April 12

Birthdays

1909: Lionel Hampton (Jazz Bandleader)

1917: Helen Forrest (Jazz Vocalist)

1921: Shakey Jake Harris (Blues Singer)

1925: Ned Miller (Country Artist)

1933: Tiny Tim (Singer?????)

1938: Judy Lynn (Country Singer)

1940: Al Jarreau (Jazz Singer)

1940: Herbie Hancock (Jazz Artist)

1942: Larry Ramos (The Association)

1944: John Kay (Guitar & Vocals for Steppenwolf)

1950: David Cassidy (Singer)

1951: Alex Briley (G.I. in The Village People)

1957: Vince Gill (Country Singer)

1958: Will Sergeant (Guitarist for Echo And The Bunnymen)

1962: Art Alexakis (Guitar & Vocals for Everclear)

1964: Amy Ray (Guitar & vocals for The Indigo Girls)

1967: Sarah Cracknell (Singer for Saint Etienne)

1970: Nicholas Lofton Hexum (Vocalist & guitarist for 311)

1978: Guy Berryman (Bass for Coldplay)

1987: Brendon Urie (Singer for Panic! at the Disco)

Events

1935: "Your Hit Parade," debuts on the radio.

1939: Woody Herman recorded "Woodchopper’s Ball".

1954: Big Joe Turner released "Shake, Rattle, And Roll". Considered by many to be the song that put rock and roll on the map around the world.

1954: Bill Haley and His Comets recorded "(We're Gonna) Rock Around The Clock".

1961: At tonight's Grammy ceremonies, Ray Charles takes home four awards, including a Best Male Vocal for "Georgia On My Mind."

1963: Bob Dylan performs a spectacular concert at Town Hall in New York, which is recorded for a never-released live album on Columbia.

1964: Chubby Checker marries Miss World 1962, Catharina Johanna Lodders of the Netherlands.

1966: Tom Jones enters a hospital to have his tonsils removed, though some who claim to have seen his tonsils since claim his real visit was for a nose job.

1966: In an eerie recreation of the duo's single from the year before, Jan Berry of Jan and Dean crashes his Corvette into a parked truck on Beverly Hills' Whittier Drive, near a stretch of road in Los Angeles known as "Dead Man's Curve." Berry will require four years of rehabilitation to be able to talk and a full decade in order to perform live again.

1967: Mick Jagger was punched in the face by an airport official during a row at Le Bourget Airport in France. Jagger lost his temper after The Stones were being searched for drugs resulting in them missing their flight.

1968: Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention perform at a New York dinner for the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences dinner in New York. Zappa calls the event "a load of pompous hokum" and yells from the stage: "All year long you people have manufactured this crap, now for one night you're gonna have to listen to it!"

1972:  The Rolling Stones released the Album "Exile on Main Street."

1973: Stevie Wonder becomes one of the first rock stars to appear on PBS-TV's Sesame Street.

1973: The movie musical That'll Be The Day, starring Ringo Starr and David Essex, premieres in London.

1975: David Bowie announced his second career retirement, saying, 'I've rocked my roll. It's a boring dead end, there will be no more rock 'n' roll records from me.'

1975:  The movie version of The Who’s "Tommy" opened.

1975: Josephine Baker was found lying peacefully in her bed surrounded by newspapers with glowing reviews of her performance at  the Bobino in Paris—Joséphine à Bobino 1975, celebrating her 50 years in show business. She was in a coma after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. She was taken to Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, where she died.

1979: Mickey Thomas, vocalist on the Elvin Bishop Band's 1975 hit "Fooled Around And Fell In Love," becomes the new lead vocalist for Jefferson Starship.

1985: USA for Africa's "We Are The World" album was released.

1986:  Belinda Carlisle of the Go-Go’s married Morgan Mason.

1988: Sonny Bono succeeds in his bid to become mayor of his hometown, Palm Springs, CA.

1989:  Garth Brooks' self-titled debut album was released.

1990: The Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center, located at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, AZ, announces that four newly discovered asteroids, 4147-4150, will be named Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, and Starr.

1990:  James Brown was released from a South Carolina jail on work furlough after serving 15 months of a six-year sentence for aggravated assault.

1992: The Eagles' Don Henley leads 6,000 fans through Walden Woods in Massachusetts as part of a benefit walk to save the literally significant woods popularized by Henry Thoreau's work.

