On This Day 10/08/1996 Spice Girls

On this day, 10 August 1996, legendary girl band the Spice Girls played Cardiff’s Big Weekend. Also playing that day were, Super Furry Animals, James Taylor Quartet, Pato Banton, 4 Man Do and Upside Down.

Formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown a.k.a. Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, a.k.a. Mel C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). With their "girl power" mantra, they redefined the girl-group concept by targeting a young female fanbase. They led the teen pop resurgence of the 1990s, were a major part of the Cool Britannia era, and became pop culture icons of the decade.

They released their debut single, "Wannabe", in 1996, which reached number one on the charts of 37 countries.Their debut album, Spice (1996), sold more than 23 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album by a female group in history. It produced three more number-one singles: "Say You'll Be There", "2 Become 1" and "Who Do You Think You Are"/"Mama". Their second album, Spiceworld (1997), sold more than 14 million copies worldwide.

The Spice Girls achieved three number-one singles from the album with "Spice Up Your Life", "Too Much" and "Viva Forever". Both albums encapsulated the group's dance-pop style and message of female empowerment, with vocal and songwriting contributions shared equally by the members.

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On This Day 09/08/2013 Phil Campbell's All Starr Band

On this day, 9 August 2013, Welsh rocker Phil Campbell and his All Starr Band played Bogiez night club in Cardiff.

Born 7 May 1961 Campbell is best known as the guitarist in Motörhead from 1984 to 2015. The band disbanded upon the death of founder and frontman Lemmy. He currently tours with his own band Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons, featuring his three sons: Todd, Dane and Tyla.

Campbell was born in Pontypridd, and started playing guitar when he was 10 years old, inspired and influenced by guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi, Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, Jan Akkerman, Michael Schenker and Todd Rundgren.

At the age of 12, Campbell met Lemmy after a Hawkwind gig and asked him for an autograph. By the age of 13, Campbell was playing semi-professionally with a cabaret band called Contrast. He later played with a pub-rock band called Roktopus (not to be confused with Rocktopus) at gigs in and around South Wales. He bought his first Les Paul in 1978 at a New Year's Day guitar sale at a shop on Ealing Broadway, London. The guitar was later stolen but returned.

In 1979, Campbell formed the heavy metal band, Persian Risk, playing on their 7" singles, "Calling For You" (1981) and "Ridin' High" (1983). Compilation albums have been issued which feature some of his work with Persian Risk.

On 8 February 1984, following the departure of Brian Robertson, Motörhead held auditions for a new guitarist, narrowing the candidates down to two guitarists: Michael "Würzel" Burston and Philip Campbell. Though Lemmy had first planned on hiring only one guitarist, he hired both Würzel and Campbell upon hearing them play together.

Setlist

Children of the Grave

(Black Sabbath cover)

Cat Scratch Fever

(Ted Nugent cover)

Dog-Face Boy

(Motörhead cover)

Killed by Death

(Motörhead cover)

Over the Top

(Motörhead cover)

Orgasmatron

(Motörhead cover)

Born to Raise Hell

(Motörhead cover)

Ace of Spades

(Motörhead cover)

Jumpin' Jack Flash

(The Rolling Stones cover)

On This Day 08/08/04 Ed Harcourt

On This Day 8th August 2004, English singer-songwriter Ed Harcourt played Cardiff’s Glee Club.

Born Edward Henry Richard Harcourt-Smith on 14 August 1977, in Wimbledon, London, England. The youngest of three, Harcourt is the son of Maj. Charles Harcourt-Smith of the Life Guards and also a former diplomat,and his wife Sabrina, an art historian. 

Ed began to study piano at the age of nine and achieved grade 8 when he was 17. He declined the offer to study music, citing "the idea of having to analyse, dissect and everything [of one piece of music] would completely destroy any enjoyment".

Before going solo, Harcourt played the bass and keyboards for Snug, a band formed at school in the mid-1990s by Harcourt, James Deane, Ed Groves and Johnny Lewsley. The band recorded two albums and a handful of singles together before dissolving.

Harcourt's third album, Strangers, was released in September 2004. The album peaked at No. 57 in the UK and at No. 7 in Sweden, and produced the singles "This One's for You", "Born in the '70s", and "Loneliness."

On This Day 07/08/2018 Geraint Jarman

On this day, 7 August 2018, Welsh language rocker Geraint Jarman played Cardiff’s Millennium Centre.

