From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Sunday, 8th February):
Birth
1946. Alfredo Fito (Canned Heat) born Adolpho De La Parra in Mexico City, Mexico.
On Stage
1963. Shane Fenton is pelted with eggs when he appears at a lunchtime rock ‘n’ roll session at the Lyceum Ballroom in The Strand, London. Fenton was a last minute replacement for Jess Conrad and was miming when the eggs started to fly.
In Court
1980. David Bowie‘s marriage to Angie ends as their divorce is finalised today. David gets custody of their son, Zowie (now calling himself Joe). Angie gets a cash settlement of £ 30,000. She’s also telling the world that she expects to make another £ 100,000 by writing her memoirs!
In Hospital
1997. The New Edition reunion tour runs into problems in Los Angeles. Bobby Brown fails to show for the gig claiming he has flu and couldn’t perform. If that wasn’t enough, Ronnie Devoe walked off stage during the set after seeing his uncle, the group’s manager Brooke Payne, collapse with chest pains in the wings. Devoe accompanied his uncle to hospital where he was checked over before being discharged to rest at home.
On Television
2008. Later… With Jools Holand. (BBC-2, U.K.) Mayra Andrade; Morrissey; Ida Maria; British Sea Power and Joe Brown. Morrissey performs four tracks. Here he is with one of them, “All You Need Is Me”.
Death
1973. Max Yasgur, the farmer on whose land Woodstock was staged, dies of a heart attack in a Florida hospital.
From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Saturday, 24th January):
Birth
1941. Neil Diamond born Noah Kaminsky in Brooklyn, New York.
On Stage
1969. Lonnie Donegan takes over from Judy Garland in the middle of her 5-week season at London’s Talk Of The Town. The Hollywood star is described as “resting” in her suite at the Ritz Hotel with a nurse in attendance. Yesterday, she had walked off stage after cigarette packets were thrown at her following her late arrival.
In Custody
1980. Paul McCartney has his first meeting with the British Consul since being detained by Japanese authorities on January 16th. The meeting with D.W.F. Warren-Knott lasted about 15 minutes. During that time, the 37 year old singer said he had no complaints about the way he was being treated.
In Court
1978. The case involving Rod Stewart‘s tour band continues at Glasgow Sheriff Court. Two road managers with the group, Patrick Logue (27) and Malcolm Culmore (31), charged with possessing cannabis are found not guilty. Unfortunately, the tour secretary, 29 year old Doris Tyler, is found guilty of perverting the course of justice and is fined £ 130. Police giving evidence against her said that officers answering three different telephones heard her say, “It’s Doris. The drug squad are in the hotel. Ditch everything you’ve got”. Mrs. Tyler was unable to attend the court in person as she’s in Hollywood and unable to travel on health grounds.
On Television
1980. Top Of The Pops. (BBC-1, U.K.) Presented by Mike Read. Barbara Dickson; Boomtown Rats; Buggles; Dollar; Joe Jackson; Legs & Co / Bee Gees; Matchbox; Nolans; Pretenders; Regents; Sheila & B.Devotion; The Specials; Suzi Quatro. Here are the Regents with “7-Teen”.
Death
1970. James “Shep” Sheppard, leader of Shep And The Limelites, is found battered to death in his car on the Long Island Expressway.
Babble
For those of you who thought I’d gone AWOL the last few days, I do apologise. My New Year resolution to get the blog up in the wee small hours may seem to have been abandoned but that’s not really the case.
As you may know, I’m planning to publish a concise version of the Rockmine Almanac through Lulu next month. This has meant making sure it was up-to-date and working properly – which it wasn’t. So, come Monday morning, I decided to get things in order, going through each of my databases and rebuilding them line by line. Two hard-drive failures in the last year had seen me lose numerous source files. I’d tried everything from freezing them to dropping them but somehow, last weekend managed to rescue the last of what I thought was too important to lose.
This week, I’ve been totally focused on my TV database which had 13, 052 shows. That figure is now 19,176 and I still have probably another 5,000 shows on text files I need to check and rebuild. I’ve spent ages sifting through daily TV listings in various libraries and trawling through Rockmine’s vast store of music papers for something approaching a definitive listing of pop and rock on U.K. TV but those files are the most corrupted. As a result, it’s going to take some time to add those.
