On This Day 22/05/2007 Nas

On this day, 22 May 2007, American rapper and entrepreneur Nas played Cardiff’s Clwb Ifor University on his Hip Hop is Dead tour 2007.

Hip Hop Is Dead is the eighth studio album by American rapper Nas, released December 19, 2006, on Def Jam Recordings.

His first album for the label, it was co-financed by Nas's previous label, Columbia Records, which once distributed for Def Jam. The album's title was inspired by Nas's view of the music industry and the state of hip hop music at the time.

The album features appearances from Nas's then-wife Kelis, Def Jam label-mates Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Chrisette Michele, as well as will.i.am, Snoop Dogg, and The Game, among others.

The album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 355,880 copies in its first week. His fourth U.S. number-one album, it had sold 785,000 copies by March 2014, eventually over time it went gold by the RIAA. Upon its release, Hip Hop Is Dead received generally positive reviews from most music critics.

Hip Hop Is Dead was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, ultimately losing to Kanye West's Graduation at the 50th Grammy Awards.

On This Day 28/04/1987 Curiosity Killed The Cat

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On this day, 28 April 1987, pop band Curiosity Killed The Cat played Cardiff University.

Formed in London in 1984, comprising singer Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot, guitarist Julian Godfrey Brookhouse, bassist Nick Thorpe and drummer Migi Drummond. The band achieved success in the UK in the late 1980s, with their debut album Keep Your Distance reaching No. 1 in 1987 and producing three top 20 hit singles in "Down to Earth", "Misfit" and "Ordinary Day".

Review - South Wales Echo

The band played soulful, jazzy and funky pop music, and was initially signed to Mercury Records. They first came to notice of the UK music press when they worked with Andy Warhol for the video of their 1986 single "Misfit". This featured the band in New York City and at one point featured frontman Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot dancing down a side street whilst Andy Warhol referenced Bob Dylan's 1965 long-form promotional film for "Subterranean Homesick Blues" by dropping pieces of white card in time to the music.

The single was initially unsuccessful but the release of their next single, "Down to Earth", gave the band a top 3 hit in early 1987.

Review - South Wales Argus

The band's first album, Keep Your Distance, entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 1 in April 1987, and stayed in the top ten for 13 weeks.[3] Further singles included "Ordinary Day" (UK No. 11), "Free" (UK No. 56) and a re-release of "Misfit" (UK No. 7).[3] "Misfit" was also their only U.S. charting single, peaking at No. 42.

On This Day 29/01/198 The Teardrop Explodes

On this day, 29 January 1982, post-punk band The Teardrop Explodes played Cardiff University on their Wilder tour. The venue was originally Sophia Gardens but after the roof collapsed in January following a heavy snowfall the venue was switched to Cardiff University.. The band had recently released their second album Wilder.

Wilder was recorded following a turbulent period in the band's career involving the success of their debut album Kilimanjaro, several line-up changes and a fraught, drug-fuelled American tour. For Wilder, the group's leader and principal songwriter Julian Cope developed his songwriting by using many experimental approaches.

Wilder featured a far greater use of synthesizer arrangements and loop experiments than Kilimanjaro, predominantly at the instigation of keyboard player David Balfe (who acted as Cope's principal creative collaborator in the studio). By now Cope had mostly abandoned his role as the group's bass player (with many tracks on the record featuring session bassist James Eller) and shared some of the guitarist role with Troy Tate, as well as dabbling in piano and organ.

Some tracks featured a full group sound as featured on Kilimanjaro (most notably "Passionate Friend", the only single release and album track to feature the band's ill-fated US touring members Alfie Agius and Jeff Hammer) but in general the album broke away from the West Coast/beat group sound of the debut as well as having a noticeably more downbeat and troubled atmosphere. Some Wilder tracks featured little or no guitar, avoided the standard drumkit or set Cope's voice against solo synthesizer only.

Setlist

Like Leila Khaled Said

Seven Views of Jerusalem

Ha Ha I'm Drowning

Falling Down Around Me

Log Cabin

.And the Fighting Takes Over

Passionate Friend

Books

Tiny Children

You Disappear From View

Clementis

Suffocate

Treason

Colours Fly Away

Reward

The Culture Bunker

Encore:

Screaming Secrets

Sleeping Gas

On This Day 29/10/1988 Martin Stephenson and the Daintees

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On this day, 29 October 1988, rock/folk/pop band Martin Stephenson and the Daintees played Cardiff University. The band had earlier released their second album Gladsome, Humour & Blue.

The band was signed to a recording contract with Kitchenware Records and released their first single in 1982. Like other Kitchenware acts the group had its origins in the North East England.

The band enjoyed a high critical profile and some minor commercial success. Their best-selling and most acclaimed album is Boat to Bolivia released in 1986.

On This Day 22/10/1988 Roachford

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On this day, 22 October 1988, rock band Roachford played Cardiff University. The band, lead by vocalist Andrew Roachford had just released their debut album Roachford which peaked at #11 in the UK album charts.

