April 28th

Musical birthdays today include chansonnier Jacques Dutronc (83), conductor Jeffrey Tate (83), former Allman Brothers Band keyboardist Chuck Leavell (74), ex-Sonic Youth lead singer Kim Gordon (73), jazz-rock violinist Eddie Jobson (71), former Cold Chisel frontman Jimmy Barnes (70), Jesus and Mary Chain bassist Phil King (66), rapper Todd 'Too $hort' Shaw (59), Take That vocalist Howard Donald (58), Marilyn Manson guitarist Scott Putesky (58), and Insane Clown Posse rapper Joseph 'Violent J' Bruce (54). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for folk revivalist John Jacob Niles, born on this day in 1892... for jazz singer Blossom Dearie [her real name], born in 1924... for jazz drummer Oliver 'Bops Junior' Jackson, born in 1934... for folk singer Jean Redpath, who would have been 89... for Charley Patton, who died on this date in 1934... for original Marshall Tucker Band frontman Tommy Caldwell, who was killed in a car crash today in 1980 at the age of 30... for T Rex bassist Steve Currie, also killed in a road accident today in 1981 at the age of 33... for country singer B.W. Stevenson, who died in 1988... for Modern Jazz Quartet bassist Percy Heath, who passed away in 2005... and for saxophonist & bandleader Tommy Newsom, who left us in 2007. 

Also on April 28th: Meyerbeer's final opera L'Africaine premieres in Paris (1848)... The Beatles record the TV special ‘Around The Beatles’ at Wembley studios in London. As well as performing songs they play Act V Scene 1 of Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Nights Dream’ with John playing the female role of Thisbe, Paul as Pyramus, George as Moonshine and Ringo as Lion. Paul later names his cat Thisbe (1964)... 'Hair' opens on Broadway at the Biltmore Theater. The show features the songs 'Aquarius / Let the Sun Shine In', 'Good Morning Starshine' and the title song. The production will run for 1,729 performances, finally closing on July 1st, 1972 (1968)... Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon hits № 1 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart, and will remain in the listings for another 741 weeks in a row (1973)...  The California State Assembly consumer protection committee hear testimony from 'experts' who claim that when  played backwards, 'Stairway To Heaven' contains the words 'I sing because I live with Satan. The Lord turns me off, there's no escaping it. Here's to my sweet Satan, whose power is Satan. He will give you 666. I live for Satan' (1982)... Axl Rose married Don Everly's daughter Erin at the Cupid Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. The couple will file for divorce nine months later... Sinead O'Connor hits № 1 on the US album chart with I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got...  'A Chorus Line' closes on Broadway after 6,137 performances (1990)... Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (1999)... Apple Computer Inc. launches the iTunes store (2003).

April 27th

Musical birthdays today include ex-April Wine drummer Jerry Mercer (87), session drummer Jim Keltner (84), bluegrass guitarist Herb Pedersen (82), B-52's bassist & singer Kate Pierson (78), ex-Kiss lead guitarist Ace Frehley (75), Sheena Easton (66), former Belle & Sebastian vocalist Isobel Campbell (50n>), My Morning Jacket drummer Patrick Hallahan (48), ex-Evanescence bassist Will Boyd (47), Fall Out Boy frontman Patrick Stump (42), and Halo Circus lead singer Allison Iraheta (34). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for classical violinist Igor Oistrakh and country singer Maxine Brown, both born on this day in 1931... for radio host Casey Kasem, born in 1932... for Badfinger frontman Pete Ham, would have been 79... for composer Alexander Scriabin, who died today in 1915... for composer Olivier Messiaen, who died in 1992... for trumpeter Al Hirt, who passed away in 1999... and for cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, who left us today in 2007. 

