Today In Music, August 15th

From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Friday 15th August):

Birth

1951. Hard rocker (Captain Beyond, Armaggedon) turned one-hit balladeer (“What You Can’t Do For Love”) turned million selling songwriter (“The Next Time I Fall”) turned musical actor (“The Rat Pack”) Bobby Caldwell born in Manhattan, New York.

On The Road

1970. Derek McEwen, 32 year-old co-promoter of the Yorkshire Pop, Blues & Jazz Festival goes missing only hours after the event is abandoned because of bad weather. His car is spotted later in the morning on a Yorkshire/Lancashire motorway. Along with the other promoter, Brian Highley, it’s thought that McEwen shares a loss of £ 12,000 on the event. A police search is later mounted of the moors near Scammonden Bridge close to his last sighting.

In Chains

1967. 19 year old telephonist, Deirdre Meehan, arrives outside Buckingham Palace at 3.30 p.m. and proceeds to chain herself to the railings. She then tells onlookers that she doesn’t have a key for the set of handcuffs that she’s used. After 20 minutes standing in the rain, a police van pulls up and she’s quickly released before being ordered home. Deirdre and her 20 year old flat mate, Pat Cameron, have just returned from delivering a letter of protest to Prime Minister Harold Wilson while he was holidaying on the Isles Of Scilly. The girls are protesting at the order to deport two Australian members of The Bee Gees from the U.K.

In Custody

1997. Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian Rosenfield is arrested after breaking into the New York Yankees’ training camp at Legend’s Field in Tampa, Florida. He and his girlfriend, 23 year old Angela Roberts, are charged with burglary and grand theft after being caught on video trying to carry a large foam mat bearing the team’s logo to their car. The couple are released on bail of $ 7,500 each after spending 6 hours in jail. Rosenfield later explains that he’s been a life-long Yankees fan and while he’s sorry he did have a great time running around the bases. He blamed the prank on too much wine.

On Television

1997. Rockpalast (WDR, Germany) Beck; Foo Fighters; Ash; Pavement; Veruca Salt (11Th Bizarre-Festival Köln, Butzweiler Hof). Here’s Beck with “Derelict”. 4m 50s.

Death

1984. Norman Petty, Buddy Holly‘s manager and record producer dies in Lubbock Texas, aged 57. He ceased to be Holly’s manager in 1958 after disagreements over songwriting royalties (Petty claimed a percentage of all Holly’s royalties) and Buddy’s marriage. That didn’t stop him continuing to re-release material and milk the legend of his client up to his death.

Babble

It’s finally over! I gave up! After another fruitless day in Nairn trying to find last minute premises for my rock memorabilia exhibition, I realised it was turning into a waste of time.

By the time I’d got back to the office in the evening, I’d decided to get a new blog up. One for the Ballerina Ballroom and all the bands that played there. So far I’ve got a full listing for 1966 and half of 1967 along with period clips of some of the biggest names that played there. I say some because the real gem I discovered was a clip of The Poets from Shindig! A must-see if you’re even vaguely interested in the British Beat Boom of the mid sixties.

I’m hoping to add a selection of adverts and pics of the Scottish bands that gigged there. All I’ve got to do is get them scanned and up. What I really want though is feedback from the folk that went to the ballroom. That’s where the real social history in this lies. The blog’s late up today as I’ve been working on that and also flyers to get in the Ballerina during the film festival which starts this afternoon.

I’d like to think of the blog as a virtual fringe event. You can check it out for yourselves here.

Strangely, the highlight yesterday was probably sitting in a wine bar in Nairn with a guy who was giving the gossip on what REALLY goes on in this sleepy wee town in the North of Scotland. Trouble is, I’m not sure I believe any of it. Think I’ll stick to what I know – sex and dogs and rock ‘n’ roll.

 

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

Today In Music, August 10th

From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Sunday 10th August):

Birth

On Tour

1967. The Bee Gees announce they are cancelling nightclub bookings in Germany this weekend. Two Australian members of the group have been ordered to leave Britain by the middle of September. If they were to leave the country before then it seems certain they would be barred from re-entering. Until the matter is settled, the group will not undertake any overseas concerts.

All At Sea

1965. An air-sea search is launched after a crewman goes missing overboard from a yacht chartered by Frank Sinatra. The singer is cruising the waters off New England with actresses Rosalind Russell and Claudette Colbert, their husbands and other guests. Among them is Mia Farrow, the 19 year old actress whose name has been romantically linked with Sinatra. The missing man, 23 year old Robert Goldfarb, is thought to have been lost when the boat’s dingy overturned.

In Court

1964. Mick Jagger is fined £ 32, and given two endorsements to his license, at Liverpool Magistrate’s Court for driving without insurance, being unable to produce a valid drivers’ license and driving at 48-50 m.p.h. in a 30 m.p.h. limit.

On Television

2003. The South Bank Show (ITV, U.K.) Tonight’s show features Nick Cave. Today’s clip will link to the other parts to give you the whole show. 10m 04s.

Death

2002. Guitarist Michael Houser (Widespread Panic) dies at his home in Athens, Georgia as a result of complications related to his pancreatic cancer. He is survived by his wife, Barbette and son, Walker. Houser (40) last played with the band on July 2nd. Since leaving due to his worsening condition, guitar duties have been taken on by George McConnell a longtime friend of Michael and the rest of the group. With the announcement of his death comes news that his family are setting up the Michael Hauser Music Fund “as a living memorial to Michael and his love of music”.

Babble

I’m back in Elgin today and heading to Nairn soon. The plan to stage a memorabilia exhibition seems to have run into problems. With entrance to the cafe area being open to ticket holders only, public access is the main concern. Needless to say with strict fire safety laws, the number of people allowed in the venue at any time must be strictly adhered to.

With that in mind, I’m hoping either to find a compromise solution or see if one of the vacant shops near the Ballerina Ballroom can be used to house the show as a “fringe” event. I will, of course, keep you updated.

 

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