News from the live music scene in the north east

HUNDREDS TURNED AWAY FROM FLUX CAPACITOR GIG ON OCTOBER 13 A lot of eyes were on the Hells Bells gig at East Bedlington Community Centre last weekend and, by all accounts, the night was a resounding success. For those who are not aware, the East Bedlington Community Centre (EBCC) is non-profit making so all monies taken go to keep the Centre alive and help arrange bands for the future. The next big event is 80s party night with Flux Capacitor - It's on Friday 13th October, doors are 7pm and it's £5 a ticket. Again, tickets are available either directly from the Centre (absolutely no booking fee), or at wegottickets.com (which will include a 50p booking fee). There is optional fancy dress, with prizes being given away for best dressed on the night. Riffs has been sent some pics of the Hells Bells night and it looks like a nice big hall you can get your gear up to 11 in. Even (going by the door behind stage) looks like you have your own dressing room. You may also be thinking the same as us - shame about the non-black background! Well, Sarah from the Centre has been thinking the same thing and if the punters turn up in their droves, and drink lots (drink aware now!), the Centre may just be able to afford a massive black backdrop. And no, a tin of black paint will not suffice, as the venue hosts lots of other events. Just as an aside, Flux Capacitor has a rather envious pedigree; Riffs readers with good memories may remember those wild, wacky lads, the KooKooNauts who made a name for themselves around the North-East a few years ago, and rose to gracing the stage at Stormin' the Castle. Although 'only' the opening act, they stole the show to rapturous applause. So no pressure Flux lads, but all eyes, especially Riffs, are on YOU. (Oh - and we expect some good pics - yeah?) LET'S KICK SOME SHIT! The Shitkickers Ball4 is all set and rarin' to go: at The Cluny1 in Newcastle on Sunday 17th September 2017 from 2pm till 8pm. Four of the finest bands in the NE have assembled for what's going to be a brilliant full afternoon's musical entertainment at this excellent venue. HED will be opening with their own special groove of Blues Rock that puts a new slant on well loved titles. Pistoleros to follow will blow you away with their polished virtuoso covers of rock and pop songs that you rarely hear performed today. STAN still continue to excite every audience they perform for with their self penned power pop anthems and heart wrenching ballads. Groovetrain are the premier Soul and R'n'B outfit of the area who'll knock you out with their imaginative arrangements of classic numbers. The tickets are available now for £5 from The Cluny1 or contact me by email and we can sort out PayPal, posting and any other queries you may have. Contact me at :- bentonblues@inthecrowd.co.uk (be aware other sites charge a booking fee). The Cluny1 is way down East on the Ouseburn Delta at Newcastle's historic Quayside. You can get there on foot from Byker Metro (15 mins) or catch one of the Quaylink buses straight from the many stops in the Toon. It has a fine selection of real ales and does an excellent Sunday dinner as well as other food. Hope to see you at what promises to be a monster afternoon with all the monies collected being donated to St. Oswalds Hospice Gosforth. There will be NO raffle and NO auction so best save all your change for the buckets that will be going round in the hands of big gadgies (and gadgettes) throughout the event. This will be the last music event I organise as I'm too owld for this game now so please can you tell all your mates, a FaceBook page has been set up as well :- https://www.facebook.com/events/343605216068726/ Graham Well, Riffs has said it before and there's no chance of an apology for saying it again: getting the lads together, humping all the gear to the gig, setting it all up, soundchecking, not to mention having to do it with people (and other bands) milling about, and then after the gig (when you are tired, hungry and just thinking of your nice, warm bed) stripping down the gear, humping back on to whatever transport you are lucky enough to have, getting home and checking your pocket to find you have - oh yeah, fk all!! But the satisfaction of doing all that to benefit people a lot worse off than yourself outweighs the hassle you have just been through, so can we - please - have a big, no make that a fkin massive shout for these lads: HED, PISTOLEROS, STAN, GROOVETRAIN (and let's not forget the guy who has put the whole lot together - Graham - who is making this his last gig due to poor health. Graham - we salute you.) AND YET ANOTHER BLUES COUP FOR HARTLEPOOL 'Got a couple of interesting gigs coming up Nige, can you do me a couple of ads. Cheers, Tommy.' That was our introduction to Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado. Blues, as regular Riffs readers will know, is not quite up our street, but after listening to Denmark's Risager, if we were to walk up this street, it's his gaff we would be heading for. To say we were impressed is quite an understatement but, let's cut to the chase, it's not what WE think, it's what YOU think. So check em out first. Youtube and biography links below. Early in 2015, Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado had their latest album voted as one the year’s best by Britain’s influential The Blues magazine, right alongside international stars such as Robert Cray, Walter Trout and Joe Bonamassa. Clearly, Risager and his mates had taken their exhilarating mix of blues, soul and rock‘n’roll to the next level. Thorbjorn and band duly celebrated by returning to one of their favorite nightspots – the Harmonie in Bonn, Germany. They would treat local fans to a one-of-a-kind spectacle, hitting the stage as a ten-piece mini-orchestra. After Thomas Ruf of Ruf Records introduces this deluxe edition of the band – including a three-man horn section and backing vocalists Ida Bang und Lisa Lystam – the colossal sound of Risager’s semi-hollow body spearheads the all-out attack of opening number “If You Wanna Leave.” He and his Black Tornado are off to the races… The band is appearing at Edinburgh Blues Club and Carlisle Blues Festival - so if you miss the Hartlepool gig, our bet is you missed out - period. 'This guy is a singer’s singer, but maybe born too late, because if he had been around in the ’50s and ’60s and lived in the USA, he would surely be a legend by now.' (Simon Redley in the legendary British magazine Blues And Soul) 'This is the sort of band that gets booked by unwary festival promoters as an early evening support only to discover they’ve stolen the show by 8pm. If you haven’t seen them yet, do.' Friday September 29 - Thorbjorn Risager & The Black Tornado. Hartlepool Supporters Club ts268ps......£15/17......07535979658. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7etBw_ikKp4 http://risager.info/biography/ Well, we don't know Tommy's secret in managing to attract such top class, remarkable and unparalleled acts - but let's be thankful he can. And let's not forget Ruf Records Blues Caravan on Saturday September 16. Same details. Again, check them out on Youtube. AND MARTIN MAKES IT FOUR The Flying Vs are pleased to announce that from this weekend Martin Bage will be joining the band on guitar and will be back to a four piece. Jeff told Riffs: 'Martin is a great player and we look forward to reviving some old favourites and adding new songs into our repertoire.' THE DEPUTIES RAISE THE ROOF The Seghill Community Centre "Raise The Roof" appeal, to save the Centre from closing, is having a charity night JULY 1. The roof is in a bad state of repair and The Deputies have kindly given their time to play at The Blake Arms in Seghill, Cramlington on Saturday 1st July at 9pm. Tickets are £3 and are on sale at The Blake Arms and Seghill Community Centre or, alternatively, can be bought on entry on Saturday night. BOOKING FEE? FUCK RIGHT OFF!! As you may - or even may not - know, the idea of charging a 'booking fee' when you pick up a ticket is one of those things that really gets on Riffs proverbial tits. Can you imagine a supermarket putting a booking fee on a carton of milk? 'Yeah, it may be a quid on the label mate, but we have to charge a booking fee to cover our costs, so that will now be £2.50'. I can see that going down a storm. As most of the gigs on our Listings page are local and executed by fair-minded people - venues and bands - we don't come up against this very often. Thankfully! But 'hey hey hey - another sloppy piece of mud' [and if you can tell us which live 80s gig that came from you get free boxed ads for 3 months] Guess what's just dropped into Riffs inbox for us to publicise? An upcoming gig at an Ashington venue near the end of this month. And it is not only ticket but pay on the door. 'So what,' you may say, 'nowt wrong with that'. Certainly isn't, and isn't that just how it should be? BUT, the door price also includes the booking fee!!!! Yep, a booking fee included on the pay on the door entry fee. The mind boggles. If the promoter feels justified in holding the punters to ransom then there's not much we can do about that. But we ain't gonna mention the gig, or the artist appearing, or the venue. And that goes for anyone else out to make a fast buck off decent people. Can you imagine, in the not-too-distant future: 'Hiya, a fiver to pay on the door mate, but then I have to include a £2 booking fee and, oh look at the time, a pre-9 0'clock fee, and look at those awful trainers - so that's a £2 embarassing trainer fee, and that fookin' shirt's a disgrace' . . . . And don't get us started on venues advertising the gig earlier so as to sell more drinks.......... On 30th June Pearlescence (Pearl Jam tribute) and Rage Against A Machine will be performing a one hour set each at The Cluny to raise money for specialist outdoor equipment for students who attend Sir Charles Parsons School in Walker, Newcastle. The school provides education for students aged 11-19 who have additional needs, moderate learning difficulties and profound and multiple learning difficulties, and the money raised will go towards much needed specialist outdoor sensory equipment and residential trips for the students. Doors open at 7pm with Rage Against A Machine hitting the stage just after 8pm. Entry is £5 on the door, tickets can also be purchased form The Cluny website and collected on the night. Both bands can be found on Facebook and the school has a website if you would like to find out a bit more about them. So in a nutshell, two great tribute bands, one great venue and a great cause. All for £5!!! Hope to see as many there as possible. JUST WHO ARE THOSE CATS? A big event featuring a 1950s theme with raffles, dance-offs and prizes for best dressed is all set for Sunday June 25. The gig is in support of Beach Access North East and features Ruby and the Mystery Cats, Ryan Page, and Sarah Holmes. It's just £5 a ticket. Full info here: https://www.facebook.com/events/415643978806543/ The Allman Brothers Band drummer and founding member Butch Trucks died on Tuesday. He was 69. The cause of his death remains unclear. No doubt many of you are gagging at the bit to know if we solved our computer problems (also many of you are now thinking 'computer problems? Didn't even know about it - and actually don't care, as long my listings are up or I can find out who's on this weekend'). But we console ourselves with the thought that many are wondering how we sorted it . Well, without going into detail, Dave Fulton, who helps out at Houghton Cricket Club, helpfully pointed us in the right direction, listing the possible culprits and ignoring those with alibis. A replacement graphics card was all that was eventually needed and our problems ceased. I am rather long in the tooth and do not expect anyone to rush in to fix things, but sometimes when you hit a brick wall, it's good to have someone to point you in the right direction and to remind you that everything is fixable; you just need to check things in the right order. Dave did just that and his advice was invaluable. Advice is no good to yourself - so give it to others! MUSICALLY BEREFT! Just to mention that here at Riffs we are not musical. We do not play an instrument; we cannot analyse a tune; we can't tune a guitar or know what makes a hit song - but what we do know about is publicity. And we love giving it to those deserving. We have mentioned it before but we are doing it again - any band that gives of their time, skills and effort to support a charity is entitled to a massive mensh on this, our News page. Along with some outrageous pictures too. So there, no excuses to not only be selfless and helpful to a deserving cause but also to shout about this cause too (and of course yourself!). So there, musical be we not, but we will surely shout about those who are....... HOWDON PEEPS DO FRAZER PROUD Always great to get feedback on gigs, etc and Dave has just let Riffs know that the Funds For Frazer gig at High Howdon Social Club on May 19 managed to raise a very impressive £1,550. Janie, Frazer's mum, we have it on good authority, was totally overcome. A massive thank you to everyone who took part and gave of their time, or money, or support, or all three! The new album release from SteelyMan is “Blues from Horden Colliery”. A twelve track blues story of growing up in an East Durham mining village that still holds a proud community despite being neglected and forgotten by the powers that be since the mine closed. Not a deep political statement but a few comments on my life as a miner’s son. Love Horden – Love the Blues... SteelyMan... www.steelyman.co.uk The album can be found on; i-tunes, Spotify, soundcloud etc. BAD BAD BOYS TO OPEN TRIPLE HEADER Just got some info regarding a rather interesting rockin' night with an eclectic hint of dirty blues. Although mentioning rock, and then blues, may lead you into certain incorrect assumptions. This intriguing triple header features the weird and wonderful LaVendore Rogue headlining; consisting of three ex-Hokie Joint members; multiple-British Blues Award nominees and winners: JoJo Burgess on vocals, Joel Fisk on guitar and Stephen “Cupsey” Cutmore on drums, as well as Rob “Tank” Barry on bass and Warren Lynn on keyboards. Ably supported by Kris Barras who, with his band, promise 'foot-stomping riffs and catchy tunes' (nuthin wrong with the ol' foot-stomping riffs). However, the band with whom Riffs was most impressed has the unenviable task of opening the night's proceedings - which probably reflects our take on music in general! With influences which include Nazareth, Gun and Schenker, you can understand why these guys aren't your cliched rockers. Bournemouth-based Western Sand look (and sound) as if they could hold their own at Knebworth (er, I mean in the 80s when it was worth a shit), Kerrang Weekender or Monsters of Rock. After a Youtoob visit I came away with the feeling that if only somone could drop a megaton of Marshall gear on a pitch-sized stage these guys would clean up. The fact that all these three fascinating bands have been brought together on one stage for one evening is not only refreshing but shows that promoters do not always just think 'kerching' when dishing up bands for out delectation. A big 'whoop' for Tommy Hartlepool here - 'WHOOP' - oh, just me then. Anyway, it's at the Belle Vue Club in Hartlepool, tickets are a realistic £12 (so sod all for the club, let's hope you all drink loads!) and it's on Saturday June 24 - yes, we know it's over two months away, but Tommy's gigs have an enviable habit of selling out surprisingly often (notice the Wishbone Ash gig?). Triple bills like this are few and far between, and Riffs, for one, have our money on The Almighty-sounding Western Sand - don't let us down guys. Since we've been into Rock/Metal we can count on the fingers of one hand how many opening acts have blown the headliners off the stage - but boy, don't it feel good!! Check this out from Western Sands - here WALLSEND PEEPS NEEDED TO SUPPORT LITTLE FRAZER Just hearing of a very special night being organised by Dave of High Howdon Social Club way up where the wall ends. Singer and multi-instrumentalist Jon Alex is the artist for the night (pic), and Jon and staff of the social club hope to raise some funds for a little Howdon boy - Frazer - who has severe epilepsy and is suffering from multiple fits every day. You may think they are trying to raise a fortune for special treatment abroad; or a respite holiday for his mum whose devotion takes up all her time; or even to bring in paid help to look after little Frazer to ease his pain? No, all his mum is wanting is a special mattress, and an alert watch so she is aware when he is having a fit. Just these two items will help the family so much. It's on Friday May 19 and although you are asked to get a ticket for entry, how much you pay is entirely up to you. As our readers may know, on 18 March, Classic Clapton headed off to play out in Colombo, Sri Lanka. They have created a photo album on Facebook that documents the trip. Their keyboards player Paul Warren was unable to make the Sri Lanka trip so Derek Miller of well-known band Cirkus stood in. https://www.facebook.com/pg/classicclapton/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1794705100547041 Here is a review of the gig:- http://www.ft.lk/article/605681/When-Clapton-came-to-Colombo Sri Lanka page on the website here:- http://www.classic-clapton.com/colombo.htm This years Crookfest will be held bank holiday sunday 30th April featuring 21 cover and tribute bands across three stages for only £15. New to the fest for 2017 will be the Scooter Tent with a mix of Mod 60s 70s rock and Ska plus a blast of Northern Soul with JD and the Woodsmen. The Main Marquee will feature will more classic rock with bands covering groups such as Bon Jovi, Slade, Journey, Meat Loaf, Guns n Roses, Thin Lizzy; while the Hut Bar goes a wee bit deeper in the style of Ozzy, Zeppelin, AC/DC, Pink Floyd, Rory Gallagher and thrown into that mix will be the band Share the Darkness: these guys cover Irish legends The Dubliners, Chieftains and more, and alongside all this there's bars and food outlets. For full details go to www.crookfest.co.uk The Howard Baker Band are proud to announce their April mini-tour which sees them travelling to Wales and France for four shows. The band has had line up changes since their last outing over the Channel and are now looking forward to heading out again with fresh faces and material. Their upcoming gig list is on the Riffs page and would invite anyone who’s interested to come along and catch a show before they go as they warm up their new rock and pop material, including some songs from Howard’s most recent album ‘The Paris Files’. The band welcome enquiries from venues and reviews from audience members. You can also check upcoming gigs on their website at www.howardbakerband.co.uk and keep up to date through their Facebook page by searching for the Howard Baker Band. And yet another band hits our live venues (long may this trend continue!) - The Lone Sharks. Again, a mature bunch of guys who have served their time in several local bands such as TT Blue, Old Codger and Nostalgic Fools. They gigged at Steels Club and the Mallard last weekend but you can get a taste of their fayre here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXRmxotkBYk Just a had a brief mail from Broken Spoke. We reproduce it here: " Just to say that Marge has kindly given Broken Spoke a booking for The Bell and Bucket on Sunday 4th June. After losing The Maggie Bank and Wooden Doll in the past year it is great to have somewhere in North Shields for bands to play." The great Chuck Berry has passed away. A mega influence on the Stones, Beatles, Springsteen and countless others.... COVERS BAND WANTED FOR CHARITY GIG We are holding a charity show on the 13th May which is a Saturday and are in need of some entertainment - covers band, nothing too heavy, motown would be nice. It is to raise funds to buy a Defibulator for my sons Autistic school, Columbia Grange in Washington. The night will be held in Silksworth Catholic Church and we are willing to pay expenses for the artist. Thank you. Miss S Mcglinchey Tel 07857970000 or siobhan.mcglinchey@hotmail.co.uk HEARTBREAKER RINGING THE BELL TONIGHT Just goes to show what a good reputation does: Short notice but Marge has managed to squeeze in new boys Heartbreaker into her Rock gaff (The Bell and Bucket, North Shields) TONIGHT 17th. 