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Today in Rock History – July 31

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1965, In England, the Yardbirds with Jeff Beck perform at the Cleethorpes Jazz Festival.

1965, Beatles VI enters the fourth of its six weeks atop the US album charts. Beatles VI includes two tracks recorded specifically for the North American market, “Bad Boy” and “Dizzy Miss Lizzy,” both covers of Larry Williams songs.

1966, Cream play their first gig in Windsor, England.

1966, The Who perform at Brittania Pier in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England.

1967, Mick Jagger was given a conditional discharge, and Keith Richard’s conviction for permitting his house to be used for the purpose of smoking cannabis resin was quashed by appeal court.

1968, Tommy James and The Shondells were at number one on the singles chart with “Mony Mony.” The song was also a hit for Billy Idol in 1987.

1968, Working at Trident studios in London, England, (with its 8-track equipment, EMI was still using 4-track recorders), The Beatles recorded four takes of “Hey Jude.”

1969, Ten Years After played at the Boston Tea Party in Boston. Magic Terry & The Universe were the support act.

1969, Elvis Presley kicked off a four week run at the Las Vegas International Hotel, his first live show since 1961. He reportedly netted $1.5 million (£937,500) for the shows. On the menu was an Elvis special, polk salad with corn muffins and honey.

1970, After Decca Records demands a final single from the Rolling Stones to make them fulfill their contract, Richards and Jagger deliver the unreleasable “Cocksucker Blues.” The single becomes the title of a Stones documentary that the band decides is also unreleasable.

1970, The Powder Ridge Festival was supposed to take place from July 31st through August 2nd in Middlefield, Connecticut.  None of the advertised acts performed due to a last minute court injunction initiated by the local township. Only Melanie performed on a small stage. In addition to the Allman Brothers Band, Janis Joplin, Van Morrison, Neil Young, Jethro Tull, Joe Cocker, Little Richard and others were on the intended lineup.

1971, Pink Floyd leave England to set out on their first tour of the Far East.

1971, The documentary Gimme Shelter premieres at London’s Rialto cinema. The film includes footage from the infamous concert at Altamont.

1971, James Taylor went to number one on the singles chart with the Carole King song “You Got A Friend.” The song would go on to win the 1971 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male.

1971, A security guard was stabbed to death during a concert by The Who at New York’s Forest Hill Stadium.

1972, Yes appeared at Hofheinz Pavilion, Houston, Texas.

1974, The Grateful Dead performed at Dillon Stadium in Hartford, Connecticut.

1975, Aerosmith played at Market Hall, Dallas, Texas.

1975, The Rolling Stones appeared at the Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina.

1976, George Benson started a two-week run at number one on the album chart with Breezin.

1977, Yes played at the Civic Center, Wheeling, West Virginia.

1979, AC/DC appeared at The Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana on their If You Want Blood Tour.

1979, James Taylor plays New York’s Central Park for free to show his support for a campaign to restore the park’s Sheep Meadow.

1980, During An Eagles concert at Long Beach, California, tempers boiled over between Glen Frey and Don Felder, who spent the entire show describing to each other the beating each planned to administer backstage. “Only three more songs until I kick your ass, pal,” Frey told Felder. The group’s next album was mixed by Frey and Felder on opposite coasts after the two decided they couldn’t bear to be in the same state, let alone the same studio.

1980, Van Halen performed at the Checkerdome, St. Louis, Missouri.

1982, King Crimson appeared at The Convention Hall, Asbury Park, New Jersey.

1983, David Bowie played at Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan.

1985, The Eurythmics had the number one position on the UK singles chart with “There Must Be An Angel, (Playing With My Heart.”) The song which was the Eurythmics’ first and only chart topping single features a harmonica solo by Stevie Wonder.

1992, Michael Jackson made an unscheduled appearance on his hotel balcony in London after a man had threatened to jump from an apartment building across the street. 28 year-old Eric Herminie told police he would leap to his death if he didn’t see Jackson, who was in Britain for a series of concerts. Jackson spent a couple of minutes waving to Herminie, who then climbed back into the building.

2001, BBC producer John Walters died at age 63. Walters produced and worked with Radio 1 DJ John Peel. Peel teamed up with Walters to broadcast some of the most groundbreaking music of an era. He joined the BBC in 1967, and became producer on John Peel’s Top Gear show two years later. Walters played the trumpet with the Alan Price Set in the 1960’s.

2012, Bruce Springsteen played his longest show ever – 4 hours and 6 minutes, at the Helsinki Olympiastadionin Finland, at the end of a European tour.

Born on July 31:  Amhet Ertegun (1923)  Bob Welch (1943)  Gary Lewis (1946); Hugh McDowell, cello, Electric Light Orchestra (1953); Bill Berry, R.E.M. ( 1958); Jim Corr, guitar, keyboards, vocals, The Corrs (1964); John Lowery, guitar, Marilyn Manson (1971); Will Champion, drummer, Coldplay (1978)

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Today in Rock History – July 19

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1965, The Who were recorded for broadcast on Radio Luxembourg’s Ready Steady Radio!

1967, Elvis Presley was working on his latest movie Speedway, co-starring Nancy Sinatra at the MGM Soundstage, Hollywood, California. It was Presley’s twenty-seventh film.

1967, The Who played at Patio Gardens in Farmington, Utah.

1967, The Beatles were at number one on the UK singles chart with “All You Need Is Love” the group’s twelfth UK chart topping single. The Beatles had been selected to represent the UK for the first-ever global-wide satellite broadcast. The group agreed to be shown in the studio recording a song written especially for the occasion, which was aired on June 25.

1968, Pink Floyd played the second of three nights at the Boston Tea Party, Boston, Massachusetts.  Opened in January 1967 as a psychedelic club, many many famous artists, including Grateful Dead, Neil Young, The J. Geils Band, Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, Cream, Fleetwood Mac, The Allman Brothers Band, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, The Who, Santana, Taj Mahal, Ten Years After and Sly & the Family Stone all appeared.

