title: Quake II

text: Since the release of the "Quake II" source code, several updates from third-party projects to the game engine have been created; the most prominent of these are projects focused on graphical enhancements to the game such as most notable "Yamagi Quake II", "Quake2maX", "EGL", "Quake II Evolved", and "KMQuake II". The source release also revealed numerous security flaws which can result in remote compromise of both the "Quake II" client and server. As id Software no longer maintains "Quake II", most third-party engines include fixes for these bugs. The unofficial patch 3.24 that fixes bugs and adds only meager tweaks is recommended for "Quake II" purists, as it is not intended to add new features or be an engine mod in its own right. The most popular server-side engine modification for multiplayer, "R1Q2", is generally recommended as a replacement for the 3.20 release for both clients and servers. In July 2003, Vertigo Software released a port of "Quake II" for the Microsoft .NET platform, using Managed C++, called "Quake II .NET". It became a poster application for the language, showcasing the powerful interoperability between .NET and standard C++ code. It remains one of the top downloads on the Visual C++ website. In May 2004, Bytonic Software released a port of "Quake II" (called "Jake2") written in Java using JOGL. In 2010 Google ported "Jake2" to HTML5, running in Safari and Chrome.


title: Quake II

text: "Quake II"s game engine was a popular license and formed the basis for several commercial and free games, such as "", "War§ow", "SiN", "Anachronox", "Heretic II", "Daikatana", "Soldier of Fortune", "", and "". Valve's 1998 video game "Half-Life" used the "Quake II" engine during early development stages. However, the final version runs on a heavily modified version of the "Quake" engine, "GoldSrc", with a small amount of the "Quake II" code.


title: Quake II

text: Ports of "Quake II" were released in 1999 on the Nintendo 64 (ported by Raster Productions) and PlayStation (ported by HammerHead) video game consoles. In both cases, the core gameplay was largely identical; however, changes were made to the game sequence and split-screen multiplayer replaced network or Internet play. A Macintosh port was developed by Logicware and released in July 1999. "Quake II: Colossus" ("Quake II" with both official add-ons) was ported to Linux by id Software and published by Macmillan Digital Publishing in 1999. Be Inc. officially ported "Quake II: Colossus" to the BeOS to test their OpenGL acceleration in 1999, and provided the game files for free download at a later date—a Windows, Macintosh, or Linux install CD was required to install the game, with the official add-ons being optional.


title: Quake II

text: The PlayStation version contains abridged versions of Units 1, 3, 6, 7, 8, and 10 of the PC version, redesigned to meet the console's technical limitations. For example, many short airlock-like corridors were added to maps to provide loading pauses inside what were contiguous areas in the PC version. In addition, part of the first mission of the N64 port is used as a prologue. Some enemy types were removed and two new enemies was added: the Arachnid, a human-spider cyborg with twin railgun arms, and the Guardian, a bipedal boss enemy. Saving the game is only possible between levels and at mid-level checkpoints where the game loads, while in the PC version the game could be saved and loaded at any time. The game supports the PlayStation Mouse peripheral to provide a greater parity with the PC version's gameplay. The music used in this port is a combination of the "Quake II" original music score and tracks from the PC version's mission packs, while the opening and closing cut-scenes are taken from the Ground Zero expansion pack.


title: Quake II

text: The PlayStation version uses a new engine developed by HammerHead for their future PlayStation projects and runs at a 512x240 resolution at 30 frames per second. The developer was keen to retain a visual parity with the PC version and avoid tricks such as the use of environmental fog. Colored lights for levels and enemies, and yellow highlights for gunfire and explosions, are carried across from the PC version, with the addition of lens flare effects located around the light sources on the original lightmaps. There is no skybox; instead, a flat Gouraud-textured purple "sky" is drawn across the ceiling. The game uses particles to render blood, debris, and rail gun beams analogously to the PC version.


title: Quake II

text: There is also a split-screen multiplayer mode for two to four players (a four player game is possible using the PlayStation's Multi-tap). The only available player avatar is a modified version of the male player avatar from the PC version, the most noticeable difference being the addition of a helmet. Players can only customize the color of their avatar's armor and change their name. The twelve multiplayer levels featured are unique to the PlayStation version, with none of the PC multiplayer maps being carried over.


title: Quake II

text: The Nintendo 64 version has completely different single player levels and multiplayer maps, and features multiplayer support for up to four players. This version also has new lighting effects, mostly seen in gunfire, and also uses the Expansion Pak for extra graphical detail. This port also features an entirely new soundtrack, consisting mostly of dark ambient pieces, composed by Aubrey Hodges.


title: Quake II

text: A port of "Quake II" was included with "Quake 4" for the Xbox 360 on a bonus disc. This is a direct port of the original game, with some graphical improvements. The port allows for System Link play for up to sixteen players, split-screen for four players, and cooperative play in single-player for up to sixteen players or four players with split-screen alone.


title: Quake II

text: In December 2018, Polish programmer Krzysztof Kondrak released the original Quake 2 v3.21 source code with Vulkan support added. The port, called "vkQuake2", is available under the GPLv2.


title: Quake II

text: As with the original "Quake", "Quake II" was designed to allow players to easily create custom content. A large number of mods, maps, graphics such as player models and skins, and sound effects were created and distributed to others free of charge via the Internet. Popular websites such as PlanetQuake and Telefragged allowed players to gain access to custom content. Another improvement over "Quake" was that it was easier to select custom player models, skins, and sound effects because they could be selected from an in-game menu.


title: Quake II

text: Mods for the game include "Action Quake" from 1999. "PC Gaming World"s Simon Quirk wrote of the game, "The "Action Quake" team fancied a multiplayer-only total conversion of "Quake II" where strategy, accuracy, and cool-looking fights would dominate."


title: Quake II

text: "Quake II" released on December 9, 1997, in the United States (one day short of the release of "Doom" four years prior) and on December 12 in Europe. Despite the title, "Quake II" is a sequel to the original "Quake" in name only. The scenario, enemies, and theme are entirely separate and do not fall into the same continuity as "Quake". id initially wanted to set it separately from "Quake", but due to legal reasons (most of their suggested names were already taken), they decided to use the working title. "Quake II" was also adopted as a name to leverage the popularity of "Quake" according to Jennell Jaquays. "Quake II" has been released on Steam, but this version does not include the soundtrack. The game was released on a bonus disc included with "Quake 4" Special Edition for the PC, along with both expansion packs. This version also lacks the soundtrack. "Quake II" is also available on a bonus disc with the Xbox 360 version of "Quake 4". This version is a direct port featuring the original soundtrack and multiplayer maps.


title: Quake II

text: In 2015, "Quake II: Quad Damage", a bundle containing the original game with the mission packs has been released at GOG.com, but unlike the previous releases, this one contains a new customizeable launcher and the official soundtrack in OGG format which was made possible to play in-game, making it the only digital release to include music.


title: Quake II

text: A remastered version of the game, titled "Quake II RTX" was announced by Nvidia in March 2019 and was released on June 6 for Windows and Linux on Steam. This remastered version requires either a Nvidia RTX or an AMD Radeon RX 6000 series GPU to utilize these cards' hardware ray-tracing functionality, but a software fallback is available for graphics cards that are fast enough.


title: Quake II

text: The game, provided free of charge, includes the three levels present in the original "Quake II" demo, but can be used to play the full game if its data files are available. Unlike in most games, ray tracing is used extensively here for lighting, reflections, etc. This is only possible because of the otherwise low hardware demands of Quake II.


title: Quake II

text: "Quake II Mission Pack: The Reckoning" is the first official expansion pack, released on May 30, 1998. It was developed by Xatrix Entertainment. First announced in January 1998, it features eighteen new single player levels, six new deathmatch levels, three new weapons (the Ion Ripper, Phalanx Particle Cannon, and Trap), a new power-up, two new enemies, seven modified versions of existing enemies, and five new music tracks. The storyline follows Joker, a member of an elite squad of marines on a mission to infiltrate a Strogg base on one of Stroggos' moons and destroy the Strogg fleet, which is preparing to attack. Joker crash lands in the swamps outside of the compound where his squad is waiting. He travels through the swamps and bypasses the compounds outer defenses and enters through the main gate, finding his squad just in time to watch them get executed by Strogg forces. Next, Joker escapes on his own to the fuel refinery where he helps the Air Force destroy all fuel production, then infiltrates the Strogg spaceport, boards a cargo ship and reaches the Moon Base, destroying it and the Strogg fleet. Notably, the section of the game that takes place on the Moon Base has low gravity, something that was previously used on one secret level of the original "Quake".


title: Quake II

text: The Reckoning received mixed reviews. It holds 69.50% from Gamerankings and GameSpot given a score of 7.4/10.


title: Quake II

text: "Quake II Mission Pack: Ground Zero" is the second official expansion pack, released on September 11, 1998. It was developed by Rogue Entertainment. It comes with fourteen new single-player levels, ten new multiplayer maps, five additional music tracks, five new enemies, seven new power-ups, and five new weapons. In the expansion's story the Gravity Well has trapped the Earth Fleet in orbit above the planet Stroggos. One of the marines who managed to land, Stepchild, must now make his way to the Gravity Well to destroy it and free the fleet above and disable the entire defenses of the planet.


title: Quake II

text: "Ground Zero" received average to mixed reviews. It holds 65.40% from Gamerankings. Patrick Baggatta of IGN gave the expansion 7.5/10, describing it as similar to the original, but noting occasionally confusing map design. Elliott Chin of GameSpot gave the game 7.9/10, citing it as decent for an expansion and praising the monsters and enhanced AI. Johnny B. of Game Revolution rated the expansion D+, citing bad level design and few additions to the original game, and noted the multiplayer power-up gameplay as the only fun feature.


title: Quake II

text: "Quake II Netpack I: Extremities" contains, among other features, 11 game mods and 12 deathmatch maps.


title: Quake II

text: "Quake II" entered PC Data's monthly computer game sales rankings at #2 for December 1997, behind "Riven". The game's sales in the United States alone reached 240,913 copies by the end of 1997, after its release on December 9. According to PC Data, it was the country's 22nd-best-selling computer game of 1997. The following year, "Quake II" secured fifth place on PC Data's charts for January and February 1998, then dropped to #8 in March and #9 in April. It remained in PC Data's top 20 for another two months, before exiting in July 1998. "Quake II" surpassed 850,000 units shipped to retailers by April 1998, and 900,000 by June.


