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 23/04/2008 Sugarbabes

On this day, 23 April 2008, girl group Sugarbabes played Cardiff International Arena on their Change tour.

This was part of their thirty-date UK Change Tour, which ran from March to May 2008, supporting their album Change and featuring the lineup of Keisha Buchanan, Heidi Range, and Amelle Berrabah.

Following their Greatest Hits Tour, the Sugababes returned to the recording studio in mid-2007 to continue working on Change, their fifth studio album, and the first to feature Berrabah on all tracks. "About You Now" was released as the album's lead single in September 2007. Upon release, the song became the group's sixth UK number one hit and first Hungarian chart-topper. It remained atop the UK Singles Chart for four weeks. "About You Now" was nominated for a 2008 BRIT Award for Best British Single and is to date their highest-selling single, with sales standing at almost 500,000 copies.

In the 2009 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records, "About You Now" was listed as the "first track by a British pop act to top the singles chart solely on downloads". The song was also named as the "biggest chart mover to the number one position in the UK".

Setlist

"Hole in the Head" (contains elements of "Don't Stop The Music")

"Round Round"

"Never Gonna Dance Again"

"In the Middle"

"Ugly"

"Freak like Me"/"Virgin Sexy"

"Back Down"

"Too Lost in You" (piano version)

"Don't Let Go (Love)" (En Vogue cover)

"Denial"

"Change"

"Mended By You"/"Stronger"

"3 Spoons of Suga"/"Overload"

"Red Dress" (Rockamerica remix) (contains elements of "Two Tribes")

"My Love Is Pink"

Encore

"Push the Button"

"About You Now"

On This Day 22/04/2002 Simple Minds

On this day, 22 April 2002, Scottish rock band Simple Minds played Cardiff International Arena on their "The Floating World Tour" support was provided by The Real People.

The band had recently released their 13th studio album Cry, which peaked at #80 in the UK album charts.

The Floating World Tour (named after the last track of the Cry album) saw the return of Mel Gaynor and Our Secrets Are The Same session player Eddie Duffy (who’d also appeared on stage with the Minds at the Scotland Rocks For Kosovo benefit concert). The keyboard position was filled by Andy Gillespie, who quickly won fans over with his knowledge of the Minds’ back catalogue and preference for Mick MacNeil's samples and playing style.

Main Set: New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) / I Travel / One Step Closer / Up On The Catwalk / Big Sleep / Speed Your Love To Me / The American / Love Song / See The Lights / Glittering Prize / Ghostdancing / Spaceface / This Is Your Land / Someone Somewhere (In Summertime) / Belfast Child - Waterfront

Encore: She's A River / Cry / Don't You (Forget About Me)

Encore: Let There Be Love / Dead Vandals / Sanctify Yourself / Alive And Kicking

Line-up: Jim Kerr, Charlie Burchill, Mel Gaynor, Eddie Duffy, and Andy Gillespie.

On This Day 14/04/1998 Yes

On this day, 14 April 1989, legendary prog rock band Yes played Cardiff International Arena on their Open Your Eyes tour.

Open Your Eyes received mixed reactions from critics and fans upon release. Many criticised it for its overproduction and lack of the trademark "proggy" Yes sound, though others praised it for its upbeat nature.

Setlist

Siberian Khatru

Rhythm of Love

America

(Simon & Garfunkel cover)

Open Your Eyes

And You and I

Heart of the Sunrise

Mood for a Day

(Steve Howe solo)

Sketches in the Sun

(GTR cover)

Clap

(Steve Howe solo)

Wonderous Stories

Keyboard Solo

Long Distance Runaround

Whitefish

Drum Solo

(includes an excerpt of Ritual)

Owner of a Lonely Heart

The Revealing Science of God (Dance of the Dawn)

Encore:

I've Seen All Good People

Encore 2:

Roundabout

Encore 3:

Starship Trooper

Line up

Jon Anderson

Vocals

Steve Howe

Guitars

Billy Sherwood

Guitars

Chris Squire

Bass

Alan White

Drums

Igor Khoroshev

Keyboards

On This Day 25/09/2007 Incubus

On this day, 25 September 2007, American rock band Incubus played Cardiff International Arena on their 2007 World Tour.

Las Vegas Weekly said that Incubus was a "funky, jazzy, experimental rock band, incorporating elements of hip-hop into its music before it was fashionable to do so." According to AllMusic, the band became "one of the most popular alt-metal bands of the new millennium" by combining heavy metal, funk, jazz, hip hop, techno, post-grunge, rap metal and alternative rock into a "versatile blend". The Age wrote that Incubus "emerged bearing influences of pop, alternative metal and hip-hop, unusual for mainstream rock bands". Indianapolis Monthly said that the band was "part metal, part funk, part jazz and part hip-hop".The McClatchy-Tribune News called Incubus a "spacey, experimental alternative-rock band". Rolling Stone said that the band were latecomers to "the great funk metal scare of the '90s". The Los Angeles Times similarly wrote in 2004 that "Incubus always stood out from the rest of the mid-'90s alt-metal crowd, its positive lyrical approach and musical versatility far richer than the overworked wallowing in misery of such acts as Korn and later arrival Staind."