1968, Number one Pop Hit: “Grazing in the Grass,” by Hugh Masekela. A version of the song by The Friends of Distinction reaches number three in 1969.

1968, Bo Diddley played the first of two nights at the Hippodrome, San Diego, California.

1968, Spirit appeared at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.

1969, The Who performed at Mothers in Birmingham, West Midlands, England.

1969, Led Zeppelin played at the Kinetic Playground in Chicago.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band played at the Love Valley Festival, which brought almost 100,000 people to the small North Carolina town of Love Valley.

1971, Queen performed at the Rugby Club, Hayle, West Cornwall, England.

1972, The Allman Brothers Band played at the Barton Coliseum, Little Rock, Arkansas.

1973, Hawkwind appeared at the Paradiso, Amsterdam.

1974, The Ozark Music Festival was held over three days on the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia, Missouri. One of the largest music festivals ever held, some estimates have put the crowd count at 350,000 people. Acts who appeared included, Bachman–Turner Overdrive, Blue Öyster Cult, The Eagles, America, Marshall Tucker Band, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Boz Scaggs, Ted Nugent, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Electric Flag, Joe Walsh, Aerosmith and Spirit.

1974, Eric Clapton appeared at the Long Beach Civic Arena, Long Beach, California.

bowie-boxing-gloves1974, David Bowie wraps up his tour supporting Diamond Dogs in New York with two shows at Madison Square Garden. The shows are videotaped for MainMan by John Dove.

1974, Lynyrd Skynyrd performed at Memorial Auditorium, Dallas, Texas.

1974, The Grateful Dead play at Selland Arena, in Fresno, California.

1975, Paul McCartney and Wings went to number one on the singles chart with “Listen To What The Man Said,” his fourth chart topper.  Wings also had the number one album chart with Venus And Mars. It was Paul McCartney’s fourth chart topping album since the breakup of The Beatles.

1975, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band rehearsed for a full 19 hours at The Record Plant in New York City the day before their Born To Run Tour kicked off.

1975, The Rolling Stones play Denver, where Elton John joins them on stage.

Deep Purple – 1976

1976, Deep Purple split up at the end of an UK tour. David Coverdale went on to form Whitesnake, Jon Lord and Ian Paice formed a band with Tony Ashton. The classic line up of Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Lord & Paice reformed in 1984. Glenn Hughes returned to Trapeze and Tommy Bolin put together his own band, (but would die before the end of the year).

1978, The Rolling Stones played at Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas.

1979, Van Halen performed at Century II Convention Hall, Wichita, Kansas.

1980, Queen scored their third number one album with The Game, featuring the single “Another One Bites The Dust.”

1980, A production of The Elephant Man starring David Bowie opens in Denver.

1980, An exhibit featuring paintings by Joni Mitchell, John Mayall, Klaus Voormanm, Ron Wood and Commander Cody opened at the Vorpal Gallery, Laguna Beach in California.

1981, Bruce Springsteen headlined at The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1983, ZZ Top played at the Richfield Coliseum, Cleveland, Ohio.

1986, Genesis went to number one on the US singles chart with “Invisible Touch.” Former lead singer Peter Gabriel was at number two with “Sledgehammer” from his album So.

1987, Bruce Springsteen played his first ever show behind the Iron Curtain when he appeared in East Berlin in front of 180,000 people. The show was broadcast on East German TV.

1997, Oasis went to number one on the UK singles chart with “D’You Know What I Mean.” The first single from their third album Be Here Now.

2010, Ozzy Osbourne and his former Black Sabbath band mate Tony Iommi settled a long-running legal dispute over the use of the group’s name. Ozzy had filed suit against the guitarist in May of last year, accusing Iommi of falsely proclaiming to be the sole owner of the Black Sabbath name by lodging an application with the US Patent and Trademark Office. The pair released a joint statement confirming they have settled the dispute “amicably”.

Born on July 19: Thomas Allen (Papa Dee,) percussionist, War (1931); George Frayne, aka Commander Cody  (1944); Bernie Leadon, guitar, The Eagles (1947); Brian May, Queen (1947); Keith Godchaux, Grateful Dead (1948);  Allen Collins, guitar, Lynyrd Skynyrd (1952); Kevin Haskins, Bauhaus (1960)

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Today in Rock History – July 12

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courtesy: rollingstones.com
courtesy: rollingstones.com

1962, The Rolling Stones made their live debut at the Marquee Jazz Club, London, with Dick Taylor on bass (later of The Pretty Things) and Mick Avory on drums, (later of The Kinks). They were a last minute fill-in for Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated, who had been plucked to appear on BBC radio’s Jazz Club program.  Billed as The Rollin’ Stones, culled from a song by one of their heroes, Muddy Waters. They were paid £20 for the gig. Ian Stewart’s appointment diary noted that the band played songs by Jimmy Reed, Chuck Berry, and Bo Diddley.

1964, The Beatles appeared at the Hippodrome Theatre in Brighton with The Fourmost and the Shubdubs (whose drummer, Jimmy Nicol, would later fill in for an ill Ringo Starr on The Beatles’ world tour). Also in the US,  The Ed Sullivan Show re-broadcast the February 9th show, The Beatles’ first live television appearance on the program. On the way to the gig George Harrison was involved in a minor crash in his brand new Jaguar in Kings Road, Fulham, London. Passing pedestrians collected bits of broken glass as souvenirs.

1968, Pink Floyd played at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.

1969, One hit wonders Zager and Evans started a six week run at number one on the singles chart with “In The Year 2525.”

1969, Led Zeppelin headline the Summer Pop Festival, alongside with Johnny Winter, Jethro Tull, Al Kooper and Buddy Guy at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Tickets cost $3.75 – $6.75.

1969, Elvis Presley was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, on sale for 35 cents

1969, Yes and King Crimson appeared at the Nottingham Racecourse, Nottingham, England.

1970, Pink Floyd headlined on the third and final day of the 1st Open Air Pop Festival, at Reiterstadion Soers, in Aachen, West Germany. Among the other acts on the bill were Deep Purple, Amon Duul II, Traffic, and Tyrannosaurus Rex.

