On This Day 27/10/1976 David Essex

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On this day, 27 October 1976, pop star actor David Essex played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre. The tour was to promote his fourth studio album Out On The Street, which peaked at #31 in the UK album charts.

Essex made his first record, titled "And the Tears Came Tumbling Down", for the Fontana label in 1965. He then toured with a band called 'David Essex and the Mood Indigo' for two years, and released a further seven singles in the 1960s. He also recorded two songs, "A Rose" and "Leon and John and Billy and Me" which remain unreleased, but exist as acetates. His first notable acting role, aside from small appearances in the films Assault and All Coppers Are..., was the lead in the stage musical Godspell in 1971 at the age of 23.

Two years later, he starred in the film That'll Be the Day (1973) and recorded his international hit single, the self-penned "Rock On", in the same year. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in March 1974. It was nominated for a Grammy and reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. A second single, "Lamplight", also reached the Top 10 in the UK singles chart.

In the 1970s, Essex emerged as a performer of some note. Contrary to a claim made in his own biography, his first concert was at the Granada in East Ham on Saturday 2 November 1974, and not at the Odeon. His biggest hits during this decade included two UK number one singles: "Gonna Make You a Star" (1974) and "Hold Me Close" (1975). He also appeared in Stardust, a 1974 sequel to That'll Be the Day. The title song was another Top 10 hit. In 1976, Essex covered the Beatles song "Yesterday" for the musical documentary All This and World War II.

Essex's pop idol looks gave him a strong female fan base, and his British tours created scenes of hysteria reminiscent of Beatlemania. According to The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles, he was voted the number one British male vocalist in 1974, and was a teen idol for more than a decade.

On This Day 26/10/1977 Wishbone Ash

On this day, 26 October 1977, rock band Wishbone Ash played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre. In support were the Motors.

The band had just released their eighth studio album Front Page News which peaked at #31 in the UK album charts.

Formed in Torquay, Devon in 1969 out of the ashes of the trio The Empty Vessels (originally known as The Torinoes, later briefly being renamed Tanglewood in 1969), which had been formed by Wishbone Ash's founding member and creative force Martin Turner (lead vocals and bass guitar) in 1963 and complemented by Steve Upton (drums and percussion) in 1966.

Wishbone Ash formed when Martin Turner and Steve Upton set up auditions for a guitarist and subsequently ended up with two guitarists because they could not decide between the two. So as a result, guitarists/vocalists Andy Powell and Ted Turner completed the original Wishbone Ash line-up. In 1974 Ted Turner left the band, and was replaced by Laurie Wisefield. The band continued on with strong critical and commercial success until 1980.

On This Day 23/10/1974 Mud

On this day, 23 October 1974, rock/pop band Mud played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre Theatre. Support was provided by Feminine Touch and Light Fantastic.

formed in February 1966. Their earlier success came in a pop and then glam rock style, while later hits were influenced by 1950s rock and roll and rockabilly, and they are best remembered for their hit singles "Dyna-mite", "Tiger Feet", which was the UK's best-selling single of 1974, and "Lonely This Christmas" which reached Christmas number 1 in December 1974.

After signing to Rak Records and teaming up with songwriters/producers Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, the band had fourteen UK Top 20 hits between 1973 and 1976, including three number ones.

Tiger Feet" was a huge success, it was number No. 1 in the UK and Ireland charts for four consecutive weeks, from 26 January to 16 February, in 1974 and also topped the charts in the Netherlands. It sold over 700,000 copies in the UK alone and over a million copies globally. It was also the best selling single in Britain that year.

On This Day 22/10/1975 Showaddywaddy

On this day, 22 October 1975, Rock ‘n’ Roll band Showaddywaddy played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre with support provided by Arrows. The band had just released their second album Step Two.

The band was formed in 1973 by the amalgamation of two groups, Choise (Dave Bartram, Trevor Oakes, Al James, and Romeo Challenger) and the Golden Hammers (Buddy Gask, Russ Field, Rod Deas, and Malcolm Allured), the latter often known simply as The Hammers. They both played at the Fosse Way pub in Leicester, and soon discovered shared musical tastes.

After playing together in jamming sessions, they joined together permanently, and Showaddywaddy were born. This led to an eight-member band, with the unusual feature of having two vocalists, two drummers, two guitarists, and two bassists. The band's first gig as professional musicians was at the Dreamland Ballroom in Margate, Kent, on 1 September 1973., although the first gigs under the Showaddywaddy name were in 1972.

Showaddywaddy won one programme on the ATV series New Faces, in November 1973, and were runners-up in the "All Winners Final", which was broadcast on 28 December 1973. They have made nearly 300 television appearances, including their own BBC TV special, Showaddywaddyshow, broadcast between Christmas and New Year in 1980. The band also appeared in the 1975 film Three for All, where they performed "The Party" from their 1974 debut album.[citation needed] Their first single, "Hey Rock and Roll" (written by the band), was released in April 1974. It reached number two on the UK Singles Chart.

On This Day 21/10/1976 Thin Lizzy

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On this day, 21 October 1976, rock band Thin Lizzy played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre on their Johnny the Fox tour.

By the beginning of 1976 the classic lineup of the band had been together for 18 months;Phil Lynott, Brian Downey, Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson; and the band’s distinctive take on the classic ‘Wishbone Ash twin-lead guitar’ attack had begun to cut through, on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Jailbreak album was recorded at The Who’s Ramport Studios in Battersea, London, between December ’75 and February ’76, with John Alcock producing. The band had worked up the songs in a small studio in Buckinghamshire in late ’75 so that the arrangements were really tight by the time they got to Ramport, (too tight for Robertson who later complained that he felt restricted by the lack of experimentation at Ramport.) Unknown outside of the band and their label at the time, however, was that this album was their last chance; they were about to be dropped by Vertigo if it didn’t make the charts.