title: Quake II

text: According to PC Data, "Quake II" was the United States' 14th-best-selling computer game during the January–November 1998 period. It ultimately secured 15th place for the full year, with sales of 279,536 copies and revenues of $12.6 million. GameDaily reported in January 1999 that "Quake II"s sales in the United States had reached 550,000 units; this number rose to 610,000 units by December of that year. Worldwide, "Quake II" sold over 1 million copies by 2002.


title: Quake II

text: "Next Generation" reviewed the PC version of the game and stated that "all in all, id should be commended for the advancement of its technology and improvement in its single-player level design, but it's going to be up to mod designers to provide the necessary additions to the multiplayer game in order to make it stand out from "Quake"." "GamePro" said the game "lives up to its impossibly high hype." Praising its interconnected levels, new weapons, enemy design, soundtrack, and the ability to play as a female character in multiplayer mode (which they called "an overdue nod to the growing number of QuakeGrrls"), they gave it a perfect 5.0 out of 5 in all four categories (graphics, sound, control, and funfactor).


title: Quake II

text: On aggregating review website GameRankings, the PC version held 87%, the Nintendo 64 version 81%, and the PlayStation version 80%. "AllGame" editor Michael L. House stated, "the beauty of Quake II is not in the single-player game, it's in the multi-player feature." "GameSpot" editor Vince Broady described "Quake II" as "the only first-person shooter to render the original Quake entirely obsolete."


title: Quake II

text: Daniel Erickson reviewed the N64 version of the game for "Next Generation", and stated that "a good first-person shooter with a great multiplayer mode; "GoldenEye" is no longer the only game in town."


title: Quake II

text: "Quake II" won "Macworld"s 1999 "Best Shoot-'Em-Up" award, and the magazine's Christopher Breen wrote: "In either single-player or multiplayer mode, for careening-through-corridor-carnage satisfaction, Quake II is a must-have." It also won "Computer Gaming World"s 1997 "Action Game of the Year" award. The editors wrote that "for pure adrenaline-pumping, visceral, instantly gratifying action, "Quake II" is the hands-down winner. No game gave us the rush that "Quake II" did".


title: Quake II

text: In 1998, "PC Gamer" declared it the 3rd-best computer game ever released, and the editors called it "id's gun-happy masterpiece is the most sensational and subtle shooter ever, and one of the best games of any type ever created."


title: Quake II

text: In 1999, "Next Generation" listed "Quake 2" as number 5 on their "Top 50 Games of All Time", commenting that, ""Quake 2" is the standard for multiplayer shooting, and we've yet to see a ""Quake" killer" that can keep us from returning to multiplayer "Quake" for longer than a month or so."


title: Lost Frequencies

text: Felix De Laet (born 30 November 1993), known by his stage name Lost Frequencies, is a Belgian DJ and record producer. He is best known for his singles "Are You with Me" in 2014, "Reality" in 2015, and "Where Are You Now" with Calum Scott in 2021.


title: Lost Frequencies

text: The name "Lost Frequencies" was first used when De Laet had used old songs, which he calls 'lost frequencies' to make remixes when he started the project.


title: Lost Frequencies

text: In 2014, Lost Frequencies made a remix of country artist Easton Corbin's "Are You with Me". The song had originally appeared in Corbin's second studio album, "All Over the Road", but had not been released as a single. Lost Frequencies remixed the song and uploaded it to SoundCloud. Armada Music A&R, and founder of The Bearded Man label, Marwen Tlili discovered the record and subsequently signed it. The official release was on 27 October 2014. The track topped Belgium's Ultratop chart on 15 November 2014, reaching number two in the Walloon chart as well. In 2015, the single peaked the top of the charts of Australia and Austria. It was also charted in several countries in Europe, reaching the top 10 in Finland, France, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Germany, Poland, Ireland, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Sweden and Turkey.


title: Lost Frequencies

text: On 3 June 2016, Lost Frequencies released a single, "Beautiful Life", featuring Sandro Cavazza, which is the lead single for his debut studio album. He announced on Twitter that he planned to release the album in September 2016. On 8 September, he remixed a Major Lazer song "Cold Water" featuring Justin Bieber. He released his debut studio album titled "Less Is More" on 21 October 2016. It includes his massive hit "Are You with Me" as well as follow-up singles "Reality", "Beautiful Life", "What Is Love 2016" and "All Or Nothing" ft. Axel Ehnström. They are soon joining The Chainsmokers on tour in May and June 2017. "Less Is More" was shortlisted by IMPALA (The Independent Music Companies Association) for the Album of the Year Award 2016, which rewards on a yearly basis the best album released on an independent European label.


title: Lost Frequencies

text: In partnership with Armada Music, De Laet launched his own record label named Found Frequencies, stating "it will serve as a home" for his music and as the "go-to label for up-and-coming talents". His second studio album titled "Alive and Feeling Fine" was released on 4 October 2019.


title: Lost Frequencies

text: In 2021, Lost Frequencies teamed up with British singer Calum Scott for the song "Where Are You Now", which became De Laet's first Top 40 hit for a few years in a number of territories outside of the Benelux region. Some of the countries where the record became a Top 10 hit included Germany, where it peaked at number 5, and Ireland, where it peaked at number 1 on the Official Irish Singles Chart Top 50.


title: Fir Bolg

text: In medieval Irish myth, the Fir Bolg (also spelt Firbolg and Fir Bholg) are the fourth group of people to settle in Ireland. They are descended from the Muintir Nemid, an earlier group who abandoned Ireland and went to different parts of Europe. Those who went to Greece became the Fir Bolg and eventually return to Ireland, after it had been uninhabited for many years. After ruling it for some time and dividing the island into provinces, they are overthrown by the invading Tuatha Dé Danann.


title: Fir Bolg

text: The "Lebor Gabála Érenn" tells of Ireland being settled six times by six groups of people. The first three—the people of Cessair, the people of Partholón, and the people of Nemed—were wiped out or forced to abandon the island. The Fir Bolg are said to be descendants of the people of Nemed, who inhabited Ireland before them. All but thirty of Nemed's people were killed in warfare and disaster. Of this thirty, one group flees "into the north of the world", one group flees to Britain, and another group flees to Greece. Those who went into the north became the Tuatha Dé Danann (or Tuath Dé), the main pagan gods of Ireland.


title: Fir Bolg

text: Those who went to Greece became the Fir Bolg. The "Lebor Gabála Érenn" says that they were enslaved by the Greeks and made to carry bags of soil or clay, hence the name 'Fir Bolg' (men of bags). The "Cath Maige Tuired" says that they were forced to settle on poor, rocky land but that they made it into fertile fields by dumping great amounts of soil on it. After 230 years of slavery (or oppression), they leave Greece at the same time as the Israelites escaped from Egypt. In a great fleet, the Fir Bolg sail to Iberia and then to Ireland.


title: Fir Bolg

text: Led by their five chieftains, they divide Ireland into five provinces: Gann takes North Munster, Sengann takes South Munster, Genann takes Connacht, Rudraige takes Ulster, and Slánga takes Leinster. They establish the High Kingship and a succession of nine High Kings rules over Ireland for the next 37 years. The seat of the high-kings is established at Tara, a site with significance through Medieval times as a source of religious and royal power. The last High King, Eochaid mac Eirc, is the example of a perfect king. The Fir Bolg are also said to have included two sub-groups known as the Fir Domnann and Fir Gáilióin.


title: Fir Bolg

text: After 37 years, the Tuath Dé arrive in Ireland. Their king, Nuada, asks to be given half the island, but the Fir Bolg king Eochaid refuses. The two groups meet at the Pass of Balgatan, and the ensuing battle—the First Battle of Mag Tuired—lasts for four days. During the battle, Sreng, the champion of the Fir Bolg, challenges Nuada to single combat. With one sweep of his sword, Sreng cuts off Nuada's right hand. However, the Fir Bolg are defeated and their king, Eochaid, is slain by the Morrígan. Sreng saves them from total destruction, however. According to some texts, the Fir Bolg flee Ireland. According to others, the Tuath Dé offer them one quarter of Ireland as their own, and they choose Connacht. They are mentioned very little after this in the myths.


title: Fir Bolg

text: The "Historia Brittonum"—which was written earlier than the "Lebor Gabála"—says there were only three settlements of Ireland: the people of Partholón, the people of Nemed, and the Gaels. However, it mentions that a leader called "Builc" or "Builg" and his followers had taken an island called Eubonia, believed to be the Isle of Man. The "Lebor Gabála" adds the Fir Bolg into the scheme and increases the number of settlements to six. It has been suggested that this number was chosen to match the "Six Ages of the World".


title: Fir Bolg

text: Today, most scholars regard the "Lebor Gabála" as myth rather than history. Its writers are believed to have intended to provide an epic origin story for the Irish, like that of the Israelites, and one that reconciled native myth with the Christian view of history. Ireland's inhabitants (in this case the Fir Bolg) are likened to the Israelites by escaping from slavery and making a great journey to a 'Promised Land'. The pagan gods (the Tuath Dé) are depicted as a group of people with powers of sorcery.


title: Fir Bolg

text: The name "Fir Bolg" is usually translated in the early literature as "men of bags". The Irish word "fir" means "men" and the word "bolg/bolc" can mean a belly, bag, sack, bellows, and so forth. Kuno Meyer and R. A. Stewart Macalister argue that the name comes from the term "Fir i mBolgaib", meaning "breeches wearers", literally "men in (baggy) breeches", which could be interpreted as a term of contempt for the "lower orders". Macalister suggests this expression had fallen out of use by the time the "Lebor Gabála" was written, and the writers tried to make sense of it by creating a story about men with bags. It has also been suggested that it originally meant men who were "bulging" or "swollen" with battle fury.


title: Fir Bolg

text: The name may be based on, and cognate with, Belgae. The Belgae were a group of tribes living in northern Gaul. Some have suggested that the writers named a fictional race, the Fir Bolg, after a real group, the Belgae. Others, such as T. F. O'Rahilly, suggest that the Fir Bolg, Fir Domnann and Fir Gáilióin were historical peoples who reached Ireland in ancient times. He proposed that the Fir Bolg were linked to the historical Belgae, the Fir Domnann were the historical Dumnonii and the Fir Gáilióin were the Laigin.


