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On this day, 29 November 1984, Birmingham pop band Swans Way played Cardiff’s Bogiez Rock Club.
The band comprised Robert Shaw (vocals), Maggie De Monde (vocals and percussion) and Rick P. Jones (double bass). They released one album and had a UK Top 20 hit with "Soul Train", before splitting up in 1985.
Swans Way presented a mixture of musical influences, from jazz to classical and pop to disco. After an appearance on the cassette magazine SFX in May 1982, their first single, "Theme from the Balcony" was issued later that year.
Their second single, "Soul Train", gave them their first hit, reaching number 20 in the UK Singles Chart in February 1984. The band subsequently appeared on BBC One's Top of the Pops performing the song on 9 February 1984.
They also released further singles, with varying success. "The Anchor", in March 1984, did not chart, whilst "Illuminations" made number 57 in May 1984, and their third and final hit, "When The Wild Calls", peaked outside the Top 75 at number 80.
The group recorded an album, The Fugitive Kind, which reached number 88 on the UK Albums Chart in November 1984.
The album was issued on CD, but only about 100 copies were pressed. It was re-released on CD in 1997 with extra tracks as The Best of Swans Way and again in 2012 with a different set of bonus tracks under the title of The Fugitive Kind - Expanded Edition.
