On This Day 03/04/1967 Otis Redding

On this day, April 3rd, 1967, Otis Redding and the star-studded Stax Records revue played Top Rank Suite in the Welsh capital, and those who attended the event said that Redding was immense as part of the outstanding line-up.

Redding was joined by special guests Arthur Conley, Sam & Dave, Eddie Floyd, The Mar-Keys and Booker T. & the M.G.’s; a bill that’ll live on as one of Cardiff’s greatest Soul/R&B showings.

Unlike the Motown Records tour of 1965, which (surprisingly) was a rather anticlimactic show, the Stax Records gig was a huge success. That night at Top Rank Suite helped popularise the genre in South Wales, and Redding will be regarded by listeners all across the world as one of the most charismatic and beloved soul singers of his generation. 

Before his death in a tragic airplane accident on 10th December 1967, Otis Redding had written and recorded an ambitious selection of new music. ‘(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay’ was one of these, and when eventually released in January 1968, it became the first posthumous record in history to reach No. 1 on the Billboard charts. The song almost became Redding’s self-written obituary.

It was a stunning overture that preceded the USA’s catastrophic failure in Vietnam, as well as the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr and Robert Kennedy in 1968. However, Redding’s death was not overshadowed by the events that followed, with ‘(Sittin on) The Dock of the Bay’ selling more than two million copies.

On This Day 02/04/2015 Ella Eyre

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On this day, 2 April 2015, singer and songwriter, Ella Eyre played Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena as support act to Olly Murs.

She is known for her collaborations with Rudimental on their UK number-one single "Waiting All Night" (2013), which won the 2014 Brit Award for British Single of the Year, with DJ Fresh on his single "Gravity" (2015), and with Sigala on his singles "Came Here for Love" (2017) and "Just Got Paid" (2018). Her debut EP, Deeper, was released in 2013 and her debut album, Feline, was released in 2015. Eyre's musical influences include Lauryn Hill, Etta James, Basement Jaxx and Hans Zimmer.

Eyre's first EP, Deeper, was released in December 2013, and the title track reached number 72. She was the runner-up for the 2014 BRIT Critics' Choice Award and came second on the BBC Sound of 2014 shortlist. Her next three solo singles—"If I Go", "Comeback" (both 2014) and "Together" (2015)—reached the top twenty on the UK Singles Chart. She co-wrote the UK number one single "Changing" for drum and bass duo Sigma featuring British recording artist Paloma Faith, which was released in the United Kingdom in September 2014. The following month, Eyre won Best Newcomer at the MOBO Awards 2014.

Eyre featured on the DJ Fresh single "Gravity", released in February 2015. In May 2015, a song Eyre co-wrote, "Black Smoke", was used by Ann Sophie, the German participant of the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. Also during mid 2015, Eyre supported Olly Murs on his 2015 arena tour and was announced as the "face" of the advertising campaign for an Emporio Armani Diamonds fragrance.

On this Day 01/04/1979 The Members

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On this day, 1 April 1979, punk band The Members played Cardiff’s Top Rank as support to rock band Eddie and the Hot Rods.

The Members were formed by lyricist Nicky Tesco (Nick Lightowlers) in 1976, through an invited audition at a recording studio at Tooley Street, London. The original personnel, with Tesco (vocals), was Gary Baker (guitar), and Steve Morley (bass guitar), initially with Steve Maycock then Clive Parker (drums). Morley and Parker were later replaced by Chris Payne and Adrian Lillywhite.

In 1978/79, the Members continued to play the London pub and club circuit, became a feature in the music press and were championed by John Peel.

They signed to Virgin Records in 1978, for which label they recorded "The Sound of the Suburbs", again produced by Steve Lillywhite. This became The Members' biggest chart success and their best-known song in the UK.

However, the follow-up single, "Offshore Banking Business", a reggae tune written by Carroll, based on his experiences working in offshore banking at the private bank Coutts, did not achieve the same popularity. A version of "Offshore Banking Business" was recorded for the early 1980s film Urgh! A Music War, produced by Michael White, and distributed by Filmways and Lorimar Productions.

