On This Day 30/06/2010 Ash

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On this day, 29 June 2010, Northern Irish rock band Ash played Cardiff’s Barfly on their A-Z tour.

Ash officially formed in 1992, reportedly having taken the name from the first word they liked in the dictionary. Prior to this, Wheeler and Hamilton were in an Iron Maiden cover band called Vietnam, which had formed in 1989.

The A–Z Series is a series of singles released by Northern Irish rock band Ash. Consisting of 26 singles, each represented by a letter of the alphabet, the singles were first released on a fortnightly basis from 12 October 2009 until 27 September 2010 on 7-inch vinyl and by download.

Along with the 26 primary singles the series also includes 21 B-sides, 13 remixes, 7 acoustic tracks and 2 live tracks which were sporadically released in various formats. The series was later released in various other formats, including two compilation CDs Volume 1 (singles A–M) released on 19 April 2010 and Volume 2 (singles N–Z) released on 11 October 2010, a compilation of all 26 tracks on three vinyl LPs was released on 6 November 2012 through Noyes Records and finally a compact cassette featuring 15 of the band's favourite tracks from the series was released for Cassette Store Day, titled Letters from Alphabet City.

The series spawned 6 radio singles; "Return of White Rabbit", "True Love 1980", "Space Shot", "War with Me", "Binary", and "Carnal Love"

Setlist

Lose Control

A Life Less Ordinary

Dionysian Urge

Goldfinger

Petrol

Shining Light

Joy Kicks Darkness

Orpheus

The Dead Disciples

Oh Yeah

Kung Fu

Arcadia

Girl From Mars

Return of White Rabbit

Encore:

Angel Interceptor

Encore 2:

Twilight of the Innocents

Encore 3:

Burn Baby Burn

On This Day 29/06/1980 Steve Hackett

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On this day, 29 June 1980, former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett played Cardiff’s Top Rank on his Defector tour.

Stephen Richard Hackett (born 12 February 1950) came to prominence as a member of the British progressive rock group Genesis, which he joined in 1970. Hackett remained with the band for eight albums before leaving in 1977 to pursue a solo career.

Hackett's first post-Genesis album was Please Don't Touch, released in 1978. As with Voyage of the Acolyte, much of the material on the album was in the style of progressive rock. It did contain, however, much more vocal work. Hackett, who had never sung lead on a Genesis song, turned over most of the vocals to a number of singers, including folk singer Richie Havens, R&B singer Randy Crawford, and Steve Walsh of Kansas.

A pair of progressive rock albums followed—1979's Spectral Mornings and 1980's Defector. They were both Top 40 albums in the UK, while they charted #138 and #144 in the United States, respectively. Hackett toured Europe for the first time as a solo act in 1979, and in August performed at the Reading Festival. The Defector tour brought him to the United States for the first time since his last tour with Genesis.

Tour Setlist

Slogans

Every Day

The Red Flower of Tachai Blooms Everywhere

Tigermoth

Kim

Time to Get Out

The Steppes

The Toast

Narnia

Black Light / Blood on the Rooftops / Horizons

Sentimental Institution

Jacuzzi

Spectral Mornings

A Tower Struck Down

Clocks - The Angel of Mons

Please Don't Touch

The Show

It's Now or Never

(Elvis Presley cover)

Hercules Unchained

On This Day 27/06/2010 Michael Schenker

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On this day, 27 May 2010, German guitarist Michael Schenker and his band played Cardiff’s Millennium Music Hall.

Schenker started playing guitar at an early age, after his brother Rudolf got a Gibson Flying V guitar for his birthday, which captured his imagination. His main influences were Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Leslie West, Johnny Winter and Rory Gallagher.

He played his first gig when he was 11, with Rudolf and the Scorpions in a nightclub. Schenker played with the Scorpions on their debut Lonesome Crow at the age of 16.

After recording their first album, the Scorpions opened for up-and-coming UK band UFO in Germany. Schenker was invited to be lead guitarist for UFO (taking over from Bernie Marsden, himself a temporary replacement for Larry Wallis who had in turn taken over for the departed Mick Bolton).

Schenker cowrote most of the songs on UFO's major label (Chrysalis Records) debut Phenomenon. His career with UFO was turbulent, sometimes walking off mid-song and causing shows to be cancelled. Despite successful albums and tours, Schenker unequivocally quit UFO after their show in Palo Alto, California, on 29 October 1978.

