On This Day

August 30th: On this Day

1949, Hank Williams went into Herzog Studio in Cincinnati to record 'I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry'. Williams wrote the song originally intending that the words be spoken, rather than sung. The song about loneliness was largely inspired by his troubled relationship with wife Audrey Sheppard.

1968, American band the Byrds released their sixth album Sweetheart of the Rodeo. The album has proved to be a landmark for the entire nascent 1970s Los Angeles country rock movement and was also influential on the outlaw country and new traditionalist movements, as well as the so-called alternative country genre of the 1990s and 2000s.

1969, Two weeks after the Woodstock festival, the second Isle Of Wight festival took place. Over 150,000 turned up over the two days to see Bob Dylan, The Band, Blodwyn Pig, Blonde On Blonde, Bonzo Dog Dooh Dah Band, Edgar Broughton Band, Joe Cocker, Aynsley Dunbar, Family, Fat Mattress, Julie Felix, Free, Gypsy, Richie Havens, The Moody Blues, The Nice, Tom Paxton, Pentangle, The Pretty Things, Third Ear Band and The Who. Tickets 25 shillings, ($3.00). Celebrities who attended include Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, John & Yoko, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Jane Fonder, Liz Taylor and Richard Burton.

1969, One Hit Wonders Zager and Evans started a three week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'In The Year 2525.' The song which was written by Rick Evens in 1964, also spent six weeks at No.1 on the US chart.

1969, The three day Texas Pop Festival took place featuring Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, Sam & Dave, Santana, Johnny Winter, Grand Funk Railroad, Delaney & Bonnie, Nazz, Spirit, B.B. King, Canned Heat and Chicago. Over 120,000 fans attended the festival.

1972, John Lennon and Yoko Ono played Madison Square Gardens to raise money for the One to One charity. Stevie Wonder, Sha Na Na and Roberta Flack also appeared at the event. Lennon personally bought $60,000 worth of tickets which were given to volunteer fund-raisers. Several of the performances were later included on Lennon's, Live in New York City album.

1975, Paul Kossoff guitarist with Free and Back Street Crawler, 'died' for 35 minutes in hospital after being taken ill. (Kossoff died on 19th March 1976 of heart failure after a history of drug abuse).

1975, Rod Stewart had his fifth UK No.1 album when 'Atlantic Crossing' started a five-week run at the top of the charts. The title indicated Stewart's new artistic direction, and on his departure to escape the 83 per cent top rate of income tax introduced by British Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson for the jet-set lifestyle in Los Angeles.

1986, Steve Winwood went to No.1 on the US singles chart with, 'Higher Love', a No.13 hit in the UK.

1988, Bruce Springsteen's wife Julianne filed for a divorce after newspapers published photos of Springsteen and backing singer Patti Scialfa together.

1989, Billy Joel fired his manager and former brother in law Frank Weber, after an audit revealed discrepancies. Joel took Weber to court and sued for $90 million.

1989, Izzy Stradlin from Guns N' Roses was arrested for making a public disturbance on a US air flight. Stradlin had urinated on the floor, verbally abused a stewardess and smoked in the non-smoking section of the aircraft.

1992, Appering at this year's Reading Festival, England, Suede, Ride, Pavement, Public Enemy, Manic Street Preachers (bassist Nicky Wire smashed his guitar in two and hurled it into the crowd, hitting a security guard who needed 16 stitches). This was one of the most famous in the festival's history. Nirvana played what was to become their last UK concert, and one of their most famous. Kurt Cobain took to the stage in a wheelchair pushed by music journalist Everett True, parodying speculations about his mental health.

1994, Oasis performed a selection of new songs at London's Virgin Mega store Marble Arch. Main man from The Lemonheads Evan Dando joined the band for a new song called 'Whatever'.

1995, Sterling Morrison founder member of the Velvet Underground died of cancer at his home in New York City two days after his 53rd birthday. The guitarist left the group in August 1971 and re-joined in 1992 for a European tour. During the 80s he became the Captain of a Houston tugboat.

1995, Carly Simon and James Taylor performed live together in front of 10,000 fans on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. It was the first time they appeared live on the same stage since 1979. The former couple played their own solo sets before combining their efforts in raising money for the local agricultural society.

2004, Winners at the 2004 MTV Video Music awards included, Usher for Best Male Video for ‘Yeah’, Best Video went to Outkast for ‘Hay Ya’, Best Group Video No Doubt for ‘It’s My Life’ and Best Rock Video went to Jet for ‘Are You Gonna Be My Girl.’

2007, Rap star Lil Wayne was sued by a woman for $1m who claimed she was crushed at one of his concerts after a large amount of cash was thrown into the audience. Tyrique Layne, then 17, said she lost consciousness after being trampled by the crowd at a gig in Maryland in October 2006, and had suffered memory loss and severe headaches.

2011, Alleging that Elvis Presley "was unjustly exploited during his lifetime by his record company," his estate announced a multimillion dollar lawsuit against Arista Music, formerly RCA Records, demanding proper payment over new media income such as ringtones, downloads and entertainment apps.

2013, Cinema's across the UK were handing out earplugs to parents taking their children to see One Direction’s new film. Accompanying chaperones could enjoy One Direction: This Is Us 3D without being worried by the high-levels of expected screaming and shouting in the auditoriums during the screenings. Humans are capable of screaming as loud as 120 decibels, which is the same as standing next to a running chainsaw.

