On This Day 31/3/1969 Man

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On this day, 31 March 1969, Welsh rockers Man played The Sands, Merthyr.

Formed in November 1968 as a reincarnation of Welsh rock harmony group the Bystanders, Man are renowned for the extended jams in their live performances.

The Bystanders were a successful close harmony pop group from Merthyr Tydfil who played numerous club residencies in Wales, often playing several clubs a night.

The Bystanders issued eight singles, including "98.6" (No. 45 in UK Singles Chart in February 1967) which was played in the 2009 film The Boat That Rocked.

The band released their debut album Revelation In January 1969 which featured the song “Erotica” which was noted for the simulated orgasm, which received a UK ban.

The Band
- Micky Jones / lead guitar, vocals
- Deke Leonard / guitar, harmonica, piano, percussion, vocals
- Clive John / organ, piano, guitar, vocals
- Ray Williams / bass
- Jeff Jones / drums, percussion

On This Day 30/3/1978 Whitesnake

On this day, 30 March 1978, heavy rock band Whitesnake played the Nutz Club, Oystermouth.

Originally opened as the Regent Cinema 1927, it’s had many incarnations including The Show Boat, Tiffany’s, Nutz, Howard’s, Bentley’s Night Club and Cafe Play.

Whitesnake were formed in 1978 and originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple.

Though the band quickly developed into their own entity, Coverdale is the only constant member throughout their history.

The band were to record their debut album that Summer with Trouble released in October 1978 following the release of their Snakebite ep.

On This Day 29/3/1983 Tears For Fears

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On this day, 29 March 1983, West Country band Tears For Fears played Cardiff’s Top Rank on the band’s The Hurting Tour.

The Hurting was the band’s debut album, released 7 March, the album peaked at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart.

The Hurting contains Tears for Fears' first three hit singles – "Mad World", "Change", and "Pale Shelter" – all of which reached the top five in the UK and the Top 40 internationally.

It also contains a new version of the band's first single, "Suffer the Children", which had originally been released in 1981, while the album version of "Pale Shelter" is also a new recording.

On This Day 28/3/1988 Meatloaf

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On this day, 28 March 1988, American rocker Meatloaf played The Centre, Newport with support provided by rock band Shogun.

It was the singer’s Lost Boys & Golden Girls World Tour celebrating the tenth anniversary of the release of his chart topping Bat Out Of Hell album.

Noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. His Bat Out of Hell trilogy—Bat Out of Hell, Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell, and Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose—has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide.

Setlist

Out of the Frying Pan (And Into the Fire)
(Jim Steinman cover)
Masculine
You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)
Come in the Night / Let the Revels Begin
Original Sin
(Pandora's Box cover)
Bad for Good
(Jim Steinman cover)
Modern Girl
Dance in My Pants
(Jim Steinman cover)
Peel Out
(Instrumental)
I'm Gonna Love Her for Both of Us
Lost Boys and Golden Girls
(Jim Steinman cover)
Bat Out of Hell
Two Out of Three Ain't Bad
Dead Ringer for Love
Midnight at the Lost and Found
Paradise by the Dashboard Light
Rock 'n' Roll Medley

On This Day Special - Ian Dury

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On this day, 27 March 2000, one of music’s and Britain’s greatest treasures passed away from metastatic colorectal cancer.

An obituary in The Guardian called him "one of few true originals of the English music scene". Meanwhile, he was described by Suggs as "possibly the finest lyricist we've seen".

He was cremated following a humanist funeral at Golders Green Crematorium with 250 mourners at the service.

Dury appeared only a few times in Cardiff at the Top Rank, first, as part of the 1977 Live Stiffs package that included Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Wreckless Eric and Larry Wallis, and headlining at the same venue in 1978. His last visit was to Sophia Gardens Pavilion in Dec 1980.

His backing band The Blockheads continue to tour to this day.

On This Day 27/3/1995 Bob Dylan

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On this day, 27 March 1995, American music legend Bob Dylan played Cardiff International Arena on his Never Ending Tour.

The Never Ending Tour 1995 started in early March in the Czech Republic. The tour moved on to Germany, the Netherlands, France and Belgium.

Dylan performed a large number of concerts in the United Kingdom performing three concerts in London, three in Manchester, two in Edinburgh, one in Glasgow, one in Birmingham, one in Cardiff, one in Brighton as well as one concert in Belfast.

The tour finished the following day in Dublin.

On This Day 26/3/1976 Camel

On this day, 26 March 1976, symphonic progressive rock band Camel played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre in support of their Moonmadness album, released the same day as their Cardiff concert.

Moonmadness was the group’s fourth album.

It was the last album recorded by the group's original line-up of Andrew Latimer, Peter Bardens, Doug Ferguson, and Andy Ward.

Despite no new studio release since 2002, the band continue to tour. Their music has influenced several subsequent artists, including Marillion and Opeth.

The music journalist Mark Blake described Camel as "the great unsung heroes of 70s prog rock".

On This Day 25/3/1961 Frankie Vaughan

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On this day, 25 March 1961, British singer and actor Frankie Vaughan played Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens headlining a package that included comedian Harry Worth, Billy Ternant Band, Tony Fayne and the Tracey Sisters.

1961 was a big year for Vaughan who was on the bill at the Royal Variety Performance at the Prince of Wales Theatre, London, whilst in December, Vaughan hit No. 1 in the UK again, with "Tower of Strength", written by written by Burt Bacharach and Bob Hilliard.

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Comedian Harry Worth was best remembered for his 1960s series Here's Harry, later re-titled Harry Worth, which ran for 10 years and over 100 episodes (the longest running British sitcom of the time, and still one of only a handful to run for over 100 episodes).

The opening titles of Harry Worth featured Worth stopping in the street to perform an optical trick involving a shop window: raising one arm and one leg which were reflected in the window, thus giving the impression of levitation

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