Bryan Guy Adams, OC 1 , OBC 2 , born on November 5, 1959, is a Canadian 
rock/pop, singer-songwriter and photographer. 

In 1978, at the age of 18, Adams and his co-writer/collaborator, Jim 
Vallance, who often used the pseudonym Rodney Higgs, sent a few demo 
recordings to A&M Records in Toronto. Not long after the pair signed with 
A&M and the a album, Bryan Adams was released in February 1980, marking 
the beginning of what was to become a long songwriting partnership between 
Adams and Vallance. This album was released only in Canada.

Adams' second album, You Want It You Got It, was recorded in New York City 
in two weeks in 1981, and it marked Adams' first album co-produced by Bob 
Clearmountain, an award-winning American music engineer, mixer and producer. 
The album, which was released in both Canada and the U.S., contained the hit 
"Lonely Nights," but it was not until his third album that he achieved 
international recognition, popularity and volume sales.

 Cuts Like a Knife , the third album, released in January 1983, was Adams' 
breakout album due mainly to its hit singles. "Straight from the Heart" was 
the most successful song, reaching #10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Other 
singles, "Cuts Like a Knife" charted at #15 and "This Time" placed at #24. 
The album peaked at #8 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and achieved 
three times platinum 3 status in Canada, platinum in the United States and 
gold 3 in Australia.

November 1983 saw the opening of A Night in Heaven and the release of its 
soundtrack album, featuring the song "Heaven," which Adams co-wrote and 
performed in the movie. 

Adams' best-selling album, Reckless, co-produced by Adams and Bob 
Clearmountain, was released in November 1984 and peaked at #1 on the 
 Billboard 200. It featured the hit singles, "Heaven," "Run to You," 
"Summer of '69," "One Night Love Affair" and "It's Only Love," a duet with 
Tina Turner, which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal 
Performance by a Duo or Group. The song won an MTV award for Best Stage 
Performance, and Adams was nominated for Best Male Rock Performance. The 
album achieved five times platinum status in the United States.

In December 1984, Adams and his touring band, which consisted of Keith 
Scott, Dave Taylor, Pat Steward and Johnny Blitz, played concerts in 
Chicago, Detroit, New York and Philadelphia. Early in 1985, Adams' started a 
tour throughout the United States, then later Japan, Australia, and Europe. 
After winning four Juno Awards, Adams started a Canadian tour through 
major cities across that country. Later he headed south towards the American 
West Coast, culminating with two dates at the famed Hollywood Palladium 4 
in Los Angeles, California.

After the 1984 tour, Adams traveled to Ethiopia to aid famine relief in that 
country. Later, he headed back to Europe for a fifty-city concert tour with 
rock singer Tina Turner, culminating in April 1985, with his return to London 
to headline three sold-out shows at the Hammersmith Odeon 5 music venue.

The follow up album to Reckless was Into the Fire, which was recorded at 
Cliffhanger Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia and mixed at AIR Studios 
in London and Warehouse Studio in Vancouver and was released in 1987. This 
album contained the hit songs "Heat Of The Night" and "Hearts On Fire" and 
hit the Top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic.

In August 1989, Adams & Vallance broke up their songwriting partnership and 
Adams teamed up with writer/producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange, previously 
known for his work with AC/DC, Foreigner, and Def Leppard. The partnership 
of Lange and Adams produced several albums.

 Waking up the Neighbours, released September 1991, sold over ten million 
copies worldwide and peaked at #6 on the U.S. Billboard 200, and reached 
#1 on both big European markets, the U.K. and Germany. The album contained 
the hit song, "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You," which was written for and 
featured in the movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, starring Kevin 
Costner and Alan Rickman. Adams won a Grammy Award in 1991 for Best Song 
Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television. 

In November 1993, Adams released a compilation album entitled So Far So 
Good that again topped the charts in numerous countries such as the U.K., 
Germany and Australia. It included a new song called "Please Forgive Me" 
that became another #1 single in Australia as well as reaching the Top 3 in 
the U.S., the U.K. and Germany.

In 1994, Adams collaborated with Rod Stewart and Sting for the single "All 
for Love," which topped the charts worldwide. 

In 1995 by Adams released his third movie song, "Have You Ever Really Loved 
A Woman?" written for the movie Don Juan DeMarco. It became another #1 in 
the U.S. and Australia as well as a Top 5 hit in the U.K. and Germany. 

Released in June 1996, the album 18 til I Die contained the U.K. Top 10 
singles "The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me Is You" and "Lets Make a Night 
to Remember." The album reached only #31 on the Billboard 200 in the United 
States but it was much more successful in Europe and Australia and reached 
the top spot on the U.K. charts. It reached three times platinum status in the 
United States, Canada & Australia, and two times platinum in the U.K.