1972, The Rolling Stones appear at the Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis, Indiana.

1973, Led Zeppelin played the first of two nights at Detroit’s Cobo Hall. The set list: Rock and Roll, Celebration Day, (Bring It On Home intro) Black Dog, Over the Hills and Far Away, Misty Mountain Hop, Since I’ve Been Loving You, No Quarter, The Song Remains the Same, Rain Song, Dazed and Confused (incl. San Francisco), Stairway to Heaven, Moby Dick, Heartbreaker, Whole Lotta Love (incl. Let That Boy Boogie, I’m Going Down), Communication Breakdown, The Ocean.

1974, Frank Zappa plays the Hollywood Sportatorium, Pembroke Pines, Florida.

1974, Eric Clapton performed at Madison Square Garden, New York

1975, Yes appears at Rich Stadium in Buffalo, New York.

1976, The Grateful Dead played the first of six nights at the Orpheum Theatre, San Francisco, California.

1977, Fleetwood Mac appeared at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1978, Aerosmith headlines at the Long Beach Civic Arena, Long Beach, California.

1979, American singer songwriter Minnie Riperton died of cancer aged 31. The Stevie Wonder produced “Loving You” gave Minnie a number one single in 1975. She worked at Chess records singing backup for various artists such as Etta James, Fontella Bass, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, and Muddy Waters. She also sang lead for the experimental rock/soul group Rotary Connection, from 1967 to 1971. Also a member of Wonderlove in 1973, a backup group for Stevie Wonder.

1979, Deep Purple drummer Ian Paice joined Whitesnake. He would stay with the band until late 1981.

Disco Demolition at Comiskey Park – 1979. Courtesy: Chicago Reader

1979, Chicago Radio Station WLUP’s morning DJ Steve Dahl hosts Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park. Between games of a double header, a bonfire is started into which disco records are pitched while the crowd chants “Disco sucks.”   The promoters expected a crowd of a few thousand fans. Instead, 40,000 people showed up to take advantage of the 98 cent admission, if they brought a disco record. Dahl’s fans stormed the field and started a small riot.  While broadcasters tried to calm the crowd and get them back to their seats, fans paid no heed and tore up the field.  The White Sox had to forfeit the second game of the double header.

1980, During their 23-date 11 O’clock Tick Tock tour, U2 played at The Moonlight, West Hampstead in London.

1980, Olivia Newton-John and the Electric Light Orchestra had the UK number one single with “Xanadu,” taken from the film of the same name. It gave Olivia Newton-John her third UK chart topping single.

1981, Van Halen played at the International Amphitheater in Chicago.

1983, Former Traffic member Chris Wood died of pneumonia after years of battling drug and alcohol abuse. He played flute, sax, and keyboards.

1983, David Bowie appeared at the Montreal Forum, Montreal.

1986, Simply Red scored their first US number one single with “Holding Back The Years.” Simply Red singer Mick Hucknall wrote the song when he was seventeen, while living at his father’s house. The chorus did not come to him until many years later.

1996, Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin was charged with drug possession after the death of the band’s keyboard player Jonathan Melvoin in his New York Hotel room.

2003, Saxophonist, composer and arranger Benny Carter died aged 95. He worked with Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles and composed many TV theme’s including Ironside and M-Squad.

2003, REM, The White Stripes, Idlewind, The Cardigans, The Proclaimers, The Music, The Charlatans, Coldplay, Supergrass, The Darkness, Turin Brakes, The Coral and Feeder all appeared at the two-day T In The Park festival in Scotland.

2007, Rod Stewart was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire at Buckingham Palace for his services to music.

Born on July 12: Christine McVie (1943); Wilko Johnson, guitar, Dr. Feelgood (1947); Philip Taylor Kramer, bass guitar, Iron Butterfly (1952);  Dan Murphy, guitar, Soul Asylum (1962); Dominic Howard, drums, Muse (1977)

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Today in Rock History – July 5

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1964, The Irish band Them, featuring Van Morrison, record “Gloria.”

1965, The Four Tops record their number five hit “It’s the Same Old Song,” which resembles their number one “I Can’t Help Myself.”

1965, Marty Balin and Paul Kantner formed a Folk-Rock group that would evolve into the Jefferson Airplane, the premier San Francisco psychedelic band of the late ’60s. The Airplane made its debut the following month at a Haight-Ashbury club, and was signed to RCA later in the year.

1966, On the recommendation of Rolling Stone Keith Richards’ girlfriend, Chas Chandler from The Animals went to see Jimi Hendrix play at The Cafe Wha? in New York City. Chandler suggests that Hendrix should come to England, which he does and Chandler became his manager.

1967, Jimi Hendrix played at Wollman Skating Rink Theater in New York City.

1967, Pink Floyd performed at The Dance Hall, Eel Pie Island Hotel, Twickenham, England.

1968, Bill Graham opens the Fillmore West in San Francisco.

1968, The Jeff Beck Group appeared at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.

1969, The Rolling Stones gave a free concert in London’s Hyde Park before an audience of 250,000, as a tribute to Brian Jones who had died two days earlier. Mick Jagger read an extract from Percy Bysshe Shelley’s Adonais and released 3,500 butterflies. The event was also guitarist’s Mick Taylor’s debut with the Stones.  King Crimson, Family, The Third Ear Band, Screw and Alexis Korner’s New Church also appeared on the day.

1969, The Who, Chuck Berry and Bodast all played two shows, one at 5:30 and another at 8:30pm, at The Royal Albert Hall.

1969, Vanilla Fudge performed at Place des Nations in Montreal, Quebec.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band were part of the Atlanta Pop Festival lineup held at Byron, Georgia.

1971, A Led Zeppelin gig in Milan turns violent when police fire tear gas at the crowd. The band escapes unharmed, but numerous arrests are made and a roadie is hit in the head with a bottle.

1972, The Rolling Stones performed at the Norfolk Scope, Norfolk, Virginia.

1972, Procol Harum and The Eagles appeared at the Golden Hall, San Diego, California.