title: Fir Bolg

text: John Rhys and R. A. Stewart Macalister suggest that the Fir Bolg are the Fomorians (Fomoire) under another guise. Macalister notes that the Fir Bolg are the only group of settlers who are not harried by the Fomorians. The Tuath Dé fight two similar battles at Mag Tuired, one against the human Fir Bolg and one against the supernatural Fomorians. The Fir Bolg lead the Fomorians to the second battle. The Fomorians seem to have represented the harmful or destructive powers of nature, while the Tuath Dé represented the gods of growth and civilization.


title: Sindhi Hindus

text: Sindhi Hindus are Sindhis who follow the Hindu religion, whose origins lie in the Sindh region and spread across modern-day India and Pakistani Sindh province. After the Partition of India in 1947, many Sindhi Hindus were among those who fled from Pakistan to the dominion of India, in what was a wholesale exchange of Hindu and Muslim populations in some areas. Some later emigrated from the subcontinent and settled in other parts of the world.


title: Sindhi Hindus

text: According to the 2017 census, there are 3.35 million Sindhi Hindus residing within the Sindh province of Pakistan with major population centers being Mirpur Khas Division and Hyderabad Division that combined account for more than 2 million of them. Meanwhile, the 2011 census listed 1.74 million speakers of Sindhi in India, a number that does not include Sindhi Hindus who no longer speak the Sindhi language. The vast majority of Sindhi Hindus living in India belong to the Lohana "jāti", which includes the sub-groups of Amil and Bhaiband.


title: Sindhi Hindus

text: Hinduism in the Sindh region, as in other areas of the Indian Subcontinent, is a native religion of Sindhi people, although in pre-Islamic Sindh, Buddhists were the majority in urban areas. After many unsuccessful raids in 712CE army of Umayyad Caliphate led by Muhammad Bin Qasim successfully invaded Sindh against the last Hindu king of Sindh Raja Dahir.


title: Sindhi Hindus

text: Sindh came under control of Qasim after he defeated Raja Dahir and native religions like Hinduism and Buddhism started declining. In the reign of Delhi Sultanate, Hinduism and Buddhism declined very much in this area and became minority religion. Today there are more than 7 million Sindhi Hindus in the Sindh region.


title: Sindhi Hindus

text: After the partition of India in 1947, an estimated half of Sindh's Hindus migrated to India, mainly forced by the religious-based persecution of the time. They settled primarily in neighbouring Kutch district of Gujarat, which bears linguistic and cultural similarities to Sindh, and the city of Bombay. As per Census of India 2011, there are around 1,741,662 Sindhi speakers living in India (not counting Kutchi speakers, who are sometimes seen as speaking a Sindhi dialect). There are also sizable Sindhi Hindu communities elsewhere in the world, sometimes termed, the 'Sindhi diaspora'.


title: Sindhi Hindus

text: Most Sindhi Hindu family names are a modified form of a patronymic and typically end with the suffix "-ani", which is used to denote descent from a common male ancestor. One explanation states that the -ani suffix is a Sindhi variant of 'anshi', derived from the Sanskrit word 'ansh', which means 'descended from' (see: Devanshi). The first part of a Sindhi Hindu surname is usually derived from the name or location of an ancestor. In northern Sindh, surnames ending in 'ja' (meaning 'of') are also common. A person's surname would consist of the name of his or her native village, followed by 'ja'. The Sindhi Hindus generally add the suffix ‘-ani’ to the name of a great-grandfather and adopt the name as a family name.


title: Basement Jaxx

text: Basement Jaxx are an English electronic music duo consisting of Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe. The pair got their name from the regular club night they held in Brixton, London, UK. They first rose to popularity in the underground house scene of the mid-1990s, but would go on to find international chart success and win Best Dance Act at both the 2002 and 2004 BRIT Awards.


title: Basement Jaxx

text: In 1992, Simon Ratcliffe began releasing white label records, gaining him the attention of several music producers including LTJ Bukem and Goldie. The success of these releases enabled him to buy a few electronic musical instruments and set up a basic studio in a friend's mother's basement.


title: Basement Jaxx

text: Ratcliffe and Buxton first met in 1993 through a mutual friend in a pub in Clapham, London. The two bonded over an appreciation of New York house music. They released their first extended play called "EP1" via the British independent record label Wall of Sound, with the help of its founder Mark Jones. The album went on to sell over 1,000 copies and was played on American radio by Tony Humphries in New York City.


title: Basement Jaxx

text: Basement Jaxx began in Brixton, South London, in 1994, where Ratcliffe and Buxton held a regular club night called Basement Jaxx. The night was also held in a variety of venues including The George IV, The Crypt and The Junction. They were joined by DJs including DJ Sneak, Daft Punk, and singer Corrina Joseph. They mutated the night into an equally popular club called Rooty, the namesake of their second album. Initially, the duo considered "Underground Oasis" as a name for the group, but the idea was scrapped reportedly after a friend informed them of a similarly named rock band that might "get big".


title: Basement Jaxx

text: An important milestone for Basement Jaxx's career was their role as the opening act for successful French dance group Daft Punk's Daftendirektour. It was around this time that Basement Jaxx began collaborating with vocalist Corrina Joseph, a collaboration that resulted in the single, "Fly Life", which was released by Virgin Records in 1997. Following the success of "Fly Life", the duo signed a record deal with XL, with whom they released their subsequent six albums.


title: Basement Jaxx

text: In 1999, the group released their first full-length album, "Remedy". It included the singles "Jump N' Shout", "Bingo Bango", and "Rendez-Vu", which is Basement Jaxx's highest UK Singles Chart entry to date, at number 4. Basement Jaxx also released "Jaxx Unreleased", a compilation album of B-sides, remixes, and other assorted material, in 1999. 2000 saw them release "Camberwell", another release of new material.


title: Basement Jaxx

text: Their next album, 2001's "Rooty" included singles "Romeo", "Jus 1 Kiss", "Where's Your Head At?", "Do Your Thing", which was featured in the film "Bend It Like Beckham" as well as Nickelodeon and Coca-Cola commercials. The music video for album opener "Romeo" is an homage to the Bollywood film style. "Where's Your Head At?" became an international hit in 2002, also known for its inclusion on the "" soundtrack. "Do Your Thing" was included in the video game "SSX 3". "Xxtra Cutz" was released shortly after "Rooty", containing B-sides from the album's singles. "Span Thang" and "Junction", two EPs, were released in 2001–2002.


title: Basement Jaxx

text: In 2003, Basement Jaxx released their third full-length album, "Kish Kash", which included contributions from Lisa Kekaula (of the Bellrays), Me'shell Ndegeocello, Dizzee Rascal, Totlyn Jackson, JC Chasez, Siouxsie Sioux, and Phoebe. From this album, the tracks "Lucky Star", "Good Luck", and "Plug It In" were released as singles. The track "Good Luck" was re-released in 2004, after exposure from being the theme to BBC's Euro 2004 coverage, and was also featured in the soundtrack of "Just Married" and "Appleseed", an anime film released in 2004. "Kish Kash" was recognised the following year at the 47th Grammy Awards, winning Buxton and Ratcliffe the inaugural Best Electronic/Dance Album award.


title: Basement Jaxx

text: Basement Jaxx's manager, Andrew Mansi, says Astralwerks chose not to renew its U.S. licensing contract with the duo.


title: Basement Jaxx

text: In 2005, the duo released the number 1 compilation "The Singles" along with a video collection on DVD, comprising all the singles from their previous three albums, some earlier releases (featured on "Atlantic Jaxx Recordings: A Compilation"), and two new tracks, "Oh My Gosh" and "U Don't Know Me", which were both released as singles. "The Singles (Special Edition)" was also released, which contained the original compilation along with a bonus disc entitled "Bonus Traxx", containing many previously unreleased tracks, as well as remixes of existing Basement Jaxx songs. The duo appeared as a headline act on the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury Festival in 2005 when Kylie Minogue was forced to pull out after being diagnosed with cancer. Basement Jaxx played with a live band made up of artists who recorded the album. Drumtech-trained Nathan 'Tugg' Curran was on drums for Glastonbury and has remained a constant performer.


title: Basement Jaxx

text: Their fourth studio album, "Crazy Itch Radio", was released on 4 September 2006 in the UK, simultaneously with its first single, "Hush Boy". The album featured guest vocals by Martina Sorbara (credited as "Martina Bang"), Lily Allen, and Robyn. In 2006, Basement Jaxx were also one of the support acts for Robbie Williams on his 'Close Encounters' tour. For Cyndi Lauper's "Bring Ya to the Brink" in 2008, they produced and wrote the track "Rocking Chair". They also released a trilogy of EPs of new material, entitled "Planet".


title: Basement Jaxx

text: In 2009, Buxton revealed in a BBC Radio 1 broadcast that Basement Jaxx's forthcoming album "Scars" was completed and being mastered. Buxton stated that the tracks include guest appearances by Yoko Ono, Santigold, Lightspeed Champion, and Yo! Majesty. The band was also interested in getting Grace Jones to add vocals to the new album. The album was released in September 2009. The first single "Raindrops" preceded it in June 2009. The band recorded at the Bizspace centre in Coldharbour Lane, in Loughborough Junction.


title: Basement Jaxx

text: 2011 saw the duo collaborating twice: with Metropole Orkest for the live album "Basement Jaxx vs. Metropole Orkest", and also with Stephen Price for the soundtrack to the 2011 film "Attack the Block".


title: Basement Jaxx

text: In November 2011, Simon revealed the pair were working on a new album – hinting that some tracks were already appearing in their DJ sets. At their first live show for several years at Chiswick House Festival in July 2012, the band performed some new material from their forthcoming album including the song "Diamonds". Possible tracks that were predicted to appear on the album according to Pitchfork include "Make.Believe", "Let's Rock this Road Together", "Back 2 the Wild", "We R Not Alone", "Galactical", "Power 2 The People", "Mermaid of Salinas", "People of Planet Earth" and "What a Difference Your Love Makes". The band ran a contest through graphic design firm JDO, where the band will use the graphic identity (including the album and single artwork designs) that the winner created for their upcoming album and consequent promotional items.