Band

Nicky Tesco – lead vocals

Gary Baker – guitars

Adrian Lillywhite – drums, percussion

JC Carroll – guitars, backing vocals

Chris Payne – bass, backing vocals

On This Day 31/03/2006 The Organ

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On this day, 31 March 2006, Canadian post-punk band The Organ, played Cardiff’s Barfly.

The Organ were conceived in 2001 by frontwoman Katie Sketch in Vancouver, BC. Sketch's musical training started at the age of three, when she began classical training on the violin. Her childhood was spent largely in ignorance of the underground sounds of The Smiths, The Cure, and Joy Division, whom The Organ would later often be favorably compared to. "Tiffany and Bon Jovi – that was my take on '80s music."

On November 14, 2005, The Organ appeared live on BBC Radio 6 Music with their new bass player. They gave a brief interview and performed live renditions of the songs "Nothing I Can Do" and "Love, Love, Love." On the 27th, a little over a week later, The Organ announced via their website that they had just been signed to Too Pure Records, through which Grab That Gun would be available throughout the world in February 2006.

The album cover was designed by David Cuesta at 7th Avenue house, and is based on a grid constructed around the Fibonacci sequence, to match musical scales. He also designed the logo based on sketches by Katie and Jenny.

On August 23, 2006, the band released a statement on MySpace saying they were canceling the remaining portion of their UK tour which included dates at the Reading and Leeds Festivals. The reason given was illness to a band member and they assured fans the band were not splitting up.

On December 7, 2006, the band released a statement on their MySpace and official site stating that they were breaking up. The statement read:

"We are sad to announce that we're breaking up. We want to thank our friends, fans, and family for all the support you gave to us. Thank you.

Shelby, Jenny, Katie, Debora, and Shmoo."

In an interview on CBC Radio 3 the following day, Jenny declined to discuss the reasons for the breakup saying that there were issues they preferred to keep private but implied that it had little or nothing to do with either geography or Katie's modeling career. "There were," she said, "so many reasons," she "wouldn't know where to start."

On This Day 30/03/2002 Reuben

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On this day, 30 March 2002, alternative rock/metal band Reuben played Cardiff’s Barfly on their Scared of the Police tour.

The band performed in the UK underground music scene. Although they attracted a significant fanbase, Reuben never achieved mainstream success, but did chart four songs in the UK Singles Chart. Their highest charting single was 2004's "Freddy Kreuger", that reached UK No. 53.

The band formed in 1998 when singer/guitarist Jamie Lenman and bassist Jon Pearce originally played with producer Jason Wilson (formerly Wilcock) of Stakeout Studios on drums as Angel, sharing local stages with many bands, one of which would become Hundred Reasons. Between 1998 and 2000, Angel recorded and self-released a string of limited edition demos. The songs and artwork of one of these demos, Betrayed, was available to download via the band's website. Many Angel songs were used as b-sides to Reuben singles.

In March 2000, they parted ways with Wilson, and Mark Lawton joined as drummer, with whom they wrote and recorded the Pilot EP, which was released in January 2001 on the Badmusic label after they changed their name to Reuben. The group decided to go ahead with recording the EP after they had won a battle of the bands in Bookham, Surrey, in front of a panel of 12-year-olds. Following the release of Pilot EP, Lawton left and was replaced by their final drummer, Guy Davis. The new line-up toured around the UK, and were the subject of a two-hour special on Zane Lowe's XFM Radio Show, despite not yet releasing an album.

On This Day 26/03/2006 OK Go

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On this day, 27 March 2006, American indie rock band OK Go played Cardiff University with support provided by The Bright Space.

The band's second album, Oh No, was recorded in Malmö, Sweden, in the fall of 2004 and was produced by Tore Johansson (the Cardigans, Franz Ferdinand) and mixed by Dave Sardy (Nine Inch Nails, Jet, System of a Down). In February 2005, Andy Duncan left the band, citing creative differences, major label pressures, and the band's rigorous touring schedule.

