On This Day 19/04/1989 The Vibrators

Images may be subject to copyright

On this day, 19 April 1989, British punk band The Vibrators played The Venue, Cardiff.

The Vibrators were founded in 1976 by Ian 'Knox' Carnochan, bassist Pat Collier, guitarist John Ellis, and drummer John 'Eddie' Edwards. They first came to public notice at the 100 Club when they backed Chris Spedding in 1976. On Spedding's recommendation, Mickie Most signed them to his label RAK Records. Most produced their first single, "We Vibrate". The band also backed Spedding on his single, "Pogo Dancing".

The Vibrators recorded sessions for John Peel at BBC Radio 1 in October 1976, June 1977, and February 1978. They were one of the pioneering punk bands that played at London's Roxy Club. They headlined in January 1977, supported by the Drones, and in February they played twice at the venue. In March 1977, the band supported Iggy Pop on his British tour. Later that year, they backed ex-Mott the Hoople frontman Ian Hunter.

The band signed to Epic Records in early 1977. Their debut album, Pure Mania was co-produced with Robin Mayhew, the sound engineer for David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust live shows, and reached the top 50 of the UK Albums Chart. The album is well regarded by some music critics and, 17 years after its release, The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music named Pure Mania one of the 50 best punk albums of all time.

Their follow-up album, V2, narrowly missed the UK top 30. The only single to be taken from that album, "Automatic Lover", was the only Vibrators' single to reach the UK top 40 where it reached No. 35. It earned the band a TV appearance on the prime-time TV show Top of the Pops. The Vibrators' final single on Epic, "Judy Says (Knock You in the Head)", was released in June 1978. It reached No. 70 on the UK Singles Chart. Years later it was included in Mojo magazine's list of the best punk rock singles of all time.

During the 1980s, John Ellis recorded with Peter Gabriel, as well as recording and touring frequently with Peter Hammill, then subsequently the Stranglers, eventually joining the latter full-time in the 1990s. Pat Collier went on to work closely with the Soft Boys, producing their seminal album Underwater Moonlight, and Robyn Hitchcock, producing and mixing some of his solo albums (to which Knox also sometimes contributed). Phil Ram went on to form Able Ram and brought out two singles, "Disco in Moscow" and "Hope We Make It", although without any chart success. Despite numerous line-up changes, the Vibrators continued to record and tour as a three-piece, with "Eddie" being the only original member.

On This Day 18/04/2002 Here And Now Tour ABC

Images may be subject to copyright

On this day, 18 April 2002, 80’s popsters ABC played Cardiff International Arena as part of an eighties package including Adam Ant, Belinda Carlisle, China Crisis, Howard Jones, Toyah and ex Spandau Ballet bandmates, Tony Hadley, Steve Norman and John Keeble.

ABC has its roots in Vice Versa, a Sheffield band formed in 1977 by synthesizer players Stephen Singleton and Mark White. Their debut gig was as the support to Wire at the Outlook club in Sheffield. They founded their own label, Neutron Records, releasing the EP Music 4. Martin Fry, who wrote the fanzine Modern Drugs, interviewed Vice Versa and shortly afterwards they asked him to join as synthesizer player. Fry accepted and by late 1980 the band had evolved into ABC, with Fry becoming lead singer.

The band's last day as Vice Versa was at the Futurama 2 Festival in Leeds in September 1980; from then on it performed as ABC, with Singleton playing saxophone and White on guitar and keyboards. In the new year, Singleton and White were joined by Mark Lickley on bass and David Robinson on drums.

The band's first single, "Tears Are Not Enough", made the UK top 20 in 1981. Soon afterwards, Robinson left the band and was replaced by David Palmer; Lickley departed shortly thereafter and was not replaced. In 1982, the band released their debut studio album The Lexicon of Love, which reached number one on the UK Albums Chart. Produced by Trevor Horn, it often featured in UK critics' lists of favourite albums: it ranked 42nd in The Observer Music Monthly's "Top 100 British Albums" (June 2004) and 40th in Q magazine's "100 Greatest British Albums" (June 2000).

The band had three top 10 hits during 1982: the singles "Poison Arrow", "The Look of Love" (both of which were recorded whilst Mark Lickley was still a member of the band), and "All of My Heart".[5] Several high-concept music videos were made, including the long-form spy pastiche "Mantrap" by Julien Temple.

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.