20 August

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20 AUGUST

Featured Events

2016 The Tragically Hip play their final concert, calling it quits at a show in lead singer Gord Downie's hometown of Kingston, Ontario. Downie was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in December 2015.More

1995 After a lengthy press-fueled feud culminates in simultaneous singles releases, Blur's "Country House" beats Oasis' track "Roll With It" to the #1 spot in the UK. Oasis go on to enjoy worldwide mainstream success, while Blur later veer from the Britpop sound, developing an artier, more experimental style – heavily inspired by Pavement.

1992 Embroiled in controversy over his song "Cop Killer," Ice-T doubles down by appearing in a police uniform on the cover of Rolling Stone.More

1983 Taco's cover of the Irving Berlin song "Puttin' On the Ritz" reaches #9 on the Hot 100, making the 95-year-old Berlin the oldest living songwriter ever to land a Top 10 on that tally.

1977 The Emotions hit #1 in the US with the disco track "Best Of My Love" for the first of five weeks. Two years earlier, the Eagles hit #1 with a song with the same title.

1977 The Voyager 2 space probe is launched, carrying with it a "Golden Record" of sounds and images representing Earth. More

1972 Stax Records commemorates the seventh anniversary of the 1965 Watts riots with a star-studded benefit concert at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. More than 100,000 fans show up to hear Isaac Hayes, The Bar-Kays, The Staple Singers, and Kim Weston, among others, perform at what becomes known as Black Woodstock.More

1948 Robert Plant is born in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. Best known at Led Zeppelin's lead singer, he wins the Album of the Year Grammy for Raising Sand, his 2007 collaboration with Alison Krauss.

1942 Soul superstar Isaac Hayes is born in Covington, Tennessee.

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20 AUGUST

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2020 Quiet Riot drummer Frankie Banali dies of pancreatic cancer at 68.

2018 The RIAA certifies the Eagles Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 at 38 million units, making it the best-selling album of all-time in America, besting Michael Jackson's Thriller by 5 million (another Eagles album, Hotel California, is third with 26 million). Worldwide, Thriller is by far the biggest selling album.

2016 Tom Searle of the band Architects dies of skin cancer at age 28.

2016 Former 3 Doors Down guitarist Matt Roberts is found dead in a Wisconsin hotel room at age 38, presumably from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs.

2012 A Green Day version of the video game Angry Birds is released, featuring Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool as green pigs. Players can unlock a new Green Day song from the 10th level of the game.

2011 Jazz singer Ross Barbour (of The Four Freshmen) dies of cancer in Simi Valley, California, at age 82.

2009 Keyboardist/bassist Larry Knechtel (of Bread) dies of a heart attack in Yakima, Washington, at age 69.

2005 On what would have been Phil Lynott's 56th birthday, a concert is held in Dublin featuring Thin Lizzy members Brian Downey, Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson. Eric Bell, the original lead guitarist with Thin Lizzy, and Gary Moore share the lead on the classic "Whiskey In The Jar."

1997 The "Hank Williams Memorial Lost Highway" is dedicated in Alabama, where the singer was born. The 50-mile stretch on Interstate 65 starts at his childhood home of Georgiana and ends in Montgomery, the site of his grave. The ceremony takes place in Montgomery (the state capitol), with Hank Williams Jr. on hand to speak.

1992 Sting marries Trudie Styler at their estate in Wiltshire, England. The couple first met in 1977 when Sting was a struggling musician and Trudie was trying to make it as an actress.

1992 Demi Lovato is born in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

1991 Spin Doctors release their debut album, Pocket Full of Kryptonite. It sells over 5 million copies thanks to the hits "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" and "Two Princes."More

1990 Prince releases his album Graffiti Bridge, which contains the tracks "Thieves In The Temple" and "New Power Generation."More

1988 Soundgarden play Capitol Lake Park in Olympia, Washington as part of Capitol Lake Jam. Also on the bill: Nirvana.

1987 Metallica play a secret show at The 100 Club in London. Two days later, they play Donington Park at Castle Donington as part of the massive Monsters of Rock Festival, headlined by Bon Jovi.

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Two killed at Monsters of Rock Festival

1988

At the Monsters Of Rock festival at Castle Donington, England, two fans are killed during a set by Guns N' Roses, whose frontman Axl Rose had implored the crowd, "Don't f--kin' kill each other." With the ground wet and a record crowd of 107,000 at the festival, the surge of bodies during the set causes the two fans to be trampled or crushed to death.