'So what' I hear you moan. 'Never 'eard of 'em'. Ya think? These 'new boys' are anything but - look at this for some pedigree: ex Witchkraft, Sheiks, Sticky Fingers, The Paul Rodgers Story. So, apart from some frighteningly competent musicians, expect loads of Free and Bad Co.	This week in . . . 1964, Herman's Hermits were at No.1 on the singles chart with the Carole King & Gerry Goffin song 'I'm Into Something Good', the group's only No.1. 1969, The Band released their self-titled album, which peaked at No.9 on the US chart, and included Rag Mama Rag, Up on Cripple Creek and The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down. In 2009 the album was preserved into the National Recording Registry because the album was ‘culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and reflects life in the United States.’ 1979, Gary Numan had his second and final No.1 single with 'Cars'. Also on this day Gary Numan went to No.1 on the album chart with 'The Pleasure Principle.' 1990, Nirvana played their biggest gig to date when they appeared at the Motor Sports International Garage in Seattle. Drummer Dave Grohl, who would audition for the band in a few days, was in the audience of 15,000 people. 2004, Cat Stevens, who now went by the name of Yusuf Islam, was escorted from a diverted transatlantic flight and refused entry into America by FBI agents. His name showed up on a US watch list after United Airlines Flight 919 had taken off from London. The flight landed in Maine where Islam, who was traveling with his 21-year-old daughter, was detained and questioned. 2005, Jimmy Page was made an honorary citizen of Brazilian city Rio de Janeiro for his work helping its street children. The Led Zeppelin guitarist had opened Casa Jimmy (Jimmy's House) in 1998 which had so far supported more than 300 children. 1951, Born on this day (Friday), David Coverdale, English rock singer with Whitesnake who scored the 1987 US No.1 & UK No.9 single 'Here I Go Again'). Coverdale was the lead singer of Deep Purple from late 1973 to 15 March 1976. 1960, Hank Ballard and The Midnighters had the honour of being the first group to have three songs in the US Top 100 at the same time. ‘Finger Poppin’ Time,’ ‘Let’s Go Let’s Go Let’s Go’ and ‘The Twist’ all made the Top 30. Ballard refused to perform ‘The Twist’ on a highly rated US TV show, so Chubby Checker picked it up at the insistence of Dick Clark, and Checker’s version of the song was number 1 this week in 1960. 1964, Oxfam printed half a million Christmas cards in the UK of a drawing by John Lennon called the Fat Budgie, which was taken from his book A Spaniard in the Works. All profits from the cards went to help raise money for charity. Oxfam re-printed the cards in 2007 as a limited edition card which again sold thousands. 1969, Creedence Clearwater Revival scored their only UK No.1 single with 'Bad Moon Rising' a US No.2 hit. Also on this day the group started a four-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Green River.' 1970, The first UK Glastonbury Festival took place featuring Marc Bolan, Ian Anderson, Keith Christmas, Quintessence, Amazing Blondel and Sam Apple Pie. 1973, Country rock singer, songwriter 26-year-old *Gram Parsons* formerly of The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, died under mysterious conditions in Joshua Tree, California. His death was attributed to heart failure but later was officially announced as a drug overdose. His coffin was stolen by two of his associates, manager Phil Kaufman and Michael Martin, a former roadie for The Byrds, and was taken to Cap Rock in the California desert, where it was set alight, in accordance with Parson's wishes. The two were later arrested by police. 1979, The No Nukes concert was held at New York's Madison Square Garden. Performers included Stephen Stills, David Crosby, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, The Doobie Brothers, Poco, Tom Petty, Carly Simon, James Taylor and Bruce Springsteen. 2005, Research published by Guinness World Records showed that Status Quo have had more hit singles than any other band in UK chart history. The band had scored 61 chart successes, dating from ‘Pictures of Matchstick Men’ in 1968 to ‘You'll Come Around’ in 2004. Queen came second with 52 hits, with The Rolling Stones and UB40 with 51 hits each. 2008, American drummer Earl Palmer died. Worked with The Beach Boys, Little Richard (‘Tutti Frutti’), Frank Sinatra, Ike And Tina Turner (‘River Deep, Mountain High’), The Monkees, Fats Domino (‘I'm Walkin’), Neil Young, Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, The Righteous Brothers (‘You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin’), and Randy Newman, Tom Waits, Bonnie Raitt, Tim Buckley, Little Feat and Elvis Costello. 1941, Born on this day, Lee Dorman, Iron Butterfly (1968 US No.14 single 'In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida'). Dorman was found dead aged 70 in a vehicle in Orange County on 21st Dec 2012. 1970, Jimi Hendrix was pronounced dead on arrival at St. Mary Abbot's Hospital in London at the age of 27 after choking on his own vomit. Hendrix left the message 'I need help bad man', on his managers answer phone earlier that night. Rumors and conspiracy theories grew up around Hendrix’s death. Eric Burdon claimed Jimi had committed suicide, but that’s contradicted by reports that he was in a good frame of mind. In 2009, a former Animals roadie published a book claiming that Jimi’s manager had admitted to him that he arranged the murder of Hendrix, since the guitarist wanted out of his contract. 1981, Gary Numan took off on a round the world trip in a single engine Cessna plane. The attempt ended after he was forced to land in India, where local police arrested him. 1983, KISS appeared without their make-up for the first time during an interview on MTV promoting the release of their newest album, Lick It Up. 2009, Leonard Cohen collapsed on stage during a concert in Valencia in Spain and was taken to hospital. He was later discharged after doctors told him he had food poisoning. Cohen was in the middle of singing his song Bird On The Wire when he fainted, prompting the band to stop playing and rush to help him. Week commencing September 11 . . . 1966, Member of Parliament Tom Drilberg asked Britain's House of Commons to officially "deplore" the action of a magistrate who'd earlier called The Rolling Stones "complete morons...who wear filthy clothes." 1967, Jimi Hendrix's debut LP, Are You Experienced? entered the Billboard Hot 200 album chart, where it stayed for 106 weeks, including 77 weeks in the Top 40. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it No.15 on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and two years later it was selected for permanent preservation in the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress in the United States. 1972, *Wishbone Ash, Family, Steppenwolf, John Kay Band, Slade, Uriah Heep, Roy Wood and Wizzard, Wild Angels,* Glencoe, Sunshine and Cold Comfort Farm all appeared at this years Buxton Festival in Derbyshire. 1977, 29-year-old former T Rex singer Marc Bolan was killed instantly when the car driven by his girlfriend, Gloria Jones, left the road and hit a tree in Barnes, London. Miss Jones broke her jaw in the accident. The couple were on the way to Bolan's home in Richmond after a night out at a Mayfair restaurant. A local man who witnessed the crash said, 'When I arrived a girl was lying on the bonnet and a man with long dark curly hair was stretched out in the road - there was a hell of a mess.' 1948, Born on this day (Saturday), Kenny Jones, drummer, The Small Faces (1967 No.3 single 'Itchycoo Park' & 1968 No.1 album 'Ogden's Nut Gone Flake'). The Faces (1972 UK No.6 single 'Stay With Me'). The Who (after Keith Moon, 1981 No.9 single 'You Better You Bet'). 1966, The Small Faces were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'All Or Nothing', their only No.1 hit. According to Kay Marriott, Steve Marriott's mother, Steve wrote the song about his split with ex-fiancee Sue Oliver, though first wife Jenny Rylance states that Marriott told her he wrote the song for her as a result of her split with Rod Stewart. 1975, Pink Floyd released their ninth studio album Wish You Were Here in the UK. The album, which explores themes of absence, the music business, and former band-mate Syd Barrett's mental decline, peaked at No.1 on both sides of the Atlantic and went on to spend a total of 84 weeks on the chart. 1979, Led Zeppelin scored their sixth US No.1 album when In Through The Out Door started a seven-week run at the top of the charts. The eighth studio album by Zeppelin was their final album of entirely new material. 2004, Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone (John Cummings) died in Los Angeles after a five-year battle with prostate cancer. Founding member of The Ramones, who were a major influence on many punk and 90s bands, they scored the 1977 hit single 'Sheena Is A Punk Rocker'. 2008, Pink Floyd keyboard player and founder member Richard Wright died aged 65 from cancer. Wright appeared on the group's first album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, in 1967 alongside Syd Barrett,** Roger Waters and Nick Mason. David Gilmour who joined the band at the start of 1968 said: "He was such a lovely, gentle, genuine man and will be missed terribly by so many who loved him." In 2005 the full band reunited - for the first time in 24 years - for the Live 8 concert in London's Hyde Park. Wright had also contributed vocals and keyboards to Gilmour's 2006 solo album On An Island. 1960, A campaign was started in the UK to ban the American hit 'Tell Laura I Love Her' by Ray Peterson. The song was being denounced in the press as likely to inspire a teen-age "glorious death cult." The story told of a lovesick youngster who drives in a stock car race to win the hand of his sweetheart. He crashes and just before dying, groans out the words of the title. 1963, Graham Nash fell out of The Hollies van after a gig in Scotland. Nash checked to see if the door was locked, it wasn't and he fell out as it travelled at 40mph. 1964, During a UK tour two dozen rugby players were hired as 'a human crash barrier' at a Rolling Stones gig at the Liverpool Empire. The 'human chain' disappeared under a wave of 5,000 fans as the Stones took to the stage. 1965, The Paul McCartney song 'Yesterday' was released as a Beatles single in the US. McCartney's vocal and acoustic guitar together with a string quartet essentially made for the first solo performance of the band. The final recording was so different from other works by The Beatles that the band members vetoed the release of the song as a single in the United Kingdom. (However, it was issued as a single there in 1976.) 1967, The Beatles formed an electronics company called Fiftyshapes, Ltd. appointing John Alexis Mardas (Magic Alex) to be the company's director. Alex claimed he could build a 72-track tape machine, instead of the 4-track at Abbey Road (this never materialised). One of his more outrageous plans was to replace the acoustic baffles around Ringo Starr's drums with an invisible sonic force field. George Harrison later said that employing Mardas was "the biggest disaster of all time." 1969, The first day of the 3 day Rugby Bag Blues Festival in Warwickshire, with Pink Floyd, The Nice, Taste, Free, Third Ear Band, Ralph McTell, Roy Harper, King Crimson, The Strawbs, Edgar Broughton, Spirit of John Morgan and John Martyn, tickets from 12/6. 1986, The Communards were at No.1 on the UK with the singles chart with 'Don't Leave Me This Way', which had been a hit for Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes in 1975 and later a hit for Thelma Houston. 2005, The Sex Pistols were among new names added to a celebrity Walk of Fame in Covent Garden London. Other musical celebrities to immortalised on the Avenue of the Stars include Bob Geldof, Tom Jones, Gracie Fields and Bob Hope. 2015, Gary Richrath, lead guitarist and songwriter for REO Speedwagon died at the age of 65. Richrath recorded 12 albums with the band before leaving in 1989 and released his own solo album in 1992. 1962, After George Martin insisted that session drummer Andy White took Ringo Starr's place, The Beatles returned to EMI Studios in London for a third attempt at recording their first single. 'Love Me Do' was selected to be The Beatles' first A-side, with "P.S. I Love You" on the flip side (a reversal of the original plan). The single that was released on October 5th featured a version of ‘Love Me Do’ with Ringo on drums, but the album ‘Please Please Me’ included a version with Andy White on drums. 1970, NME’s Keith Allston interviewed Jimi Hendrix in England. The interview turned out to be Hendrix's last; he died a mere seven days later. During the interview, Hendrix talked about a new musical phase, with planned collaborations with Miles Davis and Paul McCartney. 1987, Founder member of The Wailers, Peter Tosh, was shot dead at his home in Kingston, Jamaica, by armed robbers. 1988, Michael Jackson appeared at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, on his Bad World Tour. Over 3,000 fans were treated by the St. John Ambulance service for passing out, hysteria and being crushed amongst the crowd of 125,000 fans, the largest concert of the 123-date world tour. Week commencing September 4 . . . 1962, The BBC banned Bobby 'Boris' Pickett and the Crypt Kickers single 'Monster Mash' saying it was offensive. The single went on to be a No.3 hit in 1973. 1964, The Kinks third single 'You Really Got Me', was at No.1 on the singles chart. Future Led Zeppelin founder and guitarist Jimmy Page played tambourine on the track. 1964, Rod Stewart recorded his first single, a version of Willie Dixon's 'Good Morning Little School Girl.' Future Led Zeppelin bass player John Paul Jones played on the session. 1965, The Byrds begin recording ‘Turn! Turn! Turn!’. Unlike their first hit, ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’, members of the group itself were permitted to play instead of session musicians. 1974, The New York Dolls spit up. The influential American band formed in 1972 and made just two albums, the 1973 'New York Dolls' and 1974 'Too Much Too Soon'. 2005, The 1967 Beatles track 'A Day In The Life' from Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was voted the best British song of all time by music experts. The survey by Q magazine called the track "the ultimate sonic rendition of what it means to be British". The Kinks' song 'Waterloo Sunset' came second in the poll and 'Wonderwall' by Oasis was voted in third place. 1965, US newspaper The Hollywood reporter ran the following advertisement; 'Madness folk & roll musicians, singers wanted for acting roles in new TV show. Parts for 4 insane boys'. The Monkees were born. 437 people applied for the job. 1972, Slade were at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Mama Weer All Crazee Now', the group's third No.1. Taken from their album 'Slayed?' 1977, David Bowie appeared on Marc Bolan's ITV show, Marc, singing ‘Heroes’ as well as a duet with Bolan, ‘Standing Next To You’, which was prematurely terminated when Bolan fell from the stage, much to Bowie’s amusement. After the show the pair recorded demos together which were never finished because Bolan was killed in a car crash a week later. 2005, Liverpool City Council confirmed it was to demolish Ringo Starr's birthplace because it had "no historical significance." The house in Dingle was one of 460 properties to be demolished for a regeneration project. The council said Madryn Street had no significance because Ringo had spent only three months of his life there. 1957, Reet Petite' by Jackie Wilson was released for the first time, it became a No.1 29 years later. During a 1975 benefit concert, Wilson collapsed on-stage from a heart attack and subsequently fell into a coma that persisted for nearly nine years until his death in 1984. 1977, Guitarist Jimmy McCulloch left Wings to help re-form the Small Faces. McCulloch had played with Paul McCartney band on the Venus and Mars and Wings At the Speed of Sound albums, as well as on the Wings Over America tour. He died two years later at the age of 26. Drummer Joe English also left Wings at this time, joining Sea Level. 1979, Led Zeppelin scored their eighth UK No.1 album when 'In Through The Out Door' went to the top of the charts for two weeks. The eighth studio album by Zeppelin, was their final album of entirely new material. 2003, David Bowie performed the first interactive concert when his performance was beamed live into 21 cinemas from Warsaw to Edinburgh. Members of the audience talked to Bowie via microphones linked to ISDN lines and took requests for songs from fans. 2004, Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant was guest of honour at the unveiling of a statue of 15th century rebel leader Owain Glyndwr at Pennal church, near Machynlleth in Wales. Plant, who owns a farmhouse in the area had donated money towards a bronze sculpture of the Welsh prince. 