Politics

The Pilgrim Fathers, having crossed the Atlantic Ocean in The Mayflower, catch their first sight of the American coast off Cape Cod, New England. Their journey (and its consequences) will inspire the song Charlie Darwin by The Low Anthem.

The National Barber Shop Quartet Contest is held at the New York World's Fair, in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA. The winners are an Oklahoma police department quartet, The Flat Foot Four, singing Shine, Annie Laurie and Roll Dem Bones. The prize is awarded by New York's Mayor La Guardia.

Anselmo Sacasas And His Royal Havana Orchestra are playing at The Colony Club, Chicago, Illinois, USA, with The Four Senators.

Son House begins several days of recording blues material at Klack's Store, Lake Cormorant, Mississippi, for the Library of Congress Recording initiative.

Noel Coward's ironic song Don't Let's Be Beastly To The Germans is registered for copyright by Chappell And Company, London, England, UK, Europe. The song will be banned by the BBC after listeners, who do not understand the irony, write in to complain that it is pro-German.

The humourous revue Flying Colours opens at The Lyric Theatre in London, England, UK, Europe. Noel Coward's ironic song Don't Let's Be Beastly To The Germans, which had been rehearsed for the show and was printed in the program, is cut at the last moment because of a public furore, caused after listeners who didn't perceive the irony wrote to the BBC complaining that the song was pro-German. After the War, Coward will explain that he had written the song "as a satire directed against a small minority of excessive humanitarians who, in my opinion, were taking a rather too tolerant view of our enemies".

The Army-McCarthy hearings, a congressional inquiry into alleged security lapses in the US Army, are broadcast live for the first time on tv from The Senate In Washington, DC, USA, on the ABC and DuMont networks. The hearings will be broadcast for 36 days to an estimated 80m people. The topical song Senator McCarthy Blues by Hal Block with the Tony Borrello Orchestra reveals the entent to which the hearings had a grip on the public imagination.

On learning that tonight's dance concert at Bell Auditorium in Augusta, Georgia, USA, is to be segregated [whites on the dance floor, blacks in the balcony] headiner Ray Charles announces that he will not be performing and immediately leaves town. He will be sued, taken to court and fined $757.

Nina Simone, Odetta, Lionel Hampton, Brock Peters, local Atilogu dancers and Natalie Hinderas perform at the American Society of African Culture (AMSAC) Festival in the King George V Stadium in Lagos, Nigeria, Africa. This is the first AMSAC event to be held on African soil.

Russian newspaper Komsomolskaia Pravda reports that, "Dozens of cases are known in which possessed dancers of rock'n'roll and The Twist, obsessed and infuriated, have demolished the buildings where they were gathered, have broken windows and chairs and, out in the streets, have staged riots."

The Four Seasons are invited by President Lyndon B. Johnson to perform at The Democratic Party National Convention in the USA.

The Fugs play at The East End Theatre, New York City, USA.

The Staple Singers perform at their local parish, New Nazareth Church, Chicago, Illinois, USA. The event is a service inspired by the Alabama marches. In a spirit-filled set that runs from Civil Rights anthems (We Shall Overcome) to traditional gospel (When The Saints Go Marching In), The Staple Singers introduce their own original material, including the just-composed Freedom Highway. The concert is recorded and will, eventually, be released as Freedom Highway Complete - Recorded Live at Chicago's New Nazareth Church.

The Times reports that former Liberal MP, Hector Dupuis, and former RAF Squadron-leader Paul Pearson, are returning their MBEs to the Queen because The Beatles have been listed in the Birthday Honours.

Phil Ochs plays at The Hartman Theatre, Columbus, Ohio, USA.

Racially motivated disturbances erupt in Freehold, New Jersey, USA. This so-called riot will provide subject matter for Bruce Springsteen's 1985 hit single My Hometown.

Jefferson Airplane, The Sons Of Champlin, Ten Years After and Congress Of Wonders play at Balboa Stadium, San Diego, California, USA.

Country Joe And The Fish and Quicksilver Messenger Service play the first of two nights at The Fillmore East, New York City, USA.

The United States House of Representatives Judiciary Committee opens public impeachment hearings in Washington DC, USA, against President Richard Nixon for his involvement in The Watergate Scandal. Watergate will inspire songwriters to refer to it in the lyrics of many songs, including Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd (1974), I'm So Bored With The USA by The Clash (1977), and Bicycle Race by Queen (1978). Another song telling the story of Watergate in greater detail is The White House Un-American Activities Rag (1974) by Dan Murphy.

