Well,
some balls are held for charity and some for fancy
dress, but the ball that's held in aid of
Tynedale Hospice is the ball that
Blistered Molly likes
best. Yep, the band has been asked to play at the
Hats and Glad Rags Ball in
the Function Suite at Hexham Mart. Drummer Mike
from the band tells me they are all looking
forward to introducing the crowd to some Classic
Rock and I note that within their repertoire they
include some Free, Zep,
AC/DC, Lizzy and . . . Sabbath. Hmmm,
best keep clear of War Pigs methinks and probs go
for Paranoid. Even Zep
may be a push. "Well," said Mike
confidently, "we'll suss out the crowd and see
what we can get away with. The name  of the game,
though, is to entertain. And we have no worries
on that score." With such a positive
attitude the band may just make some converts.
Singer Ashleigh is a big
Zep fan so hopes are high for some
blistering Rock. The event has been put together
by Patricia Barnes of Hats and Glad Rags in Hexham
and Gofton Wagyu and takes place on Saturday
September 28th. It all kicks off at 7pm and you'll
get chucked out around midnight.
Not a cheap night mind, coming in at £50. But hey,
it is for charity and hospices up and down the
country rely on public donations to survive. And
if you had a loved one spending time in a hospice
you would wish the best for them wouldn't you? If
you do wish to treat yourself and partner then
call 01434 606 444 or e-mail
fundraising@tynedalehospice.com. Mike did say Blistered Molly
intend to make it a night to remember. I think
when
Mike announces: "Hey everybody, this
is our twenty-minute version of Moby Dick."
That should do the trick.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Had a
little jaunt last night (Fri 23rd) to Bishop Auckland
to see Four Letter
Word do their
stuff at the Bay Horse. Review and pics sorted
for your delectation. The
Seaham Silverback has just submitted to
Riffs his review of The Whole
Hog at The
Glendale and this is now finished and both
reviews are here to view.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
WELL - THEY
HAVEN'T KILLED KENNY
Well, would you credit it? Riffs was opining the
lack of music news today and into our lap popped
this little jem concerning not only a great Metal
band, but also we spy the ruggedly Rock looks of
guitarist Kenny Nicholson who is no stranger to
Riffs News pages. [And as this info didn't come from
Kenny we officially slap him around the face with a
wet lettuce].
He is now part of Millennium,
a Billingham-based Heavy Metal band who are due to
release their fourth full-length studio album A
New World on October 25th, 2019 through Pure
Steel Records.
Vocalist Mark Duffy commented: “We try to keep
some of our New Wave Of British Heavy Metal roots,
but we also try a bit of variation with songs like
‘Obsolete’ and ‘Assassin’ that have a more
straight ahead heavy metal feel to them." The
band who played on the album consisted of:
Mark Duffy (vocals, Toranaga)
Will Philpot (guitar, Serpents Kiss)
Louis Astbury (guitar)
Paul Simpson (bass)
Darren Moore (drums)
We say 'consisted' as Louis Astbury has been
replaced by Kenny, and drummer Darren Moore by Nigel
Waterfall-Brown.
I, for one, will be keeping my eye open for a
possible local gig - well, there's bound to be one
pub that has the balls to unleash some Heavy Metal
thunder. Isn't there?
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Further to the mensh for the
upcoming Red Revival gig at Leam Lane, thought some
readers may be interested in their take
on Whole Lotta Rosie. The lead singer's
voice is quite powerful - you could say
she's got it aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall. Check
out the video here,
taken on the 18th of this month at the Smile
Festival.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Bearing in mind I have been a lilfe-long UFO fan, I was
looking forward to the Pete
Way Band at Trillians on Monday just
gone. But decided to give it a miss.
I'll say nothing more, just point you to this
Youtube video recorded recently - here. Too
bad, too sad.
----------------------------------------------------------
TYNE WOLVES INITIATE RED REVIVAL
 Now,
this one's a month away but I'm rather intrigued
with this. Maddog
and the Tyne Wolves
not only show their worth by putting on some
regular Rock/Grunge/Metal offerings at the
Deuchars Arms up there in Leam Lane but has Riffs
mucho respect as he makes sure proceeds go to a
cause close to his heart - the Kayaks charity.
News enough you may agree but I've just heard from
him of his gig on Sep 15 for: Red
Revival. Now I know if I said they have a
female singer a lot of you will immediately
discount the band or subconciously think less off
them - I hold my hands up there. But then think of
Warlock, think
of Benatar. Roxette
even? And what about Harry?
No - not Dirty, Debbie!
Check out this song (click on image) and
see what you think. Massive potential to be a
rockin' combo there. And let's face it; if Maddog
says to them 'I want you Rockin' tonight'.
Would you argue?
.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just one day to
go and we get info on tomorrow's (SAT 17th) Burning
Rock Festival at
Stanley. I've added the info to the Listings page but
here's a rundown of who's on:
2pm no ordinary Angel; 3pm me mes; 4pm dog in a
box; 5pm rigid digits; 6pm ballbreakers; 7pm riverrain; 8pm lock n load.
Only a fiver and pay at gate. That's it.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Gotta
give a big shout to Four Letter Word who are
braving Darlington's apathetic Rock scene to be
part of the Britannia's Britfest event in aid of
St. Theresa's Hospice this Saturday (17th).
Much kudos to Michael and the lads for giving of
their time for such a worthwhile cause, who are
hoping to take to the stage around 5. It's from 2
to 9pm and other bands on the menu are East Coast Mainline; The
Mechanical Capybara and String Edition.
I gotta say, know nothing much about the Britannia
except it's seemed to have always been there,
overseeing many changes to Darlo including the
demise of Handcrafts from directly over the road,
the building of the A68/St. Cuthbert's Way
roundabout directly outside the pub, not to
mention the massive ugly DWP building that it
faces.
And they do their bit for the wild birds by always
maintaining a fresh supply of num nums via their
Britannia tree (not much escapes Riffs' eagle
eye!!). So with that attention to detail it's
probs a pub worth visiting.
As with Maddog's afternoon gig up there in Leam
Lane, we wish for good weather to enhance the
event.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Having a look at Riffs
Listings it's nice to see that Paul Tuns' panic at
getting his August's gigs sorted is now history
and he can look forward to some crackin' bands -
culminating in the astounding coup of securing Skinny Molly; featuring Lynryd Skynyrd's Mike Estes (as
this is the ONLY north-east gig [apart from
Stormin' biker rally the night before] you get to
this gig or you've missed the band for well over a
year). Zooming forward to this Friday (16th) he
has the ever-popular FM. Have dug out
a couple of pics which - according to the photo
info. - I took in 2013. AC/DC,
Hendrix and many others get an
outing with this quality band and - from what I
can remember - a stunning lead guitarist.
 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Must give a shout out to David from High Howdon Social Club which
was host to an Abba
tribute last weekend. Between you and me he would be
happy for them to sneak in 'Thunderstruck'. Well, you
never know - the last song the
Pistols played at their gig at
Midddlesbrough Rock Garden in the Seventies was
'Teenage Kicks' - and who'da thought that? So fingers
crossed for ya mate. On the off chance they do, be
sure to let Riffs know!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Isn't
it nice - or do I mean 'rare' - when people keep their
word? And so it is that Rob from Qween Sold Out (Soz -
I mean Qween) sent in some pics - or should I say 'pic'
- of his gig last night Saturday 9th at Newcastle
Village Hotel.
Although I was expecting more than one, at least it's
nice to have an image of the evening. I must apologise
for the size though (unfortunately not the first time
I've had to say that) but this is exactly as supplied.
Beggars can't be choosers, so I thank Rob and fingers
crossed his full houses continue.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
THIS MACHINE
CREATES WHEELS OF STEEL
Nice to hear from This Machine who, I
have been reliably informed (cos they told me), have
been having some rather pleasing responses regarding
their cover versions. Saxon
commented
'very cool' when talkin' 'bout Wheels of
Steel - praise indeed. Also,
their version of the Dead Daisies Long
Way To Go  got a 'like' on
the Daisies' Facebook page. Not bad going for Norman, Tony, Sequel, Paul
and The Hamster of Doom (aka
Gazza) who I know have been on the circuit long enough
to hone their musicianship to deserve such eminent
acolades. I just hope this mensh doesn't embarrass the
lads - no? Well, if that doesn't, then the following
photos just may; taken ten years ago when myself and
Val interviewed the band at The Three Tuns in
Gateshead.
We were all much older then - we're younger
than that now...
 
This Machine playing
Wheels of Steel at The Frigate, Marske- here
This Machine
playing Long Way To Go at The Penny Gill - here
---------------------------------------------------------------....................................
New
Plough Dipton Music festival confirmed
for Sunday 25th August
from 1.15pm through to 10.15pm
Music all day with 6
live acts from solos to full bands as below:
Scott
Kiers solo
North Road duo
Mitch Laddie band
Jen Stevens Little Moth duo
Ash Humble solo
Sofi-stication band
And no reason not to pop along as it's completely,
totally FREE.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
HSC BACK ON THE CIRCUIT
 
Just a heads up for any sharp eyed readers -
especially around the Hartlepool area - who have
noticed that Hartlepool Supporters Club has
been missing from our Gig Listings the last few
months. Well, just heard from Tommy there and they
have had a break from bands but are now back to
firing on all six. Their gigs are, of course, now on
our Listings and you would do well to check out that
fine establishment, which has hosted some really
rare out-of-town bands. Highlight for this month just
has to be The Feelgood Band. I think you will be a
tad impressed. Check 'em out here
--------------------------------------------------------------
QWEEN SOLD OUT
Just heard that the Qween gig (that's a Queen
tribute for those of you have just got up or are or
well hungover) this Friday 9th at Newcastle is now
completely SOLD OUT. That's three gigs in a row for Qween that have
sold out. Wonder if they'll be tempted to rename the
band 'Qween Sold Out'
. . .!!
Rob
from the band has promised to send in some pics
so I'll pop the best on the this page as soon as
I get them.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Hey Molly,
how you so skinny?"
 Bands come and go, venues come and
go, but Gateshead's Three Tuns has been
one of the most reputable and long-established
venues for North-East live gigs for as long as I
can remember [many of you will be thinking 'well,
that's about a fortnight then'] - indeed, just
look at our old reviews and quite a few feature
the Tuns, so it's quite fitting that Paul from
that Rockin' gaff has the honour to be the ONLY
North-East pub to host Lynyrd
Skynyrd's Mike
Estes and his band Skinny Molly. The
band rate the Tuns gig so highly [it states on the
 Skinny Molly website
that The Three Tuns is one of their favourite
places to play] that not only did they plead with
Paul to have a gig there [I totally imagine] but I
understand they are having a warm-up the night
before when they headline Stormin' The Castle
Bikers Rally at Bishop Auckland. Those bikers
appreciate a bit of the ol' Southern hospitality
and will no doubt get the Mollies all fired up for
a night of propa Rockin' boogie for the Tuns
crowd. Just a shame they don't play Freebird
anymore as they reckon it's just not called for at
any of their gigs..............yeah,
right!! - they wouldn't dare not play
Freebird!!!! Skinny Molly
also play the best of Lynyrd
Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, Blackfoot
and The Outlaws. The Tuns gig is Saturday 31st August
and tickets are a tenner. And, although we all
know the Tuns is like a massive football arena
once you get inside . . . Paul must make it known
that when the tickets are gone - they're gone. No
door entry wiithout a ticket. No squeezing in the
odd punter. And apparently there's quite a few
odd punters in Gateshead.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul at the Tuns in now all
sorted. All dates filled and up on the Listings
page... he's appreciative of all bands who
enquired and is full for August - unless someone
pulls out!!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, just dug
out another Riffs
review from way back, by dear ol' Val - and again, no
idea when this was penned. Val mentioned it was the
week after the 26th. Ah, right, so that's cleared that
up........
-------------------------------------------------
C'mon
bands - Riffs is updated many times daily and when we
say Paul needs bands for The Three Tuns in Gateshead
for this month then we are talking now;
we will let you know when the slots have been filled -
but they haven't been yet. He still has three dates to
fill
This Saturday 10th August
Next Friday 16th August
Next Saturday 17th August. So give him a call
07940
715824. WHEN?
NOW!!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
AC/DC
GB AT THE PENNY GILL
 Hello
everybody peeps. Well, just  got back from The
Penny Gill in Spennymoor where I
nipped along to try out a new camera -
always felt a bit of a wally lugging my
large DSLR about, so invested in new
technology. Was really pleased with the
results; will need some tweaking but I
thought I'd post a few pics from its very
first use. I'm contemplating undertaking
band reviews - just like the old days
(but, unfortunately without Val) if there
is a demand; and of course a review is no
good without pics to illustrate. Anyway,
this is from last night's gig (Sun Aug
4th) at The Penny Gill of
AC/DC GB . . .
I recorded them playing 'High Voltage' and that
is now on Youtube - https://youtu.be/V-0BzWOjMDk.
---------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've started experimenting
with linking bands names in the Listing page to
Youtube videos of themselves - to help readers get
an idea of what to expect at a gig. At the moment
I've picked a few at random but, if any band wants
a link to a particular video then please let me
know and I will initiate that. I'm not sure what
will happen though when that gig comes and goes; I
guess you will need to re-send the link for me to
keep it up to date............ I'll see how it
goes........
---------------------------------------------------------------------
COME
ON AND TOUCH ME
The keen-eyed amongst you may have noticed how
many Starz
gigs there are now in August and
September. Well, it just happens their popularity
seems to know no bounds. I remember guitarist
Kenny telling me earlier this year that they went
out of their way to pick a set list that was
recognisable but yet well away from the
'done-to-death' covers. Well, that has paid off in
spades [what's the builders' motto - measure twice
and cut once]. Kenny explained to Riffs: 'Starz has gone down
really well everywhere; one landlord told us that
we were the first band he'd listened to for months
cos normally he switches off when he's serving
behind the bar because he's sick of hearing the
same old songs, he couldnt wait to get us back!' Not
only that but Kenny is in The
Paul Rodgers Story who had no choice
but to reform after constant requests and, by all
accounts, played a blinder recently at Darlington's
Forum (and yes a re-booking ensued). And, if all
that isn't impressive enough, his other band, the
heavy Black
Rose is on the verge of
releasing a new album. Kenny went on: 'Black Rose are almost finished
recording a new album which is a lot heavier than
anything we have done in the past, it should
surprise a few people!'
Couldn't be too heavy for me Kenny - or too
loud! Click pic to hear
'Cure For Your Disease' by Black Rose.
I wouldn't be surprised if Kenny makes himself
available on a regular basis, surrounded by
railings, for bands who want to just get close and
touch him . . . or just stare in awe . . .
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three Tuns all sorted for
weekend - they have Romeo's Pistol
for this Friday and Prism
for Saturday. Two bands quick off the mark - mind
you, neither have been in touch with Riffs. We got the
confirmation from Paul Tuns. Y'know, ya try to
give bands publicity . . .
Paul is still short for some dates late August
so give him a call 07940 715824.
THREE TUNS NEEDS BAND FOR FRIDAY now sorted
Paul Tuns is well on his way to filing his listing
for gigs in August but finds himself with a space
for THIS FRIDAY 2ND (Three Tuns in Gateshead)- so
get in there quick: call or text
07940 715824. And when you have
secured your gig, email me here at Riffs and I will
add it to the Listings page - and if you are very
polite I will give your band a mensh here on the
News page!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 If
I'm anything, I'm a man of my word; September's
listings is now live and the first entry is for Friday 13th at The Glendale,
Hall Lane, Houghton le Spring DH5 8DA for a gig
by UK/DC
playing tracks by the legendary Bon Scott.
Angus from that band played with AC/DC GB
recently and went down a storm at Steels
Club in Sunderland, so a lot is riding on
the Glendale gig.
Will they - can they - surpass the Steels Club
gig?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Can I make a clarification concerning the AC/DC GB review
below. The Angus on the night of the gig review
was from UK/DC, and he was standing in on that
night at Steels
Club and it is his band - UK/DC who is
appearing at Glendale Club on Friday
September 13th. UK/DC
play the Bon Scott
era songs, so that's the first five AC/DC albums; and
some would argue undoubtedly the best. But let's
not get into that. I should be getting September's
list up soon on the Listings page and I will make
sure that that will be the first gig entered into
it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BANDS SOUGHT
FOR GATESHEAD GIGS
Looks like landlord Paul Tuns
is having a reet rough August suffering numerous
cancellations! He has put an urgent shout out for
bands for the following dates for his two pubs in
Gateshead - no specific style has been mentioned
so just give him a ring . . . call or text 07940 715824
SCHOONER
Sat 17th, Fri 23rd
THREE TUNS
Fri 2, Sat 3, Sat 10, Fri 16, Sat 17, Sat 24, Fri
30.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The band's website: https://www.acdcgb.co.uk/
For a taste of the band: https://youtu.be/QRCIfpYXSC8
---------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------
WE'LL
HAVE NONE OF YER DEVIL MUSIC
AROUND THESE 'ERE PARTS
Well, ya just gotta
feel sorry for those Junkyard Dogz, all set for
their debut gig at Ye Old Cross in Ryton
Village recently - but just days away from
their much-anticipated gig and they are told it's
off. Who says they can't go ahead? Environmental
Health, that's who. Apparently the pub wants to
start up live music nights but have been shot down
in flames before they've even got going. Paul from
the band told me: 'I wouldn't mind but they
haven't even heard us!'
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sorting
through Riffs archives (well, when you wake at 5am
you need something to fill in the time!) I noticed
another little gem that warrants an airing, so
without further ado here's Rough Justice
from July 2008 at the Princess Alice in
Middlesbrough . . .penned by yours truly.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
ONE
VISION
By all accounts Queen tribute
Qween knocked
'em dead at Birtley Buffs Club recently. Every single
ticket had been sold and the place was, as you can
well imagine, rammed to the rafters. Rob from the band
told Riffs: 'It was a great responsive
audience who really appreciated our live show
experience - Billy West, our lead singer, does
"Freddie" proud at every gig and sings all Queen
songs in copy key!' No doubt all the musos
reading this will know exactly what 'copy key' is.
Moving on: Rob has been elated at the response his
band has been getting since its inception and playing
to capacity crowds looks like the norm for this
quality ensemble. Their next gig is at Hebburn
Iona Social Club on Friday 12th July tickets
from the club (£6)-.
Did anyone video the
band at the gig that Riffs could link to?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Twister at the
Academy: https://youtu.be/sh3AEUpWyFQ
Rock Solid: https://youtu.be/U8eBOJAF8_0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOW THESE TOWNS
THEY ALL KNOW OUR NAME
Riffs
is forever hearing of venues closing and bands
splitting so how heartened are we to tell of a band
actually reforming?!! Yes, it's true. A big welcome
back to . . .
THE PAUL RODGERS STORY. It seems only five minutes ago that the
lads (well, I say 'lads' but the pedigree of these
mature guys is there for all to see/hear) were not
only belting out the most memorable tracks from Free, Bad Co., Queen
etc but they included Paul
Rodgers' foray into solo work too.
Not to mention Hendrix.
Gaining an envious reputation for reliablility and
quality musicianship throughout the North-East, it
was a blow to many when the band called it a day.
Guitarist Kenny told me: 'Since the band split up
we've had people asking us on a regular basis
what happend to the band and the enjoyment they
got from our gigs. A chance meeting between a
couple of us led to our reform, so by
popular demand we are back.'
Kenny continued: 'Because all the members are busy with
other bands we can only fit in a very few
gigs.'
Very few indeed, you'll be lucky to catch the band
once a month - but a trek worth taking.
Needless to say Riffs shows The Paul Rodgers Story
gigs on our Listings page but this is the current
list up to Christmas (Oh heavens - it's still June
and we've mentioned Christmas!!!!).