1992: Actress Lisa Bonet files for divorce from singer Lenny Kravitz

1995: Two weeks after her death, George W. Bush, (then the governor of Texas), declared "Selena Day" in Texas. The Mexican American singer Selena was murdered aged 23 by the president of her fan club Yolanda Saldívar on 31st March 1995.

1997: While on tour in the UK, Fun Lovin' Criminals drummer Stephen Borovini received a police caution after he was arrested on suspicion of making obscene phone calls to women working in gyms in the Leeds area.

1999: Boxcar Willie Died of leukemia.

1999: Shania Twain became the only female artist in music history to sell at least 10 million units with back to back releases.

2000: Metallica filed a suit against Napster, Yale University, The University of Southern California and Indiana University for copyright infringement.

2000: Bo Diddley filed suit against Nike for using his name and image without permission. Nike is accused of continuing to use his image after a contract expired in 1991.

2001: Gladys Knight marries her fourth husband, longtime friend William McDowell.

2002: Ozzy Osbourne received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2005: Mariah Carey released ‘The Emancipation of Mimi’, the album entered the US chart at number one, going six times platinum in less than a year, and subsequently became the most successful album of 2005.

2008: With her latest single, "4 Minutes," Madonna beats Elvis as the artist with the most all-time Top Ten Hits on the Billboard charts (37).

2008: Lou Reed marries his second wife, conceptual artist Laurie Anderson.

2010: In San Antonio, TX, Bret Michaels, of Poison, had an emergency appendectomy. He had gone to the hospital while preparing for a show the previous night.

April 11

Birthdays

1918: Jimmy Lewis (R&B Singer)

1935: Richard Berry (Wrote “Louie, Louie”)

Events

1956: Elvis Presley's tour plane develops engine trouble while flying the singer from Amarillo, TX to Nashville, forcing an emergency landing in Arkansas. When he calls his mother Gladys to tell her, she begs him to never fly again, instilling a fear of flying in Elvis which will take him years to get over.

1956: James Brown debuts on the R&B charts with "Please, Please, Please."

1966: NBC-TV's musical variety show Hullabaloo airs its last episode after sixteen months on the air, featuring Lesley Gore, Peter and Gordon, Paul Anka, and the Cyrkle.

1966: Frank Sinatra recorded "Strangers In The Night".

1967: Flying back to England after participating in the Beach Boys' aborted Smile sessions, Paul McCartney comes up with the idea for the Beatles film and album Magical Mystery Tour.

1968: Janis Joplin makes her television debut when Big Brother and the Holding Company perform on ABC-TV's variety show Hollywood Palace.

1976: Relaxing in his hotel after a record-breaking Sydney show, Alice Cooper is placed under house arrest for alleged breach of contract after refusing to pay another promoter $59,000 for an Australian tour the year before. When it is discovered that the promoter's fallen short on his end of the deal as well, Cooper is released to fly back to the States.

1983: R.E.M.'s first album, "Murmur", was released.

1988: Cher wins Best Actress for the romantic comedy Moonstruck at tonight's Oscar Awards in New York.

1990: Elton John performs at the Indianapolis, IN funeral of Ryan White, the hemophiliac 18-year-old who'd contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion and been shunned for it. Michael Jackson also attends the service.

1991: Ringo Starr was a guest on Fox TV's "The Simpsons."

1997: Grand Funk Railroad reforms for their first tour in years to benefit the Bosnian-American Relief Fund, which helps victims of the recent genocide in Bosnia.

2002: Aretha Franklin and seven other Motown stars are honored with street names in Detroit's new low-income housing project.

2002: Kid Rock and Pamela Anderson got engaged.

2006: Paul Anka guest-stars as himself in tonight's "The Real Paul Anka" episode of WB-TV's Gilmore Girls.

2006: June Pointer (The Pointer Sisters) died on this day.  She had a troubled history of drug and alcohol abuse, and suffered a stroke on February 27, 2006. While in the hospital, June was also diagnosed with cancer which had metastasized in her breast, colon, liver and bone.

