Cher, born Cherilyn Sarkisian La Pierre, 20 May 1946, began her career working as a session singer in an attempt to finance an acting career. She recorded with producer Phil Spector as a backing vocalist, having become romantically attached to his studio assistant and PR man Sonny Bono.

After releasing two singles under the name Caesar And Cleo, the duo then achieved international acclaim as Sonny And Cher. Throughout this period Cher also sustained a solo career under the pseudonym Bonnie Jo Mason. Thereafter, she secured several hits, including an opportunistic cover version of The Byrds’ ‘All I Really Want To Do’.  Although her acting aspirations seemed long-forgotten, she did appear in two minor 60s movies, Good Times (1967) and Chastity (1969). In September 1971 chart-topping ‘Gypsies, Tramps And Thieves’ and its attendant album saw her back in the ascendant. Two further US number 1 hits ‘Half Breed’ and ‘Dark Lady’ preceded her divorce from Sonny, though for a time the duo continued to appear together on stage and television. In 1975, she switched to Warner Brothers Records for the Jimmy Webb- produced Stars, while her on-off relationship with Gregg Allman.

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By the late 70s, she became a regular fixture in gossip columns and fashion magazines, which lauded over her outrageousness and much publicized musical and personal relationships with Allman, Gene Simmons and Les Dudek. In 1981, Cher appeared on Meat Loaf’s ‘Dead Ringer For Love’ but recording interests increasingly took a back seat to her first love: acting. A leading role in’ Come Back To The Five And Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean’(1982) and many others. She won an Oscar for Best Actress and celebrated that honour with another musical comeback with ‘I Found Someone’.

In 1989, she enjoyed three US Top 10 singles courtesy of ‘After All’, ‘If I Could Turn Back Time’ and ‘Just Like Jesse James’. Her April 1991 UK number 1 ‘The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss)’ was the theme song to another screen appearance in Mermaids. In March 1995, in the company of Chrissie Hynde, Neneh Cherry and Eric Clapton, she topped the UK charts with the charity single ‘Love Can Build A Bridge’. The same year she did a credible cover of Marc Cohn’s ‘Walking In Memphis’ which preceded ‘It’s A Man’s World’.

Her popularity was confirmed by the worldwide hit single ‘Believe’, which topped the UK charts for seven weeks in late 1998.. The next single to be lifted from the album, ‘Strong Enough’, entered the UK charts at number 5 in March 1999, and in the same month ‘Believe’ completed its long climb up the US Billboard Hot 100 to the top. Oddly enough, Cher’s next album, ‘Not.com.mercial’, was only made available through her own website, and was better received than the ‘official’ follow-up, Living Proof. The singer’s Farewell tour of 2002/3 grossed over $70 million, although fans refused to accept the word farewell.

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Glam rock legends Kiss were formed in NYC in 1973 by school teacher/bass player Gene Simmons and guitarist/singer Paul Stanley. Recruiting drummer Peter Criss and axeman Ace Frehley through newspaper and magazine ads, Simmons and Stanley set out to do nothing less than conquer the known rock world.

Their self-titled debut album came out in early 1974 on Casablanca Records, followed later that year by ‘Hotter Than Hell’. Both albums were packed with hard rock tracks that would later become Kiss classics, including ‘Strutter’, and ‘Cold Gin'. Their first real commercial success, though, came with 1975's ‘Dressed To Kill’, which featured the timeless anthem "Rock And Roll All Nite".

1976's ‘Destroyer’ cemented the band's hard-won image as the greatest rock n' roll band in America. Kiss' next two albums, ‘Rock And Roll Over’ and ‘Love Gun’, also went platinum. In 1978, they issued ‘Kiss Alive II’, followed by solo records from each of the members. 1979's ‘Dynasty’ produced a couple of popular numbers, but a slight disco edge to the music and an obvious, strained relationship between the members saw their original fan base beginning to erode.

In 1980, original drummer Peter Criss left the group; Anton Fig filled in for the recording of ‘Kiss Unmasked’ later on that year. Official replacement Eric Carr joined the band in time to perform on their 1980 world tour. 1981's Music From The Elder received disappointing sales, and guitarist Ace Frehley was the next to leave. Vinnie Vincent took up axe duties for 1982's ‘Creatures Of The Night’.

By 1983, Kiss had dropped the make-up and revamped their sound for a new decade, resulting in the platinum-selling ‘Lick It Up’, their first for Mercury Records. Music videos and more touring followed, with Vincent replaced by first Mark St. John and then Bruce Kulick in 1984.

In 1991, drummer Eric Carr passed away from cancer at age 41. He was replaced by Eric Singer, who played on 1992's Revenge, an album that later went gold. ‘Kiss Alive! III’ was issued in 1993, but failed to achieve the success of the first two. 1996 saw the first official reunion of all four original members since 1980.

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In 1998, the reformed original Kiss released ‘Psycho Circus’ and once again wore make-up and outlandish costumes and undertook a highly successful tour. They continued through 2001, at which time Peter Criss again quit- reportedly due to financial issues. Frehley left in 2002, amid rumours of acrimony. In 2003, Polygram released 'Symphony: Kiss Alive IV'.

Kiss continue to tour.

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