STACK #182 Dec 2019

MUSIC FEATURE

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Nile feels a keen sting, Gangnam Style is a thing, and an irritating

amphibian becomes ringtone king: We've combed the dusty archives to assemble this calendar of notable dates, events, and oddities of music history for December.

DEC 21, 2012 Gangnam Style by South Korean

musician Psy becomes the first

YouTube video to reach 1 billion views. By the year's end, the track has reached #1 in more than 30 countries.

a drug conviction (Johnny Rotten), an undisclosed criminal record (Steve Jones), and 'moral turpitude' (Paul Cook and Sid Vicious). DEC 17, 2015 After it’s revealed that Liam Gallagher and ex-wife Nicole Appleton had blown over £800,000 on legal fees to finalise their divorce, a London judge orders their assets be divided equally and immediately, with each party receiving £5.4 million. DEC 18, 1995 A bust of the late American multi- instrumentalist and free-form improvisation artist Frank Zappa is erected in Vilnius,

Dec 2, 1969 After being kidnapped at knifepoint by a maintenance man who worked in the building she lived in, The Supremes’ Cindy Birdsong escapes by leaping from the man’s car on the San Diego freeway. The attacker is arrested four days later in Las Vegas. DEC 4, 2006 Search engine giant Yahoo reveals that the most-searched term of 2006 was ‘Britney Spears'.

DEC 22, 1984 Madonna's Like A Virgin – produced by Chic's Nile Rodgers – begins a six-week run at #1 on the US charts. Its lyrics cause uproar amongst conservative groups who say the song celebrates sex before marriage. DEC 24, 1988 Nirvana borrow $600 from an old school buddy and use it to begin recording their debut album, Bleach .

DEC 7, 1992 The first Sony Minidisc is released in the United States: Mariah Carey's MTV Unplugged .

DEC 27, 2005

the capital of the Republic Of Lithuania. The statue's creation, placement and unveiling is

In a year in which the UK ringtone

market was worth more than twice the value of

the work of Lithuanian photographer and Zappa Fan Club President Saulius Paukštys, whose fascination with the musician began when he heard bootleg Zappa recordings smuggled into Lithuania during the country's Communist rule. Though Zappa never set foot in Lithuania in his life, the two men met in California in 1992.

DEC 9, 1978 Le Freak by Nile Rodgers’ band Chic

begins a seven-week run at #1 on the US singles chart. Rodgers has said the song was written after he was refused entry to Studio 54 on New Years Eve in 1977, despite having been invited by Grace Jones; the lyrics were originally "F-ck off!" instead of "Freak out!".

CD single sales, it's announced that Crazy Frog by Axel F is the best-selling

ringtone of 2005. Second place goes to Sweetie Chick's Tweet Tweet , and third is (Is This The Way To) Amarillo by Tony Christie and Peter Kay. DEC 28, 1983 The Beach Boys’ Dennis Wilson sails a friend’s yacht out into California’s Marina Del Rey, to try to find personal items he’d thrown overboard his own boat three years previously during a party. He makes two successful dives, but on the third, he drowns. Wilson is given a burial at sea, which is normally reserved for Naval officers.

DEC 19, 1915 French cabaret singer, songwriter and actress Édith Piaf is born in the Belleville district of Paris. During her 47 years of life 'The Little Sparrow' becomes one of France's most beloved international icons, most well- known for her songs La Vie En Rose (1946) and Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (1960).

DEC 15, 1977 Members of The Sex Pistols are each individually refused entry into the United States, two days before they're due to appear on American television. The reasons:

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DECEMBER 2019

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