April 10

Birthdays

1911: Martin Denny (Orchestra Leader)

1921: Sheb Wooley (Singer)

1932: Nate Nelson (The Flamingos)

1936: Bobbie Smith (The Spinners)

1947: Karl Russell (The Hues Corporation)

1947: Bunny Wailer (The Wailers)

1950: Eddie Hazel (Guitarist for Funkadelic)

1956: Neville Staples (The Specials)

1965: Nigel Pulsford (Bush)

1966: Lisa Stansfield (Singer)

1971: Oliver "Ollie" Riedel (Bassist for Rammstein)

1978: Tom Thacker (Guitar & Vocals for Sum 41)

1979: Shemekia Copeland (Blues Singer)

1984: Mandy Moore (Singer)

1987: Joss Stone (Singer)

Events

1953: Eddie Fisher is discharged from the US Army, having sold seven million records during his stint in the service.

1956: Leo Fender patents the successor to his popular "Telecaster" model of electric guitar, this time called the "Stratocaster."

1956: While performing at the Municipal Auditorium in Birmingham, AL, Nat King Cole is assaulted by five segregationists and tackled on stage, although local police quickly arrest the perpetrators, who had originally planned to kidnap the singer. Cole bravely performs a second show later that night.

1957: Ricky Nelson, then all of sixteen, performs his recently-recorded version of Fats Domino's "I'm Walkin'" -- done to impress a date -- on his family's TV sitcom, ABC's The Adventures Of Ozzie And Harriet. The record sells half a million copies in the next week alone.

1958: Chuck Willis, who had suffered from stomach ulcers for many years, died during surgery in Chicago of peritonitis while at the peak of his career.

1958: Bobby Darin recorded "Splish Splash" & "Queen Of The Hop"

1961: Del Shannon is the guest on ABC-TV's American Bandstand, singing his recent breakthrough hit, "Runaway."

1961: Bob Dylan played his first live gig in New York City at Gerde's Folk City, opening for John Lee Hooker.

1962: Stuart Sutcliffe, The original Bass player for The Beatles, died of a brain hemorrhage.

1964: The Beatles set a new chart record when they had 14 songs on the Billboard Hot 100. The songs ranged from ‘Can't Buy Me Love’ at No.1 to ‘Love Me Do’ at No. 81.

1965: A public school in Wrexham, North Wales, asks parents to make sure children attend in school uniforms after Rolling Stones fans at the school begin showing up in "corduroy trousers" like their heroes.

1967: The song "Somethin' Stupid" became the first father-daughter song to hit No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart. The song was performed by Nancy and Frank Sinatra.

1968: Bill Kreutzmann invites Mickey Hart to join the Grateful Dead as its second drummer.

1970: Paul McCartney makes the Beatles' secret breakup public by issuing a press release to announce that he has left the group, done in the form of a fake interview: "Q: Is your break with the Beatles temporary or permanent, due to personal differences or musical ones? PAUL: Personal differences, business differences, musical differences, but most of all because I have a better time with my family. Temporary or permanent? I don't really know." John Lennon is furious, especially since the breakup, already agreed upon by the group, was announced just one week prior to the British release of McCartney's first solo album. When a reporter tracks down Lennon for his thoughts, he replies, "Paul hasn't left. I sacked him."

1970: Keith Emerson of the Nice, Greg Lake of King Crimson, and Carl Palmer of Atomic Rooster join forces to form Emerson, Lake and Palmer.

1970: Peter Green quit Fleetwood Mac while on tour in Germany, to avoid breach of contract he agreed to finish the current tour.

1970: At one of the band's last concerts, in Boston, Doors frontman Jim Morrison asks the audience if they'd like to see something of his "that rhymes with 'sock,'" and then, more bluntly, screaming "Would you like to see my genitals?" The power in the stadium is switched off, and keyboardist Ray Manzarek pulls the singer, already facing similar charges from a Miami gig, off the stage.

1972: Isaac Hayes won an Oscar for the Best Music, Original Song award for the song "Shaft".

1973: The Beach Boys appeared at the Omni Coliseum in Atlanta, Georgia. The Beach Boys were at a very low ebb in popularity in America and this show proved a financial disaster for the promoter, with less than 3,000 tickets sold for the 16,000 capacity venue. Opening act was Mothers Finest and middle of the bill was Bruce Springsteen who played a 60-minute set.

1976: Peter Frampton's LP Frampton Comes Alive! hits #1.  It stayed on the charts for 97 weeks.

1976: Stevie Wonder is featured in an ad in today's edition of Down Beat Magazine, edorsing the Mu-Tron III effects pedal, which uses synthesizer envelopes to create a wah effect for guitar. Wonder had used the pedal on his 1973 smash "Higher Ground."

