On This Day 17/04/2002 The Dubliners

Images may be subject to copyright

On this day, 17 April 2002, legendary Irish folk group The Dubliners played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on their 40th Anniversary tour.

Founded in Dublin in 1962 as The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group, named after its founding member; they subsequently renamed themselves The Dubliners. The line-up saw many changes in personnel over their fifty-year career, but the group's success was centred on lead singers Luke Kelly and Ronnie Drew. The band garnered international success with their lively Irish folk songs, traditional street ballads and instrumentals.

The Dubliners were instrumental in popularising Irish folk music in Europe, though they did not quite attain the popularity of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem in the United States. They influenced many generations of Irish bands, and their legacy can to this day be heard in the music of artists such as The Pogues, Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly.

Much adored in their native country, covers of Irish ballads by Ronnie Drew and Luke Kelly tend to be regarded as definitive versions. One of the most influential Irish acts of the 20th century, they celebrated 50 years together in 2012, making them Ireland's longest-surviving musical act. Also in 2012, the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards bestowed them with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Dubliners announced their retirement in the autumn of 2012, after 50 years of performing, following the death of the last living original member Barney McKenna. However, some members of the group continued touring under the name of "The Dublin Legends", and as of 2021, Sean Cannon is the only remaining member of the Dubliners in that group, following the retirement of Patsy Watchorn in 2014 and the death of Eamonn Campbell in 2017.

On This Day 16/04/2006 Chris Rea

Images may be subject to copyright

On this day, 16 April 2006, rock and blues singer/ songwriter Chris Rea played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on his Blue Guitars tour.

Known for his distinctive voice and his slide guitar playing, Rea has recorded twenty five solo albums, two of which topped the UK Albums Chart, The Road to Hell in 1989 and its successor, Auberge, in 1991. He had already become "a major European star by the time he finally cracked the UK Top 10" with the single "The Road to Hell (Part 2)".

Over the course of his long career, Rea's work has at times been informed by his struggles with serious health issues. His many hit songs include "I Can Hear Your Heartbeat", "Stainsby Girls", "Josephine", "On the Beach", "Let's Dance", "Driving Home for Christmas", "Working on It", "Tell Me There's a Heaven", "Auberge" and "Julia". He also recorded a duet with Elton John, "If You Were Me". Rea was nominated three times for the Brit Award for Best British Male Artist: in 1988, 1989 and 1990.

In 2003, Rea released Blue Street (Five Guitars) and Hofner Blue Notes, and The Blue Jukebox the following year. 2005 saw the release of Blue Guitars, a box set of 11 CDs containing 137 blues-inspired tracks with Rea's paintings as album covers, which is a once in a lifetime ambitious project about the history of blues music. Rea said, "I was never a rock star or pop star and all the illness has been my chance to do what I'd always wanted to do with music [...] the best change for my music has been concentrating on stuff which really interests me".

On This Day 15/04/1973 Roxy Music

Images may be subject to copyright

On this day, 15 April 1973, legendary rock band Roxy Music played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre on the bands For Your Pleasure tour. Support was provided by rock band The Sharks, a newly formed band that included former Free bass player Andy Fraser and guitarist Chris Spedding.

Roxy Music's second album, For Your Pleasure, was released in March 1973. It marked the beginning of the band's long, successful collaboration with producer Chris Thomas, who worked on all of the group's classic albums and singles in the 1970s. The album was promoted with the non-album single "Pyjamarama"; no album track was released as a single. At the time Ferry was dating French model Amanda Lear; she was photographed with a black jaguar for the front cover of the album, while Ferry appears on the back cover as a dapper chauffeur standing behind a limousine.

Soon after the tour to promote For Your Pleasure ended, Brian Eno left Roxy Music amidst increasing differences with Ferry. He was replaced by 18-year-old multi-instrumentalist Eddie Jobson, formerly of progressive rockers Curved Air, who played keyboards and electric violin.

