2014 - Dick Wagner
American rock guitarist, and songwriter Dick Wagner, who worked with Alice Cooper and Lou Reed died from a lung infection aged 71. One of the best-known songs written by Wagner is ‘Only Women Bleed’, which was one of Alice Coppers biggest hits.
2014 - Jail Guitar Doors
A ban on steel-string guitars in prison cells in England and Wales was reversed after a campaign including Billy Bragg, David Gilmour, Elbow’s Guy Garvey and Johnny Marr. Billy Bragg founded Jail Guitar Doors, a scheme that has sent around 350 guitars to prisons since 2007.
2007 - Led Zeppelin
A man admitted bootlegging charges after hearing evidence from Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page. Robert Langley, 57, from Buckingham, originally denied three trademark and two copyright infringements after being caught at a record fair in Glasgow. The seizure of CDs and DVDs two years ago included £11,500 of counterfeit Led Zeppelin material.
2005 - Jimi Hendrix
A new book published to mark the 35th anniversary of the death of Jimi Hendrix claimed the guitarist pretended to be gay so he would be discharged from the army. ‘Room Full of Mirrors’ by Charles Cross said army records showed Hendrix was discharged from the 101st Airborne Division aged 19 in 1962 for “homosexual tendencies.”
2003 - SARS Benefit Concert
The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Rush, The Guess Who, Justin Timberlake, The Flaming Lips, Sass Jordan and The Isley Brothers played a benefit concert in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to prove that the city is safe from SARS. With 450,000 spectators, it was the largest concert in Canadian history.
1991 - Axl Rose
A police officer was forced to tear up a traffic ticket given to the limousine that Axl Rose was travelling in after it made an illegal turn. Rose threatened to pull that nights Guns N’ Roses gig if the ticket was issued.
1988 - Steve Winwood
Steve Winwood started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Roll With It’, a No.53 hit in the UK. Later Motown songwriters Holland-Dozier-Holland were credited with co-writing the song due to its resemblance to the Junior Walker hit (I’m a) Roadrunner.
1987 - David Bowie
David Bowie kicked of the North American leg of The Glass Spider Tour at the Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The tour’s set, described at the time as “the largest touring set ever,” was designed to look like a giant spider. It was 60 feet (18.3m) high, 64 feet (19.5m) wide. A single set took 43 trucks to move from each city.
1974 - Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played The Troubadour in Los Angeles, California on a double bill with Roger McGuinn from The Byrds.
1969 - The Beatles
The Beatles continued working on Abbey Road recording overdubs on ‘Come Together’, ‘Polythene Pam/She Came In Through the Bathroom Window’, ‘You Never Give Me Your Money’ and ‘Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight’. The Beatles began to assemble the “medley” that would make up side two of the album. Paul McCartney told tape operator John Kurlander to discard ‘Her Majesty’, but Kurlander tacked it onto the end of the tape, about 20 seconds after the end of ‘The End’. Hearing it like this, Paul decides to keep it, including the lengthy silence preceding it.
1968 - The Beatles
The Beatles closed their Apple Boutique in London after seven months of business, giving away all the stock to passers-by and Apple staff. John Lennon’s friend Peter Shotton managed the store which was a financial disaster because theft was endemic and customers helped themselves to the stock, as did staff members.
1966 - The Beatles
The Beatles started a five week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Yesterday...And Today’, the group’s 8th No.1 album. Issued only in the United States and Canada, the album is remembered primarily for the controversy surrounding its original cover image, the “butcher cover” featuring the band dressed in white smocks and covered with decapitated baby dolls and pieces of meat.
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