On This Day 13/09/1985 Saxon

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On this day, 13 September 1985, heavy rock band Saxon played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall.

Formed in Barnsley in 1975 as one of the leaders of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM), they had eight UK Top 40 albums during the 1980s including four UK Top 10 albums and two Top 5 albums.

They had numerous hit singles on the UK Singles Chart and experienced success all over Europe and Japan, as well as in the United States.

During the 1980s, Saxon established themselves among Europe's most successful metal acts. The band tours regularly and have sold more than 23 million records worldwide

In late 1983, Saxon left their French record company Carrere they signed with EMI Records in 1984, with their first release on the label being Crusader.

Though still heavy, critics felt the album had a more commercial sound, and fans began to wonder what direction the band was taking. Despite its commercial sound, the title track became a fan favourite.

The album sold over two million copies and the 1984 world tour "The World Crusade" was a success both in Europe and America. In the US, the band toured with Accept as their special guests, as well as supporting Mötley Crüe for some shows of a yearlong tour.

On This Day 12/09/1984 Dio

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On this day, 12 September 1984, rock band Dio played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall. The support was provided by Queensryche. Dio had recently released their second album The Last In Line. It became the band's highest-charting album in both the UK and the U.S., reaching number 4 and number 23.

Formed in 1982 and led by vocalist Ronnie James Dio. Dio had left Black Sabbath with intentions to form a new band with fellow former Black Sabbath drummer Vinny Appice.

The name Dio was chosen because it made sense from a commercial standpoint, as the name was already well known at that time.

The band released ten studio albums and had numerous lineup changes over the years, with Dio himself being the only constant member. Guitarists included Vivian Campbell, Craig Goldy, Doug Aldrich, Warren DeMartini, Tracy G, Jake E. Lee and Rowan Robertson.

The band dissolved in 2010 when Ronnie James Dio died of stomach cancer at the age of 67. R. J. Dio has sold over 50 million records worldwide.

Setlist

Stand Up and Shout

One Night in the City

Don't Talk to Strangers

Mystery

Egypt (The Chains Are On)

Holy Diver

Drum Solo

Heaven and Hell

(Black Sabbath cover) (with guitar solo)

The Last in Line

(followed by "Heaven and Hell" reprise)

Rainbow in the Dark

Man on the Silver Mountain / Long Live Rock 'n' Roll

(Rainbow cover)

Encore:

We Rock

The Mob Rules

(Black Sabbath cover)

On This Day 10/09/1987 Andre Previn

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On this day, 10 September 1987, world renowned German-American pianist, composer, and conductor Andre Previn played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall. Also featured was violinist Nigel Kennedy as soloist.

Previn was born in Berlin to a Jewish family, the second son and last of three children of Charlotte (née Epstein) and Jack Previn, who was a lawyer, judge, and music teacher born in Graudenz, then in Germany but now in Poland. The eldest son, Steve Previn, became a film director. The year of Previn's birth is disputed. Whereas most published reports give 1929, Previn himself stated that 1930 was his birth year. All three children received piano lessons and Previn was the one who enjoyed them from the start and displayed the most talent.

His career had three major genres: Hollywood films, jazz, and classical music. In each he achieved success, and the latter two were part of his life until the end. In movies, he arranged and composed music. In jazz, he was a celebrated trio pianist, a piano-accompanist to singers of standards, and pianist-interpreter of songs from the "Great American Songbook". In classical music, he also performed as a pianist but gained television fame as a conductor, and during his last thirty years created his legacy as a composer of art music.

Before the age of twenty, Previn began arranging and composing for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He would go on to be involved in the music of more than fifty films and would win four Academy Awards. He won ten Grammy Awards, for recordings in all three areas of his career, and then one more, for lifetime achievement.

He served as music director of the Houston Symphony Orchestra (1967–1969), principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra (1968–1979), music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (1976–1984), of the Los Angeles Philharmonic (1985–1989), chief conductor of the Royal Philharmonic (1985–1992), and, after an avowed break from salaried posts, chief conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic (2002–2006). He also enjoyed a warm relationship with the Vienna Philharmonic.

