On This Day 15/04/1973 Sharks

On this day, 15 April 1973, rock band Sharks played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre supporting headlining band Roxy Music.

Sharks are a British rock band formed in 1972 by bassist Andy Fraser upon his departure from Free. They were signed to Island Records and were highly rated by critics, especially for Chris Spedding's guitar work.

The original line-up consisted of Fraser (bass, piano), Snips (real name, Steve Parsons) (vocals), Spedding (guitar) and Marty Simon (drums).

Andy Fraser had originally contacted Chris Spedding, in July 1971, to discuss playing in his first post-Free band, Toby. When Fraser formed Sharks a year later, he contacted Spedding again and, this time, they agreed to work together. Fraser had already recruited his friend Marty Simon, so auditions were held for a singer to complete the line-up.

Robert Palmer and Leo Sayer were turned down in favour of an unknown 21-year-old from Yorkshire, Steve Parsons, also known as Snips, originally spotted by Island A&R man Muff Winwood. Snips had previously fronted a Hull-based band called Nothingeverhappens. Parsons "played one song of his, "Snakes and Swallowtails" and he was in", Spedding later told Melody Maker.

Sharks' first gig was in October 1972, in Islington and they played a few clubs in Europe during December 1972, before returning to London, to record their debut album.

In January & February 1973, Sharks embarked on a UK tour, playing clubs and universities. To promote the band, whilst touring, Chris Spedding customized his Pontiac Le Mans, fitting a shark fin on the roof and fibreglass teeth on the grille. On 19 February 1973, on the way back to London from a gig in Cleethorpes, the car skidded and hit a tree. Fraser suffered injuries to his wrist and, during recuperation, had second thoughts about the band.

After a short break, the band went back on the road in March and April, opening for Roxy Music, although Fraser had some difficulty playing with his injury. On 17 March, they made an appearance on the BBC Two programme, Old Grey Whistle Test. The tour ended on 15 April, in Cardiff.

On This Day 13/12/1972 Supertramp

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On this day, 13 December 1972, rock band Supertramp played Cardiff High School.

formed in London in 1970. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), the group were distinguished for blending progressive rock and pop styles.

The classic lineup, which lasted ten years from 1973 to 1983, comprised Davies, Hodgson, Dougie Thomson (bass), Bob Siebenberg (drums) and John Helliwell (saxophone), after which the group's lineup changed numerous times, with Davies eventually becoming the only constant member throughout its history.

The group found no success with their first two albums, but after a lineup change into what became their classic lineup, their third album, Crime of the Century (1974), was their breakthrough.

Initially a more experimental prog-rock group, they began moving towards a more pop-oriented sound with the album. The band reached their commercial peak with 1979's Breakfast in America, which yielded the international top 10 singles "The Logical Song", "Breakfast in America", "Goodbye Stranger" and "Take the Long Way Home". Their other top 40 hits included "Dreamer" (1974), "Give a Little Bit" (1977) and "It's Raining Again" (1982).

On This Day 09/09/1975 Kraftwerk

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On this day, 9 September 1975, German pioneering electronic band Kraftwerk played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre.

Kraftwerk (German pronunciation: [ˈkʁaftvɛɐ̯k], lit. "power plant") were formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the genre.

The group began as part of West Germany's experimental krautrock scene in the early 1970s before fully embracing electronic instrumentation, including synthesizers, drum machines, and vocoders. Wolfgang Flür joined the band in 1973 and Karl Bartos in 1975, expanding the band to a quartet.

The year 1975 saw a turning point in Kraftwerk's live shows. With financial support from Phonogram Inc., in the US, they were able to undertake a tour to promote the Autobahn album, a tour which took them to the US, Canada and the UK for the first time.

The tour also saw a new, stable, live line-up in the form of a quartet. Hütter and Schneider continued playing keyboard synthesizers such as the Minimoog and ARP Odyssey, with Schneider's use of flute diminishing. The two men started singing live for the first time, and Schneider processing his voice with a vocoder live. Wolfgang Flür and new recruit Karl Bartos performed on home-made electronic percussion instruments. Bartos also used a Deagan vibraphone on stage. The Hütter-Schneider-Bartos-Flür formation remained in place until the late 1980s and is now regarded as the classic live line-up of Kraftwerk. Emil Schult generally fulfilled the role of tour manager.