2013, A 96-year-old who wrote a song for his late wife made the US iTunes top 10, alongside Katy Perry and Lady Gaga. Fred Stobaugh, whose wife Lorraine had died in April, had no previous musical experience and wrote the song on a whim for a competition. He submitted his handwritten lyrics by post and, although the contest was online-only, the organisers were so moved they put the words to music. 'Oh Sweet Lorraine' was No.7 seven on US iTunes and had seen over 1.9m YouTube views.

2013, A signed copy of John Lennon's whimsical 1964 book ‘In His Own Write’ sold for more than $5,600 after a flurry of 47 bids on eBay. Filled with cheeky quips and kaleidoscopic imagery — the author note was titled ‘About the Awful’ — Lennon’s ‘In His Own Write’ featured short stories, poems and drawings.

2014, Kate Bush followed her stage comeback by becoming the first woman to have eight albums in the UK charts at the same time. Two of the singer's albums were in the top 10, and eight overall in the top 40. It came after she returned for her first live concerts for 35 years. The only artists ahead of Bush are Elvis Presley, who had 12 entries in the top 40 after his death in 1977 and The Beatles who had 11 in 2009.

2016, The 2017 edition of Guinness World Records said that Ringo Starr's copy of The Beatles' White Album was officially the most expensive LP ever sold at auction. Guinness confirmed that a December 2015 sale at Julien's Auction House set a new high for album prices when the first-edition copy with the catalog number 0000001, which was kept in a vault in perfect condition by Starr for more than 35 years, sold for $790,000.

2016, US singer Chris Brown was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after a woman told police he had threatened her with a gun. Beauty queen Baylee Curran told the LA Times Mr Brown had pointed the gun at her face after she had been admiring his friend's jewellery. Mr Brown came out of his home after a stand-off with police.

August 31st: On this Day

1957, Elvis Presley appeared at the Empire Stadium in Vancouver, Canada. This was only the third time ever Presley had performed outside of the U.S. and for Elvis it would be the last. 26,000 fans attended the show with tickets costing $1.50, $2.50 and $3.50.

1963, The girl trio Angels started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘My Boyfriend’s Back’. The writers of the song Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein and Richard Gottehrer were a trio of Brooklyn songwriter/producers who went on to write the hits ‘Sorrow’ and had the 1965 US No.11 single as The Strangeloves with ‘I Want Candy’.

1963, The Ronettes first entered the US singles chart with 'Be My Baby' the girl group's only top 10 hit. Lead singer, Veronica Bennett who became Ronnie Spector, took producer and ex-husband Phil Spector to court in the late 1990s for unpaid royalties.

1968, The Move, The Pretty Things, The Crazy World Of Aurthur Brown, Orange Bicycle, Jefferson Airplane, Fairport Convention and Tyrannosaurus Rex all appeared at the first Isle Of Wight Festival held over two days. Tickets, 25 shillings, ($3.00).

1968, Decca Records released what has been called The Rolling Stones most political song, 'Street Fighting Man', written after Mick Jagger attended a March 1968 anti-war rally at London's US embassy, during which mounted police attempted to control a crowd of 25,000. The single was kept out of the US Top 40 (reaching No.48) because many radio stations refused to play it based on what were perceived as subversive lyrics.

1971, The Rolling Stones plus the father of Brian Jones filed a high court writ against ex managers Oldham and Easton. Claiming they made a secret deal with Decca Records in 1963 to deprive the group of royalties.

1974, Traffic made their last live performance at the annual UK Reading Festival. Other acts appearing included; Alex Harvey, 10cc, Focus, Steve Harley and Procol Harum. £5.50 for a weekend ticket.

1976, George Harrison was found guilty of 'subconscious plagiarism' of the Ronnie Mack song 'He's So Fine' when writing 'My Sweet Lord'. Earnings from the song were awarded to Mack's estate; The Chiffons then recorded their own version of 'My Sweet Lord'.

1984, 'Purple Rain' the movie-starring Prince opened at cinemas across the UK with special late night previews. The film grossed more than US $80 million at the box office and became a cult classic.

1985, 'Brothers In Arms' by Dire Straits started a nine-week run at No.1 on the US album charts. The album also topped the charts in 25 other countries and went on to sell over 20 million worldwide.

1985, UB40 with guest vocals from Chrissie Hynde had the UK No.1 single with their version of the Sonny Bono song 'I Got You Babe' a hit for Sonny & Cher in 1965.

1986, After living together for 10 years Bob Geldof married TV presenter Paula Yates in Las Vegas with Duran Duran singer Simon Le Bon as the best man. Yates died of a drug overdose on 17th September 2000.

1987, The largest pre-order of albums in the history of CBS Records occurred as 2.25 million copies of Michael Jackson's ‘Bad’ album were shipped to record stores in the US. The LP followed the Jackson album, Thriller the biggest Jackson-seller of all time (over 35 million copies sold). ‘Bad’ went on to sell over 13 million copies.

1990, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt and Stevie Wonder sang 'Amazing Grace' at a memorial service held for guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan who had been killed in a helicopter crash 4 days earlier.

1991, Metallica started a four-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with, Metallica. The album featured ‘Enter Sandman’ ‘Sad But True’, ‘The Unforgiven’ and ‘Nothing Else Matters’ went on to sell over 10 million copies in the US alone.

