ADVERTISEMENT

January 25th: The Biggest Music Headlines

Scroll down the page to see all the music headlines, stories and events for January 25 throughout music history

Joy Division

Joy Division Make Their Live Debut

On this day in music, January 25, 1978, post-punk giants Joy Division made their live debut at Pips Disco in Manchester, England. The band, who had recently changed their name from Warsaw, would make their recorded debut in June with the self-released EP, An Ideal for Living.. While the band would be short-lived, with only two full-length albums and a handful of singles, they would make a vital contribution to the musical landscape. After Ian Curtis took his own life in 1980, the remaining band members regrouped and continued their era-defining sound into their next project, New Order.

In 1964, The Beatles scored their first of 25 No.1 hits in the US when “I Want to Hold Your Hand” reached the top of the Cash Box Magazine music chart.

In 2015, Greek singer, songwriter, and musician Demis Roussos died at the age of 68. Initially known for his work in Aphrodite’s Child alongside synthesizer pioneer Vangelis, Roussos found global stardom with his solo hits in the 70s and 80s, including “Forever and Ever,” “Goodbye, My Love, Goodbye” and “From Souvenirs to Souvenirs.” During his lengthy career, the kaftan-wearing star sold more than 60 million albums worldwide.

In 1992, the inaugural Big Day Out festival took place at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, Australia. Nirvana and Violent Femmes served as the headliners.
​​
In 1963, The Rolling Stones played a show at the Ricky Tick Club at the Star and Garter Hotel, in Windsor, UK, where they introduced Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman as members for the first time. The band would play the unique venue (where all the walls were painted black and the lighting was made out of old ice-cream tins) more than three dozen times.

Looking for more things that happened on this day in music?
Keep scrolling for all of the headlines for January 25.

BORN ON JANUARY 25:

1931: Stig Anderson (songwriter, producer)
1938: Etta James
1950: Michael Cotten (The Tubes)
1954: Robert Finch (KC and the Sunshine Band)
1956: Andy Cox (The Beat, Fine Young Cannibals)
1981: Alicia Keys
1996: Calum Hood (5 Seconds of Summer)

Looking for more artists born on this day?
Keep scrolling for all of our January 25 birthdays.


What to find another day?


