On This Day 02/03/1974 Bees Make Honey

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On this day, 2 March 1974, influential band in the pub rock scene played Cardiff University.

The band were formed in 1971 in north London by Barry Richardson, who had a residency in a jazz band at the "Tally Ho" pub, when Eggs over Easy started playing pub rock there. He invited Ruan O’Lochlainn, Deke O’Brien and Mick Molloy to see Eggs over Easy and they formed a band with American drummer Bob "Cee" Siebenberg, who would later rise to fame in Supertramp.

Richardson, O’Brien and Molloy were former members of Irish showband The Alpine Seven, and of Dublin's first Rhythm & Blues band Bluesville (with Ian Whitcomb). They initially performed as an unnamed band at the "Tally Ho", where Richardson had previously performed, eventually naming themselves Bees Make Honey in January 1972.

In 1974 original members O'Brien and Molloy left, and Morley joined Man,[4] so guitarists Willy Finlayson and Ed Deane, and keyboardist Kevin McAlea, joined. This line up recorded the second album, but EMI dropped both the unreleased album and the band. Another album was cut for DJM Records, but when this was also not released, the band broke up in late 1974.

After the break-up, Byrne moved to Ace, Demick and Finlayson formed Meal Ticket, and McAlea went on to work with Kate Bush on her 1979 tour and her series of concerts in 2014 in London.

On This Day 01/03/1979 The Skids

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On this day, 1 March 1979, Scottish punks The Skids played Cardiff’s Grannie’s Club. The previous night the band had played their first ever Welsh gig at Newport’s Stowaway Club.

Formed in Dunfermline in 1977 by Stuart Adamson (guitar, keyboards, percussion and backing vocals), William Simpson (bass guitar and backing vocals), Thomas Kellichan (drums) and Richard Jobson (vocals, guitar and keyboards).

The singles "Sweet Suburbia" and "The Saints Are Coming" both made commercial inroads, before "Into the Valley" reached the Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart in early 1979. The band had just released their debut studio album, Scared to Dance, the month before.

Scared to Dance has been well received by critics. Ira Robbins of Trouser Press called the album "excellent [...] Using loud guitar and semi-martial drumming for its basis, Jobson's hearty singing sounds like an 18th century general leading his merry troops down from the hills into glorious battle."

The song "The Saints Are Coming" was later covered by Green Day and U2 and released as a charity single, reaching #1 in several countries.

"Into the Valley" became popular as adopted and sung by fans of Dunfermline Athletic F.C., the band's local football team, as well as Charlton Athletic F.C. in England whose ground is known as The Valley.

On This Day 29/02/1988 Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction

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On this day, 29 February 1988, hard rock band Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction played Cardiff University.

The band had just released their debut studio album Tattooed Beat Messiah. The album reached #20 in the UK album charts.

Formed in 1985, Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction play a sleazy style of commercial hard rock featuring big riffs and choruses, as was the trend in the band's heyday of the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s.

The camp lyrics are intended as self-parody, and can be seen as either humorous, or offensive by those who take them at face value, for their often lascivious and misogynist tone. Song titles like "Back Seat Education", "Feed My Frankenstein", "High Heeled Heaven", and "Trash Madonna" illustrate Mindwarp's tongue-in-cheek approach.

Lyrical content also exhibits a send up of cult worship, often of Zodiac Mindwarp's self-proclaimed raging libido, with Mindwarp claiming the titles 'Sex Fuhrer', 'Love Dictator', 'President of the United States of Love' and 'High Priest of Love'.

On This Day 27/02/1993 The Fat Lady Sings

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On this day, 27 February 1993, Irish rock band The Fat Lady Sings played Cardiff University.

Fronted by singer and songwriter Nick Kelly, anlmost immediately after forming in March 1986, they relocated to London, and remained there for the rest of their career. Despite this, they gained more media attention and commercial success in their native Ireland, with a series of five top 20 singles in 1990/91, than they did in the UK.

Building a substantial live following, including sold-out gigs at London's Town & Country Club (now The Forum) and Dublin's National Stadium. Having released a string of singles on independent labels, The Fat Lady Sings (TFLS) signed to East West Records.

In October 1990, they released their first major label single "Man Scared", followed by the debut album Twist in May 1991. Twist spawned three more singles: a re-release of “Arclight” (April 1991), “Twist” (May 1991) and “Deborah” (August 1991).

