More About Music History On This Day
30 Jul 1987
David Bowie kicked of the North American leg of The Glass Spider Tour at the Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The tour's set, described at the time as "the largest touring set ever," was designed to look like a giant spider. It was 60 feet high, 64 feet wide. A single set took 43 trucks to move from each city.
30 Jul 1988
Steve Winwood started a four-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Roll With It', a No.53 hit in the UK. Later Motown songwriters Holland-Dozier-Holland were credited with co-writing the song due to its resemblance to the Junior Walker hit (I'm a) Roadrunner.
30 Jul 1991
A police officer was forced to tear up a traffic ticket given to the limousine that Axl Rose was travelling in after it made an illegal turn. Rose threatened to pull that nights Guns N' Roses gig if the ticket was issued.
30 Jul 1993
Founder member and original bassist for The Wonder Stuff, Rob Jones died in New York aged 29. Vic Reeves and The Wonder Stuff had the 1991 UK No.1 with 'Dizzy', (a No.1 for Tommy Roe in 1969).
30 Jul 1997
A judge in Los Angeles ruled that Michael Jackson and members of his family were not liable for losses incurred by the producers of the failed 1994 Jackson Family Honors TV special. The show was delayed for several weeks because Jackson was ill and could not perform solo as expected.
30 Jul 2003
Sam Phillips the founder of Sun Records and studio died of respiratory failure at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. In the 1940s, Phillips worked as a DJ for Muscle Shoals, Alabama radio station WLAY. Phillips recorded what some consider to be the first rock and roll record, ‘Rocket 88’ by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats in 1951. He discovered Elvis Presley, worked with Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Ike Turner, B.B. King and Jerry Lee Lewis.
30 Jul 2003
The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Rush, The Guess Who, Justin Timberlake, The Flaming Lips, Sass Jordan and The Isley Brothers played a benefit concert in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to prove that the city is safe from SARS. With 450,000 spectators, it was the largest concert in Canadian history.
30 Jul 2005
A new book published to mark the 35th anniversary of the death of Jimi Hendrix claimed the guitarist pretended to be gay so he would be discharged from the army. 'Room Full of Mirrors' by Charles Cross said army records showed Hendrix was discharged from the 101st Airborne Division aged 19 in 1962 for "homosexual tendencies."
30 Jul 2006
Shakira feat Wyclef Jean started a four-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Hips Don't Lie.’ A remake of Wyclef Jean's 2004 song 'Dance Like This', the song went on to top the charts in over 50 countries. The song is the biggest selling single of the 21st century by a female artist worldwide.
30 Jul 2006
British gay magazine Attitude listed the ‘Top 10 Gay Albums’ of all time. No.1 was Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters, 2, Arrival - ABBA, 3, Vauxhall and I - Morrissey, 4, Light Years - Kylie Minogue, 5, Older - George Michael, 6, Welcome To The Pleasuredome - Frankie Goes To Hollywood, 7, Erotica - Madonna, 8, I Am a Bird Now - Antony and the Johnsons, 9, Bad Girls - Donna Summer and No. 10 The Man Who Sold The World - David Bowie.
30 Jul 2007
A man admitted bootlegging charges after hearing evidence from Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page. Robert Langley, 57, from Buckingham, originally denied three trademark and two copyright infringements after being caught at a record fair in Glasgow. The seizure of CDs and DVDs two years ago included £11,500 of counterfeit Led Zeppelin material.
30 Jul 2009
Procol Harum organist Matthew Fisher won his long battle to be recognized as co-writer of the band's hit ’A Whiter Shade Of Pale’. Law Lords ruled that Fisher, who claimed he wrote the song's organ melody, was entitled to a share of future royalties. In 2006, the High Court ruled he was entitled to 40% of the copyright, but the Court Of Appeal overturned the ruling in 2008 saying he waited too long, 38 years, to bring the case to court.
30 Jul 2014
American rock guitarist, and songwriter Dick Wagner, who worked with Alice Cooper and Lou Reed died from a lung infection aged 71. One of the best-known songs written by Wagner is 'Only Women Bleed', which was one of Alice Coppers biggest hits.
30 Jul 2014
A ban on steel-string guitars in prison cells in England and Wales was reversed after a campaign including Billy Bragg, David Gilmour, Elbow's Guy Garvey and Johnny Marr. Billy Bragg founded Jail Guitar Doors, a scheme that has sent around 350 guitars to prisons since 2007.
30 Jul 2015
American country music singer, Lynn Anderson, died aged 67. The multi-award-winning singer scored the 1970 US No.3 & 1971 UK No.3 single 'Rose Garden', and charted 12 No.1, 18 Top 10, and more than 50 Top 40 hits. Anderson was the first female country artist to win the American Music Award (in 1974), as well as the first to headline and sellout Madison Square Garden that same year.
30 Jul 2016
Jack White’s mission to play the first record in space was accomplished. 'A Glorious Dawn' by composer John Boswell, mixed with audio of American scientist Carl Sagan describing the universe, was played 28,000 meters above Earth on a “space-proof” turntable. The record played for about 80 minutes until the high-altitude balloon which carried the contraption burst and propelled the turntable back towards Marsing, Idaho.
30 Jul 2019
Kraftwerk won a long-running legal battle over their song ‘Metal On Metal’, when The European Court of Justice ruled against the sampling of the track by hip-hop producers Moses Pelham and Martin Haas in 1999. The ‘Metal On Metal’ sample, specifically a drum sequence repeated throughout, was used by the producers over a version of the Sabrina Setlur song ‘Nur Mir (Only Me)’.
