on this day in pop music history

April 18th: On this Day

1953, Frankie Laine was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'I Believe.' The single stayed at No.1 for nine weeks. Laine holds the record for most (non-consecutive) weeks at No.1 than any other single in three chart runs with a total of 18 weeks.

1956, Elvis Presley played 2 shows at the Fairgrounds Pavilion in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

1964, The Beatles appeared on the UK TV comedy program The Morecambe and Wise Show, playing ‘This Boy’, ‘All My Loving’, and ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ and also participate in comedy sketches with Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise. The Beatles also held the UK and US No.1 position on this day with 'Can't Buy Me Love'.

1968, during a European tour, Pink Floyd played 2 shows at the Piper Club, in Rome, Italy.

1970, Santana, Taj Mahal and It's A Beautiful Day all appeared at London's Royal Albert Hall.

1970, Steel Mill, (featuring Bruce Springsteen) played in the Main Gym at Ocean County College in New Jersey. Tickets cost $2.00.

1972, The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Amazing Grace.' The single enjoyed a five-week run at No.1.

1975, four Bay City Rollers fans were taken to hospital and 35 others required on site treatment after they attempted to swim across a lake to meet their heroes. The group were making an appearance at a BBC Radio 1 fun day at Mallory Park.

1981, This years Eurovision Song contest winners Bucks Fizz were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their first No.1 single 'Making Your Mind Up.'

1984, Michael Jackson underwent surgery in a Los Angeles hospital to repair damage done after his hair caught fire during the filming of a Pepsi commercial.

1985, Wham! Became the first-ever Western pop act to have an album released in China.

1987, Aretha Franklin and George Michael started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'I Knew You Were Waiting' also a No.1 in the UK. Aretha Franklin set a record for the artist with the longest gap between US No.1 singles, it had been 19 years, 10 months from her last hit 'Respect' in June 1967.

1987, on the 1st leg of their Joshua Tree tour, U2 played the second of five nights at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in California.

1992, Def Leppard started a five-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Adrenalize.'

1992, former Findus fish foods factory worker Annie Lennox went to No.1 on the UK album chart with her debut solo release 'Diva.'

1992, Right Said Fred had their first and only UK No.1 single with 'Deeply Dippy' ('I'm Too Sexy' and 'Don't Talk Just Kiss' both made the Top 3).

1995, Oasis drummer Tony McCarrol was told by phone that he was being sacked from the group. McCarrol sued the Manchester group for millions in unpaid royalties and in 1996 Oasis agreed to pay him a one-off sum of £550,000 ($935,000).

1996, Bernard Edwards bass guitarist and producer from Chic, died of pneumonia in a Tokyo Hotel room while touring Japan. Also worked with ABC, Power Station, Sister Sledge, Sheila and B. Devotion, Diana Ross, Johnny Mathis, Debbie Harry, Air Supply, and Rod Stewart.

1999, Catatonia scored their second UK No.1 album with 'Equally Cursed And Blessed' the group also had their two other albums in the top 40.

2000, Four Monkee look-alikes were signed to play the 60's pop legends in a TV movie about the group's meteoric rise. The film called 'Daydream Believers' was set to start filming in Toronto.

2003, It was reported that the British share of the most played tracks on UK radio had fallen from 60% to 30% in the past five years. The chart from 2002 had only three UK acts in the Top 10, Sugababes, Blue and Liberty X. The most played single from 2002 was Kylie Minogue's 'Love At First Sight' which had a total of 48,486 plays on UK stations