1997, Oasis went to No.1 on the UK album chart with their third album 'Be Here Now.' The album had sold over a million copies on the first day of release. At that point, Oasis were at the height of their fame, and 'Be Here Now' became the United Kingdom's fastest selling album to date.

2002, NASA announced that Lance Bass, singer with *NSYNC, was to become the first celebrity astronaut. His $23.8 million (£14 million), place on a Russian Soyuz module would make him the youngest person at 23 years of age to go into orbit. Bass ended up not taking part in the flight after failing to pay for his $20 million ticket on the craft.

2003, Elton John went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Are You Ready For Love.' The song was recorded in 1977 and released in 1979, when it reached No.42. It was used by Sky TV for their Premiership football ads.

2004, Carl Wayne the singer with The Move died from cancer. They had the 1969 UK No.1 single 'Blackberry Way.' Wayne also worked with The Hollies.

2004, UK medical magazine Thorax issued a warning to music fans saying that listening to loud music in the car can give you a collapsed lung. One 19 year-old had been treated in Bristol after his left lung collapsed as his 1,000-watt bass box boomed out in his Fiat Panda.

2006, The Times ran a story on the demands of rock stars when on tour. Ozzy Osbourne insists on an eye, ear, nose and throat doctor at each venue. The Beach Boys require a licensed masseur, Meat Loaf a mask and one small tank of oxygen. David Bowie requests that the dressing room temperature is between 14c and 18c and Paul McCartney must have a large arrangement of white Casablanca lilies in his dressing room. Mick Jagger must have an onstage autocue with the lyrics to all the songs, it would also tell him the name of the city in which they were performing.

2007, Hilly Kristal, founder of the New York punk club CBGB died from complications arising from lung cancer at the age of 75. Kristal was credited with discovering Patti Smith and the Ramones and his club became a breeding ground for punk rock. The New York City venue, whose full title CBGB OMFUG stood for 'country, bluegrass, blues and other music for uplifting gourmandisers', was originally launched to showcase country music.

2014, Jimi Jamison, the lead singer for US rock band Survivor, who sang and co-wrote 'I'm Always Here' the theme tune for hit TV series Baywatch, died aged 63. The band are best known for their 1982 hit 'The Eye of the Tiger' which pre-dated Jamison joining the group.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyamjCLcxHY

Lol, the Shirelles - at least I didn't dream that one, thanks Poguey - now, find me a band called the Germans, with me in it, and my life will be complete

Cheers Frank, She's so fine it was, all right.

I'm still waiting for someone to tell me the Blues Magoos "We ain't got nothin yet", and Deep Purple's "Black Night" are not the same song !!'

September 2nd: On this Day

1964, On tour in the USA The Beatles appeared at The Convention Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Days before the concert, Philadelphia had experienced race-riots, The Beatles, who were Civil Rights supporters, were shocked to see that their audience of 13,000 was completely white.

1964, The Rolling Stones recorded their version of the Willie Dixon song 'Little Red Rooster' at Regent Sound Studios in London, England.

1965, Steam Packet with Long John Baldry, Rod Stewart, Julie Discoll and The Brian Auger Trinity appeared at The Marquee Club London.

1965, The Doors recorded their first demos at World Pacific Jazz Studios in Los Angeles, California, where they cut six Jim Morrison songs.

1971, Grateful Dead's former manager was arrested after disappearing with over $70,000 of the bands money.

1972, Rod Stewart was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'You Wear It Well', the singers second UK No.1 was taken from his album 'Never A Dull Moment.'

1972, The Erie Canal Soda Pop Festival was held over three days on Bull Island, near Griffin, Indiana. The Promoters expected over 50,000 music fans, and over 200,000 attended the festival. Many bands pulled out as the festival drifted steadily into anarchy. Bands that did appear included Flash Cadillac & the Continental Kids, Black Oak Arkansas, Cheech and Chong, Foghat, Albert King, Brownsville Station, Canned heat, Flash, Ravi Shankar, Rory Gallagher, Lee Michaels and Frosty, The Eagles, The Amboy Dukes, and Gentle Giant. Three concert goers drowned in the Wabash River and as the festival ended, the remnants of the crowd burned down the music stand.

1988, The Human Rights Now! world tour kicked off at Wembley Stadium London with Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Peter Gabriel, Tracy Chapman and Youssu n'Dour. Taking in five continents and claiming to be the most ambitious rock tour in history.

1989, Ozzy Osbourne was charged with threatening to kill his wife Sharon. Ozzy was released on the condition that he immediately went into detox, the case was later dropped when the couple decide to reconcile.

1995, Michael Jackson went to No.1 on the US singles chart with a song written by R. Kelly 'You Are Not Alone'. It holds a Guinness World Record as the first song in the 37 year history of the Billboard Hot 100 to debut at No.1.

2000, Madonna was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Music', her 10th UK No.1 single, from her album of the same title. The video stars Madonna as well as comedian Sacha Baron Cohen as his famous character Ali G.

2001, American saxophonist Jay Migliori died of cancer aged 70. As a session musician he recorded with The Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra and Frank Zappa and was the founding member of Supersax, a tribute band to Charlie Parker.

2002, Thieves broke into the London home of Icelandic singer Bjork and stole valuable recording equipment. The 36-year-old singer was asleep in the flat at the time of the incident.

