On This Day 17/10/1992 Pulp

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On this day, 17 October 1992, rock band Pulp played Cardiff University on their Babies tour. Also playing the same night at another venue at the University were the Manic Street Preachers.

An NME article wrongly listed the October 17 show as the Manic Street Preachers headlining with Pulp as support, despite the fact they were playing different venues at the university.

Pulp had recently released their single Babies which is considered to have kickstarted their success.

Pulp were formed in 1978 at The City School in Sheffield by Jarvis Cocker, then 15 years old, and Peter Dalton, then 14. Cocker's original preference was to name the band after the film Pulp starring Michael Caine, though it was decided that this was too short. Instead, the two took inspiration from a copy of the Financial Times which listed the Arabicas coffee bean in its commodity index. Cocker and Dalton used this, with a slight spelling change, and the band became "Arabicus".

On This Day 16/10/1974 Badfinger

On this day 16 October 1974, Welsh band Badfinger played Cardiff’s Top Rank supporting another Welsh band Man.

formed in Swansea in 1961. Their best-known lineup consisted of Pete Ham (guitar), Mike Gibbins (drums), Tom Evans (bass), and Joey Molland (guitar). Initially known as the Iveys, the band renamed themselves Badfinger, after the working title for the Beatles' 1967 song "With a Little Help from My Friends" ("Bad Finger Boogie"). From 1968 to 1973, Badfinger recorded five albums for Apple Records and toured extensively, before they became embroiled in the chaos of Apple's dissolution.

Crises in band management, money, and band leadership were creating growing frictions within Badfinger. Guitarist Joey Molland's wife, Kathie, had been taking a more assertive role in the band's politics, which did not endear her to the rest of the band, particularly Ham.

Just before the start of rehearsals for an October 1974 UK tour, Ham suddenly quit Badfinger during a management meeting, standing up and shouting "I don't want Kathie managing the band! I'm leaving". He found a cottage in Wales, where he hoped to build a studio. He was quickly replaced by guitarist/keyboardist Bob Jackson, who was then idle after previous involvement with the Fortunes.

During Ham's three-week hiatus from the band, Polley tried to interest record companies in Ham as a solo act, but under pressure from Warner Brothers, Ham rejoined the band in time for the tour, as the company made it clear that it would have little to no interest in promoting Badfinger if Ham was not a part of it. Jackson remained as full-time keyboardist, making the band a quintet. After the UK tour, Molland quit of his own accord to pursue a solo career in December 1974.

On This Day 15/10/1984 Hanoi Rocks

On this day, 15 October 1984, Finnish rock band Hanoi Rocks played Cardiff’s New Ocean Club on their Two Steps From The Move Tour. Support was provided by Johnny Thunders.

Formed in 1979, they were the first Finnish band to chart in the UK and popular in Japan.

By 1984, the band was considered to be on the verge of an international breakthrough when they released their first major label album for CBS and headed for their first US tour.

In early 1984, Hanoi Rocks and Bob Ezrin recorded Two Steps from the Move,in New York and Toronto. Ezrin had invited Ian Hunter of Mott the Hoople to help with the songwriting, and Hunter brought Jack Bruce (formerly of Cream), who in turn brought Pete Brown, to the recording sessions. Brown wrote a lot of lyrics, but the only one the band used was "Smoked a lot of sky, drank a lot of rain", in "Million Miles Away".

By the end of April the new album was almost ready for release, but Ezrin and the label thought that the album was missing a hit, so they recorded Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Up Around the Bend",[8] which was already a favorite of Michael Monroe and Nasty Suicide.

In May 1984, Hanoi Rocks went on tour in Bombay and Japan. In Japan, excitement over the band led to sold-out concert halls and fans following the band everywhere. Even in Finland people were baffled by the extent of the band's popularity in Japan.

The Japanese tour was followed by a tour across England and Scotland. British magazines raved about the band, and were certain that the next record would be their breakthrough. In June, the single "Up Around The Bend / Until I Get You" was released, but it also appeared as a double single and as an EP. A music video for "Up Around the Bend" was also produced. At the time it was the most expensive music video for any Finnish band. The song climbed to number 61 on the UK singles chart,and got radio airplay in America.