The band are devastated when they hear about the deaths. They had repeatedly paused while fans were extricated from the crush, and played slower numbers when they returned to the stage after the ambulance crews attended to the victims, but it is only after the show has finished that they learn of the full, tragic circumstances. Alan Dick, 18 and Landon Siggers, 20 were crushed into the mud 15 feet from the stage and pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. The band were playing fifth on the bill, but between being booked and appearing they had a huge worldwide hit with "Sweet Child O' Mine" which led to the crowd being many times larger than expected. It had rained heavily and the ground was soft, so the crowd repeatedly surged forward against the barriers. Although the bad weather exacerbated the problems, making it difficult for security staff to extract the fans, questions are raised about whether the band incited violence. Guns N' Roses have built a reputation for rowdy live shows - in 1987 Axl Rose was arrested backstage in Atlanta after assaulting a security guard, and just a month earlier in New York State the crowd had come close to rioting at their first two outdoor shows... this is their third. The following year, the festival is cancelled due to an inquest, which finds that the deaths are due to a "crowd collapse" of some 50 fans, which took place at the front of the stage. In future years the stage is moved from the bottom of a slope and further measures are taken to reduce the mud. Following the tragedy, the band make attempts to curtail the crowds at their shows. This is generally successful, although in 1991 when Axl Rose storms off stage after being photographed by a fan in St. Louis, there is another riot which causes thousands of dollars worth of damage.

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Lisa from Canterbury, Kent I was there,
went for Guns N’ Roses mainly. I was 22.
It did rain, I put a black bin bag over me, someone Must have given me it.
But I don’t remember it raining for long and I don’t recall the ground being wet but hey it was a long time ago now and when Guns N’ Roses played yes we got pushed forward a lot. I didn’t get too close to the front due to going out drinking the night before.
I remember Axl saying everybody take 2 steps back, my friend and I wasn’t aware the two guys had died, because everyone was going mental. My friend had her camera and took photos, unfortunately when we got back to the coach to go home she’d lost her camera. I’d lobe those photos now.
Awful that those two guys passed

Mr4nders0n from ManchesterI was 24 when I went to that gig, but I was about 5'3 and around 7 stone so, quite a short skinny lad. I was surrounded by giants and I felt like I was suffocating. I stood on my tiptoes to try and get some air. I was very near the front, not quite at the barriers, but close enough to feel the crush. I scrambled back up the hill so I could recuperate from the dizziness of being crushed and half suffocated. In fact I nearly collapsed a couple of times myself, so I had to get some air, but I didn't want to not be at the front for Iron Maiden, so as soon as I'd recuperated I went back to the front. People were carrying blankets that had got drenched in the rain, so many of them got dumped. These got churned up in the mud and made miniature hills up and down the field. While I was near the front, suffocating once more, I thought I was stood on one of those blankets, which allowed me to see the gig a little better and let me breathe a bit of oxygen. But I thought to myself, this little "hill" I'm stood on felt weird, not like the others. Really weird. Bearing in mind I'm at a rock festival, the crowd are crushing one another like crazy, I'm a relative "short-arse" struggling for breath, but whatever it was I was stood on was so weird that I was compelled to find out. So, rather stupidly, I crouched down and touched whatever I was stood on. I nearly got pushed over and trampled on, but when I touched what I was stood on I was shocked to find that it felt like flesh. I couldn't see what I was touching because I was being buffeted and bounced about by the crowd, plus it was pitch dark amongst everyone's stomping feet. I clambered up onto my feet and tried to get the attention of the guys around me, screaming at the top of my voice but I couldn't shout louder than either the crowd or gig, so I shook the guys around me, but everyone was being shoved about already, so no one noticed me shoving them for attention. The only thing I could do was punch them on their arms but they just punched me back, eventually using hand signs to express as best as possible that there was someone at our feet. The guys I chose to get attention from were the biggest guys I could see around me to help lift up whoever it was that was down there. The guy I got to help me was a pretty big bloke and he started shoving the other blokes out of the way as well as getting some of the other guys to help. We eventually was able to lift up the person down there and carry her to the other end of the field where the first aid tent was. She was ended up being OK, just a bit bruised and in shock, but thank Christ she didn't get trampled to death. If I had got crushed that weekend myself there would have been 4 deaths at that gig, because no-one else seemed to noticed that we were trampling someone, so if I never got the attention of those around me, I doubt she would have been saved.
I've always wondered who she was and what became of her. But it's wonderful to know she survived without serious injury.
It's something I'll never forget.
Traumatic events aside, it was an a pretty good gig.
I was disappointed with Kiss, Iron Maiden was superb but their show was almost a carbon copy of a gig I saw about 6 years previous at Manchester Apollo. For some people that's a good thing, but for me if a band hasn't evolved in more than half a decade I won't say they aren't talented but lacking in creativity. Guns n Roses were good, but I thought Axl Rose was a knob, until he started bollocking the crowd to look out for one another. A few other artists did the same, so we all knew it was rough at the front.
If anyone knows anyone involved in the rescue of a 20ish year old girl at that gig I'd love to hear about it.

