More About Music History On This Day
1 Aug 1981
Australian singer Rick Springfield started a two-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Jessie's Girl', which later won the singer a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. The song was at No.1 when MTV launched on 1 August 1981. Rick had played Noah Drake in the TV show General Hospital.
1 Aug 1981
Welsh singer Shakin' Stevens had his second UK No.1 single with his version of 'Green Door', which had been a hit in the US for Jim Lowe in 1956 (squeezing out 'Love Me Tender' by Elvis Presley). Frankie Vaughan also scored a UK No.2 hit with the song in 1956.
1 Aug 1987
Bob Seger scored his first US No.1 single with the Harold Faltermeyer penned 'Shakedown', which was taken from the film 'Beverly Hills Cop II'. The song was nominated for both the Academy Award for Best Original Song and Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, but it lost both awards to Dirty Dancing's '(I've Had) The Time of My Life'.
1 Aug 1987
Los Lobos were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their version of the Ritchie Valens song 'La Bamba', which was also a No.1 hit in the US. The song was the title track from the film based on Ritchie Valens who died in the same plane crash the killed Buddy Holly.
1 Aug 1987
MTV Europe was launched, the first video played being 'Money For Nothing' by Dire Straits which contained the appropriate line 'I Want My MTV'.
1 Aug 1987
Eurythmics Dave Stewart married Bananarama founding member Siobham Fahey, (who later formed the BRIT Award and Ivor Novello award winning Shakespears Sister). The couple divorced in 1996.
1 Aug 1990
UB40 were deported from the Seychelles after police discovered marijuana in their hotel rooms.
1 Aug 1998
The Spice Girls scored their seventh UK No.1 single with 'Viva Forever'. The song was originally set to be released alongside the track 'Never Give Up on the Good Times' as a double A-Side which was pulled as member Geri Halliwell left the group.
1 Aug 1999
Ronan Keating scored his first UK No.1 solo single with 'When You Say Nothing At All'. The country song written by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz was a hit for Keith Whitley, who took it to the top of the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in 1988. The song also gave Alison Krauss her first solo top-10 country hit in 1995.
1 Aug 2000
Madonna's forthcoming single 'Music' had its release date brought forward by two weeks after the track was made available as an illegal MP3 file on the Internet.
1 Aug 2000
AC/DC kicked off their 140 date Stiff Upper World Lip Tour at the Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA.
1 Aug 2002
A new book 'Show the Girl the Door' written by a former tour manager disclosed some strange demands by female acts. It revealed that Shania Twain would travel with a sniffer dog in case of bombs. Jennifer Lopez liked her dressing room to be all white, including carpets flowers and furniture. Cher would have high security rooms for her wigs. Janet Jackson would have a full medical team on standby including a doctor nurse and throat specialist and Britney Spears would demand her favorite Gummy Bear soft sweets.
1 Aug 2007
The Police played the first of two sold out nights at Madison Square Garden, New York City on their Reunion Tour.
1 Aug 2007
Prince kicked off a series of 21 sold out UK shows at London's O2 arena. Tickets for the events cost £31.21 - the same figure used by the singer to name his album, website and perfume. After completing the 21 nights the Jehovah's Witness was planning to take time out to study the Bible.
1 Aug 2007
John Lennon's "granny" sunglasses were snapped up by a British collector at auction. The sunglasses, from one of the last Beatles concerts, were expected to fetch around £1m, but auction bosses refused to say what the actual figure was. Lennon gave the gold-rimmed glasses to his Japanese interpreter in Tokyo in 1966, and the translator removed the lenses when Lennon died.
1 Aug 2007
Eminem's publishing company were seeking more than $75,000 for copyright infringement and unfair competition against computer firm Apple for allegedly selling his music on iTunes without permission. Apple were paying Eminem's record label for each download - but Eight Mile Style argued it had not approved the deal.
1 Aug 2013
The British government was trying to stop American Idol singer Kelly Clarkson from taking a rare turquoise and gold ring once owned by Jane Austen out of the country. The 2002 winner of the Idol TV show bought the jewelry at auction last year for more than $150,000, but Culture minister Ed Vaizey had put a temporary export bar on it saying he wanted the "national treasure" to be "saved for the nation".
1 Aug 2015
English singer, actress and entertainer Cilla Black died at her holiday home near Marbella, Spain, aged 72. Along with a successful recording career in the 1960s and early 1970s, Black hosted her own eponymous variety show, Cilla, for the BBC between 1968 and 1976 and later shows such as Blind Date (1985–2003) and Surprise Surprise (1984–2001).