2007, A commemorative plaque dedicated to Don Arden and the Small Faces was unveiled at 52–55 Carnaby Street, London, Arden's former offices. Arden achieved notoriety in Britain for his aggressive, sometimes illegal business tactics and looked after the careers of Small Faces, the Move, the Electric Light Orchestra and Black Sabbath. He was the father of Sharon Osbourne (and father-in-law of Ozzy Osbourne). 1970, Jimi Hendrix made his final live appearance when he appeared at the Isle Of Fehmarn in Germany. The guitarist died 12 days later on 18th Sept 1970 after choking on his own vomit. 1990, Tom Fogerty, rhythm guitarist with Creedence Clearwater Revival, died aged 49 due to complications from AIDS acquired during a blood transfusion. During 1969 CCR scored three US Top Ten albums and four Top 5 singles and after leaving CCR in 1971 Fogerty released several solo albums. 1994, English keyboard player Nicky Hopkins died aged 50, in Nashville, Tennessee, of complications from intestinal surgery. Was a highly respected session musician, worked with The Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck, The Beatles, The Who, The Kinks, Small Faces, Led Zeppelin, John Lennon, George Harrison, and the Jerry Garcia Band. The Kinks song 'Session Man' from Face to Face is dedicated to (and features) Hopkins. 1943, Born on this day (Wednesday), Roger Waters: singer, songwriter, bassist and co-founder of Pink Floyd. Following the departure of bandmate Syd Barrett in 1968, over time Waters became the band's principal lyricist. Waters left Pink Floyd in 1985 and released a aeries of successful solo albums. He has also authored an opera, Ca Ira. The most active of all the Floyd members, he has toured extensively as a solo act since 1999, playing The Dark Side Of The Moon in its entirety as well as the current and hugely successful The Wall tour. 1987, Ian Astbury of The Cult was arrested after a show in Vancouver ended in a riot. Staff at the concert claimed they were assaulted by Astbury, who spent the night in the local police cells. 1990, Ian Dury And The Blockheads drummer Charley Charles died of cancer. Scored the 1978 UK No.1 single 'Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick'. 2016, An asteroid was named after *Freddie Mercury* to mark what would have been the singer's 70th birthday. The Queen frontman has had his name attached to Asteroid 17473, which was discovered in 1991 - the year he died. Queen guitarist Brian May told a gathering of 1,250 fans at Montreux Casino in Switzerland that the asteroid would now be known as Asteroid 17473 Freddiemercury. Week commencing August 28 . . . 1965, The Who had their van stolen containing over £5000 worth of equipment outside the Battersea Dogs Home. The band were inside the home at the time buying a guard dog. The van was later recovered. 1968, The Bee Gees had their second No.1 single with 'I've Gotta Get A Message To You'. The song is about a man who, awaiting his execution in the electric chair, begs the prison chaplain to pass a final message on to his wife. 2008, The first guitar torched on stage by Jimi Hendrix sold for £280,000 at an auction of rock memorabilia. The Fender Stratocaster was burned at the end of a show at the Astoria in Finsbury Park, north London, in 1967. The sale held in London also included The Beatles first management contract, signed in 1962 by all four members of the group and manager Brian Epstein, sold for £240,000. 2015, Rolling Stones' guitarist Keith Richards told The New York Daily News that Rap music was for "tone deaf people." He went on to say "All they need is a drum beat and somebody yelling over it and they're happy. There's an enormous market for people who can't tell one note from another." 1972, The Erie Canal Soda Pop Festival was held over three days on Bull Island, near Griffin, Indiana. The Promoters expected over 50,000 music fans, and over 200,000 attended the festival. Many bands pulled out as the festival drifted steadily into anarchy. Bands that did appear included Flash Cadillac & the Continental Kids, Black Oak Arkansas, Cheech and Chong, Foghat, Albert King, Brownsville Station, Canned heat, Flash, Ravi Shankar, Rory Gallagher, Lee Michaels and Frosty, The Eagles, The Amboy Dukes, and Gentle Giant. Three concert goers drowned in the Wabash River and as the festival ended, the remnants of the crowd burned down the music stand. 2012, Mark Abrahamian, lead guitarist with Starship died of a heart attack aged 46. He collapsed following a concert in the US state of Nebraska where Starship had opened for fellow bands Survivor and Boston. 1963, The Ronettes first entered the US singles chart with 'Be My Baby' the girl group's only top 10 hit. Lead singer Veronica Bennett who became Ronnie Spector, took producer and ex-husband Phil Spector to court in the late 1990s for unpaid royalties. 1968, The Move, The Pretty Things, The Crazy World Of Aurthur Brown, Orange Bicycle, Jefferson Airplane, Fairport Convention and Tyrannosaurus Rex all appeared at the first Isle Of Wight Festival held over two days. Tickets, 25 shillings. 1968, Decca Records released what has been called The Rolling Stones most political song, 'Street Fighting Man', written after Mick Jagger attended a March 1968 anti-war rally at London's US embassy, during which mounted police attempted to control a crowd of 25,000. The single was kept out of the US Top 40 (reaching No.48) because many radio stations refused to play it based on what were perceived as subversive lyrics. 1971, The Rolling Stones plus the father of Brian Jones filed a high court writ against ex managers Oldham and Easton, claiming they made a secret deal with Decca Records in 1963 to deprive the group of royalties. 1974, Traffic made their last live performance at the annual Reading Festival. Other acts appearing included; Alex Harvey, 10cc, Focus, Steve Harley and Procol Harum. £5.50 for a weekend ticket. 1976, George Harrison was found guilty of 'subconscious plagiarism' of the Ronnie Mack song 'He's So Fine' when writing 'My Sweet Lord'. Earnings from the song were awarded to Mack's estate; The Chiffons then recorded their own version of 'My Sweet Lord'. 2004, Carl Wayne the singer with The Move died from cancer. They had the 1969 No.1 single 'Blackberry Way.' Wayne also worked with The Hollies. 2006, The Times ran a story on the demands of rock stars when on tour. Ozzy Osbourne insists on an eye, ear, nose and throat doctor at each venue. The Beach Boys require a licensed masseur, Meat Loaf a mask and one small tank of oxygen. David Bowie requests that the dressing room temperature is between 14c and 18c and Paul McCartney must have a large arrangement of white Casablanca lilies in his dressing room. Mick Jagger must have an onstage autocue with the lyrics to all the songs, it would also tell him the name of the city in which they were performing. 1948, Born on this day (Thursday) in 1948 was German guitarist Rudolf Schenker from Scorpions, who he formed in 1965 when he was 17 years old. Their 1990 power ballad Wind Of Change topped the European charts and was a No.4 hit in the US. The Scorpions hold the record for the best-selling single by a German artist and band. 1965, The Beach Boys 'California Girls' was at No.3 on the US singles chart, the single peaked at No.26 in the UK. The music for the song came from Brian Wilson's first LSD experience. 1966, Nearing the end of their final tour of America, The Beatles performed one show at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California, before a crowd of 45,000. The Beatles' attempt to escape from the stadium in an armored truck is thwarted when the main gate was found to be locked, and they had to spend two hours in the back of the truck before they could leave the stadium. 1981, Producer Guy Stevens died at the age of 38 years old, having overdosed on prescription drugs he was taking to reduce his alcohol dependency. He worked with Mott The Hoople, Free and The Clash. He was the president of the Chuck Berry Appreciation Society and it was Stevens who brought Berry to the UK for his first tour. He gave Procol Harum and Mott the Hoople their distinctive names. Week commencing August 21 . . . 1967, British music entrepreneur and the manager of The Beatles, Brian Epstein was found dead, locked in a bedroom at his London home. A coroner's inquest concluded that Epstein died from an overdose of the sleeping pill Carbitrol. He also managed several other artists including Gerry & The Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Cilla Black and The Remo Four. The first contract between The Beatles and Epstein was auctioned in London in 2008, and was sold for £240,000. 1990, *Stevie Ray Vaughan* was killed when the helicopter he was flying in, hit a man-made ski slope while trying to navigate through dense fog. Vaughan had played a show at Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, Wisconsin with Robert Cray & His Memphis Horns, and Eric Clapton. Vaughan was informed by a member of Clapton's crew that three seats were open on a helicopter returning to Chicago with Clapton's crew, it turned out there was only one seat left; Vaughan requested it from his brother, who obliged. Three members of Eric Clapton's entourage were also killed. 1999, The Charlatans, Blur, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Offspring, Catatonia, Reef, The Chemical Brothers, The Divine Comedy, Pavement, Silverchair, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion all appeared at The Carling Reading three day festival, tickets £78. 2004, Green Day, The Darkness, The White Stripes, Morrissey, The Libertines, Franz Ferdinand, The Hives, 50 Cent (50 Cent was booed off stage after being greeted by a rain of bottles thrown at him and his G-Unit crew as they came onstage), The Streets, The Vines, Soulwax, Dogs Die In Hot Cars, The Offspring, Ash, Placebo and Lostprophets all appeared at this years UK Carling Weekend in Reading and Leeds. 1956, Born on this day (Sunday), Glen Matlock, bass, The Rich Kids (1978 UK No.24 single 'Rich Kids'), and early member of the Sex Pistols and the reformed Sex Pistols. 1967, Bobbie Gentry started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Ode To Billy Joe', a No.13 hit in the UK. The song generated eight Grammy nominations, resulting in three wins for Gentry and one win for arranger Jimmie Haskell. 1979, The Knack started a five week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'My Sharona', the group's only US chart topper, a No.6 hit in the UK. Lead singer Doug Fieger said he was inspired to write the tune by Sharrona Alperin, a 17 year old senior at Los Angeles Fairfax High, who later became his girlfriend. Fieger and Alperin eventually got married to other people, but they remained friends. After battling cancer for several years, Fieger died at his home in the Los Angeles on February 14, 2010. He was 57 years old. 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". 2014, Led Zeppelin's 'Whole Lotta Love' was voted the greatest guitar riff of all time by listeners of BBC Radio 2 in the UK. The rock classic came out top from a list of 100 riffs drawn up by a panel of Radio 2 and 6 Music DJs, critics and record producers. 'Sweet Child O' Mine' by Guns 'N' Roses was second in the poll, with Back In Black (AC/DC) and 'Smoke On The Water' (Deep Purple) the next most popular. 1967, 17-year old singer and guitarist Bruce Springsteen joined a group called Earth. 1968, The Incredible String Band, Traffic, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah 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, Wales, (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. 1983, The fifth wife of Jerry Lee Lewis, Shawn Michelle Stevens was found dead at their Mississippi home of a methadone overdose. They had been married less than three months. Jerry Lee would marry again in 1984 to 22 year-old Kerrie McCarver, but divorce in 2004. 1981, Mark Chapman was given a 20 year jail sentence for the murder of John Lennon. The 25 year old had shot Lennon five times at close range on December 8th, 1980 in front of The Dakota apartment building in New York City. Over the next few months, Chapman would claim many times to have been beaten by fellow inmates, some of whom allegedly tried to kill him. 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. 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. 1969, The Beatles met at John Lennon's Tittenhurst Park home for their final ever photo session. Three shots from this session (by Ethan Russell) formed the front and back covers of the Capitol compilation album Hey Jude. Yoko Ono and a pregnant Linda McCartney (she was to give birth to daughter Mary six days later) appeared in some photographs with The Beatles. 1970, Creedence Clearwater Revival started a nine-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with their fifth studio album Cosmo's Factory. The name of the album comes from the warehouse in Berkeley where the band rehearsed. Bandleader John Fogerty was so insistent on practicing (nearly every day) that drummer Doug "Cosmo" Clifford began referring to the place as "the factory". 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, Blondie, Joan Jett, The Slits and Captain Sensible. 1979, In Through the Out Door was released in the US, Led Zeppelin's last album while all four members were alive. 'Fool in the Rain' was released as a single in the US. The album has now been certified 6 times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for US sales in excess of 6 million copies. 2004, Al Dvorin, the announcer who popularised the phrase "Elvis has left the building" died in a car crash on his way home from an Elvis Presley convention in California. Dvorin, aged 81, was in a car driven by Elvis photographer Ed Bonja. Dvorin was never paid for recordings of his words and was bitter towards the multimillion pound Elvis Presley Enterprises. In the early 1970s Colonel Parker asked Dvorin to inform fans at a gig that Presley would not be appearing for an encore. He took the stage and announced: "Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building. Thank you and goodnight." 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." 1945, Born on this day (Tuesday), Ron Dante, singer, songwriter, The Archies, (1969 US & UK No.1 single 'Sugar Sugar') and The Cufflinks (1969 UK No.4 single 'Tracy'). 1920, Born on this day (Tuesday), John Lee Hooker, Blues singer, guitarist (1951 US million selling album 'I'm In The Mood', 1964 UK No.23 single 'Dimples', 1989 album 'The Healer'). Hooker died on 21st June 2001. 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. 1976, The Rolling Stones, 10CC, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Todd Rundgren's Utopia and Hot Tuna all appeared at The Knebworth Festival, Hertfordshire, tickets £4.50. 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. 2006, A man surfing the Internet in America foiled three men who broke into a 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. 2013, Legendary concert promoter Sid Bernstein, best known for booking The Beatles at Carnegie Hall and later Shea Stadium, died at the age of 95. Bernstein changed the American music scene in the 1960s by bringing The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Herman's Hermits, The Moody Blues, and The Kinks to America. He was the first impresario to organise rock concerts at sports stadiums. 1951, Born on this day (Monday), English bassist and singer Glenn Hughes, who was a member of Trapeze and who has also worked with Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Gary Moore. He is also a member of Black Country Communion. 1952, Born on this day (Monday), Joe Strummer, singer, songwriter, guitarist, The Clash (1979 UK No. 11 single 'London Calling', 1982 US No. 8 single 'Rock The Casbah, 1991 UK No.1 single 'Should I Stay Or Should I Go', first released 1982 plus 15 other UK top 40 singles). Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros. He died on 22nd December 2002. Week commencing August 14 . . . 1966, Paul Jones left Manfred Mann just as ‘Pretty Flamingo’ was climbing the US charts. He was replaced by singer Mike D’Abo, who would take over lead vocals on the bands next hit, ‘The Mighty Quinn,’ a song written by Bob Dylan. 1969, Mick Jagger was accidentally shot in the hand during filming of Ned Kelly in Australia. The film was dogged by problems: Jagger's girlfriend of the time, Marianne Faithfull, had gone to Australia to play the lead female role (Ned's sister, Maggie), but the Jagger-Faithfull relationship was breaking up and she took an overdose of sleeping tablets soon after arrival in Sydney, resulting in being hospitalised in a coma, and pulling out of the film. 1977, The Police made their live debut as a three-piece band when they played at Rebecca's in Birmingham. The Police became globally popular in the late 1970s and are generally regarded as one of the first New Wave groups to achieve mainstream success, playing a style of rock that was influenced by punk, reggae and jazz. 1982, The City of Liverpool named four Streets after the fab four: John Lennon Drive, Paul McCartney Way, George Harrison Close and Ringo Starr Drive. 1991, Rick Griffin died after being forced off the road by a van he was attempting to pass on his Harley Heritage Softail motorbike. One of his best known album covers was for the Grateful Dead's 'Aoxomoa' LP, and the legendary "Flying Eyeball" poster he designed for a series of concerts in San Francisco featuring the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Albert King and John Mayall. 1956, Born on this day (Friday) Tony Garnier American bassist, best known as an accompanist to Bob Dylan, with whom he has played since 1989. He is Dylan's longest-running sideman and was also a long-time sideman for David Johansen in his Buster Poindexter persona, and was also briefly a member of the Saturday Night Live house band. 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, Ashbury Park. Springsteen was also unable to attend Woodstock due to these gigs. 1970, The final day of the three day UK Yorkshire Folk, Blues & Jazz Festival at Krumlin, Yorkshire took place featuring The Kinks, Mungo Jerry, Yes, Ginger Bakers Air Force and Edgar Winter. Weekend tickets, £3. 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. 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.

