April 7th

Musical birthdays today include country singer Bobby Bare, Sr. (90), original Jethro Tull lead guitarist Mick Abrahams (82), former Chiffons vocalist Patricia Bennett (78), Kraftwerk drummer Florian Schneider (78), John Oates (77), Janis Ian (74), Our Lady Peace Drummer Jeremy Taggart (50), and former Liberty X lead singer Kelli Young (44). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Percy Faith, born on this day in 1908... for Billie Holiday, born in 1915... for Ravi Shankar, born in 1920... for Babatunde Olatunji, born in 1927... for Jefferson Airplane drummer Spencer Dryden, jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, and producer and Record Plant co-founder Gary Kellgren, all of whom would have been 86... for composer Anton Diabelli, who died on this date in 1858... for bassist and John Coltrane sideman Jimmy Garrison, who passed away in 1976... for Dr. Feelgood lead singer Lee Brilleaux, who died in 1994... for producer & engineer Andy Johns, who died in 2013...  and for John Prine, who left us three years ago today.

Also on April 7th: Bach's St. John Passion is performed for the first time at a Good Friday service at the Nicholaskirche in Leipzig (1724)... French composer Rouget de Lisle completes 'La Marseillaise' (1792)... In Vienna, Beethoven conducts the premiere performance of his 3rd Symphony, commonly known as the Eroica (1805)... Rogers & Hammerstein's musical South Pacific first opens on Broadway (1949)... The CBS Radio Network premieres the first regularly scheduled nationally broadcast rock music show in America, Alan Freed's 'Rock 'n' Roll Dance Party (1956)... At the Ealing Jazz Club in West London, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards meet Brian Jones for the first time. Jones is calling himself Elmo Lewis and playing guitar for singer P.P. Pond (1962)... At Abbey Road, The Beatles continue work on Revolver, as John completes vocal overdubs on 'Tomorrow Never Knows', and the group move on to Paul's new song 'Got to Get You into My Life' (1966)... The top 5 singles on the Billboard chart today: № 5, 'Bridge Over Trouble Water' by Simon and Garfunkel; № 4, 'Spirit in the Sky', by Norman Greenbaum; № 3, 'Instant Karma' by John Lennon; № 2, 'ABC' by The Jackson Five; and at № 1, 'Let It Be' by The Beatles... Miles Davis finishes recording A Tribute to Jack Johnson at the CBS 30th St. Studios... (1970)... Atlantic Records release Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's album 4 Way Street (1971)... Ritchie Blackmore announces that he is leaving Deep Purple to form his own band, Rainbow ~ he will be replaced by Tommy Bolin (1975)... Siouxie and the Banshees play a gig to raise money for the UK disability charity Mencap, but have to come up with another £2000 of their own money to pay for damage done to the seats during the show by the audience (1979)...Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band kick off their first full European tour with a show in Hamburg (1981)... Wham! become the first western pop group to perform live in China, when they play at the Workers Gymnasium in Beijing (1985)... Courtney Love is arrested on drugs and theft charges after a reported overdose. At this time, Love is still unaware that her husband Kurt Cobain is dead at their home. [His body was not discovered until April 8, by an electrician who had arrived to install a security system at their house] (1994)... Oasis lead singer Liam Gallagher marries actress Patsy Kensit in London (1997)... Paul McCartney buys Courtney Love's 4-bedroom 1930's Beverly Hills bungalow for $3.995 million (2001).

April 6th

Musical birthdays today include operatic mezzo-soprano Felicity Palmer (81), Tangerine Dream drummer Christopher Franke (72), bluesman Blind Mississippi Morris (70), Allman Brothers Band guitarist Warren Haynes (65), Pixies frontman Charles Thompson AKA Black Francis (60), Stone Sour drummer Roy Mayorga (55), Sigur Rós bassist Georg Hólm (49), Opeth bassist Martin Méndez (41), and Say Anything lead singer Max Bemis (41). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for blues harmonic virtuoso Big Walter Horton, born on this day in 1918... for jazzman Gerry Mulligan, born in 1927.. for conductor André Previn, born in 1929... for Merle Haggard, who would have been 88... for Igor Stravinsky, who died on this date in 1971... for Wendy O. Williams, who took her own life today in 1998 at the age of 48, and for Tammy Wynette, who left us on the same day... and for former Crickets guitarist Niki Sullivan, who passed away in 2004. 