After a July tour in England, Two Steps from the Move, whose title was changed from Silver Missiles and Nightingales at the last minute, was released. It was their most successful album in the UK Albums Chart, where it peaked at number 28. "Underwater World / Shakes" and "Two Steps From the Move" were released as singles in the UK, and right away the band went on tour with Johnny Thunders.

In November the single "Don't You Ever Leave Me / Oil And Gasoline" was released, by which time the new album had sold 200,000 copies—most of them in the U.S. (60,000), Britain (50,000), and Finland (20,000). In the US the album sold 44,000 copies in its first two weeks.

After a Swedish tour, the band toured America until Michael Monroe fractured his ankle onstage at USA Sam's in Syracuse, New York, on 29 November, resulting in some of the dates being canceled. Los Angeles shows were all sold out in less than half an hour.

Setlist

Two Steps From the Move

Back to Mystery City

Boulevard of Broken Dreams

I Can't Get It

Visitor

Underwater World

High School

Motorvatin'

Don't Never Leave Me

Tragedy

Malibu Beach Nightmare

Taxi Driver

Million Miles Away

(aka Never Get Enough)

Up Around the Bend

(Creedence Clearwater Revival cover)

The Train Kept A-Rollin'

(Tiny Bradshaw cover)

Lost in the City

Until I Get You

I Feel Alright

Pills

(Bo Diddley cover)

Gloria

(Them cover)

On This Day 14/10/1977 The Saints

On this day, 14 October 1977, Australian rock band The Saints played Cardiff’s Top Rank. Support was provided by Mirrors.

Formed in Brisbane, Queensland in 1973 and founded by singer-songwriter Chris Bailey, drummer Ivor Hay, and guitarist-songwriter Ed Kuepper, they originally employed fast tempos, raucous vocals and a "buzzsaw" guitar sound that helped initiate punk rock in Australia and identified them with the greater international movement.

Unable to get gigs, they converted their share house into a venue where they could play. With their debut single "(I'm) Stranded", released in September 1976, they became the first punk band outside the US to release a record, ahead of the first UK punk releases from the Damned, the Sex Pistols and the Clash.

They experienced UK chart success in 1977 with the song "This Perfect Day", which peaked at #34. Bassist Kym Bradshaw left in 1977 to join first-wave British punk rock band, The Lurkers, and was replaced by Algy Ward.

On This Day 13/10/1975 Demis Roussos

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On this day, 13 October 1975, Greek musician and singer Demis Roussos played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre.

He had recently released his fifth studio album Souvenirs which peaked at #25 in the UK charts.

After settling in Greece, Roussos participated in a series of musical groups beginning with the Idols when he was 17, where he met Evángelos Papathanassíou (later known as Vangelis) and Loukas Sideras, his future bandmates in Aphrodite's Child. After this, he joined the Athens-based band We Five, another cover band which had limited success in Greece.

Roussos's operatic vocal style helped propel the band to international success, notably on their final album 666, based on passages from the Book of Revelation, which became a progressive rock cult classic.

After Aphrodite's Child disbanded, Roussos continued to record sporadically with his former bandmate Vangelis. In 1970, the two released the film score album Sex Power (the album has also been credited to Aphrodite's Child), and later recorded the 1977 album Magic together.

On This Day11/10/1977 Dr Feelgood

On this day, 11 October 1977, English pub rock band Dr Feelgood played Cardiff’s Top Rank. Support was provided by American rock band Mink DeVille.

Hailing from Canvey Island, Essex, they are best known for early singles such as "She Does It Right", "Roxette", "Back in the Night" and "Milk and Alcohol". Their original and distinctively British R&B sound was centred on Wilko Johnson's choppy guitar style. Along with Johnson, the initial band line-up included singer Lee Brilleaux and the rhythm section of John B. Sparks, known as "Sparko", on bass guitar and John Martin, known as "The Big Figure", on drums.