On This Day 09/09/1975 Kraftwerk

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On this day, 9 September 1975, German pioneering electronic band Kraftwerk played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre.

Kraftwerk (German pronunciation: [ˈkʁaftvɛɐ̯k], lit. "power plant") were formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the genre.

The group began as part of West Germany's experimental krautrock scene in the early 1970s before fully embracing electronic instrumentation, including synthesizers, drum machines, and vocoders. Wolfgang Flür joined the band in 1973 and Karl Bartos in 1975, expanding the band to a quartet.

The year 1975 saw a turning point in Kraftwerk's live shows. With financial support from Phonogram Inc., in the US, they were able to undertake a tour to promote the Autobahn album, a tour which took them to the US, Canada and the UK for the first time.

The tour also saw a new, stable, live line-up in the form of a quartet. Hütter and Schneider continued playing keyboard synthesizers such as the Minimoog and ARP Odyssey, with Schneider's use of flute diminishing. The two men started singing live for the first time, and Schneider processing his voice with a vocoder live. Wolfgang Flür and new recruit Karl Bartos performed on home-made electronic percussion instruments. Bartos also used a Deagan vibraphone on stage. The Hütter-Schneider-Bartos-Flür formation remained in place until the late 1980s and is now regarded as the classic live line-up of Kraftwerk. Emil Schult generally fulfilled the role of tour manager.

After the 1975 Autobahn tour, Kraftwerk began work on a follow-up album, Radio-Activity (German title: Radio-Aktivität). After further investment in new equipment, the Kling Klang Studio became a fully working recording studio.

The group used the central theme in radio communication, which had become enhanced on their last tour of the United States. With Emil Schult working on artwork and lyrics, Kraftwerk began to compose music for the new record. Even though Radio-Activity was less commercially successful than Autobahn in the UK and United States, the album served to open up the European market for Kraftwerk, earning them a gold disc in France. Kraftwerk made videos and performed several European live dates to promote the album. With the release of Autobahn and Radio-Activity, Kraftwerk left behind avant-garde experimentation and moved towards the electronic pop tunes for which they are best known.

On This Day 08/09/1990 Sonic Youth

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On this day, 8 September 1990, Sonic Youth 8 Sept 1990 American rock band Sonic Youth played Cardiff University.

Formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the band,

Sonic Youth emerged from the experimental no wave art and music scene in New York before evolving into a more conventional rock band and becoming a prominent member of the American noise rock scene. Sonic Youth have been praised for having "redefined what rock guitar could do" using a wide variety of unorthodox guitar tunings while preparing guitars with objects like drum sticks and screwdrivers to alter the instruments' timbre. The band was a pivotal influence on the alternative and indie rock movements.

After gaining a large underground following and critical praise through releases with SST Records in the late 1980s, the band experienced mainstream success throughout the 1990's and 2000's after signing to major label DGC in 1990 and headlining the 1995 Lollapalooza festival. The band disbanded in 2011 following the separation and subsequent divorce of Gordon and Moore with their final live shows taking place in Brazil.

The members have since asserted that the band is finished and will not reunite.

Setlist

Tom Violence

Eric's Trip

Cinderella's Big Score

Stereo Sanctity

Kill Yr Idols

Tunic (Song for Karen)

Dirty Boots

The Bedroom

(I Got a) Catholic Block

Mary-Christ

Kool Thing

Encore:

White Kross

My Friend Goo

Titanium exposé

On This Day, 06/09/1983 Showaddywaddy

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On this day, 6 September 1983, rock ‘n’ revivalist band Showaddywaddy played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall.

The band was formed in 1973 by the amalgamation of two groups, Choise (Dave Bartram, Trevor Oakes, Al James, and Romeo Challenger) and the Golden Hammers (Buddy Gask, Russ Field, Rod Deas, and Malcolm Allured), the latter often known simply as The Hammers.

