| 1960s British Rock & Pop Chronology |
| 1961 |
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| 3 | Washington: Eisenhower breaks relations with Cuba | ||
| 5 | Cliff Richard and the Shadows: "I Love You" [continues as RR #1] | ||
| Liverpool, Litherland Town Hall: Paul McCartney takes over the duties of playing bass with the Beatles. | |||
| 7 | Melody Maker: Chris Barber sacks Monty Sunshine from his band | ||
| 12 | Johnny Tillotson: "Poetry in Motion" [RR #1 for 2 weeks] | ||
| The King Brothers: "Doll House" [Parlophone, charts, RR #21] Peter Sellers and Sophia Loren: "Bangers and Mash" [Parlophone R 4724, charts, RR #22] |
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| 19 | Billy
Fury: "A Thousand Stars" [Decca F 11311, charts, RR #14] Russ Conway: "Pepe" [Columbia DB 4564, charts, RR #19] |
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| 21 | London: A Taste of Honey reopens at the Theatre Royal, moving to the Wyndham Theatre within a month | ||
| 26 | Elvis Presley: "Are You Lonesome Tonight" [RR #1 for 4 weeks] | ||
| Petula Clark: "Sailor" [Pye 7N 15324, charts, RR #1] Marty Wilde: "Rubber Ball" [Philips PB 1101, charts, RR #9] Anne Shelton: "Sailor" [Philips PB 1096, charts, RR #10] Joe Brown: "Shine" [Pye 7N 15322, charts, RR #33] |
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| 28 | Manchester: Melody Maker Jazz Weekend begins featuring Chris Barber and Acker Bilk | ||
| Melody Maker: Southern Music forms Meridian Music to promote British songs | |||
| Other January Artifacts | |||
| Lonnie Donegan: "(Bury Me) Beneath the Willow" / "Leave My Woman Alone" [no chart action] | |||
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| 1 | London: Increase in pay rate for session musicians from £6 to £7 for a 3-hour recording session | ||
| 9 | Adam
Faith: "Who Am I?" / "This is It" [Parlophone R 4735, charts, RR #5] The Shadows: "F.B.I." [Columbia DB 4580, charts, RR #6] |
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| Liverpool: The Beatles play their first engagement as the Beatles in the Cavern Club for a lunchtime crowd. | |||
| 16 | Melody Maker: The BBC's entry for the International Festival of Television Arts and Sciences is the "Black and White Minstrel Show;" many are outraged by the "bad taste" | ||
| 23 | Petula Clark: "Sailor" [RR #1 for 1 week] | ||
| The Allisons: "Are You Sure" [Fontana H 294, charts, RR #2] Johnny Dankworth: "African Waltz" [Columbia DB 4590, charts, RR #9] Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen: "Samantha" [Pye Jazz Today 7NJ 2040, charts, RR #13] |
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| 2 | The Everly Brothers: "Walk Right Back" / "Ebony Eyes" [RR #1 for 3 weeks] | ||
| Cliff Richard and the Shadows: "Theme for a Dream" [Columbia DB 4593;
charts, RR #3] The King Brothers: "76 Trombones" [Parlophone R 4737, charts, RR #19] |
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| 6 | London: George Formby dies | ||
| 9 | Matt Monro: "My Kind of Girl" [Parlophone R 4755, charts, RR #5] Mike Preston: "Marry Me" [Decca F 11335, charts, RR #14] Krew-Kats: "Trambone" [HMV POP 840, charts, RR #33] |
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| 11 | Melody Maker: "BBC Bans Grieg 'Rock'" [Groups — Nero and the Gladiators with guitarist, Joe Moretti — may not do rock versions of the classics, in this case, In the Hall of the Mountain King.] | ||
| 16 | Anthony
Newley: "And the Heavens Cried" [Decca F 11331, charts, RR #6] Craig Douglas: "A Hundred Pounds of Clay" [Top Rank JAR 555, charts, UK #9] |
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| 23 | Elvis Presley: "Wooden Heart" [RR #1 for 6 weeks] | ||
| Helen Shapiro: "Don't Treat Me Like a Child" [Columbia DB 4589, charts, RR #3] | |||
| 24 | Johnny Kidd and the Pirates: "Linda Lu" / "Let's Talk About Us" [HMV POP 853, release] | ||
| 30 | Temperence
