On This Day 19/06/1974 Dave Edmunds

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On this day, 19 June 1974, Cardiff rock legend Dave Edmunds played Cardiff’s Top Rank. Also on the bill were Dr Feelgood and Brinsley Schwartz.

Edmunds had a UK Christmas Number 1 single in 1970 with "I Hear You Knocking", a Smiley Lewis cover, which he came across while producing Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets' first album entitled A Legend. The recording was the first release on Edmunds' manager's MAM Records label. This single also reached No. 4 in the US, making it Edmunds' biggest hit by far on either side of Atlantic Ocean. It sold over three million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.

Edmunds had intended to record Wilbert Harrison's "Let's Work Together", but when he was beaten to that song by Canned Heat, he adapted the arrangement he intended to use for it to "I Hear You Knocking". The success of the single caused EMI's Regal Zonophone Records to use an option that it had to claim Edmunds' album, 1972's Rockpile, and the momentum from the single's success on a different label went away.

Edmunds' only acting role followed, as a band member in the David Essex movie Stardust. After learning the trade of producer, culminating in a couple of singles in the style of Phil Spector, "Baby I Love You" (No. 8 in the chart) and "Born to Be with You" (No. 5 in the chart), he became linked with the pub rock movement of the early 1970s, producing (among others) Brinsley Schwarz, Ducks Deluxe, Flamin' Groovies, and blues rock band Foghat, using a stripped down, grittier sound.

Edmunds had bought a house in Rockfield, Monmouth, a few miles away from Charles and Kingsley Ward's Rockfield Studios, where he became an almost permanent fixture for the next twenty years. His working regime involved arriving at the studio in the early evening and working through till well after dawn, usually locked in the building alone. Applying the layered Spector Wall of Sound to his own productions, it was not unusual for Edmunds to multilayer up to forty separately recorded guitar tracks into the mix.

On This Day 18/06/2003 Future Kings Of Spain

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On this day, 18 June 2003, Irish rock band Future Kings Of Spain played Cardiff’s Barfly supporting the Cosmic Rough Riders. The band were just about to release their self-titled debut album in August.

Formed in Dublin 2000 by Joey Wilson, Anton Hegarty and Bryan McMahon. The three had played together with ex-Spudgun guitarist Dave Layde in Mediumwave between 1996 and 1999.

The band released two studio LPs Future Kings of Spain (2003) and Nervousystem (2007) and one EP Les Debemos (2004).

In September 2009 after a period of inactivity, a number of music media outlets reported on the statement on the band's website announcing how the band had "brought things to a close", though not giving a reason for this apparent break-up.

The idea to call the band Future Kings Of Spain came about when Wilson, "was reading two unrelated articles at once and lined up the words Future Kings on one side and of Spain on the other."

On This Day 17/06/1977 The Boomtown Rats

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On this day, 17 June 1977, Irish punks The Boomtown Rats played Cardiff University as support to headliner Tom Petty.

The band was formed in 1975 with five of the six members who came from Dún Laoghaire, while Pete Briquette was originally from Ballyjamesduff, County Cavan, Ireland. Geldof initially managed the band but took over the lead vocals from Garry Roberts. Initially known as The Nightlife Thugs, the group changed their name to The Boomtown Rats, which Geldof had taken from Woody Guthrie's autobiography Bound for Glory.

In the summer of 1976, the group played their first UK gig before moving to London where they signed with Ensign Records later that year.Their first single, "Lookin' After No. 1", released in August 1977 after a year of touring, including the support slot with Tom Petty. It reached the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart at No. 11.

Their first album The Boomtown Rats was released the following month and included another single, "Mary of the 4th Form" reached No. 15 in December. Music journalist Martin C. Strong commented, "Geldof's moody charisma helped to give the band a distinct identity".

Comment left on a Rats website described the evening -

Anonymous said...

I live in Cardiff - and saw the Cardiff gig at the students union - actually it was the UWIST building which formed part of the university. Good as the rats were, I can catagorically assure you that they did "ANYTHING BUT" blow Petty off stage. In fact, there were a number of duff notes played and for some reason that night, Geldof couldn't hold a tune in a bucket.... sorry, but thats the truth....

EmJay said...

I was there too. Anon is right. If you watch the Tom Petty doc they say Cardiff was the gig where they first realised they were going to make it. I was part of the Ents crowd and went and saw Petty support Nils Lofgren at the Capitol a month before (didn't stay for Nils). I pushed the legendary Dave Scott who ran Ents to book Petty as a main band - he got them to play the Great Hall of the Union (it was joint UC and Uwist union) for a crate of beer and a couple of hundred quid cos no-one had heard of them and they hadn't headlined before. Petty played Top of the Pops on the Thursday night for the first time and sold out Cardiff on the Friday. We'd never heard of the Rats and they were arrogant, obnoxious and rough but full of energy and fired up crowd for amazing Petty gig. After helping hump out Petty and the Rats kit, the next morning I stuck out my thumb and still singing "American Girl" hitched down to the last Stonehenge Free Festival...