In China, the People's Music Press publishes a guide entitled, How To Distinguish Decadent Music, singling out Elvis Presley as an example of the 'expression of confused, blind, excitement' and directing right-thinking Chinese folks towards such wholesome home-grown songs as The Nightsoil Collectors Are Descending The Mountain.

The original queen of protest music, Joan Baez, visits the women at the Greenham Common Peace Camp, demonstrating outside a US airbase in Berkshire, England, UK, Europe, and leads them in a camp-fire sing-song.

Conflict play at The Bierkeller, Leeds, England, UK, Europe.

The Redskins play at King George's Hall, Blackburn, England, UK, Europe.

Politically-oriented Australian folk band Redgum play at The Cricketers, The Oval, London, England, UK, Europe.

Rubella Ballet play at Gossips, London, England, UK, Europe.

Politically-oriented Australian folk band Redgum play at The Half Moon, Putney, London, England, UK, Europe.

Three days of riots begin in the Handsworth area of Birmingham, West Midlands, UK. The riots will inspire the songs Handsworth Riot by Pato Banton and Handsworth Revolution by Steel Pulse.

At a Greenpeace press conference in London, England, UK, Europe, Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders jokes that she once firebombed McDonalds. The remark will provoke an angry response from the burger chain.

Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seeger play at Waterloo Village, Stanhope, New Jersey, USA.

Bob Dylan performs Knockin' On Heaven's Door, A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall and Forever Young for Pope John Paul at the World Eucharistic Congress in Bologna, Italy, Europe.

Electronic music recording artist Muslimgauze is rushed to hospital in Manchester, England, UK, Europe, suffering from a rare fungal infection in his bloodstream, for which he has to be heavily sedated.

The website run by political activist rock band Rage Against the Machine is closed, allegedly by the Secret Service in the USA, who are angered that the group has voiced opinions which are not in line with the US government's views of the World Trade Center attack.

Hungary's Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany and Culture Minister Andras Bozoki announce measures to provide financial assistance for Hungarian music bands, including incentives for live music in clubs, plus sponsorship of radio and TV shows broadcasting Hungarian pop.

Ghetto Gospel by 2Pac (aka Tupac Shakur) featuring Elton John enters the UK pop singles chart at No1.

Oasis, Weezer, Kasabian, Yellowcard, The Others, Black Crowes, Public Enemy, Him, Inme, Bullet For My Valentine, Fightstar, The Las, Teenage Fanclub, Bloc Party, Death Cab For Cutie, Roddy Frame, Eighteen Visions, Alexisonfire and others play at the Summer Sonic Festival in Osaka, Japan, Asia.

Oasis, Weezer, Kasabian, Yellowcard, The Others, Black Crowes, Public Enemy, Him, Inme, Bullet For My Valentine, Fightstar, The Las, Teenage Fanclub, Bloc Party, Death Cab For Cutie, Roddy Frame, Eighteen Visions, Alexisonfire and others play at the Summer Sonic Festival in Chiba Marine Stadium, Tokyo, Japan, Asia.

Jason Mraz plays at The Congress Theatre, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Bryan Adams becomes the first Western musician to perform in Pakistan since the "war on terror" began in 2001, when he plays in The Arabian City Club, Karachi, Pakistan, Asia, to raise funds for earthquake relief.

Sam Duckworth, better known as Get Cape.Wear Cape. Fly., hits out at the British Nationalist Party (BNP) in an interview in UK trade magazine Music Week. He criticises the BNP for their "vile and disgusting" views and for their "Islamophobic stance and their homophobic stance", and encourages musicians and music lovers to unite and speak out against them.

It is reported that British Culture Minister Matt Hancock is to raise concerns with London Mayor Sadiq Khan over the Metropolitan Police's use of the controversial Form 696 which requires venues in London, England, UK, Europe, to supply the names, stage names, addresses and phone numbers of all promoters and artists participating in an event - particularly if a night "predominantly features DJs or MCs performing to a backing track". Originally introduced in London, the form has since been adopted by sixteen other police authorities, and fears are widespread that it has racist implications and is intended particularly to target black and Asian musics such as Grime and hip-hop.

On their DCX MMXVI World Tour, The Dixie Chicks play at The FirstOntario Centre, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, supported by Smooth Hound Smith.

Glenn Tilbrook begins a solo tour with a show at The Ropetackle in Shoreham, England, UK, Europe, to promote awareness and donations for The Trussell Trust, the charity which supports a network of foodbanks around the UK.