Born 1950 in Denbigh, Jarman is a Welsh musician, poet and television producer whose career dates back to the early years of Welsh popular music. He has recorded many albums as a solo artist and with his band Geraint Jarman a'r Cynganeddwyr.Setlist

Jarman grew up in Cardiff and his career began in the 1960s as a poet and composer, writing for Heather Jones [cy]. He was a member of Y Bara Menyn [cy] with Jones and Meic Stevens before establishing himself as a solo artist. He also wrote "Y Brawd Houdini", one of Stevens' most popular recordings. He introduced genres such as reggae into Welsh music and released many albums as a solo artist and with his band as Geraint Jarman a'r Cynganneddwyr (Geraint Jarman and the Poets, referring to the cynghanedd techniques of formal Welsh poetry), his first album (Gobaith Mawr y Ganrif) released in 1976 by Sain. In the late 1970s he was championed by John Peel who introduced him to a wider audience through his BBC Radio 1 show.

Gruff Rhys, in the liner notes of the Welsh Rare Beat album, paid tribute to Jarman's influence, stating "Jarman helped to sever ties with Celtic folk and serve as a bridge to a new wave of post punk/post Sain Welsh language artists in the 1980s and beyond who had a less self-conscious relationship with their Welsh identity." The BBC described him as the "father of Welsh rock".

Setlist

Gobaith Mawr y Ganrif

Tacsi i'r Tywyllwch

Methu Dal y Pwysau

Merch Tŷ Cyngor

Siglo ar y Siglen

Tracsiwt Gwyrdd

Reggae Reggae

Hiraeth am Kylie

Ethiopia Newydd

Gwesty Cymru

NorthWalesLive Review: Geraint Jarman at the National Eisteddfod 2018 in Cardiff

By Eryl Crump

Geraint Jarman, dubbed the father of Welsh rock, featured heavily when the National Eisteddfod was staged in Cardiff 40 years ago.

His first three albums had been released and were in every music fans record collection at the time including DJ John Peel who championed his music on his late night Radio 1 show.

Like most musicians he had taken a step back by the late 1980s but the man who has influenced generations of Welsh musicians to stand by their mother tongue has never given up performing.

The decision to book the 68-year-old to headline the Eisteddfod gig was a surprise to me and others.

But it was the first of the evening programme concerts to sell out and turned out to be an inspired choice.

Jarman, backed by a band of superb musicians including guitarists Mei Gwynedd and Osian Huw Williams, may have been enough but he also had the backing of the Welsh Pops Orchestra.

This added a whole new dimension to the hour long set.

Starting with Gobaith Mawr y Ganrif he peppered his set with classic hits and musical styles that ranged from folk to heavy rock as well as ska and reggae.

Jarman also sang a few songs from his most recent albums.

The audience loved it and it was interesting to see youngsters whose parents were still youngsters back in 1978 singing along word perfect.

Jarman ended the set with Ethiopia Newydd and Gwesty Cymru.

Sitting, no make that standing, towards the rear of the Donald Gordon Theatre I could hear waves of song tumbling down from the circle and all around mobile phones were switched on and waved from side to side. We used lighters or matches back in the day.

The audience had already been suitably warmed up by an excellent and all too short set by Band Pres Llareggub. They have brought a new dimension to brass band playing in Wales.

After an instrumental introduction, which included a section sampling the Gorsedd horns calling the audience to stand for the Archdruid, the band called on soloist Lisa Jen to sing three songs and then Osian Huw Williams to play guitar.

The band ended their set with Dafydd Iwan’s anthem Yma o Hyd set against the backdrop of a new arrangement.

The stage for Jarman had been set. Dal dy Dir!

On This Day 05/08/2001 Deacon Blue

On this day, 5 August 2001, Scottish band Deacon Blue played Cardiff’s Big Weekend. Also playing that day were Nick Turner Allstars, Black Umfolosi and the Jazz Jamaica All Stars. The band had just recently released their fifth studio album, Homesick.

Formed in Glasgow during 1985. The line-up of the band consists of vocalists Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, keyboard player James Prime and drummer Dougie Vipond. The band released their debut album, Raintown, on 1 May 1987 in the United Kingdom and in the United States in February 1988.

Their second album, When the World Knows Your Name (1989), topped the UK Albums Chart for two weeks, and included "Real Gone Kid" which became their first top ten single in the UK Singles Chart and reached number one in Spain.

