From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Tuesday, 27th January):
Birth
1961. Gillian Gilbert (New Order) born in Manchester, England.
On Tour
1977. Patti Smith falls fifteen feet from the stage at a gig in Tampa, Florida. She fractures the seventh vertebrae in her neck and requires 22 stitches.
In Court
1992. Country singer Sydney Devine is fined £ 75 and has 3 penalty points added to his driving licence at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court. Although he was not in court, the singer admitted driving at 79 m.p.h. on a 60 m.p.h. stretch of the A77 on October 24th last year.
In Hospital
1984. Michael Jackson‘s hair catches fire during the filming of a Pepsi advert. He is rushed to the Cedars Sinai Medical Center suffering second and third degree burns to the scalp. Media interest in the story forces hospital authorities to move Jackson to Brotman Memorial Hospital for treatment.
On Television
2006. The Ellen Degeneres Show. (Syndicated, U.S.A.). Guests include Heather Headley who performs “In My Mind”
Death
1967. Italian pop singer Luigi Tenco shoots himself in a fit of depression having been eliminated from the finals of the San Remo Festival. Police say the 27 year old took his life with a single pistol shot to the head. He left a suicide note saying he had “devoted the best years of my life to singing and writing songs” and was doing this “as an act of protest against the public and the jury” for their selections for the final. Tenco was not alone. Some big names including Marianne Faithfull never made it into the final.
Babble
It’s odd how differently we see things as the years pass. Browsing old copies of Melody maker for TV listings, I came across news of a blanket radio and TV ban on a Parlophone single. Titled “Nothing Better To Do”, it was released on July 3rd, 1964, and took the mickey out of mods and rockers. The wording suggested that they had nothing better to do than invade towns.
Whether the broadcasters thought it would be a call to arms for the two factions is unclear but ABC-TV, producers of “Thank Your Lucky Stars” said, “The record is not in the best interests of the general public”. MM merely said “the BBC have shunned the disc”.
Odd then, to think that the artist singing the song would later go on to become a much-loved national institution within the BBC – Bill Oddie OBE.
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 (Wednesday 8th October):
Birth
1948. Johnny Ramone born John Cummings in Long Island.
On Tour
1993. David Griffith a 27 year old Levellers fan dies after falling from the balcony at the band’s sell-out show at Newcastle’s Mayfair. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Royal Victoria Infirmary where a post mortem later shows that he died from head injuries.
In Court
1999. Debbie Rowe Jackson files divorce papers in Los Angeles County Superior Court citing irreconcilable differences with husband Michael Jackson. The petition states that the couple have been separated since July 15th this year. A confidential settlement has been agreed regarding property and money. No indication is given as to custody arrangements for the couple’s two children – Michael Joseph Jackson Jnr. (2) and Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson (1).
Jackson met Rowe when she was working as a nurse in the office of his plastic surgeon. They married on November 15th 1996.
In Business
1976. The Sex Pistols sign to EMI Records at a four hour long evening meeting. The signing was rather unexpected and rushed. Polydor Records seemed to be the only label ready to sign them – so much so, they’d actually booked a recording session for tonight. The signing fee is £ 40,000, a considerable amount for an as yet unheard band.
On Television
1995. Taratata (France 4, France) Solos: Tears For Fears, Pascal Obispo. Duos: Tears For Fears and Oletta Adams, Tears For Fears and Julian Lennon – “Stand By Me”
Death
1995. Music journalist Johnny Waller dies in a road accident aged 40.
Babble
My real problem today is understanding what’s going on in Elgin. I have considered it to be a real Narnia transposed to the North Easst of Scotland and I have thought it akin to falling down the rabbit hole after its white owner. Today, I may just have got a handle on it: the reality diffusion effect.
In anthropology, diffusion accepts that races and cultures will spread and intermingle. Racial purity and ethnic traits are lost but to a large degree appearances remain the same. So, let’s consider it here. Reality starts with a premise that everyone can believe in and then through intermingling with other ideas becomes something totally different. For example, a date is agreed and then allowed to diffuse. The most recent occurence of this was on September 26. Two people take away the same date and yet even in the space of a week it duffuses into two dates separated by a month.
