On This Day 25/07/1981 Misty in Roots

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On this day, 25 July 1981’ reggae band Misty in Roots played Sophia Gardens Pavilion as part of the CND Wales Carnival. Support was provided by Cardiff band The Burpas.

Formed in Southall, London, in the mid 1970s. Their first album was 1979's Live at the Counter Eurovision, a record full of Rastafarian songs. It was championed by BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, helping to bring roots reggae to a white audience.

At this early stage, the band was a collective with five lead singers and various musicians, though by the time of the second album proper the band had slimmed down to just three members. Along with Steel Pulse, Aswad, Matumbi, Cimarons and Black Slate, Misty in Roots were one of the most popular British reggae bands of the late 1970s.

Following their debut, Misty in Roots released four studio albums through the 1980s. The band had two BBC Radio 1 "In Concert" appearances in 1983 and 1985. They were invited to play in Zimbabwe in 1982 in recognition of their support for the independence movement, and were the first reggae band to tour South Africa, Poland, and Russia. After a break from recording in the next decade the band returned with a new mini-album Roots Controller in 2002 and continue to play concerts as of 2014.

In 1979 Clarence Baker, a member of the collective, was severely beaten and injured by the London Metropolitan Police's SPG unit during a protest in Southall against a National Front march. The punk band The Ruts, who were partners of and had their debut single released by the People Unite co-operative, honoured him in their song "Jah War" which was released as a single and on their album The Crack the same year.

On This Day 24/07/1976 Status Quo

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On this day, 24 July 1976, rock band Status Quo played Cardiff Castle, headlining a package that included Strawbs, Curved Air, Hawkwind and Welsh rock band Budgie, compered by DJ John Peel.

The concert was part of the group’s Blue For You tour, promoting their Blue For You Album. The band had played two concerts at the City’s Capitol Theatre earlier in the year before returning for their prestigious Cardiff Castle gig.

Blue for You was their ninth studio album and was released in March 1976, and was the band’s last album until 1980's Just Supposin' that they produced themselves, which resulted in subsequent albums having a noticeably lighter, more pop oriented sound.

Rick Parfitt's "Rain", the first single from the album, reached No. 7 in the UK charts after its release in February 1976. Its B-side was the non-album track "You Lost the Love", written by Francis Rossi and Bob Young.

The album was released the following month. It entered the British album chart at No. 1 and stayed there for three weeks, making it one of their most successful long players.

On This Day 23/07/1990 Aztec Camera

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On this day, 23 July 1990, Scottish rock band Aztec Camera played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on the band’s Stray tour.

The band had just released their fourth studio album Stray a few weeks earlier on Sire Records and was praised for its diversity of songs and styles, and for the assured nature of leader Roddy Frame’s lyrics.

Stray peaked at No. 22 in the UK Albums Chart, whilst the single "Good Morning Britain", a collaboration with Mick Jones, formerly of The Clash, reached No. 19 in the UK Singles Chart.

In a 1990 interview, recorded during a tour of Japan, Frame explained that he wrote "Good Morning Britain" in 45 minutes after a two- to three-hour conversation with Jones in the canteen of a London rehearsal studio that both Big Audio Dynamite and Aztec Camera were using.

Frame elaborated further, stating that at the time he wrote the song, Jones lived near his London home; Frame visited Jones after recording the song and said to the Clash guitarist, "You'll either sing on it, or you'll want to sue me", as Frame believed the song was so similar to Jones' previous work.

Stray Tour Band (1990)

• Roddy Frame – guitar, vocals

• Eddie Kulak – keyboards

• Gary Sanford – guitars

• Clare Kenny – bass guitars

• Frank Tontoh – drums

On This Day 22/07/2008 Michael Buble

On this day, 22 July 2008, Canadian crooner Michael Buble played Cardiff’s International Arena promoting third studio album, Call Me Irresponsible. released the previous year with Buble on a worldwide tour.

Bublé grew up listening to his grandfather's collection of jazz records and credits his grandfather in encouraging his love for jazz music. "My grandfather was really my best friend growing up. He was the one who opened me up to a whole world of music that seemed to have been passed over by my generation.

“Although I like rock and roll and modern music, the first time my granddad played me the Mills Brothers, something magical happened. The lyrics were so romantic, so real, the way a song should be for me. It was like seeing my future flash before me. I wanted to be a singer and I knew that this was the music that I wanted to sing.”

On This Day 21/07/2010 Pet Shop Boys

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On this day, 21 July 2010, synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys played Cardiff International Arena on their Pandemonium tour.

The Pandemonium Tour was a worldwide concert tour by British pop duo Pet Shop Boys in support of their tenth studio album Yes. The tour visited Europe, Asia and the Americas.

Yes debuted at number four on the UK Albums Chart with first-week sales of 27,639 copies, the duo's highest-placing album since Bilingual (1996). Early sales figures predicted that the album would enter at number one, but its release was beset by distribution problems and Yes proved unable to hold onto its midweek position.

