On This Day 10/05/1995 Tanita Tickaram

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On this day, 10 May 1995, British pop/folk singer-songwriter Tanita Tickaram played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall.

She had recently released her fifth studio album Lovers in the City. Jennifer Warnes provided backing vocals on four tracks on the album. One of these songs, "I Might Be Crying", was released as lead single.

A video for this single was filmed in Vietnam. The album reached No. 75 in the UK charts. "I Might Be Crying" was the first single to be released from the album, and peaked at number 64 in the UK.

"Wonderful Shadow" was the second single to be released and peaked at number 198 in the UK. "Yodelling Song" was the third and last single to be released and then only in some countries in continental Europe.

Review - South Wales Echo

Upon its release, John Harris of NME praised Lovers in the City as "shockingly decent", with Tikaram "coming out of it looking like someone who's worthy of sharing lunch with Tori, Bjork or Kate Bush". He commented on how Tikaram had "binned most of the forced intellectualism that made her sound like an eternal undergraduate" and "turned her straining, fractured baritone into something of an asset".

Setlist

You Make the Whole World Cry

Men & Women

Hot Stones

Out on the Town

Feeding the Witches

Happy Taxi

Heal You

Elephant

World Outside Your Window

Twist in My Sobriety

Good Tradition

Yodelling Song

Preyed Upon

On This Day 29/04/1993 Boney M

On this day, 29 April 1993, disco greats Boney M played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall.

Founded in 1974, the band achieved popularity during the disco era of the second half of the 1970s. The band was created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary songwriter and singer.

Originally based in West Germany, the four original members of the band's official line-up were Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett from Jamaica, Maizie Williams from Montserrat, and Bobby Farrell from Aruba. Since the 1980s, various line-ups of the band have performed with different members.

The band has sold millions of records worldwide and is known for international hits including "Daddy Cool", "Ma Baker", "Belfast", "Sunny", "Rasputin", "Rivers of Babylon/Brown Girl in the Ring", "Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday", "Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord" and "Gotta Go Home".

1992 saw a renewed interest in Boney M.'s music with the Boney M. Megamix single returning the group to the UK Top 10 for the first time since 1980, and a subsequent Greatest Hits album, Gold – 20 Super Hits, reaching the UK Top 20 in 1993. While Marcia Barrett, by then living in Florida, had cancer and was unable to perform, Boney M. toured the world with a line-up of Liz Mitchell, Carol Grey, Patricia Lorna Foster and Curt Dee Daran (replaced by Tony Ashcroft in 1994). They released the single Papa Chico but failed to chart. Maizie Williams assembled her own Boney M. with an ever-changing line-up. Bobby Farrell also toured with varying trios of female performers.

Liz Mitchell was touring the world with her line-up of Boney M., which was the only line-up officially supported by Farian; the court ruling of 1990 stated that all four members are entitled to perform their own Boney M. shows. Bobby Farrell and Liz Mitchell have released solo albums containing their own re-recordings of Boney M.'s classic hits.

On This Day, 07/04/1989 The Commodores

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The members of the group met as mostly freshmen at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in 1968, and signed with Motown in November 1972, having first caught the public eye opening for the Jackson 5 while on tour.

The band's biggest hit singles are ballads such as "Easy", "Three Times a Lady", and "Nightshift"; and funk-influenced dance songs, including "Brick House", "Fancy Dancer", "Lady (You Bring Me Up)", and "Too Hot ta Trot".

Commodores were inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and Vocal Group Hall of Fame. The band has also won one Grammy Award out of nine nominations. The Commodores have sold over 70 million albums worldwide.

The group gradually abandoned its funk roots and moved into the more commercial pop arena. In 1984, former Heatwave singer James Dean "J.D." Nicholas assumed co-lead vocal duties with drummer Walter Orange.

That line-up was hitless until 1985 when their final Motown album Nightshift, produced by Dennis Lambert (prior albums were produced by James Anthony Carmichael, who would continue to work with Richie on his albums), delivered the title track "Nightshift", a loving tribute to Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson, both of whom had died the previous year. "Nightshift" hit no. 3 in the US and won the Commodores their first Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals in 1985.

On This Day 20/03/2005 Erasure

On this day, 20 March 2005, synth-pop duo Erasure played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on their Erasure Show Tour The band had just released their eleventh studio album Nightbird.

Nightbird received mixed reviews and was only a moderate commercial success, charting no higher than number 27 in UK. Despite the mixed critical reception, many longtime fans of the band hailed it as a return to the sound and feel of classic Erasure albums like Wonderland and Chorus. Singer Andy Bell's revelation that he was HIV-positive just prior to the album's release shed new meaning on the songs' introspective and sometimes melancholy lyrics.

A massive concert tour accompanied this album which travelled across Europe and the UK as well as North America. The tour, dubbed The Erasure Show, featured the extravagant set designs and costume changes Erasure is known for. The tour wrapped up in June 2005.

The album graphic artwork was made by the British artist Rob Ryan.

The album's first single "Breathe" entered the UK Singles Chart at number four – Erasure's highest peak since "Always" hit number four in 1994. No singles from the album charted on the U.S. "Breathe" became Erasure's second number-one on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart – their first being "Victim of Love" in 1987.

Setlist

Mr Gribber and His Amazing Cat - Intro

No Doubt

Hideaway

Phantom Bride

Knocking on Your Door

The Circus

Breathe

Ship of Fools

Drama!

