On This Day 04/05/1966 Manfred Mann

On this day, 4 May 1966, pop group Manfred Mann played Cardiff’s Top Rank. The band were riding high in the UK singles chart with their hit “Pretty Flamingo.“

The track featured Jack Bruce on bass, who briefly joined the band before forming Cream. It was the band's second UK number one hit after "Do Wah Diddy Diddy".

The recording was engineered by Geoff Emerick – then only 20 years old – who eventually became well known for his work with the Beatles.

Singer Paul Jones notably performed the song on Top of the Pops while standing on one leg.Legacy: It was the last single the band released with original lead singer Paul Jones.

The original demo of the song was recorded by New York City–based American vocalist Jimmy Radcliffe, stylized for the Drifters; but songwriter Mark Barkan was dissatisfied with the overly produced results, and had Radcliffe recut the song with a pared-down arrangement.

On This Day 03/05/1991 Bleach

On This Day, 3 May 1991, indie rock band Bleach played Cardiff University.

Bleach, from Ipswich, are usually considered part of the shoegazing genre. The band was formed in 1989 by brothers Neil and Nick Singleton (guitar and bass, respectively) together with drummer Steve Scott and vocalist Salli Carson.

Their first release was the Eclipse EP in 1990, followed in 1991 by the Snag EP. The tracks from these two EPs were collected on an album in 1991.They recorded two Peel sessions, in 1990 and 1991, which were broadcast on BBC Radio One.

1992 saw the release of the full-length album Killing Time, and the single "Shotgun", a surprising mixture of shoegazing and rap. In 1993 the band released two separate mini-albums, Hard and Fast. The group disbanded shortly thereafter.

On This Day 02/05/1975 Yes

On this day, 2 May 1975, prog rock giants Yes played the first of two nights at Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre on the band’s Relayer tour. Support was provided by Gryphon.

Relayer is the seventh studio album by the English progressive rock band Yes, released in the UK on 29 November 1974 and in the US on 5 December 1974 by Atlantic Records. After keyboardist Rick Wakeman left the group in May 1974 over disagreements with the band's direction following their double concept album Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973), Yes entered rehearsals as a four-piece in Buckinghamshire. They auditioned several musicians, including Greek keyboardist and composer Vangelis, before settling with Swiss musician Patrick Moraz of Refugee who incorporated elements of funk and jazz fusion to the album. Relayer is formed of three tracks, with "The Gates of Delirium" on side one and "Sound Chaser" and "To Be Over" on side two. This was the only studio release to feature Moraz on keyboards.

Relayer received a mixed to positive reception from contemporary and retrospective critics. It reached No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 5 on the US Billboard 200.

Yes fan Gerard made these comments about the gig on a Yes band fan site -

My first Yes show, still the best gig I've ever been to and the best Friday night of my life! (even without Rick).

I was 16 and with a bunch of school friends. About 6 weeks previously we'ed queued all night for our tickets. The box office was due to open at 10 AM on a Sunday but they opened at 08.30 on the advice of the police as the queue was a few thousand strong and growing fast. When they opened the box office bedlam ensued!

We got our tickets, those who turned up later had no chance.

At the gig Gryphon opened and were good. Then, at the first strains of Firbird Suite everyone rose and roared their approval. As the guys came on the stage there was a great surge to the front and those of us a little further back stood on our seats.

And that is where everyone stayed for the whole show, the place was bouncing. The Capitol, now demolished, held over 2,500 and the balcony was literally shaking through the whole gig. The atmosphere was absolutley electric! I came away with an Alan White "Ludwig" drum stick (which I still have) and a smug expression on my face as those in my group of friends who had seen Genesis two days earlier in Bristol freely admitted that Yes were in a different class. Three of us had been wise and purchased a second Yes ticket for the Bristol show on the following Wednesday.

Lineup: Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Chris Squire, Patrick Moraz, Alan White.

Setlist :

Firebird Suite
Sound Chaser
Close To The Edge
To Be Over
Gates Of Delirium
Your Move/Mood For A Day
Long Distance Runaround/Moraz Solo
Clap
And You And I
Ritual
Roundabout
Sweet Dreams

On This Day 01/05/2005 Tears For Fears

On this day, 1 May 2005, rock band Tears For Fears played Cardiff International Arena in support of their latest album “Everybody Loves A Happy Ending”. Special guests were Gledhill.