Seven: "You're Driving Me Crazy" [Parlophone R 4757, charts; RR #1] Cliff Richard and the Shadows: "Gee Whiz, It's You" [Columbia DC 756, charts, RR #4] |
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| Other March Artifacts | |||
| Johannesburg: South Africa withdraws from Commonwealth | |||
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| 1 | ABC-TV. Thank Your Lucky Stars: Pete Murray (host) with The Dallas Boys, Hughie Green, and Anne Shelton. | ||
| 3 | Trafalgar Square, London: The "Nuclear Eight" perform at demonstration (including Johnny Chilton, John Picard, John Armitage, Bruce Turner, Alan Elsdon, Vic Bartonc, Johnny Barnes, Johnny Burton, and Diz Disley) | ||
| 8 | ABC-TV. Thank Your Lucky Stars: Pete Murray (host) with Jess Conrad, Benny Hill, and Dickie Valentine. | ||
| 12 | Baikonur Cosmodrome, Tyuratam, Kazaksthan, USSR: Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man to fly in space, orbiting the earth once before making a safe landing | ||
| 15 | ABC-TV. Thank Your Lucky Stars: Keith Fordyce (host) with Petula Clark, Michael Holliday, and Mark Wynter. | ||
| Cuba: Airfields bombed | |||
| 17 | Bay of Pigs, Cuba: an invasion by expatriot Cubans attempted and ultimately fails | ||
| 20 | Craig Douglas: "A Hundred Pounds of Clay" [Top Rank JAR 555, charts, RR #9] | ||
| 22 | ABC-TV. Thank Your Lucky Stars: Pete Murray (host) with The Beverley Sisters, Craig Douglas, Billy Fury, Anita Scott, and Danny Williams. | ||
| 27 | Adam Faith: "Easy Going Me" [Parlophone R 4708, charts, RR #12] Billy Fury: "Don't Worry" [Decca F 11334, charts, RR #40] |
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| 29 | ABC-TV. Thank Your Lucky Stars: Pete Murray (host) with Jeanie Lambe, Johnnie Lee, Mike Preston, The Allisons, and Marty Wilde. | ||
| Other April Artifacts | |||
| London: Pye launches their Piccadilly subsidiary | |||
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| 2 | Bolton: A fire in a basement jazz club kills 19 | ||
| 4 | The Marcels: "Blue Moon" [RR #1 for 2 weeks] | ||
| Washington: Two busloads of Freedom Riders leave for a tour of Southern states to protest segregation at bus stations. | |||
| 5 | Florida: Alan Shepard returns safely after a brief suborbital flight | ||
| 6 | ABC-TV. Thank Your Lucky Stars: Pete Murray (host) with Adam Faith, Susan Grey, Englebert Humperdinck, The John Barry Seven, Ken Jones, and Matt Monro. | ||
| 11 | The
Shadows: "Frightened City" [Columbia DB 4637, charts, RR #3] Billy Fury: "Halfway to Paradise" [Decca F 11349, charts, RR #3] Shirley Bassey: "You'll Never Know" [Columbia DB 4643, charts, RR #6] Lonnie Donegan: "Have a Drink on Me" [Pye 7N 15354, charts, RR #8]/"Seven Daffodils" Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen: "I Still Love You All" [Pye Jazz 7NJ 2042, charts, RR #24] |
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| Washington: President Kennedy orders additional forces to South Vietnam | |||
| 13 | ABC-TV. Thank Your Lucky Stars: Keith Fordyce (host) with Patti Brooks, The Clyde Valley Stompers, Alma Cogan, Emile Ford, Jimmy Justice, Gary Marshal, and Gene Vincent. | ||
| 17 | NYC:
DJ Peter Trip found guilty of 35 counts of commercial bribery Montgomery, Alabama: The first Freedom Riders end their trip after attacks and the burning of one of the buses (on the 14th) |
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| 18 | Floyd Cramer: "On the Rebound" [RR #1 for 1 week] | ||
| Matt Monro: "Why Not Now" / "Can This Be Love" [Parlophone R 4775, charts, RR #24] | |||
| London:
Richard Rogers attends the opening of The Sound of Music at the
Palace Theatre London: Lionel Bart opens his own publishing company, Apollo Music [164 Shaftesbury] |
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| 20 | ABC-TV. Thank Your Lucky Stars: Pete Murray (host) with The Brook Brothers, Pearl Carr, Russ Conway, Teddy Johnson, Julie Rayne, and The Shadows. | ||
