On This Day 03/05/1989 Inspiral Carpets

On this day, 3 June 1989, rock band Inspiral Carpets played Cardiff’s Radcliffe’s Club.

Part of the late-1980s/early-1990s Madchester movement. Formed in Oldham in 1983, the band's most successful lineup featured frontman Tom Hingley, drummer Craig Gill, guitarist Graham Lambert, bassist Martyn Walsh, and keyboardist Clint Boon.

Going by "The Furs", Lambert formed line-ups loosely with other various past band members from 1980 to 1983 until he and singer Stephen Holt met at The Moor End indie disco in Oldham in 1983. Holt sang on the first two independent singles. Holt departed the band before they signed with Mute Records. Inspiral Carpets are known for using organs and distorted guitars with influences from psychedelic rock.

Inspiral Carpets came to prominence along with bands such as the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays in the Madchester scene of the late 1980s. The band first appeared on a flexi-disc with "Garage Full of Flowers" that was given free with Manchester's Debris magazine in 1987. Their first proper release, the Cow cassette, soon followed. The 1988 Planecrash EP on the Playtime label received much airplay from Radio 1 DJ John Peel, who asked the band to record a session for his show. The band reworked their single "Find Out Why" as the theme song for the show 8:15 from Manchester.

As the band's popularity grew, Playtime's distributor Red Rhino Records went bankrupt, leading Inspiral Carpets to form their own label, Cow Records, in March 1989. The label's first release was the Trainsurfing EP. With half of the first album, Life, written, Holt and Swift departed and formed the Rainkings, so the band recruited Too Much Texas singer Tom Hingley and Martyn "Bungle" Walsh of The Next Step to replace them. Martyn Walsh became the band's 13th bass player.

After a handful of singles on their own label, with "Move" nearly reaching the UK top 40, the band signed a deal with Mute Records and soon experienced their first top-40 chart success in the UK with "This Is How It Feels." The single reached No. 14 on the singles chart, and the debut album Life reached No. 2 on the albums chart in 1990.

On This Day 28/05/1983 The Swinging Laurels

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On this day, 28 May 1983, Leicester ska/rock band The Swinging Laurels played Cardiff’s Nero’s Funktion Suite.

Formed in 1980 by ex-member of The Wendy Tunes, Gaz Birtles, and ex collaborator of Black Gorilla, John Barrow, both saxophonists. They released their first single as a duo in 1981 and then recruited synth and trumpet player Dean Sargent and keyboardist Mark O'Hara.

They released six singles with a sound based heavily on the saxes, till the end of the '80s and they guested in recordings of other acts like The Apollinaires, Fun Boy Three, Norman Beaton, Worldbackwards, Musical Youth, Splashdown and Team 23.

The first Swinging Laurels WEA release, RODEO, hit the streets in September and featured the distinctive percussive influence of SCRITTI POLITTI drummer TOM MORLEY, but despite Radio One airplay, was restricted to the lower reaches of the national chart. CULTURE CLUB producer Steve Levine lent his expertise to the second single Lonely Boy which originally featured a fine vocal contribution by BOY GEORGE but due to contractual objections by his record label Virgin Records was eventually released minus his efforts.

1983 saw the Swinging Laurels in their own right and as a special guests of CULTURE CLUB, at the request of BOY GEORGE who was a self-proclaimed fan. They were special guests on both of their sell-out UK tours in March and December. A Janice Long Radio One session was followed by a highly-successful Dutch festival tour where they supported NICK LOWE and OSIBISA as well as headlining dates.

This year also saw the band part company with WEA Records The Swinging Laurelsformed their own label identity, Happy Records based, at their Leicester studio Happy House.

On This Day 26/05/1989 Tim Finn

On this day, 26 May 1989, New Zealand singer, songwriter, musician, and composer Tim Finn played Cardiff University. He is best known as a founding member of Split Enz and occasional member of Crowded House.

Finn had just released his self titled third studio album. The reviewer in pan-European magazine Music & Media noted that the album "consists of 10 intelligent, well-crafted and introspective songs" and described Mitchell Froom's production as "pleasantly gritty and modest in a refined way".