That said, I’m relatively happy. What I do have, even now, is a wonderful snap-shot of what we were watching across the years. Here’s what the database throws up (so far) for January 24th:
1958American Bandstand.(ABC,U.S.A.) Frankie Lyman and the Teenagers – “Goody-Goody”
1959.The Dick Clark Saturday Night Beechnut Show.(ABC,U.S.A.) Bill Parsons – “All-American Boy”; Joni James – “There Must Be a Way” & “Sorry for Myself”; The Wild Cats – “Gazachstahagen”
1961.American Bandstand.(ABC,U.S.A.) Johnny Burnette – “Little Boy Sad”
1964.Ready, Steady, Go! (Associated-Redifussion (ITV),U.K.) The Searchers – “Needles & Pins”; The Bachelors; Cloe; Susan Maughan; Tony Sheridan; Phil Spector
1964.The Mike Douglas Show. (Syndicated, U.S.A.) Louis Armstrong co-hosts and performs.
1965. The Ed Sullivan Show. (CBS, U.S.A.) The Animals – “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”
1966. Hullabaloo. (NBC, U.S.A.) Host: Dean Jones. Guests: The Bitter End Singers, Peter Nero, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, Bruce Scott
1966.Where The Action Is.(ABC,U.S.A.) Ben E. King: “Spanish Harlem; Dick and DeeDee: “The Mountain’s High; Paul Revere and the Raiders: “Searchin'”
1967.Where The Action Is.(ABC,U.S.A.) J.J. Jackson: “But It’s Alright” & “I Dig Girls; The Outsiders: “Time Won’t Let Me” & “Help Me Girl”.
1968. The Johnathan Winters Show. (CBS, U.S.A.) Guests include Nancy Sinatra – “Cryin’ Time”. The Young Saints – “Feelin’ Good”, “I Know a Place”.
1970.American Bandstand.(ABC,U.S.A.) Joe South – “Walk A Mile In My Shoes”; Biff Rose
1971.Omnibus (BBC-1, U.K.) Chicago Blues
1971.The Barbara McNair Show. (Syndicated, U.S.A.) Hagood Hardy performs, “Eli’s Coming” Barbara sings “Softly, as I Leave You.”
1971. The Ed Sullivan Show. (CBS, U.S.A.) Musical guests: B.J. Thomas, Nancy Ames
1973.The Mike Douglas Show. (Syndicated, U.S.A.) Mike’s guests are The Corneilus Brothers.
1974. Top Of The Pops. (BBC, U.K.) Presented by Jimmy Savile. Andy Williams – Solitaire (Repeat); Golden Earring – Radar Love; Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes – The Love I Lost (Disc); Lulu – The Man Who Sold The World; Medicine Head – Slip & Slide; Mud – Tiger Feet; Stevie Wonder – Living For The City (Disc); Suzi Quatro – Devil Gate Drive; The Stylistics – Rockin’ Roll Baby (Disc); The Sweet – Teenage Rampage.
1975. The Midnight Special (NBC, U.S.A.) Hosts: The Marshall Tucker Band. Guests: Charlie Daniels; Charlie Daniels Band; Olivia Newton-John; Poco
1975.The Mike Douglas Show. (Syndicated, U.S.A.) Guests include singer-songwriter Paul Williams – “Family of Man”, “You and Me Against the World”.
1976.Hee-Haw. (Syndicated, U.S.A.) Guests: Cal Smith, The Statler Brothers and LaWanda Lindsey.
1976. Saturday Night Live (NBC, U.S.A.) Neil Sedaka
1976.Soul Train. (Syndicated, U.S.A.) The Jackson Five
1978. Rockpalast. (WDR, West Germany) Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias (WDR Studio-L Köln)
1978.The Mike Douglas Show. (Syndicated, U.S.A.) Paul Anka co-hosts and sings “Nights on Broadway.”
