Today In Music, September 11th

From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Thursday 11th September):

Birth

1958. Mick Talbot (Merton Parkas, The Style Council) born in London, England.

In Court

1997. Toy makers Mattel (home to Barbie and G.I. Joe) file a lawsuit against MCA Records, Universal Music and other related distribution companies in the Superior Court for the County Of Los Angeles. The suit claims trademark infringement and unfair competition and relates to the tune, “Barbie Girl” on the Danish pop group Aqua‘s album, “Aquarium”. They also claim that lines like “You can brush my hair, undress me anywhere” link “sexual and other unsavory themes” with the much loved doll

Mattel is seeking the return of all CDs, tapes and videos containg the track and the destruction of all promotional materials carrying the track title in “the Barbie-pink colors”. They are also seeking unspecified damages and court costs. Strangely, Aqua are not directly named in the suit.

MCA will later countersue but when the case comes to court in 1998, the judge rules that Aqua’s song was merely a parody of a much loved institution and did not seek to benefit from Barbie’s good name.

In Hospital

2002. Marie Fredriksson of the Swedish duo Roxette faints and hits her head against a sink at her home in Stockholm. The singer was taken to Karolinska Hospital where tests found a small tumour in the back of her head.

In The Press

1993. The Sun publishes an exclusive with the shocking headline “Telly Una: I Had Fling With Cliff And My Husband Knew”. The expose was by Una Stubbs, the much loved English actress who was star of “Till Death Us Do Part” in the 1960s and later “Give Us A Clue”.

Una explained that she met Cliff Richard in 1962 when he asked the casting director to include her in the film, “Summer Holiday” after seeing her audition. While the pair became friends instantly, it was two years later that it blossomed into a romance on the Canary Islands while they were filming “Wonderful Life”. Una went on say “Even my closest friends did not know about it”. The romance ended as Cliff was unwilling to ruin Una’s marriage to actor Peter Gilmore.

On Television

1991. Late Night With David Letterman (CBS, U.S.A.) Musical guests: Pere Ubu performing “Oh Catherine”. David goes out of his way before and after the song to point out that the band paid for themselves to appear on the show. (6m 21s)

Death

1987. Peter Tosh is shot dead during a robbery at his house in Kingston, Jamaica. He was 42 years old.

 

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Today In Music, September 4th

From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Thursday 4th September):

Birth

1946. Greg Elmore (Quicksilver Messenger Service) born in San Diego, California.

On Stage

2003. Aerosmith headlines the bill for a kick-off event before the first game of the American National Football League at the National Mall in Washington D.C. The concert is broadcast live by ABC and also features Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige and Aretha Franklin. The game that follows it is between the Washington Redskins and the New York Jets.

In Court

1989. Ozzy Osbourne appears at Beaconsfield Magistrates’ Court charged with threatening to kill his wife, Sharon. The rocker, who recently returned from a world tour was arrested on Saturday night (September 2nd) at his home and detained overnight in a cell at Amersham Police Station. At his hearing, Ozzy was remanded on bail on condition that he stay at a rehab clinic and neither contacts his wife or tries to go home.

In Hospital

1997. Paul Smith (Silver Sun) is taken to hospital after suffering blackouts and blurred vision. He’s treated for concussion (sustained when he fell from a lampost on London’s Blackfriars Bridge on September 2nd) and released later in the day.

On Television

2004. Parkinson (ITV, U.K.) 1. First show of the season. Razorlight perform “Golden Touch”. 4m 40s.

Death

1991. Country singer Dottie West dies from injuries she suffered in a car crash five days ago. She was 58.

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Today In Music, August 21st

From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Thursday 21st August):

Birth

1957. Budgie (Siouxsie And The Banshees) born Pete Clark in Lancashire.

On Tour

1976. The Mont De Marsan Festival is staged in a bullring south of Bordeaux by Marc Zermati, owner of Skydog Records. It is the first punk rock festival to be held in Europe and features The Count Bishops, The Damned, Nick Lowe, The Pink Fairies, Little Bob Story and The Tyla Gang.

En-route to the festival, Ray Burns of The Damned buys a trendy shirt with epaulettes. Later, when he’s wearing it, he fools around pretending to be an airline pilot saving his plane from certain doom. One of his colleagues shouts out, “It’s fucking Captain Sensible“. The name sticks.

In Court

1998. Jim Kerr‘s brother Paul is jailed for two years at the High Court in Edinburgh follwing an arson attack on the home of Radio Tay DJ John Darroch on July 18th 1997. The former Simple Minds tour manager had originally been charged with the attempted murder of 18 year old Karen Darroch and other occupants of the house in Broughty Ferry but this was later reduced to wilfully setting fire to a settee and attempting to set fire to the house to the danger of the occupants. The attack was the culmination of a two year dispute over a shop bought from Darroch in Blairmore, Argyll. Paul Kerr had bought the property with the intention of settling down after years on the road. Unfortunately, the business didn’t take off for him and he claimed that he had been conned by Darroch.

