We’re going way, way back to 1980 on Today’s Throwback Tuesday!
January 7th – 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 13th – The Beach Boys, Grateful Dead, and Jefferson Starship perform at a benefit concert at Oakland Coliseum for the people of Kampuchea.
http://youtu.be/d0UhURwSSrY
February 7th – Pink Floyd’s The Wall Tour opens at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.
http://youtu.be/Ood1ulYA0W4
February 8th – David Bowie and his wife of nearly 10 years, Angie, file for divorce. Bowie gets custody of their 9-year-old son, Zowie.
http://youtu.be/OMfMyK3kZQQ
February 19th – 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”.
April 1st – Brian Johnson is made the new lead singer of AC/DC.
April 25th – Black Sabbath release Heaven and Hell, their first album to feature new vocalist Ronnie James Dio.
http://youtu.be/-og87crqsCE
May 18th – 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.
http://youtu.be/qHYOXyy1ToI
June 27th – 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.
July 25th – AC/DC release Back in Black which later becomes the highest selling album by any band to date.
http://youtu.be/XQQjpaKHMvI
August 4th – John Lennon and Yoko Ono begin the recording of the Double Fantasy album.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWWbu_RSh7Q&feature=share&list=PL7E464B31846A3DC4
August 23rd – The Heatwave festival near Toronto features The B-52’s, Talking Heads, The Pretenders, Elvis Costello and many others.
September 25th – John Bonham, drummer of Led Zeppelin, is found dead by bandmate John Paul Jones.
http://youtu.be/fPidk8svtmk
December 1st – Duran Duran signs with EMI after finalizing its lineup and touring as a support act for Hazel O’Connor.
December 8th – Mark David Chapman buys a copy of Catcher in the Rye and spends most of the day outside John Lennon’s apartment building in New York City. Having obtained Lennon’s autograph at about 5pm, he approaches the star again on his return at 10.49pm and shoots him dead.