2005, Mariah Carey became only the fifth act ever to hold the top two positions in the US singles chart. The singer's ‘We Belong Together’ notched a 10th consecutive week at No.1 on the Billboard chart while ‘Shake It Off’ jumped two places to second place. The feat put Carey in a select group of acts to hold the top two with Nelly, OutKast, The Bee Gees and The Beatles. ‘We Belong Together’ was Carey's 16th number one, giving her the third highest number of chart-toppers in the US behind the Beatles and Elvis Presley.

2005, Kanye West criticised President Bush's response to Hurricane Katrina during a televised benefit concert in New York. The show, which was raising funds for relief efforts, featured Leonardo DiCaprio, Richard Gere, Glenn Close, Harry Connick Jr and Wynton Marsalis. Appearing alongside comedian Mike Myers for a 90-second segment West told the audience: "George Bush doesn't care about black people." The comment went out live on the US east coast, but was cut from a taped version seen on the west coast.

2006, Lead singer of the Isley Brothers, Ronald Isley was sentenced to three years in a US prison for multiple counts of tax fraud. The 64-year-old, was also ordered to pay more than $3.1m (£1.62m) to the US tax service for "pathological" evasion. The court heard he cashed royalty cheques belonging to his brother O'Kelly, who died in 1996 and also spent millions of dollars made from undeclared performances on a yacht and two homes.

2007, 17 year-old Jamaican-American singer Sean Kingston went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Beautiful Girls', also a US No.1. The song samples the bassline from Ben E. King's classic 'Stand by Me'.

2009, Guy Babylon, keyboard player with the Elton John Band died of a heart attack while swimming in his pool at his home in Los Angeles, California.

2012, Mark Abrahamian, the lead guitarist with Starship died of a heart attack aged 46. He collapsed following a concert in the US state of Nebraska where Starship had opened for fellow bands Survivor and Boston.

2013, Sir Elton John won the first ever Brits Icon award, in a gala concert which marked his stage return after surgery for appendicitis. Elton was presented with the prize by his friend, singer Rod Stewart, who described him as "the second-best rock singer ever". The Icon prize had been created by the BPI, the music industry's trade body, which also runs the Brit Awards.

2016, The Eagles Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 returned to the US album chart thanks to a 99-cent sale price in the Google Play store. The album, released in 1976, was already the largest selling compilation album in history with worldwide sales of over 42 million copies.

September 3rd: On this Day

1962, After playing a lunchtime show at The Cavern Club in Liverpool, The Beatles played the first of three Monday night gigs at The Queen's Hall, Widnes, Cheshire. Also on the bill, Billy Kramer and the Coasters, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes and Sonny Kaye and the Reds. Tickets cost 3/6.

1965, A Rolling Stones gig in Dublin, Ireland ended in a riot after 30 fans jumped onto the stage. Jagger was knocked to the floor as the rest of the band fled the stage.

1966, Donovan went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Sunshine Superman', a No.2 hit in the UK. The track featured then Yardbird and future Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page. The song was written for Donovan's future wife Linda Lawrence.

1968, After a two week absence, Ringo Starr rejoined The Beatles. Upon Ringo's return to the studio, he found his drum kit covered with flowers to welcome him back.

1970, Alan Wilson guitarist and songwriter with Canned Heat was found dead at fellow band-members Bob Hite's garden in Topanga Canyon, Los Angeles aged 27. With Canned Heat, Wilson performed at two prominent concerts of the 1960s era, The Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and Woodstock in 1969. Canned Heat appeared in the film Woodstock, and the band's 'Going Up the Country,' which Wilson sang, has been referred to as the festival's unofficial theme song. Wilson also wrote 'On the Road Again,' arguably Canned Heat's second-most familiar song.

1970, Arthur Brown was arrested at the Palermo Pop '70 Festival in Italy, after he set fire to his helmet (during the performance of his hit 'Fire'), and stripped naked during his stage performance. The singer spent four days in solitary confinement before he was released.

1975, An all-star jam session took place at a party in Los Angeles for actor Peter Sellers’ 50th Birthday. The line-up for the group who named themselves the Trading Faces: Bill Wyman on bass, Ronnie Wood, Jesse Ed Davis, and Danny Kortchmar on guitars, Keith Moon organ and drums, Joe Cocker, vocals, Nigel Olsson, drums and David Bowie and Bobby Keys on sax.

1977, The month after his death, Elvis Presley had 27 albums and 9 singles in the Top 100 charts in the UK. 'Moody Blue' was the No.1 album while 'Way Down' was No.1 on the singles chart, (putting him equal with The Beatles each amassing 17 No.1 hits).

1977, Studio engineer Keith Harwood was killed in a car crash shortly after he left a recording session with The Rolling Stones. Harwood was noted for his work at Olympic Studios with David Bowie (Diamond Dogs), and The Rolling Stones albums It's Only Rock 'n' Roll and Black And Blue. He also engineered a number of Led Zeppelin albums, including Houses Of The Holy, Physical Graffiti and Presence. The Rolling Stones dedicated their album Love You Live to the memory of Harwood.

1982, The three day US Festival in San Bernardino, California took place featuring, Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, The Police, The Cars, Talking Heads, The Kinks, Ramones, B52's, The English Beat, Gang Of Four, The Grateful Dead, Pat Benatar, Jackson Browne. Apple Computers founder Steven Wozniak bankrolled the festival.