title: Basement Jaxx

text: "Back 2 the Wild" was released as a single on 12 April 2013, with an accompanying video co-directed by Matt Maitland and Natalia Stuyk being uploaded to their YouTube account on 16 April, though the single ultimately did not appear on the upcoming album.


title: Basement Jaxx

text: "What a Difference Your Love Makes" was released as a single on 30 September 2013. The single's accompanying video was released on Vevo on 7 August 2013. It was directed by Damian Weilers and shot in South Africa. On 1 May 2014, Basement Jaxx released a new song for the album called "Unicorn" on SoundCloud.


title: Basement Jaxx

text: On 19 May 2014, Basement Jaxx officially announced their seventh album, "Junto", which was released on 25 August 2014 through Atlantic Jaxx and PIAS. In July, the duo released the first lead single off the album, "Never Say Never". The music video, directed by Saman Kesh, is about the development of a "twerking" robot that is intended to save humanity from a world without dancing and features the robotic prototype simulation of human buttocks "Shiri" developed by the Japanese scientist Nobuhiro Takahashi.


title: Basement Jaxx

text: In addition to their own work, Basement Jaxx have become in-demand remixers. Their more prominent work includes remixes of "4 My People" by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, "Everyman… Everywoman…" by Yoko Ono, "Like I Love You" by Justin Timberlake, and "She Wants to Move" by N.E.R.D, which was included as a B-side on the follow-up single "Maybe." They also collaborated with Janet Jackson on unreleased songs for her "Damita Jo" album. Sophie Ellis-Bextor, as well as The Botz and Garold Marks, have stated they are fans and would like to collaborate with Basement Jaxx in the future.


title: Basement Jaxx

text: In 2021, the duo remixed Australian singer Kylie Minogue's 2020 single "Say Something", which can currently be found on YouTube; additionally, it will be available on the deluxe version of Minogue's latest album—entitled "Disco: Guest List Edition"—from 12 November 2021"."


title: Basement Jaxx

text: The duo were invited to write an exclusive piece of music to accompany a work of art they admired in London's Tate Modern museum, Karel Appel's "Hip, Hip, Hoorah!". The work was initially not available for sale, but later appeared on the album "Zephyr". In 2007, their track "Close Your Eyes", sung by Linda Lewis, was featured in the Japanese CGI anime movie "Vexille".


title: Basement Jaxx

text: Felix Buxton appeared on "Never Mind the Buzzcocks" on 23 September 2013 – the opening episode of Series 27, on Noel Fielding's team.


title: Basement Jaxx

text: In 2019, the duo composed the music for the CITV animated series "The Rubbish World of Dave Spud". The duo also collaborated with The Sydney Metropolitan Orchestra for a live re-imagining of some of their classic songs.


title: Basement Jaxx

text: In the past, Buxton's father did not let him watch "Top of the Pops" and played his children Austrian music and Japanese music instead. "He was always very proud of that we didn't watch "Top of the Pops". [...] He thought that made me hungry and want it more," he said. He was a big fan of American house music, which was difficult to get hold of in his hometown at the time. "I used to listen to Choice FM where the legends of the scene could be heard and went to Blackmarket Records in London’s Soho to try and find the sounds I was looking for."


title: Basement Jaxx

text: Basement Jaxx's music has been described variously as house and big beat over the course of their career. Prince's influence has also been found on their music. "I remember when we first came to America, they had to work out which radio stations we could go to," Buxton says. "They said that in a way we were a bit for urban stations, we were a bit for pop stations. They didn’t know where to place us and things were very segregated back then."


title: Japanese castle

text: Though they were built to last and used more stone in their construction than most Japanese buildings, castles were still constructed primarily of wood, and many were destroyed over the years. This was especially true during the Sengoku period (1467–1603), when many of these castles were first built. However, many were rebuilt, either later in the Sengoku period, in the Edo period (1603–1867) that followed, or more recently, as national heritage sites or museums. Today there are more than one hundred castles extant, or partially extant, in Japan; it is estimated that once there were five thousand. Some castles, such as the ones at Matsue and Kōchi, both built in 1611, remain extant in their original forms, not having suffered any damage from sieges or other threats. Hiroshima Castle, on the opposite end of the spectrum, was destroyed in the atomic bombing, and was rebuilt in 1958 as a museum.


title: Japanese castle

text: The character for castle, '城', by itself read as "shiro" (its kun'yomi), is read as "jō" (the Chinese-derived on'yomi) when attached to a word, such as in the name of a particular castle. Thus, for example, Osaka Castle is called "Ōsaka-jō" (大阪城) in Japanese.


title: Japanese castle

text: Originally conceived as fortresses for military defense, Japanese castles were placed in strategic locations, typically along trade routes, roads, and rivers. Though castles continued to be built with these considerations, for centuries, fortresses were also built as centres of governance. By the Sengoku period, they had come to serve as the homes of "daimyōs" (feudal lords), to impress and to intimidate rivals not only with their defences but also with their sizes, architecture, and elegant interiors. In 1576, Oda Nobunaga was among the first to build one of these palace-like castles: Azuchi Castle was Japan's first castle to have a tower keep (天守閣, "tenshukaku"), and it inspired both Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Osaka Castle and Tokugawa Ieyasu's Edo Castle. Azuchi served as the governing center of Oda's territories, and as his lavish home, but it was also very keenly and strategically placed. A short distance away from the capital of Kyoto, which had long been a target of violence, Azuchi's carefully chosen location allowed it a great degree of control over the transportation and communication routes of Oda's enemies.


title: Japanese castle

text: Before the Sengoku period (roughly the 16th century), most castles were called . Though most later castles were built atop mountains or hills, these were built "from" the mountains. Trees and other foliage were cleared, and the stone and dirt of the mountain itself was carved into rough fortifications. Ditches were dug, to present obstacles to attackers, as well as to allow boulders to be rolled down at attackers. Moats were created by diverting mountain streams. Buildings were made primarily of wattle and daub, using thatched roofs, or, occasionally, wooden shingles. Small ports in the walls or planks could be used to deploy bows or fire guns from. The main weakness of this style was its general instability. Thatch caught fire even more easily than wood, and weather and soil erosion prevented structures from being particularly large or heavy. Eventually, stone bases began to be used, encasing the hilltop in a layer of fine pebbles, and then a layer of larger rocks over that, with no mortar. This support allowed larger, heavier, and more permanent buildings.


title: Japanese castle

text: The first fortifications in Japan were hardly what one generally associates with the term "castles". Made primarily of earthworks, or rammed earth, and wood, the earliest fortifications made far greater use of natural defences and topography than anything man-made. These "kōgoishi" and "chashi" (チャシ, for Ainu castles) were never intended to be long-term defensive positions, let alone residences; the native peoples of the archipelago built fortifications when they were needed and abandoned the sites afterwards.


title: Japanese castle

text: The Yamato people began to build cities in earnest in the 7th century, complete with expansive palace complexes, surrounded on four sides with walls and impressive gates. Earthworks and wooden fortresses were also built throughout the countryside to defend the territory from the native Emishi, Ainu and other groups; unlike their primitive predecessors, these were relatively permanent structures, built in peacetime. These were largely built as extensions of natural features, and often consisted of little more than earthworks and wooden barricades.


title: Japanese castle

text: The Nara period (c. 710–794) fortress at Dazaifu, from which all of Kyūshū would be governed and defended for centuries afterwards, was originally constructed in this manner, and remnants can still be seen today. A bulwark was constructed around the fortress to serve as a moat to aid in the defense of the structure; in accordance with military strategies and philosophies of the time, it would only be filled with water at times of conflict. This was called a "mizuki" (), or "water fort". The character for castle or fortress (), up until sometime in the 9th century or later, was read (pronounced) "ki", as in this example, "mizuki".


title: Japanese castle

text: Though fairly basic in construction and appearance, these wooden and earthwork structures were designed to impress just as much as to function effectively against attack. Chinese and Korean architecture influenced the design of Japanese buildings, including fortifications, in this period. The remains or ruins of some of these fortresses, decidedly different from what would come later, can still be seen in certain parts of Kyūshū and Tōhoku today.


title: Japanese castle

text: The Heian period (794–1185) saw a shift from the need to defend the entire state from invaders to that of lords defending individual mansions or territories from one another. Though battles were still continually fought in the north-east portion of Honshū (the Tōhoku region) against native peoples, the rise of the samurai warrior class towards the end of the period, and various disputes between noble families jostling for power and influence in the Imperial Court brought about further upgrades. The primary defensive concern in the archipelago was no longer native tribes or foreign invaders, but rather internal conflicts within Japan, between rival samurai clans or other increasingly large and powerful factions, and as a result, defensive strategies and attitudes were forced to change and adapt. As factions emerged and loyalties shifted, clans and factions that had helped the Imperial Court became enemies, and defensive networks were broken, or altered through the shifting of alliances.


title: Japanese castle

text: The Genpei War (1180–1185) between the Minamoto and Taira clans, and the Nanboku-chō Wars (1336–1392) between the Northern and Southern Imperial Courts are the primary conflicts that define these developments during what is sometimes called Japan's medieval period.


title: Japanese castle

text: Fortifications were still made almost entirely out of wood, and were based largely on earlier modes, and on Chinese and Korean examples. But they began to become larger, to incorporate more buildings, to accommodate larger armies, and to be conceived as more long-lasting structures. This mode of fortification, developed gradually from earlier modes and used throughout the wars of the Heian period (770–1185), and deployed to help defend the shores of Kyūshū from the Mongol invasions of the 13th century, reached its climax in the 1330s, during the Nanboku-chō period. Chihaya Castle and Akasaka castle, permanent castle complexes containing a number of buildings but no tall keep towers, and surrounded by wooden walls, were built by Kusunoki Masashige to be as militarily effective as possible, within the technology and designs of the time.


title: Japanese castle

text: The Ashikaga shogunate, established in the 1330s, had a tenuous grip on the archipelago, and maintained relative peace for over a century. Castle design and organization continued to develop under the Ashikaga shogunate, and throughout the Sengoku period. Castle complexes became fairly elaborate, containing a number of structures, some of which were quite complex internally, as they now served as residences, command centres, and a number of other purposes.