Also on April 27th: Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworksreceives its official premiere in London's Green Park. The visual spectacle is somewhat less successful than the music itself, however, as sputtering rockets set fire to the specially built structure housing the musicians (1749)... Beethoven composes Für Elise (1810)... Tchaikovsky has his first rehearsal with the New York Symphony Society at the new Music Hall (the future Carnegie Hall) on Seventh Avenue in Manhattan (1891)... In a rare appearance outside the U.S., Elvis plays the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, performing in his gold lamé suit for the last time (1957)... John Coltrane and the classic quartet record the album Crescent in one session at the Van Gelder Studio (1964)... Bob Dylan gives an interview to BBC journalist and radio presenter Jack DeManio at London's Savoy Hotel for broadcast on the Today programme of the Home Service the following day. Later in the day, Dylan and Joan Baez are filmed singing the traditional song 'Wild Mountain Thyme' in the Savoy. Parts of the interview and the song will be used in the film 'Don't Look Back' (1965)... The Beatles begin recording John's new song 'I'm Only Sleeping' (1966)... Epic Records release Sly and the Family Stone's second album, Dance to the Music, including the hit title track (1968)... Pink Floyd appear at Mother's Club in Erdington, Birmingham. Radio 1 DJ John Peel reviews the gig as '...sounding like dying galaxies lost in sheer corridors of time and space'. Recordings from this show will be included in the group’s album Ummagumma later this year (1969)... In an unusual double bill, The Grateful Dead share the stage with The Beach Boys at the Fillmore East (1971)... A free afternoon event is held in the parking lot of the University of Connecticut's Ice Hockey Arena in Storrs. Musical entertainment includes Aerosmith, Bruce Springsteen, Fairport Convention. Springsteen goes on to play another gig that evening at the University of Hartford (1974)... Customs officers on a train at the Soviet/Polish Border detain David Bowie after Nazi books and mementos, including a first edition of Mein Kampf, are found in his luggage. Bowie claims that he is using the material for research on a movie project about Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels (1976)... Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach are married (1981)... The Verve announce that they have disbanded (1999)... Plans are announced for Aerosmith to hold a free concert in Hawaii to placate angry ticket buyers who brought a legal case against them. Fans filed a class action suit, which claimed the band had cancelled a sold-out show in Maui two years ago, leaving hundreds of fans out of pocket, in favour of a bigger gig in Chicago. Lawyers for the would-be concert-goers say that Aerosmith have now agreed to put on a new show, and will pay all expenses. Everyone who bought a ticket to the original concert will receive a free ticket (2009).

April 26th

Musical birthdays today include Giorgio Moroder (86), R&B singer Claudine Wright (85), Bobby Rydell (84), Gary Wright (83), former Blue Mink keyboardist Roger Coulam (82), ex-Mötley Crüe lead singer John Corabi (67), Duran Duran drummer Roger Taylor (66), former Replacements drummer Chris Mars (65), TLC vocalist Tionne 'T-Boz' Watkins (56), Rascal Flatts bassist Jay DeMarcus (55), original Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison (51), and S Club vocalist Jon Lee (43). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Ma Rainey, born on this day in 1886... for jazz arranger, clarinetist & saxophonist Jimmy Giuffre, born in 1921... for bluesman J.B. Hutto, born in 1926... for jazz guitarist & singer Frank D'Rone, born in 1932... for Duane Eddy, who would have been 88 today... for Count Basie, who died on this date in 1974... for The Sound lead singer Adrian Borland, who took his own life today in 1999 at the age of 42... for Phoebe Snow, who passed away in 2011... and for George Jones, who left us today in 2013. 

Also on April 26th: The 13-year-old Beethoven is appointed pianist in the court orchestra of the Duchy of Bonn (1783)... In Paris, Chopin performs his Grande Polonaise Brillante in public for the first time (1835)... Tchaikovsky arrives in NYC on his first visit to the United States (1891)... Police stop a Rolling Stones concert in London, Ontario after 15 minutes because of audience rioting (1965)... Dusty Springfield is at № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'You Don't Have To Say You Love Me', the singer's only chart-topper in the country. Studio logs show that Springfield was not satisfied with her vocal until she had recorded forty-seven takes (1966)... At the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, Led Zeppelin play 'Whole Lotta Love' live for the first time (1969)... Ringo Starr's TV special 'Ringo', a musical version of The Prince and the Pauper, airs on ABC. Ringo plays both characters, and George Harrison provides the narration (1978)... Blondie are at № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Call Me', featured in the Richard Gere film 'American Gigolo'; the track is also at the top of the charts in the US, where it will become the band's biggest selling single. Producer Giorgio Moroder originally asked Stevie Nicks to help compose and perform a song for the soundtrack, but she declined... The Beat release 'Mirror in the Bathroom', the UK's first digitally recorded single (1980)... Rod Stewart is carjacked and relieved of his $50,000 Porsche on Hollywood Boulevard (1982)... Mick Jagger appears in federal court in White Plains, NY in the copyright infringement case brought by reggae singer Patrick Alley, who claims the Jagger solo hit 'Just Another Night' was plagiarised from his own song of the same name. Alley is claiming $7 million in profits from the track. During the case, percussionist Sly Dunbar plays drums to the court to show how the beats are different in each song , while Mick sings and plays demos of his song to show the development of the track. At the end of the week-long trial, Jagger wins the case (1988)... Courtney Love reportedly turns down $1 million from Playboy to pose for a centerfold (1995)... Bruce Springsteen releases Devils & Dust (2005)... Tinchy Stryder feat. N-dubz starts a three week run at № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Number 1', the first time ever that a single called 'Number 1' has made it to the top in Britain (2009).

