1964, 21 year-old former hairdresser and cloakroom attendant at The Cavern Club, Cilla Black was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Anyone Who Had A Heart.’ Written by Bacharach and David it was Black’s first UK No.1. Also this week’s UK Top Ten was the first ever to feature only UK acts.
1964, The Rolling Stones made their second appearance on BBC TV show Top Of The Pops performing ‘Not Fade Away’.
1967, Pink Floyd continued working on their debut album The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn at Abbey Road Studios, London. With the exception of two group-composed instrumentals and one Roger Waters song, the album was written entirely by Syd Barrett.
1971, Five months after her death, Janis Joplin started a nine-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with here second and final solo studio album Pearl. Joplin sang on all tracks except ‘Buried Alive in the Blues’, which remained a Full Tilt Boogie instrumental because she died before adding her vocals.
1972, Led Zeppelin appeared at Sydney Showgrounds, Sydney in Australia, over 25,000 fans attending the show. Jimmy Page appeared clean shaven having shaved of the beard he had grown since the summer of 1970.
1977, Keith Richards was arrested at Toronto’s Harbour Castle Hotel, after an ounce of heroin was found following a raid of his hotel room by 15 Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Richards, who was charged with possession with intent to traffic, faced seven years to life in prison. Bail was set at $25,000.
1980, Winners at the Grammy Awards included: song of the year, ‘What A Fool Believes’, The Doobie Brothers, album of the year, Billy Joel’s ’52nd St’, best new artist, Rickie Lee Jones, best disco record, ‘I Will Survive’ Gloria Gaynor.
1988, George Michael scored his sixth No.1 US single with ‘Father Figure’ a No. 11 hit in the UK – the first time Michael had failed to reach the top ten in his home country.
1991, James Brown was paroled after spending two years of a six-year prison sentence, imposed for resisting arrest after a car chase across two States.
1993, After 14 weeks at No.1 on the US singles chart, ‘I Will Always Love You’, gave Whitney Houston the longest ever US chart topper, taking over from Boyz II Men’s hit ‘End Of The Road’, and became the second biggest selling single in the US.
1993, Marlena Davis of The Orlons lost a battle with lung cancer aged 48. The Orlons who formed in the late 1950s had five US Top 20 hits in the Sixties including ‘The Wah Watusi’, ‘Don’t Hang Up’ and ‘South Street’. The Orlons provided back-up vocals on Dee Dee Sharp’s 1962 hit ‘Mashed Potato Time’ and Dee Dee Sharp’s second hit, ‘Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes)’.
1999, Britney Spears started a two-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘…Baby One More Time’. It became the biggest UK selling single of the year and also a No.1 in the US. It was originally written for TLC but the song was submitted after completion of their third record, FanMail.
2004, A worker in a supermarket in Aspen, Colorado alerted the police-after seeing a man shopping with his face covered by a mask. Police arrived on the scene and identified the man as Michael Jackson who was in town on holiday with his children.
2007, Bobby Brown was sentenced to 30 days in jail over $19,000 in unpaid child support. An arrest warrant was issued in October 2006 after he failed to show up at a hearing on overdue child support for Kim Ward, the mother of two of his children.
2010, U2 raked in more money than any other music act in the US in 2009 making $109m from touring, record sales and other royalties, almost twice as much as the second best, Bruce Springsteen who took home $58m, followed by Madonna with $47m and AC/DC with $44m. Coldplay were the most successful British group, at number eight, with takings of $27m.
2015, Madonna said she suffered whiplash as a result of her “nightmare” accident at the 2015 Brit Awards. The 56-year-old was pulled backwards off stage by a cape, which was supposed to fall from her shoulders causing the singer to fall down a flight of steps.
