Events in 1980
- Deep Purple’s “Deepest Purple: The Very Best of Deep Purple” reached No. 1 on the UK album chart on August 2, 1980, becoming the band’s third album to reach the top of the UK charts.
- “Magic” by Olivia Newton-John, from the soundtrack to the film “Xanadu,” reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 on August 2, 1980.
- The Clash released the single “Bank Robber,” which had previously been available only as an import. Their record label, CBS, had initially rejected its release, considering the song insufficiently commercial.
- Blue Öyster Cult performed at the Mary E. Sawyer Auditorium in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
- Pink Floyd began a five-show run at Earls Court in London as part of The Wall tour. The production featured a massive wall that was gradually built throughout the performance, eventually separating the band from the audience.
- John Lennon and Yoko Ono began recording the album “Double Fantasy” at The Hit Factory in New York, Lennon’s final studio album.
- Pat Benatar released her second studio album, “Crimes of Passion.” It was her first Top 10 album and later reached No. 2 on the U.S. albums chart. It also featured her first Top 10 single, “Hit Me with Your Best Shot.”
- The Osmonds ended their career after 20 years.
- Fleetwood Mac performed at the Hollywood Sportatorium in Pembroke Pines, Florida.
- John Lennon and Yoko Ono began recording the album “Double Fantasy.”
- John Lennon a Yoko Ono začali po pětileté přestávce nahrávat album „Double Fantasy“ ve studiu The Hit Factory v New Yorku. Album vyšlo v listopadu, dostalo se na první místo v USA, stalo se celosvětovým komerčním úspěchem a získalo Grammy za album roku.
- The Allman Brothers Band byli hlavními hvězdami koncertu v Greek Theatre v Los Angeles.
- The Greater London Council banned The Plasmatics from blowing up a car on stage during their British live debut at the Hammersmith Odeon.
- AC/DC achieved their first UK No. 1 album with “Back In Black.” It was the band’s first album recorded without original vocalist Bon Scott, who died on February 19, 1980, and the album was dedicated to him. It was also the band’s first album with Brian Johnson. In August 2024, it was certified 27× platinum in the US by the RIAA, representing 27 million certified units.
- Ten original drawings by Gerald Scarfe created for Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” were stolen from the foyer of Earls Court in London, where they were on display.
- Black Sabbath performed at the Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut.
- Johnny Cash performed the duet “Jackson” with Miss Piggy on The Muppet Show. He also “insulted” Rowlf the Dog with his song “Dirty Old Egg-Sucking Dog.”
- The Allman Brothers Band performed at the Star Plaza Theatre in Merrillville, Indiana, a suburb of Chicago.
- Four masked robbers broke into his home in Woodstock, New York. Rundgren, his girlfriend, and three guests were tied up and robbed. The perpetrators reportedly believed that rock stars kept cocaine at home and threatened Rundgren.
- A statue of Elvis Presley was unveiled at Elvis Presley Plaza in Memphis. It was later moved inside the Memphis Welcome Centre.
- The unknown rock band appeared as the opening act for Hall & Oates in Maryland. During the performance, the audience discovered that the singer was Cher.
- His autobiography I, Me, Mine was published, making him the first member of The Beatles to publish an autobiography. John Lennon later criticized the book for almost completely ignoring his influence on Harrison's life.
- Bob Hardy, bassist for the Scottish indie rock band Franz Ferdinand, was born.
- The first edition of the Monsters of Rock festival took place at Castle Donington in England.
- American singer, songwriter and pianist Vanessa Carlton was born in Milford, Pennsylvania. She is best known for the song "A Thousand Miles".
- Grateful Dead performed at the Municipal Auditorium Arena in Kansas City, Missouri.
- At the Toledo Speedway Jam II concert in Toledo, Ohio, ZZ Top were the headliners, while AC/DC, Sammy Hagar and Humble Pie were among the other performers. For AC/DC, it was their final appearance as an opening act until 2003, when they opened for The Rolling Stones.
- Black Sabbath performed at the International Amphitheater in Chicago.
- Yes released the album Drama, on which Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes of The Buggles joined the group as replacements for Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman.
- After a long delay following the opening act, concert organizers at CNE Grandstand in Toronto announced that Alice Cooper could not perform due to illness. Angry fans began tearing out folding chairs and throwing them onto the stage, sparking a riot involving around 1,400 people. Damage was estimated at $20,000 to $25,000, 31 people were arrested, and 12 people were hospitalized. A year later, Cooper said he had cancelled the concert because of an asthma attack, which he claimed he had not experienced since he was six years old.
- Singer Darius was born. In 2001, he appeared on the British television show Popstars and became known for his version of Britney Spears’ “...Baby One More Time”. In 2002, he had the UK number one single “Colourblind”. He later played Billy Flynn in the West End production of Chicago and the lead role of Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls. Darius was found unresponsive in his apartment in Rochester, Minnesota, on August 11, 2022, and was pronounced dead later that day.
