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10 "We're bigger than Jesus" (1966)
John Lennon had made the observation to an English journalist when asked about the future of Christianity. Although it was pretty much a statement of fact, religious leaders interpreted the remark as blasphemy, and ordered the burning of Beatles records around the country.
9 Sinead rips into pope (1991)
Sinead O'Connor had already started a storm of controversy by refusing to have the national anthem played before one of her concerts. When she tore up a picture of the pope on Saturday Night Live to protest the Catholic church's stance on abortion, the former "Nothing Compares 2 U" chart-topper became a pariah.
8 Woodstock '99 (1999)
While the first festival was three days of peace, love, and music, this edition had Limp Bizkit. Never ones to shy away from a little mudslinging, they urged the audience to go nuts during the raucous anthem "Break Stuff." They complied. Then the Red Hot Chili Peppers played "Fire." It took over a month to clean up the wreckage.
7 Milli Vanilli can't sing (1990)
They had been dismissed as pretty faces, but that didn't prevent single after single from climbing the charts. Their reign came to a messy end when their producer revealed that other people had done the singing, and Milli Vanilli were forced to return their Grammy Awards.
6 Fans killed at Who show (1979)
Keith Moon had died, but the Who vowed to carry on with the addition of Kenny Jones. However, their American tour was marred by tragedy when a stampede to claim unreserved seats at Cincinnati's Riverfront Coliseum left 11 concertgoers fatally trampled.
5 Marvin Gaye is murdered (1984)
Marvin Gaye had always wavered between the claims of his faith and his body's appetite for both sex and narcotics. After a period in the wilderness, he had made a decisive comeback with "Sexual Healing." But an argument with his father ended in his being shot dead.
4 Kurt Cobain commits suicide (1994)
The Nirvana frontman seemed like a star with lots still left to say, but he felt suffocated by the band's fame and believed his best days were behind him. After a number of drug overdoses and other warning signs, he brought his life to a sudden end with the tug of a shotgun's trigger. Shocked fans were left to pick up the pieces.
3 Murder at Altamont (1969)
The Rolling Stones meant for their free festival outside San Francisco to be the ultimate expression of '60s harmony. However, a mix of bad organization and Hell's Angels brought Mick Jagger's worst-ever show to a violent end.
2 MJ accused of sexual abuse (1993)
For years Michael Jackson's fondness for the company of tykes like Macaulay Culkin and Emmanuel Lewis seemed to be an eccentricity befitting the world's biggest pop star. However, all it took was the accusations of an angry parent and an out-of-court settlement to taint Jackson's reputation.
1 John Lennon is murdered (1980)
Rather like hearing the Space Shuttle had just exploded or that Pearl Harbor had been bombed, this was just one of those stories that seemed too outlandish to believe. Who would want to kill John Lennon, the leader of the Beatles, as he prepared to emerge from bread-baking retirement?