Although some fans lamented the loss of the experimental attitude and camp aesthetic that Eno had brought to the band, the classically trained Jobson was an accomplished musician. John Porter also left at this time and for the next three years Roxy would undergo several more changes in bassist, with John Gustafson, Sal Maida, John Wetton and Rick Wills all passing in and out of the band during this period.

Setlist

Do the Strand

Beauty Queen

Editions of You

In Every Dream Home a Heartache

For Your Pleasure

Grey Lagoons

The Bogus Man

Encore:

Virginia Plain

On This Day 14/04/2008 Jethro Tull

Images may be subject to copyright

On this day, 14 April 2008, Prog rock giants Jethro Tull played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on their 40th Anniversary Tour.

Initially playing blues rock and jazz fusion, the band soon incorporated elements of English folk music, hard rock and classical music, forging a signature progressive rock sound. The group's lead vocalist, bandleader, founder, principal composer and only constant member is Ian Anderson, who also plays flute and acoustic guitar.

The group has featured a succession of musicians throughout the decades, including significant contributors such as guitarists Mick Abrahams and Martin Barre (with Barre being the longest-serving member besides Anderson); bassists Glenn Cornick, Jeffrey Hammond, John Glascock, Dave Pegg and Jonathan Noyce; drummers Clive Bunker, Barrie "Barriemore" Barlow and Doane Perry; and keyboardists John Evan, Dee Palmer, Peter-John Vettese and Andrew Giddings.

The band ceased studio recording activity in the 2000s, but continued to tour until splitting in 2011. Following the band's split, Anderson and Barre continued to record and tour as solo artists, with Anderson's band billed variously as both "Jethro Tull" and Ian Anderson" solo.

Anderson said in 2014 that Jethro Tull had come "more or less to an end". In 2017, however, Anderson revived the Jethro Tull name and released new studio albums in the 2020s. The current group includes musicians who were part of Jethro Tull during the last years of its initial run, as well as newer musicians associated with Anderson's solo band, without Barre's involvement.

Jethro Tull have sold an estimated 60 million albums worldwide, with 11 gold and 5 platinum albums. They have been described by Rolling Stone as "one of the most commercially successful and eccentric progressive rock bands"

On This Day 13/04/1960 Count Basie And His Orchestra

Images may be subject to copyright

On this day, 13 April 1960, American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer Count Basie and his Orchestra played Cardiff’s Gaumont Theatre.

In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and their first recording. He led the group for almost 50 years, creating innovations like the use of two "split" tenor saxophones, emphasizing the rhythm section, riffing with a big band, using arrangers to broaden their sound, and others.

Many musicians came to prominence under his direction, including the tenor saxophonists Lester Young and Herschel Evans, the guitarist Freddie Green, trumpeters Buck Clayton and Harry "Sweets" Edison, plunger trombonist Al Grey, and singers Jimmy Rushing, Helen Humes, Thelma Carpenter, and Joe Williams.

In 1959, Basie's band recorded a "greatest hits" double album The Count Basie Story (Frank Foster, arranger), and Basie/Eckstine Incorporated, an album featuring Billy Eckstine, Quincy Jones (as arranger) and the Count Basie Orchestra. It was released by Roulette Records, then later reissued by Capitol Records.

Later that year, Basie appeared on a television special with Fred Astaire, featuring a dance solo to "Sweet Georgia Brown", followed in January 1961 by Basie performing at one of the five John F. Kennedy Inaugural Balls. That summer, Basie and Duke Ellington combined forces for the recording First Time! The Count Meets the Duke, each providing four numbers from their play books.

During the balance of the 1960s, the band kept active with tours, recordings, television appearances, festivals, Las Vegas shows, and travel abroad, including cruises. Some time around 1964, Basie adopted his trademark yachting cap.

On This Day 12/04/2014 Lloyd Cole

Images may be subject to copyright

On this day, 12 April 2014, singer/songwriter Lloyd Cole played The Globe, Cardiff. He was lead vocalist of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions from 1984 to 1989 and subsequently worked solo.

