THIS DAY IN MUSIC

April 18th: On this Day

1953, Frankie Laine was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'I Believe.' The single stayed at No.1 for nine weeks. Laine holds the record for most (non-consecutive) weeks at No.1 than any other single in three chart runs with a total of 18 weeks.

1964, The Beatles appeared on the UK TV comedy program The Morecambe and Wise Show, playing ‘This Boy’, ‘All My Loving’, and ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ and also participate in comedy sketches with Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise. The Beatles also held the UK and US No.1 position on this day with 'Can't Buy Me Love'.

1968, During a European tour, Pink Floyd played 2 shows at the Piper Club, in Rome, Italy.

1970, Steel Mill, (featuring Bruce Springsteen) played in the Main Gym at Ocean County College in New Jersey. Tickets cost $2.00.

1972, The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Amazing Grace.' The single enjoyed a five-week run at No.1.

1975, Four Bay City Rollers fans were taken to hospital and 35 others required on site treatment after they attempted to swim across a lake to meet their heroes. The group were making an appearance at a BBC Radio 1 fun day at Mallory Park.

1981, This year's Eurovision Song contest winners Bucks Fizz were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their first No.1 single 'Making Your Mind Up.'

1984, Michael Jackson underwent surgery in a Los Angeles hospital to repair damage done after his hair caught fire during the filming of a Pepsi commercial.

1985, Wham! Became the first-ever Western pop act to have an album released in China.

1987, Aretha Franklin and George Michael started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'I Knew You Were Waiting' also a No.1 in the UK. Aretha Franklin set a record for the artist with the longest gap between US No.1 singles, it had been 19 years, 10 months from her last hit 'Respect' in June 1967.

1987, On the first leg of their Joshua Tree tour, U2 played the second of five nights at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in California.

1987,

1992, Def Leppard started a five-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Adrenalize.'

1992, Annie Lennox went to No.1 on the UK album chart with her debut solo release 'Diva.'

1992, Right Said Fred had their first and only UK No.1 single with 'Deeply Dippy' ('I'm Too Sexy' and 'Don't Talk Just Kiss' both made the Top 3).

1995, Oasis drummer Tony McCarrol was told by phone that he was being sacked from the group. McCarrol sued the Manchester group for millions in unpaid royalties and in 1996 Oasis agreed to pay him a one-off sum of £550,000 ($935,000).

1996, Bernard Edwards bass guitarist and producer from Chic, died of pneumonia in a Tokyo Hotel room while touring Japan. Also worked with ABC, Power Station, Sister Sledge, Sheila and B. Devotion, Diana Ross, Johnny Mathis, Debbie Harry, Air Supply, and Rod Stewart.

2000, Four Monkee look-alikes were signed to play the 60's pop legends in a TV movie about the group's meteoric rise. The film called 'Daydream Believers' was set to start filming in Toronto.

2003, It was reported that the British share of the most played tracks on UK radio had fallen from 60% to 30% in the past five years. The chart from 2002 had only three UK acts in the Top 10, Sugababes, Blue and Liberty X. The most played single from 2002 was Kylie Minogue's 'Love At First Sight' which had a total of 48,486 plays on UK stations

2004, R&B singer from New York Eamon started a four week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Fuck It, (I Don't Want You Back)' his debut single. The song earned a listing on the Guinness World Record for "the most expletives in a No.1 song", with 33.

2005, Reebok pulled a UK TV ad featuring 50 Cent after a mother whose son was shot dead complained it glamorised gun crime. Lucy Cope, from London went to the Advertising Standards Authority about the campaign featuring the US rapper. The ASA had been investigating 54 other complaints from viewers over a reference to the rapper having been shot nine times.

2006, A sale of clothes belonging to Sir Elton John raised more than $700,000 (£395,000) for the singer's Aids charity. Over 10,000 pieces were sold during a five-day sale in New York City at the specially-created shop, Elton's Closet, at New York's Rockefeller Centre.

2006, A line from U2's 1992 hit 'One' was voted the UK's favourite song lyric after in a poll of 13,000 people by music channel VH1. The line "One life, with each other, sisters, brothers" came top. The Smiths lyric "So you go, and you stand on your own, and you leave on your own, and you go home, and you cry, and you want to die" from the song 'How Soon is Now' came second in the poll, followed by "I feel stupid and contagious, here we are now, entertain us", from Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' which was voted into third place.

2009, The Black Eyes Peas started a 12 week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Boom Boom Pow'. The single was knocked off the No.1 position by the bands next single 'I Gotta Feeling'.

2009, Keith Urban went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'Defying Gravity', the Australian singers fifth studio album.

2012, An original and extremely rare 1963 mono copy of The Beatles ‘Please Please Me’ album, signed by the Fab Four, sold on an eBay auction for nearly $25,000. Paul McCartney and John Lennon both signed their names with “love” in royal blue ink whereas George Harrison and Ringo Starr signed their names in midnight blue ink. The autographs were signed in May of 1963.

2013, Storm Thorgerson, whose album cover artwork includes Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of The Moon died aged 69. A childhood friend of the founding members of the band, he became their designer-in-chief. His credits also include albums by Led Zeppelin, Peter Gabriel and Muse. In 2003, Thorgerson suffered a stroke, from which he recovered. He was later diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer, which he battled for several years.

2015, Green Day was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a part of the 2015 class, in their first year of eligibility.

April 18th: Born on this day

1935, Born on this day, Paul A. Rothchild, American record producer, worked with The Doors, ('Break on Through (To the Other Side)', 'Light My Fire', 'People Are Strange'), Janis Joplin, (No.1 album Pearl and her only No.1 single, 'Me and Bobby McGee'). Crosby, Stills, & Nash, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Love. Rothchild died March 30, 1995.

1939, Born on this day, Glen D.Hardin, The Crickets, (1957 US No.1 single 'That 'll Be The Day', 1959 UK No.1 single 'It Doesn't Matter Anymore'. Plus over 15 other UK top 40 singles).

1942, Born on this day, Mike Vickers, Manfred Mann, (1964 UK & US No.1 single 'Do Wah Diddy Diddy').

1944, Born on this day, Skip Spence, Moby Grape, Jefferson Airplane, (1967 US No.18 single 'White Rabbit'). He died on 16th April 1999.

1958, Born on this day, Andy Kyriacou, Modern Romance, (1982 UK No.4 single 'Best years of our lives').

1958, Born on this day, Les Pattinson, Echo And The Bunnymen, (1983 UK No.8 single 'The Cutter').

1962, Born on this day, Shirlie Holliman, singer, who sang with Wham! on their 1982 UK No.3 single 'Young Guns, (Go For It') and was a member of Pepsi & Shirlie. Married to Martin Kemp of Spandau Ballet.

1964, Born on this day, Mark 'Bez' Berry, Happy Mondays, (1990 UK No.5 single 'Step On'), Black Grape, (1995 UK No.8 single 'In The Name Of The Father').

1970, Born on this day, Greg Eklund, drums, Everclear, (2000 UK No.36 single 'Wonderful', 1997 album, 'So Much For The Afterglow').

1974, Born on this day, Mark Tremonti, Creed, (2001 US No.1 & UK No.13 single 'With Arms Wide Open', 2002 US No.1 album, 'Weathered').