April 25th

Musical birthdays today include former CCR bassist Stu Cook (81), ABBA vocalist Björn Ulvaeus (81), The Left Banke keyboardist & songwriter Michael Brown (77), session drummer Steve Ferrone (76), former Marilion lead singer Derek 'Fish' Dick (68), Erasure lead singer Andy Bell (62), ex-Jane's Addiction bassist Eric Avery (61), Ocean Colour Scene lead singer Simon Fowler (61), and for Ben and James Johnston, drummer and bassist respectively for Biffy Clyro (46). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for early R&B saxophonist Earl Bostic, born on this day in 1912... for Ella Fitzgerald, born in 1917... for Albert King, born in 1923... for bluegrass fiddler Vassar Clements, born in 1928... for songwriter & producer Jerry Lieber, born in 1933... for Dexter Gordon, who died on this day in 1990... for Ginger Rogers, who passed away in 1995... for pop singer Bobby Pickett, who died in 2007... and for British jazzman Humprey Lyttleton, who left us today in 2008. 

Also on April 25th: Puccini's opera Turandot has its premiere at La Scala in Milan, with Toscanini conducting (1926)... Johnnie Ray is at № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Such a Night', one of his three British chart-toppers. Dexy's Midnight Runners would later reference the singer in 'Come on Eileen' with the line 'Poor old Johnnie Ray sounded so sad  on the radio/He moved a million hearts in mono' (1954)... Just days after the completion of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles embark on their next project, recording the theme to 'Magical Mystery Tour' at Abbey Road studios (1967)... Deram Records release The Moody Blues' On the Threshold of a Dream (1969)... The Jackson Five hit № 1 in the USA with 'ABC' (1970)... Pamela Courson, the long-term companion of the late Jim Morrison, dies of a drug overdose. It was Courson who found the Doors singer dead on July 3, 1971 in the bathtub of their apartment in Paris (1974)... Elvis Presley makes his final recordings during a concert at the Saginaw, MI Civic Center. Three songs from the show will appear the posthumously released Presley album Moody Blue (1977)... Ornette Coleman records the album Of Human Feeling, his first attempt to combine free jazz principles with elements of funk... (1979)... Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder are at № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Ebony And Ivory.'  The title was inspired by McCartney hearing Spike Milligan say "Black notes, white notes, and you need to play the two to make harmony, folks!". It was later listed as the tenth worst song of all time by Blender magazine, and in 2007 was named the worst duet in history in a BBC 6 Music listeners poll (1982)... U2 top the American album chart with The Joshua Tree (1987)... The Fender Stratocaster that Jimi Hendrix played at Woodstock is auctioned off in San Francisco for a record $295,000. Hendrix's two-hour set at the 1969 festival was the longest of his career (1990)... In Los Angeles, The Eagles play the first of two shows where they record their 'Hell Freezes Over' album. Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, Don Felder and Timothy B. Schmit first reunited the previous December for the making of a Travis Tritt video of their song 'Take It Easy' The name of the album was a quote from Glen Frey, who used the expression to respond to a journalist who asked "When will the Eagles get back together?" (1994)...  Bruce Springsteen plays the opening show on his Devils & Dust North American solo tour at the Fox Theater in Detroit, MI (2005)... During The Rolling Stones' current world tour, aides to President George W. Bush are told they cannot book a luxury five star hotel suite because Mick Jagger has already reserved it. Jagger had splashed out £3,600 a night for the suite at the five-star Imperial Hotel in Vienna, Austria, in advance of the band's appearance there. Prior to the attempted booking, US Secret Service agents had already vetted the hotel, but to no avail (2007). The Empire State Building is lit up in Mariah Carey's signature colours of lavender, pink, and white in celebration of her achievements in the world of music. Carey is the first person in the history of the structure to be so honoured (2008).

