On this day 01/10/1977 Peter Gabriel

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On this day, 1 October 1977, former Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre.

Gabriel was promoting his debut solo studio album and the first of four with the same eponymous title.

Released on 25 February 1977, it was produced by Bob Ezrin. Gabriel and Ezrin assembled musicians, including guitarist Robert Fripp, and his future King Crimson bandmate Tony Levin on bass. On the album's release, Gabriel began touring with a seven-piece band under his own name. The album went to No. 7 in UK and No. 38 in the US.

The album is often called either Peter Gabriel I or Car, referring to the album cover by London artist Peter Christopherson.

Music streaming services currently refer to it as Peter Gabriel 1: Car. Gabriel's first solo success came with the album's lead single "Solsbury Hill", which Gabriel has said is about "being prepared to lose what you have for what you might get ... It's about letting go."

Setlist

Here Comes the Flood

On the Air

Moribund the Burgermeister

Waiting for the Big One

Indigo

("A Little Song for Little People" working title)

Excuse Me

Ain't That Peculiar

(Marvin Gaye cover)

Solsbury Hill

Humdrum

Slowburn

All Day and All of the Night

(The Kinks cover)

Here Comes the Flood

Modern Love

Down the Dolce Vita

Back in N.Y.C.

(Genesis song)

On this day 30/09/1983 Depeche Mode

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On this day, 30 September 1983, electro-rock band Depeche Mode played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on the band’s Construction Time Again Tour.

Construction Time Again was the group’s third studio album and the first to feature Alan Wilder as a member, who wrote the songs "Two Minute Warning" and "The Landscape Is Changing". The album's title comes from the second line of the first verse of the track "Pipeline".

It was recorded at John Foxx's Garden Studios in London, and was supported by the Construction Time Again Tour.

In January 1983, shortly before the release of the "Get the Balance Right!" single, songwriter Martin Gore attended an Einstürzende Neubauten concert, giving him the idea to experiment with the sounds of industrial music in the context of pop.

This album introduced a transition in lyrical content for the group. Construction Time Again would include a bevy of political themes, sparked by the poverty Gore had seen on a then-recent trip he had taken to Thailand.

The album also saw a dramatic shift in the group's sound, due in part to Wilder's introduction of the Synclavier and E-mu Emulator samplers. By sampling the noises of everyday objects, the band created an eclectic, industrial-influenced sound, with similarities to groups such as the Art of Noise and Einstürzende Neubauten (the latter becoming Mute labelmates in 1983)

Setlist

Everything Counts

Now, This Is Fun

Two Minute Warning

Shame

See You

Get the Balance Right

Love, in Itself

Pipeline

The Landscape Is Changing

And Then...

Photographic

Told You So

New Life

More Than a Party

Encore:

The Meaning of Love

Just Can't Get Enough

Encore 2:

Boys Say Go!

On this day 29/09/1988 The Darling Buds

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On this day, 29 September 1988, Welsh alternative rock band- The Darling Buds played Newport TJ’s.

From Newport, South Wales. The band formed in 1986 and were named after the H. E. Bates novel The Darling Buds of May – a title taken in turn, from the third line of Shakespeare's Sonnet 18: "Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May".

Signing with Sony in 1988, several singles preceded the band's critically acclaimed 1989 debut LP, Pop Said.... The album, described as "relentlessly chirpy", ultimately reached the Top 30 in the UK Albums Chart, and the band appeared on Top of the Pops as well as the cover of Melody Maker twice (24 September 1988 and 18 February 1989).

Influenced by the catchy simple sound of the early Beatles as well as that of Blondie, the band created melodic, hook-driven, short-duration singles. They were considered part of the short lived "Blonde" movement (indie rock band fronted by blonde female singer with all other members being dark-haired males) along with the likes of The Primitives and Transvision Vamp, but also referenced the C86 scene of a few years earlier.

On this day 28/09/1971 Slade

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On this day, 28 September 1971, Black Country rockers Slade played Cardiff University.

Slade had worked endlessly during 1970 without finding the elusive hit record that manager Chas Chandler was convinced they had in them. One of their most popular live tracks they were performing at the time was what they believed to be an old Little Richard record entitled 'Get Down & get With It'.

In an effort to capture the very essence of the band it was chosen as their next single and released in May with little fanfare or trumpeting from Polydor. Despite that the track slowly began to rise up the pop charts until finally on August 1st Slade had their first ever top 20 hit in the bag.

The single became a pan European hit which kept the band occupied there at various stages throughout the year appearing on various TV shows plugging their new hit record. Peaking at number 16 in the official UK chart 'Get Down With It' as it is correctly titled gave them mass exposure across the country on the new fangled colour telly box's which were now becoming commonplace. Gone were the Skinhead haircuts and accompanying paraphernalia. Instead Slade were openly embracing colour TV broadcasts and making sure that they were colourful and loud, very loud as they joyfully marched into the fabric of the nation

In October the band recorded the shows which were to be edited down into a single LP for future release as 'Slade Alive'

The highlight of their year came in November when 'Coz I Luv You' reached the top of the national singles charts to give the band their first number 1 record.

On this day 27/09/1977 The Motors

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On this day, 27 September 1977, British rock band The Motors played Cardiff’s Top Rank.

Formed in London in 1977 by former Ducks Deluxe members Nick Garvey and Andy McMaster together with guitarist Rob Hendry (who was replaced in May 1977 by Bram Tchaikovsky) and drummer Ricky Slaughter.