Duncan was replaced by Andy Ross, who beat out 34 other guitarists who auditioned for the role, in a process that ended with each candidate being asked about their willingness to do a choreographed dance on stage.[28] Ross introduced himself to the band's fans by writing a blog post entitled "The Will To Rock," in which he detailed life on the road, beginning with his first show with the band on February 18, 2005.

Released in August 2005, Oh No gained popularity for its first single, "A Million Ways". Ross programmed a web application, hosted at a1000000ways.com, that allowed people to hear the single and to share it with their friends in exchange for free downloads from the iTunes music store.

The video for "A Million Ways" featured the band in a backyard performing a dance choreographed by lead singer Kulash's sister, Trish Sie. By August 2006, the video had become the most downloaded music video ever, with over 9 million downloads.The band performed the dance live on British TV show Soccer AM, as well as on the late-night American comedy show Mad TV.

Setlist

"Don't Ask Me"

"No Sign of Life"

"Here It Goes Again"

"Let It Rain"

"Bye Bye Baby"

"A Good Idea at the Time"

"Don't Bring Me Down"

"Get Over It"

"The Fix Is In"

"Oh Lately It's So Quiet"

Invincible

"Do What You Want"

"You're So Damn Hot"

"It's a Disaster"

"A Million Ways (dance sequence)"

On This Day 26/03/2007 Faithless

On this day, 26 March 2007, dance music band Faithless played Cardiff International Arena on their To All New Arrivals tour.

To All New Arrivals was the bands 5th studio album and was created after the positive response to the Faithless Greatest Hits tour, originally described as their "final tour".

The album was released on 27 November 2006, a week after the single "Bombs". The title for the album was inspired by the recent birth of two babies to band members Rollo and Sister Bliss. The album cover features the 1880 oil painting, Nightfall on the Thames, by John Atkinson Grimshaw.

The album was supported by a tour of all of the United Kingdom's major arenas, which began in Nottinghamon 17 March 2007. It entered the UK Albums Chart at number 30 for the week ending 3 December 2006. Given that their previous studio album, No Roots, entered the charts at number 1, this position was seen as a disappointment.

Lead singer Maxi Jazz loved the title, partly due to his Buddhist faith and partly due to his parents being new arrivals to the UK in the 1950s.

The track "Spiders, Crocodiles & Kryptonite" features the vocals of Robert Smith of English rock band The Cure, as well as a sample and a section of arrangement from The Cure hit "Lullaby".

Unlike the original versions of Faithless' previous studio albums, initially this album was not released in the United States.

On This Day 25/03/1989 Fishbone

On This Day, 25 March 1989, American rock band Fishbone played Cardiff’s The Venue.

Formed in 1979, the band plays a fusion of ska, punk, funk, metal, reggae, and soul. AllMusic has described the group as "one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the late '80s. With their hyperactive, self-conscious diversity, goofy sense of humor, and sharp social commentary, the group gained a sizable cult following".

Fishbone first assembled as school students in 1979 with John Norwood Fisher (bass), his brother Philip "Fish" Fisher (drums), Angelo Moore (vocals, saxophones, theremin), Kendall Jones (guitar), "Dirty" Walter A. Kibby II (vocals, trumpet), and Christopher Dowd (keyboards, trombone, vocals). They achieved their greatest commercial success in the late 1980s and early 1990s, after which they went through many personnel changes.

Fishbone was primarily considered a ska and funk band during their early years, but later became more guitar-driven with a focus on rock and soul music. The 1988 album Truth and Soul brought Fishbone wide critical acclaim. With this album, the band also added social commentary to their lyrics, covering topics such as the breakup of families, contemporary racism, fascism, nuclear war, and oppression in lower income housing projects.

The album was highlighted by a hard rock-inspired version of Curtis Mayfield's classic "Freddie's Dead" from the film Super Fly. The music video, directed by Douglas Gayeton, became the band's first hit on MTV. That same year, the group toured with Red Hot Chili Peppers and became nationally known in the burgeoning alternative music scene.[16] Also that year, Fishbone and Little Richard recorded the Lead Belly song "Rock Island Line" for the tribute album Folkways: A Vision Shared.

The band added former Miles Davis sideman John Bigham on guitar and keyboards in 1989.