THURSDAY BACKTRACK: Music and news from 60 years ago - week ending 8 July 1961

Del Shannon and the Everly Brothers still lead the chart; at 3 is Ricky Nelson's 'Hello Mary Lou'

Some memorable events (via Wikipedia):

Photo: Terence Donovan, 1990
1 July: Diana Spencer, future Princess of Wales, is born at Sandringham, Norfolk.

2 July: as refugees continue to flee the German Democratic Republic, East-West tensions mount. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev tells UK Ambassador Sir Frank Roberts six atom bombs could 'put Great Britain out of action' - and nine, for France. Weeks later, at a Warsaw Pact conference, Khrushchev declares, 'We rate Great Britain higher [than six], and we have several dozen atom bombs ready which we will use to carry out a strike against Great Britain and really put it out of action !'
First atomic bomb tests: USA 1945, Soviet Union 1949, UK 1952, France 1960 (China coming in 1964)
First hydrogen bomb tests: USA 1952, Soviet Union 1955, UK 1957, (China 1967, France 1968)

Immensely destructive: the H-bomb test 'Castle Bravo', at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands, 

was 2.5 times more powerful than expected and its fallout harmed many Marshallese.

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/russias-k-19-submarine-called-%E2%80%98hiroshima%E2%80%99-141187 

4 July: Russian nuclear submarine K-19, hastily developed to catch up with the USA, suffers a burst pipe in the cooling system, for which there was no backup. 'Captain Zateyev believed that if the reactor exploded, it could cause the United States and NATO to believe the Soviet Union was attempting a nuclear strike, potentially causing a preemptive retaliation and World War III.' 22 sailors volunteer to go in and fix it; all are dead within two years.

Photo: Daily Mirror. 

8 July: While swimming naked in the outdoor pool of Cliveden House, Berkshire, Christine Keeler meets British Cabinet minister John Profumo at a house party. She is aged 19 and has previously been a victim of sexual abuse from her stepfather; now she is being introduced to influential people by osteopath and socialite Stephen Ward. At the height of the Cold War, Profumo is Minister for War and begins an affair with her, but he is not the only one: 'When MI5 found out [she] was also sleeping with Ivanov, a naval attaché at the Soviet Embassy in London it was a clear conflict of interests.' Profumo eventually denies the improper relationship in Parliament, is later caught out and resigns.

UK chart hits, week ending 8 July 1961

Htp: Clint's labour-of love compilation https://www.sixtiescity.net/charts/61chart.htm

1	Temptation	The Everly Brothers	Warner Brothers
2	Runaway	Del Shannon	London
3	Hello Mary Lou / Travellin' Man	Ricky Nelson	London
4	Pasadena	The Temperance Seven	Parlophone
5	A Girl Like You	Cliff Richard and The Shadows	Columbia
6	Surrender	Elvis Presley	RCA
7	Halfway To Paradise	Billy Fury	Decca
8	But I Do	Clarence 'Frogman' Henry	Pye
9	Well I Ask You	Eden Kane	Decca
10	Pop Goes The Weasel / Bee*Bom	Anthony Newley	Decca
11	Runnin' Scared	Roy Orbison	London
12	The Frightened City	The Shadows	Columbia
13	Ring Of Fire	Duane Eddy	London
14	Breakin' In A Brand New Heart	Connie Francis	MGM
15	Weekend	Eddie Cochran	London
16	Time	Craig Douglas	Top Rank
17	I Told Every Little Star	Linda Scott	Columbia
18	Have A Drink On Me	Lonnie Donegan	Pye
19	You'll Never Know	Shirley Bassey	Columbia
20	Marcheta	Karl Denver	Decca