Famous deaths
2018 – Chas Hodges (b. 1943), English musician and singer. He was the lead vocalist, pianist and guitarist of the musical duo Chas & Dave.
On This Day 2025
Hello, … Welcome to day 277 of the year.

Saturday, October 4th Daily Prep.

Known as National Cinnamon Roll Day, National Taco Day, National Vodka Day and World Animal Day. Your star sign is Libra and your birthstone is Pink Tourmaline.
1983 – Richard Noble, a Scottish entrepreneur set a new world land speed record of 663.5mph at the Black Rock Desert, Nevada in his jet-powered car, Thrust II.
Richard Noble, a Scottish entrepreneur set a new world land speed record of 663.5mph at the Black Rock Desert, Nevada in his jet-powered car, Thrust II.
Today’s birthdays
1947 – Ann Widdecombe (78), British politician and television personality (Celebrity Big Brother, Celebrity Fit Club), born in Bath, Somerset.
1956 – Christoph Waltz (69), Austrian actor (Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained, Spectre, No Time to Die), born in Vienna, Austria.
1958 – Anneka Rice (67), Welsh-born television (Challenge Anneka, Treasure Hunt) and radio presenter, born in Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales.
1959 – Chris Lowe (65), English musician and co-founder of the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys (“Go West”, “It’s a Sin”), which he formed with Neil Tennant in 1981, born in Blackpool.
1976 – Alicia Silverstone (49), American actress (Clueless, Batman and Robin), born in San Francisco, California, United States.
1989 – Dakota Johnson (36), American actress (Fifty Shades film franchise), and daughter of Melanie Griffith & Don Johnson, born in Austin, Texas, United States.
1991 – Leigh-Anne Pinnock (34), English singer and a former member of Little Mix (“Shout out to My Ex”, “Touch”), born in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.
Famous deaths
1989 – Graham Chapman (b. 1941), English actor (Holy Grail, Life of Brian), comedian and writer. He was one of the six members of the surrealist comedy group Monty Python.

2010 – Norman Wisdom (b. 1915), English actor (A Stitch in Time, The Early Bird), comedian, and singer-songwriter (“I Don’t ‘Arf Love You”).