David Bowie kicked of the North American leg of The Glass Spider Tour at the Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The tour's set, described at the time as "the largest touring set ever," was designed to look like a giant spider. It was 60 feet high, 64 feet wide. A single set took 43 trucks to move from each city.
30 Jul 1988
Steve Winwood started a four-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Roll With It', a No.53 hit in the UK. Later Motown songwriters Holland-Dozier-Holland were credited with co-writing the song due to its resemblance to the Junior Walker hit (I'm a) Roadrunner.
30 Jul 1991
A police officer was forced to tear up a traffic ticket given to the limousine that Axl Rose was travelling in after it made an illegal turn. Rose threatened to pull that nights Guns N' Roses gig if the ticket was issued.
30 Jul 1993
Founder member and original bassist for The Wonder Stuff, Rob Jones died in New York aged 29. Vic Reeves and The Wonder Stuff had the 1991 UK No.1 with 'Dizzy', (a No.1 for Tommy Roe in 1969).
30 Jul 1997
A judge in Los Angeles ruled that Michael Jackson and members of his family were not liable for losses incurred by the producers of the failed 1994 Jackson Family Honors TV special. The show was delayed for several weeks because Jackson was ill and could not perform solo as expected.
30 Jul 2003
Sam Phillips the founder of Sun Records and studio died of respiratory failure at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. In the 1940s, Phillips worked as a DJ for Muscle Shoals, Alabama radio station WLAY. Phillips recorded what some consider to be the first rock and roll record, ‘Rocket 88’ by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats in 1951. He discovered Elvis Presley, worked with Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Ike Turner, B.B. King and Jerry Lee Lewis.
30 Jul 2003
The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Rush, The Guess Who, Justin Timberlake, The Flaming Lips, Sass Jordan and The Isley Brothers played a benefit concert in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to prove that the city is safe from SARS. With 450,000 spectators, it was the largest concert in Canadian history.
30 Jul 2005
A new book published to mark the 35th anniversary of the death of Jimi Hendrix claimed the guitarist pretended to be gay so he would be discharged from the army. 'Room Full of Mirrors' by Charles Cross said army records showed Hendrix was discharged from the 101st Airborne Division aged 19 in 1962 for "homosexual tendencies."
30 Jul 2006
Shakira feat Wyclef Jean started a four-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Hips Don't Lie.’ A remake of Wyclef Jean's 2004 song 'Dance Like This', the song went on to top the charts in over 50 countries. The song is the biggest selling single of the 21st century by a female artist worldwide.
30 Jul 2006
British gay magazine Attitude listed the ‘Top 10 Gay Albums’ of all time. No.1 was Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters, 2, Arrival - ABBA, 3, Vauxhall and I - Morrissey, 4, Light Years - Kylie Minogue, 5, Older - George Michael, 6, Welcome To The Pleasuredome - Frankie Goes To Hollywood, 7, Erotica - Madonna, 8, I Am a Bird Now - Antony and the Johnsons, 9, Bad Girls - Donna Summer and No. 10 The Man Who Sold The World - David Bowie.
30 Jul 2007
A man admitted bootlegging charges after hearing evidence from Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page. Robert Langley, 57, from Buckingham, originally denied three trademark and two copyright infringements after being caught at a record fair in Glasgow. The seizure of CDs and DVDs two years ago included £11,500 of counterfeit Led Zeppelin material.
30 Jul 2009
Procol Harum organist Matthew Fisher won his long battle to be recognized as co-writer of the band's hit ’A Whiter Shade Of Pale’. Law Lords ruled that Fisher, who claimed he wrote the song's organ melody, was entitled to a share of future royalties. In 2006, the High Court ruled he was entitled to 40% of the copyright, but the Court Of Appeal overturned the ruling in 2008 saying he waited too long, 38 years, to bring the case to court.
30 Jul 2014
American rock guitarist, and songwriter Dick Wagner, who worked with Alice Cooper and Lou Reed died from a lung infection aged 71. One of the best-known songs written by Wagner is 'Only Women Bleed', which was one of Alice Coppers biggest hits.
30 Jul 2014
A ban on steel-string guitars in prison cells in England and Wales was reversed after a campaign including Billy Bragg, David Gilmour, Elbow's Guy Garvey and Johnny Marr. Billy Bragg founded Jail Guitar Doors, a scheme that has sent around 350 guitars to prisons since 2007.
30 Jul 2015
American country music singer, Lynn Anderson, died aged 67. The multi-award-winning singer scored the 1970 US No.3 & 1971 UK No.3 single 'Rose Garden', and charted 12 No.1, 18 Top 10, and more than 50 Top 40 hits. Anderson was the first female country artist to win the American Music Award (in 1974), as well as the first to headline and sellout Madison Square Garden that same year.
30 Jul 2016
Jack White’s mission to play the first record in space was accomplished. 'A Glorious Dawn' by composer John Boswell, mixed with audio of American scientist Carl Sagan describing the universe, was played 28,000 meters above Earth on a “space-proof” turntable. The record played for about 80 minutes until the high-altitude balloon which carried the contraption burst and propelled the turntable back towards Marsing, Idaho.
30 Jul 2019
Kraftwerk won a long-running legal battle over their song ‘Metal On Metal’, when The European Court of Justice ruled against the sampling of the track by hip-hop producers Moses Pelham and Martin Haas in 1999. The ‘Metal On Metal’ sample, specifically a drum sequence repeated throughout, was used by the producers over a version of the Sabrina Setlur song ‘Nur Mir (Only Me)’.
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