What the Hell are you talking about? I hear you say. Well, it’s the imaginary memorabilia exhibition on the walls of the wardrobe in Narnia. You really would be surprised at just how capacious it is. However, it doesn’t help that I’m the one holding on to reality.
Today, while I should have been organising something (although I’m not sure what), I’ve ended up dealing with mails from two different owners of the wardrobe both of whom seem to have the outstanding ability to totally contradict themselves. They’ll quite happily say “I didn’t say that” only to be confronted with a previous mail from them which clearly says exactly that. The amazing bit is they can then turn round and say, “No, I may have said that but that wasn’t what I meant.”
Reality diffusion at its finest!
I’ve asked the wardrobe owners to put together a press release with me explaining that after six months we’ve given up on the idea of staging a memorabilia exhibition. It may seem an odd thing to publicize but I feel it’s essential to stop me looking like a total moron. That said, maybe the fact that I’ve spent six months trying to do this just proves that I am one!
One good thing about this is having got my head round the fact that very little of what I see here is real, it’s easy to get totally into the idea of virtual reality. So, although I’m going to tie this up tomorrow, I’m going to forget a real exhibition for now and stage a virtual one. In other words, I’ll just put all the exhibition pieces online and share them with the whole world.
From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Thursday 7th August):
Birth
1949. Tim Renwick (Quiver, Mike & The Mechanics) born in Cambridge, England.
On Tour
1984. Death threats have been received by The Knoxville News Sentinel against Michael Jackson who is performing the first of two shows in the city tonight. The threats are taken seriously enough that the F.B.I. are called in. The F.B.I. think the threats are unfounded but organisers step up security all the same. Both tonight’s concert and another on the 9th pass off without incident.
In Court
1998. Bernard Ortiz, a homeless man who has been stalking Linda Ronstadt for three years, is sentenced to ten months in jail. It was his second time in court over the singer. He had previously been given three years probation and ordered not to contact Ronstadt or her family. He violated the probation after only three months, sending his “victim” a watch, candles and a letter on her birthday.
In Hospital
1997. Richard Marsh (Bentley Rhythm Ace) breaks his back during a parachute jump at Langar Airfield, Nottinghamshire. The jump was being filmed for the video of the band’s next single, “Bentley’s Gonna Sort You Out” but Marsh was caught by a gust of wind during landing and thrown heavily onto his back. He was taken to Nottingham General Hospital where doctors said he would make a full recovery but need three months rest.
On Television
1957. American Bandstand (ABC, U.S.A.) 3. Paul Anka; The Tassels. This was Paul Anka’s first network TV appearance in the U.S.A. Aged only 16, he performed his soon to be massive international number 1 hit, “Diana”. While I can’t guarantee this is the correct clip, it is the correct period and I’m a bit short of time today. 2m 13s.
Death
1978. Les Perrin, publicist for The Rolling Stones and others, dies.
Babble
There’s not a huge amount to report since yesterday. I spent another three hours in the Heritage Centre in Elgin digging through microfiche copies of the Northern Scot newspaper. So far I’ve compiled a list from 1966 to 1970 of the bands that played the Ballerina Ballroom in Nairn.
Here’s a sample from July – December 1967:
July07 – Cream plus Newton’s Theory with its Go-Go Girls. The gig was cancelled when the van carrying the band’s equipment failed to turn up.
July10 – Cream return to play their concert.
July21 – Pink Floyd
July28 – Gino Washington and The Ram Jam Band plus The Copy Cats
August18 – The Small Faces – concert cancelled.
