On This Day 04/10/1976 The Runaways

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On this day, 4 October 1976, US rock band The Runaways played Cardiff University.

The Runaways were formed in August 1975[5] by drummer Sandy West and guitarist Joan Jett after they had separately introduced themselves to producer Kim Fowley, who gave Jett's phone number to West. Fowley then helped the girls find other members.

Two decades later he said, "I didn't put the Runaways together, I had an idea, they had ideas, we all met, there was combustion and out of five different versions of that group came the five girls who were the ones that people liked."

Starting as a power trio with singer/bassist Micki Steele, the Runaways began the party and club circuit around Los Angeles. They soon added lead guitarist Lita Ford and Jett switched to rhythm guitar. Steele was soon fired from the group, replaced by bassist Peggy Foster, who left after just one month. Lead singer Cherie Currie was recruited in a local teen nightclub called the Sugar Shack, followed by Jackie Fox on bass.

The Runaways were signed to Mercury Records in 1976 and their debut album, The Runaways, was released shortly afterward.

The band toured the U.S. in support of headlining groups such as Cheap Trick, Van Halen, Talking Heads, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

For their stage performance, the documentary Edgeplay: A Film About the Runaways (directed by former Runaway bassist Vicki Blue) revealed each girl patterned herself after their musical idol: Currie on David Bowie, Jett on Suzi Quatro, Ford on a cross between Jeff Beck and Ritchie Blackmore, West on Roger Taylor, and Fox on Gene Simmons.

On This Day 03/10/1978 Ramones

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On this day, 3 October 1978, NY Punk rock pioneers The Ramones played Cardiff University.

The band had just released Road to Ruin, their fourth studio album released on September 21, 1978, through Sire Records.

It was the first Ramones album to feature new drummer Marky Ramone, who replaced Tommy Ramone. Tommy left the band due to low sales of previous albums as well as stress he experienced while touring; however, he stayed with the band to produce the album with Ed Stasium.

The artwork's concept was designed by Ramones fan Gus MacDonald and later modified by John Holmstrom to include Marky instead of Tommy. The album includes the well-known track "I Wanna Be Sedated".

SETLIST

"Rockaway Beach"

"Teenage Lobotomy"

"Blitzkrieg Bop"

"I Don't Want You"

"Go Mental"

"Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment"

"You're Gonna Kill That Girl"

"Don't Come Close"

"I Just Want to Have Something to Do"

"Bad Brain"

"She's the One"

"Sheena Is a Punk Rocker"

"Havana Affair"

"Commando"

"Needles and Pins" (Jackie DeShannon cover)

"Surfin' Bird" (The Trashmen cover)

"Cretin Hop"

"Listen to My Heart"

"California Sun" (Joe Jones cover)

"I Don't Wanna Walk Around with You"

"Pinhead"

Encore:

"Do You Want to Dance" (Bobby Freeman cover)

"I Wanna Be Sedated"

"Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World"

Encore 2:

"Judy Is a Punk"

"Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue"

"We're a Happy Family"

On This Day 02/10/1976 Osibisa

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On this day, 2 October 1976, Ghanaian-Caribbean Afro rock band Osibisa played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre.

Founded in London in the late 1960s by four expatriate West African and three London-based Caribbean musicians.

Osibisa was the most successful and longest lived of the African-heritage bands in London, alongside such contemporaries as Assagai, Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath, Demon Fuzz, Black Velvet, and Noir, and was largely responsible for the establishment of world music and Afro-rock as a marketable genre.

The band spent much of the 1970s touring the world, playing to large audiences in Japan, Australasia, India, and Africa. During this time Paul Golly (guitar) and Ghanaians Daku Adams "Potato" and Kiki Gyan were also members of the band. In January 1976, their single, "Sunshine Day", reached number 17 on the UK Singles Chart. Their next single release, "Dance the Body Music", peaked at number 31 in the same listing.

On This Day 01/10/1966 Dusty Springfield

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On this day, October 1, 1966, Dusty Springfield performed at the Capitol Theatre in Cardiff as part of a package tour that also included The Alan Price Set and Los Bravos. This date also marks the broadcast of the first episode of her BBC television show, "Dusty," which featured the Dudley Moore Trio as guests.

A fixture on British television, Springfield presented many episodes of the popular 1963–66 British TV music series Ready Steady Go! and, between 1966 and 1969, hosted her own series on the BBC and ITV. In 1966, she topped popularity polls, including Melody Maker's "Best International Vocalist", and was the first UK singer to top the New Musical Express readers' poll for best female singer. She has been inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the UK Music Hall of Fame. Multiple critics and polls have lauded Springfield as one of the greatest female singers in popular music.

In 1966, Springfield scored with three other UK hits, all varying in style: the snappy "Little By Little" (no. 17), a cover of Gerry Goffin and Carole King's poignant and reflective "Goin' Back" (no. 10), and the sweeping dramatic ballad "All I See Is You" (no. 9), co-written by Ben Weisman and Clive Westlake. The last peaked at no. 20 in the United States. In August and September 1966, she hosted Dusty, a six-part BBC TV music/talk show series.

A compilation of her singles, Golden Hits, released in November 1966, peaked at no. 2 in the UK (behind the soundtrack to The Sound of Music). From the mid-1960s onward Springfield used the pseudonym "Gladys Thong" when recording backing vocals for other artists including Madeline Bell, Kiki Dee, Anne Murray and Elton John. Bell was a regular backing singer on early Springfield albums, and the pair, together with Lesley Duncan, co-wrote "I'm Gonna Leave You" ,[49] the B-side of "Goin' Back".