Everybody Loves a Happy Ending was the bands sixth studio album, released on 14 September 2004 in the United States and on 7 March 2005 in the United Kingdom and Europe.

The album marked Tears for Fears' comeback following a hiatus in the late 1990s, as well as the return of founding member Curt Smith. However, it performed modestly on the UK and US music charts compared to the band's previous records. The band focused primarily on touring in the years following Everybody Loves a Happy Ending's release, with a follow-up album not being completed until nearly eighteen years later.

On This Day 30/04/1994 Terrorvision

On this day, 30 April 1994, rock band Terrovision played Cardiff University on their "How To Make Friends & Influence People" tour.

How to Make Friends and Influence People is the bands second album released 16 April 1994 on Total Vegas Recordings. It peaked at #18 in the UK album charts.

"Oblivion", "Middleman", "Pretend Best Friend", "Alice What's the Matter", and "Some People Say" were all released as singles. The title refers to the Dale Carnegie book How to Win Friends and Influence People. The album was recorded in 17 days.

Tour Setlist

Alice What's the Matter

Problem Solved

Middleman

Stop the Bus

Discotheque Wreck

Don't Shoot My Dog

Urban Space Crime

Oblivion

Pretend Best Friend

Time O the Signs

American TV

New Policy One

Still the Rhythm

Encore:

Some People Say

My House

On This Day 28/04/1995 Reef

On this day, 28 April 1995, rock band Reef played Cardiff University on their Replenish tour.

After recording several tracks, the band spent much of 1994 touring and building up a fan base. They signed to S2, an offshoot of Sony.

Their first single "Good Feeling" was released on an independent label, but financed by Sony, then as an official Sony S2 release in early 1995. This paved the way for "Naked", which was used in a TV advert for the Sony MiniDisc in which a record company executive hears the track on MiniDisc and throws it out of the window disapprovingly. It is picked up by a young man outside, who listens to it and likes it (demonstrating the format's durability).

Both the "Good Feeling" and "Naked" singles came from Reef's 1995 release, their now gold debut album Replenish. The album was recorded in the remote Cornish Sawmills recording studio and in a studio in Bath.

On This Day 27/04/1968 Bee Gees

On this day, 27 March 1968, Australian singer/ songwriting brothers the Bee Gees played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre. Support was provided by Grapefruit and The Foundations.

In February, Horizontal repeated the success of their first album, featuring the group's first UK No. 1 single "Massachusetts" (a No. 11 US hit) and the No. 7 UK single "World". The sound of the album Horizontal had a more "rock" sound than their previous release, although ballads like "And the Sun Will Shine" and "Really and Sincerely" were included. The Horizontal album reached No. 12 in the US and No. 16 in the UK.

The Bee Gees embarked on their first major UK tour in early 1968, opening at the Royal Albert Hall in London on March 27, 1968, featuring a 37-piece orchestra and choir. The tour, which ran through late March and April, included stops in cities like Sheffield, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester.

Setlist
New York Mining Disaster 1941

To Love Somebody

Jumbo

The Singer Sang His Song

I Have Decided to Join the Air Force

I Started a Joke

Let There Be Love

Words

I Can't See Nobody

Morning of My Life

Really and Sincerely

Massachusetts

I've Gotta Get a Message to You

Spicks and Specks

Words

On This Day 26/04/1958 Johnnie Ray

On this day, 26 April 1958, American singer Johnnie Ray played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre.

Inspired by rhythm singers like Kay Starr, LaVern Baker, and Ivory Joe Hunter, Ray developed a unique rhythm-based singing style described as alternating between pre-rock rhythm and blues and a more conventional classic pop approach. He began singing professionally on a Portland, Oregon, radio station at age 15, sharing billing with Jane Powell, then a local young singer.

Ray's performing style included theatrics later associated with rock and roll, including tearing at his hair, falling to the floor, and crying on stage. Ray quickly earned the nicknames "Mr. Emotion", "The Nabob of Sob", "The Prince of Wails", and several others. One source states that Ray "opened the way for Elvis and the overt sexual energy of rock and roll and is credited by the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Elton John as being a formative influence on their artistic styles". As well, Ray's manager said that Elvis Presley often watched Johnnie's concerts.