On This Day 29/08/1986 Excalibur

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On this day, 29 August 1986, heavy rock band Excalibur played Cardiff’s Bogey’s rock venue.

Excalibur was formed as a quartet as a school project by the 15-year olds as early as 1981. They may have very well kicked off a tradition of metal bands endlessly calling themselves 'Excalibur' all over the world going forward.

With Mick Dodson on drums the band released The Bitter End EP through Conquest Records in 1985. This EP was remixed by Conquest without the band’s permission. The Bitter End was recorded in March 1985 by Paul McBride, Paul Solynskyj, Martin Hawthorn and Mick Dodson at Woodlands Studio, UK with engineer Neil Ferguson, who went on to produce Chumbawamba.

Steve Blades bolstered the guitars in 1986 and Sykes joined the band in 1988. The band gigged at many clubs around England.

The Hot For Love single attracted attention in 1988 as much for its music as for the cover picture of a girl's butt. It was a BBC Radio 1 Friday Rock Show recording and produced by Mott The Hoople drummer Dale Griffin who worked often at the BBC.

The band had the opportunity to open for Saxon after its only full-length release, but split up after McBride left the band.

The end came after a number of farewell shows in 1992. The act had also opened for Uriah Heep and Budgie.

Setlist

I'm Telling You

Hot For Love

Back Before Dawn

Let It Go

Haunted by the Shadows

Devil in Disguise

Rough Justice

Come on and Rock

Full Circle

Early in the Morning

Sick and Tired

The Bitter End

Nightmare

Deaths Door

Face of Evil

On This Day 28/08/2016 The Tide

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On this day, 28 August 2016, American rock band The Tide played The Globe, Cardiff on their Click My Fingers Tour.

The band was formed when the Vamps announced a secret project in late December 2014 and held auditions for a US guitarist and drummer aged 18–20 to form a band. Drew and Nate were in a previous pop-punk band called "All the Above" until they were given the offer to move on.

The Tide started on February 25, 2015, consisting of 4 members: Austin Corini (born 26 December 1995) - lead vocals, Drew Dirksen (born 30 September 1996) - lead guitar and backing vocals, Levi Jones (born 21 November 1997) - bass guitar and vocals and Nate Parker (born 26 September 1996) - drum and backing vocals. Like the Vamps, the band started uploading covers on YouTube and gained a number of fans since then.

On February 18, 2015, the Vamps announced that they would be taking them on tour. The Tide have so far played shows across Europe in various countries such as Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Ireland for The Vamps UK Arena Tour. The first show of the tour kicked off in Glasgow, Scotland and the last show was in Madrid, Spain on 24 March 2016. The Tide toured the United Kingdom August - September 2016, with support acts of New Hope Club (also signed to the Vamps' record label) and Josh Taylor.

The Tide released their debut single "Young Love" on March 25, 2016. A second single, "Click My Fingers" was released on August 12, 2016. Their first EP, Click My Fingers was released on November 15, 2016. Their third single "Put the Cuffs on Me" was released on March 31, 2017, supporting their headlining tour named 'Put the Cuffs on Me Tour'. Their fourth single "Naked" was released September 8, 2017, alongside digital pre-order for their debut album Young Love. Their album was released on October 15, 2017.

On This Day 27/08/2004 Dido

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On this day, 27 August 2004, Singer songwriter Dido played Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena, with support provided by Aqualung.

Dido had released her second album Life for Rent in 2003. Preceded by the hit single "White Flag", the album sold over 152,000 copies in the first day alone in the UK, and went on to sell over 400,000 in the first week.

Three further singles—"Life for Rent", "Don't Leave Home" and "Sand in My Shoes"—were lifted from the album, with Dido embarking on a worldwide tour in support of the album (a DVD of footage from the tour was released in 2005 entitled Live at Brixton Academy).

Following her sold-out world tour of 2004, Dido was asked to perform at three of the Live 8 concerts on 2 July 2005—performing in London, then at the Eden Project in Cornwall, before flying over to Paris, performing both solo ("White Flag") and duetting with Youssou N'Dour ("Thank You" and "Seven Seconds").

Dido's first two albums are among the best-selling albums in UK chart history, and both are in the top 10 best-selling albums of the 2000s in the UK.

In May 2019, Dido received the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Song Collection from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors.

On This Day 25/08/2007 Kate Nash

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On this day, 25 August 2007, singer,songwriter and actress Kate Nash played Cardiff Calling, based in Bute Park in the city centre.

Nash embarked on a musical career in 2005, when she started recording after falling down the stairs and breaking her foot, which left her homebound.

She started performing live, holding her first shows in pubs, at open mic nights, and an anti-folk festival in Brighton.

After several gigs, she uploaded her music to MySpace where she secured a manager and found exposure thanks to support from Lily Allen.

Her debut single, featuring songs "Caroline's a Victim" and "Birds", was recorded and produced in Iceland by Valgeir Sigurðsson, and released through Moshi Moshi Records in February 2007.

