IN: Kennedy was born in Inverness, the son of Mary and Ian. He was brought up as a Roman Catholic, and was educated at Lochaber High School in Fort William. He went on to study for a Master of Arts degree in Politics and Philosophy at the University of Glasgow. At university he became politically active, joining the SDP, as well as the Dialectic Society.

In his last general election as leader, in May 2005, he extended his strategy from the 2001 election targeting the seats held by the most senior and/or highly regarded Conservative MPs, dubbed a "decapitation" strategy. The expectation was that without these "key" figures, the Conservatives would be discredited as the official opposition allowing Kennedy and the Liberal Democrats to claim that they were the "effective opposition". At the same time they also hoped to capture marginal Labour seats attracting (particularly Muslim) Labour voters who were dissatisfied because of the invasion of Iraq which Kennedy's party had opposed. They had succeeded with this tactic in by-elections, taking Brent East and Leicester South from Labour.  Just before the election, it had been anticipated by the media and opinion polls that the Liberal Democrats could win up to 100 seats and place them close to the Conservatives in terms of seats as well as votes. They won 62 seats (22.1% of the vote), their greatest number of seats since 1923 but significantly less than most observers had expected the party to win.  They made a net loss of seats to the Conservatives, only managing to win three seats from them (Solihull, Taunton and Westmorland and Lonsdale) with their biggest "scalp" being that of the Shadow Education Secretary Tim Collins. They failed to unseat leading Conservatives such as the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Oliver Letwin, Shadow Home Secretary David Davis, Shadow Secretary of State for the Family Theresa May and the Leader of the Opposition Michael Howard. The "decapitation" strategy was widely seen to have failed.  They won significant numbers of seats from Labour, winning particularly in student areas such as Bristol, Cardiff and Manchester, but did not see the breakthrough in areas with large Asian populations that some had expected, and even lost Leicester South. They succeeded in regaining the seat of Ceredigion, their first gain from the Welsh party Plaid Cymru.  Kennedy heralded the Liberal Democrats, who now had a total of 62 seats, as the "national party of the future", but in the wake of the general election, Kennedy's leadership came under increased criticism from those who felt that the Liberal Democrats could have surged forward with the official opposition Conservative Party having been relatively weak. Many pointed the finger of blame at Kennedy for failing to widen the party's appeal. Others, like the former Deputy Chairman of the Federal Liberal Democrat Party, Donnachadh McCarthy, resigned, citing the party's shift to the right of the political spectrum under Kennedy in pursuit of Conservative votes.

What else can you tell me about the general election?

OUT: They made a net loss of seats to the Conservatives, only managing to win three seats from them


IN: Nilsson was born in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn in 1941. His paternal grandparents were Swedish circus performers and dancers, especially known for their "aerial ballet" (which is the title of one of Nilsson's albums). His maternal grandparents were the cornerstone of his young life. While his grandmother played piano, his grandfather Charlie supported the family in a tiny railroad apartment on Jefferson St in Brooklyn.

Nilsson is the subject of a 2006 documentary, Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him)? produced by David Leaf and John Schienfeld. The film was screened in 2006 at the Seattle International Film Festival and the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. In August 2006, the film received its Los Angeles premiere when it was screened at the 7th Annual Mods & Rockers Film Festival followed by a panel discussion about Nilsson featuring the filmmakers and two friends of Nilsson, producer Richard Perry and attorney/executive producer Lee Blackman.  The filmmakers re-edited the film with rare found footage of Nilsson, further interviews, and family photographs, and finally released it on September 17, 2010 at selected theaters in the United States. A DVD, including additional footage not in the theatrical release, was released on October 26, 2010.  Nilsson's final album, tentatively titled Papa's Got a Brown New Robe (produced by Mark Hudson) was not released, though several demos from the album were available on promotional CDs and online.  The musical Everyday Rapture features three songs by Nilsson and, similarly, the film A Good Year features "Gotta get up", "Jump into the fire" and "How can I be sure of you".  On July 29, 2013, Sony Music released a definitive box-set of his RCA era albums called The RCA Albums Collection. Each of the albums in the 17-CD set had additional bonus tracks, along with 3 of the 17 discs that contained rarities and outtakes spanning his entire career. Additionally, several weeks later on August 13, Flash Harry was finally issued on CD also featuring additional material. Completing the two CD releases, the first book written about Nilsson was published covering his life story.

What happened with the film?

OUT: The film was screened in 2006 at the Seattle International Film Festival and the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.


IN: Kevin Moore (born May 26, 1967) is an American keyboardist, vocalist, composer, and founder of the Chroma Key music project. He is also a former member of the American progressive metal/rock band Dream Theater, co-founder of the progressive rock supergroup O.S.I. and has composed film soundtracks. Throughout his career, he has become known for his emotional music and lyrics, nomadic lifestyle and use of spoken word samples. Moore started his music career in progressive metal band Dream Theater.

Dream Theater's debut studio album was 1989's When Dream and Day Unite, which earned the group comparisons to well-known progressive rock bands such as Rush and Queensryche. Their big breakthrough, however, came in 1992 with the album Images and Words, featuring the band's highest charting single to date, "Pull Me Under". The song, which included lyrics by Moore, reached #10 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Following their relentless touring in support of the second album, the band also went on to release a live album, Live at the Marquee, and a video, Images and Words: Live In Tokyo. The video's extensive documentary footage would subsequently introduce many fans to Moore's ironic sense of humor.  In 1994, the band released its third studio album, Awake, which was the band's highest charting album to date with Moore, reaching #32. The album featured Moore's signature song, a haunting piano-driven ballad called "Space-Dye Vest." Shortly before the album was mixed, though, Moore announced to the rest of the band that he wished to concentrate on his own musical interests and would be quitting Dream Theater. According to Portnoy, Moore became interested in the independence of working on his own as opposed to the compromise of a band environment. Although Dream Theater has since invited him to play reunion shows, Moore has said he prefers to move forward as opposed to looking back. He also declined to take part in the official Dream Theater biography titled Lifting Shadows.  During his time in Dream Theater, Moore wrote the lyrics to songs on each of the band's albums and also to some of the band's demos and b-sides. On When Dream and Day Unite, he wrote "Light Fuse and Get Away" and "Only a Matter of Time." On Images and Words, he penned "Pull Me Under", "Surrounded", "Wait for Sleep", and parts of "Take the Time." On Awake, the songs "6:00", "Lie", and "Space-Dye Vest" all featured his lyrics. Demos with his lyrics include "Don't Look Past Me," the final verse of "To Live Forever '94," "A Vision," "Vital Star," and "Two Far."

When did Kevin Moore leave Dream Theater?

OUT:
Shortly before the album was mixed, though, Moore announced to the rest of the band that he wished to concentrate on his own musical interests