On This Day 07/05/1968 Johnny Cash

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On this day, 7 May 1968, American country singing legend Johnny Cash played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre. Also on the bill was Carl Perkins, June Carter, James Royal and The Tennessee Three.

Cash had recently married June Carter in March and had received a Grammy for their hit together “Jackson” and had just released his 26th album From Sea to Shining Sea.

Each track on the concept album was written by Cash; none of them were released as singles.

"The Walls of a Prison" reuses the melody of "Streets of Laredo” from Cash's 1965 album Sings the Ballads of the True West.

But most notable during this period. was his recording At Folsom Prison released 6 May and Cash’s first live album

It comprises recordings of performances by Cash and his band at Folsom State Prison, California, on January 13, 1968.

After his 1955 song "Folsom Prison Blues, Cash had been interested in recording a performance at a prison. His idea was put on hold until 1967, when personnel changes at Columbia Records put Bob Johnston in charge of producing Cash's material. Cash had controlled his drug abuse problems, and was looking to turn his career around after several years of limited success. Backed by June Carter, Carl Perkins and the Tennessee Three Cash performed two shows at Folsom State Prison.

On This Day 26/04/1958 Johnnie Ray

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On this day 26 April 1958, American singer, songwriter, and pianist Johnnie Ray played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre.

Born and raised in Dallas, Oregon, Ray, who was partially deaf, began singing professionally at age 15 on Portland radio stations. He gained a local following singing at small, predominantly African-American nightclubs in Detroit, where he was discovered in 1949.

In 1951, he signed a contract with Okeh Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. On the Billboard charts, he rose quickly from obscurity with the release of his debut album Johnnie Ray (1952), as well as with a 78 rpm single, both of whose sides reached the Billboard magazine's Top Hot 100 chart, "Cry" and "The Little White Cloud That Cried".

In the 1950s, after both sides of the single "Cry"/"The Little White Cloud That Cried" ran their course, more hit songs followed. They included "Please, Mr. Sun", "Such a Night", "Walkin' My Baby Back Home", "A Sinner Am I", and "Yes Tonight Josephine". He scored a number-one hit in the United Kingdom with "Just Walkin' in the Rain" (which he initially disliked) during the Christmas season in 1956. He hit again in 1957 with "You Don't Owe Me a Thing", which reached number 10 on the Billboard charts in the United States.

Though his American popularity was declining in 1957, he remained popular in the United Kingdom, breaking the attendance record at the London Palladium formerly set by fellow Columbia Records artist Frankie Laine. In later years, he retained a loyal fan base overseas, particularly in Australia.

On This Day 24/04/1977 Small Faces

On this day, 24 April 1977, rock band Small Faces played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre. Also on the bill were Cock Sparrer and P P Arnold.

Following the breakup of the Faces in 1975, the original Small Faces line-up reformed briefly to film videos miming to the reissued "Itchycoo Park" which hit the charts again. The group tried recording together again but Lane left after the first rehearsal due to an argument. Unknown to the others, he was just beginning to show the symptoms of multiple sclerosis, and his behaviour was misinterpreted by Marriott and the others as a drunken tantrum.

Nevertheless, McLagan, Jones and Marriott decided to stay together as Small Faces, recruiting ex-Roxy Music bassist Rick Wills to take Lane's place. This iteration of Small Faces recorded two albums, Playmates (1977) and 78 in the Shade (1978), released on Atlantic Records.

Guitarist Jimmy McCulloch also briefly joined this line-up after leaving Wings. When McCulloch phoned Paul McCartney, who had found him increasingly difficult to work with, to announce he was joining Marriott, McCartney reportedly said "I was a little put out at first, but, well, what can you say to that?" McCulloch's tenure with the band lasted only for a few months in late 1977. He recorded only one album with the group, 78 in the Shade .

The reunion albums were both critical and commercial failures. Small Faces broke up again in 1978.

On This Day 24/03/1975 10cc

On this day, 24 March 1975, rock band 10cc played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre.

