On This Day 15/07/1993 INXS

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On this day, 17 July 1993, Australian rock band INXS played Cardiff University on their Get Out Of The House tour.

The band were soon to release Full Moon, Dirty Heart, their ninth studio album which peaked at no 3 in the UK album charts.

When vocalist Michael Hutchence visited then girlfriend Helena Christensen in her home city of Copenhagen in Denmark. Hutchence got into a scuffle with a taxi driver.

The incident started when a drunken Hutchence refused to move off the road to allow the taxi to pass. The taxi driver got out of his vehicle and punched Hutchence causing him to fall onto the pavement.

The singer sustained a fractured skull due to the fall and as a result suffered a loss of his sense of smell and taste. The singer spent two weeks recovering in a Copenhagen hospital.

In the unofficial biography Michael Hutchence: A Tragic Rock & Roll Story, Australian author Vince Lovegrove wrote, "It had a very strange effect on Michael. The alleged injury also caused the singer to act erratically, abusively and to suffer insomnia".

Although temporary, these conditions would have an effect during the production of Full Moon, Dirty Hearts.

Setlist

Communication

Days of Rust

The Gift

The Loved One

(The Loved Ones cover)

Taste It

Need You Tonight

Mediate

Full Moon, Dirty Hearts

Please (You Got That...)

Suicide Blonde

I Send a Message

All Around

What You Need

New Sensation

Kick

Devil Inside

Heaven Sent

Encore:

Time

Mystify

Don't Change

On This Day 14/07/1996 Toto

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On this day, 14 July 1996, American rock band Toto played Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium. The band were part of the bill supporting singer Tina Turner.

Formed in 1977 in Los Angeles, California. Toto combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, hard rock, R&B, blues, and jazz. Having released 14 studio albums and sold over 40 million records worldwide, the group has received several Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2009.

In 1995 Toto recorded Tambu, their first album with Simon Phillips, which saw the band back with CBS (now Sony). A departure from Toto's sound of the late 1970s and 1980s, Tambu was a very organic release and featured the single "I Will Remember", which received moderate radio play. Other singles released were "Drag Him To The Roof" and "The Turning Point". Tambu also featured John James and Jenny Douglas-McRae as backup singers on some of the tracks. Douglas-McRae even sang lead on the album's bonus track, "Blackeye", and also in a duet with Steve Lukather on "Baby He's Your Man". Tambu sold 600,000 copies worldwide.[citation needed]

The "Tambu Tour" proved to be another success, although there were no North American dates. Simon Phillips suffered from a back problem, so Gregg Bissonette had to fill in for him during the first leg of the tour in late 1995. The tour concluded in 1996. The rest of the tour personnel remained the same, with the exception of Donna McDaniel who had left in 1994 shortly after the "Night of the Proms" performances (which Douglas-McRae had missed since she was out touring with Joe Cocker). The song "Hold the Line" was now sung as a duet between James and Douglas-McRae.[31] Both James and Douglas-McRae were dropped from the band at the conclusion of the 1997 tour.

Lukather released his second solo album, Luke, which was a more "introspective" album than his previous solo album.

On This Day 13/07/1966 The Creation

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On this day, 13 July 1966, English rock band The Creation played Cardiff’s Top Rank.

Formed in 1966, their best-known songs are "Making Time", which was one of the first rock songs to feature a guitar played with a bow, and "Painter Man", which made the top 40 on the UK Singles Chart in late 1966, and reached No. 8 on the German chart in April 1967. It was covered by Boney M in 1979, and reached the No. 10 position on the UK chart. "Making Time" was used in the film Rushmore, and as the theme song from season 2 onwards of The Great Pottery Throw Down.

Most of the members of what would eventually become Creation were initially members of The Mark Four, a British beat group based in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire. By late 1963 The Mark Four was a quintet consisting of Kenny Pickett (vocals), Eddie Phillips (guitars), Mick "Spud" Thompson (rhythm guitars), John Dalton (bass), and Jack Jones (drums). This lineup played regularly in the UK and in Germany before issuing two non-charting singles for Philips’ Mercury Records, "Rock Around The Clock" and "Try It Baby" in 1964.