The download version erroneously went on sale through the iTunes Store three days before its official release date, rendering 2,500 sales ineligible for the chart, while, the following week, a number of suppliers of the physical album reported stock level problems.

The closing track "Legacy" was subject to censorship in China for political sensitivity reasons, as it contains the lyric "governments fall". The song was changed to an instrumental.

Setlist

More Than a Dream

Heart

Did You See Me Coming?

Pandemonium

Can You Forgive Her?

Love etc.

Integral

Building a Wall

Paninaro

Go West

(Village People cover)

Two Divided by Zero

Why Don't We Live Together?

New York City Boy

You Were Always on My Mind

(Gwen McCrae cover)

Closer to Heaven

Left to My Own Devices

Do I Have To?

King's Cross

The Way It Used to Be

Jealousy

Suburbia

What Have I Done to Deserve This?

All Over the World

Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)

Discoteca

Domino Dancing

Viva la Vida

(Coldplay cover)

It's a Sin

Encore:

Being Boring

West End Girls

On This Day 20/07/2005 Dogs

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On this day, 20 July 2005, post-punk-influenced indie rock band Dogs played Cardiff’s Barfly.

Their first album, Turn Against This Land, released on 19 September 2005, was recorded at Sawmills Studio in Cornwall, produced by John Cornfield. It was released by Island Records and received critical acclaim from the UK press. It contained the singles "London Bridge/End of an Era" (double A-side), "Tuned to a Different Station" and "Selfish Ways", each charting in the UK chart top 40. Dogs returned during 2007, under Weekender Records, with three singles: "Soldier On", followed by "This Stone Is a Bullet" and thirdly "Dirty Little Shop", released on 18 June 2007. The song "Chained to No-One" was released at the end of 2007 as a download-only single.

The band released their second album, Tall Stories from Under the Table on 25 June 2007. On 19 November 2008, it was announced that original drummer, Rich Mitchell had left the band amicably to join the band Chapel Club and a replacement found in Paul Warren. On 18 August 2009, it was announced that rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist, Luciano Vargas, had left the band amicably to pursue a family lifestyle. Luciano's replacement was found in rhythm guitarist Kevin Iverson, previously frontman of the band Springtide Cavalry. Iverson announced in December 2010 that he would be leaving Dogs for personal reasons.

The band released an EP on 14 June 2010, entitled We Are The Dogs, released independently without any label or PR output. Also, in early 2011, Dogs released a free seven track EP through their Facebook page entitled Fly Like Eagles.

On 21 June 2011, lead singer Johnny Cooke announced that the band were separating via a message on their official forum.

On This Day 19/07/2002 Iggy Pop

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On this day, 19 July 2002, iconic American rocker Iggy Pop played Cardiff’s Cooper’s Field. Iggy was special guest to headliners Green Day.

He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1967 and have disbanded and reunited many times since. Often called the "Godfather of Punk", he was named one of the 50 Great Voices by NPR. In 2010, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Stooges. Pop also received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020 for his solo work.

Initially playing a raw, primitive style of rock and roll (progressing later towards more experimental and aggressive rock), the Stooges sold few records in their original incarnation and gained a reputation for their confrontational performances, which often involved acts of self-mutilation by Pop. He had a long collaborative relationship and friendship with David Bowie over the course of his career, beginning with the Stooges' album Raw Power in 1973.

Although Pop has had limited commercial success, he has remained a culture icon and a significant influence on a wide range of musicians in numerous genres. The Stooges' album Raw Power has proved an influence on artists such as Sex Pistols, the Smiths, and Nirvana. His solo album The Idiot has been cited as a major influence on a number of post-punk, electronic and industrial artists including Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails and Joy Division, and was described by Siouxsie Sioux as a "re-affirmation that our suspicions were true: the man is a genius."

On This Day 16/07/1990 Rolling Stones

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On this day, 16 July 1990, legendary rockers the Rolling Stones played Cardiff’s National Stadium, Cardiff Arms Park, on their Urban Jungle tour. The concert was original to be played on the 11 July but Keith Richards had injured a finger and therefore the concert was postponed until 16th July.

These would be the last live concerts for the band with original member Bill Wyman on bass guitar. This tour would also be the longest the band had ever done up to that point, playing over twice as many shows as their standard tour length from the 1960s and 1970s.

Review - South Wales Echo

The Rolling Stones

Mick Jagger – lead vocals, guitar, harmonica, percussion

Keith Richards – guitar, vocals

Ronnie Wood – guitar

Bill Wyman – bass guitar

Charlie Watts – drums

Additional musicians

Matt Clifford – keyboards, backing vocals, percussion, French horn

Bobby Keys – saxophone

Chuck Leavell – keyboards, backing vocals and musical director

Bernard Fowler – backing vocals, percussion

Lorelei McBroom – backing vocals

Sophia Jones – backing vocals

The Uptown Horns

Arno Hecht – saxophone

Bob Funk – trombone

Crispin Cioe – saxophone

Paul Litteral – trumpet