The day today
1911 – Britain’s first underground escalators were introduced. They connected the District Line and Piccadilly Line platforms at Earl’s Court underground station in London.
1939 – The birth, in London, of Jackie Collins, author and the younger sister of actress Joan Collins. In total, her books have sold over 500 million copies and have been translated into 40 languages. Eight of her novels have been adapted for the screen, either as films or television mini-series. She died (aged 77) on 19th September 2015 at Beverly Hills, California.
1958 – Aviation history was made when 2 British designed and built De Havilland Comet 4 airliners operated by BOAC (now British Airways) made the first scheduled jet passenger service flights across the North Atlantic.
1973 – The BBC broadcast the 500th edition of Top Of The Pops. The special anniversary episode featured performances from artists like The Osmonds, Slade, and Cliff Richard. The first episode aired on January 1st, 1964, and ran until July 30th, 2006.
1976 – British Rail began its new 125mph Intercity ‘High Speed Train’ service. At the time of its introduction it was the fastest diesel-powered train in regular service in the world and remained so for many years afterwards. Engineers have calculated that, with a certain amount of rewiring, the Mark 3 carriages can be made to last until at least 2035.
1983 – Richard Noble, a Scottish entrepreneur set a new world land speed record of 663.5mph at the Black Rock Desert, Nevada in his jet-powered car, Thrust II, which is now housed in the Coventry Transport Museum. Noble was also the project director of ThrustSSC, the vehicle which holds the current land speed record, set at Black Rock Desert, Nevada by RAF pilot Andy Green on 15th October 1997.
2001 – Michael Stone was found guilty, for the second time, of the murders of Dr. Lin Russell and her daughter Megan, killed on 9th July 1996 in an attempted robbery. 9 year old Josie survived, with severe head injuries, but went on to make an excellent recovery.
2013 – Amanda Hutton (43), from Bradford, whose four-year-old son Hamzah Khan starved to death and whose mummified remains were left in his cot for nearly two years was found guilty of killing him by gross negligence. Hutton claimed she had struggled to get her son to eat and that he had died suddenly. She was jailed for 15 years.
2013 – Clifford Dadson (93), from Cumbria become the oldest graduate in the UK after receiving an Arts degree from the Open University.
2017 – UK Prime Minister Theresa May was “pink-slipped” during her speech at the Conservative National Conference. Officially it was a P45 Termination of Employment paper.
Today in music
1962 – The Tornadoes were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with the instrumental, ‘Telstar’, (named after a communication satellite). The track went on to be the first major hit from a UK act on the American chart also reaching No.1.
1963 – The Beatles made their debut appearance on the UK ITV pop show ‘Ready Steady Go!’ They performed “Twist and Shout,” “I’ll Get You,” and “She Loves You”.
1968 – On the first night of a UK club tour Led Zeppelin (billed as The Yardbirds featuring Jimmy Page) appeared at the Mayfair Ballroom, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, supported by Terry Reid’s Fantasia, tickets cost 10/6. The Mayfair was a regular venue for up and coming acts, Pink Floyd Mott the Hoople, Def Leppard and AC/DC had all appeared at the club which was demolished in 2000.
1970 – US singer Janis Joplin was found dead at the Landmark Hotel Hollywood after an accidental heroin overdose. Joplin had the posthumous 1971 US No.1 single ‘Me And Bobby McGee’, and the 1971 US No.1 album ‘Pearl’. She was known as “The Queen of Psychedelic Soul” and as “Pearl” to her friends, Joplin remains one of the top-selling musicians in the United States, with over 15.5 million albums sold in the USA.
1980 – Queen started a three-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with “Another One Bites The Dust.” (No.7 in the UK). Written by bassist John Deacon, the song was featured on the group’s eighth studio album The Game (1980). The song spent 15 weeks in the Billboard top 10 (the longest-running top ten song of 1980) and is credited as Queen’s best-selling single, with sales of over 7 million copies.
1980 – Winners in the Melody Makers readers poll included, Kate Bush who won Best Female Singer, Peter Gabriel won Best Male Singer, Best Guitarist went to Ritchie Blackmore, Phil Collins won Best Drummer, Genesis won Band of the Year, Best Single went to Pink Floyd for ‘Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)’ and Saxon won Brightest Hope.
2000 – UK R&B vocalist Craig David won a record three MasterCard Music of Black Origin (MOBO) Awards at London’s Alexandra Palace. He was named Best UK Newcomer and won awards for Best R&B Act and Best UK Single for ‘Fill Me In.’
2007 – The Rolling Stones set a new record for the top grossing tour of all time with their “A Bigger Bang tour”. The tour which ran from late 2005 to August 2007, earned the band £247m, with The Stones playing to over 3.5 million people at 113 shows.
2019 – The Beatles’ Abbey Road returned to No.1 in the UK, 50 years after it first topped the album charts after the release of an expanded anniversary edition. The feat also sees the album set a record – the gap of 49 years and 252 days since its initial chart-topping run ended in early 1970 is the longest gap before returning to No.1.
Today in history
1535 – The first complete English language Bible (the Coverdale Bible) was printed by London printer Miles Coverdale, with translations by William Tyndale and Miles Coverdale.
1582 – Pope Gregory XIII introduced the concept of the Gregorian Calendar to Europe. Some European countries didn’t adopt the calendar until October 15 due to a delay in communication.
1602 – Eighty Years’ War and the Anglo-Spanish War: A fleet of Spanish galleys are defeated by English and Dutch galleons in the English Channel.
1626 – The birth of Richard Cromwell, the second and last Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland. He became Lord Protector on the death of his father Oliver Cromwell, but lacked his father’s authority. He tried to mediate between the army and civil society and allowed a Parliament containing many disaffected Presbyterians and Royalists to sit. The army made a threatening show of force against Richard, who formally renounced power nine months after succeeding.
1675 – The pocket watch patent was awarded to Dutch mathematician and scientist Christiaan Huygens. Huygens also patented the first pendulum clock in 1656.
1809 – Spencer Perceval becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after William Cavendish-Bentinck, Duke of Portland retires due to ill health.
1883 – The Boys’ Brigade was founded, in Glasgow, by Sir William Alexander Smith. The interdenominational Christian youth organisation combines drill and fun activities with Christian values. In May 1903, Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scout Association, became their vice-president. By 2003, there were 500,000 Boys’ Brigade members in 60 countries.