Prior to finding mainstream success in the early 2000s, Incubus was often grouped in with nu metal, alongside other Californian bands such as Korn and Deftones. NME described Incubus as a "fusion-generated funk/nu-metal band". Maui Time Weekly wrote, "Incubus was one of the few nu metal bands to survive the purge of the millennium, and they did it through consistent hard work–the band is constantly either in the studio or on tour–and musical development.

Setlist

Quicksand

A Kiss to Send Us Off

Wish You Were Here

Anna Molly

Pistola

Blood on the Ground

Southern Girl

Summer Romance (Anti-Gravity Love Song)

Megalomaniac

Drive

Sick Sad Little World

Oil and Water

Nice to Know You

Encore:

Favorite Things

Clean

Aqueous Transmission

(Mike Einziger on Pipa)

On This Day 24/09/2005 The Dead 60s

On this day, 24 September 2005, Liverpool Ska punk band The Dead 60s played Cardiff International Arena in support of the Stereophonics.

The band's sound is a mixture of punk rock, ska, dub and reggae. They have taken influences from artists such as King Tubby, Jackie Mittoo, Gang of Four and A Certain Ratio.

The Dead 60s released their debut album in the US on 31 May 2005 and in the UK on 26 September 2005. It was recorded at the Ranch Studios and Parr St Studios. The album was produced by Central Nervous System and remixed by Mike Hedges.

The band toured throughout Europe, Japan and the US in support of the record. In the US, they toured as part of the Vans Warped Tour as well as in support of artists such as Garbage, The Bravery and Social Distortion. They also played on the bill of both the Lollapalooza Festival and the KROQ Weenie Roast. The band experienced success in the US, where their song "Riot Radio" became the third most added song at Alternative Radio behind White Stripes and Coldplay.

The band were scheduled to open The Other Stage at Glastonbury on 24 June 2005, but before their set could begin the stage was hit by lightning and their performance was cancelled. The band continued to tour throughout 2005 and 2006, playing various festivals in the US, UK, Europe and Japan.

On This Day 25/07/1996 Melissa Etheridge

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On this day. 25 July 1996, American singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge played Cardiff’s International Arena as support to Bryan Adams on her Your Little Secret World Tour.

Your Little Secret is the fifth album by singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge, released in 1995. It was her most successful album on the Billboard 200, where it peaked at number six.

The album also contained three singles, "Your Little Secret", "I Want to Come Over", and "Nowhere to Go". "I Want to Come Over" went on to reach No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Nowhere to Go" peaked at No. 40.

As of 2010, the album has sold 1,348,000 copies in the United States alone, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Etheridge is known for music with a mixture of "confessional lyrics, pop-based folk-rock, and raspy, smoky vocals." She has been a gay and lesbian activist since her public coming out in January 1993.

She has received fifteen Grammy Award nominations throughout her career, winning two, in 1993 and 1995. In 2007, she won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "I Need to Wake Up" from the film An Inconvenient Truth.

In September 2011, Etheridge received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Tour Setlist

I Really Like You

If I Wanted To

I Want to Come Over

An Unusual Kiss

Come to My Window

Nowhere to Go

Silent Legacy

I Could Have Been You

Must Be Crazy for Me

I'm the Only One

Your Little Secret

Bring Me Some Water

Like the Way I Do

On This Day 22/07/2008 Michael Buble

On this day, 22 July 2008, Canadian singer Michael Buble played Cardiff International Arena on his Call Me Irresponsible Tour.

Regarded as a pop icon, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American Songbook. Bublé has sold over 75 million records worldwide, and won numerous awards, including five Grammy Awards and fifteen Juno Awards.

Bublé grew up listening to his grandfather's collection of jazz records and credits his grandfather in encouraging his love for jazz music. "My grandfather was really my best friend growing up. He was the one who opened me up to a whole world of music that seemed to have been passed over by my generation.

“Although I like rock and roll and modern music, the first time my granddad played me the Mills Brothers, something magical happened. The lyrics were so romantic, so real, the way a song should be for me. It was like seeing my future flash before me. I wanted to be a singer and I knew that this was the music that I wanted to sing.”

In 2003, Bublé's first album reached the top ten in Canada and the United Kingdom. He found a worldwide audience with his 2005 album It's Time and his 2007 album Call Me Irresponsible – which reached number one on the Canadian Albums Chart, the UK Albums Chart, the US Billboard 200, the Australian ARIA Albums Chart and several European charts.