May 13: This day, that year in music history
Stevie Wonder wasn't born blind, but lost his vision due to a medical negligence
When a botched medical procedure took away a genius’ eyesight
1950
American singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Stevie Wonder, a child wonder who became one of the most respected, admired and successful musicians of the late 20th Century.
Wonder was rendered blind due to an overdose of oxygen when he was put in an incubator after being born six weeks premature.
However, that did not stop him from chasing his dreams from a young age and he signed with Motown’s iconic Tamla label at the age of eleven and continues to perform and record under their banner to this day. His 1963 album Recorded Live: The 12-Year-Old Genius, shot up the charts in no time.
He was one of the first few artists ever to write, produce, arrange, and perform his own songs.
Wonder has won 25 Grammy Awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996.
The Monkees emulate The Beatles
1967
The Monkees, a group created for a television show, were one of only four acts to have their albums hit the No 1 spot in the year.
Their second album, More Of The Monkees, went to No.1 on the UK charts.
The other three albums to reach the No.1 spot that year were, The Sound Of Music, which spent 17 weeks at No.1, The Beatles Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, that enjoyed 25 weeks at the top and The Monekees first album.
Oasis taken Knebworth by storm
1996
English rock band formed Oasis became the fastest selling group in UK history after all 330,000 tickets for their summer shows sold out in Hertfordshire Knebworth House and Loch Lomand in just nine hours. The tickets for the shows were priced at £22.50.
More than four per cent of the population applied for tickets to see Oasis at Knebworth, the largest ever demand for concert tickets in British history.
The band have sold an estimated 75 million records worldwide and been accredicted by Guinness World Records as the most successful act in the UK between 1995 and 2005.
Until Adele’s 25 was released the fastest-selling album in UK history was Oasis's Be Here Now.