HUNDREDS TURNED AWAY
FROM FLUX CAPACITOR GIG
ON OCTOBER 13

A lot of eyes were on the Hells Bells gig at East Bedlington Community Centre last weekend and, by all accounts, the night was a resounding success. For those who are not aware, the East Bedlington Community Centre (EBCC) is non-profit making so all monies taken go to keep the Centre alive and help arrange bands for the future. The next big event is 80s party night with Flux Capacitor - It's on Friday 13th October, doors are

7pm and it's £5 a ticket. Again, tickets are available either directly from the Centre (absolutely no booking fee), or at wegottickets.com (which will include a 50p booking fee). There is optional fancy dress, with prizes being given away for best dressed on the night. Riffs has been sent some pics of the Hells Bells night and it looks like a nice big hall you can get your gear up to 11 in. Even (going by the door behind stage) looks like you have your own dressing room. You may also be thinking the same as us - shame about the non-black background! Well, Sarah

from the Centre has been thinking the same thing and if the punters turn up in their droves, and drink lots (drink aware now!), the Centre may just be able to afford a massive black backdrop. And no, a tin of black paint will not suffice, as the venue hosts lots of other events. Just as an aside, Flux Capacitor has a rather envious pedigree; Riffs readers with good memories may remember those wild, wacky lads, the KooKooNauts who made a name for themselves around the North-East a few years ago, and rose to gracing the stage at Stormin' the Castle. Although 'only' the opening act, they stole the show to rapturous applause. So no pressure Flux lads, but all eyes, especially Riffs, are on YOU. (Oh - and we expect some good pics - yeah?)

