Today In Music, August 5th

From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Tuesday 5th August):

Birth

1959. Pete Burns (Dead Or Alive) born Pete Jozeppi in Port Sunlight, Merseyside.

On Tour

1980. David Bowie starts a three week run as “The Elephant Man” at Chicago’s Blackstone Theater.

In Rubble

1973. The Rolling Stones‘ producer, Jimmy Miller suffers the loss of at least £ 75,000 of studio gear when the Mercer Arts Center in New York (which houses Jimmy Miller Productions) collapses into a pile of rubble. The hotel next door collapses at the same time and although two people are killed, recent Rolling Stones Records signing, Kracker, who are staying there, escape unhurt.

In Court

1983. David Crosby is sentenced to five years in jail by Judge Pat McDowell in Dallas, Texas after being found guilty of possessing cocaine and carrying a gun into a bar. His lawyers lodge an instant appeal and he is released on bail.

On Television

1965. Where The Action Is (U.S.A.) The Byrds; Jewel Akens; Linda Scott; Steve Alaimo. Here are The Byrds with “All I Really Want To Do”. 2m 02s. The quality of this clip is probably the poorest I’ve ever included but its a real rarity.
Death

1978. Pete Meadon, The Who‘s first manager and writer of “Zoot Suit” dies of barbiturate poisoning at his parents’ home in London.

Babble

Regular readers will know I’ve been struggling since April to stage a rock and pop memorabilia exhibition at the Red Shoes Theatre in Elgin. In the 1960s it was one of Scotland’s busiest and best known venues for the hundreds of bands who constantly toured the U.K. The Beatles, The Who and Pink Floyd were among the star names that played there. I was in Elgin yesterday, fully intending to have one last go at rescuing the exhibition but ended up driving another half hour west to Nairn.

Nairn was home to another venue run by Albert Bonici, the Elgin promoter who’d put The Fabs and all the others on. The Ballerina Ballroom (as it was then called), which played host to The Who, Cream, Pink Floyd et al., has lain empty for years until recently when Nairn based Hollywood actress, Tilda Swinton decided to re-open the venue and stage a film festival there. The Ballerina Ballroom Cinema Of Dreams festival lasts 8 1/2 days, starting August 15th.

It was easy to find, driving off the main road to Edinburgh, turning left for the town centre and straight into the High Street. A few hundred yards later, I passed it. I found a parking space and walked back. The doors weren’t locked, so I just walked in. There I found Tilda’s husband, the artist and playwright, John Byrne. I explained my troubles with the Ballerina’s sister venue and he instantly showed me a huge ante-room off the main ballroom with large unobstructed walls and agreed it was a great idea and a perfect adjunct to the film festival.

So, now I’ve got 10 days to promote and create the exhibition. I’m heading back to the ballroom this morning with some of the pieces I’m planning to hang and get some images for tomorrow’s blog. My plan is to replicate the real exhibition with a virtual version online. Sadly, I’d spent a lot of time researching the bands who played the Two Red Shoes and now I’m going to have to redo that for the Ballerina. I loved the idea of boards with gig adverts, reviews and listings to spark the memories of those who’d attended them.

Anyway, enough of what’s to be done. I love ferreting through old newspapers, so I can’t complain. Click on the film festival link above for full details. For some background to the festival, there’s a really great article from The Independent dated July 23rd here.

 

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© Copyright 1995 – 2008 Rockmine Archives. Use of this content is prohibited unless licensed by Rockmine Archives.

Today In Music, July 30th

From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Wednesday 30th July):

Birth

1949. Andy Scott (The Sweet) born in Wrexham, Wales.

On Tour

1971. A security guard is stabbed to death outside Forest Hills Tennis Stadium where The Who are playing. The guard, 22 year old George Etheridge, died after an announcement was made that the show was a sell-out and no tickets remained to be sold. A 21 year old man pulled a knife and shouted, “I’ll kill him”. The man suffered concussion and head wounds, in the scuffle that followed, and is in hospital in a “critical” condition. He has been charged with criminally negligent homicide.

In Custody

1993. Dickey Betts (Allman Brothers Band) is arrested in Saratoga Springs, New York, and charged with resisting arrest and obstructing govenmental administration. The arrest follows a post-gig argument with his wife, Donna, in the couple’s hotel room. She got so worried that she called the police. When they arrived, Betts agreed she could move to another room until things calmed down but just as she was about to leave, he changed his mind. A scuffle broke out and the guitarist pushed one of the cops. Betts was jailed overnight and released in the morning having posted $ 1,000 bail.

In Court

1997. Boys Don’t Cry file a $ 7 million lawsuit against Paula Cole, Warner Brothers Records and Imago Records alleging that Cole’s song “Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?” is in part a copy of their 1986 hit, “I Wanna Be A Cowboy”.

On Television

1976. Midnight Special (NBC, U.S.A.) Host: David Brenner. Guests: George Benson; Hot Chocolate; Phoebe Snow; The Sylvers; Gary Wright. Here’s Gary with, “Dream Weaver”. 4m 30s.

Death

1999. The Grateful Dead‘s archivist, Dick Latvala, dies two days after suffering a heart attack. He was taken to hospital in a coma on July 28th and never regained consciousness. The Dead hired him in the early eighties and in 1993 he released the first of a series of thirteen personally selected live recordings under the title, “Dicks Picks”.

