Problem: The New York Dolls were an American hard rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although their original line-up fell apart quickly, the band's first two albums--New York Dolls (1973) and Too Much Too Soon (1974)--became among the most popular cult records in rock.

Sylvain Sylvain and Billy Murcia, who went to junior high school and high school together, started playing in a band called "the Pox" in 1967. After the frontman quit, Murcia and Sylvain started a clothing business called Truth and Soul and Sylvain took a job at A Different Drummer, a men's boutique that was across the street from the New York Doll Hospital, a doll repair shop. Sylvain said that the shop inspired the name for their future band. In 1970 they formed a band again and recruited Johnny Thunders to join on bass, though Sylvain ended up teaching him to play guitar. They called themselves the Dolls. When Sylvain left the band to spend a few months in London, Thunders and Murcia went their separate ways.  Thunders was eventually recruited by Kane and Rick Rivets, who had been playing together in the Bronx. At Thunders' suggestion, Murcia replaced the original drummer. Thunders played lead guitar and sang for the band Actress. An October 1971 rehearsal tape recorded by Rivets was released as Dawn of the Dolls. When Thunders decided that he no longer wanted to be the front man, David Johansen joined the band. Initially, the group was composed of singer David Johansen, guitarists Johnny Thunders and Rick Rivets (who was replaced by Sylvain Sylvain after a few months), bass guitarist Arthur "Killer" Kane and drummer Billy Murcia.  The original lineup's first performance was on Christmas Eve 1971 at a homeless shelter, the Endicott Hotel. After getting a manager and attracting some music industry interest, the New York Dolls got a break when Rod Stewart invited them to open for him at a London concert.

Did they cut any albums?

Answer with quotes: An October 1971 rehearsal tape recorded by Rivets was released as Dawn of the Dolls.


Problem: Simon Phillip Cowell was born on 7 October 1959 in Lambeth, London, and raised in Elstree, Hertfordshire. His mother, Julie Brett (nee Josie Dalglish; 1925-2015), was a ballet dancer and socialite, and his father, Eric Selig Phillip Cowell (1918-1999), was an estate agent, property developer, and music industry executive. Cowell's paternal grandmother was a Polish immigrant. His father was from a mostly Jewish family, though he did not discuss his background with his children, and his mother was from a Christian background.

In 2001, Cowell was given the role of judge on the first series of Pop Idol, a show that he and the show creator Simon Fuller successfully pitched to ITV Controller of Entertainment Claudia Rosencrantz. Cowell's S Records signed the top two finishers of the first season of Pop Idol, Will Young and Gareth Gates, both of whom went on to have No 1 UK hits, which were the top 2 best-selling singles of 2002, as well as that of top 2 of the decade of 2000s. He also became a judge on the first season of American Idol in 2002. With his notoriously critical reputation, Cowell has been likened to TV personalities such as Judith Sheindlin, and Anne Robinson of her show. Cowell's prominence grew, fed by his signature phrase, "I don't mean to be rude, but ...", inevitably followed by an unsparingly blunt appraisal of the contestant's talents, personality, or even physical appearance. A lot of these one-liners were the product of coaching that Cowell received from noted publicist Max Clifford (who was sacked by Cowell after being convicted of sex offences as of May 2014). Cowell also appeared on the one-off World Idol programme in 2003, where it became clear that each country's version of the Idol had attempted to come up with its own "Simon Cowell" type personality. In 2003, Cowell placed No 33 on Channel 4's list of the all-time 100 Worst Britons.  Cowell formed a new company Syco, which is divided into three units - Syco Music, Syco TV and Syco Film. Cowell returned to music with his latest brainchild signed to Syco, the internationally successful operatic pop group Il Divo, consisting of three opera singers and one pop singer of four different nationalities. Inspired by the success of Il Divo, Simon created a child version, Angelis, beating competition from similar groups emerging at Christmas 2006.  On 11 January 2010, Cowell's exit from American Idol was made official. By the time Cowell left American Idol, the show was on its seventh consecutive season in its leadership among all primetime programmes in the United States, even lasting up to 2011 in the longest winning streak in the US overall viewership and demographics in the Nielsen ratings. The 2010 season was Cowell's last on the show. He was replaced by Steven Tyler. It was also announced that FOX had acquired the rights to The X Factor USA, an American version of Cowell's British show, The X Factor, which began in September 2011.

who else has he worked with within the franchise

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