On This Day 15/03/1971 Genesis

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On this day, 15 March 1971, prog rock giants Genesis played Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens on their Trespass tour.

Formed, in 1967. The band's longest-existing and most commercially successful line-up consisted of keyboardist Tony Banks, bassist/guitarist Mike Rutherford and drummer/singer Phil Collins. In the 1970s, during which the band also included singer Peter Gabriel and guitarist Steve Hackett, Genesis were among the pioneers of progressive rock.

The group were formed by five Charterhouse pupils, including Banks, Rutherford, Gabriel and guitarist Anthony Phillips, and named by former Charterhouse pupil and pop impresario Jonathan King, who arranged for them to record several singles and their debut album From Genesis to Revelation in 1969.

After splitting from King, the band began touring, signed with Charisma Records and became a progressive rock band on Trespass (1970). Phillips departed after the album's recording, with Banks, Rutherford and Gabriel recruiting Collins and Hackett before recording Nursery Cryme (1971).

Their live shows began to feature Gabriel's theatrical costumes and performances. Foxtrot (1972) was their first charting album in the UK and Selling England by the Pound (1973) reached number three there, featuring their first UK hit "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)". The concept album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974) was promoted with a transatlantic tour and an elaborate stage show, before Gabriel left the group.

Setlist

Happy The Man

Fountain Of Salmacis

Seven Stones

Twilight Alehouse

The Light

White Mountain

The Musical Box

Harlequin

The Knife

Going Out To Get You

The Return Of The Giant Hogweed

On This Day 14/03/2012 Fleshgod Apocalypse

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On this day, 14 March 2012, Italian symphonic death metal band Fleshgod Apocalypse played Bogiez on their Agony tour.

Formed in April 2007 by Francesco Paoli (formerly frontman of the band Hour of Penance). They recorded their first demo, Promo '07, at 16th Cellar Studio, in Rome, with producer Stefano "Saul" Morabito, releasing it shortly after.

The demo was re-released the following year on a split CD with fellow Italian bands Septycal Gorge, Modus Delicti and Onirik. Fleshgod Apocalypse then signed to Neurotic Records. In early 2008 the band toured Europe, supporting bands like Behemoth, Origin, Dying Fetus, Hate Eternal, Suffocation, Napalm Death and many more.

In May 2008, the band recorded its first full-length album, Oracles. In December of that year the band decided to part ways with Neurotic Records and signed with Willowtip Records, who released Oracles in 2009. Shortly thereafter, new member, Tommaso Riccardi took over vocals and rhythm guitar, which were previously handled by Francesco Paoli, and Paoli took over the drums, replacing session drummer Francesco Struglia.

Fleshgod Apocalypse's third album entitled Labyrinth, was released on 16 August 2013, in Europe, and on 20 August 2013, in North America, by Nuclear Blast. Labyrinth was recorded with Stefano Morabito at 16th Cellar Studio. It features guest contributions, and is a concept album about the myth of Labyrinth of Knossos and its analogies to modern times.

On This Day 13/03/2014 CHVCHES

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On this day, 13 March 2014, Scottish synth-pop band CHVRCHES played Cardiff University on their The Bones Of What You Believe tour.

Formed in September 2011. The band consists of Lauren Mayberry, Iain Cook, Martin Doherty and, unofficially since 2018, Jonny Scott.Mostly deriving from the synth-pop genre, Chvrches also incorporate indietronica, indie pop, and electronic dance into their sound.

Two years after their formation, Chvrches released Recover EP in March 2013, which included hits "The Mother We Share" and "Recover". Their debut studio album, The Bones of What You Believe, was released on 20 September 2013, while the band was ranked fifth on the Sound of 2013 list by the BBC.

Setlist

We Sink

Lies

Lungs

Gun

Night Sky

Strong Hand

Science/Visions

Recover

Tether

Under the Tide

The Mother We Share

Encore:

You Caught the Light

By the Throat

On This Day 12/03/1969 Engelbert Humperdinck

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On this day, 12 March 1969, British singer Engelbert Humperdinck played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre. Support was provided by comedian Ted Rogers with special guest the Welsh songstress Mary Hopkin.

Starting as a performer in the late 1950s under the name "Gerry Dorsey", he later adopted the name of German composer Engelbert Humperdinck as a stage name and found success after he partnered with manager Gordon Mills in 1965.

His recordings of the ballads "Release Me" and "The Last Waltz" both topped the UK Singles Chart in 1967, selling more than a million copies each. Humperdinck scored further major hits in rapid succession, including "There Goes My Everything" (1967), "Am I That Easy to Forget" (1968) and "A Man Without Love" (1968). In the process, he attained a large following, with some of his most devoted fans calling themselves "Humperdinckers". Two of his singles were among the best-selling of the 1960s in the United Kingdom.

In early 1967, the changes paid off when Humperdinck's version of "Release Me" topped the charts in the United Kingdom and hit No. 4 on the US Billboard 100. Arranged by Charles Blackwell in an "orchestral country music" style, with Big Jim Sullivan and Jimmy Page as session musicians and a full chorus joining Humperdinck on the third refrain, the record kept the Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever"/"Penny Lane" from the top slot in the United Kingdom (for the first time since 1963).