LET'S KICK SOME SHIT!

The Shitkickers Ball4 is all set and rarin' to go: at The Cluny1 in Newcastle on Sunday 17th September 2017 from 2pm till 8pm. Four of the finest bands in the NE have assembled for what's going to be a brilliant full afternoon's musical entertainment at this excellent venue.
HED will be opening with their own special groove of Blues Rock that puts a new slant on well loved titles.

Pistoleros to follow will blow you away with their polished virtuoso covers of rock and pop songs that you rarely hear performed today.

STAN still continue to excite every audience they perform for with their self penned power pop anthems and heart wrenching ballads.

Groovetrain are the premier Soul and R'n'B outfit of the area who'll knock you out with their imaginative arrangements of classic numbers.
The tickets are available now for £5 from The Cluny1 or contact me by email and we can sort out PayPal, posting and any other queries you may have. Contact me at :- bentonblues@inthecrowd.co.uk (be aware other sites charge a booking fee). The Cluny1 is way down East on the Ouseburn Delta at Newcastle's historic Quayside. You can get there on foot from Byker Metro (15 mins) or catch one of the Quaylink buses straight from the many stops in the Toon. It has a fine selection of real ales and does an excellent Sunday dinner as well as other food.
Hope to see you at what promises to be a monster afternoon with all the monies collected being donated to St. Oswalds Hospice Gosforth. There will be NO raffle and NO auction so best save all your change for the buckets that will be going round in the hands of big gadgies (and gadgettes) throughout the event.
This will be the last music event I organise as I'm too owld for this game now so please can you tell all your mates, a FaceBook page has been set up as well :-
https://www.facebook.com/events/343605216068726/
Graham
Well, Riffs has said it before and there's no chance of an apology for saying it again: getting the lads together, humping all the gear to the gig, setting it all up, soundchecking, not to mention having to do it with people (and other bands) milling about, and then after the gig (when you are tired, hungry and just thinking of your nice, warm bed) stripping down the gear, humping back on to whatever transport you are lucky enough to have, getting home and checking your pocket to find you have - oh yeah, f**k all!! But the satisfaction of doing all that to benefit people a lot worse off than yourself outweighs the hassle you have just been through, so can we - please - have a big, no make that a f**kin massive shout for these lads:
HED, PISTOLEROS, STAN, GROOVETRAIN
(and let's not forget the guy who has put the whole lot together - Graham - who is making this his last gig due to poor health. Graham - we salute you.)

AND YET ANOTHER BLUES
COUP FOR HARTLEPOOL

'Got a couple of interesting gigs coming up Nige, can you do me a couple of ads. Cheers, Tommy.'
That was our introduction to Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado.
Blues, as regular Riffs readers will know, is not quite up our street, but after listening to Denmark's Risager, if we were to walk up this street, it's his gaff we would be heading for. To say we were impressed is quite an understatement but, let's cut to the chase, it's not what WE think, it's what YOU think. So check em out first. Youtube and biography links below.
Early in 2015, Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado had their latest album voted as one the year’s best by Britain’s influential The Blues magazine, right alongside international stars such as Robert Cray, Walter Trout and Joe Bonamassa. Clearly, Risager and his mates had taken their exhilarating mix of blues, soul and rock‘n’roll to the next level. Thorbjorn and band duly celebrated by returning to one of their favorite nightspots – the Harmonie in Bonn, Germany. They would treat local fans to a one-of-a-kind spectacle, hitting the stage as a ten-piece mini-orchestra. After Thomas Ruf of Ruf Records introduces this deluxe edition of the band – including a three-man horn section and backing vocalists Ida Bang und Lisa Lystam – the colossal sound of Risager’s semi-hollow body spearheads the all-out attack of opening number “If You Wanna Leave.” He and his Black Tornado are off to the races…
The band is appearing at Edinburgh Blues Club and Carlisle Blues Festival - so if you miss the Hartlepool gig, our bet is you missed out - period.
'This guy is a singer’s singer, but maybe born too late, because if he had been around in the ’50s and ’60s and lived in the USA, he would surely be a legend by now.' (Simon Redley in the legendary British magazine Blues And Soul)
'This is the sort of band that gets booked by unwary festival promoters as an early evening support only to discover they’ve stolen the show by 8pm. If you haven’t seen them yet, do.'
Friday September 29 - Thorbjorn Risager & The Black Tornado.
Hartlepool Supporters Club ts268ps......£15/17......07535979658.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7etBw_ikKp4
http://risager.info/biography/
Well, we don't know Tommy's secret in managing to attract such top class, remarkable and unparalleled acts - but let's be thankful he can.

And let's not forget Ruf Records Blues Caravan on Saturday September 16.
Same details. Again, check them out on Youtube.

AND MARTIN MAKES IT FOUR

The Flying Vs are pleased to announce that from this weekend Martin Bage will be joining the band on guitar and will be back to a four piece. Jeff told Riffs: 'Martin is a great player and we look forward to reviving some old favourites and adding new songs into our repertoire.'

THE DEPUTIES RAISE THE ROOF

The Seghill Community Centre "Raise The Roof" appeal, to save the Centre from closing, is having a charity night JULY 1. The roof is in a bad state of repair and The Deputies have kindly given their time to play at The Blake Arms in Seghill, Cramlington on Saturday 1st July at 9pm.

Tickets are £3 and are on sale at The Blake Arms and Seghill Community Centre or, alternatively, can be bought on entry on Saturday night.

BOOKING FEE? FUCK RIGHT OFF!!

As you may - or even may not - know, the idea of charging a 'booking fee' when you pick up a ticket is one of those things that really gets on Riffs proverbial tits. Can you imagine a supermarket putting a booking fee on a carton of milk? 'Yeah, it may be a quid on the label mate, but we have to charge a booking fee to cover our costs, so that will now be £2.50'. I can see that going down a storm. As most of the gigs on our Listings page are local and executed by fair-minded people - venues and bands - we don't come up against this very often. Thankfully!
But 'hey hey hey - another sloppy piece of mud' [and if you can tell us which live 80s gig that came from you get free boxed ads for 3 months] Guess what's just dropped into Riffs inbox for us to publicise? An upcoming gig at an Ashington venue near the end of this month. And it is not only ticket but pay on the door. 'So what,' you may say, 'nowt wrong with that'. Certainly isn't, and isn't that just how it should be? BUT, the door price also includes the booking fee!!!! Yep, a booking fee included on the pay on the door entry fee. The mind boggles. If the promoter feels justified in holding the punters to ransom then there's not much we can do about that. But we ain't gonna mention the gig, or the artist appearing, or the venue. And that goes for anyone else out to make a fast buck off decent people.
Can you imagine, in the not-too-distant future: 'Hiya, a fiver to pay on the door mate, but then I have to include a £2 booking fee and, oh look at the time, a pre-9 0'clock fee, and look at those awful trainers - so that's a £2 embarassing trainer fee, and that fookin' shirt's a disgrace' . . . .

And don't get us started on venues advertising the gig earlier so as to sell more drinks..........

On 30th June Pearlescence (Pearl Jam tribute) and Rage Against A Machine will be performing a one hour set each at The Cluny to raise money for specialist outdoor equipment for students who attend Sir Charles Parsons School in Walker, Newcastle. The school provides education for students aged 11-19 who have additional needs, moderate learning difficulties and profound and multiple learning difficulties, and the money raised will go towards much needed specialist outdoor sensory equipment and residential trips for the students. Doors open at 7pm with Rage Against A Machine hitting the stage just after 8pm. Entry is £5 on the door, tickets can also be purchased form The Cluny website and collected on the night. Both bands can be found on Facebook and the school has a website if you would like to find out a bit more about them. So in a nutshell, two great tribute bands, one great venue and a great cause. All for £5!!! Hope to see as many there as possible.

JUST WHO ARE THOSE CATS?

A big event featuring a 1950s theme with raffles, dance-offs and prizes for best dressed is all set for Sunday June 25. The gig is in support of Beach Access North East and features Ruby and the Mystery Cats, Ryan Page, and Sarah Holmes. It's just £5 a ticket. Full info here: https://www.facebook.com/events/415643978806543/

The Allman Brothers Band drummer and founding member Butch Trucks died on Tuesday. He was 69. The cause of his death remains unclear.

No doubt many of you are gagging at the bit to know if we solved our computer problems (also many of you are now thinking 'computer problems? Didn't even know about it - and actually don't care, as long my listings are up or I can find out who's on this weekend'). But we console ourselves with the thought that many are wondering how we sorted it . Well, without going into detail, Dave Fulton, who helps out at Houghton Cricket Club, helpfully pointed us in the right direction, listing the possible culprits and ignoring those with alibis. A replacement graphics card was all that was eventually needed and our problems ceased. I am rather long in the tooth and do not expect anyone to rush in to fix things, but sometimes when you hit a brick wall, it's good to have someone to point you in the right direction and to remind you that everything is fixable; you just need to check things in the right order. Dave did just that and his advice was invaluable. Advice is no good to yourself - so give it to others!

MUSICALLY BEREFT!

Just to mention that here at Riffs we are not musical. We do not play an instrument; we cannot analyse a tune; we can't tune a guitar or know what makes a hit song - but what we do know about is publicity. And we love giving it to those deserving. We have mentioned it before but we are doing it again - any band that gives of their time, skills and effort to support a charity is entitled to a massive mensh on this, our News page. Along with some outrageous pictures too. So there, no excuses to not only be selfless and helpful to a deserving cause but also to shout about this cause too (and of course yourself!). So there, musical be we not, but we will surely shout about those who are.......

HOWDON PEEPS DO FRAZER PROUD

Always great to get feedback on gigs, etc and Dave has just let Riffs know that the Funds For Frazer gig at High Howdon Social Club on May 19 managed to raise a very impressive £1,550. Janie, Frazer's mum, we have it on good authority, was totally overcome. A massive thank you to everyone who took part and gave of their time, or money, or support, or all three!

The new album release from SteelyMan is “Blues from Horden Colliery”. A twelve track blues story of growing up in an East Durham mining village that still holds a proud community despite being neglected and forgotten by the powers that be since the mine closed. Not a deep political statement but a few comments on my life as a miner’s son.
Love Horden – Love the Blues...
SteelyMan...
www.steelyman.co.uk
The album can be found on; i-tunes, Spotify, soundcloud etc.

