TODAY IN HISTORY – Aug 17th
1953 - Born this day, Kevin Rowland, musician, guitarist, Dexy's Midnight Runners, 1980 UK No.1 single Geno, 1980 UK No.7 single There There My Dear, 1982 UK No.1 and 1983 US No.1 single Come On Eileen, 1982 UK No.5 Jackie Wilson Said, 1980 UK No.6 album Searching For The Young Soul Rebels, 1982 UK No.2 album Too-Rye-Ay, and solo, 1986 UK No.13 single Because Of You.
1955 - Born this day, Kevin Moulding, songwriter, singer, musician, bassist, XTC, 1982 UK No.10 single Senses Working Overtime.
1958 - Born this day, Belinda Carlisle, musician, guitarist, singer, The Go-Go's, 1982 US No.2 single We Got The Beat, 1982 UK No.47 single Our Lips Are Sealed and solo, 1987 US and UK No.1 single Heaven Is A Place On Earth. Also I Get Weak, Circle In The Sand, Leave A Light On, [We Want] The Same Thing.
1964 - Glasgow council in Scotland announced that all boys and men with Beatle styled haircuts would have to wear bathing caps after a committee was told that hair from 'Beatle-cuts' was clogging the pools filters.
1968 - People Got To Be Free the hit single by The Rascals (formally the Young Rascals), rocketed into the top slot on Billboard's record charts, and stayed there for 5 weeks. The group had 13 US top 40 hits.
1969 - Born this day, Donnie Wahlberg [Donald E. Wahlberg Jr], in Boston, Massachusetts, singer, New Kids On The Block, 1989 UK No.1 single You Got It, The Right Stuff, 1990 US No.1 single Step By Step.
1969 - The final day of the 3 day Woodstock festival took place at Max Yasgur's farm in Bethel, New York. Acts who appeared included Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Ten Years After, John Sebastian, Sha Na Na, Joe Cocker, Country Joe and the Fish, The Band, Ten Years After, Johnny Winter and Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Over 186,000 tickets had been sold but on the first day the flimsy fences and ticket barriers had come down. Organisers announced the concert would be a free event, prompting thousands more to head for the concert.
1973 - Former Temptations singer Paul Williams was found dead in his car after shooting himself, he owed $80,000 in taxes and his celebrity boutique business had failed.
1974 - Eric Clapton started a four week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 461 Ocean Boulevard. It was a No.3 hit in the UK.
1974 - UK group Paper Lace scored their only US No.1 single with The Night Chicago Died. It made it to No.3 in the UK.
1979 - Monty Python's film Life of Brian was released.
1979 - The New York Post reported that Anita Pallenberg (the wife of Keith Richards) was linked to a witches coven in South Salem, New York where Richards owned a house. A policeman claimed he was attacked by a flock of black-hooded, caped people and a local youth claimed he had been invited by Pallenburg to take part in ‘pot smoking sex orgies’. Locals also claimed they found ‘ritualistic stakes’ and small animals that had been ‘sacrificed’ near the house.
1983 – After being refused a cash advance Jimmy Barnes quit Australian rock band, Cold Chisel. It was decided that the band would do one last tour called “The Last Stand” which would help line the bands pockets. The band were best known for hits, “Forever Now”, “When The War is Over”, “Cheap Wine”, “Choir Girl”, “Flame Trees” and many others.
1984 - On this, the first night of his Breaking Hearts Tour, Elton John announced that he was retiring from touring.
1991 – One of the greatest live concerts of all time was performed and filmed this day. ACDC headlined the “Monsters of Rock” festival at the fabled Castle Donnington and proceeded to assault the massive audience with a 2 hour set chock full of their greatest hits, and an over the top visual spectacle that included firing cannons, the hells bell and a giant inflatable Rosie. Filmed in 35mm Panavision with 26 cameras (including a helicopter) “Live at Donnington” is a hard rock masterpiece.
