'80s Metal History (January 9th)

January 9, 1985: Metallica launched the North American leg of the "Ride The Lightning" Tour in Boston. 56 more dates followed plus a few shows in Europe that included the "Monsters Of Rock" Festival at Castle Donington in front of 70,000 people.

January 9, 1984: Van Halen released their sixth studio album "1984" in North America featuring singles "Jump", "Panama", "I'll Wait" and "Hot For Teacher". The LP peaked at No. 2 on the US Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart... stuck behind "Thriller". The last track on the LP "House Of Pain" was originally on the band's first-ever demo, done with Gene Simmons in 1976. Release information source: Billboard Magazine ads - January 7, 1984.

January 9, 2016: Motörhead frontman Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister was laid to rest at a memorial service in Hollywood Hills, California. Mikkey Dee, Dave Grohl, and Slash all spoke at the service. R.I.P. Lemmy 🤘

Happy Birthday to L.A. Guns singer Phil Lewis (January 9, 1957).

Happy Birthday to former Suicidal Tendencies guitarist [1984–95] Leonard "Rocky" George (January 9, 1965).

Happy Birthday to Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page (January 9, 1944).

Remembering Kingdom Come and Scorpions drummer James Kottak, who died January 9, 2024 at age 61. R.I.P.

January 9, 1987: Iron Maiden brought the "Somewhere In Time" Tour to Pittsburgh with special guest Yngwie J. Malmsteen.

January 9, 1991: Judas Priest brought the "Painkiller" Tour to Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine. "Opening act Megadeth inspired slam dancing in the mob, but kill-joy security guards quickly squelched the fun." (Local newspaper review)

January 9, 1986: AC/DC were bringing the "Fly On The Wall" Tour to the UK and that got them the cover of Kerrang! "Short trousers and sweat-splattered SGs, cloth caps and gritted teeth, huge bells and explosive cannons, relentless rhythms and stinging solos... Young, Young, Johnson, Williams and Wright; collectively, still the best no-nonsense band around."