On this day in 1983: The Pretenders bass player Pete Farndon died from a drug overdose. He was fired from the group on June 14th 1982, (two days before Pretenders guitarist James Honeyman-Scott was found dead of heart failure). Farndon was in the midst of forming a new band with former Clash drummer Topper Headon […]
Category: Charlie’s 80s Blog
This Day In Music, April 13th
On this day in 1986: Falco’s three week run at #1 on the U.S. singles chart came to an end. The single became the only German language song to peak at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 when it hit #1 on March 29, 1986. It topped the singles charts on both sides of the Atlantic. […]
This Day In Music, April 12th
On this day in 1984: Kenny Loggins was enjoying his third and final week on top of the U.S. singles charts with “Footloose” the title track to the motion picture. “Footloose” would lose its #1 spot to another motion picture theme song, “Against All Odds” by Phil Collins on April 14, 1984. “Footloose” is ranked […]
This Day In Music, April 11th
On this day in 1981: Eddie Van Halen married actress Valerie Bertinelli, co-star of the 1980s 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.
This Day In Music, April 10th
On this day in 1982: Iron Maiden scored their first UK #1 album with The Number Of The Beast. The band’s third studio album saw the debut of vocalist Bruce Dickinson and the final appearance of the late drummer Clive Burr. This was their first album to reach #1 on the UK Albums Chart, and […]
This Day In Music, April 9th
On this day in 1980: Pink Floyd was enjoying its fourth and final week at #1 on the U.S. singles charts with “Another Brick In the Wall (Part 2).” It was ranked the 384th best song of all time by Rolling Stone Magazine on their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. “Another Brick In […]
This Day In Music, April 8th
On this day in 1981: Hall & Oates were enjoying their first of three consecutive weeks at #1 on the U.S. singles chart with “Kiss On My List.” The duo would lose their #1 spot on May 2, 1981 to “Morning Train” by Sheena Easton. “Kiss On My List” is ranked the #7 song of […]
This Day In Music, April 7th
On this day in 1981: Bruce Springsteen & The E. Street Band kicked off their first full-scale tour in Hamburg, Germany. This was Springsteen’s first tour outside North America, which would take in 10 countries. On this day in 1985: Wham! became the first western pop group to perform live in China, when they played […]
This Day In Music, April 6th
On this day in 1982: Joan Jett was enjoying her 3rd consecutive week at the #1 spot on the U.S. singles chart with “I Love Rock ‘n Roll.” The song would stay on the top of the chart for four more weeks for a total of seven weeks. “I Love Rock ‘n Roll” would finish […]
This Day In Music, April 5th
On this day in 1980: R.E.M. played their first ever gig when they appeared at St Mary’s Episcopal Church, Athens, Georgia. On this day in 1985: At 3:50pm GMT, over 5,000 radio stations worldwide aired the charity single by USA for Africa ‘We Are The World’. The single went on to be a #1 in […]