May 10th, 2018

1960, The Silver Beetles (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe, and Tommy Moore) auditioned for promoter Larry Parnes and singer Billy Fury for a job as Fury’s backing group. Parnes was also looking for backing groups for his lesser-known acts, and The Silver Beetles were selected as backing group for singer Johnny Gentle’s upcoming tour of Scotland. The group had changed its name from ‘The Beatals’ to ‘The Silver Beetles’ after Brian Casser (of Cass and the Cassanovas) remarked that the name ‘Beatals’ was “ridiculous”. He suggested they use the name ‘Long John and the Silver Beetles’, but John Lennon refused to be referred to as ‘Long John’.

1963, The Rolling Stones recorded the Chuck Berry song ‘Come On’, at Olympic Studios, London. This the bands first release was issued on the 7th June
1963 by Decca Records.

1964, Bob Dylan arrived in Britain for his first major UK tour including a show at London’s Royal Festival Hall on the 17th of this month.

1965, The Rolling Stones recorded a version of ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ at Chess Studios in Chicago, with Brian Jones on harmonica. The group re-recorded it two days later at RCA Studios in Hollywood, with a different beat and the Gibson Maestro fuzzbox that Keith Richards had recently aquired, adding sustain to the sound of the guitar riff.

1967, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards appeared at Chichester Crown Court, Sussex, charged with being in possession of drugs, they elect to go to trial pleading not guilty and were both granted £100 bail.

1969, Frank Sinatra’s version of ‘My Way’ made the British Top ten for the first time. Over the next three years it re-entered the Top 50 singles chart on eight different occasions. Paul Anka re-wrote the original French song for Sinatra, after he told Anka he was quitting the music business. Anka changed the melodic structure and lyrics to the song with Sinatra in mind.

1969, The Moody Blues started a two-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘On The Threshold Of A Dream’ (their first No.1 album).

1969, The Turtles gave a special performance at the White House as guests of Tricia Nixon. Stories circulate concerning members of the group allegedly snorted cocaine on Abraham Lincoln’s desk.

1969, Led Zeppelin made their first appearance on the UK album chart when the band’s debut album charted at No. 6, going on to spend 71 weeks on the UK chart. It entered the US chart the following week at No. 10. Recorded in around 36 hours, the album is now considered one of the most important debuts in rock, creating an entirely new interpretation of the Rock And Roll genre, with groundbreaking musical styles and recording techniques.

1970, David Bowie was awarded an Ivor Novello Award for Best Original Song ‘Space Oddity’ which he performed that night accompanied by the Les Reed Orchestra. The event was transmitted live via satellite to venues in America, France, Spain, Australia, Holland and Venezuela. Bowie would later revisit his Major Tom character in the songs ‘Ashes to Ashes’, ‘Hallo Spaceboy’ and ‘Blackstar’.

1985, All girl group The Go-Go’s announced they were breaking up. The members went on to enjoy solo success, (Belinda Carlisle and Jane Wiedlin) and the group reformed in the late 90s.

1986, Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee married TV star Heather Locklear in a courtyard in Santa Barbara California with five hundred guests. Tommy wore a white leather tuxedo.

1986, Falco was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Rock Me Amadeus.’ Falco became the first-ever Austrian act to score a UK and US No.1 hit single and the first German speaking artist to achieve a No.1 on the US charts. Falco died of severe injuries received on 6 February 1998, when his Mitsubishi Pajero collided with a bus in the Dominican Republic. It was later determined that the bus driver was speeding, for which the driver served three years in prison. His estate claims he has sold 20 million albums and 15 million singles, which makes him the best selling Austrian singer of all time.

1986, The Pet Shop Boys went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘West End Girls’, the duo’s first US No.1, also a No.1 in the UK.
1991, Madonna’s ‘warts and all’ documentary film Truth Or Dare (known as In Bed with Madonna outside of North America), chronicling the life Madonna during her 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour, premiered in Los Angeles.

1999, American singer, songwriter poet, cartoonist, screenwriter, and author of children’s books Shel Silverstein died of a heart attack aged 57. Wrote, ‘A Boy Named Sue’ for Johnny Cash (which Silverstein won a Grammy for in 1970) and many songs for Dr Hook including ‘Sylvia’s Mother’ and ‘The Cover of the Rolling Stone.’

2000, Bobby Brown was arrested at Newark airport, New Jersey for breaking his probation order. He had been wanted in Florida since 1999 when his probation officer reported that a urine test proved positive for cocaine use.

2000, Michael Bolton lost his appeal against a court ruling that he stole part of his 1991 hit ‘Love Is a Wonderful Thing’ from an Isley Brothers song. Bolton had asked for a retrial following a 1994 jury verdict that he had plagiarised parts of The Isley Brothers song of the same name, but, an appeals court panel upheld the ruling which awarded the group $5.4m from the profits of Bolton’s single – one of his biggest hits.

2007, US hip-hop artist Akon apologised after footage of him dancing provocatively on stage with a teenage girl was posted on the internet. It led to telecommunications company Verizon pulling out as a sponsor of his US tour with Gwen Stefani. The incident took place on 12 April in Trinidad, where Akon was performing at a nightclub. It was later reported that the girl was just 14. In a statement Akon said he didn’t know the girl was underage. He said: “I want to sincerely apologise for the embarrassment and any pain I’ve caused to the young woman who joined me on stage, her family and the Trinidad community for the events at my concert.”

2010, New York City’s Apollo Theatre began installing bronze plaques on the sidewalk outside the building of legends who had close ties to the theater. Among the first to be honored were James Brown, Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson and Ella Fitzgerald.

2011, The ornate iron gates of a children’s home which inspired John Lennon’s psychedelic Beatles anthem Strawberry Fields Forever were removed after The Salvation Army, which owned the former home, decided to put the red Victorian gates into storage. Beatles fans who passed the Liverpool site on tours would now be met with 10ft (3m) high replicas. The original gates were being taken to a secret location for storage, and would eventually be auctioned off.

2013, A two-year degree in heavy metal music was branded an “easy option” by education campaigners. The foundation degree was being offered by New College Nottingham in the UK. The course, which was due to start later this year would include modules on the music business, the history of heavy metal and its role in films and video games and would show students how to compose and perform heavy metal songs.

2013, Two men were arrested in Dublin after the city centre statue of Phil Lynott was pushed over and seriously damaged. The memorial to the Thin Lizzy icon has been removed from its Harry Street location for repairs, and the men were later released without charge. The life-size bronze sculpture was unveiled in 2005 and had become a tourist destination and landmark since then.

(This Day in Music)