June 12th, 2018

1964, The Beatles arrived in Adelaide, Australia and were greeted by an estimated 250,000 fans, (the biggest welcome the band would ever receive), who lined the ten mile route from the airport to the city centre. 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 honours 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 US No.1 single (they were the first American group to accomplish this feat), when ‘Back In My Arms Again’, went to the top of the charts.

1966, Pink Floyd appeared at The Marquee Club in Wardour Street, London, England. 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 31st Oct of this year.

1967, Bob Dylan’s album Greatest Hits peaked at No.10 in the US chart. 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. The original album package also included Milton Glaser’s now-familiar psychedelic poster depicting Dylan.

1970, David Bowie released the single ‘Memory of a Free Festival’, which featured guitarist Mick Ronson and drummer Mick Woodmansey’s studio debut with Bowie’s band, bringing together the line-up that would shortly record The Man Who Sold the World. The track also featured Marc Bolan on lead guitar and backing vocals.

1972, With the help of her mother, a bare footed 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.

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).

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.

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.

1999, It was reported that Oasis had paid Gary Glitter £200,000 ($340,000) as an out-of-court settlement after being accused of using the Gary Glitter lyric, ‘Hello, hello, it’s good to be back’ in the song ‘Hello’.

2000, Sinead O’Connor announced that she was a lesbian. The mother of two told the American magazine Curve that she had been in the closet for years saying “I am a lesbian. I haven’t been very open about that, I’ve gone out with blokes because I haven’t necessarily been terribly comfortable about being a lesbian.”

2002, Clive Calder the man who is credited with discovering Britney Spears, sold his record company Zomba to BMG Music for $2 billion. Calder started Zomba in 1975 and had hits with Billy Ocean, Sam Fox and Tight Fit.

2004, Lee Ryan from Blue was found guilty of criminal damage and ordered to pay £500 ($850) compensation from charges relating to an incident outside London nightclub 10 Rooms the previous December. Ryan admitted to throwing punches at a photographer after being bombarded by snappers when leaving the club, but argued that he was provoked into doing so. Judge Caroline Tubbs accepted that Lee was acting in self-defence, so dismissed any assault charges.

2005, Pink Floyd announced they would reunite with former bassist Roger Waters, who left the band in 1985, on July 2 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.

2006, Prince received a Webby Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his “visionary” use of the Internet; Prince was the first major artist to release an entire album, 1997’s Crystal Ball, exclusively on the internet.

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

2013, An inquest jury was told how Reggae star Smiley Culture had plunged a kitchen knife into his own chest after being arrested at his home in Surrey, England. Police had arrived at to arrest the singer and search his premises as part of an inquiry into allegations of conspiring to import Class A drugs into the UK. The singer later died from his injuries.

2013, Mumford & Sons bassist Ted Dwane was rushed into hospital to have an operation to remove a blood clot on his brain. Scans revealed a blood clot on the surface of his brain that required an operation.

(This Day in Music)