Historic events this week from INXS, Pink Floyd, John Lennon, David Bowie and more
SEPTEMBER 7, 1984: INXS PLAYS GUAM
After finishing a North American tour behind their fourth album, The Swing, INXS headed to Guam for two dates to perform for US troops stationed there. They are the first international band ever to perform in Guam.
SEPTEMBER 7, 1987: PINK FLOYD RELEASE A MOMENTARY LAPSE OF REASON
A Momentary Lapse of Reason was the 13th studio album from Pink Floyd. Containing the songs “Learning to Fly” and “On the Turning Away”, it is the band’s first album without founding member Roger Waters.
SEPTEMBER 9, 1971: JOHN LENNON’S SECOND SOLO LP, IMAGINE
John Lennon‘s Imagine contained much socio-political vitriol with songs like “Gimme Some Truth”, “I Don’t Want to Be a Solider, Mama” and “Imagine”, which he summed up as “anti-religious, anti-nationalistic, anti-conventional, anti-capitalistic song, but because it’s sugar-coated, it’s accepted”.
The very personal album contains the vitriolic “How Do You Sleep”, about Paul McCartney dissolving the Lennon/McCartney partnership. Paul McCartney is the only former Beatle to not appear on the classic album.
SEPTEMBER 10, 1991: NIRVANA UNLEASHES “SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT”
Nirvana‘s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is a song widely credited with bringing the grunge and alternative rock movements into the mainstream in the early 1990s. The track’s iconic quiet-to-loud dynamic, combined with its music video depicting a chaotic high school pep rally, resonated with a generation feeling apathetic and disenfranchised.
SEPTEMBER 12, 1975: PINK FLOYD’S WISH YOU WERE HERE
The release of Wish You Were Here gave Pink Floyd their second straight US #1 album. The album contains criticism of the music industry (“Have a Cigar”), self-reflection (“Wish You Were Here”) and a lengthy tribute to Syd Barrett (“Shine On You Crazy Diamond”). With 6 million copies sold in the US, it is their third biggest selling album behind The Dark Side of The Moon and The Wall.
SEPTEMBER 12, 1980: DAVID BOWIE’S SCARY MONSTERS (SUPER CREEPS)
David Bowie‘s Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) was a pivotal album that achieved a strong #12 in the US, successfully merging his experimental inclinations with a more direct sound. Notably, the album’s title was inspired by a Kellogg’s Corn Flakes packet offering “scary monsters and superheroes” toys. It also features a reprisal of his iconic Major Tom character in the hit single “Ashes to Ashes,” and marks his final studio collaboration with long-time producer Tony Visconti for over two decades.
SEPTEMBER 13, 2000: CAMERON CROWE’S ALMOST FAMOUS HITS THEATERS
Stillwater, the fictitious band in Almost Famous, was a composite of the many artists writer/director Cameron Crowe covered as a journalist for Rolling Stone magazine.
One of those bands, Led Zeppelin, loved an early cut of the movie so much, they gave Crowe permission to use five of their songs in the final cut of the film; “That’s the Way,” “The Rain Song,” “Bron-Yr-Aur,” “Tangerine” and “Misty Mountain Hop.” “That’s the Way” would be included on the Grammy award winning soundtrack album.
