It’s January 26th and these are some of the things that happened on this day in pop music history:
- In 1991, Norwegian pop band a-ha performed in front of 198,000 people at the second Rock in Rio festival, breaking a record for paid attendance at a concert.
- In 1963, Andrew John Ridgeley was born in England. He and school friend George Michael recorded music in the living room of the Ridgeley family home and got signed to a record deal. As Wham!, the duo had hits like “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go” and “Everything She Wants.” His relationship with Bananarama’s Keren Woodward ended in 2017 after 25 years.
- In 2018, Lindsey Buckingham performed in public for the last time with Fleetwood Mac, at a Musicares benefit in New York City. The last song of the set was “Go Your Own Way.” Three months later, the band announced that Buckingham would be replaced by Neil Finn of Crowded House and Mike Campbell of the Heartbreakers.
- In 1977, founding Fleetwood Mac lead guitarist Peter Green was arrested and subsequently placed in a psychiatric hospital after allegedly threatening to his accountant, David Simmons, with an air rifle. Green later said he had just returned from Canada and had mentioned the gun to Simmons in a phone call.
- In 1980, Prince appeared for the first time on American Bandstand. In between songs, the 19-year-old gave short answers to host Dick Clark’s questions. Asked how many instruments he plays, the artist hesitated and then replied: “Thousands.”
- In 2014, Lorde and Daft Punk were big winners at the Grammy Awards. Lorde’s “Royals” won Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance and Daft Pink picked up Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
- In 2010, country trio Lady Antebellum released its sophomore album, Need You Now. Powered by the title track, it debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart and went on to win a Grammy Award. A video for the song was filmed in Toronto, mostly in the King Edward Hotel and at the Patrician Grill restaurant.
And that’s what popped on this day.