The B-side of "Release Me", "Ten Guitars", continues to be enormously popular in New Zealand. "Release Me" spent 56 weeks in the Top 50 in a continuous chart run, and was believed to have sold 85,000 copies a day at the height of its popularity. The song has remained at the core of Humperdinck's repertoire ever since. Humperdinck's easygoing style and good looks soon earned him a large following, particularly among women. His hardcore female fans called themselves "Humperdinckers". "Release Me" was succeeded by two more hit ballads: "There Goes My Everything" and "The Last Waltz", earning him a reputation as a crooner, a description which he disputed. As Humperdinck told Hollywood Reporter writer Rick Sherwood:

"f you are not a crooner it's something you don't want to be called. No crooner has the range I have. I can hit notes a bank could not cash. What I am is a contemporary singer, a stylised performer."

On This Day 11/03/1963 Brenda Lee

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On this day, 11 March 1963, American singer Brenda Lee played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre. Also on the bill was, Mike Berry, Sounds Incorporated, The Bachelors, Steve Perry, Tony Sheridan and Bob Bain.

Primarily performing rockabilly, pop, country and Christmas music, she achieved her first Billboard hit aged 12 in 1957 and was given the nickname "Little Miss Dynamite". Some of Lee's most successful songs include "Sweet Nothin's", "I'm Sorry", "I Want to Be Wanted", "Speak to Me Pretty", "All Alone Am I" and "Losing You". Her festive song "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", recorded in 1958, topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 2023, making Lee the oldest artist ever to top the chart and breaking several chart records.

Lee was popular in the UK from early in her career. She performed on television in the UK in 1959, before she had achieved much pop recognition in the United States. Her first hit single in the UK was "Sweet Nothin's", which reached No. 4 on the UK singles chart in the spring of 1960. She subsequently had a UK hit (in 1961) with "Let's Jump the Broomstick", a rockabilly number recorded in 1959, which had not charted in the United States, but reached No. 12 in the UK.

Lee first visited England for three days in April 1959 as a last-minute replacement on Oh Boy!. She first toured the UK in March and April 1962 with Gene Vincent and Sounds Incorporated (as her backing group), and she toured the country for a second time in March 1963,

On This Day 10/03/1978 Richie Havens

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On this day, 10 March 1978, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Richie Havens played Cardiff University.

His music encompassed elements of folk, soul (both of which he frequently covered), and rhythm and blues. He had a rhythmic guitar style (often in open tunings). He was the opening act at Woodstock, sang many jingles for television commercials, and was also the voice of the GeoSafari toys.

Born in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, Havens was the oldest of nine children. He was of Native American (Blackfoot) descent on his father's side and of the British West Indies on his mother's side. His grandfather was Blackfoot of the Montana/South Dakota area.

Havens's grandfather and great-uncle joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, moved to New York City thereafter, and settled on the Shinnecock Reservation on Long Island. Havens's grandfather married, then moved to Brooklyn.

As a youth, Havens began organizing his neighborhood friends into a street corner doo-wop group. At age 16, he was performing with the McCrea Gospel Singers.

In July 1978, he was a featured performer at the Benefit Concert for The Longest Walk, an American Indian spiritual walk from Alcatraz to Washington, D.C. affirming treaty rights, as a result of legislation that had been introduced to abrogate Indian treaties.

On This Day 09/03/1995 Radiohead

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On this day, 9 March 1995, rock band Radiohead played Cardiff University following the release of their second album The Bends.

The album was driven by dense riffs and ethereal atmospheres from the three guitarists, with greater use of keyboards than their debut.

It received stronger reviews for its songwriting and performances.

While Radiohead were seen as outsiders to the Britpop scene that dominated music media at the time, they were finally successful in their home country with The Bends, as singles "Fake Plastic Trees", "High and Dry", "Just", and "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" made their way to chart success.

Formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards), brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass), Ed O'Brien (guitar, backing vocals) and Philip Selway (drums, percussion).

Tour Setlist

The Bends
Just
Anyone Can Play Guitar
Bones
Permanent Daylight
High & Dry
Black Star
Prove Yourself
Stop Whispering
Vegetable
Fake Plastic Trees
Blow Out
Creep
My Iron Lung
You
Banana Co.
Street Spirit (Fade Out)
Ripcord

On This Day 08/03/1989 The Band Of Holy Joy

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On this day, 8 March 1989, alternate rock/pop band The Band Of Holy Joy played Cardiff’s Venue.

The band was formed in 1984, by Johny Brown in New Cross, South London. Early experiments revolved around cheap junk shop instrumentation and rudimentary electronics. After two self-issued cassettes, they signed to South London indie label Flim Flam for a string of singles and two 1987 albums; More Tales From The City and the live LP When Stars Come Out To Play.

The band reached a commercial and critical peak after signing to Rough Trade, with Manic, Magic, Majestic in 1989, and Positively Spooked in 1990, supported by a tour of the U.S.S.R. The label was forced into receivership in 1991 following cash flow problems and eventual bankruptcy. The band re-emerged in 1992 as Holy Joy, with the album Tracksuit Vendetta. They split up in 1993 and Brown moved into freelance journalism, playwriting and production.