- Kurtis Blow became the first hip-hop artist whose single received an RIAA gold certification when “The Breaks” sold more than 500,000 copies. The song also reached number 4 on the Billboard R&B chart.
- John Lennon began recording his final album, “Double Fantasy”. The album was released on November 17 by the newly established Geffen Records and reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart three weeks later. In February 1982, it won Album of the Year at the 24th Grammy Awards.
- Queen performed at the Civic Centre in Hartford, Connecticut, during their North American tour.
- Blue Öyster Cult performed at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado.
- Linda Ronstadt performed as Mabel in an open-air production of Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta “The Pirates of Penzance” as part of the New York Shakespeare Festival at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park, New York City. The production later moved to Broadway, where it premiered in January 1981. Ronstadt reprised the role in the 1983 film adaptation and received a Tony Award nomination and a Golden Globe nomination for the film.
- Queen performed at The Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during their North American tour.
- “Ashes to Ashes” reached number one on the UK Official Singles Chart, where it remained for two weeks. For David Bowie, it was his second UK number-one single and his first since “Space Oddity” in 1975. The song came from the album “Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)” and continued the story of Major Tom from “Space Oddity”. At the time of its release, it was his fastest-selling single. The video cost £250,000, making it the most expensive music video ever made at that time.
- Talking Heads, Elvis Costello, The B-52's, The Pretenders, Rockpile and The Rumour performed at the Heatwave Festival in Toronto, Canada. Tickets cost $30, the festival attracted 50,000 people, and the organizers suffered a loss of more than one million dollars.
- Among those performing at the Heatwave Festival, known as “New Wave Woodstock”, at Mosport Park near Toronto were Elvis Costello, The B-52s, The Pretenders and Talking Heads. Talking Heads performed songs from their forthcoming album “Remain In Light” and also introduced a new touring lineup featuring keyboardist Bernie Worrell and guitarist Adrian Belew.
- Queen released the single “Another One Bites the Dust”.
- On the Saturday program of the Reading Festival, Broken Home, Grand Prix, Iron Maiden, Pat Travers Band, Quartz, Samson, UFO and White Spirit performed.
- Roxy Music reached number one on the UK album chart with their seventh studio album “Flesh and Blood”. The album also reached number one in New Zealand and the Top 10 in five other countries.
- According to Cashbox, the best-selling song in America that week was “Take Your Time (Do It Right)” by The SOS Band. The song reached number three on the Hot 100. The Atlanta, Georgia group took its name from the abbreviation Sounds Of Success and was fronted by Mary Davis.
- David Bowie released the single “Ashes to Ashes”.
- Tom Petersson left Cheap Trick because of burnout and personal and musical differences. He was replaced by Pete Comita. Petersson returned to the group in 1988 for the album “Lap of Luxury”, which contained their comeback hit “The Flame”.
- David Desrosiers, bassist for Simple Plan, was born in Sept-Îles, Quebec, Canada.
- Jethro Tull released the album "A", one of the albums commemorated as part of the musical anniversaries for this day.
- Kiss embarked on a joint tour with the then little-known heavy metal band Iron Maiden. For the young British band, it was its first major experience of a large concert tour.
- Queen performed at the Forum in Montreal.
- The Grateful Dead played the first of two nights at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- UB40 released their debut album "Signing Off". The album reached No. 2 on the UK chart and became the first reggae album to reach such a high position. In 2010, to mark the band's 30th anniversary and the album's influence, the band performed the album in its entirety during a series of intimate concerts across the UK.
- Television star Valerie Bertinelli attended a Van Halen concert in Shreveport, Louisiana, and got backstage to meet Eddie Van Halen, whom she found very attractive. Their relationship developed into love: they married less than a year later, and their son Wolfgang was born in 1991. They separated in 2001 and finalized their divorce in 2007.
- Barclay James Harvest performed beside the Berlin Wall in a concert titled “A Concert For The People” before an audience of approximately 250,000 people.
- David Bowie released “Ashes to Ashes”, which reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart. The song continued the story of the character Major Tom.
- Cher made an unannounced appearance as a singer with Black Rose during a concert in Central Park, New York.
- Christopher Cross’s “Sailing” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it remained for one week. The following spring, it won Grammy Awards for Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Arrangement of the Year, and also helped Cross win the award for Best New Artist. The song also reached No. 1 in Canada.
- Fleetwood Mac concluded their Tusk world tour with a major concert in Los Angeles.
- Karen Carpenter married 39-year-old property developer Thomas James Burris in the Crystal Room of the Beverly Hills Hotel. The marriage quickly deteriorated, and Carpenter later filed for divorce.