February 4th

 Musical birthdays include former Animals drummer John Steel (85), ex-Fifth Dimension vocalist Florence LaRue (84), Alice Cooper (78), Kansas drummer Phil Ehart (75), former Humble Pie drummer Jerry Shirley (74), country singer Clint Black (64), Offspring lead guitarist Kevin 'Noodles' Wasserman (63), Our Lady Peace bassist Duncan Coutts (57), Natalie Imbruglia (51), rapper Cameron 'Cam'ron' Giles (50), rapper Allen 'Matchstik' Forrest (45), and ex-Pussycat Dolls vocalist Kimberly Wyatt (44).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for songwriter Ray Evans [best remembered for 'Que Sera Sera' and 'Mona Lisa'], born on this day in 1915... for Karen Carpenter, who passed away today in 1983 at the age of 33... for Liberace, who died today in 1987... for R&B singer Gwen Guthrie, died in 1999... and for Maurice White, who left us today in 2017.

Also on February 4th: A well-to-do German music lover named Johann von Uffenbach on a visit to Venice hears Vivaldi play and commissions a series of Concerti Grossi (1715)... Claudio Arrau makes his Carnegie Hall debut (1924)... Bob Dylan and three travelling companions set out from NYC on a cross-country jaunt by car, intending to make it to San Francisco via New Orleans in 3 weeks (1964)... The Righteous Brothers are at № 1 on both sides of the Atlantic with 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'' (1965)... The Jimi Hendrix Experience launch what is being billed as the '60 Cities in '60 Days' tour at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco... The Beatles record 'Across the Universe'. John and Paul decide the song needs some high harmonies, so they invite two 'Apple Scruffs' (female fans who hang around outside Abbey Road Studios) to come in and sing on the song. The two are Lizzie Bravo, a 16-year-old Brazilian living nearby and 17-year-old Londoner Gayleen Pease (1969)... John and Yoko donate their hair for an auction in aid of the Black Power movement (1970)... Fleetwood Mac release Rumours (1977)... The Bee Gees are at № 1 on the US singles chart with 'Stayin' Alive'. In Britain, Jamaican teenage one-hit wonders Althia & Donna hold the top spot with 'Up Town Ranking' (1978)... Former Milli-Vanilli member Rob Pilatus is hospitalized after a man hits him over the head with a baseball bat in Hollywood, CA. Pilatus was attempting to steal the man's car at the time of the attack (1996)... Courtney Love is arrested at Heathrow airport for 'endangering an aircraft' on a transatlantic flight. The singer is alleged to have hurled abuse at the cabin crew on the flight from Los Angeles, and also to have thrown bottles and in-flight meals after her nurse, who was in an economy seat, was barred from sitting next to her in the first class cabin (2003)... Bjorn Ulvaeus confirms that the members of Abba recently turned down a $1 billion offer by an American and British consortium to reform the group. "It is a hell of a lot of money to say no to, but we decided it wasn't for us," fellow member Benny Andersson told the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet (2004)... A Razorlight gig in Lyon is halted mid-set because of an altercation between singer Johnny Borrell and bassist Carl Dalemo. The pair exchange insults before casting their instruments aside and coming to blows onstage. Borrell then storms off, leaving the French crowd amazed and unsure about what is going on (2007)... Robert Plant says he thinks Led Zeppelin cannot reunite for a full tour and album because the band feels incomplete without drummer John Bonham. During an interview on UK station Absolute Radio, Plant states, “The reason that it stopped was that we were incomplete, and we've been incomplete now for 29 years.” He admitted: ”I think the thing about it, really, is that to visit old ground is an incredibly delicate thing to do, considering the disappointment that could be there once you commit to that, and the comparisons to something that was basically fired by youth and a different kind of exuberance from now... It's very hard to go back and meet that head on and do it justice” (2009).