They both played at the Fosse Way pub in Leicester, and soon discovered shared musical tastes. After playing together in jamming sessions, they joined together permanently, and Showaddywaddy were born.

This led to an eight-member band, with the unusual feature of having two vocalists, two drummers, two guitarists, and two bassists. The band's gig as professional musicians was at the Dreamland Ballroom in Margate, Kent, on 1 September 1973. although the first gigs under the Showaddywady name were in 1972.

They had most of their biggest hits with covers of songs from the 1950s and the early 1960s. These included "Three Steps to Heaven" (originally by Eddie Cochran in 1960), "Heartbeat" (originally written and recorded by Buddy Holly), "Under the Moon of Love" (originally a US hit for Curtis Lee in 1961, again co-written by Tommy Boyce), "When" (originally by the Kalin Twins), "You Got What It Takes" (originally by Marv Johnson) and "Dancin' Party" (originally by Chubby Checker).

These six singles were all produced by Mike Hurst (a former member of the Springfields). On the South African chart, "Three Steps to Heaven" reached number 6 in 1975 and "Under the Moon of Love" number 6 in 1977

On This Day 05/09/2003 The Black Keys

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On this day, 5 September 2003, American rock band The Black Keys played Cardiff’s Barfly on their Thickfreakness tour.

Formed in Akron, Ohio in 2001 the group consists of Dan Auerbach (guitar, vocals) and Patrick Carney (drums). The duo began as an independent act, recording music in basements and self-producing their records, before they eventually emerged as one of the most popular garage rock artists during a second wave of the genre's revival in the 2000s. The band's raw blues rock sound draws heavily from Auerbach's blues influences, including Junior Kimbrough, R.L. Burnside, Howlin' Wolf, and Robert Johnson.

Thickfreakness, the band’s second album was released on April 8, 2003, and received positive reviews from critics. The record spawned three singles: "Set You Free", "Hard Row", and a cover of Richard Berry's "Have Love, Will Travel". The other cover from the album was Junior Kimbrough's "Everywhere I Go".

Time later named Thickfreakness the third-best album of 2003. That year, the duo received a lucrative offer of £200,000 to license one of their songs for use in an English mayonnaise advertisement. At the suggestion of their manager, they rejected the offer for fear of being perceived as "sell-outs" and alienating their fan base.

The band toured extensively throughout 2003, playing its first dates outside of the United States and opening concerts for Sleater-Kinney, Beck, and Dashboard Confessional. However, exhaustion had set in by the end of the year, forcing the band to cancel European tour dates.

In August, the group made its national television debut on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and performed at the Reading and Leeds Festivals. As fellow garage band the White Stripes grew in popularity, the Black Keys drew comparisons to them—sometimes as a derivative act—since both groups had two-piece lineups, Midwest origins, bluesy sounds, and names with colors.

In September, the Black Keys released a split-EP with the Six Parts Seven titled The Six Parts Seven/The Black Keys EP, featuring one song by the Six Parts Seven and three songs by the Black Keys.

On This Day 04/09/2011 Public Enemy

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On this day, 4 September 2011, American hip hop legends Public Enemy played Cardiff University.

Formed by Chuck D and Flavor Flav on Long Island, New York, in 1985. The group came to attention for their political messages including subjects such as American racism and the American media.

Their debut album, Yo! Bum Rush the Show, was released in 1987 to critical acclaim, and their second album, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988), was the first hip hop album to top The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics' poll.

Their next three albums, Fear of a Black Planet (1990), Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black (1991) and Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age (1994), were also well received. The group has since released twelve more studio albums, including the soundtrack to the 1998 movie He Got Game and a collaborative album with Paris, Rebirth of a Nation (2006).

