Today in rock history 27th March

1950 – Tony Banks of Genesis is born 1953 – Wally Stocker (Babys) is born this day 1964 – Beatles have Top 6 singles in Australia. 1965 – Jeff Beck replaces Eric Clapton in The Yardbirds. 1968 – Grapefruit – the Apple group managed by John Lennon – make their stage debut at the Royal Albert Hall. 1972 – Grand Funk Railroad fire their producer/manager Terry Knight. 1973 – Jerry Garcia is busted for speeding on the New Jersey turnpike, but the fifteen-dollar speeding ticket turns into $2,000 bail when the police find pot, cocaine and LSD in Garcia’s car. He spends three hours in jail 1979 – Bruce Springsteen: On the BBC tonight, English TV viewers watch the world premiere of Bruce Springsteen’s first video, a live version of “Rosalita.” 1979 – After a much-publicized love tussle with his friend George Harrison, Eric Clapton finally marries Harrison’s ex-wife, Patti Boyd, in Arizona. 1981 – AC/DC release Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. 1984 – Metallica made their UK live debut at the Marquee, London. 1986 – Sammy Hagar plays his first gig with Van Halen. 1987, U2 performed from the roof of a store in downtown LA to make the video for ‘Where The Streets Have No Name’, attracting thousands of spectators and bringing traffic to a standstill. The police eventually stop the shoot. 1992 – Bruce Springsteen releases the albums Human Touch and Lucky Town on the same day. 1998 – Alice Cooper breaks ground for Cooper’s Town, the 50-year-old rocker’s sportsand rock’n’roll-themed restaurant and bar to be built three blocks from the Arizona Diamondbacks’ baseball stadium. 2000 – Ian Dury, one of the best-loved individuals in recent U.K. music history, dies after a long battle with cancer. He is 57. 2002 – R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe takes the stand to defend guitarist Peter Buck against air rage charges in Britain. Stipe describes Buck as a “Southern gentlemen.” 2003 – The Rolling Stones postpone their Hong Kong concerts over fears of the spread of the killer flu, severe acute respiratory syndrome. 2003 – John Lennon’s childhood home at 251 Menlove Avenue in Liverpool is opened to the public. 2006 – Pete Wells, slide guitarist and one of the founders of Australian power blues band Rose Tattoo, dies in a Sydney hospital. 2007 – The wife of Velvet Revolver singer Scott Weiland was arrested on suspicion of burning over $10,000 (£5,000) of his belongings outside their home after police in southern California found a bin of smouldering clothes. Earlier that day, the couple left two rooms vandalised after an argument at a luxury hotel.