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 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 25/04/1960 The Everly Brothers

On this day, 25 April 1960, American musical duo The Everly Brothers played Cardiff’s Gaumont Theatre with support provided by The Dallas Boys, Lance Fortune, Cherry Walner, The Flee-Rakkers, Danny Hunter and The Freddy Lloyd Four.

They were famously backed by The Crickets (Jerry Allison, Joe B. Mauldin, and Sonny Curtis), though the group was not officially billed in the UK.

On This Day 17/04/1967 Bo Diddley

On this day, 17 April 1967, American blues rock ‘n’ roller Bo Diddley played Cardiff’s Top Rank. Support was provided by Creation.

Diddley’s use of African rhythms and a signature beat, a simple five-accent hambone rhythm, is a cornerstone of hip hop, rock, and pop music. In recognition of his achievements, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, the Blues Hall of Fame in 2003, and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2017.

He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.Diddley is also recognized for his technical innovations, including his use of tremolo and reverb effects to enhance the sound of his distinctive rectangular guitars.

On This Day 10/04/1965 The Searchers

On this day, 10 April 1965, pop group The Searchers played Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens. Also on the bill were Dusty Springfield, Tony Jackson, Heinz, The Settlers and special guest star Bobby Vee.

Formed in Liverpool in 1959. Part of the Merseybeat scene, they flourished during the British Invasion of the 1960s, with hits including "Sweets for My Sweet", "Love Potion No. 9", "Sugar and Spice", "Needles and Pins", "Don't Throw Your Love Away", "When You Walk in the Room", "What Have They Done to the Rain" and "Goodbye My Love". With the Swinging Blue Jeans, the Searchers tied for being the second group from Liverpool, after the Beatles, to have a hit in the US, when their "Needles and Pins" and the Swinging Blue Jeans' "Hippy Hippy Shake" both reached the Hot 100 on 7 March 1964. In June 2025, The Searchers played Glastonbury Festival for the first time as the band's "final show ever" after 68 years of performing.

On This Day 11/03/1963 Brenda Lee

On this day, 11 March 1963, American singer Brenda Lee played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre headlining a package that included Mike Berry, Sounds Incorporated, The Bachelors, Steve Perry, Tony Sheridan and Bob Bain.

Primarily performing rockabilly, pop, country, and Christmas music, she achieved her first Billboard hit at age 12 in 1957, and was given the nickname "Little Miss Dynamite". Some of Lee's most successful songs include "Sweet Nothin's", "I'm Sorry", "I Want to Be Wanted", "Speak to Me Pretty", "All Alone Am I", and "Losing You". Her festive song "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", recorded in 1958, topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 2023, making Lee the oldest artist ever to top the chart and breaking several chart records.

Having sold over 100 million records globally, Lee is one of the most successful American artists of the 20th century. Lee was the second woman ever to top the Billboard Hot 100 (after Connie Francis) when her song “I'm Sorry” reached number one in 1960. Her U.S. success in the 1960s earned her recognition as Billboard's Top Female Artist of the Decade and one of the four artists who charted the most singles, behind Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and Ray Charles. Her accolades include a Grammy Award, four NARM Awards, three NME Awards, and five Edison Awards. In 2023, she was named by Rolling Stone as one of the greatest singers of all time.

The Yardbirds - 24 Feb 1967

On this day, 24 February 1967, legendary band The Yardbirds played Sophia Gardens.

Formed in London in 1963, the band started the careers of three of rock's most famous guitarists: Eric Clapton (1963–1965), Jeff Beck (1965–1966) and Jimmy Page (1966–1968), all of whom ranked in the top five of Rolling Stone magazine's 2011 list of 100 greatest guitarists. The band's other members during 1963–1968 were vocalist/harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja, and bassist Paul Samwell-Smith, with Dreja switching to bass when Samwell-Smith departed in 1966. The band had a string of hits in the mid-1960s, including "For Your Love", "Heart Full of Soul", "Shapes of Things" and "Over Under Sideways Down".

Originally a blues-based band noted for their signature "rave-up" instrumental breaks, the Yardbirds broadened their range into pop, pioneered psychedelic rock and early hard rock, and contributed to many electric guitar innovations of the mid-1960s. Some rock critics and historians also cite their influence on the later punk rock, progressive rock and heavy metal trends.

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