1980. The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (NBC, U.S.A.) Sarah Vaughan; Jim Stafford
1980. Top Of The Pops (BBC, U.K.) Presented by Mike Read. Barbara Dickson – Caravan Song; Boomtown Rats – Someones Looking At You; Buggles – The Plastic Age; Dollar – I Want To Hold Your Hand; Joe Jackson – Its Different For Girls (Repeat); Legs & Co / Bee Gees – Spirits Having Flown; Matchbox – Buzz-Buzz-A-Diddle It; Nolans – Im In The Mood For Dancing; Pretenders – Brass It Pocket (Repeat); Regents – 7 Teen; Sheila & B.Devotion – Spacer (Promo); The Specials – Too Much Too Young (Promo); Suzi Quatro – Mamas Boy.
1981.Hee-Haw. (Syndicated, U.S.A.) Bruce Jenner; Reba McEntire – “Up In Heaven”; T.G. Sheppard – “I Feel Like Loving You Again”.
1981. Rockpalast. (WDR, West Germany) Michael Schenker Group (Markthalle Hamburg)
1981. Saturday Night Live. (NBC, U.S.A.) Joe “King” Carrasco & The Crowns; 14 Karat Soul
1981.Soul Train. (Syndicated, U.S.A.) Bar-Kays; Yarbrough & Peoples; Robert Winters
1985. Top Of The Pops. (BBC, U.K.) Presented by Mike Smith, Steve Wright. Ashford & Simpson – Solid (Promo); Chaka Khan – This Is The Night; Foreigner – I Want To Know What Love Is (Promo); James Ingram – Yah Mo B There; King – Love & Pride; Strawberry Switchblade – Since Yesterday.
1987.American Bandstand.(ABC,U.S.A.) The Beastie Boys – “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party)!”
1987.Hee-Haw. (Syndicated, U.S.A.) John Schneider (co-host). Guests: Louise Mandrell; The New Grass Revival.
1987. Saturday Night Live. (NBC, U.S.A.) Debbie Harry
1990. The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. (NBC, U.S.A.) Hoyt Axton
1991. The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. (NBC, U.S.A.) Garth Brooks
1991Top Of The PopsBBCU.K.Presented by Simon Mayo. 2 In A Room – Wiggle It (Promo); A Tribe Called Quest – I Can Kick It (Promo); Off-Shore – I Cant Take The Power; Queen – Innuendo (Promo); Rick Astley – Cry For Help; Robert Palmer – Mercy Mercy Me-I Want You (Repeat); The Simpsons – Do The Bartman (Promo); Tongue N Cheek – Forget Me Nots.
1992. The Word. (Channel 4, U.K.) Musical guests: Boy George, Jah Wobble, Sinead O’Connor, Ride, Jagdeep.
1993. Taratata. (France 4, France) Recorded 21 janvier 1993. Solos: Véronique Sanson; Kezia Jones; Les Négresses Vertes; Jocelyne Beroard. Duos: Véronique Sanson & William Sheller; Véronique Sanson & Dany Brillant
1996. Late Show With David Letterman. (CBS, U.S.A.) Musical guest: Joe Ely
1997. Never Mind The Buzzcocks. (BBC-2, U.K.) Peter Hook, Ace, Clare Grogan, Alan Davies
1997.The Rosie O’Donnell Show. (Syndicated, U.S.A.) Guests include Tori Amos.
1997. Top Of The Pops (BBC, U.K.) Presented by Phil Daniels. Byron Stingily – Get Up (Everybody); En Vogue – Don’t Let Go (Love) (Promo); Ginuwine – Pony; Outhere Brothers – Let Me Hear You Say Ole’ Ole’; Reef – Come Back Brighter; Suede – Saturday Night; U2 (Disc);otheque (Promo); White Town – Your Woman (Promo).
1998.Soul Train. (Syndicated, U.S.A.) H-Town; Kimberly Scott; Mic Geronimo
2002. Last Call with Carson Daly. (NBC, U.S.A.) Guests include JaRule.
2002. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. (NBC, U.S.A.) Guests include Chuck Berry; Little Richard
2003. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. (NBC, U.S.A.) Guests include Sheryl Crow
2003. Top Of The Pops (BBC, U.K.) Presented by Richard Bacon. – Year 3000; Daniel Bedingfield – If You’re Not The One; David Sneddon – Stop Living The Lie; Feeder – Just The Way I’m Feeling; Jaimeson ft Angel Blu – TRUE; Libertines – Time For Heroes; Panjabi MC – Mundian To Bach KE; The Everly Brothers – Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots.
