1963, The Beatles first US album, Introducing The Beatles was pressed by Vee-Jay Records, who thought they had obtained the legal rights from EMI affiliate, Trans-Global Records. When it was finally released in January, 1964, Capitol Records would hit Vee Jay with an injunction against manufacturing, distributing, advertising, or otherwise disposing of records by the Beatles. After a trial, Vee-Jay was allowed to release any Beatles records that they had masters of in any form until October 15th, 1964. After that time, they no longer had the right to issue any Beatles product.
1965, Mick Jagger, Brian Jones and Bill Wyman from The Rolling Stones were each fined £5 at East Ham Magistrates Court, London, after being found guilty of ‘insulting behaviour’ at a Romford Road service station. The three had all urinated against a wall after the service station attendant had refused them the use of the facilities.
1967, Pink Floyd appeared at The Beach Ballroom, Aberdeen, Scotland. The venue is home to one of Scotland’s finest dance floors – famous for its bounce – which floats on fixed steel springs. During the 1960s The Beatles (in 1963), Small Faces and Cream all appeared at the Beach.
1969, Aretha Franklin was arrested for causing a disturbance in a Detroit parking lot. After posting 50-dollars bail, she ran down a road sign while leaving the police station.
1971, John Lennon and Yoko Ono spent the second day filming the Imagine promotional film at their home in Tittenhurst Park Ascot, England. Today’s footage included the morning walk on the grounds though the mist and John Lennon singing ‘Imagine’ in the white room on his white piano.
1973, David Bowie released the single ‘Life On Mars’, which peaked at No.3 on the UK chart. The track which was first released in 1971 on the album Hunky Dory, features guest piano work by Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman. The line “Look at those cavemen go” is a reference to the song “Alley Oop,” a one-off hit in 1960 for American doo-wop band The Hollywood Argyles.
1977, Stiff Records released ‘My Aim Is True’ the debut album from Elvis Costello in the UK. The musicians who were featured on the album were uncredited on the original release (due to contractual difficulties), although the backing band was made up of members of the band Clover.
1979, Little Richard now known as the Reverend Richard Pennman told his congregation about the evils of rock & roll music, declaring ‘If God can save an old homosexual like me, he can save anybody.’
1989, Former actress Martika started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Toy Soldiers’, a No.5 hit in the UK.
1989, Sonia was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘You’ll Never Stop Me Loving You’. The Stock, Aitken & Waterman produced song was the Liverpool singers only UK chart topper.
1996, Donovan was forced to postpone a comeback tour of the US because of a 30-year-old marijuana conviction in the UK. American authorities delayed granting him a waiver to enter the country.
2003, Coldplay played the second of two nights at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, Australia on their A Rush of Blood to the Head World Tour.
2004, French singer and guitarist Sacha Distel died after a long battle with deteriorating health. He scored the 1970 UK No.10 single ‘Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head.’ As a professional jazz guitarist he worked alongside Dizzy Gillespie and Tony Bennett.
2004, American singer, songwriter and producer Arthur Crier died of heart failure. Member of The Chimes and had worked with Little Eva, Gene Pitney, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Ben E. King, Johnny Nash and The Coasters.
2005, Founder member and singer with The Chi-lites, Eugene Record died of cancer. Had the 1972 US No.1 single ‘Oh Girl’ and 1972 UK No.3 single ‘Have You Seen Her.’ He also released three solo albums.
2005, Research by a car insurance company showed that listening to the wrong sort of music when driving can lead to aggression and distraction. Dr Nicola Dibben a music psychologist said ‘singing while driving stimulates the mind.’ Songs recommended included Pulp’s ‘Disco 2000’ and ‘Hey Ya’ by Outcast, but the Dr said songs like The Prodigy’s ‘Firestarter’ should be avoided.
2006, Johnny Cash was at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘American V: A Hundred Highways.’ Released posthumously on July 4, the vocal parts were recorded before Cash’s death, but the instruments were not recorded until 2005.
2007, Ja Rule and Lil Wayne were arrested after a concert in Manhattan on charges of carrying illegal firearms. The rappers were arrested separately, Rule was stopped for speeding when a weapon was discovered in his car and officers who arrested Wayne for smoking marijuana also found a pistol in his car.
2015, New research found that a person’s taste in music may offer insight into the way in which they think. A study found empathetic people preferred more mellow, low-energy music, while those who were “systemisers” – people who seeked to analyze patterns in the world enjoyed punk, heavy metal and more complex music overall. Researchers at Cambridge University, England had recruited 4,000 participants and put them through a series of different tests.
