On This Day 16/01/1976 Renaissance

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On this day, 16 January 1976, progressive rock band Renaissance played Cardiff University.

Best known for their 1978 UK top 10 hit "Northern Lights" and progressive rock classics like "Carpet of the Sun", "Mother Russia", and "Ashes Are Burning". They developed a unique sound, combining a female lead vocal with a fusion of classical, folk, rock, and jazz influences.

Characteristic elements of the Renaissance sound are Annie Haslam's wide vocal range, prominent piano accompaniment, orchestral arrangements and vocal harmonies.

The band was founded by vocalist Keith Relf and drummer Jim McCarty, formerly of the Yardbirds; along with John Hawken, Louis Cennamo and Relf's sister Jane. They intended to put "something together with more of a classical influence".

Renaissance released their self-titled debut album in 1969, but fell apart during the sessions for their follow-up, Illusion (1971). New musicians were brought in to complete the record, and Renaissance was kept active through a period of fluctuating personnel until none of the original lineup remained, although McCarty continued providing compositions for the band to record for several more years.

By 1972, a stable lineup consisting of Annie Haslam, Michael Dunford, John Tout, Jon Camp, and Terry Sullivan solidified. Aside from McCarty, they were assisted with lyrics on many songs from Cornish poet Betty Thatcher-Newsinger. From 1972 to 1979 Renaissance released seven studio albums, toured extensively, and sold out three nights in a row at Carnegie Hall with Tony Cox conducting the New York Philharmonic. The band's success was largely concentrated in the United States, where they built a cult following.

On This Day 15/01/1968 The Herd

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On this day, 15 January 1968, rock band The Herd played Cardiff’s Top Rank.

The Herd were founded in 1965 in south London, and recorded three unsuccessful singles with Parlophone. In 1966 three members in succession (Terry Clark, Louis Cennamo and Mick Underwood) quit the group and the group got the line-up that made it famous.

The singer, Peter Frampton, was 16 when he joined the group in 1966 and had just left school. The other members were a few years older. Parlophone did not want to go on with them, but Fontana were willing to give them a try. They also sent their manager Billy Gaff away and brought in the songwriters/producers Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley instead. This pair had been largely responsible for a string of hits by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich.

In October 1967 they supported the Jimi Hendrix Experience at The Saville Theatre, London. Their greatest success came with "I Don't Want Our Loving to Die", (March 1968) a number five UK hit single.

With his boyish photogenic looks, Frampton was dubbed "The Face of ’68" by teen magazine Rave.

The last months of 1968 were tempestuous times for the group. Steele left the group, to be replaced by Henry Spinetti. The group dumped their managers Howard and Blaikley, and briefly found a new mentor in Harvey Lisberg who after three months found himself so bogged down with their personnel problems that he politely withdrew his services. Most songs on their first and only album Paradise Lost were written by Peter Frampton and Andy Bown, just like their next single, "Sunshine Cottage".

Dissatisfied with mere teen idol status, and disappointed with the failure of "Sunshine Cottage", Frampton left by the end of 1968 to form Humble Pie with Steve Marriott.

On This Day 14/01/1965 Graham Bond Organisation

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On this day, 14 January 1965, British jazz/rhythm and blues group the Graham Bond Organisation played the Capitol Theatre, Cardiff, in a package that was headlined by the legendary Chuck Berry and included, Long John Baldry & The Hoochie Coochie Men, , The Moody Blues, Winston G, The Five Dimensions. The UK tour was promoted by Robert Stigwood.

At the start of the British rhythm and blues boom the Graham Bond Organisation earned a reputation for playing aggressive R & B with prominent jazz and blues. Bond was the primary songwriter but encouraged the other musicians to contribute material, including Dick Heckstall-Smith's "Dick's Instrumental" and Ginger Baker's "Camels and Elephants", in which the drummer explored ideas he eventually developed into his signature piece "Toad". Jack Bruce's harmonica-driven version of Peter Chatman's "Train Time" would become a staple in Cream's live performances.

The first commercial recording by the original lineup of the Graham Bond Organisation was released under the name of singer Winston G. (real name Winston Gork). A protégé of expatriate Australian impresario Robert Stigwood, Winston had launched his career under the pseudonym "Johnny Apollo".