 

Go to Rockmine’s main site here.

© Copyright 1995 – 2008 Rockmine Archives. Use of this content is prohibited unless licensed by Rockmine Archives.

Today In Music, July 14th

From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Monday 14th July):

Birth

1952. Chris Cross (Ultravox) born Christopher St. John in London, England.

On Stage

1964. Film-maker Kit Lambert is at The Railway Hotel in Harrow to see The High Numbers play their Tuesday residency. He and his business partner, Chris Stamp have been keen to make a film about the new pop music scene but couldn’t afford to pay any established band. So, they hit upon the idea of discovering their own group and filming its rise to stardom. Before the month is out, Lambert and Stamp will become the group’s manager. By November, The High Numbers will have reverted to one of their previous names, The Who (they were also The Detours).

In Custody

1978. Mick Jones (The Clash), Clash sound-man Dave Jacobs and two members of Suicide are arrested after the local Drugs Squad raid their rooms at the Saxon Motor Inn, Blackburn, Lancashire in the early hours of the morning. Both bands had played at the town’s St. George’s Hall last night. All four men were taken to a local police station for questioning but released after a few hours. Various substances, found on or about the four, were retained for analysis.
Suicide’s luck continued in a downward path later in the day when they were dumped from their gig at Bury St. Edmunds. Despite rumours that this related to their arrest, organisers insisted that their exclusion was due to a late running order. The Clash, of course, played as planned.

Talking of which, it was much rumoured that Bob Dylan would be in Bury to see The Clash strut their stuff. In reality, he opted for the musical, “Evita” in London.

In Court

1989. In Manhattan Family Court, Tom Jones (49) loses a paternity suit brought against him by Katherine Berkery (26) who had a four day sex romp with him at a New York hotel in 1987. She hasn’t seen the singer since he left her in 1987, despite trying to contact him over the birth of the baby.

A blood test ordered by the court proved that Jones, who was not in court, was the father of the baby and the judge ordered him to make immediate payments of £ 200 a month to care for one year old Jonathan. The lawyers will be back in court in September to finalise the level of support. Berkery’s attorney, Raoul Felder (who handled Robin Givens’ divorce from Mike Tyson last year) will be seeking £ 2,000 a week. After the case was over, Katherine revealed that the singer’s lawyers had offered her $ 50,000 to drop the case.

On Television

1982. Late Night With David Letterman (CBS, U.S.A.) Musical guest: Pete Best

Death

1980. Malcolm Owen lead singer of The Ruts dies from a heroin overdose in the bath at his mother’s house.

 

Go to Rockmine’s main site here.

© Copyright 1995 – 2008 Rockmine Archives. Use of this content is prohibited unless licensed by Rockmine Archives.

Today In Music, June 11th

From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Wednesday 11th June):

Birth

1940. Joey Dee (Joey Dee & The Starlighters) born Joseph DeNicola in Passaic, New Jersey.

On Tour

1964. Police break up a press conference being given by The Rolling Stones on a traffic island in the middle of Michigan Avenue, outside Chess Studios in Chicago. According to police, they and the many fans who’d gathered to see them were bringing traffic to a standstill. After a senior police officer threatened to jail everyone, the Stones, reporters and fans moved to the sidewalk outside the studio. The police involvement, the screaming fans and the presence of TV and radio ensured massive prime-time coverage of the event. It was an ideal boost in the middle of the U.S. tour and a prime example of Andrew Loog Oldham‘s love of publicity stunts.

In Court

1992. Tom and Jennifer Crazy Bear DuBray of the Oglala Sioux tribe of native Americans file a $ 61 million lawsuit against The Cult. The couple claim that a photo of their son was used on the cover of the album “Ceremony” without their permission.

In Hospital

1995. Courtney Love is taken to hospital in Seattle having passed out after an accidental overdose of prescription drugs. She is released later in the day. A spokesman played down the seriousness stressing that the hospital is bound to keep patients in for 72 hours if they suspect a suicide attempt.

On Television

2004. Later… With Jools Holland (BBC-2, U.K.) 19.6. Toots & The Maytals; Jet; Charlie Musselwhite; Eric Bibb; Bebel Gilberto; Hope Of The States; Tom Baxter. Here’s Tom with “My Declaration”.

Death

1966. Radio stations in Holland, Germany and France incorrectly announce that Roger Daltrey is dead. The reports come about following confusion surrounding Pete Townshend‘s car crash on the M1 motorway on May 30th.

 

Babble

Once again, the blog’s late up today. I’ve been busy with Rockmine’s Gallery page of rock film posters and taking advantage of the sun to get some photos of the posters. I’ve got 24 online but it may take a while longer to get all their individual pages working. Here’s the link if you want to check them out.

I’ve also got a page up for the Elton John Sotheby’s box sets. These are the lavish, stunning catalogues for Elton’s first major auction sale back in September 1988. 4 catalogues covering everything from stage clothes to furniture. All housed in a hard slip-case. Unfortunately, they weigh well over 2 kilos and signed-for postage to the U.S. would be nearly £ 50! That means they’re only available for sale in the U.K. Check them out here.

 

Go to Rockmine’s main site here.

© Copyright 1995 – 2008 Rockmine Archives. Use of this content is prohibited unless licensed by Rockmine Archives.