On This Day 25/10/1977 Fabulous Poodles

On This Day, 25 October 1977, pre-new wave rock band Fabulous Poodles played Cardiff’s Top Rank. The band had recently released their John Entwisle produced debut album Fabulous Poodles.

The Fabulous Poodles were a British pre-new wave band formed in 1975. Known for quirky stage antics, such as exploding ukuleles, as well as songs with funny lyrics, The Fabulous Poodles toured with Meat Loaf, Sha Na Na, Tom Petty, Bill Bruford and Chuck Berry (as backing band).

They appeared on the Old Grey Whistle Test and for a long time were music critic John Peel's favourite group. The band released three albums between 1977 and 1979 on Pye Records.One of more memorable acts to rise from the British new wave scene of the late '70s, the Fabulous Poodles combined a lean, rootsy sound (complete with fiddle) and bar band stomp with an insouciant energy and a very British sense of humor that won them a cult following in the U.K. and the U.S.

Originally a pub rock act known as the Poodles, they released their first album in 1977. While the debut and 1978's Unsuitable were only modestly successful at home, their American debut, Mirror Stars (featuring tracks from the first two albums) sold well thanks to heavy touring and radio play of the title track. While 1979's Think Pink was musically strong, it didn't match the success of Mirror Stars, and in 1980 the band folded, though occasional reissues of its catalog kept the group's legacy alive

The Fabulous Poodles began life simply as the Poodles, a band active on the U.K. pub rock circuit. Formed in London in 1974, the Poodles featured Tony de Meur on lead vocals and guitar; Jon Bentley on bass and vocals; Bob Suffolk on piano; Bobby Valentino on violin, mandolin, and vocals; and Gordon Coxon on drums. (John Parsons, while never a proper member of the Poodles, would contribute songwriting to the group throughout its career.)

The Poodles earned a reputation for their eccentric live shows, featuring a strong dose of comedy and the use of props on-stage, and they landed a one-off record deal with Private Stock Records, which issued "Chicago Boxcar (Boston Back)" b/w "Love and Sorrow" in early 1975. The single flopped, and Bentley, Suffolk, and Coxon left the group (Suffolk went on to a successful career designing recording studios).

Bringing aboard a new rhythm section -- bassist Richie Robertson and drummer Bryn Burrows -- the group soldiered on as the Fabulous Poodles, and as punk and new wave became the latest news in British rock, their offbeat style and quirky humor found a context where they fit in.

In 1977, they signed with Pye Records, and their debut album, simply titled The Fabulous Poodles and produced by John Entwistle of the Who, appeared later that year. While the album received a positive review from rock critic and DJ John Peel and earned the band a spot on the BBC music series The Old Grey Whistle Test (where the group's antics managed to outrage host Bob Harris), the album didn't fare well commercially, despite extensive touring in the U.K. and Europe.

On This Day 24/10/1978 Squeeze

On this day, 24 October 1978, rock band Squeeze played Cardiff’s Top Rank supporting Dr Feelgood.

The band's founding members in March 1974 were Chris Difford (guitar, vocals, lyrics), and Glenn Tilbrook (vocals, guitar, music). Difford claims that in 1973, he stole 50p from his mother's purse to put a card in a local sweetshop window to advertise for a guitarist to join his band, although he was not actually in a band at the time. Tilbrook was the only person who responded to the advertisement.

Difford and Tilbrook began writing songs together, and soon added Jools Holland (keyboards) and Paul Gunn (drums) to form an actual band. The group performed under several names, most frequently "Captain Trundlow's Sky Company" or "Skyco", before selecting the band name "Squeeze" as a facetious tribute to the Velvet Underground's oft-derided 1973 album Squeeze.

Gilson Lavis replaced Gunn on drums, and Harri Kakoulli joined on bass in 1975.

Squeeze's early career was spent around Deptford in south-east London, where they were part of a lively local music scene which included Alternative TV and Dire Straits. Though the group was initially signed to Miles Copeland III's BTM Records, the label went under in late 1976, and so their early singles and debut EP, 1977's Packet of Three, were released on the Deptford Fun City label.

Squeeze's first EP and most of their self-titled debut album (1978) were produced by John Cale for A&M Records. Cale had been a member of Velvet Underground from whose album Squeeze took their name. However, the debut album's two hit singles ("Take Me I'm Yours" and "Bang Bang") were produced by the band themselves, as the label found Cale's recordings uncommercial

On This Day 23/10/1974 Mud

On this day, 23 October 1974, rock/pop band Mud played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre Theatre. Support was provided by Feminine Touch and Light Fantastic.

formed in February 1966. Their earlier success came in a pop and then glam rock style, while later hits were influenced by 1950s rock and roll and rockabilly, and they are best remembered for their hit singles "Dyna-mite", "Tiger Feet", which was the UK's best-selling single of 1974, and "Lonely This Christmas" which reached Christmas number 1 in December 1974.