After the 1975 Autobahn tour, Kraftwerk began work on a follow-up album, Radio-Activity (German title: Radio-Aktivität). After further investment in new equipment, the Kling Klang Studio became a fully working recording studio.

The group used the central theme in radio communication, which had become enhanced on their last tour of the United States. With Emil Schult working on artwork and lyrics, Kraftwerk began to compose music for the new record. Even though Radio-Activity was less commercially successful than Autobahn in the UK and United States, the album served to open up the European market for Kraftwerk, earning them a gold disc in France. Kraftwerk made videos and performed several European live dates to promote the album. With the release of Autobahn and Radio-Activity, Kraftwerk left behind avant-garde experimentation and moved towards the electronic pop tunes for which they are best known.

On This Day 11/07/1978 The Specials

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On this day, 11 July 1978 , legendary ska/punk band The Specials played Cardiff’s Top Rank as support to punk giants The Clash.

Originally called The Hybrids, The Automatics, later became Coventry Specials, Special AKA eventually becoming The Specials (Jun 78-81).

The group was formed in 1977 by songwriter/keyboardist Dammers, vocalist Tim Strickland, guitarist/vocalist Lynval Golding, drummer Silverton Hutchinson and bassist Horace Panter (Sir Horace Gentleman). Strickland was replaced by Terry Hall shortly after the band's formation. The band was first called the Automatics, then the Coventry Automatics. Guitarist Roddy Byers (usually known as Roddy Radiation) agreed to join the band in March 1978 ahead of a recording session of demos.

The Specials at Cardiff Top Rank

The new line-up changed their name to The Special A.K.A. The Automatics after another band called the Automatics signed a record deal with Island Records. The new name was a bit of a mouthful and was shortened to The Special AKA. The name Special AKA soon evolved into The Specials – the moniker that would be used for most of the band's career.

Joe Strummer of The Clash had attended one of their concerts, and invited the Special AKA to open for his band in their "On Parole" UK tour. This performance gave the Special AKA a new level of national exposure, and they briefly shared the Clash's management. During the tour Neville Staple, who was initially one of the roadies, became a full member of The Specials when his version of "Monkey Man" was incorporated into the group's set.

Jerry Dammers (keyb)
Lynval Golding (gtr)
Horace Panter (bass)
Silverton Hutchinson (drms)
Terry Hall (voc)
Roddy Radiation (gtr)
Nevile Staples (voc)

On This Day 04/11/1972 The Kinks

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On this day, 4 October 1972, legendary London band The Kinks played Cardiff’s Top Rank.

The band had just recently released their eleventh album Everybody’s in Show-biz, a double album, the first disc features studio recordings, while the second disc documents a two-night Carnegie Hall stand.

Everybody's in Show-Biz is often seen by fans as a transition album for the Kinks, marking the change in Ray Davies' songwriting style toward more theatrical, campy and vaudevillian work, as evidenced by the rock-opera concept albums that followed it.

This album marks Davies' explorations of the trials of rock-star life and the monotony of touring, themes that would reappear in future releases like The Kinks Present A Soap Opera and the 1987 live album Live: The Road.

On This Day 03/10/1977 Boomtown Rats

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On this day, 3 September 1977, Irish punk rockers the Boomtown Rats played Cardiff University.

Originally formed in Dublin in 1975. Between 1977 and 1985, they had a series of Irish and UK hits including "Like Clockwork", "Rat Trap", "I Don't Like Mondays" and "Banana Republic".

The original line-up comprised six musicians; five from Dún Laoghaire in County Dublin; Gerry Cott (rhythm guitar), Simon Crowe (drums), Johnnie Fingers (keyboards), Bob Geldof (vocals) and Garry Roberts (lead guitar), plus Fingers' cousin Pete Briquette (bass).

The Boomtown Rats broke up in 1986, but reformed in 2013, without Fingers or Cott. Garry Roberts died in 2022. The band's fame and notability have been overshadowed by the charity work of frontman Bob Geldof.

