen and cavalry. Weaponry made of wood was hardened with fire. These armaments were commonly complemented with an obsidian knife known as "Tabona".


title: Guanches

text: Dwellings were situated in natural or artificial caves in the mountains. In areas where cave dwellings were not feasible, they built small round houses and, according to the Castilians, practiced crude fortification.


title: Guanches

text: extracted 71 samples of mtDNA from Guanches buried at numerous Canary Islands c. 1000 AD. The examined Guanches were found to have closest genetic affinities to modern Moroccan Berbers, Canary Islanders and Spaniards. They carried a significantly high amount of the maternal haplogroup U6b1. U6b1 is found at very low frequencies in North Africa today, and it was suggested that later developments have significantly altered the Berber gene pool. The authors of the study suggested that the Guanches were descended from migrants from mainland North Africa related to the Berbers, and that the Guanches contributed c. 42%–73% to the maternal gene pool of modern Canary Islanders.


title: Guanches

text: Regarding mitochondrial DNA, the maternal lineages are characterized by the prevalence of North-African lineages, followed by Europeans and finally in an small percentage by Sub-Saharans. According to different studies the percentages are the following.


title: Guanches

text: Another recent study that took as reference to 400 adult men and women of all the islands, except La Graciosa, that intended to know the relationship of Canarian genetic diversity with the more prevalent complex diseases in the archipelago, detected that Canarian DNA shows distinctive genetics, result from different variables as the geographical isolation of the islands, the adaptation to environment of its inhabitants and the historical mixture of Pre-Hispanic population of the archipelago ( coming from the North of Africa), with European and Sub-Saharan individuals. Specifically, estimated that the Canarian population, at an autosomal level, is 75% European, 22% North-African and 3% Sub-Saharan.


title: Guanches

text: Source: "Genomic Ancestry Proportions (from ADMIXTURE, K-4) in Canary Islanders (Guillen-Guio et al. 2018)


title: Guanches

text: Many of the islands' museums possess collections of archaeological material and human remains from the prehistory and history of the archipelago of the Canaries. Some of the most important are:


title: Guanches

text: In 2001, the Church of the Guanche People ("Iglesia del Pueblo Guanche"), a Neopagan movement with several hundred followers, was founded in San Cristóbal de La Laguna (Tenerife).


title: Leon Robinson

text: Leon Preston Robinson (born March 8, 1962), usually credited as simply Leon, is an American actor who began his professional career as a film actor in the early 1980s. Robinson is best known for his roles as David Ruffin in the TV film "The Temptations" (1998), J.T. Matthews in the 1991 Robert Townsend film "The Five Heartbeats", Derice Bannock in the 1993 film "Cool Runnings", Shep in the 1994 basketball drama film "Above the Rim", and Little Richard in the 2000 film "Little Richard".


title: Leon Robinson

text: Robinson appeared in a 1989 episode of the NBC series "Midnight Caller", in which he played an athlete who falls victim to crack cocaine. He also co-starred in the 1989 ABC miniseries "The Women of Brewster Place", as the boyfriend of a suburbanite (played by Robin Givens). He was cast as Saint Martin de Porres in Madonna's controversial 1989 music video "Like a Prayer".


title: Leon Robinson

text: Robinson's early film roles included a football teammate of Tom Cruise in "All the Right Moves" (1983) as Shadow Nading, and the Notre Dame-bound basketball playing co-worker of Matt Dillon, in "The Flamingo Kid" (1984). He co-starred in the Michael Mann-produced Tri-Star Pictures film "Band of the Hand", as well as the ""Killer Bee"" in the Dennis Hopper-directed gang film "Colors," starring Sean Penn and Robert Duvall. After his exposure in the 1989 video for the song "Like a Prayer" by Madonna, he played a leading role in the 1993 Disney film "Cool Runnings". That same year, he co-starred as John Lithgow's henchman in Renny Harlin's "Cliffhanger" and followed with a turn as a disillusioned ex-jock in New Line Cinema's "Above the Rim" (1994). Robinson also appeared as Lela Rochon's the married lover in 1995's "Waiting to Exhale" directed by Forest Whitaker and starring Whitney Houston and a starring role in the Merchant/Ivory produced movie, "Side Streets" with Rosario Dawson. He produced as well as starred in the 1997 romantic drama "The Price of Kissing" with TV star Pauley Perrette. He also starred in the movie "Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored", directed by Tim Reid and winner of Best Picture at the NAACP Image Awards.


title: Leon Robinson

text: Robinson has received critical acclaim for his portrayal of three singers: David Ruffin in the 1998 NBC miniseries "The Temptations", Little Richard in the self-titled 2000 NBC movie biography, and JT in the 20th Century Fox movie, "The Five Heartbeats" directed by Robert Townsend. He received an Emmy nomination for his portrayal of Little Richard. During this period, Robinson joined the ensemble cast of two TV series, playing the popular Jefferson Keane on HBO's first series, "Oz" and as Lawrence Hill on Showtime's "Resurrection Blvd.", a costarring role as "Stoney" best friend of Joaquin Phoenix in Miramax' military drama "Buffalo Soldiers", an uncredited role as "Joseph 13 X" in Michael Mann's award-winning biopic, "Ali" starring Will Smith, in addition to briefly hosting his own late-night talk show, "The L-Bow Room", on BET.


title: Leon Robinson

text: In 2008, Robinson starred in the 20th Century Fox thriller "Cover", directed by Bill Duke, and starred alongside Danny Masterson and Dominique Swain in the indie comedy "The Brooklyn Heist", directed by Julian Mark Kheel. In 2009, AOL Black Voices voted Robinson one of the Sexiest Actors of All-time. Between 2013 and 2014, he appeared in four movies, the romantic comedy "I Really Hate My Ex", written and directed by Troy Beyer, the southern drama "Soul Ties", based on the book by Tee Austin, the indie rock/drama "37" the romantic drama, "And Then There Was You" with Garcelle Beauvais.


title: Leon Robinson

text: In theater, Robinson has headlined three national tours, with sold-out performances at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre, NYC's Beacon Theater, Detroit's Fox Theater, Washington, DC's Warner Theater and more in "Friends and Lovers (2005)", based on Eric Jerome Dickey's "NY Times" bestselling book. In 2009 and 2010 as a soldier returning from Iraq in "3 Ways to Get A Husband" co-starring Billy Dee Williams and in 2012, the revival of "Why Do Good Girls Like Bad Boys".


title: Leon Robinson

text: Robinson is the lead vocalist and songwriter of the band, Leon and the Peoples. In 2007, he received an International Reggae and World Music Award nomination for the band's debut CD "The Road Less Traveled", winner of Best International Artist at the Joe Higgs Reggae Awards and completed a 36 city US tour with reggae greats Beres Hammond and Marcia Griffiths titled the "For The Love Of It Tour". He was a frequent guest on Beres Hammond's 2008 and 2010 North American tours. He head-lined NYC's Central Park 2010 and 2013 AIDS Walk Concerts. Other performances include the 2011 Aspen Jazz Fest., 2012 Catalpa NYC Music Festival, New Orleans Music Festival, Chicago's Festival Of Life, Reggae on River, Jamaica's Rebel Salute, and BET's popular "106 & Park".


title: Leon Robinson

text: Leon and The Peoples' single, "Love Is A Beautiful Thing" was featured on the BET/Centric TV show "Culture List", which premiered on July 21, 2013. Leon & The Peoples' 2nd album "Love Is A Beautiful Thing" was released on the Spectra Music label on July 20, 2018, with the title track debuting at No. 3 on Billboards Hot Singles Chart and the next single 'Beautiful' charting on the same Billboard chart at No. 12.


title: The Fall (band)

text: The Fall were an English post-punk group, formed in 1976 in Prestwich, Greater Manchester. They underwent many line-up changes, with vocalist and founder Mark E. Smith as the only constant member. The Fall's long-term musicians included drummers Paul Hanley, Simon Wolstencroft and Karl Burns; guitarists Marc Riley, Craig Scanlon and Brix Smith; and bassist Steve Hanley, whose melodic, circular bass lines are widely credited with shaping the band's sound from early 1980s albums such as "Hex Enduction Hour" to the late 1990s.


title: The Fall (band)

text: First associated with the late 1970s punk movement, the Fall's music underwent numerous stylistic changes, often concurrently with changes in the group's lineup. Nonetheless, their music has generally been characterised by an abrasive, repetitive guitar-driven sound, tense bass and drum rhythms, and Smith's caustic lyrics, described by critic Simon Reynolds as "a kind of Northern English magic realism that mixed industrial grime with the unearthly and uncanny," voiced through a "one-note delivery somewhere between amphetamine-spiked rant and alcohol-addled yarn." While the Fall never achieved widespread success beyond minor hit singles in the late 1980s and early 1990s, they have maintained a strong cult following.


title: The Fall (band)

text: The Fall have been called "the most prolific band of the British post-punk movement." From 1979 to 2017, they released thirty-two studio albums, and more than three times that number when live albums and compilations (often released against Smith's wishes) are taken into account. They were long associated with BBC disc jockey John Peel, who championed them from early on in their career and described them as his favourite band, famously explaining, "they are always different; they are always the same." Smith's death in 2018 effectively put an end to the group.