Public Enemy @ Cardiff University Solus

Nick Fisk

Back in the late 1980s/early 90s, there were three bands whose albums, without fail, always picked up a 10/10 in the NME – a mark rarely given. The bands in question were: The Pixies, REM and Public Enemy. Tonight, Public Enemy were in town to do a re-run of ‘Fear of a Black Planet’. I’ve seen a couple of these album performances now; whilst some bands just play the album through from track 1 to the end -or maybe jiggle the tracklisting a bit- Public Enemy in true revolutionary style, just played whatever the hell they wanted, cutting in classics from other albums at leisure.

The build up to this gig was filled with excitement from the time it was first announced a few months ago – incredibly, it was to be the group’s first ever show in Cardiff – right up until the moment the band hit the stage. Both warm up DJ and the support act got the crowd going, then a couple of members of the Public Enemy crew came onstage to further get the crowd into the party spirit. The album’s opening jam played before Chuck D, Flavor Flav and the whole band finally appeared to the sound of ‘Brothers Gonna Work It Out’: and the place literally ‘blew up’.

Any questions about whether Public Enemy are still relevant and whether this show would be much more than an entertaining hark back to the past were very quickly forgotten. The band’s stage presence has an impact that is the most captivating I have ever seen. Along with DJ Lord, the drummer, bassist and guitarist, the two main men are flanked on either side by members of the S1W team, who are all dressed in outfits that could be those of prisoners or members of the military. On the one hand, they’re mocking authority, but at the same time, there’s a look of such defiance that you almost think the revolution has just happened and these are the people who have taken over.

One crew member led the crowd in raising fists, and it did not seem to matter that this was by far a majority white crowd. The fact that the NME was one of the band’s biggest champions might well be one of the reasons for this, amongst a crowd of mostly hardened gig goers. The slogan on the back of this particular crew member’s t-shirt (7K, I think Chuck D introduced him as) read “Freedom is a road seldom travelled by the multitude,” and the solidarity expressed within the crowd was reassuring – this being a group of fans who were equally supportive, and free of prejudice.

Politics may well be one facet to the Public Enemy package, but fun is another factor in this, and any hip hop show. Flavor Flav is the fun provider, and gets the place jumping like the floor is on springs. Early on, he leads the crowd in a long cheer of “Woooah” (as if he’s about to do the Ayatollah, heh!). He also invites one audience member to the stage to join in with the words, and later swaps a t-shirt with a girl who’d got him a nice looking pocket watch as a present.

Surprisingly, Flavor also turns out to be a pretty adept musician, twanging away in one section on first the bass, before having a go on the drums. Meanwhile, the guitarist shows off by playing his instrument behind his head. We are also treated to the full force of DJ Lord’s scratching skills, after Flavor gives him an intro like a boxer entering the ring. For a good 5 minutes, he is literally on the “1s and 2s” as the 2 tracks on his decks seem to have just the words “one” and “two” on loops while he cuts and scratches between the two: this sequence is filmed by another crew member, and I would strongly advise checking it out on Youtube –you’ll be in for a treat. This showmanship is an indication that Public Enemy really are the number one hip hop band for a reason –they are all incredibly gifted musicians.

The quality of the songs seals the band’s reputation as being the greatest hip hop act. Along with the best of ‘Fear of a Black Planet’, they play classics like ‘Bring The Noise’ and ‘Don’t Believe The Hype’, as well as more recent song ‘Harder Than You Think’, which was a highlight for me. If there was just one negative aspect on the night, it was the fuss made over a half empty plastic bottle being thrown onto the stage. OK, we had been asked prior to the start not to throw things on stage, but sending security into the crowd to try to deal with the perpetrator was a little excessive I thought, and for a moment I sensed it was a case of using the same heavy handed control which the band purport to oppose. But this was over quickly, and fairly soon after the show drew to a close. Flavor led the crowd into raising our hands once more; this time in a victory salute, then got us all to repeat the word “Peace,” and that was it: a strangely quiet ending.  The band had come onstage with a bang, and left in peace.

There was no encore, but during the unofficial after party at Buffalo, some of the band made an appearance -which is rare. For me, this along with meeting the guy with the cool Public Enemy tattoo, turned a top notch evening into an eleven out of ten performance.