On this day, 25 April 1960, American musical duo The Everly Brothers played Cardiff’s Gaumont Theatre with support provided by The Dallas Boys, Lance Fortune, Cherry Walner, The Flee-Rakkers, Danny Hunter and The Freddy Lloyd Four.
They were famously backed by The Crickets (Jerry Allison, Joe B. Mauldin, and Sonny Curtis), though the group was not officially billed in the UK.
On this day, 23 April 2008, girl group Sugarbabes played Cardiff International Arena on their Change tour.
This was part of their thirty-date UK Change Tour, which ran from March to May 2008, supporting their album Change and featuring the lineup of Keisha Buchanan, Heidi Range, and Amelle Berrabah.
Following their Greatest Hits Tour, the Sugababes returned to the recording studio in mid-2007 to continue working on Change, their fifth studio album, and the first to feature Berrabah on all tracks. "About You Now" was released as the album's lead single in September 2007. Upon release, the song became the group's sixth UK number one hit and first Hungarian chart-topper. It remained atop the UK Singles Chart for four weeks. "About You Now" was nominated for a 2008 BRIT Award for Best British Single and is to date their highest-selling single, with sales standing at almost 500,000 copies.
In the 2009 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records, "About You Now" was listed as the "first track by a British pop act to top the singles chart solely on downloads". The song was also named as the "biggest chart mover to the number one position in the UK".
Setlist
"Hole in the Head" (contains elements of "Don't Stop The Music")
"Round Round"
"Never Gonna Dance Again"
"In the Middle"
"Ugly"
"Freak like Me"/"Virgin Sexy"
"Back Down"
"Too Lost in You" (piano version)
"Don't Let Go (Love)" (En Vogue cover)
"Denial"
"Change"
"Mended By You"/"Stronger"
"3 Spoons of Suga"/"Overload"
"Red Dress" (Rockamerica remix) (contains elements of "Two Tribes")
"My Love Is Pink"
Encore
"Push the Button"
"About You Now"
On this day, 22 April 2002, Scottish rock band Simple Minds played Cardiff International Arena on their "The Floating World Tour" support was provided by The Real People.
The band had recently released their 13th studio album Cry, which peaked at #80 in the UK album charts.
The Floating World Tour (named after the last track of the Cry album) saw the return of Mel Gaynor and Our Secrets Are The Same session player Eddie Duffy (who’d also appeared on stage with the Minds at the Scotland Rocks For Kosovo benefit concert). The keyboard position was filled by Andy Gillespie, who quickly won fans over with his knowledge of the Minds’ back catalogue and preference for Mick MacNeil's samples and playing style.
Main Set: New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) / I Travel / One Step Closer / Up On The Catwalk / Big Sleep / Speed Your Love To Me / The American / Love Song / See The Lights / Glittering Prize / Ghostdancing / Spaceface / This Is Your Land / Someone Somewhere (In Summertime) / Belfast Child - Waterfront
Encore: She's A River / Cry / Don't You (Forget About Me)
Encore: Let There Be Love / Dead Vandals / Sanctify Yourself / Alive And Kicking
Line-up: Jim Kerr, Charlie Burchill, Mel Gaynor, Eddie Duffy, and Andy Gillespie.
On this day, 21 April 1975, legendary glam rockers Slade played Cardiff’s Theatre. The band were touring following the release of their film, Slade in Flame.
The film charts the history of "Flame", a fictitious group in the late 1960s who are picked up by a marketing company and taken to the top, only to break up at their zenith. Described as the "Citizen Kane of rock musicals" by BBC film critic Mark Kermode, the film went on to achieve critical acclaim years after the mixed feelings on its original release.
On this day, 19 April 2006, American pop punk band Panic at the Disco played Cardiff University. Support was provided by My Chemical Romance and The Ataris.The band were touring in support of their debut album A Fever You Can't Sweat Out. It peaked at #17 in the UK album charts.
Produced by Matt Squire, the album was released on September 27, 2005, through Decaydance and Fueled by Ramen. The group formed in Las Vegas in 2004 and began posting demos online, which caught the attention of Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz. Wentz signed the group to his own imprint label, Decaydance, without them having ever performed live.
It is the only album released during original bassist Brent Wilson's time in the band, but the exact nature of his involvement in the writing and recording process became a source of contention upon his dismissal from the group in mid-2006.
On this day, 18 April 1978, punk rockers X-Ray Spex played Cardiff’s Top Rank. The band had recently released The Day the World Turned Day-Glo" / "I Am a Poseur" which peaked at No. 23 UK singles chart.
Formed in 1976 in London. They were led by Poly Styrene, who formed the band after watching the Sex Pistols live. Styrene was one of the most distinctive personalities in the British punk movement, because of her singing style and atypical and unorthodox appearance, taking influences from reggae as well as punk. Her lyrics primarily dealt with anti-consumerism and anti-capitalism.
During their first incarnation (1976–1979), X-Ray Spex released five singles and one album. Their 1977 single "Oh Bondage Up Yours!" and 1978 debut album Germfree Adolescents are widely acclaimed as classic punk releases.
On this day, 17 April 1967, American blues rock ‘n’ roller Bo Diddley played Cardiff’s Top Rank. Support was provided by Creation.
Diddley’s use of African rhythms and a signature beat, a simple five-accent hambone rhythm, is a cornerstone of hip hop, rock, and pop music. In recognition of his achievements, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, the Blues Hall of Fame in 2003, and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2017.
He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.Diddley is also recognized for his technical innovations, including his use of tremolo and reverb effects to enhance the sound of his distinctive rectangular guitars.
On this day, 15/04/1976 keyboard giant Rick Wakeman played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre. He had just released his fourth studio album, No Earthly Connection, with the English Rock Ensemble. Recorded at Château d'Hérouville in France, the album charted at No. 12 in the UK and No. 29 on the Billboard 200.
No Earthly Connection marked a change in Wakeman's musical direction. He retained the progressive rock style in his music, but made a conscious decision to make a more serious album without the comedic and tongue in cheek elements he had incorporated in his previous works. He wished to write something "that I believed in fervently". Wakeman said it is a part fictional and non-fictional musical autobiography based on things people know exist but unsure as to why or cannot explain, the question of life and its different forms, evolution, and flying saucers.
