2003

Trance music composer Bonky dies in a diving accident in Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia.

Penny Valentine dies of cancer, aged 59. She was one of the UK's first female pop and rock music critics, working for Disc, Sounds, Record Mirror and Melody Maker. She also made several appearances on the tv show Juke Box Jury.

Madonna's album Ray Of Light is certified as 6x platinum in the UK. Her hits compilation, The Immaculate Collection, is certified as 12x platinum in the UK.

Tegan and Sara play in the Bottom Of The Hill, San Francisco California, USA.

Van Morrison plays at the Palacio de Congresos, Madrid, Spain.

On their Overgrown Eden tour, Inme play at Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton, England, UK.

On their Overgrown Eden tour, Inme play at Exeter University, Exeter, England, UK.

Latin percussion virtuoso Mongo Santamaria dies aged 85, after suffering a stroke, in Miami, Florida, USA.

In the UK tv special, Living With Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson reveals details of how he and his brothers were beaten by his father as children. He also reveals that his most recent child, Prince Michael Jackson II was born by a surrogate mother who he had never met.

The controversial BBC tv documentary special, Living With Michael Jackson, is broadcast in Australia for the first time.

Feeder play at The UEA, Norwich, England, UK.

Panic ensues when security guards use pepper spray to break up a fight in the E2 nightclub, Chicago, Illinois, USA. 21 people die and more than 50 are injured.

Bowling For Soup play at The Guildhall, Southampton, England, UK.

Bowling For Soup play at The Academy, Bristol, England, UK.

Feeder play at The Royal Court, Liverpool, England, UK.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers play at The SECC, Glasgow, Scotland, UK.

The first wave of America's "shock and awe" bombing campaign hits Baghdad, Iraq, Western Asia, and the northern Iraqi cities of Mosul and Kirkuk. Pentagon officials stated that the campaign would send 1,500 bombs and missiles over Iraq in the first 24 hours. Deaths are estimated at 6,616. Shock And Awe by Neil Young, Shock And Awe by Teenage Fanclub and Dreaming Of Paris by Van Dyke Parks are among the many songs reflecting on the shock and awe campaign.

The Black Keys release their second album, Thickfreakness, on Fat Possum Records in the USA.

Carlos Guitarlos releases his comeback album, Straight From The Heart in record stores in California, USA. Carlos first found critical success as guitarist with Los Angeles-based blues outfit Top Jimmy And The Rhythm Pigs before relocating to San Francisco, California, USA, where he spent several years scraping a living as a street busker on the corner of 16th and Mission.

Etta James releases a new album, Let's Roll, in the USA. It will win a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album in 2003, and also the Soul/Blues Album of the Year from The Blues Foundation in 2004.

The Tennessee General Assembly issues a decree honouring country singer-songwriter Darryl Worley for his support of American troops. The resolution specifically hails his post-9/11 composition Have You Forgotten?

Carlos Guitarlos performs songs from his comeback album, Straight From The Heart at the Tower Sunset record store in Los Angeles, California, USA. Carlos first found critical success as guitarist with Los Angeles-based blues outfit Top Jimmy And The Rhythm Pigs before relocating to San Francisco, California, USA, where he spent several years scraping a living as a street busker on the corner of 16th and Mission.

Antigone Rising play at The Beat Kitchen, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Noel Redding, bassist of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, dies at home in Ireland, aged 57.

The 1968 album Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison is certified triple platinum by the RIAA in the USA for having sold over three million units.

Kenny Chesney headlines a stadium show for the first time in his career, playing for 61,780 people in the rain at Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. Also on the bill are Brooks And Dunn, Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban, The Warren Brothers and Deana Carter.

Singer-songwriter Barb Jungr releases a new album, Every Grain Of Sand : Barb Jungr Sings Bob Dylan, on Linn Records in the UK. Every song on the album is written by Dylan.

Jazz saxophone star Benny Carter dies aged 95, from complications of bronchitis, in Cedars-Sinai Hospital, Los Angeles, California, USA.

The four-day long Larmer Tree Festival, held near Salisbury, begins. Acts appearing over the weekend include Van Morrison, Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra, The Oysterband, Shooglenifty, Ron Sexsmith, Black Umfolosi and Laura Veirs.

Rascal Flatts come under fire from conservative groups because their video for the song I Melt includes brief glimpses of nudity, (guitarist Joe Don Rooney's bare buttocks, and model Christina Auria taking a shower in the nude). There are calls for the video to be banned from airplay on CMT and Great American Country. Eventually, Rascal Flatts will release an edited version of the video, which aired during daytime hours on the two country music-oriented networks.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers play at Wuhlheide, Berlin, Germany, Europe.

When Motorhead are inducted into the Rock Walk Of Fame in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA, the band's mainman, Lemmy Kilmister, finds a way to make his handprint stand out from the rest. Instead of placing his hand palm-down into the wet cement, he flips his hand over on its back and extends his digitus medius, thus immortalising the universal gesture of disdain known as 'giving the finger' in concrete.

R.E.M. begin a 26-date tour of the USA at the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle, Washington.

Johnny Cash is discharged from Baptist Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, where he has been undergoing treatment for a serious stomach ailment. On the same day, shots are fired in the parking lot of the DoubleTree Suites hotel, Jersey City, New Jersey, while rapper 50 Cent is checking in. The rapper's bodyguard, William Floyd, will later be charged with the offence.

Jack Bruce, 60-year-old legendary bass guitarist for 1960s supergroup Cream, undergoes a liver transplant in an English hospital, after having been diagnosed with liver cancer during the summer. He will almost die when his body rejects the new liver, his kidneys fail and an infection sets in, requiring a lengthy recovery period.

Wilco play at The Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Kate Rusby plays at the The City Hall, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, UK, Europe.

R.E.M. play at The Mann Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

Irish singer-songwriter Damien Rice plays in the Great American Theatre, San Francisco, California, USA.

The Strokes play at The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California, USA, supported by Kings Of Leon.

Camel play at The Stables, Milton Keynes, England, UK, Europe.

Peter Green And The Splinter Group play the last of four nights at Jazz Cafe, Camden Town, London, UK.

Piano jazz star Jamie Cullum ends the year as the UK's biggest selling jazz artist of all time, having signed a £1m record deal eight months earlier and released Twentysomething - his major label debut - which became the fastest-selling jazz album in British chart history.

Jamie Cullum ends the year as the UK's biggest selling jazz artist of all time, having signed a