1960, Ray Charles went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Georgia On My Mind’, a No.24 hit in the UK. His cover of Hoagy Carmichael’s 1930 standard, became the first of three No.1 hits for the singer.
1962, The Beatles played the final show of a 14 night run at the Star-Club, Hamburg, West Germany.
1967, Pink Floyd were added to a 16-date UK tour with Jimi Hendrix, The Move, The Nice, Amen Corner, The Outer Limits and The Eire Apparent. It kicked off at the Royal Albert Hall, London. The headlining Hendrix was allotted exactly 40 minutes; The Move, who preceded him onstage, had just half an hour, and Pink Floyd, who appeared between after The Outer Limits, were allowed between 15 and 20 minutes per show.
1969, ‘Sugar Sugar’ by The Archies was at No.1 on the UK singles chart. The single became the longest running One Hit Wonder in the UK with eight week’s at the top of the charts. It was the first No.1 performed by cartoon characters.
1975, Queen played the first of two nights at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool, England, the first nights on their 78-date A Night At The Opera World Tour.
1981, The Police had their fourth UK No.1 single with ‘Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic’, a No.3 hit in the US.
1987, George Michael went to No.1 on the UK album chart with his debut solo album ‘Faith’. The album won several awards including the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1989. To date, the album has sold over 20 million copies worldwide. Between 1987 and 1988, Faith produced six Top 5 Billboard Hot 100 hits, four of which (‘Faith’, ‘Father Figure’, ‘One More Try’, and ‘Monkey’) reached No.1, making him the only British male singer to have four No.1 singles from one LP on the Billboard Hot 100.
1987, T’Pau started a five week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘China In Your Hand’. The song’s title according to singer Carol Decker is the effect you get if you hold a china cup to a light, you can see your hand through it.
1991, Over 1,000 New Kids On The Block fans were given medical treatment after a minor riot during a concert in Berlin, Germany.
1992, Bon Jovi went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Keep The Faith’ their fifth studio album and second UK No.1. The album produced six UK Top 20 hit singles, ‘Keep The Faith’, ‘Bed Of Roses’, ‘In These Arms’, ‘I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead’, ‘I Believe’ and ‘Dry County’.
1996, Michael Jackson married Debbie Rowe in Sydney Australia. The couple had met when he was diagnosed with vitiligo in the mid-1980s, and she was working as his dermatologist’s assistant. The couple divorced on October 8, 1999, with Rowe giving full custody rights of the children to Jackson with Rowe receiving an $8-million settlement.
1999, Robbie Williams went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘She’s The One / It’s Only Us’, his second UK No.1. ‘She’s The One’ was written by World Party leader Karl Wallinger. Williams scored six other chart toppers as a member of Take That.
2004, The Rolling Stones were refused permission to pursue a claim against their former record company Decca for unpaid royalties through the courts. A High Court judge in London said the dispute would go to arbitration and not be decided in court. The dispute was over their Forty Licks compilation CD, which was released in 2002 and was the first collection to span their entire career.
2004, U2 went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Vertigo’, the bands fifth UK No.1, taken from ‘How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb’.
2006, Led Zeppelin were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame by Roger Taylor of Queen. Jimmy Page personally accepted the award in front of a 3,000 strong audience during the 3rd annual induction ceremony which was held at the famed Alexandra Palace in London.
2013, Paul McCartney posted a letter on his website calling on Russian President Vladimir Putin to release 30 Greenpeace activists whom Russian authorities arrested during a protest over Arctic oil drilling in September. All the activists involved had their charges dropped in late December of this year.
2015, A pair of white boots worn by Elvis Presley during his famous ’68 Comeback TV Special performance were bought by a UK collector for £29,500, ($44,500). Elvis had worn the size-11 Verde boots while singing ‘If I Can Dream’, two months after the assassination of Martin Luther King, the lyrics included quotes from the civil rights leader.
