PHOTO OF THE DAY: Customers listening to new records, before buying, in a UK record shop (1955). 📷 google images

1 May 1945. Martin Bormann, Hitler’s loyal private secretary, escaped from the Berlin bunker. It was thought he had gone to South America, but his remains (the photo on right is of his skull), were found in Berlin in 1972, and were later confirmed by DNA analysis.

USA No.1 on this day in 1976: Bellamy Brothers - Let Your Love Flow youtu.be/O8qasKe9Ljo?si… via YouTube

UK No.1 on this day in 1971: Dave and Ansel Collins - Double Barrel youtu.be/njwJJ39S000?si… via YouTube

1 May 2023. Gordon Lightfoot, died (aged 84). He’s been referred to as “Canada's greatest songwriter”. He topped the US charts with, If You Could Read My Mind, Sundown, Carefree Highway, Rainy Day People, and The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

1 May 2011. Heavyweight boxing legend Henry Cooper died (aged 76). He held British, Commomwealth and European titles. He famously knocked down Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay) in 1963, and fought Ali in a 1966 World title bout, which was stopped due to bad cuts around his eyes.

1 May 1997. The Labour Party, led by Tony Blair, fighting under the centrist slogan “New Labour”, won a landslide victory in the UK General election. Labour gained a House Commons overall majority of 179, an election record for Labour, over John Major’s Conservative Party.

1 May 1994. Brilliant Brazilian racing driver, Ayrton Senna (aged 34), a three time F1 World Champion, was killed after his car inexplicably crashed into a concrete barrier, while he was leading the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at Italy’s Imola circuit.

1 May 1967. Elvis Presley married Priscilla Beaulieu, at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, USA. Priscilla first met Elvis in 1959, when she was only 14. At that time, Elvis was serving in the US Army in Germany. The marriage only lasted until 1973.

1 May 1965. Liverpool beat Leeds United 2-1 after extra time to win the FA Cup Final for the 1st time. The winning goal was scored by Ian St John. It was Liverpool’s 3rd final after losing the previous two in 1914 and 1950. Leeds Utd were appearing in their first final.

1 May 1961. As part the British Government’s legalisation of gambling off course on horse racing, Betting shops were opened throughout the country.

1 May 1960. The American U-2 spy plane, piloted by Francis Gary Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union. Powers ejected and parachuted safely to the ground, where he was captured by the KGB. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison for espionage.

1 May 1956. The Polio vaccine, developed by American medical researcher Dr. Jonas Salk, was made available to the public in the USA. Polio cases fell from 58,000 per year to 6,000 by 1958. Salk’s vaccine was later replaced by a new one developed by Albert Sabin in 1962.

1 May 1946. Joanna Lumley was born in Srinagar, India. She won 2 BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom, Absolutely Fabulous. She also starred in the New Avengers, and appeared in many films including: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and Shirley Valentine.

1 May 1945. German Chancellor Joseph Goebbels (aged 47), and his wife Magda (aged 43), committed suicide in the grounds above Hitler’s bunker. It’s unclear whether Goebbels shot his wife then himself, or whether they both took cyanide and were finished off by an aide.

1 May 1945. Magda Goebbels, with the agreement of her husband, Joseph, assisted a doctor in killing 6 of their children using cyanide in the Berlin bunker. Magda said she did not want her children to live in a world without Hitler.

1 May 1941. Hollywood classic film Citizen Kane, produced, directed, and starring, Orson Welles, had its world premiere at the Palace Theatre in New York City, USA. In 2015, Citizen Kane was ranked 1st on the BBC’s “100 Greatest American Films” list.

1 May 1931. The Empire State Building in New York City was officially dedicated after the US President, Herbert Hoover, pressed a button from the White House in Washington DC, that turned on the building’s lights. At 1,454 feet, it was then the tallest building in the World.

1 May 1915. Cunard liner RMS Lusitania departed from New York City, USA, bound for Liverpool. The ship was 787 feet long and could carry 3,048 passengers and crew. On what proved to be its last voyage, 1,959 people were on board including 159 Americans.

1 May 1908. Scouting for Boys by Robert Baden-Powell was published in the UK. It became the handbook of the Boy Scouts. Most chapters begin with hints to instructors and include campfire yarns with further sections outlining games, activities, and book recommendations.