Their breakthrough 1976 live album, Stupidity, reached number one in the UK Albums Chart (their only chart-topper). The Ramones were the opening act for the group's May 1976 shows at the Bottom Line in New York.

After the 1977 follow-up Sneakin' Suspicion, Johnson left the group because of conflicts with Lee Brilleaux. He was replaced by Gypie Mayo. The band with Mayo were never as popular as when Johnson was in the line-up, yet they went on to enjoy their only top ten hit single in 1979 with "Milk and Alcohol".

On This Day 10/10/1966 Manfred Mann

On this day, 10 October 1966, rock band Manfred Mann played Cardiff’s Top Rank.

The band were about to release their third studio album As If, their first to feature new members Mike d'Abo and Klaus Voormann.

The twelve tracks on the record include the line-up's first single release, a cut-down version of Bob Dylan's "Just Like a Woman" that reached the UK top ten, and a short cool jazz version of "Autumn Leaves", reminiscent of the Modern Jazz Quartet with Mike Hugg's vibraphone and double bass from the group's former bassist Dave Richmond, sounding like an out-take from the group's instrumental releases: these two make weight for a fairly short collection of group compositions. As d'Abo's presence somehow sparked Mike Hugg into producing baroque pop miniatures, both contribute three songs: d'Abo's "Box Office Draw" and "Trouble and Tea" are well-crafted pop, while "As Long as I Have Lovin'" is a generic soul ballad.

Hugg's "Morning After the Party", also released as a "B" side and on the compilation album What a Mann, recalls the rowdy rhythm and blues of the group's past, while two of his three collaborations with Mann suggest something of the direction they would later take with Manfred Mann Chapter Three. Guitarist Tom McGuinness provides a range of textures, including his trademark National Steel Guitar and contributes sleeve notes and a gentle folk-ballad. The group continued to exploit studio multitracking: keyboardist Mann layering Mellotrons, bassist Voormann taking over from Mike Vickers on flutes.

On This Day 09/10/1976 Climax Blues Band

On this day, 9 October 1976, blues, rock and pop band Climax Blues Band played Cardiff University.

The band had just found chart success with the song Couldn’t Get It Right taken from their eighth studio album Gold Plated.

The song was originally released by RCA Records in early 1976. Although the song did not make the UK Singles Chart until October 1976 it did manage to crack the top ten, entering at #47 and departing from #18 in early December 1976, having been at positions #10 and #11 the weeks before. It reached #8 in Canada and #29 in New Zealand.

Later on that year, the song was picked up by Sire Records and the following year it made #3 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Later that year, the song was ranked #32 on Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1977.

The band were formed in Stafford, Staffordshire, England in 1968 by vocalist, saxophonist, guitarist and harmonica player Colin Cooper (1939–2008), guitarist, bassist and vocalist Pete Haycock (1951–2013), guitarist Derek Holt (b. 1949), bassist and keyboardist Richard Jones (b. 1949), drummer George Newsome (b. 1947) and keyboardist Arthur Wood (1929–2005).[2]

Holt tells of their formation:

"When I left school, I went to work in a local grinding wheel factory as a laboratory assistant and attending college for a degree in Chemistry. Colin Cooper also worked there as a metallurgist, so that's how we met. He had already discovered a young Peter Haycock and had wanted to put a blues band together. He was already gigging with a jazz band on clarinet. We started doing local gigs with local drummer George Newsome and a keyboard player named Arthur Wood, who at the time was a school teacher. Our bass player then was Richard Jones, who also knew Pete from grammar school. I was rhythm guitarist. While playing local gigs we were "discovered" by a scout for the new EMI label Parlophone, who was on the look out for a young blues/rock outfit for their label. We signed up for two albums with them, though we still had day jobs, so had to take time off work to go and record in London. Our first album was recorded over two days in the infamous Abbey Road Studios in 1968. We were in Studio 1, The Beatles were in Studio 2 and Pink Floyd in Studio 3! I was just 19 years of age.”