From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Thursday 18th September):
Birth
1939. Frankie Avalon born Francis Avallone in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
On Tour
2000. Matchbox 20 are playing Gainsville in Florida but the night doesn’t go well. Guitarist Adam Gaynor has his favourite guitar stolen. The customized Taylor acoustic-electric is described as translucent green with brass hardware and a smoothcutaway design. The band is offering an undisclosed reward for the guitar, thought to be worth at least $ 3,300.
In Custody
1981. Jackson Browne and 36 other protestors are arrested whilst trying to blockade a nuclear power plant at Diablo Canyon in California. It’s the fourth day of protests and so far 966 people have been arrested. The Federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission is due to vote on licensing the plant on September 21st. Until the licence is granted, it will be unable to start production. Environmental protestors are claiming that siting the plant so near an earthquake fault line is unsafe.
In Court
1978. Coroner Gavin Thurston records an open verdict at the inquest into the death of Keith Moon.
On Television
1986. Late Night With David Letterman (CBS, U.S.A.) Musical guest: Keith Emerson who joins Paul Shaffer and the “Late Show Band” to perform a rockin’ version of the song, ‘America’
Death
1970. Jimi Hendrix is taken from a flat in Landsdowne Crescent, Notting Hill, where he’s collapsed to St. Mary Abbott’s Hospital in Kensington but is found to be “dead on arrival”. It’s believed that his death is the result of a drug overdose. A hospital spokesman said “the matter had been referred to the coroner”. For an insight into the differing conspiracy theories surrounding Jimi’s death, why not check out an article I did many years ago for the magazine “Idols” here.
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 (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.
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