28th January:
1980 The original Ants split up with Adam.
1980 Six Americans who had fled the U.S.embassy in Tehran, Iran, on November 4, 1979, left Iran using false Canadian diplomatic passports. The Americans had been hidden at the Canadian embassy in Tehran.
1982 Italian anti-terrorism forces rescued U.S. Brigadier General James L. Dozier. 42 days before he had been kidnapped by the Red Brigades.
1984 The Smiths' first 3 singles held the top 3 places on the Indie chart.
1985 USA for Africa recorded their Ethiopian Benefit Song. 'We are The World', inspired by Band Aid, and written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie.
1986 The US space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after take-off from Cape Canaveral, killing the 5 men and 2 women on board, including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe, the first private citizen ever selected to fly into space.
Famous Birthdays:
1918 Harry Corbett
1921 Alfred Marks
1927 Ronnie Scott
1936 Alan Alda
1944 Bobby Ball
1948 Mikhail Baryshnikov
1956 Peter Schilling
1957 Frank Skinner
1959 Dave Sharp (The Alarm) 1959
1965 Greg Cook (Ricochet) 1965
Died on this day:
1983 Billy Fury