ON THIS DAY

THE chimes of Big Ben were heard for the first time on the BBC. They became famous during the Second World War when they were heard on the BBC World Service radio. The chimes reassured people overseas that Britain was still battling on all fronts. SIR ANTHONY HOPKINS turns 79 today. The Glamorgan-born actor won an Oscar for his role of serial killer Hannibal Lector in The Silence Of The Lambs and was knighted in 1993 for services to the arts. He is currently starring in hit American series Westworld and once said: “I am able to play monsters well. I understand monsters. I understand madmen.” THE Pet Shop Boys were at number one with Always On My Mind. The song began life as a country music track in the 1970s amd was later recorded by Elvis Presley and Willie Nelson. The version by the Pet Shop Boys spent four weeks at the top of the British charts and reached number four in the America. GEORGE HARRISON was refused admission to Annabel’s Nightclub in London. He and his party, which included Beatles manger Brian Epstein and Eric Clapton, saw in the New Year at Lyons Corner House instead. MICHAEL Douglas proposed to Welsh-born actress Catherine Zeta-Jones when they were celebrating the Millennium at his home in Aspen, Colorado. He announced the engagement on the internet. He was 55 at the time and she was 30. The Wall Street and Basic Instinct star said he picked the date so he would never forget the anniversary and later joked that Catherine said ‘no’ when he first asked. THE Millennium Dome closed in London. It cost £763 million to build and 6.5 million people visited it over 12 months. Queen Elizabeth attended a gala show for the official opening on New Year’s Eve 1999 and the Dome was featured in a boat chase scene in the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough with Pierce Brosnan as 007. MULTIPLE Grammy-winning American singer Natalie Cole died at the age of 65. The daughter of legendary crooner Nat King Cole, pictured above with Natalie, battled drug addiction and was just six when she sang on her father’s Christmas album. She went on to have hits with songs like This Will Be and a cover version of Bruce Springsteen’s Pink Cadillac. She once said: “I managed to survive the worst things any entertainer could possibly go through.”