Tag Archives: 1979

Music, Pop Culture

Sid Vicious: Dead at Twenty-One

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On This Date, February 2nd, in 1979: Sex Pistols’ bassist Sid Vicious (Born Simon John Ritchie) died of a heroin overdose in New York City. He was 21 years old. Sid did not live a long life, and that is a shame. But he was such a mess when he died, it is difficult to speculate on the type of person he might have become had he never met/murdered Nancy Spungen, and eventually gotten his act together. Some people just aren’t built to last (see also Darby Crash and Kurt Cobain), so maybe it’s a moot point to even entertain such thoughts as what he might be like in his fifties, if he were alive today. Continue reading Sid Vicious: Dead at Twenty-One →

Music, Pop Culture

Teenage Wasteland

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In Memoriam

On This Date, December 3rd, in 1979: At a concert by The Who held at Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati, eleven people were trampled to death after a stampede to claim general admission seats. It was the saddest day in rock, ever. The tragedy was later memorialized in a very sobering episode of the TV show WKRP in Cincinnati.

Music, Pop Culture

Classic Punk Rock Album of The Day: The Damned, Machine Gun Etiquette

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Damned Machine Gun Ettiquete

On This Date, November 7th in 1979: The Damned released their amazing third album, Machine Gun Etiquette, which included the singles “Love Song,” “I Just Can’t Be Happy Today” and “Smash It Up (Part II).” Machine Gun Etiquette was the London band’s first album without founding guitarist Brian James. Captain Sensible moved from bass to guitar and Algy Ward (ex-The Saints) joined The Damned as their new bassist. I actually saw The Damned on this tour in 1979, at the infamous Cuckoo’s Nest in Costa Mesa, California, and hung out with Damned drummer Rat Scabies for most of the evening. Machine Gun Etiquette refuses to sound dated even thirty years after its release, and is still one of my favorite albums, ever. Punk Rock! Read my fantastic interview with Captain Sensible from 2001 at This Link.

Thanks to The P5 Blogspot For the Tip!

Music, Pop Culture

On This Day in 1979: Nick Lowe Marries Carlene Carter

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Nick and Carlene
“Cruel To Be Kind Means That I Love You”

On this Date, August 18th, in 1979: British singer/songwriter Nick Lowe married Johnny Cash’s stepdaughter, country singer Carlene Carter. They divorced in the mid 1980s (and Carlene went on to date then-teenage guitar virtuoso Charlie Sexton) but still remain friends to this day. Film clips and candid out takes from Lowe and Carter’s wedding can be seen in the video footage for the song “Cruel To Be Kind.”

Music, Pop Culture

Flashback Single of The Day: The Boomtown Rats’ “I Don’t Like Mondays”

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Boomtown Rats
“I Want To Shoot The Whole Day Down”

On This Date, July 28th  in 1979: The Boomtown Rats had the #1 single in the UK with “I Don’t Like Mondays,” which appeared on their album, The Fine Art Of Surfacing. Boomtown Rats’ vocalist Bob Geldoff was inspired to write the song after hearing about the 1979 shooting spree at  Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego, California which was perpetrated by then 16-year old Brenda Ann Spencer. Continue reading Flashback Single of The Day: The Boomtown Rats’ “I Don’t Like Mondays” →