Dalton then left the band. He later joined The Kinks as a replacement for Pete Quaife before being replaced by new bassist Tony Cooke. Around the same time, Thompson left the band and was not replaced. This Mark Four lineup issued two further non-charting singles: "Hurt Me If You Will" (Decca, August 1965) and "Work All Day (Sleep All Night)" (Fontana, February 1966).

In April 1966, the group signed a management deal with Tony Stratton Smith. He promptly suggested replacing Cooke with new bassist Bob Garner (previously of the Tony Sheridan Band), and a name change. The band took him up on both suggestions: it was Pickett who came up with the name The Creation, based on a reference he found in a book of Russian poetry.

On This Day 12/07/2002 Devolved

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On this day, 12 July 2002, Australian technical death metal band played Cardiff’s Clwb Ifor Bach.

Originally from the Gold Coast, Queensland, then based in Los Angeles where leader drummer and lyricist John Sankey resided for over 15 years. The band has released four full-length albums and has toured extensively throughout Australia, Europe, the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan.

In 2000 Devolved entered the studio to record their debut album 'Technologies', just prior to the recording sessions vocalist Nik Carpenter joined the band. The album was released in 2001 and immediately received widespread attention and acclaim, Devolved was voted Australian Metal Band of the Year by both listeners and staff at leading National radio network JJJ and the Roadrunner Records affiliated magazine 'Outsider' judged Technologies to be the Australian metal album of the year and Sankey was awarded as best metal drummer. Sankey was soon contacted by a number of drum Companies and he signed exclusive endorsement deals with Sabian Cymbals, Pro-Mark drum sticks, Axis Pedals, Aquarian drum heads and Premier drums.

At this time bass player Joel Graham was replaced for a short term by Leighton Kearns, who was then replaced by Wayde Dunn. Devolved toured extensively for 'Technologies' including appearances alongside Strapping Young Lad and Machine Head. Sankey also performed with Melbourne-based band Frankenbok filling in for their drummer who was injured on tours with Skinlab and Soilwork. Devolved soon returned to the studio to record an EP titled 'Automation 001' which featured 2 new tracks plus live songs and interactive bonus material.

After its release in 2002 the band took their chaotic live show overseas to the UK and Europe where they performed shows with Opeth, Arch Enemy, Candlemass and many more. Vocalist Nik Carpenter was unceremoniously let go during this time when he became 'too home sick to continue the tour' and left in the middle of the night to fly back to Australia without warning leaving the band without a singer for the last handful of shows. Fortunately guitarist Brett Noordin stood in as vocalist for the remaining dates, needless to say Sankey fired Carpenter from the band immediately.

On This Day 11/07/1978 The Specials

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On this day, 11 July 1978 , legendary ska/punk band The Specials played Cardiff’s Top Rank as support to punk giants The Clash.

Originally called The Hybrids, The Automatics, later became Coventry Specials, Special AKA eventually becoming The Specials (Jun 78-81).

The group was formed in 1977 by songwriter/keyboardist Dammers, vocalist Tim Strickland, guitarist/vocalist Lynval Golding, drummer Silverton Hutchinson and bassist Horace Panter (Sir Horace Gentleman). Strickland was replaced by Terry Hall shortly after the band's formation. The band was first called the Automatics, then the Coventry Automatics. Guitarist Roddy Byers (usually known as Roddy Radiation) agreed to join the band in March 1978 ahead of a recording session of demos.

The Specials at Cardiff Top Rank

The new line-up changed their name to The Special A.K.A. The Automatics after another band called the Automatics signed a record deal with Island Records. The new name was a bit of a mouthful and was shortened to The Special AKA. The name Special AKA soon evolved into The Specials – the moniker that would be used for most of the band's career.

Joe Strummer of The Clash had attended one of their concerts, and invited the Special AKA to open for his band in their "On Parole" UK tour. This performance gave the Special AKA a new level of national exposure, and they briefly shared the Clash's management. During the tour Neville Staple, who was initially one of the roadies, became a full member of The Specials when his version of "Monkey Man" was incorporated into the group's set.

Jerry Dammers (keyb)
Lynval Golding (gtr)
Horace Panter (bass)
Silverton Hutchinson (drms)
Terry Hall (voc)
Roddy Radiation (gtr)
Nevile Staples (voc)

On This Day 09/07/2004 Hope of the States

On this day, 9 July 2004, English post rock-influenced indie band Hope of the States played Cardiff’s Barfly.

