On this day: February 27, 1967

Pink Floyd, a Cambridge based quartet, still relatively unknown, released their first single on February 27, 1967. It was called Arnold Layne.

The band was named after two businessmen, Pink Anderson, and Floyd Council, and would forever have to deal with questions from unaware people of 'which one's Pink?'

Arnold Layne was based on an actual local occurrence, and if you listened closely, the lyrics concerned a man who had stolen female underwear from washing lines. The song would reach the top 20 in the UK, in spite of the strange lyrics.

 

Other notable events for February 27:
-For the first time, on Feb. 27, 1955, sales of the recently released seven inch 45 rpm outsold the the larger 78 rpm
-Rolling Stone Keith Richards was arrested on Feb. 27, 1977 at Toronto's Harbour Castle Hotel for drug possession
-Godfather of soul James Brown was paroled on Feb. 27, 1991 after spending over two years in prison for resisting arrest after a car chase across two states, carrying a gun and persistent drug abuse