1957, Buddy Holly and the Crickets released their first record, ‘That’ll Be The Day.’ A UK No.1 and US No.3 hit. The song had its genesis in a trip to the movies by Holly, Allison and Sonny Curtis in June 1956. The John Wayne film The Searchers was playing. Wayne’s frequently-used, world-weary catchphrase, “that’ll be the day” was the Inspiration behind the song. It was also the first song to be recorded by The Quarrymen, the skiffle group that subsequently became The Beatles.
1963, The album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan was released by Columbia in the USA. Establishing Bob Dylan as a leader in the singer-songwriter genre and a supposed spokesman for the youth-orientated protest movement, it reached No.22 in the US charts and No.1 in the UK charts. The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan showcased Dylan’s songwriting talent for the first time and propelled him to national and international fame.
1964, Eleven boys were suspended from a school in Coventry, England for having Mick Jagger haircuts.
1977, The Sex Pistols single ‘God Save The Queen’ was released in the UK. Banned by TV and radio, high street shops and pressing plant workers refused to handle the record. It sold 200,000 copies in one week and peaked at No.2 on the UK charts behind Rod Stewart’s ‘I Don’t Want to Talk About It’. There have been persistent rumours, (never confirmed or denied), that it was actually the biggest-selling single in the UK at the time, and the British Phonographic Industry conspired to keep it off the No.1 slot.
1983, The Smiths were at No.1 on the UK independent chart with their debut single ‘Hand In Glove.’ The Smiths recorded the track after their manager Joe Moss paid £250 for a one-day recording session at Strawberry Studios in Stockport, England.
1988, Def Leppard kicked off the third leg of their North American Hysteria world tour at George M. Sullivan Arena, Anchorage, Alaska.
1989, Cliff Richard released his one hundredth single, ‘The Best Of Me’, which became his 26th Top 3 UK hit.
1990, The Stone Roses played at Spike Island, Widnes, Cheshire, England to a capacity crowd of 30,000. The event, considered a failure at the time due to sound problems and bad organisation, has become legendary over the years as a “Woodstock for the baggy generation.”
1994, The Eagles played their first show in fourteen years when they played a show in Burbank, California. The two-and-a-half-hour show ended with two encores, closing with ‘Desperado’.
1997, Oasis singer Liam Gallagher was left with cuts and bruises after a scuffle with a youth at the Tower Thistle Hotel in east London. Members of the band had been drinking at the bar when the fight broke out.
1999, Winners at the Ivor Novello song writing awards included Rod Stewart who won a Lifetime Achievement Award, Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers won songwriters of the year and Chrissie Hynde won outstanding contribution to British Music.
2000, Paula Yates was awarded £400,000 ($680,000) in an out-of-court settlement from her boyfriend Michael Hutchence fortune. Hutchence had died in 1997 INXS singer Hutchence was found dead in his hotel suite in Sydney in 1997 aged 37.
2005, Robbie Williams was voted into first place beating Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix and David Bowie to be named the best live solo artist. A UK nation-wide survey of 5,000 people saw the former Take That star beat music icons including Madonna, Michael Jackson and Bob Dylan. U2 were named best live band, ahead of Queen and Oasis, in a poll by Carling to celebrate the UK’s live music scene.
2007, Saatchi & Saatchi were fired by Dr Martens for running an advertising campaign featuring dead rock stars such as Kurt Cobain and Sid Vicious wearing the brand’s boots in heaven. David Suddens, the chief executive of Dr Martens parent company Airwear, said the brand had not commissioned the series of four print ads. “Dr Martens are very sorry for any offence that has been caused by the publication of images showing dead rock icons wearing Dr Martens boots.”
2008, Sir Paul McCartney was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Yale University in the United States. Yale’s president, Richard Levin, said; The former Beatle had ‘awakened a generation, giving a fresh sound to rock and roll and to rhythm and blues’. A band played Hey Jude as Sir Paul, 65, walked on stage to accept his degree.
2008, UK High street chain Woolworths announced it would stop selling CD singles in its stores saying that the format was in “terminal decline” and would be removed from the shelves from August. Sales of CD singles had fallen sharply as the popularity of downloading music from the internet had increased.
2009, A credit card company sued Courtney Love, claiming she owed more than $350,000. In court papers filed in Los Angeles, American Express said it had suspended Love’s Amex Gold card after she “failed and refused” to make payments.
2010, Dozens of AC/DC fans needed treatment after complaining of burning eyes during a concert on the runway of Wels Airport, Wels, Austria. Around 150 fans had to be treated. Doctors found that the fans showed allergic reactions to bark mulch spread at the venue – the runway of Wels Airport, to avoid the soil getting too muddy after hours of massive rainfall.
2013, A report was published saying how many musicians were frustrated with fans filming gigs on their smartphones. Jack White and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs had both put up signs at their concerts asking people to leave their mobiles in their pockets.
2017, Gregg Allman, founding member of the The Allman Brothers Band died at the age of 69 at his home in Savannah, Georgia. Allman had suffered a recurrruence of liver cancer five years ago, died from complications of the disease. The band’s main songwriter early on, Allman contributed compositions like ‘Dreams’ and ‘Whipping Post’ to the Allman Brothers repertoire. Both songs became staples of their live shows; a cathartic 22-minute version of ‘Whipping Post’ was a highlight of their acclaimed 1971 live album, At Fillmore East.