After signing to Rak Records and teaming up with songwriters/producers Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, the band had fourteen UK Top 20 hits between 1973 and 1976, including three number ones.

Tiger Feet" was a huge success, it was number No. 1 in the UK and Ireland charts for four consecutive weeks, from 26 January to 16 February, in 1974 and also topped the charts in the Netherlands. It sold over 700,000 copies in the UK alone and over a million copies globally. It was also the best selling single in Britain that year.

On This Day 22/10/1975 Showaddywaddy

On this day, 22 October 1975, Rock ‘n’ Roll band Showaddywaddy played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre with support provided by Arrows. The band had just released their second album Step Two.

The band was formed in 1973 by the amalgamation of two groups, Choise (Dave Bartram, Trevor Oakes, Al James, and Romeo Challenger) and the Golden Hammers (Buddy Gask, Russ Field, Rod Deas, and Malcolm Allured), the latter often known simply as The Hammers. They both played at the Fosse Way pub in Leicester, and soon discovered shared musical tastes.

After playing together in jamming sessions, they joined together permanently, and Showaddywaddy were born. This led to an eight-member band, with the unusual feature of having two vocalists, two drummers, two guitarists, and two bassists. The band's first gig as professional musicians was at the Dreamland Ballroom in Margate, Kent, on 1 September 1973., although the first gigs under the Showaddywaddy name were in 1972.

Showaddywaddy won one programme on the ATV series New Faces, in November 1973, and were runners-up in the "All Winners Final", which was broadcast on 28 December 1973. They have made nearly 300 television appearances, including their own BBC TV special, Showaddywaddyshow, broadcast between Christmas and New Year in 1980. The band also appeared in the 1975 film Three for All, where they performed "The Party" from their 1974 debut album.[citation needed] Their first single, "Hey Rock and Roll" (written by the band), was released in April 1974. It reached number two on the UK Singles Chart.

On This Day 21/10/1976 Thin Lizzy

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On this day, 21 October 1976, rock band Thin Lizzy played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre on their Johnny the Fox tour.

By the beginning of 1976 the classic lineup of the band had been together for 18 months;Phil Lynott, Brian Downey, Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson; and the band’s distinctive take on the classic ‘Wishbone Ash twin-lead guitar’ attack had begun to cut through, on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Jailbreak album was recorded at The Who’s Ramport Studios in Battersea, London, between December ’75 and February ’76, with John Alcock producing. The band had worked up the songs in a small studio in Buckinghamshire in late ’75 so that the arrangements were really tight by the time they got to Ramport, (too tight for Robertson who later complained that he felt restricted by the lack of experimentation at Ramport.) Unknown outside of the band and their label at the time, however, was that this album was their last chance; they were about to be dropped by Vertigo if it didn’t make the charts.

Jailbreak came out on 26th March 1976 and went into the U.K Album Chart at No.60. It peaked at No.10 on its 22nd week and remained on the chart for a total of 50 weeks, 13 of those in the Top 20.

The first single from Jailbreak was The Boys are Back in Town c/w Emerald, released three weeks after the album, on 17th April. It didn’t break into the Singles Chart for nearly 6 weeks, reaching No.48 on 29th May. However, as soon as Radio One and Top of the Pops picked up on it, it rose to No.8 on 3rd July during that long hot summer.

The album’s title track was the next single, peaking at No.31. However, all was not well in the band. During a triumphant U.S tour, where the album had broken into the Billboard chart at No.18, Phil Lynott contracted Hepatitis which meant that the band and crew were quarantined and the tour was cancelled.

While he was ill, Lynott was determined to try and salvage some momentum from the situation and he wrote most of the next album, Johnny the Fox, in a Manchester hospital on an acoustic guitar. In August ’76, Thin Lizzy went back into Ramport with Alcock and recorded the new album in a few weeks, after an aborted attempt to record at Musicland Studios in Munich. While in Germany arguments about musical direction began to surface, mostly between Robertson and Lynott. The Ramport sessions were fraught with tension but they delivered the album on time and Vertigo put out Johnny the Fox in October ’76, just 7 months after Jailbreak. It went straight into the U.K Album Chart at No.11, staying on the chart for 23 weeks. The only U.K single was Don’t Believe a Word c/w Old Flame which was released on 26th November. It spent 7 weeks on the chart, peaking at No.11. In the U.S, the album suffered from that cancelled tour and the lost momentum, reaching No.52.