On This Day 30/09/1983 Depeche Mode

On this day, 30 September 1983, electro-rock band Depeche Mode played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on the band’s Construction Time Again Tour.

Construction Time Again was the group’s third studio album and the first to feature Alan Wilder as a member, who wrote the songs "Two Minute Warning" and "The Landscape Is Changing". The album's title comes from the second line of the first verse of the track "Pipeline".

It was recorded at John Foxx's Garden Studios in London, and was supported by the Construction Time Again Tour.

Review - South Wales Echo

In January 1983, shortly before the release of the "Get the Balance Right!" single, songwriter Martin Gore attended an Einstürzende Neubauten concert, giving him the idea to experiment with the sounds of industrial music in the context of pop.

This album introduced a transition in lyrical content for the group. Construction Time Again would include a bevy of political themes, sparked by the poverty Gore had seen on a then-recent trip he had taken to Thailand.

The album also saw a dramatic shift in the group's sound, due in part to Wilder's introduction of the Synclavier and E-mu Emulator samplers. By sampling the noises of everyday objects, the band created an eclectic, industrial-influenced sound, with similarities to groups such as the Art of Noise and Einstürzende Neubauten (the latter becoming Mute labelmates in 1983)

Review - South Wales Argus

Setlist

Everything Counts

Now, This Is Fun

Two Minute Warning

Shame

See You

Get the Balance Right

Love, in Itself

Pipeline

The Landscape Is Changing

And Then...

Photographic

Told You So

New Life

More Than a Party

Encore:

The Meaning of Love

Just Can't Get Enough

Encore 2:

Boys Say Go!

On This Day 29/09/1977 Leo Sayer

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On this day, 29 September 1977, singer Leo Sayer played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre, the first date on his Thunder In My Heart tour.

Thunder In My Heart was the title of Sayer’s fifth album released on the 30 September 1977, peaking at #8 in the UK album charts.

Review - South Wales Argus

Setlist

Giving It All Away

I Hear the Laughter

In My Life

Hold On to My Love

One Man Band

Train

Thunder in My Heart

Easy to Love

You Make Me Feel Like Dancing

Moonlighting

Fool for Your Love

When I Need You

(Albert Hammond cover)

How Much Love

Encore:

Long Tall Glasses (I Can Dance)

The Show Must Go On

On This Day 28/09/2004 The Music

On this day, 28 September 2004, alternative rock band The Music played Cardiff University on their Welcome To The North tour.

Formed in Kippax, Leeds in 1999. Comprising Robert Harvey (vocals, guitar), Adam Nutter (lead guitar), Stuart Coleman (bass) and Phil Jordan (drums), the band came to prominence with the release of their self-titled debut album in 2002. The band released two further studio albums, Welcome to the North (2004) and Strength in Numbers (2008), before parting ways in 2011.

Welcome to the North received mixed reviews from critics, some of whom commented on the production and song quality, while others highlighted the array of musical styles. The album reached number eight in the UK Albums Chart; it reached the top 30 in both Japan and Australia, as well as the lower reaches of the Irish and French charts. "Freedom Fighters" peaked within the top 20 of the UK, in addition to charting in the Netherlands and the US. "Breakin'" reached a similar position in the UK, alongside charting in Australia and the US. Welcome to the North was certified silver in the UK by the British Phonographic Industry a few days after release, and later went gold in early 2005.

On This Day 27/09/1977 The Motors

On this day, 27 September 1977, British rock band The Motors played Cardiff’s Top Rank.

Formed in London in 1977 by former Ducks Deluxe members Nick Garvey and Andy McMaster together with guitarist Rob Hendry (who was replaced in May 1977 by Bram Tchaikovsky) and drummer Ricky Slaughter.

Their biggest success was with the McMaster penned song "Airport", a number 4 UK hit single in 1978.

The Motors' debut live performance was at the Marquee Club in March 1977, and they recorded three songs for John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show the same month (22 March 1977).

By May they had been signed to Virgin Records, and recorded material for another John Peel session on 12 September of that year.

The Motors' original recording line-up released two albums, both of which met with modest success; 1 released in October 1977 and Approved by the Motors the following year.

Their first single "Dancing the Night Away", which was released in September 1977 reached number 42 in the UK Singles Chart. Two other sizeable hits followed. In 1978, the band released "Airport" – which proved to be the band's biggest seller – and which peaked at number 4. The song was also a minor hit in the United States. The follow-up, "Forget About You", was released two months later.

The Garvey/McMaster/Tchaikovsky/Slaughter line-up split when Tchaikovsky left after they played at the Reading Rock Festival on 28 August 1978. It would become The Motors’ final UK concert.

They played as first support to Status Quo. Slaughter also left the group soon afterwards. Tchaikovsky would subsequently release three solo albums, the first of which took him into the American Top 40 with the power pop song "Girl of My Dreams".

Following the departure of Tchaikovsky and Slaughter, Welsh rhythm section bassist Martin Ace and drummer Terry Williams were recruited to fill in the Motors' studio line-up.

Martin and Terry had together made up the rhythm section for 1970s progressive rockers Man; Martin later relaunched Man whilst Terry joined Rockpile and later had a stint with Dire Straits.