| 25 | The Temperance Seven: "You're Driving Me Crazy" [RR #1 for 1 week] | ||
| Temperence Seven: "You're Driving Me Crazy" [RR #1 for 1 week] Danny Williams: "We Will Never Be As Young As This Again" [HMV POP 839, charts; RR #44] Russ Conway: "Pablo" [Columbia DB 4649, charts, RR #45] |
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| US: John Kennedy declares the US will put a man on the moon by the end of the decade | |||
| 26 | London: Fire at Ember Records destroys tape collection | ||
| 27 | Melody Maker: Police are no longer allowing musicians to congregate on Archer Street on Mondays between 2:00 and 5:30 P.M. | ||
| ABC-TV. Thank Your Lucky Stars: Pete Murray (host) with George Chisholm, Ronnie Hilton, Audrey Jeans, Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, Cleo Laine, and The Springfields. | |||
| 28 | The Observer, London: Peter Berenson publishishes "The Forgotten Prisoners" describing "prisoners of conscience" and establishing Amnesty International. | ||
| 31 | South Africa: Becomes an independent republic | ||
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| 1 | Elvis Presley: "Surrender" [RR #1 for 4 weeks] | ||
| Eden Kane: "Well, I Ask You" [Decca F 11353, charts, RR #1] | |||
| 3 | ABC-TV. Thank Your Lucky Stars: Pete Murray (host) with Shirley Bassey, Billie Laine, and The Temperance Seven. | ||
| 3-4 | Vienna: John Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev summit | ||
| 6 | Zurich, Switzerland: Psychologist Carl Gustav Jung (85) dies in Kuessnacht on Lake Lucerne | ||
| 10 | Melody Maker: Frank Sinatra never records before 8 P.M. | ||
| ABC-TV. Thank Your Lucky Stars: Pete Murray (host) with Ivor Emmanuel, Lance Fortune, Gary Miller, Dudley Moore, Valerie Mountain, and Norrie Paramor. | |||
| 13 | Berlin: Workers demonstrate against Soviet occupation | ||
| 15 | Temperence
Seven: "Pasadena" [Parlophone R 4781, charts, RR #4] Anthony Newley: "Pop Goes the Weasel" / "Bee Bom" [Decca F 11362, charts, RR #12] |
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| 17 | ABC-TV. Thank Your Lucky Stars: Pete Murray (host) with Petula Clark, Alma Cogan, Tommy Cooper, Freddie Earlle, Alan Freeman, Michael Holliday, The Kaye Sisters, Jeanie Lambe, The Mudlarks, The Temperance Seven, Helen Shapiro, and Jimmy Young. | ||
| 22-23 | Hamburg, West Germany: The Beatles accompany Tony Sheridan in a recording session for producer, Bert Kaempfert (Lewisohn 1992: 42). | ||
| 22 | Cliff
Richard and the Shadows: "A Girl Like You" [Columbia DB 4667, charts,
RR #3] Karl Denver: "Marcheta" [Decca F 11360, charts, RR #8] |
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| 25 | London: Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger open a folk club in Soho Square | ||
| 29 | Del Shannon: "Runaway" [RR #1 for 3 weeks] | ||
| Helen Shapiro: "You Don't Know" [Columbia DB 4670, charts, RR #1] Craig Douglas: "Time" [Top Rank JAR 569, charts, RR #9] |
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| 2 | Ketchum, Idaho: Ernest Hemingway commits suicide at home | ||
| 6 | Danny Williams: "The Miracle of You" [HMV POP 885, charts, RR #41] | ||
| Liverpool: Bill Harry publishes the first issue of Mersey Beat with John Lennon's On The Dubious Origins Of Beatles, Translated From the John Lennon. 5,000 copies sell, including a dozen at Brian Epstein's NEMS. | |||
| 8 | London:
Center of Sound opens at 12 Denmark Street Melody Maker: James Baring becomes the manager of Regent Sound Ltd., 4 Denmark Street, London WC2 |
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| 13 | Mr. Acker Bilk and His Paramount Jazz Band: "That's My Home" [Columbia DB 4673, charts, RR #7] | ||
| 20 | The Everly Brothers: "Temptation" [RR #1 for 2 weeks] | ||
| Adam Faith: "Don't You Know It" [Parlophone R 4735, charts, RR #12] | |||
| Liverpool: Bill Harry publishes the second issue of Mersey Beat with the cover feature on the Beatles recording with Tony Sheridan. Brian Epstein buys twelve-dozen copies for sale in his store. | |||
