From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Monday, 26th January):
Birth
1963. Andrew Ridgeley (Wham!) born in Windlesham, Surrey.
On Tour
1997. Lars Ulrich (Metallica) secretly marries his girlfriend Skylar in secret at a small ceremony in Las Vegas. James Hetfield does the honours as best man/witness.
In Hospital
1998. Joey Ramone’s appearance as DJ at Toronto’s Phoenix Club is cancelled when it’s announced that the 46 year old punk has been ordered not to work for two monts. Ramone was hospitalised for tests earlier in the month. Although his management told The Toronto Sun that “Joey’s condition is very serious” they gave no other details.
In Church
1962. The Catholic Bishop of Buffalo, New York State bans The Twist being danced, sung or talked about at any catholic school or youth event.
On Television
1978. Rockpalast. (WDR, West Germany). Roy Harper (WDR Studio-L, Koln). Here he is with “Another Day”
Death
1991. Singer Karen Young dies in Philadelphia from a bleeding ulcer.
Babble
It’s amazing the things you find by accident. Looking for the clip of Roy Harper I was more than a little taken aback to see the man himself pictured in Sky Trax “studio” back in 1985. What took me by surprise was that I set up the interview and live set that he did and apart from my own VHS copy, thought it sunk without trace. It seems that “Rock Arena” rebroadcast the “Pat Sharp Show” session.
I’d set up a small Scottish tour for Roy and was looking to get as much publicity as possible. He was touring in Europe before hitting Scotland, so Sky Trax was perfect to promote him there and would certainly help me. Anyone I contacted in the BBC or ITV stations seemed to take fright at the mention of his name and his promo video for “Elizabeth” was deemed unplayable by most stations. That meant getting Roy in to do a live set.
Sky Trax studios were hidden away behind the Post Office Tower in London and he’s pictured in a loading bay, straight off the street. they weren’t used to live sessions and we were plagued by mains hum that no-one seemed able to eliminate. Happy days indeed! Here he is with “One Man Rock ‘n’ Roll Band”:
From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Friday, 2nd January):
Birth
1949. Chick Churchill (Ten Years After) born in Mold, Wales.
On Tour
1973. Robert Plant and John Bonham are driving in Bonham’s Bentley to Sheffield for tonight’s Led Zeppelin concert at the City Hall when the car breaks down. The pair are forced to hitch-hike in the pouring rain. Plant catches a cold as a result and the band cancel concerts in Preston on the 3rd and Bradford on the 4th to let him recover.
In Court
2001. Rapper Ol’ Dirty Bastard appears at an arraignment hearing in Queens, New York charged with possession of 20 bags of crack cocaine and a small envelope of marijuana. ODB pleads not guilty but is ordered to be held without bail at the Men’s House Of Detention in Queens until a further court appearance on February 9th. The charges relate to the rapper’s arrest in July 1999 but have been delayed in coming to court because of a court ordered stay at a California rehab facility from which he absconded in October last year. Having fled rehab, the California court issued a warrant for his arrest. That warrant instructs that should he appear before another court he be held without bail regardless of the severity of the charge before him.
In Hospital
1970. Freddie Garrity (Freddie & The Dreamers) suffers head and other injuries when he crashes his Lotus Elan at a roundabout at South Mimms, Hertfordshire. He is taken to Barnet General Hospital where an emergency operaition is carried out. His passenger, 19 year old Ann Osbourne of Grimsby is also hospitalised. Both patients are said to be “comfortable”. Garrity will remain in in Barnet General for ten days or so; Osbourne for half that time.
On Television
2007. The Ellen DeGeneres Show (Syndicated, U.S.A.) 571. Guests include John Mayer, seem above being interviewed by Ellen and performing “Gravity”.
Death
1980. Larry Williams (“Bony Moronie”, “Dizzy Miss Lizzy”) shoots himself at home in Los Angeles, aged 44.
1997. Master P is number one in the U.S. album chart with “Ghetto D”, so it’s no surprise that his show at the Doraville International Ballroom in Atlanta will be popular. Unfortunately 12,000 people manage to squeeze into the club which only holds 5,000. The police get a report of overcrowding and head down for a look. First, they try to evacuate the building. Then they spot some fans trying to get in through a side door and hit them with pepper sprays. Police plan number 2: clear half the fans and run two shows. Master P agrees. The first gig starts. The support act finishes its set and just before the rapper hits the stage, a fight breaks out. A shot is heard and Master P cancels the show instantly. The fans, left with nothing else to do trash the stage and P.A. before heading outside to clash with police. Only five arrests are made but thousands of dollars worth of damage is caused to the venue.
