On This Day 04/02/1984 Gary Moore

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On this day, 4 February 1984, rock guitarist Gary Moore played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on his Victims of the Future tour.

Influenced by Peter Green and Eric Clapton, Moore began his career in the late 1960s when he joined Skid Row, with whom he released two albums. After Moore left the group he joined Thin Lizzy, featuring his former Skid Row bandmate and frequent collaborator Phil Lynott.

Moore began his solo career in the 1970s and achieved major success with 1978's "Parisienne Walkways", which is considered his signature song. During the 1980s, Moore transitioned into playing hard rock and heavy metal with varying degrees of international success.

In 1983, Moore released the album Victims of the Future, which marked another musical change, this time towards hard rock and heavy metal.

The album also saw the addition of keyboardist Neil Carter, who would continue to push Moore in this new musical direction. For the supporting tour, they were joined by former Rainbow bassist Craig Gruber and drummer Bobby Chouinard, who were later replaced by Ozzy Osbourne bassist Bob Daisley and former Roxy Music drummer Paul Thompson, respectively.

Setlist

Majestuoso E Virtuoso

Rockin' Every Night

Wishing Well

(Free cover)

Murder in the Skies

Shapes of Things

(The Yardbirds cover)

Cold Hearted

Don't Take Me for a Loser

Victims of the Future

So Far Away

(Mo Foster cover)

Empty Rooms

Blinder

White Knuckles

(G-Force song)

End of the World

Back on the Streets

Encore:

Nuclear Attack

Rockin' and Rollin'

(G-Force song)

On This Day 03/12/1972 Suzi Quatro

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On this day, 3 December 1972, American rocker Suzi Quatro played Cardiff’s Top Rank alongside Slade and Thin Lizzy.

Quatro had moved to England in 1971, after being spotted by the record producer Mickie Most, who had by that time founded his own label, Rak Records. Most had been persuaded to see Quatro’s band Cradle by her brother Michael, who was managing the band.

Like other music producers at the time, Most was looking for a female rock singer who could fill the void created by the death of Janis Joplin. According to the Encyclopedia of Popular Music, his attention to Quatro was drawn by "her comeliness and skills as bass guitarist, singer and chief show-off in Cradle."

Quatro's first single, "Rolling Stone", was successful only in Portugal, where it reached No. 1 on the charts. This was a solo effort, although aided by people such as Duncan Browne, Peter Frampton and Alan White. Subsequently, with the approval of Most, she auditioned for a band to accompany her. It was also after this record that Most introduced her to the songwriting and production team of Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, who wrote songs specifically to accord with her image.

In 1972, Quatro embarked as a support act on a UK tour with Thin Lizzy and headliners Slade. Rak Records arranged for her to use Thin Lizzy's newly acquired PA system during this, incurring a charge of £300 per week that enabled the Irish band to effectively purchase it at no cost to themselves.

In May 1973, her second single "Can the Can" (1973) was a No. 1 hit in parts of Europe and in Australia.

On This Day 15/06/1980 Thin Lizzy

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On this day, 15 June 1980, Irish rockers Thin Lizzy played Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens.

It introduced guitarist Snowy White who would also perform on the next album as well as tour with Thin Lizzy between 1980 and 1982; he replaced Gary Moore as permanent guitarist.

White had previously worked with Cliff Richard, Peter Green and Pink Floyd.

Midge Ure was still acting as a temporary keyboard player at gigs during early 1980, but was replaced by Darren Wharton in April, shortly after White joined the band.

Wharton was only 18 at the time and was initially hired on a temporary basis.

This new line-up completed the Chinatown album between short tours, and two singles were released from it. The first, "Chinatown", reached No. 21 in the UK, but the second, "Killer on the Loose", reached the top 10 amid much adverse publicity due to the ongoing activities of serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, known as "The Yorkshire Ripper".

On This Day 13/02/1974 Thin Lizzy

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On this day, 13 February 1974, Irish rockers Thin Lizzy played Cardiff’s Top Rank on their Vagabonds of the Western World tour.

The band's third album, Vagabonds of the Western World, was released in September 1973 following strong airplay in the UK, but again failed to chart.

The accompanying single "The Rocker" also found little success outside Ireland, and the momentum gained from their hit single "Whiskey in the Jar" was lost.

Eric Bell suddenly left the band on New Year's Eve 1973 after a gig at Queen's University Belfast, due to increasing ill-health and disillusion with the music industry, and young ex-Skid Row guitarist Gary Moore was recruited to help finish the tour.

Moore stayed until April 1974; the band recorded three songs with him in that time, including the version of "Still in Love with You" that was included on the fourth album Nightlife.

The band’s record label Decca had released Thin Lizzy's version of a traditional Irish ballad, "Whiskey in the Jar", as a single.

The band was angry at the release, feeling that the song did not represent their sound or their image, but the single topped the Irish chart, and reached No. 6 in the UK in February 1973, resulting in an appearance on Top of the Pops.

It also charted in many countries across Europe. However, the follow-up single, "Randolph's Tango", was a return to Lynott's more obscure work, and it did not chart outside Ireland.

Phil Lynott 35 Years on....

Today marks the 35th anniversary of the death of a true music great. Irish rocker Phil Lynott passed away 4th January 1986 at Salisbury District Hospital.
Lynott was born in the West Midlands of England, but grew up in Dublin with his grandparents. He remained close to his mother, Philomena, throughout his life. He fronted several bands as a lead vocalist, including Skid Row alongside Gary Moore, before learning the bass guitar and forming Thin Lizzy in 1969. After initial success with "Whiskey in the Jar", the band had several hits in the mid-1970s such as "The Boys Are Back in Town", "Jailbreak" and "Waiting for an Alibi", and became a popular live attraction combining Lynott's vocal and songwriting skills with dual lead guitars.

Lynott's last years were heavily affected by drug and alcohol dependency, leading to his collapse on 25 December 1985 at his home in Kew. He was discovered by his mother, who was not aware of his dependence on heroin. She contacted his wife, Caroline, who knew about it and immediately identified the problem as serious. After Caroline drove him to a drug clinic at Clouds House in East Knoyle, near Shaftesbury, he was taken to Salisbury Infirmary where he was diagnosed as suffering from septicaemia.
Although he regained consciousness enough to speak to his mother, his condition worsened by the start of the new year and he was put on a ventilator.He died of pneumonia and heart failure due to septicaemia in the hospital's intensive care unit on 4 January 1986, at the age of 36.
Lynott and Thin Lizzy were regular visitors to Cardiff being one of the first bands to play Cardiff Castle on the same bill as 10cc, Steeleye Span and Welsh rockers Man.
The band’s first ever Welsh gig was believed to be at the unlikely Skewen Rugby Club on 12 July 1971, their first Cardiff gig being Cardiff University, 4 March 1972, with the band Arrival. This was followed by a return in December to Cardiff’s Top Rank in a package that included Slade and Suzi Quatro.
Their next appearance was at the same venue on 17 Feb 1974, returning to the Rank again later in the year, 3 Dec.

Lizzy also made three appearances at Sophia Gardens for the Black Rose Tour 1980, The Chinatown tour 1980 and Renegade tour in 1981 promoting albums of the same titles.
The band ( including Lynott) last played Cardiff at St David’s Hall, March 1983.
Thin Lizzy’s line-up for the farewell tour is Phil Lynott on bass guitar and vocals, Scott Gorham on guitar and backing vocals, John Sykes on guitar and backing vocals, Darren Wharton on keyboards and backing vocals and Brian Downey on drums and percussion.

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