THIS DAY IN MUSIC

August 17th: On this Day

1955, Elvis Presley released what would become his first No.1 hit, 'I Forgot to Remember to Forget / Mystery Train'. It hit the top of the country charts several months later and stayed there for 5 weeks.

1960, The Beatles began their first Hamburg engagement at the Indra Club, Grosse Freiheit, Hamburg, West Germany, playing the first of 48 nights at the Club. The owner, Bruno Koschmider, asked The Beatles to "Mach Shau", or really put on a show, which led to the band screaming, shouting, and leaping about the stage and sometimes playing lying on the floor. John Lennon once appeared wearing only his underwear and on another occasion, wearing a toilet seat around his neck. The Beatles lodged in a single room behind the screen of a nearby movie house.

1964, Glasgow council in Scotland announced that all boys and men with Beatle styled haircuts would have to wear bathing caps after a committee was told that hair from 'Beatle-cuts' was clogging the pools filters.

1965, The Byrds were forced to cancel a concert during their UK tour at The Guildhall, Portsmouth when only 250 of the 4,000 tickets had been sold.

1968, The Doors started a four-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with Waiting For The Sun. The group's third album spawned their second US No.1 single, 'Hello, I Love You'.

1968, The Rascals (formally the Young Rascals), started a five week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'People Got To Be Free'. The group had thirteen US top 40 hits.

1969, The final day of the 3 day Woodstock Festival took place at Max Yasgur's farm in Bethel, New York. Acts who appeared included Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Ten Years After, John Sebastian, Sha Na Na, Joe Cocker, Country Joe and the Fish, The Band, Ten Years After, Johnny Winter and Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Over 186,000 tickets had been sold but on the first day the flimsy fences and ticket barriers had come down. Organisers announced the concert would be a free event, prompting thousands more to head for the concert.

1973, Former Temptations singer Paul Williams was found dead in his car, after shooting himself. He owed $80000 in taxes and his celebrity boutique business had failed.

1974, Eric Clapton started a four-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with '461 Ocean Boulevard', a No.3 hit in the UK. The house featured on the album cover is 461 Ocean Boulevard in the town of Golden Beach, Florida near Miami where Clapton lived while making the album.

1979, The New York Post reported that Anita Pallenberg (the wife of Keith Richards) was linked to a witches coven in South Salem, New York where Richards owned a house. A policeman claimed he was attacked by a flock of black-hooded, caped people and a local youth claimed he had been invited by Pallenburg to take part in ‘pot smoking sex orgies’. Locals also claimed they found ‘ritualistic stakes’ and small animals that had been ‘sacrificed’ near the house.

1987, Session drummer Gary Chester died of cancer. He had been a member of The Coasters and played on many major hits for other acts including: 'Brown Eyed Girl' 'Under The Boardwalk' 'Walk On By', 'It's My Party.'

1991, Nirvana shot the video for 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'  at GMT Studios in Culver City, California, costing less than $50,000 to make, the shoot features real Nirvana fans as the audience. The video won Nirvana the Best New Artist and Best Alternative Group awards at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards, and in 2000 the Guinness World Records named 'Teen Spirit' the Most Played Video on MTV Europe.

1995, Depeche Mode singer Dave Gahan was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre after an apparent suicide attempt. Police had found him at his Los Angeles home with a two-inch laceration on his wrist.

1999, Former Bay City Rollers drummer Derek Longmuir appeared at the Edinburgh Sheriff Court accused of child porn and drugs offences. Longmuir, 48, denied the charges. He was later sentenced to 300 hours community service.

1999, Led Zeppelin topped a chart of Britain's most bootlegged musicians, compiled by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), after identifying 384 bootleg titles featuring Led Zeppelin performances. The bootleg chart was complied from the BPI's archive of some 10,000 recordings seized over the past 25 years. The Beatlescame in second with 320 entries, other acts listed included The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Pink Floyd.