Thurs 4th July - The
Forum, Darlington cc
Sat 3rd Aug - Richmond
Live Festival (on stage at 4pm)
cc
Sun 15th Sept -
Rhythm & Blues Festival, Darlington (Hoskins
Bar at 6pm)
Thurs 28th Nov -
Trillians, Newcastle
Fri 20th Dec - Cleveland
Bay, Eaglescliffe
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
HARTLEPOOL
CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF
WISHBONE ASH
 Another
short notice gig just come to
Riffs attention is this Sunday (23rd)
at Hartlepool Supporters Club [5pm £4.00];
The venue is celebrating the 50-year anniversay of
the great Wishbone Ash.
Performed by The Flying Vs, Jeff
from the band told Riffs: 'It's one of a
series of gigs we will perform this year. We will be
joined by Dave Barnes from The
Test Pilots as our Ted Turner. Having
opened up for Wishbone Ash
and their fans in 2014 at Chesterfield Winding
Wheel, 2016 at The Grand Clitheroe and 2018 at The Y
Theatre Leicester, we're looking forward to playing
tracks from the early years Wishbone
Ash, Pilgrimage, Argus, Wishbone IV, New
England, and Strange Affair.'
---------------------------------------------------------------
Just found out about this all-dayer today - two
days before the event! Looks like their publicity
dept. is away on holiday . . . Anyway, thanks to American Girl
for keeping Riffs in the loop. Noticed there are
no band times on the poster but one time we do
know is that American Girl are due at 4.45pm. (and
they've missed an 'S' from Assassin!)
------------------------------------------------------------
Following on from
the unbelievable response I got from the last
two recent 'who is this band' pics. And I say
'unbelievable' because no-one - yes no-one -
emailed me! But am I saddened? [Well, yeah, just
a tad] but am I disheartened? [Well . . .] but
not to be deterred here is two more 'who the
fuck is this?' pics.................. any
ideas anyone? Anyone . . .?
 
---------------------------------------------------------------------
https://youtu.be/jhUhw_J5ItE
------------------------------------------------------------------
True
to my word I've dug out these two pics of a young
band pictured at The Grand in Bishop Auckland
(possibly) way back when - so if anyone
knows who the band is, or when I took them (or why
I never labelled them properly) we can then put a
name to the band...
----------------------------------------------------------------
https://youtu.be/DkWRCv5HDjk
------------------------------------------------------------------
YES,
WE TAKE OUR OWN PHOTOS - ALWAYS HAVE
In
reply to a recent email we received: ALL photos
that accompany Riffs reviews (and indeed reviews
by The Seaham Silverback) are taken at the actual
gig - without exception. The reviews by myself and
Val all contained photographs that I took of the
band on that particular night. We do not snaffle
pics from other websites, Facebook or whatever to
enhance the review. If I ever use a photo in this
column (not the column on the right) for
illustrative purposes I always mensh that I nicked
it from somewhere else (other than if it was sent
directly to Riffs by the band/venue themselves).
Myself and Val always prided ourselves on
reviewing, photographing and writing the whole gig
ourselves. In fact, typing this has just reminded
me that I have scores (maybe hundreds) of
photographs that are unnamed and I may post some
on this column soon. Shame to have them gathering
dust.... I am trying to persuade Mr Silverback to
get armed with a camera so as to illustrate his
reviews with some exciting pics... I am working on
his review of
The 3 Colonels from last night
right now and should have it uploaded within a
couple of hours....
---------------------------------------------------------
Mucho gracias to Alan W from The Grand
in Bishop Auckland who recognised the single as 'Watcha Doin' To Me' by The Reds. Just
one more to go . . . this catchy little punk ditty
from the Seventies has bewildered me . . . does
anyone know who it is?
--------------------------------------------------------
HELP - I NEED SOMEBODY
Can anyone help me identify this
single . . . ?
------------------------------------------------------------
Well, it's that
time again - a look though Riffs' archives and see
what gems we have hidden away. How about a review of
Freeway from August 2008? You got it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Just a brief mensh for an upcoming gig at the Cluny 2
in Newcastle for 26th June when the Tom
Atkinson Band will be performing
there. Over a year since the lads performed at the
Cluny but they are all fired up for this upcoming gig.
Tom Atkinson - Guitar/Vocs; Paul Gowland -
Sax/Keys (Strictly Smokin’
Big Band); Stu Dawson - Bass (RJ Thompson, Preach Alaska);
Jeff Armstrong - Drums (Flakes,
Russ Tippins Band) include some
original music in their set along with covers of Zappa, Mahavishnu Orchestra,
King Crimson etc. Tickets are a fiver
and available from http://www.thecluny.com
I
did try to get a pic from Tom but, even though it
would paint a thousand words, words are all I have ('to
take your heart away').
..............................................................
BACK IN BUFFS
It's always
nice when something works out and
goes to plan - cos in life it most
often bastard well doesn't (what, me -
bitter?). So it was great to get an email from Robert from Heaton
Buffs concerning the BOSS gig from last
week. Not only was it a
virtual sell-out - just five
tickets left unsold [how's
that for honesty? He could
have quite easily told me it
was a sell-out] - but the lads
went down the proverbial
storm. I remember searching
Youtube for a video of the
band to highlight the gig
but found zilch (punk
band from the 70s I think)
but we can make up for it
now because kind ol'
Robert has sent me a link
to the very opening of the
band's set filmed live as
it happenerd
at the Buffs!
So
without further ado here is
BOSS just
seventeen years since
their last visit
at the Buffs - c'mon
lads let someone
else get a look in .
. .
------------------------------------------------------------
Bit of sadness for me last week -
lost a friend, a good supporter of
Rock. Introduced me to Rammstein
and Airbourne.
He was a great lover of German
lesser-known bands and I used to meet up
with him at Newcastle Arena,
or the Academy. A regular at
live pub gigs in
Redcar and was
a regular
at Dr. Browns in
Middlesbrough. Great
guy. He was given
the all clear for cancer
a few years ago and then
it
came back suddenly
just weeks ago with a
vengeance. Anyway Gaz,
here's Rammstein
for you.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 Listening to Rock on
internet radio today (which supports
the
age-old
question 'Why djs?')
and
on came Suzie Smiled
by Tygers of
Pan Tang and something
stirred deep inside
me, some distant memory of
reviewing that band many
moons ago.
A quick search of
Riffs archives and -
bingo! found it.
So, for your delectation
. . . (and yet again, I
mentioned the date [February
2], but not
the year, so if anyone
can help
out?....)
Wanna hear
what you missed? Suzie
Smiled
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Due to my throat
virus causing voice loss, my band Steeler can’t
play gig at Redcar Rugby Club tonight Sat 25-May -
Classic Rock covers band or similar is needed.
Contact Pete 07775922523.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Riffs has
just been informed that the gig at Heaton Buffs
this weekend - which we have down as
Boss (and I thought
was a Springsteen tribute) - is in fact a
rather special reunion of a band from the 90s.
As Robert from the club told Riffs: 'They were a
big deal on the club scene back in the 90s &
early 00s. They are doing a few one-off
shows with the original band line up; and of course
they are 100% live! We
have already sold 200 tickets, with only 50 left.'
Apparently, back in 2002, Boss did an outstanding
sell-out gig there and Robert is keen to duplicate
that success.
Check them out - and if
you fancy the gig - you've missed it!!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
With
regards to the Riffs review of Phil Caisley's Dirty Dogs
featured below, Dave from the band has
been in touch to shed some light on exactly
when the gig took place and some info on what
has become of the band . . .
'The date of the review was the 12th February
2010. The Dirty Dogz
were in existence from 2009 until 2013 doing the north
east pub scene and the last gig was at Doctor Browns
in Middlesbrough on the 2nd November of that
year. Phil, in my opinion, is a great rock
singer and it was a good band although we were
certainly very punchy and could test the old ear drums
for volume. Keith John Dean on bass was replaced
by Ian Raine (played with DeeeXpus,
infinity, and lately, The Rising and
many others). The other guys are either not in
bands or between bands whereas I am working with my
brother in the ‘Graham
Henderson experience’.
To remind yourself of what we were like – here is a
link to a Youtube clip of us at the rock 4 All.
https://youtu.be/1LD2ouDwIKU
with keith on bass.
And here is a clip of my current band - (with
Ian Raine on Bass, now replaced by Duncan Sams).
https://youtu.be/u5ghYHhQvI4
Dave'
---------------------------------------------------------------
Another Riffs rave from the grave is featured below.
I know
it's from Feb 12th but Val never mentioned
which year! Possibly 2008. If
anyone has any better suggestions please
let me know . . .
---------------------------------------------------------------------
If you want it, here it is, come
and get it
Here at Riffs I
love to give publicity to live Rock bands - even more so if it
happens to be their first gig. Can imagine
it's quite a traumatic event and a lot
rides on that debut gig. But I am
saddened, I must say, that although publicity at Riffs is entirely
free and I really don't expect anything back,
that this
offer is not taken up more readily.
On a couple of
recent occasions upon
hearing of an approaching
first gig I have asked for
more info - a little blurb
about the band and hopefully
a pic or two - and I hear
nothing. Zilch. Zero. Nought.
Nil. Zippo. I'm
not losing out, but I
suspect that the band
and indeed the venue
would benefit from a tad
of extra publicity . . .
just saying.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
I'M ONLY HERE FOR THE BEER
 Saturday
11th May was Houghton annual beer festival, a
charity event organised by the round table running
for several decades now. I’ve been going along for
the last 5 years or so; nice venue in Houghton
Colliery Welfare club and a decent afternoon out
with mates. However, every year there’s what is
loosely described as “live music” and without
exception it is awful. Last year we offered to pay
the organisers whatever they’d paid the “singer” to
get him off (they declined). There’s usually about a
dozen of us, all guys I know from various venues
where we go to see bands who have varied tastes from
blues to thrash metal to country, we all agreed this
year’s offering was, once again, abysmal. The band
was advertised as “an experienced function band”
doing stuff from Adele, Ed
Sheeran, Kings of Leon, Elvis, Buddy Holly Michael
Buble and Pharrell
Williams; half the stuff wasn’t
recognisable until half way through the song, the
instruments were out of tune and the singer couldn’t
carry a tune in a bucket. If the organisers read
this, get artists who can sing and/or play; Russ Tippins or Tempest would bring
people in, you’re close to driving people away.
Now, it
was a charity event and the band may have agreed
to play for free in which case they were worth the
money. Do I name and shame them? Houghton
Beer Festival 2019 afternoon session, will bring
up an answer, but the hope is that the organisers
will read this and either not bother with live
music on afternoons OR book someone who will
attract punters, not alienate them.
The
Seaham Silverback
--------------------------------------------------
The NE Street Band,
playing iconic songs from Bruce
Springsteen and The E Street Band
debuted at The Old Fox in Felling just
recently and we have added a link to some footage
here (only phone footage).
The band's website: https://www.nestreetband.co.uk
They are at the Amphitheatre in South Shields on
Thursday 6th June, 7pm-9pm for an evening of Bruce
Springsteen sounds, as part of the Summer Festival.
---------------------------------------------------------------
THE
PRIESTS OF THE TEMPLE OF ROCK
Bank holiday Monday gigs are a
gamble for venues, if it’s been a nice day and the
punters have been in the garden all day having a few
drinks, they tend to stay there, it’s also a school
night so folk tend to think better of going out.
However, The Force are one of those bands I’d walk barefoot
over broken glass to go and see regardless, they set a
standard that other bands in the North East aspire to
reach and Monday 6th May was no exception. An early
start gave an opportunity for those at work the
following day to get their 8 hours kip and it meant
the gear was pretty much in and checked by the time
the audience started coming in. There was a decent
turn out, but I was expecting the place to be rammed –
punters eh?
The
band opened with a couple of their own tracks before
setting off in a set that featured Rush quite
extensively with songs from Rainbow,
AC/DC, UFO, Montrose, Metallica, Scorpions and Thin Lizzy. It
would be wrong to try and pick out tracks that were
better than the others, because I didn’t hear a bum
note all evening and the sound was absolutely spot
on from the word go. The twin lead guitars in Thin
Lizzy’s “Emerald” were flawless, the guy I was sat
next to turned to look at me at the end of the track
and we were both thinking the same thing. Phil sat
down for “Bad Motor Scooter” with his Strat over his
knee and a bottleneck, first time I’ve seen him do
this, and it was excellent.
I’m
always staggered by the sheer professionalism of The
Force, I doubt there can be a Rock fan between the
Tees and the Tweed who hasn’t heard these guys, but
if you fall into that small number, get out and see
them, you’ll thank me.
The Seaham Silverback.
----------------------------------------------------
 SWEETS FOR MY SWEET . . .
The Sugar Bs
18-year reunion gig on march 30 at the Park Inn,
Hartlepool raised £700, split equally between Alice
House Hospice in Hartlepool and The Great North Air
Ambulance Service.
Details
can be found on Facebook here.
--------------------------------------------------------
The
Big Jug in Durham have ceased all live bands as of
now.
..........................................................................
New Plough Dipton have their annual
music festival on Sunday May 5 starting from 1.30pm
with finish 10pm; latest line up is as follows.
Details here
..........................................................................
LIGHTS, SMOKE, AND ROCK 'N' ROLL
I’ve been following Rock
Solid for over ten years now and
always look forward to every show, the gig in Houghton
Glendale was a welcome spot; right on the
doorstep. I saw them about January and since then
they’ve invested in a completely new LED lighting rig
with fancy rotating spots etc. On a night when the
condensation was running down the walls, the lack of a
few KW of heat from PAR cans was welcome for all
concerned. The Solids have used smoke machines for
years but they must have put new batteries in the
current model - the stage was like a war zone all
night. Our musical tastes are as varied as we are but
the Solid’s set-list dovetails in with my
predilections perfectly, kicking off with a couple of
Priest tracks then
running through AC/DC, Saxon,
Maiden, Purple, Rainbow, Ozzy and Rush - what’s not to
like?
One
of the reasons Rock Solid are so well received
has got to be their interaction with their audiences,
the guys always have time for a few words both on and
off the stage. Last night’s gig was their first in the
Glendale for 8 years (apparently) and there’s another
one in the pipeline for December this year, the room
was full and the club was selling beer like it was
going out of fashion. The crowd loved them and the
band gave every impression they were having a good
time. Events like this keep the Rock scene in the
North East vibrant, everyone’s coming away from the
night happy. Long live Rock`n` Roll!
The Seaham Silverback
On a personal
note, myself (Nige) and Val have always rated Rock
Solid as one of the best rock acts in the North-East
music scene but, alas, have not had the pleasure in
quite a few years, so it really pleased me to read the
Silverback's review to know not only that the lads are
still going strong after so many moons, but also that
they actually seem to be improving. But as Val has
said on numerous occasions: 'When
you've got it, you've got it'.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You can't beat quality pie
 The Three Tuns
Gateshead hosts its 14th
International Pie Festival between
2nd May and 6th May.
Over 2000 pies, 100 varieties
including Veggie and Vegan options all served with
creamy mash, mushy peas and special house gravy £3.50.
Live music from Prism Pink
Floyd, The Grumpies, Wham Bam Thank You Mam,
The Russ Tippins Trio and The Beetles.
--------------------------------------------
'Probably
one of the most entertaining
nights I’d had this year'
It was grab-a-granny night down
in Houghton
Sports & Social on 20th
April with a 60s tribute band called FAB gracing the stage (No,
I’d never heard of them either). It had been a
scorching day so the wife and I headed down there
early to re-hydrate ourselves and the car park was
filling rapidly. Walking through the doors at 7.30 we
got one of the last tables available, clearly some
people knew something we didn’t. Bearing in mind we’re
both over 60, our presence lowered the average age of
the crowd which rather put me off, but I was thirsty
and I’d paid my entrance money, so sod it – we stayed.
The band gave a nod to the appearance of the bands of
the 60s era with suits, and even ties in the first
set, the Hofner violin bass a salute to Paul McCartney and the
numerous Beatles
tracks scattered through the set. Now the band weren’t
the best musicians or singers I’ve heard (but I’ve
heard a LOT worse) but they grabbed the crowd by the
scruff of the neck and shook them all night long. Any
empty space was filled with folk on their feet and
dancing almost from the off, tracks from The Beatles, Roy Orbison, The
Searchers, Swinging Blue Jeans, The Hollies and
Gerry and the Pacemakers
with the obligatory Ferry across the Mersey. It was
probably one of the most entertaining nights I’d had
this year.
If you’re looking for a band to span a big age group
or just for a fun party, I can’t recommend these guys
highly enough. [PS, my photos turned out crap. I
nicked this shot from the band’s Facebook page, I
can’t credit the photographer by name, so please
excuse the liberty].
The Seaham Silverback
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
CROOKFEST
2019 - MAY 5
 Crookfest is a annual may bank holiday rock music
festival held in the County Durham market town of
Crook with a variety rock styles performed by
cover/tribute bands across 3 stages inside large
marquees. The event takes place on Sunday 5th May 2019 in
the Millfield ground home of Crook Town AFC from noon
untill 11pm along with food and beer stalls a-plenty.
www.crookfest.co.uk
Rock Bands... Coda a Tribute to Led
Zeppelin, AC/DC-GB, Mane
Attraction, Circa69, Tubesnake, Edenthorn.
Punk Reggae
Ska... The Marley
Experience, The Sex Pistols Experience, Skapones,
Panic Report, The Me Mes, The Anarchists.
Indie Mod
80-90s... Revolver, ZEN, The
Baggy Mondays, Deeper Season, The Thieves,
Collaborators.
--------------------------------------------
Tempest in
Houghton
I must confess I’ve never been a big fan of artists
who use backing tracks - with the exception of
Russ Tippins -
they all seemed to lack the spontaneity of a full
line up. So when some friends recommended I go see a
duet called Tempest
featuring a guy on guitar with backing tracks and a
lass on vocals I was hesitant to say the least. I
couldn’t have been more wrong; Kaz & Ritchie are
2 of the nicest people you could want to meet and
deliver a widely varied set that has never failed to
impress.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Just
heard, courtesy of Alan Fizzyfish, that the Ship
Inn, Richmond has closed - whether temp or
permanent is unknown - so any bands with a
gig there will need to look elsewhere.
---------------------------------------------------------------
The Glendale
Rock nights are going down really well, the place
was packed and there was a good friendly atmosphere
in the place. I’d guess there was 80-ish in, punters
were coming in late and leaving as there were no
more seats, so the solution is going to be get there
early if you intend to go to a gig there. I’ve been
following Lock n Load
for a couple of years, I first saw them at beer
festival since when the line-up has gone through a
couple of changes. Dave, the current singer was
originally on drums and they had a girl on vocals
with legs up to her armpits, I’ve got to say she was
easier on the eye than Dave, but Dave’s vocals suit
the current set list down to a tee.
 Kicking
off with “Tie your mother down” they ran through
tracks from Whitesnake,
AC/DC, Bryan Adams, ZZ Top and Zeppelin in the
first set alone. Journey’s
“Separate ways” was always going to stretch the old
vocal chords and we’ve all heard it murdered on
numerous occasions but the band pulled it off like
it was another day in the office.
Now I’m regularly accused of being proper OCD
about the sound, balance and levels but I couldn’t
find fault with any of that from the word go, I was
much impressed with the guitar sound in particular
that captured Brian May’s tone for the opening Queen number, to Billy Gibbons choppy
fuzz, Bryan Adams
jangly intro on “Run to you” and Gary Moore’s
mournful sustain on “Still got the blues”. All from
1 guitar. Respect.