Andrew Roachford was born in London, England to parents of West Indian descent. The band of the same name was formed in 1987, the line-up featuring Andrew Roachford (vocals, keyboards, percussion), Chris Taylor (drums), Hawi Gondwe (guitars) and Derrick Taylor (bass guitar).

By 1988, the band were touring, supporting acts such as Terence Trent D'Arby and the Christians. Shortly afterward, a seven-album recording contract with Columbia was signed. They went on to have a string of success throughout the 1990s, becoming Columbia's biggest-selling UK act for ten years.

On This Day 08/05/1981 Larry Norman

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On this day, 8 May 1981, American musician, singer, songwriter, record label owner, and record producer. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of Christian rock music and released more than 100 albums.

In 2008, Christian rock historian John J. Thompson wrote, "It is certainly no overstatement to say that Larry Norman is to Christian music what John Lennon is to rock & roll or Bob Dylan is to folk music." Thompson credited Norman for his impact on the genre as a musician, a producer, and a businessman.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Norman also influenced a number of emerging punk and alternative rock artists. According to documentarian Larry Di Sabatino, Larry Norman was "an early influence" on the post-punk band U2. When Bono met with a summit of Nashville Christian music artists in 2002 to garner support for an African aid campaign, he specifically asked to see Norman. Upon Larry Norman's death, Bono sent flowers to his funeral with the note "Eternal singer, still eternal, Bono."

According to Charles Normal, Larry Norman attended his "first of many" punk rock shows while touring London in 1977, seeing Richard Hell and the Voidoids, the Damned, and Dead Boys. Regarding the punk movement, Norman stated that while he initially disliked some of the lyrical content, he was generally supportive of it and its youthful energy, which he viewed as preferable to disco.

In late 1980, Norman moved to England and, with his father, founded Phydeaux Records, a company designed to compete with the bootleg market by selling rarities from Norman's own archives. He signed a distribution deal with British label Chapel Lane and released several albums before returning to the United States in 1985.

Norman then began work on an anthology project celebrating his career in Christian music, beginning with the album White Blossoms from Black Roots: The History and the Chronology: Volume One; however, the project collapsed when the head of the distribution company was arrested for check forgery and the company's merchandise was seized by the FBI.

Setlist

I Hope I'll See You in Heaven

If I Were a Singer

I Am Near

When You Sent Your Son

No More LSD for Me

A Note From Mr. God

One Way

U.F.O.

666 (The Anti-Christ)

The Outlaw

The Troubles

On This Day 10 December 1996 Reef

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On this day, 10 December 1996, rock band Reef played Cardiff University on their Glow tour, the band were about to release their second album Glow ( January 1997).

Formed in Glastonbury. The band members include Gary Stringer on vocals, Amy Newton on guitar, Jack Bessant on bass, and Luke Bullen on drums.

In 1993, Bessant and Stringer were looking for band members while Kenwyn House met Dominic Greensmith (from Barnstaple, Devon), and discussed forming a band. The foursome got together, producing the extremely rare "Purple Tape" demo.

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).

During 1994 and 1995, Reef supported Paul Weller, the Rolling Stones and Soundgarden, amongst others.

oth 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.

In mid-1995 they released a four-track single release: "Weird". It was non-commercial and the band had said it was aimed at fans. "Sunrise Shakers", one of the B-sides to "Weird", was later included in snowboarding film Day Tripper, by independent film maker Christian Stevenson who later directed a promotional video for the band's 1999 single, "Sweety".

The follow-up to Replenish was 1997's Glow, with the band using more varied instruments and was produced by the Black Crowes' record producer, George Drakoulious and engineered by Jim Scott, in Los Angeles. It spawned the singles "Place Your Hands", "Come Back Brighter", "Consideration" and "Yer Old".On the week of its release, Glow went straight to number 1 in the UK Albums Chart.

On This Day 23/10/1974 Horslips

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On this day, 23 October 1974, Irish Celtic rock band Horslips, played Cardiff University on their Dancehall Sweethearts tour.

Horslips composed, arranged and performed songs frequently inspired by traditional Irish airs, jigs and reels. The group are regarded as 'founding fathers of Celtic rock' for their fusion of traditional Irish music with rock music and went on to inspire many local and international acts.

They formed in 1970 and 'retired' in 1980 for an extended period. The name originated from a spoonerism on The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse which became "The Four Poxmen of The Horslypse"

Dancehall Sweethearts is the name of their third studio album Recorded during the 1974 World Cup Finals, the songs were loosely based on the travels of the famed 18th century blind harper, Turlough O' Carolan. The title and cover were chosen by the band in reaction to the record company's worry that an album about a deceased blind Irish harper would not sell in great quantities.

For this album, the addition of brass sections added a new element to Horslips' sound, as songs like Nighttown Boy and Sunburst displayed elements of blues which were new to Horslips' Celtic Rock sound. Once again, traditional jigs and reels were incorporated into Horslips' songs. A video was recorded for Ireland's national broadcaster, RTÉ, of Horslips performing King of the Fairies, a set dance, Beatles-style on the roof of Bank of Ireland's headquarters in 1975.