On This Day 26/08/1999 The Donnas

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On this day, 26 August 1999, American rock band The Donnas played Cardiff’s Clwb Ifor Bach.

Formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1993, the band consisted of Brett Anderson (lead vocals), Allison Robertson (guitar, backing vocals), Maya Ford (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Torry Castellano (drums, percussion, backing vocals).

Amy Cesari replaced Castellano, who left the band in 2009 due to tendonitis. They drew inspiration from the Ramones, the Runaways, Girlschool, AC/DC, Bachman–Turner Overdrive and Kiss.

Rolling Stone has stated that "the Donnas offer a guileless take on adolescent alienation; they traffic in kicks, not catharsis, fun rather than rage". MTV has stated that the band offers "a good old-fashioned rock & roll party".

All four founding band members were born in 1979. Lead vocalist Brett Anderson on May 30; guitarist Allison Robertson on August 26; bassist Maya Ford and drummer Torry Castellano, both on January 8. They all became friends by eighth grade and formed as a band in May 1993 to play for their school's "Day on the Green." One of two all-female bands in their town Palo Alto, California, they were relatively unknown until they were out of high school. They are all self-taught musicians and practiced in Castellano's garage nearly every day during their years at Palo Alto High School. They called themselves "Ragady Anne" in their early days and shortly thereafter changed their name to "The Electrocutes".

Towards the end of their high school days, while they were still known as the Electrocutes, they decided to create another band (with the same members) that would play softer tunes without distorting the metal queen image of the Electrocutes. To help their fans distinguish between the two bands, they all took matching "Donna" monikers, where all of their names were Donna and their last names were the first initial of their last name (Brett Anderson became Donna A, etc.), which they used only when performing as "The Donnas."

They worked with producer Darin Raffaelli for their first two albums, the first of which, simply called The Donnas, was released on Raffaelli's Super*teem! record label. (It was later released again on Lookout! Records.) They took a week off their senior year of high school to tour Japan as The Donnas, and were promoted and organized by Pinky Aoki [ja] of The Phantom Gift [ja].

Afterwards, they signed with Lookout! Records. As the band grew, they were urged to sign with a major label company. In December 2001, they signed with Atlantic Records.

On This Day 25/08/2011 Half Man Half Biscuit

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On this day, 25 August 2011, Birkenhead band Half Man Half Biscuit played Cardiff University.

Known for their satirical, sardonic, and sometimes surreal songs, the band comprises lead singer and guitarist Nigel Blackwell, bassist and singer Neil Crossley, drummer Carl Henry, and guitarist Karl Benson.

Their debut album, 1985's Back in the DHSS, topped the UK Indie Chart and reached number 60 in the UK Albums Chart. Its title was a play on The Beatles' "Back in the U.S.S.R." and also a reference to the DHSS, the government department that dealt with the unemployed, Nigel Blackwell having been on unemployment benefits since 1979.

The band's first single, "The Trumpton Riots", topped the UK Indies Singles Chart in 1986, and they went on to perform at Glastonbury Festival. The second single, "Dickie Davies Eyes", also topped the indie chart. In late 1986, the band split up, giving as reason "musical similarities". The album Back Again in the DHSS, containing previously issued, unreleased and live tracks, followed.

The band reformed in 1990, with a performance at the Reading Festival following, and a new single, "Let's Not", issued before the year was out, followed in 1991 by a collaboration with Margi Clarke on a version of Edith Piaf's "No Regrets". Half Man Half Biscuit were championed by DJ John Peel, for whom they recorded twelve sessions, and it was on his programme in 1990 that the band announced their return.

Half Man Half Biscuit turned down the chance to appear on The Tube, as Tranmere Rovers were playing that night, even though Channel Four offered to fly them by helicopter to the game. Blackwell has been a fan of the team since "sometime after the Coventry City cup win in 1968".

Andy Kershaw has described Half Man Half Biscuit as "England's greatest folk band"[16] and "the most authentic British folk band since The Clash".

Setlist

The Light at the End of the Tunnel (Is the Light of an Oncoming Train)

When the Evening Sun Goes Down

Fuckin' 'Ell It's Fred Titmus

Play Video

Monmore, Hare's Running

Uffington Wassail

Petty Sessions

Bob Wilson - Anchorman

Surging Out of Convalescence

Running Order Squabble Fest

Turned Up Clocked On Laid Off

All I Want for Christmas Is a Dukla Prague Away Kit

Restless Legs

Tending the Wrong Grave for 23 Years

For What Is Chatteris...

