On this day, 24/02/2002 Haven

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On this day, 24 February 2002, Cornish band Haven played Cardiff’s Barfly. The band had just released their debut album Between The Senses which peaked at #26 on the UK album charts.

The band formed after Gary Briggs moved to Cornwall and met Nathan Wason in a record shop in Penzance in 1996. After recruiting drummer Tom Lewis and London born Iwan Gronow, the band moved to Manchester in 1999 after being discovered by the former Smiths' manager Joe Moss set them up with a regular slot at The Night and Day Café.

In 2001, drummer Tom Lewis left the band and was replaced by Manchester drummer Jack Mitchell. Through Moss's Smiths connections they also played support slots for Johnny Marr's band The Healers, and others including Badly Drawn Boy. The band's first release was the Til The End EP in May 2001, with further singles following, including the top-75 UK hit "Let It Live" and their top-30 breakthrough "Say Something".They also appeared on New Music Television, presented by Marc Almond for ITV1 in 2001.

Their debut album, Between The Senses, was released in February 2002, and reached No. 26 in the UK Albums Chart. A second album was released in 2004, and the band constantly remained on tour. Their record label merged with another and the band were asked to record a third album. However, with the deadline set soon after the tour, Haven did not manage to record enough material to complete what the label wanted. They were subsequently released from their recording contract, and the band split up in 2006.

On This Day 23/02/2008 Sum 41

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On this day, 23 February 2008, Canadian rock band Sum 41 played Cardiff University on their Underclass Hero tour. Support was provided by Random Hand.

The band was formed in 1996 and consists of Deryck Whibley (lead vocals, guitars, keyboards), Dave Baksh (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jason McCaslin (bass, backing vocals), Tom Thacker (guitars, keyboards, backing vocals), and Frank Zummo (drums, occasional backing vocals).

Underclass Hero is the fourth studio album by Canadian rock band Sum 41. It is the first of two albums by the band recorded without guitarist Dave "Brownsound" Baksh since he left a year earlier to focus on Brown Brigade.

It was first released on July 18, 2007, in Japan by Island Records and distributed worldwide by Aquarius Records, the band's final album on the label. In comparison to the heavy metal-inspired punk style of their previous album Chuck (2004), Underclass Hero marked a return to the band’s pop-punk sound.

The album was a commercial success, peaking at number 1 on the Canadian Albums Chart and at number 7 on the US Billboard 200, becoming the band’s highest-charting album to date. It received generally mixed reviews from critics, with some praising its songwriting, lyrics and production, while others found it to be too long, melodramatic, and derivative.

Critics have consistently described Underclass Hero as a revival of Sum 41's previous pop punk style in All Killer No Filler (2001) as opposed to the heavy metal and punk rock sound found in Chuck (2004). However, the album differentiates itself from the band's early sound, through the incorporation of instruments such as acoustic guitars, pianos, organs and synthesizers, theatricality, emphasis on dark and political lyrics, dynamics and its disregard for metal influences, creating a sound more inline with the emo pop genre. Furthermore, songs such as "Ma Poubelle" combine this with elements of show tunes. PopMatters writer Ethan Stewart stated that "The way that Underclass Hero layers pianos, acoustic guitars, vocal harmonies, and ambient synthesizers easily makes it Sum 41’s prettiest-sounding record to date."

On This Day 22/02/2005 Willy Mason

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On this day, 22 February 2005, American singer/songwriter Willy Mason played Cardiff’s Barfly. He had recently released his first full-length album Where The Humans Eat.

It was recorded in Catskill, New York in early May 2004. Songs were mostly recorded live, and feature Mason singing and playing guitar (adding cello, accordion, and vibraphone in the studio), and his younger brother Sam on drums. Mason wanted to capture the atmosphere of a live performance in the recordings, and tried to avoid re-recording songs: “I made a rule that we couldn’t record any of the songs in more than three takes. It allows you to make mistakes and accept those mistakes. Listening back, sometimes the wrong notes are the best parts of the song, the imperfections are what keeps it spontaneous and live-feeling."

The album's two singles, "Oxygen" and "So Long", charted on the UK Singles Chart, and the album reached No. 38 on the UK Albums Chart in 2005. The song "Oxygen" was covered by the operatic soprano Renée Fleming on her 2010 album Dark Hope.

On This Day 21/02/1978 XTC

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On this day, 21 February 1978, new wave band XTC played Cardiff’s Top Rank. The band had just released their debut album White Music.