During this tour the band had recorded six concerts, from which selected tracks would make up their live album Strangers in the Night, released after he left the band. "[Singer Phil] Mogg later claimed that I left UFO over a disagreement about which version of 'Rock Bottom' appeared on Strangers," Schenker recalled, "but don't believe everything you read."

Schenker auditioned for Aerosmith in 1979 after Joe Perry left. According to Martin Huxley, Schenker stormed out of the room after producer Gary Lyons made jokes about Nazis. After the death of Randy Rhoads, Ozzy Osbourne's first call was to Schenker to replace Rhoads, as the German guitarist and his iconic Flying V were a huge influence on the latter. But, Osbourne claims, Schenker made too many outlandish demands (including a private jet). Schenker himself, in an interview with KNAC radio, claims he was the one to say "no" to Osbourne: "If I would have joined Ozzy Osbourne, I would have screwed up my life. I was almost about to do it, and something told me: DON'T!!"

Schenker has also claimed that at some point he was offered, but turned down joining the likes of Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy, Ian Hunter and Motörhead in order to focus on his solo career.

On This Day 26/06/1984 Kajagoogoo

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On this day, 26 June 1984, pop band Kajagoogoo played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on their “Islands” - Tour ‘84.

The band had just released their first album without vocalist Limahl, who had been fired by the band in mid-1983 and went on to pursue a solo career.

Bassist Nick Beggs, already the group's main backing vocalist, took over lead vocal duties, and also wrote the lyrics. The album was co-produced by the band themselves, now a four-piece group, along with Colin Thurston, who had also produced their debut, White Feathers (1983). It is the final album to date to feature founding drummer Jez Strode.

The album did not sell as well as its predecessor, peaking at No. 35 in the UK Albums Chart. The album's first single, "Big Apple", reached No. 8 in the UK, but subsequent singles were less successful, with "The Lion's Mouth" peaking at No. 25 and "Turn Your Back on Me" reaching No. 47.

In the US, the band had renamed themselves Kaja and Islands was reconfigured and released as a mini-LP titled Extra Play. It contained only seven tracks (five from the album and two bonus remixes) and peaked at No. 185 on the Billboard 200. On the US edition, the version of "Turn Your Back on Me" was different from the original UK version, having been remixed by Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero. This remix was released as a single in the US and reached No. 2 on the dance charts.

Tour Setlist

Big Apple

Monochromatic

On a Plane

Islands

The Power to Forgive

Too Shy

Lies and Promises

Melting the Ice Away

The Lion's Mouth

White Feathers

Ooh to Be Ah

On This Day 25/06/1991 The Almighty

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On this day, 25 June 1991, Scottish hard rock band The Almighty played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on their Little Lost Somewhere ‘91 tour.

Formed in Glasgow in 1988 the band were signed by Polydor in March 1989 and recorded their first album, Blood, Fire & Love which was released in October to generally positive reviews.

The band were also signed to a long-term songwriting agreement to Chrysalis Music, having been scouted by Dave Massey. In the same year they were voted in third place on the Kerrang! readers poll for Best New Act.

Recording of the Almighty's second studio album, Soul Destruction, began in December 1990 with Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor as producer. The album was released in March 1991 along with the lead single "Free'n'Easy". In February and March the band toured the UK supporting Motörhead and Megadeth.

In June 1991 they embarked on a headline UK tour. The concert at the Town and Country club in London was filmed and released later that year on VHS as Soul Destruction – Live. Later in the year they supported Alice Cooper on a European tour.

Tour Setlist

Intro

Destroyed

Full Force Lovin' Machine

Love Religion

What More Do You Want

Loaded

Praying to the Red Light

Power

Little Lost Sometimes

Bandaged Knees

Sin Against the Light

Devil's Toy

Crucify

Free 'n' Easy

Lay Down the Law

Wild & Wonderful

Encore:

Hell to Pay

You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet

(Bachman–Turner Overdrive cover)

Encore 2:

You’ve Gone Wild

Bodies

(Sex Pistols cover)

On This Day 24/06/2010 Foals

On this day, 24 June 2010, rock band Foals played Cardiff’s Clwb Ifor Bach. The band had just released their second album Total Life Forever

Formed in Oxford in 2005, the band's current line-up consists of Greek-born lead vocalist and guitarist Yannis Philippakis, drummer and percussionist Jack Bevan, rhythm guitarist Jimmy Smith and bassist Walter Gervers. They are currently signed to Warner Records, and have released seven studio albums to date.