title: The Fall (band)

text: The Fall was formed in Prestwich, Greater Manchester, in 1976 by Mark E. Smith, Martin Bramah, Una Baines and Tony Friel. The four friends would meet to read their writings to each other and take drugs. Their musical influences included Can (which the band would later pay tribute to on the track "I Am Damo Suzuki"), the Velvet Underground, Captain Beefheart and garage rock bands like the Monks and The Stooges. The members were devoted readers, with Smith citing H. P. Lovecraft, Raymond Chandler and Malcolm Lowry among his favourite writers. After seeing Sex Pistols play their second gig at Manchester's Lesser Free Trade Hall in July 1976, they decided to start a group. Smith wanted to name the group "The Outsiders", but Friel came up with the name "The Fall" after a 1956 novel by Albert Camus. Smith became the singer, Bramah the guitarist, Friel played bass guitar and Baines bashed biscuit tins instead of drums; unable to afford to buy a drum kit, she then switched to keyboards. Their music was intentionally raw and repetitive. The song "Repetition", declaring that "we've repetition in the music, and we're never going to lose it", served as a manifesto for the Fall's musical philosophy.


title: The Fall (band)

text: The group played their first concert on 23 May 1977, at the North West Arts basement. Their first drummer was remembered only as "Dave" or "Steve" for thirty-four years, until music writer Dave Simpson discovered that he had almost certainly been a man named Steve Ormrod. Ormrod lasted just one show, at least in part due to political differences with the other members of the group. He was replaced by Karl Burns, whom Friel played with in a band called Nuclear Angel. The Fall soon caught the attention of Buzzcocks manager Richard Boon, who funded their first recording session, and in November 1977 they recorded material for their debut EP, "Bingo-Master's Break-Out!" Boon planned to release the EP on his New Hormones label, but after discovering that he could not afford to do so he gave the tapes back to the group. Thus, the Fall's debut on vinyl came in June 1978 when "Stepping Out" and "Last Orders" were released by Virgin Records on "", a compilation of live recordings made at the Manchester venue The Electric Circus in October 1977 just before it was closed.


title: The Fall (band)

text: The Fall's line-up underwent its first drastic changes in 1977–78. Kay Carroll, Una Baines's friend and colleague at the psychiatric hospital, became the group's manager and occasional backing vocalist, as well as Smith's girlfriend. Friel, unhappy with Carroll's management, left in December 1977 (he went on to form the Passage with Dick Witts). He was briefly replaced by Jonnie Brown, and later by Eric McGann (also known as Eric the Ferrett). The Fall were filmed on 13 February 1978 for the Granada TV show "What's On", hosted by Tony Wilson, performing "Psycho Mafia", "Industrial Estate" and "Dresden Dolls", featuring the brief line-up of Smith, Bramah, Burns, Baines and McGann. Baines left in March 1978 after a drug overdose and subsequent nervous breakdown, and was replaced by Yvonne Pawlett; McGann quit that May, in disgust at the group's van driver Steve Davies wearing a Hawaiian shirt as he ferried them to the recording of their first-ever session for influential radio DJ John Peel. (The Fall would record a total of 24 sessions for Peel, who became a devoted fan of the group.) Martin Bramah blamed the dissolution of the original line-up on Smith's style of leadership, together with Carroll's favouring of her partner: "The break-up wasn't so much about the music, though; it was more how we were being treated as people on a daily basis." 16-year-old Marc Riley, the group's roadie, was eventually recruited to the group to play bass guitar.


title: The Fall (band)

text: "Bingo-Master's Break-Out!" finally was released in August 1978 on Step Forward Records. The single "It's the New Thing" followed in November 1978, and in December the Fall recorded (in a single day) their debut album "Live at the Witch Trials", which was released in March 1979. Burns quit the group shortly after the album was recorded, and was replaced by Mike Leigh from Rockin' Ricky, a cabaret band. In April 1979, Burns was followed by Martin Bramah, co-writer of most of the songs on "Live at the Witch Trials" and, according to writer Daryl Eslea, "possibly the last true equal to Smith in the group"; he went on to form Blue Orchids with Una Baines. Marc Riley switched from bass guitar to guitar, and Craig Scanlon (guitar) and Steve Hanley (bass guitar), former bandmates of Riley and members of Fall support act Staff 9, joined the group. Hanley's melodic basslines became a vital part of the Fall's music for almost two decades. Smith praised his playing in "Melody Maker": "The most original aspect of the Fall is Steve ... I've never heard a bass player like him ... I don't have to tell him what to play, he just knows. He is the Fall sound." Yvonne Pawlett left in July 1979 to look after her dog. She later appeared in a band called Shy Tots.


title: The Fall (band)

text: On 30 July 1979, "Rowche Rumble", the Fall's third single, was released featuring the line up of Smith, Scanlon, Riley, Hanley, Pawlett and Leigh. Pawlett left the group shortly afterwards. "Dragnet", the Fall's second album, was recorded in August 1979 at Cargo Studios, Rochdale, and was released on 26 October 1979. "Dragnet" signalled a sparser, more jagged feel in the Fall's music compared to "Live at the Witch Trials". The studio allegedly complained about the sound quality and protested against putting its name on the album sleeve, fearing it would put other artists off using the facilities.


title: The Fall (band)

text: The Fall released their fourth single "Fiery Jack", their last for Step Forward, on 13 January 1980. In March, Mike Leigh left the group and went back to the cabaret circuit. According to Leigh, the band would have to wait for weeks without work while Smith came up with new lyrics, as opposed to regular weekly gigs in cabaret. Leigh's replacement was Paul Hanley, Steve Hanley's younger brother. He first played live with the Fall on Friday 21 March at Electric Ballroom, London – he was only 16 and was actually still at school. Meanwhile, the Fall quit Step Forward and signed with Rough Trade; the first release on a new label became "Totale's Turns" in May 1980. This, with the exception of two tracks, was a live album documenting the band during various appearances in 1979, with Smith announcing last orders at the bar [responding to a request for the song "Last Orders"] and berating band members and audience throughout.


title: The Fall (band)

text: In November 1980, the Fall released their third full-length album "Grotesque (After the Gramme)". Preceded by a couple of acclaimed singles "How I Wrote 'Elastic Man'" and "Totally Wired", the album went to #1 on the UK Indie Chart. It was co-produced by Rough Trade's Geoff Travis and Mayo Thompson of Red Krayola and showed a significant improvement in production, which was to continue throughout the period. Smith, however, was unhappy with Rough Trade's politics, which showed when "Slates" came out in April 1981. Intentionally made too long for a single and too short to be considered an album, it was released as a 10" EP for a price of just 2 pounds. The Fall eventually quit Rough Trade by the end of the year, and instead signed with a small indie label Kamera.


title: The Fall (band)

text: As the Fall were going to tour America after the release of "Slates", Paul Hanley was denied a visa as he was too young to play American clubs that serve alcohol, which restrict entry to those age 21 or older. Smith thus invited Karl Burns back into the group, initially as a temporary replacement. Select recordings from this tour were released in 1982 as "A Part of America Therein, 1981". After their return to the UK, Burns stayed in the group as a second drummer alongside Hanley. The first record to feature both Burns and Hanley became the "Lie Dream of a Casino Soul" single, produced by Richard Mazda and released in Australia and New Zealand in November 1981.


title: The Fall (band)

text: On 8 March 1982 "Hex Enduction Hour", also produced by Mazda, was released on Kamera Records, the Fall's seventh single ("Look, Know") was released 19 April 1982 on Kamera. On 27 September the "Room to Live" album was released on Kamera. Marc Riley was sacked at the end of the year, following several arguments, one of which resulted in a fist fight during the Australian tour. In response, Riley's band "The Creepers" wrote the track "Jumper Clown", which directly references Riley's dismissal, while also satirising Smith's dress sense.


title: The Fall (band)

text: This era is often regarded as a high point in the band's creative history, as noted by Ned Raggett of Allmusic who retrospectively described the late years with Riley and shortly after his departure as "three years during which the band couldn't seem to make a wrong step."


title: The Fall (band)

text: In 1983, Rough Trade Records released the Fall's ninth single, "The Man Whose Head Expanded", and on 19 September issued the band's tenth single and double pack "Kicker Conspiracy". Bizarrely, in November Kamera Records released around two- to three-thousand copies of the planned 1982 single "Marquis Cha Cha", the release date having been put back due to Kamera's financial troubles in late 1982, making it the Fall's eleventh single issue.


title: The Fall (band)

text: That year Smith's American girlfriend and later wife, Brix Smith joined the band on guitar. Born Laura Elise Salenger, she was nicknamed after the track "The Guns of Brixton" by the Clash, a favourite song of hers. Brix's tenure in the group marked a shift towards the relatively conventional, with the songs she co-wrote often having strong pop hooks and more orthodox verse-chorus-verse structures. Additionally, Brix's keen sense of fashion gradually influenced the group's members to give more attention to their clothing and styling, though her platinum blonde hair and glamorous style were somewhat at odds to the otherwise working class appearance of the Fall. Brix's first live appearance with the Fall was on 21 September 1983 at the Hellfire Club, Wakefield.


title: The Fall (band)

text: "Perverted by Language", released 5 December, was the Fall's final album for Rough Trade Records, but the first to feature Brix. Also released in December was the live album "In a Hole", recorded during the Fall's tour of New Zealand in 1982, on Flying Nun Records.


