Historic events this week from Pink Floyd, John & Yoko, Bob Dylan, Ozzy Osbourne and Neil Young
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JANUARY 19, 1980: THE WALL‘S 15-WEEK RUN AT #1
Pink Floyd followed up two 5-song LPs in a row with a 26-song rock opera.
The Wall went to #1 in the US and remained there for 15 consecutive weeks.
The massively successful album has sold over 30,000,000 copies worldwide.
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JANUARY 20, 1970: JOHN & YOKO SHAVE THEIR HEADS FOR CHARITY
The Lennon’s shaved their heads while on holiday in Denmark. They traded the hair for a pair of Muhammed Ali’s boxing shorts. Ali’s shorts were then sold to raise money for John & Yoko’s peace campaign.
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JANUARY 20, 1975: BOB DYLAN’S BLOOD ON THE TRACKS
The masterpiece details immense pain and personal turmoil. Recorded towards the end of his second marriage, Blood on the Tracks is widely believed to be an autobiographical album. Dylan refutes this, stating he doesn’t write “confessional songs”.
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JANUARY 20, 1982: OZZY BITES A BAT’S HEAD OFF
During a show in Des Moines, a fan threw a bat onto the stage. Reports differ as to whether it was dead or unconscious. What is known, is Ozzy bit its head off, believing it was made of rubber.
Immediately, something felt wrong. My mouth was instantly full of this warm, gloopy liquid. I could feel it staining my teeth and running down my chin. Then the head in my mouth twitched. – Ozzy
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JANUARY 22, 1972: NEIL YOUNG’S DEBUT SOLO ALBUM
Between Buffalo Springfield’s final album and CSN&Y’s classic Déjà Vu, Young released his self-titled debut as a solo artist. Despite being plagued with production issues, it resembled Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited and Young’s work with Buffalo Springfield.