Initially known as The Nightlife Thugs, the group changed their name to The Boomtown Rats, which Geldof had taken from Woody Guthrie's autobiography Bound for Glory.

In the summer of 1976, the group played their first UK gig before moving to London where they signed with Ensign Records later that year. Their first single, "Lookin' After No. 1", released in August 1977 after a year of touring, including a support slot with Tom Petty. It reached the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart at No. 11.

Their first album The Boomtown Rats was released the following month and included another single, "Mary of the 4th Form" reached No. 15 in December. Music journalist Martin C. Strong commented, "Geldof's moody charisma helped to give the band a distinct identity".

On This Day 11/09/1975 Wings

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On this day, 11 September 1975, Paul McCartney’s Wings played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre.

Former Beatle Paul McCartney and his band Wings (consisting of his wife Linda, Denny Laine, Jimmy McCulloch and Joe English, together with a brass section led by Howie Casey) performed the third of 66 shows of the Wings Over the World tour at the Capitol Theatre in Cardiff Wales, following concerts at Southampton and Bristol.

The Wings Over the World tour was a series of concerts in 1975 and 1976 by the British–American rock band Wings performed in Britain, Australia, Europe, the United States and Canada. The North American leg constituted band leader Paul McCartney's first live performances there since the Beatles' final tour, in 1966, and the only time Wings would perform live in the US and Canada.

The world tour was well-attended and critically acclaimed, and resulted in a triple live album, Wings over America, released in December 1976. In addition, the tour was documented in the television film Wings Over the World (1979) and a cinema release, Rockshow (1980).

BAND Interview - https://youtu.be/oW8K_dn4AN4

Setlist:

1. Venus and Mars

2. Rock Show

3. Jet

4. Let Me Roll It

5. Spirits of Ancient Egypt

6. Little Woman Love

7. C Moon

8. Maybe I'm Amazed

   (Paul McCartney song)

9. Lady Madonna

   (The Beatles cover)

10. The Long and Winding Road

    (The Beatles cover)

11. Medicine Jar

12. Soily

13. Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me)

14. Richard Cory

    (Simon & Garfunkel cover)

15. Bluebird

16. I've Just Seen a Face

    (The Beatles cover)

17. Blackbird

    (The Beatles cover)

18. Yesterday

    (The Beatles cover)

19. You Gave Me the Answer

20. Magneto and Titanium Man

21. Go Now

    (Bessie Banks cover)

22. Junior's Farm

23. Letting Go

24. Live and Let Die

25. Call Me Back Again

26. My Love

27. Listen to What the Man Said

28. Band on the Run

29. Hi, Hi, Hi

On This Day 06/05/1978 Magazine

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On this day, 6 May 1978, rock band Magazine played Cardiff University.

Formed in 1977 in Manchester in England by singer Howard Devoto and guitarist John McGeoch.

After leaving the punk group Buzzcocks in early 1977, Devoto decided to create a more progressive and less "traditional" rock band.

The original lineup of Magazine was composed by Devoto, McGeoch, Barry Adamson on bass, Dave Formula on Keyboards and Martin Jackson on drums.

Their debut album Real Life (1978) was critically acclaimed and was one of the first post-punk albums. After releasing two other albums Secondhand Daylight and The Correct Use of Soap, McGeoch left the band in 1980 to join Siouxsie and the Banshees.

Magazine released another studio album and disbanded in 1981.

In early 1978, the band released their first single, "Shot by Both Sides", a song Magazine recorded as a quartet. It featured a guitar-bass-drums sound similar to punk rock.

Shortly after the single's release, Dave Formula, who had played with a briefly successful 1960s rock band from Manchester called St. Louis Union, joined as keyboardist. "Shot by Both Sides" used a chord progression suggested by Pete Shelley, which was also used in the Buzzcocks track "Lipstick".

The Magazine single just missed the UK Top 40. The band, with Formula on keyboards, made its first major TV appearance on Top of the Pops in February 1978, performing the single.

Following a British tour to promote their debut album Real Life (which made the UK Top 30), Jackson left Magazine in late July. He was replaced briefly by Paul Spencer, who performed with the band for gigs across Europe and some television appearances, including The Old Grey Whistle Test, where they played "Definitive Gaze".