1974, David Bowie played at the Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Roger Waters – photo by Danny Clifford (dannyclifford.com)

1975, Pink Floyd, Captain Beefheart, Steve Miller and Roy Harper all appeared at The Knebworth Festival, England, tickets cost £3.50 ($5.60). Pink Floyd premiered their new album Wish You Were Here with the help of Spitfires, pyrotechnics and an exploding plane which flies into the stage.

1975, Yes performed at Roberts Municipal Stadium, Evansville, Indiana.

1976, Elvis Presley appeared at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1978, The Grateful Dead appeared at the Civic Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

1978, the Electric Light Orchestra performed at the Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1978, The manufacturing of Some Girls the new album by The Rolling Stones was halted at EMI’s pressing plant after complaints from celebrities including Lucille Ball who were featured in mock advertisements on the album sleeve.

1979, Foreigner played at the Hollywood Sportatorium, Pembroke Pines, Florida.

1980, ZZ Top performed at the Tangerine Bowl, Orlando, Florida.

1981, Van Halen played at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan.

1981, Rush appeared at Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, Wisconsin.

1982, Sun records musical director Bill Justis died of cancer aged 55. He worked with Sam Phillips at Sun Records, and also worked with Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Charlie Rich and Jerry Lee Lewis. He had the 1957 US number two single “Raunchy,” the first Rock and Roll instrumental hit. Also had a number one hit in Australia in 1963 with “Tamoure.”

1983, Eric Clapton played at Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Maryland.

1984, Van Halen performed at Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana.

1984, David Gilmour appeared at the Sunrise Musical Theater, Sunrise, Florida.

1995, More than 100 Grateful Dead fans were hurt when a wooden deck collapsed at a campground lodge in Wentzville, Missouri. Hundreds of people were on or under the deck sheltering from heavy rain. More than 4,000 Deadheads were staying at the campground while attending Grateful Dead concerts in the St. Louis suburb.

1999, The Eurythmics announced their first world tour for more than ten years, with all profits would be given to charity. The duo made the announcement from the Greenpeace boat ‘Rainbow Warrior’ moored on the River Thames in London.

2007, English jazz and blues singer and film critic George Melly died at his London home at the age of 80 of lung cancer and vascular dementia.

Born on July 5: Robbie Robertson (1944); Michael Monarch, guitar, Steppenwolf (1948); Huey Lewis (1951); Nick O’Malley, bass, Arctic Monkeys (1985)

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Today in Rock History – June 27

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1966, Pete Townshend and The Who’s co-manager Chris Stamp fly to New York City, the first trip by any member of The Who to America. Shortly after his arrival, Pete attends a luncheon for Herman’s Hermits who are beginning their 1966 U.S. tour. A reporter from Datebook magazine gets an interview from an irritable Pete, while he is photographed by Linda Eastman.”I don’t know why I’m here, at somebody else’s luncheon…Two of your lousy record companies haven’t been able to get us a hit in America. Without a hit record, we can’t get a visa to perform.” When a girl recognizes him and asks if Keith is there because her brother wanted Keith’s drumsticks, Pete chirps, “He’s not here. And if he were, I’m quite sure he wouldn’t give you his drumsticks.”

1967, Pink Floyd were in Studio 3, EMI Studios, Abbey Road, St. John Wood, London in recording sessions for Piper At The Gates of Dawn.

1968, Elvis Presley appeared on an NBC TV show that was billed as his “comeback special.” The show featured the king performing on a small, square stage, surrounded by a mostly female audience. Presley was outfitted in black leather and performed many of his early hits.

1968, Working at Abbey Road studios in London The Beatles recorded seven takes of “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey” for the upcoming album The Beatles, better known as The White Album.

1969, During a North American tour Jimi Hendrix appeared at Boston Gardens, Boston, Massachusetts.

1969, The Doors performed at the Forum, Mexico City, Mexico.

1970, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Byrds, Canned Heat, Steppenwolf, Jefferson Airplane, Johnny Winter, Frank Zappa And The Mothers of Invention, Dr. John, The Moody Blues and Fairport Convention all appeared at the three-day Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music in Bath, England.

1970, The Jackson Five started a two week run at number one on the singles chart with “The Love You Save,” the group’s third chart topper of the year.

1970, Traffic appeared at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, Ontario,

1970, The Trans-Continental Pop Festival (better known as the Festival Express) set off. The tour was unique in that rather than flying to each city, most of the acts traveled on a chartered Canadian National train. The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Band, The Flying Burrito Brothers and, Buddy Guy Blues Band all traveled together on the train, playing shows in Toronto, Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Calgary.

1970, Freddie Mercury made his live debut with Smile, guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor’s group, at Truro City Hall, Cornwall, England.

1971, The Fillmore East in New York closed its doors. The final concert took place with The Allman Brothers Band, The J. Geils Band, Albert King, and special guests – Edgar Winter’s White Trash, Mountain, The Beach Boys, and Country Joe McDonald  in an invitation-only performance.

1976, The culmination of lengthy legal battle that began in 1973, John Lennon finally received his green card, granting him permanent residency in the US.

1980, John Bonham, drummer with Led Zeppelin collapsed on stage during a gig in Nuremberg, West Germany.

1981, Motorhead scored their only UK number one album with No Sleep Til Hammersmith. The live album was recorded at shows in Leeds and Newcastle during their Short, Sharp Pain In The Neck tour in 1981. The name of the tour was a reference to the injury sustained by Phil Taylor when he was dropped on his head during some after-show horseplay. Despite the title of the album, the London venue the Hammersmith Odeon was not played on the tour.

1981, The Who’s “Don’t Let Go The Coat” backed with “You” hits the US charts. It peaks at number 84 in Billboard, and number 77 in Cash Box.

1987, Madonna played the first date on the North American leg of her Who’s That Girl World Tour at the Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida. The 39 date tour supported her third studio album, True Blue, released in 1986, as well as the soundtrack to Who’s That Girl.

