Musician Birthdays: Paul Rodgers (singer of Free, Bad Company, born in 1949)

– In 1960: Returning from Hamburg, The Beatles appeared at the Casbah Coffee Club in Liverpool. Chas Newby joined The Beatles on bass guitar (to replace Stuart Sutcliffe, who had remained in Hamburg), a position he would hold for only two weeks and four performances. When Newby bowed out to return to college, Paul McCartney became The Beatles’ bass player.

– In 1968: The Who played their Xmas party at the Marquee Club, London. Also on the bill was a new group called Yes. Members 15 shillings, ($1.80) or £1 ($2.40) on the night. Other acts appearing at the club this month included Joe Cocker, Free and Led Zeppelin.

– In 1977: Deputising for The Sex Pistols on NBC- TVs ‘Saturday Night Live’, Elvis Costello stops his performance of ‘Less Than Zero’, saying ‘ there’s no reason to do this’, and launches into ‘Radio Radio’ which he’d been told not to perform.

– In 1994: Ini Kamoze started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Here Comes The Hotstepper’, a No.4 hit in the UK.

– In 1997: David Bowie launched his BowieNet on the Internet.

– In 2000: Eminem was the subject of a sick Internet hoax after MTV reported that the rapper had been killed in a car crash en route to a party.

– In 2004: Elvis Presley’s daughter Lisa Marie Presley agreed to sell 85% of his estate to businessman Robert Sillerman in a deal worth $100m. Sillerman would run Presley’s Memphis home Graceland, and own Elvis’ name and the rights to all revenue from his music and films. In the deal Lisa Marie would retain possession of Graceland and many of her father’s ‘personal effects.’

– In 2010: Captain Beefheart died aged 69 from complications from multiple sclerosis.

Kev