1983, UB40 had their first UK No.1 single with 'Red Red Wine'. Taken from their album Labour of Love the song was a cover of the 1968 Neil Diamond hit song. The re-released single was a US No.1 in 1988.

1991, Ike Turner was released from prison having served 18 months of a four-year prison term, (Ike had been arrested ten other times). In an interview with 'Variety' he claimed to have spent over $11 million on cocaine.

1991, During a European tour, Nirvana recorded ‘Dumb’, ‘Drain You’ and ‘Endless Nameless’ at Maida Vale studios in London for the BBC Radio 1 John Peel show.

1999, The largest music bootleg bust in US history was made. It was estimated that this one operation alone was responsible for $100 million in lost revenues. Recording equipment valued at $250,000 was confiscated, as were almost 1 million CDs and tapes.

2002, The Rolling Stones 40th anniversary Licks tour kicked off at the Fleet Centre Boston. Tickets for the best seats cost $224. The world tour would see the band playing to over 2.5m fans over 100 shows.

2003, Libertines singer Pete Doherty was sentenced to six months in jail after being found guilty to burglary and drug possession charges. His sentence was reduced to two months on appeal.

2004, Songwriter and producer Billy Davis died in New York after a long illness. He co-wrote Jackie Wilson's, ‘Reet Petite’ and the jingle ‘I'd Like To Buy The World A Coke.’ Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes and Gladys Knight all recorded his songs.

2004, Sir Cliff Richard stunned the music industry by ending his contract with EMI records and signing with Eminem's label Universal Music. Cliff had sold over 250 million records with EMI during his 46 year career.

2005, Blues musician Fats Domino was rescued from New Orleans shortly after Hurricane Katrina hit the city. The 77-year-old singer had been reported missing since the storm in New Orleans which had flooding the city leaving thousands feared dead.

2006, Justin Timberlake featuring Timbaland was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'SexyBack' his first UK No.1 hit. The track won Timberlake and Timbaland the 2007 Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording. It was the longest-running No.1 single of 2006 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, staying seven weeks at the top.

2008, R&B singer Ne-Yo was awarded $700,320 (£395,580) after he was dropped from a US tour with R. Kelly. The singer claimed he was fired as Kelly's opening act last November because fans and critics preferred him - an allegation his co-star denied.

2008, Heavy metal band Slipknot scored their first US number one album - but only after a recount put them ahead of rapper The Game's latest release. Slipknot topped the US chart with their fourth studio album All Hope Is Gone which, according to analysts Nielsen SoundScan, sold 239,516 copies - 1,134 more than the Games album.

2009, Friends and family of Michael Jackson paid their last respects to the singer at a funeral held at Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Los Angeles. Dame Elizabeth Taylor, Quincy Jones, Macaulay Culkin, Berry Gordy and Lisa Marie Presley were among the 200 invited guests. The singer's family arrived in a motorcade of 31 vehicles, Jackson's brothers - Randy, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon - acted as pallbearers carrying Jackson’s gold-plated coffin.

2009, Madonna's Sticky and Sweet world became the highest grossing tour ever for a solo artist tour making $408m (£250m). The 51 year old singer had performed in 32 countries.

2010, Mike Edwards a founding member of ELO was killed in a freak accident when a giant bale of hay tumbled down a hill and crashed into his van. The 62 year-old cellist died after the 600 kg (1,323 lb) bale rolled down a steep field in Devon, southern England, smashed through a hedge and careered on to the road. Edwards played cello with ELO, the seven-piece band led by Jeff Lynne, from their first live gig in 1972 until he left in January 1975. He quit the band in 1975 to become a Buddhist, changing his name to Deva Pramada and making his living by teaching the cello.

2012, Internal emails sent by the promoters of Michael Jackson's planned 2009 comeback concerts saw them voice concerns over his stability and health. In one email, sent the day the singer appeared in London to announce his This Is It shows, he was described as "an emotionally paralysed mess". The singer had locked him-self in his room and was said to be drunk and despondent.

2017, Walter Becker, co-founder and guitarist for the US band Steely Dan died aged 67. Steely Dan - named after a sex toy in the book Naked Lunch by William Burroughs - released its first album Can't Buy a Thrill in 1972 and had the 1973 US No.11 single 'Reeling In The Years' and nine other US Top 30 hits. Steely Dan's 'Two Against Nature' won a Grammy in 2001 for Album of the year. Becker had produced records for Rickie Lee Jones, China Crisis and Michael Franks.

Pogue Mahoney wrote: On This Day: Bono officially lost his voice.

September 6th: On this Day

1953, Guy Mitchell was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Look At That Girl' his second No.1 this year. As an international recording star of the 1950s he sold over six million singles.

1963, Cilla Black signed a management contract with Beatles manager Brian Epstein. Cilla changed her name to Black, (it was white), after a misprint in the music paper 'Mersey Beat'.

1967, Engelbert Humperdinck was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'The Last Waltz', the singers second UK No.1.

1968, Working at Abbey Road studio's in London on The White Album, The Beatles recoded overdubs onto the new George Harrison song 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps'. Eric Clapton added the guitar solo (and became the first famous outside musician to play on a Beatles recording) and George recorded his lead vocal.