In early 1965 both Winston and the Graham Bond Organisation were part of Stigwood-promoted UK package tour headlined by Chuck Berry (on which Stigwood incurred heavy losses). Since they shared management, the Graham Bond Organisation backed Winston on the Parlophone single "Please Don't Say" / "Like A Baby"; the A-side was credited "Arrangement directed by Graham Bond" and the B-side "Arrangement directed by Ginger Baker".

On This Day 13/01/1977 Daryl Hall and John Oates

On this day, 13 Jan 1977, American pop duo Hall and Oates played the Capitol Theatre, Cardiff, on their UK Tour.
Formed in 1970 in Philadelphia. The two write most of the songs they perform, separately or in collaboration. They achieved their greatest fame from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s with a fusion of rock and roll and rhythm and blues.

The duo never really liked to be referred to as "Hall & Oates". In an interview with Esquire, Oates said, "There isn't one album that says Hall and Oates. It's always Daryl Hall and John Oates, from the very beginning. People never note that. The idea of 'Hall and Oates', this two-headed monster, this thing, is not anything we've ever wanted or liked." In a 2015 interview, Oates noted that "it's a horrible name" and that "it was a totally conscious decision" not to be known as "Hall & Oates". "We didn’t want to be the Everly Brothers, or Loggins & Messina, or whatever."

The duo are credited as Daryl Hall John Oates with no "and" or ampersand on many of their releases.

Tour Setlist

Back Together Again
Rich Girl
Crazy Eyes
Do What You Want, Be What You Are
Lady Rain
Falling
Camellia
You're Much Too Soon
Is It a Star
I'm Just a Kid (Don't Make Me Feel Like a Man)
Sara Smile
She's Gone
Abandoned Luncheonette

Encore 1:
Ennui on the Mountain
Gino (The Manager)

Encore 2:
Room to Breathe

On This Day 12/01/1972 Status Quo

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On this day, 12 January 1972, rock band Status Quo played Cardiff University on their Dog Of Two Head Tour.

The band had recently released their 4th studio album Dog Of Two Head. At the time of recording, the band consisted of Francis Rossi (credited on the sleeve as Mike Rossi), Rick Parfitt (credited as Ritchie Parfitt), Alan Lancaster and John Coghlan (credited as John Coughlan).

They had released a non-album single that March, a Rossi/Young song called "Tune to the Music", but it was not a hit. The band then set to work writing and recording a new album. A couple of the songs, such as the opening track "Umleitung" (German for 'diversion'), had been written the previous year.

In 1972 the band left Pye Records and signed with the heavy rock and progressive label Vertigo Records. Their first album for Vertigo, Piledriver, was released in 1972, going Top 5 in the UK. Piledriver heralded an even heavier, self-produced sound.

This album was essentially the stylistic template for their next four albums, Hello! (1973), Quo (1974), On the Level (1975) and Blue for You (1976). Hello! was the band's first UK No. 1 album, while Quo reached No. 2 and On the Level and Blue for You both also reached No. 1. In 1976, they signed a pioneering sponsorship deal with Levi's. The following year the group released a double Live! album, which reached No. 3 in the UK.

On This Day 11/01/2004 Meatloaf

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On this day, 11 January 2004, American rock legend Meatloaf played Cardiff International Arena on his Couldn’t Have Said It Better Tour.

Born Marvin Lee Aday and known professionally as Meat Loaf, he was known for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows.

He is one of the best selling music artists in history. His Bat Out of Hell trilogy—Bat Out of Hell (1977), Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell (1993), and Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose (2006)—has sold more than 100 million records worldwide.

The first album stayed on the charts for over nine years, as of 2016 still sold an estimated 200,000 copies annually, and is on the list of bestselling albums.

Meat Loaf appeared in over 50 films and television shows, sometimes as himself or as characters resembling his stage persona. His film roles included Eddie in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and Robert Paulson in Fight Club (1999). His early stage work included dual roles in the original Broadway cast of The Rocky Horror Show. He also appeared in the musical Hair, both on and Off-Broadway.

Setlist

Wasted Youth

Do It!