Bean from Birmingham I remember it well ...I'd been to few monsters of rock festivals but this one haunted me for sure..I was near to the speaker tower as it collapsed but knowing that 2 never made it home that day has never left my mind ..Needless to say it was my last one ..Still think of them r.i.p

Lou from YorkshireI was there on an organised coach tour. When we got back on the coach afterwards, my friends boyfriend was missing. At this stage we knew people had possibly died in the crush. He had been down at the front of the stage. The coach wouldn't wait so we had to travel 100 miles home withour him. Fortunately we heard from him the next day. He had missed the coach and she drove back to collect him. What an awful night that was. A terrible tragedy for the families of those lost. I never saw Guns n Roses again.

Chris from EssexI was there 2 metres or so behind the mound of bodies, any closer to the stage, it could have been me, it was scary, I was 24, I left the army 2 years previously, so not easily scared, but that was mental, I can still smell the beer that was thrown around, but can't remember the ground being wet, probably because we never saw it.

Andrew from Milton Keynes I was 18, I just arrived when Guns and Roses was just finishing there set. It was absolutely mental. So sad what happened to those two lads. R I P

Patrick Sebile from Bordeaux, FranceI was 20 and I was there, travelling from France as my 2 favorite bands, KISS & Maiden, as well as DLR and Helloween, were playing that year. That was also for me the chance to see GNR - which I haven't heard music from yet-, and more importantly to me afterward: to discover a band that will become one of my top 10, Megadeth. So to say this was one of the most important concert/festival I experienced (with 300+ shows attended in my life at today's day) is no exaggeration. But i also remembered the rain, the mud, and I slid myself to the ground in a crowd move and had hard time for maybe 1 minute to go back on my feet with that feeling of being in a dangerous spot and situation, close to the stage. Only later I learned that 2 people has died, and I remember thinking - I should have had the same fate... unreal. I went back a few more times, including 1996 (Kiss was back! And I added Type O Negative to my list of favorite bands after seeing them live that year) and lately in 2022 for Monsters of Rock's child, Download festival, this time travelling from Florida where I live now to enjoy again a KISS & Maiden line up... I have 6 years old twins, who already attended Kiss twice and Maiden once as of this writing (January 23'), and I do plan to take them to Download next time Maiden will headline it again - probably 2 to 4 years from now, I guess & hope. Cheers to all!!

Leon Trimble from Birmingham I was there. I was only 13 and went on my own. I loved a bit of GnR but I think I might have needed the loo when they were on. I was down in the mosh pit for mega death and got a punch in the nose and a nose bleed. Then some f**cker decided to pinch my Maiden hat from behind me in the crowd. The crush was pretty bad, the crowd would totally sway one way and then the other. You just had to go with it. I’d had enough by the time iron maiden came on and went right to the back and stood on a wall for a great view and sang my heart out! Some woman told me to shut up at one point but I just moved down and carried on. I spent my train fare home on a spiked belt and as I stood outside wondering what the fck I was going to do (one skinny kid was standing in the heat of a generator as the temp had dropped) my mum came past in a car driven by Irish John! She knew I’d do exactly that. Feel extremely lucky that I didn’t come to any harm that day.

Dave Harazny from Cheshire Uk I was there that day myself and a friend was right at the front standing underneath where slash was to the right side of the stage, we were getting that pushed into the security bars so much we couldn't breathe, and we were both pulled out by security, it was scary, I was 18 at the time.

Mark from Derbyshire Crush events happen regularly and yet the lesson doesn't get learned. I was stood way back dodging plastic bottles with god knows what in them.

Steve from London God this was a lifetime ago I surged toward the stage and still feel guilty to this day. I was 14 years old

Jude from UkI was there, I was 17 and went to the front for GnR’s set. It was terrifying and we struggled to get out of it. I had very sharp elbows that day.
I don’t recall the ground being wet though, I remember it as a sunny day.

Douglas Mcintyre from Falkirk I attended this event. Guns and Roses changed slots at the last minute to play early allowing Them to leave for other avenues of entertainment which they admit to in their BBC documentary. The event was sold out and I travelled on a bus from Scotland. People were being allowed to pay at the gate. It was over crowed and complete carnage. If Guns & Roses hand’nt decided to play early no one would have died. If any media wants to speak to me about what I dealt with that day and how I managed to survive pleas get in touch