title: The Fall (band)

text: This era, a favourite period amongst many critics and fans, was marked by Brix's effort to find a wider audience for the Fall. They achieved a few modest UK hits with singles, including their versions of R. Dean Taylor's "There's a Ghost in My House" (no. 30, 1987) and the Kinks' "Victoria" (no. 35, 1988) and their own songs "Hey! Luciani" (no. 59, 1986) and "Hit the North" (no. 57, 1987), and enjoyed a string of critically acclaimed albums: "The Wonderful and Frightening World of The Fall" (1984), "This Nation's Saving Grace" (1985), "Bend Sinister" (1986), and "The Frenz Experiment" (1988). "I Am Kurious, Oranj" is notable as the fruit of a ballet project between Smith and dancer Michael Clark. Simon Rogers and later Marcia Schofield played keyboards. Paul Hanley quit during the tour supporting "The Wonderful and Frightening World of The Fall", and Simon Wolstencroft replaced other drummer Burns after "This Nation's Saving Grace". Wolstencroft becoming sole drummer shifted the group's sound; his drumming was described as "nimble" and "funky" when compared to Burns. In 2014 Wolstencroft published a memoir "You Can Drum But You Can't Hide" about his 11-year stint in the Fall.


title: The Fall (band)

text: With Brix's departure in 1989 – both from the band and her marriage to Smith – Bramah returned briefly for 1990's "Extricate", the first of the Fall's three albums for Phonogram Records. In the early 1990s the band continued to have modest success on the UK chart with singles including "Telephone Thing" (no. 58, 1990), "White Lightning" (no. 56, 1990), "Free Range" (no. 40, 1992) and "Why Are People Grudgeful" (no. 43, 1993). Bramah and Schofield were sacked in advance of 1991's "Shift-Work". Dave Bush joined on keyboards for 1992's "", followed by the band's return to an independent record label for "The Infotainment Scan" (1993), "Middle Class Revolt" (1994), and "Cerebral Caustic" (1995). These albums featured varying degrees of electronica and IDM, courtesy of Bush's keyboards and computers. "Caustic" saw the unexpected return of Smith's ex-wife Brix, who recorded "The Light User Syndrome" before departing in 1996. When Dave Bush went to join Elastica, Scanlon was sacked after sixteen years, an unpopular decision which Smith would later regret. In November 1994 Julia Nagle joined to help promote the release of "Cerebral Caustic", playing keyboards, guitars and computers. Nagle went onto contribute to "The Light User Syndrome" in 1996. That year also saw the start of a torrent of compilations of live, demo and alternative versions of songs on the Fall's new label Receiver Records.


title: The Fall (band)

text: In 1994 and 1996, the Fall played at the Phoenix Festival in Stratford-upon-Avon, England – the 1996 appearance being one of much surprise to many fans as they were not scheduled to play. The next album, "Levitate" (1997), toyed with drum and bass and polarised opinion (long-serving drummer Simon Wolstencroft left halfway through the recording sessions, and was replaced – again – by Karl Burns). Steven Wells in the "NME" (11 October 1997) wrote, "Imagine pop without perimeters. Imagine rock without rules. Imagine art without the wank. If you've never heard the Fall then "Levitate" will be either the best or the worst record you've ever heard." The group was temporarily reduced to Smith and Nagle when a short US tour ended in April 1998 with onstage rows in New York, which resulted in Smith unplugging the amps during songs and lashing out at the other members, leading Burns to physically shove him. This led to the departure of Hanley (bassist of nineteen years), Burns, and guitarist Tommy Crooks. The following day, Smith was arrested and charged with assaulting Nagle in their hotel. Despite this, Nagle remained with the band. The Smith and Nagle line-up would release two albums: "The Marshall Suite" (1999) and "The Unutterable" (2000).


title: The Fall (band)

text: Further rifts within the band followed in 2001, which led to a new line-up of Smith, Ben Pritchard (guitar), Ed Blaney (guitar), Jim Watts (bass), and Spencer Birtwistle (drums) releasing "Are You Are Missing Winner" that year to mixed reviews. Spencer Birtwistle was replaced by Dave Milner on drums in November 2001. September 2002 saw Elena Poulou – Smith's third wife – fill the vacant position of keyboards player, and that year "Q" magazine named the Fall one of "50 Bands to See Before You Die". "The Real New Fall LP" (renamed from "Country on the Click" after an earlier mix of the album appeared on Internet file sharing networks) followed in 2003, with a slightly different mix and some extra tracks for the US version, after which Jim Watts was sacked (replaced by Steve Trafford) and Milner was replaced by a returning Spencer Birtwistle. In 2004 the band released its first career-spanning compilation to positive reviews in June, and a new album, Interim, in November.


title: The Fall (band)

text: In January 2005, the Fall were the subject of a BBC Four TV documentary, "The Fall: The Wonderful and Frightening World of Mark E Smith". Their twenty-fifth studio album, entitled "Fall Heads Roll", was issued on 3 October 2005. The guitarist, bassist, and drummer all left the group acrimoniously during the US summer 2006 tour after just four dates. In a US radio interview, Smith described their departures as "the best thing that ever happened" to the Fall, although it was some months before he confirmed that they would not be returning.


title: The Fall (band)

text: Early in 2007 the Fall released the "Reformation Post TLC" album, recorded with the same lineup that salvaged the 2006 US tour. Yet another lineup released "Imperial Wax Solvent", in 2008; this lineup would hold for the following three albums, and the core of Peter Greenway (guitar), David Spurr (bass), and Keiron Melling (drums) for the remainder of the band's existence. In April 2009, the Fall signed with UK-based independent record label Domino Records. A new studio album, titled "Your Future Our Clutter", was released on 26 April 2010. This was followed in November 2011 by the album "Ersatz GB". In March 2012, the band were chosen by Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival he curated in Minehead, England. The Fall released their twenty-ninth studio album, "Re-Mit", in 2013.


title: The Fall (band)

text: In 2014, former members Brix Smith Start, Steve Hanley and Paul Hanley formed a new group called Brix & the Extricated. In addition to new original material, the group also performs songs that the members had written or co-written during their tenure with The Fall. Smith Start and Steve Hanley also both released autobiographies covering their tenures with The Fall around this time frame; 2016's "The Rise, The Fall & The Rise" and 2014's "", respectively.


title: The Fall (band)

text: The Fall's thirtieth album, "Sub-Lingual Tablet", was released in 2015. This would be Elena Poulou's last album with the band: in a 2016 interview with "Mojo Magazine", Smith announced that she had resigned; they would divorce that year. The Fall's thirty-first and final studio album, "New Facts Emerge," was recorded as a four-piece and released in July 2017. Michael Clapham joined in May 2017 on keyboards, but never recorded with the band. Following Smith's death, Greenway, Spurr and Melling recruited singer and guitarist Sam Curran to form a new band, Imperial Wax.


title: The Fall (band)

text: Early in 2017, there were reports that Smith was ill, and over the year numerous live dates were cancelled or postponed for reasons of health, including a week's dates in New York. Having become weak due to a change in medicine, he performed a number of shows in a wheelchair. His final performance and last appearance in public took place at the Queen Margaret Union, Glasgow, on 4 November 2017. Another show was scheduled for the Fiddlers, Bristol, on 29 November; Smith travelled to Bristol but was then too unwell to leave his hotel room. The other members of the group made a brief appearance on stage and apologised to the people who had come to see The Fall.


title: The Fall (band)

text: On 24 January 2018, Smith died at his home in Prestwich, Greater Manchester after a long illness. He was 60 years old. Smith had been diagnosed with terminal lung and kidney cancer, which his family confirmed had contributed to his death. The announcement of Smith's death was made by his partner and Fall manager Pamela Vander. Smith had struggled with alcoholism and periodic drug use throughout his adult life, and had undergone treatment on a number of occasions. His condition led to him falling and suffering bone fragmentation a number of times from the mid 2000s, leading to his performing several dates in a wheelchair and cast. A heavy smoker, Smith had long suffered from throat and respiratory problems; yet his work ethic or output never declined and he continued to release a new album close to once a year.


title: The Fall (band)

text: In August 2018, Cherry Red Records, The Fall's final label, announced they had purchased the rights to 40 Fall albums from Smith before his death, and plan to release a reissue series and box set sometime in the future.


title: The Fall (band)

text: Smith's vocal delivery was known for his tendency to end each phrase terminating in a consonant with an added schwa vocalisation ("ah"). He often speak-sang or sing-slurred his lyrics, especially from the mid-1990s. His delivery, particularly when playing live, could be described as "rambling", and he often interjected improvised rants.


title: The Fall (band)

text: His lyrics, delivered in a heavy Mancunian accent, are often cryptic, absurdist and inscrutable, and were described by critic Simon Reynolds as "a kind of Northern English magic realism that mixed industrial grime with the unearthly and uncanny, voiced through a unique, one-note delivery somewhere between amphetamine-spiked rant and alcohol-addled yarn." Smith described his approach as wanting to combine "primitive music with intelligent lyrics". Thematically, his frequently densely layered lyrics often centre around descriptions of urban grotesques, gloomy landscapes, "crackpot history", and are infused with regional slang.


title: The Fall (band)

text: Fragments of Smith's lyrics often appeared handwritten on early Fall album and single covers, along with collages he had put together. In a 1983 interview with "Sounds", Smith said that he liked artwork to reflect the album content and that his graphic choices reflected his attitude to music. He mentioned how he was drawn to cheap and misspelled posters, amateur layouts of local papers and printed cash and carry signs with "inverted commas where you don't need them".