The band are a mix of ages, so some of the set
was written before they were born; now as an aging
rocker I applaud this tribute to the music I love,
but feel slightly sad that little of any musical
value seems to have risen to the top for young bands
to play. The second set picked up where the first
had finished with a bit of
Bon Jovi then the band threw in
“Nellie the elephant” to a rapturous greeting before
some more Whitesnake, AC/DC, Billy Idol and G&R
before finishing the night with “The Hunter” –
always gonna go down well in Houghton. A cracking
night all round, the band were happy, everybody I
spoke to had a great time and the club sold lots of
beer. Next up “The Force” on 29th of this month.
The Seaham SIlverback
----------------------------------------------------------------
 Steve Hutchinson
from South Shields has recently re-joined CLASSIC CLAPTON on
keyboards & backing vocals.
He was a member of Animals
2 for 6 years during the 1990s
alongside original members Hilton Valentine &
John Steel.
Currently he performs with heritage band Animals 3 and
also UK Legends.
He previously played with Classic Clapton from
2003 - 2005.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Looks like there is yet
another change of management and booking agent at
The Maggie Bank and all bands booked
by the previous team are once again cancelled. If
bands think they are playing there they should get
in touch with the pub to clarify the situation.
---------------------------------------------------------------
I
AIN'T AFRAID OF NO GHOSTS
That
little birdie that told Riffs what a crackin'
gig awaited anyone partaking of ghostly
goings-on at the Glendale last Friday has, we
are cock-a-hoop to say, put his money where his
mouth is [or should we say 'beak']. He not only
popped in to said establishment with some mates
but was good enough to write a quick appraisal
of the gig and sent it in to Riffs. So, without
further ado . . .
 'Last
Friday we went to see The Ghost Band at Houghton Glendale WMC.
For me this was a much anticipated gig, I’d
seen them at Philadelphia beer festival last
year playing a brief set and I was much
impressed by their choice of Blues/Rock and
the level of musicianship. Last night built on
that first impression as the band ran through
tracks from
Hendrix, Gary Moore, Jeff Healey, Tom
Petty, John Mayall and Free among
others. The guys I’d brought with me hadn’t
seen the band before and were captivated by
the whole show. In fact the entire evening
should have been videoed and distributed to
all bands in the region; 3 guys who aren’t
exactly in the first flush of youth had all
their gear brought in, connected and checked
in 20 minutes.
Climbing
off my high horse, I can recommend the Ghost
Band to anyone who appreciates good music played
well with the minimum distraction and gobshitery
between numbers.'
The
Seaham Silverback.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Just heard from Stormy
Phil that the Ship Inn at Benton is
now closed.
-------------------------------------------------------------
NURSES TO
WALK THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA
 As
someone who has seen first-hand the absolutely
wonderful and caring work our beloved Nurses
do (and the amount of piss that Hunt Jeremy
takes) I have no hesitation in giving a big
shout out to the Valentines Night gig at
The Alexandra in
Grangetown,
Sunderland.
The palliative care nurses working in St
Benedicts Hospice in Sunderland are
walking the Great Wall of China - yes, they
are going to walk along the Great Wall of
China!!) to raise funds for St Benedicts
Hospice Charity.
Tickets are £6 available from The Alex, the
Hospice or just turn up on
the night and splash cash on the door. Please pop along and help
these wonderful people - oh, nearly forgot -
there's a jam-packed evening of live music
too!!!
The Wolcott Band
Exit Left
Joanne Wallace
Steve Ayther
----------------------------------------------------------------
GHOSTS
AT THE GLENDALE
A little birdie tells Riffs what a cracking little venue Glendale
Social Club in Houghton le Spring is, and
what a great night it should be this Friday when
The Ghost Band take to the stage. Birdie Dave goes
on to say: 'The
club have bands on every 2nd & 4th Friday
of the month. Normally no cover charge, cheap
beer and a nice clean club with loads of free
parking. It’s on the bus route too for those
who use public transport although I’m not sure
what time the local buses stop running. I’m just an interested punter
and have nothing to do with the club, but I
like to encourage and support anyone who is
prepared to get stuck in.'
----------------------------------------------------------------
CONSPIRACY
TO ROCK
 If you like your rock of the
hard and heavy variety check out Conspiracy Theory; a
new band making inroads into the north east
rock and metal scene. If you’re a bit
tired of seeing too many rock bands playing
the same old stuff, CT’s intention is to
do the songs that no-one else does. And that
doesn’t mean obscure material you’ve
never heard of, if you’re into rock and metal
you’ll know everything they do. From Rainbow to Dio, Whitesnake
to Purple, Maiden
to Priest, Uriah Heep
to Rush
or the guitar greats such as Schenker or Moore, you
won’t forget them in a hurry. With stellar
musicianship from highly experienced players
having cut their teeth in bands such as PowerAge, Ministry of
Rock, Black Rose and On The Rocks
you’re bound to have a night to remember. You
can catch them at Trillians, Newcastle
on Friday 22nd February, The Penny
Gill, Spennymoor Sunday 3rd March,
Acklam Steelies Club, Middlesbrough
Saturday 9th March or the Big Jug,
Durham on Friday 15th March.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOYS IN ACTION . . .
 One of the most enjoyable
things I like to do is to announce the birth
of a new band, and if they are a Rock band
with pedigree then space on Riffs is a must.
So without further ado let me announce . . .
STARZ,
who are a new rock covers band and include three of
the north east's top musicians who have decided to
play some songs that were a little different from
'the usual stuff'. The band features members from
bands such as Pistoleros,
Bryan Adams Experience, Black Rose (not
the TL one), The
Paul Rodgers Story, Stoneheart, American Girl
to name a few and are all well known throughout the
north east for putting on a great show. The set list
includes classic and modern punk rock (Sex Pistols/Green Day
etc), glam rock (T Rex /
Bowie etc), heavy rock (Motley Crue / Marilyn Manson
etc) soft rock (Van Halen /
The Cult etc) pop (Dead or Alive / Kinks
etc) plus plenty of great songs for those that want
to dance and some surprises including rock versions
of songs by Gary Numan
and the Bee Gees.
The band start gigging this month and you can
check them out here -
Sunday 13th - Vigilant Inn, South
Shields (7pm)
Saturday 19th - Holey Molies,
Skelton, Teesside
Sunday 20th - Times Inn, Seaham
Thursday 31st - Osbournes, Yarm
The full list of all Starz
gigs are on Riffs Gig Listings page, but for more
info about the band go to http:www.starzrock.co.uk
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Riding On The Crest Of
The New Wave fitted no-one better than Lene Lovich
who this year is celebrating the 40th
anniversary of ‘Stateless’, her debut album,
featuring cult hit 'Lucky
Number' by touring the UK in March 2019 and
is set to appear at Newcastle Riverside on the 8th
of March. The song was originally a 'b' side to 'I
Think We're Alone Now' but was reissued as an 'a'
side by Stiff in '79. Before joining Stiff Records (The
Damned, Devo, Ian Dury, etc), her early work
included performing in cabaret clubs as a London
go-go dancer, voice-over work recording screams
for Hammer Film Productions, and being the
lyricist for French disco artist Marc Cerrone
(including penning the sci-fi dance hit
‘Supernature’). Riffs has no further details
regarding the gig as yet.....
Now let's see if I can still fit into my old
'If It Ain't Stiff . . .' t-shirt....
--------------------------------------------------------------
Just had a heads up regarding
The Magnesia Bank in
North Shields; it appears the
booking of the bands is now being undertaken
by someone anew; and the usual confusion has
ensued, so it is most advisable that any band
who thinks they have a booking at that venue
to double check asap.
-------------------------------------------------------------
One of
the top AC/DC tribute bands that are on offer
to the good people of the North-East is surely Livewire.
They are getting a great reputation for their
annual shindig at Blackhall Colliery Community
Centre in Hartlepool and they have just announced
this year's gig - Saturday, Feb 23. It is a
stunning venue with two bars and easy free
parking. The band have purposely kept the price
the same as last year and also hope to keep the
same 300 capacity. Tickets on sale now £15 from
ents24.com or 07841 033579. The pic
above is from last year's gig at the Centre.
-------------------------------------------------
 It's always a breath of fresh air to
hear what other people think of the bands that
we have featured, not only in our very own
Riffs reviews, but also regularly in our
listings. And one of the great stalwarts of
the Rock brigade is the good ol' trusted and
reliable Rock Solid. Good friend of
Riffs Dave Fulton was kind enough to pen his
thoughts on the gig by that very band on
Boxing Day so, without further ado, here is
said review:
If it’s Boxing
Day, then Rock Solid must be playing in
Houghton. In a tradition that started in the
old Buffs club in Houghton (now a
Wetherspoons) probably 12 years ago or more,
the Solids have played to broadly the same
crowd of fans of proper Rock in a friendly
setting; this year in Houghton Sport &
Social club. Originally advertised as a
civilised alternative to turkey sandwiches
with the in-laws it continues to draw a good
crowd and this year was no exception. Kicking
off with “Tie your mother down” and running
through a compendium of 70s & 80s hard
Rock, the band played new stuff by Saxon &
Maiden along with perennial favourites by
Priest, Rainbow, Ozzy, Purple and AC/DC.
Playing as tight as I’ve heard them, this was
no nonsense Rock with well-balanced sound and
an easy rapport with their audience. How many
times have you gone to listen to a band and
they throw something into the set and you
think to yourself “Lord, it’s years since I
heard this” then you go home and dig out the
vinyl or raid the Pirate Bay and re-acquaint
yourself with the stuff? Saxon’s “Frozen
Rainbow” did that for me, and Priest’s cover
of “Diamonds & Rust” was another. How
fortunate we are to have such a back catalogue
of classic music to listen to, and bands like
Rock Solid who dig them out, rehearse them and
serve them up for our continued delight. Long
may it continue; catch the Solids again on
Good Friday, 19th April in Houghton Sports
& Social.
Dave
(we have used an old
pic of Rock Solid so many many apologies to the
band if the line up has in any way changed)
-----------------------------------------------------
 Coming
to the Hartlepool Supporters Club on Saturday
Jan 5 is The
Sean Webster Band
and our very own local lad Russ Tippins. Russ is a legend around the
North-East - and no doubt further afield - with
his ability to coax Metal mayhem from his guitar
one minute and soulful soothings the next. He
can fit into a Rock crowd with ease and yet his
intimate acoustic evenings are a joy to behold.
Worth the ticket price alone in our opinion; but
for those who would like to know a bit more
about the headliners, here are a few snippets of
what has been said about the Sean Webster
Band;
"The resultant impression I am left
with is a really superb album that manages to
effortlessly straddle the divide between Blues
and high quality AOR, interspersed with
splashes of Soul and Country."
NIGEL FOSTER - The Blues
Foundation
"Loving the album. I'll play
loads of tracks on my radio show over the
coming weeks."
PAUL LONG - Blues and
Roots Connections
"If you like a bit of bluesy
soulfulness, delivered with conviction and
great musicianship, Leave Your Heart At Door
will surely fit the bill. Just keep the
Kleenex handy".
IAIN CAMERON - Blues
Enthused
" I had a lovely day with this
Sean, such a breath of fresh air "
JON ASTLEY - Close To The
Edge Mastering
Tickets £15 / 17 from ents24
---------------------------------------
This Machine are back on the map with a new
website, Facebook page and also a new addition
to their line up.
Recently joining the band is Paul
Richardson, some of you may know him from Black Rose, Slip
of the Tongue, Destroyer
and also doing a mean Eddie Van Hailen in top
tribute band Van
Hailen UK.
Paul joins the familiar line up of
Norman, Tony, Le Sequel and the Hamster of Doom
to make This Machine a 5 piece again. Check out their revamped Facebook and
website (featuring blogs, videos and everything
else) at
www.thismachinerock.com
www.facebòok.com/thismachinerocks
To get a taste of the new
line up then watch the band live HERE
Last few gigs of the year are
14th Dec Peterlee Central
Club
15th Dec The Turbinia, Newton
Aycliffe
22nd Dec The Fat Ox, Whitley Bay
(special Christmas Show)
28th Dec The market Tavern, Bedlington
30th Dec The Queens Head,
Cullercoats
-------------------------------------------------------------
Very late change for tonight
(Friday 7th) at the Blacksmiths Arms,
Gosforth High Street as The Whole Hog
were unable to make the gig so facilitated
their replacement, who are Skullduggery
who will take their place.
----------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Next review to be
uploaded that was done back in 2008 will be -
hopefully - The
Kicks
--------------------------------------------------------------
'Ere's one for ya;
this review from back in 2008 (I think!) is of Wild Rumours
and was penned by Riffs' Val . . .
----------------------------------------------------------------
Don't know who these guys are - any idea
anyone?
--------------------------------------------
Michelle
Davies from Usworth and
Washington Gardeners Club has
contacted Riffs with gratitude not only for our
support, but also for the support of all you
local lads and lasses who gave so generously - the
club raised a mighty £1600 in aid of Help For
Heroes recently. Well done all you Usworth and
Washington peeps!!!!
----------------------------------------------------------------
Neon
Nights.
-----------------------------------------------
 ALICE
COOPER'S NIGHTMARE:
Alice in Sunderland The Mad Coopers Tea Party; Sunday
November 18th 3.00pm
The Alexandra Grangetown
Sunderland, Tickets £10.
A unique opportunity to
join the band up close and personal; we will be
performing all the Cooper greats with all the
usual theatrics and then join us for tea.....err
Cooper style :-)
There will be restricted
tickets sales available but you can pre book with
the band through our FB page and limited tickets
available from The Alexandra and St Benedicts.
So please come and join
us supporting St Benedicts.
------------------------------------------------------------
If you can stop laughing
long enough . . . anybody have an idea of who this
band is?
------------------------------------------------------
yeah,
I know this is not music-related but . . . this is
horrific, horrific stuff......
Dozens of
heavily-armed hunters rode into a national park
in Cameroon, butchered over 600 majestic
elephants, then hacked off their faces for their
tusks. Poachers have annihilated half of
central Africa’s last elephants. And no one's
been able to stop them.
Until now!
Brave investigators have gone undercover in
poaching rings in ten African countries,
and already more than 2,000 traffickers have
been jailed!
It’s awe-inspiring stuff, and it’s won awards, but
many funders are wary of going head-to-head with
organised crime. We may be the best community to
scale this extraordinary operation, fast.
Four elephants are killed an hour -- it’s a
race against time before we lose these gentle
giants forever. But if we each give now, this team
can expand to more countries, lock up more
kingpins and complicit officials -- and we
can ramp up campaigning to protect these beautiful
creatures and all of our vulnerable natural world.
Please log in to - Avaaz.org
and give a few quid.
If you wish to donate immediately (as Riffs did)
then go direct to the donation page
https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/hunt_the_hunters_redux_loc
------------------------------------------------------------
Another
review from 2008 here, this one at The Three
Tuns in Gateshead featuring punk stalwarts The Janitors
- courtesy of Riffs' Val.
------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------
|
CELEBRATING THE SEVENTIES:
"Kinnel
Tommy"
CELEBRATING NWOBHM:
FACTOID: Bill Haley and his Comets
actually began their careers as Bill Haley’s Saddle Pals -
a country music act.
This week in .
. .
1967 - Brian Wilson
returned to performing live with The Beach Boys
in Honolulu after a 2 year hiatus. The
group had just released 'Heroes and
Villains' in the US.
1995 - Bassist and singer Doug Stegmeyer
shot himself dead. He'd worked with many
artists including Billy
Joel, Hall and Oates and The Carpenters.
2000 - Academy Award-winning film score
composer and record producer Jack Nitzsche
died of a heart attack. He produced The Rolling
Stones, Neil Young, Buffalo
Springfield and The Walker Brothers.
Musical scores including The Exorcist, One
Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,
co-wrote 'Up Where We Belong' with Buffy Sainte-Marie
from 1982 film An
Officer and a Gentleman.
2005 - Two former members of Guns N' Roses
were suing singer Axl
Rose for allegedly naming
himself sole administrator of the US
rock band's copyrights. Slash
and Duff -
otherwise known as Saul Hudson and
Michael McKagan, accused Rose of
"arrogance and ego". The legal action
claimed the singer "was no longer
willing to acknowledge the
contributions of his former partners".
2009 - Bob
Dylan revealed during his
weekly radio show broadcast on 6 Music,
that he was speaking to a number of car
companies about becoming the voice of
their satellite navigation systems. The
68 year-old said he thought it be would
be good for drivers to hear him saying
things such as: "Take a left at the
next street. No, a right. You know
what, just go straight".
1968 - The
Incredible String Band, Traffic, Bonzo
Dog Band, Family, Fairport Convention,
Blossom Toes, Pretty things, Deviants,
Blonde On Blonde and Free all
appeared over two nights at The Roundhouse
in London.
1975 - Queen
started recording 'Bohemian Rhapsody' at
Rockfield studios in Monmouth (the song
was recorded over three weeks). Freddie
Mercury had mentally prepared the song
beforehand and directed the band
throughout the sessions. May, Mercury and
Taylor sang their vocal parts continually
for ten to twelve hours a day, resulting
in 180 separate overdubs.
1990 - Judas
Priest successfully
defended themselves against a lawsuit,
after two fans attempted suicide while
listening to the Stained Class album. Both
fans eventually died, one immediately from
a shotgun blast, and the other on a second
attempt three years later by a methadone
overdose. The prosecution claimed that
there were subliminal messages in the
group’s music that caused the two
seventeen year olds to carry out the
suicide pact in 1985.
1965 - Security guards at a Manchester TV
studio hosed down 200 Rolling
Stones fans after they broke
down barriers while waiting for the band to
arrive for a performance.
1968 - During a North American tour The Jimi Hendrix
Experience appeared at Singer
Bowl, Flushing Meadow Park, New York. Also
on the bill was Soft
Machine and Big Brother and the
Holding Company.
1970 - Lou Reed
and the Velvet Underground
performed together for the last time at the
New York Club 'Max's Kansas City'. Reed
worked as a typist for his father for the
next two years, at $40 per week.
1975 - Joy
Division singer Ian Curtis
married Deborah Woodruff, whom he met while
still at school, when he was 19 and she was
18. They remained married until his death
when he hanged himself in the kitchen of his
house in Macclesfield, at the age of 23.
1980 - David Bowie
was at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Ashes
To Ashes' his second No.1. Taken from the
Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) album, the
song continued the story of Major Tom from
Bowie's 'Space Oddity'. The video for 'Ashes
to Ashes' was one of the most iconic of the
1980s and costing £250,000, it was at the
time the most expensive music video ever
made.
1980 - The Heatwave Festival in Toronto,
Canada took place with Talking Heads, Elvis
Costello, The B-52s, The Pretenders,
Rockpile and The Rumour.
Tickets cost $30. With only 50,000 people
attending, the festival lost over $1
million.
1986 - Sigue Sigue
Sputnik came up with an idea
to sell advertising space between the tracks
on their forthcoming new album. It was a
non-starter.
1963 - Billy J Kramer
And The Dakotas were at No.1
on the singles chart with 'Bad To Me.' A song
John Lennon wrote for them while on holiday in
Spain with Brian Epstein. The track later
became the first Lennon–McCartney composition
to reach the US Top 40 for an artist other
than The Beatles.
1964 - The Supremes
started a two week run at No.1 on the US
singles chart with 'Where Did Our Love Go' the
girl group's first No.1.
Holland–Dozier–Holland had originally composed
the song for The
Marvelettes to record it who
rejected the song.
1967 - The Jimi
Hendrix Experience appeared on
the Simon Dee Show. Kiki
Dee and Cat
Stevens were also guests on the
show.
1968 - Ringo Starr
quit The Beatles
during The White Album sessions when the
constant bickering and tension became too much
for him. The news of Ringo's departure was
kept secret, and he rejoined the sessions on
September 3rd. After Ringo walked out, the
remaining Beatles recorded 'Back In the USSR',
with Paul on drums and John playing bass.