February 3rd

 

Musical birthdays today include Dave Davies (79), Melanie (79), Sonic Youth co-founder & guitarist Lee Ronaldo (70), Nurse with Wound leader Steven Stapleton (69), original Cure drummer Lol Tolhurst (67), Swirling Eddies bassist Tim Chandler (66), Ramón 'Daddy Yankee' Rodriguez (49), country singer-songwriter Jessica Harp (44), and rapper Sean Kingston (36).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Felix Mendelssohn, born on this day in 1809... for Irish crooner Val Doonican, born in 1927... for Johnny 'Guitar' Watson, who would have been 90... for producer and Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart, who would have been 83... for Temptations vocalist Dennis Edwards, who would have been 83... for singer-songwriter and producer John 'Johnny Cymbal' Blair, who would have been 81... for ex-new York Dolls bassist Arthur Kane, who would have been 77...  for Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and J.P. 'The Big Bopper' Richardson, who perished along with pilot Roger Peterson in the plane crash known as 'The Day the Music Died' on this date in 1959... for producer Joe Meek, who shot his landlady and then himself at his flat in London on this day in 1967. Meek produced The Tornadoes hit 'Telstar', the first № 1 in the US by a British group. Meek was interested in spirituality and often attended séances . At one such meeting in 1958, he was warned that Buddy Holly would die on February 3 of the following year. Meek tried his best to find Holly when he was in London to warn him but failed in his mission. 

Also on February 3^rd: At Abbey Road Studios, The Beatles begin working on their new single 'Lady Madonna'... Meanwhile, at Columbia Studios in NYC, Simon & Garfunkel and producer Roy Halee record and mix 'Mrs. Robinson' (1968)... Led Zeppelin II is the № 1 album in both the US and the UK (1970)... Elton John has his first American № 1 single with 'Crocodile Rock' (1973)... David Bowie opens the US leg of his 'Isolar 1976' tour in Seattle, WA, unveiling his new 'Thin White Duke' persona (1976)... Bob Dylan begins a 6-night residency at London's Hammersmith Odeon (1990)... Pearl Jam make their UK debut at the Esplanade Club in Southend-on-Sea, Essex before an audience of 300 (1992)... After a gig at London's Brixton Academy, the Ramones announce that they have played their last show in the UK after 22 years together (1996)... Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs settles a $3 million lawsuit filed by his former driver after an incident in 1999. Wardell Fenderson had driven Mr Combs and his then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez away from a New York nightclub where three people had been wounded in a shooting. Mr Fenderson said he was traumatized by having guns in the car and by being ordered to ignore police orders to stop, for which he was arrested (2004)... Former Dynasty star Heather Locklear files for divorce from Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora after 11 years of marriage (2006)... Wayne Fontana, of 'Game Of Love' fame, is arrested at his home in Glossop, Derbyshire and charged with arson with intent to endanger life. The 61 year-old, who was already set to appear in court in March on traffic offenses, is accused of pouring gasoline over a judge's car and setting it on fire. In November, he is sentenced to 11 months in jail, but is allowed to walk free from court immediately after already having served the equivalent of his term while held under the Mental Health Act (2007)... AC/DC singer Brian Johnson joins a growing group of critics of Bob Geldof and Bono over their very public charity work, saying they should stop lecturing audiences about it and instead do their good deeds in private. Johnson says "When I was a working man, I didn't want to go to a concert for some bastard to talk down to me that I should be thinking of some kid in Africa. I'm sorry mate, do it yourself, spend some of your own money and get it done. It just makes me angry" (2010).

February 2nd

 

Musical birthdays today include Graham Nash (84), former Earth, Wind & Fire guitarist Al McKay (78), Journey bassist Ross Valory (77), Stone Temple Pilots bassist Robert DeLeo (60), R&B singer Michelle Gayle (55), Shakira (49), hip-hop artist Mayer Hawthorne (47), rapper Radric 'Gucci Mane' Davis (46), Fightstar frontman Alex Westaway (43), and KPop rapper Pyo Ji-Hoon AKA P.O. (36).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for violinist Fritz Kreisler, born on this day in 1875... for Jascha Heifetz, born in 1901... for Broadway actress & singer Elaine Stritch, born in 1924... for Stan Getz, born in 1927... for Broadway actress & singer M'el Dowd, and for Buena Vista Social Club bassist Orlando 'Cachaito' López, both born in 1933... for Canadian singer-songwriter Gene MacLellan [best remembered for 'Put Your Hand in the Hand'], who would have been 87... for Eva Cassidy, who would have been 62... for composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, who died on this date in 1594... for Sid Vicious, who died of a drug overdose today in 1979... for Gene Kelly, who passed away in 1996... and for former Spinners vocalist Billy Henderson and folk singer Eric von Schmidt, both of whom left us today in 2007. 