title: Japanese castle

text: The Ōnin War, which broke out in 1467, marked the beginning of 147 years of widespread warfare (called the Sengoku period) between "daimyōs" (feudal lords) across the entire archipelago. For the duration of the Ōnin War (1467–1477), and into the Sengoku period, the entire city of Kyoto became a battlefield, and suffered extensive damage. Noble family mansions across the city became increasingly fortified over this ten-year period, and attempts were made to isolate the city as a whole from the marauding armies of samurai that dominated the landscape for over a century.


title: Japanese castle

text: As regional officials and others became the "daimyōs", and the country descended into war, they began to quickly add to their power bases, securing their primary residences, and constructing additional fortifications in tactically advantageous or important locations. Originally conceived as purely defensive (martial) structures, or as retirement bunkers where a lord could safely ride out periods of violence in his lands, over the course of the Sengoku period, many of these mountain castles developed into permanent residences, with elaborate exteriors and lavish interiors.


title: Japanese castle

text: The beginnings of the shapes and styles now considered to be the "classic" Japanese castle design emerged at this time, and castle towns ("jōkamachi", "town below castle") also appeared and developed. Despite these developments, though, for most of the Sengoku period castles remained essentially larger, more complex versions of the simple wooden fortifications of centuries earlier. It was not until the last thirty years of the period of war that drastic changes would occur to bring about the emergence of the type of castle typified by Himeji Castle and other surviving castles. This period of war culminated in the Azuchi–Momoyama period, the scene of numerous fierce battles, which saw the introduction of firearms and the development of tactics to employ or counter them.


title: Japanese castle

text: Unlike in Europe, where the advent of the cannon spelled the end of the age of castles, Japanese castle-building was spurred, ironically, by the introduction of firearms. Though firearms first appeared in Japan in 1543, and castle design almost immediately saw developments in reaction, Azuchi castle, built in the 1570s, was the first example of a largely new type of castle, on a larger, grander scale than those that came before, boasting a large stone base (, "musha-gaeshi"), a complex arrangement of concentric baileys (, "maru"), and a tall central tower. In addition, the castle was located on a plain, rather than on a densely forested mountain, and relied more heavily on architecture and manmade defenses than on its natural environment for protection. These features, along with the general appearance and organization of the Japanese castle, which had matured by this point, have come to define the stereotypical Japanese castle. Along with Hideyoshi's Fushimi–Momoyama castle, Azuchi lends its name to the brief Azuchi–Momoyama period (roughly 1568–1600) in which these types of castles, used for military defense, flourished.


title: Japanese castle

text: Osaka Castle was destroyed by cannon. This reproduction towers above the surroundings. The introduction of the arquebus brought dramatic shifts in battle tactics and military attitudes in Japan. Though these shifts were complex and numerous, one of the concepts key to changes in castle design at this time was that of battle at range. Though archery duels had traditionally preceded samurai battles since the Heian period or earlier, exchanges of fire with arquebuses had a far more dramatic effect on the outcome of the battle; hand-to-hand fighting, while still very common, was diminished by the coordinated use of firearms.


title: Japanese castle

text: Oda Nobunaga, one of the most expert commanders in the coordinated tactical use of the new weapon, built his Azuchi castle, which has since come to be seen as the paradigm of the new phase of castle design, with these considerations in mind. The stone foundation resisted damage from arquebus balls better than wood or earthworks, and the overall larger scale of the complex added to the difficulty of destroying it. Tall towers and the castle's location on a plain provided greater visibility from which the garrison could employ their guns, and the complex set of courtyards and baileys provided additional opportunities for defenders to retake portions of the castle that had fallen.


title: Japanese castle

text: Cannon were rare in Japan due to the expense of obtaining them from foreigners, and the difficulty in casting such weapons themselves as the foundries used to make bronze temple bells were simply unsuited to the production of iron or steel cannon. The few cannon that were used were smaller and weaker than those used in European sieges, and many of them were in fact taken from European ships and remounted to serve on land; where the advent of cannon and other artillery brought an end to stone castles in Europe, wooden ones would remain in Japan for several centuries longer. A few castles boasted 'wall guns', but these are presumed to have been little more than large caliber arquebuses, lacking the power of a true cannon. When siege weapons were used in Japan, they were most often trebuchets or catapults in the Chinese style, and they were used as anti-personnel weapons. There is no record that the goal of destroying walls ever entered into the strategy of a Japanese siege. In fact, it was often seen to be more honorable, and more tactically advantageous on the part of the defender for him to lead his forces into battle outside the castle. When battles were not resolved in this way, out in the open, sieges were almost always undertaken purely by denying supplies to the castle, an effort that could last years, but involved little more than surrounding the castle with a force of sufficient size until a surrender could be elicited.


title: Japanese castle

text: The crucial development that spurred the emergence of a new type of defensive architecture was, thus, not cannon, but the advent of firearms. Arquebus firing squads and cavalry charges could overcome wooden stockades with relative ease, and so stone castles came into use.


title: Japanese castle

text: Azuchi Castle was destroyed in 1582, just three years after its completion, but it nevertheless ushered in a new period of castle-building. Among the many castles built in the ensuing years was Hideyoshi's castle at Osaka, completed in 1585. This incorporated all the new features and construction philosophies of Azuchi, and was larger, more prominently located, and longer-lasting. It was the last bastion of resistance against the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate (see Siege of Osaka), and remained prominent if not politically or militarily significant, as the city of Osaka grew up around it, developing into one of Japan's primary commercial centers.


title: Japanese castle

text: Though stone was sometimes used to shore up defenses or foundations for a few centuries prior, Azuchi's distinctive style of stone base was the first of its kind, and was seen in every castle constructed afterwards. The Japanese used cannon very infrequently, and the heavy stone foundations were more than sufficient to repel arquebus fire. Whether intentionally or not, these foundations also proved very resilient against Japan's frequent earthquakes.


title: Japanese castle

text: This period saw the climax of earlier developments towards larger buildings, more complex and concentrated construction, and more elaborate design, both externally and in the castles' interiors. European castle design began to have an impact as well in this period, though the castle had long been in decline in Europe by this point.


title: Japanese castle

text: In Japanese politics and warfare, the castle served not only as a fortress, but as the residence of the "daimyō" (feudal lord), and as a symbol of his power. Fushimi Castle, which was meant to serve as a luxurious retirement home for Toyotomi Hideyoshi, serves as a popular example of this development. Though it resembled other castles of the period on the outside, the inside was lavishly decorated, and the castle is famous for having a tea room covered in gold leaf. Fushimi was by no means an exception, and many castles bore varying amounts of golden ornamentation on their exteriors. Osaka castle was only one of a number of castles that boasted golden roof tiles, and sculptures of fish, cranes, and tigers. Certainly, outside of such displays of precious metals, the overall aesthetics of the architecture and interiors remained very important, as they do in most aspects of Japanese culture.


title: Japanese castle

text: Some especially powerful families controlled not one, but a whole string of castles, consisting of a main castle ("honjō") and a number of satellite castles ("shijō") spread throughout their territory. Though the "shijō" were sometimes full-fledged castles with stone bases, they were more frequently fortresses of wood and earthenworks. Often, a system of fire beacons, drums, or conch shells was set up to enable communications between these castles over a great distance. The Hōjō family's Odawara Castle and its network of satellites was one of the most powerful examples of this "honjō-shijō" system; the Hōjō controlled so much land that a hierarchy of sub-satellite networks was created


title: Japanese castle

text: Toyotomi Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea took place between 1592 and 1598, at the same time as the high point in Azuchi–Momoyama style castle construction within Japan. Many Japanese castles (called "Wajō" 倭城 in Japanese and "Waeseong" in Korean) were built along the southern shores of Korea. All that remains of these castles today are the stone bases.


title: Japanese castle

text: The Sengoku period, roughly a century and a half of war that brought great changes and developments in military tactics and equipment, as well as the emergence of the Azuchi-Momoyama style castle, was followed by the Edo period, over two hundred and fifty years of peace, beginning around 1600–1615 and ending in 1868. Edo period castles, including survivors from the preceding Azuchi-Momoyama period, therefore no longer had defense against outside forces as their primary purpose. Rather, they served primarily as luxurious homes for the "daimyōs", their families and retainers, and to protect the "daimyō", and his power base, against peasant uprisings and other internal insurrections. The Tokugawa shogunate, to forestall the amassing of power on the part of the "daimyōs", enforced a number of regulations limiting the number of castles to one per "han" (feudal domain), with a few exceptions, and a number of other policies including that of "sankin-kōtai". Though there were also, at times, restrictions on the size and furnishings of these castles, and although many "daimyōs" grew quite poor later in the period, daimyō nevertheless sought as much as possible to use their castles as representations of their power and wealth. The general architectural style did not change much from more martial times, but the furnishings and indoor arrangements could be quite lavish.


title: Japanese castle

text: This restriction on the number of castles allowed each "han" had profound effects not only politically, as intended, but socially, and in terms of the castles themselves. Where members of the samurai class had previously lived in or around the great number of castles sprinkling the landscape, they now became concentrated in the capitals of the "han" and in Edo; the resulting concentration of samurai in the cities, and their near-total absence from the countryside and from cities that were not feudal capitals (Kyoto and Osaka in particular) were important features of the social and cultural landscape of the Edo period. Meanwhile, the castles in the "han" capitals inevitably expanded, not only to accommodate the increased number of samurai they now had to support, but also to represent the prestige and power of the "daimyō", now consolidated into a single castle. Edo castle, expanded by a factor of twenty between roughly 1600 and 1636 after becoming the shogunal seat. Though obviously something of an exception, the "shōgun" not being a regular "daimyō", it nevertheless serves as a fine example of these developments. These vastly consolidated and expanded castles, and the great number of samurai living, by necessity, in and around them, thus led to an explosion in urban growth in 17th century Japan.


title: Japanese castle

text: As contact with Western powers increased in the middle of the 19th century, some castles such as Goryōkaku in Hokkaidō were turned once again to martial purposes. No longer needed to resist samurai cavalry charges, or arquebus squads, attempts were made to convert Goryōkaku, and a handful of other castles across the country, into defensible positions against the cannon of Western naval vessels.


