On This Day 29/01/198 The Teardrop Explodes

On this day, 29 January 1982, post-punk band The Teardrop Explodes played Cardiff University on their Wilder tour. The venue was originally Sophia Gardens but after the roof collapsed in January following a heavy snowfall the venue was switched to Cardiff University.. The band had recently released their second album Wilder.

Wilder was recorded following a turbulent period in the band's career involving the success of their debut album Kilimanjaro, several line-up changes and a fraught, drug-fuelled American tour. For Wilder, the group's leader and principal songwriter Julian Cope developed his songwriting by using many experimental approaches.

Wilder featured a far greater use of synthesizer arrangements and loop experiments than Kilimanjaro, predominantly at the instigation of keyboard player David Balfe (who acted as Cope's principal creative collaborator in the studio). By now Cope had mostly abandoned his role as the group's bass player (with many tracks on the record featuring session bassist James Eller) and shared some of the guitarist role with Troy Tate, as well as dabbling in piano and organ.

Some tracks featured a full group sound as featured on Kilimanjaro (most notably "Passionate Friend", the only single release and album track to feature the band's ill-fated US touring members Alfie Agius and Jeff Hammer) but in general the album broke away from the West Coast/beat group sound of the debut as well as having a noticeably more downbeat and troubled atmosphere. Some Wilder tracks featured little or no guitar, avoided the standard drumkit or set Cope's voice against solo synthesizer only.

Setlist

Like Leila Khaled Said

Seven Views of Jerusalem

Ha Ha I'm Drowning

Falling Down Around Me

Log Cabin

.And the Fighting Takes Over

Passionate Friend

Books

Tiny Children

You Disappear From View

Clementis

Suffocate

Treason

Colours Fly Away

Reward

The Culture Bunker

Encore:

Screaming Secrets

Sleeping Gas

On This Day 25/04/1987 Julian Cope

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On this day, 25 April 1987, singer/songwriter Julian Cope played Cardiff University on his Saint Julian tour. Support was provided by The Faith Brothers.

Cope's family resided in Tamworth, Staffordshire, but he was born in Deri, Glamorgan, Wales, where his mother's parents lived, while she was staying there. Cope was staying with his grandmother near Aberfan on his ninth birthday, the day of the Aberfan disaster of 1966, which he has described as a key event of his childhood.

He was the singer and songwriter in Liverpool post-punk band the Teardrop Explodes and has followed a solo career since 1983 in addition to working on musical side projects such as Queen Elizabeth, Brain Donor and Black Sheep.

Cope had just released his third solo album Saint Julian in March 1987 It has a very strong pop sound compared to other Cope releases, and spawned several of his best known tracks (including "World Shut Your Mouth" and "Trampolene", which were both hit singles).

Encouraged by his new manager Cally Callomon, Cope cleaned up and changed his image: cutting his hair, wearing rocker's leathers and embracing a "Rock God" perspective, as well as investing in a bizarre climbable microphone stand with integral steps.

To record and tour the album, Cope put together a new backing group, informally known as the "Two-Car Garage Band". This featured lead guitarist Donald Ross Skinner and former Waterboys drummer Chris Whitten (both of whom had played on Cope's previous album Fried), plus bass player James Eller (who'd played alongside Cope on the second Teardrop Explodes album, Wilder) and Cope himself on vocals and rhythm guitar.