Today In Music, January 3rd

From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Saturday, 3rd January):

Birth

1964. Raymond McGinley (Teenage Fanclub) born in Glasgow, Scotland.

On Tour

1963. The Beatles first ever tour starts with a gig at The Two Red Shoes in Elgin. Last night’s show at the Longmore Hall in Keith was cancelled due to bad weather. Paul McCartney filled in the wasted evening by flying home to Liverpool and returning this morning. Check out the Two Red Shoes blog here.

In Court

1996. After the jury is selected to try her stalker’s case, Madonna appears at the Superior Court in Los Angeles. Before the jury take their places, the singer asks for a motion to seal court documents to stop them being made public and also asks that her alleged stalker, Robert Dewey Hoskins a.k.a. Herbert Hoskins, be excluded during her testimony to the court. Hoskins is the subject of an order prohibiting him from being in close proximity to Madonna and has admitted that his “not guilty” plea was a planned action to ensure he would be in the same room as her. After arguments for both sides, the motions are denied. Once the jury take their places Madonna, obviously shaken, gives her testimony for the prosecution. The judge then adjourns the case until the next day. The court minutes for today’s proceedings.

In Hospital

2001. Moby is walking down a street in New York’s Chinatown when he stops to stroke a cat. The feline is obviously no fan as it bites deep into the ambient star’s hand. Despite the hand becoming more and more swollen throughout the day, Moby leaves it until the next morning when the pain becomes unbearable and he heads for the local E.R. He’s rushed into an urgent care ward, given a tetanus shot and dosed up with anti-biotics.

On Television

1964. NBC’s “The Jack Paar Show” becomes the first U.S. TV show to feature The Beatles playing live. Despite Brian Epstein having an exclusive contract with “The Ed Sullivan Show”, NBC licensed the live footage of “She Loves You”, shot for the documentary “The Mersey Sound”, direct from the BBC. Epstein’s fury was short lived and although he tried to block the screening, he accepted the £ 225 fee received from the BBC. Without this piece of advance publicity it’s doubtful that the ground-breaking “Ed Sullivan Show” would have had quite the same impact in sparking Beatlemania in the States. Here’s the original clip!

Death

2002. Zac Foley, bass player with EMF dies aged 31. The circumstances surrounding his death are not revealed at the time of the announcement.

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Today In Music, August 12th

From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Tuesday 12th August):

Birth

1951. August Darnell (Kid Creole) born Thomas August Darnell Browder in Montreal, Canada.

On Tour

1971. The Edgar Broughton Band who had planned to give a free concert in Brighton today, are escorted by police to the edge of town. The town’s corporation had refused to allow the event to take place but the band and a crowd of 400 turned up, hoping it would go ahead. When they reached the town limit, the group asked police if they could play on the downs but their request was refused. The group and some fans then became abusive. Lorry driver Keith George Landells refused to drive his lorry away. It had been intended as the stage on which the group would play. He was arrested and charged with obstruction. He’ll appear in court tomorrow along with eight others arrested on similar charges.

In Court

1998. Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots) is sentenced to three months in a drug treatment programme at the Impact Drug And Alcohol Treatment Center in Port Hueneme after pleading guilty to felony heroin possession. Superior Court Judge Paul Fidler also placed the singer on three years probation during which time he will have random drug tests.

In Hospital

1988. Edinburgh rockers The Cateran have a near fatal crash on their way to London for a gig at the Fulham Greyhound. A tyre blows, flipping their van three times and off the road. Drummer Andy Milne and roadie Alec McLeod are admitted to hospital after being thrown out the back of the van. They are later released having only suffered broken arms. The van and all the band’s gear is a write-off. Guitarist Cameron Fraser is charged by police with carrying too many passengers.

On Television

2002. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC, U.S.A.) Show #2320. David Bowie and Moby. Here they are with “Cactus”. 2m 56s.

Death

1990. Roy Williamson, half of The Corries folk duo and writer of “Flower Of Scotland”, dies at his home in Forres. He had undergone emergency surgery earlier in the year to remove a brain tumour but treatment was unable to hold back the cancer which killed him.

Babble

Yesterday was spent trying to find premises in Nairn to stage the memorabilia exhibition that’s been bumped from “The Ballerina Ballroom Cinema Of Dreams”. It was very much a case of following every lead and tapping the local knowledge of Steve who seems to be general handyman at the ballroom. There’s a wonderful shop literally across from the Ballerina that would be ideal but its though the owner is in hospital and trying to find someone who could make a decision as to whether it could be used was a real problem.

A chance remark about The Beatles playing the ballroom by a local gift shop owner to someone working there led me to him and then on to a pub which shares the same cleaner as the shop. My phone number was passed on but I’m still waiting for “Margaret” (which is the only name I have) to get back to me.

Today, I think I’ll work the phone and see if I can find a local solicitor who may help. I did manage an hour in the local library sifting through the microfiches of The Nairnshire Telegraph which was a mine of information and gig adverts. I came away contented, with a complete listing for 1966 which had eluded me so far. 

Whatever happens, I think I’ll be hosting a virtual exhibition/memorabilia sale on Rockmine’s site. As a back up, I got back to the Red Shoes Theatre in Elgin and asked if they were still interested in the idea of exhibiting there. Despite there being a problem with insurance, it seemed there was an obvious solution – I sit in during opening hours. They said “Yes”. 

It seems there’s a variety of possibilities and with Nairn’s festival swinging into life on Friday, I don’t have much time to make up my mind. I will, however, keep you posted.

As I mentioned above, The Beatles did play Nairn. It was May 27th, 1960 and they were backing Johnny Gentle. For some of the gigs on this small tour, they were advertised as The Silver Beetles but for Nairn they were only described as Johnny Gentle’s band as you’ll see from the advert above.

This advert has puzzled me for a while. The Regal was at the other end of Nairn from the Balllerina Ballroom. Its site is now a Somerfield supermarket. Somehow, I’ve got it into my head that the Regal may have been the first home to promoter Albert Bonici’s events in Nairn and possibly the original site for the Ballerina but no-one I’ve spoken to can confirm this. I was given the name of a contact at the local planning office who was a musician back then and would be able to confirm the story.

 

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