On This Day 12/04/2010 Chapel Club

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On this day, 12 April 2010, indie-synth band Chapel Club played Cardiff’s Barfly.

Initially named Palace, the newly formed five-piece began rehearsing and gigging around London. As another band was already using the name Palace, the band changed their name to Golden Age before they stopped gigging to focus on writing and recording.

In August 2009, the band recorded 'Surfacing' with US producer Chris Zane at Strongrooms Studio in Shoreditch, London. With their debut single finally recorded, the band, having struggled to choose a new name for the band, settled on Chapel Club, inspired by Bowman's interest in religion and religious imagery and by the proximity of the band's rehearsal space to St. Luke's Church on London's Old Street. The single was scheduled for release in October through their management's label East City Records, however despite being named BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe's 'Hottest Record in the World' and gaining radio play on stations including BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, BBC 6Music, XFM and NME Radio, the single was cancelled due to a copyright issue regarding the chorus lyrics from the song "Dream a Little Dream of Me". The copyright wrangle was later resolved with the original song's publisher, allowing the band to release the song in the future.

Autumn 2009 saw Chapel Club's first gigs under their new name, as they hosted their own residency at the Shacklewell Arms pub in Dalston, London. The gigs attracted significant media attention that led to interest from several independent and major record labels. In November 2009 and after just 3 gigs under their new name, the band signed with Universal Records imprint Polydor.

The band denied press reports that they had signed for large amounts of cash, claiming that their deal favoured creative control and long-term commitment over financial reward. In the same month, the band recorded 'O Maybe I' with Claudius Mittendorfer, at Atomic Heart Studios in New York. The song was recorded and produced in a day and a half. The single, now serving as the band's debut single, was released in February 2010 on Polydor on 7" and digitally via the band's own website. The single was named Zane Lowe's 'Hottest Record in the World' as well as 'Record of the Week' on Steve Harris' XFM show.

In April 2010, having tried out several producers, the band began work on their debut album with Paul Epworth at The Pool in South London. The album sessions produced a further eight tracks, including follow up single, 'Five Trees' which was released in May 2010 entered the NME chart at number six. The album was mixed and mastered in June, but release was delayed due to Polydor wanting the band to go out on tour to build up a fanbase first.

On This Day 11/04/2015 East India Youth

On this day, 11 April 2015, musician William Doyle played Clwb Ifor Bach as East India Youth on their Culture of Volume tour.

Doyle released his first solo album, Born in the USB, in 2009, and was the leader of the indie pop group Doyle and the Fourfathers, whose sole studio album Man Made was released in 2011. His debut album as East India Youth, Total Strife Forever, was released by Stolen Recordings on 13 January 2014. It was nominated for the 2014 Barclaycard Mercury Music Prize Album of the Year award, as well as the Independent Album of the Year award at the 2014 AIM Independent Music Awards.

The name East India Youth derived from the East India Docks area in East London, where Doyle lived during the writing of Total Strife Forever, an album influenced by Tim Hecker, Brian Eno and Harold Budd. And the Youth part: "That's because this place was the start of something new for me; I was creatively reborn".The flat he shared was also colloquially known as the "youth hostel", owing to friends – and friends of friends – staying over on a regular basis. It's for this reason his first EP was titled Hostel.

On 27 January 2015, it was announced that Doyle had signed with XL Recordings and that his second album would be called Culture of Volume. The album was released on 6 April 2015; the name of the album comes from a fragment of verse from the poem "Monument" by Rick Holland.

On 19 February 2016, Doyle announced that he would be taking an indefinite hiatus from his East India Youth moniker. In a lengthy post published on his website, Doyle stated that it was time to take a break from the project and no more shows are planned for the foreseeable future.

On this Day 10/04/1989 Victor Borge

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On this day, 10 April 1989, Danish and American actor, comedian, and pianist Victoria Borge played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall.

He achieved great popularity in radio and television in both North America and Europe. His blend of music and comedy earned him the nicknames "The Clown Prince of Denmark," “The Unmelancholy Dane," and "The Great Dane."

