On This Day 27/07/1997 The Fall

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On this day, 27 July 1997, Northern post-punk greats The Fall played Cardiff’s Cooper’s Field as guests in support of the Super Furry Animals.

Manc greats The Fall were about to release Levitate, their 19th Album on Artful Records. Levitate became the last album to feature two long-time Fall members, drummer Karl Burns and bass player Steve Hanley (whose playing was once described by Smith as the defining element of the group's music).

Levitate was recorded amidst a difficult period for the group, described by personnel turmoil and financial troubles due to a VAT bill incurred in the 1980s and early 1990s for nearly £200,000.

Simon Wolstencroft left after a disagreement about the recording of 'Everybody But Myself'; also having received financial advice about the group's VAT bill, he resigned from being a co-director of The Fall business.

The Fall have been called "the most prolific band of the British post-punk movement". From 1979 to 2017, they released 31 studio albums, plus dozens of live albums and compilations released against Smith's wishes. They were associated with the BBC DJ John Peel, who championed them from early on in their career and described them as his favourite band, saying: "They are always different; they are always the same." The group disbanded after Mark E Smith's death in 2018.

Line-up

Mark E. Smith (vocals), Steve Hanley (bass), Julia Nagle (guitar, keyboards), Tommy Crooks (guitar), Karl Burns (drums).

Setlist

Powderkeg / He Pep / Lie Dream of a Casino Soul / Idiot Joy Showland / Hurricane Edward / 10 Houses of Eve / Cheetham Hill / Behind the Counter / Feeling Numb / Ol' Gang

On This Day 11/03/1988 The Fall

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On this day, 11 March 1988, Manchester post-punk band The Fall played Cardiff University.

Formed in 1976 in Prestwich, Greater Manchester. They underwent many line-up changes, with vocalist and founder Mark E. Smith as the only constant member.

The Fall's long-term musicians included drummers Paul Hanley, Simon Wolstencroft and Karl Burns; guitarists Marc Riley, Craig Scanlon and Brix Smith; and bassist Steve Hanley, whose melodic, circular bass lines are widely credited with shaping the band's sound from early 1980s albums such as Hex Enduction Hour to the late 1990s.

The band had just released their tenth studio album The Frenz Experiment released on 29 February 1988 through record label Beggars Banquet.

It reached number 19 in the UK album chart, making it the Fall's first Top 20 album.

Set list

Cab It Up / 2 x 4 / Get a Hotel / There's a Ghost in My House / Bremen Nacht / Frenz / Tuff Life Boogie / Carry Bag Man / Victoria / Oswald Defence Lawyer / Guest Informant / Mr. Pharmacist / In These Times

On this day 27/07/1997 Super Furry Animals, The Fall

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On this day, 27 July 1997, Welsh alternative rockers Super Furry Animals and Northern post-punk greats The Fall played Cardiff’s Cooper’s Field.

Super Furry Animals were just about to release Radiator, the band’s second studio album. It was released in August 1997 by Creation Records, and later the same year in the United States under Flydaddy Records. It peaked at number eight on the UK Albums Chart.

Singer Gruff Rhys has described Radiator as "more interesting" than the band's debut Fuzzy Logic with the group taking advantage of producer Gorwel Owen's "Atari computers, and banks of old vintage synths" to create an album which was "musically ... much more adventurous".

In 2000 Q magazine placed Radiator at number 73 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. Stylus Magazine named Radiator in a list of ten essential albums released by Creation Records in a 2003 article about the label.

In a 2017 list of the 50 Best Britpop Albums, Pitchfork placed Radiator at number 39.[17] In 2013, NME ranked it at number 92 in its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Manc greats The Fall were about to release Levitate, their 19th Album on Artful Records. Levitate became the last album to feature two long-time Fall members, drummer Karl Burns and bass player Steve Hanley (whose playing was once described by Smith as the defining element of the group's music).

Levitate was recorded amidst a difficult period for the group, described by personnel turmoil and financial troubles due to a VAT bill incurred in the 1980s and early 1990s for nearly £200,000.

Simon Wolstencroft left after a disagreement about the recording of 'Everybody But Myself'; also having received financial advice about the group's VAT bill, he resigned from being a co-director of The Fall business.