1978 - Sex Pistol
Sid Vicious made his last live
stage appearance when he appeared with Rat Scabies
from The Damned,
former Sex Pistol
Glen Matlock and Nancy Spungen
at London's Electric Ballroom. In the
audience: Elvis
Costello, Debbie Harry, Joan Jett, The
Slits and
Captain Sensible.
2014 - John Lennon's
killer, 59-year-old Mark
David Chapman, was denied
parole by New York State officials for the
eighth time. In handing down their decision,
the parole board said, "Your release would
be incompatible with the welfare of society
and would so deprecate the serious nature of
the crime as to undermine respect for the
law."
1961 - Tamla Records released the Marvelettes
first single, 'Please Mr. Postman'. The song
went on to sell over a million copies and become
the group's biggest hit, reaching the top of
both the Billboard Pop and R&B charts. The
song is notable as the first Motown song to
reach the No.1 position on the Billboard Hot 100
pop singles chart.
1961 - Patsy Cline
recorded the classic Willie
Nelson song, ‘Crazy’. Cline was
still on crutches after going through a car
windshield in a head-on collision two months
earlier and had difficulty reaching the high
notes of the song at first due to her broken
ribs. 'Crazy' spent 21 weeks on the chart and
eventually became one of her signature tunes.
1971 - Arthur Brown's
Kingdom Come, Hawkwind, Duster Bennett,
Brewers Droop, Indian Summer, Graphite
and (second from the bottom on the bill) Queen all
appeared at the Tregye Festival, Truro,
Cornwall.
1983 - Ramones guitarist
Johnny Ramone
had a four-hour brain surgery operation, after
being found unconscious in a New York Street
where he had been involved in a fight.
1997 - Former Stone
Roses drummer Alan Wren was
jailed for seven days after being rude to a top
Manchester Magistrate. He was before the court
due to having no car insurance and lost his
temper after being quizzed about his earnings.
2006 - A man surfing the Internet in America
foiled three men who broke into a Liverpool shop
in Liverpool, England. The man who had logged
onto a site streaming live footage of Mathew
Street and a forthcoming Beatles
festival saw the men smashing a window of a shop
and climb inside. He phoned Merseyside police
who arrested the men.
2008 - Paedophile and ex-pop star Gary Glitter
returned to Thailand after being refused entry
to Hong Kong. Chinese authorities informed the
UK Foreign Office they had barred Glitter from
entry. He was earlier deported from Vietnam
after spending almost three years in jail for
sexually abusing two girls. He flew to Hong Kong
from Bangkok after refusing to fly to the UK,
and had made a plea for medical treatment after
saying he was suffering a heart attack.
2016 - The Tragically
Hip drew a sell-out crowd to the
show in Kingston, Ontario, as their dying singer
Gord Downie
bid Canada farewell. The show was broadcast live
across Canada and was shown at hundreds of
public screenings across the country in bars and
outdoor venues.
1967 - The
Beatles scored their 14th US No.1
single with 'All You Need Is Love'. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards,
Eric Clapton, Keith Moon, Graham Nash,
Marianne Faithfull and Walker Brother Gary Leeds
all sang backing vocals on the track.
1971 - Led Zeppelin
kicked off a North American tour at the Pacific
Coliseum in Vancouver, Canada. The band played to
a sold out crowd of over 17,000 fans, another
3,000 fans outside the venue who didn't have
tickets started a battle with local police.
1972 - David Bowie played
the first of two nights at the Rainbow Theatre in
London on his current 182-date Ziggy Stardust
world tour.
1977 - The Sex Pistols
started an undercover UK tour as The Spots (an
acronym for Sex Pistols on tour secretly).
2005 - 2005 - A life-size bronze statue of Phil Lynott designed
by Paul Daly was unveiled on Harry Street in
Dublin. The ceremony was attended by his former Thin Lizzy band
members Gary Moore, Brian Robertson and Scott
Gorham. Lynott who died in 1986 aged 36 had a
string of hits including 'Whiskey in the Jar',
'The Boys are Back in Town', 'Jailbreak' and
'Waiting for an Alibi'.
Week
commencing August
1212
Week
commencing
August 51959
- American jazz trumpeter Miles
Davis released Kind of Blue which is
regarded by many critics as jazz's greatest record,
Davis's masterpiece, and one of the best albums of
all time. Its influence on music, including jazz,
rock, and classical genres, has led writers to also
deem it one of the most influential albums ever
recorded.
1964 - Glasgow council announced that all boys and
men with Beatles
styled haircuts would have to wear bathing caps
after a committee was told that hair from
'Beatle-cuts' was clogging the pools filters.
1965 - The Byrds
were forced to cancel a concert during their UK tour
at The Guildhall, Portsmouth when only 250 of the
4,000 tickets had been sold.
1969 - The final day of the 3 day Woodstock Festival
took place at Max Yasgur's farm in Bethel, New York.
Acts who appeared included Crosby,
Stills Nash & Young, The Who, Jimi Hendrix,
Ten Years After, John Sebastian, Sha Na Na, Joe
Cocker, Country Joe and the Fish, The Band, Ten
Years After, Johnny Winter and Paul Butterfield Blues Band.
Over 186,000 tickets had been sold but on the first
day the flimsy fences and ticket barriers had come
down. Organisers announced the concert would be a
free event, prompting thousands more to head for the
concert.
1973 - Former Temptations
singer Paul Williams
was found dead in his car, after shooting himself.
He owed $80,000 in taxes and his celebrity boutique
business had failed.
1991 - Nirvana
shot the video for 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' at GMT
Studios in Culver City, California, costing less
than $50,000, the shoot features real Nirvana fans
as the audience. The video won Nirvana the Best New
Artist and Best Alternative Group awards at the 1992
MTV Video Music Awards, and in 2000 the Guinness
World Records named 'Teen Spirit' the Most Played
Video on MTV Europe.
1999 - Led Zeppelin topped
a chart of Britain's most bootlegged musicians,
compiled by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI),
after identifying 384 bootleg titles featuring Led
Zeppelin performances. The bootleg chart was
complied from the BPI's archive of some 10,000
recordings seized over the past 25 years. The Beatles came in
second with 320 entries, other acts listed included
The Rolling Stones, Bob
Dylan and Pink
Floyd.
1999 - Former Bay City
Rollers drummer Derek Longmuir
appeared at the Edinburgh Sheriff Court accused of
child porn and drugs offences. Longmuir, 48, denied
the charges but was later sentenced to 300 hours
community service.
2012 - Three members of the Russian feminist punk
rock protest group Pussy
Riot were sentenced to two years
imprisonment after they had staged a performance on
the soleas of Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the
Savior in a protest directed at the Orthodox Church
leader's support for President Putin during his
election campaign.
1962 - Brian Epstein told Pete
Best that the other Beatles wanted him
out of the group, and that he was being replaced.
Epstein then asked Best to perform with The Beatles that night
at the Riverpark Ballroom in Chester. Pete Best does
not show up, so drummer Johnny Hutchinson of The Big Three filled
in the temporary vacancy.
1969 - Hippie leader Abbie Hoffman was knocked
offstage by Pete Townshend while attempting to make a
political statement during The
Who's set at Woodstock. Later,
Townshend said he didn't know it was Hoffman at the
time.
1969 - During a North American tour Led Zeppelin appeared
at the Convention Hall in Asbury Park with Joe Cocker
as support. Zeppelin had been asked to perform at
Woodstock but due to this gig commitment were unable
to attend. And down the road Bruce
Springsteen's band Child played the first
of two shows over two days at the Student Prince,
Asbury Park. Springsteen was also unable to attend
Woodstock due to these gigs.
1970 - The final day of the three day Yorkshire Folk,
Blues & Jazz Festival at Krumlin, took place
featuring The Kinks, Mungo
Jerry, Yes, Ginger Baker's Air Force
and Edgar Winter.
Weekend tickets, £3.
1977 - Elvis Presley was
found dead lying on the floor in his bathroom by his
girlfriend Ginger Alden, he had been seated on the
toilet reading 'The Scientific Search For Jesus'. He
died of heart failure at the age of 42. His first
record for RCA, 'Heartbreak Hotel' was also his first
US No.1. He starred in 31 films. Elvis holds the
record for the most entries on the US Hot 100 chart
with 154. Elvis became the first rock 'n' roll artist
to be honoured by the US Postal Service with a stamp.
1979 - The biggest single of the summer, The Knack's
'My Sharona' was awarded a Gold record for selling one
million copies. The Knack's Doug Fieger wrote the song
for his girlfriend, Sharona Alperin, whose picture
appeared on the single's cover. Their debut album took
just 11 days to complete and was produced by Mike
Chapman.
1988 - Kiss
played at The Marquee Club in London on their current
129-date Crazy Nights world tour.
1997 - Blur, Prodigy, Beck,
Kula Shaker, Dodgy, Foo Fighters, Placebo, James,
Ash, Dodgy and Gene
all appeared at the two day V97 UK festival in
Chelmsford and Leeds, weekend tickets, £50.
1969 -
Woodstock
Festival was
held on Max
Yasgur's 600
acre farm in
Bethel outside
New York.
Attended by
over 400,000
people, the
event featured Jimi Hendrix, Crosby Stills Nash & Young,
Santana, The
Who, Creedence
Clearwater
Revival,
Grateful Dead,
Janis Joplin,
The Band,
Canned Heat,
Joan Baez,
Melanie, Ten
Years After,
Sly and the
Family Stone,
Johnny Winter,
Jefferson
Airplane, Ravi
Shanker,
Country Joe
and the Fish,
Blood Sweat
and Tears,
Arlo Guthrie
and Joe
Cocker.
During the
three days
there were
three deaths,
two births and
four
miscarriages.
1969 - During
a North
American tour
Led
Zeppelin
appeared at
the Hemisfair
Arena in San
Antonio. Jethro Tull and Sweet
Smoke
were also on
the bill.
During the
show Zeppelin
received abuse
from locals
due to the
length of
their hair.
1979 - The
futuristic
satire film
'Americathon'
premiered in
Los Angeles
featuring Meat Loaf. The soundtrack included songs
by The
Beach Boys,
Nick Lowe
and Elvis
Costello.
1995 - Vince Neil’s daughter, Skylar
Neil,
died of cancer
at the age of
4. The
Motley Crue singer
later founded
the Skylar
Neil Memorial
Fund in her
honor. Since
that time,
Neil and the
foundation
have raised
awareness and
funding for
various
children's
illnesses and
has donated
millions of
dollars to The
T.J. Martell
Foundation,
and it
sponsors an
annual golf
tournament to
raise money
for children
with cancer.
2004 - Rolling Stones drummer Charlie
Watts
was being
treated for
throat cancer
after being
diagnosed with
the disease in
June.
2012 -
American
musician Bob Birch died from an self-inflicted
gunshot wound
in his Los
Angeles home,
aged 56. Birch
was badly
injured in a
car accident
in 1995 and
since then
struggled with
constant
headaches,
dizziness,
vertigo, and
severe pain
throughout his
body. He
worked with Doobie Brothers, Bryan Adams, Lionel Richie, George
Michael, Eric
Clapton, B.B.
King, Phil
Collins, Keith
Emerson, Barry
Manilow and
Elton
John.
1962 - Unhappy
with drummer
Pete Best's
role in The Beatles, Brian Epstein and the other
three members
decided to
sack him. Best
played his
last gig the
following
night at The
Cavern,
Liverpool.
Ringo Starr
who was
nearing the
end of a
three-month
engagement
with Rory
Storm &
the Hurricanes
at a Butlin's
holiday camp
received a
telephone call
from John
Lennon, asking
him to join
The Beatles.
Ringo gave
Rory Storm
three days
notice and on
August 18,
appeared as a
member of The
Beatles for
the first
time.
1967 - All UK
offshore
pirate radio
stations were
closed down
when the
marine
broadcasting
act came into
force. Radio Caroline continued to broadcast
until March
'68.
1970 - The
first day of
the three day
Yorkshire
Folk, Blues
& Jazz
Festival at
Krumlin,
Yorkshire took
place
featuring Atomic Rooster, Pink Floyd (who didn't
appear after
being fog
bound at Paris
Airport), The Kinks, Elton John, Mungo Jerry, Yes, Alan Price,
Georgie Fame,
Juicy Lucy,
Pretty Things
and
The Groundhogs.
Weekend
tickets;
£3.
1971 -
The Who
released their
fifth studio
album Who's
Next which
featured the
classic song
'Won't Get
Fooled Again'
and has since
been viewed by
critics as the
Who's best
record and one
of the
greatest rock
albums of all
time. The
cover artwork
shows a photo
of the band
apparently
having just
urinated on a
large concrete
piling, but
according to
photographer
Ethan Russell,
most of the
band members
were unable to
urinate, so
rainwater was
tipped from an
empty film
canister to
achieve the
desired
effect.
1988 - Lead
singer, poet
and frontman
of Hawkwind,
Robert Calvert
died of a
heart attack.
He was a
member of
Hawkwind from
1972-1979
during which
time he
co-wrote their
hit single
'Silver
Machine' and
directed their
Space Ritual
Tour.
2002 - Dave Williams lead singer of US heavy rock
band
Drowning Pool
was found dead
on the band's
tour bus
during Ozzy Osbourne's Ozzfest tour in Manassas,
Virginia. The
autopsy
concluded that
he suffered
from a form of
heart disease.
The bands
debut album,
Sinner, had
sold over 1
million copies
in the US
since its
release in
June 2001.
2018 -
American
singer Jill Janus committed suicide age 42. She
had been the
lead singer of
American heavy
metal bands Huntress, The Starbreakers and Chelsea
Girls.
1964 - The Beatles first film A Hard Day's Night
opened in 500
American
cinemas to
rave reviews.
The film was a
financial and
critical
success. Time
magazine rated
it as one of
the all-time
great 100
films.
1968 - Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones
and John
Bonham
played
together for
the first time
when they
rehearsed at a
studio in
Gerrard Street
in London's
West End. The
first song
they played
was a version
of 'The Train
Kept
A-Rollin.'
They also
played
'Smokestack
Lightning' and
a version of
'I'm Confused'
(soon to
become 'Dazed
And
Confused').
The first live
dates they
played were as
The
Yardbirds,
and it was not
until the
following
month when
they started
to use the
name Led
Zeppelin.
1989 - The two
day Moscow
Music Peace
Festival was
held at The
Lenin Stadium
in Moscow.
Western Acts
who appeared
included Motley Crue, Ozzy Osbourne, Bon Jovi, Skid Row
and Scorpions.
This was the
first time
that an
audience had
been allowed
to stand up
and dance at a
stadium rock
concert in the
Soviet Union.
Previous to
this, all
concerts had
to be seated.
2010 - Richie Hayward, drummer and co-founder of
Little
Feat,
passed away at
the age of 64
after
contracting
pneumonia as
he battled
liver cancer.
Week
commencing August
5
Week commencing July 291959
- Four members
of The
Platters were
arrested after
a gig in
Cincinnati
after being
found with
four 19 year
old women (3
of them
white), in
various stages
of undress.
The scandal
resulted in
radio stations
across the US
removing
Platters
records from
their
playlists.
1985 - 'Money
for Nothing'
by Dire
Straits
peaked at No.4
on the singles
chart. Notable
for its
groundbreaking
music video
and a cameo
appearance by
Sting
singing the
song's
falsetto
introduction
and backing
chorus, "I
want my MTV"
who also
co-wrote the
song with Mark
Knopfler. The
video was also
the first to
be aired on
MTV Europe
when the
network
started on 1
August 1987.
2007 - Anthony Wilson the music mogul behind some
of
Manchester's
most
successful
bands died
aged 57 after
suffering from
kidney cancer.
The TV
presenter and
entrepreneur
founded
Factory
records, the
label behind New Order and the Happy
Mondays
was also
famous for
setting up the
Hacienda
nightclub in
Manchester.
2008 -
Singer-songwriter
Isaac
Hayes
died at his
home in
Memphis,
Tennessee, at
the age of 65.
Police were
called to his
home after his
wife found him
unconscious.
He was taken
to hospital
where he was
pronounced
dead. Hayes
won an Oscar
for the 1971
hit Theme From
Shaft as was
also known as
the voice of
Chef from the
hit cartoon
show, South
Park. He was
married four
times and had
12 children.
1963 - The
first ever
edition of
'Ready Steady
Go! was shown
on UK TV.
Introduced by
Keith Fordyce
and 19
year-old Cathy
McGowan. The
first show
featured The Searchers, Jet Harris, Pat Boone, Billy Fury
and Brian
Poole and The
Tremeloes.
The final show
was in Dec
1966 after 175
episodes.
Originally 30
minutes long,
it expanded to
50 minutes the
following
year, and soon
attracted the
most popular
artists,
including The Beatles, The Lovin' Spoonful, The Rolling Stones,
The Four Tops,
The Kinks
and many
others.
1967 - The Small Faces entered the singles chart
with 'Itchycoo
Park', the
single peaked
at No.3 in the
chart. The
song was one
of the first
pop singles to
use flanging,
an effect that
can be heard
in the bridge
section after
each chorus.
Most sources
credit the use
of the effect
to Olympic
Studios
engineer
George
Chkiantz who
showed it to
the Small
Faces regular
engineer Glyn
Johns.
1968 - Deep Purple, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Ten Years After, The
Nice, Ginger
Baker,
Traffic, John
Mayall,
Spencer Davis,
Taste,
Jerry Lee
Lewis
and Arthur
Brown
all appeared
at the 3 day
National Jazz
& Blues
Festival,
Kempton Park
Racecourse,
Sunbury On
Thames.
1980 - AC/DC scored their first No.1 album with
Back In Black.
It was the
first AC/DC
album recorded
without former
lead singer
Bon Scott (who
died on 19
February 1980
at the age of
33), and was
dedicated to
him. The album
has sold an
estimated 49
million copies
worldwide to
date, making
it the second
highest
selling album
of all time,
and the best
selling hard
rock or heavy
metal album,
as well as the
best selling
album ever
released by a
band.
1986 - Queen ended their Magic European tour at
Knebworth
Park,
Stevenage,
with over
120,000 fans
witnessing
what would be
Queen's last
ever live
performance.
On this, their
final tour,
Queen played
to legions of
established
fans, plus
many new ones
gained as a
result of
their
show-stealing
performance at
Live Aid the
previous year.
The support
acts were Belouis Some, Big Country and
Status Quo.
1995 - Jerry Garcia guitarist and singer from The Grateful Dead died from a heart
attack at the
Serenity
Knolls
rehabilitation
clinic in San
Francisco aged
53. Garcia
co-founded the
New
Riders of the
Purple Sage
and also
released
several solo
albums. He was
well known for
his
distinctive
guitar playing
and was ranked
13th in
Rolling
Stone's "100
Greatest
Guitarists of
All Time".
1960 - 16-year
old Brian
Hyland went
to No.8
with 'Itsy
Bitsy Teeny
Weeny Yellow
Polka Dot
Bikini'. A
No.1
for Bombalurina
featuring TV
presenter
Timmy Mallett
in 1990.
1960 - Decca
Records
scrapped
25,000 copies
of
Ray Peterson's
'Tell Laura I
Lover Her'
because they
felt the song,
which recounts
the last
thoughts of a
teenager dying
from a car
accident, was
"too tasteless
and vulgar". A
cover version
by Ricky
Valance
went to No.1 just
a month later.
1980 - The
Greater London
Council banned
The
Plasmatics
from blowing a
car up on
stage during
their live
debut at
London's
Hammersmith
Odeon.
1992 - A riot
broke out
during a Guns N' Roses and Metallica
gig at
Montreal
stadium when
Metallica's
show was cut
short after
singer James
Hetfield was
injured by
pyrotechnics.
Guns N' Roses
took the stage
but frontman
Axl Rose
claimed that
his throat
hurt, causing
the band to
leave the
stage early.
