1964, During a UK tour The Beatles appeared at De Montfort Hall in Leicester. Ringo Starr drove himself to the venue after taking delivery of a brand new Facel Vega, apparently reaching speeds of 140 MPH on the M6 motorway.
1965, The Who arrive at Stockholm airport in Sweden to begin their two-day tour. Unfortunately, their equipment has been flown to Gothenburg for their second stop so the band is forced to borrow instruments from their opening acts The Moonjacks and The Mascots for their show at Johanneshovs Isstadion in Stockholm.
1966, The Who played at Bath Pavilion in Bath, Somerset, England.
1967, Jimi Hendrix performed at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco.
1967, The Who go into De Lane Lea Studios, London to record for BBC Radio One’s show Top Gear. It is the first time the BBC allow any musical act to record for them outside the BBC’s own studios. Alternate versions of “Pictures Of Lily” (Pete on organ), “I Can See For Miles,” (with heavy bass part), “Relax,” “Our Love Was,” (with Hawaiian guitar), “Can’t Reach You,” “A Quick One While He’s Away,” and “Someone’s Coming” are recorded along with new tracks “Summertime Blues” and “My Way.” Also recorded are five jingles, two for Top Gear and three for Radio One using altered lyrics to “Happy Jack,” “Boris The Spider” and “My Generation.”
1969, Led Zeppelin play at the Olympia in Paris, France. The show was first broadcast on French radio, November 2, 1969 on Europe1 (Musicorama program). The tape was re-discovered in the radio station’s basement in 2007 and re-broadcast on December 7, 2007.
1969, Pink Floyd appeared at the University of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England.
1969, King Crimson release their debut album, In The Court Of The Crimson King. It peaked at number five in the British charts and hit number 28 in the US.
1970, The Carpenters were at number two on the singles chart with “We’ve Only Just Begun.” The song was originally written for a TV commercial advertising a bank.
1970, Cosmos Factory by Creedence Clearwater Revival enters the eighth of nine weeks at number one on the US album charts.
1970, Black Sabbath were at number one on the UK album chart with their second album Paranoid. The album is now regarded as one of the classic Heavy Metal albums.
1970, Neil Diamond went to number one on the US singles chart with “Cracklin’ Rose,” his first chart topper as an artist. Diamond was the author of the 1966 number one hit “I’m A Believer” for The Monkees.
1970, Pink Floyd’s Atom Heart Mother is released in the US. The UK release took place on October 2nd. It would only reach number 55 on the American charts, while topping the British charts.
1972, Yes appeared at Caird Hall, Dundee, Scotland.
1973, Rod Stewart & The Faces and Rory Gallagher appeared at San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego. California.
1975, The Allman Brothers Band performed at Diablo Stadium, Tempe, Arizona.
1976, The Who appeared at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California.
1978, Joe Perry and Steve Tyler from Aerosmith were injured after a cherry bomb was thrown on stage during a gig in Philadelphia. The group performed behind a safety fence for the rest of the tour.
1978, The second Stiff Records UK tour kicked off featuring Wreckless Eric, Jona Lewie, Rachel Sweet, Lene Lovich and Micky Jupp. The UK tour was undertaken by train, and then continued on to the USA, without Jupp, who was afraid of flying.
1979, Fleetwood Mac were awarded a star on Hollywood’s Walk Of Fame.
1979, The Rose, starring Bette Midler as a self-destructive 1960s Rock star, loosely based on Janis Joplin, premiered in Los Angeles. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Frederic Forrest), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Bette Midler, in her screen debut), Best Film Editing and Best Sound.
1980, The funeral took place of Led Zeppelin’s drummer John Bonham. Bonzo was found dead at Jimmy Page’s house of what was described as asphyxiation, after inhaling his own vomit during an evening excessive vodka consumption, 40 shots in 4 hours. He was only 32.
1980, Blue Oyster Cult appeared at Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky
1981, The Police went to number one on the album chart with Ghost In The Machine, the band’s third number one LP.
1981, Eric Clapton performed at Scandinavium, Göteborg, Sweden.
1982, The Grateful Dead appeared at Frost Amphitheatre, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California.
1986, The Moody Blues played at The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1988, U2 released Rattle and Hum, comprised of new studio tracks, live performances, and cover songs. It includes recordings at Sun Studios in Memphis and collaborations with Bob Dylan, BB King, and Harlem’s New Voices of Freedom gospel choir.
1987, Whitesnake went to number one on the US singles chart with “Here I Go Again,” a number nine hit in the UK.
1992, R.E.M. scored their second UK number one album with Automatic For The People, featuring the singles “Drive,” “Everybody Hurts,” “Man On The Moon,” and “The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight.” It reached number two on the US charts.
2009, Pearl Jam went to number one on the US album chart with Backspacer, the group’s ninth studio album.
Born on October 10: Alan Cartwright, Procol Harum (1945); Jerry Lacroix, Blood Sweat & Tears (1945); John Prine, singer, songwriter (1946); Midge Ure, Ultravox , Tanya Tucker, country singer (1955); and David Lee Roth (1955); Martin Kemp, bass, Spandau Ballet (1961); Mike Malinin, guitar, vocals, Goo Goo Dolls (1967)