On this day 13/09/1998 Robbie Williams

On this day, 13 September 1998, Rock/Pop Superstar Robbie Williams played Cooper’s Field, Cardiff, a concert broadcast live on Radio One. The line-up also included Ash, Manic Street Preachers, Republica and Divine Comedy.

Robbie Williams was in the middle of his Ego Has Landed Tour the beginning of which was a gig in Treforest at The Basement on 15 May.

Williams and songwriting partner Guy Chambers had started writing the second album, I've Been Expecting You, in Jamaica in early 1998. The first single, "Millennium", accompanied with a music video featuring Williams parodying James Bond, complete with tuxedo and references to Bond films like Thunderball and From Russia with Love, became Williams' first solo number one single in the United Kingdom.[33] It also became a top twenty hit in many European countries, Latin America and Australia.[34]

I've Been Expecting You was released in late October 1998 and debuted at number one in the UK Albums Chart

On this day 09/08/1992 The Troggs

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On this day, 9 August 1992, rock band The Troggs played the Heineken Music Big Top, Swansea.

The Troggs (originally called the Troglodytes) are an English garage rock band formed in Andover, Hampshire in May 1964. They had a number of hits in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Their most famous songs include the US chart-topper "Wild Thing", "With a Girl Like You" and "Love Is All Around", all of which sold over 1 million copies and were awarded gold discs.

"Wild Thing" is ranked #257 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and was an influence on garage rock and punk rock.

The Troggs are widely seen as a highly influential band whose sound was an inspiration for garage rock and punk rock. Influential American critic Lester Bangs "called the band the progenitors of punk", according to NPR. For example, the Troggs influenced artists such as Iggy Pop, and the early version of British pop-punk pioneers Buzzcocks featured "I Can't Control Myself" in their live repertoire.

The Ramones are also among the punk bands who cited the Troggs as an influence. "I Can't Control Myself" is perhaps the most enduring favourite of critics; it continues to be championed for its originality and lasting influence by radio hosts such as "Little" Steven Van Zandt.

A specially tailored version of "Give It to Me" featured in the "Sadie's Daydream" sequence of Michelangelo Antonioni's 1966 film Blowup. "I Can't Control Myself" appears at the climax of "The Little Chaos", the 1967 short film by German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder and in the "1967" episode of the 1996 British television serial Our Friends in the North.

"With a Girl Like You" is featured uncut in a school dance scene from the 1991 Nicole Kidman/Noah Taylor movie Flirting. It also is featured in Shine, The Good Night and The Boat That Rocked. "Wild Thing" is prominent in Jonathan Demme's 1986 film Something Wild. A modified version of "Love Is All Around" was featured in the film Love Actually (2003), performed by actor Bill Nighy.

The Troggs was the name of the high school gang in the movie Bang Bang, You're Dead that persuade the main character to join them in attacking their high school. The point-and-click adventure game Hopkins FBI features "I Can't Control Myself" and "Lost Girl". Trogg is the name of one of Bane's three henchmen in Dennis O'Neil's Batman: Knightfall comic arc. The other henchmen are Bird and Zombie, named after two other popular 1960s rock bands: the Byrds and the Zombies.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience famously covered "Wild Thing" during their appearance at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, introducing it as the British/American joint "national anthem", and climaxing with Hendrix burning his guitar.

On this day 08/08/1998 Gene

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On this day, 8 August 1998, rock band Gene, fronted by Welshman Martin Rossiter, played Cardiff’s Big Weekend. Also on the bill that Saturday was Welsh band Melys, Carrie and Audioweb.

Formed in 1993, they were popularly labelled as a Britpop band and often drew comparisons to the Smiths because of their Morrissey-esque lead singer, Martin Rossiter. Gene's music was influenced by the Jam, the Smiths, the Style Council and the Clash.

Though Gene were labelled as a Britpop band, Rossiter was never happy being included in the genre saying "It was played out under the dirty shadow of the union flag which I always found quite distasteful. I never had any desire to represent Great Britain.

At the time I said that I regarded myself as European rather than British. I’m a Socialist and I’ve always felt very uncomfortable with the idea of nationalism because it can be a very dangerous thing." He recorded four albums with the band over the period 1995 to 2001, and performed live until 2004.

On this day They Might Be Giants 19/6/1990

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On this day, 19 June 1990, quirky American alternative rock band, They Might Be Giants played Cardiff University in support of their recently released third album FLOOD.

They Might Be Giants toured North America and Europe, including a series of shows in Germany. Due to the scale of the tour, the band's road crew doubled in size—increasing from two members to four.

The band continued to tour as a duo, with Linnell playing accordion and Flansburgh on guitars, or occasionally playing a marching band bass drum.

Large posters of postage stamps adorned the stage as props; the minimal arrangement was received as a boldly simple choice. Sets included a combination of old and new material.

As in the past, the band was backed by a tape deck playing drum tracks or a metronome in lieu of a full rhythm section.

Flood was the duo's first album on the major label Elektra Records. It generated three singles: "Birdhouse in Your Soul", "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)", and the domestic promotional track "Twisting".

The album is generally considered to be the band's definitive release, as it is their best-selling and most recognizable album.

Dire Straits, On This Day 11/6/92

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On this day, 11 June 1992, rock band Dire Straits played Cardiff Arms Park on their, On Every Street World Tour.
Support was provided by Was(Not Was) and Lyle Lovett.

The tour was supporting the band’s sixth and final album, On Every Street. It lasted from 23 August 1991 to 9 October 1992, and included 229 shows in 19 countries throughout Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. The world tour sold 7.1 million tickets.

The tour lineup included Mark Knopfler (guitar, vocals), John Illsley (bass), Guy Fletcher (keyboards), Alan Clark (keyboards), Chris White (saxophone, flute), Paul Franklin (pedal steel guitar), Danny Cummings (percussion), Phil Palmer (guitar), and Chris Whitten (drums).


"The last tour was utter misery," said manager Ed Bicknell. "Whatever the zeitgeist was that we had been part of, it had passed." "Personal relationships were in trouble and it put a terrible strain on everybody, emotionally and physically," agreed Illsley. "We were changed by it."

Setlist
1. Calling Elvis
2. Walk of Life
3. Heavy Fuel
4. Romeo and Juliet
5. The Bug
6. Private Investigations
7. Sultans of Swing
8. Your Latest Trick
9. On Every Street
10. Two Young Lovers
11. Tunnel of Love
Encore #1
12. Money for Nothing
13. Brothers in Arms
14. Solid Rock
15. Wild Theme