On This Day – May 5 – Buffalo Springfield, David Bowie, Blondie, The Stranglers, Cranberries & more

1956, Elvis Presley scored his first US No.1 single and album when ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ went to the top of the charts. His debut album also went to No.1.

1962, The soundtrack to West Side Story went to No.1 on the US album chart. It went on to spend a total of 54 weeks at the No.1 position.

1963, On a recommendation by George Harrison, Dick Rowe Head of A&R at Decca records, (and the man who turned down The Beatles), went to see The Rolling Stones play at Crawdaddy Club, London. The band were signed to the label within a week.

1966, Manfred Mann were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Pretty Flamingo’. The recording features future Cream bassist Jack Bruce, who briefly joined the band in 1965. On their Top Of The Pops appearance, singer Paul Jones performed whilst standing on one leg.

1968, Buffalo Springfield split up. Richie Fury formed Poco and Stephen Stills teamed up with David Crosby and Graham Nash in Crosby Stills & Nash.

1969, The Beatles single ‘Get Back’ was released in the US. John Lennon claimed in 1980 that “there’s some underlying thing about Yoko in there”, claiming that Paul McCartney looked at Yoko Ono in the studio every time he sang “Get back to where you once belonged.”

1972, The first day of the three day Bickershaw Festival, Wigan, England, with The Grateful Dead, Dr John, Donovan, The Kinks, Captain Beefheart, Hawkwind, America, Family, Country Joe MacDonald, Wishbone Ash, New Riders Of The Purple Sage, Brinsley Schwarz and the Flamin Groovies.

1973, David Bowie scored his first UK No.1 album when ‘Aladdin Sane’ started a five-week run at the top, featuring the single ‘Drive In Saturday’. The follow-up to his breakthrough The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, the name of the album is a pun on “A Lad Insane”.

1974, Television appeared at CBGB’s in New York City, supported by the Stillettoes (later to become Blondie, who were playing their first show at CBGB).

1983, The Stranglers ‘Golden Brown’ was named most performed work of 1982 at the 28th Ivor Novello Awards.

1984, Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr married Chrissie Hynde in a horse drawn carriage in Central Park, New York.

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.

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.

1996, Cranberries singer Dolores O’Riordan received both a public apology and a donation of £7,500 ($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.

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.

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.

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).

2005, Justin Timberlake underwent an operation at Los Angeles’ Cedars Sinai Hospital to remove nodules from his throat.

Born on this day
1942, Tammy Wynette, US Country singer
1948, Bill Ward, drums, Black Sabbath
1959, Ian McCulloch, Echo And The Bunnymen
1981, Craig David, Singer
1988, Adele, Singer, songwriter

 

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