On This Day 06/08/1999 Big Leaves

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On this day, 6 August 2004, Welsh band Big Leaves played Cardiff’s Big Weekend.

The band was formed in 1988 as Beganifs by then 11- and 12-year-old school pupils Rhodri Sion (vocals), Meilir Gwynedd (guitar), Kevin Tame (bass guitar, trumpet), and Osian Gwynedd (drums, keyboards).

They initially recorded and sold home-recorded tapes, and released two seven-inch EPs as Beganifs, the first on their own label, the second on Ankst Records.

They changed the band name to Big Leaves after they were mistakenly billed as this by a concert promoter in the Netherlands who misheard their name. They were signed by Crai Records, releasing two EPs in 1998 and 1999, and contributed to the second album by Catatonia, with whom they later toured.

They also toured with Super Furry Animals, a band with which they have been compared. "Sly Alibi", released in 1999 on Adam Walton's Whipcord label, was the band's first English-language release.

Their 1999 single "Racing Birds" was so highly regarded by BBC Radio 1 DJ Mark Radcliffe that he played it twice in a row on his show. The band's debut album, Pwy Sy'n Galw? (Who's Calling?) was released in 2000, after which they were joined by drummer Matt Hobbs.

The band performed at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas in 2002, and were featured in a documentary on S4C.

They released a second album in 2003, after which the band split up. Meilir and Osian Gwynedd later formed Sibrydion.

Magic Numbers 5 Aug 2007 BW

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On this day, 5 August 2007, alternative rock band Magic Numbers played Cardiff’s Big Weekend.

Consisting of two brother-and-sister pairs, from Hanwell in west London. The group was formed in 2002, releasing their debut album titled The Magic Numbers on 13 June 2005.

It was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize in 2005. Songwriting duties were taken by Romeo Stodart as was much of the musical composition and arrangement. It incorporated the earlier single release of "Hymn for Her" as a hidden track.

The album incorporates many folk elements within the main indie sound which resounds throughout. The album also reflects many elements of the writers' early childhood dreams, tales of their love life and desperation of youth. For example, "Love Me Like You", the best known single of the album, illustrates the difference of feeling in their love for each other.

Following the release of their debut album, the remainder of 2005 and the first few months of 2006 were spent touring and promoting their album and singles, throughout the UK and United States, across Europe and also in New Zealand, Australia and Japan. Their Japanese tour was featured as a side documentary on Jonathan Ross's Japanorama.

They received a large amount of press attention for being the first band to walk off the TV show Top of the Pops after host Richard Bacon allegedly insulted their physiques (calling them "a big fat melting pot of talent" in their introduction) shortly before they were due to appear on the show to promote their single "Love Me Like You".

On This Day 04/08/2001 Kosheen

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On this day, 4 August 2001, Bristol electronic group Kosheen played Cardiff’s Big Weekend.

The group consist of singer-songwriter Sian Evans, songwriter-producer Ron Mcelroy and drummer Mitchell Glover. The name Kosheen derives from the name of a North American Apache warrior, Cochise. In Japan, it was discovered that a combination of the Japanese words for "old" (古, romanised transliteration "ko") and "new" (新, "shin") would make "Kosheen" in Japanese.

Their first album, Resist, was released in September 2001 on Moksha Recordings/BMG and reached number eight in the UK album chart.

The band, with Sian at the helm, garnered 5 studio albums and earned themselves the reputation of being one of the most iconic performing bands of their time.

On This Day 03/08/2008 The Automatic

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On this day, 3 August 2008, Welsh band The Automatic played Cardiff’s Big Weekend in support of Northern Irish band Ash.

The members first met at primary school, in the early 1990s, and formed a band at the age of 13. Alex Pennie was asked to join five years later. Originally known as White Rabbit, up until February 2005 when they renamed themselves The Automatic because they believe that music is the antidote to "the automatic life". After recording their two-track demo featuring rough versions of "Monster" and "Rats" in 2005 they signed a five-album record deal with B-Unique Records in their gap year.

During the band's debut release period of Not Accepted Anywhere they were often categorised as electro-disco-punk rock,; at this point they were using more synthesiser keyboards, and had been compared to acts such as Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs, and 'thrown in' with the indie rock scene of 2006, the band have even stated that the album was altered in the mixing process "When we were recording the first album there were some really heavy guitars going down but only the clean ones were used" a decision of the record label and producers involved with the album, some of these guitars parts were restored in the 2007 US release of Not Accepted Anywhere when it was re-released and re-mastered, the band at one point were even labelled as Glam rock, which former keyboardist Alex Pennie blamed NME for.

The band cite their influences such as Jarcrew, Muse, Blur and The Blood Brothers, and a joint love for bands such as Radiohead and Ash, The band's second album was compared to the sound of Ash's early work by many critics, as well as this the second album is generally listed as having a 'bigger sound' with heavier guitars, less synths, drums and more vocals.

The debut album, Not Accepted Anywhere, lyrically refers to the band's experiences growing up in Cowbridge, while the second album, This Is A Fix, lyrically takes inspiration from politics and news items, except for "Steve McQueen" which lyrically is similar to the tracks on Not Accepted Anywhere and was intended originally as a bridge between the two first albums, as a stand-alone single being originally recorded at the end of 2006, for an early 2007 release. "Monster", "Recover", "In The Mountains" and "Responsible Citizen" lyrically refer to substance abuse and alcohol, the media in "Magazines", the record industry in "Accessories" and "You Shout You Shout You Shout You Shout", the climate in "High Tide on Caroline Street", people the band dislike in "Team Drama and "Seriously... I Hate You Guys", growing up and day-to-day lives in "That's What She Said", "In This World", "Raoul", and "Light Entertainment".

