\\<\/iframe\>
Today in rock history: on this date in 1989, British synth-pop group Depeche Mode released its very first live album, the two-disc set entitled 101. Capturing the band’s very last show of its 1987/1988 world tour in support of its sixth album, Music For the Masses, the title of the album derived from this being show No. 101 on the band’s lengthy tour. Performing at the 90,000 seat Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, California, the band finished its tour in front of one of the largest crowds it had ever performed for and commemorated the event with this album as well as with a full-length concert film directed by renown documentary filmmaker, D.A. Pennebaker. The album contained selections from the band’s past catalog as well as many from the current album it was promoting at the time. A live version of the band’s 1983 song “Everything Counts” was released as a single from this set and charted well. All in all, 101 reached the top 10 on British album charts and scratched the surface of the top 40 on sales charts in America but still managed to achieve gold sales status in the U.S.
Today in rock history: on this date in 1995, British rock band Radiohead released its second album, The Bends. After the harder, grunge-influenced sound of its debut album Pablo Honey” the band started exploring different textures and sounds and began to shift into the more experimental musical terrain it would become known for. The album received unanimous, positive reviews in England and became a massive hit there. Sales and exposure came slowly in America but The Bends is often referred to as one of the very best albums of the 1990s and is regarded as being the release on which the group began to find itsmusical identity. Several singles were released from this fine album and most charted respectably in the U.K. Among them are “Fake Plastic Trees,” “My Iron Lung,” “High and Dry” and “Street Spirit (Fade Out).”
\\<\/iframe\>
Today in rock history: on this date in 1984, American rock/new wave band The Cars released its fifth album, Heartbeat City. Benefiting from the popularity of MTV, the band created several lavish, imaginative music videos for many of the album’s singles. Heavy airplay on the music video channel and an introduction to a younger group of music listeners helped immensely in making this such a successful album. Heartbeat City climbed as high as No. 3 on American pop albums charts and featured the popular hit singles “Drive,” “You Might Think,” “Magic” and “Hello Again.” Selling four million copies in the U.S. alone, the album was also a swift seller in several countries around the world.
\\<\/iframe\>
Today in rock history: on this date in 1987, the very first major record label cassette single (or “cassingle” as they’d soon be labeled) was released in America. The song that received the honor of being the first to be distributed in this format was “Heat of the Night,” the lead single from Canadian rocker Bryan Adams’s fifth album, Into the Fire. The format became especially popular among record buyers who’d opted to listen to their music on portable cassette players and boom boxes, which were both preferred for their mobility and portability. Cassingles reached their commercial peak in the late 1980s and were phased out as a viable format in the early 2000s. "Heat of the Night" was released as a more traditional vinyl 45 as well and fared well in both America (where it reached No. 6 on sales charts) and in Canada where it also reached the top 10 on singles charts. Read our recent interview with Adams here.
\\<\/iframe\>
This article appears in Mar 8-15, 2018.
