TODAY IN HISTORY - 24th June
1944 – Born this day, Jeff Beck, musician, guitarist, The Yardbirds. 1967 single “Hi Ho Silver Lining.”
1947 – Born this day, Mick Fleetwood, drummer Fleetwood Mac.
1949 – Born this day, John Illsley, bass player Dire Straits.
1959 – Born this day, Andy McClusky, vocals, guitar, keyboards, Orchestreal Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD for short). “Enola Gay”.
1961 – Born this day, Curt Smith. Singer guitarist , Tears for Fears.
1964 - The Beatles played the first of two nights at Auckland Town Hall, New Zealand.
1965 - The Hollies were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'I'm Alive', the group's first of two UK No.1's and over 25 other Top 40 singles.
1967- Procol Harum's 'A Whiter Shade of Pale' entered the Billboard chart, where it would peak at No 5. The song was written by the band around a melody composed by the group's organist, Matthew Fisher, who was inspired by the chord progression of Johann Sebastian Bach's 'Orchestral Suite in D', composed between 1725 and 1739.
1972 – Capitol Records released “I Am Woman” by Helen Reddy. It would go on to become a #1 in December of ’72 and would be the first of 4 million-sellers along with “Delta Dawn”, “Leave me Alone” and “Angie Baby”.
1988 – UB40 bass player Earl Falconer was sent to prison for 6 months, with a further 12 suspended, after admitting to causing his brother’s death in a car accident. (2008 – similar to Liam and Michelle plot line in Coronation Street!)
1989 – Soul II Soul start a 4 week run at #1 in the UK charts with “Back To Life”.
1990 – Donnie Wahlberg of New Kids on the Block fell through a trapdoor during a concert in New York. He was hospitalized for a day for bruises to his chest and cuts to his arms and mouth, and received six stitches in his chin.
1992 – Donny Osmond started a year long run in the musical “Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat”, in Toronto, Canada.
1999 - Eric Clapton put 100 of his guitars up for auction at Christie's in New York City to raise money for his drug rehab clinic, the Crossroads Centre in Antigua. His 1956 Fender Stratocaster named Brownie, which was used to record the electric version of ‘Layla’, sold for a record $497,500. The auction helped raise nearly $5 million for the clinic.
2003 – A man who had been deported from Sweden for stalking Abba singer Agnetha Faeltskog was arrested near the singer’s island retreat. Gert van der Graaf, aged 37. had been the singer’s boyfriend from 1997 to 1999 but had been issued a restraining order barring him from seeing or talking to her in 2000.
2004 - A Fender Stratocaster that Eric Clapton nicknamed 'Blackie' sold at a Christie's auction for $959,500 (£564,412) in New York, making it the most expensive guitar in the world. The proceeds of the sale went towards Clapton's Crossroads addiction clinic, which he founded in 1998.
2009 – New Zealand’s Rachel Hunter (former wife of Rod Stewart) has unexpectedly been dumped by her younger lover (and fiancé) Jarret Stoll, without giving a reason. The Los Angeles Kings ice hockey star apparently told guests by email that the star-studded ceremony planned for August 14 was cancelled.
2012 - The crypt in which Elvis Presley was first buried was withdrawn from a Los Angeles auction after protests it should be kept as a shrine. More than 10,000 fans signed a petition against the sale of the tomb at Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee. Julien's Auctions said it would not sell the crypt until the cemetery "finds a plan that best suits the interests of the fans while respecting and preserving the memory of Elvis".
2012 - Billboard.com named Olivia Newton-John's 1982 hit, 'Physical' as The Sexiest Song Of All Time. Other classic Rock songs that made the top ten were Rod Stewart's 'Tonight's The Night', Marvin Gaye's 'Let's Get It On', Donna Summer's 'Hot Stuff' and another Rod Stewart contribution, 'Da Ya Think I'm Sexy'.
2013 - Former Devo drummer Alan Myers died aged 58 in Los Angeles, California, following a long bout with cancer. Myers drummed for Devo between 1976 and 1986.