In December 1997, Adams released MTV Unplugged with three new tracks: 
"Back to You," "A Little Love" and "When You Love Someone." "Back to You" 
was the first single, followed by "I'm Ready," an acoustic version of the 
"Cut's Like A Knife." The album was a top 10 success in Germany and all 
three singles reached the top 20 in the U.K.

 On a Day Like Today was released in 1998, and subsequently entered the Top 
5 in Germany and achieved platinum status in the U.K. It generated two 
British Top 10 singles: "Cloud Number Nine" and "When You're Gone," a duet 
with Melanie C, from Spice Girls.

After the release of On a Day Like Today in 1998, Adams released The Best 
of Me, in 1999, the latter a greatest hits collection that included two new 
songs, the title track, "The Best of Me" and the dance track "Don't Give 
Up." The album reached the Top 10 in Germany and was certified three times 
platinum in Canada and Platinum in the U.K. 

In 2002, Adams wrote and performed the songs for the DreamWorks animated 
film, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. The songs were included on the 
film's soundtrack. The most successful single from the soundtrack was "Here 
I Am," a British Top 5 and German Top 20 hit. Also in 2002, Adams had a 
cameo role in the Russian-language film House of Fools. 

Six years after the release of On a Day Like Today, Room Service was 
released in September 2004. It topped the charts in Germany and peaked at #4 
in the U.K., selling 440,000 copies in its first week in Europe. The single, 
"Open Road," was the most successful single from the album. It hit #1 in 
Canada and #21 in the U.K. In May 2008, the album was also released in the 
U.S. but did poorly, #134 on the Billboard 200. 

In 2005, Anthology, the first 2-disc compilation was released, 
containing two new tracks. 

In 2006, Adams wrote and performed the theme song "Never Let Go," which was 
featured in the closing credits of the film The Guardian starring Kevin 
Costner and Ashton Kutcher. He also co-wrote the song "Never Gonna Break My 
Faith" for the film Bobby, which was performed by Aretha Franklin and Mary 
J. Blige and earned Adams a Golden Globe Nomination in 2007.

Adams released his eleventh album internationally on March 17, 2008. It was 
appropriately called 11. The album was released in the U.S. on May 13, 
2008, retailing exclusively at the Wal-Mart and Sam's Club retail stores. 
The first single released from the album was "I Thought I'd Seen 
Everything." Adams did an 11-day, 11-country, European, acoustic, 
promotional tour to kick off the release of the album, which debuted at #1 
in Canada as well as reaching #2 in Germany. In the United States the album 
charted at #80. 

In May 2009 Bryan Adams announced on his Twitter account that he has started 
writing and recording a new album in Paris.

Adams is one of the four musicians who will be pictured on Canadian postage stamps 
that feature Canadian Recording Artists, that came out July 2, 2009.

Social activist:
Most of Adams' philanthropic activity is conducted through The Bryan Adams 
Foundation, which aims to advance education and learning opportunities for 
children and young people worldwide. Believing that an education is the best 
gift that a child can be given. However, the Foundation’s area of support is 
broad and far-reaching, and it also enables grants to be given for projects 
supporting the elderly, victims of war and natural disasters, and those 
suffering from mental or physical illness. The foundation is completely 
funded by Adams' photographic activities.

Photographer:
As a photographer, Adams has had his photographs published in British 
Vogue, L'uomo Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper's Bazaar, Esquire, Interview Magazine 
and i-D, amongst others. One of his other photographic efforts is publishing 
 Zoo Magazine, the fashion/art magazine based in Berlin, Germany.

On June 1, 2005, in collaboration with Calvin Klein, he published his first 
book of photos in the United States called American Women. Proceeds from 
this book go to breast cancer research for programs at the Memorial 
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, New Yor. He released a 
similar book of photos called Made In Canada in December 1999 followed by 
 Haven in 2000. All of his books were dedicated to his friend Donna, who 
died of the disease. 

Adams has photographed many of his musical peers, including Mick Jagger, Rod 
Stewart, Robert Plant, Joss Stone, Placido Domingo, Celine Dion, Billy Idol, 
Moby, Amy Winehouse, t.A.T.u., Annie Lennox, Peter Gabriel, Lenny Kravitz 
and Morrissey, just to name a few. 

On November 27, 2000, Bryan played onstage with The Who at the Royal Albert 
Hall. A DVD of the concert was issued. Bryan photographed the band and his 
photos appear in the DVD booklet.

In 2002, Adams was invited, along with other photographers from the Commonwealth, 
to photograph Queen Elizabeth II during her Golden Jubilee. One of the photographs 
from this session was used as a Canadian postage stamp in 2004 and another in 2005. 
A portrait, that Adams shot, of both Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip is now 
in the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Adams supports the Hear the World initiative as official photographer in 
its aim to raise global awareness for the topic of hearing and hearing loss. 
Adams has shot many cover photos for the magazine.

