Tag: Wham

queer for april 20


April 20, 1939
The first civil rights song, “Strange Fruit,” an Abel Meeropol poem originally titled “Bitter Fruit” and later set to music, was recorded by Billie Holiday. It became Holliday’s biggest record success


1959
The first single by 13-year-old Dolly Parton was released on Gold Band Records. It was called “Puppy Love.” and it would become a hit record in the 1970s for the anti-lgbtq2 mormon Donny Osmond.


1968

Aretha Franklin enjoyed a third straight week at #1 on the R&B chart with “(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You’ve Been Gone”. and was on the pop chart at #5


1971
Barbra Streisand recorded “We’ve Only Just Begun.”


1974“Bennie And The Jets” fell to #2 for Elton John,


1985
single charts: Madonna #2 with “Crazy For You”
LP Charts: Madonna with Like a Virgin at 6, Wham’s #7 album Make It Big


1986
Vladimir Horowitz returned to Russia to perform after being away for almost 60 years. Horowitz, who denied being homosexual, once joked, “[t]here are three kinds of pianists: Jewish pianists, homosexual pianists, and bad pianists.”

1992
Madonna signed a deal with Time Warner to set up a multimedia company. The reported $60 million deal made her the highest-paid woman in pop music.


The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert was held at London’s Wembley Stadium. Def Leppard, Lisa Stansfield, Elton John, David Bowie, Robert Plant, Annie Lennox, Guns N’ Roses, Roger Daltrey, George Michael, Metallica, Liza Minnelli, Spinal Tap, and the three remaining members of Queen performed Freddie’s major hits. Elizabeth Taylor also appeared. The concert was televised to more than 1 billion viewers worldwide and is listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as “The largest rock star benefit concert.”

April 20, 1994
At Wembley Stadium, Barbra Streisand gave her first London concert in 28 years.

1996

Celine Dion was #1 for the fifth week out of six eventually with “Because You Loved Me”. Mariah Carey could not top her with the #2 “Always Be My Baby”.

queer for april 18

queer for april 18
1965
Little Richard performed at New York’s famed Paramount Theater. A member of his backup group at the time was a young guitarist named Jimi Hendrix.
1985

Liberace grossed more than $2,000,000 for his engagement at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall. He broke his own record of $1.6 million.


Wham! Became the first-ever Western pop act to have an album released in China. (Blogger nina notes: Elvis)
1987

Aretha Franklin and George Michael started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘I Knew You Were Waiting’ also a No.1 in the UK. Aretha Franklin set a record for the artist with the longest gap between US No.1 singles, it had been 19 years, 10 months from her last hit ‘Respect’ in June 1967.


2006
A sale of clothes belonging to Sir Elton John raised more than $700,000 (£395,000) for the singer’s Aids charity. Over 10,000 pieces were sold during a five-day sale in New York City at the specially-created shop, Elton’s Closet, at New York’s Rockefeller Centre.

2011
Lady Gaga had song #5 “Born This Way”.


Elton John announced that he’ll return to The Coliseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas with his “Million Dollar Piano” show starting in September. His first stay at Caesars Palace ended in April 2009, but was extended to a five-year run because of audience demand.

queer (and allies) for april 7

1967
Sonny & Cher‘s movie “Good Times” debuted in Chicago, IL.

1979
#1 “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor,

1984
#2 “Somebody’s Watching Me” by Rockwell

#4 “Here Comes The Rain Again” by the Eurythmics

1985

Wham! became the first western pop group to perform live in China, when they played at the workers gymnasium in Beijing. Several solo performers had played China before.

Prince ended his 32-city tour in Miami, FL, and said that he was withdrawing from live performances for “an indeterminate number of years.” He later returned to live performing.

1990
Elton John sang “Candle in the Wind” for Ryan White, a boy with AIDS who died a day later.

1998

George Michael was arrested at The Will Rogers Memorial Park for committing a sex act in a public toilet. He was arrested by undercover Beverly Hills police officer Marcelo Rodriguez. Michael later said; “I was followed into the restroom and this cop – well, I didn’t know he was a cop at the time obviously started playing this game. I think it’s called – I’ll show you mine, you show me yours, and then when you show me yours, I’m gonna nick you!” The singer was later fined $810 (£500) after being convicted of a “lewd act.”

1999

Shania Twain became the first female to sell 10 million copies of back-to-back albums (The Woman in Me and Come On Over). (Note: some websites state that this occurred on April 11. The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) certified Come On Over at 10 million on April 7.)

2002
Celine Dion had a huge #1 album with A New Day Has Come .

2008

Olivia Newton-John began a 21-day, 141-mile walk along the entire length of the Great Wall of China to raise funds for breast cancer research.

2010

Singer Whitney Houston was released from a Paris hospital after suffering a respiratory infection. She called media reports that she was using drugs again “ridiculous.”

2016
The final episode of the final season of “American Idol” was aired. the show would have had many lgbtq2 contestants with Adam Lampert being the most famous.

Musical Queers for Feb 11

queer music for feb 11

February 11, 1966
Cher recorded “Bang Bang,” written and produced by Sonny Bono. It was her biggest solo hit of the 1960s.

February 11, 1977
David Bowie released ‘Sound and Vision’ as a single, which was taken from his latest album Low. ‘Sound and Vision’ was used by the BBC in the UK on trailers at the time, providing considerable exposure, much needed as Bowie opted to do nothing to promote the single himself, and helped the song to No.3 on the UK charts.

1985
fourth annual Brit Awards
British Single was Frankie Goes To Hollywood ‘Relax’
Best British Group went to Wham!

1986

Boy George, lead singer of Culture Club, guest-stars on an episode of The A-Team. George played a singer mistakenly booked into a Country dance hall.

1987

The Smiths were at No.1 in the UK indie charts with ‘Shoplifters Of The World Unite.’ The title alludes to the communist slogan “Workers of the world, unite!”, and the 1966 David and Jonathan hit ‘Lovers of the World Unite’. The photograph on the sleeve is of a young Elvis Presley. (who’s mother’s maiden name was Smith)

2002

Elton John performs at the National Basketball Association All-Star Game in Philadelphia.

2011

Barbra Streisand was named MusiCares Person of the Year by the Grammy organization.

2014

Queen made UK chart history, becoming the first act to sell six-million copies of an album with their Greatest Hits compilation.

2016
72-year-old Barry Manilow was rushed to a Los Angeles hospital after suffering what was described as “complications from emergency oral surgery” that he had undergone earlier in the week. His One Last Time tour had to be put on hold and concerts in Kentucky and Tennessee were canceled. To the surprise of many, just three days later Barry was well enough to attend Clive Davis’ pre-Grammys party in L.A. where he performed “Mandy” as well as “Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart” from his latest album, “My Dream Duets”.

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