| 21 | Florida: Captain Virgil "Gus" Grissom safely returns after a sub-orbital flight around the Earth | ||
| 25 | Washington: John Kennedy reports to the nation on Khrushchev's demanded surrender of Berlin | ||
| 26 | Paris: MPs introduce legislation to ban rock concerts | ||
| 27 | Shirley
Bassey: "Reach for the Stars" / "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" [Columbia DB 4685,
charts, RR #1] Marty Wilde: "Hide and Seek" [Philips PB 1161, charts, RR #47] |
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| 29 | Beaulieu: Beaulieu Jazz Festival ends in riots | ||
| Other July Artifacts | |||
| Macmillan applies to the EEC for UK membership | |||
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| 3 | Eden Kane: "Well, I Ask You" [RR #1 for 1 week] | ||
| John Leyton: "Johnny Remember Me" [Top Rank JAR 577, charts, RR #1] Anthony Newley: "What Kind of Fool Am I?" [Decca F 11376, charts, RR #36] |
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| 10 | Helen Shapiro: "You Don't Know" [RR #1 for 3 weeks] | ||
| 12 | Berlin: 2,400 flee from East to West Berlin | ||
| 13 | Berlin: East Germany seals the border between the city's eastern and western sectors to halt the flight of refugees | ||
| 15 | Berlin: East Germany begins construction of a wall to isolate their part of the city | ||
| 17 | Tommy Steele: "Writing On the Wall" [Decca F 11372, charts, RR #30 — his last charting single] | ||
| 19 | Melody Maker: The Board of Trade reports that record sales are up 15% over the previous year | ||
| 24 | Rus Conway: "Say It with Flowers" [Columbia DB 4665, charts, RR #23] | ||
| 31 | John Leyton: "Johnny Remember Me" [RR #1 for 1 week] | ||
| Lonnie Donegan: "Michael Row the Boat" / "Lumbered" [Pye 7N 15371, charts;
RR #6] Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen: "Someday" [Pye Jazz 7NJ 2047, charts, RR #28] |
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| 1 | Soho, London: The Flamingo Club celebrates its ninth anniversary | ||
| 7 | The Shadows: "Kon Tiki" [Columnbia DB 4637, charts, RR #1] The Highwaymen: "Michael" [HMV POP 910, charts, RR #1] Billy Fury: "Jealousy" [Decca F 11384, charts, RR #2] Terry Lightfoot and His New Orleans Jazzmen: "True Love" [Columbia DB 4696; charts; RR #33] |
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| 9 | ABC-TV. Thank Your Lucky Stars: Brian Batthew and Keith Fordyce (hosts) with Mario Fabrizi, Harry Fowler, Kenny Lynch, Eden Kane, Shani Wallis,and Kent Walton | ||
| 14 | Cleo Laine: "You'll Answer to Me" [Fontana H 326, charts, RR #5] Eden Kane: "Get Lost" [Decca F 11381, charts, RR #10] |
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| 16 | ABC-TV. Thank Your Lucky Stars: Brian Matthew and Keith Fordyce (hosts) with Don Arroll, Patti Brooks, Clinton Ford, David Gell, Valerie Masters, David McBeth, Al Saxon, and The Viscounts. | ||
| 21 | Shirley Bassey: "Reach for the Stars" / "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" [RR #1 for 1 week] | ||
| London: Dick James opens his own music publishing company, Suite 2, Charing Cross Road, WC2 | |||
| 23 | ABC-TV. Thank Your Lucky Stars: Brian Matthew and Keith Fordyce (hosts) with The Brook Brothers, Kenny Clayton, Donna Douglas, Ted Heath and His Music, Cleo Laine, John Leyton, and Pete Murray. | ||
| 28 | John Leyton: "Johnny Remember Me" [RR #1 for 3 weeks] | ||
| Helen Shapiro: "Walkin' Back to Happiness" [Columbia DB 4715, charts, RR #1] | |||
| 30 | Paris: Formation of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (beginnings of a movement for a "United States of Europe") | ||
| ABC-TV. Thank Your Lucky Stars: Brian Matthew and Keith Fordyce (hosts) with Sam Costa, Carol Deene, Adam Faith, Billy Fury, Matt Monro, Big Jim Sullivan, and The Tony Osborne Orchestra. | |||
| Other July Artifacts | |||
