1951, Welsh composer, singer and actor Ivor Novello died aged 58. He first became known for the song ‘Keep the Home Fires Burning,’ which he composed during World War I. The annual British songwriter award is named after him.
1961, George Formby died aged 57. The British singing comedian and ukulele player made over 20 films, and his best known song is ‘Leaning On A Lamp Post.’ Formby who was made an OBE in 1946 was a major influence on George Harrison.
1965, The Temptations went to No.1 on the US singles chart with the Smokey Robinson penned song ‘My Girl’, making the group the first male act to have a No.1 for Motown, The single only reached No.43 in the UK but made No.2 when re-issued in 1992.
1966, The Rolling Stones started recording sessions for their tenth UK single ‘Paint It, Black’ at RCA studios in Hollywood. It was originally titled ‘Paint It Black’ without a comma. Keith Richards has stated that the comma was added by the record label, Decca.
1967, The Beatles recorded sound effects onto the song ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ at Abbey Road studios in London. The beginning audience murmurs and sounds of a band preparing for a performance were added, along with screams from a tape of the Beatles in concert at the Hollywood Bowl.
1970, Charles Manson released an album called ‘Lie’ to help raise money for his defence in the Tate-LeBianca murder trial. The album jacket was made to look like a cover of Life magazine with the letter f removed from the word Life. In the mid sixties, Manson had been a wanna-be musician who befriended The Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson, eventually talking the group into recording one of his songs, ‘Cease To Exist’. The title was changed to ‘Never Learn Not To Love’ and was released as the B side of the single ‘Bluebirds Over The Mountain’, which eventually climbed to number 61 in the US in early 1969.
1970, David Bowie released the single ‘The Prettiest Star’ in the UK as a follow-up single to ‘Space Oddity’. The track featured Marc Bolan on guitar, with whom Bowie would spend the next few years as a rival for the crown of the king of glam rock. Despite receiving good reviews, the single reportedly sold fewer than 800 copies, a major disappointment on the back of the success of ‘Space Oddity’.
1971, Mungo Jerry were at No.1 on the UK singles chat with ‘Baby Jump’, the group’s second and final No.1.
1971, Led Zeppelin appeared at the National Boxing Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, the group’s first show in Dublin, where they played ‘Stairway To Heaven’ live for only the second time.
1973, An attempt to bring Elvis Presley to the UK for shows at London’s Earl’s Court failed. Promoters had hoped that Elvis would be available during the summer but were told that Elvis now had US tour and filming commitments.
1973, Slade scored their fourth UK No.1 single with ‘Cum On Feel The Noize’, the first single to enter the charts at No.1 since The Beatles ‘Get Back’ in 1969. Elton John had the No.1 album with ‘Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only The Piano Player’.
1982, Tight Fit were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their version of The Tokens hit ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight.’ It was first recorded by its writer, Solomon Linda, and his group, The Evening Birds, in 1939. In 2004, the song became the subject of a lawsuit between the family of its writer Solomon Linda and Disney. The suit claimed that Disney owed $1.6 million in royalties for the use of ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ in the film and stage production of The Lion King. A settlement was reached for an undisclosed amount in 2006.
1998, Oasis singer Liam Gallagher appeared handcuffed in a Brisbane court on charges of head butting a fan during a gig in Australia. Gallagher was released on bail.
2001, A man who hid for 24 hours in the rafters of a Cathedral and secretly filmed the Christening of Madonna’s baby appeared in court. Security staff discovered the man after the ceremony when he made a noise as he climbed down from the rafters.
2004, Diane Richie, the estranged wife of singer Lionel Richie, went to court seeking $300,000 a month in maintenance support. Diane’s monthly costs included: $20,000 a year on plastic surgery; $15,000 a month for clothing, shoes and accessories; $5,000 on jewellery; $3,000 on dermatology; $1,000 for laser hair removal and $600 on massages.
2004, David Crosby was arrested and charged with criminal possession of a weapon and marijuana after leaving his bag in a New York hotel. The luggage was found by a hotel employee looking for identification, finding instead a handgun and marijuana. The employee called authorities, and Crosby, discovering the missing luggage himself, telephoned to say he would return for it. He was met by New York police, who arrested him.
2008, A UK charity warned that nine out of ten young people had experienced the first signs of hearing damage after listening to loud music. The RNID said more should wear ear plugs to protect their hearing, without spoiling their appreciation of music. Experts said prolonged exposure to noise over 85 decibels would harm hearing over time. Music played in concerts, bars and clubs was often above this level.
2009, Michael Jackson was mobbed by screaming fans as he took his two youngest children to see Oliver! at Drury Lane. The youngest two of Jackson’s three children – seven-year-old Prince Michael II (known as Blanket) and 11-year-old Paris, hid their faces as they were escorted through the crowd. Jackson was in London, England to announce his series of summer concerts at the O2. Jackson died three weeks before the shows were to start.
2009, American singer, songwriter, musician David Williams died of cardiac arrest aged 58. He was best known for his work as a prolific session rhythm guitarist, working with artists including Earth, Wind & Fire, The Jacksons, Boz Scaggs, Michael Jackson, (on the Thriller album), Madonna, Bryan Ferry, Herbie Hancock and the Temptations.
2010, Mark Linkous, frontman with US band Sparklehorse committed suicide by shooting himself in the heart outside a friend’s house in Knoxville, Tennessee. In 1996 Linkous “died” for two minutes after ingesting a mix of Valium and antidepressants while supporting Radiohead on tour in the UK. He recovered, but the incident left him paralysed, after lying unconscious for 14 hours, with circulation to his legs cut off. He suffered a heart attack when doctors tried to straighten the limbs, and he had surgery seven times to save his legs.
2016, Lana Rae Meisner, the wife of former Eagles’ bassist Randy Meisner, died after she accidentally shot herself while looking for something in a closet. Although the couple had a history of domestic incidents, police immediately cleared Randy of any wrongdoing whatsoever.
2017, Ed Sheeran’s new album ÷ (Divide) became one of the fastest-selling releases ever in the UK, shifting 432,000 copies in just three days. The all-time list for first-week sales has Adele’s 25 and Oasis’s Be Here Now at the top with 800,000 each. ÷ smashed the Spotify record for the most-streamed album in a single day – notching up 56.7 million streams on its day of release.