Left Lyrics in the Practice Room

National Shite Day

Twenty Four Hour Garage People

Look Dad No Tunes

We Built This Village on a Trad. Arr. Tune

Them's the Vagaries

Vatican Broadside

(preceded by There Stands The Glass)

The Trumpton Riots

Joy Division Oven Gloves

Encore:

Tommy Walsh's Eco House

Calon Lan

([traditional] cover)

Help Me, Rhonda

(The Beach Boys cover)

Everything's A.O.R.

99% of Gargoyles Look Like Bob Todd

On This Day 23/08/1966 Crispian St. Peters

On this day, 22 August 1966, pop singer-songwriter Crispian St. Peters played Cardiff’s Top Rank as part of the Radio England Swinging 66 UK Tour.

The tour, that featured the Small Faces, Neil Christian, Dave Berry and Wayne Fontana, was heavily advertised on air and gigs proved reasonably successful in the south-east of the country, where Radio England could be heard. Unfortunately outside the station's transmission area, audiences were understandably sparse. The tour proved a financial disaster, losing over £17,000.

The station attempted to get some of this back by selling autographed copies of the left-over concert programmes.

While a member of Beat Formula Three in 1963, Crispian St. Peters was heard by David Nicholson, an EMI publicist who became his manager. Nicholson suggested he use a stage name, initially "Crispin Blacke" and subsequently Crispian St. Peters, then promoted his client as being nineteen years of age, shaving off five years from his actual age of 24.

In 1964, as a member of Peter & The Wolves, St. Peters made his first commercial recording. He was persuaded to turn solo by Nicholson and was signed to Decca Records in 1965. His first two singles on this record label, "No No No" and "At This Moment", proved unsuccessful on the charts. He made two television UK appearances in February of that year, featuring in the shows Scene at 6.30 and Ready Steady Go!

In 1966, St. Peters' career finally yielded a Top 10 hit in the UK Singles Chart, with "You Were on My Mind", a song written and first recorded in 1964 by the Canadian folk duo, Ian & Sylvia, and a hit in the United States for We Five in 1965. St. Peters' single eventually hit No. 2 in the UK and was then released in the US on the Philadelphia-based Jamie Records label. It did not chart in the US until a year after his fourth release, "The Pied Piper", became known as his signature song and a Top 10 hit in the United States and the UK. Although his next single, a version of Phil Ochs' song "Changes", also reached the charts in both the UK and US, it was much less successful.

After the success of "You Were on my Mind", St Peters gave an interview to the New Musical Express claiming that he was a better song-writer than the Beatles and that his performance on stage made Elvis Presley look like the Statue of Liberty. After just one hit single, he claimed he was going to be “bigger than Presley, was more talented than Sammy Davis Jr.”, “sexier than Dave Berry” and “more exciting than Tom Jones”. These comments did not go down well in the pop music press, who began to treat him as a conceited outcast. After his fourth single flopped, work and money dried up, and he became depressed. In 1970, he was dropped by Decca and admitted to hospital suffering from a nervous breakdown.

On This Day 22/08/2002 Strike Anywhere

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On this day, 22 August 2002, American punk band Strike Anywhere played Cardiff’s Barfly.

Formed in 1999 after the demise of frontman Thomas Barnett's previous band, Inquisition, they took their name from the Inquisition song "Strike Anywhere". Their music is characterized by fast tempos, catchy melodies, and emotionally charged vocals delivered via shouting and singing.

The band received an increased amount of attention after their music appeared in three Tony Hawk video games: Tony Hawk's Underground in 2003 ("Refusal"), Tony Hawk's American Wasteland in 2005 ("Question the Answer"), and Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam in 2006 ("The Promise"). They were also featured in the documentary, Wake Up Screaming, about the 2005 Vans Warped Tour.

Strike Anywhere lyrics touch on such issues as police brutality, anti-capitalism, women's rights, animal rights, and globalization. They have also contributed tracks to political benefit albums, such as a live version of "Sunset on 32nd" for 1157 Wheeler Avenue: A Memorial for Amadou Diallo and "To the World" for the Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1 album. According to the liner notes for their album Change is a Sound, they support "the vegetarian lifestyle, the living wage movement and the fight against corporate globalization". With its 2006 release Dead FM, the band expanded their political slogans to address "more sociological ideas about why these (events) happen".

Their logo is similar to the Three Arrows symbol and the Antifascist Circle, and includes the logo of the former social democracy/antifascist German Iron Front, a paramilitary organization which existed in the last years of the Weimar Republic.

Strike Anywhere generally allows audience members to record their live performances for personal, non-commercial use, and has gone so far as to authorize the Internet Archive to create a section where fans can upload and share their recordings.