Deacon Blue released their fourth album, Whatever You Say, Say Nothing, in 1993. The band split in 1994, following which Vipond began a career in television. Five years later, the band held a reunion gig, and this led on to a new album, Walking Back Home, with the band now working on a part-time basis. The band released another album, Homesick, in 2001.

Setlist

This Train Will Take You Anywhere
Your Town
Raintown
Twist and Shout
Loaded
Real Gone Kid
Wages Day
When Will You...
Silverlake
Fergus Sings The Blues
Dignity
Homesick
Chocolate Girl
Queen Of The New Year

On This Day 04/08/2007 Jimmy Cliff

On this day, 4 August 2007, legendary Jamaican musician Jimmy Cliff played Cardiff’s Big Weekend.

Also playing that day were, SW Storm, Los Skarameros, The Soothsayers and Sierra Maestro.

James Chambers OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor.

He is the only living reggae musician to hold the Order of Merit, the highest honour that can be granted by the Jamaican government for achievements in the arts and sciences.

Cliff is best known among mainstream audiences for songs such as "Many Rivers to Cross", "You Can Get It If You Really Want", "The Harder They Come", "Reggae Night", and "Hakuna Matata", and his covers of Cat Stevens's "Wild World" and Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now" from the film Cool Runnings.

He starred in the film The Harder They Come, which helped popularize reggae around the world, and Club Paradise. Cliff was one of five performers inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.

In 2007, "You Can Get It If You Really Want" was adopted by the British Conservative Party during their annual conference. He was quoted in The Independent as saying, "One of my band mates called me this morning to tell me the news. I can't stop them using the song, but I'm not a supporter of politics. I have heard of Cameron, but I'm not a supporter. I don't support any politician. I just believe in right or wrong."

Cliff was briefly a member of the Rastafari movement before converting to Islam from Christianity. He now describes himself as having a "universal outlook on life", and does not align himself with any particular movement or religion, saying, "now I believe in science". He is married and has a daughter, Lilty Cliff, and a son, Aken Cliff. He is also the father of the actress/singer Nabiyah Be.

On This Day 03/08/2003 The Waterboys

On this day, 3 August 2003, British-Irish folk rock band The Waterboys played Cardiff’s Big Weekend. Also performing that day were, The Elephant is Gerald, Shod, King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys, La Bottine Souriante and The Proclaimers.

The band formed in London in 1983 by Scottish musician and songwriter Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England.

Mike Scott has remained the only constant member throughout the band's career. They have explored a number of different styles, but their music is mainly a mix of folk music with rock and roll.

By the summer of 2000, Scott had assembled a new Waterboys lineup – himself on voice and guitar, Richard Naiff on keyboards and organs, bass player Livingston Brown and drummer Jeremy Stacey. Wickham guested on fiddle at live dates in Dublin and Belfast on the resulting tour of late 2001, and rejoined the band permanently in January 2001.

Scott, Wickham and Naiff were the core of the Waterboys by 2003, when the group changed direction once again and released Universal Hall a mostly acoustic album with a return of some Celtic influences from the Fisherman's Blues era as well as aspects of New Age music and dance electronica.

The album was followed by a tour of the UK and then Europe. Their first official live album, Karma to Burn, was released in 2005 – with Carlos Hercules on drums, Steve Walters on bass and a guest appearance by Sharon Shannon on accordion – showing off the band's acoustic and electric sides.

Setlist

Setlist

Always Dancing, Never Getting Tired

This Light Is for the World

When Ye Go Away

Further Up, Further In

Peace of Iona

Strange Boat

Medicine Bow

The Pan Within

Bring 'Em All In

(Mike Scott song)

Long Way to the Light

Glastonbury Song

Fisherman's Blues

Encore:

The Whole of the Moon

On This Day 02/08/1948 Andy Fairweather Low

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On this day, 2 August 1948, Welsh guitarist and singer Andy Fairweather Low was born in Ystrad Mynach. He was a founding member and lead singer of 1960s pop band Amen Corner.

Fairweather Low's first opportunity to play guitar came when he took a Saturday job at a music shop in Cardiff.

He achieved fame as a founding member of the pop group Amen Corner in the late 1960s. They had four successive top-ten hits on the UK Singles Chart, including the number-one single "(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice" in 1969. 

In the description of AllMusic critic William Ruhlmann, the band's overnight success and Fairweather Low's teen idol looks "put his attractive face on the bedroom walls of teenage girls all over Britain".

