On image, Alex Lloyd is as regular as they can get, a typical rocker, but also a regular guy with a family. So, is there more to the man? Obviously! His music bends the boundaries of rock and touches the musical nerve of many listeners.

Although his songs are ‘simple’, written around an acoustic guitar, Lloyd always finds a way to fill out his songs, making them colourful and vibrant with strings and keyboards interwoven around his melodies. Lloyd’s enviable pop success, combined with his plain and raw image has left critics scratching their heads. But nevertheless, he continues to sell records and consistently chart well.

Heralding from the suburbs of Sydney, Alex began his recording career using his birth name, Alex Wasiliev, fronting a hard rock band called Mother Hubbard. They recorded one album in ’96 entitled ‘You Me Him She’, but failed to gain commercial success. As a result, the band split and Alex commenced his solo career. As a tribute to his mother’s passing, Alex Wasiliev changed his surname to his mother’s maiden name, Lloyd.

Lloyd began his long and winding road to success in 1997, releasing his first single as an EP, entitled ‘Black The Sun’. His debut album of the same name followed in ‘99. Success began at this point with Lloyd achieving gold record sales, a Best New Artist ARIA award and the Number One position on Triple J’s Listener’s Top 10 albums of 1999. But, this was just the beginning!

His most successful album came in 2001 with his second cut ‘Watching Angels Mend’, which has sold well over 200,000 copies (3 x Platinum). This album included the huge hit single ‘Amazing’. This song was voted #1 on Triple J’s Hottest 100 for 2001.

In September ‘03, Lloyd released his much-anticipated third album ‘Distant Light’, already building to be another commercial success. Two singles have been released from this, namely ‘Coming Home’ and ‘1000 Miles’. The third will be released towards the end of March and it features on RD96, entitled ‘Beautiful’.

	The stand out success of the Big Day Out in January 2004, The Black Eyed Peas have truly arrived on this international scene with Hey Mama, their third massive smash from the album Elephunk. Hey Mama was featured in the marketing campaign for Apple iPod and was a crowd favourite on their recent tour. After a double platinum album and two double platinum #1 singles, The Black Eyed Peas are undoubtedly the biggest thing in pop music today. Hey Mama continues the dancehall faze and features this month on CR96.
Already rated as one of the Top 3 dance tracks ever by the UK’s Q Magazine, Da Hype is the latest funky house gem to come from Junior Jack. He is already a well known and respected DJ and was awarded ‘Best Newcomer’ and ‘Best Looking DJ’ at the DJ Magazine Awards in 2003. Da Hype features killer vocals from The Cure’s Robert Smith and a pumping bassline that will soon be lighting dancefloors around the country. Play it from CR96.
	Tube & Berger were discovered and produced by King Brain, whose previous works include remixes of Sonique’s Touch The Sky and Sophie B. Hawkins’ Right Beside You. Now comes Straight Ahead, the incredibly catchy and funky track featuring the unmistakable vocals of Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders. The video for the track has been done in awesome CGI and features a giant deep sea diver getting down at some of London's most famous landmarks. Witness our hero popping up at Tower Bridge and sliding down the BT Tower... very clever! It’s on CR96.
	Queer Eye For The Straight Guy: Five gay men, coming to make over the world, but not without an unbelievably catchy theme song... All Things (Just Keep Getting Better). Ian J and Rachid, the duo behind Widelife, team up with Love Inc’s Simone Denny to provide the fab five with a beat as stylish as they are. No doubt you will be hearing a lot more of this as the single is released later this month. We released it 2 weeks ago on CRX96.
	One of my fave bands of the last 5 years, the mighty Vines unleash a brand spanking new single called Ride. The song is the first to be lifted from the hugely anticipated “difficult second album” called Winning Days. Featuring a very cool video and the unmistakable singing, guitar skills and songwriting from eccentric Craig Nicholls, this track will be rocking airwaves in no time. We release it this month on RD96.
	UK rockers, The Darkness are one of the hottest bands on the planet right now and are even being dubbed as the greatest rock band in the last 20 years. They have been gigging for years with their glam-rock image, powerful old school rock riffs and awesome guitar solos and it’s all finally paying off. I Believe In A Thing Called Love is the latest single and was the huge hit in the UK that contributed to the massive Brit Award sweep. Check it out from RD96.... PLAY IT LOUD!
Good news again for HDMS™ users. As promised, we have added a little bonus to both CR and RD this month. CR subscribers will find a Chemical Brothers remix of Kylie Minogue’s Slow while RD subscribers will receive the latest single from The Superjesus called So Lonely. Both of these songs have no video planned so we have given you the audio only tracks which can be played by DJs and will also play as normal in your scheduled lists. Enjoy!

	Author - Ben Preece
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	DJ Dwayne-O - Charlies Nitespot. Charlies Nitespot in Bundaberg on Queensland’s beautiful Coral Coast is definitely the place to be when DJ Dwayne-O takes control of the dancefloor. Dwayne Jamieson has been pumping out the dance tunes with the help of Nightlife’s HDMS™ for 2 years now, and combines this with his day job as a local radio announcer.

With his entire life revolving around music, it’s no surprise that Dwayne is passionate about his ‘trade’ and this rubs off in his enthusiastic delivery behind the mike.

Fave song of the moment is What About Me? by Shannon Noll. This is in contrast to his fave song of all time, Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit. Dwayne also lists Nirvana as his favourite artist and says he would most like to meet Osama Bin Laden – just to ask him WHY???

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YOUR MONTHLY UPDATES
As a client of Nightlife Music Video you receive monthly updates of fresh new music, whether it be the latest hits on the pop charts, brand new easy-listening tunes or funky grooves from our Café list. These updates are sent to you by DVD-Rom and are an extremely important factor that not only keep you up-to-date with the latest music, but also with the latest version of the Nightlife software. Thanks to the cogs of evolution, your HDMS™ install disc will now display an image of each track, allowing you actually to see the music as it is being installed.

Previously, the monthly update of new music would only show what had been installed via the Log (located: Search>Log), and would appear as a line in your message column stating “installed 18 songs”.

The new software allows you to physically see your new music loading, and can be verified in the Install Log (located: Search>Install Log) as the individual tracks are being installed on your HDMS™. This means you can always be assured that all of your new music has been properly installed onto your system.

For help with this or any other questions regarding your Hard Drive Music System, please call our toll-free help line 1800 773 468.

News From NZ

And the grand winner this month for the most outstanding DJ feedback form goes to none other than James Scott from the Fox & Ferret in Christchurch. James' effort was that good it was almost worth framing. It was constructive and detailed and jam-packed with requests. Your feedback is vital to us so please keep it coming. If you know of any NZ music that we should have, particularly new releases, please please tell us.

By the way, the Fox & Ferret is a beautiful establishment, but then aren't all things in the Garden City? The venue has got real class and charm, aided and ‘abettered’ by Nightlife of course!

Here are a couple of pointers in case you should need to talk to JoArna for Tech Support. It’s always a good idea to ring on a cordless phone if possible. In most cases she will need you to move around and it is essential that you are able to get in front of the Nightlife system. For the best qualitative service, we advise that you ring the support line 0508 644 485 during office hours, after hours being for emergencies only.