ON THIS DAY IN MUSIC

September 13th

1963 - Graham Nash

Graham Nash fell out of The Hollies van after a gig in Scotland. Nash checked to see if the door was locked, it wasn't and he fell out as it travelled at 40 m.p.h.

1964 - The Rolling Stones

During a UK tour two dozen rugby players were hired as 'a human crash barrier' at a Rolling Stones gig at the Liverpool Empire. The 'human chain' disappeared under a wave of 5,000 fans as the Stones took to the stage.

1965 - Paul McCartney

The Paul McCartney song 'Yesterday' was released as a Beatles single in the US. McCartney's vocal and acoustic guitar together with a string quartet essentially made for the first solo performance of the band. The final recording was so different from other works by The Beatles that the band members vetoed the release of the song as a single in the United Kingdom. (However, it was issued as a single there in 1976.)

1967 - The Beatles

The Beatles formed an electronics company called Fiftyshapes, Ltd. appointing John Alexis Mardas (Magic Alex) to be the company's director. Alex claimed he could build a 72-track tape machine, instead of the 4-track at Abbey Road (this never materialised). One of his more outrageous plans was to replace the acoustic baffles around Ringo Starr's drums with an invisible sonic force field. George Harrison later said that employing Mardas was "the biggest disaster of all time."

1969 - John Lennon

John Lennon & Yoko Ono flew to Canada to perform at the Rock & Roll Revival Show in Toronto, Canada. The band members Eric Clapton, Klaus Voormann and drummer Alan White were put together so late that they had to rehearse on the plane from England. Also making an appearance at the concert were Chuck Berry, Gene Vincent, Bo Diddley, The Doors and Alice Cooper. Lennon later released his performance as the Live Peace in Toronto 1969 album.

1969 - Rugby Rag Blues Festival

The first day of the 3 day Rugby Rag Blues Festival in Warwickshire, England a largely forgotten festival with Alexis Korner, Pink Floyd, The Nice, Taste, Free, Third Ear Band, Ralph McTell, The Groundhogs, Roy Harper, King Crimson, The Strawbs, Edgar Broughton Band, Spirit of John Morgan and John Martyn, tickets from 12/6.

Another three day extravaganza, this one seems to have been totally forgotten, yet it had almost as big a line up as the 69 Bath festival and featured many of the same bands. However, once again , it RAINED almost continuously 

1985 - MTV Video Music Awards

'We Are The World' won Best Group Video and the Viewer's Choice at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York. Don Henley's 'The Boys Of Summer' video won four trophies, including Best Video. Bruce Springsteen's 'I'm On Fire' gets the nod for Best Male Video and Tina Turner won Best Female Video for 'What's Love Got To Do With It'.

1986 - Communards

The Communards were at No.1 on the UK with the singles chart with 'Don't Leave Me This Way', which had been a hit for Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes in 1975 and later a hit for Thelma Houston.

1987 - Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson started a five-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with 'Bad', his follow up to the Thriller album It stayed at No.1 on the US chart for six weeks.

1991 - Nirvana

Geffen Records threw a party to launch Nirvana's single 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'. The band ended up being thrown out of their own party after starting a food fight.

1996 - Tupac

American rapper Tupac Amaru Shakur died after being shot six days earlier when he was driving through Las Vegas. 13 bullets were fired into his BMW. The incident was blamed on East and West Coast Gang wars. Shakur was a convicted sex offender, guilty of sexual abuse. After serving eleven months of his 4.5 year sentence he was released from prison on an appeal financed by Marion "Suge" Knight, the CEO of Death Row Records.

1997 - Verve

The Verve scored their first and only UK No.1 single with 'The Drugs Don't Work', taken from their third album, Urban Hymns. The track became the band's most successful single in the United Kingdom.

2000 - Elton John

Elton John threw a tantrum when he was set to appear at a sell-out show at the Estoril Casino near Lisbon. Elton was unhappy after the audience were slow in leaving a VIP dinner before the concert, Elton left the building and flew home on his private jet without playing a note.

2005 - Jimi Hendrix

The home where Jimi Hendrix grew up in Seattle was saved from demolition after a new location was agreed at the last minute. The James Marshall Hendrix Foundation and the City of Seattle agreed to renovate the building into a community centre opposite the cemetery where the guitarist was buried in 1970.

2005 - Sex Pistols

The Sex Pistols were among new names added to a celebrity Walk of Fame in Covent Garden London. Other musical celebrities to immortalised on the Avenue of the Stars include Bob Geldof, Tom Jones, Gracie Fields and Bob Hope.

2009 - Vera Lynn

Vera Lynn went to No.1 on the UK album chart with 'We'll Meet Again: The Very Best of Vera Lynn'. At the age of 92 it made her the oldest living artist to achieve this feat with an album. The previous oldest living artist to top the charts was Bob Dylan, who at 67 saw his album 'Together Through Life' become number one in the UK earlier this year.

2010 - George Michael

George Michael was sent to jail for eight weeks after being convicted of driving under the influence of drugs and possessing cannabis in Hampstead, north London last July. He smiled in disbelief as the sentence was passed and he was led away to the cells.

2013 - Morrissey

Morrissey halted plans to release his autobiography, three days before it was due to be published. The memoirs were set to give details about the 54-year-old's life growing up in Manchester and his relationship with former songwriting partner Johnny Marr. But a statement on his fan website said there had been a "last minute content disagreement" with its publisher. The book was published the following month.

1977 - Fiona Apple

Fiona Apple, US singer, songwriter, (1996 album 'Tidal').

1965 - Zak Starkey

Zak Starkey, drummer, (son of Ringo). Formed his own band The Face and has worked most notably with The Who, but also with Oasis, Johnny Marr and the Spencer Davis Group.

1952 - Don Was

American musician, record producer and record executive Don Was, of the 1980s pop group group Was Not Was, who had the 1992 UK No.4 single 'Shake Your Head'. Was has worked with many artists including Iggy Pop, The B-52s, Jackson Browne, The Rolling Stones, Kris Kristofferson and John Mayer. Equally interesting what is largely acknowledged as Dylan's worst album 'Under a Red Sky' with the notorious mono-syllabic 'Wiggle wiggle' and following on from the universally acclaimed previousl release as Bob return to blistering form with 89's Oh Mercy' expectations were high but Was blames himself and says he was totally out of his depth and if he had been Dylan he would have said 'don't let that guy anywhere near me ever again'!