Amen Corner split in two in 1970, with Fairweather Low leading Dennis Bryon (drums), Blue Weaver (organ), Clive Taylor (bass) and Neil Jones (guitar) into a new band, Fair Weather. The band's "Natural Sinner" peaked at No. 6 in the UK in July 1970, but their albums, Beginning From An End and Let Your Mind Roll On, failed to chart. 

After twelve months, Fairweather Low left to pursue a solo career. He released four albums up to 1980 on A&M and Warner Bros.These spawned further single chart success with "Reggae Tune" (1974), and "Wide Eyed and Legless", a No. 6 Christmas-time hit in 1975. Welsh group Budgie covered "I Ain't No Mountain" off Fairweather Low's 1974 album Spider Jiving on their 1975 release Bandolier.

In the late 1970s and 1980s he worked for numerous artists as a session musician, performing as a backing vocalist and guitarist on albums by Roy Wood, Leo Sayer, Albion Band, Gerry Rafferty, Helen Watson, and Richard and Linda Thompson.

In 1978, Fairweather Low sang backing vocals on the album Who Are You, from The Who, specifically on the tracks "New Song", "Had Enough", "Guitar and Pen", "Love Is Coming Down", and "Who Are You". On the Who's 1982 album It's Hard, he played rhythm guitar on the song "It's Your Turn". Fairweather Low later appeared on Townshend's 1993 album Psychoderelict and the accompanying concert tour.

In 1995, Fairweather Low played rhythm guitar on Joe Satriani's self-titled CD, along with Nathan East on bass and Manu Katché on drums. One reviewer commented that "this backup band of extremely gifted backup musicians sincerely adds a diverse range of textures and colors, bringing out a much-needed live feel to an otherwise bland album of blues-oriented jazz-rock."

Fairweather Low has worked with Roger Waters since Waters' The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking tour of America in 1985. He contributed to two of Waters' albums – Radio KAOS in 1987 and Amused to Death in 1992. He played guitar and bass on Roger Waters' all-star performance of The Wall – Live in Berlin on 21 July 1990, on the 1999–2002 In the Flesh world tour and was playing on Waters' Dark Side of the Moon Live world tour in 2006[1] and 2007, but was not able to perform with him in 2008.[10] His role was picked up by session guitarist Chester Kamen.

In 1992, he began working on projects alongside Eric Clapton. Fairweather Low had earlier appeared in Clapton's band in the 1983 ARMS concerts for Ronnie Lane and, while he has continued to do session work for various people, including Dave Edmunds, Fairweather Low has spent most of his time since the early 1990s as a sideman in Clapton's backing band, as well as session work; notably Clapton's Unplugged concerts, as well as on From The Cradle.

In the same year, he was present on tours with the 1999 Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris collaboration. In December 1991, he played guitar on George Harrison's Live in Japan tour and album, along with the rest of Clapton's band, and in 2002, he played several of the lead guitar parts for the Harrison tribute Concert for George, on some songs playing Harrison's famous Fender Stratocaster "Rocky" and Harrison's gold Fender Electric XII. In 2004, he appeared in the Stratpack concert, celebrating 50 years of the Fender Stratocaster.

An extremely busy sideman, Fairweather Low continues to perform with some of the greats in the industry while also including regular tours with his own band The Lowriders.

Between September 2021 and April 2022, Fairweather Low & the Low Riders undertook an extensive UK tour, billed as 'On The Road Again', playing over 50 dates and ending at the Flowerpot in Derby on 30 April 2022. On 31 December 2022/1 January 2023 he appeared as a guest artist on Jools' Annual Hootenanny show on BBC2 to welcome in the new year.

During the coronavirus lockdown, Low recorded a new solo album, Flang Dang, at Rockfield Studios, on which he played every instrument except the drums. The album was released in February 2023 under The Last Music Company label.

Solo album discography

Andy Fairweather Low on stage with Eric Clapton at London's Royal Albert Hall, 23 May 2009

Spider Jiving (1974)

La Booga Rooga (1975)

Be Bop 'N' Holla (1976)

Mega Shebang (1980)

Wide Eyed And Legless: The A&M Recordings (First three albums on a double CD release) (2004)

Sweet Soulful Music (2006)

Best of Andy Fairweather Low – Low Rider (2008)

Live in Concert (DVD) 2008

Lively (Sold at concerts exclusively) (2012)

Zone-O-Tone (2013)

Live From The New Theatre, Cardiff (Limited Edition 2CD/1DVD set) (2015)

Lockdown Live (2021)

Flang Dang (2023