The Commotions' debut studio album, Rattlesnakes (1984), contained literary and pop culture references to such figures as Arthur Lee, Norman Mailer, Grace Kelly, Eva Marie Saint, Simone de Beauvoir, Truman Capote and Joan Didion. The band produced two more studio albums, Easy Pieces (1985) and Mainstream (1987), before disbanding in 1989.

Songs by the band include "Perfect Skin", "Rattlesnakes", "Forest Fire", "Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken?", "Lost Weekend" and "Jennifer She Said". Cole subsequently relocated to New York City and recorded with various musicians, including Fred Maher, Robert Quine and Matthew Sweet.

On This Day 11/04/2008 Elliot Minor

Images may be subject to copyright

On This Day, 11/04/2008, rock band Elliot Minor played Cardiff University.

Elliot Minor started as 'The Academy' with Alex Davies and Ed Minton as an acoustic duo when they met at Uppingham School, both aged thirteen years old. Alex Davies, Dan and Ed Hetherton, and Ali Paul originally attended The Minster School, York, and had music scholarships to sing in the cathedral choir at York Minster. Davies invited childhood friend Dan Hetherton as a drummer to a band practice to see if he was interested in joining. Dan Hetherton recruited his brother Ed (nicknamed 'Teddy') to join the band on bass. Ali Paul was eventually invited to join the band on keyboard, completing the band's lineup. The band name was changed to 'Elliot Minor' to avoid copyright issues with 'The Academy'.

Elliot Minor signed a distribution deal with Warner Bros. Records and recorded their debut album in Santa Monica, California, with Jim Wirt, producer for Hoobastank, Jack's Mannequin, Something Corporate, Incubus and others, and it debuted on 14 April 2008. Many of the songs from the album were written during their school days. Upon release, the album managed to debut at No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart, and at No. 30 on the Irish Albums Chart.

That same year (2008), Elliot Minor played at several large music festivals, including T in the Park, Reading and Leeds, and Download Festival. Davies and Minton performed an acoustic cover of Propane Nightmares by Pendulum at T in the Park for Radio 1. Elliot Minor also made an appearance on Jo Whiley's Radio 1's Live Lounge – Volume 3, recording a cover of Take That's "Rule the World". Their song "Running Away" was featured on the BBC's coverage of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics.

On This Day 10/04/1965 Bobby Vee

Images may be subject to copyright

On this day, 10 April 1965, American singer Bobby Vee played Sophia Gardens. Also featured on the bill were, Dusty Springfield, The Zombies, The Searchers, Tony Jackson & The Vibrations, Heinz & The Wild Boys, Echoes.

Dusty Springfield and Bobby Vee

Known primarily as a performer of so-called "Brill Building pop" material,[6] Vee went on to record a string of international hits in the 1960s, including "More Than I Can Say" (1961, UK number 4), "Run to Him" (1961, US number 2; UK number 6), "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes" (1963, US number 3; UK number 3) and "Come Back When You Grow Up" (1967, US number 3).

On the recording of "Come Back When You Grow Up", Bobby Vee and The Strangers are credited. However, that was merely the record label giving a name to the studio musicians working that day. Bobby's original band, The Shadows, backed him on the road; upon learning of the UK band The Shadows who backed Cliff Richard, the band changed its name to The Strangers. In 1961 Vee recorded a version of the song "Lollipop", originally by Ronald & Ruby, which also became a success. Vee had a total of ten hit singles in the UK, ending with "Bobby Tomorrow" (UK number 21) in 1963.

In 1963, American Bandstand signed Vee to headline Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars national U.S. tour, scheduled to perform its 15th show on the night of November 22, 1963, at the Memorial Auditorium in Dallas, Texas. The Friday evening event was cancelled after U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated that afternoon while touring Dallas in an open car caravan.

Vee was also a pioneer in the music video genre, appearing in several musical films and in the Scopitone series of early film-and-music jukebox recordings.