In Hospital

1994. According to The News Of The World, Sinead O’Connor has been having treatment at the London Priory psychiatric hospital. In an article published today entitled, “Sinead Cracks Up”, the paper alleges that she has being undergoing intensive therapy at the £ 350 a day clinic.

On Television

1998. Rockpalast (WDR, Germany) Portishead; Tindersticks; P.J. Harvey; Fun Lovin’ Criminals; The Bluetones; Chumbawumba; The Jesus And Mary Chain; H-Blockx; Such A Surge; Thumb (Bizarre Festival, Butzweiler Hof, Koln). Here’s P.J. with “Electric Light”. 4m 50s.

Death

1975. Country guitarist Sam McGee dies in Franklin, Tennessee.

 

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Today In Music, August 19th

From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Tuesday 19th August):

Birth

1943. Billy J. Kramer born William Howard Ashton in Bootle, Lancashire.

On Tour

1965. As The Beatles arrive at Houston Airport in Texas, 5,000 fans break through police lines and rush towards their chartered plane. Luckily, a catering truck is backed up to the aircraft and the boys are ferried to safety. Promoter Bill Weaver said that the security force assembled to ensure the group’s safety was larger than that used by President Johnson when he was in the city. Sell out audiences of 12,000 at each of tonight’s shows will earn The Beatles £ 30,050. The city authories, who own the Coliseum where the concerts are taking place, have demanded a $ 10,000 (£ 3,500) damage bond from the promoter.

In Shops

1981. Neil Tennant meets Chris Lowe for the first time in an electronics shop in London’s Kings Road. Finding a common interest in dance music, the pair start writing together, eventually forming a duo called West End. That name soon gets dropped in favour of Pet Shop Boys, a name they had jokingly used to refer to some friends who worked in an Ealing pet shop.

In The Press

1976. Glasgow’s Evening Times runs a headline, “Ramones In Teenage Glue Death Outrage”. The paper claims that the band advocates the habit of sniffing glue. A local member of parliament, James Dempsey, tries to have the band’s first album banned from Scottish stores.

On Television

1972. The Midnight Special (NBC, U.S.A.) Pilot show. Host: John Denver. Guests: Argent; Harry Chapin; David Clayton Thomas; ‘Mama’ Cass Elliot; The Everly Brothers; The Isley Brothers. Here’s Argent with “Hold Your Head Up”.

Death

1996. Gospel-rock drummer Steve Marsh (Elim Hall, One Hundred Days) dies of liver cancer, first diagnosed in June.

Music Paper From Today

Record Mirror from 19th August 1972. A copy taken from Rockmine’s almost complete run of U.K. music papers from the last 45 years.

Babble

The first thing I have to do today, is apologize. Somehow, I managed to put today’s blog (i.e. Tuesday 19th August) up in place of yesterday’s. I didn’t realise until late last night and decided to leave it for the morning. So, here I am correcting a rather idiotic mistake.

Apart from that, there’s little to report today. The Ballerina Ballroom Blog is getting a lot of interest. Whether that’s as a result of my flyer and poster blitz of Nairn remains to be seen. I have started to feature the regular bands that played there and have reworked it so it’s easier to navigate. The trouble is it just keeps giving me more work! All the video clips I’ve added to it will now have to be added to the index of clips on the Rockmine TV pages. No rest for the wicked. Oh well, I better get on…

 

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© Copyright 1995 – 2008 Rockmine Archives. Use of this content is prohibited unless licensed by Rockmine Archives.From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Monday 19th August):

Today In Music, August 18th

From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Monday 18th August):

Birth

1941. Johnny Preston (singer of “Running Bear”) born John Preston Courville in Port Arthur, Texas.

On Tour

1980. Half an hour before The Police are due onstage at the Parc des Sports d’Aguilerra in Biarritz, France, Stewart Copeland is hit with a severe attack of food poisoning. His place at the drum stool is taken by his drum roadie, Jeff Seitz. No-one in the audience seems to notice.

In Custody

1965. Three members of Herman’s Hermits are delayed at Manchester Airport on their return from a U.S. tour. The three were held for two hours by customs men who confiscated the gold watches they’d been given by their American agent. Derek Leckenby, Karl Green and Keith Hopwood said they didn’t realise that they had to declare gifts. The watches were valued at £ 50 each.

