1962, Ringo Starr made his debut with The Beatles at the horticultural society Dance, Birkenhead, England, having had a two-hour rehearsal in preparation. This was the first appearance of The Beatles as the world would come to know them: John, Paul, George, and Ringo.
1964, Over 9,000 frenzied fans met The Beatles as they arrived in San Francisco, to begin an American tour. The Beatles were driven into a protective fence enclosure so that photographers could take pictures. As the 9,000 fans pressed against the fencing, it gave way, with The Beatles managing to get out split-seconds before it came crashing down.
1966, Paul Jones left Manfred Mann just as ‘Pretty Flamingo’ was climbing the US charts. He was replaced by singer Mike D’Abo, who would take over lead vocals on the bands next hit, ‘The Mighty Quinn,’ a song written by Bob Dylan.
1969, Mick Jagger was accidentally shot in the hand during filming of Ned Kelly in Australia. The film was dogged by problems: Jagger’s girlfriend of the time, Marianne Faithfull, had gone to Australia to play the lead female role (Ned’s sister, Maggie), but the Jagger-Faithfull relationship was breaking up, and she took an overdose of sleeping tablets soon after arrival in Sydney resulting in being hospitalised in a coma, and pulling out of the film.
1973, Diana Ross scored her second US No.1 single with ‘Touch Me In The Morning’. The song marked a turning point in her career, coming immediately after her Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in her acting debut, Lady Sings the Blues.
1976, ‘Variety’ reported that Marvin Gaye faced two consecutive five day prison terms in Los Angeles county jail for contempt of court after failing to pay alimony and child support.
1977, The Police made their live debut as a three-piece band when they played at Rebecca’s Birmingham, England. The Police became globally popular in the late 1970s and are generally regarded as one of the first New Wave groups to achieve mainstream success, playing a style of rock that was influenced by punk, reggae, and jazz.
1977, Two Missouri girls were killed and a third was critically injured when a car being driven by an 18-year-old Memphis teen swerved into a crowd of over 2,000 mourners standing in front of Graceland’s music gate at about 4am. The driver was charged with drunk driving, leaving the scene of an accident and two counts of second degree murder.
1979, British singer, songwriter, producer Nick Lowe married Johnny Cash’s stepdaughter Carlene Carter in Los Angeles. The couple are now divorced.
1979, Chic went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Good Times’, the group’s second US No.1, a No.5 hit in the UK.
1982, The City of Liverpool named four Streets after the fab four: John Lennon Drive, Paul McCartney Way, George Harrison Close and Ringo Starr Drive.
1983, The Police plus Joan Jett & the Blackhearts and R.E.M. (their biggest gig to date) all appeared at Shea Stadium, New York City.
1984, George Michael was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with his first solo single ‘Careless Whisper.’ It made George the first person to reach No.1 as a solo artist and a member of a band in the same year. It gave Epic records UK their first UK million seller and the song was No.1 in nearly 25 countries, selling over six million copies worldwide.
1986, Bon Jovi released their third studio album, Slippery When Wet, which peaked at No.1 on the US charts, going on to sell over 28 million copies worldwide. The set featured two US chart toppers, ‘You Give Love A Bad Name’ and ‘Livin’ On A Prayer’.
1991, Rick Griffin, died after being forced off the road by a van he was attempting to pass on his Harley Heritage Softail motorbike. One of his best known album covers was for the Grateful Dead’s ‘Aoxomoa’ LP, and the legendary “Flying Eyeball” poster he designed for a series of concerts in San Francisco featuring the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Albert King and John Mayall.
1991, Sweet Jesus appeared at the Boardwalk, Manchester. Support act was The Rain (later to become Oasis) minus Noel Gallagher who had yet to join his brothers band.
1992, Kurt Cobain became a father when his wife Courtney Love gave birth to a daughter, Frances Bean Cobain.
2003, Tony Jackson bass player with The Searchers died of cirrhosis of the liver. The Searchers had the 1964 UK No.1 & US No.13 single ‘Needles And Pins’.
2005, Kanye West called for an end to homophobia in the hip-hop community during an MTV interview saying ‘hip-hop was always about speaking your mind and about breaking down barriers, but everyone in hip-hop discriminates against gay people. Not just hip-hop, but America just discriminates, I wanna just, to come on TV and just tell my rappers, just tell my friends, ‘Yo, stop it’.”
2006, Justin Hawkins the lead singer of The Darkness checked himself into the Priory rehabilitation clinic suffering from exhaustion after three years of non-stop work.
2006, US film-maker Adam Muskiewicz set up elviswanted.com as part of a documentary exploring the myth that the singer was still alive and offered a $3m reward for anybody who found Elvis Presley alive. The film was due for release in August 2007, to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Presley’s death.
2006, Babyshambles front man Pete Doherty appeared at Thames Magistrates court in London to face seven charges of drug possession.
2008, Soul singer Pervis Jackson died of cancer. Was a member of The Spinners (Also known as The Motown Spinners and The Detroit Spinners). Had the 1980 UK No.1 & US No.2 single ‘Working My Way Back To You’.
2010, French beauty brand Etat Libre D’Orange announced that they have teamed up with the Sex Pistols to bottle the scent of the Punk era by launching the band’s first fragrance. Company executives said “to wear this scent, you must resist tradition, fight conformity, and disregard aromatic conventions.”
2012, American singer and songwrite Scott McKenzie died aged 73. He was best known for his 1967 hit single and generational anthem, ‘San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)’. He also joined a new version of The Mamas & the Papas and co-wrote “Kokomo” (1988), a No.1 single for The Beach Boys.
2014, Ed Sheeran’s album X notched up eight weeks at No.1 on the UK chart, becoming the joint longest chart-topper by a male solo artist. The last man to achieve the feat was James Blunt for his 2005 collection Back to Bedlam.