2004. Austin City Limits. (PBS, U.S.A.) Keith Urban followed by Rodney Crowell
2005. The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. (CBS, U.S.A.) Guests include: Population One
2006. Last Call with Carson Daly. (NBC, U.S.A.) Guests include The Constantines.
2006. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. (NBC, U.S.A.) Jamie Foxx performs “Unpredictable” from album Unpredictable
2007. Late Show With David Letterman. (CBS, U.S.A.) Rosanne Cash performing “Black Cadillac.”
2007. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. (NBC, U.S.A.) Branford Marsalis performs “Fate” from his CD Braggtown
2008. Late Show With David Letterman. (CBS, U.S.A.) Super Furry Animals perform “Neo-Consumerism.”
2008. Never Mind The Buzzcocks (BBC-2, U.K.) Sophie Ellis Bextor, Yannis, Tim Minchin, James Lance
2008.The Ellen DeGeneres Show. (Syndicated, U.S.A.) Guests include Natasha Bedingfield
2008. The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. (CBS, U.S.A.) Guests include: Ringo Starr
2008. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. (NBC, U.S.A.) Buckcherry performs from the CD “15”
From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Tuesday, 13th January):
Birth
1952. Cornelius Bumpus (The Doobie Brothers) born.
On Tour
1989. Much to the annoyance of local police, Duran Duran end their concert at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia by asking the 10,000 fans to sing along with their newly-penned song, “Free James Brown“. They’re the latest stars to join the campaign to obtain a pardon for the 55 year old “Godfather Of Soul” who was given a six year prison sentence last month for assault and failing to stop during a car chase.
In Custody
1993. Bobby Brown is arrested in Augusta, Georgia for simulating a sex act onstage. This is the second time the Georgia police department have arrested the singer for the same offence.
In Court
2000. Puff Daddy (a.k.a. Sean “Puffy” Combs) and Anthony “Wolf” Jones are indicted by a Manhattan grand jury. Both men are charged with “criminal possession of a weapon in the second and third degree”. The charges relate to their arrest (along with Jennifer Lopez and rapper Jamail “Shyne” Barrow) on December 27th following a nightclub shooting in New York’s Times Square. Barrow has already been indicted with several offences, including attempted murder. Later in the day, Combs releases a statement declaring his innocence and announcing that he will be defended by Johnnie Cochran (one of the O.J. Simpson defence team).
On Television
1995. The Word (Channel 4, U.K.) Musical guests: Veruca Salt, MN8, Tricky. Here are Veruca Salt with “Number One Blind”.
Death
2007. Saxophonist Michael Brecker (The Brecker Brothers) dies in New York from leukemia, aged 59. He worked with Dire Straits, Herbie Hancock, Billy Joel, Elton John, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, Steely Dan, James Taylor and Frank Zappa amongst others.
From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Monday, 5th January):
Birth
1923. Sam Phillips, founder of Sun Records, born in Florence, Alabama.
On Tour
1982. The Addicts are scheduled to be part of the line-up at London’s 100 Club tonight but are forced to drop out at the last minute after drummer Kid Dee (real name Michael Davison) breaks his collar bone while pogo-ing in the snow before the gig.
In Court
2000. One of Sean “Puffy” Combs entourage is indicted with attempted murder following a nightclub shooting in New York’s Times Square on December 27th. 21 year old Jamail “Shyne” Barrow is alleged to have shot and injured three people after a dispute. Barrow is also charged with assault, recless endangerment and criminal possession of a weapon. His lawyer, Murray Richman, sad the indictment had been expected and they would be defending the charges.
In Hospital
1987. Elton John is admitted to a hospital in Sydney, Australia for treatment of a non-malignent leison on his vocal chords. He is ordered not to speak for a while and cancels all remaining concerts of his world tour.
On Television
2006. The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS, U.S.A.) 219. Guests include: Aimee Mann singing “She Really Wants You”.