title: Japanese castle

text: Before the feudal system could be completely overturned, castles played a role in the initial resistance to the Meiji Restoration. In January 1868, the Boshin War broke out in Kyoto, between samurai forces loyal to the disaffected Bakufu government, and allied forces loyal to the new Meiji Emperor, which consisted mainly of samurai and rōnin from the Choshu and Satsuma domains. By January 31, the Bakufu army had retreated to Osaka Castle in disarray and the "shōgun", Tokugawa Yoshinobu had fled to Edo (later Tokyo). Osaka Castle was surrendered to the Imperial forces without a fight, and on February 3, 1868, Osaka Castle was burned. The destruction of Osaka Castle, which was a significant symbol of the power of the Shogun in western Japan, dealt a major blow to the prestige of the shogunate and the morale of their troops.


title: Japanese castle

text: From Edo, the Bakufu forces fled north to the Aizu domain, from whence a large number of their troops hailed. As the Aizu Campaign opened, Nagaoka and Komine Castles were the scenes of heavy fighting. In the course of battle, Komine Castle was burned (it was re-built in 1994). The allied forces continued north to the city of Wakamatsu, and lay siege to Tsuruga Castle. After a month, with the walls and main tower pock-marked by bullets and cannonballs, Tsuruga Castle was finally surrendered. It was later demolished and not re-built until 1965.


title: Japanese castle

text: From Aizu, some Bakufu loyalists made their way north to the city of Hakodate, on Hokkaido. There they set up the Republic of Ezo, centered on a government building within the walls of Goryōkaku, a French-style star fortress, which is nonetheless often included in lists and in literature on Japanese castles. After the fierce Battle of Hakodate, the fortress of Goryōkaku was under siege, and finally surrendered on May 18, 1869, bringing an end to the Boshin War.


title: Japanese castle

text: All castles, along with the feudal domains themselves, were turned over to the Meiji government in the 1871 abolition of the han system. During the Meiji Restoration, these castles were viewed as symbols of the previous ruling elite, and nearly 2,000 castles were dismantled or destroyed. Others were simply abandoned and eventually fell into disrepair.


title: Japanese castle

text: Rebellions continued to break out during the first years of the Meiji period. The last and largest was the Satsuma Rebellion (1877). After heated disagreements in the new Tokyo legislature, young former samurai of the Satsuma domain rashly decided to rebel against the new government, and lobbied Saigō Takamori to lead them. Saigo reluctantly accepted, and led Satsuma forces north from Kagoshima city. Hostilities commenced on February 19, 1877, when the defenders of Kumamoto Castle fired on the Satsuma troops. Fierce hand to hand combat gave way to a siege, but by April 12, reinforcements of the Imperial army arrived to break the siege. After a series of battles, the Satsuma rebels were forced back to Kagoshima city. Fighting continued there, and the stones walls of Kagoshima Castle still show the damage done by bullets. (Kagoshima Castle was never re-built, but portions of the stone walls and the moat were left intact, and later the prefectural history museum was built on the castle's foundation.) The rebel force made their last stand on Shiroyama, or "Castle Mountain", probably named for a castle built there some time in the past, whose name has been lost in history. During the final battle, Saigo was mortally wounded, and the last forty rebels charged the Imperial troops and were cut down by Gatling guns. The Satsuma Rebellion came to an end at the Battle of "Castle Mountain" on the morning of September 25, 1877.


title: Japanese castle

text: Some castles, especially the larger ones, were used by the Imperial Japanese Army. Osaka Castle served as the headquarters for the 4th Infantry Division, until public funds paid for the construction of a new headquarters building within the castle grounds and a short distance from the main tower, so that the castle could be enjoyed by the citizens and visitors of Osaka. Hiroshima Castle served as Imperial General Headquarters during the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) and later as the headquarters for the 5th Infantry Division; Kanazawa Castle served as HQ for the 9th Infantry Division. For this reason, and as a way to strike against the morale and culture of the Japanese people, many castles were intentionally bombed during World War II. The main towers of the castles at Nagoya, Okayama, Fukuyama, Wakayama, Ōgaki, among others, were all destroyed during air raids. Hiroshima Castle is notable for having been destroyed in the atomic bomb blast on August 6, 1945. It was also on the grounds of Hiroshima Castle that news of the atomic bombing was first transmitted to Tokyo. When the atomic bomb detonated, a team of volunteer high school girls had just taken their shift on a radio in a small fortified bunker in the main courtyard of Hiroshima Castle. The girls transmitted the message that the city had been destroyed, to the confused disbelief of the officers receiving the message in Tokyo.


title: Japanese castle

text: Shuri Castle (actually a Ryukyuan "gusuku"), on Okinawa Island was not only the headquarters for the 32nd Army and the defense of Okinawa, but also has the distinction of the being the last castle in Japan attacked by an invading force. In April 1945, Shuri Castle was the coordinating point for a line of outposts and defensive positions known as the "Shuri Line". US Soldiers and Marines encountered fierce resistance and hand-to-hand combat all along the Shuri Line. Starting on May 25, the castle was subjected to three days of intense naval bombardment from the USS "Mississippi". On May 28, a company of US Marines took the castle, finding that the intensity of the destruction had prompted the headquarters contingent to abandon the castle and link up with scattered units and continue the defense of the island. On May 30, the US flag was raised over one of the parapets of the castle. Shuri Castle was re-built in 1992, and is now an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Over of the Shuri Castle were burnt down due to an electrical fault on 30 October 2019 at around 2.34 am.


title: Japanese castle

text: During the early 20th century, a new movement for the preservation of heritage grew. The first law for the preservation of sites of historical or cultural significance was enacted in 1919, and was followed ten years later by the 1929 National Treasure Preservation Law. With the enactment of these laws, local governments had an obligation to prevent any further destruction, and they had some of the funds and resources of the national government to improve on these historically significant sites.


title: Japanese castle

text: By the 1920s, nationalism was on the rise, and a new pride was found in the castles, which became symbols of Japan's warrior traditions. With new advances in construction, some of the previously destroyed castles were re-built quickly and cheaply with steel-reinforced concrete, such as the main tower of Osaka Castle, which was first re-built in 1928.


title: Japanese castle

text: While many of the remaining castles in Japan are reconstructions, and most of these are steel-reinforced concrete replicas, there has been a movement toward traditional methods of construction. Kanazawa Castle is a remarkable example of a modern reproduction using a significant degree of traditional construction materials and techniques. Modern construction materials at Kanazawa Castle are minimal, discreet, and are primarily in place to ensure stability, safety concerns, and accessibility. At present, there are local non-profit associations that are attempting to collect funds and donations for the historically accurate re-construction of the main towers at Takamatsu Castle on Shikoku, and Edo Castle in Tokyo.


title: Japanese castle

text: Most of these are in areas of Japan that were not subjected to the strategic bombing of World War II, such as in Shikoku or in the Japanese Alps. Great care is taken with these structures; open flame and smoking near the castles is usually prohibited, and visitors are usually required to remove their shoes before stepping on the wooden floors (slippers are usually provided). Local legends or ghost stories may also be associated with some of these castles; the most famous is probably the tale of "Okiku and the Nine Plates", based on events that occurred at Himeji Castle.


title: Japanese castle

text: At the other end of the spectrum are castles that have been left in ruins, though usually after archaeological surveys and excavations have been done. Most of these belong to or are maintained by local municipal governments. Some have been incorporated into public parks, such as the ruins of Kuwana Castle and Matsuzaka Castle in Mie Prefecture, Kunohe Castle (Ninohe, Iwate Prefecture), or Sunpu Castle (Shizuoka City). Others have been left in more natural state, often with a marked hiking trail, such as Azaka Castle, (Matsuzaka, Mie Prefecture), Kame Castle (Inawashiro, Fukushima Prefecture), Kikoe Castle (Kagoshima city), or Kanegasaki Castle (Tsuruga city, Fukui Prefecture). The grounds of some were developed with municipal buildings or schools. In Toba, Mie Prefecture, the city hall and an elementary school were built on the site of Toba Castle.


title: Japanese castle

text: Some castle sites are now in the hands of private landowners, and the area has been developed. Vegetable plots now occupy the site of Kaminogo Castle (Gamagōri, Aichi), and a chestnut orchard has been planted on the site of Nishikawa Castle, though in both cases some of the castle-related topography can still be seen, such as the motte or ramparts.


title: Japanese castle

text: Finally there are the castle sites that have not been maintained or developed to any degree, and may have few markings or signs. Historical significance and local interest are too low to warrant additional costs. This includes Nagasawa Castle (Toyokawa, Aichi), Sakyoden Castle (Toyohashi, Aichi), Taka Castle (Matsuzaka, Mie), and Kuniyoshi Castle (Mihama, Fukui Prefecture). Castle sites of this type also include nearly every area marked "Castle Mountain" ( "Shiroyama") on the maps of towns and cities across Japan. Because the castle was small or may have been used for a short time in centuries past, the name of the castle is often lost to history, such as the "Shiroyama" at Sekigahara, Gifu Prefecture, or the "Shiroyama" between Lake Shōji and Lake Motosu near Mount Fuji, Yamanashi Prefecture. In such cases, locals might not be aware there ever was a castle, believing that the name of the mountain is "just a name". Detailed city maps will often have such sites marked. At the site, castle-related landscaping, such as ramparts, partly filled wells, and a leveled hilltop or a series of terraces, will provide evidence of the original layout of the castle.


title: Japanese castle

text: Whether original or reconstructions, numerous castles across Japan serve as history and folk museums, as points of pride for local people, and as tangible structures reflecting Japanese history and heritage. As castles are associated with the martial valor of past warriors, there are often monuments near castle structures or in their parks dedicated to either samurai or soldiers of the Imperial Army who died in war, such as the monument to the 18th Infantry Regiment near the ruins of Yoshida Castle (Toyohashi, Aichi). Castle grounds are often developed into parks for the benefit of the public, and planted with cherry blossom trees, plum blossom trees, and other flowering plants. Hirosaki Castle in Aomori Prefecture and Matsumae Castle in Hokkaido are both famous in their respective regions for their cherry blossom trees. The efforts of dedicated groups, as well as various agencies of the government has been to keep castles as relevant and visible in the lives of the Japanese people, to showcase them to visitors, and thus prevent the neglect of national heritage.


title: Japanese castle

text: Japanese castles were built in a variety of environments, but all were constructed within variations of a fairly well-defined architectural scheme. "Yamajiro" (山城), or "mountain castles" were the most common, and provided the best natural defenses. However, castles built on flat plains (平城, "hirajiro") and those built on lowlands hills (平山城, "hirayamajiro") were not uncommon, and a few very isolated castles were even built on small natural or artificial islands in lakes or the sea, or along the shore. The science of building and fortifying castles was known as "chikujō-jutsu" ().