Also on February 2nd: John Giola of NYC dances the Charleston continuously for 22 hours, 30 minutes (1926)... Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and J.P. 'The Big Bopper' Richardson appear at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. This was the last gig for all three acts (1959)... The Beatles played their first professionally organized gig outside of Liverpool at The Oasis Club, Manchester (1962)... The Rolling Stones release '19^thNervous Breakdown' (1966)... The Jimi Hendrix Experience play 'Purple Haze' live on Top of the Pops (1967)... Yoko Ono is granted a divorce from her husband Tony Cox, as well as custody of their daughter Kyoko (1969)... Keith Emerson receives second degree burns on his hands when his piano, rigged to explode as a stunt, detonates prematurely during an ELP concert in San Francisco (1973)... Barbra Streisand has the № 1 single in America with 'The Way We Were' (1974)... Genesis release A Trick Of The Tail, their seventh studio album and the first to feature drummer Phil Collins as full-time lead vocalist following the departure of original vocalist Peter Gabriel (1976)... Bad Manners singer Douglas 'Buster Bloodvessel' Trendle is told he is 'too fat' to survive an urgently needed operation. Buster collapsed on stage during a show in Italy but doctors felt that his huge 420 lb. frame might not make it through surgery (2001)... Russian girl duo Tatu start a four-week run at № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'All The Things She Said'. The song was a hit on the Russian charts three years earlier. Tatu are the first Russian act to score a UK № 1 (2003)... CBS apologizes for its broadcast of the American Super Bowl after one of Janet Jackson's breasts was left exposed when Justin Timberlake ripped her top. The pair were performing a half-time duet when the incident occurred. CBS quickly cut away from the scene but was still flooded with calls from angry viewers. Timberlake insists it was an accident, saying "I am sorry that anyone was offended by the wardrobe malfunction during the half-time performance of the Super Bowl” (2004).

February 1st

 

Musical birthdays today bluegrass multi-instrumentalist Del McCoury (87), soul singer Chris Clark (80), Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell (76), slide guitarist Sonny Landreth (75), ex-Black Flag bassist Chuck Dukowski (72), X co-lead singer Exene Cervenka (70), Lisa Marie Presley (57), Weezer drummer Patrick Wilson (57), former Offspring drummer Ron Welty (55), rapper Antwan 'Big Boi' Patten (51), MGMT frontman Andrew VanWyngarden (43), Laura Marling (36), and Harry Styles (32). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for composer Victor Herbert, born on this day in 1859... for Kingston Trio member Bob Shane, born today in 1934... for Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show vocalist Ray Sawyer and Don Everly, both of whom would have been 89... for jazz pianist Joe Sample and French singer Claude François, both of whom would have been 87... for Rick James, who would have been 76... for former Warrant frontman Jani Lane, who would have been 61... for Beatles music publisher Dick James, who died on this date in 1986... for former Manic Street Preachers guitarist Ritchey Edwards, who disappeared on this day in 1995, and was legally presumed dead in 2008... for composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who died in 2007... for Cecil Womack, who passed away in 2013... and for Temptations vocalist Dennis Edwards, who died in 2018... and for drummer Sam Lay, who left us three years ago today.  

Also on February 1st: Puccini's La Boheme has its world premiere in Turin (1896)... RCA releases the first 45 RPM discs (1949)... Neil Young plays his first professional gig at a country club in Winnipeg (1963)... The Beatles' 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' hits № 1 in the US (1964)... James Brown records 'Papa's Got a Brand New Bag' at the Arthur Smith Studios in Charlotte, NC (1965)... At Abbey Road studios, The Beatles start work on the song 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'. It isn't until recording is complete that Paul McCartney has the idea to make the song the thematic pivot for their forthcoming album... Pink Floyd spend the day recording parts for the Syd Barrett songs 'Arnold Layne' and 'Candy and a Current Bun' at Sound Techniques Studios, Chelsea, London. The Floyd also turn professional on this day after signing a deal with EMI Records (1967)... The Who kick off their third US tour with a show at the San Jose, CA Civic Auditorium (1968)... The Doors release Morrison Hotel (1970)... Neil Young releases Harvest (1972)... Diana Ross marries Norwegian shipping magnate Arne Naess in Geneva, with Stevie Wonder leading the band (1986)... Green Day release the album Dookie, which will go on to sell more than 20 million copies worldwide (1994)... Blur have the № 1  single in the UK with 'Beetlebum'... Boy George is beaten up by two bouncers outside the Ministry of Sound in London after he tries to jump the queue (1997)... NASA announces that 'Across the Universe' is to become the first song ever to be beamed directly into space. The track will be transmitted through the Deep Space Network ~ a network of antennas ~ on the 40th anniversary of the Beatles recording of the song, being aimed at the North Star, Polaris, 431 light-years from Earth. In a message to NASA, Sir Paul McCartney calls the project an 'amazing feat.' 'Well done, NASA,' he adds, 'Send my love to the aliens. All the best, Paul'.

