On this day, 12 Jan 2000, American singer/songwriter giant Barry Manilow, played the second and final night at Cardiff’s International Arena.
Billed as the Manilow Live - Manilow Millennium Tour.
Born, Barry Alan Pincus, June 17, 1943, his career has spanned more than 50 years with hit recordings that include "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "I Write the Songs", "Can't Smile Without You" and "Copacabana (At the Copa)".
He recorded and released 51 Top 40 singles on the Adult Contemporary Chart, including 13 that hit number one, 28 appeared within the top ten, and 36 in the top twenty. Manilow has released 13 platinum and six multi-platinum albums. Although not a favorite artist of music critics,Manilow has been praised by entertainers including Frank Sinatra, who was quoted in the 1970s as saying, "He's next." In 1988, Bob Dylan stopped Manilow at a party, hugged him and said, "Don't stop what you're doing, man. We're all inspired by you."
As well as producing and arranging albums for himself and other artists, Manilow has written and performed songs for musicals, films, and commercials for corporations such as McDonald's, Pepsi-Cola, and Band-Aid, from the 1960s. He has been nominated for a Grammy Award (winning once) as a producer, arranger and performer a total of fifteen times (and in every decade) from 1973 to 2015. He has also produced Grammy-nominated albums for Bette Midler, Dionne Warwick, Nancy Wilson and Sarah Vaughan. Manilow has sold more than 85 million records as a solo artist worldwide, making him one of the world's best-selling artists.
Fans writing on one of the singer’s websites said of the evening :
Wow! The best show I've seen so far! The orchestra sounds great and "I Made It Through The Rain" was made perfect because of them. "Flight Of The Bumble Bee" was great too. This was the first time my mum had seen Barry live. She left the hall speechless! - Antony Guy Wainer (of England) (1/15/2000)
Barry is just so professional, and seems to get better every time I see him (If that's possible!). He seemed so confident and at ease, and the orchestra just added to an already perfect performance from Barry. He really excelled himself in this concert, and sang all the old favourites as well as a few new ones. Our seats were five rows from the front, right in the middle of the row, so I had a near perfect view of him. - Christine Summers (Aberystwyth, Wales) (1/18/2000)
On This Day 11/1/1987 Aha
Photograph Media Wales©
On this day, 11 Jan 1987, Norwegian Pop trio Aha played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall. It was part of a 156 date World Tour that started the previous year and was called both Hunting High and Low and Scoundrel Days Tour after their first and second albums.
The following evening they played the Newport Centre.
The set for this tour lasted about 80 minutes and the songs played include “Train Of Thought”, “Love Is Reason”, “Living A Boy’s Adventure Tale”, “Cry Wolf”, “The Blue Sky”, “Manhattan Skyline”, “I’ve Been Losing You”, “The Sun Always Shines On TV”, “Driftwood”, “Here I Stand And Face The Rain”, “We’re Looking For The Whales”, “And You Tell Me”, “Hunting High And Low”, “Dream Myself Alive”, “Scoundrel Days” and “Take On Me”.
Some of the later shows include “Maybe Maybe”, “The Swing Of Things”, “The Weight Of The Wind”, “Touchy!” and “The Living Daylights”
Morten Harket: voice.
Pål Waaktaar: guitar and voice.
Magne Furuholmen: keyboards and voice.
Leif Karsten Johansen: bass.
Mike Sturgis: drums.
Dag Kolsrud: keyboards.
Photograph Media Wales©
On This Day 8/1/1937 Shirley Bassey
On this day, 8 Jan 1937, Cardiff singing legend Shirley Bassey was born.
Her career began in 1953, and her powerful and expressive voice and performances have made her a truly world star.
Bassey grew up living in the Splott district of Cardiff, the sixth and youngest child of a Nigerian father and a mother from Teesside.
Her teachers at Moreland Road School soon noticed her strong voice but gave the young Bassey little encouragement.
Leaving school at 14 she spent her weekends and evenings singing in local pubs and clubs.
She signed her first contract at the age of 16 with a salary of £10 a week singing in a touring variety show.
In 1955 she came to the notice of leading impresario Jack Hylton, and a break into London’s West End.
Recording her first single “Burn My Candle” in 1956, it was banned by the BBC, due to the suggestive lyrics, but got her first hit with “The Banana Boat Song” reaching no 8 in the UK charts.
She achieved her first no 1 in Jan 1959 with “As I Love You” the first by a Welsh artist.
Bassey enjoyed great success during the 60s and 70s recording three James Bond title songs “Goldfinger” “Moonraker” and “Diamond Are Forever”.
Still performing, Bassey continues to an inspiration and singing icon and in 2012 was among the British cultural icons to feature on a new artwork by Sir Peter Blake, a version of The Beatles’ Sgt Peppers Lonely Arts Club Band album cover.
She was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) Dec 1999.
On This Day Birthday David Bowie 8/1/1947
Photo Media Wales©
On this day, 8 Jan 1947, the rock icon David Bowie was born. He was a leading figure in the music industry and regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century.
