American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift was at No.1 on the UK chart with her tenth studio album Midnights. The album broke a string of records globally. It achieved the Spotify feat for the most single-day streams of an album and topped the charts in 28 territories. All of its tracks entered the Billboard Global 200 simultaneously; it set the record for the most simultaneous top-10 entries (nine) and made Swift the first artist to occupy the entire top five.

Taylor Swift's latest album 1989 debuted at No.1 on America's Billboard albums chart selling 1.287 million copies in its first week. Swift was now the only act to earn three million-selling weeks with an album. Before 1989, Red sold 1.208 million in it's first week, while Speak Now clocked up 1.047 million sales.

Madonna scored her 36th Top Ten single with ‘Hung Up’, equaling the record with Elvis Presley for the most Top Ten singles. ‘Hung Up’ was also Madonna's 47th Top Forty single, the most for any female artist. The track sampled the instrumental riff from ABBA's 'Gimme, Gimme, Gimme'.

Winners at this years MTV awards included Christina Aguilera for Best female, Coldplay won Best group, Justin Timberlake won Best album for ‘Justified’, The Panjabi MC won best dance act. Best R&B act went to Beyoncé. Eminem won the best hip-hop act award for the fifth year running. Reggae artist Sean Paul took the best new act award and best video was won by Sigur Ros. An estimated one billion people in 28 countries watched the show, which was held in Edinburgh, Scotland for the first time.

Meat Loaf was at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'I'd' Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That). The track was also a No.1 in over 25 other countries.

Pearl Jam went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'Vs', selling 950,378 copies making it the highest sales in US album history in one week.

Madonna released 'Justify My Love', the first VHS video single in the US. (Queen released 'Who Wants To Live Forever' as a Video Single in the UK four years earlier). Co written by Lenny Kravitz, the song became Madonna's ninth No.1 single on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No.2 in the United Kingdom.

Soft Cell's version of Tainted Love achieved the longest unbroken run on the UK charts when it logged its 43rd week in the Top 100. American artist Gloria Jones made the first recording of 'Tainted Love' in 1964 when it was the B-side of her 1965 single 'My Bad Boy's Comin' Home'. The track's Motown-influenced sound was favoured by those involved in the UK's Northern soul club scene of the early 1970s.

Jennifer Warnes and Joe Cocker started a three week run at No.1 on the US with a song taken from the film 'An Officer And A Gentleman', 'Up Where We Belong'.

ABBA started a four week run at No.1 on the UK single chart with 'The Name Of The Game', the group's 6th No.1. The song was first called 'A Bit Of Myself.'

The Steve Miller Band went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Rock 'n' Me', the group's second US No.1, a No.11 in the UK.

During a UK tour, Billy Murcia of The New York Dolls died after choking on his coffee after an overdose of Mandrax. The influential American band formed in 1972 and made just two albums, the 1973 'New York Dolls' and 1974 'Too Much Too Soon'.

Cher started a two-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Gypsys, Tramps and Thieves', the singer's first US solo No.1, it made No.4 in the UK. The song earned Cher a Grammy Award nomination in the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance category.

Joe Cocker was at No.1 in the UK singles chart with his version of The Beatles song With a Little Help from My Friends. His version featured drums by Procol Harum's B.J. Wilson, guitar lines from Jimmy Page was a radical re-arrangement of the original song.

Working at Abbey Road studio in London, The Beatles mixed four songs, ‘Hello Goodbye’, ‘Your Mother Should Know’, ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ and ‘I Am the Walrus’. Due to the radio feed used in ‘I Am The Walrus’ being recorded in mono, the song changes from stereo to mono at the line "Sitting in an English garden".

During a three hour session Bob Dylan recorded ‘All Along The Watchtower’ and ‘John Wesley Harding’ at Columbia Recording Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. The Jimi Hendrix Experience later recorded their version of ‘All Along the Watchtower' on January 21, 1968, at Olympic Studios in London after Hendrix had been given a tape of Dylan’s recording by publicist Michael Goldstein, who worked for Dylan’s manager Albert Grossman.

The Rolling Stones started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Get Off Of My Cloud', the group's second US No.1. The song knocked The Beatles 'Yesterday' from the No.1 position.

During their first promotional visit to the UK, The Beach Boys appeared live on ITV's Ready Steady Go! playing 'I Get Around' and 'When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)'. Ready Steady Go! was one of the UK's first rock/pop music TV programmes which ran from August 1963 until December 1966.

Jimmy Dean started a five week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Big Bad John', a No.2 on the UK chart. Jimmy went on to present a prime time variety show on US TV.

Austrian singer, media personality and drag queen Conchita Wurst. He came to international attention after winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 for Austria with the song 'Rise Like a Phoenix'. His win brought him international attention and established him as a gay icon.

Trevor Penick, from American boy band O-Town, who were the winners of US TV show 'Making The Band' They scored the 2001 US No. 3 single 'All Or Nothing'.