BAD BAD BOYS TO OPEN
TRIPLE HEADER

Just got some info regarding a rather interesting rockin' night with an eclectic hint of dirty blues. Although mentioning rock, and then blues, may lead you into certain incorrect assumptions. This intriguing triple header features the weird and wonderful LaVendore Rogue headlining; consisting of three ex-Hokie Joint members; multiple-British Blues Award nominees and winners: JoJo Burgess on vocals, Joel Fisk on guitar and Stephen “Cupsey” Cutmore on drums, as well as Rob “Tank” Barry on bass and Warren Lynn on keyboards. Ably supported by Kris Barras who, with his band, promise 'foot-stomping riffs and catchy tunes' (nuthin wrong with the ol' foot-stomping riffs). However, the band with whom Riffs was most impressed has the unenviable task of opening the night's proceedings - which probably reflects our take on music in general! With influences which include Nazareth, Gun and Schenker, you can understand why these guys aren't your cliched rockers. Bournemouth-based Western Sand look (and sound) as if they could hold their own at Knebworth (er, I mean in the 80s when it was worth a shit), Kerrang Weekender or Monsters of Rock. After a Youtoob visit I came away with the feeling that if only

somone could drop a megaton of Marshall gear on a pitch-sized stage these guys would clean up. The fact that all these three fascinating bands have been brought together on one stage for one evening is not only refreshing but shows that promoters do not always just think 'kerching' when dishing up bands for out delectation. A big 'whoop' for Tommy Hartlepool here - 'WHOOP' - oh, just me then. Anyway, it's at the Belle Vue Club in Hartlepool, tickets are a realistic £12 (so sod all for the club, let's hope you all drink loads!) and it's on Saturday June 24 - yes, we know it's over two months away, but Tommy's gigs have an enviable habit of selling out surprisingly often (notice the Wishbone Ash gig?). Triple bills like this are few and far between, and Riffs, for one, have our money on The Almighty-sounding Western Sand - don't let us down guys. Since we've been into Rock/Metal we can count on the fingers of one hand how many opening acts have blown the headliners off the stage - but boy, don't it feel good!!

Check this out from Western Sands - here

WALLSEND PEEPS NEEDED
TO SUPPORT LITTLE FRAZER

Just hearing of a very special night being organised by Dave of High Howdon Social Club way up where the wall ends. Singer and multi-instrumentalist Jon Alex is the artist for the night (pic), and Jon and staff of the social club hope to raise some funds for a little Howdon boy - Frazer - who has severe epilepsy and is suffering from multiple fits every day. You may think they are trying to raise a fortune for special treatment abroad; or a respite holiday for his mum whose devotion takes up all her time; or even to bring in paid help to look after little Frazer to ease his pain? No, all his mum is wanting is a special mattress, and an alert watch so she is aware when he is having a fit. Just these two items will help the family so much. It's on Friday May 19 and although you are asked to get a ticket for entry, how much you pay is entirely up to you.

As our readers may know, on 18 March, Classic Clapton headed off to play out in Colombo, Sri Lanka. They have created a photo album on Facebook that documents the trip. Their keyboards player Paul Warren was unable to make the Sri Lanka trip so Derek Miller of well-known band Cirkus stood in.
https://www.facebook.com/pg/classicclapton/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1794705100547041
Here is a review of the gig:-
http://www.ft.lk/article/605681/When-Clapton-came-to-Colombo
Sri Lanka page on the website here:-
http://www.classic-clapton.com/colombo.htm

This years Crookfest will be held bank holiday sunday 30th April featuring 21 cover and tribute bands across three stages for only £15. New to the fest for 2017 will be the Scooter Tent with a mix of Mod 60s 70s rock and Ska plus a blast of Northern Soul with JD and the Woodsmen. The Main Marquee will feature will more classic rock with bands covering groups such as Bon Jovi, Slade, Journey, Meat Loaf, Guns n Roses, Thin Lizzy; while the Hut Bar goes a wee bit deeper in the style of Ozzy, Zeppelin, AC/DC, Pink Floyd, Rory Gallagher and thrown into that mix will be the band Share the Darkness: these guys cover Irish legends The Dubliners, Chieftains and more, and alongside all this there's bars and food outlets. For full details go to www.crookfest.co.uk

The Howard Baker Band are proud to announce their April mini-tour which sees them travelling to Wales and France for four shows. The band has had line up changes since their last outing over the Channel and are now looking forward to heading out again with fresh faces and material. Their upcoming gig list is on the Riffs page and would invite anyone who’s interested to come along and catch a show before they go as they warm up their new rock and pop material, including some songs from Howard’s most recent album ‘The Paris Files’. The band welcome enquiries from venues and reviews from audience members. You can also check upcoming gigs on their website at www.howardbakerband.co.uk and keep up to date through their Facebook page by searching for the Howard Baker Band.

And yet another band hits our live venues (long may this trend continue!) - The Lone Sharks. Again, a mature bunch of guys who have served their time in several local bands such as TT Blue, Old Codger and Nostalgic Fools. They gigged at Steels Club and
the Mallard last weekend but you can get a taste of their fayre here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXRmxotkBYk

Just a had a brief mail from Broken Spoke. We reproduce it here: "
Just to say that Marge has kindly given Broken Spoke a booking for The Bell and Bucket on Sunday 4th June. After losing The Maggie Bank and Wooden Doll in the past year it is great to have somewhere in North Shields for bands to play."

The great Chuck Berry has passed away. A mega influence on the Stones, Beatles, Springsteen and countless others....

COVERS BAND WANTED FOR CHARITY GIG

We are holding a charity show on the 13th May which is a Saturday and are in need of some entertainment - covers band, nothing too heavy, motown would be nice. It is to raise funds to buy a Defibulator for my sons Autistic school, Columbia Grange in Washington. The night will be held in Silksworth Catholic Church and we are willing to pay expenses for the artist. Thank you. Miss S Mcglinchey Tel 07857970000 or siobhan.mcglinchey@hotmail.co.uk

HEARTBREAKER RINGING THE BELL TONIGHT

Just goes to show what a good reputation does: Short notice but Marge has managed to squeeze in new boys Heartbreaker into her Rock gaff (The Bell and Bucket, North Shields) TONIGHT 17th. 'So what' I hear you moan. 'Never 'eard of 'em'. Ya think? These 'new boys' are anything but - look at this for some pedigree: ex Witchkraft, Sheiks, Sticky Fingers, The Paul Rodgers Story. So, apart from some frighteningly competent musicians, expect loads of Free and Bad Co.

This week in . . .
1964, Herman's Hermits were at No.1 on the singles chart with the Carole King & Gerry Goffin song 'I'm Into Something Good', the group's only No.1.

1969, The Band released their self-titled album, which peaked at No.9 on the US chart, and included Rag Mama Rag, Up on Cripple Creek and The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down. In 2009 the album was preserved into the National Recording Registry because the album was ‘culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and reflects life in the United States.’

1979, Gary Numan had his second and final No.1 single with 'Cars'. Also on this day Gary Numan went to No.1 on the album chart with 'The Pleasure Principle.'

1990, Nirvana played their biggest gig to date when they appeared at the Motor Sports International Garage in Seattle. Drummer Dave Grohl, who would audition for the band in a few days, was in the audience of 15,000 people.

2004, Cat Stevens, who now went by the name of Yusuf Islam, was escorted from a diverted transatlantic flight and refused entry into America by FBI agents. His name showed up on a US watch list after United Airlines Flight 919 had taken off from London. The flight landed in Maine where Islam, who was traveling with his 21-year-old daughter, was detained and questioned.

2005, Jimmy Page was made an honorary citizen of Brazilian city Rio de Janeiro for his work helping its street children. The Led Zeppelin guitarist had opened Casa Jimmy (Jimmy's House) in 1998 which had so far supported more than 300 children.

1951, Born on this day (Friday), David Coverdale, English rock singer with Whitesnake who scored the 1987 US No.1 & UK No.9 single 'Here I Go Again'). Coverdale was the lead singer of Deep Purple from late 1973 to 15 March 1976.

1960, Hank Ballard and The Midnighters had the honour of being the first group to have three songs in the US Top 100 at the same time. ‘Finger Poppin’ Time,’ ‘Let’s Go Let’s Go Let’s Go’ and ‘The Twist’ all made the Top 30. Ballard refused to perform ‘The Twist’ on a highly rated US TV show, so Chubby Checker picked it up at the insistence of Dick Clark, and Checker’s version of the song was number 1 this week in 1960.

1964, Oxfam printed half a million Christmas cards in the UK of a drawing by John Lennon called the Fat Budgie, which was taken from his book A Spaniard in the Works. All profits from the cards went to help raise money for charity. Oxfam re-printed the cards in 2007 as a limited edition card which again sold thousands.

1969, Creedence Clearwater Revival scored their only UK No.1 single with 'Bad Moon Rising' a US No.2 hit. Also on this day the group started a four-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Green River.'

1970, The first UK Glastonbury Festival took place featuring Marc Bolan, Ian Anderson, Keith Christmas, Quintessence, Amazing Blondel and Sam Apple Pie.

1973, Country rock singer, songwriter 26-year-old Gram Parsons formerly of The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, died under mysterious conditions in Joshua Tree, California. His death was attributed to heart failure but later was officially announced as a drug overdose. His coffin was stolen by two of his associates, manager Phil Kaufman and Michael Martin, a former roadie for The Byrds, and was taken to Cap Rock in the California desert, where it was set alight, in accordance with Parson's wishes. The two were later arrested by police.

1979, The No Nukes concert was held at New York's Madison Square Garden. Performers included Stephen Stills, David Crosby, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, The Doobie Brothers, Poco, Tom Petty, Carly Simon, James Taylor and Bruce Springsteen.

2005, Research published by Guinness World Records showed that Status Quo have had more hit singles than any other band in UK chart history. The band had scored 61 chart successes, dating from ‘Pictures of Matchstick Men’ in 1968 to ‘You'll Come Around’ in 2004. Queen came second with 52 hits, with The Rolling Stones and UB40 with 51 hits each.

2008, American drummer Earl Palmer died. Worked with The Beach Boys, Little Richard (‘Tutti Frutti’), Frank Sinatra, Ike And Tina Turner (‘River Deep, Mountain High’), The Monkees, Fats Domino (‘I'm Walkin’), Neil Young, Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, The Righteous Brothers (‘You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin’), and Randy Newman, Tom Waits, Bonnie Raitt, Tim Buckley, Little Feat and Elvis Costello.

1941, Born on this day, Lee Dorman, Iron Butterfly (1968 US No.14 single 'In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida'). Dorman was found dead aged 70 in a vehicle in Orange County on 21st Dec 2012.

1970, Jimi Hendrix was pronounced dead on arrival at St. Mary Abbot's Hospital in London at the age of 27 after choking on his own vomit. Hendrix left the message 'I need help bad man', on his managers answer phone earlier that night. Rumors and conspiracy theories grew up around Hendrix’s death. Eric Burdon claimed Jimi had committed suicide, but that’s contradicted by reports that he was in a good frame of mind. In 2009, a former Animals roadie published a book claiming that Jimi’s manager had admitted to him that he arranged the murder of Hendrix, since the guitarist wanted out of his contract.

1981, Gary Numan took off on a round the world trip in a single engine Cessna plane. The attempt ended after he was forced to land in India, where local police arrested him.

1983, KISS appeared without their make-up for the first time during an interview on MTV promoting the release of their newest album, Lick It Up.

2009, Leonard Cohen collapsed on stage during a concert in Valencia in Spain and was taken to hospital. He was later discharged after doctors told him he had food poisoning. Cohen was in the middle of singing his song Bird On The Wire when he fainted, prompting the band to stop playing and rush to help him.

Week commencing September 11 . . .
1966, Member of Parliament Tom Drilberg asked Britain's House of Commons to officially "deplore" the action of a magistrate who'd earlier called The Rolling Stones "complete morons...who wear filthy clothes."

1967, Jimi Hendrix's debut LP, Are You Experienced? entered the Billboard Hot 200 album chart, where it stayed for 106 weeks, including 77 weeks in the Top 40. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it No.15 on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and two years later it was selected for permanent preservation in the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress in the United States.

1972, Wishbone Ash, Family, Steppenwolf, John Kay Band, Slade, Uriah Heep, Roy Wood and Wizzard, Wild Angels, Glencoe, Sunshine and Cold Comfort Farm all appeared at this years Buxton Festival in Derbyshire.

1977, 29-year-old former T Rex singer Marc Bolan was killed instantly when the car driven by his girlfriend, Gloria Jones, left the road and hit a tree in Barnes, London. Miss Jones broke her jaw in the accident. The couple were on the way to Bolan's home in Richmond after a night out at a Mayfair restaurant. A local man who witnessed the crash said, 'When I arrived a girl was lying on the bonnet and a man with long dark curly hair was stretched out in the road - there was a hell of a mess.'