Nash's biggest musical influences include Hole, citing their 1994 record Live Through This as her favourite album. She is also influenced by riot grrrl group Bikini Kill, crediting lead vocalist Kathleen Hanna as her idol.

Nash is also a fan of Arctic Monkeys. She appeared alongside the band in the documentary Evidently... John Cooper Clarke where she discussed the influence of John Cooper Clarke's poetry upon her lyrics, singling out the song "Foundations" in particular.

Kate has also cited M.I.A. as inspiration, claiming she was her favourite artist in 2014.[85][86] Some of her earlier influences include Buzzcocks, Celine Dion, the Spice Girls, Nirvana, Mis-Teeq, the Beatles, Pink, Blink-182, and Sum 41.

Beginning in the Girl Talk album era, Kate started to incorporate elements of punk rock and grunge into her work as well as 1990s-inspired visuals, notably in the music videos "She Rules" and "Trash". She is also known for retaining her thick London accent when she sings and makes no attempt to sing in an American accent.

Her music was used as part of an exhibition at the British Library which traced the history of Cockney English. The exhibition, which ran from November 2010 to April 2011, used Nash's music to demonstrate today's younger urban mode of Cockney English.

On This Day 24/08/1975 Bohemian Rhapsody

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On this day, 24th August 1975, legendary rock band Queen started recording 'Bohemian Rhapsody' at Rockfield studio's in Monmouth, Wales, (the song was recorded over three weeks).

Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, the song is a six-minute suite, notable for its lack of a refraining chorus and consisting of several sections: an intro, a ballad segment, an operatic passage, a hard rock part and a reflective coda. It is one of the few progressive rock songs of the 1970s to achieve widespread commercial success and appeal to a mainstream audience.

Mercury referred to "Bohemian Rhapsody" as a "mock opera" that resulted from the combination of three songs he had written.

Mercury had mentally prepared the song beforehand and directed the band throughout the sessions. May, Mercury, and Taylor sang their vocal parts continually for ten to twelve hours a day, resulting in 180 separate overdubs.

According to Guitarist Brian May, much of Queen's material was written in the studio, but this song "was all in Freddie's mind" before they started.

Although critical reaction was initially mixed, retrospective reviews have acclaimed "Bohemian Rhapsody" one of the greatest songs of all time, and it is often regarded as the band's signature song. The promotional video is credited with furthering the development of the music video medium. It has appeared in numerous polls of the greatest songs in popular music, including a ranking at number 17 on Rolling Stone's 2021 list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time”. A Rolling Stone readers' poll ranked Mercury's vocal performance as the greatest in rock history.

"Bohemian Rhapsody" topped the UK Singles Chart for nine weeks (plus another five weeks following Mercury's death in 1991) and is the UK's third best-selling single of all time. It also topped the charts in countries including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and the Netherlands, and has sold over six million copies worldwide. In the United States, the song peaked at number nine in 1976, but reached a new peak of number two after appearing in the 1992 film Wayne's World. In 2004, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Following the release of the 2018 biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, it became the most streamed song from the 20th century.In 2021, it was certified diamond in the US for combined digital sales/streams equal to 10 million units, and is one of the best selling songs of all time

On This Day 23/08/2008 Madonna

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On this day, 23 August 2008, Pop icon Madonna played Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium, the opening night of her Sticky & Sweet Tour, with support provided by trance DJ Paul Oakenfold.

In all, the tour started in Cardiff on August 23, 2008, and ended in Tel Aviv on September 2, 2009. The 2008 legs also marked Madonna's thirteen-year return to Mexico and the continent of South America, and the 2009 legs marked her first shows in Sweden in sixteen years and Israel in fourteen years.

Reviewed by the Independent, the start, despite the wait, certainly seemed worth it.

FIRST NIGHT: MADONNA, MILLENNIUM STADIUM, CARDIFF

WHAT WAS LACKING IN PUNCTUALITY SHE MADE UP FOR IN POMP

Well, she did arrive on stage an hour and a half late. And sure, ticket touts were rumoured to be flogging the £150 tickets at half price to fill the rows of empty seats.

But if those who took in this spectacular opening to Madonna's world tour on Saturday have seen anything as slick, innovative, and energetic in recent months then please point it out. For it is easy to feel spoiled when judging one of the most successful pop acts of all time. If the bar is high, it is her own fault, and you would be hard pressed to find any other 50-year-old pelting their way through two hours of back-breaking dance routines.

The tour, Sticky & Sweet, is named after Madonna's latest album, Hard Candy, which had a less-than-effervescent reception in April. Part of the problem seemed to be that pop's grande dame was just trying too hard; her collaborations with Pharrell, Kanye West, Timbaland and Justin Timberlake seemed to hanker after being "down with the kids". The artists in question appeared too scared to give her any criticism. In the end, the tracks on which they worked ("4 Minutes", "Beat Goes On") were less "collaborations" than Madonna shipping in the best talent money could buy to pay homage to her less-than-plugged-in greatness. Their talent was diluted accordingly.