Borge appeared on Toast of the Town hosted by Ed Sullivan several times during 1948. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States the same year. He started the Comedy in Music show at John Golden Theatre in New York City on 2 October 1953. Comedy in Music became the longest running one-man show in the history of theater with 849 performances when it closed on 21 January 1956, a feat which placed it in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Continuing his success with tours and shows, Borge played with and conducted orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic and London Philharmonic.He appeared with the Cleveland Opera Company in Mozart's The Magic Flute in 1979 and at London's Royal Opera House Covent Garden in Bizet's Carmen in 1986. Always modest, he felt honored when he was invited to conduct the Royal Danish Orchestra at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1992.

On This Day 09/04/1999 Pitchshifter

On this day, 9 April 1999, English industrial rock band from Nottingham, Pitchshifter , played Cardiff International Arena University. Also on the bill were Janus Stark and Soundisciples.

The band was started by lead guitarist and programmer Johnny A. Carter, and bassist and vocalist Mark Clayden. The band's early material was characterized for its gritty industrial metal sound with downtuned guitars and the use of drum machines, and has been cited as one of the originators of the genre along with Godflesh.

With later albums the group's music became increasingly more melodic and strongly influenced by nu metal and drum and bass; particularly evident of their 1998 release www.pitchshifter.com, which has been compared with groups like The Prodigy.

Although Pitchshifter has found little mainstream success, the band managed to gain a platinum certification with the release of the Mortal Kombat: Annihilation soundtrack. Since its formation, the band has released six studio albums, three EPs and eight music videos. The band has played in various festivals around the world including Ozzfest, Phoenix Festival and Damnation Festival.

On This Day 08/04/1997 Eternal

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On this day, 8 April 1997, R’n’B girl band Eternal played Cardiff International Arena on their Before The Rain tour.

formed in 1992, with the line-up originally consisting of sisters Easther and Vernie Bennett, with Kéllé Bryan and the latter's friend and classmate Louise Nurding (later and better known as Louise Redknapp), who were also recruited into the group by the label.

The group became an international success, selling around 10 million records worldwide. Nurding left the group before the release of their second album to focus on her solo career with the same label.

Following Nurding's departure, the group decided not to replace her and carried on as a trio. Power of a Woman was the first album as a trio, and entered the UK chart at number six. It produced four hit singles, "Power of a Woman", "I Am Blessed" (which they performed for Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in 1995), a remixed version of "Good Thing" and a remixed version of "Secrets". All continued Eternal's tally of Top 10 UK hits.

In 1997, Eternal achieved their first ever UK number one, a duet with BeBe Winans, "I Wanna Be the Only One", which became the second most played song on UK Radio in 1997, and stayed at the top spot for one week. It was taken from their third album Before the Rain, which also included "Don't You Love Me". The album peaked at number three in the UK.

Eternal's Greatest Hits package was released in the latter part of 1997, peaking at number two on the UK Albums Chart and becoming the highest-selling hits package of the year. In 2013, Eternal's Greatest Hits was confirmed as being the biggest selling best-of album by a girl group in the UK. It featured their last top-10 single "Angel of Mine", which reached number four. "Angel of Mine" became an EP that featured four different mixes, including a remix by veteran party producer Frankie Cutlass and a cover of Fleetwood Mac's track "Dreams" featuring Grand Puba and Sadat X.

On This Day, 07/04/1989 The Commodores

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The members of the group met as mostly freshmen at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in 1968, and signed with Motown in November 1972, having first caught the public eye opening for the Jackson 5 while on tour.

The band's biggest hit singles are ballads such as "Easy", "Three Times a Lady", and "Nightshift"; and funk-influenced dance songs, including "Brick House", "Fancy Dancer", "Lady (You Bring Me Up)", and "Too Hot ta Trot".

Commodores were inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and Vocal Group Hall of Fame. The band has also won one Grammy Award out of nine nominations. The Commodores have sold over 70 million albums worldwide.

