1967 – John Lennon
The Beatles spent a second day at Knole Park, Sevenoaks, Kent, England to complete filming for the ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ promotional video. The film was shot in colour, for the benefit of the US market, since UK television was still broadcasting only in black and white. Taking time out from filming John Lennon bought a 1843 poster from an antiques shop in Surrey which provided him with most the lyrics for The Beatles song ‘Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite’.
1969 – Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin played the first of two nights at The Fillmore East, New York City during the band’s first North American tour. Porter’s Popular Preachers opened the night, then Led Zeppelin took the stage. It is alleged that Zeppelin’s show was so powerful and got such an enthusiastic audience that headliners Iron Butterfly refused to follow them.
1976 – Abba
ABBA knocked Queen from the UK No.1 position on the UK singles chart with ‘Mamma Mia.’ Queen’s single ‘Bohemian Rhapsody‘ had enjoyed a nine week run at the top of the charts, by coincidence, Queen’s single contains the famous “mamma mia, mamma mia, mamma mia let me go” line.
1987 – Paul Simon
Paul Simon went back to No.1 on the UK album chart with Graceland, (the album stayed on the chart for a total 101 weeks). ‘Graceland’ later won the 1987 Grammy Award for Album of the Year, while the title song won the 1988 Grammy Award for Record of the Year.
2007 – Jim Morrison
Jim Morrison was enlisted to help fight global warming more than 35 years after his death. ‘Woman in the Window’, a previously unreleased poem written and recorded by The Doors frontman shortly before he died in 1971 was being set to music and used to publicise the Global Cool campaign.
2009 – David Gilmour
David Gilmour appeared at Coldfall Primary School, Muswell Hill, London, during a charity show with The Seat Of The Pants Band. The black-tie dinner dance, at which Bob Hoskins, Suggs from Madness and comedian Les Dennis also appeared, raised over £50,000 for a cancer charity.
American businesswoman, composer and songwriter Anna Gordy Gaye died three days after her 92nd birthday. An elder sister of Motown founder Berry Gordy, she became a record executive in the mid-to-late 1950s distributing records released on Checker and Gone Records before forming the Anna label. Gordy later became known as a songwriter for several hits including the Originals’ ‘Baby, I’m for Real’, and two songs on Marvin Gaye‘s What’s Going On album. The first wife of Gaye, their turbulent marriage later served as inspiration for Gaye’s album, Here, My Dear.