1992, Michael Jackson played the first night on his Dangerous World tour at the Olympic Stadium in Munich, Germany. The tour consisted of 69 concerts to approximately 3.9 million fans across three continents. All profits made from the tour were donated to various charities including the Heal the World Foundation, Jackson’s main reason for conducting the tour.

1994, Aerosmith became the first major band to let fans download a full new track free from the Internet.

1997, Radiohead, Cast, The Bluetones, Manson, The Chemical Brothers, Ash, The Seahorses, Smashing Pumpkins, The Prodigy, Beck, Sheryl Crow, Sting, Dodgy, Travis, Ray Davies, Kula Shaker, Steve Winwood all appeared at the three-day Glastonbury Festival.

2002, One day before the scheduled first show of The Who’s 2002 US tour, bass player John Entwistle, died aged 57 in his hotel room in Las Vegas. The medical examiner determined that death was due to a heart attack induced by an undetermined amount of cocaine.

2003, R.E.M. David Gray, Suede, The Music, Mogwai, De La Soul, Echo and The Bunnymen, Inspiral Carpets and The Darkness all appeared at the UK Glastonbury Festival.

2008, Kings of Leon, The Fratellis, Editors, The Gossip, The Feeling, KT Tunstall, Kate Nash, Jay Z, Amy Winehouse, The Raconteurs, James Blunt, Crowded House, Seasick Steve, Martha Wainwright, The Verve, Leonard Cohen, The Ting Tings, Goldfrapp, Neil Diamond, Pete Doherty, Scouting for Girls, Mark Ronson, Duffy, The Zutons, Groove Armada, and John Mayer all appeared at three-day UK Glastonbury Festival.

2009, Black Eyed Peas went to number one on the US album charts with The E.N.D., the group’s fifth studio album. The album’s lead single, “Boom Boom Pow” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 12 consecutive weeks, the second single, “I Gotta Feeling” spent 14 weeks at number one.

2015, Chris Squire, the bass guitarist and co-founder of 1970s British progressive rock band Yes, died at the age of 67 after battling leukemia. He was the only member to appear on each of their 21 studio albums, released from 1969 to 2014.

Born on June 27: Bruce Johnston (1944); Joey Covington, American drummer, Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna, Jefferson Starship (1945);  Camile Baudoin, American guitarist, The Radiators (1948); Gilson Lavis, drums, Chuck Berry, Squeeze, Jools Holland (1951); Lisa Germano, American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, John Mellencamp, Simple Minds, David Bowie, Neil Finn (1958); Jeffrey Lee Pierce, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, The Gun Club (1958); Dawud Wharnsby, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer (1972); Leigh Nash, singer, Sixpence None The Richer (1976);  Jennifer Goodridge, American keyboard player, Your Enemies Friends (1980)

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Today in Rock History – June 26

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1965, The Byrds went to number one on the US singles chart with their version of Bob Dylan’s “Mr Tambourine Man.” Only Roger McGuinn from the band played on the song, Wrecking Crew drummer Hal Blaine played on the track.

1965, The Strangeloves,  three Australian aborigines who were really three New Yorkers, enter Billboard’s Hot 100 with “I Want Candy.”

1966, In the midst of a German tour, the Beatles make a long-awaited return to Hamburg, the city where they got their start performing in local clubs. This time they come back in an eight-car motorcade and play to 7,000 people at Ernst Mercky Halle.

1966, During a North American tour, The Rolling Stones played two shows, a matinee show at The Coliseum in Washington DC, and an evening show at The Baltimore Civic Centre in Maryland. The McCoys and The Standells were the support acts.

1969, Joni Mitchell appeared on the ABC TV Mama Cass Television Program from Los Angeles, California.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at North Georgia Fairgrounds in Marietta, Ohio.

1970, Mountain played at The Warehouse in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1971, Emerson Lake and Palmer went to number one on the UK chart with their second album Tarkus.

1971, Pink Floyd play at Hatfield Polytechnic, in Hatfield, England. Tickets were 60 pence (about 90 cents.)

1972, During sessions at Olympic Studios, London, England, David Bowie recorded “John, I’m Only Dancing,” with Mick Ronson on lead guitar and Lou Reed on rhythm guitar. The track which was released and became a hit single in the UK in September of this year was not released in America, being judged too risqué by RCA Records. The original video directed by Mick Rock, featuring androgynous dancers from Lindsay Kemp’s mime troupe, was banned by British music show Top Of The Pops.

1973, Rolling Stone Keith Richards and his girlfriend Anita Pallenberg were arrested at their home in Chelsea, London on drugs and gun charges.

1974, Cher divorced Sonny Bono after 10 years of marriage. Four days later, Cher married guitarist Gregg Allman, the couple split 10 days after that, got back together and split again. They did stay married for three years, producing Elijah Blue Allman.

1975, Bob Dylan officially releases the long-bootlegged Basement Tapes.

1976, The Grateful Dead played the first of four nights at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago, Illinois.

1976, Legendary ’70s group Roxy Music announce they will undergo a “trial separation.”

1977, Elvis Presley made his last ever live stage appearance when he appeared at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. Presley would die less than two months later. The last two songs he performed were  “Hurt”  and  “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”  Before the show Elvis was presented with a plaque commemorating the 2 billionth record to come out of RCA s pressing plant.

1982, American singer and One Hit Wonder Charlene was at number one on the UK singles chart with “I’ve Never Been To Me.” The song was recorded in 1976 and was reissued by Motown records in 1982 by which time Charlene had moved to England and was working in a sweet shop in Ilford, east London.

1999, Elton John was reported to be in talks with a City finance house to secure a £25 million ($42.5 million) loan, using his back catalogue of hits as security. It had been reported that Elton had been spending £250,000 ($425,000) a week on credit cards.

2008, Total Guitar magazine voted Celine Dion’s rendition of the AC/DC track “You Shook Me All Night Long” as the world’s worst cover version ever. In the best cover versions list, Jimi Hendrix was voted into first place with his version of the Bob Dylan song “All Along the Watchtower,” The Beatles rendition of “Twist and Shout,” (first recorded by the Top Notes), was in second place, followed by the Guns N’ Roses version of the Wings song “Live and Let Die.”

