On This Day 01/04/1981 The Spizzles, a.k.a. Athletico Spizz ‘80

On this day, 1 April 1981, punk/new wave band The Spizzles played Cardiff’s Top Rank. Support was provided by Department S.

They were a specific incarnation of the ever-changing group led by vocalist and guitarist Spizz (Kenneth Spiers), who famously changed the band's name every year to reflect new musical directions.

The band adopted the name The Spizzles in 1981 when Lu Edmonds (formerly of The Damned and later Public Image Ltd) joined the lineup. Under this name, they shifted toward a "science-fiction weirdo" sonic image, blending punk energy with post-punk experimentation.

Before and after their stint as The Spizzles (1981) the band operated under various other names:

Spizzoil (1978–1979): Early punk phase.

Spizzenergi (1979–1980): Famous for the hit "Where's Captain Kirk?", which topped the first-ever UK Indie Chart.

Athletico Spizz 80 (1980): Released the album Do a Runner.

Spizzenergi 2 (1982): The final iteration of the original 1980s run.

On This Day 29/03/1983 Tears For Fears

On this day, 29 March 1983 rock band Tears for Fears played Cardiff’s Top Rank. Support was provided by Verba Verba.

The tour was to promote their debut album The Hurting which had just been released which reached #1 on the UK album chart.

On This Day 27/03/1995 Bob Dylan

On this day, 27 March 1995, legendary singer/songwriter Bob Dylan played Cardiff International Arena.

The Never Ending Tour 1995 started in early March in the Czech Republic. The tour moved on to Germany, the Netherlands, France and Belgium. Dylan performed a large number of concerts in the United Kingdom performing three concerts in London, three in Manchester, two in Edinburgh, one in Glasgow, one in Birmingham, one in Cardiff, one in Brighton as well as one concert in Belfast. The tour finished the following day in Dublin.

Reviews - South Wales Argus, South Wales Echo

On This Day 24/03/1958 Buddy Holly

On this day, 24 March 1958, rock and roll legend Buddy Holly played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre.

Buddy Holly and The Crickets' only UK tour in March 1958 was a seminal, month-long package tour featuring 25 nights of performances, often twice nightly, starting at London's Trocadero. Supported by acts like Des O'Connor and Gary Miller, the tour played a pivotal role in influencing future British rock musicians.

South Wales Argus

HOLLY AND THE CRICKETS GIVE US LOUDEST ROCK SHOW YET!

If rowdyism, drive and down-to earth abandon are the ingredients necessary for success in the rock’n’roll field, then Buddy Holly and The Crickets are all set for a long and eventful run of popularity! They rocked their way through a tremendous, belting 25-minute act without letting up for one moment at the Capitol Theatre on Monday, and the audience shared their approval in no uncertain terms. Much of the trio’s success can be attributed to the fact that their “in person” sound is almost identical to the sound they produce on record. They generate a brand of contagious excitement that is irresistible. On Monday, they completely overpowered the 13-piece Ronnie Keene Orchestra in relation to the volume of sound produced and, at times, I felt that leader Holly’s guitar was badly over-amplified. Drummer Jerry Allison attacks his kit with murderous intent, but bassist Joe Maudin remains relatively calm, and looks rather miserable most of the time! But how these 3 boys manage to make such a big, big sound with their limited instrumentation still baffles me!

Review - Cardiff and Suburban News.

On This Day 20/03/1987 Howard Jones

On this day, 20 March 1987, synth pop singer/songwriter Howard Jones played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on his One-to-One tour promoting his album of the same name.

South Wales Echo

One to One was his third studio album, released on 13 October 1986 by Elektra Records. The album contains the singles "You Know I Love You... Don't You?" (US top twenty), "All I Want" (top 40 in many European countries) and "Little Bit of Snow" (top 75 in the UK).

The CD release also contains the single version of "No One Is to Blame", a song included in its original form on Jones's previous studio album, Dream into Action (1985), which had been re-recorded and released as a single earlier in 1986. This version features Genesis' Phil Collins on drums and backing vocals. One to One reached number 10 on the UK Albums Chart.

Band Members: The 1987 tour lineup featured Trevor Morais (drums), Roy Jones (keyboards), Jingles Jhingoree (bass/guitar), Afrodiziak (backing singers), and Jed Hoile (mime/movement).

On This Day 19/03/1987 Simply Red

On this day, 19 March 1987, Pop/soul band Simply Red played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall. Support was provided by Terence Trent D'Arby.

The band had just released their 2nd album Men and Women which peaked at #2 in the UK album charts
Five singles were released from the album. "The Right Thing" was the first to be released, peaking at number 11 in the UK Singles Chart. "Infidelity" was the second single, which reached number 31, followed by "Maybe Someday..." which became Simply Red's first single to fail to reach the UK top 75, peaking at number 88.

The next single, "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye", a cover of the Cole Porter song, returned the band to the top 20 where it peaked at number 11. "I Won’t Feel Bad" was the fifth and final single from the album, peaking at number 68 (although the song was originally released as the B-side of "Holding Back the Years" in 1985 and was credited to Stewart Levine as producer, and despite "I Won't Feel Bad" not having been rerecorded for Men and Women, Alex Sadkin receives production credit on the album and the single).

On This Day 16/03/1964 The Searchers

On this day, 16 March 1964, pop group The Searchers played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre on a package that included Dusty Springfield and Bobby Vee. The band had recently released their massive No 1 hit Needles and Pins.

The Pye Records single was released on January 7, 1964.It was number one in the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa and peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the United States. Soon after, in April 1964, "Needles and Pins" appeared on the Searchers' next album, It's the Searchers.

Audible during the Searchers' recording of "Needles and Pins" is a faulty bass drum pedal, which squeaks throughout the song. It is particularly noticeable during the opening of the number.

On This Day 15/03/1971 Genesis

On this day, 15 March 1971, prog rock giants Genesis played Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens on the bands Trespass tour.

Recording for Trespass began in June 1970 at Trident Studios in London, with John Anthony as producer and David Hentschel hired as assistant engineer. The album included longer and more complex songs than their first, blending folk and progressive rock elements with various time signature changes, as in the nine-minute song "The Knife". Trespass is the first in a series of three Genesis album cover designs by Paul Whitehead. He had completed the design before the band decided to include "The Knife" on the album. Feeling the cover no longer reflected the album's overall mood, the band persuaded Whitehead to slash a knife across the canvas and have the result photographed. Released in October 1970, Trespass reached No. 1 in Belgium in 1971 and No. 98 in the UK in 1984. "The Knife" was released as a single in May 1971. Rolling Stone briefly mentioned the album unfavourably following its 1974 reissue: "It's spotty, poorly defined, at times innately boring". "Genesis seemed to be dying a death around our second album", Gabriel told Mark Blake. "We couldn't get arrested. So I got a place at the London School of Film Technique."

Mike Rutherford said that Trespass was the only Genesis album where each track was contributed to by each band member equally; every other album contained songs that were written by one or two individuals, with only minor contributions from the remaining members.

Setlist

Happy the Man

The Fountain of Salmacis

Seven Stones

Twilight Alehouse

The Light

White Mountain

The Musical Box

Harlequin

The Knife

Going Out to Get You

The Return of the Giant Hogweed