In Reality

1967. Mr. Washa Ngwanamashala, an official with the Tanzanian national dance troupe, claims that the music of The Beatles is taken from the rhythms of the Wasukuma tribe in the Lake Victoria region of northern Tanzania. He said Beatles music was so popular in Tanzania because people recognised the “twang beat” as their own.

On Television

1966. Top Of The Pops (BBC-1, U.K.) Introduced by Pete Murray. Chris Andrews, Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers; Ken Dodd (promo film); Manfred Mann; Napoleon XIV; The Alan Price Set; The Beatles (on disc) The Mamas & The Papas (promo film); The Small Faces. Here are The Mamas and the Papas with the promo film for “I Saw Her Again” which was screened tonight.

Death

2007. Recording engineer Roy Wallace dies in London, aged 80. He developed stereophonic sound for the Decca Recording Company in the fifties.

 

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Today In Music, August 17th

From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Sunday 17th August):

Birth

1939. Ed Sanders (The Fugs) born in Kansas.

In Court

1999. Alan Longmuir (ex Bay City Rollers) appears at Edinburgh Sheriff Court. The former drummer, now aged 48, faced two charges of possessing indecent material of children, one of making indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs and two charges of possessing cannabis at his Edinburgh home. Longmuir denied all charges. The hearing was adjourned.

In Hospital

1995. Dave Gahan (Depeche Mode) slashes his wrists at his home in Los Angeles. He is taken to the Cedars Sinai Hospital in the city where he is treated and his mental condition is evaluated. He is kept in the hospital to assess his mental competence before being discharged on August 22nd.

In Church

1969. King Curtis is buried. The funeral is conducted by the Reverend Jesse Jackson. Among the mourners are Duane Allman, Brook Benton, Aretha Franklin, Cissy Houston and Stevie Wonder.

On Television

1969. Hee-Haw (CBS, U.S.A.) 9. Jerry Lee Lewis; Conway Twitty; Buck Owens and the Buckaroos; Roy Clark; Susan Raye. Here’s “The Killer” with “What Made Milwakee Famous”. 2m 29s.

Death

1973. Paul Williams of The Temptations is found wearing only swimming trunks in his car with a bullet through his head. He’s dead and although there’s no note, it’s probably suicide. He’d suffered from serious depression and drug abuse for many years.

 

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Today In Music, August 16th

From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Saturday 16th August):

Birth

1945. Kevin Ayers born in Herne Bay, Kent.

On Tour

1997. The Prodigy stop their gig at Leeds V97 Festival when they see fans being crushed in front of the stage. Keith Flint and Maxim jump into the pit to help security pull fans to safety. Two fans are hospitalised but Leeds City Council praise the actions of the band in helping to avert a major tragedy.

In Court

1999. Thides Leasing Corporation file a $ 158,000 lawsuit against The Artist Formerly Known As Prince, claiming that the purple one has yet to pay for a tour bus used by him between May and October 1998. The leasing company also claims that the bus was booked for another 7 months but unused. During that time, they were unable to use the bus for any other clients. $ 42,000 is being sought for touring time and a further $ 116,000 for unpaid fees and lost revenue for the 7 months idle time.

In Hospital

1989. Pete Townshend impales his hand on the tremolo arm of his guitar during the final song of The Who‘s gig at the Tacomadome in Tacoma, Washington. He is rushed to hospital but surgeons find he has escaped any damage.

On Television

Sorry, there’s no TV clip today. I’ve been trying to search YouTube on a laptop with mobile broadband and there’s just not enough bandwidth. I’ll have something online tomorrow.

Death

1938. “King Of The Delta Blues”, Robert Johnson dies “outside” Greenwood, Mississippi, aged 27. On August 13th, Johnson played his last recorded gig at the “Three Forks” juke joint. Many believe that after playing the owner gave Johnson a glass of poisoned whiskey for having seduced his wife. Here’s a copy of the death certificate obtained in 1996:

Babble.

I hate pipe bands! Normally I manage to keep clear of them but I think every one of them in the North East of Scotland tried to torment me this afternoon. About 5 p.m., Nairn was invaded by dozens of them, skirling and drumming. What the Hell am I doing here.

I reckon there are only two people up here who could cope with the cacophony. One of the workmen in last week had left his tobacco tin on a ledge in the ballroom. His cigarettes didn’t just contain tobacco but some herbal remedy or other. Anyway, two kids rode their bicycles into the ballroom to ask what was going on and while one was asking all sorts of sensible question, the other nicked the tin. Some teenagers are having fun this week! 

Anyway, that’s enough for now. I’m meant to be watching a film. I’ll be back to normal tomorrow. One good thing is that I won’t be driving up here all the time any more. I will, of course, keep the Ballerina Ballroom Blog going. 