On This Day 21/08/2007 Cold as Life

On this day, 21 August 2007, Cold as Life played Cardiff’s Clwb Ifor Bach.

Cold as Life is an American hardcore band based out of Detroit, Michigan, formed in 1988. Lyrical themes consisted of brutal depictions of the horrors of growing up and living in a city plagued with corruption, murder, drugs, depression and poverty, along with the tragedy of losing friends, family and bandmates to murder and drug abuse.

Their shows were frequently violent, involving vicious fights that often included stabbings and beatings with various weapons. However, Cold as Life has a large "family" based following. Stories of these shows would spread throughout the Midwest punk and hardcore communities, contributing to the band's notoriety. Cold as Life drew musical influence from such bands as Negative Approach, Sheer Terror, Discharge, 4 Skins, Cro-Mags, Black Sabbath, and Slayer.

In early 2007, a reunion tour was organized by former members but featured Enzo D and Jake Bulldog (of fellow Detroit band Dogz of War) on vocals and Guitar instead of co-founder Jeff Gunnells.

On June 4, 2013, Jeff Gunnells was sentenced to between 10 and 20 years in prison for armed robbery.

Cold as Life reformed once again in 2015 and have played sporadically since.

On This Day 20/08/2007 Battles

On this day, 20 August 2007, American experimental rock group Battles played Cardiff’s The Point. Their third band had just released their first studio album Mirrored.

It was released on May 14, 2007 in the United Kingdom, and on May 22, 2007 in the United States. Mirrored marked the first album in which the band incorporated prominent vocals and lyrics into their songs, as previous extended plays by the band had been completely instrumental, with the exception of occasional beatboxing and wordless vocals on certain tracks.

The first single from the album, "Atlas", was released in the United Kingdom on April 2, 2007.

Mirrored was released to wide critical acclaim and appeared on year-end best album lists from several publications, including Time, NME, The Guardian, and Pitchfork Media.

The band is regarded as one of the most innovative math rock bands of both the 2000s and the 2010s, with critics praising the band's unique sound. In 2007, Pitchfork wrote that "Battles have done more to extend the idea of a flesh-and-blood band enhanced by computer technology than anyone since the late, lamented Disco Inferno."

On This Day 18/08/2007 The Black Dahlia Murder

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On this day, 18 August 2007, American melodic death metal band The Black Dahlia Murder played Cardiff’s Barfly on their 2007 European Tour.

From Waterford, Michigan, they were formed in 2001. Their name is derived from the 1947 unsolved murder of Elizabeth Short, often referred to as Black Dahlia.

Their third album, entitled Nocturnal, was released on September 18, 2007. The album debuted at No. 72 on the Billboard 200.

Setlist

Unhallowed

Funeral Thirst

I'm Charming

Flies

Elder Misanthropy

When the Last Grave Has Emptied

Everything Went Black

Statutory Ape

Contagion

The Blackest Incarnation

Miscarriage

A Vulgar Picture

Miasma

Closed Casket Requiem

On This Day 17/08/2002 The Darkness

On this day, 17 August 2002, progressive rock band The Darkness played Cardiff’s Barfly.

The band had just released their debut recording in the EP “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” but had not yet issued their debut album '“Permission To Land” released the following year.

"I Believe in a Thing Called Love" was originally issued as a 3-track EP in August 2002; however, as only a small number of copies were printed, it was ineligible to chart. The EP also included early versions of "Love on the Rocks With No Ice" and "Love Is Only a Feeling". When released as a single in September 2003, it was beaten to number one by The Black Eyed Peas' "Where Is the Love?".

The Darkness came to prominence with the release of their debut album, Permission to Land, in 2003. Backed by the singles "I Believe in a Thing Called Love", "Growing on Me", "Get Your Hands off My Woman", and "Love Is Only a Feeling", the album was certified quadruple platinum in the United Kingdom, with sales of over 1.3 million.

In 2004 the band won three Brit Awards: Best British Group, Best British Rock Act, and Best British Album.

The success of this album led to heavy touring for the band, including European portions of Metallica's Summer Sanitarium Tour 2003.

They then went on to headline the Carling Festival in 2004. The band won three BRIT Awards in 2004 in response to the album, Best Group, Best Rock Group and Best Album.

They also won two Kerrang! awards in 2004 for Best Live Act and Best British Band. The third single from the album, "I Believe in a Thing Called Love", was a substantial hit in the UK as was their tilt at the Christmas 2003 number 1, "Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)", which only just fell short, both singles reaching number 2 in 2003.