Released on 20 January 1978. It was the follow-up to their debut, 3D EP, released three months earlier. White Music reached No. 38 in the UK Albums Chart and spawned the single "Statue of Liberty", which was banned by BBC Radio 1 for the lyric "In my fantasy I sail beneath your skirt". In April 1978, the group rerecorded "This Is Pop" as their third single.

Originally titled Black Music, referring to black comedy, the title was changed at the suggestion of both Virgin Records and the band's manager. The resultant title, White Music, refers to white noise.

White Music achieved modest success, charting in the Top 40 on the UK album charts, although its singles failed to chart. The band performed "Radios in Motion", "I'll Set Myself on Fire" and "Statue of Liberty" on BBC Two's The Old Grey Whistle Test on 14 February 1978.

XTC

Andy Partridge – guitar, harmonica, vocals

Colin Moulding – bass guitar, vocals

Barry Andrews – piano, organ

Terry Chambers – drums

Setlist

Radios in Motion;

Cross Wires;

Statue Of Liberty;

I'll Set Myself On Fire;

I'm Bugged;

New Town Animal In A Furnished Cage;

Into The Atom Age;

All Along the Watchtower;

She's So Square;

Do What You Do;

Dance Band;

Science Friction;

Neon Shuffle;

Hang On To The Night.

On This Day 20/02/1990 Michael Monroe

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On this day, 20 February 1990, Finnish rock musician Michael Monroe played Cardiff University on his No Fakin’ It tour.

After Hanoi Rocks broke up in 1985, Monroe decided to start his solo career, but first he got to work with his good friend Stiv Bators. In the Fall of 1985, Bators and Monroe were asked by Steven Van Zandt to record backing vocals in London and then fly to New York to appear on his song "Sun City" and its music video. Both agreed and recorded backing vocals for the song, and both can be seen in the music video.

In December 1985, Monroe announced that he would move to New York, and in 1986, Monroe founded his first solo band. In 1987, he released his first solo album, Nights Are So Long. The album was a moderate hit, but it attracted big record labels: In 1988, Monroe signed to Mercury Records.In 1989, Monroe's second solo album was released, titled Not Fakin' It.

The album featured guest appearances by Monroe's friends and fellow musicians, including Steven Van Zandt, Ian Hunter and Nasty Suicide. The album reached number 161 on the US Billboard Chart, and was Monroe's first album to be distributed internationally. The album also got good reviews from critics.

Music videos were shot for the singles "Dead, Jail or Rock 'N' Roll" and "Man With No Eyes". Axl Rose appeared in the music video for "Dead, Jail or Rock 'N' Roll". At that time, Michael Monroe hosted MTV's Headbangers Ball where he introduced the new music video to the world.

When Not Fakin' It was released, the Guns N' Roses record label, UZI Suicide, was re-releasing Hanoi Rocks albums in America. Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash also made a guest appearance on Monroe's Los Angeles shows in December 1989, performing the song "Looking at You".

Aerosmith's lead singer Steven Tyler had also taken notice of Monroe and asked him to perform with Aerosmith at Les Paul's 75th birthday at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York. Monroe played saxophone on the song "Big Ten Inch Record." He mostly spent the rest of 1989 and 1990 touring.

In the turn of the decade, Monroe performed along with Bryan Adams, Don Henley, Huey Lewis and Loudness in two New Year's shows at the 70,000-seat Tokyo Dome in Japan, on December 31, 1989 and January 1, 1990.

Monroe's solo career didn't prove to be as successful as he'd hoped, so in 1990 he decided to put together a new band. The band was called Jerusalem Slim, and was completed by former Billy Idol-guitarist Steve Stevens, Sami Yaffa, Greg Ellis and Ian McLagan.

On This Day 19/02/1980 Uriah Heep

On this day, 19 February 1980, rock band Uriah Heep played Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens. Support was provided by Girlschool. The band featured Cardiff’s John Sloman on vocals.

Ex-Lone Star John Sloman was brought in, a younger singer who played keyboards and guitar and was, in the words of Box, "an all rounder". But almost instantly, Lee Kerslake departed, after a row with Bron, whom the drummer accused of favouritism towards Hensley's material.

Several tracks of the next album had to be re-recorded with a new drummer, Chris Slade (of the Manfred Mann's Earth Band). Conquest LP was released in February 1980 (worldwide except the United States, where it was never released) and received 5 stars from Record Mirror, but, according to Box, "was a difficult album to record" and represented "a confused Heep", even "a mess" (in the words of Trevor Bolder).