All This Time Still Falling Out of Love

Stop!

Rapture

(Blondie cover)

Ave Maria

(Charles Gounod cover)

Breath of Life

A Little Respect

I Broke It All in Two

Chains of Love

Chorus

Love to Hate You

Blue Savannah

Always

Who Needs Love Like That

Oh l'amour

Encore:

I Bet You're Mad at Me

Sometimes

On This Day 16/01/1999 John Cale

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On this day, 16 January 1999, Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer and founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall.

The previous year, Cale spent on tour with singer Siouxsie Sioux. In February, he was the curator of one day festival called "With a Little Help from My Friends" that took place at the Paradiso in Amsterdam, Netherlands, with the presence of the Metropole Orchestra.

The concert was shown on Dutch national television and featured a song specially composed for the event and still unreleased, "Murdering Mouth", sung in duet with Siouxsie and her second band the Creatures.

Cale and Siouxsie then did a double bill tour in the US for two months from late June until mid-August, both artists collaborating on stage on several songs including a version of "Venus in Furs".

Cale's autobiography, What's Welsh for Zen?, was written in collaboration with Victor Bockris and published in 1999 by Bloomsbury Publishing.

Review - SouthWales Echo

To promote the book he tours Europe with the John Cale trio (with Mark Deffenbaugh & Lance Doss, starting at St Davids Hall, Cardiff - January 16.

Setlist

Lament

On a Wedding Anniversary

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

Buffalo Ballet

Chinese Envoy

Child's Christmas in Wales

Some Friends

Darling I Need You

You Know More Than I Know

Ship of Fools

Set Me Free

Leaving It Up to You

Cable Hogue

Cordoba

(Brian Eno & John Cale cover)

Dying on the Vine

Heartbreak Hotel

(Elvis Presley cover)

Fear Is a Man's Best Friend

Style It Takes

(Lou Reed / John Cale cover)

Thoughtless Kind

Hallelujah

(Leonard Cohen cover)

On This Day 13/01/1986 Marillion

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On this day, 13 January 1986, prog rockers Marillion played the second of two nights at Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on their Misplaced Childhood tour. Support was provided by Beltane Fire. The shows were rescheduled from the previous September.

Formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979, they emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock,becoming the most commercially successful neo-prog band of the 1980s.

Review - South Wales Echo

Marillion released their debut single "Market Square Heroes" in 1982, followed by their first album Script for a Jester's Tear in 1983. They have released 20 studio albums in total. The band achieved eight Top 10 UK albums between 1983 and 1994, including a No. 1 album in 1985 with Misplaced Childhood. The album also produced two UK Top 10 singles in "Kayleigh" (No. 2) and "Lavender" (No. 5)

Setlist

01 The Thieving Magpie (La Gazza Ladra)

02 Emerald Lies (Intro)

03 Script For A Jester’s Tear

04 Incubus

05 Jigsaw

06 The Web

07 Misplaced Childhood

08 Fugazi

09 Garden Party

10 Market Square Heroes

The band

Fish (vocals), Steve Rothery (guitar), Mark Kelly (keyboards), Pete Trewavas (bass), Ian Mosley (drums)

On This Day 21/12/1983 Tina Turner

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On this day, 21 December 1983, singing legend Tina Turner played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall.

In November 1983, Tina released her cover of Al Green's “Let’s Stay Together ", with Capitol. The record became a hit, reaching several European charts, including a top 10 placement in the United Kingdom. The song peaked at number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Turner's first solo entry into the U.S. charts. It also peaked at the top ten of the Hot Dance Club Songs and Hot Black Singles charts.

The success of the song forced Capitol to rethink its contract with Turner, offering the singer a three album deal, demanding an album on short notice, which had Turner staging what Ebony magazine later called an "amazing comeback." Recorded in two months in London, the album “Private Dancer” was released in June 1984.

Turner sold more than 100 million records worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling recording artists of all time. She received 12 Grammy Awards, which include eight competitive awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and three Grammy Hall of Fame inductions. She was the first black artist and first woman to be on the cover of Rolling Stone.

Rolling Stone ranked her among the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Turner has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and on the St. Louis Walk of Fame. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: with Ike Turner in 1991 and as a solo artist in 2021. She was also a 2005 recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors and the Women of the Year award. During her lifetime, she earned an estimated $250 million.

Band
Annie Behringer - Singer and Dancer
Lejeune Richardson - Singer and Dancer
Jack Bruno - Drums
Bob Feit – Bass
Kenny Moore – Piano
Chuck O'Steen - Keyboard
James Ralston – Guitar

On This Day 20/12/1988 The Proclaimers

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On this day, 20 December 1988, Scottish duo The Proclaimers played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall. The band had just released their second album Sunshine on Leith.

Sunshine on Leith marked a departure from the minimalist acoustics of the group's 1987 debut This Is the Story, toward a rock-oriented full band sound, backed by members of the Fairport Convention and Dexys Midnight Runners.

Review - South Wales Echo

The album's sound draws heavily from American music, such as country and 1950s rock and roll, with homages to the duo's own Scottish culture. The album was a major worldwide hit, particularly in Australia where it was described as the band's "biggest success", reaching No. 2 in the ARIA Charts and being 1989's 12th highest-seller.

The album peaked at No. 3 and No. 6 in New Zealand and the United Kingdom respectively, while also charting in Canada and Sweden, ultimately selling over 2 million copies worldwide, including over 700,000 in the USA.