The
cancellation
led to a riot
by the
audience who
overturned
cars, smashed
windows,
looted local
stores and set
fires.
2016 - The
judge
overseeing Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway To Heaven' trial
ruled against
the band and
their
publishing
company's
attempts to
recoup nearly
$800,000 in
legal fees.
While a
federal jury
determined
that Led
Zeppelin were
not guilty of
plagiarizing
Spirit's
'Taurus' in a
copyright
infringement
trial, judge
R. Gary
Klausner ruled
that, since
the lawsuit
itself was not
frivolous and
meritless, the
estate of
Spirit
guitarist
Randy
(California)
Wolfe and
their attorney
Francis
Malofiy were
not obligated
to repay the
defendants'
legal fees.
1957 - The
Quarry Men
played at The
Cavern Club in
Liverpool
(without Paul
McCartney who
was away at Boy
Scout summer
camp). The
Cavern was still
a jazz club, but
skiffle was
tolerated, but
when John Lennon
dared to play
‘Hound Dog’ and
‘Blue Suede
Shoes’, the club
owner sent a
note to the
stage saying,
"Cut out the
bloody rock!"
1964 - The
Rolling
Stones, Ronnie
Scott, Tuby
Hayes, Manfred
Mann,
Yardbirds
and
Mose Allison
all appeared at
the fourth
Richmond Jazz
Festival held
over three days
in Richmond,
Surrey.
1970 - The Goose
Lake
International
Music Festival
was held in
Leoni, Michigan.
Over 200,000
fans attended
the three day
festival. Acts
who appeared
included Jethro Tull, 10 Years After, Mountain, Chicago, Bob
Seger, John
Sebastian,
James Gang,
Stooges with
Iggy Pop,
Brownsville
Station, MC5,
Rod Stewart
and Flying
Burrito
Brothers.
1963 - In the
evening at Studio
A of the Columbia
Recording Studio,
New York City,
Bob Dylan
recorded the first
session produced
by Tom Wilson for
the album The
Times They Are
A-Changin'.
Dylan's third
studio album was
the first
collection to
feature only
original
compositions, the
title track being
one of Dylan's
most famous. The
album consists
mostly of stark,
sparsely-arranged
story songs
concerning issues
such as racism,
poverty, and
social change.
1965 - Decca
records released
the
Small Faces
debut single
'Whatcha Gonna Do
About It.' It
peaked at No.14 on
the chart.
1970 - Steppenwolf,
Janis Joplin,
Paul Simon,
Poco
and Johnny
Winter
all appeared at
the Concert For
Peace at New
York's Shea
Stadium. The
concert date
coincided with the
25th anniversary
of dropping an
atomic bomb on
Hiroshima, Japan.
1970 - The 10th
National Jazz,
Blues and Pop four
day Festival was
held at Plumpton
Racecourse in
Sussex. It Featured
Family,
Groundhogs,
Cat Stevens,
Deep Purple,
Fat Mattress,
Yes, Caravan,
The Strawbs,
Black Sabbath,
Wild Angels,
Wishbone Ash
and Daddy
Longlegs.
1977 - The
Police
appeared at The
Red Cow,
Hammersmith Road
in London,
admission was 60p.
1983 - Avant-garde
musician and
former backing
singer with David
Bowie Klaus
Nomi
died at the age of
39 of Aids in New
York City aged 38.
Nomi was one of
the first
celebrities to
contract AIDS.
1999 -
Dick Latvala
died aged 56 after
being in a coma
caused by a heart
attack. Latvala
worked with The
Grateful Dead
since the early
80s looking after
their archives of
live performances
which became a
series of 'Dick's
Picks' albums.
2009 - Willy
DeVille
died at the age of
58 following a
battle with
pancreatic cancer.
The band he
formed, Mink
Deville,
appeared at the
legendary CBGB
club in New York
in the 1970s and
scored the 1977
hit 'Spanish
Stroll.' Doctors
discovered he had
cancer earlier
this year as he
was preparing to
undergo treatment
for hepatitis C.
1965 - Jan
Berry
of Jan
and Dean
was accidentally
knocked off a camera
car and broke his
leg on the first day
of filming a new
film Easy Come, Easy
Go. Several other
people were also
hurt, causing
Paramount to cancel
the movie entirely.
1972 - Aerosmith
signed to CBS
Records for $125,000
after record company
boss Clive Davis saw
them play at Max's
Kansas City Club,
New York.
1975 - Drummer Sandy
West and guitarist
Joan Jett formed the
first ever all
female heavy rock
band after being
introduced by
producer Kim Fowley.
The Runaways
released four studio
albums, among its
best known songs:
'Cherry Bomb',
'Queen's of Noise'
and a cover of the Velvet
Underground's
'Rock n Roll'.
1993 - Randy
Hobbs,
bass player with The
McCoys, Edgar
Winter Group
and
Montrose
was found dead in
his hotel room in
Dayton Ohio from a
drug overdose aged
45.
1996 - Top
Of The Pops
suffered
its lowest audience
ever - only two and
a half million
viewers. In its
heyday the show
attracted over 17
million viewers.
2007 - Beatles
fans feared the
misuse of the Fab
Four’s music had hit
rock bottom
following the
decision to license
‘All You Need Is
Love’ for use in a
nappy advert.
Procter & Gamble
had purchased the
rights to use the
song from Sony/ATV
Music Publishing,
which now owned
Northern Songs, the
Beatles’ catalogue.
The ad featured a
baby jumping on a
teddy bear in a
disposable nappy
which offered
‘ultimate leak
protection.’
2007 - DNA testing
on about a dozen
people who claimed
late soul star James
Brown
was their father
revealed that at
least two of them
were telling the
truth. A former
adviser for the
singer, Buddy
Dallas, said he
could not confirm
exact figures, as
further test results
were forthcoming.
His will, which was
being disputed in
court, named six
children.
2009 - Steven
Tyler
was airlifted to
hospital after
falling off stage
during a gig at the
Sturgis Motorcycle
Rally in South
Dakota. The
61-year-old
Aerosmith
singer fell from a
catwalk onto a
couple of fans, he
suffered neck and
shoulder injuries.
About 30 minutes
after the accident,
guitarist Joe Perry
came out to tell the
crowd that the
remainder of the
show had been
cancelled.
Week
commencing July
299
Week
commencing
July 221963
- The
Beatles
appeared at the
Queen's Theatre in
Blackpool. So many
fans crowded around
the theatre, blocking
every entrance, that
The Beatles had to go
through a construction
area, up and across
some scaffolding to
the roof of the
theatre from where
they were lowered
through a trap door.
1966 - The
Troggs
were at No.1 on the
singles chart with
'With A Girl Like
You', the group's only
No.1 single.
1967 - A female Monkees
fan stowed away on the
bands plane between
shows in Minneapolis
and St Louis. The
girl's father
threatened to bring
charges for
transporting a minor
across state lines.
1967 - Pink
Floyd
released their debut
album The Piper At the
Gates of Dawn on which
most songs were penned
by Syd Barrett. In
subsequent years, the
record has been
recognised as one of
the seminal
psychedelic rock
albums of the 1960s.
When reviewed,
Record Mirror and NME
both gave the album
four stars out of
five. The album, which
was recorded at Abbey
Road studios, London
during the same time
that The
Beatles
were recording Sgt.
Pepper peaked at No.6
on the album chart but
failed to chart in the
US.
1968 - The second day
of the two day Newport
Pop Festival took
place in Costa Mesa,
California with Blue
Cheer, Eric Burdon
& The Animals,
Grateful Dead,
Illinois Speed
Press, Iron
Butterfly,
Jefferson
Airplane,
Quicksilver
Messenger Service
and The
Byrds.
Over 100,000 fans
attended the festival.
1975 - Led
Zeppelin
singer Robert
Plant
and his wife were both
badly injured when the
hire car he was
driving spun off the
road and crashed on
the Greek island of
Rhodes. Plant smashed
his ankle and his
elbow, and was not
fully fit for the best
part of two years. A
forthcoming North
American tour had to
be cancelled.
2010 - Don
Henley
reached an
out-of-court
settlement with
Republican Senatorial
candidate Chuck DeVore
who used parodies of
two Eagles'
hits for an election
campaign without
permission. 'All She
Wants To Do Is Dance'
and 'The Boys of
Summer' were used in
campaign videos on
YouTube as 'All She
Wants To Do Is Tax'
and 'Hope Of
November'.
1963 - The
Beatles
played their last ever
performance at The
Cavern Club in
Liverpool. During their
set a power cut silenced
their instruments and
plunged the Cavern into
temporary darkness.
Lennon and McCartney
performed an acoustic
version of 'When I'm
Sixty-Four', a song they
wouldn't release until
1967. The Beatles, whose
fee for their first
performance at the
Cavern had been £5,
received a fee of £300
for this performance.
1968
- The two day Newport
Pop Festival took
place in Costa Mesa,
California with
Alice Cooper,
Canned Heat,
Chambers Brothers,
Charles Lloyd
Quartet, Country
Joe and the Fish,
Electric Flag,
James Cotton Blues
Band, Paul
Butterfield Blues
Band, Sonny &
Cher, Steppenwolf
and Tiny
Tim.
Over 100,000 fans
attended the festival.
1985 - 'Drive' by The
Cars was re-released following its dramatic
use on TV during the Live Aid concert. All the royalties
from the record went to the Band Aid trust.
1986
- The News Of The
World printed an
exclusive interview
with 16 year old model
Mandy
Smith,
who revealed she has
been having an affair
with Rolling
Stone Bill Wyman
for the past 2 and a
half years.
2002 - After an
absence of 37 years, Bob
Dylan
returned to the
Newport Folk Festival
(now known as the
Apple and Eve Newport
Folk Festival) where
he performed a 2 hour
show of 19 songs,
wearing a false beard
and a wig. Songs
played included:
Subterranean Homesick
Blues, 'Desolation
Row', 'Positively 4th
Street', 'The Wicked
Messenger', 'Like A
Rolling Stone' and
'Mr. Tambourine Man'.
2008 -
Kid Rock
was at No.1 on the
singles chart with
'All Summer Long'. The
song is based on Warren
Zevon's
'Werewolves of London'
and Lynyrd
Skynyrd's
'Sweet Home Alabama'.
2015 - Former AC/DC
drummer
Phil Rudd
pleaded not guilty to
breaching the
conditions of his
current home detention
by drinking alcohol.
Rudd had been under
house detention since
being sentenced for
drug possession and
making threats to kill
in July of this year.
The 61-year-old could
face further
sanctions, including
jail time, if the
judge decided he did
violate his
conditions.
1957 - Touring with Clyde
McPhatter, The
Cadillacs, Edna
McGriff, Otis Rush,
Lee Andrews & The
Hearts, Oscar &
Oscar, The G-Clefs,
Buddy Holly and the
Crickets
appeared at the Howard
Theater, Washington, DC.
With “That’ll Be The Day”
sitting at No. 2 on the US
charts, this was Buddy's
first major tour.
1964 - The
Beatles
appeared at the Gaumont
Cinema in Bournemouth. One
of the supporting acts,
billed as a 'new and
unknown London group', was
The
Kinks.
1967 - The
Jimi Hendrix
Experience
played the first of five
nights at the Salvation
Club in New York City.
During this period a
typical set list included:
Foxy Lady, Hey Joe, The
Wind Cries Mary, Purple
Haze and Burning Of The
Midnight Amp.
1968 - The
Doors
started a two week run at
No.1 on the US singles
chart with 'Hello I Love
You', the group's second
US No.1. The Doors scored
8 top 40 US hits from
67-71.
1976 -
Peter "Puddy" Watts,
road manager with Pink
Floyd died
of a heroin overdose.
Watts supplied the crazed
laughter on the groups The
Dark Side of The Moon
album.
1980 - The
Clash
released their single
'Bank Robber' after it
been available as an
import only. The band's
record company CBS didn't
want to release the record
saying it was not
commercial enough.
2004 - Eric
Clapton
bought a 50% share in
Cordings to save the
historic gentleman's
outfitters from closure.
The store, based in London
since 1839 had run into
financial difficulties.
The guitarist said he had
been fond of the shop
since a window display
caught his eye when he was
16, and had become a
regular shopper there.
Cordings was the
originator of the Covert
coat and the Tattersall
shirt and made riding
boots for the Queen
Mother, the Duke of
Windsor and Mrs Simpson.
1964 - The
Beatles
scored their fifth US No.1
single in seven months when
'A Hard Day's Night' went to
the top of the charts. The
group had now spent
seventeen weeks at the No.1
position in this year.
1965 - During a UK tour, The
Rolling Stones
appeared at the London
Palladium supported by The
Walker Brothers, The
Fourmost, Steampacket
featuring Rod
Stewart and Sugar
Pie Desanto with The
Shevelles.
1969 - The three day US
Atlantic City Pop Festival
took place at the Atlantic
City race track with B.B.
King, Janis Joplin,
Santana, Three Dog
Night, Dr John, Procol
Harum, Arthur Brown,
Iron Butterfly,
Creedence Clearwater
Revival, Little Richard,
Tim Buckley, The Byrds,
Jefferson Airplane, The
Mothers Of Invention
and Canned
Heat. Joni
Mitchell
started to cry and ran off
stage in the middle of her
third song because the crowd
was not paying attention to
her performance.
1971 - The Concert For
Bangladesh organised by George
Harrison to
aid victims of famine and
war in Bangladesh took place
at New York's Madison Sq
Garden. Featuring Bob
Dylan, Ringo Starr,
Billy Preston, Eric
Clapton, Ravi Shankar and
members from Badfinger.
Harrison had to shell out
his own money to maintain
the fund after legal
problems froze all proceeds.
The triple album release
(the second in a row by
Harrison), hit No.1 in the
UK and No.2 in the US and
received the Grammy Award
for Album of the Year.
1987 - Bob
Seger scored
his first US No.1 single
with the Harold Faltermeyer
penned 'Shakedown', which
was taken from the film
'Beverly Hills Cop II'. The
song was nominated for both
the Academy Award for Best
Original Song and Golden
Globe Award for Best
Original Song, but it lost
both awards to Dirty
Dancing's '(I've Had) The
Time of My Life'.
1990 - UB40
were deported from the
Seychelles after police
discovered marijuana in
their hotel rooms.
2000 -
AC/DC kicked
off their 140 date Stiff
Upper World Lip Tour at the
Van Andel Arena, Grand
Rapids, Michigan.
2007 -
The Police
played the first of two sold
out nights at Madison Square
Garden, New York City on
their Reunion Tour.
2007 - John
Lennon's
"granny" sunglasses were
snapped up by a British
collector at auction. The
sunglasses, from one of the
last Beatles concerts, were
expected to fetch around
£1m, but auction bosses
refused to say what the
actual figure was. Lennon
gave the gold-rimmed glasses
to his Japanese interpreter
in Tokyo in 1966, and the
translator removed the
lenses when Lennon died.
1955 -
Elvis Presley
performed 3 shows at Fort
Homer Hesterly Armory in
Tampa, Florida (2 matinee and
1 evening). A riot broke out
after the show when Elvis
announced to the 14,000 strong
crowd, "Girls, I'll see you
backstage." Fans chased Elvis
into the dressing room,
tearing off his clothes and
shoes.
1963 - The
Rolling Stones
performed at Eel Pie Island in
Twickenham, Middlesex. The
island was the site of the Eel
Pie Hotel on the River Thames,
where many up and coming acts
appeared including The Who,
The Yardbirds, Pink Floyd,
John Mayall’s
Bluesbreakers,
and David
Bowie.
1964 - Country singer Jim
Reeves was
killed in a plane crash when
the single engine aircraft
flying from Arkansas to
Nashville crashed in thick
fog. 40 year-old Reeves was
one of the first country
singers to cross-over into the
pop market with his 1966 No.1
single 'Distant Drums'.
1968 - Tommy
James and The Shondells
were at No.1 on the singles
chart with 'Mony Mony'. Also a
hit for Billy Idol in 1987.
1971 - A security guard was
stabbed to death during a
concert by The Who
at New York's Forest Hill
Stadium.
1980 - During an Eagles
concert at Long Beach,
California, tempers boiled
over between Glen
Frey and Don
Felder, who
spent the entire show
describing to each other the
beating each planned to
administer backstage. "Only
three more songs until I
kick your ass, pal,"
Frey told Felder. The group’s
next album was mixed by Frey
and Felder on opposite coasts
after the two decided they
couldn't bear to be in the
same state, let alone the same
studio.
1954 - Slim
Whitman, Billy Walker,
Sugarfoot Collins, Sonny
Harvelle, Tinker Fry, Curly
Harris and a
young Elvis
Presley, all
appeared at the Hillbilly
Hoedown, Overton Park Shell, in
Memphis Tennessee. Elvis was so
nervous he stood up on the balls
of his feet and shook his leg in
time with the music, when he
came offstage he asked why
people were yelling at him.
Someone told him it was because
he was shaking his leg, which
with the baggy pleated pants
created a wild gyrating effect
in time with the music.
1987 -
David Bowie
kicked of the North American leg
of The Glass Spider Tour at the
Veterans Stadium in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The
tour's set, described at the
time as "the largest touring set
ever," was designed to look like
a giant spider. It was 60 feet
(18.3m) high, 64 feet (19.5m)
wide. A single set took 43
trucks to move from each city.
1993 - Founder member and
original bassist for The Wonder
Stuff, Rob Jones
died in New York aged 29. Vic Reeves
and The Wonder Stuff
had the 1991 No.1 with 'Dizzy'
(a No.1 for Tommy Roe
in 1969).
2003 - The
Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Rush,
The Guess Who, Justin
Timberlake, The Flaming
Lips, Sass Jordan and The Isley
Brothers played a
benefit concert in Toronto,
Ontario, to prove that the city
is safe from SARS. With 450,000
spectators, it was the largest
concert in Canadian history.
2005 - A new book published to
mark the 35th anniversary of the
death of
Jimi Hendrix
claimed the guitarist pretended
to be gay so he would be
discharged from the army. 'Room
Full of Mirrors' by Charles
Cross said army records showed
Hendrix was discharged from the
101st Airborne Division aged 19
in 1962 for "homosexual
tendencies."
2009 - Procol
Harum organist Matthew
Fisher eventually
won his long battle to be
recognised as co-writer of the
band's hit ’A Whiter Shade Of
Pale’. Law Lords ruled that
Fisher, who claimed he wrote the
song's organ melody, was
entitled to a share of future
royalties. In 2006, the High
Court ruled he was entitled to
40% of the copyright, but the
Court Of Appeal overturned the
ruling in 2008 saying he waited
too long, 38 years, to bring the
case to court.
1963 - Elvis
Presley was at No.1
on the singles chart with '(You're
The) Devil In Disguise'. His 14th
No.1. In 1963, when the song was
debuted to a British audience on
Juke Box Jury, John Lennon
voted the song “a miss” stating on
the new song that Elvis Presley
was "like Bing Crosby now."
1966 - Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce
and Ginger Baker made their live
debut as Cream
at The Twisted Wheel, Manchester.
The group's third album, Wheels of
Fire, was the world's first
platinum-selling double album.
1966 - Bob
Dylan was riding
his Triumph 55 motorcycle to a
garage near his home in Woodstock,
New York for repairs when the rear
wheel locked. Dylan lost control
and was thrown over the
handlebars, suffering a broken
neck vertebra. His recuperation
led to a period of reclusive
inactivity.
1967 - The International Love-In
Festival took place at Alexandra
Palace London with Pink Floyd,
Julie Driscoll and the Brian
Auger Trinity, The Animals,
Crazy World Of Arthur Brown,
Tomorrow, Blossom Toes,
Creation, The Nervous System
and Apostolic
Intervention.