Born on Jun 26: Col. Tom Parker, Elvis’ manager (1910); Billy Davis, Jr., The Fifth Dimension (1940); Larry Taylor, Canned Heat (1942) Mick Jones, The Clash (1955); Chris Isaak (1956) ; Colin Greenwood,  Radiohead (1969)

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Today in Rock History – June 18

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1971, Fleetwood Mac appeared at Up The Junction in Crewe, England.

1974, Peter Hoorelbeke, drummer with Rare Earth, was arrested after a concert for throwing his drumsticks into the crowd.

1975, Elvis Presley had a face-lift at Mid South hospital, Memphis.

1976, Abba gave a special live performance in Stockholm for Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and Silvia Sommerlath on the eve of their wedding.

1977, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers supported by The Boomtown Rats appeared at Friars, Aylesbury, England.

1977, Fleetwood Mac went to No.1 on the singles chart with “Dreams,” the group’s first and only No.1

1977, Johnny Rotten and Paul Cook of The Sex Pistols were stabbed and beaten when they were attacked in a parking lot outside a London pub.

1977, The Beatles Live At The Hollywood Bowl went to number one on the album chart The album featured recordings from  August 23rd 1964 and  August 30th 1965.

1980, The Blues Brothers, starring Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as the deadpan R&B team, premieres in New York.

1993, A&M Records chairman Jerry Moss and vice-chairman Herb Alpert announced they were leaving the company they founded more than 30 years earlier. They had sold A&M in 1990 to Polygram for $500 (£312.5) million. Moss and Alpert started the label in the garage of Alpert’s Los Angeles home in 1962. The label was the home to such acts as The Police, Bryan Adams, Joan Baez, Flying Burrito Brothers, The Carpenters, Joe Cocker, Supertramp and Herb Alpert’s own Tijuana Brass.

2002, U2 lost a bid to prevent the demolition of Hanover Quay studio in Dublin. More than 8,000 fans signed an online petition to preserve the studio, where the group recorded “All That You Can’t Leave Behind” and some of their Pop album.

2003, Pop Idol creator Simon Fuller became the first British music manager since The Beatles’ Brian Epstein to hold the top three positions in the US singles chart. Fuller, who steered the Spice Girls and S Club 7 to success, was in charge of bestselling artists Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard, together with the American Idol 2 Final 10. During 2003 Fuller sold more than ten million records around the world and has had 96 number one singles and 79 top-placed albums in both the US and UK during his career.

2007, American singer and record producer Hank Medress died of lung cancer at 68. He was the vocalist on The Tokens 1961 US No.1 hit “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” Medress was also in the vocal quartet The Linc-Tones with Neil Sedaka and produced the hit single “He’s So Fine”‘ by The Chiffons, as well as Tony Orlando’s “Knock Three Times.”

Born on June 18: Paul McCartney (1942); Carl Radle, bass, Derek and the Dominoes (1942);  Lincoln Thompson, Jamaican singer-songwriter, The Tartans (1949); Alison Moyet, Yazoo (1961); Oz Fox, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, Stryper, SinDizzy,  Bloodgood (1961); Dizzy Reed, American keyboard player, songwriter, actor, Guns N’ Roses and Johnny Crash (1963); Nathan Morris, American singer, Boyz II Men (1971);

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Today in Rock History – June 15

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The Who, 1964 - from THE MARK AND COLLEEN HAYWARD COLLECTION (http://rockmusicprints.com/)
The Who, 1964 – from THE MARK AND COLLEEN HAYWARD COLLECTION (http://rockmusicprints.com/)

1964, The Who played at the Glenlyn Ballroom in Forest Hill, London.

1965, The Rolling Stones kicked off an 8-date mini-European tour at The Odeon Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland, supported by The Hollies

1966, “Substitute” by The Who peaks at number 13 on the German charts.

1967, Guitarist Peter Green quit the John Mayall Band. He went on to be a founding member of Fleetwood Mac.

1968, The Soft Machine appeared at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.

1968, Today John and Yoko plant their acorns outside Coventry Cathedral in England to help promote peace.

1968, Pink Floyd performed two shows (7:30 and 11:30 pm) at Magic Village in Manchester, England. Also on the bill for this all night event were Purple Stone and the Alchemist, The Jack Lancaster – Bruce Mithcell Quartet, and the Inner Light Show.

1968, Quicksilver Messenger Service supported by The Hallucinations played at Boston Tea Party, Boston, Massachusetts.

1969, Led Zeppelin, along with Liverpool Scene and Bloodwyn Pig appeared at The Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England, during a five date UK tour.

1969, The Frost played at the Sports Arena in Toledo, Ohio.

1969, The Doors appeared at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

1970, The Who performed at the Community Theater, Berkeley, California.

1971, Pink Floyd performed at Abbaye de Royaumont in Royaumont, France. The show that was filmed by French TV channel ORTF, and two songs were broadcast on Cinq Grand Sur La Deux in the early hours of July 12th.

1972, The Rolling Stones appeared at University Stadium, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

1973, On television’s Midnight Special, host Jim Croce welcomes guests Wishbone Ash and Bobby Womack.

1973, David Bowie performed at the Odeon Theatre, Taunton, England.

1974, Abba’s debut album Waterloo entered the chart for the first time peaking at number 28.

1974, Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Billy Don’t Be A Hero,” The song was a UK chart topper for Paper Lace.

1974, Elvis Presley played the first night of an 18-date US tour by playing four shows at the Tarrant County Center, Forth Worth, Texas.

1975, ZZ Top played at the Spokane Coliseum, Spokane, Washington.

1976, The Sex Pistols recorded their first demos in Clapham’s Majestic studios followed by a gig that night at The 100 club, London.

1976, AC/DC appeared at St. Georges Hall, Bradford, England.

1977, The Sex Pistols held a party on a boat as it sailed down The River Thames in London. The Pistols performed “Anarchy In The UK” outside The Houses Of Parliament, resulting in members from the party being arrested when the boat docked later that day.