Australian singer Rick Springfield started a two-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Jessie's Girl', which later won the singer a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. The song was at No.1 when MTV launched on 1 August 1981. Rick had played Noah Drake in the TV show General Hospital.
1 Aug 1981
Welsh singer Shakin' Stevens had his second UK No.1 single with his version of 'Green Door', which had been a hit in the US for Jim Lowe in 1956 (squeezing out 'Love Me Tender' by Elvis Presley). Frankie Vaughan also scored a UK No.2 hit with the song in 1956.
1 Aug 1987
Bob Seger scored his first US No.1 single with the Harold Faltermeyer penned 'Shakedown', which was taken from the film 'Beverly Hills Cop II'. The song was nominated for both the Academy Award for Best Original Song and Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, but it lost both awards to Dirty Dancing's '(I've Had) The Time of My Life'.
1 Aug 1987
Los Lobos were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their version of the Ritchie Valens song 'La Bamba', which was also a No.1 hit in the US. The song was the title track from the film based on Ritchie Valens who died in the same plane crash the killed Buddy Holly.
1 Aug 1987
MTV Europe was launched, the first video played being 'Money For Nothing' by Dire Straits which contained the appropriate line 'I Want My MTV'.
1 Aug 1987
Eurythmics Dave Stewart married Bananarama founding member Siobham Fahey, (who later formed the BRIT Award and Ivor Novello award winning Shakespears Sister). The couple divorced in 1996.
1 Aug 1990
UB40 were deported from the Seychelles after police discovered marijuana in their hotel rooms.
1 Aug 1998
The Spice Girls scored their seventh UK No.1 single with 'Viva Forever'. The song was originally set to be released alongside the track 'Never Give Up on the Good Times' as a double A-Side which was pulled as member Geri Halliwell left the group.
1 Aug 1999
Ronan Keating scored his first UK No.1 solo single with 'When You Say Nothing At All'. The country song written by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz was a hit for Keith Whitley, who took it to the top of the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in 1988. The song also gave Alison Krauss her first solo top-10 country hit in 1995.
1 Aug 2000
Madonna's forthcoming single 'Music' had its release date brought forward by two weeks after the track was made available as an illegal MP3 file on the Internet.
1 Aug 2000
AC/DC kicked off their 140 date Stiff Upper World Lip Tour at the Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA.
1 Aug 2002
A new book 'Show the Girl the Door' written by a former tour manager disclosed some strange demands by female acts. It revealed that Shania Twain would travel with a sniffer dog in case of bombs. Jennifer Lopez liked her dressing room to be all white, including carpets flowers and furniture. Cher would have high security rooms for her wigs. Janet Jackson would have a full medical team on standby including a doctor nurse and throat specialist and Britney Spears would demand her favorite Gummy Bear soft sweets.
1 Aug 2007
The Police played the first of two sold out nights at Madison Square Garden, New York City on their Reunion Tour.
1 Aug 2007
Prince kicked off a series of 21 sold out UK shows at London's O2 arena. Tickets for the events cost £31.21 - the same figure used by the singer to name his album, website and perfume. After completing the 21 nights the Jehovah's Witness was planning to take time out to study the Bible.
1 Aug 2007
John Lennon's "granny" sunglasses were snapped up by a British collector at auction. The sunglasses, from one of the last Beatles concerts, were expected to fetch around £1m, but auction bosses refused to say what the actual figure was. Lennon gave the gold-rimmed glasses to his Japanese interpreter in Tokyo in 1966, and the translator removed the lenses when Lennon died.
1 Aug 2007
Eminem's publishing company were seeking more than $75,000 for copyright infringement and unfair competition against computer firm Apple for allegedly selling his music on iTunes without permission. Apple were paying Eminem's record label for each download - but Eight Mile Style argued it had not approved the deal.
1 Aug 2013
The British government was trying to stop American Idol singer Kelly Clarkson from taking a rare turquoise and gold ring once owned by Jane Austen out of the country. The 2002 winner of the Idol TV show bought the jewelry at auction last year for more than $150,000, but Culture minister Ed Vaizey had put a temporary export bar on it saying he wanted the "national treasure" to be "saved for the nation".
1 Aug 2015
English singer, actress and entertainer Cilla Black died at her holiday home near Marbella, Spain, aged 72. Along with a successful recording career in the 1960s and early 1970s, Black hosted her own eponymous variety show, Cilla, for the BBC between 1968 and 1976 and later shows such as Blind Date (1985–2003) and Surprise Surprise (1984–2001).
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