1978: Aretha Franklin marries her second husband, actor Glynn Turman, in New York City. The Four Tops sing Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely" at the ceremony.

1981: Eddie Van Halen married actress Valerie Bertinelli, co-star of the 1980's television hit, One Day at a Time. The two had met eight months earlier when Bertinelli's brother took her to a Van Halen concert in Shreveport, Louisiana.

1991:  Donnie Wahlberg (New Kids on the Block) agreed to tape public service announcements warning against doing drugs, driving drunk, and starting fires. The deal was an exchange for having arson charges against him reduced by a Louisville, KY, judge.

1999: The all-star tribute concert Here There and Everywhere: A Concert For Linda is held at London's Royal Albert Hall, where Paul McCartney, George Michael, Chrissie Hynde, Elvis Costello and Sinead O'Connor raise money for animal charities while remembering Paul's wife Linda, who has recently succumbed to breast cancer.

2002: South Carolina Governor James Hodges makes it official by declaring James Brown the state's "Godfather Of Soul."

2003: Little Eva continued performing until she was diagnosed with cervical cancer in October 2001. She died on this day in Kinston, North Carolina, aged 59, and is buried in a small cemetery in Belhaven, North Carolina.

2003: Three gunmen shot at a convoy of cars, one of which carried Snoop Dogg.

2006: A member of Eminem's rap collective D12 was killed in a nightclub shooting in Detroit after an argument broke out at the CCC nightclub. Proof, (real name Deshaun Holton), was shot at a club on Eight Mile Road, made famous in Eminem's autobiographical film 8 Mile. Holton was a longtime friend of Eminem and was the rappers best man at his wedding in January of this year.

2007: Johnny Cash's last residence, a 14,000-square-foot house in Hendersonville, TN, burns to the ground. It had been purchased after Cash's death by Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, and planned for renovation.

April 9

Birthdays

1932:  Carl Perkins (Singer & Guitarist)

1944:  Gene Parsons (Drummer for The Byrds)

1961:  Mark Kelly (Keyboards for Marillion)

1977:  Gerard Way (Vocals  for My Chemical Romance)

1980:  Albert Hammond Jr (Guitar for The Strokes,)

1987:  Jesse McCartney (Singer)

2000: Jackie Evancho (Singer)

Events

1956: Gene Vincent recorded the classic rock 'n roll song 'Be Bop-A-Lula', which went on to be a US & UK Top 20 hit in this year.

1965: Bruce Johnston joined the Beach Boys as the permanent replacement for Brian Wilson.

1965: The Rolling Stones appeared on UK TV show Ready Steady Go!

1966: Jeff Beck collapsed on stage during a Yardbirds gig in Marseilles, France.

1966: The Righteous Brothers started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'You're My Soul And Inspiration'.

1966: Percy Sledge's "When A Man Loves A Woman" was released.

1967: The Doors and The Jefferson Airplane appeared at Cheetah, Santa Monica Pier, Venice, California. This was the largest show The Doors had played to date with a crowd of over 3,000.

1970: Paul McCartney announces official split of Beatles.

1970: Pink Floyd kicked off their second North American tour at The Fillmore East, Manhattan, New York City.

1973: Newly signed to EMI Records, Queen played a showcase gig for their new record label at the Marquee Club, London.

1974: The Jackson 5 played the first of 15 shows at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas.

1976: American folk singer songwriter Phil Ochs, hung himself at his sisters home in Queens, New York.

1977: Abba went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Dancing Queen', the group's 7th US Top 40 hit and first No.1.

1981: The Sam Goody record chain and a top company executive were convicted of trafficking pirated tapes.

1983: David Bowie was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with the title track from his latest album 'Let's Dance', his fourth UK No.1 and featuring blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. A US No.1 hit, it was Bowie’s first single to reach number one on both sides of the Atlantic.

1988: Dave Prater of soul duo Sam & Dave was killed when his car left the road and hit a tree in Syracuse, Georgia, on his way to his mother's house in Ocilla. He was 50.

1988: American singer and songwriter Brook Benton died aged 56. Scored over 20 US top 40 singles, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, he scored hits such as ‘It's Just A Matter Of Time’ and ‘Endlessly’, and made a comeback in 1974 when he had the No.4 hit 'Rainy Night In Georgia.'

1988: Billy Ocean started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car'.

1989: Rolling Stone Bill Wyman announced his forthcoming marriage to 19-year old Mandy Smith. He revealed the couple had been dating for six years.