Also on April 6th: Arthur Sullivan's debut success, his suite of incidental music for The Tempest, is performed for the first time at Covent Garden, leading to a career that included the celebrated Gilbert and Sullivan operas (1861)... Elvis signs a 7-year contract with Paramount Pictures (1956)... The Everly Brothers kick off their first UK tour at London's New Victoria Theatre, with The Crickets as their opening act (1960)... At Carnegie Hall, one of the most controversial concerts in the history of the NY Philharmonic takes place. It features a performance by Glenn Gould of Brahms' First Piano Concerto, with the orchestra led by its musical director, Leonard Bernstein. The concert became famous because of Bernstein's remarks from the podium prior to the concerto, in which he disassociated himself from the interpretation that was to come (1962)... At Abbey Road, the Beatles hold their first session for what will become the Revolver album by recording 'Tomorrow Never Knows' (1966)... The first master tape of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is made. The track order on side one is different from the final product at this point, the last five songs on that side initially ordered as follows: ‘Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite’, ‘Fixing a Hole’, ‘Lucy In the Sky with Diamonds’, ‘Getting Better’, and ‘She's Leaving Home’. The Beatles specified that there were to be no gaps between songs, an unprecedented idea at the time (1967)... Pink Floyd announce that founder Syd Barrett, suffering from psychiatric disorders compounded by drug use, has officially left the group... Simon & Garfunkel's soundtrack to The Graduate is the № 1 album in America... The Beatles Apple Corps Ltd. record company, management and publishing firm, open their offices on Savile Row in London (1968)... Carly Simon is introduced to James Taylor after her show at the Troubador in Los Angeles... The Rolling Stones announce the launch of their own record label (1971)... ABBA win the Eurovision song contest with 'Waterloo', launching their international career (1974)... Rod Stewart marries Alana Hamilton in Beverly Hills (1979)... Roger Waters' lawyers issue a statement that their client believes himself to be the driving creative force behind Pink Floyd, and will therefore contest the use of the name by anyone else, including any former members of Pink Floyd (1987)... The Dandy Warhols release their debut album, Dandys Rule OK (1995)... An all-star tribute to Joni Mitchell is held at the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC, featuring performances by Elton John, Bryan Adams, Shawn Colvin, James Taylor, Cyndi Lauper, Richard Thompson, k.d. Lang, and Mary Chapin Carpenter (2000).

April 5th

Musical birthdays today include former Fairport Convention fiddler Dave Swarbrick (84), Hollies lead singer Allan Clarke (83), former Judas Priest drummer Dave Holland (77), ABBA vocalist Agnetha Fältskog (75), original Wall of Voodoo lead singer Stan Ridgway (71), ex-Plimsouls lead singer Peter Case (71), classical pianist Julius Drake (66), Pearl Jam lead guitarist Mike McCready (59), Paula Cole (57), Ra frontman Sahaj Ticotin (56), Three 6 Mafia rapper Jordan Houston AKA Juicy J (50), and jazz pianist Robert Glasper (47). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for conductor Herbert von Karajan, born on this day in 1908... for cabaret singer Gale Storm, born in 1922... for Platters vocalist Tony Williams, born in 1928... for producer & songwriter Joe Meek [best remembered for 'Telstar'], born in 1929... for R&B singer Billy Bland, born in 1931... for saxophonist Stanley 'The Sugar Man' Turrentine, born in 1934... for pop singer Crispian St. Peters and Miracles vocalist Ronald White, both of whom would have been 86... for Canned Heat lead singer Bob Hite, who died of  drug overdose today in 1981 at the age of 37... for Kurt Cobain, who took his own life today in 1994 at the age of 27... for Cozy Powell, who was killed in a drunk driving accident today in 1998 at age 50... for original Alice in Chains lead singer Layne Staley, who died of a drug overdose today in 2002 at the age of 34... for Gene Pitney, who passed away in 2006... and for amplifier inventor and designer Jim Marshall, who left us today in 2014.