1968 - Gram
Parsons left The Byrds
on the eve of a tour of South
Africa, refusing to play to
segregated audiences.
1974 - Mamas
& the Papas
singer Cass
Elliot died in her
sleep from a heart attack after
playing a sold out show in London.
She was staying at Harry Nilsson's
London flat when she died. Her
solo hits included 'Dream a Little
Dream of Me,' which also featured
the rest of The Mamas & the
Papas and 'It's Getting Better'.
Had also been a member of The Mugwumps.
1988 - American record producer
and pedal steel guitar player Pete Drake
died of lung disease. Worked with
Elvis
Presley, George Harrison
and Ringo
Starr. Played on
such hits as Lynn
Anderson's ‘Rose
Garden’, Charlie
Rich's ‘Behind
Closed Doors', Bob Dylan's
‘Lay Lady Lay' and Tammy Wynette's
‘Stand by Your Man’.
2007 - Heart problems forced Kiss
singer and guitarist Paul Stanley
to abandon a show in California.
Paramedics stopped and restarted
his heart to give it a regular
rhythm after his heart
spontaneously jumped to 190 plus
beats per minute.
Week
commencing July
2222
Week
commencing
July 151966
- Chris
Farlowe and the Thunderbirds
were at No.1 on the singles chart
with the Mick Jagger and Keith
Richards song 'Out Of Time'.
1969 - Police in Moscow reported
that thousands of public phone
booths had been vandalised after
thieves were stealing parts of the
phones to convert their acoustic
guitars to electric. A feature in a
Russian youth magazine had shown
details on how to do this.
1973 - The Watkins Glen outdoor
summer jam was held outside of
Watkins Glen, New York with The Allman
Brothers Band, The Grateful Dead
and The
Band. Over 600,000
rock fans attended. Many historians
claimed the event was the largest
gathering of people in the history
of the United States. 150,000
tickets were sold for $10 each, but
for all the other people it was a
free concert. The crowd was so huge
that a large part of the audience
was not able to see the stage.
1979 - 'I Don't Like Mondays' gave The Boomtown
Rats their second
No.1 single. Bob Geldof wrote the
song after reading a report on the
shooting spree of 16-year-old Brenda
Ann Spencer, who fired at children
playing in a school playground
across the street from her home in
San Diego, California. She killed
two adults and injured eight
children and one police officer.
Spencer showed no remorse for her
crime, and her full explanation for
her actions was "I don't like
Mondays, this livens up the day."
1996 - Marge
Ganser from The
Shangri-Las
died of breast cancer. The group
scored over ten hits during the 60s
including the 1964 US No.1 'Leader
Of The Pack.'
1958 - Fans of rock & roll music
were warned that tuning into music on
the car radio could cost you more
money. Researchers from the Esso gas
company said the rhythm of rock &
roll could cause the driver to be foot
heavy on the pedal, making them waste
fuel.
1986 - Queen
became the first western act since
Louis Armstrong in 1964 to perform in
Easten Europe when they played at
Budapest's Nepstadion, Hungary, the
gig was filmed and released as 'Queen
Magic in Budapest'.
2001 - Leon
Wilkeson bass player
with Lynyrd
Skynyrd was found dead
in a hotel room in Florida aged 49.
Skynyrd scored the 1974 US No. 8
single, 'Sweet Home Alabama' and the
1982 UK No.21 single 'Freebird'. He
was also a member of the Rossington-Collins
Band.
1969 - Johnny
Cash released the single,
'A Boy Named Sue', written by Shel Silverstein.
Cash was at the height of his popularity
when he recorded the song live at
California's San Quentin State Prison at
a concert on February 24, 1969. The song
tells the tale of a young man's quest
for revenge on a father who abandoned
him at 3 years of age and whose only
contribution to his entire life was
naming him Sue.
1977 - Led
Zeppelin cut short their
11th North American tour after Robert
Plant's five-year-old-son Karac died
unexpectedly of a virus at their home in
England.
1986 - Peter
Gabriel went to No.4 with
'Sledgehammer'. The song's music video
has won a number of awards, including a
record nine MTV Awards at the 1987 MTV
Video Music Awards, and Best British
Video at the 1987 Brit Awards. Gabriel
was also nominated for three Grammy
Awards. As of 2011, 'Sledgehammer' is
the most played music video in the
history of MTV.
1990 - American keyboardist and vocalist
Brent Mydland
from the Grateful
Dead was found dead on
the floor of his home aged 38 from a
drug overdose. His eleven-year tenure
was longer than that of any other
keyboardist in the band.
1992 - American singer and Motown artist
Mary Wells,
referred to as The First Lady of Motown
and who had a 1964 UK No. 5 single ‘My
Guy’, died aged 49 of laryngeal cancer.
Wells was forced to give up her career
and with no health insurance, was forced
to sell her home. Wells’ old Motown
friends including Diana Ross, Mary
Wilson, The Temptations and Martha Reeves,
along with Dionne
Warwick, Rod Stewart, Bruce
Springsteen, Aretha Franklin
and Bonnie
Raitt, personally pledged
donations in support.
2006 - The final edition of Top Of The
Pops was recorded at BBC Television
Centre in London. Just under 200 members
of the public were in the audience for
the show which was co-hosted by veteran
and disgraced disc jockey Sir Jimmy
Savile, its very first presenter.
Classic performances from the Spice Girls, Wham!,
Madonna, Beyonce Knowles
and Robbie
Williams featured in the
show alongside The
Rolling Stones who were
the very first band to appear on Top of
the Pops on New Year's Day in 1964.
2009 - AC/DC
singer Brian
Johnson appeared as the
Star in a Reasonably Priced Car on Top
Gear. His time of 1:45.9 tied him with
Simon Cowell for the second fastest
time. He was introduced by host Jeremy
Clarkson as "a man who has sold more
albums than The Beatles and I bet
almost none of [the audience] have
ever heard of him."
1960 - Roy
Orbison reached No.2 on the
US singles chart with ‘Only the Lonely,’
his first hit. The song was turned down by
The Everly
Brothers and Elvis Presley,
so Orbison decided to record the song
himself.
1963 - Cilla
Black made a recording test
for EMI Records after George Martin had
spotted her while at a Gerry And The
Pacemakers gig in
Liverpool.
1971 - T Rex
were at No.1 on the singles chart with
'Get It On', the group's second No.1 which
spent four weeks at the top of the charts.
Power Station had a UK & US hit with
their version of the song in 1985.
1980 - AC/DC
released their sixth internationally
released studio album Back In Black, the
first AC/DC album recorded without former
lead singer Bon
Scott who died on 19
February 1980 at the age of 33. The album
has sold an estimated 49 million copies
worldwide to date, making it the second
highest-selling album of all time, and the
best-selling hard rock or heavy metal
album.
1999 - This years Woodstock
Festival ended with riots
resulting in 120 people being arrested.
Three people died during the 3-day
festival in separate incidents and many
were hospitalised after drinking polluted
water.
2003 - Erik
Braunn from American
psychedelic rock band Iron Butterfly died
of cardiac failure at the age of 52.
Braunn was just 16 years old when he
joined Iron Butterfly who had the single
'In-A- Gadda-Da-Vida’.
1964 - A riot broke out during a Rolling Stones
gig at The Empress Ballroom in Blackpool,
after Keith Richards kicked a yob in the
mouth who was spitting at the group. Two
policemen and 30 fans were injured and the
damage was estimated at over £4,000. The
Rolling Stones were then banned from playing
in Blackpool for forty-four years.
1969 - Paul
McCartney recorded a demo of
his new song ‘Come and Get It’ at Abbey Road
studios in London. McCartney gave the song
to The Iveys
(soon to become Badfinger).
The song was later used as the theme for the
movie The Magic Christian. The Beatles
also recorded ‘Sun King/Mean Mr. Mustard’
for their forthcoming Abbey Road album.
1978 - The Robert Stigwood film 'Sgt
Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' was
released, featuring The
Bee Gees and Peter Frampton.
The film received extremely negative reviews
from most critics and barely broke even at
the box office.
2002 - A garden centre was sued over claims
it killed a collection of the late singer Freddie Mercury's
prized koi fish. Mercury's former partner,
Mary Austin who inherited the Japanese koi
collection claimed 84 fish died when the
electricity powering a temporary pond was
accidentally turned off by a worker from
Clifton Nurseries, of Maida Vale. At the
time of Mercury's death he had amassed one
of the best collections of the fish in the
UK. One koi can be worth £250,000.
2003 - Johnny Cash
picked up six nominations in
the MTV Video Music Awards for his remake of
Nine Inch Nails'
'Hurt' from his album, American IV: The Man
Comes Around. The video, featuring images
from Cash's life and directed by Mark
Romanek, was also named the best video of
the year by the Grammy Awards and CMA
Awards, and the 'best video of all time' by
the NME.
1955 - Slim Whitman
was at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Rose
Marie.' The single stayed at the top of the
charts for eleven weeks. Whitman held the
record for the most consecutive weeks at No.1
(11 weeks), until 1991.
1977 - Led Zeppelin
drummer John
Bonham was charged with assault
after a concert at the Oakland Coliseum in
California. Bonham and band manager Peter
Grant had the help of their bodyguard in
roughing up a security employee at the venue.
After pleading guilty to misdemeanors, the
accused settle out of court for two million
dollars. The tour would eventually be
cancelled after Robert Plant's son died a few
days later.
1979 - Keyboard player with The Grateful Dead Keith
Godchaux died after being
involved in a car accident aged 32. He
co-wrote songs with Lowell George (of Little Feat)
and was a member of
The New Riders of the Purple Sage.
1989 - Ringo Starr
kicked off his first tour since the break-up
of the Beatles with a show in Dallas. His
backup band included guitarist Joe Walsh,
organist Billy
Preston and Bruce Springsteen's
sax man Clarence
Clemons.
1994 - The International Astronomical Union
named an asteroid orbiting between Mars and
Jupiter after Frank
Zappa who had died the previous
December.
1995 - Two R.E.M.
fans died at Dublin's Slane Castle gig, one
drowned in the River Boyne and the other was
allegedly pushed from a bridge.
1996 - Rob Collins,
keyboard player with
The Charlatans died in a car
crash, aged 29. Collins had been recording
keyboard parts for the Charlatans 5th album
‘Tellin' Stories’ at a studio in Wales. An
investigation into the accident showed that
Collins had consumed a sizable amount of
alcohol and was not wearing a seatbelt. He
died from head injuries on the roadside
shortly after the accident having been thrown
through the windscreen.
2005 - Queen's
1985 Live Aid performance was voted the best
rock concert ever by over 7,000 UK Sony
Ericsson music fans. Radiohead
were voted the best festival act for their
1997 Glastonbury performance and Bob Dylan's
1966 Manchester Free Trade Hall gig won the
best ever solo gig.
2009 - On the afternoon of tonight's Bob Dylan
concert at First Energy Park, Lakewood, New
Jersey, Dylan was picked up by a young
policewoman for 'acting suspiciously'. The
police officer drove up to Dylan, who was
wearing a blue jacket, and asked him his name,
but she did not recognise him. He was later
released to gig with Willie
Nelson and John Mellencamp
that evening.
2011 - A yellow Ferrari previously owned by Eric Clapton
sold for £66,500 at auction. The rare 2003
Ferrari 575 Maranello, which had only 10,000
miles on the clock, was snapped up by a
private buyer at a sale at the Classic Car
Sale at Silverstone, Northamptonshire. The
yellow Maranello was bought new by Mr Clapton,
who signed its service book, and later sold to
BBC radio presenter Chris Evans.
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.
1967 - Pink Floyd
appeared at The Beach Ballroom, Aberdeen. 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.
1973 - David Bowie
released the single 'Life On Mars', which peaked
at No.3 on the 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. 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.
Week
commencing July
1515
Week commencing July 81966
- Georgie Fame
was at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Get Away'.
The song started life as a TV jingle for a petrol
advert.
1967 - The Jimi Hendrix
Experience played the first of
three nights at the Cafe-a-Go-Go in New York City.
1973 - Jim Croce
started a two week run at No.1 on the US
singles chart with 'Bad, Bad Leroy Brown'.
Croce was killed in a plane crash three months
later.
1973 - Canned Heat,
Nazareth, Edgar Broughton Band,
Groundhogs, Sensational Alex Harvey Band,
Medicine Head, all appeared at
Buxton Festival in Derbyshire. Hell's Angels
arrived in force and proceeded to drink the
site dry. Initially they paid for the booze
but when the money ran out a deputation was
sent into the audience to collect donations of
10p per person. About 20 minutes into his set Chuck Berry
was showing one of the Angels how to do his
duck-walk properly. He did one from one end of
the stage to the other and disappeared into
the wings. The band played on, the Angels
bopped, and Chuck legged it to his car and
drove off at high speed, never to return.
1977 - Despite protests, The Sex Pistols
made their first appearance on Top Of The
Pops, where they lip-synched to their third
single, 'Pretty Vacant'. The performance
helped push the song up the charts to No.7.
1987 - Guns N’ Roses
released their debut album on Geffen Records:
Appetite For Destruction featured the singles
'Welcome to the Jungle', 'Sweet Child o'
Mine', and 'Paradise City'. The album now has
worldwide sales in excess of 28 million, 18
million of which are in the US, making it the
best-selling debut album of all time there.
1990 - Roger Waters'
The Wall took place at the Berlin Wall in
Potzdamer Platz, to commemorate the fall of
the Berlin Wall eight months earlier. Over
350,000 people attended and the event was
broadcast live throughout the world. Van Morrison, Bryan
Adams, Joni Mitchell, Scorpions, Cyndi
Lauper, Sinead O’Connor and
others took part.
2002 - Producer Gus
Dudgeon, who worked with
artists including Elton
John, David Bowie, The Beach Boys, Kiki
Dee, The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, The
Strawbs, XTC, and Joan Armatrading,
was killed aged 59 in a car accident near
Reading, together with his wife Sheila. They
had been driving along the M4 motorway on
their way home from a party when Gus fell
asleep at the wheel of the Jaguar XK8
convertible, crashing down an embankment at
speed and ending up in a ditch.
2005 - Singer Long
John Baldry died of a chest
infection. He was one of the founding fathers
of British Rock 'n' Roll in the 1960s
performing with Blues
Incorporated and Cyril Davies' R&B All
Stars. He later fronted the Hoochie Coochie Men,
with Rod Stewart
and then Steam Packet
with
Brian Auger and Julie Driscoll.
Also a member of Bluesology
with Elton John. He also narrated
on Winnie The Pooh recordings for Disney and
was the voice for Robotnik on the Sonic The
Hedgehog computer game.
2007 - Sharon
Osbourne's music mogul father Don Arden died
in a Los Angeles nursing home at the age of
81. Dubbed the Al Capone of Pop for his
uncompromising business practices, he steered
Small Faces, Black
Sabbath and ELO to
stardom.
1954 - The Blue Moon Boys
made their live debut appearing on the back of a
flatbed truck outside a new drug store for its grand
opening in Memphis. The band line up was Elvis
Presley Scotty Moore and Bill Black. The name was
taken from a song they had recorded just two weeks
previously, 'Blue Moon of Kentucky.'
1963 - Jan and Dean
started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles
chart with 'Surf City', written by Brian Wilson,
with the Beach Boys on backing vocals. The single
peaked at No.26 in the UK.
1968 - Iron Butterfly's
second album, 'In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida', contained the
17-minute title track that filled the second side of
the LP which went on sell over four million copies
in the US alone.
2003 - A tooth said to have been pulled out of Elvis Presley's
mouth after an injury failed to sell on the auction
site eBay . The tooth had been put on a 10-day sale
with a reserve price of $100,000 (£64,100). Bids had
pushed the price up to $2m (£1.28m) but they were
later found out to be fraudulent.
2008 - John Lydon
denied claims by Kele Okereke from Bloc Party that he
was racially abused and attacked by a member of the
Sex Pistols'
entourage at a music festival in Barcelona. Okereke
claimed he had been attacked by several men after
approaching Lydon backstage at the Summercase
festival. He said the 'unprovoked' attack left him
with a split lip and bruises. Lydon said: ‘I feel
very sorry for a man that needs to lie about what
was a perfect evening.’
2017 - Linkin Park
lead singer Chester
Bennington died aged 41. His body was
found at a private home where Bennington apparently
hanged himself. The singer was said to be close to Soundgarden vocalist
Chris Cornell,
who took his own life in May of this year. Formed in
1996, Linkin Park had sold more than 70 million
albums worldwide and won two Grammy Awards.
1954 - Sun Records released the first Elvis Presley single,
'That's All Right', a cover of Arthur Crudup's 1946
tune 'That's All Right, Mama'. Only about 7,000
original copies were pressed, but the disc became a
local hit in Memphis.
1974 - The Ozark Music
Festival was held over three days on
the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia. One of the
largest music festivals ever held, some estimates have
put the crowd count at 350,000 people. Acts who
appeared included Bachman–Turner
Overdrive, Blue Öyster Cult, the Eagles, America,
Marshall Tucker Band, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band,
Boz Scaggs, Ted Nugent, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Electric
Flag, Joe Walsh, Aerosmith and Spirit.
1975 - On his Natty Dread tour, Bob
Marley & the Wailers appeared at
the Lyceum Theatre in London. The show was recorded
and the live single 'No Woman, No Cry' was later
released.
1986 - Genesis
went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Invisible
Touch'. The bands former lead singer Peter Gabriel was at
No.2 with 'Sledgehammer'.
1991 - Steven Adler,
ex drummer with Guns N'
Roses, filed a suit in Los Angeles
county court alleging that he was fraudulently removed
from the group and that the band introduced him to
hard drugs.
1999 - A gunman who sprayed bullets at Westwood's car
in Kensington, London, shot Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood. A
statement the following day said he was recovering in
a London Hospital.
2010 - Ozzy Osbourne
and his former Black Sabbath
bandmate Tony Iommi
settled a long-running legal dispute over the use of
the group's name. Ozzy had filed suit against the
guitarist in May of last year, accusing Iommi of
falsely proclaiming to be the sole owner of the Black
Sabbath name by lodging an application with the US
Patent and Trademark Office. The pair released a joint
statement confirming they have settled the dispute
"amicably".
1962 - Brenda Lee
went to No.12 in the charts. Seeking publicity the 4' 11
tall singer was once billed as a 32-year- old midget and
had the nickname Little Miss Dynamite.
1964 - The Four Seasons
were at No.2 on the chart with 'Rag Doll'. Co-writer Bob
Gaudio said that he got the inspiration for the song
from a young girl in tattered clothes that cleaned his
car windows at a stop light.
1966 - Bobby Fuller
leader of The Bobby Fuller
Four was found dead in his car in Los
Angeles aged 23. Fuller died mysteriously from gasoline
asphyxiation, while parked outside his apartment. Police
labelled it a suicide, but the possibility of foul play
has always been mentioned. Had the 1966 US No.9 single
'I Fought The Law' written by Sonny Curtis of Buddy
Holly's Crickets and
covered by The Clash.
1968 - Working at Abbey Road studios The Beatles recorded
'Cry Baby Cry' and 'Helter Skelter'. One take of 'Helter
Skelter' lasted 27min 11sec; the longest Beatle
recording ever.
1970 - Pink Floyd, Roy Harper,
Kevin Ayers, and the
Edgar Broughton Band, all appeared at a
free concert held in Hyde Park, London.
1970 - DJ Kenny Everett
was sacked from Radio 1 after he joked on air that the
wife of the conservative transport minister Mary Peyton
had 'crammed a fiver into the examiner's hand', when
taking her driving test.
1974 - The US Justice Department ordered John Lennon out of the
country by September 10th. The Immigration and
Naturalization Service denied him an extension of his
non-immigrant visa because of his guilty plea in England
to a 1968 marijuana possession charge. The US Court of
Appeal would overturn the deportation order in 1975 and
Lennon was granted permanent resident status the
following year.
