On This Day 15/11/1982 Talk Talk

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On this day, 15 November 1982, rock band Talk Talk played Cardiff University on their The Party’s Over tour.

Formed in 1981, led by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drums), and Paul Webb (bass). Initially a synth-pop group, Talk Talk's first two albums, The Party's Over (1982) and It's My Life (1984), reached top 40 in the UK and produced the international hit singles "Talk Talk", "Today", "It's My Life", and "Such a Shame".

The band released their first single, "Mirror Man", on EMI in February 1982. The single was not a great success, but was quickly followed by their self-titled single in April 1982 (a rerecording of a track by The Reaction) which reached No. 52 in the UK.

The band's first album, titled The Party's Over, was released in July 1982. The band had their first UK Top 40 hits with the singles "Today" (UK No. 14) and a re-release of "Talk Talk" (UK No. 23). These singles also were hits in other countries including Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

The re-release of the "Talk Talk" single reached the U.S. Top 75. The album was produced by Colin Thurston, who was Duran Duran's in-house EMI producer at the time, but picked by Hollis because of his involvement with David Bowie's Heroes. It was a moderate success in the UK reaching No. 21, and was later certified Silver by the BPI for sales of 60,000 copies by 1985. It was a Top 10 hit in New Zealand.

On This Day 14/11/1996 Erasure

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On this day, 14 November 1996, English synth-pop duo Erasure played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on their Tiny Tour.

Formed in London in 1985, consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter Andy Bell with songwriter, producer and keyboardist Vince Clarke, previously known as co-founder of the band Depeche Mode and a member of synth-pop duo Yazoo.

From their fourth single, "Sometimes" (1986), Erasure established themselves on the UK Singles Chart, becoming one of the most successful acts of the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. From 1986 to 2007, the pair achieved 24 consecutive top-40 entries in the UK singles chart.

By 2009, 34 of their 37 chart-eligible singles and EPs had made the UK top 40, including 17 climbing into the top 10. At the 1989 Brit Awards, Erasure won the Brit Award for Best British Group.

The October 1995 release of the studio album Erasure marked a determined shift away from Erasure's signature three-minute synth-pop to a more introspective and experimental sound. Nevertheless, it made the UK top 15 and spawned two UK top 20 singles, "Stay with Me" and "Fingers & Thumbs". A remixed version of "Rock Me Gently" was released only in Germany and the Czech Republic as the third single.

On This Day 13/11/1978 Lene Lovich

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On this day, 13 November 1978, American-English singer, songwriter and musician Lene Lovich and her band played Sophia Gardens on the Be Stiff Tour ‘78. Also part of the tour were Stiff artists Jonah Lewie, Mickey Jupp, Rachel Sweet and Wreckless Eric.

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Lovich moved to England at the age of 13, where she met guitarist and songwriter Les Chappell, who later became her long-time music collaborator and life partner. She developed an interest in art and theater, enrolling at the Central School of Art and Design where she took saxophone lessons.

In 1975, she joined the band the Diversions and shortly afterwards wrote the lyrics to Cerrone's single "Supernature". After the band broke up, Lovich started looking for another band to join and contacted the radio presenter Charlie Gillett, who got her to record a demo of Tommy James and the Shondells' song "I Think We're Alone Now" and played it to Dave Robinson of Stiff Records, who decided to sign Lovich.

Invited by Robinson to participate in the forthcoming Be Stiff Route 78 Tour in 1978, Lovich quickly recorded her first album for Stiff, Stateless, which contained "Lucky Number" and another Top 20 hit, "Say When". Lovich's musical style combined her own quirky inventions with contemporary punk rock and new wave styles.

She released two more albums, Flex (1979) and No Man's Land (1982), on Stiff Records. In 1989, she independently released the album March, before her 15-year hiatus. She focused more on her family but came back in 2005 with the release of her album Shadows and Dust.

On This Day 10/11/1998 The Bluetones

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On this day, 10 November 1998, indie rock band The Bluetones played Cardiff University on their Put Em On The Glass Tour.

Formed in Hounslow, Greater London, in 1993. The band's members are Mark Morriss on vocals, Adam Devlin on guitar, Mark's brother Scott Morriss on bass guitar, and Eds Chesters on drums. A fifth member, Richard Payne, came on board between 1998 and 2002. The band was originally named "The Bottlegarden".

The band has scored thirteen Top 40 singles and three Top 10 albums in the UK charts. Although their commercial success waned in the post-Britpop era, they continued to tour and release new records. Their most recent album A New Athens was released in May 2010.

The second Bluetones album, Return to the Last Chance Saloon, was released in 1998. While failing to repeat the commercial success of their debut, it reached the top 10 in the UK album charts and spawned the hit singles "Solomon Bites the Worm" and "If...".

On This Day 09/11/1986 James

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On this day, 9 November 1986, Manchester rock band James played Cardiff’s Chapter Arts Centre.

Setlist

Formed in 1982 they had popularity throughout the 1990s, with four top 10s on the UK Singles Chart and nine top 10s on the UK Albums Chart.

The band's best-known singles include "Come Home", "Sit Down", "She's a Star" and "Laid", which also became a hit on American college radio.