In Court
2002. Sean “P. Diddy” Combs is ordered to pay $ 2.45 million to a limo driver who alleges he was injured by the rapper’s bodyguards during a concert in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1995. Judge William Z. Wood, presiding, ordered the payment after Combs failed to answer the lawsuit brought by driver Cedric Bobby Lemon within 30 days as laid down in state law.
Records of the Civil Superior Court for Forsyth County, North Carolina show that Combs refused to accept a summons from a County deputy when the rap star appeared in concert in Greensboro Coliseum on June 21. In a brief statement to the media a spokesperson for Combs later announced they would be seeking to dismiss the judgment.
In Hospital
1966. French pop star, Johnny Halliday, is taken to hospital after suffering an overdose of sleeping pills. The 23 year old singer was visited later in the day by his estranged wife, singer Sylvie Vartan. She was described as looking stunned by those who saw her leave after a short while
On Television
1993. Late Show With David Letterman (CBS, U.S.A.) David Sanborn becomes the first musician to sit in with The CBS Orchestra. Musical guest: Robert Plant with “29 Palms” plus brief interview. 6m 40s.
Death
2005. Blues guitarist and singer Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown dies of cancer in Vinton, Louisiana, U.S.A.
Babble
The never ending saga continues and I’m heading back up to Elgin with hopes of putting this exhibition to rest or on display this month. As ever, publicity is being left to the last minute but that may be no bad thing. Who can tell how it will go ahead, if it does! It would have been great to try and link in with Bootstock the intimate little rock festival being held just a short distance along the coast this weekend but no-one ever thinks of these things.
The only good thing (if there is one) is it gives me a chance to get all the listings for The Two Red Shoes Ballroom. I should have them by now but lost three whole years when I left the papers in the footwell of the car. they got soaked, either by a leak or rainwater, and when I went to get them the ink had all run. There’s a moral in there somewhere.
My plan is simple: to put a Two Red Shoes blog up with complete listings of everyone who played, YouTube clips of the major bands, adverts, photos and cuttings. It’s what I’ve done with The Ballerina Ballroom in Nairn, the sister venue also run by promoter Albert Bonici. While the new blog does exist at the moment, I’m not going to link to it until all the years are online. I think it will have far more impact and certainly get local publicity if it’s complete.
Talking of The Ballerina, I put an advert in the Nairnshire Telegraph which came out yesterday but as yet have had no response. I was looking for paper items and photographs relating to the bands that played there. I know that when the ballroom was being painted prior to the “Cinema Of Dreams” festival someone walked in and told John Byrne they’d found a Syd Barrett autograph they’d obtained in 1967. Why don’t people like that contact me?
From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Wednesday 20th August):
Birth
1948. Robert Plant (do I really have to say Led Zeppelin?) born in West Bromwich, England.
On Tour
1996. Whitney Houston gets £ 1.3 million for a 90 minute performance at a banquet held by the Sultan Of Brunei.
In Court
1981. Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy) appears at Kingston Crown Court to face three charges – possessing cocaine, possessing cannabis and cultivating cannabis. He’s found guilty of possessing cocaine and fined £ 200 but acquitted on both of the other charges. The court case follows a police raid on Lynott’s house in Kew Road, Richmond in November 1979. It took the jury two and three-quarter hours to reach its verdicts. Speaking to reporters outside the court, Lynott said he was very concerned about the effect the guilty verdict might have on his ability to tour the United States. Lynott had told the court that he’d given up smoking cannabis after the birth of his daughter, Sara, almost three years ago. he also said that he was unaware of possessing any cocaine. The jacket, in which two packets of the drug had been found, had been loaned to a friend and only returned the day before the raid.
In Hospital
1994. Sound engineer Tim Warhurst falls from a lighting gallery during rehearsals for Take That’s appearance at London’s Docklands Arena. He is flown by air ambulance to the Royal London Hospital where he is found to be suffering from head and spinal injuries that may leave him paralysed for life.
On Television
1975. Musikladen (ZDF, Germany) 20. 10cc; Bay City Rollers; Johnny Cash; Rubettes; The Cats; Paper Lace; ABBA; Roger Glover; Creedence Clearwater Rivival (Oldie); The Seekers. Here’s 10cc with “I’m Not In Love”. 4m 06s.
