1963 – The Beatles played their last ever performance at The Cavern Club in Liverpool. During their set a power cut silenced their instruments and plunged the Cavern into temporary darkness. John Lennon and Paul McCartney performed an acoustic version of ‘When I’m Sixty-Four’, a song they wouldn’t release until 1967, while waiting for the electricity to return. The Beatles, whose fee for their first performance at the Cavern had been £5, received a fee of £300 for this performance.
1967 – A female Monkee’s fan stowed away on the band’s plane between shows in Minneapolis and St Louis. The girl’s father threatened to bring charges for transporting a minor across state lines.
1977 – The Police appeared at The Red Cow, Hammersmith Road in London, admission was 60p.
1982 – Dexy’s Midnight Runners were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Come On Eileen’ their second and last No.1. It was the Best Selling Single of 1982 and the song won Best British Single at the 1983 Brit Awards. The “Eileen” as featured in the video is Máire Fahey, sister of Siobhan Fahey, former singer with Bananarama and Shakespears Sister.
1986 – Chris de Burgh was at No.1 in the UK with ‘The Lady In Red’. It was his first No.1 after twenty four single releases, staying at the top of the charts for three weeks.
1987 – Los Lobos were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their version of the Ritchie Valens song ‘La Bamba’. The song was the title track from the film based on Ritchie Valens who died in the same plane crash the killed Buddy Holly.
1989 – Jive Bunny And The Mastermixers had their first of three UK No.1’s with ‘Swing The Mood’. Produced by the father and son DJ team of Andy and John Pickles, Swing the Mood fused a number of early rock and roll records with liberal use of Glenn Miller’s ‘In The Mood.’
2000 – Liverpool music store Rushworth and Dreaper closed down after 150 years of trading. The store had become famous after supplying The Beatles and other Liverpool groups with musical instruments.
2005 – Status Quo filmed a cameo appearance in UK’s Coronation Street playing themselves. Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt were set to appear in three episodes of the long running ITV soap.
2007 – DNA testing on about a dozen people who claimed late soul star James Brown was their father revealed that at least two of them were telling the truth. A former adviser for the singer, Buddy Dallas, said he could not confirm exact figures, as further test results were forthcoming. His will, which was being disputed in court, named six children.
2015 – Singer, actress and entertainer Cilla Black died at her holiday home in Estapona, aged 72. Along with a successful recording career in the 1960s and early 1970s, she hosted her own eponymous variety show, Cilla, for the BBC between 1968 and 1976 and later shows such as Blind Date and Surprise Surprise.
2020 – Wayne Fontana passed away at the age of 74. The English rock and pop singer is best known for the 1965 hit ‘The Game of Love’ with the Mindbenders. He took his stage name from Elvis Presley’s drummer, D. J. Fontana.
