On the day that Elvis died

The newspaper pictured here is the Daily Mirror from August 17th 1977 ( click on the images for a larger version) and the headline is, as it was all over the world, detailing the death Elvis Presley, the king of rock and roll. I was a few months short of twelve years old at the time but I can remember this clearly.

The newspaper reports that radio stations all over the world were playing Elvis songs as a mark of respect - Radio Luxenberg even went as far as cancelling all adverts for the night in respect to the King.

Other news being very much overshadowed in the newspaper was a report on a lucky couple who bought a £9.000 dream cottage and then when renovating it they found 99 old Gold sovereigns under the floor that were valued at £20.000. The lucky couple Michael and Sue Whitmore were hoping they would be able to keep the money.

I wonder what happened there?

There was also a report that a petition had gone to the Queen, asking that Windsor Castle be turned over as a refuge for battered women and their children. The organisers of the petition, a woman's aid group in Sheffield were confident their request would be granted. I guess the Queen must have told them to get on their bike.

On prime time TV that night BBC 1 were showing, It AIn't Half Hot Mum at 8pm followed by something called A Roof over my Head. BBC2 offered Brass Tacks and ITV had Coronation Street followed by A Night out a London Casino which was then followed by the best cop show ever made anywhere, The Sweeney. Channel Four were showing nothing because they hadn't been invented yet.

There was also much in the newspaper about The Battle of Brum as they were calling the recent riots in Birmingham. The riots started off with a confrontation between The Socialist Workers party clashed with The National Front.

Below thanks to the power of the internet is an actual news clip from the day Elvis died.