Death
1971. George Jackson, one of the Soledad Brothers, is shot dead by warders when he tries to escape from San Quentin Prison in California. Jackson, 29, had served 11 years for the theft of $ 70 and was currently in jail awaiting trial for the alleged killing of a prison warder during his sentence which was served at Soledad Prison. His court hearing was scheduled for August 23rd but he decided not to wait and escape instead. During the escape attempt, two other prisoners were shot dead by guards. Two prisoners had their throats slit by those escaping and a warder was stabbed to death. The event is captured for posterity by Bob Dylan in the song, “George Jackson”.
Music Paper From Today
New Musical Express from 20th August 1977. A copy taken from Rockmine’s almost complete run of U.K. music papers from the last 45 years.
From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Tuesday 29th July):
Birth
1953. Geddy Lee (Rush) born Gary Lee Weinrib in Toronto, Canada.
On Stage
1996. The Pogues play their last ever gig in front of 300 mourning fans at The Dome in London. In deference to the occasion Shane MacGowan is poured onto the stage with the band that sacked him. He manages one song before stumbling off stage with the words, “Goodbye forever, thank Christ for that”.
In Custody
1973. Shortly before Led Zeppelin are due onstage at New York’s Madison Square Gardens, road manager Richard Coles discoveres that $ 180,000 is missing from their safety deposit box at the city’s Drake Hotel. After the gig, the band are taken to a party hosted by Atlantic Records boss Ahmet Ertegun where they are presented with gold discs for “Houses Of The Holy”. When they do get back to the hotel, manager Peter Grant is arrested for assaulting New York Daily News photographer Charles Ruppermann.
In Court
1986. Boy George appears at Marylebone Magistrates’ Court, charged with possessing an unspecified quantity of heroin. He’s fined £ 250. Mr. Geoffrey Neil, presiding, told him, “I think it’s right to say that you faced up to this charge manfully. It is quite clear that you started to attempt to act on this matter long before the police raid”.
During a live TV interview later in the day, George said, “I have had letters from kids that made me feel so ashamed. I don’t want to say I have an excuse, I don’t … I started taking it a long, long time ago, casually. One day you wake up and you realise it is a problem”. He told another television interviewer that he pleaded guilty so that police could convict the dealers that supplied him.
On Television
1977. The Midnight Special (NBC, U.S.A.) 210. Hosts: KC & The Sunshine Band. Guests: The Bay City Rollers, The Emotions, Peter McCann, Willie Nelson (Tribute) Flora Purim, Cat Stevens (music video). Here are KC & The Sunshine Band with “I’m Your Boogie Man”. 3m 58s.
Death
1988. Country session guitarist Pete Drake dies aged 55.
From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Saturday 26th July):
Birth
1961. Gary Cherone (Extreme) born in Malden, Massachusetts.
On Tour
1977. Robert Plant is in New Orleans preparing for Led Zeppelin’s show on the 30th when he is told that his five year old son Karac has died from a virus at home in England. He flies back with John Bonham and the band cancel the rest of their U.S. tour.
On The Internet
2002. The Record Industry Association of America’s web site, RIAA.org suffers a denial-of-service attack which lasts until the morning of July 29th. The attack, which mimics thousands of users sucking up the site’s bandwidth, rendered it unviewable for the duration. Although a spokesman said they would not speculate about the reason for the attack, experts believe that it’s a response to the RIAA’s endorsement yesterday of a bill allowing copyright holders to actively block or disrupt file trading networks.
In Court
1996. Leshaun Williams drops her lawsuit against LL Cool J for unlawful dismissal and accepts an undisclosed sum as settlement. She also abandons her plans to stage a protest outside the star’s forthcoming Radio City Music Hall date. The suit had been filed with assistance from the Equal Opportunities Commission after Williams was told she was too fat to star in one of Cool J’s videos.
On Television
1969. The Johnny Cash Show (ABC, U.S.A.) 7. Guests include Marty Robbins. Here he is with “El Paso”. 4m 04s.
Death
1990. Brent Mydland (The Grateful Dead) dies from an overdose of cocaine and morphine outside his home in Lafayette, California aged 38.
1965. Slash born Saul Hudson in Stoke-On-Trent, Staffordshire. His father, Anthony designed album covers (Joni Mitchell’s “Court & Spark” amongst others) and his mother, Ola was a costume designer for “The Man Who Fell To Earth”.