| William Grimshaw Secondary Modern School, Muswell Hill, London: The Ray Davies Quartet forms. | |||
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| 5 | The Shadows: "Kon Tiki" [RR #1 for 1 week] | ||
| John Leyton: "Wild Wind" [Top Rank JAR 585, charts, RR #2] | |||
| 6 | London: Brian Bennett replaces Tony Meehan in the Shadows | ||
| ABC-TV. Thank Your Lucky Stars: Brian Matthew and Keith Fordyce (hosts) with Barry Alldis, Bill Bonney, Karl Denver, The Mudlarks, Cliff Richard & The Shadows, Helen Shapiro, Shane Fenton and the Fentones (including Tony Hinchcliffe, and Jerry Wilcock). | |||
| 12 | The Highwaymen: "Michael" [RR #1 for 1 week] | ||
| 14 | ABC-TV. Thank Your Lucky Stars: Brian Matthew and Keith Fordyce (hosts) with Jess Conrad, Ivory Joe Hunter, Dennis Lotis, Ray Orchard, Oliver Reed, The Allisons, The Vernons Girls, and Bert Weedon. | ||
| 19 | Helen Shapiro: "Walkin' Back to Happiness" [RR #1 for 3 weeks] | ||
| Cliff Richard and the Shadows: "When the Girl in Your Arms Is the Girl
in Your Heart" [Columbia DB 4716, charts, RR #3] Karl Denver: "Mexicali Rose" [Decca F 11395, charts, RR #8] Hayley Mills: "Let's Get Together" [Decca F 21396, charts, RR #17] |
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| Litherland, Liverpool: The Beatles and Gerry and the Pacemakers temporarily join forces to play as the "Beatmakers" at the Litherland Town Hall (Lewisohn 1992:47). | |||
| 21 | ABC-TV. Thank Your Lucky Stars: Brian Matthew and Keith Fordyce (hosts) with Shirley Douglas, ronnie Hilton, Chas McDevitt, The Temperance Seven, The Springfields, The Vernons Girls, Danny Williams, and Jimmy Young. | ||
| 26 | Adam Faith: "The Time Has Come" [Parlophone R 4837, charts, RR #4] | ||
| 28 | Temperence Seven: "Hard Hearted Hannah" / "Chili Bom Bom" [Parlophone R 4823, charts, RR #28] | ||
| 28 | ABC-TV. Thank Your Lucky Stars: Brian Matthew and Keith Fordyce (hosts) with Craig Douglas, Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen, Cleo Laine, The Polka Dots, Douglas Sheldon, Peter West, and Marty Wilde. | ||
| Liverpool: A customer asks Brian Epstein if he carries the recording, "My Bonnie" by the Beatles | |||
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| 1 | London: Clubs with music and dance may serve alcohol until 3 A.M. seven nights per week | ||
| 2 | Danny
Williams: "Moon River" [HMV POP 932, charts, RR #1] Mr. Acker Bilk and His Paramount Jazz Band: "Stars and Stripes Forever" / "Creole Jazz" [Columbia SCD 2155, charts, RR #22] The Moontrekkers: "Night of the Vampire" [Parlophone R 4814, charts, RR #50] |
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| 4 | Melody Maker: Drum City opens at 114 Shaftesbury Avenue, London | ||
| ABC-TV. Thank Your Lucky Stars: Brian Matthew and Keith Fordyce (hosts) with The Brook Brothers, Dion DiMucci, Adam Faith, Alan Freeman, Geoff Goddard, John Leyton, and David McBeth. | |||
| New York, Carnegie Chapter Hall: Bob Dylan performs | |||
| 9 | Elvis Presley: "Little Sister" / "His Latest Flame" [RR #1 for 4 weeks] | ||
| Frankie Vaughan: "Tower of Strength" [Philips PB 1195, charts, RR # #1] Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen: "Midnight in Moscow" [Pye Jazz 7NJ 2049, charts, RR #2] Marty Wilde: "Tomorrow's Clown" [Philips PB 1191, charts, RR #33] |
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| Liverpool, The Cavern Club: Brian Epstein attends a lunchtime performance by the Beatles. | |||
| 11 | ABC-TV. Thank Your Lucky Stars: Brian Matthew and Keith Fordyce (hosts) with Rose Brennan, Petula Clark, Danny Davis, Frank Ifield, Peter Noble, Ricky Valance, and Gene Vincent. | ||
| 14 | Indianapolis: Ray Charles arrested on drug charges | ||
| 16 | The Shadows: "The Savage" [Columbia DB 4726, charts, RR #10] | ||
| 18 | Paris: Audience riots after a Vince Taylor concert | ||
