1956 – Elvis Presley started a three-day run playing 10 shows at the Paramount Theater in Atlanta, Georgia. The stage manager was told; “Pull all white lights. Presley works all in color, Presley act has no encore. When he leaves the stage, immediately close curtains.”
1963 – 13-year old Stevie Wonder first entered the US singles chart as Little Stevie Wonder with ‘Fingertips Parts One and Two.’ ‘Fingertips’ which featured a young Marvin Gaye on drums was the first live, non-studio recording to reach No.1 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in the United States since Johnny Standley’s 1952 comic monologue ‘It’s in the Book’.
1964 – The Beatles played their first ever show in New Zealand at Wellington Town Hall. The local Chief Constable refused a police escort for The Beatles leaving just two policemen to control over 5,000 fans.
1968 – The Otis Redding album Dock Of The Bay went to No.1 in the UK. The posthumously released album, and his sixth studio album contained a number of singles and B-sides dating back to 1965 and one of his best known songs, the posthumous hit (Sittin’ On The Dock) Of The Bay.
1973 – David Bowie released the single ‘Life On Mars’, which peaked at No.3 on the UK chart. The track which was first released in 1971 on the album Hunky Dory, features guest piano work by Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman. The line “Look at those cavemen go” is a reference to the song “Alley Oop,” a one-off hit in 1960 for American doo-wop band The Hollywood Argyles.
1992 – Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain was rushed to hospital after a gig in Belfast, Northern Ireland suffering from acute stomach pains brought on by ulcers.
