2002: Armed police arrested an international gang who were planning to kidnap former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham and her two young children. The gang had planned to ransom Victoria for £5m.
2007: Ozzy Osbourne claimed his reputation had been tarnished after a party supposedly involving him was organized by US police officers to round up missing criminal suspects. Over 500 people in North Dakota with outstanding arrest warrants were sent invitations and more than 30 suspects turned up. Osbourne said it was “insulting” that his name had been used but police argued it was a “creative” way to fight crime. Ozzy had been selected because he was due to play a gig in a nearby arena, which was used to explain why he would supposedly have attending the party.
2014: Acker Bilk, the clarinet player, passed away at the age of 85. Bilk’s 1962 instrumental tune ‘Stranger on the Shore’ became the UK’s biggest selling single of 1962. It was in the UK charts for more than 50 weeks, peaked at No.2, and was the first No.1 single in the United States by a British artist in the era of the modern Billboard Hot 100 pop chart.
2016: Taylor Swift was the highest-paid woman in music, according to Forbes’ annual list, having earned more than double her nearest competitor, Adele. The 26-year-old pop star had amassed earnings of $170m over the past year, mainly thanks to a world tour named after her recent 1989 album.
2018: The widow of Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell was suing his doctor, accusing him of overprescribing drugs that ultimately led to his death in 2017. Vicki Cornell alleged that Dr Robert Koblin “negligently and repeatedly” prescribed the singer “dangerous mind-altering controlled substances.” Cornell was found in a Detroit hotel room and his death was ruled a suicide.