1977, Pink Floyd performed at County Stadium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1978, During a European tour Bob Dylan played the first of six sold out nights at London’s Earl Court.

1979, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at Pine Knob Music Theatre, Clarkston, Michigan.

1980, Nazareth played at the Hollywood Sportatorium, Pembroke Pines, Florida.

1983, David Bowie performed at Ruhrland Stadion, Bochum, Germany.

1984, Yes appeared at the Scandinavium, Göteborg, Sweden.

1985, Dire Straits started a nine-week run at number one on the US album chart with, Brothers In Arms.

1986, U2 and Sting headlined a concert in New Jersey celebrating 25 years of Amnesty International.

1989 Nirvana’s debut album Bleach was released in the US. The title for the album came from a poster “Bleach Your Works” urging drug users to bleach their needles. Kurt Cobain claimed that most of the lyrics on the album were written the night before recording while he was feeling “pissed off,” and that he did not regard them highly.

1996, Jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald died in Beverly Hills, California, aged 79. Already blinded by the effects of diabetes, Fitzgerald had both her legs amputated in 1993. She won 13 Grammy Awards, and the 1956 Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook was the first of eight “Songbook” sets.

2002, A rare autographed copy of The Beatles’ album Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band sold at auction for £34,000 ($57,800), more than five times the estimated price.

 2003, Radiohead scored their fourth UK number one with their sixth studio album Hail To The Thief, while Metallica were at number one on the US album chart with St Anger, the band’s fourth US chart topper, and a top three hit in the UK.

2005, Coldplay went straight to number one on US album chart with their third album X&Y, having already entered at number one in the UK. The last time a British artist had a simultaneous US and UK number one was in November 2000 with 1, a compilation of hits by The Beatles. The last studio album to reach number one on both sides of the Atlantic was Radiohead’s Kid A in October 2000.

Born on June 15: Nigel Pickering, Spanky And Our Gang (1929); Waylon Jennings (1937); Harry Nilsson (1941); Johnny Halliday, “the French Elvis” (1943); Muff Winwood, The Spencer Davis Group (1943); Russell Hitchcock, vocals, Air Supply (1949);  Steve Walsh, Kansas (1951); David Hinds, Steel Pulse (1956); rapper Ice Cube (1969)

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Today in Rock History – June 12

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1964, The Beatles arrived in Adelaide, Australia and were greeted by an estimated 250,000 fans, who lined the ten mile route from the airport to the city center. The group gave their first four shows in Australia at the Centennial Hall, Adelaide over two nights, playing: I Saw Her Standing There, I Want To Hold Your Hand, All My Loving, She Loves You, Till There Was You, Roll Over Beethoven, Can’t Buy Me Love, This Boy, Long Tall Sally and Twist And Shout. Temporary member Jimmy Nicol was standing in for Ringo on drums who was recovering from having his tonsils removed.

1965, The Beatles were included in the Queen’s birthday honors list to each receive the MBE. Protests poured into Buckingham Palace, MP Hector Dupuis said “British Royalty has put me on the same level as a bunch of vulgar numbskulls.”

1965, The Supremes scored their fifth consecutive chart topping single when “Back In My Arms Again” went to number one on the US charts.

1965, The Who appeared at The Town Hall, Dudley, Birmingham. England.

1965, Sonny & Cher make their television debut on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand.

1966, The Dave Clark Five made a record 12th appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

1966, Pink Floyd made their last appearance at the Marquee Club in Wardour Street, London, England. However, it was at this show that future co-manager Peter Jenner saw the band live for the first time. Floyd went on to sign a management contract with Peter Jenner and Andrew King on October 31st.

1967, Bob Dylan’s album Greatest Hits peaked at number ten in the US charts. The cover photograph of the album was taken by Rowland Scherman at Dylan’s November 28th, 1965, concert in Washington, D.C., winning the 1967 Grammy award for Best Album Cover, Photography.

1968, Speedway, starring Elvis Presley and Nancy Sinatra, premieres in Charlotte, North Carolina.

1969, Raven and Johnny Winter played at Boston Tea Party in Boston, Massachusetts.

1970, Bob Seger appeared at the Uptown Palladium 12 Theatre‎ in Birmingham, Michigan.

1970, Janis Joplin and the Full Tilt Boogie Band performed at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky.

1971, Pink Floyd played at the Palais des Sports in lyon France. The show included the song “Atom Heart Mother,” performed with the addition of a 20-piece choir, three trombones, three trumpets, and one tuba.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band @ Eastown Theater, Detroit, Michigan.

1972, John Lennon and Yoko Ono release their album “Some Time in New York City.”

1972, With the help of her mother,  Ronnie Spector left her husband Phil’s Beverly Hills mansion for the last time, leaving behind her adopted sons, three year old Donté and six year old twins, Louis and Gary. Within days she filed for a divorce that would be granted in 1974.

1973, David Bowie appeared at Central Hall, Chatham, England.

1974, KISS played at I.M.A. Sports Arena, Flint, Michigan.

1975, The Rolling Stones performed at the Boston Garden, Boston.

1976, The Who, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Little Feat, Outlaws and Streetwalkers all appeared at Swansea City Football Club, Swansea, Wales, Tickets cost £4 ($7).

1976, ZZ Top appeared at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1977, Bad Company played at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1977, Genesis performed at the Palais de Sports, Paris .

1978, Playing live around the UK, Dire Straits at Erics, Liverpool. The Thompson Twins at The Limit in Sheffield, and The Jam at King George’s Hall, Blackburn.

1979, The Police appeared at The Locarno, Bristol, England, supported by The Cramps.

1981, Bob Dylan performed at the Pine Knob Music Theatre, Clarkston, Michigan.

1982, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt and Gary ‘US’ Bonds all appeared at a rally for nuclear disarmament in Central Park, New York to over 450,000 fans.

1982, Adam Ant was at number one on the UK singles chart with “Goody Two Shoes,” his third and last chart topper.

1984, Rush performed at the Barton Coliseum, Little Rock, Arkansas.

1987, The Grateful Dead appeared at the County Fairgrounds, Ventura, California.

