On this day in 1980: Genesis fans turning up at the Roxy Club box office in Los Angeles to buy tickets for a forthcoming gig on May 25, 1980, were surprised to find the band members Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford selling the tickets themselves. Here’s the gig they were selling tickets for: […]
Tag: 1980
This Day In 80s Music, May 22nd
On this day in 1980: U2 kicked off their 23 date ’11 O’Clock Tick Tock’ tour at The Hope & Anchor in London. Here’s the band on the tour in Belfast: On this day in 1982: Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder started their second of SEVEN weeks at #1 on the U.S. singles chart with […]
This Day In 80s Music, May 9th
On this day in 1980: ‘I Don’t Like Mondays’ by The Boomtown Rats won the best pop song and outstanding British lyric categories at the 25th Ivor Novello Awards. Boomtown Rats lead singer Bob Geldof was inspired to write the song after reading about the tragic shooting spree when 16-year-old Brenda Spencer killed two people […]
This Day In 80s Music, May 3rd
On this day in 1980: Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band started a six week run at #1 on the U.S. album chart with ‘Against The Wind’. Also on this day in 1980: Blondie started their third of six weeks at #1 on the U.S. singles chart with ‘Call Me.’ On this day in […]
This Day In 80s Music, May 1st
On this day in 1980: The South African government banned Pink Floyd’s single ‘Another Brick In the Wall (Part 2)’ after black children adopted the song as their anthem in protest against inferior education in their country. On this day in 1982: Joan Jett & The Blackhearts were starting their SEVENTH and final week at #1 on […]
This Day In 80s Music, April 30th
On this day in 1980: The film ‘McVicar’ with Roger Daltrey from The Who in the title role premiered in London, England. John McVicar was a 1960s armed robber turned writer who Scotland Yard publicly announced to be Public Enemy Number One and “wanted dead or alive”. On this day in 1983: Michael Jackson started a […]
This Day In 80s Music, April 29th
On this day in 1980: Black Sabbath began their first tour with vocalist Ronnie James Dio, who had replaced Ozzy Osbourne. On this day in 1989: Madonna started her second of three weeks at #1 on the U.S. singles chart with “Like A Prayer.” It would be ranked the #25 song for the entire year […]
This Day In 80s Music, April 28th
On this day in 1980: Marshall Tucker Band bass player Tommy Caldwell died of injuries from a car accident at age 30 in his hometown of Spartanburg, South Carolina. Caldwell was the original front man for the Marshall Tucker Band between 1973 and 1980. On this day in 1984: Phil Collins was starting his second […]
This Day In 80s Music, April 20th
On this day in 1980: 84 year old George Burns, who starred in the movie ‘Oh God’ with John Denver, became the oldest person to have a hit on the Billboard Hot 100 when ‘I Wish I Was 18 Again’ peaked at #49. When asked if he wished he were 18 again, Burns replied “I […]
This Day In 80s Music, April 19th
On this day in 1980: R.E.M. played their first gig as R.E.M. at the 11:11 Koffee Club, Athens, Georgia to 150 people. The show ended at 2am when police closed it down due to the venue being unlicensed. Here’s a concert clip from R.E.M. from early 1981: Also on this day in 1980: For the […]