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Birthdays on the Tube: 21-27 February

Segovia, Handel, Johnny Cash, George Harrison, Nusrat Parsa and Akira Takasaki

by Peter CulshawSunday, 21 February 2010

Johnny Cash

This week’s birthday videos include guitarists Andrés Segovia playing a fandango, Japanese heavy metal hero Akira Takasaki and George Harrison. Then there’s Johnny Cash and murdered Afghan singer Nusrat Parsa. It's also the birthday of the mighty Handel. Videos below.

21 February 1893: Andrés Segovia plays Frederico Moreno Torroba’s Suite Castellana Fandango.

22 February 1961: Akira Takasaki is the metal guitarist’s guru as a member of the top Japanese band Loudness. Here he shows his impressive axe credentials.

26 February 1932: The Man in Black, Johnny Cash, sings “Ring of Fire” from a 1963 TV special.

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25 February 1943: George Harrison’s guitar weeps, as ever, gently.

22 February 1968: Nusrat Parsa was a great Afghan singer who went into exile in India, then moved to Hamburg. But he was murdered after a confrontation with a group of fans who wanted him to play more up-tempo numbers.

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23 February 1685: George Frederic Handel’s Arrival of the Queen of Sheba conducted by Harry Christophers. How many music lovers consider him the greatest composer who ever lived?

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