title: The Fall (band)

text: On the group’s influence, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that “the Fall, like many cult bands, inspired a new generation of underground bands, ranging from waves of sound-alike indie rockers in the UK to acts in America and New Zealand, which is only one indication of the size and dedication of their small, devoted fan base.”


title: The Fall (band)

text: Happy Mondays, Sonic Youth, These New Puritans, LCD Soundsystem, as well as the Russian group Grazhdanskaya Oborona.


title: The Fall (band)

text: Sonic Youth covered three Fall songs (and “Victoria” by the Kinks, also covered by the Fall) in a 1988 Peel session, which was released in 1990 as an EP, “4 Tunna Brix”, on Sonic Youth’s own Goofin’ label. The Pixies covered “Big New Prinz” during their 2013 world tour. The 1990s indie acts Pavement (who recorded a version of “The Classical”) and Elastica (Smith contributed vocals to their final EP and album) showed an influence of the Fall, while Suede parodied the band with “Implement Yeah!”, a song found on the cassette edition of their 1999 single, “Electricity.” The Fall and Smith have been name-checked in songs, notably with the title track of "Maple Leaves" by Jens Lekman, "Southern Mark Smith" by The Jazz Butcher, “I’ve Never Been Hit by Mark E Smith” and “Bloody Proud” by I, Ludicrous and “I Am Mark E Smith” by Fat White Family. The experimental hip hop/punk band Death Grips also sampled the band’s song “Paranoia Man in Cheap Sh*t Room” on their song “Hahaha”.


title: The Fall (band)

text: In 2001, when Texan post-hardcore band At The Drive-In played live at Australia’s music festival BDO the band’s singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala said this before they played their song “Pattern Against User”: “This is dedicated to a band from the U.K. called THE FALL. If you don’t know who THE FALL is, you’re listening to too much Hip Hop and Heavy Metal. This is for Mark E. Smith!”


title: The Fall (band)

text: Since the Fall formed in 1976, Mark E. Smith was the only constant member. All other founding members had left by the end of 1979, although Martin Bramah returned to the band from 1989 to 1990. Of the 66 musicians who came and went over the band's 40-year existence, about one third played in the band for less than a year. The final line-up consisted of Smith, Pete Greenway, Dave Spurr, Keiron Melling and Michael Clapham. Melling, Spurr and Greenway joined the band in 2006.


title: The Fall (band)

text: Smith once remarked, in an oft-quoted quip about the band's frequent lineup changes, "If it's me and your granny on bongos, it's The Fall."


title: Shadowrun

text: Shadowrun is a science fantasy tabletop role-playing game set in an alternate future in which cybernetics, magic and fantasy creatures co-exist. It combines genres of cyberpunk, urban fantasy and crime, with occasional elements of conspiracy, horror and detective fiction. From its inception in 1989, "Shadowrun" has remained among the most popular role-playing games. It has spawned a vast franchise that includes a series of novels, a collectible card game, two miniature-based tabletop wargames, and multiple video games.


title: Shadowrun

text: The title is taken from the game's main premise – a near-future world damaged by a massive magical event, where industrial espionage and corporate warfare runs rampant. A "shadowrun" – a successful data theft or physical break-in at a rival corporation or organization – is one of the main tools employed by both corporate rivals and underworld figures. Deckers (futuristic hackers) who can tap into an immersive, three-dimensional cyberspace are opposed by rival deckers and lethal, potentially brain-destroying artificial intelligences called "Intrusion Countermeasures" – "IC" for short – who are protected by street fighters and/or mercenaries, often with cyborg implants (called "cyberware"), magicians, and other exotic figures, on such missions as they seek access, physical or remote, to the power structures of rival groups. Magic has also returned to the world after a series of plagues; dragons who can take human form have returned as well, and are commonly found in high positions of corporate power.


title: Shadowrun

text: "Shadowrun" takes place several decades in the future (2050 in the first edition, currently 2084). The end of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar ushered in the "Sixth World", with once-mythological beings (e.g. dragons) appearing and forms of magic suddenly emerging. Large numbers of humans have "Goblinized" into orks and trolls, while many human children are born as elves, dwarves, and even more exotic creatures. In North America, indigenous peoples discovered that their traditional ceremonies allow them to command powerful spirits, and rituals associated with a new Ghost Dance movement let them take control of much of the western U.S. and Canada, where they formed a federation of Native American Nations. Seattle remains under U.S. control by treaty as a city-state enclave, and most game materials are set there and assume campaigns will use it as their setting.


title: Shadowrun

text: In parallel with these magical developments, the setting's 21st century features technological and social developments associated with cyberpunk science fiction.


title: Shadowrun

text: Megacorporations control the lives of their employees and command their own armies; many of the largest have extraterritoriality, such as currently enjoyed by foreign heads of state. Technological advances make cyberware (mechanical replacement body parts) and bioware (augmented vat-grown body parts implanted in place of or in tandem with natural organs) common. The Computer Crash of 2029 led to the creation of the Matrix, a worldwide computer network that users interact with via direct neural interface. When conflicts arise, corporations, governments, organized crime syndicates, and even wealthy individuals subcontract their dirty work to specialists, who then perform "shadowruns" or missions undertaken by deniable assets without identities or those that wish to remain unknown. The most skilled of these specialists, called shadowrunners, have earned a reputation for getting the job done. They have developed a knack for staying alive, and prospering, in the world of "Shadowrun".


title: Shadowrun

text: "Shadowrun" was developed and published by FASA from 1989 until early 2001, when FASA closed its doors and the property was transferred to WizKids (a company founded by former FASA employees). Two years before its closure, FASA sold its videogame branch, FASA Interactive, to Microsoft corporation, keeping rights to publishing novels and pen and paper RPGs. Since then, digital rights to "Shadowrun" IP have belonged to Microsoft. WizKids licensed the RPG rights to Fantasy Productions (who were already publishing for the German version) until they were acquired by Topps in 2003. Catalyst Game Labs (a publishing imprint of InMediaRes Productions) licensed the rights from Topps to publish new products. WizKids itself produced an unsuccessful collectible action figure game based on the property, called "Shadowrun Duels".


title: Shadowrun

text: "Shadowrun" Fifth Edition was announced in December 2012. It was released as a PDF in July 2013, with a limited-edition softcover version of the Fifth Edition core rulebook sold at the Origins Game Fair in June 2013. The hardcover version was released in August 2013. It was generally similar to the system that was unveiled in Fourth Edition and modified in the Twentieth Anniversary Edition.


title: Shadowrun

text: "Shadowrun Anarchy" was released in October 2016 This edition is a simplified version of the ruleset, allowing to focus more on the narration than on the rules.


title: Shadowrun

text: A Sixth Edition, titled as "Shadowrun", Sixth World, was announced on 1 May 2019 to coincide with the game's 30th anniversary, along with a new website at shadowrunsixthworld.com. The game was released to the public on 26 August 2019. The mechanics for this new version are generally similar to those of Fifth Edition, with some systems reworked for what Line Developer Jason Hardy describes as streamlining the system. This new version also progresses the in-game year to 2080.


title: Shadowrun

text: Since 2004, "Shadowrun Missions" ("SRM") has offered fans "living campaigns" that allow for persistent character advancement. "SRM" is broken down into "seasons" which are made up of up to 24 individual missions that can be played at home, with special missions available to play exclusively at conventions. Each "SRM" season develops an overarching plot focused on a specific city from the "Shadowrun" setting. Missions settings have included the divided city of Denver, the corporate city-state of Manhattan, and the Seattle Metroplex city-state, and the formerly walled-off wastelands of Chicago.


title: Shadowrun

text: The "Shadowrun" role-playing game has spawned several properties, including "", eight video games, an action figure game ("Shadowrun Duels"), two magazines, an art book and more than 50 novels, starting with the "Secrets of Power" series which introduces some of the original characters of "Shadowrun" and provides an introduction to this fictional universe. In addition to the main rule book (now in its sixth edition) there have been over 100 supplemental books published with adventures and expansions to both the rules and the game settings. Catalyst Game Labs announced that 2013 would be "The Year of Shadowrun," and in addition to the release of Shadowrun Fifth Edition that it has collaborated with publishers on the following properties: "Shadowrun: Crossfire, The Adventure Deck-building Game"; "Shadowrun: Sprawl Gangers", a tactical miniatures wargame; and "Shadowrun: Hostile Takeover", a board game designed by Bryan C.P. Steele is planned for release in late 2014/early 2015. Catalyst had been in collaboration with Nordic Games and Cliffhanger Studios to create "" online RPG, however it was shuttered 30 November 2018 with the producers citing lack of funding and the end of the license terms for use of the IP.


title: Shadowrun

text: The "Shadowrun" world is cross-genre, incorporating elements of both cyberpunk and urban fantasy. Unlike in a purely cyberpunk game, in the "Shadowrun" world, magic exists and has "worked" since 2011. Among other things, this split humankind into subtypes, also known as metatypes/metahumans. Some of these metatypes take the form of common fantasy races. Likewise, some animals have turned into familiar monsters of past fantasy and lore and both monsters and human magicians have regained magical powers. By the second half of the 21st century, in the time the game is set, these events are accepted as commonplace. Man, machine, and magic exist in a world where the amazing is among the most common and technology has entered into every facet of human (and metahuman) life.