 

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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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Today In Music, August 14th

From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Thursday 14th August):

Birth

1941. David Crosby born David Van Cortland in Los Angeles.

On Tour

1965. Composer Leonard Bernstein takes his two children to see The Beatles rehearse for tonight’s “Ed Sullivan Show”. The moment the group walked onstage the fans erupted and it was impossible to hear any of the songs. Bernstein later told reporters, “I think it’s shocking because they’re so good and I didn’t have a chance to hear them”.

In Custody

1970. Stephen Stills is arrested after being found crawling through a San Diego motel in an incoherent state. He is later released on $ 2,500 bail.

In Hospital

1983. Joey Ramone requires emergency brain surgery after being viciously kicked in a New York street fight by Seth Micklaw, member of punk band Sub Zero Construction. The fight, outside Johnny’s house, was over his girlfriend Cynthia “Roxy” Whitney. Arriving back at his house in a limo, Ramone saw his girlfriend and confronted them both. A brief fist fight followed before Micklaw got Ramone on the ground and started kicking him with his steel toe-capped boots. Police attending the scene tell Johnny to seek urgent medical help but he refuses. He collapses soon after and is rushed to St. Vincent’s Hospital where he undergoes four hours of surgery to remove blood clots from the brain.

On Television

1971. Disco (ZDF, West Germany) 6. Midlle Of The Road; Susan Shirley; Mungo Jerry; Frumpy; J. Bastos; Status Quo; Ireen Sheer; McGuiness Flint; The Who; Drafi Deutscher. I decided to go for two clips today. The first is Status Quo’s, “Tune To The Music” in which Francis Rossi makes absolutely no attempt to get near the mic when miming. The other is Frumpy with “Life Without Pain”.

Death

1988. Robert Calvert (Hawkwind) dies of a heart attack at his home in Margate.

Babble

It’s an early start today. Well, the blog’s not usually up this early. I’m heading north again to Nairn. Having found the solicitor that handles the shop across from the Ballerina Ballroom Cinema Of Dreams Festival, I did expect to hear from him yesterday. As I didn’t, I think the best thing is to go see the man in person.

If I can get something sorted, I’ll have to go into hyperdrive to get back up and hung for tomorrow but I’ll just have to see what happens. I think if I could get open for Saturday that would be fine as it’s the Highland Games in Nairn and the town should be mobbed. Whether any of those attending are even interested in rock memorabilia is another matter. As usual, I’ll keep you posted.

 

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Today In Music, August 13th

From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Wednesday 13th August):

Birth

1921. R&B guitarist Jimmy McCracklin born James David Walker in St. Louis, Missouri.

On Tour

1992. Edinburgh’s senior Jewish cleric, Rabbi Shalom Shapira, calls on organisers of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to ban the rapping rabbi, MC Rebbe. His latest show at the Fringe depicts God as a drug-dealer called Hash M. Rabbi Shapira said, “His show will offend anyone who has religious beliefs”. It’s not the first time Rebbe has offended the religious community. He’s banned from some theatres in England for blaspheming and was recently been booed off stage for simulating sex with a bagel.

In Custody

1964. The Isle Of Man’s only police dog has a nervous breakdown on duty helping control 7,000 Rolling Stones fans. The screaming upsets the dog so much, it starts to snarl at the fans. It is relieved of duty for several days.

In Court

1999. Vince Neil (Motley Crue) files a lawsuit against the Rocketdyne Corporation. The singer is seeking undisclosed damages from the company over the death of his 4 year old daughter, Skyler. The suit claims that Rocketdyne dumped toxic substances on land next to the family’s home which led to Sklyer’s liver cancer. A similar class action lawsuit has already been filed against the corporation on behalf of more than 200 people. That suit is based on increased levels of cancer at the plant and in the surrounding areas. Medical expenses for Skyler’s treatment are thought to be $ 2 million.

On Television

1977. Musikladen (ZDF, Germany) 34. Mr. Walkie Talkie; Luv’; Etta Cameron; Laurent Voulzy; Showaddywaddy; Bonnie Tyler; Dana; Amanda Lear; Heart; Baccara; Tina Charles; Veronica Unlimited. Here are the dreadful Mr. Walkie Talkie with, “Be My Boogie Woogie Baby”. 1m 55s. Even the naked go-go dancers don’t make this worth watching. Sorry, I had real trouble finding anything from today!

Death

1993. Nicolette Powell, wife of Georgie Fame, walks up to two teenage girls, smiling. She hands them an envelope and says, “Excuse me, here’s my address, can you raise the alarm please?”. Seconds later she dives 245 feet to her death from the Clifton Suspension Bridge near Bristol.

 

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