Paul Gilbert, guitarist, with American hard rock supergroup Mr. Big, who had the 1992 hit 'To Be With You', which was a No.1 single in 15 countries. The band takes its name from a song by Free, which they covered on the 1993 album Bump Ahead. Gilbert was voted fourth-best on Guitar One magazine's 2007 "Top 10 Greatest Guitar Shredders of All Time".

American singer Corey Glover. He is the lead vocalist of the rock band Living Colour and has toured as the vocalist for the funk band Galactic. Living Colour has released six studio albums. The band rose to fame with their debut album Vivid in 1988. Although they scored several hits, Living Colour are best known for their signature song 'Cult of Personality', which won a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1990. They also scored the 1991 UK No.12 single 'Love Rears Its Ugly Head'.

Paul Brindley, guitarist with English alternative rock band The Sundays. Their first album, Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, was released in 1990 and was a UK Top 5 hit along with the single 'Here's Where the Story Ends'.

American musician Craig Goldy, best known as the guitarist of the rock bands Dio and Giuffria. Goldy co-wrote the song 'Lady Luck' with David Lee Roth on the latter's 1991 album A Little Ain't Enough. He has also worked with Welsh heavy metal pioneers Budgie.

Scottish rock musician Chris Glen, who was the bassist in the Sensational Alex Harvey Band who had the 1975 UK No.7 single 'Delilah, and the 1975 album Next. He later had a brief spell with guitarist John Martyn and also worked with The Michael Schenker Group.

American musician Glenn Frey, a founding member of the rock band the Eagles. He was the co-lead singer and frontman, roles he came to share with fellow member Don Henley, with whom he wrote most of Eagles' material. Frey played guitar and keyboards as well as singing lead vocals on songs such as 'Take It Easy', 'Peaceful Easy Feeling', 'Tequila Sunrise', 'Already Gone', 'James Dean', 'Lyin' Eyes', 'New Kid in Town', and 'Heartache Tonight'. He scored the solo hit in 1985 with 'The Heat Is On'. Frey died on 18 Jan 2016 at the age of 67 in New York City from complications arising from rheumatoid arthritis, colitis and pneumonia. A life-sized statue of Frey was unveiled at the Standin' on the Corner Park in Winslow, Arizona, on September 24, 2016, to honour his songwriting contributions to 'Take It Easy'. The song was the Eagles' first single in 1972.

John Wilson, drummer with the Northern Irish band Them who had the 1965 UK hits 'Baby, Please Don't Go' and 'Here Comes The Night' with Van Morrison on lead vocals. Morrison quit the band in 1966 and went on to a successful career as a solo artist.

Scottish-Australian musician, songwriter and record producer George Young. With The Easybeats he had the 1966 UK No.6 & 1967 US No. 16 single 'Friday On My Mind'. After the band broke up in 1969, Young and fellow member Harry Vanda embarked on a songwriting career that saw the pair produce dozens of hits. They became two of Australia's best-known songwriters, with Young's work including 'Love Is In The Air' and 'Yesterday's Hero' both hits for John Paul Young. Vanda and Young were also the producers of early work by AC/DC, formed by his younger brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. George Young died on 22 October 2017 at the age of 70, three weeks before his brother Malcolm Young (of AC/DC) died.

American musician, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Doug Sahm. With the Sir Douglas Quintet, he had the 1965 US No. 13 single ‘She’s About A Mover’. The track was featured in the film High Fidelity. Sahm was found dead in his hotel room during a vacation trip to New Mexicoon on 18th November 1999.

American country singer-songwriter Guy Clark. Many artists have covered he songs, includidng Johnny Cash, George Strait, Jimmy Buffett, Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Willie Nelson and Nanci Griffith. He won the 2014 Grammy Award for Best Folk Album: My Favorite Picture of You. Clark died 17 May 2016 in Nashville following a lengthy battle with lymphoma.

American singer, songwriter, and actor. P. J. Proby (born James Marcus Smith. Proby is best known for his 1964 UK No.3 hit 'Hold Me', (which features Jimmy Page on rhythm guitar). In 1977, he appeared as a contestant on the UK television talent show Opportunity Knocks. He wore an eye mask and was billed as "The Masked Singer". In 2002, Van Morrison recorded a song for his album Down the Road entitled 'Whatever Happened to P. J. Proby?'.

American country music singer and musician Stonewall Jackson. His breakthrough came in the country Top 40 in late 1958, with a song written by a young George Jones, ‘Life to Go’. He died on 4 December in Nashville, Tennessee, at the age of 89.

American drummer Paul English. He was Willie Nelson's long-time drummer and was the titular "Paul" of the Willie Nelson album Me and Paul as well as the title track of that album. English also had a role in Nelson's movie Red Headed Stranger (1986). He died on 11 Feb 2020 after a bout of pneumonia age 87.