1944 – Born this day, Jeff Beck, musician, guitarist, The Yardbirds. 1967 single “Hi Ho Silver Lining.”
1947 – Born this day, Mick Fleetwood, drummer Fleetwood Mac.
1949 – Born this day, John Illsley, bass player Dire Straits.
1959 – Born this day, Andy McClusky, vocals, guitar, keyboards, Orchestreal Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD for short). “Enola Gay”.
1961 – Born this day, Curt Smith. Singer guitarist , Tears for Fears.
1964 - The Beatles played the first of two nights at Auckland Town Hall, New Zealand.
1965 - The Hollies were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'I'm Alive', the group's first of two UK No.1's and over 25 other Top 40 singles.
1967- Procol Harum's 'A Whiter Shade of Pale' entered the Billboard chart, where it would peak at No 5. The song was written by the band around a melody composed by the group's organist, Matthew Fisher, who was inspired by the chord progression of Johann Sebastian Bach's 'Orchestral Suite in D', composed between 1725 and 1739.
1972 – Capitol Records released “I Am Woman” by Helen Reddy. It would go on to become a #1 in December of ’72 and would be the first of 4 million-sellers along with “Delta Dawn”, “Leave me Alone” and “Angie Baby”.
1988 – UB40 bass player Earl Falconer was sent to prison for 6 months, with a further 12 suspended, after admitting to causing his brother’s death in a car accident. (2008 – similar to Liam and Michelle plot line in Coronation Street!)
1989 – Soul II Soul start a 4 week run at #1 in the UK charts with “Back To Life”.
1990 – Donnie Wahlberg of New Kids on the Block fell through a trapdoor during a concert in New York. He was hospitalized for a day for bruises to his chest and cuts to his arms and mouth, and received six stitches in his chin.
1992 – Donny Osmond started a year long run in the musical “Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat”, in Toronto, Canada.
1999 - Eric Clapton put 100 of his guitars up for auction at Christie's in New York City to raise money for his drug rehab clinic, the Crossroads Centre in Antigua. His 1956 Fender Stratocaster named Brownie, which was used to record the electric version of ‘Layla’, sold for a record $497,500. The auction helped raise nearly $5 million for the clinic.
2003 – A man who had been deported from Sweden for stalking Abba singer Agnetha Faeltskog was arrested near the singer’s island retreat. Gert van der Graaf, aged 37. had been the singer’s boyfriend from 1997 to 1999 but had been issued a restraining order barring him from seeing or talking to her in 2000.
2004 - A Fender Stratocaster that Eric Clapton nicknamed 'Blackie' sold at a Christie's auction for $959,500 (£564,412) in New York, making it the most expensive guitar in the world. The proceeds of the sale went towards Clapton's Crossroads addiction clinic, which he founded in 1998.
2009 – New Zealand’s Rachel Hunter (former wife of Rod Stewart) has unexpectedly been dumped by her younger lover (and fiancé) Jarret Stoll, without giving a reason. The Los Angeles Kings ice hockey star apparently told guests by email that the star-studded ceremony planned for August 14 was cancelled.
2012 - The crypt in which Elvis Presley was first buried was withdrawn from a Los Angeles auction after protests it should be kept as a shrine. More than 10,000 fans signed a petition against the sale of the tomb at Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee. Julien's Auctions said it would not sell the crypt until the cemetery "finds a plan that best suits the interests of the fans while respecting and preserving the memory of Elvis".
2012 - Billboard.com named Olivia Newton-John's 1982 hit, 'Physical' as The Sexiest Song Of All Time. Other classic Rock songs that made the top ten were Rod Stewart's 'Tonight's The Night', Marvin Gaye's 'Let's Get It On', Donna Summer's 'Hot Stuff' and another Rod Stewart contribution, 'Da Ya Think I'm Sexy'.
2013 - Former Devo drummer Alan Myers died aged 58 in Los Angeles, California, following a long bout with cancer. Myers drummed for Devo between 1976 and 1986.