title: Shadowrun

text: Characters in "Shadowrun" can be humans, orks, trolls, elves, dwarves, as well as certain diverging subspecies (known as metavariants) such as gnomes, giants, dryads, etc. In the early days, when magic returned to the world, humans began to either change into, or give birth to, elf and dwarf infants, a phenomenon called Unexplained Genetic Expression (UGE). Later, some juvenile and adult humans "goblinized" into other races (mostly orks, but also some trolls). The term "metahuman" is used either to refer to humanity as a whole, including all races, or to refer specifically to non-human races, depending on context. The return of Halley's Comet brought even further variation in the form of changelings, who have variation atypical to their metatype or even species, such as electroreception. Two of the metahuman races, elves and orks, have fictional languages.


title: Shadowrun

text: Additionally, a virus known as the Human Meta-Human Vampiric Virus (HMHVV), with many variant strains, has been known to cause further change, far beyond that of traditional vampirism, frequently resulting in fierce abominations that are no longer human and sometimes no longer even sentient: bandersnatches, banshees, dzoo-noo-quas, goblins, ghouls, nosferatus, vampires, wendigos, wild fomorians, and others. Most of these species do not consider human/metahuman types as more than victims, and are generally treated as dangerous subjects by society. Such characters are only playable in certain editions.


title: Shadowrun

text: Branching out from metahumanity, the game also presents shapeshifters, sapient animals that can change shape into a metahuman form such as werewolves and selkies, characterized by intelligence and thought processes more in line of animals, and drakes, metahumans with a second form like that of a metahuman-sized dragon. Metasapient is used to refer to non-metahuman intelligent creatures. While many are discussed in various books, only naga, intelligent, thirty-foot long snakes; sasquatches; centaurs; pixies, artificial intelligences and free spirits are ever playable.


title: Shadowrun

text: Dragons are also present in the awakened world, though not as player characters. Dragons are very powerful physically, magically and, in some situations, financially; some dragons found the riches they hoarded and hid during the last Awakening. Their great intelligence allowed them to gain a great deal of influence and power quickly and a few have risen to high political and economic posts, running entire corporations or even serving as heads of state.


title: Shadowrun

text: The game is set 62 years in the future, following a great change that has returned magic to the world. The emergence of magic, the outbreak of the VITAS plagues, the Computer Crash of 2029, the Euro-Wars, and the fevers for independence of Amerindian tribes, Chinese provinces, and everything else that came with the many struggles that ravaged Europe and Asia left the world's governments tumbling and falling. The United States was broken into substates. Monetary value was lost. The world had to rebuild, and rebuild they did, this time in the image of the megacorporations that seized power. Taking advantage of the laws that had been passed years ago, and using their newfound freedom, the megacorps began impressing their power on the failing governments. Before long the world was transformed. Boundaries were redrawn, and the political landscape was changed forever.


title: Shadowrun

text: A basic premise of the setting is that as the world endured the string of state-changing events and conflicts, the political landscape fragmented and reformed. In North America, for example, some nations broke apart and reformed, as was the case with the Confederation of American States and the United Canadian and American States, while others became havens for specific racial or ethnic groups, like Native American Nations (the Native Americans having used their newfound magical abilities to regain massive tracts of land) or the Elvish principality of Tír Tairngire, which encompasses all of the state of Oregon. Some, like the California Free State, simply declared independence, while yet others became "de facto" corporate subsidiaries like Aztlan (the former Mexico), the headquarters of the Aztechnology megacorp. Despite the new role of megacorporations, many nations still hold considerable sway through economic, social and military means. For most people, "getting by" means taking advantage of whatever the corps or the government might bring their way.


title: Shadowrun

text: The monolithic "enemies" of the "Shadowrun" world (borrowing heavily from cyberpunk mythos) are the corporations, dubbed "megacorporations", "megacorps", or simply "megas" or "corps" for short. Megacorporations in the 21st-century are global, with all but the smallest corps owning multiple subsidiaries and divisions around the world. They are the superpowers of the "Shadowrun" universe, with the largest corporations having far more political, economic, and military power than even the most powerful nation-states.


title: Shadowrun

text: In "Shadowrun", corporations are effectively "ranked" by the amount of assets under their control, including material, personnel, and property, as well as profit. These ranks are A, AA, and AAA; AAA corporations are top tier. Most corporations in the AA and AAA level are immune to domestic law, responsible only to themselves, and regulated only by the Corporate Court, an assembly of the ten AAA-rated corporations. All AAA-rated and most AA-rated corporations exhibit a privilege known as "extraterritoriality", meaning that any land owned by the corp is sovereign territory only to the corp and immune to any laws of the country it is located in. Corporate territory is not foreign soil but corporate soil, just like its employees are corporate citizens, though dual citizenship in a corporation and a nation is common. The AAA corps, as well as numerous minor corporations, fight each other not only in the boardroom or during high-level business negotiations but also with physical destruction, clandestine operations, hostile extraction or elimination of vital personnel, and other means of sabotage. Because no corporation wants to be held liable for damages, it has to be done by hired deniable assets, or "shadowrunners", invisible to the system where every citizen is tagged with a System Identification Number (SIN).


title: Shadowrun

text: Despite the Crash which caused much data corruption, technology in the game is advanced. Ability-enhancing Cyberware (artificial cybernetic implants) and Bioware (genetically engineered biological implants) emerged and has become commonplace. Characters can also augment their bodies with nanotechnology implants.


title: Shadowrun

text: In earlier editions of the background fiction, direct neural interface technology enabled humans and metahumans to directly access computers and the Matrix, the global computer network restructured after the 2029 Crash. Access to the Matrix was accomplished by "deckers": individuals that have "cyberdecks", portable or worn computing devices that interface with the user's brain through a brain–computer interface implant called a "datajack", which is typically located at the temple or behind the ear.


title: Shadowrun

text: In "Shadowrun, Fourth Edition", the Matrix rules have changed, thanks to the setting's constant evolution and a drive to match real world technological developments. After the second Matrix crash in 2064, Matrix technology was moved away from the wired network and into wireless technology. The most noticeable difference between the Matrix in the 2070s and the earlier editions is that wireless technology has become completely ubiquitous. Communications and Matrix access are provided through Wi-Fi nodes placed throughout the infrastructure of just about every city on Earth, fulfilling a service similar to contemporary cell sites, but as these nodes are as numerous as telephone poles, only a tiny percentage of their range is necessary. The nodes of all electronic devices a person carries are connected in a similar manner, creating a personal area network (PAN). People access their PAN with their Commlink, a combination personal computer/cell phone/PDA/wireless device available either as a brain implant or a head-mounted display. This access can be the total sensory immersion common to cyberpunk fiction, or a sensory enhancement by which the virtual features of one's physical surroundings can be perceived and manipulated. Other worn or carried personal devices are linked to the PAN, and this includes smart firearms. The Matrix of the 2070s is thus not only a virtual reality, but an augmented or mixed reality. Cyberdecks are obsolete, so "deckers" have once again become "hackers". In turn, the otaku of previous versions (deckers who did not need decks to access the Matrix) have been reworked into technomancers, who possess an innate connection to the Matrix that permits them to access the wireless network without hardware, though the phenomenon is not fully understood even within the setting, and may be partly magical in nature.


title: Shadowrun

text: In "Shadowrun Fifth Edition", corporations have cracked down on hacking, reforming the matrix into Grids for better control and creating the Grid Overwatch Division (GOD). Hackers were thus forced to acquire specialized, larger variants of commlinks with better processing power, which were swiftly colloquially named "cyberdecks" after the devices of old. This has resulted in the return of the term "decker" of earlier editions.


title: Shadowrun

text: Meanwhile, "riggers" are people who use datajacks and in most cases a special type of cyberware – called the "control rig" – to interface with vehicles and drones. Often they also use a remote control deck called the "rigger command console". The term "rigger" may also be applied to others using these machines.


title: Shadowrun

text: Riggers jump in to machines to control them with their mind. While jumped in, they feel like they are the machine, using the vehicle or drone's sensors to replace their own. This allows the rigger to control their machines at Matrix speeds and with greater precision. The downside is if the machine takes damage, the rigger will have to deal with dangerous levels of biofeedback. Likewise, the rigger may have to engage in cybercombat with hostile parties that may attempt to hijack control of their devices.


title: Shadowrun

text: Those able to actively interact with the magical energies of the Sixth World are known as "awakened". An awakened character's power in magic is linked to their Magic attribute. A magic user's approach to working with mystic energy is called their Path. The Awakened fall into three general Paths: magicians, adepts and mystic adepts. Broadly speaking, magicians focus their magic outward, actively affecting the world around them, while adepts focus their magic inward, passively enhancing their bodies and minds.