January 31st

 

Musical birthdays today include composer Philip Glass (89), blues harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite (82), KC and the Sunshine Band lead singer Harry Casey (75), Roxy Music lead guitarist Phil Manzanera (75), former Whitesnake lead guitarist Adrian Vandenberg (72), John Lydon AKA Johnny Rotten (70), Lloyd Cole (65), original Nirvana drummer Chad Channing (58), The Cure drummer Jason Cooper (59), Justin Timberlake (45), Greek pop singer Elena Paparizou (44), and Marcus Mumford (39).

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for Franz Schubert, born on this day in 1797... for song & dance man Eddie Cantor, born in 1892... for folklorist & ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax, born in 1915... for Mario Lanza and Carol Channing, both born in 1921... for Chuck 'King of the Stroll' Willis, born in 1928... for former Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who would have been 62... for Edwin Howard Armstrong, the inventor of FM radio, who died on this date in 1954... for blues harmonica player Slim Harpo, who passed away in 1970... and for former Buffalo Springfield drummer Dewey Martin, who died in 2009... and for King Crimson and Asia lead singer and bassist John Wetton, who left us today in 2018.

Also on January 31st: RCA engineers demonstrate the first programmable sound synthesizer... Decca Records announces that Bill Haley & His Comets' 'Rock around the Clock' has sold over one million copies in the UK, mostly on 10" 78 RPMs (1957)... The Beatles spend a second day at Knole Park, Sevenoaks, Kent to complete filming for the 'Strawberry Fields Forever' promotional video. The film is shot in colour, for the benefit of the US market, since British television is still broadcasting only in black and white. Taking time out from filming, John Lennon buys a 1843 poster from an antiques shop in Surrey which provides him with many of the lyrics for song 'Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite' (1967)... Led Zeppelin play the first of two nights at the Fillmore East in NYC during the band's first North American tour. Porter's Popular Preachers open the night, then Zeppelin take the stage. Legend has it that the English new arrivals' show was so powerful and received such an enthusiastic audience reception that headliners Iron Butterfly refused to follow them (1969)... The Jackson 5 go to the top of the US singles chart with 'I Want You Back'. The song, originally written for Gladys Knight & The Pips, is the first of four stateside № 1s for the group (1970)... Winners in a readers poll for UK Music weekly Sounds include: Best album of 1975: 'A Night At The Opera', by Queen; best single: 'Bohemian Rhapsody'; best band: Queen; musician of the year: Mike Oldfield; female singer of the year: Maddy Prior of Steeleye Span; best new band: Rainbow; biggest bore of the year: The Bay City Rollers (1976)... Blondie have the № 1 single in America with 'The Tide Is High' (1981)... Paul Simon's Graceland is the № 1 album in the UK ~ the record spends a total of 101 weeks on the chart (1987)... The Strokes make their UK debut playing the Wedgewood Rooms in Portsmouth (2000)... More than 35 years after his death, Jim Morrison is enlisted to help fight global warming. A spokesman for the Global Cool Campaign announces that 'Woman in the Window', a previously unreleased poem written and recorded by The Doors frontman shortly before he died in 1971, is being set to music and used to publicize the issue (2007).

 

January 30th

 Musical birthdays today include producer & songwriter Mitch Murray (86), Phil Collins (75), American Music Club lead singer Mark Eitzel (67), Jody Watley (67), Orgy lead singer Jay Gordon (59), bassist Trevor Dunn (58), Puffy AmiYumi singer Yumi Yoshimura (51), and Marcus Mumford (39). 

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for choral composer Thomas Tallis, born on this day in 1505... for conductor Walter Damrosch, born today in 1862... for trumpeter Roy 'Little Jazz' Eldridge, born in 1911... for jazz double bassist Ahmed Abdul-Malik, born in 1928... for Jefferson Airplane lead guitarist Marty Balin, who would have been 84... for former Small Faces and Humble Pie guitarist Steve Marriott, who would have been 79... for composer Francis Poulenc, who died on this date in 1963... for New Orleans pianist Professor Longhair, who died in 1980... for Lightnin' Hopkins, who passed away in 1982... for Patty Andrews, who died in 2013... and for Marianne Faithfull, who left us one year ago today.  

