On This Day 05/08/1990 Big Country

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On this day, 5 August 1990, Scottish rock band Big Country played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall.

Formed in Dunfermline, Fife, in 1981 by lead singer and guitarist Stuart Adamson (formerly of the Skids) alongside guitarist Bruce Watson, bassist Tony Butler and drummer Mark Brzezicki.

Rising to prominence in the early to mid‑1980s, they pioneered a distinctive guitar-driven sound that fused alternative rock, new wave and Celtic folk traditions designed to mimic bagpipes and fiddle through innovative use of effects such as the MXR pitch transposer and e‑bow.

Their debut album The Crossing (1983) reached No. 3 in the UK and delivered their only U.S. Top 40 hit, “In a Big Country”. Follow‑ups Steeltown (1984) and The Seer (1986) also landed in the UK top ten, with The Seer producing the Irish No. 1 hit “Look Away” and featuring a collaboration with Kate Bush on its title track.

After Adamson’s death by suicide in December 2001, the classic lineup disbanded. Surviving members reunited in 2007 for anniversary tours, later joined by singer Mike Peters and changing bassists, culminating in the 2013 album The Journey, their first new studio release in 14 years.

On This Day 01/08/1980 Ultravox

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On this day, 1 August 1980, new wave electronic pop band Ultravox played Cardiff’s Top Rank on the band’s Vienna UK tour.

Released in June 1980, the Vienna album produced the band's first UK Top 40 hit with "Sleepwalk" reaching No. 29, while the album itself initially peaked at No. 14.

A second single, "Passing Strangers", failed to reach the Top 40, only reaching No. 57, but the band achieved a substantial hit with the third single, the album's title track.

Accompanied by a highly distinctive video (inspired by Carol Reed's 1949 film The Third Man), the single became Ultravox's biggest ever hit, released in January 1981 and peaking at Number 2 (kept off the top spot by John Lennon's "Woman" and then Joe Dolce's "Shaddap You Face").

On the strength of the single, the album then re-entered the chart and reached No. 3 in early 1981. A fourth single from the album, "All Stood Still", peaked at No. 8. in 1981, and "Slow Motion" from Systems of Romance was also re-issued, reaching No. 33 the same year.

Ultravox were then revitalised by Midge Ure, who had joined the band as vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist. He had already achieved minor success with semi-glam outfit Slik and Glen Matlock's The Rich Kids, and in 1979, he was temporarily playing with hard rock band Thin Lizzy on their American tour, replacing Gary Moore.

Ure and Billy Currie had met while collaborating on Visage, a studio-based band fronted by New Romantic icon and nightclub impresario Steve Strange.

Setlist

Quiet Men

Passing Strangers

Face To Face

Mr X

Western Promise

Vienna

Slow Motion

Hiroshima Mon Amour

Private Lives

New Europeans

All Stood Still

Sleepwalk

Astradyne

Kings Lead Hat

On This Day 31/07/2010 Chaka Demus & Pliers

On his day, 31 July 2010, reggae duo Chaka Demus & Pliers played Cardiff’s Big Weekend.

Both artists were established musicians when they teamed up in 1991 after performing together in Miami, both having worked as solo artists, and Pliers as a duo with Pinchers. Their early hits together included "Gal Wine", recorded for producer Ossie Hibbert. They went on to work with a string of producers, including Ranking Joe, Jah Screw, Prince Jammy, and Mafia & Fluxy, with several of their most successful single tracks included on their debut album Gal Wine (1992).

They appeared at Reggae Sunsplash in 1992, and the following year broke through to international success with "Tease Me", which was in the UK Singles Chart for three months in 1993, peaking at No. 3 in July. They followed this with a cover of Curtis Mayfield's "She Don't Let Nobody" and a cover (with collaboration of Jack Radics) of the Top Notes' "Twist and Shout", which topped the UK Singles Chart in early 1994, the duo becoming the first Jamaican act to top the chart in 8 years, and the first to have three consecutive top five hits on the chart. They had further UK hits with "I Wanna Be Your Man" (No. 19) and "Gal Wine" (No. 20), with six hit singles in all taken from their album, Tease Me. The re-release of Tease Me also charted at number one on the UK Albums Chart in 1994, going on to receive gold certification, selling more than 500,000 copies.

