A bandstand where David Bowie played soon after the release of his first hit single ‘Space Oddity’ was given a Grade II listing. The singer performed from the stand to a small audience in Croydon Road Recreation Ground on 16 August 1969. The bandstand was the centrepiece of a one-day festival, which Bowie helped to organise and later inspired him to write the seven-minute song, ‘Memory Of A Free Festival’.
American singer and songwriter Aretha Franklin died in Detroit at the age of 76. Known as ‘The Queen of Soul’ and one of the best-selling musical artists of all time, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide was diagnosed with cancer in 2010. During her career she scored over 15 Top 40 hits and won 18 Grammy Awards. Hits include the 1967 US No.1 & UK No.10 single ‘Respect’, the 1968 UK No.4 single ‘I Say A Little Prayer’ and the 1987 UK No.1 single with George Michael, ‘I Knew You Were Waiting’. In 2010 Rolling Stone magazine ranked her number one on their list of the ‘100 Greatest Singers of All Time’.
One Direction were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Drag Me Down’. It was the band’s first single since Zayn Malik’s departure earlier in this year The track won the fan-voted ‘Best Video Award’ at the 2016 Brit Awards.
A fan of the 1980s pop band Wham! was silenced after becoming the first noise nuisance to be prosecuted by Newcastle city council’s night watch team. Brian Turner had tormented neighbours by playing their hit song ‘Last Christmas’ all night at full volume from 1am onwards. Magistrates fined Turner, of Sandyford, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, £200 and ordered him to pay £215 costs.
Madonna suffered three cracked ribs, a broken collarbone and a broken hand in a horse-riding accident on her country estate. The accident happened when she fell off a new horse in the grounds of her Ashcombe House on the border of Wiltshire and Dorset on her 47th birthday. The singer was treated at hospital in Salisbury, 90 miles (150 kilometres) south-west of London.
P Diddy appeared on the US TV Today Show and announced that he was altering his stage name again, dropping the “P.” and referring to himself simply as “Diddy.” The name change to Diddy upset Richard “Diddy” Dearlove, a London based DJ who took out court proceedings against P Diddy over the use of the name. He won when an out of court settlement of £110,000 was agreed and as a result, Combs is no longer be able to use the name Diddy in the UK.
Alan Caddy guitarist with The Tornadoes died. He had the 1962 UK & US No.1 single ‘Telstar’ which became the first major hit from a UK act on the American chart. Caddy also played on sessions and worked on arrangements for Spencer Davis Group, Kiki Dee, Pretty Things and Dusty Springfield.
On the 20th anniversary of Elvis Presley death over 30,000 fans descended on Memphis Tennessee for a 10-minute mourning circuit circling his grave. A poll found that almost a third of the fans were keeping an eye out for him in the crowd.
Will Smith started a four-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Men In Black’ taken from the film of the same name. The song won Smith a Grammy in 1997 for Best Rap Solo Performance.
Blur, Prodigy, Beck, Kula Shaker, Dodgy, Foo Fighters, Placebo, James, Ash, Dodgy and Gene all appeared at the two day V97 UK festival in Chelmsford and Leeds, weekend tickets, £50.
Kiss played at The Marquee Club in London, England on their current 129-date Crazy Nights world tour.
Rick Allen, drummer with Def Leppard made his first live appearance with the band after losing an arm in a car accident, when they appeared at the Monsters Of Rock Festival, Castle Donington, England.
Madonna started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Papa Don’t Preach.’ The singers fourth US No.1, & No.1 in the UK. Also on this day Madonna went to No.1 on the US album chart with ‘True Blue’.
After dating for six years, Paul Simon married actress Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in the first Star Wars trilogy. The marriage would last less than two years, but the two continued to date off and on after they split.
Elvis Presley was found dead lying on the floor in his bathroom by his girlfriend Ginger Alden, he had been seated on the toilet reading ‘The Scientific Search For Jesus’. He died of heart failure at the age of 42. His first record for RCA, ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ was also his first US No.1. He starred in 31 films. Elvis holds the record for the most entries on the US Hot 100 chart with 154. Elvis became the first rock ‘n’ roll artist to be honoured by the US Postal Service with a stamp.
Berlin Wall built Two days after sealing off free passage between East and West Berlin with barbed wire, East German authorities begin building a wall—the Berlin Wall—to permanently close off access to the West. For the next 28 years, the heavily fortified Berlin Wall stood as the most tangible symbol of the Cold War—a literal “iron curtain” dividing Europe. The end of World War II in 1945 saw Germany divided […]