Kathleen from ClevelandMy daughter aged 15 went to this concert against my best judgment, her dad had said she should be alright. I sat down with a cup of tea on the afternoon, switched the tv on and was met with the public announcement about the deaths and a phone number to contact. I couldn’t get through so phoned her lodgings, no answer. Long story short I phoned the police next day and explained my situation, they very kindly went to her lodgings and over 24 hours after switching the tv on she contacted me. Thankfully her and her friends were all ok. My heart goes out to the families who lost their children that day, May they R I P. Sadly my girl died from cancer in 2007 but I was so blessed to have those extra years with her. God Bless you all x

David from Tennessee, U.s.a.I wasn't at this show, but the next year I was at the Bon Jovi Festival at Milton Keynes. Myself and about eight other mates got up to about 10ft from the stage while Vixen was playing. I can understand the feeling other commenters here had. The crowd would surge from side to side and you had no choice but to go. When Vixen was done playing and things calmed down we slowly made our way out of that mess and found a safe area to sit a couple of hundred yards back.

Simon from England I was also there, 18 years old and down at the front. I was tall enough and strong enough to look after myself, but saw plenty of others who were struggling, especially those shorter. I understood that the most important thing was to stay on your feet, not easy in these 'waves' that seemed to push the top half of your body but you couldn't follow with your legs, that's how many people went down. The trick, i learnt was to hold your arms in front of your chest so creating enough room to breath.

Gill from England God this has brought back so many memories. I was 15, my overprotective mum had agreed to me going, not really understanding what it was. I remember being pushed into the barrier, my feet not touching the floor and gasping for breath. A much older guy stood behind me and braced his arms on the barrier, protecting me, I was able to catch my breath and am forever grateful to him. I was eventually lifted to safety over the barrier by security. That guy was my angel.

Pat Squire O’ Connor from IrelandI was 18 years old in 1988 and well on the way to being an alcoholic. I went to the gig with my buddy, the two of us from Southern Ireland. We travelled by bus all the way there and back again. Because of my messing and actually getting drunk on the train up from London they had to ‘mind’ me all day. We missed Guns ‘N’ Roses over the train being held back because of another train with soccer fans somewhere along the way. Long story short I had made my way up to the front for the Maiden slot, nearly passed out in the surge, and was hand picked up and out of the crowd over the barriers in front by my Gaurdain Angel, whoever you are. I have no doubt I would have added to the stress of that day for all concerned. So glad to be alive, sober now for over twenty years, and an addiction counselor myself. A very tragic day in what should have been my 18th Birthday celebrations but I feel that I was the lucky one to have gotten out alive and often tell this story to youngsters to teach personal and social responsibility.

Phil Scoulding from Hampshire That day still haunts me. Myself and a few friends, all aged around 18, went on a coach trip to, what was for me at least, our first "big" concert. We'd spent over an hour slowly creeping our way forward to the mosh pit in front of the stage as it looked "fun". What was to follow was harrowing and traumatic. The ground was slick, squelchy, ankle deep wet mud and difficult to stay upright on amoungst the mass of bodies. Then the surges started. Violent waves of pressure came from the back and swept forward almost like a mexican wave. The were relentless and kept coming. Immediately, you were pinned against everyone else. A crushing force that pinned your arms to your sides and forced the air from your lungs. The force/pressure was so great that with each surge your body was suspended at bizarre angles no lknger upright trying anything you could not to fall over. You could feel poor, unfortunate people under foot that had fallen but were completely and utterly powerless to help them. Everytime we pushed back from the front to try and make enough space to get them up, a counter surge came from the back and more people went under the crush. The security staff did what they could by trying to get as many people over the barriers to safety as they could. The ones that could be pulled up from the ground between surges were limp as rag dolls and completely caked in mud. These poor people were passed over our heads to the front. There were many more than the 2 that lost their lives. At some point the large video screen to the left of the stage also collapsed with some of it falling into the crowd causing more mayhem. But still the crowd kept pushing forward. David Lee Roth was the first artist to try and get people to understand what was happening and said he would stop unless everyone took 2 paces backwards. That was the opportunity to lift the others that were being trampled up and get them to safety and make my own escape away from the front. By the time Iron Maiden played (who followed Kiss, following David Lee Roth) it had calmed down. The trauma of that day has haunted me for many many years. Making it impossible to go into busy/crowded places. Horrific.

Keith Swaddling from Hailsham East SussexI was there on that sad day, I can remember Axle Rose swearing at the crowd like they were animals, typical American bad language. Yes there were bikers and rockers there slipping about in the mud and rain and whilst I'm sure some didn't give a damn what he called them I didn't appreciate him calling us mother f#####s and the likes. When I heard 2 young lads had died it didn't really sink in until we were travelling back home to Eastbourne. When Orin Maiden came on stage, Bruce Dickinson took control of the crowd in such a professional way and the difference in his demeanour was spell binding. I'll never forget that day those two young men went to a concert and never went home again.

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Two killed at Monsters of Rock Festival

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