Life Is a Lemon (And I Want My Money Back)

Mercury Boogie

(K.C. Douglas cover)

Lawyers, Guns and Money

(Warren Zevon cover)

Dead Ringer for Love

Testify

All Revved Up With No Place to Go

You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)

Couldn't Have Said It Better

Out of the Frying Pan (And Into the Fire)

(Jim Steinman cover)

Midnight at the Lost and Found

Paradise by the Dashboard Light

I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)

Bat Out of Hell

On This Day 10/01/1895 Ignacy Jan Paderewski

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On this day, 10 January 1895, Polish pianist, composer and statesman Ignacy Jan Paderewski, who was a spokesman for Polish independence, played at Cardiff’s Park Hall

Park Hall, Cardiff

In 1919, he was the nation's prime minister and foreign minister during which he signed the Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War.

A favorite of concert audiences around the world, his musical fame opened access to diplomacy and the media, as possibly did his status as a freemason, and charitable work of his second wife, Helena Paderewska.

During World War I, Paderewski advocated an independent Poland, including by touring the United States, where he met with President Woodrow Wilson, who came to support the creation of an independent Poland in his Fourteen Points at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, which led to the Treaty of Versailles.

Shortly after his resignations from office, Paderewski resumed his concert career to recoup his finances and rarely visited the politically chaotic Poland thereafter, the last time being in 1924.

Audiences responded to his brilliant playing with almost extravagant displays of admiration, and Paderewski also gained access to the halls of power. In 1891, Paderewski repeated his triumphs on an American tour; he would tour the country more than 30 times for the next five decades, and it would become his second home.

His stage presence, striking looks, and immense charisma contributed to his stage success, which later proved important in his political and charitable activities. His name became synonymous with the highest level of piano virtuosity.

Setlist

Variations in F minor, Hob.XVII:6

(Joseph Haydn cover)

Piano Sonata no. 3 in C major, op. 2, no. 3

(Ludwig van Beethoven cover)

(Unknown)

(Felix Mendelssohn cover) (Unknown Lieder ohne Worte.)

Études symphoniques, op. 13

(Robert Schumann cover)

(Unknown)

(Fryderyk Chopin cover) (Nocture, Étude & Valse)

Miscellanea, op. 16: 4. Nocturne

6 Humoresques de concert, op. 14: 6. Cracovienne fantastique

Réminiscences de Don Juan, S. 418

(Franz Liszt cover)

On This Day 09/01/1987 Human League

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On this day, 9 January 1987, synth-pop band Human League played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on the band’s Crash tour. Support was provided by Drum Theatre.

The band was promoting their fifth studio album Crash, released on 8 September 1986 by Virgin Records. The album would provide the band with their second US number-one single, "Human", the same year. It was produced by the American production team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who also wrote several tracks.

The album name was taken from a moment in the studio during the recording. Oakey described it thus:

It's from a crash cymbal, because it's a disco album again with lots of cymbals. One day somebody said "what sorts of cymbals do you want, a ride or a crash?", and we thought, "what a great title!"

The album quickly became an unexpected success. One of Jam and Lewis's compositions, "Human", became the Human League's second number-one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 and their first UK top 10 single in over three years, peaking at number eight.

Follow-ups "I Need Your Loving" and the 1988 release "Love Is All That Matters" were less successful, failing to reach the UK top 40. The album itself peaked at number seven in the UK (where it has been certified Gold for shipments in excess of 100,000 copies) and number 24 on the US Billboard 200.

Oakey stated his discomfort with the record in 1995, saying: "The Jam and Lewis album [Crash] was just like being a puppet for four months. It was interesting to pick yourself out of the industrial north of England and dump yourself in Minneapolis. Great experience, but it just wasn't our album.

LIVE LINE UP:

Philip Oakey - vocals

Joanne Catherall - vocals

Susan Sulley - vocals

Ian Burden - bass & vocals

Neil Sutton - synthesizer

Russel Dennett - syntesizer, guitar, vocals

Jim Russell - drums

Meyrick - guitar, vocals

David Beevers - technical

SETLIST:

Hard Times

Money

The Things That Dreams Are Made Of

The Real Thing or I Need Your Loving

Do Or Die

Human

The Sound Of The Crowd

Love Action (I Believe In Love)

Jam

Love On The Run

Seconds

The Lebanon

Together In Electric Dreams

Party or I Need Your Loving

Mirror Man

Don't You Want Me

(Keep Feeling) Fascination

Rock'n'Roll