1991 - Nirvana shot the video for 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' at GMT Studios in Culver City, California, costing less than $50,000 to make, the shoot features real Nirvana fans as the audience. The video won Nirvana the Best New Artist and Best Alternative Group awards at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards, and in 2000 the Guinness World Records named 'Teen Spirit' the Most Played Video on MTV Europe
1993 - Pop star Michael Jackson became the subject of an investigation of child molestation of a 13-year-old boy. Police confiscated video tapes and photographs from Jackson's Neverland ranch home, but found nothing to support the allegation. The charge was that Jackson had fondled and engaged in oral sex with the boy over a period of several months. It was believed that the child-abuse allegation grew out of an 'extortion gone awry', after a purported demand for $20 million by the boy's father, a dentist, was denied.
Charges were later dropped, and an unidentified source leaked to the press that a hefty settlement, possibly as high as $15 million, was paid to the boy's family. More than a year after the damaging allegations were made, the Santa Barbara County and Los Angeles County district attorneys publicly announced that they didn't have enough evidence to charge the pop singer with a single crime.
1995 - Depeche Mode singer Dave Gahan was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after an apparent suicide attempt. Police had found him at his Los Angeles home with a two inch laceration on his wrist.
1997 - Will Smith started a 4 week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with Men In Black.
1999 - Former Bay City Rollers drummer Derek Longmuir appeared at the Edinburgh Sheriff Court accused of child porn and drugs offences. Longmuir, 48, denied the charges. He was later sentenced to 300 hours community service.
2008 - Jackson Browne was suing US Republican presidential candidate John McCain for using one of his songs without permission. Browne claimed the use of his song Running on Empty in an advert was an infringement of copyright and would lead people to conclude he endorses McCain. Browne was seeking more than $75,000 (£40,000) in damages.
2009 - A thief in New Zealand took the unusual step of leaving his contact details at the site of his crime. The man reserved a copy of Pink Floyd's The Wall at a record shop in Christchurch, leaving his name and phone number, before robbing the till. He was a regular customer at the shop and already had several records on order
2012 - Three members of the Russian feminist punk rock protest group Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years imprisonment after they had staged a performance on the soleas of Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior in a protest directed at the Orthodox Church leader's support for President Putin during his election campaign.
2011 – Most played song on NZ radio this past week is “Moves Like Jagger” by Maroon 5 feat Christina Aquilera.
1953 - Born this day, Kevin Rowland, musician, guitarist, Dexy's Midnight Runners, 1980 UK No.1 single Geno, 1980 UK No.7 single There There My Dear, 1982 UK No.1 and 1983 US No.1 single Come On Eileen, 1982 UK No.5 Jackie Wilson Said, 1980 UK No.6 album Searching For The Young Soul Rebels, 1982 UK No.2 album Too-Rye-Ay, and solo, 1986 UK No.13 single Because Of You.
1955 - Born this day, Kevin Moulding, songwriter, singer, musician, bassist, XTC, 1982 UK No.10 single Senses Working Overtime.
1958 - Born this day, Belinda Carlisle, musician, guitarist, singer, The Go-Go's, 1982 US No.2 single We Got The Beat, 1982 UK No.47 single Our Lips Are Sealed and solo, 1987 US and UK No.1 single Heaven Is A Place On Earth. Also I Get Weak, Circle In The Sand, Leave A Light On, [We Want] The Same Thing.
1964 - Glasgow council in Scotland announced that all boys and men with Beatle styled haircuts would have to wear bathing caps after a committee was told that hair from 'Beatle-cuts' was clogging the pools filters.
1968 - People Got To Be Free the hit single by The Rascals (formally the Young Rascals), rocketed into the top slot on Billboard's record charts, and stayed there for 5 weeks. The group had 13 US top 40 hits.
1969 - Born this day, Donnie Wahlberg [Donald E. Wahlberg Jr], in Boston, Massachusetts, singer, New Kids On The Block, 1989 UK No.1 single You Got It, The Right Stuff, 1990 US No.1 single Step By Step.
1969 - The final day of the 3 day Woodstock festival took place at Max Yasgur's farm in Bethel, New York. Acts who appeared included Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Ten Years After, John Sebastian, Sha Na Na, Joe Cocker, Country Joe and the Fish, The Band, Ten Years After, Johnny Winter and Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Over 186,000 tickets had been sold but on the first day the flimsy fences and ticket barriers had come down. Organisers announced the concert would be a free event, prompting thousands more to head for the concert.