Also on January 30th: The first Hallé concert is given in Manchester, England, marking the official founding of the Hallé Orchestra as a full-time professional orchestra (1858)... Elvis begins recording what will be his first album for RCA at their NYC studios (1956)... The Shirelles become the first girl group to have the № 1 song on the US chart when 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow?' reaches the top (1961)... The Velvet Underground release White Light/White Heat (1968)... The Beatles [with Billy Preston], play their lunchtime rooftop gig on top of the Apple building on Savile Row in London. It will be the last time all four members of the group perform together live. They play ‘Get Back’, ‘Don’t Let Me Down’, ‘I’ve Got A Feeling’, ‘The One After 909’ and ‘Dig A Pony’. Traffic is brought to a standstill as crowds of people gather below and watch from windows in nearby buildings. The performance itself begins just after 12 PM on a bitterly cold day and lasts for 42 minutes. John Lennon ends the show [at the behest of police constables] by saying “I’d like to say ‘Thank you’ on behalf of the group and ourselves and I hope we passed the audition” (1969)... Carole King's Tapestry album is released. It will become the longest charting album by a female solo artist and go on to sell 24 million copies worldwide (1971)... Paul McCartney writes and records his protest song 'Give Ireland Back To The Irish' within 24 hours of Bloody Sunday, when 13 Catholics were killed by British paratroopers (1972)... After recently changing their name from Wicked Lester, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss make their first appearance as Kiss at the Popcorn Club in Queens, NYC (1973)... The Bee Gees begin recording 'Jive Talkin', which will become their second US chart topper and a № 5 UK hit. Barry Gibb's inspiration for the song came when his wife commented on the sound their car made while crossing a bridge over Biscayne Bay into Miami. She noted, "It's our drive talking" (1975)... Hall & Oates have their fourth US № 1 with 'I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)'... Paul McCartney is the guest on BBC radio's Desert Island Discs. His selections Elvis' 'Heartbreak Hotel', Chuck Berry's 'Sweet Little Sixteen', John Lennon's 'Beautiful Boy 'and Little Richards 'Tutti Frutti' (1982)... Tiffany is at № 1 on the UK singles chart with 'I Think We're Alone Now' (1988)... Unhappy with the re-issue of the band's early single 'Sally Cinnaman' The Stone Roses trash the offices of their former record company Revolver FM and throw red paint over cars in the parking lot. The band are arrested and charged with criminal damage (1990)... Touring Australia and New Zealand for the first and only time, Nirvana appear at the Barton Theater in Adelaide (1992)... In an NME readers poll, the winner of 'The pop personality that you would like as your doctor' is singer Natalie Imbruglia (1999)... Neil Young is named the Musicares person of the year for his 'influential artistic accomplishments and philanthropic work'. A lineup of artists including Elton John, Norah Jones, James Taylor, Elvis Costello, John Fogarty, Dave Matthews and Sheryl Crowe perform his songs as he is honoured by the US Recording Academy at the Los Angeles Convention Center (2011)... Mick Jagger is named the most stylish rock star of all time by lifestyle website Complex. Jagger leads their top 50 list ahead of Prince, David Bowie, Kurt Cobain, Sid Vicious and Keith Richards. Complex states 'Even today, he wears silk scarves and suits with more rakish appeal than most men – and he’s pushing 70' (2013).

January 29th

 

Musical birthdays today include classical pianist Malcom Binns (90), original Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham (82), soul singer Bettye LaVette (80), Grand Funk Railroad lead singer Max Carl (76), Tangerine Dream keyboardist Peter Baumann (73), Los Lobos drummer Louie Pérez (73), Dictators lead singer Richard Manitoba (72), former Aztec Camera frontman Roddy Frame (62), singer-songwriter Chris Castle (50), and blues guitarist Jonny Lang (45) Shoutout to the Great Beyond for jazz guitarist Franco Cerri, born on this day in 1925... for French chansonnier Sacha Distel, born in 1934... for Motown session bassist James Jamerson, who would have been 89... for jazz pianist Bobby Scott, who would have been 89... for Uriah Heep lead singer David Byron, who would have been 79... for Tommy Ramone, who would have been 74... for Jimmy Durante, who died on this date in 1980... for bluesman Willie Dixon, who passed away in 1992... for singer-songwriter John Martyn, who died in 2009... for jazz cornetist and composer Butch Morris, died in 2013... and for original Animals guitarist Hilton Valentine, who left us three years ago today.