In 1996, they signed to Island Records and released the album For Every Kinda People.

They performed at Sunsplash again in 2004 and 2008, and released the album Help Them Lord in 2001.

In 2007, Chaka Demus & Pliers recorded "Need Your Lovin", which was released on vinyl on Explorer Records. This song was a hit on the Jamaican chart.

On 18 November 2007, Chaka Demus & Pliers performed "Murder She Wrote" alongside Alicia Keys at the 2007 American Music Awards. In the summer of 2008, they performed at the annual Detroit Caribbean Festival. Their latest album So Proud was released on 6 October 2008.

In July 2013, Chaka Demus & Pliers performed at the BET Awards show in the reggae segment alongside Dawn Penn, Beenie Man and Elephant Man.

On This Day 30/07/2006 Madonna

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On this day, 30 July 2006, American superstar Madonna played Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on her Confessions Tour with support provided by Paul Oakenfold. It was the opening concert of the European leg of the tour.

The concert was divided into four parts: Equestrian had horse-themed and bondage elements, Bedouin featured Middle Eastern and religious aspects and was accompanied by messages, Glam—Punk consisted of both rock and stripped-down performances, and the final Disco segment was based on the genre of the same name.

Review - South Wales Argus

Madonna kicks off tour in Cardiff

Around 59,000 fans have been in Cardiff to see Madonna kick off the European leg of her world tour at the Millennium Stadium.

The show was Madonna's first ever performance in Wales.

The Millennium Stadium is the biggest venue to date in the star's Confessions world tour, which began in Los Angeles in May.

The show in Cardiff was the first of 21 dates across Europe. Eight are being staged in London.

The singer included an equestrian theme during the opening in Cardiff.

Chris Lamb, from California, said 150 workers from the USA, along with 200 local people worked on the set since Monday.

"People are not coming to see a rock concert - this is a show, closer to theatre than a rock concert," he said.

DJ Paul Oakenfold opened the singer's concert at 1900 BST, performing for around an hour and a half before Madonna's two-hour show.

Traffic Wales said it had put in place plans to cope with the extra traffic.

Project manager Simon Jones said: "We work with the council, the stadium and the emergency services to ensure that the event runs smoothly."

Madonna's European tour continues to Wembley Arena and finishes in Prague before it moves to Japan in September.

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Setlist

Equestrian

Future Lovers

(with samples of "I Feel Love" by Donna Summer)

Get Together

Like a Virgin

Jump

Bedouin

Confessions

(Video interlude)

Live to Tell

Forbidden Love

Isaac

Sorry

Like It or Not

Glam-Punk

Sorry

(Video interlude, remix)

I Love New York

Ray of Light

Let It Will Be

Drowned World/Substitute for Love

Paradise (Not for Me)

Disco

The Duke Mixes the Hits

Music

Erotica

La Isla Bonita

Lucky Star

Hung Up

On This Day 29/07/1986 Edwin Starr

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On this day, 29 July 1986, soul legend Edwin Starr played Cardiff’s Jacksons night club.

The biggest hit of Starr's career, which cemented his reputation, was the Vietnam War protest song "War" (1970). Starr's intense vocals transformed a Temptations album track into a number one chart success, which spent three weeks in the top position on the U.S. Billboard charts, an anthem for the antiwar movement and a cultural milestone that continues to resound in movie soundtracks and hip hop music samples. It sold over three million copies, and was awarded a gold disc."War" appeared on both Starr's War & Peace album and its follow-up, Involved, produced by Norman Whitfield. Involved also featured another song of similar construction titled "Stop the War Now", which was a minor hit in its own right. Music critic Robert Christgau called the latter album "Norman Whitfield's peak production". His backing singers during this time were Total Concept Unlimited, who later became Rose Royce.

Starr remained a hero on England's northern soul circuit and moved to England in 1983, continuing to live there for the remainder of his life. He based himself in the Midlands, living for many years at Pooley Hall at Polesworth, Warwickshire, before moving to Bramcote in Nottinghamshire.

Starr died on April 2, 2003, from a heart attack at his Nottinghamshire home. He was 61. He is buried at Wilford Hill Cemetery in Nottingham. He was survived by his long term partner Jean, and by his son and daughter from earlier relationships.

