Today In Music, August 8th

From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Friday 8th August):

Birth

1958. Chris “Chrissie Boy” Foreman (Madness) born in London.

On Tour

1992. Metallica‘s James Hetfield is seriously injured by a pyrotechnic on stage at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium. He is rushed to hospital where he is found to be suffering from second and third degree burns on the back of his left hand, and first degree burns on his right arm. Although he continues the tour as lead vocalist, he is unable to play guitar and a temporary replacement, Metal Church‘s John Marshall is brought in.

The concert later ends in a riot when Axl Rose walks off after only twenty minutes suffering from throat trouble. Fans set fire to parts of the stadium, destroy seating, and ransack shops before leaving. Outside, they overturn cars and uproot street lights. Police regain control using tear gas. Two police officers are taken to hospital, 20 people are injured and 25 arrested.

In Custody

1983. Harold Melvin and three members of The Blue Notes are arrested on charges of possessiong cocaine in Atlantic City, New Jersey. They are bailed for $ 100,000.

In Court

1991. Eric Clapton is banned from driving and fined £ 200 at Guildford Magistrates Court. Clapton admitted speeding on the A3 near Wisley in Surrey in April. He had been driving his silver Ferrari at 103 miles an hour after visiting a friend to talk about the death of his son, Connor.

On Television

1994. Late Show With David Letterman (CBS, U.S.A.) Show #0210. Musical guest: Celine Dion with “River Deep, Mountain High”. 4m 33s.

Death

1975. Jazz great Julian “Canonball” Adderley dies of a stroke, aged 46.

Babble

As I said yesterday, I thought I’d give you a taste of what the exhibition space/cafe at the Ballerina Ballroom Cinema Of Dreams will look like. Here’s how it looked when I left on Wednesday:

I spent yesterday afternoon in Edinburgh grabbing some culture at the Festival and had a wonderful time at the city’s Fruitmarket Gallery. They were staging an exhibition called “The House Of Books Has No Windows” by Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller. There were six installations, each in their own room and it really was a delight. The highlight for me was “Opera For A Small Room”, a mixed media installation involving 8 record players, 24 loudspeakers and 2,000 records.

It was a celebration of the joy of being alone with a record collection and merged opera, the sounds of rain and a train, the footsteps of the mysterious inhabitant of the room and rock music. Set in a darkened space where often it was too dark to see where to move, it was a voyeuristic fantasy, constantly drawing you closer when the lights erupted. A doorway, several small windows and a large opening reminiscent of a recording studio window, allowed the viewer to glimpse the world of the inhabitant. Each viewing position revealed more quirky things illustrating the moods of the mysterious owner.

For any collector who struggles with piles and chaos it was a heartwarming evocation of life as we’d like to live it. Immersed, maybe even submerged within our collections, how much do we long to live our lives in the sounds we can manipulate? Definitely a must see. 

 

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