title: Japanese castle

text: Japanese castles were almost always built atop a hill or mound, and often an artificial mound would be created for this purpose (similar to European motte-and-bailey castles). This not only aided greatly in the defense of the castle, but also allowed it a greater view over the surrounding land, and made the castle look more impressive and intimidating. In some ways, the use of stone, and the development of the architectural style of the castle, was a natural step up from the wooden stockades of earlier centuries. The hills gave Japanese castles sloping walls, which many argue helped (incidentally) to defend them from Japan's frequent earthquakes. There is some disagreement among scholars as to whether or not these stone bases were easy to scale; some argue that the stones made easy hand- and footholds, while others retort that the bases were steep, and individual stones could be as large as high, making them difficult if not next to impossible to scale.


title: Japanese castle

text: Thus, a number of measures were invented to keep attackers off the walls and to stop them from climbing the castle, including pots of hot sand, gun emplacements, and arrow slits from which defenders could fire at attackers while still enjoying nearly full cover. Spaces in the walls for firing from were called "sama"; arrow slits were called "yasama", gun emplacements "tepposama" and the rarer, later spaces for cannon were known as "taihosama". Unlike in European castles, which had walkways built into the walls, in Japanese castles, the walls' timbers would be left sticking inwards, and planks would simply be placed over them to provide a surface for archers or gunners to stand on. This standing space was often called the "ishi uchi tana" or "stone throwing shelf". Other tactics to hinder attackers' approaches to the walls included caltrops, bamboo spikes planted into the ground at a diagonal, or the use of felled trees, their branches facing outwards and presenting an obstacle to an approaching army (abatis). Many castles also had trapdoors built into their towers, and some even suspended logs from ropes, to drop on attackers.


title: Japanese castle

text: The Anō family from Ōmi Province were the foremost castle architects in the late 16th century, and were renowned for building the 45-degree stone bases, which began to be used for keeps, gatehouses, and corner towers, not just for the castle mound as a whole.


title: Japanese castle

text: Japanese castles, like their European cousins, featured massive stone walls and large moats. However, walls were restricted to the castle compound itself; they were never extended around a "jōkamachi" (castle town), and only very rarely were built along borders. This comes from Japan's long history of not fearing invasion, and stands in stark contrast to philosophies of defensive architecture in Europe, China, and many other parts of the world. Even within the walls, a very different architectural style and philosophy applied, as compared to the corresponding European examples. A number of tile-roofed buildings, constructed from plaster over skeletons of wooden beams, lay within the walls, and in later castles, some of these structures would be placed atop smaller stone-covered mounds. These wooden structures were surprisingly fireproof, as a result of the plaster used on the walls. Sometimes a small portion of a building would be constructed of stone, providing a space to store and contain gunpowder.


title: Japanese castle

text: Though the area inside the walls could be quite large, it did not encompass fields or peasants' homes, and the vast majority of commoners likewise lived outside the castle walls. Samurai lived almost exclusively within the compound, those of higher rank living closer to the daimyō's central keep. In some larger castles, such as Himeji, a secondary inner moat was constructed between this more central area of residences and the outer section where lower-ranking samurai kept their residences. Only a very few commoners, those directly in the employ and service of the daimyō or his retainers, lived within the walls, and they were often designated portions of the compound to live in, according to their occupation, for purposes of administrative efficiency. Overall, it can be said that castle compounds contained only those structures belonging to the daimyō and his retainers, and those important to the administration of the domain.


title: Japanese castle

text: The primary method of defense lay in the arrangement of the baileys, called "maru" (丸) or . "Maru", meaning 'round' or 'circle' in most contexts, here refers to sections of the castle, separated by courtyards. Some castles were arranged in concentric circles, each "maru" lying within the last, while others lay their "maru" in a row; most used some combination of these two layouts. Since most Japanese castles were built atop a mountain or hill, the topography of the location determined the layout of the "maru".


title: Japanese castle

text: The "most central bailey", containing the keep, was called "honmaru" (本丸), and the second and third were called "ni-no-maru" (二の丸) and "san-no-maru" (三の丸) respectively. These areas contained the main tower and residence of the "daimyō", the storerooms ("kura" 蔵 or 倉), and the living quarters of the garrison. Larger castles would have additional encircling sections, called "soto-guruwa" or "sōguruwa". At many castles still standing today in Japan, only the "honmaru" remains. Nijō Castle in Kyoto is an interesting exception, in that the "ni-no-maru" still stands, while all that remains of the "honmaru" is the stone base.


title: Japanese castle

text: The arrangement of gates and walls sees one of the key tactical differences in design between the Japanese castle and its European counterpart. A complex system of a great many gates and courtyards leading up to the central keep serves as one of the key defensive elements. This was, particularly in the case of larger or more important castles, very carefully arranged to impede an invading army and to allow fallen outer portions of the compound to be regained with relative ease by the garrisons of the inner portion. The defenses of Himeji castle are an excellent example of this. Since sieges rarely involved the wholesale destruction of walls, castle designers and defenders could anticipate the ways in which an invading army would move through the compound, from one gate to another. As an invading army passed through the outer rings of the Himeji compound, it would find itself directly under windows from which rocks, hot sand, or other things could be dropped, and also in a position that made them easy shots for archers in the castle's towers. Gates were often placed at tight corners, forcing a bottleneck effect upon the invading force, or even simply at right angles within a square courtyard. Passageways would often lead to blind alleys, and the layout would often prevent visitors (or invaders) from being able to see ahead to where different passages might lead. All in all, these measures made it impossible to enter a castle and travel straight to the keep. Invading armies, as well as, presumably, anyone else entering the castle, would be forced to travel around and around the complex, more or less in a spiral, gradually approaching the center, all while the defenders prepared for battle, and rained down arrows and worse upon the attackers.


title: Japanese castle

text: All of that said however, castles were rarely forcibly invaded. It was considered more honorable, and more appropriate, for a defender's army to sally forth from the castle to confront his attackers. When this did not happen, sieges were most often performed not through the use of siege weapons or other methods of forced entry, but by surrounding the enemy castle and simply denying food, water, or other supplies to the fortress. As this tactic could often take months or even years to see results, the besieging army sometimes even built their own castle or fortress nearby. This being the case, "the castle was less a defensive fortress than a symbol of defensive capacity with which to impress or discourage the enemy". It of course also served as the lord's residence, a center of authority and governance, and in various ways a similar function to military barracks.


title: Japanese castle

text: The castle keep, usually three to five stories tall, is known as the "tenshukaku"(天守閣) or "tenshu"(天守), and may be linked to a number of smaller buildings of two or three stories. Some castles, notably Azuchi, had keeps of as many as seven stories. The keep was the tallest and most elaborate building in the complex, and often also the largest. The number of stories and building layout as perceived from outside the keep rarely corresponds to the internal layout; for example, what appears to be the third story from outside may in fact be the fourth. This certainly must have helped to confuse attackers, preventing them from knowing which story or which window to attack, and likely disorienting the attacker somewhat once he made his way in through a window.


title: Japanese castle

text: The least militarily equipped of the castle buildings, the keep was defended by the walls and towers, and its ornamental role was never ignored; few buildings in Japan, least of all castle keeps, were ever built with attention to function purely over artistic and architectural form. Keeps were meant to be impressive not only in their size and in implying military might, but also in their beauty and the implication of a daimyō's wealth. Though obviously well within the general sphere of Japanese architecture, much of the aesthetics and design of the castle was quite distinct from styles or influences seen in Shintō shrines, Buddhist temples, or Japanese homes. The intricate gables and windows are a fine example of this.


title: Japanese castle

text: On those occasions when a castle was infiltrated or invaded by enemy forces, the central keep served as the last bastion of refuge, and a point from which counter-attacks and attempts to retake the castle could be made. If the castle ultimately fell, certain rooms within the keep would more often than not become the site of the "seppuku" (ritual suicide) of the daimyō, his family, and closest retainers.


title: Japanese castle

text: Palisades lined the top of the castle's walls, and patches of trees, usually pines, symbolic of eternity or immortality, were planted along them. These served the dual purpose of adding natural beautiful scenery to a daimyō's home, representing part of his garden, and also obscuring the insides of the castle compound from spies or scouts.


title: Japanese castle

text: A variety of towers or turrets, called "yagura" (櫓), placed at the corners of the walls, over the gates, or in other positions, served a number of purposes. Though some were used for the obvious defensive purposes, and as watchtowers, others served as water towers or for moon-viewing. As the residences of purportedly wealthy and powerful lords, towers for moon-viewing, balconies for taking in the scenery, tea rooms and gardens proliferated. These were by no means solely martial structures, but many elements served dual purposes. Gardens and orchards, for example, though primarily simply for the purpose of adding beauty and a degree of luxuriousness to the lord's residence, could also provide water and fruit in case of supplies running down due to siege, as well as wood for a variety of purposes.


title: Japanese castle

text: Aerial views of Japanese castles reveal a consistent military strategy that informs the over-all planning for each unique location.


title: Red Special

text: The Red Special is the electric guitar designed and built by Queen's guitarist Brian May and his father, Harold, when Brian was a teenager in the early 1960s. The Red Special is sometimes referred to as the Fireplace or the Old Lady by May and by others. The name "Red Special" came from the reddish-brown colour the guitar attained after being stained and painted with numerous layers of "Rustins Plastic Coating". The name "Fireplace" is a reference to the fact that the wood used to make the neck came from a fireplace mantel.


title: Red Special

text: A guitar that would define May's signature style, it was intentionally designed to feed back after he saw Jeff Beck playing live and making different sounds just by moving the guitar in front of the amplifier. He wanted an instrument that would be alive and interact with him and the air around him. May has used the Red Special almost exclusively, including on Queen albums and in live performances, throughout the band's entire career.


title: Red Special

text: In celebration of the instrument's 50th anniversary, a book about its construction and history, "Brian May’s Red Special: The Story of the Home-Made Guitar that Rocked Queen and the World", was written by Brian May with Simon Bradley.