April 24th

Musical birthdays today include Shirley MacLaine (92), Barbra Streisand (84), Oak Ridge Boys vocalist Richard Sterban (83), CCR drummer Doug Clifford (81), Véronique Sanson (77), former Blondie bassist Nigel Harrison (75), ex-Night Ranger bassist Jack Blades (72), The Damned co-founder Ray 'Captain Sensible' Burns (72), former Bauhaus bassist David Haskins AKA David J (69), ex-Cure drummer Boris Williams (69), Faith No More bassist Billy Gould (63), Creed bassist Brian Marshall (53), Kelly Clarkson (44), and All-American Rejects lead singer Tyson Ritter (42). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for soul singer Freddie Scott, born on this day in 1934... for jazzman Joe Henderson, who would have been 89... for former Hughes Corporation vocalist St. Clair Lee, who would have been 82... for bluesman Otis Spann, who died on this date in 1970... for Badfinger frontman Pete Ham, who took his own life today in 1975 at the age of 27... and for R&B singer and former Duke Ellington vocalist Al Hibbler, who left us today in 2001. 

Also on April 24th: Haydn finishes his oratorio Die Jahrezeiten [The Seasons] and conducts the premier himself on the same evening at the Schwarzenberg Palace in Vienna (1801)... Laurens Hammond files for a patent for his electric organ (1934)... Buddy Holly has a posthumous № 1 in the UK with the Paul Anka song 'It Doesn't Matter Anymore' (1959)... Bob Dylan makes his first ever paid appearance in a recording studio, contributing harmonica to the song 'Calypso King' on the Harry Belafonte album The Midnight Special... Del Shannon is at № 1 on the Billboard singles chart with 'Runaway' (1961)... Apple Records turn down the chance to sign David Bowie... At 69, Louis Armstrong becomes the oldest man ever to have a British № 1 when 'What a Wonderful World' tops the UK chart (1968)... In Nashville, Bob Dylan begins the recording sessions that will produce the album Self Portrait (1969)...  John Lennon's single 'Woman Is the Nigger of the World' was released in the US. The song peaks at № 57, as numerous American radio stations refuse to play it. Yoko Ono first used the phrase in a magazine interview in 1967, and Lennon later explained that he was making the point that women deserved higher status in society (1972)... RCA release David Bowie's album Diamond Dogs (1974)... Paul and Linda McCartney spend the evening with John Lennon at the latter's apartment in the Dakota in NYC and watch Saturday Night Live on TV. The show's producer Lorne Michaels appears on the air asking The Beatles to turn up and play three songs live. Lennon and McCartney discuss taking a cab to the studio, but decide they are too tired. The evening is the last time that John and Paul see each other (1976)... Ray Charles' 'Georgia on My Mind' is voted the official state song by the Georgia Assembly (1979)... New Order begin recording their first album at Strawberry Studios in Stockport, just outside of Manchester (1981)... The road crew for Roger Waters uncover an unexploded WWII bomb while constructing the set for the forthcoming 'The Wall' concert on Potsdamerplatz in Berlin (1990)... David Bowie marries Somali actress and supermodel Iman in a small private ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland (1992)... Oasis release the single 'Some Might Say', which goes on to give the group their first UK № 1 (1995)... Dixie Chicks launch a publicity campaign to explain their position with regard to the controversy generated by Natalie Maines' statements about the Iraq war. During a prime-time interview with Diane Sawyer, Maines says she remains proud of her original statement. The band also appear naked [with private parts strategically covered] on the current cover of Entertainment Weekly magazine, with slogans such as 'Traitors', 'Saddam's Angels', 'Dixie Sluts', 'Proud Americans', 'Hero', 'Free Speech', and 'Brave' printed on their bodies. The slogans represent the labels, both positive and negative, that have been placed on them in the aftermath of Maines' stand (2003)... Sheryl Crow says that a ban on using too much toilet paper should be introduced to help the environment. The singer suggests using 'only one square per restroom visit, except, of course, on those pesky occasions where two to three could be required'. Crow made the comments on her website after touring the US on a biodiesel-powered bus to raise awareness about climate change. Crow has also designed a clothing line with what she called a 'dining sleeve'. The sleeve is detachable and can be replaced with another 'dining sleeve' after the diner has used it to wipe his or her mouth... Sounds True Records release Hudson River Wind Meditations, Lou Reed's final solo album (2007).