January 25th

On this day in music
25 Jan 2022
Swedish guitarist Fredrik Johansson died from cancer at the age of 47. He was a member of death metal band Dark Tranquillity for almost six years. His final album with the group would be the band's fourth release, Projector, in 1999.
25 Jan 2020
Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi was at No.1 on the UK chart with his debut album Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent. The album featured the UK and US No.1 single 'Someone You Loved' which was the best-selling single of 2019 in the UK and received an award for Song of the Year at the 2020 Brit Awards. As of 2023, 'Someone You Loved' is the 3rd most streamed song on Spotify, with over 3 billion streams on the platform.
25 Jan 2015
Greek singer Demis Roussos, who sold more than 60 million albums worldwide, died aged 68 in hospital in Athens. In the 1970s he was a member of Aphrodite's Child, a progressive rock group that also included Vangelis. He was best known for his solo hits in the 1970s and 80s, including 'Forever and Ever, Goodbye' and 'Quand je t'aime'.
25 Jan 2014
Susan Boyle applied for a minimum wage, £6-an-hour cashier's job after spotting a job advert in the window of her local bookmakers, Ladbrokes, in Blackburn, west Lothian. Upon reading the advert the singer who is said to worth over £20m entered the premises and spent around five minutes talking to the shop's deputy manager David Corr about the role.
25 Jan 2011
A former Miss Canada finalist became the first person in the world to graduate with a Masters degree in The Beatles. Canadian singer Mary-Lu Zahalan-Kennedy, 53, was one of the first students to sign up for the course on the Fab Four when it launched at Liverpool Hope University in March 2009. The ground-breaking course looked at the studio sound and composition of The Beatles and how Liverpool helped to shape their music as well as examining the significance of the music of The Beatles and their impact on Western culture.
25 Jan 2008
British Sea Power's keyboard and cornet player Phil Sumner, ended up in hospital after being knocked unconscious when he attempted a stage dive. The crowd at Leeds Irish Centre failed to catch him when he jumped off a 12-foot PA system landing head first. A spokeswoman for the band said: "The impact knocked him out straight away. He was unconscious for three minutes and there was a lot of blood."
25 Jan 2005
Ray Peterson, the voice behind the June 1960, US No.7 hit, 'Tell Laura I Love Her' passed away at the age of 65. After the hit records stopped coming in the early seventies, Peterson became a Baptist Church minister and occasionally played the oldies music circuit.
25 Jan 2004
Bob Dylan was paid by ladies underwear company Victoria’s Secret to fly to Venice in Northern Italy, to film a TV advertisement in an ancient palazzo with a scantily dressed model. Some fans were upset while others empathized with Dylan.
25 Jan 2003
After a raft of Grammy nominations, Norah Jones's debut album Come Away With Me went to No.1 on the US chart 11 months after it was released staying at the top for three weeks. The album won Grammy Awards for Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. The song 'Don't Know Why' won Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. The album has sold over 27 million copies worldwide as of 2016, making it one of the Best Selling Albums of all time.
25 Jan 1992
The inaugural Big Day Out festival took place at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney. Acts appearing included, Nirvana, Beasts of Bourbon, Box The Jesuits, Celibate Rifles, Cosmic Psychos, The Clouds, Club Hoy, Died Pretty, Falling Joys, The Hard Ons with Henry Rollins Hellmen, Massappeal, The Meanies, Smudge, Sound Unlimited Posse, Ratcat, The Village Idiots, Violent Femmes and Yothu Yindi.
25 Jan 1989
Bobby Brown was arrested for an overtly sexually suggestive performance after a show in Columbus; he was fined $652 under the anti-lewdness ordinance law.
25 Jan 1986
Norwegian group A-Ha were at No.1 in the UK with 'The Sun Always Shines On TV,' becoming the first ever-Norwegian act to score a UK No.1 hit single. The track was released as the third single from their debut studio album, Hunting High and Low (1985).
25 Jan 1986
US manager Albert Grossman died of a heart attack while flying on Concorde from New York to London. He managed Bob Dylan (between 1962 and 1970), Peter, Paul and Mary, The Band, Janis Joplin and Todd Rundgren. Grossman built the Bearsville Recording Studio near Woodstock in 1969 and in 1970 he founded Bearsville Records.
25 Jan 1984
Yoko Ono donated £250,000 ($425,000) to Liverpool old people's home Strawberry Fields.
25 Jan 1978
After changing their name from Warsaw, (inspired by the song Warszawa on David Bowie's Low album), Joy Division made their live debut when they played at Pips Disco in Manchester, England.
25 Jan 1975
The last Sunbury Rock Festival in Victoria Australia was held. The promoters who had made heavy losses only paid Deep Purple. AC/DC were scheduled to play after Deep Purple but a fight started on stage between road crews after Purple's set when they began packing up the lights and PA and denied AC/DC use of them, who then left the festival site without playing at all.
25 Jan 1975
The Carpenters went to No.1 on the US singles chart with their version of The Marveletts 1961 hit 'Please Mr. Postman'. The song is notable as the first Motown song to reach the No.1 position on the Billboard singles chart late 1961.
25 Jan 1974
