This Day In Music: 12/22/11

Musician Birthdays: Robin and Maurice Gibb (singers of the Bee Gees, born in 1949)

– In 1962: During his first visit to the UK Bob Dylan performed at the Singers Club in London, the singer songwriter’s second UK gig.

– In 1963: The Dave Clark Five scored their only US No.1 single with ‘Over And Over’, a No.5 in the UK.

– In 1967: The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Pink Floyd, The Who, Keith West and Tomorrow, Eric Burdon & The Animals, 1984 (featuring future Queen guitarist Brian May) and Soft Machine all appeared at The Olympia, London at an all night festival ‘Christmas On Earth Continued’. The DJ was John Peel plus the venue featured a paddling pool, light shows and a movie theatre, tickets £1.

– In 1981: At a rock & roll memorabilia auction in London, a stage suit worn by John Lennon sold for £2,300, a letter from Paul McCartney to a fan sold for £2,200 and a Perspex sculpture of John & Yoko was bought by singer Kate Bush for £4,200.

– In 1984: Madonna started a six-week run at No.1 in the US charts with ‘Like A Virgin’, her first US No.1.

– In 1987: Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue was pronounced ‘dead on arrival’ in an ambulance when his heart stopped beating for two minutes. Sixx was given two shots of adrenaline in his chest to revive him. Fellow band members were prematurely informed of his death.

– In 2000: Madonna married film director Guy Ritchie at Skibo Castle, Scotland. Celebrities attending the wedding included Jon Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, Sting and fashion designers Donatella Versace, Jean Paul Gaultier and Stellla McCartney. The couple divorced in Nov 2008.

– In 2002: Former Clash singer and guitarist Joe Strummer (John Graham Mellor) died of a suspected heart attack aged 50. Scored the 1979 UK No. 11 single ‘London Calling’, 1982 US No. 8 single ‘Rock The Casbah, 1991 UK No.1 single ‘Should I Stay Or Should I Go’, first released 1982, plus 15 other UK Top 40 singles. The Clash’s London Calling album was voted best album of the 1980s by Rolling Stone magazine. Strummer was also a member of the The Mescaleros.

– In 2005: Janet Jackson was the most-searched name during 2005 according to Google, the singer topped a list of searches with people looking for pictures from her infamous ‘wardrobe malfunction’ at the 2004 Super Bowl when she exposed her right breast.

– In 2009: The FBI released 333 pages of documents compiled about Michael Jackson between 1992 to 2005. The files revealed that they made several investigations into death threats against him made by obsessed fans, alleged inappropriate involvement between Jackson and an underage male, as well as fears that he may have become the target for terrorists.

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