January 1
Cliff Richard is appointed an MBE by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.
The Zorros audition drummer Greg Pedley.
January 5 – Donna Summer Brings her 3 double album in a 14-month period, to the top of the Billboard Albums charts; when Greatest Hits: On the Radio; Vol 1 & 2; reaches the top spot.
January 7 – At the age of 44, songwriter Larry Williams is found dead in his Los Angeles, California, home of a gunshot wound to the head. Investigators are never able to determine whether his death was a murder or suicide.
January 13 – The Beach Boys, Grateful Dead, and Jefferson Starship perform at a benefit concert at Oakland Coliseum for the people of Kampuchea.
January 14 – Rush release Permanent Waves, which eventually becomes the band’s fifth platinum album.
January 16 – Paul McCartney is arrested in Tokyo for possession of a half pound of marijuana. The remaining part of McCartney’s and Wings’ tour was then canceled.
January 19 – The first UK Indie Chart is published in Record Week, with Spizzenergi’s “Where’s Captain Kirk” topping the singles chart, and Adam and the Ants’ Dirk Wears White Sox topping the album chart.
January 25 – Paul McCartney is released from a Japanese jail and ejected from the country by Japanese authorities.
February 7 – Pink Floyd’s The Wall Tour opens at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.
February 8 – David Bowie and his wife of nearly 10 years, Angie, file for divorce. Bowie gets custody of their 9-year-old son, Zowie.
February 14 – Lou Reed marries Sylvia Morales in New York City’s Greenwich Village.
February 19 – Bon Scott, lead singer of AC/DC, dies in London. Although common folklore cites pulmonary aspiration of vomit as the cause of his death, the official cause is listed as “Acute alcohol poisoning” and “Death by Misadventure”.
February 23 – Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones and his wife are arrested for cocaine possession on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin. They are set free after spending five days in custody due to the inability of authorities to prove the cocaine in the apartment belonged to either of them.
February 29 – Buddy Holly’s trademark glasses and the Big Bopper’s wristwatch are “rediscovered” in old police files by the Mason City, Iowa, sheriff (both were killed in a plane crash on February 3, 1959, along with singer Ritchie Valens).
March 1 – Patti Smith marries former MC5 member Fred “Sonic” Smith.
March 3 – Sotheby’s auction house in London auctions off a Rivera Hotel, Las Vegas, napkin signed by Elvis Presley for ₤500. Other items auctioned included four American dollar bills autographed by the Beatles, for £220 and a collection of personal letters belonging to the Rolling Stones, also for £220.
March 8–16 – Tbilisi Rock Festival (1980): the first state-sanctioned rock music festival in the Soviet Union.
March 14 – Record producer Quincy Jones receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
March 19 – Elvis Presley’s autopsy was subpoenaed during the trial of Dr. George Nichopoulous, who would later be found guilty of over-prescribing drugs to Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and other clients.
March 20 – Radio Caroline shuts down in the UK after radio ship Mi Amigo sinks in a storm.
April–June
April 1 – Brian Johnson is made the new lead singer of AC/DC replacing the late Bon Scott.
April 13 – The Broadway musical Grease closes its run of 3,388 performances, making it the longest running show on Broadway up until that time.
April 14
A member of the New Jersey State assembly introduces a resolution to make Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” the official state song.
Iron Maiden release their self-titled debut album.
April 17 – As the “official guests of State”, Bob Marley and the Wailers perform at Zimbabwe’s Independence festival. Marley calls the event the “greatest honor of my life.”
April 19 – Johnny Logan wins the 25th Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland, with the song “What’s Another Year”.
April 25 – Black Sabbath release Heaven and Hell, their first album to feature Ronnie James Dio on vocals.
April 30 – The Roger Daltrey film, McVicar, opens in London.
May 4 – America’s Top 10, the television version of radio’s American Top 40 and hosted by Casey Kasem, debuts this week in syndication.
May 18 – Ian Curtis, vocalist of pioneering post-punk group Joy Division, hangs himself in his Macclesfield home, just one day before Joy Division are scheduled to begin their first U.S. tour.
June 25
Rock and Roll pioneer Bill Haley performs for the last time during a tour of South Africa. After this tour, his health deteriorates and he dies in February 1981. July 1980 marks the 25th anniversary of Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock” reaching No. 1 on the American singles charts.
The Sony Walkman goes on sale in the United States.
Kiss plays its first show with new drummer Eric Carr at the New York Palladium.
June 27 – John Lydon and Keith Levene of Public Image Ltd make an appearance on The Tomorrow Show with host Tom Snyder. In a famously uncomfortable interview, Lydon gives curt and vague responses to most of Snyder’s questions.
Monday 6pm: Max 20th Century – 1980 (Part I)
February 18, 2019
Styx is an American rock band from Chicago that formed in 1972 and became famous for its albums released in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They are best known for melding hard rock guitar balanced with acoustic guitar, synthesizers mixed with acoustic piano, upbeat tracks with power ballads, and incorporating elements of international musical theatre. The band established itself with a progressive rock sound in the 1970s, and began to incorporate pop rock and soft rock elements in the 1980s.
Crimes of Passion is the second studio album by American rock singer Pat Benatar, released on August 5, 1980 by Chrysalis Records. The album is the first to feature Myron Grombacher on drums, beginning a long tenure in Benatar’s band that would last into the late-1990s.
Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been carried by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage.
All Things Must Pass is a triple album by English rock musician George Harrison. Recorded and released in 1970, it was Harrison’s first solo work following the break-up of the Beatles in April that year, and his third solo album overall. It includes the hit singles “My Sweet Lord” and “What Is Life”, as well as songs such as “Isn’t It a Pity” and the title track that had been turned down for inclusion on releases by the Beatles. The album reflects the influence of Harrison’s musical activities with artists such as Bob Dylan, the Band, Delaney & Bonnie and Billy Preston during 1968–70, and his growth as an artist beyond his supporting role to former bandmates John Lennon and Paul McCartney. All Things Must Pass introduced Harrison’s signature sound, the slide guitar, and the spiritual themes that would be present throughout his subsequent solo work. The original vinyl release consisted of two LPs of songs and a third disc of informal jams, titled Apple Jam. Several commentators interpret Barry Feinstein’s album cover photo, showing Harrison surrounded by four garden gnomes, as a statement on his independence from the Beatles.
Let It Be is the twelfth and final studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released on 8 May 1970, almost a month after the group’s break-up. Like most of the band’s previous releases, it was a number one album in many countries, including both the US and the UK, and was released in tandem with the motion picture of the same name.
Robert Kelly “Rob” Thomas (born February 14, 1972 in Landstuhl, Germany) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the lead singer of alternative rock band Matchbox Twenty. Thomas also records and performs as a solo artist, with “Lonely No More” released in 2005 becoming his biggest solo chart success. Thomas earned three Grammy Awards for co-writing and singing on the 1999 hit “Smooth” by Santana.