Formed in Stockport southeast of Manchester in 1972. The group initially consisted of four musicians, Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme, who had written and recorded together since 1968. The four members contributed to songwriting, working together in various permutations. Godley and Creme’s songwriting has been said to be inspired by art and cinema.

The four members were multi-instrumentalists, singers, writers and producers. Most of the band's records were recorded at their own Strawberry Studios (North) in Stockport and Strawberry Studios (South) in Dorking, with most of those engineered by Stewart.

In March 1975 they released their third studio album The Original Soundtrack which peaked at number 3 in the UK album charts.

The Original Soundtrack was a critical and commercial success reaching No. 3 in the UK[5] and No. 15 in the US.

Ken Barnes gave the album a rave review in Rolling Stone, commenting, "Musically there's more going on than in ten Yes albums, yet it's generally as accessible as a straight pop band (though less so than the two preceding 10cc LPs)." He particularly praised the album for being ambitious without being excessive or pretentious, and for its lyrical content.

Village Voice critic Robert Christgau panned the album, remarking of the song "I'm Not in Love": "stretching your only decent melody (a non-satirical love song) over six tedious minutes, is that a joke?"

The first single "Life Is a Minestrone" was another UK Top 10 for the band, peaking at No. 7. Their biggest success came with the song that sold the album, "I'm Not in Love", which gave the band their second UK No. 1 in June 1975, staying there for two weeks. The song also provided them with their first major US chart success when the song reached No. 2.

On This Day 21/03/1975 Sailor

On this day, 21 March 1975, glam pop/rock band Sailor played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre. The were support to headlining band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel.

The group's leader, Georg Kajanus, had previously written "Flying Machine" for Cliff Richard in 1971, although it was Richard's first British single that failed to reach the top 30. Sailor developed from Kajanus Pickett, a singer-songwriter duo that had formed when Phil Pickett and Kajanus met in 1970 at E H Morris, a music publisher where Pickett briefly worked.

They later recorded the album Hi Ho Silver for Signpost Records. Sailor first came together in 1973 with the addition of musicians Henry Marsh (ex-Gringo) and Grant Serpell (ex-Affinity).

The group's work included Kajanus's invention of a special nickelodeon made of pianos, synthesizers and glockenspiels that allowed the four-piece band to reproduce on stage the acoustic arrangements that they had done in the recording studio.

The group's first UK single was "Traffic Jam" from their first album, Sailor. "A Glass of Champagne", issued late the following year (1975) from the Trouble album, reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart. The follow-up "Girls, Girls, Girls" also made the Top 10, but of their subsequent singles, only "One Drink Too Many" registered in the UK Top 40.

Sailor's original line-up split up in 1978, although Pickett and Marsh released more material as Sailor with Gavin and Virginia David in 1980, with an album of Pickett compositions called Dressed for Drowning, produced by James William Guercio at his Caribou studio in Colorado (Epic / Caribou).

On This Day 15/02/1969 Marmalade

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On this day, 15 February 1969, pop group Marmalade played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre as part of a bill that included Gene Pitney, Joe Cocker and Welsh band The Iveys, who later changed their name to Badfinger.

The band originating from the east end of Glasgow, originally formed in 1961 as The Gaylords, and then later billed as Dean Ford and the Gaylords, recording four singles for Columbia (EMI). In 1966 they changed the band's name to The Marmalade and were credited as such on all of their subsequent recorded releases with CBS Records and Decca Records until 1972. Their greatest chart success was between 1968 and 1972, placing ten songs on the UK Singles Chart, and many overseas territories, including international hits.

The band enjoyed their biggest UK success with their cover of the Beatles' "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", which topped the UK chart in January 1969, the group becoming the first Scottish group to top that chart. Their version of "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" sold around half a million in the UK, and a million copies globally by April 1969.[7] This was followed by further success with "Baby Make It Soon" (written by Tony Macaulay), which reached No. 9 in the summer of 1969.

In February 1969, the band appeared on the BBC's flagship program Colour Me Pop, (precursor to The Old Grey Whistle Test) performing a halfhour slot. They also appeared on the BBC's review of the 1960s music scene, Pop Go The Sixties, performing "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" live on the broadcast on BBC 1 on New Year's Eve 1969.