Also on April 5th: Johann Strauss' opera Die Fledermaus has its premiere in Vienna (1874)... Ray Charles marries his second wife, Della (1955)... After making 6 live albums over the last two years, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers have their first studio recording session at Columbia's 30th St. Studios in NYC (1956)...  Monkees fans walk from London's Marble Arch to the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square to protest Davy Jones' planned call-up. Jones will be exempted when he is deemed responsible for supporting his father (1967)... Elvis launches a 15-date tour at Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, NY (1972)... Minnie Riperton has the № 1 single in America with the Stevie Wonder-produced 'Lovin' You' (1975)... Duran Duran make their live debut at the Lecture Theatre at Birmingham Polytechnic (1978)... R.E.M. play their first ever gig at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Athens, GA (1980)... Marvin Gaye's funeral takes place at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles; Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Berry Gordy and many other Motown singers, writers and producers attend the service (1984)... At 3:50 PM GMT, over 5,000 radio stations worldwide air the charity single by USA for Africa 'We Are The World'. The song goes on to be a № 1  in the US & the UK, as well as in most Western territories (1985)... Tracy Chapman's eponymous debut album is released (1988)... The Spice Girls perform their first ever-live UK concert when they appeared in front of a 9,000 strong audience in Glasgow (1998)... Apple's iTunes overtakes Wal-Mart to become the largest music retailer in the US. Market research firm NPD says that iTunes surpassed Wal-Mart in January and February if 12 downloads are considered equal to the sale of one CD album. iTunes has sold more than four billion songs since its launch in 2003 (2008)... A statue in tribute to Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain is unveiled in his hometown of Aberdeen, WA. The ceremony marks the 17th anniversary of Cobain's death. The statue designed by local artists Kim and Lora Malakoff is of his signature Fender Jag-Stang guitar. The concrete guitar is eight and a half feet tall and also features a ribbon with lyrics written on it from Nirvana's 'On a Plain'. It reads: 'One more special message to go and then I'm done and I can go home' (2011).

April 4th

Musical birthdays today include industry executive Clive Davis (93), Slade lead guitarist Dave Hill (79), ex-Dire Straits drummer Pick Withers (77), classical violinist Chen Yi (72), The Alarm bassist Craig Adams (63), producer and guitarist Vinny Burns (60), Buckcherry lead singer Josh Todd (54), Jill Scott (53), Cardigans bassist Magnus Sveningsson (53), Razorlight frontman Johnny Borrell (45), and Jamie Lynn Spears (34). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Muddy Waters, born on this day in 1913... for South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela, who would have been 86 today... for songwriter and music impresario Sharon Sheeley, who would have been 85... for former Allman Brothers band bassist Berry Oakley, who would have been 77... for reggae singer Junior Braithwaite, who would have been 76.. for Thin Lizzy guitarist Gary Moore, who would have been 73... for Deacon Blue guitarist Graeme Kelling, who would have been 68... for original Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr, who would have been 59... for country singer Red Sovine, who died on this date in 1980... for multi-genre cellist Arthur Russell, who passed away in 1992... and for Manowar drummer Scott Columbus, who left us today in 2011. 

Also on April 4th: 'Dixie' is performed for the first time by Bryant's Minstrels as the finale of a blackface show in NYC (1859)... Camille Saint-Saëns' 1st Violin concerto premieres at the Salle Pleyel in Paris with Pablo Sarrasate as soloist (1872)... Elvis plays the first of two nights at the San Diego Arena in San Diego, CA. The local police chief issues a statement saying if the singer ever returns to the city and gives another similar performance, he will be arrested for disorderly conduct (1956)... RCA Victor Records announce that they will henceforth release all pop singles in mono and stereo simultaneously, making them the first record company to do so (1960)... The Beatles hold the top five places on the Billboard singles chart: № 5, 'Please Please Me'; № 4, 'I Want To Hold Your Hand'; № 3, 'Roll Over Beethoven'; № 2, 'Love Me Do'; and at № 1, 'Can't Buy Me Love.' They also have another nine singles on the chart, bringing their total in the Hot 100 to fourteen (1964)... Jimi Hendrix is the guest on the premiere episode of Kiki Dee's new BBC show 'Dee Time', with Cat Stevens also appearing (1967)... Crosby Stills Nash & Young go to № 1 on the US album chart with Deja Vu (1970)... London Records release ZZ Top's second album Rio Grande Mud (1972)... Take That give their final performance on The Ivo Niehe Show on Dutch TV, playing two songs in front of a 250 strong studio audience (1996)... A Swedish couple run into trouble with authorities after trying to name their baby 'Metallica'. Michael and Karolina Tomaro are in court today to resolve a dispute with the country's National Tax Authority over naming their daughter after the rock band. The six-month-old has been baptised Metallica, but tax officials say that the name is 'inappropriate'. Under Swedish law, both first names and surnames must be approved by tax and census before they may be used (2007)... Beyonce Knowles marries Jay-Z at his New York apartment. Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and wife Gwyneth Paltrow, and Beyonce's former Destiny's Child bandmates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams all attend the private ceremony (2008).

