On This Day 03/08/2003 The Waterboys

On this day, 3 August 2003, British-Irish folk rock band The Waterboys played Cardiff’s Big Weekend. Also performing that day were, The Elephant is Gerald, Shod, King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys, La Bottine Souriante and The Proclaimers.

The band formed in London in 1983 by Scottish musician and songwriter Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England.

Mike Scott has remained the only constant member throughout the band's career. They have explored a number of different styles, but their music is mainly a mix of folk music with rock and roll.

By the summer of 2000, Scott had assembled a new Waterboys lineup – himself on voice and guitar, Richard Naiff on keyboards and organs, bass player Livingston Brown and drummer Jeremy Stacey. Wickham guested on fiddle at live dates in Dublin and Belfast on the resulting tour of late 2001, and rejoined the band permanently in January 2001.

Scott, Wickham and Naiff were the core of the Waterboys by 2003, when the group changed direction once again and released Universal Hall a mostly acoustic album with a return of some Celtic influences from the Fisherman's Blues era as well as aspects of New Age music and dance electronica.

The album was followed by a tour of the UK and then Europe. Their first official live album, Karma to Burn, was released in 2005 – with Carlos Hercules on drums, Steve Walters on bass and a guest appearance by Sharon Shannon on accordion – showing off the band's acoustic and electric sides.

Setlist

Setlist

Always Dancing, Never Getting Tired

This Light Is for the World

When Ye Go Away

Further Up, Further In

Peace of Iona

Strange Boat

Medicine Bow

The Pan Within

Bring 'Em All In

(Mike Scott song)

Long Way to the Light

Glastonbury Song

Fisherman's Blues

Encore:

The Whole of the Moon

On This Day 07/08/1998 Ether

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On this day, 7 August 1998, Welsh band Ether played Cardiff’s Big Weekend.

Also playing that day were Manchild, Diesel Bug and Armstrong.

The successful incarnation of the band was formed in 1996 by Rory Meredith (vocals, guitar), Gareth Driscoll (vocals, bass), and Brett Sawmy (drums), although Meredith had used the name for an earlier band that he formed as a teenager.

After a single on the Regal label in 1996 they moved to Parlophone Records, releasing four further singles and the 1998 album Strange. They recorded a second album in 1999, but it was not released due to the band splitting up.

They drew comparisons to groups such as Squeeze and The Beatles.

Meredith later formed the band Sugar Rush with singer-songwriter Katherine Davies, releasing an album Beautiful But Tragic in 2006 on LA based indie label Beverly Martel Music.

On this day 4/08/06 The Alarm

On this day, 4 August 2006, North Wales rockers The Alarm played Cardiff’s Big Weekend festival.

Formed in Rhyl, Wales, in 1981. Initially formed as a punk band, The Toilets, in 1977, under lead vocalist Mike Peters, the band soon embraced rock and included marked influences from Welsh language and culture.

By opening for acts such as U2 and Bob Dylan, they became a popular new wave pop band of the 1980s.

The Alarm's highest charting single in Britain was 1983's "Sixty Eight Guns", which reached number 17 in the UK Singles Chart. Their 1984 album, Declaration, which contained "Sixty Eight Guns", peaked at number six in the UK Albums Chart.

In 2006, the new version of Alarm MM++ released a second studio album, Under Attack. It spawned another UK Top 30 hit, "Superchannel".

In 2008 A third studio album entitled Guerrilla Tactics was released. The Alarm's song "Sixty Eight Guns" has been featured in a Heineken television advertisement in the U.S. In April, 2008 Sharp launched his own version of the band, AOR – Spirit of The Alarm, to showcase the band's American set lists from the late 1980s.

On this day 02/08/2003 Athlete

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On this day, 2 Aug 2003, Indie rock band Athlete played Cardiff’s Big Weekend.

Friends since the age of fourteen, Athlete took their wide ranging influences such as Grandaddy and The Flaming Lips and started jamming and practising in the basement of The Bear, a pub which was converted into a church and sandwich bar, on Deptford High Street in 1999. They began recording there, before sending demos out.

Signing with Regal Recordings, the band released their first single "Westside" in February 2002, which was a hit, garnering airplay on BBC Radio 1 and paving the way for another single, "You Got the Style" which cracked the Top 40 in June. Parlophone took notice and promptly signed the musicians, who entered the studio with producer Victor Van Vugt (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Beth Orton) in late 2002 to record their first studio LP.

The band had a brief period of high-profile domestic success in which their debut album Vehicles & Animals (2003) was a platinum seller in 2005 and Mercury Music Prize nomination.

It was followed up by Tourist (2005) which reached No. 1 and sold over 500,000 copies allowing this album to also go platinum. Athlete's subsequent two albums, Beyond the Neighbourhood (2007) and Black Swan (2009), saw the band exploring different styles, influenced by the works of artists such as Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds.

On this day 31/07/2006 Fun Lovin Criminals

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On this day 31 July 2006 New York’s finest Fun Lovin Criminals played Cardiff’s Big Weekend.

Their musical style is eclectic, covering styles such as hip hop, rock, blues, jazz, R&B, punk, and funk.

They are best known for their hit "Scooby Snacks", which features samples from films by Quentin Tarantino, and the song "Love Unlimited", which recalls Barry White's backing vocal group.

Their songs often focus on life in New York City, as well as urban life in general. Their lyrics can be gritty or existentialist in nature, touching on topics such as organized crime and urban violence, but they are just as often humorous or satirical.

The band was formed in 1993 by Huey Morgan, Brian "Fast" Leiser and Steve Borgovini after Leiser, who was already friends with Borgovini, met Morgan at the club where they both worked.

They started playing together and would provide the entertainment for the club when a booked act failed to show up. It was during one of these stand-in gigs that they came to the attention of EMI and they were offered a record deal.

On 5 October 2008, Morgan began hosting his own radio show, "The Huey Show" on BBC Radio 6 Music. The show won a Bronze Award at the 2009 Sony Radio Academy Awards.

The show currently broadcasts between 10am and 1pm on Saturdays. Features include the 'Player's Ball', championing long-standing session musicians and accompanists.

The Block Party Mix features a selection of tracks mixed by a special guest, or by Morgan himself, to champion an artist or producer he deems worthy.