In November 1969, the band was signed to Decca Records by Decca head of A&R, Dick Rowe under a lucrative advance deal, allowing the band to write and produce their own songs, with no studio time restraints, and in their first Decca recording session, they recorded "Reflections of My Life", which would become their biggest worldwide hit, rewarding Decca's and Dick Rowe's faith in the band. Topping the charts in Europe (also Top 10 in United States and No. 1 in most of South America), it was written by Campbell and Ford,[10] and featured a "backwards" (backmasking) guitar solo by Campbell. "Reflections of My Life" has recorded over two million sales, and the writers were awarded a Special Citation of Achievement in 1998 by BMI in attaining radio broadcast performances in excess of one million in the US alone.

On This Day 30/01/1964 Frank Sinatra Jr

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On this day, 30 January 1964, American singer Frank Sinatra Jr played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre on tour with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. Also on the bill were The Pied Pipers, Charlie Shavers and Helen Forrest.

Francis Wayne Sinatra was born on January 10, 1944, in Jersey City, New Jersey, into the household of one of the most popular singers in the world, Frank Sinatra. The younger Sinatra was technically not a "junior", as his father's middle name was Albert, but was nonetheless known as Frank Jr. throughout his life. The younger Sinatra hardly saw his father, who was constantly on the road, either performing or working in films. Sinatra Jr. recalled wanting to become a pianist and songwriter from his earliest days.

By his early teens Sinatra had begun performing at local clubs. At the age of 19, he became the vocalist for Sam Donahue's band. He also spent considerable time with Duke Ellington, learning the music business.

Sinatra spent most of his early career on the road. By 1968, he had performed in 47 states and 30 countries, had appeared as a guest on several television shows[citation needed] including two episodes of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour with his sister Nancy, hosted a 10-week summer replacement series for The Dean Martin Show, had sung with his own band in Las Vegas casinos, and had been the opening act for bigger names at other casinos. During that time, he gained a reputation for rigorous rehearsals and demanding high standards for his musicians.

On This Day 27/01/1977 Be Bop Deluxe

On this day, 27 January 1977, rock band Be Dop Deluxe played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre on their Live In The Air Age Tour, supported by Steve Gibbons Band.

Be-Bop Deluxe was founded in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, by singer, guitarist and principal songwriter Bill Nelson in 1972.

The tour provided the recordings for their soon to be released Live! In The Air Age album featuring songs recording during the tour.

The band had a few months before released their fourth studio album Modern Music, which was to be the band’s highest studio album chart placing, peaking at No 12 in the UK charts.

Stylistically, the songs took elements from progressive rock, glam rock (the band had flirted with make-up in the early days) and hard guitar rock. "Ships in the Night", taken from the band's third album Sunburst Finish, was their most successful single in both the UK and the US. The single features an alto saxophone solo by Ian Nelson.

The album was notably the first to be produced by EMI employee John Leckie, who had hitherto worked for the company as a recording engineer, in which capacity he had served on Axe Victim, which he also in effect produced. It was clearly a happy relationship: Leckie would go on to produce all the subsequent Be-Bop Deluxe and Bill Nelson's Red Noise albums for Harvest, including the proposed Red Noise album Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam that Harvest refused to release. Nelson shared producing credits with Leckie from Drastic Plastic onward.

The first three Be-Bop Deluxe albums are all, in one way or another, named after guitars. "Axe" is slang for a guitar, "Futurama" is a particular make of guitar, while "Sunburst Finish" refers to a style of finishing for the instrument.

The title track of the fourth album, Modern Music, was a ten-minute suite of songs inspired by the experience of the band's touring the US.

Setlist

Life in the Air Age

Fair Exchange

Piece of Mine

Sister Seagull

Mill Street Junction

Ships in the Night

Swan Song

Maid in Heaven

Shine

Adventures in a Yorkshire Landscape

Twilight Capers

The Modern Music Suite

Forbidden Lovers

Down on Terminal Street

Encore:

Blazing Apostles