On This Day 16/01/1999 John Cale

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On this day, 16 January 1999, Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer and founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall.

The previous year, Cale spent on tour with singer Siouxsie Sioux. In February, he was the curator of one day festival called "With a Little Help from My Friends" that took place at the Paradiso in Amsterdam, Netherlands, with the presence of the Metropole Orchestra.

The concert was shown on Dutch national television and featured a song specially composed for the event and still unreleased, "Murdering Mouth", sung in duet with Siouxsie and her second band the Creatures.

Cale and Siouxsie then did a double bill tour in the US for two months from late June until mid-August, both artists collaborating on stage on several songs including a version of "Venus in Furs".

Cale's autobiography, What's Welsh for Zen?, was written in collaboration with Victor Bockris and published in 1999 by Bloomsbury Publishing.

Review - SouthWales Echo

To promote the book he tours Europe with the John Cale trio (with Mark Deffenbaugh & Lance Doss, starting at St Davids Hall, Cardiff - January 16.

Setlist

Lament

On a Wedding Anniversary

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

Buffalo Ballet

Chinese Envoy

Child's Christmas in Wales

Some Friends

Darling I Need You

You Know More Than I Know

Ship of Fools

Set Me Free

Leaving It Up to You

Cable Hogue

Cordoba

(Brian Eno & John Cale cover)

Dying on the Vine

Heartbreak Hotel

(Elvis Presley cover)

Fear Is a Man's Best Friend

Style It Takes

(Lou Reed / John Cale cover)

Thoughtless Kind

Hallelujah

(Leonard Cohen cover)

On This Day 13/01/1986 Marillion

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On this day, 13 January 1986, prog rockers Marillion played the second of two nights at Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on their Misplaced Childhood tour. Support was provided by Beltane Fire. The shows were rescheduled from the previous September.

Formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979, they emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock,becoming the most commercially successful neo-prog band of the 1980s.

Review - South Wales Echo

Marillion released their debut single "Market Square Heroes" in 1982, followed by their first album Script for a Jester's Tear in 1983. They have released 20 studio albums in total. The band achieved eight Top 10 UK albums between 1983 and 1994, including a No. 1 album in 1985 with Misplaced Childhood. The album also produced two UK Top 10 singles in "Kayleigh" (No. 2) and "Lavender" (No. 5)

Setlist

01 The Thieving Magpie (La Gazza Ladra)

02 Emerald Lies (Intro)

03 Script For A Jester’s Tear

04 Incubus

05 Jigsaw

06 The Web

07 Misplaced Childhood

08 Fugazi

09 Garden Party

10 Market Square Heroes

The band

Fish (vocals), Steve Rothery (guitar), Mark Kelly (keyboards), Pete Trewavas (bass), Ian Mosley (drums)

On This Day 21/12/1983 Tina Turner

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On this day, 21 December 1983, singing legend Tina Turner played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall.

In November 1983, Tina released her cover of Al Green's “Let’s Stay Together ", with Capitol. The record became a hit, reaching several European charts, including a top 10 placement in the United Kingdom. The song peaked at number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Turner's first solo entry into the U.S. charts. It also peaked at the top ten of the Hot Dance Club Songs and Hot Black Singles charts.

The success of the song forced Capitol to rethink its contract with Turner, offering the singer a three album deal, demanding an album on short notice, which had Turner staging what Ebony magazine later called an "amazing comeback." Recorded in two months in London, the album “Private Dancer” was released in June 1984.

Turner sold more than 100 million records worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling recording artists of all time. She received 12 Grammy Awards, which include eight competitive awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and three Grammy Hall of Fame inductions. She was the first black artist and first woman to be on the cover of Rolling Stone.

Rolling Stone ranked her among the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Turner has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and on the St. Louis Walk of Fame. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: with Ike Turner in 1991 and as a solo artist in 2021. She was also a 2005 recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors and the Women of the Year award. During her lifetime, she earned an estimated $250 million.

Band
Annie Behringer - Singer and Dancer
Lejeune Richardson - Singer and Dancer
Jack Bruno - Drums
Bob Feit – Bass
Kenny Moore – Piano
Chuck O'Steen - Keyboard
James Ralston – Guitar

On This Day 20/12/1988 The Proclaimers

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On this day, 20 December 1988, Scottish duo The Proclaimers played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall. The band had just released their second album Sunshine on Leith.

Sunshine on Leith marked a departure from the minimalist acoustics of the group's 1987 debut This Is the Story, toward a rock-oriented full band sound, backed by members of the Fairport Convention and Dexys Midnight Runners.

Review - South Wales Echo

The album's sound draws heavily from American music, such as country and 1950s rock and roll, with homages to the duo's own Scottish culture. The album was a major worldwide hit, particularly in Australia where it was described as the band's "biggest success", reaching No. 2 in the ARIA Charts and being 1989's 12th highest-seller.

