Today in Music History: Joe Strummer dips to Paris
April 21, 2015
History Highlight:
Today in 1982, The Clash had to cancel a tour when Joe Strummer disappeared for three weeks. He was eventually found living on the streets in Paris. Before the album Combat Rock was released, Strummer willfully went into hiding and band management reported that he had "disappeared." Bernie Rhodes, the band's manager, had pressured Strummer to do so because tickets were selling slowly for the Scottish leg of an upcoming tour, but the original plan was for Strummer to secretly travel to Austin, Texas, and stay with his friend, musician Joe Ely. However, Strummer decided to genuinely disappear, and he went to France instead. Strummer's whereabouts became a mystery to not only the public, but to the band's management as well. During that time, Strummer claimed to have run the Paris Marathon; meanwhile, the band members began to argue a lot, and with tensions high, the Clash began to fall apart.
Also, Today In:
1962 - Elvis Presley started a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Good Luck Charm," his fifth U.S. No. 1 of the 1960s.
1967 - Working at Abbey Road studios in London, The Beatles completed the sessions for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
1990 - Sinead O'Connor started a four-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with her version of the Prince song, "Nothing Compares 2 U."
1990 - Paul McCartney appeared before 184,000 fans in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. At the time, it was the largest audience ever to attend a performance by a single rock act.
2001 - Peter Buck, guitarist for R.E.M., was arrested for being drunk on an aircraft and for accosting British Airways personnel following a flight from Seattle to Heathrow Airport in London. He would be acquitted nearly a year later.
Birthdays:
Michael Franti is 49 today.
Robert Smith, the lead singer of The Cure, is 56 today.
Iggy Pop, of The Stooges, is 68 today.