More About Music History On This Day

5 May 1984
Duran Duran were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'The Reflex', the group's second and last No.1. The song which was taken from their third album Seven and the Ragged Tiger was also a US No.1.

5 May 1984
Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr married Pretenders singer Chrissie Hynde in a horse drawn carriage in Central Park, New York City. The couple divorced in 1990.

5 May 1990
The John Lennon tribute concert was held at the Pier Head Arena in Merseyside, featuring Lenny Kravitz, Al Green, Joe Cocker, The Christians, Kylie Minogue, Ringo Starr, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Deacon Blue, Lou Reed, Joe Walsh and Wet Wet Wet.

5 May 1992
Radiohead released 'The Drill EP', their first record in the UK. The band were still called "On a Friday" when the songs for this EP were recorded; they changed their name to Radiohead the following month.

5 May 1995
Former Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler was arrested on a felony count of possession of heroin, as well as two misdemeanour drug charges.

5 May 1996
Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan received both a public apology and a donation of $12,750 to the Warchild charity from The Sport newspaper after they ran a story claiming she had performed a gig in Hamburg without wearing any underwear.

5 May 1996
Rage Against The Machine went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'Evil Empire'. The album's title is taken from the phrase "evil empire", which was used by former US President Ronald Reagan and many conservatives in describing the former Soviet Union. The album won the 1996 Grammy award for Best Metal Performance.

5 May 2000
Rod Stewart had a one-hour throat operation at Cedar Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles to remove a growth on his thyroid. The growth turns out to be benign.

5 May 2002
Two-disc jockeys from Denver's KRFX-FM, Rick Lewis and Michael Floorwax, stopped a live radio interview with Detroit rocker Ted Nugent after he used derogatory racial terms for Asians and Blacks. The station received dozens of complaints.

5 May 2003
UK Holiday camp operator Butlins introduced a new system of rhyming slang at bingo halls in an attempt to bring the game up to date. Pop stars Jennifer Lopez and Gareth Gates became new catchphrases for the callers, 'Gareth Gates' (8) and 'J-Lo's bum' (71). Other additions include 'stroppy teen' (15) and 'feng shui' (53).

5 May 2005
Justin Timberlake underwent an operation at Los Angeles' Cedars Sinai Hospital to remove nodules from his throat.

5 May 2013
Led Zeppelin front man Robert Plant obtained a temporary restraining order against an overzealous female fan he alleged was a threat to his safety. Plant said that the woman had been harassing him for over three years and believed that they were in a relationship, even though Plant insisted the pair has never met.

5 May 2015
American rock bassist Craig Gruber died of prostate cancer in Florida aged 63. He is best known as the original bassist in Rainbow and also played in Elf with vocalist Ronnie James Dio and worked with guitarist Gary Moore.

5 May 2016
The Rolling Stones told Donald Trump to stop playing their songs during his presidential campaign. The band issued a statement saying that the US presidential candidate did not have permission to use the band's music. Their 1969 hit 'You Can't Always Get What You Want' had been a particular favorite during his campaign.

5 May 2020
Jamaican singer Millie Small died at the age of 72 after suffering a stroke. The star was most famous for her hit single 'My Boy Lollipop', which reached number two in both the US and the UK in 1964.It remains one of the biggest-selling ska songs of all time, with more than seven million sales.

5 May 2020
American R&B singer Sweet Pea Atkinson died from a heart attack in Los Angeles, aged 74. He was best known as one of the vocalists for the band Was (Not Was). Their highest charting hit, 'Walk the Dinosaur', released in 1987 became a world-wide top-40 hit and peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

Date & Time

May 5, 2024

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