1990: World's largest bunny hop at Radio City Music Hall.

1991: Record producer Martin Hannett died. He worked with many Manchester acts including The Smiths, New Order, Joy Division, Happy Mondays, Magazine as well as U2 and The Psychedelic Furs.

1994: Pantera entered the US album chart at No.1 with 'Far Beyond Driven'.

1994: R. Kelly started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Bump N' Grind', his first US No.1.

1994: Singer Wayne Newton (52) weds attorney Kathleen McCrone (30).

1997: Songwriter Mae Boren Axton died aged 82 after drowning in her bath at her home in Hendersonville, Tennessee after an apparent heart attack. Known as the 'Queen Mother of Nashville' she wrote over 200 songs including a co-writing credit on the Elvis Presley hit 'Heartbreak Hotel'. Mother of country singer, songwriter Hoyt Axton.

1997: A&M Records issued a press release stating that the members of Soundgarden have mutually and amicably decided to disband.

2000: Craig David went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Fill Me In'. At 18 years 11 months he became the youngest UK male solo artist to write and sing a UK No.1.

2000: Moby started a five-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with 'Play'. The album went on to spend 81 weeks on the chart.

2000: NSYNC started a seven week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘No Strings Attached’ the Boybands first US No.1.

2002: Eminem agreed to pay $100,000 minus attorney's fees to a man who had filed a civil lawsuit against him for allegedly hitting him in the head and face with an unloaded handgun. The man, John Guerra, had kissed Eminem's wife Kim.

2003, Paul McCartney played his first Manchester show in 24 years when he appeared at the MEN Arena as part of the UK leg on the 'Back In The World Tour 2003.'

2004, A man was arrested for allegedly stalking Avril Lavigne. James Speedy, 30, from Seattle, Washington, was arrested after police searched his home, he was later released on $5,000 bail. Mr. Speedy had been under investigation since last summer for allegedly sending harassing letters and e-mails to the 19-year-old singer. He was later charged with stalking the singer.

2007: Country and western singer Tanya Tucker was sued by her manicurist for $300,000 over claims the star's dog attacked and injured her. Danielle Hobbs stated in court papers that she was bitten by Bella at the singer's Nashville home and also claimed that the alleged attack, had left her with painful and disfiguring scars on her leg. She stated that Tucker's assistant told her the dogs were "just babies" and said "they will not hurt you".

2009: Randy Cain, a founding member of US soul group The Delfonics died at his home in Maple Shade, New Jersey at the age of 63.

2009: Bay City Rollers manager Tam Paton died in the bath at his Edinburgh home of a suspected heart attack. The 70-year-old, who had suffered two previous heart attacks and a stroke in recent years, was found dead in his luxury mansion. Paton had made millions through the success of the band in the 1970s, but was a far more controversial figure in recent years. He was convicted of sex offences against two boys aged 16 and 17 in 1982, and was convicted of drug dealing in 2004 after $40,000 worth of cannabis was found at his home, but was cleared on appeal.

April 8

Birthdays

1941: J.J. Jackson (Soul Singer)

1947: Steve Howe (Guitarist for Yes, Asia & GTR)

1962: Izzy Stradlin (Guitar for Guns N' Roses)

1963: Julian Lennon (Son of John Lennon and Singer)

1963: Donita Sparks (Guitar & vocals for L7)

1971: Darren Jessee (Drums for Ben Folds Five)

1984: Ezra Koenig (Singer & Guitarist for Vampire Weekend)

Events

1956: The Johnny Burnette Trio makes its TV debut, performing "Train Kept A-Rollin'" on ABC's Ted Mack's Amateur Hour. They will appear two more times on the show, but never win.

1963: John Lennon and wife Cynthia are the proud parents of their first child, Julian, who would go on to have several hits of his own in the '80s and '90s.

1964: The Supremes recorded "Where Did Our Love Go" at Motown Studios in Detroit. The song would become the first of their five US number one singles.

1966: The Beatles recorded "Got To Get You Into My Life".

1967: In a move that will have enormous implications for England and soul music, Stax makes its first European stop on its promotional tour, with Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Booker T. and the MGs, Eddie Floyd, and Arthur Conley performing at London's Hammersmith Odeon.