Total Life Forever was very well received; many commented how the band's music has matured from their debut album. Review aggregator Metacritic gave the album a normalised rating of 78 out of 100, indicating "generally favourable reviews".

Q magazine's Rupert Howe was more reserved in his praise. Calling it "the schizophrenic second album", Howe opined that "while this album carries more instrumental and emotional heft than its predecessor, something remains off-balance".

Besides being shortlisted for the 2010 Mercury Prize, Total Life Forever brought the band several nominations for the 2011 NME awards, including best album, best track ("Spanish Sahara") and best album artwork

Setlist

Total Life Forever

Cassius

Olympic Airways

Miami

Blue Blood

Balloons

Black Gold

Spanish Sahara

Red Socks Pugie

Electric Bloom

Encore:

The French Open

Two Steps, Twice

On This Day 23/06/2008 Journey

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On this day, 23 June 2008, American rock band Journey played Cardiff International Arena. Support was provided by John Parr. The band had just released their thirteenth studio album Revelation. On December 18, 2008, the album was certified platinum by the RIAA, making it Journey's first such certification since their 1996 album Trial by Fire. According to Nielsen Soundscan, Revelation has sold more than 1,000,000 copies in the U.S. as of November 2009.

Formed in San Francisco in 1973 by former members of Santana, the Steve Miller Band, and Frumious Bandersnatch, The band as of 2024 consists of guitarist/vocalist Neal Schon (the last remaining original member), keyboardist/guitarist/vocalist Jonathan Cain, keyboardist/vocalist Jason Derlatka, drummer/vocalist Deen Castronovo, bassist Todd Jensen, and lead vocalist Arnel Pineda.

Journey had their biggest commercial success between 1978 and 1987, when Steve Perry was lead vocalist; they released a series of hit songs, including "Don't Stop Believin'" (1981), which in 2009 became the top-selling track in iTunes history among songs not released in the 21st century. Escape,

Journey's seventh and most successful album, reached number one on the Billboard 200 and yielded another of their most popular singles, "Open Arms". The 1983 follow-up album, Frontiers, was almost as successful in the United States, reaching number two and spawning several successful singles; it broadened the band's appeal in the United Kingdom, where it reached number six on the UK Albums Chart.

Journey enjoyed a successful reunion in the mid-1990s and have since regrouped twice; first with Steve Augeri from 1998 to 2006, then with Arnel Pineda from 2007 onward.

Setlist

"Never Walk Away"

"Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)"

"Only the Young"

"Stone in Love"

"Keep On Runnin'"

"Ask the Lonely"

"Who's Crying Now"

"Change for the Better"

Lights

"After All These Years"

"Mother

Father"

"Open Arms"

"Wheel in the Sky"

"Where Did I Lose Your Love"

"Chain Reaction"

"Wildest Dream"

"Edge of the Blade"

Faithfully

"Don't Stop Believin'"

Escape

"Any Way You Want It"

On This Day 22/06/1992 Crowded House

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On this day, rock band Crowded House played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on their 4 Seasons in 8 Weeks tour.

Formed in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia in 1985 its founding members were New Zealander Neil Finn (vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter) and Australians Paul Hester (drums) and Nick Seymour (bass). Later band members included Finn's brother Tim who was in their former band together Split Enz, sons Liam and Elroy, as well as Americans Mark Hart and Matt Sherrod, with Neil Finn and Seymour being the sole constant members.

Originally active from 1985 to 1996, Crowded House had consistent commercial and critical success in Australia and New Zealand. They achieved success in the United States with their self-titled debut album, which provided the Top Ten hits "Don't Dream It's Over" and "Something So Strong".

Further international success came in the UK, Europe, and South Africa in the early 1990s with their third and fourth albums (Woodface and Together Alone) and the compilation album Recurring Dream, which included the hits "Fall at Your Feet", "Weather with You", "Distant Sun", "Locked Out", "Instinct", and "Not the Girl You Think You Are". Neil and Tim Finn were each awarded an OBE in June 1993 for their contributions to the music of New Zealand

Tour Setlist

There Goes God

How Will You Go

When You Come

Fall at Your Feet

Whispers and Moans

World Where You Live

Italian Plastic

Don't Dream It's Over

Love You 'til the Day I Die

The Mighty Quinn / Money's No Object

It's Only Natural

Mean to Me

Walking on the Spot

The Devil You Know

(Split Enz cover)

Into Temptation