1970, Jimi Hendrix made his final live appearance when he appeared at the Isle Of Fehmarn in Germany. The guitarist died 12 days later on 18th Sept 1970 after choking on his own vomit.

1974, The 101 All Stars (featuring Joe Strummer), made their debut at The Telegraph, Brixton Hill, London.

1975, Glen Campbell started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Rhinestone Cowboy', his first No.1 after 13 Top 40 hits. The record gained three Grammy nominations and was the Country Music Association's Song of the Year for 1976.

1975, Rod Stewart was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with his version of the Sutherland Brothers song 'Sailing'. The song had been featured in the BBC TV series about HMS Ark Royal.

1976, Fleetwood Mac went to No.1 on the US album chart for the first time with their album 'Fleetwood Mac'.

1978, Record producer Tom Wilson died. He worked with various US acts including Bob Dylan (The Times They Are a-Changin', Another Side of Bob Dylan, and Bringing It All Back Home), Frank Zappa (Freak Out!), Simon and Garfunkel (Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.) and The Velvet Underground, (White Light/White Heat).

1980, The Jam were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Start!', the group's second UK No.1 and taken from the band's fifth album Sound Affects.

1985, 'Desperately Seeking Susan' went on general release in the UK, the movie featured Madonna and Rosanna Arquette. The filmmakers had initially wanted Diane Keaton and Goldie Hawn to play the roles of Roberta and Susan, but the director decided to cast newcomers Rosanna Arquette and Madonna instead.

1986, All girl group Bananarama went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Venus', the song had also been a No.1 for Dutch group Shocking Blue in 1970.

1988, 2,000 items of Elton John's personal memorabilia including his boa feathers, 'Pinball Wizard' boots and hundreds of pairs of spectacles were auctioned at Sotheby's in London.

1990, Tom Fogerty rhythm guitarist with Creedence Clearwater Revival died aged 49, due to complications from AIDS acquired during a blood transfusion. During 1969 CCR scored three US Top Ten albums and four Top 5 singles and after leaving CCR in 1971 Fogerty released several solo albums.

1994, English keyboard player Nicky Hopkins died aged 50, in Nashville, Tennessee, of complications from intestinal surgery. Was a highly respected session musician, worked with The Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck, The Beatles, The Who, The Kinks, Small Faces, Led Zeppelin, John Lennon, George Harrison, and the Jerry Garcia Band. The Kinks song 'Session Man' from Face to Face is dedicated to (and features) Hopkins.

1997, Elton John recorded a new version of 'Candle In The Wind' after performing the song live at Diana Princess of Wales funeral. An estimated 2.5 billion people around the world watched Elton play the special tribute to Diana. The track went on to become the biggest selling single of all-time.

2001, American band Earth, Wind & Fire announced that Viagra would sponsor their forthcoming 30th anniversary American tour.

2004, Jamiroquai singer Jay Kay was banned for six months and fined £750 after being clocked driving at more than 100mph. His lawyers had argued at Perth Sheriff Court that he needed his licence so he could have "respite" from his busy professional life. But Sheriff Robert McCreadie said his conduct was "entirely unacceptable". Jay Kay admitted driving a four-wheel-drive vehicle at 105mph on the A9 in Perthshire in February while overtaking.

2005, Sir Bob Geldof was awarded the freedom of his native Dublin after the City Council voted in favour of giving him the accolade in honour of his campaign against world poverty and alleviating debt in Africa.

2006, Victor Willis, who performed as the policeman in The Village People was given three years probation for drugs offences after pleading no contest to the charges, dating from March 2006. Willis co-wrote some of the group's biggest hits - including 'YMCA' and 'In The Navy.'

2006, A man named Paul van Valkenburgh from Florida died of lung cancer. An obituary published in a local paper was picked up by the Associated Press, which ran a short obituary of the dead man but giving him the wrong name. The real Paul Vance, who was alive and well and living in Coral Springs, Florida, contacted local media after viewing a report of his death on local TV. He announced that he was still alive and was able to prove this with a stack of royalty cheques from ASCAP from his biggest hit ‘Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini.’ He told a reporter for the New York Times that his relatives and friends, shocked by the AP report, had called to check on him after the media reports.

2008, US rock band Great White whose pyrotechnics sparked a fire that killed 100 people, agreed to pay $1m (£564,000) to survivors and victims' relatives. The blaze began at The Station nightclub in the US state of Rhode Island in 2003 when the band's tour manager shot off pyrotechnics at the start of the concert. More than 200 people were also injured in the blaze. One band member, guitarist Ty Longley, was killed in the fire. Tour manager Daniel Biechele pleaded guilty in 2006 to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter and was given parole in March after serving less than half of his four-year prison sentence.

2010, Morrissey caused controversy after he claimed that the Chinese were a "sub-species" because of the way they treat animals. In an interview with UK paper The Guardian, the former Smiths frontman said: "Did you see the thing on the news about their treatment of animals and animal welfare? Absolutely horrific. You can't help but feel that the Chinese are a sub-species."

2011, A California judge ruled that Madonna did not hold a trademark over the phrase "Material Girl" for her line of clothing just because she wrote a song by that name in 1985. An L.A. retailer called LA Triumph has been using the name "Material Girl" clothing and has registered it as a trademark.

2016, Barbra Streisand extended her US chart record after she scored her 11th US No.1 album with her Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway. The star had already notched up more chart toppers than any other female artist, and now extends her lead over Madonna, who has eight. She also overtook Elvis Presley, who has 10, to tie with Bruce Springsteen.

