On 17th February 1978 Catherine Bush, a.k.a. Kate Bush released her debut album, ‘The Kick Inside’. It included her UK number one single “Wuthering Heights” which had been issued a few weeks before. With that song, she became the first female singer-songwriter ever to top the UK singles chart. She was still only 19 years old at that point and many of her songs had been written in her early teens. She remains one of my all-time favourite artists.
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On February 15th, 1977 bass player Glen Matlock was fired by the Sex Pistols to be replaced by John Beverly a.k.a. Sid Vicious.
On the same day in 2013, music legend and still going strong at 82 years old Chubby Checker took out a huge, $500,000 lawsuit against Hewlett-Packard for including an app on its phones and tablets that was not only named after the then 71-year-old musician but measured a man’s manhood based on his shoe size. Incidentally, I am a UK size 11 and probably proof that there is no link between shoe size and manhood measurement! Checker (a.k.a. Ernest Evans) settled the case the following year. HP denied liability in agreeing to settle with the singer but did agree not to make future use of his stage name, likeness, or related trademarks.
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February 12th has been a busy day in music history and therefore this is possibly the longest title of any post I have ever done before. So let’s start with February 12th, 1992 the KLF took to the stage at the Brit Awards to perform their hit “3 a.m. Eternal”, but not in its original dance classic form, but wonderfully supported by ace thrash metallers Extreme Noise Terror. The highlight of the performance featured Bill Drummond strafing the audience with a machine gun, obviously, no one was hurt and no real bullets were used. It was later announced that “The KLF have left the music business“. Later Drummond and Cauty dumped a dead sheep with the message: “I died for ewe – bon appetit” tied around its waist at the entrance to one of the post-ceremony parties. The KLF remains one of my favourite acts from the 1990s.
On 12th February 2009 a nude photo of Madonna taken in 1979 a little while before she became famous, was sold at auction for $37,500. The monochrome shot was taken when Madonna was a 20-year-old dancer trying to make ends meet in New York.
As far as I know, Bono has not worn lingerie, well not in public at least. Anyway on 12th February 1997 U2 held a press conference in the Lingerie Department at the Greenwich Village Kmart store in Manhattan, New York City, to announce their Pop Mart world tour, which began in Las Vegas in April 1997. This is kind of interesting as the big U2 show at the moment is in the Sphere in Las Vegas.
Just over two years after his death on 12th February 2005 Clash frontman Joe Strummer had a train named after him. It was the Class 47 locomotive 47828 and it was made official at a ceremony in Bristol. It is a diesel train, owned by Cotswold Rail.
John Lennon became the first Beatle to appear on BBC’s Top Of The Pops show since 1966 when he performed “Instant Karma” on 12th February 1970. In 1970, John Lennon performed “Instant Karma!” with the Plastic Ono Band. The tune is one of the fastest-released songs in pop music history. Lennon wrote, recorded, and mixed the single in one session and released it within ten days. It also became the first solo single by a member of The Beatles to sell a million copies in the USA.
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On February 9th, 1998 at the Brits Awards ceremony, Chumbawamba singer Danbert Nobacon threw a plastic bucket full of cold water over UK Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. Where has that kind of protest gone? I miss them!
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On 5th February 2016 a newly discovered species of Black Tarantula living near Folsom Prison, California was named after the late, great Johnny Cash. It was named Aphonopelma johnnycashi and was one of fourteen new tarantula species from the southern US which were described by biologists in the journal ZooKeys. Getting bitten by one of them would “Hurt”, right? Would the spider bite you “One Piece At A Time”?
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On 4th February 2024, Alice Cooper (formerly Vincent Furnier) turns 76. The first Alice Cooper album came out when Mr and Mrs Furnier’s son was 21. He had previously released some singles as a teenager in The Spiders (nothing to do with Bowie) and Nazz. On Alice’s 32nd birthday, the iconic New York Disco Studio 54 had to close down following its owners, Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, being convicted of tax evasion. Schrager eventually received a presidential pardon. The final night, February 4th, 1980, featured performances from Liza Minelli and Diana Ross. The building that housed Studio 54 had originally been designed as an opera house in 1927.
Alice Cooper partying with Jean Stapleton (Edith Bunker) at Studio 54
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On January 26th, 1975, the Alan Yentob-directed documentary of David Bowie’s weird travels and travails in America was shown on BBC TV in the UK. It was filmed when Bowie was at the height of his cocaine addiction and magnified his paranoia and probably very fragile mental state. But, for me and many Bowie fans, it remains one of the best documentaries about the former David Robert Jones ever. Another piece of Bowie’s history took place on that date but in 1967. It was the day that he began recording one of his best-loved tunes, “The Laughing Gnome”. 😉
Meanwhile, on January 26th, 1961, Elvis Presley was number one in the UK singles chart with his sixth UK chart-topper, “Are You Lonesome Tonight”. It also hit number 2 in the UK when it was reissued in 2005. It was an old song written in 1926 by Roy Turk and Lou Handman. The Blue Barron Orchestra took the song to the US Billboard Top 20 in 1950. Apparently, Elvis recorded the song following a suggestion made by his manager Colonel Tom Parker. Marie Mott, Parker’s wife had said it was one of her favourite songs. Posting this piece also gives me a chance to once again share the laughing version of “Are You Lonesome Tonight”
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On this day, 24th January 2005, country singer Lynn Anderson was caught stealing a Harry Potter DVD from a Taos, New Mexico supermarket and arrested. She punched a police officer during the arrest process. She was charged with shoplifting, resisting arrest, and assault on a police officer. The assault charge was later dropped and so was the shoplifting charge. However, the latter was conditional on her not committing any further offences. She was 57 at the time and had a drinking problem. Thirty-five years earlier she had a huge hit with “(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden” a song written by Joe South. Sadly Lynn passed away in 2015. Incidentally “Rose Garden” was a favorite of my Mum and Dad. Anderson was a hugely successful recording artist and in her younger years won several equestrian events.
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On 19th January 1980, the first independent record charts were published in the UK. Those charts became a huge success and all the “inkies” used to include them in their publication every week. On that first week 44 years ago “Where’s Captain Kirk? by Spizzenergi was the best-selling indie single and a pre-fame Adams and the Ants had the number one indie album with ‘Dirk Wears White Sox’. I still love that album!
To be included in the indie chart, a record had to be distributed independently of the major record companies’ corporate framework; the music genre was irrelevant. This is why “Save Your Love” by Renée and Renato made it to number one in the indie charts in December 1982 and Black Lace was atop of the Indie charts in August 1984 with “Agadoo”. Strangely those two never seem to appear on Indie compilations, do they?
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On this day, 12th January 1955, even before I was born, should and blues legend Etta James released her version of “The Wallflower” (Roll With Me Henry)” (sometimes titled “Dance With Me Henry”, and took it to the top of the US R&B Charts. It is a classic 12 bar blues song and one of many recorded as “answer” songs to Hank Ballard’s “Work With Me, Annie” released in 1954. Obviously, Etta’s song is about dancing…..right? Or maybe it is a tad more sexual than that. Many radio stations in the USA deemed it far too risque to play. Which is an awful shame, because it really is a great song!
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