On This Day 28/07/2001 Tom Jones

On This day, 28 July 2001, Welsh singing superstar Tom Jones played Cardiff Castle, the first of three consecutive nights.

Jones had been enjoying somewhat of a resurgance with the release of his Reload album in September 1999, some of which featured in his Cardiff Castle set.

Reload became the highest seller of Jones' career, reaching number one on the British charts in 1999 and again in 2000. Its biggest single was the collaboration with Mousse T, "Sex Bomb", which reached number 3 on the UK Singles Chart, and was later used in a 2003 episode of The Simpsons (a show Jones had guest starred on in 1992). The album has sold more than four million copies worldwide.

In 2000, Jones garnered a number of honours for his work, including a BRIT Award for Best British Male.

Setlist

Ain't That a Lot of Love

(Homer Banks cover)

Hard to Handle

(Otis Redding cover)

Help Yourself

Never Tear Us Apart

(INXS cover)

I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone

.M<(Elvis Presley cover)

Burning Down the House

(Talking Heads cover)

Delilah

(Les Reed cover)

She's a Lady

(Paul Anka cover)

Without Love (There Is Nothing)

(Clyde McPhatter cover)

Sometimes We Cry

(Van Morrison cover)

Crapped Out Again

(Keb’ Mo’ cover)

Venus

(Shocking Blue cover)

If I Only Knew

You Need Love Like I Do

Mama Told Me Not to Come

(Randy Newman cover)

Give Me One Reason

(Tracy Chapman cover)

Am I Wrong

(Keb’ Mo’ cover)

A Boy From Nowhere

(Mike Leander cover)

I'll Never Fall in Love Again

(Lonnie Donegan cover)

Green, Green Grass of Home

(Johnny Darrell cover)

What's New Pussycat?

(Burt Bacharach cover)

You Can Leave Your Hat On

(Randy Newman cover)

Sex Bomb

It's Not Unusual

(Les Reed cover)

It's Your Thing

(The Isley Brothers cover)

Are You Gonna Go My Way

(Lenny Kravitz cover)

Kiss

(Prince cover)

On This Day 27/07/2003 Marc Almond

On this day, 27 July 2003 former Soft Cell singer Marc Almond played Cardiff’s Big Buzz Festival.

Almond first began performing and recording in the synthpop/new wave duo Soft Cell where he became known for his distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. He has also had a diverse career as a solo artist. His collaborations include a duet with Gene Pitney on the 1989 UK number one single "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart".

Almond's career spanning over four decades has enjoyed critical and commercial acclaim, and he has sold over 30 million records worldwide. He spent a month in a coma after a near-fatal motorcycle accident in 2004 and later became a patron of the brain trauma charity Headway.

He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2018 New Year Honours for services to arts and culture.

Setlist

Tears Run Rings

The Days of Pearly Spencer

(David McWilliams cover)

Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart

(Gene Pitney cover)

Adored and Explored

Tainted Love

(Gloria Jones cover)

Say Hello, Wave Goodbye

On This Day 26/07/2014 Mostly Autumn

On this day, 26 July 2014, Celtic tinged prog rock band Mostly Autumn played The Globe, Cardiff .

The group formed in 1995 and have built their reputation through constant touring, never signing to a major label. They produce music heavily influenced by 1970s progressive rock.

According to the BBC, Mostly Autumn "fuse the music of Genesis and Pink Floyd with Celtic themes, hard rock and strong, emotional melodies". They have also been compared with other progressive bands from the same era such as Renaissance, Jethro Tull and Camel, blended with traditional folk music. Later albums also include more contemporary influences.

First Set

Deep in Borrowdale

Drops of the Sun

Changing Fast

Never the Rainbow

The Rain Song

Evergreen

The Last Climb

Nowhere to Hide (Close My Eyes)

Questioning Eyes

(Breathing Space cover)

Second Set - Dressed In Voices

Saturday Night

Not Yours to Take

Running

(See You)

Home

First Day at School

Down by the River

Skin on Skin

The House on the Hill

The Last Day

Dressed in Voices

The Library

(Footsteps)

Box of Tears

Encore:

Heroes Never Die

Tonight