Their biggest success was with the McMaster penned song "Airport", a number 4 UK hit single in 1978.

The Motors' debut live performance was at the Marquee Club in March 1977, and they recorded three songs for John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show the same month (22 March 1977).

By May they had been signed to Virgin Records, and recorded material for another John Peel session on 12 September of that year.

The Motors' original recording line-up released two albums, both of which met with modest success; 1 released in October 1977 and Approved by the Motors the following year.

Their first single "Dancing the Night Away", which was released in September 1977 reached number 42 in the UK Singles Chart. Two other sizeable hits followed. In 1978, the band released "Airport" – which proved to be the band's biggest seller – and which peaked at number 4. The song was also a minor hit in the United States. The follow-up, "Forget About You", was released two months later.

The Garvey/McMaster/Tchaikovsky/Slaughter line-up split when Tchaikovsky left after they played at the Reading Rock Festival on 28 August 1978. It would become The Motors’ final UK concert.

They played as first support to Status Quo. Slaughter also left the group soon afterwards. Tchaikovsky would subsequently release three solo albums, the first of which took him into the American Top 40 with the power pop song "Girl of My Dreams".

Following the departure of Tchaikovsky and Slaughter, Welsh rhythm section bassist Martin Ace and drummer Terry Williams were recruited to fill in the Motors' studio line-up.

Martin and Terry had together made up the rhythm section for 1970s progressive rockers Man; Martin later relaunched Man whilst Terry joined Rockpile and later had a stint with Dire Straits.

On this day 16/09/1974 Shirley Bassey

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On this day, 16 September 1974, Welsh music legend Shirley Bassey played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre.

Bassey was experiencing a resurgence 1970 leading to one of the most successful periods of her career. Starting the year with a BBC Television 'Special' The Young Generation Meet Shirley Bassey, recorded in Sweden and shown on BBC1 on 18 March.

She returned to the UK with a record-breaking run of performances at the Talk of the Town nightclub. Also that year, her album Something was released, and showcased a new Bassey style, a shift from traditional pop to more contemporary songs and arrangements (the eponymous single was more successful in the UK charts than the original recording by The Beatles) – although Bassey would never completely abandon what that had been her forte: standards, show tunes, and torch songs.

Nobody Does It Like Me is a 1974 album by Shirley Bassey. Bassey's recordings had been selling well since 1970, scoring three top ten singles and three ten top albums. Nobody Does It Like Me was recorded with a new producer, George Butler, and brought a partial return to the traditional pop sound of Bassey's pre-1970s career. Here, the title track "Nobody Does It Like Me" and "When You Smile" harken back to the big band era. Bassey's soaring vocals on Paul Anka's "I'm Not Anyone" and the slightly funky "Morning in Your Eyes" contrast with a delicately rendered "Davy". The duet "Davy", recorded with the song's composer Benard Ighner, is one of the rare occasions that Bassey would share the credits with another vocalist; it was also issued as a single and hit #44 on the US Adult Contemporary chart. The album closes with Bassey's reading of Stevie Wonder's "You Are the Sunshine of My Life". This album failed to chart in the UK, and peaked at #142 in the US. Her next two studio albums would be top 15 albums in the UK.

On this day 15/09/1980 The Specials

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On this day, 15 September 1980, two tone Ska pioneers The Specials played Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens with support from The Swinging Cats.

The band were about to release More Specials, the band’s second album and released by 2 Tone Records in October 1980. The album peaked at No 5 in the UK album charts.

After the success of the band's self-titled debut, band member Jerry Dammers assumed the role as the band's leader and stirred them into expanding their 2 Tone sound into other genres of music, most prominently a lounge music and easy listening style inspired by Muzak.

At the end of 1980, it was named the year's 32nd best album by the NME, and 31st best by OOR. In 1995, Melody Maker included it in a list of "great lost albums," having been chosen for inclusion by Simon Price, who wrote an accompanying essay for the album's entry.

The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In 1987, Rockdelux named it the 91st best album released between 1980 and 1986. In 2003, Mojo included in their list of the "Top 50 Eccentric Albums," while in 2007 they included in their list of "The 80 Greatest Albums of the 80s."

Several band members disagreed with Dammers' vision and brought their own influences to the album, including from northern soul and rockabilly, contributing to an eclectic sound palette.

The relations between band members continued to sour into the album's accompanying tour and most of the band departed in 1981.

On this day 13/09/1998 Robbie Williams

On this day, 13 September 1998, Rock/Pop Superstar Robbie Williams played Cooper’s Field, Cardiff, a concert broadcast live on Radio One. The line-up also included Ash, Manic Street Preachers, Republica and Divine Comedy.

Robbie Williams was in the middle of his Ego Has Landed Tour the beginning of which was a gig in Treforest at The Basement on 15 May.

Williams and songwriting partner Guy Chambers had started writing the second album, I've Been Expecting You, in Jamaica in early 1998. The first single, "Millennium", accompanied with a music video featuring Williams parodying James Bond, complete with tuxedo and references to Bond films like Thunderball and From Russia with Love, became Williams' first solo number one single in the United Kingdom.[33] It also became a top twenty hit in many European countries, Latin America and Australia.[34]

I've Been Expecting You was released in late October 1998 and debuted at number one in the UK Albums Chart