Following the departure of lead singer Tim Booth in 2001, the band became inactive, but reunited in January 2007 and have gone on to produce a further seven albums. Live performance has continually remained a central part of the band's output. As of 2010, the band had sold more than 25 million albums worldwide.

Their third release, the Sit Down EP (no relation to the song of that name) came out in February 1986 and was followed by their debut album, Stutter, in July of that year. The album reached number 68 in the UK Albums Chart.

Low on money and lacking coverage and promotion, the band recorded their second album, Strip-mine, attempting a more conventional song structure in an attempt to please their label Sire. The album almost went unreleased, but after a slight remix to sound more radio-friendly, Sire released it in September 1988, over a year after its initial completion. However the album only reached number 90. After finding a clause for ending their contract, the band left Sire.

James had by this point earned themselves a reputation as a live act and had built a solid fanbase. Sales of James T-shirts were particularly successful in Manchester even before they reached the Top 40. James financed the production of a live album One Man Clapping with a bank loan and the help of Rough Trade Records. The album went to number 1 in the indie charts, reinvigorating media interest in the band.

On This Day 08/11/1987 Freddie McGregor

On this day, 8 November 1987, Jamaican singer, musician and record producer Freddie McGregor played Cardiff’s Ritzy Night Club. His music career began when he was seven years old.

In 1963 he joined with Ernest Wilson and Peter Austin to form The Clarendonians, and began to record for the Studio One label. He was only seven years old at the time and was known as 'Little Freddie'.[2][3] He was also a member of the Generation Gap.

McGregor converted to Rastafari in 1975. He is a member of the Twelve Tribes organisation.

McGregor worked with producer Niney the Observer during the late 1970s and early 1980s, and in the same period was part of the resurgence of Studio One. His popularity soared in the early 1980s with the release of "Bobby Babylon". Other popular hits of McGregor's include "Big Ship", "Push Comes to Shove", "Just Don't Want to Be Lonely" (a top ten hit in the UK), and "I Was Born a Winner"; as well as cover versions of many early reggae standards.

He has also worked with producers Junjo Lawes, Linval Thompson, and Gussie Clarke. McGregor has also recorded as a drummer with artists such as Sugar Minott and Judy Mowatt.

McGregor has also toured extensively for many years. He secured a licensing agreement with RAS Records in US and released Come on Over in 1983.

McGregor's albums in the 2000s were Signature and Anything for You, which received a Grammy nomination.

He established the Big Ship label in 1983, and has produced many artists including Papa San, Lieutenant Stitchie, Tiger, Luciano and Mikey Spice.

On This Day 06/11/2011 Manowar

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On this day, 6 November 2011, American Heavy Metal band Manowar played Cardiff University on their Battle Hymns 2011 Tour.

Formed in 1980, the group is known for lyrics based on fantasy (particularly sword and sorcery) and mythology (particularly Norse mythology and Greco-Roman mythology), as well as numerous songs celebrating the genre and its core audience.

The band is also known for a loud and emphatic sound. In an interview for MTV in February 2007, bassist Joey DeMaio lamented that "these days, there's a real lack of big, epic metal that is drenched with crushing guitars and choirs and orchestras... so it's nice to be one of the few bands that's actually doing that".

In 1984, the band was included in the Guinness Book of World Records for delivering the loudest performance, a record which they have since broken on two occasions. They also hold the world record for the longest heavy metal concert after playing for five hours and 1 minute in Bulgaria (at Kavarna Rock Fest) in 2008. They also have been known for their slogan "Death to false metal".

Manowar released a re-recording of their 1982 debut album Battle Hymns. This album was released on November 26, 2010, with the narration of Sir Christopher Lee and formally entitled Battle Hymns MMXI. On July 21, 2011, the band embarked on a UK tour for the first time in 16 years in November and performed the Battle Hymns album in its entirety.

Setlist

Manowar

Death Tone

Metal Daze

Fast Taker

Shell Shock

Dark Avenger

Battle Hymn

Guitar Solo

Brothers of Metal Pt. 1

After intermission

Hand of Doom

Call to Arms

Thunder in the Sky

Bass Solo

Hail and Kill

Warriors of the World United

Kings of Metal

Black Wind, Fire and Steel

On This Day 04/11/1977 The Clash

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On this day, 4 November 1977, punk legends The Clash played Cardiff University on their Get Out Of Control Tour. Support was provided by Richard He’ll and the Voidoids.

The Clash were still suffering the full backlash of punks bad reputation, including front page headlines for the riot at the Rainbow back in May on the White Riot Tour.

Several dates on the rebeliously entitled 'Get Out of Control Tour' had to be cancelled or re-arranged. Out of the original 21 dates/venues, 19 were advertised as having 'no seating'.

The tour was due to open at the Ulster Hall, Belfast but the insurance was pulled and the gig was cancelled at the last moment. This led to punks blocking the road outside the venue and a confrontation between the punks and the police, which became known as the "Battle of Bedford Street". Compared to many other riots in 1970's Belfast it was small scale but it was unique in that it was a non-sectarian "riot" of Protestant and Catholic punks.