title: Shadowrun

text: Magicians are able to cast spells, summon spirits, and create magical artifacts called "foci". All magicians follow traditions that determine their understanding of magic, including hermetic mages (whose control of magic comes through study and manipulation of magical energy or mana, and who summon and bind elementals in lengthy and expensive rituals to be called on later) and shamans (whose magic derives from a connection to nature via a totem spirit, and who can summon the nature spirits associated with a particular place). Adepts use magic internally in order to enhance their natural physical abilities. Adepts can run on walls, use mundane objects as deadly thrown projectiles, shatter hard objects with a single unarmed blow, and perform similar feats of incredible ability. All adepts follow a very personal path (Path of the Warrior, Path of the Artist, etc.) that normally determines their abilities, which might be very different for any two adepts (while one might demonstrate increased reflexes and facility with firearms, a second might possess unparalleled mastery of the katana, and a third might be able to pull off incredible vehicular stunts). Mystic adepts, also known as physical mages, are part magician and part adept who distribute their magic power between the abilities of both aspects.


title: Shadowrun

text: The "Shadowrun" game mechanics are based entirely on a 6-sided dice system. The game is skill-based rather than class-based, but archetypes are presented in the main book to give players and gamemasters an idea of what is possible with the system.


title: Shadowrun

text: Before the fourth edition, skill and ability checks worked as follows: all actions in the game, from the use of skills to making attacks in combat, are first given a target number that reflects the difficulty of the action which is then raised or lowered by various modifying factors, such as environmental conditions, the condition of the character, the use of mechanical aids, and so forth. The player then rolls a number of dice equal to their level in the relevant skill, and the number of dice rolled that meet or exceed the target number determines if the character is successful in performing the action and the degree of success the character has. As an example, a character with a high firearms skill not only has a better chance of hitting a target than someone with a lower ranked skill, but is also more likely to cause more damage to the target. Target numbers may exceed 6, in which case any dice that show a 6 have to be re-rolled (a target number of, e.g., 9 is reached by rolling a 6 followed by at least a 3; a target number of 6 and one of 7 are identical, except extra dice rolls are not allowed for target number 7 or greater). For even higher target numbers, this procedure has to be repeated; thus, an action with a target number of 20 (like attempting to procure military-grade weaponry) will only succeed if three successive dice rolls result in sixes, and the fourth gives at least a 2. For any dice roll, a roll of 1 always counts as a failure. This system allows great flexibility in setting the difficulty of an action.


title: Shadowrun

text: In addition to this basic mechanic, players can use several task-specific dice pools to add bonus dice to certain tests, though dice that are used do not refresh until the end of a turn. This adds an extra tactical element, as the player must decide where best to spend these bonus dice. For example, combat pool dice could be spent to improve attacks or to improve defense, or some of each. Players also have Karma Pool that can be used to reroll any dice that failed to reach the target number. Karma Pool refreshes rarely, typically once per scene or less, at the GM's discretion. The combination of Karma Pool and dice pools gives players a considerable amount of freedom to decide how important a task is to their character. Two characters with identical statistics could perform very differently on the same tasks depending on their priorities (and thus, allocation of dice pools and Karma Pool).


title: Shadowrun

text: In the fourth edition, things have changed substantially. The game still runs on six-sided dice, but now each task is given a threshold. The player then rolls dice equal to their skill plus the relevant attribute modified by applicable modifiers. The number of fives and sixes is equal to the number of hits. Hits above the threshold indicate extraordinary performance. Furthermore, if more than half the dice rolled are ones, then the player has made a glitch. Glitches cause bad things to happen to the player and game masters are encouraged to be inventive and funny.


title: Shadowrun

text: Although the skill system is freeform, certain combinations of skills and equipment work well together. This combination of specialization in skill and equipment is known as an archetype. The most notable archetypes are street samurai, characters who have heavily augmented their bodies with cyberware and bioware and focus on physical combat; adepts, characters who have magical abilities that increase their physical (and sometimes mental) combat abilities; faces, highly charismatic characters who specialize in negotiations and social manipulation; deckers (hackers), experts in electronic surveillance, security, and augmented/virtual reality monitoring, combat and response; riggers, who augment their brains to achieve fine control over vehicles and drones; and magicians, who cast spells and can view emotions and call spirits from astral space. In "Fourth Edition", with the setting change, deckers are replaced by hackers, who manipulate computer networks with augmented reality via ubiquitous commlinks; they also tend to take over the rigger's role.


title: Shadowrun

text: However, the archetypes are not character classes: the player is allowed to cross boundaries. Restrictions are not imposed by the system itself, but by the player's specializations. Because character-building resources are limited, the player has to weigh which game resource he wants to specialize in and which he has to neglect. This allows high character customization while still ensuring that characters are viable in the setting.


title: Shadowrun

text: The fourth edition of "Shadowrun" uses a point-based character creation system. Earlier editions, and later in the fifth edition, use a priority-based system with point-based character creation as an advanced option. Priorities are divided into race, magic, attributes, skills, and resources. All things that do not explicitly fall under the first four classifications, including contacts in third and earlier editions of "Shadowrun", are given cash-equivalent values to be bought with resources.


title: Shadowrun

text: "Shadowrun" characters are created with contacts, friends and acquaintances who serve as key nodes in the character's social network and who will often help the character out. Through the contacts system, players may uncover information that their characters cannot independently acquire. Additionally, players can often negotiate for the use of skills that their characters do not themselves have, a radical departure from most role-playing games.


title: Shadowrun

text: Essence is a measure of a living being's lifeforce. All humans and metahumans start with a value of six (although critters may start with a higher or lower Essence). It powers magic, and as essence fades, so does magical aptitude. Cyberware, bioware, nanotech implants, extreme cases of substance addiction, and other major changes to a being's body can damage its essence as well. Generally, if a being's essence ever reaches zero, it dies. Cybermancy allows metahumans to survive with an essence rating of zero or less.


title: Shadowrun

text: Players are awarded Karma points as a game progresses. In third edition and earlier, these points are usually added to a total called Good Karma, which can be used to boost attributes and skills. Skills that are already well-developed cost more Good Karma than skills which are undeveloped, which helps encourage specialized characters to become more flexible by spending Good Karma on weaker attributes. Karma also makes characters more powerful in general because every tenth (or twentieth for metahumans) point is added to the Karma Pool instead of Good Karma. The Karma Pool allows players to re-roll dice or "purchase" additional dice in certain situations. Karma can even be used to avoid certain death, at the cost of all Good Karma and Karma Pool points. In fourth edition, Karma Pool is replaced by a new attribute called Edge which can be used in most of the same ways as the third edition Karma Pool. Experience and character advancement is still tracked with Karma, although Good was dropped from the name as it no longer needs to be distinguished from the old Karma Pool.


title: Shadowrun

text: "Shadowrun" is linked to "Earthdawn", and is set in the "Sixth World", where "Earthdawn" is the "Fourth World" and modern-day Earth is at the tail end of the "Fifth World". Such links are not necessary for play, but they allow crossover potential. The concept of the "Worlds" is linked to the ancient Aztec belief that the world is renewed every five thousand years—a period called a "Sun" (currently we live in the fifth Sun). The date of the beginning of the "Sixth World" is based on the ancient Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, which when "Shadowrun" was developed was correlated as finishing a 5,200-year-long cycle on 24 December 2011. The understanding of the Maya that resulted in the use of the 2011 date and the use of the "worlds" concept is due to the influence of Frank Waters's 1975 book "Mexico Mystique: The Coming Sixth World of Consciousness", whose elaborate cosmology is selectively utilized in the framework of the "Shadowrun" universe. Waters took his information about the date of the end of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar from the 1966 edition of Michael D. Coe's "The Maya".


title: Shadowrun

text: "Shadowrun" is also influenced by the writings of William Gibson (particularly "Neuromancer"). Gibson, who gave no permission and expressed strong aversion for mixing his ideas with "spare me, *elves*," reacted as follows to its release:


title: Shadowrun

text: In 2007, Robert Boyd from Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland, robbed a Belfast lingerie shop at knifepoint while wearing a blonde lady's wig. During his trial, Boyd stated he was playing "Shadowrun", specifically the role of criminal elf Buho, at the time and may have "blurred reality and fantasy". This claim convinced only two members of the jury and Boyd was jailed for two years.


title: Shadowrun

text: FASA released 40 "Shadowrun" novels in collaboration with Roc publishing between 1991 and 2001. "Shadowrun" novels went out of production between 2001 and 2005, making the books produced towards the end of FASA's ownership of the license hard to find. Another (41st) novel was announced, but never released.


title: Shadowrun

text: In 2005, WizKids began publishing new "Shadowrun" novels, again through the Roc imprint of the New American Library. Six novels were released in the new series. In 2008, Catalyst Game Labs announced the return of novels for "Classic BattleTech", "MechWarrior" and "Shadowrun". The announcement states that the first of the all-new "Shadowrun" novels would appear tentatively by early 2009, but the novels were not released due to unexplained delays in production of the novels for all three franchises. A collection of short stories titled "Spells and Chrome" was published in 2010. In 2012, Catalyst Game Labs published a standalone electronic novella, "Neat", written by Russell Zimmerman. Catalyst later announced plans to release further fiction and eventually novels to be released in collaboration with Barnes & Noble in Winter 2013.


title: Shadowrun

text: Several additional novels were published in other languages. More than 30 novels have been written in German, by German and Austrian authors published by Heyne (since 1991) and FanPro (since 1997).