 But if such a display of raw power and influence could not impress the reviewers, in a live setting, there was no such problem. The choreography, the visuals, the other live talent, were world class, and mind-blowingly well executed, intelligent, and witty.

While the show's producers might have bastardised the best elements of vintage acid house, Geisha culture, gypsy folk and burlesque, it was almost certainly worth the compromise.

The concert was loosely based around four themes – "Pimp", "Old School", "Gypsy" and "Rave" – that tellingly looked like they had been named by your Mum. And so, Mother Pop was unveiled sitting in a throne for the opening number; with her legs akimbo, she launched into "Candy Shop" then "Beat Goes On".

"Vogue" was remixed with "4 Minutes", her recent single with Timberlake, then dancers sparred as in a boxing match for a reimagining of her theme tune to the Bond film Die Another Day. There was a bit of an awkward "granny moment" when for "Into The Groove" she pole-danced around a 1980s Deejay booth, before Britney Spears appeared on a video screen for "Human Nature", which showed her in CCTV-style footage being characteristically strange inside a lift.

Madonna strummed on her guitar (is she playing it? isn't she?) which made several appearances during the evening, before the night built to its climax: Timberlake, projected on to a collection of 15ft screens for "4 Minutes". By sliding her leg erotically up and down his image, Madonna still managed to flirt with him.

For all her excesses, and the fact that she is musically relevant only in fits and starts, Madonna is a necessary tonic for those who remember with fondness a more impressive and talented time in pop. It is a desert out there. Long may her hubris continue.

'Sticky & Sweet' – by numbers 
*37 venues in four months 
*45 concerts 
*3,500 items of clothing 
*250 staff 
*36 designers 
*30 wardrobe trunks 
*16 dancers 
*16 caterers 
*12 musicians 
*12 seamstresses 
*9 wardrobe experts 
*4 freezers continually stocked with ice to soothe aches and pains 
*1 masseuse 
*1 personal trainer 
*1 chiropractor

Setlist:

1. Candy Shop

2. Beat Goes On

3. Human Nature

4. Vogue

5. Into The Groove

6. Heartbeat

7. Borderline

8. She’s Not Me

9. Music

10. Devil Wouldn’t Recognise You

11. Spanish Lesson

12. Miles Away

13. La Isla Bonita

14. You Must Love Me

15. 4 Minutes

16. Like A Prayer

17. Ray of Light

18. Express Yourself

19. Hung Up

20. Give It 2 Me

On This Day 22/08/2016 Citizen

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On this day, 22 August 2016, American rock band Citizen played Cardiff’s Clwb Ifor Bach on their Everybody is going to Heaven tour.

Formed in 2009, the band currently consists of Mat Kerekes (vocals), brothers Nick (lead guitar) and Eric Hamm (bass), Mason Mercer (rhythm guitar), and Ben Russin (drums).

They are currently signed to Run for Cover Records, and have released five studio albums to date: Youth (2013), Everybody Is Going to Heaven (2015), As You Please (2017), Life in Your Glass World (2021), and Calling the Dogs (2023).

Considered a part of emo's fourth wave, Pitchfork have described Citizen as "a band their fans can grow up with rather than out of."

On April 26, 2015 Citizen announced plans to release their second full-length album, Everybody Is Going to Heaven, on June 23, 2015 via Run For Cover.

Before the release of the album, Citizen premiered a music video for their song Stain which appears on the album.

The album was made available for streaming via Run for Cover's Bandcamp page on June 9, 2015. The album charted at number 2 on the Billboard Vinyl Albums chart.

On This Day 21/08/2007 Pink

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On this day, 21 August 2007, American singer songwriter Pink played Cardiff. International Arena on her I’m Not Dead Tour.

The tour was in support of her fourth studio albums m I’m Not Dead, released the previous year. Commercially, I'm Not Dead peaked at number six on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States, and reached number one in several territories including Australia, Austria, Germany, New Zealand, and Switzerland.

I'm Not Dead has since been certified double platinum in the United States and certified gold in Finland, Denmark, and Sweden. The album received positive reviews from music critics, many of whom complimented the risks Pink took on the record as well as her experimentation with rock music.

"Stupid Girls" was released as the lead single from I'm Not Dead ahead of the album's release, which generated controversy for its lyrical content and music video, for which Pink received the MTV Video Music Award for Best Pop Video and a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Five additional singles were released from the album, with "Who Knew" and "U + Ur Hand" reaching the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States.

Pink promoted the album through radio and television interviews, media appearances, and the I'm Not Dead Tour.

Setlist

Cuz I Can

Trouble

Just Like a Pill

Who Knew

Stupid Girls

I'm Not Dead

Family Portrait

My Vietnam

Last to Know

Try Too Hard

Summertime

(George Gershwin cover)

Me and Bobby McGee

(Kris Kristofferson cover)

Piece of My Heart

(Erma Franklin cover)

Lonely Girl

Don't Let Me Get Me

18 Wheeler

Dear Mr. President

What's Up?

(4 Non Blondes cover)

Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely)

Encore:

U + Ur Hand

Get the Party Started