1948, Born on this day (Saturday), Kenny Jones, drummer, The Small Faces (1967 No.3 single 'Itchycoo Park' & 1968 No.1 album 'Ogden's Nut Gone Flake'). The Faces (1972 UK No.6 single 'Stay With Me'). The Who (after Keith Moon, 1981 No.9 single 'You Better You Bet').

1966, The Small Faces were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'All Or Nothing', their only No.1 hit. According to Kay Marriott, Steve Marriott's mother, Steve wrote the song about his split with ex-fiancee Sue Oliver, though first wife Jenny Rylance states that Marriott told her he wrote the song for her as a result of her split with Rod Stewart.

1975, Pink Floyd released their ninth studio album Wish You Were Here in the UK. The album, which explores themes of absence, the music business, and former band-mate Syd Barrett's mental decline, peaked at No.1 on both sides of the Atlantic and went on to spend a total of 84 weeks on the chart.

1979, Led Zeppelin scored their sixth US No.1 album when In Through The Out Door started a seven-week run at the top of the charts. The eighth studio album by Zeppelin was their final album of entirely new material.

2004, Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone (John Cummings) died in Los Angeles after a five-year battle with prostate cancer. Founding member of The Ramones, who were a major influence on many punk and 90s bands, they scored the 1977 hit single 'Sheena Is A Punk Rocker'.

2008, Pink Floyd keyboard player and founder member Richard Wright died aged 65 from cancer. Wright appeared on the group's first album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, in 1967 alongside Syd Barrett, Roger Waters and Nick Mason. David Gilmour who joined the band at the start of 1968 said: "He was such a lovely, gentle, genuine man and will be missed terribly by so many who loved him." In 2005 the full band reunited - for the first time in 24 years - for the Live 8 concert in London's Hyde Park. Wright had also contributed vocals and keyboards to Gilmour's 2006 solo album On An Island.

1960, A campaign was started in the UK to ban the American hit 'Tell Laura I Love Her' by Ray Peterson. The song was being denounced in the press as likely to inspire a teen-age "glorious death cult." The story told of a lovesick youngster who drives in a stock car race to win the hand of his sweetheart. He crashes and just before dying, groans out the words of the title.

1963, Graham Nash fell out of The Hollies van after a gig in Scotland. Nash checked to see if the door was locked, it wasn't and he fell out as it travelled at 40mph.

1964, During a UK tour two dozen rugby players were hired as 'a human crash barrier' at a Rolling Stones gig at the Liverpool Empire. The 'human chain' disappeared under a wave of 5,000 fans as the Stones took to the stage.

1965, The Paul McCartney song 'Yesterday' was released as a Beatles single in the US. McCartney's vocal and acoustic guitar together with a string quartet essentially made for the first solo performance of the band. The final recording was so different from other works by The Beatles that the band members vetoed the release of the song as a single in the United Kingdom. (However, it was issued as a single there in 1976.)

1967, The Beatles formed an electronics company called Fiftyshapes, Ltd. appointing John Alexis Mardas (Magic Alex) to be the company's director. Alex claimed he could build a 72-track tape machine, instead of the 4-track at Abbey Road (this never materialised). One of his more outrageous plans was to replace the acoustic baffles around Ringo Starr's drums with an invisible sonic force field. George Harrison later said that employing Mardas was "the biggest disaster of all time."

1969, The first day of the 3 day Rugby Bag Blues Festival in Warwickshire, with Pink Floyd, The Nice, Taste, Free, Third Ear Band, Ralph McTell, Roy Harper, King Crimson, The Strawbs, Edgar Broughton, Spirit of John Morgan and John Martyn, tickets from 12/6.

1986, The Communards were at No.1 on the UK with the singles chart with 'Don't Leave Me This Way', which had been a hit for Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes in 1975 and later a hit for Thelma Houston.

2005, The Sex Pistols were among new names added to a celebrity Walk of Fame in Covent Garden London. Other musical celebrities to immortalised on the Avenue of the Stars include Bob Geldof, Tom Jones, Gracie Fields and Bob Hope.

2015, Gary Richrath, lead guitarist and songwriter for REO Speedwagon died at the age of 65. Richrath recorded 12 albums with the band before leaving in 1989 and released his own solo album in 1992.

1962, After George Martin insisted that session drummer Andy White took Ringo Starr's place, The Beatles returned to EMI Studios in London for a third attempt at recording their first single. 'Love Me Do' was selected to be The Beatles' first A-side, with "P.S. I Love You" on the flip side (a reversal of the original plan). The single that was released on October 5th featured a version of ‘Love Me Do’ with Ringo on drums, but the album ‘Please Please Me’ included a version with Andy White on drums.

1970, NME’s Keith Allston interviewed Jimi Hendrix in England. The interview turned out to be Hendrix's last; he died a mere seven days later. During the interview, Hendrix talked about a new musical phase, with planned collaborations with Miles Davis and Paul McCartney.

1987, Founder member of The Wailers, Peter Tosh, was shot dead at his home in Kingston, Jamaica, by armed robbers.

1988, Michael Jackson appeared at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, on his Bad World Tour. Over 3,000 fans were treated by the St. John Ambulance service for passing out, hysteria and being crushed amongst the crowd of 125,000 fans, the largest concert of the 123-date world tour.

Week commencing September 4 . . .
1962, The BBC banned Bobby 'Boris' Pickett and the Crypt Kickers single 'Monster Mash' saying it was offensive. The single went on to be a No.3 hit in 1973.

1964, The Kinks third single 'You Really Got Me', was at No.1 on the singles chart. Future Led Zeppelin founder and guitarist Jimmy Page played tambourine on the track.

1964, Rod Stewart recorded his first single, a version of Willie Dixon's 'Good Morning Little School Girl.' Future Led Zeppelin bass player John Paul Jones played on the session.

1965, The Byrds begin recording ‘Turn! Turn! Turn!’. Unlike their first hit, ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’, members of the group itself were permitted to play instead of session musicians.

1974, The New York Dolls spit up. The influential American band formed in 1972 and made just two albums, the 1973 'New York Dolls' and 1974 'Too Much Too Soon'.

2005, The 1967 Beatles track 'A Day In The Life' from Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was voted the best British song of all time by music experts. The survey by Q magazine called the track "the ultimate sonic rendition of what it means to be British". The Kinks' song 'Waterloo Sunset' came second in the poll and 'Wonderwall' by Oasis was voted in third place.

1965, US newspaper The Hollywood reporter ran the following advertisement; 'Madness folk & roll musicians, singers wanted for acting roles in new TV show. Parts for 4 insane boys'. The Monkees were born. 437 people applied for the job.

1972, Slade were at No.1 on the singles chart with 'Mama Weer All Crazee Now', the group's third No.1. Taken from their album 'Slayed?'

1977, David Bowie appeared on Marc Bolan's ITV show, Marc, singing ‘Heroes’ as well as a duet with Bolan, ‘Standing Next To You’, which was prematurely terminated when Bolan fell from the stage, much to Bowie’s amusement. After the show the pair recorded demos together which were never finished because Bolan was killed in a car crash a week later.

2005, Liverpool City Council confirmed it was to demolish Ringo Starr's birthplace because it had "no historical significance." The house in Dingle was one of 460 properties to be demolished for a regeneration project. The council said Madryn Street had no significance because Ringo had spent only three months of his life there.

1957, Reet Petite' by Jackie Wilson was released for the first time, it became a No.1 29 years later. During a 1975 benefit concert, Wilson collapsed on-stage from a heart attack and subsequently fell into a coma that persisted for nearly nine years until his death in 1984.

1977, Guitarist Jimmy McCulloch left Wings to help re-form the Small Faces. McCulloch had played with Paul McCartney band on the Venus and Mars and Wings At the Speed of Sound albums, as well as on the Wings Over America tour. He died two years later at the age of 26. Drummer Joe English also left Wings at this time, joining Sea Level.

1979, Led Zeppelin scored their eighth UK No.1 album when 'In Through The Out Door' went to the top of the charts for two weeks. The eighth studio album by Zeppelin, was their final album of entirely new material.

2003, David Bowie performed the first interactive concert when his performance was beamed live into 21 cinemas from Warsaw to Edinburgh. Members of the audience talked to Bowie via microphones linked to ISDN lines and took requests for songs from fans.

2004, Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant was guest of honour at the unveiling of a statue of 15th century rebel leader Owain Glyndwr at Pennal church, near Machynlleth in Wales. Plant, who owns a farmhouse in the area had donated money towards a bronze sculpture of the Welsh prince.

2007, A commemorative plaque dedicated to Don Arden and the Small Faces was unveiled at 52–55 Carnaby Street, London, Arden's former offices. Arden achieved notoriety in Britain for his aggressive, sometimes illegal business tactics and looked after the careers of Small Faces, the Move, the Electric Light Orchestra and Black Sabbath. He was the father of Sharon Osbourne (and father-in-law of Ozzy Osbourne).

1970, Jimi Hendrix made his final live appearance when he appeared at the Isle Of Fehmarn in Germany. The guitarist died 12 days later on 18th Sept 1970 after choking on his own vomit.

1990, Tom Fogerty, rhythm guitarist with Creedence Clearwater Revival, died aged 49 due to complications from AIDS acquired during a blood transfusion. During 1969 CCR scored three US Top Ten albums and four Top 5 singles and after leaving CCR in 1971 Fogerty released several solo albums.

1994, English keyboard player Nicky Hopkins died aged 50, in Nashville, Tennessee, of complications from intestinal surgery. Was a highly respected session musician, worked with The Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck, The Beatles, The Who, The Kinks, Small Faces, Led Zeppelin, John Lennon, George Harrison, and the Jerry Garcia Band. The Kinks song 'Session Man' from Face to Face is dedicated to (and features) Hopkins.

1943, Born on this day (Wednesday), Roger Waters: singer, songwriter, bassist and co-founder of Pink Floyd. Following the departure of bandmate Syd Barrett in 1968, over time Waters became the band's principal lyricist. Waters left Pink Floyd in 1985 and released a aeries of successful solo albums. He has also authored an opera, Ca Ira. The most active of all the Floyd members, he has toured extensively as a solo act since 1999, playing The Dark Side Of The Moon in its entirety as well as the current and hugely successful The Wall tour.

1987, Ian Astbury of The Cult was arrested after a show in Vancouver ended in a riot. Staff at the concert claimed they were assaulted by Astbury, who spent the night in the local police cells.

1990, Ian Dury And The Blockheads drummer Charley Charles died of cancer. Scored the 1978 UK No.1 single 'Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick'.

2016, An asteroid was named after Freddie Mercury to mark what would have been the singer's 70th birthday. The Queen frontman has had his name attached to Asteroid 17473, which was discovered in 1991 - the year he died. Queen guitarist Brian May told a gathering of 1,250 fans at Montreux Casino in Switzerland that the asteroid would now be known as Asteroid 17473 Freddiemercury.

Week commencing August 28 . . .
1965, The Who had their van stolen containing over £5000 worth of equipment outside the Battersea Dogs Home. The band were inside the home at the time buying a guard dog. The van was later recovered.

1968, The Bee Gees had their second No.1 single with 'I've Gotta Get A Message To You'. The song is about a man who, awaiting his execution in the electric chair, begs the prison chaplain to pass a final message on to his wife.

2008, The first guitar torched on stage by Jimi Hendrix sold for £280,000 at an auction of rock memorabilia. The Fender Stratocaster was burned at the end of a show at the Astoria in Finsbury Park, north London, in 1967. The sale held in London also included The Beatles first management contract, signed in 1962 by all four members of the group and manager Brian Epstein, sold for £240,000.

2015, Rolling Stones' guitarist Keith Richards told The New York Daily News that Rap music was for "tone deaf people." He went on to say "All they need is a drum beat and somebody yelling over it and they're happy. There's an enormous market for people who can't tell one note from another."

1972, The Erie Canal Soda Pop Festival was held over three days on Bull Island, near Griffin, Indiana. The Promoters expected over 50,000 music fans, and over 200,000 attended the festival. Many bands pulled out as the festival drifted steadily into anarchy. Bands that did appear included Flash Cadillac & the Continental Kids, Black Oak Arkansas, Cheech and Chong, Foghat, Albert King, Brownsville Station, Canned heat, Flash, Ravi Shankar, Rory Gallagher, Lee Michaels and Frosty, The Eagles, The Amboy Dukes, and Gentle Giant. Three concert goers drowned in the Wabash River and as the festival ended, the remnants of the crowd burned down the music stand.