Death
1998. Congressman Sonny Bono dies aged 62 in a skiing accident at the Heavenly Ski Resort in South Lake Tahoe, California. Cher‘s one-time partner in Sonny & Cher was reported missing at 5 p.m. and was found by a ski patrol two hours later.
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.
To say the blog’s been neglected is an understatement! Hopefully, with the start of the New Year tomorrow, that will all change.
While I may not have been posting anything, I haven’t been idle. The Almanac, the albatross round my neck for the last 23 years, finally seems to be working as a database although the task of updating it is becoming enormous.
I’ll be posting a daily slice again from midnight and the plan is to ensure that publication time from now on. For those that can make use of the information on a commercial basis, I’ll be offering it one week in advance for a small subscription fee.
February will see the publication of The Rockmine Almanac as a hard copy book which will be available via Lulu but published by Rockmine. Needless to say, it will be completely different to the daily blog version.
Rockmine’s ballroom blogs will also be getting brought up to date and work will continue on the big ones, like the Marquee Club. I’m glad to report (and somewhat surprised) that despite my inactivity, all the blogs are still being read which must mean I’m doing something right!
To all those who get it before midnight GMT, Have A Happy New Year!
From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Sunday 2nd November):
Birth
1941. Bruce Welch (The Shadows) born Bruce Cripps in Bognor Regis, Sussex.
On The Street
2003. P. Diddy spent today pounding the pavement and riased $ 2 million for New York children’s AIDS charities. The rapper entered the New York marathon under his real name of Sean Combs. He completed the 26 mile course in 4 hours 14 minutes and 54 seconds and came home in 11,359th place.
In Court
1998. Sarah McLachlan appears for the first day of a three week trial at court in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She is being sued by Darryl Neudorf, recording engineer on her first album, “Touch” who claims he provided parts of the songs “Vox”, “Streaming”, “Sad Clown” and “Strange World” without credit or payment. Neudorf, ex-drummer with Canadian rockers, 54-40 is playing tough. He’s scheduled witnesses from October Game a band McLachlan was in as a teenager who will testify that she has since claimed credits for songs that were written by other members of that band. Despite fans gathering for the event, proceedings are being held in closed court with no public access.
In Hospital
1998. Ska pioneer Roland Alphonso (The Skatalites) collapses onstage during a gig at the Key Club in West Hollywood. He is rushed to Cedars Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles. Despite being kept in hospital for tests and treatment, he will slip into a coma on November 17th and die on November 20th.
1996. Bluesman William “W.C.” Clarke dies in a Fresno hospital after surgery for a bleeding ulcer. He had collapsed yesterday in his hotel room shower hours before he was due onstage for a club date in the city.
From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Wednesday 29th October):
Birth
1944. Denny Laine (Moody Blues/Wings) born Brian Arthur Haynes on the island of Jersey.
On Stage
1997. Adam Yauch (The Beastie Boys) joins a rally in Washington D.C. to protest against China’s human rights abuses in Tibet during the first visit of the Chinese president, Jiang Zemin.
In Court
1999. David Lee Roth files a lawsuit in a Los Angeles court against his former personal manager, Ed Anderson. Anderson had, with the singer’s agreement, set up a web site to sell Roth merchandise but had been asked to remove it in February. Dave’s lawyer, Jeff Bernice said the suit was, “Roth attempting to clean up the bootlegging and piracy of his image off the internet”.
In Hospital
1981. Ten years on from the day of Duane Allman‘s death, Allman Brothers’ Band bassist, Lamar Williams undergoes surgery, at the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in Los Angeles, to remove part of his lung and two ribs. Two years ago he was diagnosed as suffering from lung cancer which doctors speculate may have been caused by contact with Agent Orange in Vietnam.
On Television
1967. The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (ABC, U.S.A.) The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – “The Teddy Bears’ Picnic”
Death
1963. Michael Holiday dies in Croydon General Hospital aged 35 after suffering a drug overdose.
Babble
My comments about Future Publishing yesterday really did bring back some memories. It was a rather insane period between 1999 and 2002. I had heard about First Tuesday, a networking event held around the country that brought together entrepreneurs with accountants, solicitors, advisors and most importantly, angels and venture capitalists. Within six months, I’d gathered a team of people who should have been far too sensible to hang around with me and was pitching for money.