title: Shadowrun

text: Eight video games have been developed based on the "Shadowrun" franchise; the first in 1993 was an action role-playing game titled "Shadowrun" and developed by Beam Software for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The second, also titled "Shadowrun", was released for the Sega Genesis in 1994, developed by BlueSky Software. The third game was a visual novel adventure game developed by Japanese company Group SNE in 1995 for the Sega CD, again titled "Shadowrun". A fourth game, titled "Shadowrun: Assassin", was planned to be released in 1998 by FASA Interactive Technologies for the PC, but was cancelled. The next game released was a first-person shooter for the Xbox 360 and Windows Vista, entitled "Shadowrun". It was developed by FASA Interactive, owned by Microsoft, which also produced the title. It was the very first game that allows cross-platform play on the Games for Windows – Live service. As the publishers of the "Shadowrun" role-playing game stated at the time of the video game's release: "Microsoft rewrote the timeline and setting for this game, so it is not in continuity with the tabletop RPG. It may be more accurately described as a game loosely based on "Shadowrun"."


title: Shadowrun

text: In September 2007, Microsoft closed FASA Studios and licensed the "Shadowrun" electronic entertainment rights to Smith & Tinker, a company owned by Jordan Weisman, one of the original creators of "Shadowrun". In 2012, Weisman's company Harebrained Schemes launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the development of "Shadowrun Returns", a 3D turn-based single player role-playing video game. Approximately 1.8 million US dollars were pledged, four times more than the $400,000 goal. "Shadowrun Returns" was released on 25 July 2013. An expansion for "Shadowrun Returns" named "" was created as a stretch goal, and then later re-released as a standalone game called "Shadowrun: Dragonfall - Director's Cut". In January 2015, Harebrained Schemes launched another Kickstarter to fund "", which was released August 2015. Jan Wagner's Cliffhanger Productions also ran a successful Kickstarter campaign for an online 3D turn-based strategy role-playing video game that can be played either alone or with other players. On 14 August 2012, the campaign was funded at $558,863. The game was due to be released at the end of 2013 as "Shadowrun Online", but was actually released in April 2015 as "". In December 2017, Microsoft registered the Shadowrun's trademarks, recovering the rights from the series. "Shadowrun Trilogy", including remastered versions of "Shadowrun Returns", "Shadowrun: Dragonfall - Director’s Cut" and "Shadowrun: Hong Kong - Extended Edition", was released in June 2022 for consoles.


title: Shadowrun

text: In the September–October 1989 edition of "Games International" (Issue #9), Lee Brimmicombe-Wood was impressed by the production values, calling it "beautifully laid out and with some of the best illustrations I've seen outside of French rolegames." He admired the skill resolution system, calling it "beautifully elegant," although he found the magic system "instantly forgettable." Despite all its good points, he found the game's reliance on standard "Dungeons & Dragons" tropes "does not sit all that comfortably in a cyberpunk universe. [...] The dumping of elves, dwarfs and orcs into this technopunk environment fails to work." He concluded by giving "Shadowrun" an average rating of 3 out of 5.


title: Shadowrun

text: Lester W. Smith reviewed "Shadowrun" in "Space Gamer" Vol. II No. 2. Smith commented that "In "Shadowrun" is a very visual game system. That is, it encourages imagery and role-playing, without bogging down in overly dry rules."


title: Shadowrun

text: In a 1996 reader poll by "Arcane" magazine to determine the 50 most popular roleplaying games of all time, "Shadowrun" was ranked 8th. Editor Paul Pettengale commented: ""Shadowrun"'s strength lies in the cleverly designed background, which creates a unique setting that actually works and is continually evolving. It also ties in with FASA's other main system, "Earthdawn" - while "Shadowrun" is the future, "Earthdawn" is the past of the same world. Between the two a fascinating universe has been created, offering a great deal of potential for all styles of play."


title: Shadowrun

text: In 2007, "Shadowrun" was chosen for inclusion in "". Steven S. Long commented: ""Shadowrun" second edition belongs on the list of best hobby games because it so superbly integrates the gaming-specific material with the setting information. In doing so it satisfies what many gamers see as their twin needs: hard-and-fast rules that make gameplay fun; and an immersive setting that enhances the gaming experience, rather than detracting from it."


title: Shadowrun

text: "Shadowrun" 2nd Edition won the 1992 Origins Award for "Best Roleplaying Rules" and for "Best Graphic Presentation of a Roleplaying Game, Adventure, or Supplement".


title: Shadowrun

text: The "Shadowrun" role-playing game, various expansions, the short story anthology "Spells & Chrome", and a have won Origins Awards. The 4th edition also won the ENnie Awards for Best Rules as well as for Best Product in 2006. In 2010, "Shadowrun – 20th Anniversary Edition" won three silver ENnies: Best Interior Art, Best Production Values and Best Game.


title: Grand Blue

text: Iori Kitahara looks forward to his new life on the Izu Peninsula as he prepares to start his college life there, staying in a room above his uncle's diving shop "Grand Blue." However, he is quickly shocked as he meets the local Diving Club, a group full of buff men who spend more time drinking, partying, and stripping naked than actually diving. Despite his attempts to distance himself from the group, Iori gets quickly swept up in their antics, while his cousins try to show him the wonders of diving into the ocean and sea.


title: Grand Blue

text: "Grand Blue" is written by Kenji Inoue and illustrated by Kimitake Yoshioka. The series began in Kodansha's "good! Afternoon" on April 7, 2014. Kodansha has compiled its chapters into individual "tankōbon" volumes. The first volume was released on November 7, 2014. As of August 2022, nineteen volumes have been released.


title: Grand Blue

text: Kodansha USA is publishing the series digitally in English under the name of "Grand Blue Dreaming" with sixteen volumes published as of July 2022.


title: Grand Blue

text: An anime television series adaptation was announced in the "Good! Afternoon" magazine's fourth issue of 2018 on March 7. The anime series is written and directed by Shinji Takamatsu, with Takamatsu also handling the sound direction, Zero-G produced the animation and Hideoki Kusama designed the characters. It aired from July 14 to September 29, 2018, and broadcast on the Animeism programming block on MBS, TBS, BS-TBS, and AT-X. The series is also streamed exclusively on Amazon Video worldwide. The opening theme song titled "Grand Blue" is performed by Shōnan no Kaze, while the ending theme song titled is performed by Izu no Kaze (a group formed by Yūma Uchida, Ryohei Kimura, Hiroki Yasumoto, and Katsuyuki Konishi). The series ran for 12 episodes.


title: Grand Blue

text: A live-action film adaptation was announced, and is directed by Tsutomu Hanabusa. It was originally scheduled to release on May 29, 2020, but it was postponed to August 7, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Boeing 377 Stratocruiser

text: The Boeing 377 Stratocruiser was a large long-range airliner developed from the C-97 Stratofreighter military transport, itself a derivative of the B-29 Superfortress. The Stratocruiser's first flight was on July 8, 1947. Its design was advanced for its day; its innovative features included two passenger decks and a pressurized cabin. It could carry up to 100 passengers on the main deck plus 14 in the lower deck lounge; typical seating was for 63 or 84 passengers or 28 berthed and five seated passengers.


title: Boeing 377 Stratocruiser

text: The Stratocruiser was larger than the Douglas DC-6 and Lockheed Constellation and cost more to buy and operate. Its reliability was poor, chiefly due to problems with the four 28-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major radial engines and structural and control problems with their propellers. Only 55 Model 377s were built for airlines, along with the single prototype. The 377 was also converted into the Aero Spacelines Pregnant Guppy by John M. Conroy for NASA’s Gemini space program.


title: Boeing 377 Stratocruiser

text: The Boeing 377 Stratocruiser was a civil derivative of the Boeing Model 367, the Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter, which first flew in late 1944. William Allen, who had become president of the Boeing Company in September 1945, sought to introduce a new civilian aircraft to replace reduced military production after World War II. Boeing saw in their large-bodied, fast, and long-ranged military transport potential for a passenger aircraft suited for premium service on long transoceanic routes, expanding on the precedent set by their Boeing 314 Clipper with Pan American World Airways. Despite a recession in late 1945, Allen ordered 50 Stratocruisers, spending capital on the project without an order from an airline customer. His gamble that customers would be interested in Boeing's unique and expensive new airplane turned out to be correct for a brief period.


title: Boeing 377 Stratocruiser

text: On November 29, 1945 Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) became the launch customer with the largest commercial aircraft order in history, a $24,500,000 order for 20 Stratocruisers. Earlier in 1945 a Boeing C-97 had flown from Seattle to Washington, D.C. nonstop in six hours and four minutes; with this knowledge, and with Pan Am President Juan Trippe's high regard for Boeing after their success with the Boeing 314 Clipper, Pan Am was confident in ordering the expensive plane.


title: Boeing 377 Stratocruiser

text: The 377 shared the distinctive design of the C-97, with a "double-bubble" fuselage cross-section, resembling an inverted figure-8, with 6,600 ft³ (187 m³) of interior space shared between two passenger decks. Outside diameter of the upper lobe was 132 inches, compared to 125 inches for the DC-6 and other Douglas types (and 148 inches for today's 737). The lower deck served as a lounge, seating 14. The 377 had innovations such as higher cabin pressure and air conditioning; the superchargers on the four Pratt & Whitney R-4360 engines increased power at altitude and allowed constant cabin pressure.


title: Boeing 377 Stratocruiser

text: The wing was the Boeing "117" airfoil. In all, 4,000,000 man-hours went into the engineering of the 377. It was one of a few double deck airliners, another being its French contemporary, the Breguet Deux-Ponts, as well as Boeing's own 747 and the Airbus A380. A total of 56 were built, one prototype (later reconditioned) and 55 production aircraft.