| ABC-TV. Thank Your Lucky Stars: Brian Matthew (host) with Sam Costa, Johnny Crawford, Emile Ford, Billy Fury, The Kaye Sisters, and Bob Wallis & His Storyville Jazzmen | |||
| 23 | Shirley Bassey: "I'll Get By" [Columbia DB 4737, charts, RR #10] Terry Lightfoot and His New Orleans Jazzmen: "King Kong" [Columbia SCD 2165; charts; RR #29] |
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| 25 | ABC-TV. Thank Your Lucky Stars: Brian Matthew (host) with Paul Raven, Joe "Mr. Piano" Henderson, The John Barry Seven, The McGuire Sisters, Denny Piercy, and Ricky Stevens. | ||
| 30 | Mr. Acker
Bilk with the Leon Young String Chorale: "Stranger on the Shore" [Columbia
DB 4750, charts, RR #2] Russ Conway: "Toy Balloons" [Columbia DB 4738, charts, RR #7] |
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| 2 | Melody Maker: Equity suspends Frankie Vaughan after he crosses a picket line to perform on Sunday Night at the London Palladium | ||
| ABC-TV. Thank Your Lucky Stars: Brian Matthew (host) with Lionel Bart, The Brook Brothers, Ted King, The Temperance Seven, and The Ted Taylor Four. | |||
| 3 | Liverpool: Brian Epstein meets with the Beatles to talk about "matters to their mutual advantage" (Lewisohn 1992: 35) | ||
| 6 | Liverpool: The Beatles accept Epstein's management offer | ||
| 7 | Frankie Vaughan: "Tower of Strength" [RR #1 for 3 weeks] | ||
| Temperence Seven: "Charleston" [Parlophone R 4851, charts, RR #22] Aretha Franklin: "Rockabye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody" [Fontana release, no chart] |
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| 9 | ABC-TV. Thank Your Lucky Stars: Brian Matthew (host) with Sandra Gale, Acker Bilk, Dick Charlesworth and His City Gents, Russ Conway, Ray Ellington, Gary Miller, and Al Saxon. | ||
| 10 | London: Blues Incorporated plays the interval at the Marquee Club (Shapiro 1996: 95). | ||
| 13 | Liverpool: Mike Smith travels to the Cavern Club to audition the Beatles for a possible Decca audition (Lewisohn 1992: 37). | ||
| London: The Musicians' Union blacklists The Mecca circuit for the Bradford Locarno Ballroom's policy of refusing admission to single black males | |||
| London: Cliff Richard's The Young Ones premiers | |||
| 14 | Billy Fury: "I'd Never Find Another You" [Decca F 11409, charts, RR #5] | ||
| 15 | Liverpool: The Beatles meet with Brian Epstein and sign management contract. | ||
| 16 | ABC-TV. Thank Your Lucky Stars: Brian Matthew (host) with Joe Brown, The Karl Denver Trio, Bill Forbes, Billy Fury, Jimmy Henney, Cleo Laine, Humphrey Lyttelton and His Band, and Duffy Power. | ||
| 18 | London: EMI General Marketing Manager Ron White sends a letter to Brian Epstein declining a request for an audition. | ||
| 23 | Melody Maker: Seven band leaders will resign from the Musicians' Union to form a breakaway organization (the British Federation of Musicians) over the Mecca Locarno blacklisting. | ||
| ABC-TV. Thank Your Lucky Stars: Brian Matthew (host) with The Beverley Sisters, Lonnie Donegan, Ronnie Hilton, Zack Laurence, Jimmy Savile, and The Springfields. | |||
| 28 | Danny Williams: "Moon River" [RR #1 for 2 weeks] | ||
| John Leyton: "Son, This Is She" [HMV POP 956, charts, RR #15] | |||
| 30 | ABC-TV. Thank Your Lucky Stars: Brian Matthew (host) with Chubby Checker, Billy Fury, Cliff Richard and The Shadows, and Helen Shapiro. | ||
| 31 | Britain: A major snowstorm blankets the nation, cancelling New Year's Eve shows and blocking highways | ||
| Liverpool. Neil Aspinal drives Beatles to London for Decca audition. | |||
| The Marshall Plan expires after distributing more than 12 billion dollars in foreign aid | |||
| Other 1961 Artifacts | |||
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| Detroit: James Jamerson switches from double bass to a Fender Precision electric bass |
| Return to 1960s UK Rock Chronology Index | |||
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| Copyright © 1995 — 31 May, 2018 Gordon Thompson |