August31 – Zoot Money and his new group Dantalion’s Chariot plus The T-Set
September08 – The Freddie Mack Show
September15 – The Throb plus The Life N’ Soul
September22 – Tony Merrick plus The T-Set
October06 – The Who plus Gideon’s Few
October 13 – The Beatstalkers plus The Rebel Sound
October20 – The Four Shades Of Blue plus The T-Set
October27 – The Tamala Express plus The Beatroute
November03 – The Rhubarb plus The Barons
November10 –Clock-work Orange plus Last Chapter
November17 – Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich
December01 – The Delroy Williams Show plus Keith Taylor
December08 – The Troggs plus The Throb
December15 – Symon Dupree
December22 – Cash Boutique Queen For 1967. Grand Final
December25 – Aberdeen Students’ Charities’ Campaign present Their Xmas Beatnik Ball with The Circle plus The T-Set
December29 – The 1967 Last Fling with The Middle Earth plus The T-Set
I have to say it’s been a bit disappointing. While I wasn’t expecting a weekly or monthly catalogue of household names, they’ve so far been few and far between apart from the period above. That said, it paints an incredible picture of the constant touring of small to medium sized bands. The names that have stood out are the likes of Writing On The Wall, My Dear Watson, Spiggy Topes and Archemedes Principle. Now what i’m trying to do is find photos and adverts for some of them.
I went back to the Ballerina and found that John Byrne had more or less completed the area that will serve as exhibition space and festival cafe. I’ll get up some images either later today or tomorrow.
From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Sunday 20th July):
Birth
1956. Paul Cook (The Sex Pistols) born in London, England.
On Tour
1996. Michael Jackson flies into Brunei where he is being paid $ 15 – $ 20 million for performing three shows. One show will be for the Sultan who celebrates his 50th birthday and another will be at the opening of a theme park built by the Sultan for his people.
In The Press
1940. Billboard magazine publsihes the very first singles chart. Until this date, the magazine had publisherd individual listings of sales for each record label. This chart combined all labels for the first time. Topping the chart was “I’ll Never Smile Again” by the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra with Frank Sinatra and The Pied Pipers.
In Hospital
1999. Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood leaves St. Thomas’s Hospital in London with a police guard. He had been shot by a Yardie gunman on a motorcycle as he drove home from a music festival on July 18th. Throughout his stay in hospital, Westwood was guarded by armed police officers.
On Television
2003. Rockpalast (WDR, Germany) Mother’s Finest (Burg Satzvey, Bourbonensaal). Here they are with “Dis Go Dis Way”, “Dis Go Dat Way, Fly With Me”.
Death
1977. Gary Kellgren co-owner of The Record Plant recording studios in Los Angeles and Sausalito drowns in a Hollywood swimming pool.
From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Tuesday 27th May):
Birth
1957. Siouxsie Sioux (Siouxsie And The Banshees) born Susan Dallion in London, England.
On Tour
1990. The Stone Roses play a mega-rave at Spike Island near Widnes for 30,000 fans. 400 people are treated on site for minor injuries, 27 are hospitalised and five are kept in overnight. One person dies from a heart attack. There are only four arrests – three for drugs and one for public order offences..
In Court
1997. Judge David Horowitz rules in favour of Pamela Anderson Lee, wife of Motley Crue‘s drummer Tommy, at the end of a trial brought against her by The Private Movie Company who had sued the star for $ 5 million claiming breach of contract. The suit alleged that Pamela had agreed to star in a Shoiwtime cable TV movie entitled, “Hello, She Lied”. The company also alleged that had the ex-Baywatch star gone ahead with the movie, the company would have made more than $ 5 million in overseas sales. As it was they just broke even on the project.
In Hospital
1969. Cilla Black gives herself an unusual 26th birthday present – a new nose. The new look smaller nose was constructed by plastic surgeons during an operation at Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, Sussex. The singer had complained last year of how large her nose looked every time she saw herself on television and decided to do something about it.
On Television
1972. Disco (ZDF, West Germany) 16. Tony Marshall – Komm, gib mir deine Hand; Hollies – The baby; New Seekers – Beg, steal or borrow; Su Kramer – Holy Moses; Heino – Carnavalin Rio; Uriah Heep – Wizard; Inga + Wolf – Gute Nacht, Freunde; Tony Christie – Don’t go down to Reno; Vicky Leandros – Apès toi, Dann kamst du; Chicory Tip – What’s your name?. Here are Uriah Heep!