1991 - Tonight (Thursday) was the first night of the
'Lollapalooza' tour at The Compton Terrace, Phoenix,
featuring Living Colour,
Siouxsie and the Banshees, Jane's Addiction, Nine
Inch Nails, Henry Rollins Band and The Butthole Surfers.
1998 - The Beastie Boys
went to No.1 on the album chart with 'Hello Nasty', only
the second rap album to make No.1, the first being
Wu-Tang Clan.
2001 - KISS
added another product to their ever-growing
merchandising universe: the "Kiss Kasket." The coffin
featured the faces of the four founding members of the
band, the Kiss logo and the words "Kiss Forever." Pantera guitarist
Dimebag Darrell was buried in one after he was shot and
killed on-stage in Dec 2004.
2002 - The Rolling Stones
crew chief, 54-year-old Royden
Magee, who had worked with the band for
30 years, died during a rehearsal in Toronto. A
spokesman for the band said Magee had said that he
wasn't feeling well and went to another room to take a
nap. The Stones had just finished dinner and resumed
rehearsing when they got word that Magee had collapsed
and stopped breathing. He was taken by ambulance to
nearby Sunnybrook Hospital where he was pronounced dead
on arrival. The members of the band said they were
devastated by his death.
2007 - Sting and his
wife, Trudie Styler were ordered to pay their former
chef compensation after losing a sexual discrimination
case. Jane Martin, 41, was awarded £24,944 at an
employment tribunal in Southampton, after she was sacked
by Miss Styler from the couple's estate in Wiltshire
because she became pregnant.
2008 - Rolling Stone guitarist
Ronnie Wood was
‘seeking help’ with his battle with alcohol in a
rehabilitation centre. The move followed tabloid
speculation over the state of his 23-year marriage to
former model Jo Wood. ‘Following Ronnie's continued
battle with alcohol he has entered a period of rehab,’
his spokeswoman said.
8ly
15
1959 - Billie Holiday
died in a New York City hospital from cirrhosis of the
liver after years of alcohol abuse, aged 43 (while under
arrest for heroin possession, with Police officers
stationed at the door to her room.) In the final years of
her life, she had been progressively swindled out of her
earnings, and she died with $0.70 in the bank.
1972 - A bomb exploded under The
Rolling Stones equipment van in
Montreal, believed to be the work of French
separatists. Angry fans rioted throwing bottles and
rocks after 3,000 tickets for the show turned out to
be fake.
1979 - Gary Moore
left Thin Lizzy
during a US tour and was replaced by ex Slick & Rich Kids guitarist
Midge Ure.
1993 - Guns N' Roses
appeared at River Plate Stadium in Buenos Aires,
in front of 80,000 people; the final show on their
Use Your Illusion Tour. A highlight of the night was
English drummer Cozy
Powell playing drums with Matt Sorum,
dressed as a Domino's Pizza delivery boy.
1996 - Chas Chandler
died aged 57 at Newcastle General Hospital, where he
was undergoing tests related to an aortic aneurysm.
He had been the bass player with The Animals and
manager of Slade, Nick
Drake and Jimi
Hendrix.
1999 - Kevin Wilkinson,
drummer with Howard Jones,
hung himself at home aged 41. He had also worked
with China Crisis, Holly
and the Italians, Squeeze and The Waterboys.
2004 - Half of the 4,500 people in the audience
walked out of Linda
Ronstadt's show at the Aladdin Resort
and Casino in Las Vegas after the singer dedicated
an encore of ‘Desperado’ to filmmaker Michael Moore
and urged the crowd to see his film Fahrenheit 9/11. [Well, I've just watched it and
it's an honest, factual documentary about
pollution, greed and corruption, that people
should watch. But I can see how it would upset
some - the truth can be very annoying; look how we
treat whistleblowers!]
Week
commencing
July 1515
Week
commencing
July 81962
- The Beach Boys
signed to Capitol Records in the US, their first hit
was in Sept this year with 'Surfin' Safari.'
1966 - Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker and Eric Clapton
formed Cream. The
three piece group lasted only two years, leaving
behind some classic recordings including ‘Sunshine of
Your Love,’ ‘Badge,’ ‘Strange Brew,’ and ‘White Room.’
1970 - Pink Floyd
recorded a show at the BBC Paris Cinema in London for
broadcast on the John Peel Sunday Concert on Radio 1
(broadcast 19 July of this year).
1981 - US singer-songwriter Harry
Chapin, who had success in the 70s with
'Taxi’, ‘W-O-L-D’ and a No. 1 ‘Cat’s In The Cradle’,
was killed aged 38 while driving on a New York
expressway. His car was hit from behind by a
tractor-trailer, causing the gas tank to explode.
1993 - The first of the three day Phoenix festival on Marston Airfield near
Stratford-upon-Avon started, featuring Sonic Youth, Faith No More, The
Black Crowes, Julian Cope, Pop Will Eat Itself,
Radiohead, Living Colour, Manic Street Preachers,
Pulp, tickets £49.
2012 - Jon Lord, the former
keyboard player with Deep
Purple, died aged 71. Lord was a
co-founder of Deep Purple in 1968 and co-wrote many of
the group's songs including Smoke On The Water. He
also played with bands including Whitesnake. He had
been receiving treatment for pancreatic cancer since
last August.
2012 - Hungarian-American bassist Bob Babbitt died aged
74, from brain cancer.
He is most famous for his work as a member of Motown
Records' studio band, the Funk
Brothers, from 1966 to 1972. Babbitt's
most notable bass performances include 'Signed,
Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours' by Stevie
Wonder, 'War' by Edwin Starr, 'The
Tears of a Clown' by Smokey
Robinson & the Miracles, 'Mercy
Mercy Me (The Ecology)'
and 'Inner City Blues' by
Marvin Gaye, 'Band Of Gold' by Freda Payne, 'Ball of
Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)', and 'Just
My Imagination (Running Away With Me)' by The Temptations.
2014 - Blues guitarist Johnny
Winter died at the age of 70 in
Zurich, just days after playing at the Lovely Days
Festival in Austria. Winter, who was instantly
recognisable by his long white hair, worked with some
of the greatest bluesmen, producing several albums for
his childhood hero Muddy
Waters - with whom he won a number of
Grammys.
Week
commencing
July 8July
8
1956 - The Teenagers
featuring Frankie Lymon were at No.1 on the singles
chart with 'Why Do Fools Fall In Love'. At 13, Lymon was
the youngest performer to make No.1.
1958 - John Lennon's
mother Julia was killed by a car driven by an off-duty
drunken police officer named Eric Clague (Clague was
later acquitted of the offence). John Lennon was 17
years old at the time.
1978 - Bob Dylan
with special guest Eric
Clapton, Joan Armatrading and Graham Parker all
appeared at Blackbushe Aerodrome, Surrey. Reputedly this
was the biggest ever UK audience for Bob Dylan, with
over 200,000 fans attending.
1978 - The Rolling Stones
started a two-week run at No.1 on the album chart with
Some Girls the group's seventh No.1 album. The cover
designed by Peter Corriston, featured The Rolling Stones
in garish drag alongside select female celebrities and
lingerie ads. The cover immediately ran into trouble
when Lucille Ball, Farrah Fawcett, Liza Minnelli
(representing her mother Judy Garland), Raquel Welch,
and the estate of Marilyn Monroe who all threatened
legal action.
1989 - Pink Floyd
appeared in Canal di San Marco, Piazza San Marco,
Venice, on a floating stage. Over 200,000 people
attended the gig (almost double the number authorities
had planned for) causing damage to buildings and
bridges. The cleaning of the area after the concert was
said to be around £25,000 and the concert was broadcast
live on TV to over 20 countries with an estimated
audience of almost 100 million. Two Venice councillors
were later ordered to stand trial for the costs incurred
by the concert.
2000 - Sad Cafe
singer Paul Young
died of a heart attack at his Manchester home aged 53.
‘Run Home Girl’ was a hit for Sad Cafe, ‘Everyday Hurts’
was a No.3 hit in 1979. Joined Mike Rutherford and Paul
Carrack in Mike and the
Mechanics and had the hits ‘The Living
Years’ and ‘Silent Running’.
2012 - Queen were
crowned top of the patriotic pops in a survey of 100,000
music fans. The band's anthem We Are The Champions was
named number one by fans who were asked what song made
them proud to be British. The track, which got to number
two in 1977, picked up 13,000 votes in the survey
carried out among users of the Lucky Voice website. It
was followed by the Oasis
hit Wonderwall which was nominated by 11,000 karaoke
singers; and then Let It Be by The
Beatles which got 10,000 votes. Elton John's Candle In
The Wind and London Calling by The
Clash rounded off the top five.
ly
8
1958 - The Quarrymen,
featuring John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George
Harrison, John "Duff" Lowe on piano and Colin
Hanton on drums, recorded a vanity disc at a
small studio in an electronics shop owned by a
man named Percy Phillips. The band recorded
'That'll Be The Day' and 'In Spite Of Danger'
in one take each. With the names of the tunes
and the song's writers hand written on the
label, each band member was to keep the
10-inch 78 rpm disc for a week before passing
it on. Both recordings eventually ended up on
Anthology 1.
1967 - The Who
began their first full North American tour at
the Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Oregon,
appearing as support to Herman's
Hermits on 55 dates.
1967 - David Bowie
released the single 'Love You Till Tuesday'
which failed to reach the charts. Bowie's 1969
showpiece film Love You till Tuesday took its
name from the song, which also featured over
the opening credits.
1973 - During a concert at the John Wayne
Theatre in Hollywood, California, Phil Everly
smashed his guitar and stormed of stage, Don
finished the set by himself and announced that
The Everly Brothers
had split. This was the last that the duo
performed together for nearly ten years.
1973 - A drunk driver killed Clarence White
of The Byrds
while he was loading equipment after a gig in
Palmdale, California. White joined The Byrds
in 1968, after the group had recorded 'Mr.
Tambourine Man,' 'Turn! Turn! Turn!' and
'Eight Miles High'.
1977 - Elvis
Costello and The Attractions
made their live debut supporting Wayne County
at The Garden, Penzance.
1982 - The movie premier for Pink Floyd's The Wall
was held at The Empire, Leicester Square. The
film, which centers around a confined rocker
named Floyd "Pink" Pinkerton, earned £22
million in its first year and won two British
Academy Awards.
2015 - Arthur Cave the
15-year-old son of musician Nick Cave
died after a fall from a cliff in Brighton.
2015 - The Las Vegas coroner's office
confirmed that B.B.
King died of natural causes
primarily stemming from Alzheimer's disease
and was not murdered. Two of his daughters had
alleged King was poisoned by long-time
associates.
1963 - The Rolling
Stones played their first ever
gig outside London when they appeared at The
Alcove Club, Middlesbrough, supporting The Hollies.
1964 - The Animals went
to No.1 on the singles chart with 'The House Of
The Rising Sun.' Recorded in one take, this was
the first No.1 to have a playing time of more
than four minutes.
1967 - Pink Floyd
made their second appearance on Top Of The Pops
to promote their new single 'See Emily Play'
which was hosted by Pete Murray. The single went
on to peak at No.6 on the chart.
1968 - Black Sabbath
played their first gig at a small backstreet
Blues club in Birmingham.
1969 - Over 100 US radio stations banned The Beatles new
single 'The Ballad Of John and Yoko' due to the
line 'Christ, you know it ain't easy', calling
it offensive.
1978 - The BBC announced a ban on The Sex Pistols
latest single ‘No One Is Innocent’, which
featured vocals by Ronnie Biggs, the British
criminal notorious for his part in the Great
Train Robbery of 1963. At the time of the
recording, Biggs was living in Brazil, and was
still wanted by the British authorities, but
immune from extradition.
1985 - At 12.01 Status
Quo started the Live Aid
extravaganza, held between Wembley Stadium,
London and The JFK Stadium, Philadelphia. The
cream of the world's biggest rock stars took
part in the worldwide event, raising over
£40million. TV pictures beamed to over 1.5bn
people in 160 countries made it the biggest live
broadcast ever known. Artists who appeared
included Paul
McCartney, Phil Collins, The Who, U2, David
Bowie and Mick Jagger, Queen, Tina Turner,
The Cars, Neil Young, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan,
Bryan Adams, Hall and Oates, Lionel Richie
and Led Zeppelin.
2004 - Arthur ‘Killer’ Kane, bass player with The New York Dolls,
died aged 55 after checking himself in to a Los
Angeles emergency room, complaining of fatigue.
He was quickly diagnosed with leukaemia, and
died within two hours. The influential American
band formed in 1972 and made just two albums,
the 1973 'New York Dolls' and 1974 'Too Much Too
Soon'. His estranged wife wanted to honour her
late husband's wishes and bury him next to
former Dolls stars Johnny Thunders and Jerry
Nolan in Mount St Mary's cemetery in Brooklyn,
New York, but officials at the morgue refused to
release his body for burial because his remains
were so decomposed. (His body had laid in a
morgue for over a month).
1
Week commencing July 81962
- The Rolling Stones made
their live debut at the Marquee Jazz Club, London,
with Dick Taylor on bass (later of The Pretty Things)
and Mick Avory on drums (later of The Kinks). Billed
as The Rollin’ Stones, they were paid £20 for the
gig, the equivalent of £330 in 2010.
1964 - The Beatles
appeared at the Hippodrome Theatre in Brighton
with The Fourmost
and the Shubdubs
(whose drummer, Jimmy Nicol, would later fill in
for an ill Ringo Starr on The Beatles' world
tour). On the way to tonight's gig George Harrison
was involved in a minor crash in his brand new
E-Type Jaguar in Kings Road, Fulham. Passing
pedestrians collected bits of broken glass as
souvenirs.
1968 - Mickey
Dolenz from The
Monkees married Samantha Juste who
he met when working on Top Of The Pops.
1979 - American singer songwriter Minnie Riperton
died of cancer aged 31. The Stevie Wonder produced
'Loving You' gave Minnie a US No.1 single in 1975.
She worked at Chess records singing backup for
various artists such as Etta
James, Fontella Bass, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry
and Muddy Waters.
She also sang lead for the experimental rock/soul
group Rotary Connection,
from 1967 to 1971. Also a member of Wonderlove in
1973, a backup group for Stevie Wonder.
2008 - Rolling Stone
Ronnie Wood left his wife of 23
years and moved in with an 18-year-old Russian
cocktail waitress. The 61 year-old dad-of-four had
met the teenager while out drinking and had taken
her away to his luxury pad in Ireland.
2012 - Pollstar magazine announced that former Pink Floyd bassist
Roger Waters
had grossed up $158.1 million in concert ticket
sales worldwide so far this year with The Wall
Live show. Bruce
Springsteen came in second place
with $79.9 million.
8
Week
commencing
July 1
Week
commencing
July 1Week
commencing
July 1Week
commencing
July 1969
- 'Space Oddity' by David
Bowie was released for the first
time. It was timed to coincide with the Apollo moon
landing but had to be re-released before it became a
hit, later in the year. Bowie would later revisit
his Major Tom character in the songs 'Ashes to
Ashes', 'Hallo Spaceboy' and possibly the music
video for 'Blackstar'.
1970 - Three Dog Night
started a two-week run at No.3 with their version of
the Randy Newman song 'Mama Told Me Not To Come'.
The song was first covered by Eric Burdon on his
first solo album in 1966 and gave Tom Jones &
Stereophonics a No.4 hit in 2000.
1971 - The Bruce
Springsteen Band opened for Humble Pie at the Sunshine
Inn, Asbury Park in New Jersey. After the show an
impressed Peter Frampton from Humble Pie tells
Springsteen and the band he'd like to have them open
for them on a national basis. Frampton also said he
would be happy to get the band an audition with his
record label, A&M Records. For no logical reason
Springsteen’s manager, Tinker West, declined both
offers on the spot.
1977 - Thursday of this week saw the opening night
of a new punk venue, The Vortex Club, on Wardour
Street, London with Siouxise,
Adam And The Ants, The Slits and Sham 69.
1982 - Phil Collen,
former guitarist with the glam rock band Girl, replaced Pete Willis in Def Leppard who was
fired due to excessive alcohol consumption.
1992 - A range of eight 'ties', designed by Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead
went on sale in the US. President Bill Clinton
bought a set. The collection grossed millions by the
end of the year.
1996 - Jonathan Melvoin
keyboard player with the Smashing
Pumpkins died from a drug overdose in
New York City aged 34. Smashing Pumpkins drummer
Jimmy Chamberlin who was with Melvoin tried but
failed to revive him after Chamberlin was allegedly
advised by 911 operators to put Melvoin's head in
the shower. Several songs were inspired by his
death, including Sarah McLachlan's hit single
'Angel.' He was the brother of Susannah and Wendy
Melvoin of Prince and the
Revolution. Melvoin had also been a
member of The Dickies.
2004 - The Darkness
replaced David Bowie
at this year's T In The Park Scottish festival
following his heart operation. Other acts appearing
included Muse, Franz
Ferdinard, Faithless, Scissor Sisters, Black
Eyed Peas and Pink.
2011 - Rob Grill,
lead singer and bassist for the 1960s rock band The Grass Roots,
whose hits included 'Midnight Confessions',
'Temptation Eyes' and 'Let's Live for Today', died
after suffering a head injury from a fall caused by
a stroke. He was 67.
1961 - Bobby Lewis
started a seven week run at No.1 on the US singles
chart with 'Tossin' and Turnin', the longest running
No.1 single of 1961, spending seven weeks at the top
of the chart.
1964 - 200,000 Liverpudlians took to the streets to
celebrate The Beatles
return to Liverpool for the northern premiere of the
group's first film 'A Hard Day's Night.' The group
were honored in a public ceremony in front of
Liverpool Town Hall and as The Beatles stood on a
balcony looking at the large crowd gathered below,
John Lennon gave a few Nazi "Sieg Heil" salutes. Not
everyone appreciated his sense of humor.
1968 - Eric Clapton
announced that Cream
would break-up after their current tour. The group's
third album, Wheels of Fire, was the world's first
platinum-selling double album and Cream are widely
regarded as being the world's first successful
supergroup.
1968 - The Nice
were banned from appearing at London's Royal Albert
Hall after burning an American flag on stage. Two
years later, Keith Emerson, leader of the Nice, joined
Greg Lake and Carl Palmer in Emerson,
Lake and Palmer.
1969 - The funeral of Rolling
Stone Brian Jones took place in his
home town at Hatherley Road Parish Church, Cheltenham.
Canon Hugh Evan Hopkins read Jones' own epitaph,
'Please don't judge me too harshly'. Bill Wyman, Keith
Richards and Charlie Watts from The
Stones attended the funeral.
1974 - David Bowie
played the first of five dates at The Tower Theatre in
Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, the recordings of which
made up the David Live album released later that year.
The album catches Bowie in transition from the Ziggy
Stardust/Aladdin Sane glam-rock era of his career to
the 'plastic soul' of Young Americans.
1986 - Jerry Garcia
of The Grateful Dead
went into a five day diabetic coma, resulting in the
band withdrawing from their current tour.
2005 - The four members of Led
Zeppelin were voted the ideal
supergroup after 3,500 music fans were asked to create
their fantasy band for Planet Rock Radio. Jimmy Page
won best guitarist, followed by
Guns N' Roses' Slash and Deep Purple's Ritchie
Blackmore. John Paul Jones was named top bassist, with
John Bonham, who died in 1980, winning best drummer
and Robert Plant beat the late Freddie Mercury to best
singer.
2008 - The drum skin used on the cover of The Beatles' Sgt.