April 23rd

Musical birthdays today include former King Crimson violinist David Cross (77), ex-Mahavishnu Orchestra drummer Narada Michael Walden (74), Boston lead singer Tommy DeCarlo (61), Rancid lead singer & bassist Matt Freeman (60), ex-Interpol bassist Carlos Dengler (52), and hip-hop artist, DJ & producer Sydney 'Syd tha Kyd' Bennett (34). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composers Ruggiero Leoncavallo and Dame Ethel Smyth, both born on this day in 1858... for Sergei Prokofiev, born in 1891... for blues pianist Charlie 'Cow Cow' Davenport, born in 1894... for drummer & bandleader Bobby Rosegarden, born in 1924... for jazz saxophonist Vern 'Bunky' Green, born in 1933... for Roy Orbison, who would have been 90... for original Jethro Tull bassist Glenn Cornick, who would have been 79... for former Def Leppard co-lead guitarist Steve Clark, who would have been 64... for pianist and former Miles Davis sideman Red Garland, who died on this date in 1984... for songwriter Harold Arlen [best remembered for the soundtrack of 'The Wizard of Oz', including the tune for 'Somewhere over the Rainbow'], who died in 1985... for New York Dolls lead guitarist John 'Johnny Thunders' Genzale, Jr., who died in suspicious circumstances today in 1991 at the age of 39... for former Outsiders frontman Tom King, who passed away in 2011... and for country-rock bassist and Gram Parsons sideman Chris Ethridge, who left us today in 2012.  

Also on April 23rd: The 8-year-old Mozart arrives in London for the first time to continue his musical studies (1764)... Gilbert & Sullivan's operetta Patience, the world's first theatrical production to be lit entirely by electric lights, premieres at the Opera Comique in London (1881)... Elvis opens his first Las Vegas engagement, a 2-week run at the New Frontier Hotel. Presley is not the typical Vegas Strip entertainer of the time and meets with a very cool reception (1956)... John Lennon and Paul McCartney adopt the pseudonym The Nerk Twins for a performance at the Fox & Hounds Pub in Caversham, Berks. (1960)... At the Olatunji Center of African Culture in NYC, John Coltrane plays his final recorded gig (1967)... The Beatles are at № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Get Back', the group's 16th UK chart-topper. Credited to 'The Beatles with Billy Preston' on the label of the 45 RPM, it was the group's only single that lists another artist. 'Get Back' is also the Beatles' first single release in true stereo in the US (1969)... The Rolling Stones release the album Sticky Fingers. The band's first release on their own label via Atlantic Records, the cover was designed by Andy Warhol, who was paid $15,000 for his efforts. The LP sleeve featured a close-up of a pair of jeans with a working zip. Widely assumed to be that of Mick Jagger, the crotch photographed for the cover was actually that of actor Joe Dallesandro (1971)... Sire Records release The Ramones' eponymous debut album (1976)... Sid Vicious films himself performing his version of 'My Way' for The Sex Pistols' film 'The Great Rock n Roll Swindle' (1978)... David Bowie hits №  1 on the UK album chart with Let's Dance', while the title track sits atop the US singles chart (1983)... On his 52nd birthday, Roy Orbison joins Bruce Springsteen on stage at a concert by the latter in Denver, CO. The audience serenade the 'Pretty Woman composer' with 'Happy Birthday'... 
Whitney Houston breaks a chart record held jointly by The Beatles and The Bee Gees when 'Where Do Broken Hearts Go', becomes her seventh consecutive US № 1 single (1988)... Peter Hodgson of Liverpool finds a tape in his attic containing 16 of The Beatles' earliest recordings made in 1959. The tape includes 'Hello Little Girl', a Lennon-McCartney composition that the Beatles never recorded and Ray Charles' 'Hallelujah, I Love Her So'. The sessions were taped on a reel-to-reel recorder that Hodgson's father had lent to Paul McCartney (1995)...  While out on a drink and drug-fuelled spree, Amy Winehouse hits and head-butts two men. After drinking all day, Amy visits the Good Mixer pub in Camden, London with Babyshambles guitarist Mik Whitnall. Inside she allegedly punches Mustapha el Mounmi in the face after he refuses to give way to her at the pool table. The singer then leaves to visit Bar Tok in the early hours and once inside the establishment shouted "I am a legend! Get these people out, I want to take drugs!" After leaving the bar a good Samaritan tries to get her a cab, but she believes that he is trying to molest her, and allegedly head-butts him in the face (2008)... Bob Dylan releases the album Together through Life  (2009).