title: Red Special

text: Unlike the main instruments of most musicians, the Red Special was built by its player, May, along with his father. The inspiration struck when May realized he could not afford a Fender, Gibson or Höfner guitar. They began to work on the guitar in August 1963, with the project being finished in October 1964. The neck was constructed from wood from a "hundred-year-old-ish" fireplace mantel that a friend of the family was about to throw away. The neck was hand-shaped into the desired form, a job that was made more difficult by the age and quality of the wood. May revealed there are worm holes in the neck of the guitar that he filled in with matchsticks.


title: Red Special

text: The neck was finished with a 24-fret oak fingerboard. Each of the position inlays was hand shaped from a mother-of-pearl button. May decided to position them in a personal way: two dots at the 7th and 19th fret and three at the 12th and 24th.


title: Red Special

text: The body was made from blockboard (strips of softwood sandwiched between two plywood skins) with oak inserts in the top and bottom layers sourced from an old table. It was covered with mahogany marquetry veneer on the top, bottom and side to give it the appearance of a solid-body guitar. It was originally intended that the guitar would have f-holes but this was never done.


title: Red Special

text: White plastic shelf edging was then applied to the top and bottom edges to protect them from damage. The guitar features three single-coil pick-ups and a custom-made aluminium bridge. May purchased a set of Burns Tri-Sonic pick-ups and covered the coils of two with Araldite epoxy to reduce microphonics. The middle pickup remained uncoated and this is understood to have been modified in the early 1980s when DiMarzio examined the Red Special when designing pickups for the first Guild replica. The magnet was turned over to change its polarity and the wires on the solder posts swapped (to mimic a reverse wound coil) which made his favoured pickup combination of bridge and middle in phase humbucking. He originally wound his own pick-ups, as he had for his first guitar, but he did not like the resulting sound because of the polarity of these pick-ups: alternating North-South instead of all North.


title: Red Special

text: The tremolo system is made from an old hardened-steel knife-edge shaped into a V and two motorbike valve springs to counter the string tension. The tension of the springs can be adjusted by screwing the bolts, which run through the middle of the springs, in or out via two small access holes next to the rear strap button. To reduce friction, the bridge was completed with rollers to allow the strings to return perfectly in tune after using the tremolo arm (the arm itself was from a bicycle saddlebag holder with a plastic knitting needle tip). For the same reason, at the other end of the neck the strings pass over a zero fret and through a bakelite string guide.


title: Red Special

text: Originally the guitar had a built-in distortion circuit, adapted from a mid-1960s Vox distortion effects unit. The switch for this was in front of the phase switches. May soon discovered that he preferred the sound of a Vox AC30 distorting at full power, so the circuit was removed. The switch hole is now covered by a mother-of-pearl star inlay, but was originally covered by insulation tape.


title: Red Special

text: May still uses the original but he has used replicas in some performances. Notably, the original guitar was not used in the videos "We Will Rock You", and "Spread Your Wings", instead using his John-Birch-made Red Special copy (see Replicas section below) which differs from the original in its all-maple construction and natural maple color, since he did not want to expose the Red Special to snow. The Birch was also used live as a back-up for the Red Special until it was destroyed by May in a fit of rage due to the tuning stability issues. Similarly, he opted not to use the Red Special for the "Play the Game" video, instead using a budget Satellite-badged replica of a Fender Stratocaster, since at one point in the video, Queen singer Freddie Mercury would snatch the guitar from May and "throw" it back to him. The Red Special was omitted from the video for "Princes of the Universe", in which May used a white Washburn RR11V (for reasons unknown, and this guitar is often mistaken for a Jackson Randy Rhoads). He recorded the original of "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" on Queen drummer Roger Taylor's Fender Esquire, but performed the accompanying video and live performances of the song until 1992 with a Fender Telecaster.


title: Red Special

text: The first official copy of the Red Special was made by British luthier John Birch and was used as a back-up for live performances until it was ‘accidentally’ destroyed by May during a concert in August 1982. The Birch was used in place of the Red Special in the music videos for "We Will Rock You" however it was not used to record the song, and "Spread Your Wings". The guitar differs from the original in its all-maple construction and natural finish except for the back which is gold finished. After its destruction May sent the guitar to American luthier John Page, who kept the remains for over 20 years before sending them back to May. May then had the guitar glued back together by Andrew Guyton and still owns it, however it hardly functions anymore.


title: Red Special

text: Other official replicas of the Red Special have been manufactured in varying numbers and in multiple models (i.e. a higher-end full-featured model, and a lower-cost one lacking some of the intricacies of the former) several times during the 1980s and 1990s, most often by the Guild Guitar Company from 1983–85 and again from 1993–95, and by Burns Guitars from 2001 (mass-produced models made in Korea). The Burns model, produced with guidance from May, was awarded "Best Electric Guitar of the Year 2001" by "Guitarist" Magazine. Currently, only Brian May Guitars (taking over manufacture from Burns) manufacture authorised replicas, the Special at a budget price point and the Super Mk2 at a higher price point aimed at enthusiasts.


title: Red Special

text: KZ Guitar Works manufactured the original Red Special Super model which was hand-made in Japan by master luthier Kazutaka Ijuin. This model has been discontinued and production of the revised Super model taken up in the Czech Republic for Brian May Guitars.


title: Red Special

text: The Brian May Guitars version differs from the Burns original in several ways; for example, the tremolo was a two-point synchronised tremolo with rear access plate. These models also feature a half-moon scratch plate behind the bridge to emulate the original. The switches were also changed from black to white to match May's guitar. They still use the Burns Tri-Sonic pick-ups. 24 guitars were made in a rare baby blue color with a pearloid pickguard and gold hardware. The guitars come in Antique Cherry (a similar color to that of the Red Special), White and 3-Tone Sunburst with chrome hardware. They also have Honey Sunburst, Black and Gold with gold hardware and other various finishes.


title: Red Special

text: Greg Fryer, of Fryer Guitars an Australian luthier, produced three replicas of the Red Special in 1996/97, and with permission from May, made exhaustive measurements of the original guitar. Fryer named his three replicas John, Paul and George Burns (after two members of The Beatles and the famous American comedian). May has two of these guitars, John and George Burns; Fryer kept Paul for some years and used it for testing modified Vox AC30 amplifiers and his range of treble boosters until he sold it to a Japanese collector for an undisclosed sum. While the woods used in John and Paul are more faithful to the original, George Burns was built with New Guinea rosewood for a "more aggressive edge" tonally. John is May's main back-up Red Special, and is tuned to standard. His green Guyton has replaced George Burns for Drop D tuning duties to play "Fat Bottomed Girls" live.


title: Red Special

text: In 2004, Andrew Guyton of Guyton Guitars, a luthier in the UK, manufactured 50 authorised, limited edition replicas of the Red Special: 40 in red to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the guitar, and ten in green, as he had previously seen a green Guild copy that he liked.


title: Red Special

text: In the 1970s, Japanese guitar manufacturer Greco was the first company to market a line of mass produced Red Special copies, albeit unofficial and unlicensed. They did, however, send one to May himself, which he used in various mimed performances the most well known being the "Top of the Pops" performance for "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy".


title: Red Special

text: CQuadro Guitar Works (now Carpinteri Guitars) in Italy makes Red Special replicas (the "Bohemian" and the "Extreme").


title: Red Special

text: RS Custom Guitars run by Everett Wood makes a variety of Red Special style replicas hand-built in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.


title: Red Special

text: RS Guitars which were hand-built in Arizona, U.S. by Steve Turpin discontinued production of their models in January 2011.


title: Red Special

text: Harley Benton Guitars make replicas of the Red Special, however, their model has a single five-way switch in place of the three individual pickup switches, as well as having a 25 inch scale rather than 24 inches.


title: Red Special

text: In 2006, Brian May Guitars introduced a "Mini May" guitar, based on a 3/4 sized Red Special body shape with a 24 fret, 19” scale (but with no zero fret) featuring a single pick-up, no switches and a maple neck. In 2017, the "Mini May" was upsized with a 22 3/4" scale neck.


title: Red Special

text: An acoustic guitar, featuring a 24-fret neck and the body outline of the Red Special went into production in 2007. This model is named the "Rhapsody", after the Queen song "Bohemian Rhapsody".


title: Red Special

text: A bass guitar called the "Bri-Bass" was announced on May's website and is available. It looks like his normal guitar but with four bass strings. It features a bound mahogany body and 31.5" scale neck, topped with a 20-fret ebony fingerboard. Pickups are a Gibson EB-0 type chrome-covered humbucking neck pick-up and a rear-position single coil pick-up hooked up to a passive volume/volume/tone circuit.


title: Red Special

text: The Guild models of the early 1990s featured three major configurations. Of the three, the "Signature" model was closest to May's guitar, although it was made of mahogany (body and neck) and ebony (fingerboard) and sported Trisonic-styled "Brian May" pick-ups made by Seymour Duncan and hardware (including the unique bridge) from Schaller. The "Special" model featured a stop-tailpiece rather than a vibrato, the middle pick-up was moved back next to the bridge pick-up for a humbucking look, and the back of the guitar had no binding. The "Standard" model featured a more common Strat-style 5-way pick-up selector switch, a longer scale neck, and a deeper headstock angle. Andrew Guyton made May a double-neck version, which has never been a production model.


title: Red Special

text: After viewing the replicas and taking note of the wear and tear the Red Special had suffered during nearly 30 years of constant touring, May had Fryer restore the original Red Special in 1998 using as much original and time-period specific material as possible. Damaged veneer on the back of the guitar was removed and new pieces scarfed in. The binding was removed and various nicks and dents in the top were repaired. Fryer re-finished the neck and body in the original Rustin's Plastic Coating used in the creation over the existing finish, and fretboard wear was repaired and dot-markers replaced. The original electrics were also re-wired and overhauled, and cosmetic work was done, such as filling in holes and worn areas on access panels, pick-up covers (worn by May's use of a sixpence as opposed to a standard plectrum) and the front scratchplate.


title: Red Special

text: The restored Red Special is prominently featured during a series of video interviews with "Guitarist" in 1999, in which May also demonstrated its feedback capabilities.


title: Red Special

text: At the end of the Queen + Paul Rodgers tour in 2005, May had several revisions made to the original Red Special, including having the zero fret replaced for the first time (this had been judged unnecessary at the time of the 1998 restoration) and making a larger opening for a new, modern 1/4" jack socket. Despite all of this work, the original frets (other than the zero fret) have never been replaced.