We’re talkin’ 1984 on Throwback Thursday today! There’s certainly a lot to discuss, so get ready!
January 21st – Relax by Frankie Goes to Hollywood reaches number one in the UK singles chart, despite the BBC ban; it will spend a total of 42 weeks in the Top 40.
January 27th – Michael Jackson’s scalp is burned during the filming of a Pepsi commercial and he is admitted to hospital. Around this time, Jackson also releases the title track from his Thriller album as the LP’s final single.
March 1st – Sting plays his last concerts with The Police at the end of the Synchronicity tour; the band takes a “pause” after the tour and only play a few special events together after this, until 2007, when they would organize a reunion tour.
April 1st – In Los Angeles, Marvin Gaye is shot and killed during an argument with his father.
May 5 – The Pretenders singer Chrissie Hynde marries Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr.
June 25th – Prince releases his sixth album Purple Rain; the album sells over 20 million copies and gives Prince two US number one singles with When Doves Cry and Let’s Go Crazy.
August 10th – Red Hot Chili Peppers release their debut album The Red Hot Chili Peppers.
http://youtu.be/UCFskY0pwMs
September 2nd – Van Halen concludes its 1984 world tour with a show in Nuremberg, Germany as part of the Monsters of Rock festival tour. This would be the band’s last concert with David Lee Roth as lead singer until 2007.
September 14th – The first annual MTV Video Music Awards are held in New York City. Herbie Hancock wins the most awards with five, and The Cars take the highest prize of Video Of The Year for You Might Think. Much attention is garnered by Madonna’s controversial performance of her hit single Like a Virgin in which she rolls around on the stage, revealing lacy stockings and garters, and grinds her crotch against her veil.
http://youtu.be/SXPMLTmpPpY
September 21st – The first compact disc manufacturing plant in North America opens in Terre Haute, Indiana. CDs have previously had to be expensively imported from Japan or West Germany. Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A. is designated as the first CD ever made in the United States.
http://youtu.be/lZD4ezDbbu4
November 25th – The Band Aid single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” is recorded at SARM Studios in Notting Hill, London, by a gathering of performers that includes Paul Young, Simon Le Bon, Bono, Phil Collins, Paul Weller, Sting, Boy George and Tony Hadley.
December 8th – Mötley Crüe member Vince Neil is involved in a serious car accident. He is drunk at the time, and Razzle (Nicholas Dingley) of Hanoi Rocks is killed in the accident.
December 8th – Cyndi Lauper with fourth single from She’s So Unusual, All Through the Night, becoming the first woman in the 26-year history of Billboard Hot 100 to have four singles in the top five from the one album.
http://youtu.be/gW6l6MOfW4E
December 13th – George Harrison makes a rare public appearance, joining Deep Purple on stage in Sydney, Australia for their encore rendition of Lucille.