Профиль

Born 31 Jul 1953 - Hugh McDowell, cellist with Wizzard and Electric Light Orchestra who had the 1979 UK No. 1 single 'Don't Bring Me Down' plus 26 other top 40 hits. ELO have sold over 50 million records worldwide. McDowell died of cancer on 6 Nov 2018, aged just 65. #HughMcDowell

Born 31 July 1929, businessman, songwriter, record executive & philanthropist Ahmet Ertegün. He worked for Atlantic Records & in 1969, heard Led Zeppelin's demo and knew they would be a smash hit after hearing the first few songs, so quickly signed them. Page was forever grateful. #AhmetErtegün

Richard Griffiths OBE (born 31 Jul 1947) was an English actor of film, TV and stage. He is known for his portrayals of Vernon Dursley in the Harry Potter films (2001–2010), Uncle Monty in Withnail and I (1987 and Henry Crabbe in Pie in the Sky (1994–1997). He died in 2013 aged 65. #RichardGriffiths

31 July 1971, James Taylor went to No.1 on the US singles chart with the Carole King song 'You've Got A Friend', (included in her album Tapestry & James Taylor's album Mud Slide Slim). The song went on to win the 1971 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal male Performance & Song Of The Year. #JamesTaylor

31st July 1969 - Elvis Presley kicked off a four week run at the Las Vegas International Hotel. It was his first live show since 1961 and he reportedly netted $1.5m for the shows. On the menu under the heading "An Elvis special" was polk salad with corn muffins & honey. #ElvisPresley

Born 31st July 1965, J K Rowling’s story is that of rags-to-riches. She is the author of the Harry Potter fantasy series, which have sold more than 500 million copies and is the best-selling book series in history. She also writes crime fiction under the pen name Robert Galbraith. #JKRowling

On 30 July 1977, Andy Gibb achieved his first-ever US Billboard Hot 100 number one hit with "I Just Want To Be Your Everything".The track was written by his older brother, Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, who also provided backup vocals. #AndyGibb

Nichelle Nichols, who died 4 years ago today, was an actress, singer and dancer whose portrayal of Uhura in Star Trek and its film sequels was groundbreaking for African American actresses on US TV. From 1977 to 2015 she used her time to recruit diverse astronauts to NASA. #NichelleNichols #Uhura

Born 30 July 1963, actress Lisa Kudrow. She initially appeared in a 1989 episode of 'Cheers' playing a character named Emily. She rose to fame as Phoebe Buffay in the sitcom Friends (1994 to 2004). Phoebe has since been named as one of the greatest TV characters of all time. #LisaKudrow #Friends

Born 30 July 1958, the one and only Kate Bush. She topped the UK singles charts with her first hit "Wuthering Heights" (self-penned) in March 1978 when she was just 19 years old. The single was produced by David Gilmour. A truly inspiring piece of genius - I loved it. She is 68 today. #KateBush

Born 30 July 1941, Paul Anka is a Canadian-American actor and singer-songwriter. As a songwriter, he has contributed to the success of popular musicians, such as Tom Jones, Frank Sinatra, and Michael Jackson. He had a US No 1 in 1974 with (You're) Having My Baby. He is 85 today. #PaulAnka

Born 30 July 1947, actor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He gained worldwide fame as a Hollywood action star with his breakthrough in the sword and sorcery epic Conan the Barbarian (1982), a huge box-office success with a sequel in 1984. #ArnoldSchwarzenegger

Colt 45 - 1973 US ad. #Colt45

Born 30 July 1949 - Joyce Jones, singer with soul group First Choice, (1973 UK No.9 single 'Smarty Pants). Their hit enabled the group to get national exposure on TV shows such as Dinah, Soul Train and American Bandstand. #FirstChoice #JoyceJones

Born 30 July 1955 - Chris Miller (Rat Scabies), drummer from punk rock band The Damned, who had the very first punk hit single "New Rose" in October 1976. He obtained the nickname Rat Scabies after he was suffering from scabies when a rat ran across the basement floor. #Damned #RatScabies

Cover of Jackie Magazine 4th June 1977 - celebrating the Queen's Silver Jubilee. I remember the occasion well (well parts of it - I got very drunk). This is a 17 year old Leslie Ashe on the cover. She would go on to star in Men Behaving Badly. #Jackie

29 July 1972, Irish singer-songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan hit No. 1 on the Billboard chart with his famous ballad, “Alone Again (Naturally)”. “Between July & Sept 1972 in the US the single spent 6 non-consecutive weeks at No.1 on Billboard's Hot 100 and became the 2nd best selling single of the year.

29 July 1978, The Grease soundtrack, featuring hits by Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta, climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. It stayed at the top spot for a total of 12 non-consecutive weeks. #Grease

(Mama) Cass Elliot died 29th July 1974. She died in Flat 12, 9 Curzon Place, Shepherd Market, Mayfair (the flat was owned by Harry Nilsson), aged just 32. 4 years later, The Who's drummer Keith Moon died in the very same room, also aged 32 years. #MamaCass #KeithMoon

The very first parliamentary election that Screaming Lord Sutch stood in was the Stratford-on-Avon by-election in August 1963, which had been caused by the resignation of John Profumo on 6th June, following the Profumo scandal. Sutch achieved 209 votes. #ScreamingLordSutch