Today In Music, January 11th

From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Sunday, 11th January):

Birth

1958. Vicki Peterson (The Bangles) born in Los Angeles.

On Tour

1963. The Rolling Stones sack their drummer, Tony Chapman, after tonight’s gig at the Ricky Tick Club at The Star & Garter in Windsor. The incensed Chapman goes to Bill Wyman and tries to pursuade him to leave with him and start their own goup but Bill refuses.

In Court

1972. John Lee (singer with New World) is fined £ 10 at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to assaulting Mrs. Lillian Zoeller, a traffic warden, on December 29th by throwing a bucket of water over her. The singer had arrived at the Alexanda Theatre, Birmingham where he was appearing in the pantomime, Robinson Crusoe. He was late for a curtain call and parked in a suspended parking bay. Explaining his situation to the traffic warden who was nearby, he was warned to move his car or she would issue a ticket for illegal parking but he rushed into the theatre. A few minutes later as she was reaching to place the ticket on the car she was hit by a volume of cold water and looked up to see a window in the theatre being closed.

In Hospital

1985. Eric Clapton‘s first child, Ruth Kelly, is born in Doncaster maternity Hospital. Clapton met her mother, Yvonne, on the island of Montserrat in 1984. Within a week of meeting, the couple were conducting an affair. Since Ruth’s birth, he has lavished presents on mother and child as well as ensuring maintenance payments are regularly made.

On Television

1977. Rockpalast (WDR, WestGermany) Leo Kottke (WDR Studio-L Köln). Here are the first 8 minutes of the gig – “Up Tempo”, “Hear The Wind Howl” and “Busted Bicycle”.

Death

2003. Mickey Finn, percussionist with T. Rex, dies in Mayday Hospital, Croydon, London. He had been suffering from kidney and liver problems, aged 55,

 

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Today In Music, January 1st

From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Thursday, 1st January):

Birth

1942. Country Joe McDonald born in El Monte, California.

On Stage

1960. Johnny Cash plays his first concert for the inmates of San Quentin Prison. In the audience is Merle Haggard who is serving a three year sentence for burglary. Cash’s visit inspires him to join the prison band. The rest, as they say, is history…

In Church

2002. Eric Clapton, his 25 year-old girlfriend, Melia McEnery and a handful of close family friends are at the Church Of St. Mary Magdalen in Ripley, Surrey for the baptism of their 6 month-old daughter, Julie Rose and Clapton’s 16 year-old daughter, Ruth Patricia (the result of an affair in 1983 with her mother Yvonne Kellyn). After the baptisms are finished the vicar, The Reverend Christopher Elson, surprises the congregation by inviting Eric and Melia to step forward to be joined in marriage, much to the delight of everyone there.

In Hospital

2000. George Harrison is discharged from Harefield Hospital earlier than expected after making what a hospital spokesman described as “such a good recovery”. He slips out of the hospital late in the evening and is driven home to his estate in Henley by Mercedes. Surgeons said that although his lung had collapsed during the attack at his home on December 30th, the knife had missed any major blood vessels. As a result, the ex-Beatle is expected to make a full recovery within a few weeks.

On Television

Top Of The Pops (BBC-1, U.K.) Presented by Jimmy Savile. Bo Flyers – Do The Buster, Greg Lake – I Believe In Father Christmas, Pan’s People dancing to Mike Oldfield’s In Dulci Jubilo (Pans People); Billy Howard – King Of The Cops, Slik – Forever And Ever; Abba – Mamma Mia, Glyder – Pick Up And Go; Dana – Its Gonna Be A Cold Cold Christmas; Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody (Promo). Here’s the first part of the whole show, which you should find on around this page.

Death

1953. Hank Williams dies in the back of a car on his way to a gig in West Virginia. Although the death certificate gives the cause of death as a heart attack, it was more probably the result of too much booze and too many pills.

Babble.

Here we are, it’s 2009. Another year gone and a new one just beginning. I hope your New Year, like mine, will be better than last year. I’m tempted to say it can’t be worse!

 

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

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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