1989, The Elvis Presley Autoland Museum opened at Graceland. The museum contained over 30 cars which were owned by Presley including his famous Pink Cadillac, Harley-Davidson motorcycles, Stutz Blackhawks, a 1975 Dino Ferrari, a 1956 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible, and the red MG that Elvis drove in the film Blue Hawaii.

1993, UB40 had their third UK chart topping single with (“I Can’t Help), Falling In Love With You,” a number one hit for Elvis Presley in 1962.

2003, Van Morrison, Queen, Little Richard and Phil Collins were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in a New York City ceremony.

2005, Pink Floyd announced they would reunite with former bassist Roger Waters, who left the band in 1985, on July 2nd for the Live 8 London concert. This would be the first time the band had played together as a quartet since The Wall tour in 1981.

2008, Amy Winehouse performed an exclusive gig at a Moscow art gallery for Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich and his girlfriend Dasha Zhukova. It was reported that the singer was paid £1m ($1.7 million) for the gig at the launch of The Garage gallery, which has been set up by Ms. Zhukova.

Born on June 12: Chick Corea; UK folk singer Roy Harper; Reg Presley, singer, The Troggs (1941); Barry Bailey, guitar, Atlanta Rhythm Section (1948); Brad Delp, Boston and Bun E Carlos, Cheap Trick (1951); Pete Fardon, bass, The Pretenders (1952); John Linnell,  They Might Be Giants (1959)

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Today in Rock History – June 11

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1966, The Rolling Stones started a two week run at No.1 on the singles chart with “Paint It Black,” the group’s third No.1 single.

1966, European radio stations mistakenly report that The Who’s lead singer Roger Daltrey is dead. Actually, it was guitarist Pete Townshend who had been injured in a car accident a few days earlier.

1966, Elvis Presley begins shooting his 26th film, Double Trouble.

1967, Printed in this week’s music weekly Melody Maker’s ad’s pages, “Freaky lead guitarist, bass and drummer wanted for Marc Bolan’s new group. Also any other astral flyers like with car’s amplification and that which never grows in window boxes, phone Wimbledon 0697.” The band who formed as Tyrannosaurus Rex, went on to release four underground folk albums before becoming known as T Rex.

1968, Cream appeared at Paul Sauvé Arena in Montreal, Quebec.

1968, London’s Olympic Studio catches fire while the Rolling Stones are there recording Beggars Banquet.

1968, Working at Abbey Road studios in London on the White Album, John Lennon worked on “Revolution 9” in studio 3, while Paul McCartney recorded “Blackbird” in studio 2.

1969, The Beatles were at No.1 on the singles chart with “The Ballad Of John and Yoko,” the group’s 17th No.1. Only two Beatles played on the track, John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

1969, David Bowie releases his single “Space Oddity” in conjunction with the planned Apollo 11 lunar landing.

1970, Traffic jammed at the Fillmore East in New York.

1970, The Rascals, Poco, and Alee Keith played at The Warehouse in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band appear at the Eastown Theater, Detroit, Michigan.

1972, Led Zeppelin performed at the Civic Center in Baltimore.  Tickets were priced from $5.50 – $7.50. The set list was: Immigrant Song, Heartbreaker, Black Dog, Since I’ve Been Loving You, Stairway to Heaven, Going to California, That’s the Way, Tangerine, Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, Dazed and Confused, What Is and What Should Never Be, Moby Dick, Whole Lotta Love (medley incl. Let That Boy Boogie, I Need Your Love Tonight, Hello Mary Lou, Heartbreak Hotel, I’m Going Down, Going Down Slow), Rock and Roll, Communication Breakdown.

1972, The Rolling Stones play the Forum in Inglewood, California. The opening act is Stevie Wonder.

1973, Deep Purple performed at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan.

1974, The Who headlined at Madison Square Garden in New York.

1975, The Rolling Stones appeared at the Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.

1976, The Grateful Dead performed at the Great Boston Music Hall.

1976, AC/DC appeared at Glasgow City Hall, Scotland, on the first night of their Lock Up Your Daughters 19 date UK tour.

1977, Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours retains the number one album in the US. Just one of the 31 weeks it would spend in that position in 1977 and 1978.

1977, Joe Strummer and Topper Headon were detained overnight in prison in Newcastle upon Tyne having failed to appear at Morpeth Magistrates on May 21st. Both Clash members were to answer a charge relating to the theft of a Holiday Inn pillowcase. They were both fined £100 ($170).

1977, KC and the Sunshine Band became only the second group after The Jackson Five to achieve four US No.1’s when “I’m Your Boogie Man” went to the top of the charts.

1977, As Britain celebrated the Queen’s Silver Jubilee, The Sex Pistols reached No. 2 in the singles chart with “God Save The Queen.”

1978, Genesis appeared at Deutschlandhalle, Berlin, Germany.

1980, Aerosmith played at Stage West, Hartford, Connecticut.

1981, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performed at the Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois.

1983, ZZ Top played at the Civic Auditorium Arena, Omaha, Nebraska.

1984, Yes performed at Isstadion, Stockholm, Sweden.

1988, Nelson Mandellas 70th birthday tribute took place at Wembley Stadium, London, featuring Whitney Houston, Phil Collins, Dire Straits, Stevie Wonder, Tracy Chapman, George Michael, Eric Clapton, UB40, The Eurythmics and Simple Minds. The event was broadcast live on BBC 2 to 40 different countries with an estimated audience of 1 billion.

1991, The Grateful Dead played at the Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina.

2005, Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin founding member and guitarist, was awarded an OBE in the Queen of England’s Birthday Honours list and Queen guitarist and founding member Brian May was awarded a CBE.

2011, Pink Floyd’s 1973 album The Dark Side Of The Moon, re-entered the Billboard Album chart at No. 47, and reached the milestone of 1,000 weeks on Billboard’s charts.

Born on this day: John Lawton, Uriah Heep (19467);  Glenn Leonard, The Temptations (1947); Alan Skipper, drums, The Pretty Things (1948) and Frank Beard, ZZ Top (1949)

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