On This Day 07/04/2005 The Glitterati

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On this day, 7 April 2005, hard rock band The Glitterati played Cardiff’s Barfly along with rock band Hurricane Party (Roadstar).

Originally from Leeds, but primarily based in London, England during most of their career. The band were signed to Atlantic Records and later to DR2 Records/Global Music.

In 2004 the band released an EP called "Here Comes a Close Up". Limited to a certain number of copies, it was not eligible for the UK Singles Chart, but did manage to sell all its limited edition units.

The band released their debut album The Glitterati on 25 April 2005 on Atlantic Records The album was produced by Mike Clink, who previously worked with Guns N' Roses (on Appetite for Destruction and Use Your Illusion I and II) and Metallica. The album was completed in a recording studio in Los Angeles. This was followed by the extensive 'Back In Power' tour of the UK.

In early 2005, the band broke into the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart with their single "You Got Nothing On Me". Their next single, "Heartbreaker", also entered the UK Top 40.

They were nominated in The Best New Band Category at the Kerrang Awards.

In 2005, the band also co-headlined the second Nokia 'New School of Rock' tour, together with The Black Velvets and Hurricane Party.

Over the summer of 2005, The Glitterati played at festivals in the United Kingdom such as T in the Park and Download Festival at Donington Park and The Leeds & Reading Festival

and also Toured with a number of varied acts throughout 2004-2006 including The Killers, The Wildhearts, Kings Of Leon, David Lee Roth, Jet, The Vines and many more, garnering a reputation as an exciting Live band.

On This Day 31/03/2004 Bloc Party

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On this day, 31 March 2004, rock band Bloc Party played Cardiff’s Barfly venue.

Formed in London in 1999 by co-founders Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler) and Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards). They are joined in the band's current iteration by Louise Bartle (drums, percussion) and touring bassist Harry Deacon.

Former members Matt Tong, Gordon Moakes and Justin Harris left the band in 2013, 2015 and 2023 respectively. Their brand of music, whilst rooted in rock, retains elements of other genres such as electronica and house music.

Upon their formation at the 1999 Reading Festival by Okereke and Lissack, the band went through a variety of names before settling on Bloc Party in 2003. Moakes joined the band after answering an advert in NME magazine, while Tong was picked via an audition. Bloc Party got their break by giving BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq and Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos a copy of their demo "She's Hearing Voices".

In February 2005, the band released their debut album Silent Alarm. It was critically acclaimed and was named Indie Album of the Year at the 2006 PLUG Awards and NME Album of the year which both honour indie music. That year, the record was also certified platinum in Britain.

On This Day 21/01/2003 Martin Grech

On this day, 21 January 2003, singer, songwriter and musician Martin Grech played Cardiff’s Barfly.

From Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, Grech released his debut album Open Heart Zoo, produced by Andy Ross, in June 2002. He achieved critical acclaim for his falsetto title track, "Open Heart Zoo" (written when he was 15 years old), which was featured on a Lexus advert on British television. This was followed by a well-received UK tour.

In 2003 Grech was invited to play at the Jeff Buckley tribute concert by Buckley's mother Mary Guibert, at the Garage, Highbury alongside Ed Harcourt and Jamie Cullum. In 2005, Adam White sampled "Open Heart Zoo" for his trance track "Ballerina".

In 2005, Grech released a second album, Unholy. As before, reviews were positive. The Unholy art work created by Stephen Kasner was hung as a backdrop to his concerts.

ON THIS DAY 31/08/2004 ALEXISONFIRE

On this day, 31 August 2004, Canadian post-hardcore band Alexisisonfire played Cardiff’s Barfly,

They describe their music as "the sound of two Catholic high-school girls in mid-knife-fight" (a reference to their song "A Dagger Through the Heart of St. Angeles", also the inspiration for their debut album cover art).

When the band emerged in late 2001, it was enough to impress critics as well as earning their self-titled debut album a platinum certification in Canada.

The band has released three subsequent successful studio albums since then: Watch Out! in 2004, Crisis in 2006, and Old Crows/Young Cardinals in 2009, each achieving platinum certification in their native country. Plus three special edition live albums from Manchester Academy, Birmingham Academy, and Brixton Academy.

Their accolades include a 2005 Juno Award for New Group of the Year.

In August 2011, vocalist George Pettit posted a message to fans on the band's official website stating that, following the departure of two members, that they would issue several special releases and complete a farewell tour before parting ways.

On March 9, 2015, following the previously shared post on social media the band appear to have confirmed themselves for several reunion shows, including Heavy MONTRÉAL, Reading and Leeds festivals, Sonic Boom, X-Fest, Riot Fest Toronto and the band's only American date, Riot Fest Chicago.