The album yielded strong reviews and the New Zealand hit "Parihaka", based on a Māori village known for its campaign of passive resistance to European occupiers. Finn also created the song "Cane Toad Blues" which played during the credits for the documentary film "Cane Toads: An Unnatural History."

On His Day 24/05/1987 Tammy Wynette

On this day, 24 May 1987, American country music legend Tammy Wynette played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall. She was about to release her 27th album Higher Ground.

Wynette had a mezzo-soprano vocal range and was known for delivering singing performances with an emotional vulnerability that has been described as a "teardrop" vocal style. This delivery also helped her become billed as the "Heroine of Heartbreak".

Her original producer was the first to give Wynette the "teardrop" moniker. The Country Music Hall of Fame wrote, "Her gripping, teardrop-in-every-note vocal style seemed to weep with emotion, while she elaborated on the theme that suffering ennobles a woman."

Other publications described Wynette's emotional depth in other ways. Rolling Stone wrote, "Tammy could sustain power and complexity, whether whispering in your ear or shoving you up against a wall of sound."

The New York Times wrote, "When the songs moved toward honky-tonk or old-fashioned weepers, Ms. Wynette did more than navigate the melody dutifully; her voice showed the emotional depth that was smothered elsewhere." In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Wynette at number 127 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.

Wynette helped bring a female's perspective to country music. Her music spoke for rural and working-class women who previously lacked representation in the genre. Wynette's music also helped eliminate some of the male bias at country radio by expanding women into the record-buying public.

Along with Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton, Wynette elevated the popularity of female country artists. In total, Wynette had 39 singles reach the Billboard country chart while 20 topped the same chart. She has been said to have sold roughly 30 million records worldwide.

On This Day 18/05/1980 The Undertones

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On this day, 18 May 1980, Northern Irish punk band The Undertones played Cardiff’s Top Rank. Support was provided by The Moondogs.

The band had just released their second album Hypnotised, recorded at Wisseloord Studios in the Netherlands in December 1979, and at Eden Studios in London in January 1980. The album peaked at No 6 in the UK album charts.

The original release of Hypnotised included two singles: "My Perfect Cousin", which was released on 28 March 1980 and reached number 9 in the charts; and "Wednesday Week", released on 5 July 1980 and which charted at number 11 three weeks later.

The Undertones consisted of Feargal Sharkey (vocals), John O'Neill (rhythm guitar, vocals), Damian O'Neill (lead guitar, vocals), Michael Bradley (bass, vocals) and Billy Doherty (drums).

Much of the earlier Undertones material drew influence from punk rock and new wave; the Undertones also incorporated elements of rock, glam rock and post-punk into material released after 1979, before citing soul and Motown as the influence for the material released upon their final album.

On This Day 15/05/1983 Iron Maiden

On this day, 15 May 1983, heavy metal rock band Iron Maiden played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on their World Piece tour in support of their fourth album, A Piece Of Mind.

The band were supported by Grand Prix.

review - South Wales Argus

In 1983, they released their fourth studio album, Piece of Mind, which reached the No. 3 spot in the UK, and No. 14 on the Billboard 200.

Piece of Mind features the successful singles "The Trooper" and "Flight of Icarus", the latter being notable as one of the band's few songs to gain substantial airplay in the US.

The other notable songs of the album are "Where Eagles Dare" (based on so same entitled movie with Clint Eastwood starring), "Revelations", "Die with Your Boots On" and an epic "To Tame a Land" based on Frank Herbert's novel titled "Dune".

Iron Maiden played 151 concerts in Europe and North America as a part of World Piece Tour. For the very the first time they booked a massive North America tour as headliners.

Nearly 90 shows took place in 10,000 + capacity arenas, and the band sold out Madison Square Garden with a crowd of 20,000.

In London, they played four consecutive nights at the Hammersmith Odeon, then toured many large venues across Western Europe, including an extensive German leg.

The World Piece Tour was summed up by two headlining performances at the Rock & Pop Festival at the Westfalenhalle in Dortmund. The show was broadcast live to 300 million people with the exception of the song "Iron Maiden" due to the band's "violent behaviour on stage".

The final night of the tour in Dortmund saw the band "kill" their mascot Eddie after the song "Iron Maiden". Bruce Dickinson took the brain out of Eddie's head while the rest of the band kicked and pummelled the mascot, while guitarist Dave Murray smashed his Fender Stratocaster on Eddie's neck and a nearby amplifier.

