Today In Music, July 24th

From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Thursday 24th July):

Birth

1935. Songwriter Les Reed (“It’s Not Unusual”, “There’s A Kind Of Hush” and many more) born in Woking, Surrey.

On Tour

1964. Britain’s biggest rock riot takes place during The Rolling Stones concert in Blackpool’s Empress Ballroom. Blackpool is besieged by drunken Glaswegians, in the city for their annual holiday. Unfortunately hundreds of them are amongst the audience of 9,000. Things turn sour when Keith Richards objects to Brian Jones being spat at by youths at the front of the stage. He retaliates with his boot, first standing on someone’s hands and then kicking another in the face. Within moments, the band are running for their lives.

It takes several hours for calm to be restored. By that time more than £ 2,000 worth of Stones’ equipment has been smashed, curtains in the hall are pulled down, seating is destroyed and the ballroom’s chandelier damaged. Two policemen and thirty members of the audience require treatment at Blackpool’s Victoria Hospital.

The band are booked in to spend the night at a hotel in Preston, twenty miles away and hastily arrange a round the clock police guard in case they’ve been followed.

In Custody

1996. Rapper Warren G is arrested at the Los Angeles gay and lesbian nightclub Peanuts following the discovery of a loaded 9mm assault weapon in his trunk. Police are called to a disturbance outside the club and notice the truck which matches the description of one used in an armed robbery last week.

The rapper later holds a press conference to admit that he was arrested at the club but insists he was there on a lesbian only night (?). He is released on $ 10,000 bail and will appear in court on August 16th to face charges of possessing a concealed loaded weapon.

In Church (well, almost)

1999. Following their civil marriage yesterday, Phil Collins, 48, and his new bride Orianne Cevey, 27, have a religious blessing at the Beau Rivage Palace Hotel in Lausanne, Switzerland. After the ceremony, a lavish reception is held in the hotel with guests including Eric Clapton.

During their stay at the hotel, Phil arranged for Jack (his Jack Russell Terrier) to have his own suite at a cost of £ 220 a night. Jack got a double bed, minibar, sunken bath and balcony. If that wasn’t enough, a dog-sitter was booked to take Jack walkies, whenever the need arose. Orianne’s mother didn’t fare so well. While Jack was living it up in a suite, she had to make do with a standard room!

On Television

1968. Kraft Music Hall (NBC, U.S.A.) 84. The Turtles – “Elenore”. 2m 33s.

Death

1972. Bobby Ramirez (drummer with Edgar Winter’s White Trash) dies in a knife fight in a back alley off Rush Street, Chicago aged 23.

 

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