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Music History Events: Final Performances

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January 10, 1995 Rory Gallagher plays his last concert, in the Netherlands. Five months later he dies of complications from a liver transplant.

July 28, 1993 10,000 Maniacs perform with lead singer Natalie Merchant for the last time at the birthday bash for New York radio station Z100 (Bon Jovi, Duran Duran, The Proclaimers and Terence Trent D'Arby are also on the bill). Merchant launches a successful solo career and the band soldiers on without her, bringing new lead singer Mary Ramsey into the fold.

July 7, 1992 Spinal Tap cap their reunion tour with a sold-out show at Royal Albert Hall in London.More

October 15, 1988 The Amnesty International - Human Rights Now! tour ends with a show in Buenos Aires. Along with Sting, Peter Gabriel and Tracy Chapman, Bruce Springsteen performs with the E Street Band, closing out his last tour with the group until 1999, when they re-form.

April 6, 1988 Barbara "Sandi" Robison falls ill during a performance in Butte, Montana. She's rushed to a hospital but never fully recovers. She dies from toxic shock a couple of weeks later.

December 12, 1986 The Smiths play the Artists Against Apartheid benefit at Brixton Academy, which ends up being the last time they perform together as a group.

June 28, 1986 Wham! play their farewell concert at Wembley Stadium in London. Both members - George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley - are just 23. For their last song, "I'm Your Man," they're joined on stage by Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran.

June 27, 1986 Black Flag play their final ever gig in Detroit, Michigan. The band will go on to confirm their split two months later, in August 1986.

February 6, 1984 At the Sweetwaters South Festival in Christchurch, New Zealand, Talking Heads play their last concert, a messy set that is cut short after just a few songs. They release three more albums but perform together again just once: in 2002 when they are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

September 15, 1982 At the Los Angeles Forum, Queen play their last American concert with Freddie Mercury, who dies nine years later. Michael Jackson joins the band backstage before the show. On Queen's subsequent tours with Mercury, they skip America.

December 11, 1981 Bad Brains play the last-ever show at Max's Kansas City, a storied New York City nightclub where The Velvet Underground, David Bowie, and The New York Dolls all played early in their careers. Their opening act is a group of teenagers from Brooklyn called The Beastie Boys.

June 17, 1981 At Earls Court in London, Pink Floyd play the last of 31 performances of The Wall, a unique stage show where a giant wall is erected (and torn down) as the band plays the album in its entirety. It's Roger Waters' last concert with the band, which breaks up in 1983 and carries on without him a few years later.

December 31, 1978 The Runaways play their final show at Cow Palace, near San Francisco. The all-female hard-rock band have been through several line-up changes, but are finally torn apart through conflict between Joan Jett, who wants to take the band in a glam-rock direction, and Lita Ford who wishes to stay in the hard-rock genre. The band formally split the following April.

July 29, 1978 At the Bottom Line in New York City, Television play their last show until their 1991 reunion. Only the band members know they are calling it quits.

January 14, 1978 At the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, The Sex Pistols lead singer, Johnny Rotten, ends the show by telling the crowd, "Ever get the feeling you've been cheated? Goodbye." It is their final concert until their 1996 reunion.

July 24, 1977 Led Zeppelin play their last concert in America, performing at the "Day On The Green" at Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California. Their tour is set to continue into August, but is cancelled when Robert Plant's son, Karac, dies two days later.

June 5, 1976 Cat Stevens performs under that name for the last time, wrapping up his Majikat tour with a show in Thessaloniki, Greece. The next year, he embraces the Islamic faith and changes his name to Yusuf Islam.

September 10, 1972 At the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, The Doors, who have continued as a trio since the death of Jim Morrison in July 1971, play their last concert. Their final song is "Light My Fire," the last song Morrison performed before his death.

August 8, 1970 The Stooges fire bass player Dave Alexander after he forgets how to play the songs at their Goose Lake International Music Festival performance in Michigan. It's the last Stooges show with their original lineup, as Alexander dies in 1975 at 27 after years of alcoholism.

March 25, 1969 In Copenhagen, Denmark, Judy Garland plays her last concert; she dies three months later.

October 19, 1968 At Liverpool University, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham perform as "The New Yardbirds" for the last time as they assume the moniker Led Zeppelin.

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