Setlist

1 Intro – theme from Where Eagles Dare

2 "Where Eagles Dare" (from Piece of Mind, 1983)

3 "Wrathchild" (from Killers, 1981)

4 "The Trooper" (from Piece of Mind, 1983)

5 "Revelations" (from Piece of Mind, 1983)

6 "Flight of Icarus" (from Piece of Mind, 1983)

7 "Die with Your Boots On" (from Piece of Mind, 1983)

8 "22 Acacia Avenue" (from The Number of the Beast, 1982)

9 "The Number of the Beast" (from The Number of the Beast, 1982)

10 "Still Life" (from Piece of Mind, 1983) (Dropped after 12 June 1983)

11 "To Tame a Land" (from Piece of Mind, 1983)

12 "Phantom of the Opera" (from Iron Maiden, 1980) (Dropped after 12 June 1983)

13 "Hallowed Be Thy Name" (from The Number of the Beast, 1982)

14 "Iron Maiden" (from Iron Maiden, 1980)

15 "Run to the Hills" (from The Number of the Beast, 1982)

16 "Sanctuary" (from Iron Maiden, 1980)

17 "Drifter" (from Killers, 1981)

18 "Prowler" (from Iron Maiden, 1980)

On This Day 11/05/1982 Nick Lowe

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On this day, 11 May 1982, English singer-songwriter, musician and producer Nick Lowe and his band Noise to Go played Cardiff’s Top Rank. The band featured Paul Carrick on vocals/keyboards, Martin Belmont/Guitar, James Eller/Bass and Bobby Irwin/Drums.

Lowe had recently released his third solo album Nick the Knife, his first since the breakup of his band Rockpile. The record still has several ties to Rockpile with Lowe's former bandmates Billy Bremner and Terry Williams both playing on the album. The album includes Lowe's slower remake of the Rockpile song "Heart"; the original version can be found on the band's album Seconds of Pleasure, sung by Bremner.

Nick the Knife reached #50 on the Billboard 200, and #99 on the UK album charts. No singles from the album made the US or UK charts, although in Canada "Stick It Where The Sun Don't Shine" hit the top 40.

Nick the Knife is notable for being one of only two Lowe solo albums with no cover versions, including only songs written or co-written by Lowe, the other album being his 1990 Party of One.

On This Day 06/05/1989 Frank Sidebottom

On this day, 6 May 1989, English musician, comedian and artist Frank Sidebottom ( Chris Sievey), played Cardiff’s Venue.

The Frank Sidebottom character first appeared on an untitled 1984 EP by Chris Sievey & the Freshies, in a spoken-word track wherein Frank talks to Sievey.

The character was instantly recognisable by his large spheroidal head, styled like an early Max Fleischer cartoon. This was initially made from papier-mâché, but later of fibreglass. In the documentary Being Frank, Martin Sievey (Chris's brother) states this was made using plaster of Paris.

Frank, usually dressed in a 1950s-style sharp suit, was portrayed as an aspiring pop star from the small village of Timperley, near Altrincham. His character was cheerfully optimistic, enthusiastic, and seemingly oblivious to his own failings. Although supposedly 35 years old (the age always attributed to Frank irrespective of the passage of time), he still lived at home with his mother, to whom he made frequent references. His mother was apparently unaware of her son's popularity. Frank sometimes had a sidekick in the form of "Little Frank", a hand puppet who was otherwise a perfect copy of Frank.

His backing band, dubbed 'The Oh Blimey Band' consisted of Mike Doherty on drums, Rick Sarko on guitar (both formerly of the Freshies), Patrick Gallagher on bass, and later, Jon Ronson on keyboards.

In 1989, Sievey re-arranged the Oh Blimey Band, introducing Richard Jones from the recently broken up local band the Desert Wolves on bass guitar, along with a new guitarist and saxophonist. Chris wanted to give the band a more professional sound, and booked a 30 date tour, the longest the band had ever undertook. This new lineup was a source of tension between the members, with Richard Jones and Jon Ronson taking a near instant disliking for each other.

The tour and its new sound were panned by audience members and critics alike, leading to Sievey abandoning the new line-up in 1990, instead choosing to perform solo from then on.