2012, Mark Abrahamian, lead guitarist with Starship died of a heart attack aged 46. He collapsed following a concert in the US state of Nebraska where Starship had opened for fellow bands Survivor and Boston.

1963, The Ronettes first entered the US singles chart with 'Be My Baby' the girl group's only top 10 hit. Lead singer Veronica Bennett who became Ronnie Spector, took producer and ex-husband Phil Spector to court in the late 1990s for unpaid royalties.

1968, The Move, The Pretty Things, The Crazy World Of Aurthur Brown, Orange Bicycle, Jefferson Airplane, Fairport Convention and Tyrannosaurus Rex all appeared at the first Isle Of Wight Festival held over two days. Tickets, 25 shillings.

1968, Decca Records released what has been called The Rolling Stones most political song, 'Street Fighting Man', written after Mick Jagger attended a March 1968 anti-war rally at London's US embassy, during which mounted police attempted to control a crowd of 25,000. The single was kept out of the US Top 40 (reaching No.48) because many radio stations refused to play it based on what were perceived as subversive lyrics.

1971, The Rolling Stones plus the father of Brian Jones filed a high court writ against ex managers Oldham and Easton, claiming they made a secret deal with Decca Records in 1963 to deprive the group of royalties.

1974, Traffic made their last live performance at the annual Reading Festival. Other acts appearing included; Alex Harvey, 10cc, Focus, Steve Harley and Procol Harum. £5.50 for a weekend ticket.

1976, George Harrison was found guilty of 'subconscious plagiarism' of the Ronnie Mack song 'He's So Fine' when writing 'My Sweet Lord'. Earnings from the song were awarded to Mack's estate; The Chiffons then recorded their own version of 'My Sweet Lord'.

2004, Carl Wayne the singer with The Move died from cancer. They had the 1969 No.1 single 'Blackberry Way.' Wayne also worked with The Hollies.

2006, The Times ran a story on the demands of rock stars when on tour. Ozzy Osbourne insists on an eye, ear, nose and throat doctor at each venue. The Beach Boys require a licensed masseur, Meat Loaf a mask and one small tank of oxygen. David Bowie requests that the dressing room temperature is between 14c and 18c and Paul McCartney must have a large arrangement of white Casablanca lilies in his dressing room. Mick Jagger must have an onstage autocue with the lyrics to all the songs, it would also tell him the name of the city in which they were performing.

1948, Born on this day (Thursday) in 1948 was German guitarist Rudolf Schenker from Scorpions, who he formed in 1965 when he was 17 years old. Their 1990 power ballad Wind Of Change topped the European charts and was a No.4 hit in the US. The Scorpions hold the record for the best-selling single by a German artist and band.

1965, The Beach Boys 'California Girls' was at No.3 on the US singles chart, the single peaked at No.26 in the UK. The music for the song came from Brian Wilson's first LSD experience.

1966, Nearing the end of their final tour of America, The Beatles performed one show at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California, before a crowd of 45,000. The Beatles' attempt to escape from the stadium in an armored truck is thwarted when the main gate was found to be locked, and they had to spend two hours in the back of the truck before they could leave the stadium.

1981, Producer Guy Stevens died at the age of 38 years old, having overdosed on prescription drugs he was taking to reduce his alcohol dependency. He worked with Mott The Hoople, Free and The Clash. He was the president of the Chuck Berry Appreciation Society and it was Stevens who brought Berry to the UK for his first tour. He gave Procol Harum and Mott the Hoople their distinctive names.

Week commencing August 21 . . .
1967, British music entrepreneur and the manager of The Beatles, Brian Epstein was found dead, locked in a bedroom at his London home. A coroner's inquest concluded that Epstein died from an overdose of the sleeping pill Carbitrol. He also managed several other artists including Gerry & The Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Cilla Black and The Remo Four. The first contract between The Beatles and Epstein was auctioned in London in 2008, and was sold for £240,000.

1990, Stevie Ray Vaughan was killed when the helicopter he was flying in, hit a man-made ski slope while trying to navigate through dense fog. Vaughan had played a show at Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, Wisconsin with Robert Cray & His Memphis Horns, and Eric Clapton. Vaughan was informed by a member of Clapton's crew that three seats were open on a helicopter returning to Chicago with Clapton's crew, it turned out there was only one seat left; Vaughan requested it from his brother, who obliged. Three members of Eric Clapton's entourage were also killed.

1999, The Charlatans, Blur, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Offspring, Catatonia, Reef, The Chemical Brothers, The Divine Comedy, Pavement, Silverchair, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion all appeared at The Carling Reading three day festival, tickets £78.

2004, Green Day, The Darkness, The White Stripes, Morrissey, The Libertines, Franz Ferdinand, The Hives, 50 Cent (50 Cent was booed off stage after being greeted by a rain of bottles thrown at him and his G-Unit crew as they came onstage), The Streets, The Vines, Soulwax, Dogs Die In Hot Cars, The Offspring, Ash, Placebo and Lostprophets all appeared at this years UK Carling Weekend in Reading and Leeds.

1956, Born on this day (Sunday), Glen Matlock, bass, The Rich Kids (1978 UK No.24 single 'Rich Kids'), and early member of the Sex Pistols and the reformed Sex Pistols.

1967, Bobbie Gentry started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Ode To Billy Joe', a No.13 hit in the UK. The song generated eight Grammy nominations, resulting in three wins for Gentry and one win for arranger Jimmie Haskell.

1979, The Knack started a five week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'My Sharona', the group's only US chart topper, a No.6 hit in the UK. Lead singer Doug Fieger said he was inspired to write the tune by Sharrona Alperin, a 17 year old senior at Los Angeles Fairfax High, who later became his girlfriend. Fieger and Alperin eventually got married to other people, but they remained friends. After battling cancer for several years, Fieger died at his home in the Los Angeles on February 14, 2010. He was 57 years old.

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".

2014, Led Zeppelin's 'Whole Lotta Love' was voted the greatest guitar riff of all time by listeners of BBC Radio 2 in the UK. The rock classic came out top from a list of 100 riffs drawn up by a panel of Radio 2 and 6 Music DJs, critics and record producers. 'Sweet Child O' Mine' by Guns 'N' Roses was second in the poll, with Back In Black (AC/DC) and 'Smoke On The Water' (Deep Purple) the next most popular.

1967, 17-year old singer and guitarist Bruce Springsteen joined a group called Earth.

1968, The Incredible String Band, Traffic, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah 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, Wales, (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.

1983, The fifth wife of Jerry Lee Lewis, Shawn Michelle Stevens was found dead at their Mississippi home of a methadone overdose. They had been married less than three months. Jerry Lee would marry again in 1984 to 22 year-old Kerrie McCarver, but divorce in 2004.

1981, Mark Chapman was given a 20 year jail sentence for the murder of John Lennon. The 25 year old had shot Lennon five times at close range on December 8th, 1980 in front of The Dakota apartment building in New York City. Over the next few months, Chapman would claim many times to have been beaten by fellow inmates, some of whom allegedly tried to kill him.

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.

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.

1969, The Beatles met at John Lennon's Tittenhurst Park home for their final ever photo session. Three shots from this session (by Ethan Russell) formed the front and back covers of the Capitol compilation album Hey Jude. Yoko Ono and a pregnant Linda McCartney (she was to give birth to daughter Mary six days later) appeared in some photographs with The Beatles.

1970, Creedence Clearwater Revival started a nine-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with their fifth studio album Cosmo's Factory. The name of the album comes from the warehouse in Berkeley where the band rehearsed. Bandleader John Fogerty was so insistent on practicing (nearly every day) that drummer Doug "Cosmo" Clifford began referring to the place as "the factory".

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, Blondie, Joan Jett, The Slits and Captain Sensible.

1979, In Through the Out Door was released in the US, Led Zeppelin's last album while all four members were alive. 'Fool in the Rain' was released as a single in the US. The album has now been certified 6 times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for US sales in excess of 6 million copies.

2004, Al Dvorin, the announcer who popularised the phrase "Elvis has left the building" died in a car crash on his way home from an Elvis Presley convention in California. Dvorin, aged 81, was in a car driven by Elvis photographer Ed Bonja. Dvorin was never paid for recordings of his words and was bitter towards the multimillion pound Elvis Presley Enterprises. In the early 1970s Colonel Parker asked Dvorin to inform fans at a gig that Presley would not be appearing for an encore. He took the stage and announced: "Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building. Thank you and goodnight."

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."

1945, Born on this day (Tuesday), Ron Dante, singer, songwriter, The Archies, (1969 US & UK No.1 single 'Sugar Sugar') and The Cufflinks (1969 UK No.4 single 'Tracy').

1920, Born on this day (Tuesday), John Lee Hooker, Blues singer, guitarist (1951 US million selling album 'I'm In The Mood', 1964 UK No.23 single 'Dimples', 1989 album 'The Healer'). Hooker died on 21st June 2001.

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.

1976, The Rolling Stones, 10CC, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Todd Rundgren's Utopia and Hot Tuna all appeared at The Knebworth Festival, Hertfordshire, tickets £4.50.

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.

2006, A man surfing the Internet in America foiled three men who broke into a 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.

2013, Legendary concert promoter Sid Bernstein, best known for booking The Beatles at Carnegie Hall and later Shea Stadium, died at the age of 95. Bernstein changed the American music scene in the 1960s by bringing The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Herman's Hermits, The Moody Blues, and The Kinks to America. He was the first impresario to organise rock concerts at sports stadiums.

1951, Born on this day (Monday), English bassist and singer Glenn Hughes, who was a member of Trapeze and who has also worked with Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Gary Moore. He is also a member of Black Country Communion.

1952, Born on this day (Monday), Joe Strummer, singer, songwriter, guitarist, The Clash (1979 UK No. 11 single 'London Calling', 1982 US No. 8 single 'Rock The Casbah, 1991 UK No.1 single 'Should I Stay Or Should I Go', first released 1982 plus 15 other UK top 40 singles). Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros. He died on 22nd December 2002.

Week commencing August 14 . . .
1966, Paul Jones left Manfred Mann just as ‘Pretty Flamingo’ was climbing the US charts. He was replaced by singer Mike D’Abo, who would take over lead vocals on the bands next hit, ‘The Mighty Quinn,’ a song written by Bob Dylan.

1969, Mick Jagger was accidentally shot in the hand during filming of Ned Kelly in Australia. The film was dogged by problems: Jagger's girlfriend of the time, Marianne Faithfull, had gone to Australia to play the lead female role (Ned's sister, Maggie), but the Jagger-Faithfull relationship was breaking up and she took an overdose of sleeping tablets soon after arrival in Sydney, resulting in being hospitalised in a coma, and pulling out of the film.

1977, The Police made their live debut as a three-piece band when they played at Rebecca's in Birmingham. The Police became globally popular in the late 1970s and are generally regarded as one of the first New Wave groups to achieve mainstream success, playing a style of rock that was influenced by punk, reggae and jazz.

1982, The City of Liverpool named four Streets after the fab four: John Lennon Drive, Paul McCartney Way, George Harrison Close and Ringo Starr Drive.

1991, Rick Griffin died after being forced off the road by a van he was attempting to pass on his Harley Heritage Softail motorbike. One of his best known album covers was for the Grateful Dead's 'Aoxomoa' LP, and the legendary "Flying Eyeball" poster he designed for a series of concerts in San Francisco featuring the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Albert King and John Mayall.

1956, Born on this day (Friday) Tony Garnier American bassist, best known as an accompanist to Bob Dylan, with whom he has played since 1989. He is Dylan's longest-running sideman and was also a long-time sideman for David Johansen in his Buster Poindexter persona, and was also briefly a member of the Saturday Night Live house band.

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, Ashbury Park. Springsteen was also unable to attend Woodstock due to these gigs.

1970, The final day of the three day UK Yorkshire Folk, Blues & Jazz Festival at Krumlin, Yorkshire took place featuring The Kinks, Mungo Jerry, Yes, Ginger Bakers Air Force and Edgar Winter. Weekend tickets, £3.

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.

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.

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