Death
2001. Jazz writer, producer and publicist, Helen Oakley Dance (who worked with Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and many more) dies from complications following a heart attack, aged 88.
Babble.
The Rockmine update/upgrade continues. Today. I got the Legal Document Archive on-line. It’s a fascinating mixture of court papers covering criminal cases, debt, divorce and probate along with police files, coroner’s reports and even accident investigations. I’ve always been fascinated by legal documents and they’re often ignored.
I’ve sold stories to the national and international press that people just never saw buried in the dry and boring text. One was the K.G.B. plan to kill Elvis Presley which was in the 2,000 pages that the F.B.I. released. The other, was a “Complaint For Sexual Battery; Battery; Seduction; Willful Misconduct; Intentional Infliction Of Emotional Distress; Fraud And Negligence” brought by one J. Chandler against Michael Jackson. It was in the middle of a file of divorce papers relating to Michael’s marriage to Lisa Marie Presley.
Needless to say, my inventory is more than a little out of date, so there’s still more to add to it. As all the dates are really important and play a part in The Almanac, I’ve removed them along with the exact court or county cherk’s office the papers came from. It is meant to be a commercial resource after all.
Although today had been scheduled for sending out invites and press releases for my memorabilia exhibition at the Red Shoes Theatre in Elgin, I’m still no wiser as to whether the event is going ahead. It seems the theatre, once better known as the Two Red Shoes Ballroom, is unable to get insurance cover for anything hung on the walls of their cafe. I don’t think I’ve EVER been in a theatre that didn’t have some sort of exhibition going on and they must have insurance for it. What worries me most is that reference keeps being made to trying to get an extension to their public liability policy, which may well mean that’s the only insurance they have. I certainly hope that’s not the case.
One of the things I’d aimed to do to tie in with the exhibition was a list of all the gigs staged at the venue. It would be a quirky adjunct to The Almanac’s live listing which has all the dates for The Marquee, The Fillmores, The Cavern and many more. The adverts and pop columns in the local paper are fascinating and would make a great display in the theatre to celebrate its past. I’ve only had a couple of days in the local Heritage Centre but was stunned to find they had all the local papers on microfiche and real copies in storage that were available for photocopying. I’m going to book some more hard copies in the hope that I can get some time to finish this list, regardless of what happens to the exhibition.
From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Tuesday 13th May):
Birth
1947. Peter “Overend” Watts (Mott The Hoople) born in Birmingham, England.
On Stage
1966. Jimi Hendrix is photographed playing his guitar with his teeth at the Club Cheetah, 53 Broadway, New York. Still with Curtis Knight And The Squires, this gives an indication of Hendrix’s future style.
… and in:
2002. Madonna makes her first appearance onstage in London’s West End in the play, “Up For Grabs”. Tickets for her run at the city’s Wyndham Theatre sold out within 10 days. It’s her first stage performance since appearing in David Mamet’s “Speed The Plow” on Broadway in 1988. Tonight’s show was a preview with the run opening properly in 10 days. Here’s the flyer:
In Court
1997. Jerome “J.J.” Johnson has his claim for wrongful termination against Michael Jackson thrown out by Judge David Horowitz. Jackson claimed he was fired from his job as a security guard for Jackson’s production company when he overheard the head of security bragging about having lied to the Grand Jury investigating allegations of child molestation against the singer.
On Television
2000. Later… With Jools Holland (BBC-2, U.K.) 15.5. Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros – “London Calling”, “Tony Adams”, “X Ray Style”, “I Fought The Law”; Tracy Chapman – “Telling Stories”, “Behind The Wall”, “Speak The Word”; The Delgados – “American Trilogy”, “Thirteen Gliding Principles”; Angie Stone – “Life Story”, “No More Rain (This Cloud)”; Warren Zevon – “Werewolves Of London”, “My S**t’s F****d Up”. Here’s Joe with “London Calling”.
Death
1988. Chet Baker dies when he falls (or jumps) from an Amsterdam hotel window.
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