Bowie was the first artist to play the Cardiff Arms Park, National Stadium when he brought his Glass Spider tour for the City’s first ever stadium rock concert.
It was the biggest and best rock concert Wales had ever seen with total of 50,000 people paying £750,000 to see a legend David Bowie, who was 40, and sent his fans wild with excitement with a set of hits, both ancient and modern.
There was a taste of everything from Heroes from 1977 to Zeroes from his then latest album, Never Let Me Down, echoing around a stadium more used to the hymns and arias of the rugby crowd and Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Tour band 1987 – The Glass Spider Tour
• David Bowie – vocals, guitar
• Peter Frampton – guitar, vocals
• Carlos Alomar – guitar, backing vocals, music director
• Carmine Rojas – bass guitar
• Alan Childs – drums
• Erdal Kızılçay – keyboards, trumpet, congas, violin, backing vocals
• Richard Cottle – keyboards, saxophone, tambourine, backing vocals
Tour dancers
• Melissa Hurley
• Constance Marie
• Spazz Attack (Craig Allen Rothwell)
• Viktor Manoel
• Stephen Nichols
• Toni Basil (choreography)
Tour design
• Allen Branton – Lighting design
• Mark Ravitz – Set design
• Christine Strand – Video director
Setlist
Up the Hill Backwards
Glass Spider
Up the Hill Backwards
(Reprise)
Day-In Day-Out
Bang Bang
Absolute Beginners
Loving the Alien
China Girl
Fashion
Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)
All the Madmen
Never Let Me Down
Big Brother
Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family
'87 and Cry
"Heroes"
Time Will Crawl
Beat of Your Drum
Sons of the Silent Age
Dancing With the Big Boys
Zeroes
Let's Dance
Fame
Encore:
Blue Jean
Modern Love
All Black & White Photos Media Wales©
On This Day 7/1/1994 Oasis
On this day, 7 Jan 1994, Manchester rock band Oasis started recording their debut album Definitely Maybe at the Monnow Valley Studio, South Wales. When released in August 1994, it became the fastest selling debut album of all time in the UK, (though since surpassed in 2006 by Arctic Monkeys). The album went on to sell over 12 Million copies worldwide.
The Monnow Valley Studio in Monmouth has been used by countless artists which include the Stereophonics, The Stone Roses and Black Sabbath since it began recording in 1975.
Set up originally as a rehearsal space alongside Monmouth’s famous Rockfield Studio by brother’s Charles and Kingsley Ward, when they split in the 80s, Charles took over Monnow and turned it into an independent recording studio.
On This Day 6/1/1981 The Boomtown Rats
On this day, 6 Jan 1981 Irish Punk rockers The Boomtown Rats played Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens supported by fellow Irish band, The Atrix.
The tour Bongos Over Britain was to help promote their fifth album Mondo Bongo, produced by Tony Visconti and released the same month. The album peaked at No 6 in the UK album charts and included the singles Banana Republic and Elephants Graveyard.
The Boomtown Rats
Bob Geldof - lead and backing vocals
Johnnie Fingers - keyboards, backing vocals
Gerry Cott - guitar
Garry Roberts - guitar, backing vocals
Pete Briquette - bass, keyboards, backing vocals
Simon Crowe - drums, backing vocals
Setlist
Mood Mambo
Straight Up
(I Never Loved) Eva Braun
Me and Howard Hughes
This is My Room
Banana Republic
The Elephant's Graveyard
Nothing Happened Today
Having My Picture Taken
I Don't Like Mondays
Someone's Looking at You
Keep It Up
Rat Trap
Encore:
Under Their Thumb Is Under My Thumb
Looking After No. 1
Encore 2:
Diamond Smiles
On This Day 4/1/1976 Procul Harum
On this day, 4 Jan 1976, progressive rock band Procol Harum played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre, supported by Viv Stanshall's Vivarium.
Best-known for their recording "A Whiter Shade of Pale" is was the 1967 hit single and one of the few singles to have sold over 10 million copies.
Touring to support Procol's Ninth (their eighth studio album, ninth including Live) that was released in September 1975.
Produced by renowned songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Procol's Ninth featured a slightly different direction with a much more stark sound than previous more elaborate productions. According to an interview with guitarist Mick Grabham, conducted by Roland Clare for the 2009 reissue, Leiber and Stoller focused less on the production sound and more on "the structure of the songs".
On This Day 3/1/2021 Gerry Marsden RIP
Gerry and the Pacemakers singer Gerry Marsden, whose version of You'll Never Walk Alone became a football terrace anthem for his hometown club of Liverpool, has died at the age of 78.
Gerry Marsden formed the group in the late 1950s with his brother, Fred, Les Chadwick and Arthur McMahon. They rivalled the Beatles early in their career, playing in the same areas of Hamburg, Germany and Liverpool, England. Mac (Arthur was called Mac as he didn't fancy the name Arthur) was replaced on piano by Les Maguire around 1961. They are known to have rehearsed at Camell Laird shipping yard at Birkenhead.
The band first played Cardiff in May 1963 at the Capitol Theatre on a bill headlined by The Beatles, visiting the same venue in February the following year.
