1958 : Eddie Cochran recorded the classic song, ‘C’mon Everybody’, which became a 1959 UK No.6 single for Cochran and a 1979 hit for The Sex Pistols.

1961 : Ray Charles started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Hit The Road Jack’, it reached No.6 on the UK chart.

1962 : The BBC refuses to play the Bobby “Boris” Pickett Halloween hit Monster Mash on grounds that it is too morbid and tasteless.

1964 : The Beach Boys recorded ‘Dance Dance Dance’, with Glen Campbell playing the lead guitar intro. It would go on to become their twelfth US Top 40 hit.

1964 : The Rolling Stones cancel an upcoming South African tour when the British Musicians Union declares an embargo of the country due to their apartheid polices.

1965 : The Beatles started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with the Paul McCartney ballad ‘Yesterday’, giving the group their tenth US No.1. The track was not released as a single in the UK until 1976.

1965 : The Miracles’ “My Girl Has Gone” enters the charts

1967 : Doc Severinsen, already a member of the house band on NBC-TV’s Tonight Show, replaces Skitch Henderson as its leader.

1969 : BBC’s Top Of The Pops refuses to play the Number One hit in the country for the first time. The song, Serge Gainsbourg’s “Je T’Aime Moi Non Plus,” is considered one of the first “orgasm records,” that is, one of the first to feature heavy female breathing and moaning. A small record company, Major Minor, bought the rights and saw the song climb to the top of the charts, the first French language song to ever do so.

1971 : Rod Stewart was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Maggie May’, (first released as a B side to ‘Reason To Believe’). The first of six UK No.1’s for Stewart, spent five weeks at the top of the chart.

1971 : The Who played a small, low-key show at the University of Surrey, Guildford, with guest John Sebastian joining in on harmonica on ‘Magic Bus’ ‘ the only outside musician ever to jam with The Who on stage. Backstage, the group celebrated John Entwistle’s 27th birthday.

1973 : Elvis Presley and Priscilla divorced after six years of marriage. Priscilla was awarded property, $725,000 cash and $4,200 a month support.

1973 : Paul Simon’s Loves Me Like A Rock is certified gold

1975 : Sean Taro Ono Lennon was born, the only child of John Lennon by Yoko Ono. John Lennon retired from music for five years to become a house-husband. Sean went on to become a singer, songwriter, musician and actor.

1976 : The Sex Pistols signed to EMI records for $68,000. The contract was terminated three months later with the label stopping production of the ‘Anarchy In The UK’ single and deleting it from its catalogue. EMI later issued a statement saying it felt unable to promote The Sex Pistols records in view of the adverse publicity generated over the last few months.

1976 : One hit wonders Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘A Fifth Of Beethoven’, it made No.28 in the UK.

1978 : Belgian singer songwriter Jacques Brel died of cancer aged 49. Artists who recorded his songs include, Ray Charles, Scott Walker, Alex Harvey, Frank Sinatra, Dusty Springfield, David Bowie, Nina Simone and Terry Jacks.

1981 : During a North American tour The Rolling Stones played the first of two nights at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. Support act was Prince, who dressed in his controversial bikini briefs and trench coat ran off stage after 15 minutes due to the crowd booing and throwing beer cans at him.

1984 : The extraordinarily popular children’s show Thomas The Tank Engine And Friends begins its run on BBC-TV, featuring a narrator by the name of Ringo Starr.

1984 : No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: I Just Called To Say I Love You by Stevie Wonder. The song from the Gene Wilder film The Woman in Red wins an Academy Award.

1985 : Marking what would have been John Lennon’s 45th birthday, Yoko Ono formally opened the three and a half acre garden at the Strawberry Fields site in New York’s Central Park. The area was planted with trees, shrubs and flowers gathered from across the world and with a $1m donation from Yoko.

1987 : Released on this day, Bruce Springsteen – “Tunnel Of Love” LP

1988 : Cliff Gallup guitarist with Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps died of a heart attack. (1956 US No. 7 & UK No. 16 single ‘Be Bop A Lula’).

1990 : All four members of The Stone Roses were each fined £3,000 after being found guilty of criminal damage at their former record companies offices.

1993 : Nirvana entered the US album chart at No.1 with ‘In Utero’, their third and final studio album. Kurt Cobain had originally wanted to name the album ‘I Hate Myself and I Want to Die.’

1999 : Eurythmics, George Michael, David Bowie, Robbie Williams and Bono all appeared at ‘Netaid’ an event to raise money for global poverty. The concerts in London, New York and Geneva were all broadcast live on the internet.

2000 : On what would have been John Lennon’s 60th birthday, the book Lennon Remembers, The Complete Rolling Stone Interviews is released, containing material too controversial to publish years earlier.

2001 : U2 frontman Bono, R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe, and electronica maven Moby make unannounced appearances in New York, at the second of two anti-violence benefit concerts organized by the Beastie Boys.

2001 : A man wrecked a $300,000 sports car owned by hip-hop star Missy Elliott after losing control of the 550-horsepower vehicle and crashed into a traffic sign and a tree. Joseph Johnson had taken the Lamborghini Diablo away from the garage where it was stored without permission for a late night spin. He was later sentenced to three years in jail and ordered to pay $170,000 for the car and $1,975 for curb repairs at the site of the accident.

2003 : Ambrose Kappos, 37, of New York, was charged with three counts of stalking and harassing singer Sheryl Crow. He was arrested after being accused of sneaking into New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom then trying to get into Crow’s limousine when she left the venue. Mr Kappos’ brother said he was harmless but “infatuated” with the singer.

2006 : The Bad Brains kick off a three-night residency at CBGB’s, during the famed music venue’s last week of operation. Celebrities spotted in the crowd include Ric Ocasek, Paulina Porizkova, Richard Hell, and Elijah Wood.

2007 : The Imagine Peace Tower was officially unveiled in Kollafjorour Bay near Reykjav’k, Iceland. The memorial to John Lennon from his widow, Yoko Ono, consists of a tall “tower of light”, projected from a white stone monument that has the words “Imagine Peace” carved into it in 24 languages.

2008 : Paul McCartney, (a vegetarian for 30 years), was said to be furious when he heard that a Liverpool branch of McDonald’s restaurant displayed his picture, accusing them of using it to attract customers. Sir Paul was quoted as saying “What sort of morons do McDonald’s think Beatles fans are?”