On This Day 16/06/2005 Jimmy Eat World

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On this day, 16 June 2005, American rock band Jimmy Eat World played Cardiff University on their Futures tour.

Formed in 1993 in Mesa, Arizona, the band is composed of lead vocalist and lead guitarist Jim Adkins, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Tom Linton, bassist Rick Burch, and drummer Zach Lind. They have released ten studio albums, the last nine featuring the current line-up.

The four-piece's commercial breakthrough came with the release of several singles from their album Bleed American (2001), four of which charted within the top 20 positions of the Alternative Songs chart, with "The Middle" reaching No. 1. Their follow-up album, Futures (2004), featured the No. 1 song "Pain".

In February and March 2005, the group went on a European tour, which ended with a stint in the UK. At the end of March, the band performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. A short series of shows in Japan led into a two-month US arena tour, co-headlining with Taking Back Sunday in April and May. Some shows featured supporting acts the Format and Mates of State.

Jimmy Eat World supported Green Day for two shows in the UK in June, which was followed by a European tour in June and July. In late August, the group performed at the Reading and Leeds Festivals. Following this, between late August and October, the band had a supporting slot on Green Day's three-month US arena tour. In December, the group again supported Green Day, for two shows in Australia.

Setlist

Futures Tour Intro

(A brief piece utilizing multiple sections of "Futures"; sung live by Jim Adkins over a tape)

For Me This Is Heaven

Bleed American

Lucky Denver Mint

Work

Polaris

If You Don't, Don't

Blister

Nothingwrong

The Middle

23

Get It Faster

Thinking, That's All

Futures

A Praise Chorus

Encore:

Goodbye Sky Harbor

Pain

Sweetness

On This Day 15/06/2003 Mike Tramp

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On this day, 15 June 2003, Danish singer Mike Tramp, best known for his work with the glam metal band White Lion, played Cardiff’s MS 1 club on his More To Life Than This tour.

Tramp met Vito Bratta and formed White Lion in 1983; the band became very successful in the mid-1980s to early '90s. White Lion released their debut album, Fight to Survive, in 1985. The band achieved success with their number 8 hit "Wait" and number 3 hit "When the Children Cry" from their second album, the triple-platinum selling Pride.

The band enjoyed continued success with their third album, Big Game, which achieved gold status, and their fourth album, Mane Attraction, which they supported with a tour. White Lion disbanded in 1992; their first compilation album, The Best of White Lion, was released not long after.

After disbanding in 1996, Tramp began a solo career, releasing his debut album as a solo artist in 1998 titled Capricorn. The album featured former Freak of Nature bandmates, guitarist Kenny Korade and bass player Jerry Best.Former White Lion bass guitarist James LoMenzo performed backing vocals on the album. The song "Better Off" was released as Tramp's debut solo single[6] and features his first solo music video. The album also features the singles "Already Gone", “If I Live Tomorrow", and "Take a Little Time".

It would be five years before Tramp returned to the studio to record his follow-up album, Recovering the Wasted Years, during which time he would move to Australia, with the aim of raising his son away from the rigors of big city life and to plan his next career move. Recovering the Wasted Years was released in 2002 and featured the singles "Living a Lie" and "Endless Highway" both featuring live music videos.

In 2003, Tramp followed-up with his third album, More to Life Than This, which he once again produced himself but relied on producer/engineer Flemming Rasmussen (Metallica) to engineer and mix the sessions in his very own Sweet Silence Studios. The album's title track, "More to Life Than This", and "Don't Want to Say Good Night" were both released as singles. A music video made in Australia was released for the song "Lay Down My Life for You". Also in 2003, Tramp released the double-disc live album Rock 'N' Roll Alive, which features Tramp performing live versions of songs from White Lion, Freak of Nature, and his solo albums.

On This Day 14/06/2001 The Strokes

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On this day, 14 June 2001, American rock band The Strokes played Cardiff’s Clwb Ifor Bach.

Formed in New York City in 1998, the band is composed of lead singer and primary songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Moretti. They were a leading group of the early-2000s post-punk revival and garage rock revival movements.

The release of their debut EP The Modern Age in early 2001 sparked a bidding war among major labels, with the band eventually signing to RCA Records. That summer, they released their debut album, Is This It, to widespread critical acclaim and strong sales. It has since appeared on numerous "best album" lists.