The second album Johnson was produced by Steve Osborne and with Nic France replacing founding member Robert Hamilton on drums, was released in June 1993, following the lead single "Show of Myself". The second single, "Drunkard Logic", became the band's highest UK chart position, peaking at no. 56 in July 1993.

The band spent six months on tour promoting Johnson, including three months in the US, concluding with a final show in New York's CBGB in December 1993. In January 1994 the band split when frontman and only songwriter Nick Kelly surprisingly quit the band.

On This Day 18/02/1977 Procol Harum

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On this day, 18 Feb 1977, rock band Procol Harum played Cardiff University.

Formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, in 1967 the band were about to release their tenth album Something Magic.

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Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have sold over 10 million copies. Although noted for their baroque and classical influence, Procol Harum's music is described as psychedelic rock and proto-progressive.

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Tour Setlist

Something Magic

Conquistador

Beyond the Pale

Grand Hotel

Strangers in Space

The Mark of the Claw

Nothing but the Truth

The Worm and the Tree

Pandora's Box

The Unquiet Zone

A Salty Dog

Wizard Man

This Old Dog

Hand Jive / Not Fade Away

Sea of Heartache

A Whiter Shade of Pale

On This Day 17/02/1994 Prodigy

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On this day, 17 February 1994, electronic punk dance music band The Prodigy played Cardiff University.

Formed in 1990 by record producer and songwriter Liam Howlett. The band's line-up has included MC and vocalist Maxim, dancer and vocalist Keith Flint (until his death in March 2019), dancer and live keyboardist Leeroy Thornhill (who left to pursue a solo career in 2000), and dancer and vocalist Sharky (1990–1991). formed in 1990 by record producer and songwriter Liam Howlett.

The band's line-up has included MC and vocalist Maxim, dancer and vocalist Keith Flint (until his death in March 2019), dancer and live keyboardist Leeroy Thornhill (who left to pursue a solo career in 2000), and dancer and vocalist Sharky (1990–1991).

Along with the Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim, the Prodigy are credited as pioneers of the breakbeat-influenced genre big beat, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s. Howlett's rock-inspired drum rhythms infused with electronic rave music beats/breaks were combined with Maxim's omnipresent mystique, Thornhill's shuffle dancing style and Flint's modern punk appearance.

On This Day 16/02/1997 Paul Rogers

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On this day, 16 Feb 1997, rock legend Paul Rodgers played St David’s Hall in Cardiff.

In the concert he featured material from his third solo album due to be released in June plus songs from his previous bands.

Best known as the vocalist of Free and Bad Company. After stints in two lesser-known bands in the 1980s and early 1990s, The Firm and The Law, he became a solo artist.

He has more recently toured and recorded with Queen.

A poll in Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 55 on its list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time".

In 2011 Rodgers received the British Academy's Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music.

Tour Setlist

Intro by Alan Bangs

Louisiana Blues

(Muddy Waters cover)

Little Bit of Love

(Free song)

Soul of Love

Overloaded

Muddy Water Blues

Feel Like Makin' Love

(Bad Company song)

Heart of Fire

Chasing Shadows

All I Want Is You

(Bob Dylan cover)

Fire and Water

(Free song)

Saving Grace

Can't Get Enough

(Bad Company song)

All Right Now

(Free song)

On This Day 15/02/1969 The MaRmalade

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On this day, 15 February 1969, Scottish rock/pop band Marmalade played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre. included on the bill were the headliner, Gene Pitney, Joe Cocker and Welsh band The Iveys, who later became Badfinger.

Originally formed in 1961 as The Gaylords, and then later billed as Dean Ford and the Gaylords, they recording four singles for Columbia (EMI).

In 1966 they changed the band's name to The Marmalade and were credited as such on all of their subsequent recorded releases with CBS Records and Decca Records until 1972. Their greatest chart success was between 1968 and 1972, placing ten songs on the UK Singles Chart, and many overseas territories, including international hits "Reflections of My Life", which reached No. 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Chart and No. 3 on the UK chart in January 1970, and "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", which topped the UK chart in January 1969, the group becoming the first-ever Scottish artist to top that chart.

In February 1969, the band appeared on the BBC's flagship program Colour Me Pop, (precursor to The Old Grey Whistle Test) performing a halfhour slot. They also appeared on the BBC's review of the 1960s music scene, Pop Go The Sixties, performing "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" live on the broadcast on BBC 1 on New Year's Eve 1969.