April 3rd

Musical birthdays today include songwriter Jeff Barry (87), Wayne Newton (83), Tony Orlando (81), Richard Thompson (76), Rocket 88s pianist & leader Mitch Woods (74), New Orleans bluesman John Mooney (70), Social Distortion frontman Mike Ness (63), R&B singer Kelly Price (52), Switchfoot guitarist Drew Shirley (51), Outlawz rapper Bruce Washington AKA Hussein Fatal (48), Suburban Legends trumpeter Aaron Bertram (44), and Leona Lewis (40). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Dooley Wilson, born on this day in 1886... for Doris Day, born in 1922... for country singer-songwriter Don Gibson, born in 1928... for saxophonist & jazz flautist Harold Vick, who would have been 88... for Jan Berry and for former Spinners vocalist Phillipé Wynne, both of whom would have been 84... for Richard Manuel of The Band, who would have been 82... for Procol Harum bassist Dee Murray, who would have been 77... for Johannes Brahms, who died on this date in 1897... for Kurt Weill, who died in 1950... and for Sarah Vaughn, who left us today in 1990.

Also on April 3rd: Handel's oratorio Israel in Egypt premieres at the King's Theatre in London. The work, the composer's first use of Biblical texts in a theatrical setting, is not well received, and the performance run closes three nights later (1739)... Smetana's The Moldau is performed for the first time in Prague. The composer, now totally deaf, hears neither the music nor the audience's reaction (1875)... Arturo Toscanini conducts his last concert of the NBC Orchestra at Carnegie Hall 10 days after his 87th birthday. He then announces his retirement, ending his 17-year association with the ensemble (1954)... Elvis appears on ABC's 'The Milton Berle Show', live from the flight deck of the  aircraft carrier USS Hancock in San Diego. It is estimated the next day that 1 in every 4 American households with a television watched the broadcast (1956)... The Marcels go to № 1 in both America and Britain with their version of the Rodgers & Hart standard 'Blue Moon' (1961)... Bob Dylan makes his first appearance on the UK singles chart as 'The Times They Are A-changin'' enters the top 100 ~ it will eventually rise as high as № 5 (1964)... At Abbey Road, George Harrison adds his lead vocal to 'Within You Without You', then sitar (1967)... Simon & Garfunkel's Bookends is released (1968)... Jim Morrison turns himself in at the FBI field office in Los Angeles. He was wanted on six charges of lewd behavior and public exposure at a Doors concert in Miami on March 2nd. He is later released on $2000 bail (1969)... The Temptations score their second US № 1 with 'Just My Imagination (Running away with Me)' (1971)... In Los Angeles, Steve Miller is charged with setting fire to the clothes of ex-girlfriend Benita Diorio. When police arrived at Miller's house, Diorio was putting out the flames; Miller then got into a scuffle with some of the policemen and was charged with resisting arrest (1975)... A hitherto unknown band called The Sex Pistols open for the 101ers ~ now remembered as the group Joe Strummer left to help form The Clash ~ at the Nashville Rooms in London (1976)... Kate Bush kicks off her 'Tree of Life' tour at Liverpool's Empire Theatre. Bush will play 28 dates, and then retire from touring for the next 35 years (1979)... Depeche Mode have their first UK № 1 album with Songs of Faith and Devotion (1993)... Nirvana and Hole cancel their forthcoming tour amid mounting speculation about Kurt Cobain's drug problems (1994)... Michael Jackson's daughter Paris is born (1998)... Mariah Carey is admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital with food poisoning after eating raw oysters (2000)... Keith Richards denies that he snorted the ashes of his late father during a drugs binge. Jane Rose, Richards' manager, tells MTV News that the remarks were made ‘in jest’, and that she could not believe they were taken seriously. Richards had said in an interview with the NME: ‘He was cremated and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow.’ But NME interviewer Mark Beaumont was convinced that Richards was not joking when speaking to him about the alleged incident. ‘He did seem to be quite honest about it. There were too many details for him to be making it up,’ he later told BBC News (2007).

