h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A650242

One of the biggest-selling bands in the history of pop music. What more needs to be said?

Whoo! There's a lot of work and research here and it's well written!

As someone who knows only the basics about the Police, it contains shed-loads of information I wasn't aware of and made a very interesting read.

It is a tad on the long side, though.

The quotes were nice and broke up the narrative and I felt that the short quotes in general worked better than the longer ones. I'm not certain of this, but would there be any difficulty with copyright on quoting the words?

Well done!

Thanks for taking the effort to read the entry.

It is long, I know, but I found myself in a dilema: If I cut out some stuff then someone may (at a later time or in PR) say 'Did you know ...' and either I or someone at Update HQ will add the info I've taken out. And I don't really see the point of splitting it into 2 parts - that just means that someone who wants to read it has to load 2 pages.

My basic intention was to cram as much info in, in as short a space as possible - and there's the result. If you have any suggestions for cutting it down without losing too much information I'd be very grateful.

As for the lyric quotes - The Police released around 80 songs in their career. I've quoted from about 15 of them, and rarely more than 4 lines, so it's not a massive quantity relatively speaking. I have a feeling the legal maximum that can be quoted without infringing copyright is 10%, though I'm not sure.

When you said the short quotes work better than the long ones, did you mean the 4-lines-or-less blockquotes, or the quotes within the text?

Anyway, thanks again for reading it - I appreciate your comments and will try to find a way of cutting it down.

!

You don't need to cut down anything

a) you could split it into a couple of entries, make it a University Project and earn a Field Researcher badge for it

b) The Towers have realised that the average size of Guide entries has grown considerably and noted that it *might* turn a reader off if presented with a really huge piece. The new method is this:
- You keep it as one entry (and it is being recommended by a Scout as such), but
- you indicate (by using a tag or some other separation) where it could be separated into stand-alone entries
- The Towers split it where indicated and
- it is featured as a series of entries

de do do do ....

Hiya!

I like...

Actually, I quite like the length as it is... but I guess I'm just a sadist when it comes to reading

Actually, would it be worth mentioning that Every Breath You Take... is in fact the most requested song at wedding receptions? Pretty ironic concerning the subject matter and the circumstances of the song...

Anyhow, I digress; just as the tiger says:

Iiiittt'sss Grrrreat!

Stay ,
WD

Hi, Catwoman

I have to admit that there was one particular quote I thought might be overlong, which was the 'Be my girl'. I thought the four line ones worked best. This is just my point of view and you don't have to take note if you feel I'm wrong.

I did like the entry and felt good reading it. I can see what you mean about not wanting to take stuff out and there doesn't seem to be a natural break point, but I did find myself struggling a wee bit towards the end. However, it would be an entry to come back to.

I found myself singing to myself as I was reading it 'every move you make..'.

Stay

Hi Catwoman, nice to see you again!

Another great Entry - if the PR thread was a week old, I would recommend it now. As far as I'm concerned, it's only a matter of time. It's not hugely long, a split into three might be appropriate...

The towers have nothing against longer entries, but the workload on the Italics and the Subs is such that a split makes it easier to deal with...

Whoami?

Hello all, and thanks for the comments and suggestions.

I'll have a think about where to split the entry, though I'm intrigued by the 'Field Researcher' bit - I haven't got any badges yet!

No - you haven't, but you really should get some - you're so nice to people you've gotta be ACE material...

Whoami?

Brilliant work! This is really quite complete.

A few little things

- The Police did play live one last time at Sting's wedding to Trudy and they bickered a bit with Stewart pushing the pace too fast and Sting scowling, ect.

- Stewart has a new album out called 'Oysterhead' a self-titled piece with the bassist from Primus and the guitarist from Phish.

But other than this I can't think of anything you missed.



Very nice!

- X

WOW, it's an epic
but soooo good
congratulations on such a great entry...

This is an excellent entry. There's only one sentence I'm not happy with: it doesn't read well.

"By 1983 The Police were one of, if not the biggest group in the world"

You should rephrase this as follows:

"By 1983 The Police were one of the biggest groups in the world, if not the biggest"

Thanks Jimi for the info. I mentioned The Police playing at Sting's wedding in the last section (either 'Contact' or 'It You Love Somebody...' - I don't remember which) but didn't know about the bickering. Doesn't surprise me though. I also didn't know about the new Stewart Copeland LP - it sounds interesting. I shall add both bits.

And thank you once again for all the comments from everyone else. Gnomon - I shall rewrite the sentence just for you!

OK. I've added the bits about 'Every Breath You Take' being popular at weddings (thanks, WD) and I've cut down the 'Be My Girl - Sally' quote to four lines (thanks, ZSF).

Now some questions, and for those of you inclined to answer I would very much appreciate your opinions:

1. Should I split the entry? (Three people have so far said I should)

2. If so, into 2 or 3 parts?

3. Also if so, would each section need a new introductory paragraph added?

4. Again, if it is split, would a complete discography be appropriate for a third or forth section, or is that just too anal?

Answers on a postcard to:
Multicoloured Swapshop,
BBC TV,
London W12 8QT

Or by phone on: 01-811-8055.

You don't split the entry - you simply indicate, with an tag or something, where to split it. The entries would be split by the Italics if necessary, and links would be added - essentially, your entry would be serialised over a day or two.

Whoami?

Wow. I'm impressed.

I was a *huge* Police fan and there's stuff in here I didn't know. I'm really, really impressed.

Personally, I'm not sure that splitting the entry is the right way to go - it stands well as it is. Suppose its best to leave that to TPTB.

Congrats

I'd just like to say that I agree with Sue! It is a fantastic Entry, and it works very well as one long narrative. I think it'll be a shame if it has to be split up, but - as Sue says, that's up to TPTB.

Well done, woman!

Congrats, , just a couple more days torture and you'll be ready. I'll see what I can do to help, but my picks, sadly, have passed for now.

Whoami?

Just to make some of you jealous & to gloat, but just got back from the filming of the Top of The Pops 2 Sting Special and have a question for you die hard fans.

Is the version of "Every breath" Sting recorded for Spitting Image with anti war/Dictator lyrics available anywhere? IMHO it was the best thing he ever done, I believe the Spitting Image team wrote the lyrics and asked his permsision to use the tune with a another singer and he said he'd do the vocals.

Anyone?

C Hawke

Very nice! Any idea when the totp2 Sting special will be broadcast? Was he any good? I saw him do a couple of songs on Parkinson and they were pants.

Sorry, no idea about the alternative version of 'Every Breath...'. My best guess would be to look for a Spitting Image compilation.