title: Boeing 377 Stratocruiser

text: The first flight of the 377 was on July 8, 1947, two years after the first commercial order. The flight test fleet of three 377s underwent of flying to test its limits before certification.


title: Boeing 377 Stratocruiser

text: Adoption of the Stratocruiser got a boost from the US government, with a controversial incentive package offered to Northwest Orient Airlines for its purchase. Its components were unusually generous mail contracts offered to Northwest for opening new routes to Hawaii and points in the western Pacific region that they were invited to apply for, and a Reconstruction Finance Corporation loan earmarked for the purchase of a fleet of Stratocruisers. Pan-Am saw Northwest's mail contract deal and appealed for new terms in their own international mail contracts, which were granted much to the consternation of Trans World Airlines, who were able to provide the same Atlantic mail services as Pan-Am with lower operating costs. The Northwest deal led to allegations of graft and political favoritism towards Boeing.


title: Boeing 377 Stratocruiser

text: The other carriers who adopted the Stratocruiser were British Overseas Airways Corporation, American Overseas Airlines (merged with Pan Am in 1950) and United Airlines. The last 377 was delivered to BOAC in May 1950. On this delivery flight, Boeing engineer Wellwood Beall accompanied the final 377 to England, and returned with news of the de Havilland Comet, the first jet airliner, and its appeal. The tenure of the Stratocruiser with United ended in 1954, when United had the opportunity to sell them to BOAC after finding them unprofitable without the extra mail subsidies enjoyed by Pan Am and Northwest.


title: Boeing 377 Stratocruiser

text: As the launch customer, Pan Am was the first to begin scheduled flights, from San Francisco to Honolulu in April 1949. At the end of 1949 Pan Am, BOAC and American Overseas Airlines (AOA) were flying 377s transatlantic, while Northwest Orient Airlines was flying in the United States; in January 1950 United began flights from San Francisco to Honolulu. Stratocruisers were pressed into emergency military service after the onset of the Korean War. In late 1950 Northwest Stratocruisers were serving New York City, Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Milwaukee, Spokane, Seattle, and Honolulu.


title: Boeing 377 Stratocruiser

text: By late 1952 Northwest Stratocruisers replaced DC-4s to Tokyo via Anchorage, Alaska; Northwest replaced the Stratocruiser on the Honolulu run in 1953 and to Tokyo in 1955. For a short time Pan Am 377s flew to Beirut, Lebanon, but after 1954 no 377 was scheduled east of Europe or west of Singapore. In 1954, United Stratocruisers flew Los Angeles to Honolulu and between Seattle and San Francisco; United's B377 flights to Honolulu were all first class. In 1955 BOAC 377s had 50 First Class seats (fare $400 one way New York to London) or 81 Tourist seats (fare $290). In 1956 Pan Am 377s flew from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Sydney with stops at Honolulu, Canton Island and Suva (via Nadi Airport in Fiji).


title: Boeing 377 Stratocruiser

text: By 1958 Pan Am was operating the Stratocruiser between Seattle, Washington and Fairbanks, Juneau and Ketchikan, Alaska and between Seattle and Whitehorse, Yukon, and London to New York. Within six years of first delivery, the Stratocruiser had carried 3,199,219 passengers; it had completed 3,597 transcontinental flights, and 27,678 transatlantic crossings, and went between the United States and South America 822 times. In these first six years, the Stratocruiser fleet had flown 169,859,579 miles (273,362,494 km).


title: Boeing 377 Stratocruiser

text: The 377 was one of the most advanced and capable of the propeller-driven transports, and among the most luxurious, but it was troubled by reliability issues and maintenance costs. Problems included catastrophic failures of propellers, failures of propeller pitch control leading to overspeed incidents, problems related to the poor thermal design of the engine, and aerodynamic problems arising from design constraints imposed by the engine's thermal problems. Its service record was marred by a high incidence of in-flight emergencies and hull-loss accidents related to those issues. The propellers were the subject of Airworthiness Directives in 1955, 1957, and 1958.


title: Boeing 377 Stratocruiser

text: In 1953 "United's Ray Ireland ...described the Stratocruiser as unbeatable in luxury attraction but is uneconomical. Ireland said PAA's Stratocruiser competition to Hawaii induced United to buy the plane originally." In 1950 United's seven 377s averaged $2.46 "direct operating cost" per plane-mile, and "Indirect costs are generally considered to be equal or greater than the direct costs." Most operators were using Stratocruisers on long-range routes where higher prices could be charged, off-setting the higher operating costs.


title: Boeing 377 Stratocruiser

text: The exception was Northwest Airlines, who managed to keep the aircraft competitive on shorter U.S. domestic routes where the aircraft's higher payload capacity benefited from lower fuel weights. United however could not integrate their six-plane fleet of 377s. By 1954 the lack of spares and the inability to cross-train their Douglas crews with the type relegated their Stratocruisers primarily to their Hawaii route, where they faced stiff competition from Pan American and Northwest. By the end of that year the six United 377s were all sold to BOAC in a deal orchestrated by Douglas Aircraft. BOAC, which was short of aircraft after the grounding of the Comet 1, paid between US$895,000 and US$995,000 per unit and spares for what were essentially five-year-old aircraft. An equivalent brand new Douglas DC-7 cost US$775,000 in 1954.


title: Boeing 377 Stratocruiser

text: Boeing set never-exceed speed at IAS but in testing, the 377 reached IAS (about TAS) in a 15–20 degree dive at ; another report said it reached true air speed while diving from altitude to in 50 seconds using "full rated power". Typical airline cruise was less than ; in August 1953, Pan Am and United 377s (and United DC-6s) were scheduled between Honolulu and San Francisco () in 9 h 45 min each way.


title: Boeing 377 Stratocruiser

text: The longest (by distance) 377 nonstop flights were made by Pan Am from Tokyo to Honolulu during four winter seasons beginning in 1952–1953. In January 1953, two nonstops a week were scheduled with a flight time of 11 hr 1 min due to tailwinds; the following August all flights took 19 hours, with a stop at Wake Island Airfield. In winter 1953-54 one Tokyo-Honolulu flight took 9 hr 35 min for .


title: Boeing 377 Stratocruiser

text: By 1960 Stratocruisers were being superseded by jets: the de Havilland Comet, Boeing 707, and Douglas DC-8. The last flight of the 377 with United was in 1954, the last with BOAC was in 1959, and the last with Northwest was in September 1960. In November 1960 only a weekly Pan Am Honolulu to Singapore flight remained, and the 377 was retired by Pan Am in 1961. High operating costs (notably the fuel consumption and maintenance of the Wasp Major engines) led to rapid abandonment of the 377 with the onset of the jet era. Its contemporaries such as the Douglas DC-6 and the Lockheed Constellation continued longer, on secondary routes or rebuilt as freighters. A few 377s were sold to smaller airlines, used as freighters, or converted by Aero Spacelines into heavily modified enlarged freighters called Guppies.


title: Boeing 377 Stratocruiser

text: During 1959 and 1960, Transocean Airlines assembled a fleet of fourteen at bargain prices. In 1960 TOA went bankrupt and only four were in operable condition. The hulks were stored at Oakland International Airport through the 1960s and cannibalized for parts, contributing some to the Aero Spacelines Guppies. Five remaining 377s were modified by Bedek Aviation to resemble former U.S. Air Force Model 367 Stratofreighters and pressed into service with the Israeli Defense Force. Two were shot down during the course of their service and the three remaining 377Ms were retired in 1978 and later scrapped. None of the 56 377s built were preserved for display; the IAF Museum in Israel has a C-97 (4X-FPM) on display painted to resemble their most famous 377M, "Masada".


title: Boeing 377 Stratocruiser

text: In addition to the Israeli Anaks a company called Aero Spacelines was converting old 377s to aircraft called Guppys in the 1960s. There were three types: the Pregnant Guppy, Super Guppy, and Mini Guppy. They had an extension to the top of the fuselage to enable them to carry large aircraft parts between manufacturing sites.


title: Boeing 377 Stratocruiser

text: The first was the Pregnant Guppy, followed by the Super Guppy, and finally the Mini Guppy. The Super Guppy and the Mini Guppy had turboprop engines.


title: Boeing 377 Stratocruiser

text: This aircraft type suffered 13 hull-loss accidents between 1951 and 1970 with a total of 139 fatalities. The worst single accident occurred on April 29, 1952. The aircraft type also experienced a significantly high rate of in-flight emergencies related to engine and propeller failure, resulting in Airworthiness Directives.


title: Boeing 377 Stratocruiser

text: Faults included structural failures of neoprene-cored propellers, failures of propeller pitch control resulting in overspeed, and failures related to engine cooling. Six propeller failures between 1950 and 1955 resulted in separation or near-separation of engines from mounts, with two resulting in hull-loss accidents. Directives were issued in 1950, 1955, and 1958 regarding enhanced maintenance and fault detection, in-flight vibration monitoring, and propeller replacement.


title: Boeing 377 Stratocruiser

text: A Directive concerning the pitch control system was issued after the October 16, 1956 hull-loss accident. A June 1957 overspeed incident occurred on "Romance of the Skies", after the compliance date of the Directive and less than six months before its fatal accident of November 8, 1957. No hull-loss accidents after the loss of the "Romance" have been attributed to an overspeed incident.