More About Music History On This Day

31 Aug 1987
Fleetwood Mac released 'Little Lies' from their fourteenth studio album Tango in the Night. The single reached No.4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No.5 in the UK.

31 Aug 1987
The largest pre-order of albums in the history of CBS Records occurred as 2.25 million copies of Michael Jackson's ‘Bad’ album were shipped to record stores in the US. The LP followed the Jackson album, Thriller the biggest Jackson-seller of all time (over 35 million copies sold). ‘Bad’ went on to sell over 13 million copies.

31 Aug 1990
Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt and Stevie Wonder sang 'Amazing Grace' at a memorial service held for guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan who had been killed in a helicopter crash 4 days earlier.

31 Aug 1991
Metallica started a four-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with, Metallica. The album featured ‘Enter Sandman’ ‘Sad But True’, ‘The Unforgiven’ and ‘Nothing Else Matters’ went on to sell over 10 million copies in the US alone.

31 Aug 1997
Oasis went to No.1 on the UK album chart with their third album 'Be Here Now.' The album had sold over a million copies on the first day of release. At that point, Oasis was at the height of their fame, and 'Be Here Now' became the United Kingdom's fastest selling album to date.

31 Aug 2002
NASA announced that Lance Bass, singer with *NSYNC, was to become the first celebrity astronaut. His $23.8 million, place on a Russian Soyuz module would make him the youngest person at 23 years of age to go into orbit. Bass ended up not taking part in the flight after failing to pay for his $20 million ticket on the craft.

31 Aug 2003
Elton John went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Are You Ready For Love.' The song was recorded in 1977 and released in 1979, when it reached No.42. It was used by Sky TV for their Premiership football ads.

31 Aug 2004
UK medical magazine Thorax issued a warning to music fans saying that listening to loud music in the car can give you a collapsed lung. One 19-year-old had been treated in Bristol after his left lung collapsed as his 1,000-watt bass box boomed out in his Fiat Panda.

31 Aug 2006
The Times ran a story on the demands of rock stars when on tour. Ozzy Osbourne insists on an eye, ear, nose and throat doctor at each venue. The Beach Boys require a licensed masseur, Meat Loaf a mask and one small tank of oxygen. David Bowie requests that the dressing room temperature is between 14c and 18c and Paul McCartney must have a large arrangement of white Casablanca lilies in his dressing room. Mick Jagger must have an onstage autocue with the lyrics to all the songs, it would also tell him the name of the city in which they were performing.

31 Aug 2007
Hilly Kristal, founder of the New York punk club CBGB died from complications arising from lung cancer at the age of 75. Kristal was credited with discovering Patti Smith and the Ramones and his club became a breeding ground for punk rock. The New York City venue, whose full title CBGB OMFUG stood for 'country, bluegrass, blues and other music for uplifting gourmandizers', was originally launched to showcase country music.

31 Aug 2014
Jimi Jamison, the lead singer for US rock band Survivor, who sang and co-wrote 'I'm Always Here' the theme tune for hit TV series Baywatch, died aged 63. The band are best known for their 1982 hit 'The Eye of the Tiger' which pre-dated Jamison joining the group.

31 Aug 2019
Ellie Goulding married art dealer Caspar Jopling at York Minster Cathedral, England, in a wedding attended by Katy Perry and her boyfriend Orlando Bloom, Tracey Emin, Sienna Miller, James Blunt, Princess Eugenie, and Sarah, Duchess of York.

Date & Time

August 31, 2024

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