1973 - Former Temptations singer Paul Williams was found dead in his car after shooting himself, he owed $80,000 in taxes and his celebrity boutique business had failed.
1974 - Eric Clapton started a four week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 461 Ocean Boulevard. It was a No.3 hit in the UK.
1974 - UK group Paper Lace scored their only US No.1 single with The Night Chicago Died. It made it to No.3 in the UK.
1979 - Monty Python's film Life of Brian was released.
1979 - The New York Post reported that Anita Pallenberg (the wife of Keith Richards) was linked to a witches coven in South Salem, New York where Richards owned a house. A policeman claimed he was attacked by a flock of black-hooded, caped people and a local youth claimed he had been invited by Pallenburg to take part in ‘pot smoking sex orgies’. Locals also claimed they found ‘ritualistic stakes’ and small animals that had been ‘sacrificed’ near the house.
1983 – After being refused a cash advance Jimmy Barnes quit Australian rock band, Cold Chisel. It was decided that the band would do one last tour called “The Last Stand” which would help line the bands pockets. The band were best known for hits, “Forever Now”, “When The War is Over”, “Cheap Wine”, “Choir Girl”, “Flame Trees” and many others.
1984 - On this, the first night of his Breaking Hearts Tour, Elton John announced that he was retiring from touring.
1991 – One of the greatest live concerts of all time was performed and filmed this day. ACDC headlined the “Monsters of Rock” festival at the fabled Castle Donnington and proceeded to assault the massive audience with a 2 hour set chock full of their greatest hits, and an over the top visual spectacle that included firing cannons, the hells bell and a giant inflatable Rosie. Filmed in 35mm Panavision with 26 cameras (including a helicopter) “Live at Donnington” is a hard rock masterpiece.
1991 - Nirvana shot the video for 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' at GMT Studios in Culver City, California, costing less than $50,000 to make, the shoot features real Nirvana fans as the audience. The video won Nirvana the Best New Artist and Best Alternative Group awards at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards, and in 2000 the Guinness World Records named 'Teen Spirit' the Most Played Video on MTV Europe
1993 - Pop star Michael Jackson became the subject of an investigation of child molestation of a 13-year-old boy. Police confiscated video tapes and photographs from Jackson's Neverland ranch home, but found nothing to support the allegation. The charge was that Jackson had fondled and engaged in oral sex with the boy over a period of several months. It was believed that the child-abuse allegation grew out of an 'extortion gone awry', after a purported demand for $20 million by the boy's father, a dentist, was denied.
Charges were later dropped, and an unidentified source leaked to the press that a hefty settlement, possibly as high as $15 million, was paid to the boy's family. More than a year after the damaging allegations were made, the Santa Barbara County and Los Angeles County district attorneys publicly announced that they didn't have enough evidence to charge the pop singer with a single crime.
1995 - Depeche Mode singer Dave Gahan was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after an apparent suicide attempt. Police had found him at his Los Angeles home with a two inch laceration on his wrist.
1997 - Will Smith started a 4 week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with Men In Black.
1999 - Former Bay City Rollers drummer Derek Longmuir appeared at the Edinburgh Sheriff Court accused of child porn and drugs offences. Longmuir, 48, denied the charges. He was later sentenced to 300 hours community service.
2008 - Jackson Browne was suing US Republican presidential candidate John McCain for using one of his songs without permission. Browne claimed the use of his song Running on Empty in an advert was an infringement of copyright and would lead people to conclude he endorses McCain. Browne was seeking more than $75,000 (£40,000) in damages.
2009 - A thief in New Zealand took the unusual step of leaving his contact details at the site of his crime. The man reserved a copy of Pink Floyd's The Wall at a record shop in Christchurch, leaving his name and phone number, before robbing the till. He was a regular customer at the shop and already had several records on order
2012 - Three members of the Russian feminist punk rock protest group Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years imprisonment after they had staged a performance on the soleas of Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior in a protest directed at the Orthodox Church leader's support for President Putin during his election campaign.
2011 – Most played song on NZ radio this past week is “Moves Like Jagger” by Maroon 5 feat Christina Aquilera.