We wrote a song, it did really well, I don't really see what there is to be upset about. You get labelled "one hit wonders", but that's more hits than most people have. And it's not like we've disappeared without a trace. We've got a second album coming out, which in my opinion is full of much better songs. We wouldn't have been in a position to fly to LA to make a record if it wasn't for 'Monster'."

— Robin Hawkins on the success of "Monster"

On This Day 01/08/1980 Ultravox 1 Aug 1980 TR

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On this day, 1 August 1980, pop/synth band Ultravox played Cardiff’s Top Rank on the band’s Vienna UK tour.

Released in June 1980, the Vienna album produced the band's first UK Top 40 hit with "Sleepwalk" reaching No. 29, while the album itself initially peaked at No. 14.

A second single, "Passing Strangers", failed to reach the Top 40, only reaching No. 57, but the band achieved a substantial hit with the third single, the album's title track.

Accompanied by a highly distinctive video (inspired by Carol Reed's 1949 film The Third Man), the single became Ultravox's biggest ever hit, released in January 1981 and peaking at Number 2 (kept off the top spot by John Lennon's "Woman" and then Joe Dolce's "Shaddap You Face").

On the strength of the single, the album then re-entered the chart and reached No. 3 in early 1981. A fourth single from the album, "All Stood Still", peaked at No. 8. in 1981, and "Slow Motion" from Systems of Romance was also re-issued, reaching No. 33 the same year.

Ultravox were then revitalised by Midge Ure, who had joined the band as vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist. He had already achieved minor success with semi-glam outfit Slik and Glen Matlock's The Rich Kids, and in 1979, he was temporarily playing with hard rock band Thin Lizzy on their American tour, replacing Gary Moore.

Ure and Billy Currie had met while collaborating on Visage, a studio-based band fronted by New Romantic icon and nightclub impresario Steve Strange.

Setlist

Quiet Men

Passing Strangers

Face To Face

Mr X

Western Promise

Vienna

Slow Motion

Hiroshima Mon Amour

Private Lives

New Europeans

All Stood Still

Sleepwalk

Astradyne

Kings Lead Hat

On This Day 31/07/2004 Fun Lovin Criminals

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On this day, 31 July 2004, American rap rock band, Fun Lovin Criminals played Cardiff’s Bg Weekend. The band had recently released their greatest hits album The Ultra Selection.

They are best known for their hit "Scooby Snacks", which features samples from films by Quentin Tarantino, and the song "Love Unlimited", which recalls Barry White's backing vocal group. Their songs often focus on life in New York City, as well as urban life in general.

Their lyrics can be gritty or existentialist in nature, touching on topics such as organized crime and urban violence, but they are just as often humorous or satirical. The band gained a large following internationally, notably in Northwest Europe, around the release of their first two albums in the late 1990s.

The band was formed in 1993 by Huey Morgan, Brian "Fast" Leiser and Steve Borgovini after Leiser, who was already friends with Borgovini, met Morgan at the club where they both worked. They started playing together and would provide the entertainment for the club when a booked act failed to show up. It was during one of these stand-in gigs that they came to the attention of EMI and they were offered a record deal.

On This Day 30/07/2007 Newton Faulkner

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On this day, 30 July 2007, English singer-songwriter and musician Newton Faulkner played Cardiff’s Clwb Ifor Bach.

He supported James Morrison on his February UK tour, Paolo Nutini on his UK tour in April, and John Mayer on his September dates in the UK. He also supported The John Butler Trio on a number of European dates.

In 2007, Faulkner's debut studio album Hand Built by Robots was certified double platinum in the United Kingdom. Hand Built By Robots made No.1 in the UK Album Chart in August 2007.

He released three singles from the album, "Dream Catch Me", "I Need Something" and "Teardrop". "Dream Catch Me" was selected Jo Whiley's Pet Sound on her daily Radio 1 show and made No.7 on the UK Singles Charts. This gave the track exposure and was highly commented on by listeners to Jo's show by SMS and e-mail.

On 29 July, "Dream Catch Me" reached No. 7 in the UK Singles Chart. His fourth single from the album, a cover of Massive Attack's "Teardrop", was released in December 2007. A new video for "I Need Something" was released in March along with a United States version of the video for "Dream Catch Me".

On This Day 29/07/1975 Sassafras

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On this day, 29 July 1975, Welsh rock band Sassafras played Cardiff’s Top Rank. The band had not long released their second album Wheelin’ ‘N’ ‘Dealin’

The band was formed in South Wales in 1970 with guitarist Ralph Evans, bassist Ricky John Holt and drummer Rob Reynolds. David (Dai) Shell, a noted Cardiff guitarist, joined soon afterwards.

The band signed to George Martin’s AIR Productions in 1972 with a line-up completed by Terry Bennett on vocals and Robert 'Congo' Jones on drums. The band released their debut album, Expecting Company, on Polydor in 1973.

The band toured America's larger venues with such headlining groups as Ten Years After, Fleetwood Mac and Peter Frampton, played at festivals and achieved good press coverage, but never found real commercial success.

The band has been described as "a sort-of Welsh Fleetwood Mac/Eagles hybrid, with soaring west-coast melodies and a real roadtrip rock feel". In the early 1970s they held the record for highest number of gigs in a single year, with their 332 beating Slade by one.