1999,

2002, Darius was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Colourblind'. The third "Pop Idol" finalist to get a number one. He'd originally lost out on "Popstars", failing to get a place in the group Hear'Say, and then came third in "Pop Idol".

2004, A report showed how touts were now using eBay to sell tickets for sold-out concerts. It said the touts were not breaking the law by using auction sites on the internet, it showed tickets for Madonna's Wembley gig worth £150 were for sale at £350 and a pair of tickets to see The White Stripes worth £90 were currently on eBay for £130.

2008, Jackson Browne was suing US Republican presidential candidate John McCain for using one of his songs without permission. Browne claimed the use of his song Running on Empty in an advert was an infringement of copyright and would lead people to conclude he endorses McCain. Browne was seeking more than $75,000 (£40,000) in damages.

2009, An arrest warrant was issued for singer Bobby Brown after he failed to appear at a court hearing involving child maintenance payments. Judge Christina Harms ordered Mr Brown, to be arrested next time he was in the state of Massachusetts. The singer had allegedly fallen $45,000 (£27,500) behind in payments for two teenage children he had with former girlfriend Kim Ward.

2009, A thief in New Zealand took the unusual step of leaving his contact details at the site of his crime. The man reserved a copy of Pink Floyd's The Wall at a record shop in Christchurch, leaving his name and phone number, before robbing the till. He was a regular customer at the shop and already had several records on order.

2012, Three members of the Russian feminist punk rock protest group Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years imprisonment after they had staged a performance on the soleas of Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior in a protest directed at the Orthodox Church leader's support for President Putin during his election campaign.

August 17th: Born on this day

1944, Born on this day, John Seiter, Spanky And Our Gang, (1967 US No.9 single 'Sunday Will Never Be The Same Again').

1947, Born on this day, Gary Talley guitar, The Box Tops, (1967 US No.1 & UK No.5 single 'The Letter').

1949, Born on this day, Sib Hashian, drums, Boston, (1977 UK No.22 single 'More Than A Feeling', 1986 US No.1 single 'Amanda').

1953, Born on this day, Kevin Rowland, singer, Dexy's Midnight Runners, (1982 UK No.1 & 1983 US No.1 single 'Come On Eileen'). Solo 1986 UK No.13 single 'Because Of You').

1955, Born on this day, Colin Moulding, bass, XTC, (1982 UK No.10 single 'Senses Working Overtime').

1958, Born on this day, Belinda Carlisle, singer, The Go-Go's, (1982 US No.2 single 'We Got The Beat', 1982 UK No.47 single 'Our Lips Are Sealed') and solo, (1987 US & UK No.1 single 'Heaven Is A Place On Earth').

1962, Born on this day, Gilby Clarke, guitarist, spent 3 years as the rhythm guitarist of Guns N' Roses replacing Izzy Stradlin in November 1991.

1964, Born on this day, Maria Mckee, singer, Lone Justice (1987 UK No.45 single 'I Found Out'), solo, (1990 UK No.1 single 'Show Me Heaven').

1965, Born on this day, Steve Gorman, drums, The Black Crowes, (1991 UK No.39 single 'Hard To Handle', 1992 US No.1 & UK No.2 album 'The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion').

1966, Born on this day, Jill Cunniff, Luscious Jackson, singer, (1997 UK No.25 single 'Naked Eye').

1969, Born on this day, Donnie Wahlberg, New Kids On The Block, (1989 UK No.1 single 'You Got It, The Right Stuff', 1990 US No.1 single 'Step By Step')

1969, Born on this day, Kelvin Mercer, De La Soul, (1990 UK No.7 single 'The Magic Number').

1977, Born on this day, Claire Richards, vocals, Steps, (1998 UK No.1 single 'Heartbeat, Tragedy').

1979, Born on this day, Mike Lewis, guitarist, Lostprophets, (2004 UK No.8 single ‘Last Train Home’, 2006 UK No.1 album ‘Liberation Transmission’).