If you’ve ever watched “Dragon’s Den”, you’ll have an idea of what it’s like. First Tuesday was great because it encouraged the concept of the “elevator pitch”. Imagine you’ve walked into an elevator (or lift for those of us on this side of the pond) and there’s a wealthy venture capitalist or investor. You’ve literally got the time between floors to interest or excite them.
I did the elevator pitch to a number of companies and one bit. So much so that I ended up pitching to the European board of a major international science and technology company for £ 32 million! Yes, really. That much! At one point, we (there were two of us there) even had the board up on their feet playing air guitar though one board member asked if he could play air sax! Unbelievably they said yes and passed it to their board in the States when the bubble burst.
Back at First Tuesday, I was approached by a fund manager who’d been head-hunted by Future looking to expand their business into radio and TV. They thought Rockmine was a one-stop facility that could power these and more. The buy-out never happened. The day before they were due to make their offer for the archive, Future’s share price was more than £ 9. Within weeks, it had fallen to 19 pence!
Luckily for me, no-one knew how bad it was going to get. Fully anticipating a turn-around and the ability to come back with an offer at a later time, I was put in golden handcuffs. The company paid me an editor’s salary not to work for their competitors and to give them first option on the Rockmine Almanac.
From time to time, Classic Rock would phone up and ask for info assuming they could access whatever they wanted. When it was pointed out to them that under the terms of my contract they had to pay me for anything, the phone calls soon stopped.
One day, about seven months into my contract, I got a call from Scott Rowley, the editor of Total Guitar. He wanted to know who I was and why I was on the payroll without providing anything for Future. It seemed anyone who knew of the offer to buy Rockmine or my golden handcuffs had left and although they found my contract, it didn’t say why I’d been given it. Scott was sent north to interview me and prepare an internal report to explain what I was being paid for.
The report was done and apart from getting a copy, I never heard anything more. When I contacted the company at the end of the year to let them see the almanac, there was little interest in it as such but they did ask if I’d consider pitching to start a new magazine with it as the basis!
I came home, thought about that for a few days and figured it was a non-starter. First Tuesday slowly fell apart. The glory days of free bars and serious drinking were gone. I did some diligence work for investors but gradually lost touch with everyone and just buried my head in the archive.
From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Sunday 31st August):
Birth
1947. Pete Gage (Vinegar Joe) born.
On Tour
1991. Guns N’ Roses and support band Skid Row play London’s Wembley Stadium. Both bands were allowed to play after receiving written instructions banning them from swearing or leaving the stage at any time during their performances. At one point, Skid Row read out their letter from Brent Council instructing them not to perform the song, “Get The Fuck Out”. This prompts the crowd to chant the title repeatedly before the band do play it. Not to be outdone, Axl Rose lambasts the media for their reaction to the band and their poster campaign – “Guns N’ Fucking Roses, Wembley Fucking Stadium, Sold Fucking Out”. Brent council later say the bands would never have been allowed to play had they not given written undertakings to abide by their instructions. While the council refuse to say if they will now ban both groups, they do admit it will have an effect on license applications.
In Court
1989. Shane McGowan appears at Marylebone Magistrates Court charged with possession of cannabis. He pleads guilty and is fined £ 150. The court is told that the offence came to light when he was arrested on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly.
On The Radio
1990. The Cure try launching their own pirate radio station, Cure 94.8. Broadcasting to the London area. The station runs into a mass of technical problems, eventually starting more than three hours late with Robert Smith at the microphone. They soon give up after discovering that their signal is being swamped by BBC Radio 2 and shelve plans for any future broadcasts.
On Television
1990. The Word (Channel 4, U.K.) Guests include LL Cool J and Deee-lite. Musical guests: MC Tunes and 808 State; Movement 98 featuring Carol Thompson. Here’s MC Tunes vs 808 State with “Tune Splits The Atom”. 4m 50s.
Death
1947. Bluesman Son Bonds dies in Dyersburg, Tennessee from an accidental gunshot wound.
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.
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