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Today in rock history: on this date in 1977, British hard rock trio Motörhead released its debut, self-titled album. After being fired from his stint with spacey, psychedelic band Hawkwind, Lemmy Kilmister decided to form a new band. Together, with he taking bass and vocal duties, "Fast" Eddie Clarke on guitar and Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor on drums, the band unleashed this, its very first album, on this date, 40 years ago. The record was a moderate success; it garnered enough attention to convince record label Bronze Records to lure the band away from smaller, indie label Chiswick for whom the band had recorded this debut album. The only single release from the record was the self-titled “Motörhead,” a song Lemmy recorded with Hawkwind and the very last song he wrote while still a member of that band. It was a prediction of great things to come.
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Today in rock history: on this date in 1984, British new wave/rock band Psychedelic Furs released its fourth album, Mirror Moves. The record contained several well-known Furs songs that would become hit singles both here in the U.S. and in the band's native England. With the advent of MTV, the band was getting more and more exposure on the music video channel which greatly helped to get them exposure and sell some records here in the States. Video play helped singles like “The Ghost In You” and “Heaven” reach a wider audience and, in turn, the album became a gold-selling record with sales topping 500,000 copies. The record was produced by Keith Forsey who’d become known for giving Billy Idol a cleaner, more accessible sound on previous records and he did the same for The Furs. The band plays Clearwater's Capitol Theatre on September 24 with Bash & Pop. More information on that show is available via local.cltampa.com.
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Psychedelic Furs w/Bash & Pop at Capitol Theatre — 09.24.17
Today in rock history: on this date in 1961, girl group The Marvelettes released its hit single, “Please Mr. Postman.” The record went on to sell over a million copies and went straight to no. 1 on Billboard’s R&B and pop charts. Released on the Tamla record label under the Motown Records umbrella, this single is notable as it was the very first to be released by Motown to go to no. 1, a feat that many more of the label’s future releases would achieve. The song was later covered by several artists including The Beatles and The Carpenters.
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Today in rock history: on this date in 1952, John Graham Mellor was born in Ankara, Turkey as the son of a British diplomat. The young man would soon catch the buzz of wanting to be in a rock and roll band thanks to the influence the great Bo Diddley had on him. He’d soon rename himself Joe Strummer and serve as lead singer and guitarist for British pub rock band The 101’ers before getting wind of what was about to explode in the U.K. after witnessing a live performance by the Sex Pistols. He’d soon cut his hair, don newer, more relevant clothing and join a band fellow London musician Mick Jones had formed called The Clash. Strummer became the focal point, the impassioned singer, the innovator, a chief songwriter and an icon for the legendary band which literally changed the face of music and defined the time in which they rose to prominence. After many landmark albums with The Clash, Strummer embarked on a solo career and released several albums with new bands and projects he’d put together and continued to keep the flame alive. Whether working on humanitarian projects or speaking out regarding injustices in the world, Strummer remained an inspirational figure right up to his untimely death in 2002 at the young age of 50. There will never be another Joe Strummer…may his music and his message live on forever.
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