1968: Petula Clark's first (and only) TV special, entitled simply Petula, airs on NBC, featuring guest star Harry Belafonte performing a duet on an antiwar song she'd written called "On The Path Of Glory." During taping, Clark had reached out to touch Belafonte's arm in a spontaneous gesture, causing the show's sponsor Chrysler to protest, fearing the interracial contact would upset viewers in the American south. As a result, the show is infamous even before it airs: Petula and the show's executive producer, her husband Claude Wolff, respond to the pressure by having all other takes of the duet destroyed so that the gesture would have to be aired. It was, historically, the first interracial contact to be broadcast on American television.

1969: Neil Diamond becomes the first performer to sell out the Forum in Los Angeles for nine nights consecutively.

1971: Chicago becomes the first rock group to play Carnegie Hall, in a concert that will be immortalized on their hefty four-disc fourth album.

1972: Written after the 'Bloody Sunday Massacre', in Northern Ireland Paul McCartney and Wings released 'Give Ireland Back To The Irish.' The song was banned by the BBC and the IBA. It peaked at No.16 in the UK and No.21 in the US.

1975: Aerosmith released the Album "Toys in the Attic".

1977: The Damned played at the home of the New York punk scene CBGBS, the first UK Punk group to play live dates in the USA.

1977: In Britain, The Clash's self-titled debut album was released.

1978: Eddie Money's "Baby Hold On" enters the charts.  His 1^st Single.

1979: Van Halen began their first world tour.

1982: New Order's bass player Peter Hook was knocked unconscious during a riot at a gig in Rotterdam.

1985: American songwriter J Fred Coots died aged 87. Co-wrote, 'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town' and the Pat Boone US No.1 hit 'Love Letters In The Sand.' He wrote over 700 songs.

1988: R.E.M. left IRS Records and signed with Warner Brothers records.

1989: For the first time in its 33-year history, ABC's legendary dance show American Bandstand moves to the USA network, replacing longtime host Dick Clark with newcomer David Hirsch. The show would be canceled for good six months later.

1989: Lol Tolhurst, keyboardist and founding member of the Cure, left the band.

1989: Roxette went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'The Look', the duo's first US No.1.

1994: Electrician Gary Smith who was working at Kurt Cobain's house in Seattle discovered Cobain's body lying on the floor in the greenhouse. Local radio station KXRX broke the news at 9.40am that the Nirvana singer and guitarist was dead. A shotgun was found next to Cobain's body. A suicide note was found that said, "I haven't felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music, along with really writing . . . for too many years now". A high concentration of heroin and traces of Valium were also found in Cobain’s body.

1994: The Recording Industry Association of America announced that Pink Floyd's 1973 album Dark Side of the Moon had become the fourth biggest-selling album in US history and had passed the 13 million mark in sales. The album has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide.

1997: American singer, songwriter Laura Nyro died from ovarian cancer.

1998: Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood and 11 other passengers are stranded in a boat off the coast of Brazil when its engine catches fire. A boat of nearby journalists, fortunately, rescues the stranded boaters just minutes before the burning engine causes the craft to explode.

1998: Tommy Lee (Motley Crue) was jailed for 6 months after breaking a probation order.

2002: Marilyn Manson denied claims that he was responsible for the death of a woman after a party at his mansion in 2001. Jennifer Syme, a former girlfriend of actor Keanu Reeves, died when her Jeep Cherokee hit three parked cars. Her mother, Maria St John, was suing the singer for wrongful death, claiming Manson was negligent in "instructing the woman to operate a motor vehicle in her incapacitated condition

2003: NBC airs the concert special Cher: The Farewell Tour.

2008: Babyshambles frontman Pete Doherty was jailed for 14 weeks for violating his probation and for using drugs. Doherty had been given a suspended jail sentence for possession of drugs and driving illegally in October 2007. The singers supervision order had required him to make regular visits to court for progress reports, as well as take part in a drug rehabilitation programme but he missed one appointment with his probation team and had been late for another. The sentence forced Doherty to cancel his biggest gig to date at the Royal Albert Hall scheduled for later this month

2009: Mayor of Camden, NJ Gwendolyn Faison renames Mulford Street as Leon Huff Way in honor of the city's native son, legendary songwriter and founder of Philadelphia International Records.

2010: Malcolm McLaren former manager of the Sex Pistols, the New York Dolls and Bow Wow Wow died from cancer aged 64. As a solo artist he scored the 1983 UK No.3 single 'Double Dutch'. He set up the fashion store Let It Rock in the late 60's with Vivienne Westwood selling rubber and fetish gear.