Jailbreak came out on 26th March 1976 and went into the U.K Album Chart at No.60. It peaked at No.10 on its 22nd week and remained on the chart for a total of 50 weeks, 13 of those in the Top 20.

The first single from Jailbreak was The Boys are Back in Town c/w Emerald, released three weeks after the album, on 17th April. It didn’t break into the Singles Chart for nearly 6 weeks, reaching No.48 on 29th May. However, as soon as Radio One and Top of the Pops picked up on it, it rose to No.8 on 3rd July during that long hot summer.

The album’s title track was the next single, peaking at No.31. However, all was not well in the band. During a triumphant U.S tour, where the album had broken into the Billboard chart at No.18, Phil Lynott contracted Hepatitis which meant that the band and crew were quarantined and the tour was cancelled.

While he was ill, Lynott was determined to try and salvage some momentum from the situation and he wrote most of the next album, Johnny the Fox, in a Manchester hospital on an acoustic guitar. In August ’76, Thin Lizzy went back into Ramport with Alcock and recorded the new album in a few weeks, after an aborted attempt to record at Musicland Studios in Munich. While in Germany arguments about musical direction began to surface, mostly between Robertson and Lynott. The Ramport sessions were fraught with tension but they delivered the album on time and Vertigo put out Johnny the Fox in October ’76, just 7 months after Jailbreak. It went straight into the U.K Album Chart at No.11, staying on the chart for 23 weeks. The only U.K single was Don’t Believe a Word c/w Old Flame which was released on 26th November. It spent 7 weeks on the chart, peaking at No.11. In the U.S, the album suffered from that cancelled tour and the lost momentum, reaching No.52.

The band’s touring schedule during 1976, despite recording two albums and Lynott’s illness, was relentless. 65 gigs in the U.K, 14 in mainland Europe and 32 in the U.S meant almost a third of the year was spent on the road. However, as 1976 came to an end, Brian Robertson almost destroyed all of the progress and hard work that Thin Lizzy had made. The night before leaving London for the start of another U.S tour, the Glaswegian guitarist got into a fight and broke his hand. The tour had to be delayed while Gary Moore rejoined the band and the dates were all moved to Jan-March 1977 with Lizzy supporting Queen.

Sadistic Mika Band 20 October 1975

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On this day, 20 October 1975, Japanese band the Sadistic Mika Band played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre supporting Roxy Music.

Formed in November 1971 by husband and wife duo Kazuhiko Katō and Mika Katō, In a time when it was still rare for women to sing in rock bands in Japan, the fact that the Katōs were a married couple was even more unusual. This, combined with their glam rock-influenced fashion, has been cited as ground-breaking for defying gender norms in the country.

Throughout October 1975, the band played live in the United Kingdom supporting Roxy Music on the European leg of their Siren Tour, including a show at Wembley Arena. It was the first ever UK tour by a Japanese rock band.

They were well received by the local music press, including Melody Maker and New Musical Express, and performed on British TV in between concerts. When they group performed "Time to Noodle" and "Suki Suki Suki" on the Old Grey Whistle Test on October 7, 1975, the letters spelling the name of the programme (usually shown hung from the back wall) were spelt as The Old Gley Whistle Test. The band also made an appearance on BBC TV's Pebble Mill at One and were interviewed by Jan Leeming.

After releasing three studio albums and becoming the first Japanese rock band to tour the United Kingdom, the Sadistic Mika Band disbanded in November 1975 when the Katōs divorced.

On This Day 13/10/1975 Demis Roussos

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On this day, 13 October 1975, Greek musician and singer Demis Roussos played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre.

He had recently released his fifth studio album Souvenirs which peaked at #25 in the UK charts.

After settling in Greece, Roussos participated in a series of musical groups beginning with the Idols when he was 17, where he met Evángelos Papathanassíou (later known as Vangelis) and Loukas Sideras, his future bandmates in Aphrodite's Child. After this, he joined the Athens-based band We Five, another cover band which had limited success in Greece.

Roussos's operatic vocal style helped propel the band to international success, notably on their final album 666, based on passages from the Book of Revelation, which became a progressive rock cult classic.

After Aphrodite's Child disbanded, Roussos continued to record sporadically with his former bandmate Vangelis. In 1970, the two released the film score album Sex Power (the album has also been credited to Aphrodite's Child), and later recorded the 1977 album Magic together.

On This Day 02/10/1976 Osibisa

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On this day, 2 October 1976, Ghanaian-Caribbean Afro rock band Osibisa played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre.

Founded in London in the late 1960s by four expatriate West African and three London-based Caribbean musicians.

Osibisa was the most successful and longest lived of the African-heritage bands in London, alongside such contemporaries as Assagai, Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath, Demon Fuzz, Black Velvet, and Noir, and was largely responsible for the establishment of world music and Afro-rock as a marketable genre.

The band spent much of the 1970s touring the world, playing to large audiences in Japan, Australasia, India, and Africa. During this time Paul Golly (guitar) and Ghanaians Daku Adams "Potato" and Kiki Gyan were also members of the band. In January 1976, their single, "Sunshine Day", reached number 17 on the UK Singles Chart. Their next single release, "Dance the Body Music", peaked at number 31 in the same listing.