The Move — News — Cardiff Live

On this day, 8 February 1968, rock band The Move played Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens.

The Move evolved from several mid-1960s Birmingham-based groups, including Carl Wayne & the Vikings, the Nightriders and the Mayfair Set.

Their name referred to the move various members of these bands made to form the group.

Besides Wood, the Move's original five-piece line-up in 1965 was drummer Bev Bevan, bassist Ace Kefford, vocalist Carl Wayne and guitarist Trevor Burton.

The final line-up of 1972 was a trio of Wood, Bevan and Jeff Lynne, all of whom had for two years been working in the parallel project the Electric Light Orchestra.

The band were just about to release their first album Move in April.

The album features ten Roy Wood compositions, along with three covers which had been a prominent part of the group's live act.

Although scheduled for an earlier release, the album was delayed by the theft of the master tapes, which led to the tracks needing to be re-recorded.

The album was sporadically recorded between January 1967 and February 1968 at Advision, De Lane Lea and Olympic Studios in London, during gaps in their tight recording schedule when the group were not booked for any performances.

Highly anticipated, the album featured two previously released singles: "Flowers in the Rain" and "Fire Brigade", both of which reached the top five in the UK Singles Chart.

It was the only album by the Move to feature original bassist Chris "Ace" Kefford, who left the band shortly after the record was released in spring 1968, as well as being the only one to fully feature rhythm guitarist Trevor Burton, who left during the early sessions for their follow-up Shazam.

Move was also the only album by the Move to chart in the UK, reaching number fifteen on the charts during the early summer of that year.