Pepper album sold for £541,250 at Christie's
Memorabilia auction in London. Other items sold
included John Lennon's lyrics for 'Give Peace a
Chance' which sold for £421,250 and a pair of tinted
prescription sunglasses belonging to Lennon, which he
wore for the cover of the single 'Mind Games', sold
for £39,650. A rare 1/4 inch reel to-reel master tape
recording of the Jimi Hendrix
Experience performing at the Woburn
Music Festival in 1968 went for £48,050, a Marshall
amplifier used by Hendrix in concert fetched £25,000.
2011 - A pub in Dundee, Scotland called Lennon's Bar
was forced to change the name of the venue and remove
all Beatles memorabilia
the former Beatles wife Yoko
Ono threatened legal action for
copyright infringement.
2015 - John Fogerty
filed a countersuit alleging that his former bandmates
in Creedance Clearwater
Revival had breached their contract in
which he allowed them to use the name Creedence Clearwater Revisited while
touring and playing the music they recorded together
four decades ago.Fogerty’s action, claimed that
Creedence bassist Stu Cook and drummer Doug Clifford
had not paid him in more than three years under terms
of the agreement they set up more than a decade ago.
1956 - After the June 30th trouble at Asbury Park, Bill Haley and His Comets
were denied permission to play at the Roosevelt Stadium
in Jersey City. A city ordnance was passed that read:
"Rock and roll music encouraged juvenile delinquency
and inspired young females in lewd bathing suits to
perform obscene dances on the city's beaches."
1976 - The Pretty Things,
Supercharge and the
Sex Pistols all appeared at The Lyceum,
London, tickets £1.75.
1983 - The Police
started an eight week run at No.1 on the UK singles
chart with 'Every Breath You Take' also No.1 in the US.
Taken from the bands album Synchronicity, Sting won Song
of the Year and The Police won Best Pop Performance for
the song at the 1984 Grammy Awards.
1995 - The Grateful Dead
gave their last concert with leader Jerry Garcia at
Chicago's Soldier Field. Jerry would die of a heart
attack a month later while in drug rehab.
2004 - David Bowie
was forced to cancel a string of European shows after
emergency heart surgery. The 57 year-old singer had an
operation last month in Germany, where he was on tour,
to treat "an acutely blocked artery". The star's
cancellation last month of 11 European dates was
originally attributed to a shoulder injury.
2011 - Former Led
Zeppelin frontman Robert
Plant joined three local musicians at a
fundraising charity show in Monmouth, Wales, where
tickets cost £3. The event was a tribute to his friend,
former Led Zeppelin producer Pat Moran, who died of
dementia in January. Plant delighted the small crowd in
the Monmouthshire town with songs from his Zeppelin days
as well as tunes from his solo career.
2015 - Phil Rudd,
drummer with AC/DC,
was sentenced in New Zealand to eight months house
detention for drug possession and making threats to
kill. The court heard how Rudd had fired several
employees after the failure of his solo album, Head Job,
in August last year, Rudd had also called one victim
saying: "I'm going to come over and kill you." His
sentence would be served at his beachfront home in
Tauranga, with Judge Thomas Ingram warning he would face
jail if he breached the conditions.
2015 - Transport for London, the government body that
runs the metro rail system, banned posters promoting The Rolling Stones'
forthcoming exhibition, 'Exhibitionism', at London's
Saatchi gallery, because of its artwork. The neon advert
showed the Rolling Stones iconic tongue and lips design
plastered over a woman's bikini bottoms.
Week
commencing
July 1
July
11954
- Producer Sam Phillips took an acetate recording of Elvis Presley singing
'That's All Right' to DJ Dewey
Phillips at Memphis
radio station WHBQ. He played the song just
after 9.30 that evening, the phone lines lit
up asking the DJ to play the song again.
1965 - The Dave Clark
Five had their movie Catch Us
If You Can premiere in London. The film was
renamed to Having a Wild Weekend for its US
release. Songs featured by the group in the
movie included 'Catch Us If You Can,' 'Having
a Wild Weekend' and 'I Can't Stand It.'
1967 - The Monkees
began a 29-date tour with The Jimi Hendrix
Experience as support act.
Hendrix was dropped after six shows after
being told his act was not suitable for their
teenybopper audience.
1969 - Marianne
Faithfull collapsed on the set
of 'Ned Kelly' after taking a drug overdose.
She was admitted to a Sydney Hospital (she was
later dropped from the movie).
1973 - Led Zeppelin's
fifth album Houses Of The Holy was on both the
US and UK album charts. The album spent a
total of 39 weeks on the US chart, the covef
of which was inspired by the ending of Arthur
C. Clarke's novel Childhood's End. It is a
collage of several photographs which were
taken at the Giant's Causeway, Northern
Ireland, by Aubrey Powell of Hipgnosis.
1984 - Bob Dylan's
current European tour came to an end at Slane
Castle, County Meath in Ireland. Dylan was
joined on stage by
Van Morrison and they duetted
on It’s All Over Now Baby Blue. U2's Bono, who
was sent to interview Dylan for the Irish rock
magazine Hot Press, ended up duetting with
Dylan on Blowin’ In The Wind and Leopard Skin
Pillbox Hat. Carlos
Santana also joined Dylan on
stage and played guitar on the last seven
songs of the set.
Week commencing July 11966
- The Kinks
were at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Sunny
Afternoon', the group's third and last No.1.
1980 - Led Zeppelin
played their last-ever concert with drummer John
Bonham when they appeared at Eissporthalle, West
Berlin at the end of a European tour. The set
included: 'Black Dog', 'The Rain Song', 'Hot
Dog', 'All My Love', 'Trampled Under Foot',
'Since I’ve Been Loving You', 'Kashmir',
'Stairway To Heaven' and 'Rock And Roll'. They
finished the show with a 17-minute version of
'Whole Lotta Love'.
2003 - The Darkness
released their debut studio album Permission To
Land which topped the UK chart for four weeks.
Five singles were released from the album
including ‘I Believe in a Thing Called Love’,
the most successful, reaching No.2 on the UK
Singles Chart. The band won three BRIT Awards in
2004 in response to the album, Best Group, Best
Rock Group and Best Album. They also won two
Kerrang! awards in 2004 for Best Live Act and
Best British Band.
2005 - Members of The
Hollies asked High Court judge to
jail one of their founder members claiming bass
player Eric Haydock had flouted a court order
made in 1998 not to play under their name.
Haydock formed the group in Manchester in the
early 1960s with Allan Clarke and Graham Nash
(who left in 1966). Haydock was working in a
group calling itself Eric Haydock's Hollies.
2006 - Syd Barrett
died from complications arising from diabetes
aged 60. The singer, songwriter, guitarist was
one of the founding members of Pink Floyd,
active as a rock musician for only about seven
years before he went into seclusion. He joined
Pink Floyd in 1965 but left three years later
after one album. Barrett released two solo
albums before going into self-imposed seclusion
lasting more than thirty years, with his mental
deterioration blamed on drugs.
1957 - John Lennon
and Paul McCartney
met for the first time at The Woolton Church
Parish Fete where The
Quarry Men were appearing. As The
Quarry Men were setting up for their evening
performance, McCartney - eager to impress Lennon -
picked up a guitar and played ‘Twenty Flight Rock’
(Eddie Cochran) and ‘Be-Bop-A-Lula’ (Gene
Vincent). Lennon was impressed, and even more so
when McCartney showed Lennon and Eric Griffiths
how to tune their guitars, something they'd been
paying someone else to do for them.
1967 - Pink Floyd
made their first appearance on Top Of The Pops to
promote their new single 'See Emily Play'. A badly
damaged home video recording recovered by the
British Film Institute of this show was given a
public screening in London on 9th January 2010 at
an event called "Missing Believed Wiped" devoted
to recovered TV shows. It was the first time any
footage was seen of the performance since its
original broadcast.
1968 - The Rolling
Stones scored their fifth US No.1
single when 'Jumpin Jack Flash' hit the top of the
charts. Keith Richards has stated that he and
Jagger wrote the lyrics while staying at Richards'
country house, where they were awoken one morning
by the sound of gardener Jack Dyer walking past
the window. When Jagger asked what the noise was,
Richards responded: "Oh, that's Jack – that's
jumpin' Jack."
1968 - Woburn Music Festival, Woburn Abbey, took
place. A two-day affair featuring Donovan, Fleetwood Mac,
Pentangle, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Alexis
Korner, Family, Taste, Tim Rose, John Mayall’s
Bluesbreakers, Duster Bennett and Tyrannosaurus Rex;
two-day tickets were priced at £2.
1971 - American jazz trumpeter, singer and
bandleader, Louis
Armstrong died. Had many hits
including the 1964 No.1 'Hello Dolly!', 1968 No.1
'What A Wonderful World’ plus ‘When The Saints Go
Marching In’, ‘Ain't Misbehavin’, and ‘We Have All
the Time in the World.’ He made frequent use of
laxatives as a means of controlling his weight,
resulting in Armstrong appearing in humorous,
advertisements for laxative product Swiss Kriss;
the ads bore a picture of him sitting on a toilet,
as viewed through a keyhole, with the slogan
"Satch says, 'Leave it all behind ya!"
1972 - David Bowie
appeared on Top Of The Pops playing his new single
'Starman', his first hit since 1969's 'Space
Oddity' three years before. The single peaked at
No.10 and stayed on the charts for 11 weeks.
1973 - Queen
released their debut single 'Keep Yourself Alive'.
The track didn't chart.
2002 - George Harrison's
widow Olivia put the couple's home up for sale for
£20m saying she couldn't bear to live with the
memories of the attack by schizophrenic Michael
Abram who broke into the house in 1999.
2003 - Skip Battin
bassist and songwriter with The
Byrds died of complications from
Alzheimer's disease. (1965 No.1 single 'Mr
Tambourine Man'). Also played with New Riders Of The Purple Sage
and The Flying Burrito
Brothers.
Week
commencing
June 241965
- Marty Balin
and Paul Kantner
formed a Folk-Rock group that would evolve into the
Jefferson Airplane,
the premier San Francisco psychedelic band of the
late '60s. The Airplane made its debut the following
month at a Haight-Ashbury club, and was signed to
RCA later in the year.
1966 - On the recommendation of Rolling Stone Keith Richards'
girlfriend, Chas Chandler from The Animals went to
see Jimi Hendrix
play at The Cafe Wha in New York City. Chandler
suggests that Hendrix should come to England, which
he does and Chandler became his manager.
1969 - The Rolling Stones
gave a free concert in London's Hyde Park before an
audience of 250,000, as a tribute to Brian Jones who
had died two days earlier. Mick Jagger read an
extract from Percy Bysshe Shelley's 'Adonais' and
released 3,500 butterflies; it was also guitarist's
Mick Taylor's debut with the Stones. King Crimson, Family, The Third
Ear Band, Screw and Alexis Korner's New Church
also appeared on the day.
1975 - Pink Floyd, Captain
Beefheart, Steve Miller and Roy Harper all
appeared at The Knebworth Festival, tickets cost
£3.50. Pink Floyd premiered their new album Wish You
Were Here with the help of Spitfires, pyrotechnics
and an exploding plane which flies into the stage.
1999 - The Eurythmics
announced their first world tour for more than 10
years and that all profits would be given to
charity. The duo made the announcement from the
Greenpeace boat 'Rainbow Warrior' moored on the
River Thames in London.
2003 - The Daily Star ran a front-page story
claiming that the body of Manic
Street Preachers guitarist Richey Edwards had
been found. Fishermen in an angling contest
discovered bones half buried in mud on the riverbank
near Avonmouth. Edwards disappeared in Feb 1995, his
car was found at a service station at the Seven
Bridge a well-known suicide spot.
2005 - Pink Floyd's David
Gilmour said artists who had seen
album sales soar after the Live 8 concerts should
donate their profits to charity, saying: "This is
money that should be used to save lives." UK sales
figures released two days after the London concert
showed Pink Floyd’s Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd
had risen by 1343%, The Who
- Then and Now by 863% and
Annie Lennox - Eurythmics Greatest
Hits by 500%.
2012 - For the second year in a row, Rolling Stones
guitarist Ronnie Wood
was honoured in two categories at the annual Arqiva
Commercial Radio Awards. The 65-year-old won the
specialist programme of the year award for his
Absolute Radio show, and saw his weekly guest slot
named best feature. Absolute also took the station
of the year award.
2014 - The four surviving members of The Grateful Dead
gave what they said would be their final
performance, playing to over 70,000 fans at
Chicago's Soldier Field. The shows came 20 years
after the death of lead guitarist Jerry Garcia, who
played his last show in the nation's third-largest
city in 1995.
1958 - The Everly Brothers
held the No.1 position with 'All I Have To Do Is
Dream.' The Duo's first No.1 single was recorded in
just two takes and features Chet Atkins on guitar. The
song was written by the husband and wife songwriting
team Felice and Boudleaux Bryant.
1966 - The Beatles
played two shows at Rizal Memorial Football Stadium,
Manila, in the Philippines to over 80,000 fans. The
Beatles failed to appear at a palace reception hosted
by President Marcos' family, who were not informed
that the Beatles had declined their invitation. The
Philippine media misrepresent this as a deliberate
snub and when Brian Epstein tries to make a televised
statement, his comments are disrupted by static. The
next day, as The Beatles make their way to the
airport, they were greeted by angry mobs, the
Philippine government had retaliated by refusing
police protection for The Beatles.
1971 - Donald McPherson,
lead singer of US soul group Main
Ingredient, died of leukaemia aged 30.
Had the 1972 hit song, 'Everybody Plays the Fool'.
1973 - Slade
drummer Don Powell
was badly injured in a car crash in which his
girlfriend was killed.
1976 - The Clash
made their live debut supporting the Sex Pistols at the
Black Swan, Sheffield.
1990 - Paul Stanley
from KISS
sustained neck and back injuries when he was involved
in a car crash in New Jersey.
2000 - A man fell 80 feet to his death during a Metallica concert at
Raven Stadium, Baltimore.
1967 - A private party was held at the Speakeasy Club in
London for The Monkees.
Guests included John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul
McCartney, Dusty Springfield, Eric Clapton, Lulu and all
the members from Manfred Mann,
The Who and
Procol Harum.
1968 - At an impromptu gathering at Joni Mitchell's house in
Lookout Mountain, Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, David
Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash played together
for the very first time. The trio went on to form Crosby, Stills and Nash.
1968 - The Equals
were at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Baby Come Back'.
The group's only No.1. The song was first released in
1966 but did not chart. The song was covered by and
became a No.1 hit for Pato
Banton in 1994 (with Robin and Ali
Campbell of UB40).
1967 - Brian Jones
drowned while under the influence of drugs and alcohol
after taking a midnight swim in his pool, aged 27. His
body was found at the bottom of the pool by his Swedish
girlfriend Anna Wohlin. The coroner's report stated
"Death by misadventure", and noted his liver and heart
were heavily enlarged by drug and alcohol abuse. Jones
was one of the founding members of The Rolling Stones and
in the early 60s used the name "Elmo Lewis."
1971 - American singer, songwriter and poet, Jim Morrison of The Doors was found dead
in a bathtub in Paris, France, the cause of death was
given as a heart attack. He co-wrote some of the group's
biggest hits, including ‘Light My Fire’, ‘Love Me Two
Times’, and ‘Love Her Madly.’ On the 25th anniversary of
his death an estimated 15,000 fans gathered at Pere
Lachaise Cemetery to pay their respects.
1973 - Laurens Hammond,
the inventor of the Hammond organ, died aged 73. Many
rock artists including Procol
Harum, Keith Emerson, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, The
Allman Brothers Band and the Faces featured the
sound of the Hammond. He also invented a silent
spring-driven clock and during the second world war he
helped design guided missile systems.
1982 - After a record breaking jump from No.33 on the
singles charts, The Damned's
guitarist Captain Sensible started
a two week run at No.1 with his version of the Rodgers
and Hammerstein song 'Happy Talk' from the 1949 musical
South Pacific.
1962 - Jimi Hendrix
was honourably discharged from the 101st Airborne
Paratroopers, after breaking his ankle during his 26th and
final parachute jump.
1966 - David Bowie and The Lower
Third appeared at The Lion Hotel in
Warrington (they were paid £30 for the gig). Also
appearing was The Powerhouse
which featured Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, Steve Winwood and
Paul Jones.
1969 - Bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell
quit The Jimi Hendrix Experience
after completing the three-day Denver Pop Festival.
Hendrix and drummer Mitch Mitchell would later team with
bassist Billy Cox to form the short-lived Gypsy Sun and Rainbows, who played at
the Woodstock Festival.
1969 - Thunderclap Newman
started a three week run at No.1 on the singles chart with
the Pete Townshend produced track 'Something In The Air.'
Featured on the soundtrack for the movie, 'The Magic
Christian'. The band featured guitarist Jimmy McCulloch
who went on to work with Wings.
1971 - Queen
appeared at Surrey College. This was the
group's first gig with the line-up of Freddie Mercury,
Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon.
1991 - Axl Rose
caused a riot to break out during a Guns N' Roses gig
after leaping into the crowd to remove a camera from a
fan at the Riverpoint Amphitheatre, Maryland Heights.
Over 50 people were injured and 15 fans were arrested.
2008 - The gravestone was stolen of former Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis. Cheshire
Police said his memorial stone was taken from where he
is buried in Macclesfield Cemetery. Officers were
appealing for anyone with information on its
whereabouts. Detectives said the stone had the
inscription ‘Ian Curtis 18 - 5 - 80’ and the words
‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’.
2018 - Alan Longmuir from Scottish pop band Bay City Rollers died
aged 70 after contracting an illness while on holiday
in Mexico. The Rollers had the 1975 No.1 single 'Bye
Bye Baby', plus 11 other Top 20 singles', and the 1976
US No.1 single 'Saturday Night'.
1963 - The Beatles
recorded their next single ‘She Loves You’ / ‘I'll Get
You’, at EMI Studios, London, completing the two songs
in less than four hours. Released in August this year,
‘She Loves You’ went on to become The Beatles' first
million-selling single.
1969 - John Lennon, Yoko Ono
and family were involved in a car accident in Golspie,
Scotland. Both John and Yoko needed hospital treatment.
Lennon later had the car crushed into a cube and
exhibited it on his lawn at Tittenhurst Park.
1972 - Slade were
at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Take Me Bak 'Ome',
the group's second No.1. The song was produced by the
bands manager Chas Chandler.
1973 - Slade and The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
appeared at Earl's Court London, tickets cost
£1.00-£2.00. Special 'Slade' trains were running form
Brighton, Bristol, Birmingham and Manchester to take
fans to the show.
1981 - Rushton Moreve,
bassist with Steppenwolf,
was killed in motorcycle accident in Santa Barbara,
California, aged 32. He co-wrote their hit 'Magic Carpet
Ride' with lead singer John Kay; Steppenwolf also had
the 1968 US No.2 single 'Born To Be Wild'. Moreve left
the band in late 1968 when he refused to fly back to
California at that time, fearing it would sink into the
Pacific Ocean after an imminent earthquake.
2001 - Rolling Stone Ronnie
Wood was commissioned to paint a group
portrait of diners who are regulars at the West End
London restaurant The Ivy.
Elton John and Pet
Shop Boy Neil Tennant were two pop stars
to be included in the portrait.
2008 - Whitesnake
guitarist Mel Galley
died at the age of 60 from cancer of the oesophagus.
Galley also played with
Trapeze, Glenn Hughes, Cozy Powell and
the Blue Jays.
2013 - Boston
guitarist Tom Scholz
was ordered to pay $132,000 in court fees to the Boston
Herald after he unsuccessfully sued the newspaper. The
Herald had suggested that Scholz was responsible for the
2007 suicide of Boston lead singer Brad Delp, but a
Superior Court judge ruled that the paper could not be
held liable for defaming Scholz because it's impossible
to know what caused Delp to kill himself.
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