April 22nd

Musical birthdays today include conductor & musicologist Joshua Rifkin (82), singer-songwriter & radio host Larry Groce (78), Peter Frampton (76), Paul Carrack (75), Pennywise lead guitarist Fletcher Dragge (60), rapper Opio Lindsey (52), System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian (52), Gentlemen East lead guitarist Aaron Fincke (48), Hounds Below frontman Jason Stollsteimer (48), ex-Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns (47), former Sugababes vocalist Amelle Berrabah (42), Dream Street vocalist Matt Ballinger (41), and rapper Richard Baker AKA Machine Gun Kelly (36). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for violinist & conductor Yehudi Menuhin, born on this day in 1916... for Charles Mingus, born today in 1922... for jazz bassist & composer Paul Chambers, and for Glen Campbell, both of whom would have been 90 today... for film score composer and Neil Young sideman Jack Nitzsche, who would have been 87... for composer Édouard Lalo, who died on this date in 1892... for jazz pianist Earl 'Fatha' Hines, who died in 1983... for songwriter Felice Bryant, who passed away in 2003... and for Richie Havens, who left us today in 2014.

Also on April 22nd: Bach is hired as Kapellmeister at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, after two other candidates turned the job down (1723)... At Columbia's 30th St. Studio in NYC, Miles Davis and his ensemble sextet convene for the second and final recording session for Kind of Blue (1959)... The President of Britain's National Federation Of Hairdressers offers a free haircut to The Beatles' chief rivals for № 1 group in the UK pop charts. He says "The Rolling Stones are the worst ~ one of them looks as if he's got a feather duster on his head" (1964)... The Troggs' new single 'Wild Thing' is released in the US... Two dozen local groups appear at a ‘battle of the bands’ gig at the Matawan, NJ Keyport Roller Drome. All acts performed three songs each. The Rogues win first place, second are Sonny & The Starfires, and third place goes to The Castilles, with 16-year-old Bruce Springsteen on lead guitar and vocals. The three winners are given an opportunity to perform at the Roller Drome the following week as part of a major concert headlined by The Crystals (1966)... Deep Purple have the № 1 album in the UK with Machine Head (1972)... Bob Marley and the Wailers perform at the 'One Love Peace Concert' in Jamaica. It is Marley's first public appearance in Jamaica since being wounded in an assassination attempt a year and a half earlier... John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd perform as The Blues Brothers on Saturday Night Live for the first time (1978)... Warner Bros. Records release Around the World in a Day by Prince (1985)... The Dave Matthews Band make their live debut at an Earth Day Festival in Charlottesville, VA (1991)... Destiny's Child go to № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'Survivor.' Their second chart topper, they are the first US all-female band to achieve the feat in Britain more than once (2001)... '60s pop singer Tommy Steele reveals that he took Elvis Presley on a secret tour of London in 1958 after Presley struck up a friendship with him. When the rock legend flew into London for a day, Steele tells the Times that he took him round the city, showing him famous landmarks such as the Houses of Parliament and Nelson's column. For more than 50 years, fans of the King had believed that the only time he ever set foot in the UK was during a stop-over at Prestwick Airport in Scotland in March 1960 on his way back from US Army service in Germany (2008).