Led Zeppelin appeared at the Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana to over 17,000 fans. The set list included: 'Rock And Roll', 'Over The Hills And Far Away', 'The Song Remains The Same', 'The Rain Song', 'Kashmir', 'The Wanton Song', 'No Quarter', 'Trampled Under Foot', 'Moby Dick', 'How Many More Times', 'Stairway To Heaven', 'Whole Lotta Love' and 'Black Dog'. Tickets cost $8.50.
25 Jan 1973
David Bowie finished a week of rehearsals at the Royal Ballroom, Tottenham, London, for the forthcoming UK leg of his Ziggy Stardust tour. Bowie had already played dates in North America and Japan, the tour saw the singer playing a total of 182 dates.
25 Jan 1969
Pink Floyd appeared at the Sixty Nine Club, Royal York Hotel, Ryde, Isle of Wight, England. Support band was The Cherokees, who had had a minor hit single in 1964 with Seven Golden Daffodils produced by Mickie Most. They later changed their name to New York Public Library.
25 Jan 1967
The Beatles made a last-minute remix of 'Penny Lane' before the pressing of their next double A sided single 'Strawberry Fields Forever / Penny Lane'. Both songs were originally intended for the forthcoming Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
25 Jan 1964
The Beatles scored their first No.1 best seller in the US when I Want to Hold Your Hand reached the top of the Cash Box Magazine music chart. 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' became the Beatles' best-selling single worldwide, selling more than 12 million copies. It was the first Beatles record to be made using four-track recording equipment.
25 Jan 1964
Phil Spector appeared as a panellist on this week's UK TV show Juke Box Jury. The series featured celebrity showbusiness guests on a rotating weekly panel who were asked to judge the hit potential of recent record releases. By 1962 the programme was attracting 12 million viewers weekly on Saturday nights.
25 Jan 1963
The Rolling Stones played at the Ricky Tick Club at the Star and Garter Hotel, Windsor, Berkshirehire, UK. This was the first time The Rolling Stones, including Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman, played at this venue. All the walls in the club were painted black and the lighting was made out of old ice-cream tins.
Born on this day in music
25 Jan 1996
Calum Hood from 5 Seconds Of Summer who had a No.1 UK hit with 'She Looks So Perfect', and their debut album was a US No.1 and UK No.2. 5 Seconds of Summer were also the first Australian act to achieve a US No.1 album with their debut album.
25 Jan 1981
Alicia Keys, American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, (born Alicia J. Augello-Cook). Scored the 2001 US No.1 & UK No.3 single 'Fallin' and the 2001 US No.1 & UK No.7 album 'Songs In A Minor'. Keys has sold over 25 million albums and singles worldwide and won numerous awards, including nine Grammys.
25 Jan 1977
Christian Ingebrigtsen, singer with pop group A1 who had the 2000 UK No.1 single, 'Same Old Brand New You'.
25 Jan 1963
Carl Fysh, vocals, Brother Beyond who had the 1988 UK No. 2 single 'The Harder I Try'.
25 Jan 1962
Peter Coyle from the English new wave band The Lotus Eaters who had the 1983 UK No.15 single 'First Picture Of You' which was a hit in continental Europe, notably France, Italy, Belgium and Spain.
25 Jan 1958
Gary Tibbs bassist who has worked with Roxy Music and Adam And The Ants who had the 1981 UK No.1 single 'Stand And Deliver' plus 15 other Top 40 UK singles.
25 Jan 1956
Andy Cox, guitarist with British band The Beat who had the 1983 UK No.3 single 'Can't Get Used To Losing You'. Also a member of Fine Young Cannibals who had the 1989 US No.1 & UK No.5 single 'She Drives Me Crazy'.
25 Jan 1954
Robert Finch, singer with American disco and funk group KC and the Sunshine Band who had the 1975 US No.1 single 'That's The Way, I Like It', and the 1983 UK No.1 single 'Give It Up'.
25 Jan 1953
Malcolm Green, drummer from New Zealand group Split Enz who had the 1980 UK No.12 single 'I Got You'. Split Enz had ten albums (including seven studio albums) reach the top ten of the Official New Zealand Music Chart.
25 Jan 1950
Michael Cotten, synthesiser, The Tubes who had the 1977 UK No.28 single 'White Punks On Dope' and the 1983 US No.10 single 'She's A Beauty'.
25 Jan 1949
John Cooper Clarke, 'Bard of Salford', Manchester, poet laureate. Well known for 'Kung Fu International', 'I Married A Monster From Outer Space', 'The Day My Pad Went Mad'.
25 Jan 1938
American singer Etta James, who had 9 US Top 40 hits during the 60s and the 1996 UK No.5 single 'I Just Want To Make Love To You'. In 2008, James was portrayed by Beyoncé Knowles in the film Cadillac Records, a fictional account of Chess Records, James's label for 18 years. By the mid-1960s, James was addicted to heroin and encountered a string of legal problems and time in jail for violating probation due to her addiction. James died on January 20, 2012.
25 Jan 1931
Swedish songwriter, producer and ABBA's manager Stig Anderson. He co-wrote some of ABBA's biggest hits, such as ‘Waterloo’, ‘Mamma Mia’, ‘S.O.S’, ‘Fernando’, ‘Dancing Queen', ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You’. During the 1960s he was one of Sweden's most prolific songwriters, producing more than 3,000 published titles. Anderson died of a heart attack on 12th Sept 1997.
25 Jan 1915
Folk singer, songwriter, socialist, actor, poet, playwright, and record producer Ewan MacColl, who was the composer of 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face' a hit for Roberta Flack in 1971 for which he won a Grammy. He also composed 'Dirty Old Town' in 1949 that was made popular by The Dubliners and The Pogues. MacColl died on 22nd October 1989. He was the father of singer/songwriter Kirsty MacColl.
uDiscover Music - Back To Top
uDiscover Music - Back To Top