Building on their 2001 EP The Modern Age, the band members molded compositions largely through live takes during recording sessions, while lead singer and songwriter Julian Casablancas continued to detail the lives and relationships of urban youth.

After completing the album Is This It, the Strokes embarked on a promotional world tour before its release. The album was released progressively to coincide with their tour dates, with it being released in Japan on August 22 and the United Kingdom on August 27. The album's cover photograph was deemed too sexually explicit for the US market, and was replaced there.

On This Day 13/06/1997 Seahorses

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On This Day 13 June 1997, alternative rock band Seahorses played Cardiff University. The band had just released their debut album Do It Yourself.

Guitarist John Squire formed the Seahorses in 1996 following his departure from the Stone Roses. He first recruited bassist Stuart Fletcher, who he saw by chance at the Fibbers venue in York where he was drinking with his guitar tech Martin Herbet. Fletcher was playing in local covers band, The Blueflies, as a last-minute replacement for the band's regular bass player who had pulled out of the gig.

Squire then auditioned two singers – Sean O'Brien, previously of Warrington band the Steamboat Band, and Chris Helme, who was spotted by a friend of Squire's guitar tech busking outside Woolworths in York. Following several auditions and the prompting of his manager, Squire eventually settled on Helme, despite being hesitant because he "closed his eyes when he sang and only folk singers do that".

While Helme was a songwriter too, Squire admitted early on that despite liking a couple of Helme's songs – including "Blinded by the Sun", which he re-arranged for the album – "Yeah, he can write the odd tune but I don't really like them and it might be a problem later on if he wants to record them with the band".

In the summer of 1996, Squire rented a cottage in Coniston, Cumbria to write and rehearse with Helme and Fletcher. Several drummers were auditioned before finally recruiting Andy Watts, who had previously gigged with Fletcher and also knew Helme.

Due to Squire's past work with the Stone Roses, the band were met with intense media interest and speculation before they had recorded or released anything. It had been rumoured that former bandmate Reni was set to join the band. It was then rumoured that a delay in recruiting a drummer was due to Squire's desire to get a drummer who, like Reni, could also sing backing vocals. However, in 2019 bassist Stuart Fletcher revealed that they had actually been working with a drummer called Mark McNeill who had to be dismissed from the band following several failed rehab visits as "he couldn’t remember anything we rehearsed".

The band name was also the subject of various conspiracy theories after the NME claimed that it was an anagram of He Hates Roses. Other alleged anagrams included The Rose Ashes and by dropping the definite article, She's A Rose. Squire responded "That's pure coincidence. I chose the name because at the time, I kept seeing them everywhere and because some people think they don't exist. They are unusual because it is the male of the species who gets pregnant." Squire then changed the band's name from The Seahorses to simply Seahorses, but this was short lived after it turned out that another band had been using the name for several years.

Tour Setlist

Blinded by the Sun

Suicide Drive

Round the Universe

The Boy in the Picture

1999

Moving On

Standing on Your Head

Happiness Is Eggshaped

Love Me and Leave Me

Love Is the Law

Encore:

Hello

I Want You to Know

On This Day 12/06/2008 Infadels

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On this day, 12 June 2008, London-based indie-electro Infadels played Cardiff’s Barfly. The band were just about to release their second album Universe in Reverse, following the earlier release of their single “Make Mistakes”.

Signed to the Wall of Sound record label. Infadels were founded in 2003 by Alex Bruford (drums), Matt Gooderson (guitar, programming) and Bnann Watts (vocals), who were joined shortly afterwards by Dead at Thirty founder Richie Vernon (live keys) and Wag Marshall-Page (Bass).

Their debut album, We Are Not the Infadels, was produced by Jagz Kooner and released in January 2006.[1] A second album, the Martin "Youth" Glover produced Universe In Reverse, was released in June 2008. Their third album, The Future of the Gravity Boy, was released digitally on 19 March, and physically on 9 June 2012.

The band's second album, Universe In Reverse, was released in June 2008 and written largely by Watts and Gooderson, and produced by Martin "Youth" Glover (Verve, Guns ’n’ Roses, Depeche Mode). "Play Blind", the first single from the second album, was given away for free as a limited-time download in February 2008.

Next single "Make Mistakes", was released in April, and "Free Things For Poor People" was released in June 2008, reaching No. 1 on the UK Indie Singles Charts and No. 52 on the UK Singles Chart. On Monday 19 August they were voted best band at the 2008 Lowlands festival by the Dutch public ahead of Editors and N.E.R.D.