Since the 1980s, Adams has written and co-written songs, not only for 
himself, but for a wide variety of recording artist, the likes of Bachman 
Turner Overdrive, Ian Lloyd, Loverboy, Juice Newton, Kiss, Krokus, .38 
Special, and Joe Cocker; recorded and released his music; participated in 
concerts and other activities to help raise money and awareness for a 
variety of causes; made guest appearances with other bands; toured the world 
to promote his records and to raise money for many philanthropic causes; 
appeared in movies; has been a dedicated photographer; and has won countless 
awards and recognitions for both his music and his photography.

Album Discography:
Year  /  Title  /  Label
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
1980 Bryan Adams A&M
1981 You Want It You Got It A&M
1983 Cuts Like a Knife A&M
1984 Reckless A&M
1987 Into the Fire A&M
1988 Live! Live! Live! A&M
1991 Waking Up the Neighbours A&M
1993 So Far So Good A&M
1996 18 til I Die A&M
1997 MTV Unplugged A&M
1998 On a Day Like Today A&M
1999 The Best of Me A&M
2002 Spirit A&M
2003 Live At The Budokan A&M
2004 Room Service Polydor
2005 Live in Lisbon Polydor
2008 11 Polydor

A complete discography of all media is available on Wikipedia.

_________________________________________________________________________

 1 OC, the Order of Canada is an honor for merit that recognizes the 
achievement of outstanding merit or distinguished service by Canadians, 
through life-long contributions in every field of endeavor, and who made a 
major difference to Canada and who have made the world better by their 
actions. Membership is thus accorded to those who exemplify the order's 
Latin motto, taken from Hebrews 11:16, desiderantes meliorem patriam, 
meaning "they desire a better country," and awarded by the Queen of Canada, 
currently Queen Elizabeth II of The United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and 
other Commonwealth realms. Adams received his award for contributions to 
popular music and philanthropic work via his own foundation, which helps 
improve education for people around the world.

 2 OBC, the Order of British Columbia is a civilian honor for merit in the 
Canadian province of British Columbia. The order is administered by the 
Governor-in-Council, and is intended to honour current or former British 
Columbia residents for conspicuous achievements in any field.

 3 The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), operates an award 
program for albums which sell a large number of copies in the United States. 
The program originally began in 1958, with a Gold Award for singles and 
albums which reach US$1 million in sales. The criteria was changed in 1975 
to be based on the number of copies sold. Singles and albums selling at 
least 500,000 copies are given the Gold Award. In 1976, a Platinum Award was 
added for one million copies sol, and in 1999 a Diamond Award for ten 
million copies sold. The awards are open to both RIAA members and 
non-members. The RIAA presents actual gold records, in a frame, to the 
artist or artists when their records achieve one of these mileposts. 
Similar programs are in place in other countries.

 4 The Hollywood Palladium Theater was located at 6215 Sunset Boulevard in 
Hollywood, an area in L.A., California. It was built on the site where 
original Paramount Motion Picture lot once stood, had a dance floor and room 
for up to 4,000 people. The dance-hall style building was designed by Gordon 
Kaufmann, architect of, to name a few, the Los Angeles Times building, the 
Santa Anita Racetrack in Arcadia, California and the Hoover Dam (formerly 
called Boulder Dam), which lies on the border between the U.S. states of 
Arizona and Nevada.

 5 The Hammersmith Odeon, fondly called the "Hammy-O," and is a major 
entertainment venue located in Hammersmith, London. Designed by Robert 
Cromie in Art Deco style, it opened in 1932, with a seating capacity of 
3.500. It was originally named Gaumont Palace, but in 1962 it was renamed, 
the Hammersmith Odeon. In the mid 1980s, after it was refurbished in the the 
name was changed to Labatt's Apollo, after a Canadian beer, due to an 
advertising sponsorship. In the early 1990s, it was again re-named The 
Hammersmith Apollo. In 2002, the venue was again re-named, this time to the 
Carling Apollo, after another brewery, this time from the U.S., struck a 
deal with the owners. In 2006, the venue reverted to its former name, the 
Hammersmith Apollo. Around this time the stalls seats were made removable 
and now some concerts have full seating while others have standing only. In 
the latter configuration it can accommodate around 5,000 people. In January 
2009, the HMV Group, a retail music chain in the United Kingdom and Canada, 
purchased the building and entered into a joint venture with the MAMA Group, 
to run 11 live music venues across the United Kingdom, including the 
Hammersmith Apollo. As a result, the venue was yet again renamed, and is now 
called the HMV Apollo. Most people still call it the "Hammy-O."