April 2nd

Musical birthdays today include DJ Barry Hansen AKA Dr. Demento (84), Emmylou Harris (78), ex-Cars drummer David Robinson (76), soul singer & producer Gregory Abbott (71), Bananarama vocalist Keren Woodward (64), country singer Billy Dean (63), former Smashmouth frontman Greg Camp (58), and Maroon 5 keyboardist Jesse Carmichael (46). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Serge Gainsbourg, born on this day in 1928... for jazz trumpeter Booker Little, who would have been 87... for Marvin Gaye, who would have been 85... for Leon Russell, who would have been 82... for jazz guitarist Larry Coryell, who would have been 81... for Guess Who guitarist Kurt Winter, who would have been 78... for original Lynyrd Skynyrd bassist Leon Wilkeson, who would have been 73... for Buddy Rich, who died on this date in 1987... for Edwin Starr, who passed away in 2003... for saxophonist and Stan Kenton sideman Bud Shank, who died in 2009... and for classical flautist Linda Vogt, who left us today in 2013.

Also on April 2nd: Beethoven conducts the first performance of his 1st Symphony in Vienna (1800)... The New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the oldest symphony in the United States, is founded in Manhattan (1842)... The Beach Boys record 'I Get around' (1964)... The Who make their radio debut on the BBC's 'Joe Loss Pop Show' (1965)... Bob Dylan attends a screening of 'Don't Look back', D.A. Pennebaker's cinema verité documentary of the singer's 1965 UK tour. Following the private showing in Hollywood, Dylan tells the director that he has several changes in mind that he will point out if he can see the film again. After another screening the next day, however, Dylan decides that the movie is fine as it is (1966)... Bruce Springsteen's new band Child make their live debut at the Pandemonium Club in Wanamassa, NJ (1969)... Phil Spector finishes editing and mixing Let It Be from the 'Get Back' studio tapes (1970)... Donny Hathaway's eponymous debut album is released (1971)... ABBA top the UK singles chart with 'Knowing Me, Knowing You', while Frank Sinatra's Portrait of Sinatra gives him his first British № 1 album... In America, the № 1 LP is Fleetwood Mac's Rumours (1977)... U2 kick off the 29-date US leg of their Joshua Tree tour at the Arizona State Activity Center (1987)...  Nirvana go into Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin and start work on demo versions of ‘In Bloom’, ‘Dive’, ‘Lithium’, ‘Pay To Play’, ‘Imodium’, ‘Sappy’ and ‘Polly’ with Butch Vig producing (1990)...Joni Mitchell is reunited with Kilauren Gibb, the daughter whom she gave up for adoption 34 years earlier (1997)... Mariah Carey signs the most lucrative recording deal in history. The 31-year old singer inks a contract with Virgin for three albums worth £60m. The singer has sold over 120 million records worldwide, scoring 14 US № 1 singles (2001)... One of John Lennon's schoolbook containing the 12-year-old's illustrations of Lewis Carroll's poem The Walrus and the Carpenter sells at auction in London for £126,500. Also sold for £12,000 was a ship's log book written by Lennon during a stormy trip to Bermuda in 1980, while a letter from Paul McCartney to his three bandmates fails to reach its £50,000 reserve price (2006)... A fully restored grand piano used in the Motown Records studios is put on display at a museum dedicated to the legendary record label in Detroit. Sir Paul McCartney helped fund the refurbishment of the 1877 Steinway, which was originally in Motown's Studio B. and was used to create hits for names including Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Edwin Starr... Coldplay beat the likes of Pink Floyd and The Beatles to the top of a BBC Radio 2 poll to find listeners' favourite album of all time. A Rush Of Blood To The Head, Coldplay's second collection, which was released in 2002, comes top of the list. Keane's Hopes And Fears takes second place, with Duran Duran's Rio in third. Dark Side Of The Moon finished fourth, while Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' could only manage eighth place. The poll was held to tie in with the recent BBC season The Golden Age of the Album (2013).