The band went on the 10th Anniversary Tour with Girlschool as support and attracted respectable crowds. Hensley was very unhappy, primarily with Sloman, and he explained why:

“The band had chosen John and I had opposed that decision. He was a good musician and he looked great but I thought he had little going for him vocally. The way that he interpreted songs were totally different to the way I had written them. I could understand wanting to move on but this was like the difference between Black Sabbath and Gino Vannelli. We weren't addressing our basic problems, in that we weren't re-establishing our musical direction and John definitely wasn't helping us to do that.”

A meeting at the manager's office concerning the songwriting dissent was the last straw and, in September 1980, Hensley quit. Gregg Dechert, a Canadian who had worked with Sloman in Pulsar, came in and the band went on a 23-date tour of the UK. After recording an album's worth of unreleased material. Sloman left, citing musical differences for a reason. He would later go on to work with UFO, Gary Moore and Robert Palmer.

On This Day 17/02/1986 Aled Jones

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On this day, 17 February 1986, Welsh singer, radio and television presenter, and actor. Aled Jones played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall.

Jones became famous for the cover version of "Walking in the Air", the song from Channel 4's animated film The Snowman, based on the book by Raymond Briggs. The record reached number five in the UK charts in 1985. Although it is often reported that Jones sang the version used in the 1982 film, that was actually performed by Peter Auty, a St Paul's Cathedral choirboy.

In June 1985, Jones was the subject of an Emmy Award–winning BBC Omnibus documentary entitled The Treble. Jones, with the National Philharmonic Orchestra, was behind the Santa Claus: The Movie, original motion picture soundtrack, "Every Christmas Eve" of 1985.

Also in 1985, Jones was employed by Mike Oldfield to sing on his single "Pictures in the Dark", a three-voice song, on which he performed with Anita Hegerland and Barry Palmer, but the song did not reach the UK Top 40. In 1986, he sang the theme song for the Siriol Animation film A Winter Story. The song was a modest success, reaching number 51 in the UK Singles Chart.

In 1986, he sang the oratorio Athalia.

On This Day 16/02/1999 Van Morrison

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On this day, 16 February 1999, Irish legend Van Morrison played Cardiff’s Coal Exchange building.

The early to middle 1990s were commercially successful for Morrison with three albums reaching the top five of the UK charts, sold-out concerts, and a more visible public profile; but this period also marked a decline in the critical reception to his work.

The decade began with the release of The Best of Van Morrison; compiled by Morrison himself, the album was focused on his hit singles, and became a multi-platinum success remaining a year and a half on the UK charts. AllMusic determined it to be "far and away the best-selling album of his career." In 1991 he wrote and produced four songs for Tom Jones released on the Carrying A Torch album and performed a duet with Bob Dylan on BBC Arena special.

Review- South Wales Echo

The 1994 live double album A Night in San Francisco received favourable reviews as well as commercial success by reaching number eight on the UK charts. 1995's Days Like This also had large sales—though the critical reviews were not always favourable. This period also saw a number of side projects, including the live jazz performances of 1996's How Long Has This Been Going On, from the same year Tell Me Something: The Songs of Mose Allison, and 2000's The Skiffle Sessions – Live in Belfast 1998, all of which found Morrison paying tribute to his early musical influences.

In 1997, Morrison released The Healing Game. The album received mixed reviews, with the lyrics being described as "tired" and "dull", though critic Greil Marcus praised the musical complexity of the album by saying: "It carries the listener into a musical home so perfect and complete he or she might have forgotten that music could call up such a place, and then populate it with people, acts, wishes, fears."

The following year, Morrison finally released some of his previously unissued studio recordings in a two-disc set, The Philosopher's Stone. His next release, 1999's Back on Top, achieved modest success, being his highest-charting album in the US since 1978's Wavelength.

Setlist

Inarticulate Speech of the Heart No. 1

The New Symphony Sid

(Lester Young cover)

Rough God Goes Riding

Satisfied

Cleaning Windows

Give Me a Kiss

Vanlose Stairway

Ain't That Loving You, Baby

(Eddie Riff cover)

In the Afternoon / Joe Turner Sings / Don't You Make Me High

Brown Eyed Girl

How Long Has This Been Going On?

(George Gershwin cover)

Tupelo Honey

Lonely Avenue / Be-Bop-A-Lula / You Give Me Nothing But the Blues

Georgia (on My Mind)

(Hoagy Carmichael and His Orchestra cover)

Centerpiece / Outskirts of Town

That's Life

(Marion Montgomery cover)

Naked in the Jungle

It's a Man's Man's Man's World

(James Brown cover)

Have I Told You Lately

The Healing Game