The band’s touring schedule during 1976, despite recording two albums and Lynott’s illness, was relentless. 65 gigs in the U.K, 14 in mainland Europe and 32 in the U.S meant almost a third of the year was spent on the road. However, as 1976 came to an end, Brian Robertson almost destroyed all of the progress and hard work that Thin Lizzy had made. The night before leaving London for the start of another U.S tour, the Glaswegian guitarist got into a fight and broke his hand. The tour had to be delayed while Gary Moore rejoined the band and the dates were all moved to Jan-March 1977 with Lizzy supporting Queen.

Sadistic Mika Band 20 October 1975

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On this day, 20 October 1975, Japanese band the Sadistic Mika Band played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre supporting Roxy Music.

Formed in November 1971 by husband and wife duo Kazuhiko Katō and Mika Katō, In a time when it was still rare for women to sing in rock bands in Japan, the fact that the Katōs were a married couple was even more unusual. This, combined with their glam rock-influenced fashion, has been cited as ground-breaking for defying gender norms in the country.

Throughout October 1975, the band played live in the United Kingdom supporting Roxy Music on the European leg of their Siren Tour, including a show at Wembley Arena. It was the first ever UK tour by a Japanese rock band.

They were well received by the local music press, including Melody Maker and New Musical Express, and performed on British TV in between concerts. When they group performed "Time to Noodle" and "Suki Suki Suki" on the Old Grey Whistle Test on October 7, 1975, the letters spelling the name of the programme (usually shown hung from the back wall) were spelt as The Old Gley Whistle Test. The band also made an appearance on BBC TV's Pebble Mill at One and were interviewed by Jan Leeming.

After releasing three studio albums and becoming the first Japanese rock band to tour the United Kingdom, the Sadistic Mika Band disbanded in November 1975 when the Katōs divorced.

On This Day 19/10/1966 The Hollies

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On this day, 19 October 1966, Manchester rock/pop band The Hollies played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre. Also on their Babies tour bill were The Small Faces, Paul & Barry Ryan, Nashville Teens, Peter Jay & The New Jaywalkers, Robb Storme & The Whispers & Paul Jones.

One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Singer Allan Clarke and rhythm guitarist/singer Graham Nash founded the band as a Merseybeat-type group in Manchester, although some of the band members came from towns further north, in east Lancashire.

In October 1966, the group's fifth album, For Certain Because (UK No. 23), became their first album consisting entirely of original compositions by Clarke, Nash and Hicks.

Released in the US as Stop! Stop! Stop!, it reached No. 91 there and spawned a US release-only single, "Pay You Back with Interest", which was a modest hit, peaking at No. 28. Another track, "Tell Me to My Face", was a moderate hit by Mercury artist Keith, and was also covered a decade later by Dan Fogelberg and Tim Weisberg on their Twin Sons of Different Mothers album.

Meanwhile, the Hollies continued to release a steady stream of international hit singles: "Stop Stop Stop" (October 1966, UK No. 2, US No. 7) from For Certain Because, known for its distinctive banjo arrangement; "On a Carousel" (February 1967; UK No. 4, US No. 11, Australia No. 14[6]); "Carrie Anne" (May 1967, UK No. 3, US No. 9, Australia No. 7

On This Day 18/10/1977 Siouxsie and the Banshees

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On this day, 18 October 1977, punk rockers Siouxsie and the Banshees played Cardiff’s Top Rank supporting The Heartbreakers with the Models also on the bill.

Formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts.

Their first live appearance on television took place in November 1977 on Granada Television (based in Manchester), on Tony Wilson's TV show So It Goes. In that month they also recorded their first John Peel session for BBC radio, in which they premiered a new song, "Metal Postcard"; this introduced a "motorik austerity" in the drum patterns, along with "space in the sound" and "serrated guitars". The band described their music as "cold, machine-like and passionate at the same time". When they appeared on the cover of Sounds magazine, Vivien Goldman wrote: "they sound like a 21st century industrial plant".

Q magazine included John McKay's guitar playing on "Hong Kong Garden" in their list of "100 Greatest Guitar Tracks Ever", while Mojo rated guitarist John McGeoch in their list of "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" for his work on "Spellbound".

The Times cited the group as "one of the most audacious and uncompromising musical adventurers of the post-punk era".

Initially associated with the punk scene, the band rapidly evolved to create "a form of post-punk discord full of daring rhythmic and sonic experimentation".

Their debut album The Scream was released in 1978 to widespread critical acclaim.

SETLIST

Make Up to Break Up

Scrapheap

20th Century Boy

(T. Rex cover)

Carcass

Psychic

Bad Shape

Love in a Void

The Lord's Prayer

Encore:

Captain Scarlet