1959, Johnny and the Moondogs, (The Beatles) played in the final heat of the ‘TV Star Search’ competition at The Hippodrome Theatre, Manchester, England. Judging was done by the volume of applause each group received when it is called back onto stage at the end of the night. Since the Moondogs had no money to stay overnight in Manchester, they were forced to head back to Liverpool before they were called back onto stage.
1964, Rolling Stone Brian Jones was admitted to Passavant Hospital in Chicago with a temperature of 105, causing Jones to miss the last few dates on the Stones current tour.
1965, The Rolling Stones made their US TV debut on Hullabaloo, performing ‘Get Off Of My Cloud’. Hullabaloo was an American one-hour musical variety series that ran on NBC from January 1965 through August 1966.
1966, The Doors officially signed with Elektra Records in a deal for the band to produce seven albums. The band also reluctantly agreed to release ‘Break On Through’ as their first single. The lyric “She gets high/she gets high/she gets high” was changed to ‘She gets/she gets/she gets” in order to secure radio play.
1962, The Beatles recorded their second appearance on Radio Luxembourg, for the program The Friday Spectacular. The Beatles were interviewed and then they played in front of a live audience both sides of their latest single, ‘Love Me Do’ and ‘P.S. I Love You’.
1963, Nino Tempo and April Stevens went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Deep Purple’, it made No.17 in the UK.
1968, The Jimi Hendrix Experience went to No.1 on the US album chart with their third and final studio album Electric Ladyland. The double album included ‘Crosstown Traffic,’ ‘Voodoo Chile’ and a version of Bob Dylan’s ‘All Along the Watchtower’. Hendrix expressed displeasure and embarrassment with this “naked lady” cover which was banned by several record dealers as “pornographic”, while others sold it with the gatefold cover turned inside out.
1968, Led Zeppelin played their first ever show in the North of England when they appeared at Manchester College of Science & Technology. Zeppelin were paid £225 for the gig.
1971, Frank Zappa appeared on this week’s UK TV music show the ‘Old Grey Whistle Test’, playing live and showing clips from his ‘200 Motels’ film.
1974, John Lennon was at No.1 in the US singles chart with ‘Whatever Gets You Through The Night.’ Elton John played on the session and made a deal with Lennon that if the song reached No.1, Lennon would have to appear on stage live with Elton. Lennon kept his side of the deal and appeared live with Elton. They played three songs together: ‘I Saw Her Standing There,’ ‘Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds’ and ‘Whatever Gets You Through the Night.’ Backstage after the concert, Lennon got back with Yoko Ono after a temporary split.
1976, Beach Boy Brian Wilson gave his first formal interview for eight years on the UK BBC 2, TV show ‘Old Grey Whistle Test.’
1985, Former Undertones singer Feargal Sharkey had his only UK No.1 single with the Maria McKee song ‘A Good Heart’ written about her relationship with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers keyboard player Benmont Tench. Sharkey followed up the single with Tench written ‘You Little Thief’, this time about Tench’s relationship with McKee.
1985, Starship started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘We Built This City’, it made No.12 in the UK.
1985, U2 launched their own record label ‘Mother Records.’ The intent was ‘to unearth fresh musical talent in Ireland’ and the label released several one-off single releases for The Hothouse Flowers, In Tua Nua and Cactus World News amongst others.
1987, Former Clash drummer Topper Headon was jailed for 15 months at Maidstone Crown Court, England for supplying heroin to a man who later died.
1988, Former Beach Boys manager Stephen Love was sentenced to five years probation for embezzling almost $1m from the group’s accounts.
1996, The Beatles ‘Anthology 3’ went to No.1 on the UK album chart. The album included rarities and alternative tracks from the final two years of the band’s career, ranging from the initial sessions for The Beatles (also known as The White Album) to the last sessions for Let It Be and Abbey Road in later 1969 and early 1970.
1999, Grady Owen guitarist with Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps died. Scored the 1956 US No.7 & UK No.16 single with ‘Be Bop A Lula’. During his time with the band, Grady can also be seen playing rhythm guitar with the band in the cult classic film Hot Rod Gang.
2000, American rapper Joseph Calleja died of chronic intestinal disorder. Calleja had celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that can cause stunted growth, as a result, he reached a maximum height of 3 feet, 9 inches by adulthood. He was a member of Kid Rock’s band.
2000, Elton John told a London High Court that his former lover and manager John Reid betrayed him over touring costs. The singer said Reid, had been “caught with his hands in the till”. Elton was suing Andrew Haydon, former managing director of John Reid Enterprises, his management company alleging Haydon was negligent in allowing JREL to charge him “several millions” in overseas tour expenses.
2002, Texan multi-billionaire David Bonderman hired The Rolling Stones to play at his 60th birthday party held at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. The bands fee was £4.4m.
2006, Queen’s ‘Greatest Hits’ album was declared the Best Selling UK album of all time by The Official UK Charts Company. The chart which was made up of sales figures from the last fifty years showed their Greatest Hits compilation had sold 5,407,587 copies. The Beatles occupied second place with Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band.
2010, The Beatles back catalogue was finally made available on iTunes, after years of negotiations. For the first time consumers would now be able to purchase some of the Fab Four’s most popular songs via the store. Apple and record label EMI had been in talks for years about getting the catalogue online. Apple chief executive and Beatles fan Steve Jobs said it had “been a long and winding road to get here. We love the Beatles and are honoured and thrilled to welcome them to iTunes.”
2014, U2 singer Bono was involved in what doctors called a “high energy bicycle accident.” The singer was rushed to New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center’s emergency department and underwent five hours of surgery. The injury forced the group to postpone a planned weeklong residency on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon.