In Church
1971. John Maus, better known as John Walker (The Walker Brothers) marries Julie Parker Cann at St. John’s Roman Catholic Church in Norwich. The event is kept secret to avoid an invasion of fans, and is only seen by a few passers-by. Miss Cann was formerly secretary to DJ Simon Dee.
In Custody
1977. Led Zeppelin run into trouble after their concert at the Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California. John Bonham, manager Peter Grant and crew members Richard Cole and John Bindon are arrested and charged with battery following a number of minor arguments with members of Bill Graham’s staff.
In Court
1976. George Harrison and Ringo Starr fail in their attempt to get a court injunction stopping Polydor Records from releasing “The Beatles Tapes”. The album is a compilation of interviews gathered by David Wigg from 1968 to 1973 for the London Evening News. The Fabs tried to stop the release claiming that the interviews didn’t reflect their current views and it might be construed as a genuine “Beatles” album. The judge refused the injunction saying such claims were “ridiculous”.
On Television
1980. Rockpalast (WDR, Germany) The Beat (WDR Studio-B Koln)
Death
1995. Two men die during R.E.M.’s concert at Dublin’s Slane Castle. One drowns while swimming across the River Boyne to get in for free. The other is accidentally pushed from a bridge into the river. The drownings happen despite a special river rescue team patrolling all weekend.
From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Thursday 19th June):
Birth
1948. Nick Drake born in Rangoon, Burma.
On Politics
1984. Michael Jackson is denounced by the Kremlin for having sold out his black roots and being a puppet of the Reagan administration.
In Custody
1990. Adam Franklin (Swervedriver) is arrested and charged with causing an affray after an incident with a bouncer after the band’s gig at London’s Borderline Club which leaves him with several broken teeth and facial bruising. He spends a night in police cells before being released in the morning. Due to his injuries he can barely speak. As a result the band cancel the rest of their U.K. tour.
In The Press
1976. Seventeen year old scribe, Steven Morrissey hits the big time when he gets a letter published in Melody Maker and New Musical Express about The Sex Pistols concert on June 4th in Manchester. Here’s the letter:
“I PEN this epistle after witnessing the infamous Sex Pistols ‘in concert’ at the Manchester Lesser Free Trade Hall. The bumptious Pistols in jumble sale attire had those few that attended dancing in the aisles despite their discordant music and barely audible audacious lyrics, and they were called back for two encores. The Pistols boast no inspiration from the New York / Manhattan rock scene, yet their set includes “I’m Not Your Steppin’ Stone” a number believed to be done almost to perfection by the Heartbreakers on any sleazy New York night, and the Pistols’ vocalist/exhibitionist Johnny Rotten’s attitude and self-asserted “love us or leave us” approach can be compared to both Iggy Pop and David JoHansen in their heyday.
Not to mention the fact that the Pistol’s manager is the legendary Malcolm MacClaren who has had close connections with the New York Dolls. The Sex Pistols are very New York and it’s nice to see that the British have produced a band capable of producing atmosphere created by the N.Y. Dolls and their many imitators, even though it may be too late. I’d love to see the Pistols make it. Maybe then they will be able to afford some clothes which don’t look as though they’ve been slept in.” – STEVE MORRISEY, Stretford, Manchester
On Television
1980. Musikladen (ZDF, Germany) 54. A la Carte – Do wah diddy diddy; Gibson Brothers – Mariana; The Days – Teacher, teacher; Oscar Harris – Song for the children; Matchbox – Midnite dynamos; Jona Lewie – Kitchen at parties; Jimmy Ruffin – Hold on to my love; Paul McCartney – Coming up (Video); Pretenders – Brass in pocket; Marianne Faithful – Broken English; Roxy Music – Over you; Lipps Inc. – Funkytown; Johnny Cash – Sunday morning coming down (Oldie: 1972); Showaddywaddy – Always & ever. Here’s Marianne Faithful.
Death
2002. Frank “Skip” Candelon, ex-lead singer of Turning Point is found dead in his New Jersey home from a suspected drug overdose. The event is announced by the band’s web site which also says, “the family wishes the details of Skip’s death to remain private”.
Babble
I’ve finally got some of Rockmine’s music film posters up for sale on-line. They’ve been sitting in drawers and portfolios since they were last taken to a memorabilia/record fair in Paris back in 1995! They’re all originals, sent out to cinemas to promote the movie. Here are direct links to them:
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