The band formed in 2000, naming themselves after The Shame of the States, Albert Deutsch's 1948 book on the state of mental healthcare in the United States. They were discovered after sending a demo to the Planet Sound teletext page, and were signed to Sony BMG. Scott R. Walker left the band after the first initial releases and then went on to form KASMs.

The band's guitarist James Lawrence committed suicide in January 2004, shortly before the release of their first album, The Lost Riots, which reached the Top 40 in the UK Albums Chart.

Released to mostly enthusiastic critical acclaim upon release, reviewers praised the band's balance of intense post-rock bombast and anthemic post-Britpop dynamics, while criticism was directed at lead singer Samuel Herlihy's lack of vocal range and the band's dour sound. The album charted at number 21 on the UK Albums Chart.

The band's first single, "Black Dollar Bills", was packaged in a hessian sleeve, each hand-sewn by a band member. The band's most extensive UK tour started in October 2004, beginning with a date in Belfast's Mandela Hall, including an appearance at the Dance Academy in Plymouth.

On This Day 07/07/2007 The Victorian English Gentlemans Club

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On this day, 7 July 2007, four-piece experimental art rock band The Victorian English Gentlemans Club played Cardiff’s Clwb Ifor Bach.

Based in Cardiff, the name of the band is correctly spelt without an apostrophe. On their website, the band acknowledges they are "aware that there should be" an apostrophe. The name originated from style of the artwork of singer Adam.

The band was formed when Taylor and Mason met at Art College in Cardiff in 2004. Joined by drummer Daman they made their recording debut in early 2006; with the limited-edition "The Tales of Hermit Mark" / "My Son Spell Backwards" released in the spring and double A-side "Amateur Man" / "Ban the Gin" following that summer, both on Fantastic Plastic Records.

Their self-titled debut album was released in Autumn 2006; first single "Impossible Sightings Over Shelton" debuted at number ten on the UK Indie Chart. While writing the next album, the band performed at SXSW festival in Austin, Texas in both 2007 and 2008, released a French language version of the previous single "La Mer" (as a split 7-inch with the Paris-based band, This is Pop), and did several support and headline tours in UK and Europe.

On This Day 10/07/2005 A Static Lullaby

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On this day, 10 July 2005, American post-hardcore band A Static Lullaby played Cardiff University on their Faso Latido tour.

The band signed a contract with Ferret Records in 2002. After this, the band went on to create their first album, ...And Don't Forget to Breathe in early 2003 and spent 18 months on the road supporting it, sharing stages with such acts as AFI, My Chemical Romance and Brand New.

During a 16-week tour with Strung Out, drummer Brett Dinovo left the band and was replaced by then guitar tech Ben Newsham. In late 2004 the band recorded a cover of "The Everlasting Gaze", originally by The Smashing Pumpkins, for the album The Killer in You: A Tribute to Smashing Pumpkins. After extensive touring, they signed to Columbia Records and recorded their second album, Faso Latido, which was released on April 5, 2005. It received mixed reviews and they were eventually dropped from Columbia.

In this time, bassist and vocalist Phil Pirrone was involved in a serious car crash, causing him to rethink his life and eventually leave the band. He formed his own record label, Longhair Illuminati, and formed the band Casket Salesmen with guitarist Nathan Lindeman. ASL went on a successful Taste Of Chaos in 2005.

Faso Latido was generally met with negative feedback. The band treats this album just like Weezer's Pinkerton and the members of the band openly admit they dislike this album.

When playing songs from the album live, they apologize to the fans for playing the song. However, many fans cite this album as the best from A Static Lullaby.

In November 2005, it was revealed that Sony BMG was distributing albums with Extended Copy Protection, a controversial feature that automatically installed rootkit software on any Microsoft Windows machine upon insertion of the disc. In addition to preventing the CDs contents from being copied, it was also revealed that the software reported the users' listening habits back to Sony BMG and also exposed the computer to malicious attacks that exploited insecure features of the rootkit software. Faso Latido was listed among the 52 CDs that were known to contain the software, which Sony discontinued the usage of on November 11, 2005.