September 9th: On this Day

1954, Elvis Presley played at the opening of the Lamar-Airways Shopping Center in Memphis Tennessee. Johnny Cash was in the audience and after the show met Elvis for the first time.

1956, Elvis Presley made his first appearance on 'The Ed Sullivan show', performing 'Don't Be Cruel', 'Love Me Tender' and 'Ready Teddy' from the CBS TV Studios in Los Angeles.

1963, The Beatles were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'She Loves You.' 'Please Please Me' was at No.1 on the UK album chart. 'She Loves You' became The Beatles' best-selling single in the United Kingdom, and was the best selling single in Britain in 1963.

1965, US newspaper The Hollywood reporter ran the following advertisement; 'Madness folk & roll musicians, singers wanted for acting roles in new TV show. Parts for 4 insane boys. The Monkees were born. 437 people applied for the job.

1965, The Rolling Stones were at No.1 in the UK with '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' , giving the band their 4th UK No.1 single. Keith Richards recorded a rough version of the riff in a Florida hotel room. He ran through it once before falling asleep. He said when he listened back to it in the morning, there was about two minutes of acoustic guitar before you could hear him drop the pick and "then me snoring for the next forty minutes".

1968, Working at Abbey Road studios on The White Album, The Beatles recorded 'Helter Skelter'. John Lennon played bass and honked on a saxophone, roadie Mal Evans tried his best at playing trumpet. Paul McCartney recorded his lead vocal and George Harrison ran about the studio holding a flaming ashtray above his head.

1972, Slade were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Mama Weer All Crazee Now', the group's third UK No.1. Taken from their album 'Slayed?'

1977, David Bowie appeared on Marc Bolan's ITV show, Marc, singing ‘Heroes’ as well as a duet with Bolan, ‘Standing Next To You’, which was prematurely terminated when Bolan fell from the stage, much to Bowie’s amusement. After the show the pair recorded demos together which were never finished because Bolan was killed in a car crash a week later.

1989, Italian based Black Box started a six-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Ride On Time'. The track sampled the uncredited use of Loleatta Holloway's song 'Love Sensation', who objected resulting in a settlement that paid the singer an undisclosed sum. New pressings had M People singer Heather Small singing the vocals. Biggest selling single of 1989.

1989, New Kids On The Block scored their second US No.1 single with 'Hangin' Tough', a No.1 in the UK in 1990. The group also went to No.1 on the US album chart on this day with 'Hangin Tough'.

1992, Nirvana's Krist Novoselic knocked himself unconscious during the MTV music and video awards after being hit on the head with his guitar after throwing it 'up in the air'.

1995, Coolio featuring L.V. scored his first US No.1 single with 'Gangsta's Paradise'. The song sampled the chorus of the 1976 Stevie Wonder song 'Pastime Paradise' and featured in the 1995 movie Dangerous Minds (starring Michelle Pfeiffer). Coolio was awarded a Grammy Award for the song.

2004, US guitar maker Ernie Ball died after a long illness. In the late 50s Ball opened the first music store in the USA in Tarzana, California to sell guitars exclusively. He developed the guitar strings called 'Slinkys' specifically designed for rock and roll electric guitar.

2005, Terry Howard a studio engineer who had been accused of stealing recordings belonging to late soul singer Ray Charles was cleared of all charges in a Los Angeles court. Howard who had worked for Charles for 20 years had been arrested in February after dozens of recordings belonging to Ray Charles Enterprises were seized from his home.

2005, Liverpool City Council confirmed it was to demolish Ringo Starr's birthplace because it had "no historical significance." The house in Dingle, was one of 460 properties to be demolished for a regeneration project. The council said Madryn Street had no significance because Ringo had spent only three months of his life there.

2005, An international conference devoted to the life, work, and influence of Bruce Springsteen was held at Monmouth University, New Jersey. The festivities included various live acts, as well as keynote addresses by rock critics and figures from the music industry. More than 150 papers were presented to the course including Springsteen and American Folklore, Springsteen and Dylan's American Dreamscapes, Springsteen's Musical Legacy, Born to Run at 30-Years-Old, Springsteen and New Jersey and the Boss and the Bible.

2006, 50 Cent was stopped by police for alleged unsafe driving in New York and received citations for an unsafe lane change, driving with an expired permit, driving without insurance and driving without vehicle registration. A crowd gathered, taking photos, cheering the superstar and jeering the police after he was pulled over in his silver open-topped Lamborghini.

2008, A man was charged with assault after an attack on Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher during the band's set at the V Festival in Canada. Gallagher was admitted to hospital after a man ran on stage and pushed him over while he played guitar. Toronto police said Daniel Sullivan, 47, had been charged over the incident. A band statement said the guitarist "fell heavily on to his monitor speakers".

2008, Manchester group Elbow won the Mercury Music Prize in the UK for their album 'The Seldom Seen Kid.'

2014, Scottish guitarist Robert "Throb" Young died at the age of 49. Young founded Primal Scream with school friend and singer Bobby Gillespie in Glasgow in 1984. As a member of Primal Scream, Young performed on all of the group's records up to 2006's Riot City Blues, and including their most famous album, Screamadelica.