April 1st

Musical birthdays today include Rudolph Isley (86), The Tokens drummer & vocalist Phil Margo (83), former Turtles drummer Johnny Barbata (80), M lead singer Robin Scott (78), Jimmy Cliff (77), Susan Boyle (64), ex-ABC guitarist Mark White (64), Clifford Smith AKA Method Man (54), ex-Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Jesse Tobias (53), Bijou Phillips (45), and Lady A lead singer Hilary Scott (39). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Sergei Rachmaninoff, born on this day in 1873... for Alberta Hunter, born in 1895... for Arthur 'Guitar Boogie' Smith, born in 1921... for jazz saxophonist Kathy Stobart, born in 1924... for R&B singer Amos Milburn, born in 1928... for Debbie Reynolds, born in 1932... for country singer Jim Ed Brown, born today in 1934... for Ronnie Lane, who would have been 78... for Gil Scott-Heron, who would have been 76... for Toto drummer Jeff Porcaro, who would have been 71... for Scott Joplin, who died on this date in 1917... for Marvin Gaye, who was shot to death by his father at the age of 43 today in 1984... for Martha Graham, who passed away in 1991... for The Cult drummer Nigel Preston, who died of a drug overdose today in 1992 at the age of 32... and for Zombies guitarist Paul Atkinson, who left us today in 2004.

Also on April 1st: Handel's oratorio Judas Maccabeus is performed for the first time at Covent Garden (1747)... Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra make their Carnegie Hall debut (1924)... George Martin becomes head of A&R for EMI's Parlophone label (1955)... Elvis is given his first Hollywood screen test at Paramount Studios (1956)... Atlantic Records release John Coltrane's Giant Steps (1959)... The Beatles begin a three-month residency at Hamburg's Top Ten Club, playing 92 straight nights. The group play for seven hours a night on weekdays and eight hours at weekends with a fifteen-minute break every hour. It is during this visit that Astrid Kirchherr cuts Stuart Sutcliffe's hair into the style destined to become known as the 'Beatle haircut' which the band later adopt themselves (1961)... The Who record an appearance for Top of the Pops at the BBC's Manchester studio. The band then play a gig opening for Donovan at The Town Hall, Wembley, with Rod Stewart appearing at the bottom of the bill (1965)... Pye Records release David Bowie's first solo single, 'Do Anything You Say'. Bowie had previously recorded as David Jones and The Lower Third... The Troggs record 'Wild Thing' at Regency Sound Studios in London... John Lennon buys a copy of Timothy Leary's 'The Psychedelic Experience' and The Tibetan Book Of The Dead, where he reads near the beginning of the book's introduction 'When in doubt, relax, turn off your mind, float downstream...' (1966)... The Beach Boys announce that they are suing Capitol Records for $2 million in unpaid royalties (1969)... 50 musicians record the orchestral scores for The Beatles tracks 'The Long And Winding Road' and 'Across The Universe' for the Phil Spector produced sessions. The bill for the 50 musicians comes to £1,126 and 5 shillings... As an April Fool's joke, John Lennon and Yoko Ono issue a statement to the press that they are planning to have dual sex change operations (1970)... AC/DC make their live UK debut at the Red Cow in Hammersmith, London... The Buzzcocks play their first live gig at the Bolton Institute of Technology. The power is turned off by school authorities after three numbers (1976)... David Lee Roth announces that he is leaving Van Halen, on the same day that his version of The Beach Boys' 'California Girls' is released (1985)... Madonna's Like a Prayer is at № 1 on both the American and British album charts... Topping the singles rankings on both sides of the Atlantic is The Bangles' 'Eternal Flame' (1989)... Modest Mouse are at № 1  on the US album chart with We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. featuring former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr who joined the band in May 2006 (2007).