Births
1924 Maurice Kinn, launched The New Musical Express in 1953, instigated the first charts based on record sales. Kinn died on August 3rd 2000.
1936 Otis Williams, singer, The Charms, (1956 US No.11 single 'Ivory Tower').
1937 Jimmy Jones, US singer, 1960 UK No.1 & US No.3 single 'Good Timin'.
1941 Charlie Watts, drums, The Rolling Stones, (1965 UK & US No.1 single 'Satisfaction' and over 35 UK Top 40 singles and albums). Plus occasional gigs with Charlie Watts and his Big Band
1941 William Guest, The Pips, (1973 US No.1 single 'Midnight Train To Georgia', 1975 UK No.4 single with Gladys Knight, (The Way We Were').
1944 Marvin Hamlisch, pianist, composer, (1974 US No.1 album 'The Sting', US No.3 single 'The Entertainer.' Won 1973 Grammy for 'The Way We Were').
1950 Chubby Tavares, Tavares, (1976 UK No.4 and US No.15 single 'Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel').
1959 Michael Steele, bass, vocals, The Bangles, (1986 UK No.2 single with Prince song 'Manic Monday', 1986 US No.1 single 'Walk Like An Egyptian').
1960 Tony Hadley, vocals, Spandau Ballet, (1983 UK No.1 and US No.4 single 'True', plus 16 other UK Top 40 hits).
1962 Thor Eldon, guitar, The Sugarcubes, (1992 UK No.17 single 'Hit').
1965 Jeremy Cunningham, bass, The Levellers, (1995 UK No.12 single 'Just The One').
1970 Louis Freeze, B- Real, Cypress Hill, (1993 UK No.15 single 'I Ain't Goin' Out Like That', 1993 US No.1 album 'Black Sunday').
1970 Dominic Greensmith, drums, Reef, (1996 UK No. 6 single ‘Place Your Hands’, 1997 UK No.1 album ‘Glow).
1976 Tim Rice-Oxley, piano, Keane, (2004 UK No.1 album ‘Hopes And Fears’).
1980 Fabrizio Moreti, drummer, The Strokes, (2001 UK No. 14 single, 'Last Nite'. 2001 UK No.2 album 'Is This It').
Deaths
1999 Junior Braithwaite from Bob Marley and the Wailers was shot dead aged 46.
Events
1953 Elvis Presley left IC Humes High School in Memphis, Tennessee.
1957 Johnnie Ray was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Yes Tonight Josephine', the US singers third and final UK No.1.
1962 Ray Charles started a 5 week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with the Don Gibson penned country ballad 'I Can't Stop Loving You', also No.1 in the UK.
1962 Owen Gray's 'Twist Baby' became the first single released on UK based Island Records. The label became home to Free, Traffic, Jethro Tull, Bob Marley and U2.
1964 The Rolling Stones made their US TV debut on 'The Les Crane Show'.
1966 Frank Sinatra had his 2nd UK No.1 single with ' Strangers In The Night'.
1966 The Who kicked off a 10-date European tour at the Grona Lund in Stockholm, Sweden.
1967 David Bowie released his debut album, 'David Bowie', which didn't make the charts.
1967 In the U.S., "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" was released by the Beatles. It was released on June first in Britain.
1972 Dion & The Belmonts reunited for one show at Madison Square Garden.
1973 Paul McCartney had both the No. 1 positions on the US charts when 'Red Rose Speedway', went to the top of the album chart and 'My Love', started a 4 week run as the No.1 single.
1973 The Electric Light Orchestra began their first US tour, a 40-date trek in San Diego, California.
1976 Wings set a new world record when they performed in front of 67,100 fans in Seattle, the largest attendance for an indoor crowd.
1978 Bruce Springsteen's album, "Darkness On The Edge of Town" was released.
1979 Donna Summer started a 3 week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Hot Stuff', her 2nd US No.1, it made No.11 in the UK.
1979 Donna Summer started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Hot Stuff', her second US No.1, it made No.11 in the UK.
1981 Prince made his live British debut at The Lyceum Ballroom, London, (he will not play the UK again for five years).
1982 Haircut 100 kicked off an 8-date UK tour at The Manchester Apollo.
1984 Wham! had their 1st UK No.1 with 'Wake Me Up Before You Go Go', the song being inspired by a note Andrew Ridgeley left lying in his bedroom.
1987 Dwight Yoakam appearing at The Town and Country Club, London,
1989 Rolling Stone Bill Wyman secretly married 19 year old Mandy Smith , Wymans 28 year old son was best man. (the marriage lasted 17 months).
1990 Soul II Soul started a 3 week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with their 2nd LP 'Vol II (A New Decade).
1993 Ronald Ray Howard's murder trial began in Austin, TX. Howard killed a state trooper after listening to Tupac Shakur's "2Pacalypse Now" album. Howard was convicted and sentenced to death.
1993 Jamiroquai kicked off a 13-date UK tour at Royal Holloway College, Egham.
1995 Stone Roses John Squire smashed his collarbone in a cycling accident causing the band to pull out of major gigs.
2000 The RIAA certified Garth Brooks' "Double Live" at the 13 million level. This matched the highest-certified live album record held by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band's "Live 1975-1985."
2002 It was reported that Paul McCartney had thrown his fiancée Heather Mills’ engagement ring out of a hotel window during a row. Guards at Miami’s Turnberry Isle Resort combed the grounds using metal detectors and later found the ?15,000 ($25,500) ring.
2002 S Club 7 member Hannah Spearitt announced she was quitting the group two months after her boyfriend and band member Paul Cattermole had left the group.
2002 Will Young scored his second UK No.1 single with his version of The Doors 'Light My Fire.'
2002 Eminem scored his second UK No.1 album with ‘The Eminem Show.’ Also a No.1 on the US chart.
2003 The New York Philharmonic announced that it would return to Carnegie Hall. The orchestra cited Carnegie's acoustics as a key reason for the move.
2003 A painting of Kylie Minogue wearing gold hot pants caused tempers to fray among drivers in Brighton. Artist Simon Etheridge, put up the almost life-size picture in his own Art Asylum gallery, as part of a Festival and since then motorists had caused regular traffic hold-ups as they stopped to take a second look.
2005 Franz Ferdinand's frontman, Alex Kapranos was detained by Russian police after being suspected of being a spy. Kapranos was attempting to board a plane in Moscow when the altercation took place. Travelling under his actual surname, Huntley, Alex was accused of being an MI6 agent who was previously suspected of stealing information on Russian weaponry. Unlucky for Alex that the surname Huntley was also used by actual former MI6 agent Richard Tomlinson who did steal secrets in the early 90s. The singer was freed after he pointed out that the Huntley they were so concerned about was 42, 13 years older than him.
