Rock History August 23
1966, The Beatles were at number one on the singles chart with the double a sided ‘Yellow Submarine – Eleanor Rigby’. The group’s eleventh chart topper.
1966, On their final tour of America, The Beatles performed at Shea Stadium in New York City, New York. Unlike the previous year’s performance, which had sold out, there were 11,000 empty seats in the 55,600 seat stadium. The Beatles earn more than the previous year, receiving $189,000 for their performance.
1967, During a North American tour Herman’s Hermits supported by The Who appeared at Atwood Stadium, Flint in Michigan.
1967, Enjoying a wild birthday party Keith Moon drummer with The Who drove his Lincoln car into a Holiday Inn swimming pool. As the party had become out of control, the police were called to put an end to the festivities. Moon, ever keen to avoid the boys in blue snuck outside and got into a Lincoln Continental Limousine and attempted to make a getaway. Unfortunately, in his inebriated state he released the handbrake, and began rolling towards the pool. Moon simply sat back and waited, as the car crashed through the fence around the pool and into the water.
1967, Joni Mitchell played her first ever UK show when she opened for The Piccadilly Line at The Marquee Club in London.
1968, During a North American tour The Jimi Hendrix Experience appeared at Singer Bowl, Flushing Meadow Park, New York. Also on the bill Soft Machine and Big Brother and the Holding Company.
1968, Pink Floyd played the first two nights on the last stop of their US tour at The Bank, in Torrence, California., in the Los Angeles area.
1969, The Rolling Stones started a four week run at No.1 on the singles chart with ‘Honky Tonk Women’ the group’s fifth No.1.
1969, Ibex, featuring vocalist Freddie Bulsara (later Freddie Mercury), played a gig at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton, Lancashire, UK.
1969, The Grateful Dead played at Pelletier Farm, in St. Helens, Oregon, after local officials denied the promoters the opportunity to stage a three day festival at the Columbia County Fairgrounds.
1970, Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground performed together for the last time at the New York Club ‘Max’s Kansas City’. Reed worked as a typist for his father for the next two years, at $40 per week.
1971, During a North American tour Led Zeppelin appeared at the Tarrant County Convention Center, Fort Worth Texas.
1972, The Who appear at Kungliga Tennishallen, in Stockholm, Sweden.
1974, Aerosmith played at the Parthenon Theatre, in Hammond, Indiana, an old movie house with a capacity of over 2500, dating back to the 1920’s.
1975, Joy Division singer Ian Curtis married Deborah Woodruff, whom he met while still at school, when he was 19 and she was 18. They remained married until his death when he hanged himself in the kitchen of his house in Macclesfield, England at the age of 23.
1975, One of These Nights by the Eagles entered its last week atop the US album charts. Elton John’s Captain Fantastic would knock it from the number one spot.
1975, The following groups performed at the Reading Festival – Alan Stivell, Babe Ruth, Heavy Metal Kids, Kursaal Flyers, Snafu, Supertramp, The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Thin Lizzy, Yes, Zzebra.
1977, Rush performed at Exhibition Stadium, Toronto.
1980, David Bowie was at number one on the singles chart with ‘Ashes To Ashes’ his second chart topper. The song comes from the Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) album, the song continued the story of Major Tom from Bowie’s “Space Oddity.” The video for “Ashes to Ashes” was one of the most iconic of the 1980s and costing £250,000 ($400,000). At the time it was one of the most expensive music videos ever made.
1980, Saturday night’s lineup at the Reading Festival was Broken Home, Grand Prix, Iron Maiden, Pat Travers Band, Quartz, Samson, UFO, and White Spirit.
1980, The Heatwave Festival in Toronto, Canada took place with Talking Heads, Elvis Costello, The B-52’s, The Pretenders, Rockpile and The Rumour. Tickets cost $30 (£18.75), with only 50,000 people attending the festival lost over $1 million.
1991, Iggy Pop, Sonic Youth, Pop Will Eat Itself, Dinosaur Jr, Chapterhouse, Nirvana, Silverfish, Babes in Toyland, James, The Fall, De La Soul, Blur, Teenage Fanclub, Flowered Up, The Fat Lady Sings, Kingmaker, Mercury Rev, Sisters of Mercy and Neds Atomic Dustbin all appeared at the three day Reading Festival in England.
2008, Madonna kicked off her 86-date Sticky & Sweet Tour at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff Wales. It became the highest grossing tour by a solo artist, breaking the previous record Madonna achieved with her 2006 Confessions Tour. Madonna’s first venture with Live Nation, was estimated to have grossed $280 (£175) million.
Born on this August 23: Keith Moon (1947); Rick Springfield (1949); Mark Avsec, keyboardist, songwriter, Donnie Iris & the Cruisers, Wild Cherry (1954); and Julian Casablancas, guitar, vocals, The Strokes (1978)
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the Beatles, the Who, Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Eagles, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, Grateful Dead, Lou Reed, Velvet Underground, Iron Maiden , Talking Heads, Led Zeppelin
