CHALK DUST – THE BRAT
#19 JULY 1982
ROGER KITTER (BORN 1950) IS A BRITISH ACTOR BEST KNOWN FOR PLAYING CAPTAIN ALBERTO BERTORELLI IN THE SITCOM TV SERIES ‘ALLO ‘ALLO!
HE ALSO RECORDED A SONG “CHALK DUST – THE UMPIRE STRIKES BACK” USING THE MONIKER ‘THE BRAT’.
RELEASED ON THE HANSA LABEL, IT ENTERED THE UK SINGLES CHART ON 10 JULY 1982; IT REACHED A PEAK OF NUMBER 19, AND REMAINED IN THE CHART FOR 8 WEEKS.[
THE SONG WAS A TOP 10 HIT IN THE NETHERLANDS, BELGIUM AND SOUTH AFRICA, AND LAMPOONED JOHN MCENROE COMPLAINING ABOUT LINE CALLS IN TENNIS HE IS ALSO AN IMPRESSIONIST.
1962, JIMI HENDRIX WAS HONOURABLY DISCHARGED FROM THE 101ST AIRBORNE PARATROOPERS, AFTER BREAKING HIS ANKLE DURING HIS 26TH AND FINAL PARACHUTE JUMP.
1969, BASSIST NOEL REDDING AND DRUMMER MITCH MITCHELL QUIT THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE AFTER COMPLETING THE THREE-DAY DENVER POP FESTIVAL. HENDRIX AND DRUMMER MITCH MITCHELL WOULD LATER TEAM WITH BASSIST BILLY COX TO FORM THE SHORT-LIVED GYPSY SUN AND RAINBOWS, WHO PLAYED AT THE WOODSTOCK FESTIVAL.
1988, TRACY CHAPMAN STARTED A THREE-WEEK RUN AT NO.1 ON THE UK ALBUM CHART WITH HER SELF-TITLED DEBUT LP. HELPED BY HER PERFORMANCE AT THE ‘NELSON MANDELA’S 70TH BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE CONCERT’ AT WEMBLEY STADIUM, ALSO NO.1 IN THE US.
1991, AXL ROSE CAUSED A RIOT TO BREAK OUT DURING A GUNS N’ ROSES GIG AFTER LEAPING INTO THE CROWD TO REMOVE A CAMERA FROM A FAN AT THE RIVERPOINT AMPHITHEATRE, MARYLAND HEIGHTS. OVER 50 PEOPLE WERE INJURED AND 15 FANS WERE ARRESTED.
2001, LIVERPOOL AIRPORT AT SPEKE WAS RENAMED JOHN LENNON AIRPORT. YOKO ONO WAS PRESENT TO UNVEIL A NEW LOGO THAT INCLUDED THE LATE BEATLE’S FAMOUS SELF- PORTRAIT AND THE WORDS, ‘ABOVE US ONLY SKY’ TAKEN FROM HIS ‘IMAGINE’ ALBUM.
2007, LYRICIST HY ZARET, WHO WROTE THE WORDS FOR THE SONG UNCHAINED MELODY DIED AT HIS HOME IN WESTPORT, CONNECTICUT, AGED 99. THE SONG (WHICH DOES NOT FEATURE THE WORD “UNCHAINED”), HAS BEEN RECORDED OVER 300 TIMES. ZARET CO-WROTE THE SONG WITH FILM COMPOSER ALEX NORTH FOR THE 1955 PRISON FILM UNCHAINED. THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS’ 1965 VERSION WAS PRODUCED BY PHIL SPECTOR.
BORN TODAY
1940, PAUL WILLIAMS, VOCALS, THE TEMPTATIONS, (1971 US NO.1 & UK NO.8 SINGLE ‘JUST MY IMAGINATION’ AND RE- ISSUED ‘MY GIRL’ UK NO.2 IN 1992). DIED ON 17TH AUGUST
1942, LEAPY LEE, UK SINGER, (LEE GRAHAM), 1968 UK NO.2 SINGLE ‘LITTLE ARROWS’.
1952,, JOHNNY COLLA, GUITAR, SAX, HUEY LEWIS AND THE NEWS, (1985 US NO.1 & UK NO.11 SINGLE ‘THE POWER OF LOVE’).
1954, PETE BRIQUETTE, BASS, VOCALS, THE BOOMTOWN RATS,
1961, ANNIE RUDDOCK, VOCALS, AMAZULU
1961, PAUL GEARY, DRUMS, EXTREME, (1991 US NO.1 & UK NO.2 SINGLE ‘MORE THAN WORDS’).