On September 19, 2015, during the band's last date of the tour at the Riot Fest in Toronto, Ontario, MacNeil announced on stage that the band was officially back.

On This Day 16/08/2002 Death Cab For Cutie

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On this day, 16 August 2002, American rock band Death Cab For Cutie played Cardiff’s Barfly.

Formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. The band is currently composed of Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Nick Harmer (bass), Dave Depper (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Zac Rae (keyboards, guitar), and Jason McGerr (drums).

The band was originally a solo project by Gibbard, who expanded the project into a complete group upon getting a record deal.

They released their debut album, Something About Airplanes, in 1998. The band's fourth album, 2003's Transatlanticism, broke into the mainstream both critically and commercially; its songs were featured in various TV series and films.

The band's major label debut for Atlantic Records, 2005's Plans, went platinum.

Setlist

Bend to Squares

Photobooth

For What Reason

Why You'd Want to Live Here

We Laugh Indoors

A Movie Script Ending

Company Calls

Technicolor Girls

Pictures in an Exhibition

Information Travels Faster

Blacking Out the Friction

Atmosphere

(Joy Division cover)

Styrofoam Plates

On This Day 02/02/2003 Electric Six

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On this day, 2 February 2003, American rock band Electric Six played Cardiff’s Barfly.

Formed in 1996 in Detroit, Michigan. Their music was described by AllMusic as a combination of garage, disco, punk rock, new wave, and metal. The band achieved recognition in 2003 with the singles "Danger! High Voltage" and "Gay Bar".

The 2003 release of "Danger! High Voltage" (produced and mixed by Damien Mendis and Stuart Bradbury) proved a massive hit, particularly in the United Kingdom.

The single also garnered the band public attention after a rumor got out that a pre-fame Jack White from The White Stripes sang backup vocals on the single track "Danger! (High Voltage)" when it was recorded.

Although this was presented as fact in multiple sources, then-guitarist Surge said in an interview:

'What about the Jack White rumors? Who sings with Dick Valentine in the song?' Surge responds, 'No, no it's a fan. We put a competition out, um and he won, he's a mechanic, it wasn't Jack White.' Disco adds, 'Yeah he was probably the only person that entered!'

Setlist

She's White

Nuclear War (On the Dance Floor)

I Invented the Night

Improper Dancing

Electric Demons (In Love)

Remote Control (Me)

Gay Bar

Naked Pictures (Of Your Mother)

I'm the Bomb

Danger! High Voltage

Dance Commander

Vengeance and Fashion

(The Dirty Shame cover)

Encore:

Radio Ga Ga

(Queen cover)

Don't Be Afraid of the Robot

I'm a Demon

(Roky Erickson cover)

On this day 12/07/2002 Biffy Clyro

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On this day, 12 July 2002, Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro played Cardiff’s Barfly.

In March the band had released their debut album Blackened Sky. The album reached number 78 on the UK Albums Chart, and spawned four singles.

Critical reception to Biffy Clyro's debut album was generally mixed. John Murphy of independent music website musicOMH, writing at the time of its release in 2002, claimed that Blackened Sky was evidence of Biffy's status as "the most exciting new band in Britain", drawing comparisons to influencing band Nirvana and praising elements such as the consistency in the vocal performances.

The band have never disclosed where the name 'Biffy Clyro' originated, and Simon Neil has said that it was "a stupid name" that was often "awkward" to explain its origins when the band started and when not many had heard their music.

Whilst being interviewed on Soccer AM, the band said that they make up stories about how they are named because they are bored with being asked the same question. Among the conflicting answers the band have given are:

In a Soccer AM interview, the band stated that they named themselves after a footballer named Biffy Clyro who played for South Ayrshire football club Ayr United,

Another story is that the band members were thinking about manufacturing Cliff Richard merchandise and they thought about the Laszlo Biro pen and thought of "Cliffy Biro" that was then accidentally spoonerised on a drunken night out to 'Biffy Clyro'.

Another interview claims that the name Biffy Clyro comes from an acronym for "Big Imagination For Feeling Young 'Cos Life Yearns Real Optimism".

The band stated in an interview for BalconyTV that the name was that of a Finnish footballer from the 17th century.

On Off the Ball in August 2011, Ben Johnston said "Well it's a marriage of two words: Biffy is in fact the nickname of the spy who the James Bond novels were based on and Clyro is a village in Wales where both our families … used to go on holiday …"

In an episode of Music Choice's Pop Quiz, Simon Neil said that Biffy Clyro is the name of a Scotsman that built his own rocket and was the first man in space.

"'Mon the Biffy!" or, in more recent times, "'Mon the Biff!", are well known chants among Clyro fans,[42] usually shouted in between songs at gigs, or before the band comes on stage.