Also on January 29th: John Gay's The Beggar's Opera premieres at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre in London (1728)... Mozart's opera Ideomeneo premieres in Munich with the composer himself conducting the orchestra (1781)... BBC radio airs a new program 'Desert Island Discs', presented by Roy Plomley ~ the show, which is still running, is the oldest in the history of British radio (1942)... Bob Dylan meets his idol Woody Guthrie again when the 'This Land Is Your Land' author is on weekend release from Greystone hospital staying with friends in Montclair, NJ. Guthrie is in good enough form to scrawl the message ‘I ain't dead yet’ on a card which he gives to his young admirer (1961)... The Beatles spend the day at Pathé Marconi Studios in Paris for their only studio recording session for EMI held outside the UK. They record new German language vocals for ‘She Loves You’, ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ and ‘Can't Buy Me Love’, after EMI's West German branch persuaded Brian Epstein that they would be unable to sell large quantities of records in their country unless they were recorded in the local language. A translator is there to coach John, Paul, and George, although their acquaintance with German from their Hamburg days makes things much easier (1964)...The Mantra Rock Dance, a fundraiser concert for the International Society of Krishna Consciousness, takes place at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco. On the bill are Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead and Moby Grape, with Alan Ginsberg reading (1967)... Jimi Hendrix and The Who appear on a double bill at The Saville Theatre in London. 20 year-old future Queen guitarist Brian May is in the audience... The day after being bailed out of jail in Las Vegas following his arrest for public drunkenness, Jim Morrison is hauled in again by local law enforcement after a scuffle with security following the Doors' show at the Pussy Cat A Go Go Club. The rambunctious singer taunts a bouncer in the parking lot by pretending to smoke a joint, resulting in a fight. The police arrest Morrison and charge him with vagrancy, public drunkenness, and failure to possess sufficient identification (1968)... Fleetwood Mac have their only UK № 1 single with the instrumental 'Albatross', which was composed by guitarist Peter Green. The tune is the only Fleetwood Mac composition with the distinction of having inspired a Beatles song, 'Sun King' from Abbey Road (1969)... The triple album The Concert For Bangladesh goes to № 1 on both the UK and US album charts (1972)... The Buzzcocks issue their debut release, the EP ' Spiral Scratch'. It is also the first punk record ever to be self-released (1977)... In San Diego, CA, 16-year-old Brenda Spencer kills two people and wounds nine others when she fires from her house at the entrance to Grover Cleveland Elementary School across the street. Spencer used the .22-caliber rifle her father had given her for Christmas. When asked why she did it, she answered 'I don't like Mondays.' Bob Geldof and the Boomtown Rats go on to write and record a song based on the phrase (1979)... Flying his own jet back from the French Riviera, Gary Numan makes a forced landing at an RAF base outside Southampton after running low on fuel (1982)... Men At Work go to № 1 on the British and American singles and album charts simultaneously with 'The Land Down Under' and Business As Usual. The last artist to achieve this was Rod Stewart in 1971 (1983)... La Fenice, the opera house of Venice, is destroyed by fire (1996)... A New York based data company issues a chart listing sales of posthumous albums. The idea came about after several DJs said they wanted to be able to distinguish between proper recordings when the artists were alive and compilations released after their deaths. SoundScan CEO Mike Shallet said the only problem would be what to call such a chart. The Top 5 had The Doors at № 5, Eva Cassidy at 4, Jimi Hendrix at 3, Bob Marley at 2 and 2Pac at № 1 (2001)... Arctic Monkeys go to № 1 on the UK album chart with their debut Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not. The Sheffield-based band's album becomes the fastest-selling debut in chart history after shifting more than 360,000 copies in its first week of release. The album's title was taken from a line from the novel Saturday Night and Sunday Morning by Alan Sillitoe (2006)... Former American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson makes the largest ever leap to number one in US chart history, rising 96 places in one week. Her single, 'My Life Would Suck Without You' rose from 97 to the top of the Billboard chart after selling 280,000 downloads in its first week of release (2009).