The group gradually abandoned its funk roots and moved into the more commercial pop arena. In 1984, former Heatwave singer James Dean "J.D." Nicholas assumed co-lead vocal duties with drummer Walter Orange.

That line-up was hitless until 1985 when their final Motown album Nightshift, produced by Dennis Lambert (prior albums were produced by James Anthony Carmichael, who would continue to work with Richie on his albums), delivered the title track "Nightshift", a loving tribute to Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson, both of whom had died the previous year. "Nightshift" hit no. 3 in the US and won the Commodores their first Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals in 1985.

On This Day 06/04/1986 Shy

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On this day, 6 April 1985, British hard rock band Shy played Cardiff’s Bogiez.

ormerly known as Trojan (not to be confused with NWOBHM band Tröjan who released the album Chasing the Storm), Shy featured vocalist Tony Mills, Steve Harris (guitars; not to be confused with Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris), Paddy McKenna (keyboards), Mark Badrick (bass) and drummer Alan Kelly. Their first album, called Once Bitten...Twice..., was released in 1983.

Initial reports from Kerrang! were positive. After the release, Mills dropped his David Bowie-esque make-up, and Mark Badrick was replaced by former Trouble bassist Roy Davies.

Shy made their major label debut on RCA Records with 1985's Brave the Storm. This release gained success despite the single "Hold On (To Your Love)" being disqualified from the charts, as early copies included a shrink-wrapped T-shirt. Reviews from Kerrang! were more positive, comparing Mill's soaring vocals with those of Geoff Tate, vocalist of Queensrÿche. In the eighteen months that preceded the band's third album, Shy toured with Bon Jovi, Meat Loaf, Twisted Sister, Gary Moore and UFO.

On This Day 05/04/2009 The Prodigy

On this day, 5 April 2009, electronic/dance band The Prodigy played Cardiff International Arena on their Invaders Must Die tour. Support was provided by Dizzee Rascal.

On 5 November 2008, it was announced that the band's fifth studio album would be called Invaders Must Die and would be released on the band's new label, Take Me to the Hospital. It was released in the U.S. on 3 March 2009, and was the first Prodigy album since 1997's The Fat of the Land to feature all three members of the band.

The album featured Dave Grohl on drums for "Run with the Wolves". The top five hit "Omen" and "Invaders Must Die" were co-produced with Does It Offend You, Yeah? frontman James Rushent. The band said that the album would go back to their "old-school but cutting edge" roots.[citation needed] The album was released as a CD, CD-DVD set, double vinyl, digital download, and a luxury 7-inch vinyl box set including five 7-inches, CD-DVD, bonus CD, poster, stickers, and stencils.

Invaders Must Die was released on 21 February 2009 in Australia and in Europe on 23 February 2009, charting at number one in the U.K. with week one sales of over 97,000—a higher figure than for either Always Outnumbered or their singles collection. The album also reached the top five in Germany and Australia and top 10 in Norway and several other European countries.

To coincide with the release of the album, the band embarked on a nine-date UK arena tour, with support from Dizzee Rascal, Noisia, Herve, and DJ Kissy Sell Out. The tour included the first edition of the band's own annual dance gig, the Warriors Dance Festival. The single "Omen" debuted at number 1 on the Canadian Singles Chart the week of 25 February 2009 and won the Kerrang! Award for Best Single.

The initial critical response to Invaders Must Die was somewhat mixed. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 60, based on 20 reviews.[66] However, the album was well received by the fans, who welcomed it in a positive light compared to Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned.

Setlist

Invaders Must Die

(Intro)

World's on Fire

Their Law

Breathe

Breathe

(Dubstep Mix)

Omen

No Good (Start the Dance)

Poison

Warrior's Dance

Firestarter

Action Radar

(Link)

Run With the Wolves

Voodoo People

Death of the Prodigy Dancers

Comanche

Encore:

Omen (Reprise)

Invaders Must Die

Diesel Power

(Beats)

Smack My Bitch Up

Take Me to the Hospital

Out of Space