On This Day 02/08/2009 The Lightning Seeds

On this day, 2 August 2009, rock band The Lightning Seeds played Cardiff’s Big Weekend.

Formed in Liverpool in 1989 by Ian Broudie (vocals, guitar, producer), formerly of the bands Big in Japan, Care, and Original Mirrors.

Originally a studio-based solo project for Broudie, the Lightning Seeds expanded into a touring band following Jollification (1994). The group experienced commercial success throughout the 1990s.

The band had just recently released their sixth studio album Four Winds.

It was the band's first album of new tracks since 1999. The album peaked at No 67 on the UK album charts.

The first single, "Ghosts", was released on 11 May 2009.

This was followed by a second song to be released from the album “Don’t Walk  On By” on the 3 August.

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.

On This Day 28/07/2015 Nordic Giants

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On this day, 28 July 2014, instrumental post-rock duo the Nordic Giants played Cardiff’s The Globe on their Evolve or Perish tour.

The band includes prominent cinematic aspects into the performances and videos. The band released three EPs and a single on their own label before signing to Kscope in 2014. Since then they have released one compilation and two studio albums which featured a number of guest vocalists. The band have toured internationally.

The duo's live performance involves wearing masks and the use of cinematic projections that accompany their instrumental pieces. On occasion the singer Freyja has joined them on stage. Much of their material includes soundtracks for film, like for instance ‘Last Breath’ by David Jackson.

The band have played a number of European festivals and toured with Sólstafir, God Is An Astronaut, 65daysofstatic and Public Service Broadcasting.

On This Day 27/07/1997 The Fall

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On this day, 27 July 1997, Northern post-punk greats The Fall played Cardiff’s Cooper’s Field as guests in support of the Super Furry Animals.

Manc greats The Fall were about to release Levitate, their 19th Album on Artful Records. Levitate became the last album to feature two long-time Fall members, drummer Karl Burns and bass player Steve Hanley (whose playing was once described by Smith as the defining element of the group's music).

Levitate was recorded amidst a difficult period for the group, described by personnel turmoil and financial troubles due to a VAT bill incurred in the 1980s and early 1990s for nearly £200,000.

Simon Wolstencroft left after a disagreement about the recording of 'Everybody But Myself'; also having received financial advice about the group's VAT bill, he resigned from being a co-director of The Fall business.

The Fall have been called "the most prolific band of the British post-punk movement". From 1979 to 2017, they released 31 studio albums, plus dozens of live albums and compilations released against Smith's wishes. They were associated with the BBC DJ John Peel, who championed them from early on in their career and described them as his favourite band, saying: "They are always different; they are always the same." The group disbanded after Mark E Smith's death in 2018.

Line-up

Mark E. Smith (vocals), Steve Hanley (bass), Julia Nagle (guitar, keyboards), Tommy Crooks (guitar), Karl Burns (drums).

Setlist

Powderkeg / He Pep / Lie Dream of a Casino Soul / Idiot Joy Showland / Hurricane Edward / 10 Houses of Eve / Cheetham Hill / Behind the Counter / Feeling Numb / Ol' Gang

On This Day 26/07/1963 Nat King Cole

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On this Day, 26 July 1963, legendary American singer Nat King Cole played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre, with support provided by Ted Heath & His Music.

Nat King Cole, was a singer, jazz pianist, and actor and recorded over 100 songs that became hits on the pop charts.

Cole's shift to traditional pop led some jazz critics and fans to accuse him of selling out, but he never abandoned his jazz roots; as late as 1956 he recorded an all-jazz album, After Midnight, and many of his albums after this are fundamentally jazz-based, being scored for big band without strings, although the arrangements focus primarily on the vocal rather than instrumental leads.

Cole had one of his last major hits in 1963, two years before his death, with "Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer".

His trio was the model for small jazz ensembles that followed.

Cole also acted in films and on television and performed on Broadway. He was the first African-American man to host an American television series.

Until his death in 1965, Cole was an active and visible participant in the civil rights movement, playing an important role in planning the March on Washington in 1963.

In August 1948, Cole purchased a house from Col. Harry Gantz, the former husband of the silent film actress Lois Weber, in the all-white Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. The Ku Klux Klan, which was active in Los Angeles in the 1950s, responded by placing a burning cross on his front lawn.

Members of the property-owners association told Cole they did not want any "undesirables" moving into the neighborhood. Cole responded, "Neither do I. And if I see anybody undesirable coming in here, I'll be the first to complain."

He was the father of singer-songwriter Natalie Cole (1950–2015).