1965 - The Beatles
The Beatles cartoon series premiered on ABC TV in the US. The first story was titled I Want to Hold Your Hand and had the group exploring the ocean floor in a diving bell where they met a lovesick octopus.
1969 - John Lennon
John Lennon recorded the track ‘Cold Turkey’, with Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Klaus Voorman and Yoko. Lennon presented the song to Paul McCartney as a potential single by The Beatles, but was refused and released it as a Plastic Ono Band single with sole writing credits to him.
1972 - Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath released their fourth studio album, ‘Black Sabbath Vol. 4′. The album which features a monochrome photograph of Ozzy Osbourne with hands raised, taken during a Black Sabbath concert was originally to be titled ‘Snowblind’, after one of several songs referring to the band’s cocaine use.
1976 - Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney and Wings played a charity concert in St Marks Square, Venice to raise funds for the historic city. The night was a success but the weight of the equipment used by the group caused more damage to the square.
1980 - John Bonham
John Bonham, drummer with Led Zeppelin, died aged 32 after a heavy drinking session. ‘Bonzo’ was found dead at guitarists Jimmy Page’s house of what was described as asphyxiation, after inhaling his own vomit after excessive vodka consumption, (40 shots in 4 hours). During live sets his drum solo, ‘Moby Dick,’ would often last for half an hour and regularly featured his use of his bare hands. In 2007, Ludwig issued a limited edition drum kit in Bonham’s memory.
1982 - Queen
Queen made a guest appearance on US TV’s Saturday Night Live, where they performed ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ and ‘Under Pressure’.
1990 - Nirvana
Drummer Dave Grohl auditioned for Nirvana and was instantly given the job. Grohl’s last band, Scream had recently split up. While playing in Scream, Grohl became a fan of the Melvins and eventually befriended them. During a 1990 tour stop on the West Coast, Melvins’ guitarist Buzz Osborne took his friends Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic, both then with Nirvana, to see a Scream performance.
1992 - Ozzy Osbourne
Two fans were stabbed and 20 arrests were made after trouble broke out at a Ozzy Osbourne gig in Oklahoma City. The sale of alcohol at the concert was blamed for the incident.
1993 - Nirvana
Nirvana went to No.1 on the UK album chart with their third and final studio album In Utero, the band’s first UK No.1 album. The album was recorded over two weeks in February 1993 at Pachyderm Studio in Cannon Falls, Minnesota.
1999 - Bill Wyman
Former Rolling Stone Bill Wyman became the first major artist to release an album on his own personalised digital MP3 player. The matchbox-sized device with no moving parts was one of the smallest of its kind in the world and featured encryption software designed in the UK to prevent piracy.
2000 - Black Sabbat
Ozzy Osbourne formally requested that Black Sabbath be removed from the nomination list for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Calling the inclusion “meaningless”, Osbourne went on to say “Let’s face it. Black Sabbath have never been media darlings. We’re a people’s band and that suits us just fine.”
2007 - Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters released their sixth studio album Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace. The album was nominated for five Grammy Awards, winning Best Rock Album, and was also awarded the Brit Award of Best International Album.
2013 - Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain’s childhood home in Aberdeen, Washington went on the market. Cobain’s mother Wendy O’Connor and sister Kim Cobain put up for sale the East 1st St. house, where he was raised, for $500,000, in hopes of connecting with someone who would turn it into a museum.
2015 - David Gilmour
David Gilmour’s fourth studio album Rattle That Lock went to No.1 on the UK album chart. Gilmour had been writing the material for Rattle That Lock over the past five years, though he pointed out that one piano piece was recorded 18 years ago in his living room.
2017 - Tom Petty
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers appeared at the Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood, California. The concert, which would ultimately be the Heartbreakers’ final show, ended with a performance of ‘American Girl’. Tom Petty died of an accidental drug overdose a week later on October 2, 2017.