The album peaked at No. 3 and No. 6 in New Zealand and the United Kingdom respectively, while also charting in Canada and Sweden, ultimately selling over 2 million copies worldwide, including over 700,000 in the USA.

On This Day 15/12/2014 Chris Rea

On this day, 15 December 2014, singer/songwriter Chris Rea played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on his The Last Open Road Tour.

Known for his distinctive voice and his slide guitar playing, Rea has recorded twenty five studio albums, two of which topped the UK Albums Chart, The Road to Hell in 1989 and its successor, Auberge, in 1991.

He had already become "a major European star by the time he finally cracked the UK Top 10" with the single "The Road to Hell (Part 2)".

Over the course of his long career, Rea's work has at times been informed by his struggles with serious health issues.[6] His many hit songs include "I Can Hear Your Heartbeat", "Stainsby Girls", "Josephine", "On the Beach", "Let's Dance", "Driving Home for Christmas", "Working on It", "Tell Me There's a Heaven", "Auberge", and "Julia".

He also recorded a duet with Elton John, "If You Were Me".Rea was nominated three times for the Brit Award for Best British Male Artist: in 1988, 1989 and 1990.

Setlist

The Last Open Road

Work Gang

Where the Blues Come From

Josephine

Easy Rider

'Til the Morning Sun Shines on My Love and Me

Julia

Stony Road

Come So Far, Yet Still So Far to Go

Somewhere Between Highway 61 & 49

Stainsby Girls

The Road to Hell (Part 1)

Encore:

On the Beach

Let's Dance

Driving Home for Christmas

On This Day 26/11/1993 Little Angels

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On this day, 26 November 1993, rock band Little Angels played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall.

Little Angels formed in Scarborough, England in May 1984, under the name of Zeus and then to Mr Thrud in September 1985, settling on Little Angels during recording of the Too Posh to Mosh mini-album at Fairview Studios, Willerby, Hull in 1987.

Little Angels were successful in the UK with four best selling albums, including a number 1 in the UK Albums Chart in 1993 with Jam, plus 11 hit singles. They enjoyed a high profile in the UK, supporting Van Halen and Bon Jovi, amongst others. In an act of generosity Van Halen gave the band their entire backline for free at the end of the UK tour.

Setlist

She's a Little Angel

The Way That I Live

Don't Confuse Sex With Love

That's My Kinda Life

Womankind

Product of the Working Class

Sail Away

(Acoustic)

No Solution

Eyes Wide Open

Kicking Up Dust

Young Gods (Stand Up, Stand Up)

Forbidden Fruit

I Was Not Wrong

Too Much Too Young

Encore:

Boneyard

The Wildside of Life

Sharp Dressed Man

(ZZ Top cover)

On This Day 24/11/1989 Clannad

On this day, 24 November 1989, Irish band Clannad played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall. The band were about to release their 13th studio album The Angel and the Soldier Boy.

Formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal, by siblings Ciarán, Pól and Moya Ui Bhraonáin (in English, Brennan) and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Ó Dúgáin (Duggan).

They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history. Beginning as an acoustic folk group mainly performing rearranged traditional Irish songs in Irish, they expanded their sound with original songs in English, vocal harmonies, electronic keyboards, and elements of rock, Celtic, new age, smooth jazz, and Gregorian chant.

Initially known as Clann as Dobhar ('Family from Dore') they shortened their name to Clannad in 1973. By 1979 they had released three albums and toured Europe and the US. From 1980 to 1982 they operated as a six-piece with their sister and niece Eithne (Enya). In 1982 they gained international attention with their single "Theme from Harry's Game".

In 1989, Pól Brennan left Clannad to work with Peter Gabriel as a producer for the WOMAD arts festival and as an acoustic specialist. The band continued as a four-piece and wrote, arranged and recorded their next album, Anam (Soul), in under three months, with Ciarán Brennan becoming their producer and primary songwriter.

On This Day 21/11/1989 Rik Mayall

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On this day, 21 November 1989, actor, comedian and writer Rik Mayall played Cardiff’s St David’s on his Ton Up tour. Support was provided by Andy De La Tour.

He formed a close partnership with Ade Edmondson while they were students at Manchester University, and was a pioneer of alternative comedy in the 1980s.

Mayall starred in numerous successful comedy series throughout his career, including The Young Ones (1982–1984), The Comic Strip Presents... (1983–2012), Filthy Rich & Catflap (1987), The New Statesman (1987–1994), and man more.

Review - Steve Duffy - South Wales Echo

In the 1986, Mayall had a No. 1 hit in the UK Singles Chart, when he and his co-stars from The Young Ones teamed with Cliff Richard to record "Living Doll" for the inaugural Comic Relief campaign.

Mayall played Rick one last time in the Comic Relief stage-show and supported the Comic Relief cause for the rest of his life.

In the early 1990s, Mayall starred in humorous adverts for Nintendo games and consoles. With money from the ads, he bought his house in London which he called "Nintendo Towers".