APRIL 18
ON THIS DAY IN 1981, YES TEMPORARILY SPLIT UP WHEN BASSIST CHRIS SQUIRE AND DRUMMER ALAN WHITE LEFT THE GROUP TO REHEARSE WITH ROBERT PLANT AND JIMMY PAGE OF LED ZEPPELIN. THE INTENDED SUPER-GROUP, DUBBED ‘XYZ’, FOR “EX-YES AND ZEPPELIN” UNFORTUNATELY NEVER GOT OFF THE GROUND
IN 1987 MTV FINALLY ACKNOWLEDGED THE EXISTENCE OF HEAVY METAL WITH THE DEBUT OF ‘HEADBANGERS BALL’, A WEEKLY SHOW DEDICATED TO THE HARD ROCKING’ GENRE.
AND IN 1992, DEF LEPPARD STARTED A FIVE-WEEK RUN AT NO.1 ON THE US ALBUM CHART WITH THEIR FIFTH STUDIO ALBUM ‘ADRENALIZE.’