September 12th: On this Day

1954, The first 'teen idol', Frank Sinatra was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Three Coins In The Fountain,' the singer's first UK No.1. The song was The Academy Award winning Best Original Song of 1954.

1963, The Beatles were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'She Loves You', the group's second No.1. It became the biggest seller of the year and the biggest selling Beatles single in the UK.

1964, The Supremes, The Shangri-La's, Marvin Gaye, Dusty Springfield, The Ronettes, Millie Small, The Temptations, The Miracles and Little Anthony and the Imperials all appeared at The Fox Theatre, Brooklyn, New York.

1966, N.B.C. aired the first episode of The Monkees TV show in the US. The series ran for a total of 58 episodes.

1967, Filming continued for The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour. The bus headed for Widecombe on the Moor, where a local fair was being held but the bus driver (Alf Manders) took a shortcut to bypass heavy traffic and ended up stuck on a bridge, the coach ended up having to drive in reverse for a half-mile before it could turn around. They then head for Plymouth, followed by a 20-car convoy of journalists and photographers.

1970, Creedence Clearwater Revival scored their first UK No.1 album with Cosmo's Factory. It enjoyed a nine-week run at No.1 in the US where it sold over three million copies.

1970, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'The Tears Of A Clown', their first UK No.1. Stevie Wonder (who was discovered by Miracles member Ronnie White), and his producer Hank Cosby wrote the music for the song.

1970, Bob Dylan joined Joan Baez, Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie at the Woody Guthrie Memorial Concert held at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California.

1986, Public Image Ltd guitarist John McGeoch needed 40 stitches in his face after a two-litre wine bottle was thrown at the stage during a gig in Vienna.

1987, Michael Jackson kicked of his Bad World Tour by playing the first of three sold-out nights at Korakuen Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. By the end of the 123-date tour, Jackson had played to over 4million fans across fifteen countries.

1989, Aerosmith released 'Pump' their tenth studio album which featured the hit singles: 'Love In An Elevator', 'The Other Side' and 'Janie's Got a Gun'. Aerosmith found themselves in law school textbooks after a small rock band named Pump sued Aerosmith's management company for service mark infringement. Aerosmith won the case.

1990, Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie from Fleetwood Mac announced they were leaving the band at the end of their current tour. At the time, some believed that Nicks’ and McVie’s departures were hastened by bad blood in the wake of Fleetwood’s memoir, Fleetwood: My Life and Adventures in Fleetwood Mac which revealed some “sordid revelations” about life in Fleetwood Mac.

1995, INXS singer Michael Hutchence pleaded guilty to punching photographer Jim Bennett outside a London hotel. He was fined £400 and ordered to pay £1,875 costs.

1997, Founder of the Polar Music record label, songwriter, producer and Abba's manager Stig Anderson died of a heart attack. Anderson co-wrote some of ABBA's biggest hits, such as ‘Waterloo’, ‘Mamma Mia’, ‘S.O.S’, ‘Fernando’, ‘Dancing Queen’, ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You’ and ‘The Name of the Game.’ His funeral was broadcast live on Swedish television an honour otherwise only reserved for distinguished statesmen or royalty.

1999, The Vengaboys went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'We're Going To Ibiza!' The song was originally known as 'Barbados' a No.1 for Typically Tropical in 1975. The Vengaboys gave it a new title with revised lyrics.

2002, The son of Rod Stewart was sentenced to 90 days in jail and ordered to undergo drug rehabilitation after pleading no contest to attacking a man outside a Malibu, California restaurant. 22 year-old Sean Stewart had been arrested on Dec. 5th, 2001, after he was seen kicking the man in the face and stomach. Stewart was also sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay $5,600 to the victim.

2003, US singer songwriter Johnny Cash died of respiratory failure aged 71. One of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, known as "The Man in Black." He traditionally started his concerts by saying, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash." Had the 1969 US No.2 & UK No.4 single 'A Boy Named Sue', plus 11 other US Top 40 singles. Cash also had his own US TV show in late 60s early 70s.

2004, American drummer and arranger Kenny Buttrey died in Nashville, Tennessee, Worked with Neil Young, (Harvest, and After the Gold Rush), Bob Dylan (Blonde on Blonde, Nashville Skyline & John Wesley Harding), and Bob Seger, Elvis Presley, Donovan, George Harrison, Joan Baez, Dan Fogelberg, Kris Kristofferson, Jimmy Buffett, Chuck Berry and Area Code 615.

2006, Jamiroquai singer Jay Kay was arrested and cautioned for common assault following an altercation with a photographer after an incident outside a London nightclub.

2007, The surviving members of Led Zeppelin announced they would reform for a star-studded tribute concert in London. Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones would play at a show to remember the late Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun. The place of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, who died in 1980, would be taken by his son Jason. The one-off concert, the trio's first performance for 19 years, would take place at the O2 arena in London on 26th November.

2008, Kanye West was arrested on suspicion of vandalism after a row with a photographer at Los Angeles International Airport. The incident happened before he cleared security screening at the airport before boarding a flight to Hawaii. A camera valued at $10,000 (£5,709) was broken in the incident, according to an airport spokesman.

2013, Ray Dolby, the US engineer who founded Dolby Laboratories and pioneered noise reduction in audio recordings, died of leukemia at the age of 80. The analog Dolby noise-reduction system works by increasing the volume of low-level high-frequency sounds during recording and correspondingly reducing them during playback.